Friday, August 31, 2012

Off-The-Beaten-Path Pick of the Weekend: MidXMidwest Music Fest


Readers, it's hard enough to get fickle scenesters to go out early to hear bands that they love at venues that they know, so we want to give a special shout-out to MidXMidwest Music Fest, which offers up two whole days worth of unsigned bands at four venues that you likely do not frequent (or perhaps even know about!).  Find a full line-up via Alex at L.com over here.

The four venues are:  Barn Yard Beer (nice dudes! reread our piece on them over here);  The R Bar (it's the former Jet Lag and the last time we visited it was still the Jet Lag and a bunch of old ladies tried to make us drink some sort of tomato beer);  Gaslight Gardens (it's the new No Law bar that you scenesters DON'T go to);  All-Stars (the last time we visited it was a titty bar! we assume it still is?), and Bottle of Blues (Chip:  "Never heard of it.  Does it exist?"  Yes, Chip.  It's in the old Bambino's joint downtown).

The most bizarre offering we've spotted on the line-up is a "Metal for Breakfast" event at Bottle of Blues at 8:00 am Saturday  (seriously!), featuring Ask an Adult and many others who will rock your hungover faces off while you eat some eggs.  We saw Ask an Adult at the Replay at a recent matinee and can vouch for the fact that they are completely insane and perform through a megaphone half the time.

Judging by names alone, we'd probably go for the 10:00 to midnight slot at Barnyard Beer on Saturday to check out Rotgut Ramblers (10pm), The Magnificent Bang Bangs (11pm), and Famous Seamus and the Travelbongs (midnight).

Visit the festival's FB page over here, though it seems to have very little info! (kudos to L.com for finding a schedule somewhere!).


 



Thursday, August 30, 2012

Four Final Friday Picks: Bands, Books, Art, Nursery Rhymes, Hot Dogs, and Wayne Propst


Another Final Friday is looming, and here are four fine picks for your artsy pleasure:

1)  The SeedCo building in the ELFK Warehouse Arts District immediately established itself as a hotspot last month with two floors of art and a line-up of bands that stretched late into the night.  For tomorrow's festivities, our cassette-loving buddies at Whatever Forever have put together a showcase of bands featuring
Agent X12 / Baby Jessica / Carey Scott / Plains / OILS / Theo's Mystic Robot Orchestra / and CS Luxem (check out a major profile of CS Luxem over at I Heart Local Music. 

Music kicks off about 7:30.

And here's a cool video promo:  look closely for a scene from No Law's legendary "Church of Malt Liquor," AKA "the hole in the ground by the train station."



2)  Read Across Lawrence  has chosen Winter's Bone for this year's selection and everybody's getting in on the action from Nerd Nite to Film Church to PBR Book Club to appearances by the great man himself, Daniel Woodrell.  The official kick-off is tomorrow night at the Percolator with an art installation, a performance by the Hairy Vetch String Band (Chip: "Is a hairy vetch what I think it is?  Almost certainly it's not."), and a lot of books to be given away.  Let the Winter's Bone boner jokes begin!




3)  Our Wonder Fair friends are bringing the weirdness as usual with an opening called "The Cat, The Dish, and The Spoon" :   "Sculptural installations and large-scale prints will transform the gallery into a 21st-century nursery rhyme set—where childhood innocence is subtly undermined by sly modern disillusionment."

And of course it's not a Wonder Fair opening without some of their patented shenanigans to accompany the art:
"...local photographer Kelsey Hunter will be on hand with a vintage-styled school photo set, ready to snap visitors’ photos for our first ever Wonder Fair Yearbook (to be published online); we’ll debut our line of Wonder Fair screen-printed back-to-school supplies, featuring designs by Sarah Swyers; and of course, we’ll be serving up a signature Cat-Dish-Spoon cocktails and cheap beers at our Wonder Bar."
Visit the Wonder Fair site for more details.

 


4)  The Pig's opening is called "6 X 6 More or Less" and contains no description except for "FREE HOT DOGS" and "WAYNE PROPST."  But what more could you want, really?  See you there.

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Tuesday and Wednesday Scenester Picks: Trash Nite and Taproom Rock / LJ-World Rant of the Week


Readers, we've missed Horror Remix, but it's slated to return in September with an evening of...bigfoot films!  Consider us hyped.  In the meantime, check out one more edition of Trash Nite at the Bottleneck this evening at 9:00 for two hours of anti-drug VHS hilarity which includes 1978's legendary Death Drug.  Check out the FB event page here and the Trash Nite site here and watch the "supermarket freakout" scene from Death Drug below!



FREE! TRASH NITE presents JUST SAY NO!

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Our buddies in Sona will be rocking the Taproom for your mid-week pleasure on Wednesday along with San Francisco's Jane Woodman.  Visit the FB event page here and you'll certainly find yourself intrigued with statements about Woodman such as:   "her music videos are sometimes invaded by animated supernatural urban heroes." 




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It's been too long since we've checked out a good rant from the LJ-World talkbackers, so let's turn to the ever-reliable JackMckee for his take on LFK's ever-increasing apartment complexes:

"Welcome to the worst planned city in the midwest.  My sympathies to those families who own homes on the Northwest section of Lawrence. You're getting it as bad as we are on the Southwest side. Soon you can look forward to a reduced diaper/baby supply aisle so Hyvee and Dillons can accomodate the Ramen Noodle cravings of students. Good news, though, in 5 years there will be a new apartment complex somewhere else that all the students will move to. The bad news, the 5 year old apartments will turn into slums. Fire the planning commission."



Monday, August 27, 2012

Catching Up With the Rooftop Vigilantes: "One time we hung out at Lucille Ball's grave for a few days."


Sure, we interviewed LFK's Rooftop Vigilantes back in April (read it here), but we wanted to check back in and make sure that all the shit they told us about back then is actually coming to pass.  Turns out that it is!  A remastered version of Real Pony Glue and a new Replay Records split single with Mannequin Men will hit LFK this week at a big record release/concert kick-off show at the Replay this Thursday, Aug. 30 with openers Hospital Ships.

Check out some recent Vigilantes' press over at Brooklyn Vegan and stream the new single "Automatic Trash"   And enjoy our chat with Zach and Seth about all these new developments as well as what it's like to be on tour with a group of drunken Vigilantes.


Chip:  Tell me why I need to buy the re-issue of Real Pony Glue.  Did you make a few of the songs longer? Does it come with a sixer of PBR?

Zach:  Because you probably just got it for free the first time from King Tosser. Oh, and it's remastered if that matters to anyone.  God forbid a band makes a bit of money before they go on tour/ in general.

