Meet Eject...

www.myspace.com/ejecttheband

Paul Rogers from L.A. based band Eject takes some time out of his busy schedule to answer some questions before their return to the Kiss or Kill stage tonight at Safari Sam's. Eject takes the stage at 10:15 pm.



1. Where are you from originally, and what brought you to Los Angeles (if you are not originally from LA)?

I'm from England; Gary and Tim (our drummer and guitarist) are from Ireland; and Andy, our singer/guitarist, is a native Californian. Music brought us all here.

2. Some of the longtime fans and supporters knew you as The Slow Lorries what called for the band name to be changed to Eject?

There was another band called Slow Lorries in Northern California. We'd rather not worry about names at all - it's all just time and energy that could be used making great music.

3. How did the current line-up meet? Were any of you involved in other bands previously?

I met Andy after he placed an ad on Craig's List for "Peter Hook Wanted". Gary and Tim go way back and have played together on and off for years. Gary had briefly played in a band with Andy too.

4. What instruments do you each play?

I (Paul) play bass; Andy sings, plays guitar (and keys on the recordings) and writes all the songs; Gary plays drums and sings backing vocals; and Tim plays guitar.

5. What made you get involved with music?

Is there anything else?

6. Are there any plans to tour anytime soon?

Absolutely - as soon as it's viable.

7. Eject is currently in the studio recording, will the end product be a full length? Has a release date been scheduled?

We're permanently in the studio - Tim is also a world-class engineer. We just released our debut EP - the stuff we're currently recording will probably also appear as an EP, in the fall.

8. How did Eject's involvement with Kiss or Kill come about? When did you play your first Kiss or Kill show?

We first played KorK, at the Echo, in August '05 I think. A friend introduced me to the club in 2004 and we've had a relationship with them ever since.

9 What do you feel makes Kiss or Kill different from other nights in Los Angeles/Hollywood?

They're consistent with the bands they book. If you like melodic, punkish pop music, you can go to KorK on any given night and - even if you're not familiar with any of the bands - you'll almost certainly enjoy at least one of them.

10. In your own words how would you describe the Eject sound?

It's melodic, atmospheric and evocative, but has energy and angst too.



Eject in Action - photo by Brian Callaway



11. What do you feel sets Eject apart from other bands?

Hopefully great songs and quality arrangements. All I know is that our absolute priority is the songs - not fashion, being part of a "scene" or what the fuck ever.

12. Where does the inspiration for your songs stem from?

Andy's head. Musically? The Cure, Doves, early U2, New Order, Talk Talk, Pale Saints, Depeche Mode, The Smiths, Swervedriver, Andy's classical training, Buzzcocks, the Charlatans ...


Video The Charlatans - "The Only One I Know"


13. How has the sound evolved over the last few years?

We're gradually crystalizing our own sound/personality, and Andy's songs are getting better and better. I've no idea where our sound will go from here, but I'm excited about wherever it takes us.

14. What bands have influenced you personally?

Me? The Cure, Talk Talk, The Streets, David Sylvian, Magneta Lane, Immortal Technique, The Jam, Eisley, Depeche Mode, The Smiths, Catherine Wheel, Coheed & Cambria, Glassjaw ...


15. What advice would you give to bands that are just starting out?

Just do what you do and, if you're lucky, fashion and fate will line-up with your sound. Don't start chasing fashion - that's a recipe for misery and fake music. Remember why you got into this: to express yourself and have fun (presumably)

16. Do you feel band's have more of an advantage or disadvantage when it comes to taking their band to the next level in today's day in age considering the state of the music industry?

Nothing's changed - the cream still rises. If your music is great and you work hard, you'll succeed on some level. We're doing our thing without compromise and thoroughly enjoying it - we're already succeeding.

17. What would be your dream bill to play on?

On tour with The Cure, forever.

Video The Cure "Friday, I'm In Love" -



18. If you didnt reside in the Los Angeles area where would you live?

Austria.

Tonight At Kiss or Kill!!!

Kiss or Kill Club
5214 Sunset Blvd. (between Western and Kingsley)
Los Angeles, Ca

$3 before 10 pm $5 After
$3.50 PBR
Free Parking

Line-up
9:30 pm - The Procession (myspace.com/wearetheprocession)
10:15 pm - Eject (myspace.com/ejecttheband)
11:00 pm - Automatique - (myspace.com/automatique)
11:45 pm - Clark 8 (myspace.com/clarkeight)
12:30 am - Hazelden (myspace.com/hazelden)

9:30 pm - The Procession

here is The Procession's video for "Major and Minor"


10:15 pm - Eject


11:00 pm - Automatique

get to know the band through this video:


11:45 pm - Clark 8 (Rich from Sounds of Asteroth's side project)


12:30 am - Hazelden





DJ Pepper on the ones and twos!


