Twitter me this...

Yes the age of technology has taken over. As one who boycotts technology as much as I can; I gave in. I started twittering. Don't worry I wont update every 3 minutes. Since I dont have that much time to be on the phone and on the computer. However, as much as I possibly can I will try to let you know where the happening show is located.

To follow me on Twitter just click here ....

thats all.... back to your regular schedule program!

Tonight is the Yesterday Magazine Launch Party! Featuring:
Get Back Loretta / Crash Encore / The Silent Comedy / Burning of Rome / Austin James Band / Long Live Logos- 6 Bands! Starts at 9pm sharp! @ Ruby Room

Come on down for some awesome music, drink specials and of course me !!!

If not my second choice would be Manuok @ Tin Can Ale House.

Lets Tighten It Up!

With tribute bands always forming, its hard to say which one is good and which one isn't. When it comes to soul and funk you can always count on The Tighten Ups to deliver the goods! Lead Singer Laura Jane has pipes like no other front woman in San Diego. Lets not get this mixed up with cover band Lady Dottie and the Diamonds. Those Kats have a genre of their own.

The Tighten Ups is a band of transforming your classic soul songs into something of their own. With a few originals, this band can tear up the club. Playing gigs from North County to the South Bay. East County all the way back to Casbah. There is no stopping them. This year they were nominated for Best Cover or Tribute Band for the 2009 San Diego Music Awards. The SDMA will be held at the Viejas Concerts in the Park Sept 10th.

The Tighten Ups formed in the fall of '07 as Tell Mama, playing their first gig was The Tower Bar. Amazing place for the band to start off. From there they changed their name to The Tighten Ups and has been climbing the music ladder and enjoying every step of the way! The line up started up with Laura Jane on pips, Jerry on Bass, Topher on Sax, Bob on trumpet. With guest drummers always popping in and out such as Morgan Young, Jake Najor, Andy Robillard, and T-bone. The Tighten Ups have finally found a drummer that fits their niche RS. As well as constantly looking for drummers, a guitarist was in hand. Gabe was a perfect mesh for this band. As for the final touch to this great band, a trombone player. This band was set to conquer the scene one funk and soul show at a time.

Songs covered range from Elvis Presley, Otis Redding, Etta James and many many artist from the past! I hope you didnt forget to vote The Tighten Ups SDMA!!

Check out The Tighten Ups on Sept 11 @ Ruby Room show starts at 9pm!

Shows you should NOT miss Aug 15-Aug 31

Mid -August is here. Does this mean the summer is almost over? Maybe. However, the great shows wont stop. The on going music festivals were amazing. NPMT, CHMT, City Fest, and of course more to come! Don't forget that Street Scene and Adams Ave. Street Fair is right around the corner. From now on the nights will only get hot and sticky. So I recommend grabbing a great beer with great friends,because this can only get better; right? Right! To prove it here is a list of great shows to check out the next following weeks.

Aug 15

• Little White Teeth / Greg Gibson CD release / Roll Film @ Ruby Room
• Faraway Boys, The Red Devil Squadron, French Kiss Koma @ The Radio Room
• Japanese Motors, Apes of Wrath, Gestapo Khazi @ Soda Bar
• High on Fire, Earthless, Early Man@ Casbah

Aug 16th

• Pissed Jeans, Rats Eyes, Bumbklaat@ Casbah
• Desert Heir, Random Orbits(WA @ The Radio Room
• DUBSTEP w/ Cloak and Dagger, Jason, and more @ Ruby Room

Aug 17

• The Tighten Ups @ Ruby Room
• The Styletones @ Bar Pink
• Prima Donna, The Boats!(Sacramento), The Pranks, The Glossiness @ The Radio Room
• Mkng Frndz, Partyline, Shebeast@ Soda Bar

Aug 18

• Christmas Island, Fergus & Geronimo, Teenage Cool Kids @ Soda Bar
• The Secret Seven, The Lonely H, Charles Musket @ Casbah

Aug 19th

• Matt Vasquez of Delta Spirit, The Romany Rye and guests @ Casbah
• NOBODY WAVE, PRETEND, VOLTS, LANTERNS @ Radio Room
• Secret Show! Headliner Announced Night Of Event @ Ruby Room

Aug 20

• Sic Waiting, Save Amos, Black Sails Western Shores(Bakersfield @ The Radio Room
• As Tall As Lions, Lanterns and The Color Of Glass@ Casbah

