Live At The Apollo

The first day I arrived in Chicago I went exploring my very Latin neighborhood (Logan Square), only to stumble on a brand new record store which had just opened a few weeks ago. I thought I would browse, although with no intention of buying since I wasn't able to move my record player with me.

Luckily, they had a whole section devoted to the written word, specifically the 33 1/3 series. I've never been confronted with the series face-to-face, but it has always intrigued me. Essentially the series takes a look at one record and pretty much tears it apart piece by piece in the context of the time it was created and political climate.

[Douglas Wolk's 'Live At The Apollo']

I bought Douglas Wolk's 'Live At The Apollo', largely because Doug and I went to Sasquatch together a few years back. WOW. What a pedantic piece! I guess I didn't know just how into detail these books got. It isn't an entertaining read really, but the further into it you get, the more you realize just how paramount each detail can be in forming a particular record. I like it, and I also am loving the James Brown record it is based on.

I've been here a few days now, and I keep going back to the Dill Pickle Co-op I wrote about before. This time, I picked up a weird local soy beverage that promised to be a perfect summer cooler. Dude at the counter thanked me for supporting local products, which kind of ruined the purchase for me.

[Chug Soy 'Cool Mint']

But despite that, I went to another grocery store called Tony's to buy even more local products in the form of BEER! Due to the intense heat, I haven't had much of an appetite for alcohol, so the six pack of Goose Island's '312' I purchased has lasted me 3 days now. I remember coming here with my dad and disliking Goose Island brewery's beers, but I really enjoy this 312. Hopefully they'll have some on Tap down at the 'Taste'.

[Goose Island's '312' Wheat Ale]

Almost One Year

It's been nearly a year since I posted anything on this here website, and a busy one it has been.
For one, I graduated from University of Oregon. Stuffed about 30% of my credits into one year, which made it much harder than it needed to be.

For another, I've moved to Chicago for an internship with Biz-3 Publicity. I met with one of the dudes last night (he was having a house show), and he seemed much more laid back than I imagined. I botched the opportunity to make friends, but I've only been here for a few days now, so I still have some time.

[California 'EL Train' Stop]

One of the most interesting things I've noticed about Chicago is the appreciation for food. No matter who you ask, you'll get a different answer for "Best Salad" or "Best Mexican Food". Maybe people are just excited about the 'Taste Of Chicago' which is going on downtown as I type this, but it sure seems like people love to tell you about their favorite hidden gems.

Another thing that is interesting to me, so far, is that every band I want to see is playing one venue-show, and one free-to-very-cheap beefit type show. For instance, yesterday I caught Woven Bones playing a small set at Reckless Records, which meant I didn't have to pay to see them at the Empty Bottle. Also, last night Fang Island played a show at Subterranean... but they also play a 5$ show today with David Bazan at an outdoor festival. It's been good to my wallet, which is depleting at a rapid rate what with all the eating out I've done.

[Woven Bones @ Reckless Records]

Which brings me to my next point...

I think while I'm here I'm going to try and document the delicious foods I create and experience. Yesterday I stumbled upon a Co-op called The Dill Pickle. It's a small little place, but already they've introduced me to some greens called Lamb's Quarters which I cannot get enough of. Yesterday I made Spaghetti with Wild-Mushroom and Roasted Olive Puree, piled it on a bed of Lamb's Quarters and chopped Crimini Mushrooms. It was amazing, but I was too embarrassed to photograph it in front of my new roommates.

The first day I arrived I went to a place called Belly Shack, which is right by the Biz-3 offices. It's a weird little cafe-style place where they give you a number and then bring out your order to you. Anyways, it was hotter than shit, so I got the advertised special, which was the Watermelon Salad. For my first food experience in Chicago, I was very impressed! I'm sad it isn't pictured on the website, because I'm dying to recreate it. Here's the closest thing I've seen to it on the web. And here's my crappy phone-photo of it:

Anyways, it was an excellent introduction to what I hope is a healthy and delicious summer of grubbing. Might have to put health on hold though when I finally hit up the 'Taste Of Chicago' to see Trey Songz preform on Thursday... for free!

Finally: Summer.

I'm finally done with classes, but am finding myself at a sort of loss for things to occupy my time with. My dad always says, "Boredom is a luxury", but why does it have to be so damn boring?

Here's a couple of screen shots of my final project for Vis Com. I'm kinda sick of looking at them, but if you want to see more you can always check out my Flickr.









So that's what kept me busy for the majority of my early summer, but I'm ready to move onto new things. For one, I'll be photographing Monolith music festival for Stereogum.com, which I'm pretty excited about! Also, I just finished setting up press credentials for MusicFestNorthWest. Also, the excellent SMMR BMMR is this coming weekend! It should be a busy end to my summer, but busy in a good way and I'm stoked.

In an effort to make up for missing the entirety of last month on this little website, here's some musics for you to enjoy. Hopefully it wont be so long next time.

Simian Mobile Disco - Cruel Intentions (Feat. Beth Ditto)

Major Lazer - Keep It Goin' Louder (Tommie Sunshine Remix)

Worriedaboutsatan - EP1

A Very Short Summer

Since I'm starting summer classes next Monday, I only have 1 week to take in as much Portland as I can.
Already I've seen 2 of my favorite people of all time.
We wolfed down wings at laurelwood, guzzled bud lights at Aubrey's and even started a fire.


[Here's a photo of our backyard party which consisted of listening to music directly from the i-pod touch (which is to say extremely quietly), 18 beers, 3 people and one very cute Pomeranian.]



So one night down. Hopefully I'll have something fun to share after today as well.
Just for fun, here's my summer class schedule:

[June 22-July 17]
Anthropology 173 - Evolution of Human Sexuality
(Monday-Thursday, 9:30-11:50)
Journalism 204 - Visual Communication & Mass Media
(Monday-Friday, 12:00-1:50)

Figures I'd be spending my one week off thinking of school.

[Here's a bonus Photo of Benny & Morgan - two of the cutest creatures on earth.]

Food Photos

Just last year my best friend in the world gave me some amazing cookbooks as a gift.
Although I've made many meals from the different books, only a few seemed picture perfect enough to document.
So here's some photos of the meals I've made.

[Spaghettini Aglio E Olio]


I like this recipe because it's really light and colorful. It's also amazingly simple to make. All that you see above is what goes into it. The book recommends Pecorino cheese, but I like it just fine without.

[Summer Pizza]


Our main concern when making this pizza was that the squash didn't look like it was perfectly placed. We wanted it to appear as if it was raining zucchini and we just happened to have a pizza beneath to catch it all. I'd say it worked quite well. Unfortunately though, the cheese we used was a second rate substitute, and left the pizza bland as could be. It looks cool though right?

Beginning

This isn't the first blog I've started, nor the only one I contribute to.
This will act mainly as an outlet for things I think are interesting.
Not exclusively music, or photography, but also books and meals and more.
Your enjoyment is not required, but appreciated.