Also don't forget to get to Safari Sam's early for the dinner and drink specials!

AT HOME HE'S A TOURIST

"Unhappy Meal"
by Jason Pancake

A common theme in government is that politicians have thrived thanks to the general political apathy of the American public. It’s natural for people to be concerned with their day to day lives and with their entertainment. For example, unless an average person or someone close to them is actually in a desert in Iraq, he or she doesn’t have a direct connection with the war. Even though the earth is warming at a dangerous rate, since it doesn’t affect us on a day to day basis, we just turn up the A/C and sit in our idling cars during rush hours. After all, we’ll be in bigger trouble today if we don’t show up for work. There are things that make people take action when they directly affect them such as illnesses, credit card interest rates, or easy access to firearms, but what about something that affects pretty much everybody?

Do you eat food? Do you like food? I sure do. Well according to news reports this past week, it looks like many

shipments of tainted food have been coming into the US from places such as China on a regular basis. According to the news report, “Dried apples preserved with a cancer-causing chemical. Frozen catfish laden with banned antibiotics. Scallops and sardines coated with putrefying bacteria. Mushrooms laced with illegal pesticides. These were among the 107 food imports from China that the Food and Drug Administration detained at U.S. ports just last month.” If you add up the facts, it is pretty clear: Large volume of food imported cheaply from China + Low safety standards in China + Not enough FDA inspectors to check imports = Tainted food possibly ending up on your plate.

There is no need to panic and avoid all food products or switch over to the Britney Diet of Cheetos and Pepsi. However, this is a part of a larger trend. A few weeks ago, I wrote about Susan Dudley who would like to do away with all government regulations (including FDA food safety issues) yet who was appointed under the radar to head the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. Paul Krugman of the New York Times has an interesting article about how food safety regulation has gone downhill in the last six years. Not coincidentally, the Bush Administration has been unwilling to step up food and drug safety regulations/inspection standards because in general, their policy is against the government regulation of other businesses or industries.

The argument of free market supporters, such as in the Bush Administration, is that corporations would check themselves because it’s bad for business when your customers get sick. In theory, that sounds very logical, but then again, in theory communism also sounds pretty good. The business world is tough. If there is an option where your company can cheaply import food products but a few people could possibly get sick, in a business sense, it is much more profitable to take the cheap imports.

An article written by a former FDA Deputy Commissioner describes how the increase in imports and new technology makes inspecting such a difficult job. These days, it is so easy to get products distributed and supplied to stores that there are a lot of new risks. According to the article, “FDA processed 15 million shipments of goods in 2006, up 60% since 2003. Products from more than 230 countries and more than 300,000 manufacturers…Against this, the FDA has about 625 inspectors for food and 260 for pill-type drugs.” So if you do the math (15 million shipments divided by (625 food inspectors + 260 pill inspectors), then that means that each inspector would have to check 16,950 shipments a year. Good luck with that.

There’s not exactly an easy solution to this, but it is clear that not much has been done in the last several years despite the massive increase in products (especially food) that have been imported. So far, the food issue is unfortunately looking like another public case of “I’ll wait until something happens to me.” As with everything that is going poorly right now, that is exactly what the Administration is counting on.

Meet Pu$$y Cow...

1. Where are you from originally, and what brought you to Los Angeles (if you are not originally from LA)?
Joe: I was born at the Kaiser Permanente on Sunset. I lived on Wilton, in Park LaBrea and well, all over Los Angeles really. I now make my home in gorgeous Echo Park.
Flaco: Camarillo. Music, and the escape from ultra-conservatism brought me here.
Chissum Worthington : orange county.

2. How did the name Pu$$y Cow come about (for those that don't know the story)?
Flaco: Who is this Pu$$y-Cow, anyway?
Joe: Pu$$y-Cow is a common heard mondegreen among Los Angeles residents. Sort of like hearing "excuse me while I kiss this guy" instead of "the sky" in Purple Haze. There was a car salesman who would sell cars with an infectious jingle to the tune of, "If you're happy and you know it". It went, "If you wanna car or truck, go see cal!". Many kids heard, "If you wanna car or truck, pussy cow!" The thing is they would start every commercial by announcing, "Here is Cal Worthington and his dog, Spot" and it was never a dog! So the idea wasn't even dirty as much as we just thought Cal was confused about animals.

