RICHMOND GIRLS VS BRAZILIAN GIRLS

man, i've been pretty boring as of late. no posts. well, i have to excuse myself a little bit. i've been busting my ass for this show that i curated and have been working on for almost a year. it's been a bit of logistical nightmare (a show of street artists, half of them international? yeah, i was askin' for it), and it's far from over yet. however it has landed me back in cleveland (hometown) for a bit. it's always nice to be back surrounded by trees and little furry animals again.

however, i made a slight (and irresponsible) detour on my nyc --> cleveland trip. . . to richmond virginia. very much not on the way, i know. but definitely worth it to get to hang out with The Cut Throats for a bit. amazingly enthusiastic and really nice kids, i was as impressed as i was shy and awkward. richmond, by the way, has a strange beauty to it that i have rarely seen elsewhere. or at least the tiny little section i saw did, anyway. also got to witness first-hand a mild race riot of drunken college-age kids in the streets. if only i'd gotten a shot of the one kid who walked past me with the brick in his hand. . . oh well, i suck. forgot all about it when i got to the slippery-as-hell-floor dance party at the hollywood grill. too bad i missed out on skinny-dipping rope swing adventures, fall came just one day too early.

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MP3:

dammit i am tired. just trust me on this one, okay? electro-dance-punk-pop, more info here. and look ma, i'm on myspace!

• Mommy & Daddy - Confection


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TIPPIN' YOUR HAT TILL DOOMSDAY

i've been tellin' ya, and tellin' ya, and tellin' ya. Black Label Bicycle Club is the shit. see why here (just ignore the parts with too much Tony).

and now that you are in the mood to ride some bikes to your doom, here's the perfect opportunity:

The CutThroats Bring it!
CIRCUS MAXIMUS.
Roman Gladiator Bicycle battle. Blood, Guts, Beer, Lions, Tigers, Chariot Races, Tall Bike Jousts, Fun as shit. People are coming from all over the country for this shit. Partys everywhere after.
SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 24th. Belle Isle 3PM. Richmond, VA
FREE

Sprint Club RVA (GO FAST TURN LEFT)
Southside Speedway TRACK RACING!! Honestly if you haven't seen track racing in richmond, this is the time to come out. Hot dudes on bikes. Beer. Rednecks. Anything goes. $1400 PAYOFF. Put your fuckin money where your mouth is you party bagging fuckers. FREE for attendees, nominal fee for racers. Must have drop bars, track ends, and bar plugs. Also you need a jersey or t shirt with sleeves. Witness the return of team cannabis, GRCD, Team Awesome, PBR Street Gang, and many many other vicious cyclists.
SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 25th.

to take chinatown down there is $60 roundtrip. totally worth it.

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MP3:

oh sweet lord above. not-so-serious german industrial covering Beck. goddamn i LOVE this sh*t. click below to download a bunch of other tracks from Kompressor In Action. i'm particularly fond of his covers of Antonio Carlos Jobim and REM.

• Kompressor In Action - Want To Get With You


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VICTORY COMES IN YOUR SLEEP

no japan photos yet, sorry. . .

i've been ridiculously busy getting a photo ready for this art show as part of The Bicycle Film Festival in San Fran. if you live out there, you should go. . . you won't be disappointed (gonna have some Swoon action goin' on too). *UPDATE: i was just informed that Amaze and Barry McGee just signed on to contribute work as well. see, i told you that you wouldn't be disappointed.

and just as i am trying to settle down and be glad to be back in the US, this guy reminds me why i left in the first place. and he's not even american. [windows media file]

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MP3:

sometimes even i like to just chill out. sometimes i don't want to listen to frantic punk rock, booty-shakin' hip-hop, or even some manifestation of the mellow singer-songwriter genre. sometimes i just want some down-tempo dreamy pop that holds it up enough to not leave me with droopin' eyelids. Chris Price delivers just that. the comparisons to such bands as Suicide and The Human League quickly come to mind (especially the latter), but i hardly see that as a detraction. it's enough to keep my foot tapping as i lean back in my rickety "desk chair" (can't complain when your furniture comes from the curbside). sometimes a little synth pop is just what the doctor ordered. oh yeah, and shockingly, he's got a myspace profile.

• Chris Price - Charge Me Up


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GOTTA QUIT TRYING TO TAME THE BEASTS

Von Iva


Federation X


Brownbird Rudy Relic



Fatal Flying Guillotines


Two Gallants


Japanther


The Goddamn Rattlesnake & Poor Boy Johnson feat. Crozier


Bad Wizard


The Redcoats Are Coming


Head Of Femur


some guy doing karaoke


Tunnel Of Love

nothing like a slew of non-CMJ shows to welcome you back to brooklyn. damn it's good to be back, everyone here speaks english! well, some of the time anyway.

oh, and i think i have some work in this show, opening wednesday:

jen bekman is proud to present the latest incarnation of The Pin-Up Show, this time at our new satellite space upstairs from the legendary Fanelli in Soho.

