Tuesday, August 28, 2007
no more sleepy dreamin
ok so much to say. when i get excited my thoughts dont come out very straight so i apologize if this seems scatter minded...
context now as i'm writing:
listening to megasaurus mix and eating the best damn salad ive ever made lots of fresh BEATS!!! no pun intended
i will try to start where i left off - going to Ravinia to see/ hear Aretha Franklin.
(i will do my best to also post pictures so you can all see what the hell i'm talking about)
Rachel (teach for america girl) was kind enough to drive us all to Ravinia, which is located in the suburbs somewhere here in Chicago. For all you Cali people, it was like Chicago's Hollywood Bowl!! sooooo tits, so so tits
so we get there, park, and basically they sell tickets for seats around the stage but people can also choose to buy tickets on the "lawn", which is what we decided to do since we all have no money.
basically the lawn, in my opinion, is better than having seats. We get there and there were already many many people situated on the lawn. If you guys think people at the Hollywood Bowl go all out bringing food and shit, it doesn't compare to what i saw at Ravinia. There were groups of people that fuckin brought tables and tables of food, drinks, chairs, candles, you name it. People can set up whatver they want on the lawn, and that is what they did. like i saw fuckin gourmet food, with the tin cases to keep them warm n shit..preetty intense i must say, but whatever floats your boat
so we set up our blankets and we brougt some food and we also bought wine. you know how you can buy small juice boxes for kids to take to school, well Hilary knew of this place where you can get small boxes of wine. it was chill, hopefully i have a pic.
( i also have been taking a lot of cool video clips here, lotttsss)
we bust out scrabble b/c we got there early to get a good spot and as we begin to play these guys next to us ask to join. They turned out to be really interesting people. There were like 7 of them. two sets of brothers that were all really interesting. one bro was a bronzer (he'd take sculptures and cover/dip bronze them), one was a sport photographer and he was telling me how is being 'sent' to take pic of R Kelly when his court case comes around soon - fuck R kelly by the way- etc etc
Aretha Franklin was fantastic. Just what i imagined. lots of soul, lots of "lovin" inside and out, and it was really perfect to the mood. everyone there was so into it, more older people but everyone was dancing and clapping, happy and really enjoying Aretha. amen
then it's over and as people are leavin the photo guy starts tossin a frisbee with me. so i take the frisbee and purposely start throwing it towards the direction of the stage...so i'm throwin it and bla bla the security people tell us to stop, so we go by this side gate.
long story short i get backstage and i start to follow the voices to find where everyone is...i get to the room where people are waiting to meet AF...i start talking to the security when i look at my phone and have many texts from everyone saying how they are leaving and if i stay i am 'on my own'..so i leave..i didn't get to see her but you win some you lose some...
oh that day, before the show, we went to the Planetarium and it was so much fun. i also turned down the job at Metro...sadly
i dont really remeber what i did the days after...tried to buy a ticket to the Jerry Springer show but it didnt work out. i hung out with Matts and bought some pink chucks...tried to make them dirty dirty
one day i went to go see this tribute to nina simone at Millenium Park but there was a really really bad storm so after like 2 songs they stopped the show. i was super bummed, i really was looking froward to hearing some nina tunes. Dee Alexander was the singer of the night. It was also a tribute to Dina Washington. Check out the venue, Jay Pritzker Pavilion, it is pretty sweet.
http://www.millenniumpark.org/artandarchitecture/
it was raning really hard that night and the THUNDER! was super loud. I met J Stone on the train...
I visited Hilary at her work and roamed around the city one day...
saturday I went to this hippie/ jam band festival at DeVry University. It was ok. lots of hippie kids, tye die shirts of the Grateful Dead, Umphrey's, and Phish bla bla
i think there was a sewage leak or something b/c after a while the grass was soaked in water and smelled literally like shit. im not a huge fan of the poo odor so i left.
SUNDAYYYY was ROCKK THE BELLLLSSSSSSS. yea yea
im getting lazy so this will have to be abbreviated
i met up Matts, we had backstage passes, here was the lineup
Wu-Tang Clan
Nas
Talib Kweli
Pharoahe Monch
Immortal Technique
David Banner
Jedi Mind Tricks
MF DOOM
SLUM VILLAGE
i later found out that this line up wasnt the best compared to the other Rock the Bells shows in other cities..whateva
so im standing backstage b4 WU TANG is supposed to come on and i am basically STARING hrd core at their trailor.
I look at Matts and am like "dude i need to go in that trailor. bla bla" he said i should but that he wouldnt come with me. so Matts left.
i decide to try. so i go up to this guy and here is what the conversation was like...
Me: " hey can i go in there?"
Guy: Where? there? who are you
Me: I'm Niko...
Guy: yea, but WHO are you?
Me: umm I'm a drummer
Guy: for who
Me: for me
Guy: You wanna go inside?
Me: yea
Guy; why
Me: b/c i want to meet RZA
Guy: ok
so he takes me in their trailor and no one was in there...but the conversation went like this..
Guy: so you're Niko
Me: yea. who are you
Guy; I'm GZA
Me: no your not...
GGGZZZAAAAAAA: yes i am, i dont need to lie
****OK HOW FUCKIN STUPID AM IIIIIIII!!!!!!!!! I WAS FUCKIN TALKIN TO GZA THE WHOLE TIME AND DIDNT EVEN KNOW IT!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH I STARTED TO BLUSH I WAS SO EMBARASSED
GGZZZAAA: how old are you?
Stupido: 21 how old are you
GGGZAAAA: old enough to be your dad
Stupido: i dont need another dad
then who the fuck walks in?!?!?!?
-silence please-
THE RZA bitches
GZA: "ask and you shall receive. whats up Rz"
fuckin RZA walks in rapping, i swear to gd it was the coolest thing. he's rappin about how he's wasted now or something, then GZA tells him how i wanted to meet him. then WHO THE FUCK WALKS INNNNNNNN
METHOD MAN bitches
method man is fine i aint gon' lie, candy you know what im talkin about!! haha he seemed reaal high, no lie, no suprise either
so i take pic w/ giz and riz, they are on a disposable so those will come soon fucckeersss, i got skill you knoww thisss
then i start talking to their publicist who i am suppose to meet tonight. we shall see what happens.
finally. TODAY. probably one of the best days ive had in Chicago so far. I went to the Museum of Contemporary Art. I have a lot to say about this and im lazy so ill write about this later. but come back, bc i have some cool shit.
wu tang clan ain't nothin to fuck with
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
think think think you think you betta think what you're tryin to do to me
i just got a call that i got the job at metrooooo
i dont know if i should take it b/c i dont know how long i'll be here.
i'm going to see Aretha Franklin at Ravinia tonight, i'll contemplate there.
i met areo's friend chris last night. he's a maaaaaaaaniaaccccc!!!!!!
Monday, August 20, 2007
WUUUUUUUUUU TAAANNNNGGGGGGG
thursday i went to the Planetarium with Hillaryy.
haha thanks Jeff! you're my main vitamin fool.
word, so thanks to Jeff i now know how to post pics and links..hopefully
here's th elink for the PLanetarium
http://www.adlerplanetarium.org/education/index.shtml
woo, i think it works! haha
after the PLanetarium, we met up with Rachel and ate at this restaurant: Vegetarian Soul Food.
It was booomb. !!! CHECK OUT THEIR WEBSITE - THEIR STORY IS PRETTY COOL.
http://www.kingdomofyah.com/SV.htm
incase you're lazy, here it is. read it!!