3. How did the current line-up meet? Why did you decide to form a band?
Joe: Danny and I have known each other since high school. Mike Schnee (Chissum Worthington) was hanging around Kiss or Kill taking shots for his documentary. Flaco had just ended his time in his band, No Way Jose. I knew back then that Flaco was one of the most amazing bass players I had ever seen. So I asked if he'd like to start a project with me. Dannybecame our drummer. Flaco suggested Schnee as guitarist as they had played in Wormstew together for a bit. I don't know why as much as I always wanted to be in a band. I'm sure the other guys have other ideas as to why. They are all seasoned veterans. I'm the newbie.
Flaco: Joe met me as a performer with NWJ. Danny and Mike, I met going to shows


4. What has been the craziest show you have played to date?
Joe: hmmm. Crazy how? It was crazy to open for the Muffs and the Adicts. It was crazy to have our first residency at KorK over a year ago and do a lounge medley of some of our fave KorK bands' songs. I think one of the craziest shows we ever had was this show at the lava lounge when every member of Pu$$y-Cow was horribly trashed. People loved it but it was honestly the worst we had all been on stage. Usually you get a Joe got too drunk night or a Chissum had too much booze night.This particular night we were all just horribly drunk but yet very entertaining. We knocked them dead!
Flaco: 1st time at Key Club, with cracked rib, schnookered outta me dome Joe: I think that was the show he threw a bottle at Mike.

5. What instruments do you each play?
Joe: Voice and Kazoo and Baby Piano
Flaco: Bass(fretless,Fender,upright again when I own a house), guitar, mandolin. My favorite of late is musical typing, with MIDI patches, vs. using a regular synth controller. Like a video game jock, that prefers the keyboard, and snubs the joystick. I compose a lot, so the instruments do what I tell them, like there are my minions.
Chissum Worthington: guitar in pussy cow....but i also play bass, keyboards, harmonica, percussion, and soul.

6. What made you get involved with music?

Joe: I've been a music nut forever just never thought I was talented enough to actually persue anything with it.
Flaco: Chicks
Chissum Worthington: john, paul, george, and ringo

7. Were any of you involved in other bands prior to this one?

Joe: several fake bands and bands that didn't get off the ground: FFD, Shermy
Flaco: Since I was a youngster. Many. Bassists are sluts too, and have more opportunities thatn other instruments, because basically, who the fuck wants to play bass anyway? I still don't.
Chissum Worthington: Wormstew, I Am Rag, Incense Graveyard, The Leeks, The Popstars, and The Volkwood Ghost

8. Where does the inspiration for the songs come from?

Joe: Mostly from pop culture icons and food. We have songs about Jello Biafra, the Muffs, Ice T, Sean Combs, Jack Stephan, Tacos. Other ones are usually about being a jerk when it comes to relationships.
Flaco: Takin a shit in the morning

9. What has been your favorite venue or town/city to play?

Joe: Hmm. We haven't been out of Los Angeles often so I've loved all the places we've played outside of LA. the Double Down in Vegas, The Mint in Bakersfield, Thee Parkside in SF. When it comes to Los Angeles, I love playing Safari Sam's, Mr. T's, the Key Club (because then the parents show up), the Echo, Old Towne Pub and Spaceland. Pretty much anywhere that will let us play.
Flaco: Canterbury, UK

10. How did P-Cows's involvement with Kiss or Kill come about? When did you play your first Kiss or Kill show?

Flaco: Joe can tell it better. I'm on Vicodin, and in a neck brace. Talk to the singer
Joe: Well we were all fans of Kork before we were a band. One of my main goals with the band was to one day play KorK. We played our first Kork show on June 14th of 2005. I believe we said it was our farewell show.


11. What do you feel makes Kiss or Kill different from other nights in Los Angeles/Hollywood?

Joe: The bands are cooler. Always.
Flaco: Good people, absence of competetive bullshit.

12. You guys are now booking your own night,Club Yoostuh BeCool, in Pasadena. What type of bands do you try to book and what is the vibe you strive to give?

Joe: well, i guess the vibe is sort of like the one created by Kork.We would like to create a close knit family of bands. We book lots of the bands that play KorK but we also book slower quieter acts and acts that are less aggressive than punk. The idea is that just because you're in a punk band doesn't mean you don't like the occasional country or roots or blues act. The trick is to book those quieter acts that still have enough attitude that will make the punks shake their ass or raise their fist or sit back and listen. It is also so we can create a scene in Pasadena. Most the live music I read about around pasadena is jazz (nothing wrong with that) and tribute bands. We'd like to create something that the kids of pasadena look forward to monthly.
Flaco: If it were up to me, it would be all Polka, and sometime Reggaeton

13. You have been working on a new CD how has that process been compared to the first one? You've also been featured on a compilation what is it and how did that come about?