Seth: It sounds purrrrdy.


{*Zach is correct about how we obtained the record].

Richard:   What’s the new split single with Mannequin Men like and what makes them a good combination with the Vigilantes?   Also, who can drink the most: Vigilantes or Mannequin Men?

 Zach:  The new split sounds great because we are very like-minded bands.  This is not to say that we sound exactly the same! That would be boring.  But you can tell that we have a similar interest in music.  We both our fans of each other's bands, and we made friends with them when my other band Mouthbreathers did a few shows with them down at SXSW.  I think that as far as a drinking contest goes it would be an ugly tie!!  Since we're down a member though, we would have to hold this at a place where there are a lot of cats, so that way the numbers would be even (Eathen's allergic).

Seth:  Both bands sound like a band that has a drummer named Seth.

Chip:  You guys are about to head out on tour for the first time in two years.  What are your tour goals?  And could you please tell us a sordid story from a previous tour, ideally involving some combination of fucking, fighting,  puking, drugs, and booze.

Seth:  Our goal is to out-drink ourselves on our last tour.

Zach:  Stories?  Really?  God, way too many.  We were out every other month for awhile...lets see....There was one time we hung out at Lucille Ball's grave for a few days........But lets go in order here.  Fucking-  We don't kiss and tell.  Fighting-Ask Rob from Eat Skull.  Puking-Do you really expect me to remember every time I and/or one of us threw up?  Drugs- Hi Mom!!  Booze-  Do I really even need to answer that question?  To bring it back to what Seth just said though.  That is a lofty goal.  That's why I've been training.


Richard:  How important is it to the band to get a lot of recognition outside of LFK?   And do you worry that all of us fickle scenesters will accuse you of “selling out” if you get to be extremely well-known?

Zach: Has this even happened yet?  Is that going to happen?  Do you know something I don't?

Seth: Very important.  And really, that's not a worry.


Chip:  Tell us about a local band that you like that no one would expect you to like.  Are you secretly into the sensitive folkie scene?


Zach:  Bannana Suprise, Axel Bros, Beefweed, Anal Cheeseburger, Canadian Drycleaners, and Tad.


Seth:  The Hips.  P.S. The Roseline's last drummer sucked.


And here's a picture of Seth's 2009 Style Scout appearance.

Photo detail

Sunday, August 26, 2012

Sunday Scenester Pick: King Tuff at the Replay / Favorite Busker of the Weekend


Kyle Thomas' one-man band King Tuff hits the Replay tonight and these two excerpts (from Pitchfork's 7.8 review of this year's self-titled Sub-Pop album) should be more than enough to get you hyped:

"His charisma is magnetic, his shows are akin to cheap-beer-soaked tent revivals, he combines the stadium-sized guitar licks of Erik Cartwright with the bratty whine of Eric Cartman, and his solo debut, 2008's Was Dead, was the sort of album most scuzz-loving musicians would incinerate their garages to make."

and

In "Keep on Movin'", [Thomas] shouts out arcane dance moves and, in his own words, lets his guitar (whose name is Jazijoo) drool. He lets out a comically puny bark in "Stranger". He gives his songs titles like "Loser's Wall" and "Swamp of Love", which sound like landmarks where misfits in the Deep South meet to make out."

Chip:  "My favorite make-out spot in Fort Scott was known as 'Blue Balls Hill, but I liked to call it 'Boner Mountain.'"

Richard:  "Do any of you local rockers have hilarious names for your guitars?  IF so, we'd like to hear them."

Opening up is Nu Sensae (all the way from Vancouver) and Black on Black (all the way from North Lawrence!).  You'll be at the Replay after kickball anyway, so make sure to step inside and check out the bands!



 ---

We've seen some solid busking this weekend, ranging from hula hoops of fire to wildly dangerous-looking pogo stunts to comedy contortionists, but perhaps our favorite was Shibaten and his didgeridoo.  Why can't LFK bands rock a little didgeridoo on occasion? 

Chip: "That's a didgeridoo?  I just assumed it was a bong?"






Friday, August 24, 2012

Friday and Saturday Scenester Picks With a Very Special Message From Quiet Corral




It's a big weekend for those go-getters in Quiet Corral.  They'll be rocking some sweet harmonies on the Oread rooftop with the Noise Boys of Noise FM tonight ("SHOUT PEACE!") and opening for Dawes at the Crossroads in KC tomorrow.  We hope to do a full interview with the Quiet Corral gang down the line, but in the meantime we asked them to send us a quick blurb for tonight's show:

"Friday's show at The Oread promises to be one of the greater moments in Kansas history. Lawrence's Quiet Corral will be performing alongside Chicago transplants The Noise FM. The show has been so wildly anticipated that Twitter reported their servers crashing several times this week because of an overload of tweets regarding “Quiet Corral”, “The Noise FM”, “The Oread”, and “SHOUT PEACE”. 

Several rumors have begun circulating involving events that may take place on Friday evening. Just to name a few: The Noise FM have promised to play dressed as Ghostbusters, Bill Self will be in attendance, Thomas Robinson is flying back from Sacramento to see the show, and Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little is contemplating canceling classes on Friday in order to host a pre-show parade on Jayhawk Boulevard. The madness commences at 7:00 p.m. All ages. If none of these rumors actually happen, blame The Noise FM." 

You heard it here first, readers!  Skip class today and do some "pre-gaming" for the big show.

 


Follow up tonight's rooftop shenanigans with the hip-hop stylings of Ebony Tusks and ShowYouSuck and many more at the Replay.  Reread our interview with Chicago's ShowYouSuck here.

KJHK 90.7 FM & oh!mr. present SWEAT // EBONY TUSKS // Greg Enemy // ShowYouSuck // Audiocloud 51 // D/Will


And Oklahoma's Broncho is back in town at the Jackpot on Saturday with The Dead Girls and The Sluts. This will be a great chance to fight each other on the dance floor (if enough people show up at the Jackpot to get a nice little scuffle started).  Reread an I Heart Local Music report on their last rowdy Replay appearance over here.

 
 



  

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Weekend Picks: Rooftop Rock with The Noise FM and Quiet Corral, Buskers, Many Movie Options, and Much More


We suspect most of our readers avoid the Oread Hotel almost completely unless they are there to vandalize it ("SHOUT PEACE!"), but Friday brings a rare opportunity to see two kick-ass bands, Quiet Corral and The Noise FM, rocking on the 9th floor rooftop in a show that's destined to becomes as legendary as the Beatles'  1969 rooftop swan song.  Tomorrow's show is certainly no farewell, but it does serve as a rare LFK homecoming show for The Noise FM (who currently reside in Chicago).  We asked the Noise Boys" to send us a little blurb to convince our readers to attend, and here's their submission (yes, they fully passed the audition, if you get our Beatles reference!):


"There’s that rooftop scene at the end of Ghostbusters when Gozer (David Bowie, still dressed in his Labyrinth costume) asks Ray if he’s a god. Ray says “No.” Then Bowie blasts everybody with electricity until they’re covered in Stay Puft marshmallow juice and Sigourney Weaver turns into a dog. Rick Moranis is there too.

