Friday morning we received the awful news that our dear friend Jon Pettis, aka "Baggage", passed away. We met Baggage through our Austin, Texas bastard family of friends and musicians. Baggage played in the insanely talented band, Bankrupt and the Borrowers. Baggage left us before his time was up... but he has left us with fond memories and beautiful music.
We miss you.
We're sorry.
We love you.
Please help Baggage's fiancee, family and friends who lost too much in the fire. Here is the band's official statement...
Bankrupt and the Borrowers official statement:
"As you may or may not know we lost one of our band-mates, Jon Pettis, early Friday morning due to smoke inhalation from a freak electrical fire in his home. His Fiancee along with his good friends and roommates lost everything they owned. We are raising money to get everybody who was displaced back on their feet. At the link below you can make a credit card contribution. If you are in Austin, you can swing by the "Bankrupt House" and make a donation with Cadge. If you want to send a check, send us a message and we will give you the correct address. Remember everything is appreciated and anything helps. Thank you for all the thoughts, love and support we have received."
John Pettis Benefit - Link to Benefit: http://bankruptandtheborrowers.com/c.php?p=349
http://www.myspace.com/bankruptandtheborrowers
http://www.myspace.com/jonpettis
And as Baggage always said, "never go to bed angry"....
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Sunday, October 4, 2009
two cow garage = no bullshit
we've been fortunate to be able to call many of our favorite bands and musicians our friends, and we especially love it when our friends from columbus, ohio come through town. two cow garage is hands down an amazing band composed up of some truly amazing guys. one word is prominent when talking about the two cow boys... integrity. on and off stage they are simply and completly stand-up men.
the boys just came through san francisco this past weekend on their suburban home tour. shane and micah had a one-off from the rest of the tour and i picked them up from the airport before they re-untied with the van for their show at thee parkside. we had several hours to kill and i got to play tour guide as we explored the streets of haight ashbury. of course we hit up amoeba records. shane bought me the ultimate cassette tape for a buck... country meets the nfl circa 1996. no shit. i'm talking brett farve and waylon jennings singing a duet together. horribly awesome. we grubbed down at a hippie cafe and micah even ate vegetables with his dinner. we grabbed a cup of joe and sat on a blanket in the panhandle park and watched the san francisco fog roll in as we discussed the title of one my favorite books, "live for a living" that i lent the two boys. we piled back in my car and headed across town to thee parkside for sound check and to meet up with the van.
per usual, they ripped it up on stage. they always play with such ferocity and soul that you would have to be a dead fish not to have your blood pumping and your feet tapping. i remember a "drunken clarity" of a conversation i had with shane down in l.a. last spring. i was sharing with him how much i appreciated their intensity on stage and how they perform the same in front of a crowd of 10 or 100, and that unfortunately seems more and more rare these days with bands. shane went on to explain how they place a lot of value on what they bring to the stage. if you are going to play, play hard. no bullshit. hence the inspiration for their song, "mediocre". and yet again, those boys played and sang their hearts out in the city by the bay that night.
we're truly looking forward to having these boys back in town sooner than later. and we're also super stoked for micah's new solo record to come out later this month on suburban home records. yet again, the fine gentlemen down in l.a. at thunder clap super genius (http://vimeo.com/tcsg) filmed another fantastic artist performing another fantastic song. this time, it's micah performing, "american static". check it out, and make sure you have all of two cow's records in your collection. an absolute must.
-vanessa jean
www.twocowgarage.com
www.myspace.com/twocowgarage
www.suburbanhomerecords.com
the boys just came through san francisco this past weekend on their suburban home tour. shane and micah had a one-off from the rest of the tour and i picked them up from the airport before they re-untied with the van for their show at thee parkside. we had several hours to kill and i got to play tour guide as we explored the streets of haight ashbury. of course we hit up amoeba records. shane bought me the ultimate cassette tape for a buck... country meets the nfl circa 1996. no shit. i'm talking brett farve and waylon jennings singing a duet together. horribly awesome. we grubbed down at a hippie cafe and micah even ate vegetables with his dinner. we grabbed a cup of joe and sat on a blanket in the panhandle park and watched the san francisco fog roll in as we discussed the title of one my favorite books, "live for a living" that i lent the two boys. we piled back in my car and headed across town to thee parkside for sound check and to meet up with the van.