Joe: Ha! the first cd was us being recorded live at kxlu. This an actual in studio recording. It has been lots of fun. Schnee could answer this better than I can. The compilation is for Crimescene Records which is a new record company run by Sam Of Broke 'Til Thursday and Doug from three or four different bands (Margate, Costello, Sweet Sensations). I saw their ad in a magazine I wrote for and saw that a lot of friends' bands were going to be on this comp. I found out it was them putting together the comp and just asked if we could participate. It was that easy. We already had "Taco Chariot" reocorded so we let them use it.
Flaco: The recording process has allowed me to channel my inner-Phil Spector. Fuck the Wall of Sound. Production through fear. Set the air conditioner to 47 degrees, and tell the 14 year old boy, to make it snappy, with my chalice of brandy.

14. During your first year of playing out there was an honor of PCOW Fan #1 given out, who got that title and how did they get it?
Joe:There were about 15 people or so who had attended every p-cow show. As we kept playing, more and more people would miss a show here and there. Some people were incredibly competitive about it. It became the Pu$$y-Cow 10, then the 7 etc. Jeff Penalty of Black Fag and the Dead Kennedys finally won out and continued attending shows until we played about 30 in a row i think. We screwed him up one day by agreeing to a last minute show while he was out of town.


15. In your own words how would you describe your sound?
Joe: This is what I tell people: "Rock n' Roll. All the songs are short and fast"
Flaco: Rock

16. How has the sound evolved since you first became a band?
Joe: Some of our songs got longer. They have more intricate parts. My lyrics have progressed. I can tell an old P-cow song by how many times I throw in a "really" or a "fucking" for timing issues. I think we've all improved with the exception of Flaco who was already at God like status.
Flaco: It hasn't. It has devolved.

17. What bands have influenced you personally?
Joe: the Dwarves and the Cramps is probably where you can find most of my part in the band. Besides that I'm a music nut. I listen to lots of Hip Hop and Soul as well as Punk Rock. I have this weird notion that the more hip hop I listen to, the better my lyrics will get.
Flaco: Thin Lizzy, Iron Maiden

18. What advice would you give to bands that are just starting out?
Joe: I think bands need to move more on stage. Shoegazing bores the fuck out of me. I just worked 8-10 hours, went home, got dressed for the night, went to your show, paid 5-10 dollars to watch you drone about your ex girlfriend and stare at your feet and pretend you don't want to be there. Fuck you! If you didn't want to be there, you wouldn't be making the music. whoa! where did that come from? Sorry.
Flaco: Have fun

19. What would be your dream bill to play on?
Joe: the Dwarves or the Cramps or Iggy or the Dillinger 4 or Tom Jones or Jerry Lee Lewis hahahaha
Flaco: Iron Maiden and The Police

20. If you didnt reside in the Los Angeles area where would you live?
Joe: Paris...but right now, I'm looking at the Crenshaw area.
Flaco: Somewhere by the ocean, but in California.

Tonight!!! The Pu$$y Cow 2 Year Anniversary!!!

This Wednesday, it's a birthday Extravaganza!!!! Come celebrate as Pu$$y Cow enters their Terrible Two's!!! They've got a great line-up full of friends helping them out!

Kiss or Kill Presents...
The Pu$$y Cow 2 Year Anniversary and Flaco's Bday
@ Safari Sam's
5214 Sunset Blvd. (between Western and Kingsley)
All Ages! Free Parking! $3.50 PBR

9:30 pm - The Black Comets
10:15 pm - Beatmo
11:00 pm - Pu$$y Cow
11:45 pm - The Fuxedos
12:30 am - STEEL

Guest Emcee Jonathan
DJ Punk A$$ 20 Bucks

9:30 pm - The Black Comets



10:15 pm - Beatmo




11:00 pm - Pu$$y Cow





11:45 pm - The Fuxedos





12:30 am - Steel

Reviewing the Essential

Album Review (kinda):
Ocean Rain by Echo and the Bunnymen

By Eric, age 31 (of XUK and Get Set Go)

Remember the good old days when artistic periods used to last, I dunno, sixty or seventy years? Remember sitting on the porch with Aloysius one midsummer’s eve, listening to Mozart, drinking mai tais, and Aloysius says “Isn’t it nice to be in the Classical Period?” And then you say “Yeah, but that Romantic Period’s due in another ten or twelve years, so watch out for that new kid Beethoven. He’s really gonna shake things up.” And then Aloysius nods serenely and pees on a nearby peasant.