We’re not exaggerating when we say our rooftop show on The Oread this Friday with Quiet Corral is going to be more awesome than all of that. We’ve even got Ernie Hudson stopping by. Trips home for The Noise FM have been rare since we moved from Lawrence to Chicago a couple of years ago, so we try to make every homecoming show a special event, hence playing on a god damn rooftop. We’ve been in talks with the Lawrence Parks Department about putting together a fireworks show. If that doesn’t pan out (it won’t), we found 3 sparklers and a smoke bomb leftover from 4th of July.

The show starts at 7:00pm with The Noise FM followed by Quiet Corral. It’s only $5. It’s an all ages show and the City of Lawrence has agreed to lift the restraining order on whoever painted “Shout Peace” on The Oread." 

Visit the FB event page here  and reread our March 2012 interview with the Noise Boys here (it remains one of our favorites, probably due to the long discussion of Boy Meets World fan fiction).

 ---

 Quite Corral and the Noise Boys will be competing with an evening of street-freakery downtown tomorrow evening as the annual Busker Fest arrives.  It now contains pogo performances and burlesque.  We're hoping to catch a bare-knuckle, back-alley busker fight at some point this weekend as well.  Those tend to happen later in the evenings.  The festivities kick off with a "Busker Ball" tonight at the Arts Center, which we imagine culminates in some sort of Eyes Wide Shut-type orgy.

 Lawrence Buskerfest

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And don't forget the Shiner reunion show at the Granada for a dose of scenester nostalgia.   But will there ever be a terrifically twee Transmittens reunion in this fucking town, or won't there?


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Sunday offers the annual picking and fiddling championship at South Park.  A bunch of buskers usually show up at that as well.  Point is: like it or not, you're going to see some buskers this weekend.



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The weekend is chock-full of worthy film events as well, including a legendary  luchador film as Liberty Hall and the Retro Cocktail Hour brings"Cinema Con Queso" back for a fifth-installment featuring a double-bill of Santo vs. the Vampire Women followed by The Brainiac!   Details and a trailer over here . Oh baby, do we want to win one of those luchador masks they give away during the event!

PicturePicture


And over in KC, the Alamo Drafthouse gives us an opportunity to see the new collaboration between William Freidkin and Pulitzer-winning playwright Tracy Letts:  Killer Joe.  It comes stamped with an NC-17and we hear it opens with a close-up of Gina Gershon's vagina and features Matthew McConaughey performing unspeakable acts involving a fried chicken wing.  A recent Cinema Scope piece offers Letts' note to Freidkin after the director threatened to tone down the opening shots:  "Don't be afraid of the pussy.  It's a signal to the audience to fasten their seatbelts."  Obviously, we'll be first in line and presumably the Alamo will be serving up fried chicken, since it's playing on one of the "Dine-In" screens.




For those who prefer their film events a little more high-falutin,' Liberty Hall's Film Church is back on Sunday with The Third Man, high on many critics' lists of the greatest films of all-time and containing arguably the most famous entrance (by Orson Welles and a cat!) in film history. Bring your zither and play along with the score (actually, don't do that...you'll probably get ejected).










New Interview: We Chat About Creative Juices With Lil Debbie Before Tonight's Goomba Rave With Riff Raff!!





Tonight's the night, readers, when all of LFK's little Goombas take to the dance floor at The Bottleneck's very special "Back to School" edition of Goomba Rave featuring Riff Raff and Lil Debbie.  We interviewed Riff Raff a few days back (read it here) and today we're chatting with Lil Debbie.  Oh, Chip was so excited that he squirted (if you catch our Lil Debbie song reference!).

Visit the FB event page over here and score tickets on-line here.

Enjoy the interview, which MAY have been conducted while everyone was very high and munching on Cosmic Brownies.


Chip:  First off, just let me say that I LOVE the “Squirt” video and I’m going to be honest with you here: the first time I saw it, I ejaculated as soon as you squirted the honey bottles.  Tell us about how that song and video originated?

Lil Debbie:  LOL!  Well, I think you gotta see the Debbie's World "Making of Squirt" video we posted on my website!  No, actually, it was a lot of fun.  Anything you do with RiffRaff is a lot of fun!  Seriously though JayAnt sent me a great beat and we wrote the verse really fast!!!  Sometimes a great beat is all you need for the creative juices to flow!  And then Max Albert shot the video and when you got Max Albert shooting your video you KNOW it's gonna be good...it just all came together.  We did it in one day!  We did it all in one damn day!

Chip:  "Creative juices" is a sexy phrase, isn't it?

Watch the "Squirt" video: 




Richard:  I dig your persona in the videos, which seems more quirky/eccentric/relatable than the kind of “tough chick” image many female  rappers project.  How would you describe the image you want to project in  the videos and who are a few of your influences as a rapper?

Lil Debbie:  Oh wow, that's a hard one because I'm really not influenced by any one rapper, know what I mean?  I like so many!  You know, I just do my own thing.  I'm not a hard-ass, tough-as-nails rapper chick so what comes through is really who I am.  I'm a little quirky and a little sexy in my own way and vulnerable with a bit of an edge and honestly all those things I hope comes through in my videos and music because that's really me.  If people relate to that then it makes me really happy!

Chip:  At first, I was scared to click on your “2 Cups” video, because the title reminded me of “2 Girls, 1 Cup,” one of the few videos on the web that does NOT give me a boner.   But then I finally watched and loved it,especially when you talk about keeping a “bad bitch” on hand “just to roll up my weed.”  Is that a true story, and why is weed so important to rap culture?

Lil Debbie:  Maybe it's true, maybe not!  LOL.  But wouldn't it be fun to have a bad bitch on hand just to roll up your weed?  I think so. Weed's been a fixture in the arts since I don't know when.  Rap, Jazz, Hip Hop, Rock, Do-Wop....it's everywhere and it's BEEN everywhere.  Why single out Rap?  Just because you see it more in theRap/Hip Hop music videos than any other music genre?