Aug 21

• Powerchords (7" release), Atoms, Casey and Brian@ Soda Bar
• Yesterday Magazine Launch Party! Featuring:
• Get Back Loretta / Crash Encore / The Silent Comedy / Burning of Rome / Austin James Band / Long Live Logos- 6 Bands! Starts at 9pm sharp! @ Ruby Room (<- ill be there)
• Days Of Anomie, Synesthetic, Someday Assassin, Leisuresuit @ The Radio Room

Aug 22

• Zeros, The Dabbers, The Old In Out (ill be selling Zero’s Merch Come say hello)
• Tijuana Panthers @ Soda Bar
• Ramona Falls w/ Silver Darling@ Bar Pink
• Mexico City Rollers, The Old In Out, Apes of Wrath @ Tower Bar

Aug 23 Only ***One Show Matters This Night**

• Goin' Fishin' - a fundraiser for Mark Johnson - Steve Poltz and the Cynics, MEX, Midnight Rivals, a.m.vibe, Black Hondo + Bartenders Bible in the Atari Lounge + DJ Gary Shuffler, El Torito y mas!!!

Aug 24

• Echo Revolution, The New Up, Jalopy Gods @ Radio Room
• Anti Monday League Presents Built to Spill, The Prids and guests @ Casbah SOLD OUT!!!

Aug 25

• QQC, THE PRIDS, BESTIAL MOUTHS @ Radio Room
• Six Organs of Admittance, Master Musicians of Bukake@ Casbah

Aug 26

• aces & eights(boise), danger stranger(anaheim), bust(chicago), nuclear tomorrow@ Radio Room
• The Dirtbombs, The Sermon, The Death Eaters@ Casbah

Aug 27

• Mannequin Men w/ Davila 666, and Slab City @ Bar Pink
• The Warlocks, The Morning After Girls, Gliss @ Casbah

Aug 28

• Cash'd Out, Bill Cardinal @ Casbah
• Normandie @ Bar Pink

Aug 29

• Offical Street Scene After Party - No Age, Crocodiles, Wavves, PENS, Grafitti Island @ Casbah
• Sunday Times, Big Whup @ Soda Bar
• F.U.Z.Z. CD Release Party + guests TBA @ Ruby Room

Aug 30th

• The Box Elders w/ The Anasazis@ Bar Pink
• Ronnie No Good, Unruly Bangs, Good Morning Valentine @ Soda Bar
• CHEWING PICS!, NEIGHBORHOOD BULLYS,@ Radio Room
• The Local 94/9 Presents A FREE SHOW - LIVE broadcast of The Local 94/9, Free food from Lucha Libre Taco Shop - The Gift/Curse, Mutantspaceboy, John Meeks @ Casbah

Aug 31

• Anti Monday League Presents Gary Wilson, James Pants, Ikah Love @ Casbah

check your local listing for change of schedule.

Music Things?

Last year it NPMT was called NxNP. Due to the similarities to SxSW the name had to be changed. What is NPMT you ask. It is a full weekend event that started at the Casbah and ended at The Casbah. It is 3 days of music, 2 days of conference where you get to learn about the music business through panel discussions , and a morning trade show. The money made during the NPMT benefits the San Diego Music Foundation.

I only did two and a half days. Started off with the kick off show at Casbah last night with Thin Man and Midnight Rivals. Which was an absolutely fabulous show thanks to Thin Man and the San Diego Super band that is Midnight Rivals. Followed by a late show of Static Static, Gram Rabbit, and Quintron and Miss Pussycat.

Waking up early in the morning on Saturday to make it towards Lafayette Hotel. The "trade show" (it was really more like 5 booths) was very informal. Taylor guitars, City beat, Piratepods.com, Ego ID Media, IAmHype.com and a few more. The first panel I went to was "Publicity and Promotion: Creating The Buzz " with panelist: Seth Combs, Amanda Kagen, Albert Ching and Wendy Bryford-Jones. This q & a's were good, if you were in a band that didn't know how to self promote. Combs kept cracking jokes here and there to keep us from killing ourselves with boredom. Like I said, the panels are for bands and people who are interested in getting into the music business who do not know what their doing. Maybe some promoters around town should have gone to this. I did see a good amount of people from bands members, promoters, writers and so on and so forth.

Following the last panel I walked into "The Big Gig: Playing Live." The panelist included Tim Mays, Andrew McKeag and Rob Hagey. I went in thinking I was going to learn something about booking shows. I've worked as a promoter so I knew a good amount for booking shows. However, if people would go to websites and check out FAQ; I am pretty sure the questions asked would have been more thought out thoroughly.