Our Story
The African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem - A Village of Peace "
Introduction
Most of the time around the world, when men speak of the Kingdom of God, they do so metaphorically. It is only some mythical paradise located in outer space, where the problems which have plagued humanity, magically cease to exist. What's more, one could only reach this heaven after death.
But in this land, Israel, Northeast Africa our perspective is different. Here the Biblical prophets, especially Isaiah and Daniel, taught us of this very real kingdom. The scriptures told us that it will be established in this land, at a time when larger nations dominate the global scene. This kingdom would start as a mustard seed, minute and obscure. Yet it will eventually grow, and never be destroyed.
What does this mean to mankind now? That somewhere in this land, there is a body of people dedicated to the fulfillment of this prophecy...in order that the words inspired by the Holy One of Israel, will not fail. Moreover, it is clear that Israel must live out its prophetic purpose... to be a light unto humanity demonstrating the benefits of living according to the word of God.
The African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem are comprised of approximately 2,000 men, women and children residing in three development towns - - Dimona, Arad and Mitzpe Ramon - - in southern Israel. We maintain a vibrant culture which includes a communal lifestyle, a vegan diet, a system of preventive health care and high moral standards - - a holistic approach to life based on righteousness. Our intent is to live according to the laws and prophecies of God.
Since our arrival in Dimona, in 1969, it has been our objective to be the foundation for the establishing of God’s Kingdom on Earth. The accomplishments of the past years have only strengthened our faith in the words of the prophets. Perhaps it will be hard for many to conceive that the former African Americans would be the source of this inspiration, and readily leave the pleasures of the ultra-modern America for life in the desert wilderness. But it is true. It is time now to bear testimony to the infallible word of God.
“Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law; fear not the reproach of men, neither be afraid of their revilings (insults).”
Isaiah 51:7
Although our presence (in previous years) raised opposition, controversy and much political clamor, we continue to nurture from within a lifestyle which is proving to be inspiring as well as refreshing to everyone in a world that has waxed cold.
Historical Background
As a direct result of their disobedience to the laws and commandments of God, the ancient Hebrew Israelites were held captive by various nations including the Egyptians, Assyrians and Babylonians. In 70 C.E. the remnants of The African Hebrew Israelites were driven from Jerusalem by the Romans into different parts of the world, including Africa. Many Hebrew Israelites migrated to West Africa where they, once again, were carried away captive - this time by Europeans on slave ships - to the Americas along with other African tribes people.
In 1966 our spiritual leader, Ben Ammi, had a vision that it was time for the Children of Israel who remained in America (the land of their captivity) to return to the Holy Land (the land of their origin).
In 1967, after almost two thousand years in the Diaspora, four hundred Hebrew Israelites were inspired by the spirit of God to make an exodus from America. According to plan, they settled in Liberia’s interior to purge themselves of the negative attributes they had acquired in the captivity. After spending a two-and-one-half year period in Liberia, The African Hebrew Israelites were prepared to make the last portion of their journey home, returning to Israel in 1969.
Philosophy
In today’s world, man has created so many diversions from and substitutions for the true worship of God that the people have lost their way. We realized just how far we had been led away from God and were astounded by the drastic changes required for those of us who desired to fulfill our responsibility to God as Hebrew Israelites. Nonetheless, we have committed ourselves to the high degree of courage and discipline required to establish an alternative lifestyle that is in harmony with the cycles of God.
Why Israel?
Israel was not intended to be fashioned after the standards of Western societies. It was once a center of spiritual guidance and instruction. Israel was to be a place where all nations would come seeking the presence and wisdom of God. We have been motivated by our spiritual teacher and leader, Ben Ammi, to take on the Divinely-inspired mission to establish the prophetic “Kingdom of God” in the Holy Land. We have built a society based on the precepts of righteousness which emanates the presence of God and serves as a living example for all men... a society where solutions to the seemingly irreversible problems that plague mankind - rampant disease, drug abuse, sexual abuse, corruption, ecological destruction, disintegration of the family unity, etc. - can be found.
We do not subscribe to any religion because religions have only divided men. We regard the true worship of God as a continuous process: 24 hours a day... 7 days a week.
“The true worship of God is an entire way of life, a continuous action, from the meal you eat in the morning, to the job you work on. It encompasses your every deed and thought.”
God The Black Man and Truth, by Ben Ammi
If we all worshipped God in this manner there would be no hole in the ozone, the water would be safe to drink, there would be no threat of war and there would be no inequality among men. As the 20th century comes to a close, we realize that pursuit of the modern technological society is not the answer to that which ails man. For this reason, we have sacrificed our individual interests and invested our lives in the building of the Kingdom of God - a viable solution for the salvation for all mankind.
Our Historical Connection To The Holy Land
Migration of The African Hebrew Israelites Throughout Africa
Prior to the excavation of the Suez Canal (1859-69) the entire Arabian Peninsula and what has become known today as the ”Middle East” were physically connected with the African continent. African people lived and moved freely throughout this region of the world.
After the invasion of the Romans in 70 C.E., remnants of the Hebrew Israelites were driven from Jerusalem. For more than 1,000 years many of them migrated across the continent, eventually reaching West Africa.
From there, they were carried to the Americas where they were to become victims of the most cruel and inhumane slavery in recorded history. However, according to the word of God, this devastating path would eventually lead them back to their homeland (Israel) to fulfill their prophetic destiny.
"The number of slaves taken by the companies and private traders during the whole period of the slave trade is difficult to estimate. One French historian says that it is no exaggeration to say that 100,000,000 people were lost...”
The Story of Sierra Leone, Frances A. J. Utting
There are many biblical references to various locations in Africa and interaction between the ancient Israelites and African peoples and places: King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba; migration into Egypt and subsequent enslavement, etc. Considering that such interaction and migration took place it is not hard to perceive that Hebrew Israelites were among the one hundred million who were taken from Africa during the trans-Atlantic slave trade. There is no way they could have escaped.
This fact is supported by the numerous accounts of Hebrew Israelite culture and religious tradition throughout Africa. In the introduction to his book God the Black Man and Truth, Ben Ammi points out that “We know that many West Africans, especially the Ashantis, are direct descendants of the ancient Hebrews because of the strong Hebrewisms that have been identified in Ashanti tribal customs, observance of the Sabbath (Saturday) as well as the name Ashanti from the words ‘ti,’ which in the west African tongue means ‘race of’ and Ashan, a town in the domain of Judah (see Joshua 15:42).”
An article published in one of Israel’s daily Hebrew newspapers, Ma’ariv (16 Sept. 1991) states, “No other Zimbabweans blow the Shofar except Zacharia who is of the lost tribe of Israel. Tens of thousands of “Black Jews” were discovered there recently... They are called “Lemba” and according to their tradition they are the descendants of Abraham, Moses and Solomon.” Mary Benson documented in her work Nelson Mandela The Man and the Movement, his reference to Israelites in South Africa, “...in 1921 General Smuts, the Prime Minister, had sent an army which massacred 163 men, women and children at nearby Bulhoek in the Eastern Cape; members of an Israelite sect...”
Acknowledging that a mass migration of Israelites did take place throughout Africa forces us to follow their footsteps across the landscape of time and to recall that during the centuries of enslavement in America the captives rebelled against the slave masters who stripped them of their names, their language, culture and religion. In his writing, Before the Mayflower, Lerone Bennett, Jr. points out that “Few slaves accepted this version of Christianity. Their God was the God who delivered the Israelites.”
Additionally, the Israelites who were taken into America maintained remnants of their heritage through the lyrics of what became known as slave songs or spirituals, “Canaan’s Land where my possessions lie...” They never stopped praising the God of Israel and never turned their eyes from Zion. Even in terms of language they continued to use certain words which were definitely rooted in their original language (Hebrew). Words such as “ain’t,” which is derived from The African Hebrew word “ayne” which also means no, not, nothing, there is not, etc.