per usual, they ripped it up on stage. they always play with such ferocity and soul that you would have to be a dead fish not to have your blood pumping and your feet tapping. i remember a "drunken clarity" of a conversation i had with shane down in l.a. last spring. i was sharing with him how much i appreciated their intensity on stage and how they perform the same in front of a crowd of 10 or 100, and that unfortunately seems more and more rare these days with bands. shane went on to explain how they place a lot of value on what they bring to the stage. if you are going to play, play hard. no bullshit. hence the inspiration for their song, "mediocre". and yet again, those boys played and sang their hearts out in the city by the bay that night.
we're truly looking forward to having these boys back in town sooner than later. and we're also super stoked for micah's new solo record to come out later this month on suburban home records. yet again, the fine gentlemen down in l.a. at thunder clap super genius (http://vimeo.com/tcsg) filmed another fantastic artist performing another fantastic song. this time, it's micah performing, "american static". check it out, and make sure you have all of two cow's records in your collection. an absolute must.
-vanessa jean
www.twocowgarage.com
www.myspace.com/twocowgarage
www.suburbanhomerecords.com
Two Cow Garage - "American Static" from TCSG on Vimeo.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Lubricated's Second and a Half Issue + Suburban Home's 14th Birthday!!!
We are proud to annouce that we will be coming out with Lubricated's "Second and a Half" Issue a week from today in Denver in celebration of the kick-ass Suburban Home Records 14th Anniversary of doing what they do so well.
We've got an interview with Virgil, a SH list of their favorite things to do in Denver, artwork by the SH contributing artists, a sweet SH band photo montage, and some words and short stories from some of our homies.
Thanks to our good pal, Lucas Andrews from one of our favorite bands, Anchor Down for supplying us with the sweet cover art!
Patrick, myself, and Bardell will be doing some renegade zine making this weekend that will include over-taking some photo copy machines, folding, staples, beers, and good times.
You can pick up this special one of a kind zine when the three of us arrive to Denver. We'll be in town for the fun and festivities Thursday, September 10- Sunday, September 14. Hope to meet a lot of friends through music while in town!
See ya down the road shortly,
Vanessa Jean
Friday, August 14, 2009
Monday, August 3, 2009
"City Slicker Coconuts" by Charly "the city mouse" Fasano
Play this while you read!!
City Slicker Coconut #3
A Waft of Chicago
As of today I have lived in Chicago, Illinois for exactly one year. Twelve months of walking and riding public transit and I still don’t know where I am going. There are things about this city that I have gotten used to and a lot I never will. I’ve gotten used to all the people everywhere all the time and that I will have to wait in line to do just about anything. I have come to terms with the fact that every time I leave my house twenty dollars seems to spend itself.
All the sirens in Chicago seem to head west. Lights of all kinds are always on or flashing in a city like this. I assume there are still stars in the sky, but I haven’t seen them for months. The birds can’t tell if it’s day or night so they sing all the time.
I will never get used to the smell of piss. Every town has a smell on the scratch and sniff card of important places and locations: Denver smells like dog food and exhaust, New York smells like a touring band’s van, Chicago smells like urine.
I try not to touch anything. I am still getting over the fact that I shared a train car with a dead man: Just me and him. Other than the smell of death and the puddle of liquid crawling up and down the aisle, I thought it a bit weird that there weren’t more commuters in the car during rush hour. Usually, it is hip to hip trench coats, ipods and stressed out faces. He rocked back and forth between stops. I stopped breathing, stomach churning. At each stop the doors would open and people stepped in off the platform, smelled and gagged , looked at me then looked at the man, exited and crammed into another car. Nobody cared, because they were making really good time getting home that night. I told a worker near the stairs and the turnstiles that there might be a dead guy on the Blue Line tonight. He pulled up on his utility belt, looked down at his walkie-talkie and said, “There always is . . .”
City Slicker Coconut #3
A Waft of Chicago
As of today I have lived in Chicago, Illinois for exactly one year. Twelve months of walking and riding public transit and I still don’t know where I am going. There are things about this city that I have gotten used to and a lot I never will. I’ve gotten used to all the people everywhere all the time and that I will have to wait in line to do just about anything. I have come to terms with the fact that every time I leave my house twenty dollars seems to spend itself.
All the sirens in Chicago seem to head west. Lights of all kinds are always on or flashing in a city like this. I assume there are still stars in the sky, but I haven’t seen them for months. The birds can’t tell if it’s day or night so they sing all the time.
