Caravels: A Place Where I Can Rest My Head

Over the years I've witnessed a handful of bands play their first shows or came across them still in their infancy. Caravels is a band I've been fortunate to watch grow over the past four years starting in San Diego and Tijuana and since their first demo this band has always had a special place in my heart. They have self released a handful of EPs before signing to Top Shelf Records, which I think is great for both the label and the band. I remember driving back home after spending a weekend with them and listening to their demo's opening tracks Rooms for Tolerance followed by Algebra and thinking about how I could never get tired of them. Well, by chance my theory was put to the test because that CD was stuck in the car stereo for nearly a month and by the end of the first week every note has been engraved in my brain and sometimes their lyrics still find their way out of my mouth. This is the thing about Caravels, I have nothing but fond memories of this band whether we're hanging at their shows or just listening to them. Some bands JUST strike me as bands you know? However, in Caravels they're brotherhood is apparent. The s/t 7" and Floorboards Ep are by far some of the best songs they've written. Safety Jobs is also one of the saddest songs I've heard. After reading the liner notes of Floorboards I was reminded how often times tragedy is the inspiration of such beauty. To Mike, Matt, George, Dillon, Corey and to your friends and relatives, Im so sorry for your loss. Im proud to be your friend no matter what state I live in and how many seasons go by.

-Paul

Caravels is playing in Seattle, WA on Thursday November 23rd 2011 9pm

w/ Walter & Perry, You May Die in the Desert and Panther Attack

@ The Black Lodge 

For everyone back home:

December 2nd 2011 7:30pm

w/Ten Thousand Leagues, La Bella, Palm Reader and Residuals

@ Blood Orange Info Shop 3485 University Ave, Riverside, CA.

$5 

Decemeber 3rd 2011 6pm

w/ Ten Thousand Leagues and Flooded Roads

@ Che Cafe Collective 9500 Gilman Dr. Student Center B-0323C, La Jolla, CA 92093

Listen to them on Bandcamp

Follow them on Tumblr

Add them on Facebook

Good times for a change.

So I know I have been inactive on this. Mostly due to me being lazy but also because I moved cross country twice this summer. So this blog has been the last thing for me to think about. I moved to Philly but it didnt work out so now Im in Seattle, WA. I love it here. The weather is great so far and I have this overwhelming feeling of wanting to do everything. I've started drawing again, I dont have a guitar anymore so I have to fill in my creative void somehow. I ride my bike more again AND I've finally eaten shit on it real hard. Everything is going Milhouse. My friend Charlie shared this Patton Oswalt quote with me:

"I don’t know what it is about Seattle. The minute I get to that city, it’s not so much that I calm down, I just feel like there’s a future, for some reason. I feel like, 'Yeah, I’m gonna do this, and then, there’ll be other things I’ll do.' Whereas sometimes in Los Angeles, I just feel like, 'Yeah, this is finite. This will end.'"

On my tumblr Im going to start posting photos, photos that I've taken of course. There should be more creativity to share than to 'copy/paste,' repost, reblog etc. etc.

Once I finally get my feet on the ground here I'll be posting more info on shows in the Seattle/Tacoma/Olympia regions. I've been absent to my normal show attendance cause the perils of financial instability currently have me by the neck, so I dont bother looking up new ones to save myself the heartache. I'll do an update again on shows back home though, there have been so many great shows since I've been gone. I can only hope my friends went to as many of them as possible.

(Caravels, Back to the Grind, Riverside CA. Sometime in Jan. 2011)

City of Caterpillar

Hello, alot has happened since the last post. I SAW GODSPEED YOU! BLACK EMPEROR. Twice. They played for two and a half hours each time and were amazing to say the least.

However, during this trip I learned that my friends havent heard of the final City of Caterpillar song that was released to the public in 2008. I believe this song was originally supposed to be on the second split with pageninetynine(who is going to the reunion?). I came across it cause I was on aim one day and my friend whom I havent spoken to in years messaged me outta the blue basically saying 'this is the final City of Caterpillar song that was released today' sent it to me and signed off. As I was telling Sonny, this cat is very elusive. Alas, I present you this song with a favor to ask. Please share this song with all your friends. Enjoy.