Well, maybe that wasn’t how it really happened. But here’s my problem: All bands are required by law to have myspace pages, and they get to pick three genre descriptors. And there are a lot of choices. So if you spend a few minutes looking around myspace, you’ll no doubt run across Hawaiian/Grindcore/Disco House bands, and Minimalist/Nu-Jazz/Post-Punk bands, and Crunk/Punk/Funk bands, and any of the tens of thousands of other possible combinations, none of which really mean anything. This is what reading the average music review is like for me.

It seems that every week or so, somebody somewhere throws out another few names for subgenres of popular (and unpopular) music. People who review music professionally are required to keep up with all these new names for things that aren’t really new. Some of ‘em, I think, really delight in throwing these terms around—there’s a kind of giddy elitism in talking about the emerging post-post-pre-hardcore neo-grunge glamcore movement with the almost absolute certainty that your audience won’t know what the hell you’re talking about. It’s probably equally satisfying to watch some of your audience scramble around pretending they know what you’re talking about.

But none of this is the tiniest bit informative. It’s designed to compartmentalize and sell records. People like what’s familiar, so if somebody who likes Fusion/Rastabilly/Breakbeat Band A is browsing itunes and happens upon an album by Fusion/Rastabilly/Breakbeat Band B, maybe they’ll buy it. I really hope I live to see somebody walk into Sam Goody in search of a Blues/Jazz/Trip-Hop album, only to be sent by the helpful staff to the Trip-Hop/Jazz/Blues section by mistake. Can you imagine the embarrassment? Can you imagine the TOTAL CHAOS that will result when people who think they’re listening to Screamo/Alt-Country suddenly realize they’re listening to Alt-Country/Screamo? Mass hysteria! By extension, a lot of music reviewers I’ve seen are only capable of describing things by referring to other musicians. I die a little every time I read about somebody’s “blistering Mick Ronsonesque leads,” or “organ-pulping Colin Moulding-style basslines,” or “projectile-vomit-inducing Geddy Lee vocals.” Hey, namedroppers! How ‘bout just thinking of an adjective or two and not trying to remind me how many bands you’re familiar with?

My point, if I’ve been a little too subtle, is that I’m not a big fan of music critics. But maybe that’s just because my viola has been called a “violin” or a “fiddle” in more reviews than I can count (four). You have no idea what kind of damage that can do to a guy.

Consequently, I’m gonna go about this album review a little differently. I’m just gonna tell you what I like, tell you I like this record, and let you listen to it or not listen to it at your own convenience. Deal? Deal. Ocean Rain by Echo and the Bunnymen is one of my favorite albums of all time. It has some great string writing (always a plus for me), some interesting guitar parts, and some nice dramatic singing with kind of obscure lyrics. And no love songs, really. I often refer to “The Killing Moon” as my favorite song of all time, and I think the title song (that’s “Ocean Rain,” for those of you not really paying attention) is the best example in the rock and roll genre of a constant build a la Ravel’s Bolero…

Oh, hell, now I’m doing it, aren’t I?

Anyway, some of my favorite musicians are the Beatles, David Bowie, Pulp, XTC, Elliott Smith, and Robynn Hitchcock. If you’re at all like me, and you haven’t ever heard Ocean Rain, you should listen to it. If you don’t like it, I’ll give you your money back.

Author’s note: I will absolutely not give you your money back. That’s the price you pay for listening to me. Fifteen dollars. Ten used.

At Home He's A Tourist

Can’t Be Surprised Anymore: Chevron Pays Fines in Iraqi Oil Scandal, Condi Rice Involved?
By Jason Pancake

The next time you go to the gas station to pay a ridiculous amount to fill your tank, here is something to think about.

This week it was reported that Chevron is preparing to acknowledge that it should have known kickbacks were being paid to Saddam Hussein on oil it bought from Iraq as part of a defunct United Nations program, according to investigators. In addition, Chevron is going to pay a settlement including fines estimated to total $25 million to $30 million. Of course, Chevron is claiming it was some kind of misunderstanding, but when you are paying millions of dollars in fines because your company paid kickbacks to Saddam Hussein, it means someone screwed up! By coincidence, or maybe not, one person under scrutiny is Sec. of State Condoleezza Rice.

