September 24th, 2010
I had the genius idea of singing up for a free bike ride called "Bike to the Bash". Ok, so the idea was not mine. A friend suggested it, but I did not hesitate. It's a ride to San Antonio, where the cyclists will end up at the "Bash at the brewery", a live music event organized by the Lone Star brewery.
Being a free event, with free entry to the concert, it was a matter of signing up and hoping you would get selected the day they would pick the names out of the hat. And it seems, I was one of the lucky cyclists who will be joining the ride.
So, here I am, ready to join the ride tomorrow. 
Bike ready CHECK
Camelbak filled with Gatorade CHECK
Clothes ready CHECK
Glasses CHECK
Bandana CHECK
Ride wristband CHECK
Tyre repair tools CHECK
Energy gel shots CHECK
Phone, ID, money CHECK
Timing watch CHECK
iPod CHECK
I think I got everything covered... Now, why all this preparation, you're gonna ask. Well, San Antonio is not exactly down the road. In fact, it is an 80 mile (129km) distance from here to our final destination. All 165 of us will be setting off precisely at 7am, intending to get there some time in the afternoon. So yes, I do need to be prepared.
Am I nuts? Probably! Hell, I don't even like the music they'll be playing at the festival. I'm only going for the fun of it and to see how I'll cope with such a long bike ride. Luckily, another friend is also on the ride, so we'll get some good laughs in.
Time now is 8.30pm and I'm going to bed already, because I got a 5am wake up call ahead of me. I'll keep you posted if I survive this.
M.
20/03/2010
March 12th till March 21st is when SXSW takes place in Austin. It is a huge event festival, combining interactive technology, film and music at the same time. We're talking about a festival like no other. The whole city turns into one big venue. People rent out parking lot to turn them into concert halls. Tens of thousands of people start flocking into Austin and we end up living in the middle of a gigantic concert venue. It's terrific and terrifying at the same time.
On the last saturday of the events, I went to shoot some bands playing at a free event downtown. By the time I got there, Andrew W.K. was coming up on stage. Once he began to sing, I immediately got a good idea of what kind of music all bands were gonna be playing, and so will you after seeing a couple of the photos below.
I climbed up a tree to have a perfect clear view of the stage and despite the freak cold that had attacked Austin that day (and that day only), it was well worth it.
After this fella, it was time for the headliners to make their appearance. Now, have you ever heard of the band called "Gwar"? If not, google them and you'll get an idea of who they are.
In brief, it is a rock band that made its appearance during the 80s and immediately took the crowds by surprise with their "intense" and "creative" stage appearance.
What we have here is a group of guys dressed up in huge, sci-fi, horror costumes (one of them was wearing a strap-on that had an amputated turkey leg for a penis) who perform all sorts of obscenities on stage, while singing trash metal and spraying fake blood on the crowd that is going wild!
The show was hilarious. Their music... not quite my cup of tea...
M.
26/01/2010
Before starting to read this post, hit play on the bar below (if you are reading this through your email and you cannot see the bar, click here to go straight to my blog):
Right... now...
How many of you are music lovers?
How many of you listen to rock music, and more specifically, rock & roll from the 60s and the 70s?
How many of you enjoy listening to the radio a lot?
How many of you would enjoy listening to the radio, if it wasn't filled with the same boring voices, the same boring programs, the same boring people, the same boring music and it just had some true passion instead of all this?
Personally, I relate to every single one of those questions. Every now and then, in whichever country I’d be living, I would find a radio station with some really good music and inspiring DJs. But those stations are becoming more and more scarse and especially since I moved to Argentina, where every radio station was worse than the other, I have not been listening to it at all. I miss the feeling of suddenly hearing a song that I really really like, but I wouldn’t have thought to look for it myself. Isn’t it a unique feeling, being in your car, stuck in traffic, listening to the DJs unique personality that makes you laugh or cringe and out of nowhere, one of your all-time favorite songs will come up and you’ll start singing and moving around in your seat, as much as your seat belt allows you?
Recently, I watched the Boat That Rocked (thanks to my lovely friend, S.).
Apart from the fact that it is a hilarious movie, with endless beautiful images and inspiring messages, it gives a beautiful insight on what the 1960’s were like in relation to music.
