Author: Sara

Rafter: Animal Feelings

Sara 1 Comment

Ok, I’m addicted. I was introduced to Rafter a while back through Emily who works behind the bar at The Casbah. She sings and plays drums in a quirky, fun little band called Bunky, while he supplements by playing guitar. Well he isn’t simply playing guitar. It is hard for me to find my words today. There are pedals and maneuvers that produce lots of cool sounds that go along with the beat. How’s that for knowing what I am talking about?

Anyhow, I then fell more deeply in love with them when I found out that both Bunky and Rafter’s solo material were release through Asthmatic Kitty Records (Sufjan Stevens‘ label). Rafter’s solo albums prior to this newest venture include Sweaty Magic, Sex Death Cassette, Music for Total Chickens and aptly named 10 Songs.

I always viewed Rafter as an experimentalist. His childish, fun loving attitude emanates from every note and beat coming from his direction. Animal Feelings bottles that all up to give you a dose of goodness every time you listen to it. Since the album’s pre-release at MBV, I have not been able to tear my ears away.

Listen to Animal Feelings for yourself at MBV and then go buy it tomorrow, National Record Store Day, at M-Theory Records or head over to Tin Can Alehouse for his CD release party and purchase it straight from the source.

Word Progression

Sara 1 Comment

It has been a while since I have posted anything about Thomas. So here goes. The boy is, well just that, a boy. He really has grown, a lot! Currently, he is a little over 14 months old, but thinks he’s a 2 year old. At daycare, he sits with the big kids at the table and *tries* to bring his dishes to the sink when he is done, while the other kids his age are still in their high chairs.

His walking is now running and if you don’t give him what he wants, you will receive a meltdown. The tantrums are daily and a bit hilarious, but sometimes frustrating. At least we haven’t had him breakdown in public, as he loves being out of the house and around other people. Here he is at Queen Bee, dancing and rocking out with his drum sticks to School of Rock’s house band.

The other night I sat down to color with him, and thought I would write down all of the words he knows, aside from ma-ma, da-da and Tee (aka Thomas), and was impressed to find that he has a 25-word vocabulary, at least. These are words he is able to vocalize, he understands the meaning and I can distinguish what he is saying. There are other things he is saying that I don’t understand and other things he understands (like nose, eye, head) that he hasn’t said but points to them as they are said.

Last night Roger was playing with Thomas and he started to imitate the barn animal sounds from one of his toys. This was a first. I might have to add quack-quack to the above list.
After recording, we played back the video and he was following along, imitating the sounds. Learning a bit more about how an owl sounds. Whoo-hoooo!

Free Music San Diego, not forgotten

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In the middle of the night I realized I omitted a pretty major opportunity for free music in the last post: In Store Preformances. Several record stores in town host a variety of musicians both local and those that pass through San Diego to promote their records. Here are the places that I know that have performances on a semi-regular basis. Be sure to check their websites/schedules for upcoming acts.

M-Theory Music
Lou’s Records
Borders Books and Music

Saturday April 17, 2010 is National Record Store Day (always on the thrid Saturday in April)! So make sure you take the time to visit and support your local record stores.
Oh and as a bonus, these places are all-ages. I realized that my last post highlighted bars but no all ages venues (except the fairs, festivals, and summer concert series). I tried to find coffeehouses with regular free music, but found most charge some sort of cover or don’t offer much in terms of live music aside from an open mic night.

Free Music San Diego

Sara 2 Comments

Money is tight, but music remains a huge part of our lives. Paying for shows has gotten expensive even the cheaper ones at $8-10 per ticket. If you go to shows all the time you may know there are plenty of options to see music for free. But if you don’t leave the house very often, you might be thinking, “Free? Where? I wanna go.” So I have compiled a fairly comprehensive list of regular events, shows and venues that will leave your wallet un-touched, as long as you avoid purchasing drinks, food or other fun stuff.

Street Fairs, Festivals and Events
Seaport Village Busker’s Festival: April 10-11, 2010
Adam’s Avenue Roots Festival: April 24-25, 2010
ArtWalk: April 24-25, 2010
North Park Festival of the Arts: May 16, 2010
Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon: June 6, 2010
OB Street Fair: June 26, 2010
Fiesta del Sol: July 30-August 1, 2010
Adam’s Avenue Street Fair: Sept 25-26, 2010