"2 Cups" video:



Richard:   There’s a scene in the sitcom Newsradio where James Caan, playing himself,  becomes obsessed with the Andy Dick character, repeating to himself:  “That is one fascinating sonofabitch.” That’s kind of how I felt when I first started watching Riff Raff videos.  Tell us what’s it like to work with Riff Raff.

Lil Debbie:  He IS fascinating!  You NEVER know what's gonna happen from one minute to the next. His mind moves that fast!  I can't keep up.  But wherever it leads you, you know it's gonna be crazy and it's gonna be a challenge and it's gonna be FUN!   He'll keep ya guessing and that's what's so fascinating about him.  What's he gonna do or say next?!?!?!   Working with him is ....... I don't know.....I don't think I can even describe it!  LOL!!!!  But we make good music videos together and we have fun doing it, so....it's all good.

Chip:   I know you’ve got a background in fashion as well.  What would you advise me to wear to your show at the Goomba Rave in order to INSURE that I  will end up getting laid that night?

Lil Debbie:   Um, I'm not sure clothing has anything to do with it...

Chip:  You're probably right.  I'm thinking of getting naked right there on the dance floor, motherfucking Kevin Yoder style!

Richard:   Tell our readers what they can expect from you and Riff Raff at the Goomba Rave and how they should prepare for the hijinks.  Also, what's on the horizon in terms of new music and videos?

Lil Debbie:  Jesus, I don't know!  I NEVER know what's gonna happen.  I think it all depends on what kind of mood we're in and the atmosphere in the club and if the crowd is having a good time, what kinda drugs are on hand...LMAO!  It'll be a good time, I know that.  We'll bring the rice out for sure!  

Um, we're filming the video for "I Do It For The Ratchets" and I just recorded a song with Paul Devro at Mad Decent Studios and I'm going in again when I get back and then we have our Icon Tour in September AND I've been working on my EP so....and I just moved to L.A. a few weeks ago...and, and, and....LOL!!! I'm tired already!!!

Watch Riff Raff bringing the rice out:


Chip:   I have to ask you this?  What’s your favorite Little Debbie Snack Cake?  Mine is Cosmic Brownies. Once I ate so many I went on a vision quest.

Lil Debbie:  LMAO!!!!  I can't choose cause they're all tasty!  Seriously!  Those things are delicious.  How could they NOT be?!?!?! They're Lil Debbie cakes......they GOTTA be good!


Here's Lil Debbie taking a bath:

 

Here's Lil Debbie hangin' with Riff Raff:

 


Here's a box of Cosmic Brownies (Chip: "These things will fuck you up!")













Tuesday, August 21, 2012

We Interview Viral Video Superstar Riff Raff: "UNLiMiTATiONiZED, SOPHiSTiCATED, HiGHLY DECORATED."


Readers, we're especially excited about today's Riff Raff interview because it's our first time interviewing a true viral video superstar! Chip believes that this interview will soon "go viral" as well (though he's probably mistaken, since he and Riff Raff didn't have time to record a rap about boners together).

For those who may be unfamiliar, Riff Raff is a Houston rapper (currently signed to Diplo's label), an MTV star (From G's to Gents), and someone who will apparently be brought to life on the big-screen by the ultra-prolific James Franco in an upcoming film by Harmony Korine called Spring Breakers (no shit!). 

For more trenchant commentary on the man and the myth, we'd suggest taking a look at a recent Gawker profile here and an LA-Times piece here.  But, first, read our interview and quickly snag your tickets to see Riff Raff at a very special edition of the Bottleneck's weekly Goomba Rave this Thursday, August 23, alongside Lil Debbie ("Chip: "Her video for 'Squirt' is SUPER-SEXY") and the usual Team Bear Club shenanigans.

Enjoy this interview, in which we present Riff Raff's answers just as he offered them:  in ALL-CAPS and with unusual punctuation!



Richard:  You seem to have crafted a fascinating persona that  often breaks down into a debate between those who think you’re a prankster performance artist and those who think you’re a serious rapper.   How do you view yourself and how do you want people to view your work? 

Riff Raff:  BEiNG THAT i DONT VEiW MYSELF FROM THE PAST PRESENT OR FUTURE TENSE i LiKE TO THiNK OF THE WORLD FROM MY OWN PERSONAL POiNT OF VEiW AT WHATEVER TiME i FEEL THAT iS RELAYED TO ME iN CONJUNCTiON WiTH MY WELL BEiNG TO PROGRESSiVELY GROW SUCCESSFULLY FiNACiALLY AS WELL AS MENTALLY.

Chip:  As best as I can tell, James Franco is in EVERY art/music/film project right now and the word on the interwebs is that he’s playing you in a film by Harmony Korine.  What’s going to be Franco’s biggest challenge in bringing Riff Raff to life on the big screen? 

Riff Raff:  JAMES FRANCO iS OBViOUSLY TOP 5 BEST ACTORS OF ALL TiME SO iM PRETTY SURE THAT JAMES FRANCO iS RiFF RAFF & OR RiFF RAFF iS JAMES FRANCO.  THEY ARE BOTH THE SAME.

Richard:  The Gawker profile piece references everything from Dr. Seuss to Dada in describing your rapping style?  How would you describe your own style and who are your primary influences? 

Riff Raff:  WATER, POOL , SUMMER, iCON, FREESTYLE, UNLiMiTATiONiZED, SOPHiSTiCATED, HiGHLY DECORATED, COMMERCiAL, ViRTUAL REALiTY TO THE EXTREME, VOCABULARY PiNNACLE.

Chip:  In "Orion’s Belt," you rap “When it comes to hateful words, I got skin like a rhinoceros”  To what extent do you pay attention to what dumbshit interweb bloggers like myself say about your work?

Riff Raff:   i LAUGH AT iT ALL iTS SO FUN & FUNNY TO THiNK THAT CHERRY COKE & CHERRY PEPSi DONT TASTE ALiKE BUT THEY DO KiNDA TASTE ALiKE AT MiDNiGHT


Richard: I like the wide-ranging pop culture references of your lyrics.    What’s your favorite line you’ve ever written or free-styled?

Riff Raff:  "SWUNG THRU OLiVE GARDEN GETTiNG EGYPTiAN MASSAGES ... CUZ i LiKE MASSAGES ..". OR 

"iM AFFRAiD TO WAKE UP ON A BED THATS NOT MADE OUT OF DiAMONDS .. iM AFRAiD TO POP THE TRUNK AND THE 5TH DONT START RECLiNiNG"

Chip:  “I’m loving your new Three Loco project with Andy Milonakis.  In “Neato,” Andy’s rapping about how he “be getting bitches in his blue tuxedo.”  Are you guys getting laid as much as those hardcore, gangsta rappers, do you think? 