In case you thought she appeared out of nowhere, the President’s loyal sidekick, Condi, was actually on the board of Chevron for ten years (1991-2001) which included the time period of this scandal. While Rice was on the Chevron board, she led its public policy committee, which oversaw “areas of potential political concerns for the company.” [Doing my best John Stewart voice and hand motion impression] “So Condi was in charge of potential political concerns at Chevron? Hmm, couldn’t PAYING EXTRA SURCHARGES FOR IRAQI OIL TO THE ONE AND ONLY, SADDAM HUSSEIN, be considered a “POTENTIAL POLITICAL CONCERN?” In 2001, Rice left Chevron to become national security advisor for W, and the rest is history. We got rid of Saddam Hussein and destroyed Iraq, and Chevron went on to post among the highest earnings for a company in the history of the world. As a parting gift, Chevron named a gigantic oil tanker after her: “The Condoleezza Rice.” I kid you not. Here’s a scary article dated April 5, 2001 which discusses Rice’s ties to Chevron and the article wonders if there might be a potential that the Bush Administration is a little too cozy with a major oil company. It is one of those moments you wish you had a time machine. Here’s a quote from the article that is just priceless: “while some have written off the [tanker] ‘Condoleezza Rice’ as a small and humorous footnote to the Bush administration, the danger exists that it could turn into more.”

Now let’s put this in perspective. Condoleezza Rice, was named National Security Advisor (and later Secretary of State) after she had spent the previous 10 years on the executive board of a major American oil company. Since the above 4/5/01 article was written, the following things have happened: 9-11, Bush Administration claims Saddam Hussein and Iraq have WMDs and were involved with 9-11, These claims questioned, Gas is up to $2.50/gallon, Invasion of Iraq begins, Mission Accomplished!, Still in Iraq, Saddam Hussein captured, Gas is above $3/gallon, Bush re-elected, Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth” documentary highlights some scary things about pollution, Gas still above $3/gallon, Claims for going to war against Iraq and Saddam found to be untrue, Chevron and Exxon Mobil earn the greatest profit in the history of the world, Still in Iraq, Gas is up to $3.50/gallon.

While it wasn’t like Chevron secretly snuck suitcases of cash over to Saddam’s palace, here’s what happened: A $64 billion program was set up in 1996 to help ease the effects of United Nations sanctions on Iraqi civilians after the first Gulf war. Until the American invasion in 2003, the program allowed Saddam's government to export oil to pay for food, medicine and humanitarian goods. Using an elaborate system of secret surcharges and extra fees, however, the Iraqi regime received at least $1.8 billion in kickbacks from companies in the program, according to an investigation completed in 2005. One of these companies who got oil from Iraq and paid kickbacks was Chevron. While Chevron is not expected to admit to violating the United Nations sanctions, it is expected to acknowledge that it should have been aware that illegal kickbacks were being paid to Iraq on the oil. There are always shadowy questions. One Italian businessman testified that he sold Iraqi oil to many companies, including Chevron, and all were aware of the Iraqi request for payment of a surcharge. Chevron and the other companies would just add this surcharge amount into the official price.

Is it just a simple coincidence that Rice was on the Board of Chevron during these unnoticed overpayments? Probably. But, hmm, is there a pattern throughout her career of warnings and hints being missed that something is going on? Of things not being done? Haven’t oil companies benefited enormously from this administration? It’s too bad the mainstream media and people of power just don’t ask enough tough questions about things like this. As a result, we may never know.

Here’s another article about this topic .

Today in Music History

On May 7th,1978 - Bob Dylan sold 90,000 tickets in less than eight hours for upcoming concerts at London's Wembley Empire Pool

(how many of the 90k people do you think could actually see him?)

Here is one of the original 1975 hand bills for Bob Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Revue, intimate shows featuring Dylan and some of his friends.

The idea was that Bob Dylan wanted to "take the music to the people" and that is exactly what he did in 1975. Joined by Joan Baez, Ramblin' Jack Elliott and Bob Neuwirth; he posted handbills only a couple of days before each show, letting folks know the "Rolling Thunder Revue" was playing in their town. The shows were held at small local venues and solely advertised via these handbills. Now you can own one!

Notes from Vivace...

May 9th Preview.


For this write-up, I decided to do some myspace.com and google.com research on this week’s upcoming bands.

The Clash City Rockers.




Based on their myspace page, Clash City Rockers is a new band. According to their blog, their first show occurred in mid-April under the pen name, “Death or Glory.” The band members are Cash, Mark, Mike and Rob. And they’re, as by their band name, a tribute band to The Clash – and they dress like them, as well! Cash takes the role of Joe Strummer. Mike takes the part of Mick Jones. Mark is Paul Simonon and Rob bangs out the Topper Headon beat. Based on his myspace page, Cash considers his influences to be various British music; such as The Beatles, Clash, Costello. So what should you watch for: what else, but thirty minutes of Clash music.

