Weekend Picks! What's Worth Watching and Where!

Hola San Diego, Im sitting here on a train going to London.  I was absent last week due to SXSW (review to come soon).  I decided to take a small week and a half trip to Scotland to visit family and have a little bit of me time.  When your a workaholic, tension builds within your head.  Leaving the city, state or in my case the country is the best thing to do sometimes.  Yes right now im siting down getting ready for this train to leave Aberdeen, Scotland and take me to London, England.  Don't worry San Diego I will be back next week in time for some great shows including Gram Rabbit and Blackout Party.  I am also still looking out for you as in what shows to go to. 


Ladies and Gents I give you the Pick of the Weekend!  (Remember I am there in spirit.) 


March 25th
Weatherbox w/ Italian Japanese @ Bar Pink
Dying to wake/Arms Entwined / Rock Paper Tiger @ Ruby Room
Heart Fall Hearts,Tumbledown(Mike Herrera MXPX),The Brandy Alexander Band @ Radio Room
Otis Heat, Starcrossed, The Morning on Fire @ Soda Bar




March 26th
The Morning Benders , Miniature Tigers , We Barbarians @ Casbah
Surfer Blood, Turbo Fruits, Lanterns @ Bar Pink
The Fleshies, Stones at Heart, Street Eaters, Tubers@ Soda Bar
The Donkeys, Space Nature @ Tin Can Ale House

March 27th
The Dabbers, The Hot Moon, Sunday Times@ Tin Can Ale House
CKY, Year Long Disaster, Warner Drive@ Casbah

Reverend Mothers, Cidro Punks, La Corde@ Soda Bar

Four Minutes Til Midnight / Fight From Above (LA)/Cat party(LA) @ Ruby Room

March 28th

Fever Sleeves , Helen Earth Band , The Tall Ships, Greg Gibson @ Casbah

JEFF The Brotherhood w/Splinters @ Bar Pink

I will keep you all updated on more shows to come.  Hope you can all make it to these shows although I will be there in spirit, I will see you all when I return. 

Limbs and Treasure

The Mashtis  might be the next best thing to come out of this era.  Not just saying that because CityBeat announced it during their "Great Demo Issue of 2010."   Prior to the demo  issue coming out, I had the album in my hand.  They were "pick of the weekend" many times for this blog.  Now it is time for my review of their self title album to be released!  


If you think their name looks familiar, it may be due to the fact that they were named after LA's famous Mashti Malone's Ice Cream shop located at La Brea Ave.  Only a year together and The Mashtis have been sprinkling their fairy dust into everyones ear for something new and creative on the scene.  This is not your hard heavy rock band.  Not a pop-rock-clap-your-hands and tap your feet band.  Not something that you would hear out of the ordinary.  It is best described as a dreamy jangly almost Pixie style band.  Influences such as Pavement and Sonic Youth are very much heard in their music. 


From the moment you press play on your cd player, your automatically hooked.  Their catchy dreamy tunes could be called rockn' roll hymns.  If there truly existed a church of rockn' roll, you would see "Limbs and Treasure," " Harmony Circles," and "Sympathetic Pearl" some where in the one million page book of hymns.  It may also have to do with intertwining male-female harmonies and evocative, almost cryptic lyrics.  The Mashtis, it's music for all occasions. 

The formation of this stellar three piece band started four years ago when lead vocalist and guitarist Itai Faireman posted a simple craigslist ad looking for people for a drummer to experiment with.  Neal was the only one to respond.  They played a hand full of gigs together before Itai moved back to the east coast.  A year ago Itai moved back to San Diego with a brand new solo album entitled The Sunbed Tapes.  With a quick jingle and jangle of the phone; Neal was invited to the cd release party.  Erica was an addition to the band.  Itai met Erica through a mutual friend and together they formed what is now The Mashtis.  


The recording of this album was done at Chaos Recorders with Christopher Hoffee, master engineer and producer (Truckee Brothers, Robin Henkel, Transfer, White Buffalo, and more). With Hoffee recording the album was both challenging and comfortable in this creative situation.  Due to time restraints the album was recorded in 3 days (15 hours per day mind you).  "I'm very happy with how it came out. We recorded the album live..a snapshot of The Mashtis moment." Itai mentioned when asked about the recording process.  "I'm real pleased."


The CD release is April 10th at the Ruby Room with Black Hondo, Cozy Corners and Joey Harris and the Mentals.  Make sure when your there to grab one of their albums.  

