I Like It!

Strange Boys new lp is HOT. The Tuna says 4 our of 5 stars (****/*****). Check it out!

Sunday is FUN-Day

Check it out:

1. KUSF Rock N Swap: Sunday March 8th
OPEN TO THE PUBLIC- Regular Admission: (10-3) is $3- University of San Francisco students get in FREE! Early Bird Shopping Special: (6am-10a) is $20.00 (includes bagels and coffee) Location: McLaren Hall on the University of San Francisco campus...

followed by....

Barclay's Beer Bash March 8th
Brad knows the details but there is some event going on involving specials and great brew. Oh, and I checked. Barclay's still serves deep fried pickles.

Get your geek on! Purchase a deeply discounted Japanese Lyres lp on pink vinyl and then brag with your socially challenged friends, while sipping a cold one.

Do it, nerd!

The King is Back! Long Live the King!

Dex and his sis have a new record out, which is grounds for huge excitement around these parts, if only to signal the possibility of another tour and to suggest the man's relative good health. One never knows. Big Sis Sara was the drummer for Let's Active and Snatches of Pink, and if memory serves the love interest in the Replacements' song, "Left of the Dial," so put that in the gee whiz file. Oh, and buy the damn record. Nobody does it better than Dex.

Richard Yates Loves the Suburbs, Too

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT

No matter how many of your stupid friends tell you the best ribs are on some corner of San Pablo Ave., they are fucking wrong. Those folks are the equivalent of music fans convinced that no blues played after the war is authentic, or that a gig at The Omni (can't we pool funds and bring this place back?) is a sellout to true metal.

The best bbq is in Lafayette, CA. Accept this fact. Bo's is the winner. Pricey, yes, but the king of tenderness and understanding. I know the suburbs suck the vibe out of your ambience needs, but put on dark glasses and join me for some fine eats.

I think we should book a lunch for March 21, the first day of spring, and put a little hope in our bellies.

You won't have Leah Garchick to kick around anymore...

Troubled San Francisco paper in danger of closing

Tuesday February 24, 6:16 pm ET

San Francisco Chronicle to be sold or closed if owner can't lower expenses dramatically
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- The owner of the San Francisco Chronicle will sell or close the daily newspaper if it can't dramatically lower expenses within the next few months.
The Hearst Corp., which owns northern California's largest daily newspaper, didn't specify a savings target in Tuesday's grim announcement. But the New York-based company said the cost cutting will require significant layoffs.

After years of struggles, the San Francisco newspaper's troubles have worsened amid the longest recession since the early 1980s. Hearst said the Chronicle lost $50 million last year and is hemorrhaging even more money so far this year.
Several other struggling newspapers around the country are also on the sales block, have filed for bankruptcy or are facing a possible shutdown.

Strong.

There is a new sherriff in Tinseltown.

The Catatonics - South Bend, IN circa 1995

I recently took the time to revisit the experience of forming my first band, The Catatonics, back in 1995. My friend Ted has been chronicling the South Bend, IN "scene" that spawned Ted Leo and Sweep the Leg Johnny and the many, many bands that were supporting castmembers. Here is my contribution, which I hope you will find entertaining even if you don't know any of the personalities or other bands involved:

Ted has been asking me to write the story of the Catatonics since before he started South Bend Power 90s. Of course, I can see why. We were fucking awesome but there are probably only about 10 people who even remember we existed. I am tickled these songs are going to be up on the site and want to thank Ted for giving me the opportunity to spew about the Catatonics experience:

I came to the Midwest from sunny Oceanside, CA. In retrospect going to Notre Dame was a dumb idea, but I was also a Republican at 17 years old when I made the decision so there you go. I brought my skateboard with me and though I was not very good at riding it I quickly fell in with the 3 other people (on a campus of 8,000 undergraduates) who owned skateboards and we were very excited to know each other. Andy Yang, who faithful SBP90s readers will recognize as the distinctive presence behind the $90 drum kit on Obstruction and the Go-Lightly's recordings, was one of the other skateboarders. He was also from Southern California and like myself had come of age with a hackneyed So Cal jockpunk soundtrack. These early freshman days were really awkward. I actually considered myself straightedge when I hit campus and was making a concerted effort to enjoy that unlistenable strain of hardcore. Andy and I were both sort of confused, but we knew we loved punk rock and oldies and we found ourselves in an uptight Catholic Midwestern private school environment very dissimilar to what we had grown up used to. My reaction was to be sort of a lame provocateur.

The rest of the story, with photos and our entire 6 song discography available to download, is here:

http://southbendpower90s.blogspot.com/