Overnight Lows.



I believe this is the first time the Overnight Lows have played at Kiss or Kill since their residency back in the later half of 2006. This band includes Julesy, vocals; Jozzy on guitar; Mo Mo on bass; and Jeffrey on drums. This is a band that demands that you go out and rent the movie Pulse, which stars Kristen Bell of Veronica Mars fame. The movie features their song “Delay the Wait.” If you want a little background on the band, cdbaby.com has the following write-up, “Founded by singer Jules and guitarist/producer Joz, the duo seemed an unlikely pair at the start. Their backgrounds were as diverse as their musical influences; Joz growing up in Mexico and favoring the sounds of bands such as Blur, Queen, and Zeppelin, and Jules, and L.A. native, with a style as spirited as her love of early Motown. Add a rhythm section to the equation with Jeff on drums and Moses on bass, let the old blend with the new, and Overnight Lows is now poised to make their mark.” I personally favor their song “The Breaks,” which if you head over to youtube.com, you can watch the music video. Here’s the one thing I say to look for when watching their set: look for the megaphone.

here is that video:





The Rainman Suite.




This band includes Josh, Ethan and Jeff. Their top myspace friends include The Clash, Social Distortion, Green Day, The Living End and Joan Jett and The Blackhearts. They’re a long-time Kiss or Kill band. According to their website, their first Kiss or Kill show was back in 2004. Perhaps further back since they don’t have all their shows listed. An interesting note can be found on their Internet site, “We’ve got shows dating back to Oct. 2001 when we went by the name ‘The Resistance’, but unfortunately ‘The Resistance’ is the name of a white power group so we had to change it. And as far as having no record of those shows, well, who really cares?” And if it seems that Jeff plays for multiple bands, you are correct. On occasion, he’s filled in as drummer for Bang Sugar Bang. What to watch for: as per a review on the myspace blog, the hair.

Here is a video for "Heavy Medication"



She’s Your Sister.




She’s Your Sister is another 2006 resident Kiss or Kill band making a return visit in 2007. The band includes Joel, Job, Theo and Jenn. They’re a rock band from Chicago that decided to move out to California. Their sophomore LP is called “onetwothreefour” and came out in March 2007. Music Connection Magazine gave the following write-up, “L.A. via Chicago outfit are award-winning rockers with Pixies and Sonic Youth influences whose CD sounds pro all the way. Singer Joe Whitley’s rich, appealing vocals are adeptly captured and the drums really pop. Most importantly, the band’s music is edgy yet thoroughly commercial. Major labels will want to check this act out.” If you do some research via google.com, you’ll come across an interesting article from the University of Chicago Law School. The article reveals the mystery of their band name, “And in case you were wondering, the band’s name is a quote from the Wes Anderson film, The Royal Tenenbaums, and refers to a seriously frustrated love.” What to watch for: focus in on the drummer once in awhile, because he can be incredible.

here is a live performance at an earlier Safari Sam's show


...Notes From Vivace



Special Note from Kiss or Kill News...





RockPaperScissors featuring huge Kiss or Kill supporter Kjell Helding based out of North Hollywood will be replacing the Press Fire in this weeks line-up closing out the night in the 12:30 slot!

At Home He's A Tourist

"Disposable Heroes"

by Jason Pancake

The most effective forms of advertising are through personal testimonials or the recommendations of our personal heroes. Some testimonials use the average man or woman to appeal to the consumer. “I’m an average dude and I drink Soda Z because it rocks.” Better testimonials have celebrity endorsers! People use the logic that if someone they really adore and respect uses a certain product or feels a certain way, they must be right. In arguing your case to a large number of people, it’s easier to link an image or a face to a cause than it is to make a clear, sensible explanation. You can write an excellent 500 page argument of why civil rights are important, but it is more effective to mention and flash a photo of Martin Luther King giving a speech. You can describe to a ten year old, the musical and sociological significance of 1970s punk rock history, but to make him/her a fan, all you need is a photo of Sid Vicious or the cover photo of “London Calling.”

The same idea of a “hero” has been used throughout history to support military causes, including the current “War on Terror.” The image of a war hero is an incredibly effective form of propaganda that media outlets and citizens just can’t get enough of because people can easily feel inspired by fascinating stories of heroism and interesting individuals. Unfortunately, what happens if the stories being told were not real? What if the truth was being buried in favor of a cool Hollywood-style ending in order to raise some poll numbers?

