After spending over a week moving from town to town, highway to highway, it was nice to finally spend a week relaxing by the beach. We got the chance to see some old friends, and make new ones at a small coffee shop in Oceanside.
Before leaving San Diego, we visited this community center called Writer's Block. Its a legal graffiti yard where anyone is welcome to come and paint on the walls. Everyone who works there is really friendly and I got the chance to talk with other artists about techniques and inspirations.
We spent almost 2 weeks in California and now it's time to head to the Desert!
Friday, February 27, 2009
Monday, February 23, 2009
Riverside and the City of Angels, CA
We drove from San Francisco straight down to Riverside, CA for a show at the Pharaohs Den cultural art space. This place is rad.
Run by a bunch of positive hip hop heads, they have a fully functioning recording studio with a wide range of instruments, a huge performance space with a stage and a decent sound system, as well as visual art from a number of artists hanging on the walls. This show was a little sparse in terms of attendance, but that didnt stop any of the acts from giving their all. We saw great sets from Okerason, Dropjaw, MC Homeless, and Cadillac Ron. Everyone had really distinct styles, and we got a wide sense of all the different work being created under the banner of indie hip hop. After the show we stuck around for a bit to talk and chill, but ultimately left to find some rest with our friend Jordan in Murrietta, before heading into LA the next day.
While in LA we went out for an overpriced meal on Venice Beach, then made our way to a house show at our friend Melissa's house on Longwood (is that west hollywood?) where we got to see Abe Vigoda and a bunch of dope punk bands tear it up all night. The next day we toured Hollywood Boulevard while they were setting up for the Academy Awards and Caustic left a present for the local stripper boutiques. At night we went out to the VoicesVoices tour kickoff show at The Smell, an all ages, community run venue that is getting big props for being the developing ground for the indie noise pop that is taking over youth culture right now. VoicesVoices was joined by some 12 other improv musicians (including Bobb Bruno, minus the rabbit suit) for a collective jam that was pretty damn transcendent.
We left the show and got on the 5 for a straight shot toward San Diego. Adventure!
Run by a bunch of positive hip hop heads, they have a fully functioning recording studio with a wide range of instruments, a huge performance space with a stage and a decent sound system, as well as visual art from a number of artists hanging on the walls. This show was a little sparse in terms of attendance, but that didnt stop any of the acts from giving their all. We saw great sets from Okerason, Dropjaw, MC Homeless, and Cadillac Ron. Everyone had really distinct styles, and we got a wide sense of all the different work being created under the banner of indie hip hop. After the show we stuck around for a bit to talk and chill, but ultimately left to find some rest with our friend Jordan in Murrietta, before heading into LA the next day.
While in LA we went out for an overpriced meal on Venice Beach, then made our way to a house show at our friend Melissa's house on Longwood (is that west hollywood?) where we got to see Abe Vigoda and a bunch of dope punk bands tear it up all night. The next day we toured Hollywood Boulevard while they were setting up for the Academy Awards and Caustic left a present for the local stripper boutiques. At night we went out to the VoicesVoices tour kickoff show at The Smell, an all ages, community run venue that is getting big props for being the developing ground for the indie noise pop that is taking over youth culture right now. VoicesVoices was joined by some 12 other improv musicians (including Bobb Bruno, minus the rabbit suit) for a collective jam that was pretty damn transcendent.
We left the show and got on the 5 for a straight shot toward San Diego. Adventure!
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
San Francisco, CA
We had a beautiful drive through the Redwood Highway 101 to bring us to San Francisco, giving us a view of some badass trees as well as a chance to leave a friendly mark on an abandoned building on the side of the road.
A few hours later we crossed the bridge.
San Francsico is such a great time, every time. We were celebrated Marcia's birthday on Monday, and Ethan Clarke's on Wednesday. In between we scoped the local scene, checked out the museum and cooked meals with our friends. With no official shows to play, we spent the last days with our portland homies celebrating the joy of our friendship. For both thrashley and I this meant leaving our best friends, who at the right time in their life would have just stayed on tour, but at this point had to head home. From here on out our caravan of seven turned into a jeep full of four. Onward to LA!
A few hours later we crossed the bridge.
San Francsico is such a great time, every time. We were celebrated Marcia's birthday on Monday, and Ethan Clarke's on Wednesday. In between we scoped the local scene, checked out the museum and cooked meals with our friends. With no official shows to play, we spent the last days with our portland homies celebrating the joy of our friendship. For both thrashley and I this meant leaving our best friends, who at the right time in their life would have just stayed on tour, but at this point had to head home. From here on out our caravan of seven turned into a jeep full of four. Onward to LA!
Monday, February 16, 2009
Orleans, CA
We left Eugene in the late morning after breakfast and map viewing at this coffeeshop across from Redundant Cartridge on 13th near U of O. I wish I could remember the name, because they had great italian coffee.