Pin-UPstairs (@ Fanelli)
94 Prince St @ Mercer (buzz #1)

sept 21 - oct 2, 2005
exhibition hours:
thurs - sun | 2pm - 8pm

Opening Reception Wednesday: 6pm-9pm

*There are a limited number of VIP preview appointments available starting Tuesday evening. call 212.219.0166 to book.*

- most everything in the show is $300 and under.

- photos, prints, drawings + paintings and some cool mixed media pieces too.

- the work will be cash/credit +carry: buy a piece of art and bring it home with you that day!

so come check it out and buy a polaroid (there's one with boobs in it).

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MP3:

CMJ, blah blah blah. i hate CMJ. all it means is that you're not going to get to see a bunch of your favorite bands while they are in town, even if you have the $500 pass or whatever. but CMJ usually means a lot of random satellite shows by really good bands you may know nothing about. and that was definitely the case this past weekend. one of the surprise gems was Von Iva from San Fran. a lead singer with enough sexual energy and command of the stage to make Mick Jagger nervous, and a bassist that looks like she got tossed out of pro-wrestling for being too tough. with an unavoidable nod to The Gossip, Von Iva tosses together a solid mix of garage, rock, new wave with a twist of funk. you can dance to it just as much as pump your fist. watch these gals, they gonna be big.

• Von Iva - Same Sad Song


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IF YOU WANT CUTE, PUT A FACE ON IT

so japan, let's see:

- typhoons and being stranded in them
- sleeping on local trains and having to transfer every half hour, for 8 hours at a time
- sleeping in internet cafes
- sacred deer that nip at your crotch
- eating horse
- eating squid ink ice cream
- hanging out with brazilian models
- Manuela (the brazilian tornado), punk bar, marker face tattoos, and vomit
- climbing mt. fuji (never again)
- AMAZING bad-english t-shirts (not the best example)
- vending machines every ten feet
- other foreigners always avoiding eye-contact
- the hip-hop homeless man giving his food to the turtles
- no trash cans anywhere in public
- five different types of trash: cans, paper, pet bottles, burnable, non-burnable
- chicory coffee and beignets at the famous New Orlean's landmark Cafe Du Monde. . . in tokyo
- a love motel in a chirstmas theme, with playful santa statues decorating the outside
- watching old folks playing croquet in a small town while waiting for yet another local train transfer
- rice fields, rivers, and roads
- pretending i only spoke portuguese to a "club promoter" so i wouldn't have to tell him why i didn't want to go into his club
- buying boobs from a vending machine
- the weird ganguro girls
- stores where you can buy anything you never knew you wanted, from high-end designer clothes, to anime girl love dolls (the fancy kind, not inflatable), to Black Man brand underwear with the word RAP across them and a picture of a Fred Durst-looking dude
- chopping the tip of my finger off in a chair in an internet cafe (yes, i did hurt myself in an internet cafe, what about it?)
- white girls dressing up with the costume girls in harajuku
- having my umbrella stolen, in a typhoon
- being popular with the fish market workers because of my tattoo
- constantly getting stared at hard in public because of my tattoo
- dropping in on a kickboxing gym
- trying to figure out how to break in to an outdoor pool
- Manuela singing along with the homeless harmoinca man
- getting threatened by a homeless man in ueno park
- sneaking into the fancy hotel at shibuya crossing
- shopping malls upon shopping malls upon shopping malls
- taking two hours to walk two train stops
- "jumping the turnstiles"
- old ladies hunched at a ninety-degree angle from picking rice
- america town in osaka resembling greenwich village
- women only subway cars
- men so stylish they look like women
- boiling sexual repression in food commercials
- being considered very unattractive by japanese standards
- Manuela helping the drunk businessman passed out in the street
- blisters and torn shoes
- real japanese school girls
- sushi on a conveyor belt
- ordering uni, and regretting it
- my friends landlord, the japanese Marx Brother
- always looking for the cracks in the facade
- being treated well
- the toothless homeless man who made a string toy for the kittens hanging out with him. . . i have never seen a happier person, ever
- eating fast food for the first time in years
- hanging laundry on a serene rooftop at night
- trying to understand a culture based on insecurity and consumerism
- listening to M.I.A., The Arcade Fire, and Sleater-Kinney on the in-flight radio station

oh, and i can't resize photos here. so any pics from japan will have to wait till i am back home (and homeless) in brooklyn.

