Hope For Agoldensummer

Wow. We just had to second the emotion expressed by JULIE PHILLIPS at the ATHENS GEORGIA MUSIC & ARTS blog...she recently posted this music video for the song "4TH NIGHT", by local Athens band HOPE FOR AGOLDENSUMMER, shot on location at the J&J FLEA MARKET, which we visited this past weekend, and just blogged about yesterday (see previous posts). We had no idea about this video until now, after seeing it on Music & Arts...it IS beautiful...simply beautiful. I told Missy this evening that I didn't recall our visit to the J&J being this poignant!

If They Were Me, And I Was You, Would You Have Liked A Present Too?

It's my BIRTHDAY today! Help me celebrate my day of days by watching videos for two of my all-time favorite birthday songs, "Happy Birthday" by the bouncy ALTERED IMAGES, and "Birthday" by the incomparable SUGARCUBES:





And...what the heck...speaking of sugarcubes, I'm gonna go ahead and post ONE OF THE BEST MUSIC VIDEOS EVER - the video for "Sugarcube" by YO LA TENGO. It's Yo La Tengo forced to go to "Rock School", with the cast of MR. SHOW as their teachers. How can you go wrong? It's like someone blowing you a kiss:

Exactly.

We had dinner at Jo and Andre's last night (Johanna is the proprietor of HONEY'S SALON and is Missy's hairdresser) and they had this awesome banner hanging in their kitchen. Let me repeat: AWESOME.

Now, enjoy this freaky-cool video from PLASTIC LITTLE:

In Cupcake Forest

Still haven't been in the mood to do a "proper" post, but we thought that we should share this video with you. Our friend Mary-Jessica was kind enough to share her discovery with us, and now we're sharing it with you...

...tomorrow, I promise...a REAL POST...

Nilla Sixteen

4th Of July

(my dad, who's back in California, emailed me a picture of the FOURTH OF JULY cake that my mom made today!)


(the "fireworks" setting on my camera is worth crap!)

Happy Fourth of July, to those of you who celebrate!

Missy's parents rolled into town today, after driving down from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They left on the 3rd and then stopped somewhere in North Carolina last night, before continuing their journey here. After spending the afternoon eating and playing with the Wii, we walked over to nearby BISHOP PARK to watch the local fireworks show. When we got to the park, there was already a ton of people camped out on blankets and sheets, despite the fact that it had rained only a couple of hours beforehand, and the grass was still a little damp...



I don't know how or why, but we managed not to bring any chairs or even a blanket or sheet for us to sit on:





Missy prepped her camera for the fireworks display...hopefully, her photos came out better than mine:



Since my photos of fireworks weren't turning out very well - even though I have a setting on my camera specifically for FIREWORKS - I decided to capture some of the action on video instead:



...and now, for your enjoyment, GALAXIE 500's video for "FOURTH OF JULY"...yay!

Flicker Jamboree

(my FRENCH TOASTS set-up: toy piano, alligator xylophone, and shaky banana)

Hi Everbody!

Finally, here are some photos and video snippets from our show this past wednesday...all this stuff happened on June 25th, 2008 at the FLICKER THEATER & BAR...Missy and I performed as THE FRENCH TOASTS, a band from Long Beach, California called FAMILY TREE shared the stage with us, and lastly, GEMINI CRICKET helped round out the show.

Missy and I got to Flicker a bit after 8:30pm, after hauling our equipment a couple of blocks. Good thing we don't use amps! We set up our instruments on a couple of tables in the middle of the room, shunning the stage (we hardly ever perform on stages if we can help it):


(Missy's FRENCH TOASTS set-up: toy piano, kazoo, xylophone, happy apple, triangle, and alligator xylophone - we have two!)


(Missy talks to our friends, Shelly and Tina, under the watchful eye of R2-D2, who lurks in the corner and scans everybody's brain waves)



After we performed a brief but rousing set, our new favorite live band hit the stage full force with folky sing-alongs and pitch perfect harmonies...this is what you'd get if you K RECORDS and the movie "A MIGHTY WIND":





















Some of the SPILLAGE HOUSE tenants, dressed in splendid headgear, stopped by with a gift for Family Tree - a one-eyed alien/monster thing they made with cardboard and schoolhouse craft supplies:





We bought a cd off the band, and Missy bought a crocheted finger puppet bear. Not only are Family Tree an awesome live band, but they also have awesome merch! Missy hit up Flicker's FREE POPCORN machine between bands, and took pictures of newly-christened JOLLY OLLY BANJO BEAR frolicking in salty-buttery goodness:









Sara performed a little dance with Ian (FAIRMOUNT FAIR, FOLKLORE, NANA GRIZOL, etc.) while Blake ran to the restroom:





Jolly Olly Banjo Bear and his newfound friend (Ian couldn't resist the crochet bears either) on the attack...I don't know what happened next, because the flash on my camera depleted the last bit of energy left in the batteries...