We had a good six hours of driving ahead of us, through southeren oregon on the 5 and then northeren cali on the Klamath River highway, CA-96. This river winds through the Siskiyou Mountains and following it starts to feel like guided meditation after an hour or so. The terrain is rocky with more trees and vegetation as you get closer to the river. We finally arrived to visit our friends Karis and Justin who intern at the Rolling River Nursery, a family-run permaculture farm. These folks are for-real modern homesteaders who live and work with the land, utilizing all resources and working toward being entirely off-grid. Their hot water is heated by a wood stove, the outdoor toilets are composting, and the animals and plants are all selected to work together in abundant synergy. We made pizza with fresh goat cheese, goat meat (on one for the meat eaters) and veggies from the garden. After dinner we did a living-room performance of new Start Fires material including the classic standby "Genocide Tactics"
7 of us slept on the floor of a one-room cabin, and woke up to tour the land before heading to san francisco. Alex got to feed a goat, we walked to the rivers edge and snacked on fresh-picked citrus along the way. We also took a few branches from a felled eucalyptus tree to freshen the air in the green machine.
It was inspiring to see this family living well off the land and making it work financially. They work for themselves and create their level of comfort and enjoyment through the effort. Their dedication to living low-impact and sustainably is activley paying off by reducing their living cost, keeping them healthy and productive, while giving back to the world through the sale of organic tree and plant starts. We left feeling renewed and set off on the journey through the peaks of the Siskiyous to head south on the Redwood Highway 101.
We had a good six hours of driving ahead of us, through southeren oregon on the 5 and then northeren cali on the Klamath River highway, CA-96. This river winds through the Siskiyou Mountains and following it starts to feel like guided meditation after an hour or so. The terrain is rocky with more trees and vegetation as you get closer to the river. We finally arrived to visit our friends Karis and Justin who intern at the Rolling River Nursery, a family-run permaculture farm. These folks are for-real modern homesteaders who live and work with the land, utilizing all resources and working toward being entirely off-grid. Their hot water is heated by a wood stove, the outdoor toilets are composting, and the animals and plants are all selected to work together in abundant synergy. We made pizza with fresh goat cheese, goat meat (on one for the meat eaters) and veggies from the garden. After dinner we did a living-room performance of new Start Fires material including the classic standby "Genocide Tactics"
7 of us slept on the floor of a one-room cabin, and woke up to tour the land before heading to san francisco. Alex got to feed a goat, we walked to the rivers edge and snacked on fresh-picked citrus along the way. We also took a few branches from a felled eucalyptus tree to freshen the air in the green machine.
It was inspiring to see this family living well off the land and making it work financially. They work for themselves and create their level of comfort and enjoyment through the effort. Their dedication to living low-impact and sustainably is activley paying off by reducing their living cost, keeping them healthy and productive, while giving back to the world through the sale of organic tree and plant starts. We left feeling renewed and set off on the journey through the peaks of the Siskiyous to head south on the Redwood Highway 101.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Eugene, OR
Our first day on tour was spent 2 hours south of home in Eugene, OR. A few of us headed out to see if the Factory Fabrics free wall still existed, which it didnt, and on our way back to where we were staying, we were attacked by a mob of drunk people dressed as zombies who got fake blood and grey makeup all over Mady's car. We then decided to take it easy our first night on tour, painting the walls of Devin's cell above Redundant cartidge with colorful abstract paintings and stencil designs.
Eugene, OR
I met this guy at the Tour Kick off party who gave me this letter addressed to someone at The New Orange in Eugene. It is part of an anti mailing service where you write someone a letter and hand it off, person to person, in hopes that it eventually makes it to its rightful recipient. He heard we were headed to Eugene the next day and gave it to me to hand off to someone else when i got to town.
I made sure to add my own little present to the letter before giving it to Devin who was convinced it was some girl that worked down the street at a juice bar. Hopefully the letter makes its way to Christy in some way or another.
I made sure to add my own little present to the letter before giving it to Devin who was convinced it was some girl that worked down the street at a juice bar. Hopefully the letter makes its way to Christy in some way or another.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Tour Kickoff Party at the Hush - Friday, Feb 13th
We kicked off our tour at our favorite show spot in Portland, The Hush, a chill spot that is community run and all ages. We were also celebrating the release of the Start Fires album "Dedicate Your Growth To The World", which was available in a limited edition hand-packaged version, with a double sided full-color poster insert collaged by DMLH and Shermstixx. We displayed Caustic's art around the room, including painted vinyls, her TV installation piece, and her 3X5 fencing stenciled with a bust of Emma Goldman on stage.
Caustic's TV installation piece
We were joined by several friends performing that night, including garage blues from Orange Jam, and pdx hip hop from Nightcrawlers and Gepetto, with DJ zone keeping the beats live all night.
the first half of the show
Andreas brought a half hour of dope jams that were entirely new to the Portland audience. His topics range between spiritual relationship with the world to getting crunk with fly party people. He really impressed, bringing high energy delivery with crowd-pleasing demeanor. Check out the shirt he collaborated with Caustic on in the beginning of the video!