Free Summer Concert Series
The Union-Tribune usually will release a full schedule of all of these concert series once all of the line ups have been confirmed. Perfect for putting up on your fridge.
Alpine Summer Concert Series: TBA
Balboa Park – Twilight in the Park: June 15-August 26, 2010
Carlsbad TGIF Jazz in the Parks: TBA
Chula Vista Music in the Park: June 8-August 17, 2010
Coronado Summer Concerts-in-the-Park: TBA
Del Mar Twilight Concert Series: TBA
El Cajon Concerts on the Green: June 25-September 3, 2010
Encinitas Sunday Summer Concerts by the Sea: TBA
Escondido – Summer Pops in the Park: TBA
La Jolla Concerts By The Sea: TBA
La Mesa Sundays at Six: June 13-July 25, 2010
Lemon Grove Concerts in the Park: TBA
Mission Hills Concerts in the Park: TBA
North Park Bird Park Summer Concerts: TBA
Pacific Beach Concerts on the Green: TBA
Point Loma Summer Concert Series: July 16-August 13, 2010
Poway Target Summer Concerts in the Park Series: June 20-August 15, 2010
Santee Summer Concert Series: June 10-August 19, 2010
Standley Park Concerts in the Park: TBA
Trolley Barn Park Summer in the Park: TBA

Regular Performances and Showcases
Every last Sunday of the month, The Local 94.9 broadcasts live at from the Atari Lounge at The Casbah. The regular event usually showcases local bands that you may or may not have heard of. It is a great opportunity to see what this town has to offer in terms of local music. Includes free food from Luche Libre. Free food AND music?! How can you go wrong? Doors usually at 7pm, show at 8pm.

Every second Saturday of the month 6-9pm, North Park galleries and businesses open their doors and share their space with the public at Ray at Night. There is usually some decent bands showcased, but sometimes it is more about the visual arts.

Every Wednesday night at 10pm, Lady Dottie and the Diamonds play at Gallagher’s Irish Pub in Ocean Beach. On occasion this venue has decent bands on the weekends for free, check their schedule for details. Lady Dottie and the Diamonds also play every Sunday 1-5pm poolside at the Handlery Hotel in Mission Valley during the summer months (2010 date TBA).

Every Sunday, 9am-2pm the 7th Day Buskers play the Hillcrest Farmer’s Market, while the OB Farmer’s Market on Wednesdays 4-7pm hosts a variety of live acts.

Daily the Seaport Village East Gazebo hosts a variety of entertainment including live music usually in the afternoon.

Bars Offering Free Music
Make sure you check their schedules or call before you go.
The Tiki House
Stage Bar & Grill
Club Kadan
Ruby Room
Bar Pink
The Radio Room
O’Connells Bar

Don’t be a cheap skate: If you can afford it, please consider donating to the organizations who put on these events or patronizing the businesses by purchasing food or drinks so that these events can continue to be free for all.

1024 bits of you and me

Sara 2 Comments

I love to share awesome when I find it. About a week ago I stumbled across double-, nay, triple-awesome. It all started with a tweet about the members of Polyphonic Spree along with Yeasayer and one other band raising funds to produce a documentary in Uganda. The bands will learn about the many affects the 24-year-long war has had on the area and its inhabitants, and what’s being done to stop it. During their stay, each of the bands will play a show interacting with the locals and using the surroundings and the scenery to enhance the experience for all. Oh yeah, and by donating $50 I get a copy of the documentary. Awesome, right?

Well, in typical internet browsing curiosity and my personal interest in fundraising, I was curious about the platform that they were raising money on… thus finding Kickstarter. Kickstarter is just that… a kick in the pants that you need to help do that awesome project that you have always wanted to start. They are focused on creative projects with a very broad definition of creativity. Many bands and filmmakers are using the site to raise money to make the CD or film that they have had on their mind for years.

Unique features of the platform:

  • Funding is always all-or-nothing. A project must reach or exceed its funding goal or no money changes hands.
  • Rewards to backers with various levels of giving. If I had only given $25 to the above I would have only received a digital copy of the video so I stepped up and gave $50 to get the DVD. Oh and you as the creator set the levels. 
  • Project creators keep 100% ownership.
  • Kickstarter collects 5% from the project creator if a project is successfully funded.
  • Engage with backers through email/blog style updates.

Pretty cool stuff. I know I’ve got a few things that I could use a kick into action. And you?

While exploring the Kickstarter site looking for examples of how various people developed their project levels, I stumbled across this artist, Pesi Pop from Grand Rapids, MI and his project, 1024 bits of you and me. Backers have the chance to participate in this project by submitting words or phrases that he then turns into art. From the art, he will develop a book with each of the pieces as a part. Coolest part? You, as a backer get to keep the art. Love!

To further tout Pesi… his love for doing awesome is up there with the folks of Holiday Matinee, Sezio, Good, Legit Radio and EcoPop. His passion shines through in his frequent updates and personalized thank you emails to each backer. In his latest update, he shares his successes of this project through his experience using Kickstarter. He has faith that he will succeed and charges forward showing his commitment to both the project and the people who back it. My thanks to him comes in the form of a donation and spreading the word and I hope you are able to do the same. Share the awesome. Someday your moment of awesome will come too, but only if you bring it.