Throughout the prophetic exile, migration, enslavement and later “assimilation” into the American way of life, many African Americans still know that their heritage is rooted in the Holy Land - Israel. On the eve of his assassination in 1968, the late Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was inspired to prophesy, “I just want to do God’s will... He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain... I’ve seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know... that we as a people will get to the Promised Land.” His words underscore an undeniable spiritual re-awakening.
Our presence in the Holy Land is fulfillment of Dr. King’s vision, the words of the prophets - “And I shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the Lord have spoken it, and performed it, saith the Lord.” (Ezekiel 37:14) - as well as the spiritual yearning of all those children of Israel who had been cast out and have pleaded with God for almost two thousand years to be restored.
An unbiased investigation of the information presented in this writing will bring us to the conclusion that people of African origin have a definite connection with the Holy Land and a role to play in the prophetic spiritual re-awakening that is in progress. While we are acutely aware of the challenge presented, we are prepared (for the sake of the creation and all humanity) to live out our responsibility and invoke the presence of God in the affairs of man. Our purpose in pursuing our heritage, against all odds, is to establish the prophetic “Kingdom of God” in the Holy Land - to be that inspiration and guiding light which is destined to shine forth from Jerusalem.
“I just want to do God’s will... He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain... I’ve seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know... that we as a people will get to the Promised Land.”
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 1968
“The truth is, blessings or curses are each the fruit (results) of the works of those upon whom they fall. Thereby, in the final analysis, man either blesses or curses himself.”
God and the Law of Relativity - Ben Ammi
Customs
Our life is a very active and fruitful founded on the laws, commandments and prophecies of the Holy One of Israel which govern interaction with family, friends and the community at-large. We do not perceive man’s relationship with God as being prohibitive. We, very simply, adhere to customs and traditions that have been, either handed down to us from generation to generation or that have evolved as we undergo a process of redemption - - the recuperation from the effects of slavery and nearly having lost total knowledge of our identity and heritage. The keeping of the Sabbath and Holy Days, (Passover, Shavuout, Memorial Blowing of the Trumpets, Yom Kippur and Succoth) as outlined in the Old Testament, is our way of expressing appreciation to the benevolent God. In conjunction with these Holy Days we also observe (among others) the following Biblical laws: the maintenance of a vegan diet void of all animal by-products (Genesis 1:29) the wearing of only natural fabrics - - cotton, wool, linen and silk (based on Leviticus 12:12) the circumcision of our male children eight days after birth (Leviticus 12:3) and, the maintenance of the laws of purification for women relative to their monthly cycle and childbirth (Leviticus 12:2-5) In accordance with the prophetic return of the Children of Israel (Jeremiah 23:7-8) annually, in mid-May, members of our community commemorate the historic exodus of the vanguard group which left the shores of America in May 1967. Two days of picnicking, sports activities and entertainment mark this important remembrance which is one of our most festive, fun-filled events.
Conclusion
In our almost 30 years in the Holy Land, the African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem have managed inarguable string of achievements: men who are capable, responsible and caring; women who are valued as equals and encouraged to achieve; children who are protected, nurtured and encouraged to grow and appreciate the Creation and respect their role in it; elders who are healthy, vital, revered for their wisdom and knowledge and expected to continue as integral, functioning parts of the community. These are the very tenants that once were the hallmarks of successful, progressive societies. Whatever might be said about the African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem, above all, it must be recognized as a tangible, viable and more importantly, righteous, alternative for those who long to see peace, justice, mercy, truth, love. Selah
lol, its loong. basically, in 4 words: African Americans from israel. not jewish. vegan soul food. i must say, it was tasty. Hilary is a vegan so i've been trying new veggie/vegan food and it's not too bad.
Friday was a good day. Sunny, light breeze, perfect for a bike ride. so Jon with no 'h', came over and we went on a bike ride through Lincoln Park, to Lakeshore Drive (bike path by the lake), then i think we ended on clark somewhere and had mexican food. it was a reaaally nice day. beautiful. and i never biked through Lincoln Park, which is actually very pretty and big. lots of people walking, laying out, biking, rollerblading etc...
then i had an interview at metro/smartbar for security! lol yes, that's right, security biatch. the interview went well people, i was there for an hour talking to this person. everyone there was really nice and welcoming. they asked me what my favorite Kurt Russel movie is and said if i answered a bad movie, it could cost me the job.
who the fucck is kurt russel. he said he was goldie han's husband or something. I don't remember watching any movie he was in. so i just said, "wasnt he in that cowboy movie?" he's like "YES! great answer. you mean Tombstone!" i was like yea whatver. haha lucky guess.
after the interview i met up some Teach For America people at this bar. Teach for America people are cool, no one was from Chicago, everyone was from a different state which was interesting. This girl Rachel I know is working at an elemntary/middle school here in Chicago for Teach For America, so a lot of the people that came were he co-workers...
then went to this Karaoke bar on Clark in Wrigleyville i think. it was chill. had popcorn and they served beer in this tall tube, that had a tap at the end. kind of looked like a bong.
i requested BOHEMIAN RAPHSODY. YEAAAA GWEEETYYYYY. thought of you.
it was the last song and evveryone rocked out, everyone.
i started talking to this guy Tim, then his friend MAttsss who is an audio engineer, friends w/ Quinn.
they are funny guys. they hate on each other a lot and they don't give a fuck
we went to smartbar after but the music sucked so we left. later Mattss told me that they stayed at Smartbar and were dancing when like 9 security guards came up to them and said they had to leave. Security said one of them slapped a girls ass. They thought security was fucking with them, when TimTim said he did slap some girls ass. Tim said, " she totally wanted it." haha they are kids
saturday i went to the air and water show to check it out...
49th Annual Chicago Air & Water Show
More than 2 million people swarm the lakefront for the oldest and largest free show of its kind in the country. Get great views and play-by-play coverage from North Avenue Beach or plant yourself at Oak Street Beach.
Show highlights include the Shell Extreme Water Show and air stunts by the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds, the U.S. Army Parachute Team Golden Knights, the Red Baron Pizza Squadron, the AeroShell Aerobatic Team and daredevil pilot Sean Tucker with Team Oracle.
It was cool i guess. it started to rain which was kinda inconvenient. the air force thunderbirds were really tits though. soo gd damn loud. jesus. but the tricks they displayed were impressive and they got pretty close to land which was crazy.
i watched the movie "La Vie En Rose". It was amazing. everyone should see it. and buy Edith Piaf's music.
sunday i downloaded Limewire. nooooo!!!!!! i had to. it just sucks not being able to listen to new music because I can't afford to buy music right now. downloading is such a guilty pleasure.
