Check this cool poster that Sean Goblin made for the Underlings - rad! He has a flickr photostream here.

I am burnt out on work this week. I'll be glad when Country Fair madness comes to an end. Every year, tons of folks pile into the parking lot of the organic produce warehouse and load up on anything and everything that isn't tied down - bins of watermelon, pallets of oranges, boxes of pineapple, cherries, peaches, veggies - they pile it into a mish-mash of Mad Max-style hippie caravan machines, pile it high like the Beverly Hillbillies and roll out to Veneta 15 miles away for the biggest dirt-based hippie art/music/bra-free/smells-like-a-wild-pack-of-humans festival that half the population of my town + 30,000 visitors from out of the area go to. I'm mostly glad that I live in an Alternative Community tm but sometimes I wonder what it would be like to live somewhere more normal, where the only weird thing that happens is a turtle crossing the road.

ScottK pointed this out to me on BoingBoing yesterday. Awesome!

The Underlings went to Salem last night to play at a crusty college-aged party, complete with a backyard teepee, hobo kids and vegan sausages frying in a pan in the World's Dirtiest Kitchen. Yes, there was a PA and, thanks to Dan Jones' buddies Les Nunes, there was also a microphone. Dan played a great set of mostly new songs on his acoustic - Panther Girl, Pink Pansies, the Doggie Song and a really great song about painting 52 landscapes in a year. I recorded the set but oops! I recorded over when the other bands started playing. The Underlings had a real fun time during our 10 song set, which took about 35 minutes. The crusty kids danced to our pop songs a rocked to our rock songs. Really nice, and we loved looking at the wall-art as we played. The Salem group Phantom played next and they were absolutely savage. A really fantastic, raw rock and roll group. I would have liked to have heard the vocals better, but I could tell that the screaming sounded pretty good. THe Shy Season, a band purported to be from LEBANON(!)(one of them told me nervously that they were from...um...ah...Salem or Portland or something, as if it were shamful to be from LEBANON!) went last and they were good, kind of indie rock with great teenage hair. I recorded some songs from both bands on my cassette recorder and I noticed some other kid had an old-school tape deck also. There were all these 80's metal cassettes of artists like Dio, Black Sabbath, the Descendents, Yngvie Malmsteen. I got inspired and busted out my boombox and cranked a tape I had of side 3 of Husker Du's Zen Arcade in between sets because nobody else was playing anything. I think perhaps some ears perked at hearing some classic angst music that doesn't get heard much by today's generation, but really the room cleared out pretty fast ha ha! I felt like a fucking geezer, but I always think, it's good to be true to whatever music or culture or whatever you think is cool, not worry too much if what you like is out-of-sync with the times. The same savage emotion of Husker Du's rock was present in the music the bands we played with last night; maybe the times don't change as much as anyone ever thinks.

I watched Emperor of the North for the first time last night, the movie that my friend Slayer Carl refers to most often as his favorite movie, and he's seen a lot of movies, so he should know a good flick. I loved the trains and the sadistic hobo-beating character played by Ernest Borgnine. I loved the fight scene at the end - so f-ing brutal! And believeable, with no crappy special effects to muck it up. Thanks for the reccomendation, Carl.
I was reminded constantly throughout the movie of my dad, and how he probably watched this movie, too, being that he was an avid enthusiast about all things pertaining to old trains. The Lee Marvin character, A-number 1, even looks, talks and dresses like my dad, so you can imagine my piqued interest in the story. It's funny how the older I get, the more my interests in music, books and movies goes backward to the generations that preceded my own. I've been loving Steinbeck's East of Eden, which I find time to stick my nose in every day lately. The first half of the 20th century had so many characters in it's basic make-up. I know there are characters these days, too, but they're often looking for love with a fake tan on some tv show or practicing their original gangsta' speak for their dj gig.
It's funny that all things point back to dad - I relate everything I read and think back to the old man. Being that he lived through both world wars and the depression between them, he saw first-hand the events that were the foundation of American culture. In the beginning of the 20th century, America was still a free-for-all frontier. Lawlessness was common. Brutality of all kinds was the rule. But also simplicity, basic values and kindness were in there somewhere. In the lean years of war and depression, people got by any way they could, skimping on basic needs, growing their own food if they could and surviving alone and in clumps. All the generations leading up to the baby boomers strove so hard to make it, and since then, subsequent generations have had it easy. We don't have access to the kinds of experience and memories of hard times that our parents and grandparents lived through.
Has this new depression taught us anything yet? Are we truly poor enough to really be desperate for change? And, is the decay of our collective character any worse than it has been in past times?