UPCOMING SHOWS

Sorry for being pretty inactive about this whole blog dealy, just been lazy about it but there will more posts coming up regarding pictures of shows I went to, distro list, second installment of last year's Portland trip and possible label releases. For now, here is a pretty fucked up list of upcoming shows. Everyone is coming to town so by all means come out to as many of these shows as possible.

December 2010

27: Summer Vacation w/Roman Candles

@ The Tribal Cafe, LA

28: Ten Thousand Leagues w/Burn Idols and Ruined Tongue

@ Manchest/Hindry Warehouse- 1019 West Manchester Blvd, Inglewood

29: Ten Thousand Leagues w/John Cota, Ruined Tongue, Badmouth, A Nation Sleeps

@ Cobalt Cafe- 22047 Sherman Way, Canoga Park

30: Ten Thousand Leagues w/ John Cota and Calculator

TBA, Los Angeles

31: Ten Thousand Leagues w/ John Cota and Calculator

TBA

January 2011

1: Ten Thousand Leagues w/John Cota, Calculator, Burn Idols and Capsize

@ Che Cafe- 9500 Gilman Dr, La Jolla

1: Joyce Manor w/ Dead to Me

@ The Warehouse- 12th/G, Chino

4: Algernon Cadwallader w/Big Kids, Joyce Manor and Koalacaust

@ Che Cafe- 9500 Gilman Dr, La Jolla

5: Algernon Cadwallader w/Big Kids, Joyce Manor and Koalacaust

@ The Warehouse- 12th/G, Chino

6: Algernon Cadwallader w/Big Kids, Joyce Manore and Koalacaust

@ The Cabin, Garden Grove

7: Joyce Manor w/ Summer Vacation, Media Blitz and more TBA

@ House Show, Garden Grove, more info soon

8: Jandek

@ UCI Note: for more info visit Acrobatics Everyday

8: Ten Thousand Leagues w/Matsuri, Ordstro, Adobe Homes, Innards, Burn Idols and A Nation Sleeps

@ MeowMeowz- Colorado Blvd, Pasadena

9: Ten Thousand Leagues w/Burn Idols

@ The Blvd- 2631 Whittier Blvd, Boyle Heights

11: Vaccine w/ACxDC, Hordes, Seven Sisters of Sleep and Lumber Lung

@ The Blvd- 2361 Whittier Blvd, Boyle Heights

15:  Joyce Manor w/ Touche Amore and more TBA. NOTE: This is Joyce Manor's record release show!

@ The Blacktop- Carson

16: Graf Orlock w/Touche Amore, Ghostlimb and Death Hymnn Nine

@ The Smell- 247 S. Main St, LA

19: Caravels w/Ten Thousand Leagues and Octaves

Manchester/Hindry Warehouse, LA

20: Kimya Dawson w/Defiance Ohio and Jehovas Fitness

@ Che Cafe - 9500 Gilman Dr. La Jolla

20: Caravels w/Ten Thousand Leagues and Octaves

@ Back to the Grind- 3575 University Ave, Riverside

21: Caravels w/ TBA

@ TBA

Please check out all these bands:

Adobe Homes

Algernon Cadwallader

Big Kids

Burn Idols

Caravels

Joyce Manor

Koalacaust

Matsuri

Ordstro

Ten Thousand Leagues

Summer Vacation

Vaccine

That is it for now, Im pretty sure Im missing some more shows to post but if I remember and its not to late I'll add them on. Also, I want to do a Fort Rodolfo release type thing. I know there were other people takin' photos and filming the bands, if you have or know someone that did PLEASE send it my way to dancinginbathroomstalls@gmail.com. Lastly, I'll let you go with this video of 1994! playing King King Stompin Man @ Fort Rodolfo.

Peace.

Oregon Trail 2009, Part 1.