Mattsss came over. we drank, made up a beer game, he taught me some stuff, ate Thai at Jim's Thai soo spicy then headed to Quinn's for a house party. Quinn lives in Edison Park. kinda far from me....i miss house parties, it was real fun. lots & lots of booze, bbq yumm, and music. Everyone was pretty much 27 and older, so it was funny to me to see that "older" people still get trasshhed!!!! people came there at like 10:30 already wasted. it was maybe 20-30 people max and they went through like 5 kegs. lol Quinn is a really good guitar player and his band played. they were real good. He is like a karaoke machine, anything you ask him to play, he can on his guitar. also i thought it was a bit weird that a few ladies there were cops and people were smoking there all night...i guess that's cool. but still weird. we lite some fire crackers that cory gave me!!!
then long story short, 4Am comes around and no cab. i end up walking with Mattss for an hour to find a cab and it was raining. 5Am finally find a cab and soaked!! no complaints
today i ate some deep dish chicago style pizza and i liked it. i like a lot of things here.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
i fell in love tonight
it's true. i fell in love. tonight i FINALLY got to go to the Green Mill. oh my lord, oh my lord. i don't know where to start. it was........AMAZING. i swear, why there is no place like this in LA is mind boggoling (my dad uses this word, don't ask), but then again LA sucks!
fuck. i've never heard muic like that before. it was GYPSY JAZZ. it was for lack of better words, so fucking good so fucking good. I wonder if I can get married at the Green Mill, give birth at the Green Mill, or die at the Green Mill. I'll take any one of the three. it sounds crazy, but i really loved everything about the place. From the exterior, to the classy interior, it is so old school, to the band, to the audience, to the stage set up, the performers - you get the point.
this is their site
http://www.greenmilljazz.com/
The Green Mill Jazz Club History
Throughout its uproarious history, The Green Mill Jazz Club has played host to a number of famous - and often infamous - celebrities. Opened in 1907 as Pop Morse's Roadhouse, the "Mill" was a stopping place for mourners to celebrate the passing of a friend before proceeding to St. Boniface's Cemetery. By 1910, new owners had converted the roadhouse into the Green Mill Gardens, complete with lantern-lit outdoor dancing and drinking areas, and boasting such headliners as Al Jolson, Eddie Cantor and Sophie Tucker. Actors Wallace Beery and Bronco Billy Anderson also visited the Gardens, hitching their horses to the outdoor post and settling down for a drink after a days work filming westerns at nearby Spoor and Anderson Studios.
As the twenties roared, The Green Mill became mobster territory when Al Capone's henchman, "Machinegun" Jack McGurn, gained a 25% ownership of the club. Manager Danny Cohen had given McGurn the 25% stake to "persuade" comedian/singer Joe E. Lewis from moving his act south to the New Rendezvous Café at Clark and Diversey. McGurn managed to convince Lewis by slitting his throat and cutting off his tongue. Miraculously, Lewis recovered, but his songs never regained their lush sound. The incident was later immortalized in the movie The Joker is Wild, with Frank Sinatra as Joe E. Lewis and a Hollywood soundstage as The Green Mill. Of course, his interest piqued, Sinatra had to visit the club.
Throughout the 1930s, '40s, and 50s, The Green Mill continued to pack 'em in with a heady mix of swing, dance and jazz music. Uptown crowds from the Aragon Ballroom or Uptown and Riviera Theaters would "stop in for one" before or after shows. Business began to slip in the mid-seventies, and in 1986, present owner Dave Jemilo bought The Green Mill and restored it to its prohibition-era, speakeasy décor.
Tonight I saw...
ALFONSO PONTICELLI and SWING GITAN
featuring...
Alfonso Ponticelli on guitar
Jason Miller on guitar
James Sanders on violin
Louis Marini on bass
www.swinggitan.com
my favorite was the violin player i have to say. I hear he is the only real Gypsy in the band. He looked like he was straight out of the Soprano's. straight up pimp, he played that violin like it was a _____. lol so very well. I also liked Alfonso and there was also an accordian player who was real good and reminded me of my dad ( b/c he also plays). Basically the music they played was such a good combination of jazz, gypsy, it just made me want to dance!! but no one did :( i really wanted to dance. there was an older woman, i'll be nice and say she was in her late fifties, sitting right in front shakin' it in her seat! she was awesome. i wish people got up to dance, but it was still cool bc you can tell everyone there was really listening and appreciating the music. if people started talking, they would more or less whisper. the music was the main focus. the crowd was a good mix of adults and kids in their twenties, and lots in between which was real cool too to see how all ages can enjoy. i want to go back every night. i can go on about this place forever, so i'll just stop now.
but i'm goin back Fri night i think b/c Von Freeman is going to play on sax!!! and i heard the owner will be there. i have a plan. stealin' boxes.
fuck. i've never heard muic like that before. it was GYPSY JAZZ. it was for lack of better words, so fucking good so fucking good. I wonder if I can get married at the Green Mill, give birth at the Green Mill, or die at the Green Mill. I'll take any one of the three. it sounds crazy, but i really loved everything about the place. From the exterior, to the classy interior, it is so old school, to the band, to the audience, to the stage set up, the performers - you get the point.
this is their site
http://www.greenmilljazz.com/
The Green Mill Jazz Club History
Throughout its uproarious history, The Green Mill Jazz Club has played host to a number of famous - and often infamous - celebrities. Opened in 1907 as Pop Morse's Roadhouse, the "Mill" was a stopping place for mourners to celebrate the passing of a friend before proceeding to St. Boniface's Cemetery. By 1910, new owners had converted the roadhouse into the Green Mill Gardens, complete with lantern-lit outdoor dancing and drinking areas, and boasting such headliners as Al Jolson, Eddie Cantor and Sophie Tucker. Actors Wallace Beery and Bronco Billy Anderson also visited the Gardens, hitching their horses to the outdoor post and settling down for a drink after a days work filming westerns at nearby Spoor and Anderson Studios.
As the twenties roared, The Green Mill became mobster territory when Al Capone's henchman, "Machinegun" Jack McGurn, gained a 25% ownership of the club. Manager Danny Cohen had given McGurn the 25% stake to "persuade" comedian/singer Joe E. Lewis from moving his act south to the New Rendezvous Café at Clark and Diversey. McGurn managed to convince Lewis by slitting his throat and cutting off his tongue. Miraculously, Lewis recovered, but his songs never regained their lush sound. The incident was later immortalized in the movie The Joker is Wild, with Frank Sinatra as Joe E. Lewis and a Hollywood soundstage as The Green Mill. Of course, his interest piqued, Sinatra had to visit the club.
Throughout the 1930s, '40s, and 50s, The Green Mill continued to pack 'em in with a heady mix of swing, dance and jazz music. Uptown crowds from the Aragon Ballroom or Uptown and Riviera Theaters would "stop in for one" before or after shows. Business began to slip in the mid-seventies, and in 1986, present owner Dave Jemilo bought The Green Mill and restored it to its prohibition-era, speakeasy décor.
Tonight I saw...
ALFONSO PONTICELLI and SWING GITAN
featuring...
Alfonso Ponticelli on guitar
Jason Miller on guitar
James Sanders on violin
Louis Marini on bass
www.swinggitan.com
my favorite was the violin player i have to say. I hear he is the only real Gypsy in the band. He looked like he was straight out of the Soprano's. straight up pimp, he played that violin like it was a _____. lol so very well. I also liked Alfonso and there was also an accordian player who was real good and reminded me of my dad ( b/c he also plays). Basically the music they played was such a good combination of jazz, gypsy, it just made me want to dance!! but no one did :( i really wanted to dance. there was an older woman, i'll be nice and say she was in her late fifties, sitting right in front shakin' it in her seat! she was awesome. i wish people got up to dance, but it was still cool bc you can tell everyone there was really listening and appreciating the music. if people started talking, they would more or less whisper. the music was the main focus. the crowd was a good mix of adults and kids in their twenties, and lots in between which was real cool too to see how all ages can enjoy. i want to go back every night. i can go on about this place forever, so i'll just stop now.
but i'm goin back Fri night i think b/c Von Freeman is going to play on sax!!! and i heard the owner will be there. i have a plan. stealin' boxes.
Monday, August 13, 2007
jesus christ i got a bike!
word up. i bought a bike today. it is pretty sweet. it's an old Raleigh Hercules bike from the 1970's, blue. I got it from a used bike store in 'boys town' Lakeview.
here is a picture, it looks pretty similar to mine. i should probably get a helmet...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v221/pinknailbunny/hercules/HERCULES004-1.jpg
i'll back track a bit.