Time for my coffee break!

Posting in between bouts of counting in the 36-degree f apple cooler - blueberries, peaches, pears, cherries. Summer is on, baby, and it feels cold to me! Exercising the fingers bringing the life back inta these old hands.
Reading Dan's latest blog post, I laughed myself silly. Perhaps because I've been watching too much Bert and Ernie during my morning routine with Louis AND complaining (like an old-timer) about the lack of soul and bass in modern college-oriented rock. Now, if I could just get my hands on a time machine and some pcp...
-later-
yes, the apple cooler is counted. No, I am not slacking off, no matter what PZ sez.

No one really reads these blog posts anymore, save a few die-hards who are not yet enmeshed in facebook, myspace or twitter. I'm considering moving all my informational dispatches to either smoke signals or conch shell. Or perhaps Morse code. dot-dot-dash-dash-dash-dot-dot-dot-dash-dot-dash-dash; in other words,

Kraut Rock in the workplace

vid from Yeltsin's performance at the Cuthbert Amphitheater on Saturday

New cool stuff happening all the time. Work is great - I love the business that comes along with the advent of warm weather in Oregon. I get to deal with several different farmers, all of them eccentric and most of them funny as hell, as I put together their supply orders. I make reams of labels for organically grown vegetables and send them off to farms. I eat and sample fruits, vegetables and melons all day long and have a laugh with my friends about every 15 seconds, listen to tons of good and bad music, exchange emails with pictures of vegetables in various states of dying and/or rotting, or "blowing" as we say. I've also been digging my new tape recorder, a vintage JC Penney/Panasonic mono tape deck that really weighs a lot and is so much coole than an ipod. I've been making all kinds of recordings and playing back vintage punk tapes from high school and college. I love the way obsolete technology is so cheap right now and yet well-made and built to last. I'll post some pics and videos soon! Must go on walk now.

Exclusive Cole-house content:

Blogging has taken a backseat to pounding my head against the Facebook wall. Things in the life of this humanoid are well. Tina, Cosmo and I went over to Chez Random for a splendid feast on Saturday night. My memory is not the best, but let me recall for you now some of the delicious items we dined upon: mussels on the 1/2 shell, cheesy puff-balls, scrumptious mixed greens salad with warm goat cheese encrusted with nuts, delicious baked chicken leg-wings on a plate that were beyond belief good! Yuuummmm!! Also included were several good wines, both champagnes and a red and coffee, coffee, coffee with a chocolate tart with pecans. Thank you, Mr and Mrs Random! Your house is our favorite dining spot in town. 'twas nice to leave post-toddler Louis at home, courtesy of DJ Sleeve's babysitting service.
Other things that happened this past weekend are lost in my short-term RAM cache. Band practice happened with Underlings and it was rad. We've been working hard at birthing some new material since we are tired of playing off the same ol' set list. We have a 7" offer from a bona-fide record label that needs to be discussed amongst the band's quality control contingent. If the offer passes strict criteria, a new Underlings product will be headed to record store shelves before too long.
Stay tuned for more rock and roll news from planet Eugene!
muchos,

Ed

I really enjoyed this band I saw in Dan and Tracy's living room last night - Gather Round Us from Portland:

Interesting it is, being at this stage of my physical existence. This weekend, I attended an organic convention in Portland, straining the limits of my cynicism control mechanism. The food and drink was delicious, as were some of the folks and the accommodations. While waiting for a music store to open(so's I could return some rental gear) I embarked on a nice long walk of the PDX neighborhoods just north, east and south of the Lloyd Center Mall. A great way to avoid spending money and/or avoiding intake of unnecessary food and/or coffee. I also enjoyed having a chance to sit and collect my thoughts on paper for a spell in my hotel cell.
In other news, I am psyched that I received in the mail and then installed a Harmonic Designs p90 pickup for my new Telecaster, so's I might create duller yet more rocking tones from my American made hunk of wood and wires. Pretty fucking fun, busting out the old soldering iron and playing surgeon on my new guitar. At first, I was afraid, but then it dawned on me that it was indeed my instrument and I could take it the hell apart if I felt like it, so I did. Much better than eating ice cream and hoping to view some late-night program that might make me laugh.