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MP3:

this is a track from the new album by Cage. as i listened to this, i saw the entire song played out by a combination of a girl i used to know from college, and an ex-girlfriend. it was an odd if not potentially devastating pairing. i think denziens of nyc will especially appreciate this, i certainly do.

• Cage - Scenester


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BACKYARD ATTACK

thursday evening. our own sweet pamela will host an outragious evening of music and memories. i believe someone there will be drinking beer. a couple people might dance. and i will smile. san francisco's own two gallants will be on hand to steal all the women. they are no strangers to the bucktown backyard throwdowns. so come out and help us make them feel at home. oh yeah. they love whiskey as much as i do. yes.

love.
the goddamn rattlesnake

THURSDAY
SEPTEMBER 15TH
8PM SHARP!
PAM'S BACKYARDIUS MADNESSIUS
corner of maujer and union. (enter on union)
williamsburg. brooklyn. ny.

TWO GALLANTS!
(s.f.'s best band. one of my favorites.)

POOR BOY JOHNSON & THE GODDAMN RATTLESNAKE
(brooklyn's only totally naked band.)

ARCADE INFERNO
(florida's 1st punk rock band)

also...

SATURDAY
SEPTEMBER 17TH
10PM
HANK'S SALOON
corner of atlantic and 3rd.
park slope-ish. brooklyn. ny.

BROWNBIRD RUDY RELIC
(nyc's velvet voiced ragtimer.)

POOR BOY JOHNSON & THE GODDAMN RATTLESNAKE
(space men and sea monsters from brooklyn.)

DARREN 'DEICIDE' KRAMER
(rockin' dude blues from jersey)


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MP3:

since this is sucka's site. and we all know that boy digs covers. and since the two gallants are coming to town. and since i love music. i thought to myself "g.d. ...why don't you post a song by the Two Gallants doing a cover of one of your favorite musicians?" and then i thought "yes." and then all these beautiful people came over and gave me gifts and such an said "oh rattlesnake. you are soooo dreamy..." it' true. be sure to check out more music at their site.

• Two Gallants - Dyin' Crapshooters Blues



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BEWARE OF SNAKES

howdy. this here is the infamously handsome g.d. rattlesnake signing on and taking the reins of this world wide web roving caravan while my boy sucka is battling samurai in the hills of japan. think of this post as a great big handshake.
we shall talk again soon.
love.
g.d. rattlesnake
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MP3:

some people are just better than others. it's true. they look better. walk better. sing better. drink better. smell better. they are just better. there are not many of these people walking around. but once in awhile two of them meet. and then they write songs and start a band and put on the best goddamn show you ever done saw. ladies and gentlemen. allow me to proudly introduce. the reverend joseph royale on the voice. the ever beautiful freakout jones on the music. together. being better than you and i. The Lonesome Doves.

• The Lonesome Doves - Rough Day


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YOUNG BLACK MAN FRESH OUT OF HAM

headline taken from "Young Black Males" by Lee Majors (see mp3 post for more info).

okay, if you ever plan on visiting japan. . . don't come during typhoon season. just a suggestion.

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MP3:

this is a track from Lee Majors, a rapper from college park, maryland. i'll let me friend Nick who turned me on to this resurrected-Tupac casiotone-crucifixion fill you in. . .

ok, so I go to the university of maryland and just in case you didn't know, college park has a thriving hip-hop scene. its centered around everybody's favorite fried chicken restaurant: Cluck-U Chicken, where the "million-dollar man" works (formerly-known-as, i guess, since he's working at a fried chicken place) anyways, everyone knows about Lee, and his serious Tupac mimicry has given him nicknames such as Cluck-U-Pac and 3-Pac. so one blizzard night on campus, a couple of my friends ordered a particularly large order ($30, i think) and got a surprise in the bag: Lee's first 2 albums on a single disc! though everyone knew him, no one had ever actually bothered to listen to his music. we were totally blown away. 2 words: midi beats. it sounds like someone trying to do hardcore gangster rap over the pre-programmed samples from a k-mart toy keyboard. in a song entitled "Ringing The Bells of War," he uses synthesized sleigh bells (ie. "Jingle Bells"); and the track posted, "Let The Horns Blow" features a real synthetic trumpet. Furthermore, Lee is a sort of musical conservationist, using practically the exact same thing to open every song on each album. On the first album this resembles a boom(2)-chick-boom(3)-chick on every song. The second album uses a fake record cut/stop. The genius here is evident, my girlfriend is convinced he's a Picasso. Lee says he's in college park to be in a positive atmosphere, where he can feed off the student's intelligence and ambition. Therefore, the caliber of my school should be reflected by this track. Let me know how much you think my degree will be worth.