After lolla, i was real tired so i woke up late and walked around the city for a few days. i think monday i went to wicker park, i dont really remember...i think i met Sunny Daze that night. Ohh ok. i went walking in Lakeview to go to Best Buy to fix my camera. As i was walking i went inside a store and as I was walking out i saw a flyer for Fusicology. I use to work for them.
check out their site for events near you, if you've never. It's a website that promotes concerts, shows, events, etc...
http://www.fusicology.com/index/homepage/
so i decided to call A who i worked for at Fuse. A gave me Sunny Daze's number, she said " Sunny Daze is the shit!!" and he is. I met him at D' Vine in Wicker Park. They played a lot of old school hip hop, which was cool and i got to see live Barry Bond's hit his 758th home run and make baseball history . Sunny is cool and I'm excited to chill with him more.
i walked around downtown, first to the Field Museum to check out the dinosaur exhibit and everything else. It was tits, but short, i wanted more.
http://www.fieldmuseum.org/exhibits/dinos_tempexhib.htm
They have a Darwin exhibit which Marav said is cool, so I want to go back.
Then I walked down Michigan street. It was so fuckin hot that day. I kept walking in stores to get some air conditioning to survive. I also ate Chipotle and i immediately thought of you JESUS!! i fuckin miss you man, sorry if this is rubbing it in, but it tasted soo good. let me know if you want me to fedex you one.
i went to the water mall or something and then took the train home.
Wed I took the Megabus to Columbus, Ohio. 6 hours later I arrived, Crazy Balls picked me up with Marav. We picked up some goods then went to his place. That's when I met Chris Flowers. good kid. we went to see the Wailer's perform at the PromoWest Pavilion. I can't find a good picture of the venue online, but it reminded me of the Greek Theatre in Berkeley except much smaller, no seating, just a standing area in front of the stage and then a grass hill for people to sit/stand. it was a good venue.
The Wailer's were very very good. It was a very positive, upbeat set. It started to rain and they continued to play. The venue is outdoors so everyone was dancing to beautiful reggae music in the rain. It was a good feeling, wish more of you were there with me to enjoy it. We were all soaked. wet wet wet. so we decided to sneak in the bar next door b/c Mickey Avalon was playing. We caught the last 2 songs. He is crazy. love him. SIMON REX IS HOTTTTTT!!!! dirt nasty and Andre Legacy joined Mickey for the last song, "My Dick". i wish we partied with them after.
check it out fool
http://www.myspace.com/mickeyavalon
after Mickey i think we went to see Mike Perkins, surprised at the vast music scene in Columbus. music's everywhere. Mike Perkins was cool, reminded me of music Erika Krisch would listen to on Semester at Sea...lol
By then it was Cory's birthday! Happy Happy it was. (throughout this entire Ohio trip we had these egg shakers, small chi chi instrument, playing along to the music). I gave him this donosaur necklace I bought from the Field Museum and he lost it, or it fell off..hopefully it will be found
Friday Marav and I went to Cosi (pronounced cos-eye) IT WAS REALLY COOL, i had a lot of fun.
check out their site
http://www.cosi.org/about/mission/
they have a bunch of different exhibits about space, life, ocean, science park...i got to watch a video of a woman having a C section, which was soo crazy. I have so much respect for surgeons. then i watched video footage of brain surgery which was really interesting.
After Cosi, we started drinking for crazy balls bday. We went to see the SpikeDrivers, then to a punk bar, then to Skully's for 80's music.
Friday i don't really remember except that we played Frolf! fun fun fun. it's a game of frisbee golf. i told Josh that if he jumped in the river water by the course, I'd buy him a chipotle burrito. He did, so we went to Chipotle. Friday night was fun. We went to this guy Eric's house. He was having a party b/c he was moving, so he was burning a lot of stuff. I went to the united farm chicken, or whatver their 7-11 type store is down there, and bought marshmellows and chocolate! cory was lighting firecrackers in his mouth and spitting them out after he lite them. my hero. lol
then we went to this bar that has a tree trunk going through the middle of it, in the room where the band plays. lots of soco shots later we walked home.
then, brace yourselves....
BUSH DIVING
"The sport of sprinting towards a bush then hurling your body into it. Simple as and funny as."
i don't know about cow tipping, but bush diving was surprisingly fun!! haahahaha
i found this site, which has a slide show, check it out, it was similar to this
http://www.patrickrice.com/slideshows/bushdiving/
then we went to Cory's and i passed out under his peach tree
Sat.
went to Mt. Vernon Ohio to the state fair b/c C had to set up a Cosi table and work it
im getting lazy now. the fair was interesting. very midwest-y. they had a civil war reenactment, dressing up, shooting canons, singing....i bought my first tie dye shirt!! haha
then the nice lady who was running the moon bounce let us 4 jump around in it before she deflated it. there are pictures. i need to learn how to post pictures on this...
sunday was chill. hung out at Josh's, watched David Attenborough Science & Nature video, made pizza, drank sangria, then got back on the megabus to Chicago.
today as i was walking to buy my bike i passed this church and heard someone playing the drum set. I walked in and talked to Carlos, who was playing, and he told me to come later tonight for a week long "Tumbleweed Gulch - Where God's Love Changes Everything!". I want to play drums for the church choir, he said if i start participating I can play...why not. So i went tonight at 6:30. It is the United Christian Church and everything is done in Spanish, the sermons, prayers, everything. So they started with some music (the whole time I kept thinking of Gweety and Southpark), then I went with the youth group and we read the bible. The woman was talking about Moses and how he parted the sea bla bla...she kept pronouncing Egypt as A-gypt, kind of annoyed me. Then we had arts and crafts and I bounced. met some nice people. i think i'm going to go back tomorrow! mom and dad would be so proud!!!!!!
i wrote a lot. this was for you Jesus. your turn.
here is a picture, it looks pretty similar to mine. i should probably get a helmet...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v221/pinknailbunny/hercules/HERCULES004-1.jpg
i'll back track a bit.
After lolla, i was real tired so i woke up late and walked around the city for a few days. i think monday i went to wicker park, i dont really remember...i think i met Sunny Daze that night. Ohh ok. i went walking in Lakeview to go to Best Buy to fix my camera. As i was walking i went inside a store and as I was walking out i saw a flyer for Fusicology. I use to work for them.
check out their site for events near you, if you've never. It's a website that promotes concerts, shows, events, etc...
http://www.fusicology.com/index/homepage/
so i decided to call A who i worked for at Fuse. A gave me Sunny Daze's number, she said " Sunny Daze is the shit!!" and he is. I met him at D' Vine in Wicker Park. They played a lot of old school hip hop, which was cool and i got to see live Barry Bond's hit his 758th home run and make baseball history . Sunny is cool and I'm excited to chill with him more.
i walked around downtown, first to the Field Museum to check out the dinosaur exhibit and everything else. It was tits, but short, i wanted more.
http://www.fieldmuseum.org/exhibits/dinos_tempexhib.htm
They have a Darwin exhibit which Marav said is cool, so I want to go back.
Then I walked down Michigan street. It was so fuckin hot that day. I kept walking in stores to get some air conditioning to survive. I also ate Chipotle and i immediately thought of you JESUS!! i fuckin miss you man, sorry if this is rubbing it in, but it tasted soo good. let me know if you want me to fedex you one.
i went to the water mall or something and then took the train home.