After going to about 2 more panels, I realized i didnt have to be there. The panelist were either bullshiting their answers for lack of preparation or not giving a logical response that might help the people asking the questions. I left after the "Indie Label Music" panel.

If you think the panels where a headache. Do not forget about the 200 acts in 20 stages. That alone was something to be stressed about. Best suggestion is to either find one bar and camp out there the whole night or run around like a chicken with your heads cut off trying to make it to see every band on your agenda. I did something better. I avoided the night. Instead Tower Bar was having their own music thing with Beaters (a NPMT artist) and Thin Man. You know where I was that night. Main reason the 2oo acts around NP didnt tickle my fancy was the fact that the majority of those bands where playing with in days of NPMT for either free of 5 bucks. I saw about 10 of those artist with in that week. Trust me I don't want to see 200 acts in less than 6 hours.

I learned my lesson last year when walking all over NP drinking and smoking and show after show after show. A headache to be avoided.

Sunday again back to the panels. This time I skipped it. Went to the Musicfest out doors. Checked out some bands. Then realized again. In three months im going to see EL Vez. Night Marchers are playing the Casbah soon. I understand this was an all ages event, however the majority of the people there were obviously over 21. Most people wondered into Livewire for drinks and shade. While there I was able to talk to the guys from Mr Tube and the Flying Objects, Scott Mercado, Steve Rodriguez from The Dragons and many more. It seemed as though Livewire was the Green Room for all the bands to relax after a long day in the sun.

A few beers deep and away I went. If this night was going to continue; a quick nap was in the works. Following the nap. I went towards downtown for their Cityfest. Saw a few bands then quickly went to Casbah for the end to a semi perfect weekend. Lights On, Apes of Wrath and The Growlers. All great bands, expect to see a few posting of these bands.

After the Growlers played it was the end of a very long weekend.

So a quick RECAP - NPMT - great idea; money goes into a great cause, however the panels need to be more thought out. The questions should be filtered or only go if you really do not know about the music industry.
NPMT Showcase - That should be spread out between the entire week prior to the big outdoor music festival.

City Heights Music Thing - FOR THE WIN! it was fun!

Amateur Hours at the Clubs!

Dear Venues.

Sunday was a disgrace on poor venue booking and managing. Are we fifteen all over again? Did you forget to check the other venues, to see who else was playing? It is not smart to book bands with a similar following. The same group of twenty has to be split between three venues. I feel as though you might need to refer to your Booking Shows 101 manual before continuing the summer festivals. Thank You for reading this

RRLNSG~
Bullet McKenzie


Seriously speaking what a poor cluster fuck of shows at the Ruby Room, Radio Room, and Soda Bar. Ruby Room and Soda Bar double booked the same bands. Who's fault was it? The Bands! (at Ruby and Soda Bar) It was amateur hour all over again. At Soda Bar the lineup was BRAAIINS!!, Nightmares, Pipsqueak, ULTRATWIST. Now the lineup at Ruby Room was Volts, ULTRATWIST, Pipsqueak. Whats wrong with this lineup? On both sides?

Turns out Soda Bar knew about this mix up, and had told the bands to play Ruby Room. When i should up at Ruby Room, half of the bands where there and the other half were at Soda Bar. Braaiins wanted Ultratwist and pipsqueak to play with them. Bad Braaiins.... This over compensation of what could of been a good band years ago is dictating where out of town touring acts should play once venues have booked them else where?

Dear Soda Bar get your shit together. So Far you have been doing well with shows. However one fuck up is not a good thing. Especially because you dont know who is walking into your venue to check out what all this confusing is all about. Ruby Room, decide to just say "Fuck it." they have such great shows coming up anyways. One Sunday with out music is not a bad thing.


Dear Radio Room,
Your Reputation as a venue is slowly dwindling in a downward spiral. I had to leave because it hurt so much to see the lack of people. Over hearing people mention "Sausage Fest." As much as I wanted to support the bands, so I stayed for over 2 hours. Did you really have to start a Sunday show at 10pm? ON A SUNDAY? What kind of RETARD starts a how at 10pm? Having the last band play at MIDNIGHT!? ON A SUNDAY?

Please do something to enlighten my senses when I am at your venue. From the hearsay around town with bands. They are not wanting to play there any more. OH NO! what will you do with the lack of people, and lack of bands? Will Radio Room be another venue gone under? I might have to even remove you from my blogging... However you still have some good shows coming up. Please do me a favor and refer to your Booking Shows 101 Manual again before booking another Sunday show like this past one.

Thanks For Reading
RRNLSG~
Bullet McKenzie