Pancake » Live Music Rules

Metal Up Your Ass

Pancake — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 21:49:35 +0000

Last night I, along with a small but sturdy crowd, witnessed Black Cobra tear through about 12 unrelenting and just plain balls-out metal songs at the Casbah. I was enjoying the onslaught and occasionally watching this dude in front, whom many of my friends would consider a nerd (think shorts a bit shorter than cool, running shoes on high white socks, glasses etc.). He was slowly banging his head directly over a stage monitor with a huge grin on his face for the majority of the show. When some jolly drunken thrashing about ensued he made sure to take part in that celebration as well. As this was happening I was reminded of a conversation I had recently with a friend who, for lack of a better term, doesn’t “get” metal. He told me, ” I think people try really hard to like metal.” Now, any true fan of metal would obviously, at the very least, find this remark offensive and ignorant. I’ve met many a metalhead who would punch someone in the face in a second for saying something like that to them. This guy is my friend, though, and I let it slide with a, “You don’t have to try too hard, man,” without digging into him about his fetish for disco based music under the guise of punk rock, or even rock and roll for that matter. I was outnumbered, and the only other metalhead there was Danica and she didn’t look interested in hearing me call everyone pussies and whatnot. But now I’m back at the bar watching this nerdy guy just loving having his ears massaged and his mind seduced by the mighty Black Cobra and I’m thinking, ‘this guy sure is trying real hard to like this music.’ Ha Fucking Ha. It just could not be that people from all walks of life could find invigoration in the aural desecration that is a brutal wall of sound delivered without pretense by two dudes in front of a small but appreciative crowd. Metal for the win, every fucking time.

In other metal related news here is a picture of a graphic I drew for an up and coming project that I will give more info about as I learn it. Inspired by Sir Putrid of Putrid Gore Art and the Lord Of Logos, Christophe Szpajdel, I tried to pay respects to the symmetry of the black metal logos and the bloodiness of the gore, death and horror bands’ logos. I’m definitely looking for more work in the metal genres, and working on combining more horror elements into the psychedelic/surreal space that my paintings exist in at this time. Okay, you’ll have to excuse me as I force myself to flip this Witch record!

Music and Visual Art Is Good Together

Pancake — Wed, 26 May 2010 07:28:24 +0000

I am showing a weird painting (as well as others, I believe) I have been grinding away on for the past month at this Beerfest at Hensley’s event. I am starting to get the fear a little as I still have a lot to do on it to finish, but having a “due date” is helpful, sometimes. I could easily stretch this out for another month or two, and with some cool work on the horizon finishing this beast is paramount. So come look at it on Sunday. Everything I know about this event I learned from the flyer posted above which I grabbed off the Burning Of Rome‘s myspace page. Good tunes by Tactik, Burning Of Rome, Red Octopus, Satanic Puppeteer Orchestra, and Sound System. Art by Pablo, Matty, Artoo, Sara Spinks, Alex Chiu, Hunter Feirich and Neil McLean. At Hensley’s Flying Elephant on Sunday, May 30th.

Smaller Humans Lose Skin But Not Face

Pancake — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 06:53:22 +0000

While I am not planning on turning this blog into a bi-weekly report on San Diego band, The Burning Of Rome (see Burning Of Rome Logo), I had to comment on the U31 debacle I witnessed last Saturday. You can get the main details in this article. Those SOB bouncers obviously crossed the line when they followed Adam and Joe out onto the sidewalk, after they threw them out. I’ve seen plenty of people tossed out of a bar, and I believe if those knuckle-heads would have just thrown those two out and let that be that, everyone would have been laughing their asses of about it five minutes later. No need to go stomp the little guys for messing up your bar, your job ended at the door. We expect to see that kind of thing in Pacific Beach or if we go to Canes, but you don’t usually see too many punches thrown in North Park. That being said, my favorite part of the linked article is

“…lead singer Adam Traub climbed onto his keyboard rig in his usual no-holds-barred fashion and jumped off the stage, making contact with a hanging mirrored disco ball and setting it into motion.”

Source: The Band vs. the Bouncers | NBC San Diego

Adam, these folks just aren’t giving you enough credit, and we should really call it as it is. The way I see it you knew it was your last song and you had already unplugged Joe, unbeknownst to him, who was grossly out of tune. I saw you look at that disco ball when you climbed up onto your keyboard, before you “set it in motion.” HA HA HA! I was laughing then and I am laughing now as I write this. You saw it up there, taunting you, and you knew what had to be done! Ahh, the disco ball, like some glorious bedazzled punching bag just within reach. A fucking pop band!