+ Thursday, August 31st, 4:31pm +

- Chad and I made a drive out to the middle of Washington to pick up a Centipede cocktail arcade machine for Jess' birthday. Well worth the drive. While this one isn't in the perfect shape my Pac Man cocktail is in, I'm looking forward to restoring it as it plays perfectly.

- Thanks to Jason over at Aquarius for sending over the new Gorogoth album. Holy cow. That is some evil, evil stuff. Visit their site and check out this interview. Boy, do they ever love satan.

- And if you live in Portland stop by Food Fight! on Sunday for their 3rd anniversary party. They are going to have vegan Fear Factor, a human beat box and a fucking dunk tank. Run don't walk...


+ Monday, August 28nd, 10:01am +

- Lots of time spent on the computer, but not much time on this site. Maybe it's the freelance work, trying to get more SKATEDAILY.net posts in the can and various other projects. Besides, this is supposed to be DOWN time. Not happening. Looking like there will be an office in mid September / early October.

- My brother and his wife are in town and we're doing our best to give them the Portland experience. To me that's good / cheap vegan food, arcades, bowling and dog walks. Quite a change from their past travels.

- Long morning motorcycle rides are the best




+ Tuesday, August 22nd, 9:45am +

- I spent the weekend in Phoenix, Arizona attending my Grandfathers wedding. He's 77 and the woman is 64. It was pretty mellow and a nice time. I was never too close to that side of my family so it as interesting to meet cousins I had never met before. A nice experience.

What wasn't nice was the weather. Arizona in late August? The car tempature gauge read 117 degrees at one point. Insane. Even at 10pm it was around 100. Driving around it looked like a ghost town with no one outside.

- I did have a chance to visit Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin West in Scottsdale. Incredible. The man was so before his time. Simply amazing that the build started in 1937 and still looks fresh and modern today, not to mention hedesign everythingfrom the lanscaping to the buildings to the furniture and all fabric patterns. Some good photos can be found here.




+ Thursday, August 17th, 11:41am +

Overall it was a great show last night. Was it 1989 again? Well, it wasn't for me...but I'm sure some people thought so.

Before the show started I found myself getting pretty bummed out. Watching big, burly muscleheads file in and witnessing a fight go down on the sidewalk (X'd up guy smoking a cigarette got sucker punched?!) had me expecting the worst. We went in and found a spot on the back wall but with a clear view of the stage. Walter came out wearing a big banner of the gorilla head graphic as a cape followed by the rest of the band. Then the horn intro from 'New Direction' kicked in. The place went nuts.

They played every song as well as a one from Project X. In the beginning I wasn't as into it but by the time 'Stand Still' was played I was pretty excited. Highlights were 'Cats And Dogs' and the 'Start Today' finale. I didn't get any dives or moshing in but I did move forward and finger pointed a bit. The rest of the time I had a great view of the whole show. It was interesting to see how the band had aged from the few weathered black and white photos that were taken back then.

It was also nice to hear Civand Walter being so thankful that people showed up and still care about the band. After the show they spent a lot of time shaking people's hands and saying thanks to everyone who wanted to say hello.

You can't be 16 again, but it's nice to remember. And for the record, I wore a Turning Point shirt.


+ Wednesday, August 16th, 2:27pm +

In a matter of hours I'll be in Seattle to see the Gorilla Biscuits reunion tour. Could be great, could be crap. Now what T-shirt should I wear?


+ Monday, August 14th, 8:46pm +

- First day of not working for any specific company and I still find myself quite busy. I think this will work out just fine.

- This weekend I was too tired and lazy to catch Ludicra, but I did get out to see my friends in From Monument To Masses. Quite a good show. I would push their tour dates, but as of yesterday in Seattle the tour is over. Hopefully that new album will hit very soon. It was good to be able to house Sergio for a night and catch up. Frank took some amazing photos of their show in NYC.

. On Friday I'll be traveling to Sun City, Arizona to witness my grandfather get married. Sounds crazy...but it should be interesting.


+ Thursday, August 10th, 9:42am +

- Well, it looks like travel is now going to be even more of a pain in the ass. No water? I also heard on the news this morning that they are considering bans on laptops. If that happens the airlines will go under. I don't know ANYONE who could travel like that. I'm not checking my computer. And I'm going to be going to SF a few times a month now...great.

- I highly recommend The World's Fastest Indian. A great film about New Zealander Burt Munro, who spent years building a 1920 Indian motorcycle -- a bike which helped him set the land-speed world record at Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats in 1967. The man was truely inspiring and we need more vintage motorcyle and car films.

- Ludicra plays tonight here in PDX for five bucks. Who's in? I need to get their new album, Fex Urbis, Lex Orbis, before the show tonight. I wasn't feeling their EP so hopefully this will continue where Another Great Love Song left off.




+ Monday, August 7th, 4:29pm +

- The new Jeremy Enigk album is beautiful. Close to perfect even. Does it measure up to 'Return Of The Frog Queen'? Possibly. I've only listened to this album half a dozen times so far and I enjoy it more and more each listen. I saw a message board post that stated Jeremy Enigk will only get the respect he deserves after he dies. He's certainly under rated. I guess it's very 'indie' of me to say that I enjoy the fact that he still remains underground. I do think he is the best vocalist in modern pop music. Period. 'Cannons' makes my eyes well up every time. Go here and listen to a few tracks. He'll be playing Portland on the 9th of September.

I ran across this clip of 'Shade And The Black Hat' at the Black Cat in DC from his solo tour in 1997. I saw him perform this song at The Great American Music Hall in SF. It was one of the best live performances I've ever seen.

- Speaking of performances, 'Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby' was fucking great. Not since Old School did I laugh as much in the theater. Anchorman took multiple home viewing to sink in...not this one. Sacha Cohen is the standout. So good as the gay frenchman. I loved all the digs at NASCAR and the USA in general. Clever writing and good gags. Add the new Borat trailer as the preview and it was worth every cent of my $8.50.




+ Sunday, August 6th, 2:20pm +

- These are some pretty amazing bicycles.

- And speaking of bicycles, Portland is in the middle of a very public fixed gear war. I do have a track bike but I ride with a free-wheel and a back brake. Yup, I’m a big wuss. I’ve got a fixed on the other side of my hub, so maybe…I’m more a fan of not shifting and less a fan of not stopping. And I’m not saying you can’t stop on a fix gear, I just can’t do it yet.

Thanks to Redshifter for the above link...good to have you back.

- And what’s up with spoke cards? I want to make some for our small bike crew. Is it even a crew?

- This is a pretty big week with me leaving my current job and starting something new. I'm really looking forward to it.


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