Riff Raff:  ASK ANDY ABOUT HiS 4 WiVES THAT HE HARBOURS iN UTAH WiTH KARL MALONE

Check out the "Neato" video:

 

Richard:   You’ll be performing at the Goomba Rave at the Bottleneck on August 23rd along with Lil Debbie? What’s it like collaborating with Lil Debbie and what kind of hijinks can our readers expect at this show?

Riff Raff:  HYPER DRUGS

Chip:  Do you ever get a boner when performing with Little Debbie and Kitty Pryde.  Because I sure do when I watch those videos! 

 Riff Raff: YOU CAN HAVE THEM BOTH .. i DONT HAVE SEX WiTH ANYONE

Watch Riff Raff and Lil Debbie in "Squirt."  (Chip:  "At least 441 of its 446,441 pageviews are mine.").



Chip:  I fucking love your strange, rambling "Brazil Bad Bitch Stripper" video, partly because I'm also a huge fan of Budweiser and Tony Chachere’s seasoning salts.  But where did you get what you call your “stupid Jack o’lantern Michael Meyer chain” and where can I get one?

Riff Raff:  CUSTOM MADE JEWELRY .. COME WiTH $17,000 AND i WiLL GET YOU A CUSTOM CHAiN .. THiS AiNT NO MiDDLE OF THE MALL SHYT i WiLL TELL U THAT MUCH!

Here's Riff Raff showing you his pad in Brazil, which is very well-stocked with Tony Chacheres seasoning salts, as all the best cribs must be.





Here's Riff Raff chillin' with Lil Debbie:



Here's James Franco in Riff Raff mode!



And here are some show flyers.  Go to the Bottleneck on Thursday and get weird!



TEAM BEAR CLUB & GOOMBARAVE PROUDLY PRESENT: RIFF RAFF & LIL DEBBIE







Monday, August 20, 2012

We Interview the masked maniacs of Daikaiju: "Daikaiju make full-frontal giant monster hypersonic attack every night."


Readers, do you love surf bands from Alabama that wear Japanese Kabuki masks and are obsessed with Japanese monster movies and speak only in short and often bewildering broken-English responses!  We'll assume the answer is yes, so make sure to head to the Czar Bar in KC this Wednesday, Aug. 22, to catch Daikaiju in action along with openers My Rotten Self and The Conquerors.

Find a full slate of press materials for Daikaiju over here (including videos and songs such as "The Trouble With Those Mothra Girls").

 Enjoy the interview, in which we talk with these masked maniacs about monsters, masks, Men, Astromen, and Mothra girls!


Chip:  I love every band that wears masks.  But why all the secrecy?  What are you hiding?  Are you actually a bunch of sensitive bearded folksingers?

Team Daikaiju: Daikaiju hide nothing!!! The mask reveal the man!!!

Richard:  As your name and song titles immediately reveal, , you are inspired by Japanese monster movies.  How does that play a role in your sound and your stage show?  And what’s your favorite Japanese monster? 

Team Daikaiju: Daikaiju make full-frontal giant monster hypersonic attack every night!!!  Hello Kitty most favorite monster!!!

Chip:  You guys seem a little weird for Huntsville, Alabama. If I had worn a Japanese Kabuki mask in Fort Scott, Kansas, I’d have gotten the shit kicked out of me on a regular basis.   How do the southern crowds react to your shenanigans? 

Team Daikaiju: Daikaiju wear MOST SEXY shenanigans!!!  All crowd always compliment Daikaiju style!!!

Richard:  Pitchfork gave your self-titled album a nice review with a 7.8, offering this description of your sound:  “Though their sound is closer to Man...or Astroman? than anything else (it's of course possible that there are members of that band hiding out in their ranks) there's a certain degree of prog muscle behind all that reverbed shredding.”  How would you describe your own sound and influences?  And are there REALLY members of Man…or Astroman in your band?

Team Daikaiju: Daikaiju make BATTLE-SURF-SEX-METAL and also take many vitamin to fight all influenza!!!  Daikaiju have many member of man: secret-man, rock-man, hit-man and mobile-man!!!  Daikaiju also like taste of astro-man but have preference of lizard-man… or aqua-man!!!

Chip:  My favorite song title of yours is “The Trouble With Those Mothra Girls.”  But since your music is all instrumental, I still don’t know what the trouble is.  Can you explain?

Team Daikaiju: YES!!!  You listening but you not hearing the trouble with those Mothra Girls!!!

Richard:  You guys recently had a pretty major European tour.  How would you describe the differences between European and American audiences?  Also, have you ever toured in Japan?

Team Daikaiju: European scream just like American!!!  Daikaiju continue to prepare SPECIAL future attack for Japan!!!

Chip:  Tell our readers what to expect when Daikaiju take over the Czar Bar in Kansas City on August 22.

Team Daikaiju: Expect only MAXIMUM golden shower!!!
 
Here's Daikaiju in full attack mode and below is a video of "Double Fist Attack" which begins with a nice spanking and then features a lot of dancing, ninjas, and assorted kung-fu treachery.  We think you will like what you see.


















New Interview With Chicago's ShowYouSuck: "One syllable, one thought, one heart."


This Friday, Aug. 24, the Replay Lounge will take a rare weekend break from sloppy, drunken garage rock to present a KJHK-and-Oh!Mr-sponsored evening of well-crafted hip-hop called "Sweat," which features Ebony Tusks, Greg Enemy, Audiocloud 51, D/Will, and Chicago's ShowYouSuck.  Visit the FB event page here .

We recently had a nice chat with ShowYouSuck about girls, pizza, pop culture touchstones, and kittycats. Check out some ShowYouSuck tunes via Bandcamp and listen to the new track "Girlfriend" via Hypetrak.

Enjoy the interview!


Chip:  I’m confused by the name ShowYouSuck on a number of levels. What does it mean and am I supposed to pronounce it really quickly due to the lack of spaces between words?

ShowYouSuck:  The name is an ode to remaining humble while in an art form that's built on bragging. The name keeps me in check so i never get a big head, hahaha. And you're supposed to say as if its one syllable, one thought, one heart.


Richard:  Tell us about the new EP Girls, Girls, Girls.   How would you describe the ShowYouSuck sound and who are some of your influences as a rapper? 

ShowYouSuck: This EP was completely produced by Stefan Ponce. It's a big departure from my usual sound. We worked really hard to give people an EP where every song could possibly be a first single.  At this point of my career I would describe my sound as "RAD AWESOME RAP" (i just came up with that)  I use a lot of rap elements for the most part and every once in a while i do something more boom bap. But I only talk about awesome stuff. Awesome only! I take some type of influence from every single song I've ever heard. 