Wed I took the Megabus to Columbus, Ohio. 6 hours later I arrived, Crazy Balls picked me up with Marav. We picked up some goods then went to his place. That's when I met Chris Flowers. good kid. we went to see the Wailer's perform at the PromoWest Pavilion. I can't find a good picture of the venue online, but it reminded me of the Greek Theatre in Berkeley except much smaller, no seating, just a standing area in front of the stage and then a grass hill for people to sit/stand. it was a good venue.
The Wailer's were very very good. It was a very positive, upbeat set. It started to rain and they continued to play. The venue is outdoors so everyone was dancing to beautiful reggae music in the rain. It was a good feeling, wish more of you were there with me to enjoy it. We were all soaked. wet wet wet. so we decided to sneak in the bar next door b/c Mickey Avalon was playing. We caught the last 2 songs. He is crazy. love him. SIMON REX IS HOTTTTTT!!!! dirt nasty and Andre Legacy joined Mickey for the last song, "My Dick". i wish we partied with them after.
check it out fool
http://www.myspace.com/mickeyavalon
after Mickey i think we went to see Mike Perkins, surprised at the vast music scene in Columbus. music's everywhere. Mike Perkins was cool, reminded me of music Erika Krisch would listen to on Semester at Sea...lol
By then it was Cory's birthday! Happy Happy it was. (throughout this entire Ohio trip we had these egg shakers, small chi chi instrument, playing along to the music). I gave him this donosaur necklace I bought from the Field Museum and he lost it, or it fell off..hopefully it will be found
Friday Marav and I went to Cosi (pronounced cos-eye) IT WAS REALLY COOL, i had a lot of fun.
check out their site
http://www.cosi.org/about/mission/
they have a bunch of different exhibits about space, life, ocean, science park...i got to watch a video of a woman having a C section, which was soo crazy. I have so much respect for surgeons. then i watched video footage of brain surgery which was really interesting.
After Cosi, we started drinking for crazy balls bday. We went to see the SpikeDrivers, then to a punk bar, then to Skully's for 80's music.
Friday i don't really remember except that we played Frolf! fun fun fun. it's a game of frisbee golf. i told Josh that if he jumped in the river water by the course, I'd buy him a chipotle burrito. He did, so we went to Chipotle. Friday night was fun. We went to this guy Eric's house. He was having a party b/c he was moving, so he was burning a lot of stuff. I went to the united farm chicken, or whatver their 7-11 type store is down there, and bought marshmellows and chocolate! cory was lighting firecrackers in his mouth and spitting them out after he lite them. my hero. lol
then we went to this bar that has a tree trunk going through the middle of it, in the room where the band plays. lots of soco shots later we walked home.
then, brace yourselves....
BUSH DIVING
"The sport of sprinting towards a bush then hurling your body into it. Simple as and funny as."
i don't know about cow tipping, but bush diving was surprisingly fun!! haahahaha
i found this site, which has a slide show, check it out, it was similar to this
http://www.patrickrice.com/slideshows/bushdiving/
then we went to Cory's and i passed out under his peach tree
Sat.
went to Mt. Vernon Ohio to the state fair b/c C had to set up a Cosi table and work it
im getting lazy now. the fair was interesting. very midwest-y. they had a civil war reenactment, dressing up, shooting canons, singing....i bought my first tie dye shirt!! haha
then the nice lady who was running the moon bounce let us 4 jump around in it before she deflated it. there are pictures. i need to learn how to post pictures on this...
sunday was chill. hung out at Josh's, watched David Attenborough Science & Nature video, made pizza, drank sangria, then got back on the megabus to Chicago.
today as i was walking to buy my bike i passed this church and heard someone playing the drum set. I walked in and talked to Carlos, who was playing, and he told me to come later tonight for a week long "Tumbleweed Gulch - Where God's Love Changes Everything!". I want to play drums for the church choir, he said if i start participating I can play...why not. So i went tonight at 6:30. It is the United Christian Church and everything is done in Spanish, the sermons, prayers, everything. So they started with some music (the whole time I kept thinking of Gweety and Southpark), then I went with the youth group and we read the bible. The woman was talking about Moses and how he parted the sea bla bla...she kept pronouncing Egypt as A-gypt, kind of annoyed me. Then we had arts and crafts and I bounced. met some nice people. i think i'm going to go back tomorrow! mom and dad would be so proud!!!!!!
i wrote a lot. this was for you Jesus. your turn.
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
can vegetarian's be murderers?
i hate being color blind. the gd damn train system here is all color coded. fuckers.
Monday, August 6, 2007
lollaPOPooza
i'm going to try and write what i remember
after the first crazy day of lolla, the 2nd day was pretty good too.
kinda sad i don't remember much but
Hilary and I went to see Cold War Kids first, they were good, I had never seen them before
THEN MY HEART WAS BROKEN AFTER THEY ANNOUNCED THAT CSS WOULD NOT PERFORM, i was real bummed about this, they were one bad i was looking forward to, supposedly they missed their flight
ps, this isn't a music blog so i'm not going to get into any performance details b/c im lazy
then i think we met up with Cory, Josh, and Marav once the snuk (sp?) in - i'm jealous by the way
we saw Clap your hands say Yeah, they were ok i think, dont really remember
then the Roots, i liked
then the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, which were what i thought the best performance of the day.. the lead singer is awesome!
Karen O man, she's way cool, great singer and very good performer. I liked her 'costume' and her voice is so unique and just goood. She swallowed the mic a few times. i want to check out more of their music. at that stage there was always someone translating in sign language which was cool too.
then Regina Spektor. i went and ate when she first went on and supposedly someone in the crowd fainted or something and she stopped her show in the middle of the song to help this person get out ok. seems legit and marav and cory said she played a Patti Smith cover which is also pretty tits. or pretty flowers.
then was Patti Smith. she was real good too. i've been wanting to see her. she played GLOOOOORIIIAA and it rocked and she also played Nirvana Smells Like Teen Spirit which was tits seeing her play it at a slower tempo but still be real good.
the interpol. Interpol was good. for some reason i kept day dreaming during it, don't know why. maybe it was the distraction of all the freakin glow num-chuck type sticks. lol oh it started to rain during Patti and stopped/continued throughout Interpol which was
the night was fun. I met C J and M at Katie's plac, we got the party started and went to Debonair club. CSS was SUPPOSED to spin, still bummed, but Chris Homes from Smashing Pumkins did instead. Chris was surprisingly good and so was the dj before him Andrew Vonn i think his name was. The music could have been louder, or I'm going deaf, which is very very possible.
As I'm abbreviating now CJM and I were pretty much floating, we got up and danced in front of the projection to make interesting dance shadows, which i'm sure kept the rest of the debonair crowd either amused or annoyed...either way, no one stopped us.
then we frolicked around wicker for a bit more until i was too tired to continue and i just got a cab home.
LAST DAY OF LOLLA
____________________________
i woke up and went to Katie's to meet everyone. i really wanted to see Amy Winehouse.
After we had a mini-lollapalooza at her place we finally made it to Grant Park. I ran my ass to Amy's stage, as i approached i heard "no no no" then she played Valerie and it was over. bummer, but she was good while it lasted.
the a bit of Paolo Nutini until CJM sneaked in. he was ehhhh
then i was debating b/w Iggy and Kings of Leon. I'v seen them both before, but am in love with the boys of Kings, but decided to stay with everyone at Iggy which i'm real happy about.
Iggy started playing, rocked, then during one song said something like everyone come join me.