(Somewhere in Downtown Portland)

Last Summer Omar, Eric and I went on a 12 day trip to follow 1994! on their West Coast Tour with Spires. On this trip we brought only the essentials: three bikes, clothes n' shit, assorted instruments(train whistle, maracas and a harmonica) we would use to make noise for a mile after every 100 miles that Veronica(my volvo) successfully brought us closer to our destination, cassettes and a giant jar of peanut butter. This was a month prior to Omar and I leaving for the East Coast to see 1994!, Be Happy Fest and Malegoat. You can read about those series of posts here. Disclaimer: Those posts are riddled with grammatical errors. I'll write about the shows and post pictures of this trip soon-ish.

           

            This is what it looks like entering Oregon around 5 or 6 in the morning. This was also the worst part of the trip, sleep deprivation, the fear of running out of gas(Veronica was somewhat unreliable), GPS that served us best at getting us lost, abandoned gas station that look haunted and sustaining our senses with those huge cans of Monster energy drinks and Sunchips we would later nickname Crack n’ Snax.

            So I dont really remember what we did each day but I can tell you this, it was an amazing stay. We made it a point to eat vegan burritos and drink horchata everyday, holy shit does Portland have making burritos down to an art. We went record shopping(I think I came home with about 27 7"s and 10-15 LPs) and went shopping at Powell's Books. The best one is in downtown, why? SIX STORIES OF BOOKS, THATS WHY. So many awesome restaurants EVERYWHERE. If you happen to be in Portland on a Wednesday, you should stop by Hungry Tiger Too because they serve $1 vegan/corn dogs and PBR tall cans. Also, if you beat the record for eating the most corn dogs you get a shirt and free beer every time you visit. At the time the record was 24 corndogs, I had a measly 13 and a half. Sometimes I wish I could go back in time and trade those corn dogs for the beer. As soon as Eric and I left it became apparent that I must have been the most inept sloth in Portland and passed out on the side of a street for a half an hour. The cause: food coma.

 

(Pretty self explanatory)

            My favorite part of Portland was being able to ride everywhere and anywhere and not have to worry about cars. Since it’s a super green city, everyone rides and the motorists are respectful to cyclists and just about every storefront has a spot for you to lock your bike. Riding across all the bridges was a lot of fun. We crossed every bridge we could and circled bodies of water forever into the night.

 

(Omar and Eric)

(Me, photo by Omar)

            We stayed at one house for two nights that hosts/ed shows. This was also the house Kidcrash would practice at which made waking up on the first day pretty awesome. I don’t remember much of the people at the house but one of the girls at the house said ‘take it easy jotos’ just as we left for a ride, that shit was hilarious. We would also play Mariokart 64 and kick the shit outta her while we were drunk. On one of those nights I would give Omar a piggyback ride to the nearest liquor store for booze and chips, this was however a fruitless voyage because we went at some ungodly hour of the night.

            After that house, we stayed with a friend of Omar’s named Morgan. He and his roommates were great, they took us to Sauvie Island for some swimmin’, showed us a record store that specializes in what we fancy, a park with roses and set up a tent in the backyard for me to sleep in due to my allergies and their house being populated with cats. The days we were at this house Omar introduced me to his friends Teagan and Kayla. All five us were at a party where there was a dude who kept on throwin’ up the horns while saying ‘Just play one Morrissey song!’ and was trying to kiss Teagan and kept telling her she was a super model. Whoever this guy is, I like his style. Though they were unsuccessful, I should probably practice his methods.

 

(Our bike and then some over at Morgan's)

            Shortly after this night, we would have to begin our trip back home. Thankfully, Teagan put us up for the night in Salem, Oregon. This town is apparently a breeding ground for juggalos. I had an encounter with two, I managed to survive. Here we met Leo, he is one of THE nicest people I have met. He’s also a great artist. At our stay in Salem we all piled up in Veronica and headed out for Silver Falls to walk on a trail in a forest where eight waterfalls reside. After this small excursion, we left Salem for Phoenix to stay with my friend Matt. On our last night in Oregon we would drink beer and watch Holy Mountain.

(Omar climbing and Teagan looking)

(Eric, Leo, Teagan and Omar, we were sitting at the edge of a waterfall that was nearly 100ft... I think)

(At the bottom of the waterfall)

Fort Rodolfo R.I.P. 2009-2010

This is a notice I got this afternoon from our property's Interim General Manager

'Residents
I have seen your notice for the party with bands, on the web site that you are planning tomorrow, Saturday, 31, 2010. This party is against the governing documents and thus you cannot hold this party. The police will be called if any band or people show up for your party.