Chip:  As a follow up question, was the title of the album inspired by Motley Crue’s “Girls, Girls, Girls” album or Elvis’ movie “Girls, Girls, Girls” or Jay Z’s song “Girls, Girls, Girls“? Or perhaps all of them?  Or perhaps something else? 


ShowYouSuck:  HOLY SHIT! DUDE, YOURE THE ONLY PERSON TO GET THAT REFERENCE! THAT'S AWESOME!!!  i figured since I grew up listening to hair bands and classics and now I do rap music that title would reflect both influences and making music about women is a pretty universal topic in music. Everyone can relate to that. 


Richard:  I was just listening to the song “Girlfriend” which contains a wild  mix of pop-culture references, everything from “Nosferatu” to “Eve’s Bayou.”  Tell us about your process of incorporating those kinds of references? Do they all have a personal meaning for you, or do you use some of them simply for the purposes of rhyme or humor?

ShowYouSuck:  It's actually both.  In life every friend I've made has been on the basis of similar taste in TV shows, movies and music so my theory is why not use that same base to gain fans. I feel like knowing what kind of movies and music someone is into say a lot about them and if someone never heard of a band or movie I name drop I hope they look it up. Other times i name drop things because  it makes me laugh.  I like to entertain myself first and foremost, hahaha 


Chip:  The titles of your earlier mixtapes (OneManPizzaParty' and 'OMPP2: Mo Slices Mo Problems') are memorable to me because I also love pizza.  How does the new EP compare to the older material?

ShowYouSuck:  The OMPP projects are mostly produced by MikeJaxx of tha Hydrox so doing the "GirlsGirlsGirls" EP with Stefan Ponce gives it a completely different sound and feel. Women are kinda a large part of my subject manner so I didn't want to depart from that. This EP is just some different perspectives on the female interaction. But its just as loud and awesome as my previous material.


Chip:  Let's talk more about women, if you don't mind. Your song “Hot Sex 2012” gives me a boner and I love the repeated refrain of “I’m trying to give your lady friend what she deserves, hot sex on a platter with no Hors d'oeuvres.”  How would you describe the way women are portrayed in your songs and particularly on the new album?  Is it different from what one might expect?  For instance, I expect a lot more about  “bitches” and “hoes."  


ShowYouSuck:  Well, in my song women aren't painted to be perfect creatures.  I just don't refer to them as "bitches" and "hoes". Most of my songs reference girls who drink and use drugs too much and who have low self esteem and party too much. I try to write from a perspective that maybe gives some reasoning to their vices or excuses them. The only song I really have about a girl that's 100% positive is "Girlfriend". I loosely write from situations I've been in and social commentaries on scenes I'm a part of. 
   
Richard:  Okay, let’s talk about the “Hunter Hearst Helmsley” video.  There’s a moment where someone is shooting bullets that look like little kitty faces which fly directly at the screen!  Where did that idea come from, what does it mean, and why has that shit not gone viral yet??

ShowYouSuck:  HAHAHAHA, actually if you watch the end of the video you get to see the very moment I came up with the idea. It was on set and cat heads improve anything, so there you have it.

Check out the video and watch out for those cat heads! 




Richard:  You’ll be joining a great line-up of local talent such as Ebony Tusks and Greg Enemy this Friday at the Replay.  Tell our readers what a ShowYouSuck show is going to be like, and what else is on the horizon in terms of recording and touring?

ShowYouSuck:  I YELL ALOT!! My shows arent like usual rap shows. There's surprises and a shit load of energy. Its more like a party!

"GirlsGirlsGirls" EP August 3rd

OMPP3:Rest In Pizza in October

and Ill be playing shows all over the country for the rest of 2012
 

To keep up with everything follow @ShowYouSuck

 KJHK 90.7 FM & oh!mr. present SWEAT // EBONY TUSKS // Greg Enemy // ShowYouSuck // Audiocloud 51 // D/Will

Saturday, August 18, 2012

Community Event of the Weekend: Dapper Dillon's Grand Opening! / Saturday Scenester Pick: Apache Dropout at Replay


Readers, we'd be remiss if we didn't mention tomorrow's grand re-opening of the Mass. Street Dillon's, whose former "Dirty Dillon's" moniker was re-christened as "Dapper Dillon's" by the LFK Twitter community this summer.   The store officially reopens at 7:00 am. on Sunday, so be there early to see it at its most pristine before the long, slow slide into decay begins anew.  A major ribbon-cutting ceremony is slated for 9:00 am featuring free food samples and the KU cheerleaders, who will probably be a bit hungover on a Sunday morning.

Read the LJ-World's preview over here to learn about all the special features of the new Dillon's such as "unique signs, including pictures of area farmers who have grown food that is sold in the store."  And let's take a peek at the talkback to see if the community is hyped about tomorrow's festivities:

overplayedhistory says:

"I think Simon should be there, with his "Thats my Dillons" T-shirt and socks on his hands. It wouldn't make it dirty, just nostalgic. Simon and the not so dirty Dillons, will always occupy the same space in my memory, no matter what they build.
Tangential side bar: Anyone know whatever happened to Vic the Barbarian?"

And here's an old photo of Dirty Dillon's we just discovered via Google image search from a blog called Artsyville (a blog that we didn't know existed until right now: click it and check out a bunch of other cool photos!).

 lawrence sweet train


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And your Saturday scenester pick?  Oh, let's say Apache Dropout at the Replay.  Here's an excerpt from their Bandcamp description:

"Apache Dropout is a full on lysergic boogie trio from Southern Indiana who’ve self-released a handful of recordings while touring the sub-U.S. during the past couple years. Finally, their debut LP is here to catch you up with their three-minute-&-less anthems crafted of ‘60s epoch fuzz. With just guitar/bass/drums they channel soul melodies, primitive rock thump and blasted solos that are soaked in the dimethyl-trip of teenage visions (see songs "Sam Phillips Rising" and "God Bless You Johan Kugelberg" for that) and a few whifs of Tuli Kupferberg."

They had us at "lysergic boogie."  Apache Dropout is joined tonight by Sex Tapes (Scary Manilow is playing, like, 8 shows a week these days!) and Shark Week (which might be a band or might just mean the television will be tuned to "Shark Week" programming until the show starts around midnight).









Friday, August 17, 2012

Some Penetrating Insights on the Pussy Riot Controversy / North Lawrence Pick of the Weekend


Readers, we don't have any penetrating insights on the Pussy Riot controversy, which finally resulted in the members of the Russian band being jailed for two years due to their anti-Putin "punk prayer" protest in a Moscow cathedral.   Mainly, we just wanted to include the phrase "Pussy Riot" in the title of a blog post to see what kind of Google searches would end up leading people to the blog.