* i never said everything on sucka pants would actually be good.

• Lee Majors - Let The Horns Blow


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IT'S ALL IN THE PHONETICS. . . NOW EAT THE WEIRD LITTLE FISHIES

japan is cool. not quite as expensive as i was warned (good), although my quest to track down some punk kids has not come to fruition (bad). i see a lot of kids running around looking like they just rolled off of st. marks: Crass shirts, tight black jeans, spikey hair, metal-studded fanny-packs. . . wait a minute. yeah, metal-studded fanny-packs. punk is just another fashion look apparently, Crass may as well be another designer-of-the-month. really weird. i know of course that there have got to be some subversive elements here somewhere, after all you don't end up with bands like Guitar Wolf, DMBQ, Invisible Man's Deathbed and The Boredoms by accident. guess it takes a bit more than walking around staring for a couple days to dig it up. we'll just have to see what happens i guess.

and those that have been emailing me about japan/contacts, much thanks. i hope to have a few pics up eventually, but in case that doesn't happen here are a few portfolios from my trip to brazil.

scene brazil
graffiti brazil
lovefoxxx brazil

and a couple little gems to share with you all. . . anyone who knows what she's saying, leave it in the comments for us non-portuguese speakers. . .

lovefoxxx story 1
lovefoxxx story 2

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MP3:

here's one for all the japanese i see running around from Shibuya with super-blonde hair and strangely-tanned skin (i call them cali-japanese). ya'll kind of creep me out. thanks.

• Nada Surf - Blonde On Blonde


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WELCOME BACK, NOW GET THE F*CK OUT

so i leave for japan in a few hours. . . no idea what my computer access will be there, but hopefully i can drop a few updates. maybe one of our esteemed guests (lovefoxxx, goddamn rattlesnake, james stache) will pay a visit.

and to set you up before i leave, here's your perfect friday. . .

first:
Japanther + Aa + Matt and Kim + La Guillotine
September 2nd - 7ish (Get there on time)
Pratt Lawn @ 215 Willoughby Ave in Brooklyn
Free

second:
POORBOY JOHNSON & THE GODDAMN RATTLESNAKE
RECORD RELEASE PARTY!
FRIDAY. SEPTEMBER 2ND.
APOCACLYPSE LOUNGE.
189 E. 3RD. ST. (btwn A & B)

the time has come. we are done. 10 tracks about girls, booze, the sea, reptiles, rodeos, rivers, whiskey, death, mountains, beer, ladies, sorrow, happiness, singing, rain, birds, hypnotism, fire and females. recorded in my living room while sweatin through humid summer hangovers, heartbreak and bittersweet bro downs. come help us celebrate(party). buy me a beer (or 3). let me dance with your lady. and be sure to enjoy yourself.

drink specials all night long. get there early. get more faced.

those who shall join in the celebration include:

THE WOES - 7pm
NICOLE SCHNEIT - 8pm
BUZZARD - 9pm
POORBOY JOHNSON & THE GODDAMN RATTLESNAKE - 10pm
JUST ABOUT TO BURN - 11pm
O'DEATH (the almighty) - 12pm

with special guest host:
The Reverend Joseph Royal along with the ever beautiful Freakout Jones performing the music of the LONESOME DOVES upstairs all night long.

come out. bring me whiskey. kisses. sweaty handshakes. sacks of money.

i look forward to seeing you there. this event is sure to not dissappoint.

g.d. rattlesnake

post script: go here to hear a track off the new record. learn the words. sing along.

and third:
BOOTY IN PARADISE
DJs Pussy Da Bomb, Spunk Spurter, Dirty Fingers, and Mr. Andersonic
At The Chicken Hut, 169 Spencer (G train to Bedford Nostrand, exit on Bedford)
Cheap Drinks, Dirty Dance Music, What More Do You Want?
$5

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MP3:

tuesday night was the Shit Hammered party by Blacken at Happy Endings. i usually have a lot of fun there, this time was a bit more so than usual. members of Black Label were spinning, including Ben dj-ing with tapes on his homemade suitcase boom box in the raft room. at some point, this track came on and both my friend and i had to ask about it. his name is Andre Nikatina, and there's not much out there on him. apparently a bit of not-too-well-known deal, but he has a lot of great stuff. so grab this track, give it a listen, and enjoy the flow.

• Andre Nikatina - Ayo For Yayo


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