Please be advised that you have been warned.

Interim Gerneral Manager'

and this is the e-mail I recieved from our Property Manager:

'Just received complaint from HOA for a party and noise if they add a fine it will be deducted from your security deposit'

Im sorry to everyone who was looking forward to our last Fort Rodolfo shows. We all knew it was going to end but not like this. It would be selfish of me to host these shows because this may affect my roommate's security deposit refund, I hope you understand.

This is pretty upsetting however, THANK YOU for coming out to the shows we've set up and thank you for your canned food donations. Rest assured I will make sure they will be donated to the Santa Ana Food Not Bombs. It was a blast and couldn't have been without YOU. I will let you all know when I find a new space to host shows again after I move, keep your ears to the ground for the zine too. Once again thank you and Im sure I'll continue seeing all of you at other shows.

It'll never be over baby blue,
Paul

Fort Rodolfo: Not Small Enough. Show II.

Everytime we have shows at our pad, the shows get more and more wild. Fun times were sure to be had when I saw all these wonderful faces pull up in front of my house. Also, any band that tours with a cooler filled with ice and beer and toss around a volleyball by all means know fun.

Despite the fact that only nine people showed up for the show(Integrity AND Gehenna played the same night apparently, shit) we had a wild night of rock n' roll.

Satie is former members of Growing Pains/Cunyet Arkin and a current member of Maladie. Really heavy, really fast. Listen to the them right... now.

This is Maladie, no not Malady. These guys are better.

I have a bit of a history with these individuals. Let me say this about the Tijuana kids I know: They are very kind, well organized with hosting and promoting shows and fests and also have a tight knit community of friends I could only wish to be more involved in and when it comes to making music they have created some of the most cathartic and genuine bands I have been lucky enough to witness first hand. So for me, setting up this show and knowing that these great friends of mine would be playing gave me that typical sense of pride of 'giving back to the community.' With that said, please support: Maladie, Satie and anything on Nuestra Lengua Records. I love you all so much. p.s. This was also the record release show for the Maladie/Drowning With Our Anchors 10" split, record of the year? I think so.

We Were Skeletons are from Lancaster, PA. I was a introduced to them by my friend Omar who had me listen to their Summers demo. Since then, every release they've put out gets better especially with the new full length that was put out by Top Shelf Records just in time for their first US tour. These fine cats remind me of a young Off Minor with no signs of lacking experience playing live. Check out the newest LP. Did I mention Will Killingsworth did the recording?

When I graduated high school my friend asked me to go on tour with his band. During the two weeks I was with them my favorite show was in Reno, NV when we opened for D'amore and Towers. I had no idea who D'amore and Towers were at the time but I knew by the end of the night I would continue listening to these bands. Five years later, Towers were back again on the West Coast doing a tour with Dogs of Ire in support of their split. Has anyone tried collecting the Towers discography? Its fuckin' impossible. ANYWAY, Towers are often described as a 'psychedelic nightmare' and on their myspace under 'sounds like' is a picture of a modern day city in ruins. Both the phrase and the image fit this band perfectly.

Lastly, Dogs of Ire took the floor and created a plate tectonic disrupt. The first time I saw them the power went out a few times during their first song so when the lights went out at the last note of their first song due to their Earth shaking riffs, it was no surprise. The night continued in darkness with endless crowd surfing, shirtless dudes and smiles. Get a copy of the split they just did with Towers, its awesome.

Once again thanks to everyone who came out, all the bands who were on tour that gave Fort Rodolfo a chance and again to my neighbors for being solid and telling me 'the bands sound great, the vocals however would be better if they didnt scream so much' and for donating cans of food for Santa Ana Food Not Bombs.

See you space cowboy,

Paul

p.s. Come out for our next show!

7. 31.1o Saturday. $4, 2pm EARLY SHOW.

Ordstro (Oakland, CA)

Miischa (Hagerstown, MD)

Burn Idols

Sheeep

Fort Rodolfo

23462 Caminito Lazaro

Laguna Hills, CA 92653