But the whole situation does seem like a sad blow to free speech.  Then again, it's Russia after all.  What do we expect?

Richard:  "I'll be very disappointed if a group of local bands don't put together a 'Free Pussy Riot' benefit concert.  But they're probably too lazy to learn Russian for it."

Chip:  "I'd prefer a parade, with lots of erotic, pussy-shaped, 'Free Pussy Riot"signs like the one in the picture below.  It wouldn't be any sillier than last week's Elvis parade."

Photo is via Dangerous Minds , where you can also listen to Peaches' 'Free Pussy Riot' song.



Here's the controversial Pussy Riot video, which has been viewed 1, 783, 137 times.


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We can't promise a "Pussy Riot" of any sort will break out tonight in No Law, but Studio B IS hosting what's being billed as "an all-ages sleazefest" this evening featuring (among others) Ponyboy, whose new album is called "Pussy Killer."  Visit the FB event page here .

We've yet to catch a Ponyboy set, but the fact that they've done the score for Sexing the Transman,"a groundbreaking educational documentary that includes explicit adult scenes,"  immediately makes them more interesting than most LFK bands.  Check out a new(ish) piece on the band over here at I Heart Local Music.


 Pale Hearts w/ Ponyboy, Plains, and Mr. & the Mrs!

And below is the poster for "Sexing the Transman" from the film's official website .   Remember that time Chip got confused and watched the film because he thought it was called "Sexing the TRANS-AM' and dealt with women getting boned on car hoods?  Hopefully he was enlightened, despite his mistake.



Thursday, August 16, 2012

Three Sexy Weekend Picks: Smoking Nurse at Replay, Mingle at Tap Room, and The 1 Oz. Jig at Bottleneck


Tennessee's Smoking Nurse hits the Replay tonight, and the name alone gives Chip a boner.   We also love the way their bio from their FB page deconstructs the standard publicity bullshit:

"(band name) has gone through many changes. With a(n) (genre) intensity and a(n) (adjective) edge, it delves into the realms of (genre) and (genre). While the (genre + noun) sound is (genre) oriented, there is always a(n) (adverb + verb) of sound. The (number) members are known from such popular groups as (adjective + noun), (adjective + noun), and (adjective + noun) and for the world renowned (body part + noun) group (pl. noun) of (adverb + verb) or ( acronym ). Combine (genre), (genre), (genre), & (genre) with (adjective) beats, and (adjective) melodies and the result is (band name)."

 Show up tonight and fill in the blanks for yourself!  Or, if you must, get a sample of their tunes via Bandcamp



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The students are back in town and they're surely ready to do some grinding.   Phil Canty of Team Bear Club recommends they head to Mingle at the Tap Room on Friday:

"Kicking off our school year proper, August will see the return of Lawrence staple party, Mingle at the Taproom. Friday, August 17th, Bear Club founders MORRI$ and Tom Richman will bring the students in PROPER with a sweaty evening at the Taproom. Promising an alluring blend of ratchet club rhythms, forward leaning electronic synth vibes, and ironic pop candy, Mingle always delivers a diverse experience at a low price."

Visit the FB event page here, and Phil also sent us links to a number of galleries if you'd like to "mingle" your way through them here and here and here.

We're hoping that this week's Mingle looks something like this:

 

But not like this, which BARRR calls his "tittie tattoo nipple dance."



And here's a titillating flyer featuring some flexible ladies performing maneuvers that Chip hopes to see on the dance floor this weekend:



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If you prefer to shake your ass to a full band of "funkmasters," the Bottleneck brings Arkansas' The 1 Oz. Jig to town on Saturday.  The Fayetteville Flyer says:

"They are one of the hardest working bands in town, made up of some of the most technically proficient, funky funkmasters assembled in Fayetteville since Punkinhead was causing uncontrollable dancing fits in town during the 80′s and 90′s.

That may not mean a lot to most of you LFK folks, but to some of us who grew up in Arkie in that era (Richard) that means it's time to put your dancing shoes on!

The 1 Oz. Jig lists their "Band Interests" on FB as "Playin tunes that make folks get naked and feel patriotic."

Sure, they might look like extras from Winter's Bone, but don't let that scare you away.

 

The 1 Oz. Jig is joined by LFK's Thunderkat, who plays covers and list their "Band Interests" as "Girls jumping up and down."  Chip's a fan.





Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Special Edition of Chip's Picks Including Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, Van Dammage, The Noise FM, the Women of The Newsroom, and Read Across Lawrence


Today we're taking a rare break from all the buzzy bands and high-falutin' art events we normally showcase and instead highlighting a few things that are entertaining Chip these days.  Read on if you dare.

1)  Here Comes Honey Boo Boo on TLC

Chip:  "I don't think I've ever seen a show with a fart joke in the OPENING CREDITS!  Forbes' review phrases it well: "Each episode opens with a tremendous fart by June, Honey’s 309 pound momma."  And things get even funnier, believe it or not.  Sure, there's a major trend of redneck reality television right now, such as the overrated Duck Dynasty and the underrated (and cancelled?) American Pickers, about that family from Richard's old hometown that stuffs pets.  But I think Here Comes Honey Boo Boo is the most warm and tender.  However, it's a little too much like a foreign film, since much of the family's dialogue is subtitled, because they don't talk good.  There's also a little baby pig. It farts a lot too. Catch new episodes on Wednesdays."

 

2) "Van Dammage" at the Alamo KC

As a lead-up to the premiere of The Expendables 2 tomorrow night, the Alamo is showing three Van Damme films.  Altogether, this equals 438 bone-crunching minutes of "Van Dammage!"  The line-up has now been officially announced:  Bloodsport, Hard Target, and Universal Soldier.  Details here .

The Alamo has put together a special menu for the event which includes "ANDREW SCOTT'S EAR NECKLACE, freshly fried pork rinds fit to be strung together and worn, or dipped in a spicy soldier dipping sauce."

Chip: "This may well be the greatest 438 minutes of my life so far."

Zzangarang! presents VAN DAMMAGE w/ THE EXPENDABLES 2

3) The Noise FM and Quiet Corral at the Eldridge Hotel rooftop bar on Friday August 24th

Chip: "The Noise Boys and I go way back, all the way to Fort Scott, and I'll be terribly disappointed if they don't trash a few rooms, rock star-style, after their show.  I suspect they'll write 'SHOUT PEACE' all over the walls."

Check out the FB event page here and we'll likely be showcasing the event further next week.