Yesterday was the Eugene Record Convention at the Eugene Hilton, an event I prefer not to miss. I made it this year and it was totally rad. The vibe was right and the tables seemed to be teaming with cool albums, spilling out in piles of faded, thrift store covers, musty smell and all. Some dude selling dvds in the back was blasting horrible music - Skynyrd, Allman Bros, Cream - stuff that was annoying to most passers by, who were trying to peruse their punk, jazz, rockabilly and country without the benefit of too-loud, over-played classic rock. That aside, I scored some good records this year without going over my meager$60 budget:

1. Stooges, Raw Power; an absolute classic, in really nice condition. I'm sowly replacing my Stooges cds with lps. @ down, 1 to go.
2. The Dictators, Bloodbrothers; I've never owned any Dictators, so this is my start. Haven't played it yet - I'll wait until after work tonight.
3. Dickies, Dawn of the Dickies; this one already put me in a good mood for the day.
4. The Sonics, Original Northwest Punk lp; I love the Sonics when I need some raw-ness in my ears.
5.Out of Sight comp on Pickwick records, a $1 score. It features an early Lou Reed song, Cycle Annie.
6.Phil Lynott, Solo in Soho ; a gift from Scottk (Thanks!)I've been told this album is hit-and-miss, but I dig the song Ode to a Black Man.

That's it! I'm off to work.

I had a great time last night at the Meat Puppets show at WOW hall. I have to admit, I was not expecting the show to be the interstellar return to form that it ended up being. The last real Meat Puppet shows I saw were in 1988 and this show blew those away. Having the Kirkwood brothers in the same room playing music is like tripping on peyote while riding a dirt bike - totally freaked-out, unpredictaBLE FUN. I was happy to see so many old and new friends at this show. Thank you, Rulers of the Universe for allowing this event to happen.
Here are some vids from the middle of their set:

Geez, I can't believe I haven't checked over at the Dave Shack for awhile now. He's written some nice entries, logging our shows and pics and various what-nots. Check it out, ya'll - but try not to get any bbq sauce on your lapel.

Otherwise, life is grand. I took the night off from work so we can go down to the McDonald Theater and see Gogol Bordello, who we also saw when we sat down to dinner at Poppi's earlier this evening. I am psyched to go and see a good band! It's been too long since I've been to a concert, other than the club shows I usually see and play. I'll post the whole low-down on the show some other time.

Cheers,

Ed

Life keeps moving forward in mysterious ways. THe Underlings CD project, which has consumed so much time and thought, has finally come to fruition. After the cds came back in five big boxes on my porch and I hurriedly ripped open a box, sliced open a cd and reviewed the contents, all I could think was, "well, that wasn't so hard after all." It only took one garage band two years of gig money + some personal contributions from our blessed credit cards to make enough dough to cause the recording, artwork and duplication to happen; maybe next time, we'll just rob a bank - that is, if it happens to be a FDIC insured bank. We could always resort to collecting cans with our hobo bike trailers after we lose our mansions to foreclosure.
I hope lots of people come to our 2 shows at Sam Bonds on Saturday, October 4th - one free, all-ages show at 5:30 with Chanteuse opening up and the later, 21+ show at 9:30 with Dan Jones and the Squids opening. See you there!

Somehow, on Sunday evening while I was at work, Louis broke his little baby leg. Tina called me around 8 or so and said he was acting "in pain" after she retrieved him from being baby-sat by a friend. The babysitter didn't have a clue over what might have happened, which was, to say the least, utterly frustrating. According to the doctor at urgent care, Louis has a fracture in his lower fibula and he needs a cast for at least a few weeks. The little guy is bummed out, but he seems to be taking it in stride. Rats! He was having so much fun walking. Tomorrow, he goes to his regular doctor's office to get checked out and we'll see what they prescribe.

Here are a few pics from the last couple of days:

















Extended Underlings band during the Joe Strummer tribute show we played on Saturday. L-R: Alex Fletcher, Dave, Bryant on drums, Reed Gilchrist, myself and Stephen Mathys on the mandolin and bg vocals. Totally, big hella fun
















Cosmo, Louis, myself and Tina at Jed Smith state park in Nor Cal, on my favorite river, the Smith.
















Louis, me and my highschool friend Matt, one of the few people from high school that I still keep in touch with. He and his wife had us over for dinner and beers a plenty.

O.K., that's it for now

-Ed

So much has been leading up to this moment. My band has been preparing for thi sJoe Strummer tribute since March and now, we ar eon the verge of the whole damn thing. Tomorrow night, August 16th at WOW hall, we play our set at 8:50. CAN'T FUCKING WAIT!

love ,
Ed