And then. . .

Description There is good music, there is great music, there is bad music, and there is badass music, we are BADASS!!! Band Interests Drinkin, Smokin, Fuckin, and being somewhat of a bastard, set to music!! Artists We Also Like The Clash, Iggy Pop and the Stooges, Rancid, Black Flag, The Descendants, NOFX, Ol' Dirty Bastard This is what you see when you go to Snappy Crotch Kicks page. I was unsure of what to expect when seeing their show at Black Market, a bar in the Cincinnati area which hosts live music, much of it, local talent. It’s located on a slope across from The Lowbrow Palace, a prominent local live music venue. As you walk inside Black Market, low ceilings give the place a basement like feel. The black walls, well they don’t help, but it supports local art shows and has a large patio that makes up for moments of possible claustrophobia. Tonight we’re here to see the Snappy Crotch Kicks play. They’re the last show of three bands. It’s 12:00am and every...

            "Their sound is like  tantan tan tan tantan,  right?" "What do you mean?" I asked. "Well you know how The Strokes sound like  tantantan tantan taran ? They seem to have that tantan tan tan tantan sound in their songs." "Oh?" I wasn't sure I understood. "It's not bad. I mean all bands have their sound, you know?" "Oh, right. I get it." Daniel and I walked up the steep hill of Robinson Ave. in the Cincinnati District. The night noise of passing by cars, disembodied laughter, and music overflowing from doorways surrounded us. Cinci, as everyone calls it, is one of the nightlife areas in El Paso, and tonight we came to see The Royalty. We walked away from The Lowbrow Palace where we had just seen the band. Lowbrow is one of the handful of venues where you can see local bands, budding touring bands, and well-known bands. Pat Mahoney from LCD Soundsystem and Kinky will soon play there. Toni...

Have you ever bitten into a piece of bread and let it turn into a big ball in your mouth? The mixture of saliva and bread is pushed against the roof of your mouth into a doughy ball. As you try to chew it makes it difficult to swallow because the bread absorbs the excess saliva and  for a second it's hard to breathe as it continues to cling precariously to the concave flesh roof. Trying to break the doughy mass into pieces seems out of reach as you continue to try to make a an air pocket between you and the bread, as you push your tongue against the back of your front teeth. And just when you are about to reach into your mouth, with your fingers to pull the doughy mass that feels like it's about to kill you, it comes free. You chew it tentatively, then a little more excited because you're free of the bready mass. You chew harder because for some reason you are angry at the bread for making you feel as if you are about to die. When you swallow you are a little sad, becau...

A Conversation with Alex aka “Rocka”: Ex-drummer of Mexicans at Night current drummer for Los TraQues Y: How long have you been in the El Paso music scene? R: Not even that long, like thirteen years. Y: Thirteen years? Okay, how do you think it’s changed from where you started to now? R: It hasn’t really changed. Has it? Y: It hasn’t changed at all in thirteen years? R: No, I mean it hasn’t. I mean the kids did get new stuff and everything, but you know, they got new DJ stuff and all sorts of other stuff, but yeah the scene hasn’t changed. Nothing’s happened. I mean before there were a lot more original bands. Now there are a lot of posers. Y: What do you consider an original band? R: A band that doesn’t play covers. Y: And posers, you used that word, what is that? What is your definition of a poser? R: Cover bands. Y: So— R: There’s a lot more posers. A lot more cover bands. And, not enough support for original bands, because, there was a lot more venues in...

Today I had the ForWord writing workshops at Glasbox Studios. The class was small, intimate. I participated with the young authors in the writing prompts I'd created for them called, "What Happened?" I gave them a sentence and they decided what would happen to the characters situation. Here is what I managed to write. I'm posting without editing. I wish I could  have kept some of the stories they wrote from the prompts because their talent continues to awe. Prompt  ·          While I was pumping gas a man came up to me.   I had been driving for two hours. Only one more to go and I would reach my destination of Austin, TX. I hadn’t seen Lori for six months, and now we going to enjoy a weekend in Austin. It was dusk, that time of day where the light and the night meet half way in the sky. My gas gauge was a little less than halfway. Although I didn’t want to stop, I knew I had too. Austin traffic could be murder and the thou...

I heard something beautiful said about art today. When I say art I mean every part of it, all encompassing, music, the written word, murals painted onto the concrete giants that hold highways up, Dali hanging in a museum of art, the guitarist playing on a street  corner.... "When you look in the night sky , you see a million stars.                                                     They are all there, seemingly blinking .  At times one looks brighter than the other, but in reality the stars are all working together, that's what art is."

sunday's have become the day i look forward to all week. they are the days that i have nothing planned. that i use to recharge because by saturday my red light is blinking in warning. sunday's i sleep in late. i wake from a sleep so deep and heavy it's as if my bed, with it's thick gold comforter and numerous pillows have wrapped around me in a warm embrace. i'm surrounded by warmth and an arm that reaches for me while dreaming in the middle of the night to pull me closer. half the day is spent in this overstuffed bed. only rising because the rumbling in our stomachs demands it. this afternoon? spinach and mushroom omelet with a garlic cheese middle, roasted potatoes, two strips of crispy bacon, steaming french press coffee and  homemade agua de sandia. the rest of the day is spent in the living room. it's a carpet camp out. coffee table pushed to the farthest part of the room. blankets and pillow stretched out and puffed up in a makeshift bed. i can watch...