Here's a classic Oread/SHOUT PEACE photo via the LJ-World. It still gets our vote for LFK's greatest-ever act of vandalism!

Vandals painted "shout" and "peace" on the south side of The Oread's top viewing deck over the weekend.

4)  Olivia Munn as Sloan Sabbith on The Newsroom

Chip:  "Let's get this straight: I hate The Newsroom.  Real-life is MUCH closer to Honey Boo Boo territory than it is to Sorkin-land.  But I never knew long monologues about economics could be so sexy before meeting Olivia Munn's Sloan Sabbith.  I DVR The Newsroom every week.  But I only watch the parts with Olivia Munn, which means I can skip right through at least 40 minutes of progressive babble about broadcast integrity. Actually, to be honest, I watch the Alison Pill parts too.  But never the Emily Mortimer parts.  Her character is so annoying I immediately lose my boner."

Munn and Pill and Mortimer:





 

5)  Read Across Lawrence and Winter's Bone

Chip:  "I'm really excited that the Read Across Lawrence program is attempting to unite the community this year through a really brutal novel about meth.  I'm also excited that PBR Book Club is making Winter's Bone their September selection, as a follow-up to their current selection of The Sugar Frosted Nutsack, which (as you can tell from the title) is fucking hilarious.  With selections like these, I may eventually forgive them for this summer's 1000 page, post-modern Mexican 'masterpiece' featuring 200+ pages of nothing but rape."

We'll be offering major coverage of all the LFK Winter's Bone events coming soon, since the festivities are kicking off as early as the August edition of Final Fridays.  And head over to the Library site to start planning your itinerary. 

Here's the great John Hawkes as Uncle Teardrop from the film version.  We're hoping he'll be on hand for some of September's events, since he's prone to hanging around LFK anyway.







Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Anti-Scenester Book of the Month: R. Jay Magill Jr's Sincerity / Scenester Picks: Catacombz, Sex Tapes, JabberJosh, and a new 80's/90's Party at Bottleneck



Is sincerity the enemy of scenester culture? Or can they coexist?  We don't know, but it's an ever-vexing question that we're hoping a new book by R. Jay Magill Jr. can help us answer.  The book's title: 

SINCERITY: How a Moral Ideal Born Five Hundred Years Ago Inspired Religious Wars, Modern Art, Hipster Chic, and the Curious Notion That We ALL Have Something to Say (No Matter How Dull).

Chip:  "The title certainly doesn't sound very sincere.  It's longer than a Fiona Apple album title, for fuck's sake!  It sounds like one of those hyper-literate indie bands that try to make their titles so long that no one can tweet about them."

 The NY-Times review situates Magill's work as a continuation of ideas explored in Lionel Trilling's 1972 Sincerity and Authenticity (among many others):  

"Where Trilling saw the decline of sincerity as a rupture, a historic break, Magill sees continuity, tracing the strands of a Protestant-Romantic trajectory for nearly 500 years right up to the hipster culture of today...Magill offers a brief semiotic analysis of hipster affectations — trucker hats, Pabst Blue Ribbon — to exemplify how irony now has the task of conveying sincerity, allowing the trendy to gesture at working-class affinities while keeping a safe distance from anything resembling a political commitment."

Richard: "You had me at 'semiotic analysis' of PBR."

The book is apparently so sincere that it can't be bothered with an image on the cover, perhaps out of fear that said image would be ironically misinterpreted:

Sunday, August 12, 2012

Sunday Scenester Picks: Jessie Torrisi, Panties, and Kickball / Weekend Photo Recap: A Parade of Elvisis and a Sandbar Block Party


Readers, the kickball playoffs are underway today, which probably means very few of you will join us for a nice Replay matinee with Jessie Torrisi and the Please Please Me.  Your loss, since this Austin via Brooklyn trio rocks a mean cello. There's no opening act listed for the gig but we predict it will be Tyler Gregory.

The pic below is via Tulsa Music, which describes their sound as "indie-rock chic with a rootsy feel and a hint of both Sun Records’ rockabilly and Stax/Volt soul."  



We''ve partied with the band before (they managed to get a few Replay revelers on stage to play kazoos with them), but our favorite thing about the band is their self-designed panties. In an interview with the Williamsport Sun-Gazette, Torrisi says: "I have seen male friends of mine in them and if you have a well-toned, smallish butt, it works well."

Chip: "Well, that cinches it. I'm buying a pair for myself this evening."




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We've seen many things this weekend in LFK and we'll show you a few of them.

We saw young Drew Smith rocking his first-ever set as Theo's Mystic Robot Orchestra at the Jackpot on Friday.  For his closing number, a full-band (including Cameron Hawk) joined him on stage to rock a nice version of the Flaming Lips' "See the Leaves."  Drew drew a nice crowd (which seems to be a bit rare at the Jackpot these days judging by our recent visits), though most of them scattered when the Sneaky Creeps started getting loud and creepy in the next set.





On Saturday morning, eight or ten Elvises gathered in the parking lot of the dead Borders for the first annual LFK Elvis Parade and eight or ten Elvis fans gathered nearby to watch them parade.  Our favorite was Giant Elvis.



Presumably a few more spectators were on hand to gaze upon the Elvi as they passed the Farmer's Market en route to the Hot Rod Hullabaloo in South Park, where a decent crowd was assembled for the impersonator contest.  Here's Elvis warming up the crowd with a bit of Kung Fu treachery:





And the Sandbar's 4th Annual Block Party/Birthday Bash attracted a major crowd of revelers Saturday evening, including Geoffrey Rush (below), whose career decline apparently grants him plenty of time to reprise his Pirates role wherever he's needed.



As usual, we stationed ourselves on the Tap Room patio, avoiding the Sandbar's cover charge, and found ourselves surrounded by a whole lot of Sandbar fans who had the same idea, as well a few pockets of terrifically confused scenesters. During the debut of the Sandbar's new Hurricane video (after an outrageously lengthy hour-long slideshow of the bar's drunken patrons), we heard the following exchange at the Tap Room door:

"What's going on out here?"
 "Something awful."

Apparently Tap Room denizens have no idea that the Hurricane happens every night inside the Sandbar, where  happy people dance on the bar in mermaid suits swilling Bahama Mamas while oblivious scenesters nurse their PBRs in the dark Tap Room a mere ten feet away.  That's probably about the best representation of the disconnect between scenester vs. the rest-of-LFK culture that one can hope to find.

Finally, our favorite recent photo comes not from us but from a strong set of L.com Party Pics from a DJ G Train set at the Replay.  We call this the "PBR dance," and it's probably safe to say we've all performed it:

Photo detail