Athfestivus

Hey! Alright, this past Friday, June 20th, I had the pleasure and privilege of performing with FOLKLORE and GEMINI CRICKET during the 2008 ATHFEST festival of art and music...here are some photos and video from the event...

DARK MEAT causing a ruckus on the main stage on Washington St. in downtown Athens...the crowd was so thick that this was the best vantage point for me and Missy to watch the band in action. The crowd also impeded our path towards the FLICKER THEATER & BAR, where Gemini Cricket were getting ready to perform...



Gemini Cricket went on, just as the Dark Meat performance finished up, so there was a rush of people coming into Flicker...as the band performed, the movie "THE MUPPETS TAKE MANHATTAN" played on the screen above us...Davy and I could watch the Muppets from behind the screen, which made for an interesting experience...









(unfortunately, the sound is kinda janky because I was standing right next to Jay's amp)









As soon as Gemini Cricket were done with their set, Missy and I grabbed my toy piano and trumpet and rushed a couple of blocks over to the GEORGIA THEATER so that I could perform with FOLKLORE...when we got to the front of the theater, I could hear the band already playing the first song! SHIT! I told the guy at the door, "I'm supposed to be playing NOW!"...I pushed my way through the crowd to the side stage, and pulled out my trumpet just in time to play along to the last strains of "Village Green Preservation Society"...



Aaron and I used my toy piano as a place to rest our beverages:



During our version of the Kinks' "Wicked Annabella", Ian spun this glow-in-the-dark tube thing that made a psychedelic whirring sound...







After the show, we all vacated the stage as quick as possible so the next band could start setting up...we brought my instruments back to my car and then walked around to look at some of the art on display...like, this "art car"...



We went to CINE and looked at some of the art they had there. We thought these assemblages were kinda cute and weird:





We saw this movie poster that was kinda cool...we liked the idea of knitting a guitar...



We didn't watch any other band later that night we were so exhausted...we just got a late night snack with Jay at THE GRILL and then called it a night...

2008 Flagpole Music Awards

WE'VE MOVED! The post you are looking for can be found at our new blog HERE: RANCHOCOCOA.COM

Spills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches

So, Saturday night was our show at THE SPILLAGE HOME FOR WAYWARD YOUTH. To recap, THE FRENCH TOASTS, CAPTAIN #1, CAMP LOOPS, and GEMINI CRICKET, played a "family-friendly" show that featured a potluck and children's art show. Needless to say, if you weren't there, then you missed a really fun show! But lucky for you, I took some pictures, and even a little bit of video...(no French Toasts footage though, sorry!)

When we first got to the SPILLAGE HOUSE, Stacey Marie gave us a tour of the grounds out back, which featured several vegetable gardens, a two-story shack, a trampoline, the remnants of a home-made rollercoaster, and this rope hanging from a tree that used to be a tire swing...Missy was super excited about the rope and climbed it...she did some aerial acrobatics for the few lucky ones who were there to bear witness...









Missy put on a little pre-show show for us:























Afterwards, a few people got on the trampoline. There was a big gash in the fabric, preventing fun-seekers from doing anything too crazy:









Inside the house, there was a lot of art and scribbling on the walls...





Safety message scrawled above the stove:









Some of the childrens' art they had on display:



Sara from Gemini Cricket showed-off her new SPEED RACER bling:



Missy and I set up our instruments then decided to go for a short walk...we walked down the street to FLOWERLAND to take a picture of their sign, and to take pictures in the red British-style phone booth (no idea why it's there)...and then we crossed the street to the DUNKIN' DONUTS-slash-31 FLAVORS so Missy could get an ice cream. I ended up getting some sprinkled strawberry-flavored donuts for the potluck...



Stacey Marie and other Spillage youth hangin' out on the front porch:











After we got sugared up, we played our set...and debuted our cover of "Jimmy Carter Says YES!"...Tim and Jenny of the excellent Captain #1 played afterwards...





Then came Camp Loops, all the from Kent, Ohio...the rocked the house with their unique brand of fractured pop kid-friendly pop:





Gemini Cricket closed the night out with some audience-participation-style fun, including a dance (see video below), and a sing-a-long to THE FACES "Ooh La La" (a.k.a., the song that plays over the closing credits of RUSHMORE):