I will never get used to the smell of piss. Every town has a smell on the scratch and sniff card of important places and locations: Denver smells like dog food and exhaust, New York smells like a touring band’s van, Chicago smells like urine.
I try not to touch anything. I am still getting over the fact that I shared a train car with a dead man: Just me and him. Other than the smell of death and the puddle of liquid crawling up and down the aisle, I thought it a bit weird that there weren’t more commuters in the car during rush hour. Usually, it is hip to hip trench coats, ipods and stressed out faces. He rocked back and forth between stops. I stopped breathing, stomach churning. At each stop the doors would open and people stepped in off the platform, smelled and gagged , looked at me then looked at the man, exited and crammed into another car. Nobody cared, because they were making really good time getting home that night. I told a worker near the stairs and the turnstiles that there might be a dead guy on the Blue Line tonight. He pulled up on his utility belt, looked down at his walkie-talkie and said, “There always is . . .”
Thursday, July 16, 2009
City Slicker Coconuts by Charly "the city mouse" Fasano
My life is full of a lot of coconuts. They are ideas, people, parades, history, songs, poems, social issues, meals and pulp happenstance I can’t break open with my bare hands. They pose the questions: what were they thinking, how did they do that and who do they think they are? "City Slicker Coconuts" is a weekly search and examination through stories and instant photos of life as it happens inside and outside of my coconut.
Click on play on the player and listen to the "City Slicker Coconut" theme tune by woMANgione while you read. We all need a soundtrack!
Coconut #1
Ever try to open a coconut? I went to the grocery store and just when I thought I grabbed everything I needed for the week, I saw a pile of coconuts.
“Wow! A fresh coconut that should be swell.”
When I got home I realized that I didn’t know how to break open a coconut. I turned on the television and watched a guy on a re-run of Hawaii 5-0 whack at a coconut with a machete, pop off the top with one even swing and tilt it back for a soothing swallow of coconut milk.
“Oh, shit. That looks easy,” I said to myself, “I don’t even need to put my pants on to do something like that.”
Whoops . . . I don’t have a machete.
I went outside and grabbed a piece of the porch steps that broke off during the flexing temperatures of the Chicago pre-spring thaw.
I took the small but sharp piece of concrete and hacked at the coconut. Through all of my curses, a bloody finger and the violent scene I made in front of the neighbors (and the mail lady), I only made a couple of dents.
I gave up and went inside. While I tended to the small wound on my knuckle, I heard my neighbor walk into his apartment and slam the door. I heard his back-pack hit the floor. He started pacing around and screaming about something. I imagined that he may have been going through the same thing as me. He had his own coconuts to deal with. . .
a man and the last 2 cans in the kitchen
chicken broth and kidney beans
he doesn’t have a can opener
his bare hands and a couple of metal coconuts
he grabs his tools
he’s going to break into dinner with a hammer, screw driver and Kung Fu action grip.
11 minutes of stab and smash
it’s calm now
a pot boils
he stirs kidney beans and chicken flavored water with a plastic spork
Click on play on the player and listen to the "City Slicker Coconut" theme tune by woMANgione while you read. We all need a soundtrack!
Coconut #1
Ever try to open a coconut? I went to the grocery store and just when I thought I grabbed everything I needed for the week, I saw a pile of coconuts.
“Wow! A fresh coconut that should be swell.”
When I got home I realized that I didn’t know how to break open a coconut. I turned on the television and watched a guy on a re-run of Hawaii 5-0 whack at a coconut with a machete, pop off the top with one even swing and tilt it back for a soothing swallow of coconut milk.
“Oh, shit. That looks easy,” I said to myself, “I don’t even need to put my pants on to do something like that.”
Whoops . . . I don’t have a machete.
I went outside and grabbed a piece of the porch steps that broke off during the flexing temperatures of the Chicago pre-spring thaw.
I took the small but sharp piece of concrete and hacked at the coconut. Through all of my curses, a bloody finger and the violent scene I made in front of the neighbors (and the mail lady), I only made a couple of dents.