The two most recognizable legends to grow out of the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were those of Pat Tillman and Jessica Lynch. Pat Tillman was the square-jawed football player who gave up millions of dollars to be an Army Ranger and was valiantly gunned down by the enemy while protecting his troops in battle. Jessica Lynch was the cute blond girl from West Virginia who was taken prisoner by Iraqi insurgents during a firefight and whose rescue from an Iraqi hospital was captured on videotape. These were great stories that inspired many in 2003, but turned out to be far from true. Last week, in Congressional hearings, Tillman’s family and Jessica Lynch herself, testified that the Pentagon lied to turn them into war heroes.

I felt especially sad when I heard Pat Tillman was killed in Afghanistan in 2003 even though I didn’t know him personally. He was just one of thousands of soldiers who have died in Iraq or Afghanistan, but something was different because he was a celebrity that I knew about. He was a hard-hitting safety on the Arizona Cardinals whose square-jaw and tough face looked sort of like Henry Rollins. I liked him because he was a long-haired rebel who was against the Bush administration’s policies and was an avid fan of Noam Chomsky. He was the perfect hero for the America war effort at a time when the Abu Ghraib prison scandal was fresh in the news. It wasn’t until months later, that it was revealed that he was actually shot by his own fellow soldiers. Even Tillman’s family was not told for weeks what had happened and were led to believe that he was killed while heroically saving his team. The soldier standing right there when Tillman was shot in the back of the head by his own men (!), was ordered by military officials not to tell Tillman’s brother, who was stationed nearby, what had really happened. More on this story can be found in this article at USA Today .

Meanwhile, Jessica Lynch was also a perfect hero for the war in Iraq. She already has a TV movie made about her exploits. She appeals to all the key demographics because she is a nineteen year old, small town West Virginia, blonde “Little Girl Rambo” who put up a good fight yet, had to be rescued by the big, strong manly US commandos. During the early stages of the war, the legend was that she was injured in a gunfight ambush while shooting down terrorists, was captured and abused by evildoers, and then dramatically rescued by American troops from a hospital. What actually happened? According to the testimony Lynch gave, her vehicle was indeed hit by a rocket in an ambush, but her gun had jammed so she didn’t actually fire a shot. She was taken to an Iraqi hospital where kind nurses and doctors treated her well, and the Iraqis had actually tried to return her to US forces. However, the military insisted on filming a dramatic rescue operation for a good photo op. At the Congressional hearings, she said “I'm still confused why they lied and tried to make me into a legend.” “American people don't need to be told elaborate tales” about US forces, she said. In the end, she ended up being a true hero by standing up to the government that tried to hide the truth and use lies about her to sell a badly mismanaged war.

Regardless of the lies told, there isn’t a question of the bravery of Tillman and Lynch. It is just really appalling how they were used as pawns and publicity and then casually disposed of and kept out of the public eye as the truth was revealed. Today, Tillman’s friendly fire case still hasn’t been fully investigated, and Lynch still suffers from medical problems from her injuries and needs a brace to stand.

Selling an unpopular war can’t be done with charts and academic papers. A country needs larger than life characters. There are thousands of tragic personal stories of dead and injured men and women from this war, but most of those stories aren’t widely circulated because they don’t involve teenage girls sensationally rescued on video, or NFL players who become Army Rangers. Until more celebrities start fighting in the war, the only stories you will hear about soldiers in the news will be largely accounts of anonymous, unknown soldiers killed by road side bombs. Their families and friends will suffer (and perhaps on PBS you might actually see a name, photo, and age), but for the most part, the casualties remain treated by TV news as flag-covered boxes with a number. 3000, 3500, 4000.

*photo of Jessica Lynch from www.jessica-lynch.com

*photo of Pat Tillman from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4815441

Kiss or Kill Venue Change in June...a Note from Johnny99

May will be our last month at Safari Sam's, as we move our weekly Kiss or Kill night to El Cid starting Weds. June 6th. We hope to see everyone come out & support our final weekly shows at Sam's!

We have a great time at Safari Sam's & are leaving the door open to doing future one off events. They have been amazing host's & more importantly great friends.

We want to get back to our roots & reaffirm the communal aspect of the club. We are excited to work with Tobin Shea again who inspired the initial concept behind Kiss or Kill at the Garage. Cover will remain the same, & the night will be 18+.

We will be kicking off the night with a Kiss or Kill Homecoming Dance! With the Miss Kiss or Kill 07 pageant', the winner will win a bar tab & a guest starring role in the next Chissum Worthington Video!

Details will be coming out soon...Kiss or Kill/Metal Skool Monday at the Key Club will still be the first Monday of every month & the monthly at Alex's Bar in Long Beach is still on schedule.

Infused Tequila all around.

Happy Cinco De Mayo!
J99