Weekend Picks! Where to go and whats worth watching!

Did you all see it?  The Great Demo Issue.  It came out yesterday.  Yes in one day I read the whole thing. I believe this year all the music contributors decided to be nice to all musicians.  I don't understand why.  The past few demo reviews have been more critical than this years.  Maybe Citybeat was feeling generous.  Well on the bright side of it all the weekend is here.  This weekend I will be posting more than I should.  So be on the look out for quite a few reviews.  


Ladies and Gents The Weekend Picks:


March 12th
Hotel St. George, Riddim Saunter, Softlightes @ Tin Can Ale House
Thee Oh Sees, Baths, So Cow @ Bar Pink
Irradio, The Slants, Silent Scream @ Radio Room
No Bunny, TV Ghost, Stalins of Sound @ Tower Bar
Cave Singers, The Duchess and The Duke, The Moondoggies @ Casbah
Casbah Presents Tim Barry, Possessed By Paul James, John Meeks/Brian Holwerda @ Soda Bar
Dave Howard, Bart Mendoza @ Java Joe's at Cafe Libertalia


March 13th
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, The Whigs @ House of Blues
Little Boots, Dragonette, Class Actress @ Casbah
The Paragraphs, Scarlet Symphony, Apes of Wrath @ Beauty Bar
Lauren DeRose, Sharon Hazel Township, The Dirty Legs, Mermaid @ Ruby Room
Gregory Page @ Java Joe's at Cafe Libertalia
SD: Dialed In Presents The Burning of Rome, Judgement Day, Battlehooch, Boyscout@ Soda Bar


March 14th
Or, The Whale, The Maldives @ Bar Pink
A Sunny Day In Glasgow, Tropical Depression, Primitive Noyes @ Soda Bar
Hunx & His Punkettes, Shannon & The Clam, The Kabbs @ Ken Club
Quasi, Explode Into Colors, Pivot, Little White Teeth@ Casbah


March 15th
Animal Ancestors @ Ruby Room
Mathew Good, Automatic Loveletter @ Casbah
Rum Rebellion, Abject, Brian Congerjo @The Handsome @ Radio Room


Ill see you guys at any of these shows.  BRMC at HOB is giong to be killer and i cant wait for that show alone!  
Beat the Devils Tattoo is such a great album completely recommend that you all get it! 

Weekend Picks. What's worth Seeing and where!

Ah yes the weekend.  It is finally here and of course there are a lot of great shows within the next few days.  To be honest, there are good - great to not so great shows on a nightly basis.  Tonight is the Sounddiego Launch Party.  With performances by Gregory Page, The Silent Comedy, and other.  I'm excited for this as much as I am for Wirepony being member of the day today!  Yes, Fm94.9 played Wirepony's Some  Lighting off their lastest release Wirepony.  

Ladies and Gents the weekend picks! 

March 4

The Clientele, The Wooden Birds, Tropical Depression @ Casbah

The Nervous Wreckords @ Bar Pink

Kevin Martin, Gayle Skidmore, Jackson Price @ Tin Can Ale House

March 5

Michael Klayman Photoshow feat. A Scribe Amidst The Lions, Irradio, The Tractormen, Seesaw Ensemble @ Queen Bee's
The Bloody Hollies (CD Release), Fkenal, The Dead Ghost, Knives! @ Ruby Room

Leslie and The Lys, Christopher The Conquered, Lion Cut @ Casbah

River City, Little Hurricane, The Western Set @ Soda Bar

Christmas Island, Jeans Wilder, Dreamboat @ Tin Can Ale House

The Big Decisions, Ellamae, The Steelwells, Lisa The Lush @ Beauty Bar

March 6

Mike Watt and the Missingmen, Lite, The Hot Moon, Rats Eyes (Atari Lounge) @ Casbah

The Green Stamps, DJs Tony The Tyger & Go-Go Guillermo @ Tower Bar

The Amalgamated, The Revivers, DJ Skarina @ Radio Room

The Rumble: Twin Tigers, Birds & Batteries, Beaters, DJ Mikey Face @ Bar Pink

Mr. Rock Dude with Scarlet Symphony, Drug Wars @ Soda Bar

March 7

The Zeros @ Bar Pink

Sister Crayon, Syndicate @ Beauty Bar

Spero Lumina, Hocus @ Ruby Room

See ya at the shows!