Next thing i know i see Cory jumping the fence and the security guard didn't sop him. I look at the security and he's like "come on!" so i jump over and run to the stage, if it wasn;t for Cory's helping hand I'm not sure I would have made it, much love Cory!...it was awesome. dancing around on stage, it was one of the main ones which was cool, i was around the bass player, Dave Alexander and the drummer, Scott Asheton. I din;t know that the drummer and guitarist are Iggy's brothers. I really appreciate the Stooges as a band, Ron the guitarist was really impressive too. the bass player was soo happy as he was playing it was great, everyone crowding around less than 1 foot away from him. i kept dancing on front of Scott but his face was glued to his set. and Ron stood back and had a security guy in front of him so no one got real close, but i understand b/c he wouldn't have been able to play so well bla bla
after Iggy bit of the Wailers and Elan sang with them! it was great, he is an israeli reggae singer and is fiiiiiine. what a perfect combination. He went to Camp Ramah with Dallia! small world
modest mouse, then my morning jacket, TV on the RAdio, then Pearl Jam
pearl jam was great. great. great.
i realized i listened to i think a little too much hip hop in highschool and should have been listeing to some pearl jam like most people....oh well, i listen now. pearl jam was good, indeed.
then we went to Millenium Park which was closed for the most part ( i must go back) but we sat under the bean? thing..ha, there were others there i'm sure you can guess why...the bean or ovary as someone suggested is a nice work of art.
we met up some people, ate, said goodbye's, and went lala.
today i walked A LOT, took the bus and train on my own! woo hoo i'm getting a feel for the city
i have a plan to stalk the owner of the green mill, i pretty much have a bike being held for me, which reminds me i was asked for the 2nd time today if i was a dancer. WHAT THE FUCK PEOPLE, this is just weird, there must be a clone of me out there. i'm almost positive these guys weren't into ballet so whoever this dancer is that i may look like, she is fuckin up my shit. i don't like being asked that. eww
i met this guy Miguel at Ear wax and met him for drinks at Rodan at Wicker Park. Rodan is cool, i'd go back but Miguel was whatverrrr. haha
laters
oh I got a real random call 2 day, that will supposedly continue tomorrow. weiiiiiird
after the first crazy day of lolla, the 2nd day was pretty good too.
kinda sad i don't remember much but
Hilary and I went to see Cold War Kids first, they were good, I had never seen them before
THEN MY HEART WAS BROKEN AFTER THEY ANNOUNCED THAT CSS WOULD NOT PERFORM, i was real bummed about this, they were one bad i was looking forward to, supposedly they missed their flight
ps, this isn't a music blog so i'm not going to get into any performance details b/c im lazy
then i think we met up with Cory, Josh, and Marav once the snuk (sp?) in - i'm jealous by the way
we saw Clap your hands say Yeah, they were ok i think, dont really remember
then the Roots, i liked
then the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, which were what i thought the best performance of the day.. the lead singer is awesome!
Karen O man, she's way cool, great singer and very good performer. I liked her 'costume' and her voice is so unique and just goood. She swallowed the mic a few times. i want to check out more of their music. at that stage there was always someone translating in sign language which was cool too.
then Regina Spektor. i went and ate when she first went on and supposedly someone in the crowd fainted or something and she stopped her show in the middle of the song to help this person get out ok. seems legit and marav and cory said she played a Patti Smith cover which is also pretty tits. or pretty flowers.
then was Patti Smith. she was real good too. i've been wanting to see her. she played GLOOOOORIIIAA and it rocked and she also played Nirvana Smells Like Teen Spirit which was tits seeing her play it at a slower tempo but still be real good.
the interpol. Interpol was good. for some reason i kept day dreaming during it, don't know why. maybe it was the distraction of all the freakin glow num-chuck type sticks. lol oh it started to rain during Patti and stopped/continued throughout Interpol which was
the night was fun. I met C J and M at Katie's plac, we got the party started and went to Debonair club. CSS was SUPPOSED to spin, still bummed, but Chris Homes from Smashing Pumkins did instead. Chris was surprisingly good and so was the dj before him Andrew Vonn i think his name was. The music could have been louder, or I'm going deaf, which is very very possible.
As I'm abbreviating now CJM and I were pretty much floating, we got up and danced in front of the projection to make interesting dance shadows, which i'm sure kept the rest of the debonair crowd either amused or annoyed...either way, no one stopped us.
then we frolicked around wicker for a bit more until i was too tired to continue and i just got a cab home.
LAST DAY OF LOLLA
____________________________
i woke up and went to Katie's to meet everyone. i really wanted to see Amy Winehouse.
After we had a mini-lollapalooza at her place we finally made it to Grant Park. I ran my ass to Amy's stage, as i approached i heard "no no no" then she played Valerie and it was over. bummer, but she was good while it lasted.
the a bit of Paolo Nutini until CJM sneaked in. he was ehhhh
then i was debating b/w Iggy and Kings of Leon. I'v seen them both before, but am in love with the boys of Kings, but decided to stay with everyone at Iggy which i'm real happy about.
Iggy started playing, rocked, then during one song said something like everyone come join me.
Next thing i know i see Cory jumping the fence and the security guard didn't sop him. I look at the security and he's like "come on!" so i jump over and run to the stage, if it wasn;t for Cory's helping hand I'm not sure I would have made it, much love Cory!...it was awesome. dancing around on stage, it was one of the main ones which was cool, i was around the bass player, Dave Alexander and the drummer, Scott Asheton. I din;t know that the drummer and guitarist are Iggy's brothers. I really appreciate the Stooges as a band, Ron the guitarist was really impressive too. the bass player was soo happy as he was playing it was great, everyone crowding around less than 1 foot away from him. i kept dancing on front of Scott but his face was glued to his set. and Ron stood back and had a security guy in front of him so no one got real close, but i understand b/c he wouldn't have been able to play so well bla bla
after Iggy bit of the Wailers and Elan sang with them! it was great, he is an israeli reggae singer and is fiiiiiine. what a perfect combination. He went to Camp Ramah with Dallia! small world
modest mouse, then my morning jacket, TV on the RAdio, then Pearl Jam
pearl jam was great. great. great.
i realized i listened to i think a little too much hip hop in highschool and should have been listeing to some pearl jam like most people....oh well, i listen now. pearl jam was good, indeed.
then we went to Millenium Park which was closed for the most part ( i must go back) but we sat under the bean? thing..ha, there were others there i'm sure you can guess why...the bean or ovary as someone suggested is a nice work of art.
we met up some people, ate, said goodbye's, and went lala.
today i walked A LOT, took the bus and train on my own! woo hoo i'm getting a feel for the city
i have a plan to stalk the owner of the green mill, i pretty much have a bike being held for me, which reminds me i was asked for the 2nd time today if i was a dancer. WHAT THE FUCK PEOPLE, this is just weird, there must be a clone of me out there. i'm almost positive these guys weren't into ballet so whoever this dancer is that i may look like, she is fuckin up my shit. i don't like being asked that. eww
i met this guy Miguel at Ear wax and met him for drinks at Rodan at Wicker Park. Rodan is cool, i'd go back but Miguel was whatverrrr. haha
laters
oh I got a real random call 2 day, that will supposedly continue tomorrow. weiiiiiird
Saturday, August 4, 2007
daft punk exists
oooooook
so i want to write this while it is still FRESH in my mind
today was the first day of lollapalooza.
1st show M.I.A., her voice was a bit strained it sounded like, but ben and i saw her in la at the echo plex and she was t.i.g.h.t
2nd show Rapture: so long story short, Hilary and I rushed the stage for this show. It was pretty funny actually. We both ran up at the same time and within a few minutes they made Hilary come down. As I was dancing with the guitar and bass guys the security kept looking at me and pointing for me to get off but i just looked the other way and kept dancing. Then the stupid security guy finally caught me (i kept dancing around so he couldnt catch me on stage, that was the funny part) he grabbed my arm unnecessarily hard and pulled me off. He was real mad, or they were mad, there was 2 of them.