I gave up and went inside. While I tended to the small wound on my knuckle, I heard my neighbor walk into his apartment and slam the door. I heard his back-pack hit the floor. He started pacing around and screaming about something. I imagined that he may have been going through the same thing as me. He had his own coconuts to deal with. . .
a man and the last 2 cans in the kitchen
chicken broth and kidney beans
he doesn’t have a can opener
his bare hands and a couple of metal coconuts
he grabs his tools
he’s going to break into dinner with a hammer, screw driver and Kung Fu action grip.
11 minutes of stab and smash
it’s calm now
a pot boils
he stirs kidney beans and chicken flavored water with a plastic spork
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
What do ya get when you throw 9 sweaty friends into a van in California?
A fuckin' good time!!!
On the road with some of our most favorite buddies to rock this earth - In The Red (Carpinteria, CA) and Anchor Down (PDX, OR).
From San Jose to Yuba City, to Sacramento to Martinez, and finally San Francisco. Penske moving trucks and vans, farm houses and California's biggest Oak tree, sunrises and bloody marys, Walmarts and ninja shoes, Kevin Seconds and zombie painted alleys, beers all day and whore baths in sprinklers, late night drives and In 'n out Burgers, sleeping bags and snore'chestras, homemade breakfast and "East Bound And Down", to San Francisco Mission burritos and g'byes.
We had one of the best weekends with our friends and I am having one helluva time adjusting back to "normal" life.
These guys have another week and some change on the road and you should definitely check them out. Buy 'em a beer so they can sleep soundly and buy some of their merch so they can fill up their gas tank. They're also on tour with The Bastards of Young (Sacramento, CA) who bring the rock as well. Get down.
Cheers,
Vanesas Jean
7/16/2009 Portland, OR @ Ash st. Saloon
7/17/2009 Seattle, WA @ Squid and Ink
7/18/2009 Bellingham, WA @ The Ground Floor
7/19/2009 Seattle, WA @ The Bit Lounge
7/20/2009 Spokane, WA @ Cretin Hop
7/21/2009 Missoula, MT @ Palace Lounge
7/22/2009 Boise, ID @ Gusto’s
7/23/2009 Salt Lake City, UT @ Taylorsville House
7/24/2009 Colorado Springs, CO @ Triple Nickel Tavern
7/25/2009 Denver, CO @ Thrifty Stick Stage at Denver Post Underground Music Showcase
Anchor Down.
Mike Hale and Kevin Seconds.
Mike, Matt and Lubricated Zine's Pat lovin' on the biggest Oak tree in California
Mike, Vanessa Jean, and Arman sweatin' it out.
Matt Glasgow... the world's tallest drummer.
On the road with some of our most favorite buddies to rock this earth - In The Red (Carpinteria, CA) and Anchor Down (PDX, OR).
From San Jose to Yuba City, to Sacramento to Martinez, and finally San Francisco. Penske moving trucks and vans, farm houses and California's biggest Oak tree, sunrises and bloody marys, Walmarts and ninja shoes, Kevin Seconds and zombie painted alleys, beers all day and whore baths in sprinklers, late night drives and In 'n out Burgers, sleeping bags and snore'chestras, homemade breakfast and "East Bound And Down", to San Francisco Mission burritos and g'byes.
We had one of the best weekends with our friends and I am having one helluva time adjusting back to "normal" life.
These guys have another week and some change on the road and you should definitely check them out. Buy 'em a beer so they can sleep soundly and buy some of their merch so they can fill up their gas tank. They're also on tour with The Bastards of Young (Sacramento, CA) who bring the rock as well. Get down.
Cheers,
Vanesas Jean
7/16/2009 Portland, OR @ Ash st. Saloon
7/17/2009 Seattle, WA @ Squid and Ink
7/18/2009 Bellingham, WA @ The Ground Floor
7/19/2009 Seattle, WA @ The Bit Lounge
7/20/2009 Spokane, WA @ Cretin Hop
7/21/2009 Missoula, MT @ Palace Lounge
7/22/2009 Boise, ID @ Gusto’s
7/23/2009 Salt Lake City, UT @ Taylorsville House
7/24/2009 Colorado Springs, CO @ Triple Nickel Tavern
7/25/2009 Denver, CO @ Thrifty Stick Stage at Denver Post Underground Music Showcase
Anchor Down.
Mike Hale and Kevin Seconds.
Mike, Matt and Lubricated Zine's Pat lovin' on the biggest Oak tree in California
Mike, Vanessa Jean, and Arman sweatin' it out.
Matt Glasgow... the world's tallest drummer.
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