Andreas live at the Hush
Finally Start Fires took the stage for their last show in Portland for a few months. We tore through a 45 minute set with the energy of a punk band, dancing like disco acid freaks and laughing the whole time.
Start Fires!
We had a great time, sold some albums, and said farewell to our friends to pack up and get ready to head out the next morning! Thanks to everyone who came out to send us off, all the artists who performed, Everyone at the Hush for creating the space for us and everyone who helped us bring all our crazay speakers and art down there so we could get it together in time.
Caustic's TV installation piece
We were joined by several friends performing that night, including garage blues from Orange Jam, and pdx hip hop from Nightcrawlers and Gepetto, with DJ zone keeping the beats live all night.
the first half of the show
Andreas brought a half hour of dope jams that were entirely new to the Portland audience. His topics range between spiritual relationship with the world to getting crunk with fly party people. He really impressed, bringing high energy delivery with crowd-pleasing demeanor. Check out the shirt he collaborated with Caustic on in the beginning of the video!
Andreas live at the Hush
Finally Start Fires took the stage for their last show in Portland for a few months. We tore through a 45 minute set with the energy of a punk band, dancing like disco acid freaks and laughing the whole time.
Start Fires!
We had a great time, sold some albums, and said farewell to our friends to pack up and get ready to head out the next morning! Thanks to everyone who came out to send us off, all the artists who performed, Everyone at the Hush for creating the space for us and everyone who helped us bring all our crazay speakers and art down there so we could get it together in time.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Hello Olympia, Farewell Zebulon
This past friday we made our journey to Olympia with a crew of six to check it all out and rock a party for our friend Zeb (VT crew) who is going to live in the wilderness of Montana for a while. Olympia is a sweet town. I have always heard good things about it, but had yet to make the 2 hour drive North to find out for myself. After figuring out where the house was (actually in Tumwater, which is SouthWest of the city center) we headed into town to find some food. The exit we took spit us out at at the base of the capital building, which is a fairly impressive way to enter a city even if it seems to represent the elite power structure. It makes me wonder what the country would feel like if we built freeform abstract sculptures to represent our progress. Anyway we parked along the park and walked down to fifth or sixth st. While scoping coffeeshops and bars we found a flyer wall, and I took some notes on who had the dopest looking flyers. First place went to a spot called Le Voyeur, which looked like it could have been someone's house show based on the flyer.
After some more walking we decided to eat in a funky looking place with blacklights and flowers painted on the windows...turns out this was Le Voyeur. The food was way nice, big portions and dank sauces, with every plate vegan and omnivore adjustable. We ate our fill and I checked out the stage area - low blue lights, no actual stage and some grungy booths on the side - exactly what Start Fires likes. Thrashley left a gift for everyone who doesn't finish their plate and we headed back to the house for the party. Zeb is a sick drummer and we got a chance to see him jam out with some of his homies - I got some video, check out the drum hanging from the ceiling.
It was a small party but we got a chance to rock with Dre which hasnt happened in over a year, so we got a good practice night in. Dre was killing it on the mic.
We stayed and partied with Zeb into the night, then headed back to Portland in the early morning. It was great to get out and do our thing in another town, and to get an idea of what its going to be like for the next 3 months.
After some more walking we decided to eat in a funky looking place with blacklights and flowers painted on the windows...turns out this was Le Voyeur. The food was way nice, big portions and dank sauces, with every plate vegan and omnivore adjustable. We ate our fill and I checked out the stage area - low blue lights, no actual stage and some grungy booths on the side - exactly what Start Fires likes. Thrashley left a gift for everyone who doesn't finish their plate and we headed back to the house for the party. Zeb is a sick drummer and we got a chance to see him jam out with some of his homies - I got some video, check out the drum hanging from the ceiling.
It was a small party but we got a chance to rock with Dre which hasnt happened in over a year, so we got a good practice night in. Dre was killing it on the mic.
We stayed and partied with Zeb into the night, then headed back to Portland in the early morning. It was great to get out and do our thing in another town, and to get an idea of what its going to be like for the next 3 months.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Caustic Process
Thrashley has been busy stenciling, stamping, painting and generally going all out in preparation for our nationwide art tour that is coming up in just about 2 weeks. WOW. I suppose I could say the same though. I have been spending every free moment finishing the Start Fires LP in the basement with Alex. I came upstairs the other night and found the first floor thick in the midst of the Caustic Process. This is a map of her action, drawn to look like a mess of creation. If you look carefully you can follow the path that Thrashley takes through the drying shirts, aerosol layers, brushwork, and inspiration.
13 days and counting…
13 days and counting…
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