I told them to let go of my arm and they just kept saying for me to give them my wrist band (for the entire weekend!) fuuuuuuccckkkk no
they kept saying "you fucked me over, you fucked me over" (this is b/c when we first got backstage the security saw us w/o artist passes and he told us to leave. i told him that the band invited us back here, he didn't believe me but let us stay b/c we were 'cute' whatverrr). So when that same security guy saw me on stage he kept saying i fucked him over b/c he let us stay and how he's going to be in trouble w/ the band bla bla. Because i have amazing powers of persuasion ( i have many stories which prove this) i convinced them that i was from california, it was the FIRST day, bla bla and they couldnt take it away.
they made me leave the park and come back in as punishment. ha-ha!
THEN as i walk in, i go to buy a water, and this kid comes to me and says if i buy him a beer i can buy one too (he was a youngin) SO BASICALLY I WAS REWARDED FOR RUSHING THE STAGE WITH A FREE BEERR WOOOOO tits.
show 3 was a bit of G Love and special sauce
show 4 was a bit of the black keys
then i ran into aaron and was with him and his homies until the end of the day. Doobie, Aaron misses you.
show 5 was Femi Kuti which was real fun! dance dance daaaaaance
show 6 DAFT PUNK
NOW THE EXCITEMENT BEGINS
after Daft we ended up going to a ED Banger after party at the Green Dolphin.
Busy P, Sebstian, Kavinsky, (the Rapture played a set too) were all there
the music was good, real tight beats , im too tired to get into it
i was watching Kavinsky i think when i needed to get some air so i turned into this area then i saw some dude signing autographs
i asked some chick who he is and she says ," that? that is Thomas", i ask "from Daft?" she says "YEAAAAAAAA"
basically we, as in Cory, Josh, Marav, and I smoke with the other one, Guy Manuel, he had real cool style
Thomas didnt smoke. No offense to any french people, but french people are already a bit 'confident' if you will, and the daft guys very much knew they are the shit. i don't blame them, it was cool watching and listening to daft and the rest of ed b's crew all speak French with each other, they all seemed very close
i was standing next to Guy for a while and i touched his behind gently, and i very slyly rubbed against his arms, elbow, etc etc
it was lovely, i have a bit of daft in me
THEN i spoke to the bass player from Rapture and asked him if he was pissed that i ran up bla bla and he said no bla bla BUT i dont have a good feeling about him and i heard some people talkin shit and seemed legit so im not a big fan of theirs anymore.. lol
its 4:30 im tired
ps chicago has BOMB food here
so i want to write this while it is still FRESH in my mind
today was the first day of lollapalooza.
1st show M.I.A., her voice was a bit strained it sounded like, but ben and i saw her in la at the echo plex and she was t.i.g.h.t
2nd show Rapture: so long story short, Hilary and I rushed the stage for this show. It was pretty funny actually. We both ran up at the same time and within a few minutes they made Hilary come down. As I was dancing with the guitar and bass guys the security kept looking at me and pointing for me to get off but i just looked the other way and kept dancing. Then the stupid security guy finally caught me (i kept dancing around so he couldnt catch me on stage, that was the funny part) he grabbed my arm unnecessarily hard and pulled me off. He was real mad, or they were mad, there was 2 of them.
I told them to let go of my arm and they just kept saying for me to give them my wrist band (for the entire weekend!) fuuuuuuccckkkk no
they kept saying "you fucked me over, you fucked me over" (this is b/c when we first got backstage the security saw us w/o artist passes and he told us to leave. i told him that the band invited us back here, he didn't believe me but let us stay b/c we were 'cute' whatverrr). So when that same security guy saw me on stage he kept saying i fucked him over b/c he let us stay and how he's going to be in trouble w/ the band bla bla. Because i have amazing powers of persuasion ( i have many stories which prove this) i convinced them that i was from california, it was the FIRST day, bla bla and they couldnt take it away.
they made me leave the park and come back in as punishment. ha-ha!
THEN as i walk in, i go to buy a water, and this kid comes to me and says if i buy him a beer i can buy one too (he was a youngin) SO BASICALLY I WAS REWARDED FOR RUSHING THE STAGE WITH A FREE BEERR WOOOOO tits.
show 3 was a bit of G Love and special sauce
show 4 was a bit of the black keys
then i ran into aaron and was with him and his homies until the end of the day. Doobie, Aaron misses you.
show 5 was Femi Kuti which was real fun! dance dance daaaaaance
show 6 DAFT PUNK
NOW THE EXCITEMENT BEGINS
after Daft we ended up going to a ED Banger after party at the Green Dolphin.
Busy P, Sebstian, Kavinsky, (the Rapture played a set too) were all there
the music was good, real tight beats , im too tired to get into it
i was watching Kavinsky i think when i needed to get some air so i turned into this area then i saw some dude signing autographs
i asked some chick who he is and she says ," that? that is Thomas", i ask "from Daft?" she says "YEAAAAAAAA"
basically we, as in Cory, Josh, Marav, and I smoke with the other one, Guy Manuel, he had real cool style
Thomas didnt smoke. No offense to any french people, but french people are already a bit 'confident' if you will, and the daft guys very much knew they are the shit. i don't blame them, it was cool watching and listening to daft and the rest of ed b's crew all speak French with each other, they all seemed very close
i was standing next to Guy for a while and i touched his behind gently, and i very slyly rubbed against his arms, elbow, etc etc
it was lovely, i have a bit of daft in me
THEN i spoke to the bass player from Rapture and asked him if he was pissed that i ran up bla bla and he said no bla bla BUT i dont have a good feeling about him and i heard some people talkin shit and seemed legit so im not a big fan of theirs anymore.. lol
its 4:30 im tired
ps chicago has BOMB food here
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
this coud be fun
they try to make me go to rehab but i say no no nooo
this blog is for my homies who live above the building that i was hustlin from that called the- kidding. this is for you people out there that want to know about this short time i have here in chi and i'm also doing this so i don't have to repeat every story, this way if you're interested just come and read
Once I got off the plane the first thing that came to head was, wow I'm sooo happy to be out of LA.
I live on the corner of Ashland and Diversy. my address here is 2758 North Ashland. I live on top of a bar, Four Shadows. The apartment is chiill. I like it. Pretty spacious and we have an amazing view of a Shell gas station, blockbuster video, and subway.
i walked in the apartment and pressed play on the stereo on whatver CD was in there. CD player started playing rachel Ries, For You Only. It was nice for a bit, but I changed it for the Amy Winehouse CD that was laying on top of the CD player....Me and Mr. Jones Jones Jones
ok, more later, i'm out. peace
this blog is for my homies who live above the building that i was hustlin from that called the- kidding. this is for you people out there that want to know about this short time i have here in chi and i'm also doing this so i don't have to repeat every story, this way if you're interested just come and read
Once I got off the plane the first thing that came to head was, wow I'm sooo happy to be out of LA.
I live on the corner of Ashland and Diversy. my address here is 2758 North Ashland. I live on top of a bar, Four Shadows. The apartment is chiill. I like it. Pretty spacious and we have an amazing view of a Shell gas station, blockbuster video, and subway.
i walked in the apartment and pressed play on the stereo on whatver CD was in there. CD player started playing rachel Ries, For You Only. It was nice for a bit, but I changed it for the Amy Winehouse CD that was laying on top of the CD player....Me and Mr. Jones Jones Jones
ok, more later, i'm out. peace
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