Union Drool

So, Sunday night was the big New Bomb Turks show at Union Pool. As expected, it was mobbed and sold out real quick. It was a pretty cool night, though, complete with local scene gossip, chip-on-shoulder chicks, 'n' PBRs galore. And of course the youngun's, many of whom were experiencing the Turks for the first time, got extra wild. I only got knocked to the ground once during the show, which ain't bad considering. The Turks played a nice mix of old and not-so-old, including my all-time-fave, Girl Can Help It.

The opening band, Crimson Sweet, also played a good set. They're a loud and fast three piece that for some reason I always want to compare to Sonic Youth and the Pixies, but there's a lot more to their music than that. Their sound is pretty unique, especially compared to the standard local punk fare. Plus, Polly, the guitarist and lead vocalist, rocks a Flying-V, so ya can't go wrong. They introduced a new drummer on some tunes and the regular drummer moved to guitar. They still need to work the kinks out of that, though. Personally, I think they oughtta stick to the threepiece 'cause the regular drummer is so powerful he really shouldn't be replaced or relegated to second guitar.

I didn't bother to watch Andy G and the Roller Kings since I'm never too impressed with them. Andy's still ridin' the Devil Dogs wave, and for that, I guess his "new" band deserves to get booked. People seem to dig 'em though. Andy actually sang a tune with the Turks and I'm tryin' to remember which. It was something from Destroy Oh Boy! I think, but I can't recall. Whatever it was, he couldn't remember most of the words and kept repeating the same verse over and over. I wished they would have played the Devil Dogs medley from the Devil Dogs/New Bomb Turks split 7" but I guess I'm lucky they played any of their old stuff!

Hmmm...nothing much else went down that night besides a whole lotta snow. So, that's the review.

Wordsmith Woes

Ya know, I've got a gripe. It's not exactly punk rock or food related, but so be it.

I've been prowling the freelance writer job listings lately since I don't have too many writing gigs at the moment (freelance writing is...uh...like...my career 'n' stuff). Perhaps my biggest bete noire when it comes to freelance writing: writers who are willing to work for shit, or worse yet, for free. They suck! They're killing it for the legitimate writers of the world!

It's bad enough that publishers wait months before they bother to pay their writers -- the creators of the very product that keeps them in business in the first place. But the fact that so many writers are willing to write for pennies per-word only serves to demean the value of our services. Don't get me wrong; I refuse to take the crap jobs that don't pay well, but everytime someone does take them, it does a disservice to all writers.

Yes, it's a catch-22 industry. You've got to have clips (published articles) to get writing work, which means in the very beginning writers typically have to take on low-paying gigs, or even write (gulp!) for free. But once we're past that nascent stage, we can't perpetuate the degrading notion that writing is merely a commodity that can be bargained down to the lowest possible price.

Come on, folks, git yer shit together fer crissakes and stop responding to job ads that say, "We can't pay writers but they are guaranteed a byline and exposure to a wide audience."

Oh yeah? I'll show ya where you can put yer byline, bitch!

Shuddup 'N' Eat Yo' Big Ass Biscuit

It's Monday morning and I'm all about procrastination at the moment, so I figured I'd write a li'l somethin' for the PRK blog before I hop on the ol' exercise machine. I think I'm still in recovery from Saturday night. Yesterday I had one of those Sundays flooded with vague paranoia. You know, "Did I say anything stupid last night?" "Where's that bruise from?" "Shit, don't tell me I ate all that cheese!"

Eh...screw it. Here's a special VD egg 'n' cheese biscuit to enjoy:

Live Ones Tomorrow, Turks, Carbonas Next Week

When it pains it roars, folks. There's a torrent of rock 'n' roll comin' our way in the next couple weeks. Tomorrow night, I'm hittin' CB's (blech) for my fave local band, The Live Ones. I haven't seen 'em for probably almost two months ago at this point, so I'm ready for my fix.

Next up, the almighty New Bomb Turks will be stormin' Brooklyn's hipster joint, Union Pool next Sunday. They're playin' with a great local band, Crimson Sweet, so I'm pretty psyched for that bill. The Turks are among my all time favorite bands and I figure it's been a couple years since I caught them last. Rumors had circulated about a break up and I can't remember if they ever made anything official or not, but either way, they're back. It probably doesn't hurt that Eric, the lead singer, moved to Brooklyn recently.

That following Friday it's the Carbonas with Some Action, a cool NYC band. I dig the Carbonas a lot, so this oughtta be a good gig, too. It's at Trash bar, a not so bad spot in Brooklyn -- they've got some cheesy-good hard rock and metal on the juke and serve up tater tots at the bar. The last time I went there I was kinda pissed though. We caught the last half of a Spits show and they were forced to end the show for some lame karaoke event that nobody showed up for. GYP! Speaking of the Spits, I finally watched their DVD last week while drunk for no good reason on a Tuesday night. It was really funny, but I definitely recommend watching it whilst f'd up....

Hammond It Up

I'm groovin' to the sounds of Jimmy Smith in honor of all he did for the Hammond B3. Sad to know he's gone, but his recent passing reminded me to dig out the gem he recorded with Wes Montgomery, Jimmy & Wes The Dynamic Duo, and slap it on the ol' Punk Rock Kitchen playah. Great shit. Oops...gotta go flip the record....