Those years were unique. A time when people would gather around a radio receiver and wait for the voice at the other end of the sound waves to stimulate their emotions. Friends lying on the floor, co-existing next to each other, doing nothing but listen to the radio and plunge into the pool of thoughts that every song would awaken in their heads. Young girls falling in love while listening to the voices of Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and Jim Morrison.
We’re talking about the years that the radio DJ is more famous than the rock ‘n’ roll stars themselves! There aren’t television sets in every home and not everybody can afford a car to go wherever they want. The radio is everyone’s number one method of entertainment and news source. Forget about nightclubs, smokey bars and raves. Invite your friends over, place the radio in the middle of the carpet on the living room floor and start dancing and boogying to the rhythms instructed by the DJ. Whole lives and dreams and relationships and culturally shocking habits were formed through that little grey box with buttons and an antenna on it.
No, I obviously did not experience any of those years, nor am I one of those people who feel that they were born 20 years too late. But I’d give anything to be able to experience a month in that period of time! Where’s that damn time machine again??!
M.
18/09/2009
M. treated me like a king during the week I spent in Phoenix. She showed me around the city, she cooked delicious goodies and made me feel at home. The highlight of it all though, I would say was the Arizona Fall Frenzy music festival, 
and in there to be more specific, seeing the B-52s live on stage.
Now, I don't know how many of you -if any- have ever seen the B-52s live. I never had listened to their music and only after seeing them sing it, did I realise that Loveshack is one of their "hits".
So, imagine you have a band and your little cousin who plays the guitar always wanted to be in a band. So you let him join. And there he is, on stage, playing it kinda cool, slightly expression-less (he is a famous, arrogant rock star after all) and overall not contributing much to the band, neither with his stage performance, nor with his guitar-playing skills.
Of course, having put your little cousin in the band, his dad -your uncle- comes into play too. He needs to be part of this because he always believed he can be a star. And surely enough, on stage, not too far from his kid, with his funky little glasses on and his 70's-style clothes (mainly coz that's when he discovered sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll), he is all serious and devoted to his style of singing. Inside, he is thinking to himself "I rock! I'm very good at this and I will show it to everyone. By being very focused, sharp and serious, I'll do this right!". And he thinks that having as his only movement an occasional on-the-spot army march, he is actually making a statement and idolizing himself. He keeps repeating to himself "Damn, I'm good!", but without showing any emotion or excitement.
In the meantime, getting your cousin and uncle in the band would probably cause a volcano-like eruption if you didn't include your auntie too. She never quite got the hang of acting and performing though, let alone singing. So when up on stage, right next your dear uncle, she's dressed up in her fancy, red dress, that she saves for a special occasion and has dyed her hair extra red too.And she's standing there, in front of the microphone, but she's not quite sure what to do with it. Luckily, she remembers what she is supposed to sing, when she is supposed to sing it, and every time it's her turn, she kinda shouts the words out in a half-stressed way, while shaking her body towards random directions, as if she is trying to hula-hoop for the first time in her life. And every so often, she gives your uncle a quick look, to make sure that he is still there, with the microphone in his hand, giving her that reassurance that the show is still going and she's not left alone on stage, looking oblivious of what's happening. So she keeps "singing" some words when need be, while having a look on her face that says "Ummm... I guess this is what I am supposed to say now. Ummm... shit... Is that... right? And... Do I... do I turn this way now? Damn these heels are too high."
Last but not least, you have the guest star. Your mom. A lady who will never admit it, but she would be irreversably hurt and offended had you placed half your family on your band, but left her out. She got ready for her big moment of fame. She spent 4 hours at the hair salon to make an almost Marge Simpson-like hairstyle, 
slipped into her tight, white, long dress which seems to be 2-3 sizes small for her and jumped on stage. She grabbed the microphone and the crowd started to cringe. She still thinks she is the best and the most important of all members of the group and is putting on a performance that makes the crowd understand that her all-time musical idol is baby spice. She still can't sing for shit though and every step of hers looks like she is about to fall off her 12 inch heels.
And this group that seems to be the Adams Family of 80's pop music is still on stage, singing over and over and over again...
Ladies and gentlemen... The B-52s!
After seeing them, I couldn't decide if it was the worst live music performance I had ever seen, or if it was so bizarrely surreal and horrific, that it actually became entertaining. Whichever the case, I feel warped and dazed...
M.
Posts
