July 19, 2010, 2:45 pm : Warped Tour Warped Tour Warped Tour

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Who’s ready to get all hot and sweaty? Who’s amped up to get a face full of seven stages of bouncing energy and a nose full of dust?

The Warped Tour returns to Merriweather Post Pavilion tomorrow, with temperatures expected to be in the 90′s, and afternoon rain and thunderstorms possible. But that won’t deter the 20,000 or so fans expected to attend tomorrow’s festival in Columbia, MD.

Perhaps the smartest thing about the Warped Tour and its founder, Kevin Lyman, is how the show has changed over time. The formula that worked 16 years ago wouldn’t necessarily carry over into today successfully, as Warped Tour fans have evolved digitally along with the rest of the World. With more outlets to find, share and download new music, tastes have broadened.

It’s also a positive for the musical acts. The bands have become more diverse in style and sound, the number of bands has increased and the number of stages has as well. As it grows and grows each year, it seems one can set their calendar by the arrival of the Warped Tour.

Well, it’s Summer in Columbia. See you at Merriweather.

April 15, 2010, 11:28 pm : Water Time -a sneak peak from Allan C. Weisbecker

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Water Time, a film in production by Allan Weisbecker and his team (to this point consisting of his dog Honey), will hopefully be ready to go by the time the New York Surf Film Festival rolls around in September.

For those that can’t cross their fingers and wait that long, check the first seven minutes. Look, knowing Allan, if he is seven minutes into this damn thing, he’s gonna finish it. Looks very interesting so far.

December 2, 2009, 3:36 pm : Spelling for Bees – First Ever DC Showcase Series – December 9th

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Spelling for Bees Kicks off DC Showcase Series

DC Music Collective Brings the Best Together for the First Time – Wednesday, December 9th – Rock and Roll Hotel

Featuring: Dangerosa, Red Satellites, Matthew Hemerlein and World’s Fair

Spelling for Bees is swarming together for the first in a series of showcase events in and around Washington DC. Who are Spelling for Bees, you ask? The brightest talents on the DC indie scene right now, together to work and play and make musical honey.

This project has come to fruition over the course of the last several months, and it has effectively brought together some of the most diverse and eclectic musicians in DC. Spelling for Bees itself is the fabric by which they come together, for showcases such as this, as well as residency nights once a month, hosted at the Velvet Lounge.

The Showcase events tout members, aka Bees, performing with their original bands, often mixing it up with other Bees during their sets. Fans of indie get the opportunity to see something amazing taking shape, as the Showcase events will aim to culminate in the grand vision of Bees founder Dave Mann with the help of the hive: the entire Bees ensemble together for one evening of pure indie rock symphony! Details will be released as they become available.

This first Bees Showcase lineup will provide a buzzing array of style and approach…From the dynamism of Dangerosa’s Simpsons coupled vocals to Bowie-esque Charlottesville rockers Red Satellites; The uniqueness of Hemerlein’s self-described Chinese Pop sounds to the folksy, well-rounded World’s Fair.

Dangerosa
Red Satellites
Matthew Hemerlein
World’s Fair
Washington music media is turning on to this amalgam of local area talent, an ensemble of musicians brought together for grandly fine music. Check out Spelling for Bees residency night coverage here:
Washngton Post Going Out Guide (Tuesday listing)-http://voices.washingtonpost.com/goingoutgurus/2009/11/nightlife_agenda_85.html (Tuesday listing)
Washington City Paper-
http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/display.php?id=38113
Brightest Young Things-
http://www.brightestyoungthings.com/live-dc/spelling-for-bees-a-velvet-residency/

August 31, 2009, 2:08 pm : Breaking Down Bill & Danny

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Hurricane Bill and the waves that it spawned received unbelievable amounts of mainstream surf media attention last week. Blame the internet, blame the ever-growing number of surfers in the water, blame whatever you want, but it seems odd for East Coast surfing to get that much national attention.

It’s not like we only get hurricane swells while demurely staring at a flat ocean the rest of the year. Seriously. Plus, Bill generated large swells pretty much up and down the Right Coast, but was only middling when compared to the QUALITY of the waves it produced. I know, I’m gonna hear it for that one, but considering how fast the storm moved and how much wind it produced, Bill was a short-lived phenom.

Long-time East Coasters surely remember the stretches of surf pumped out by tropical systems in recent years. Namely, 1995, 1999 and 2005 stick out as banner years for tropical juice. 1995 in particular delivered substance without the hype. Now, we get one storm and it’s all eyes on the E.C.

Truth be told, from my vantage point in the Outer Banks, Danny delivered the better surf. Mostly for personal reasons, but after all, isn’t the amount of stoke directly related to one’s personal experience? Not sure? Let me explain.

Bill, for all its hoopla, jacked up the surf along the entire coast to the big-to-huge range. Florida was well overhead, the Outer Banks weighed in with surf that was easily 15-20 feet, breaking way outside, on Saturday, August 22nd, backing down to overhead to well-overhead on Sunday and still solid on Monday. The best place in the Outer Banks looked to be S Turns, which I personally stayed away from, with all the attendant pros and photogs cramming in. And the Northeast delivered huge surf as well, from Montauk all the way up to Nova Scotia, daring the intrepid to get their guns out and have a go. But winds were mostly funky, with periods of clean conditions, meaning that most people scored only moments of perfection, if any at all.

Click here for aerial pics of the Bill swell in the Outer Banks

Click here for aerial pics of the Bill swell in New England

Danny, on the other hand, popped up like a surprise jack-in-the-box in the Western Atlantic, daring to form into a hurricane that could potentially smash into the Outer Banks. That never happened, but it did sit in place long enough to make Thursday, August 27th one of the funnest, most rippable days of surf this writer has had in some time. 3-6 foot clean lines groomed by a slight offshore breeze that backed off completely around lunchtime, hitting some sandbars that could easily rival S Turns. Not to mention that school was back in session, so the daytime surfer didn’t have to contend with hoards of frothing groms. And while the lineup certainly wasn’t empty, it stayed low key and spread out, giving everyone plenty of stoke.

And that wasn’t the end of it. After Danny ground down to an unimposing sub-tropical storm and raced by the Outer Banks early Saturday morning, the lingering swell was overhead and thumping. Drifty and a bit disorganized, yes, but sizable barrels were on tap for those that wanted them. So proving that hype definitely doesn’t equal stoke, the surprising and unheralded Danny dished out the real treats in this tropical combination. At least that’s how my stoke meter counts it.

August 5, 2009, 10:35 am : Getting Blazed and Confused in Columbia

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Merriweather is turning it out again tonight with the fusion of Slightly Stoopid and Snoop Dogg known as the Blazed and Confused tour. First time for me seeing Snoop live. I should have seen him when Squeezetoy opened for him and

Chili Peppers a bunch of years ago. Problems of not having an official pass for the show and the possibly nebulous issues that would arise from a gate that would be left open so I could park backstage and hang with them all left me deciding to not press luck and get kicked out.

Since then I’ve seen Stoopid five times, three of them with all access accompanying their opening acts. What I appreciate most about seeing them up close is the focus and ethic that is evident in their live music. They’re down to earth, to boot. Products of O.B., CA; they’ve intertwined their musical talents with so many different people and acts from that area (try making a family tree of who they have worked and played with, it will probably blanket a vast area of the SoCal music scene, at the very least), it just seemed natural that they teamed up with Snoop Dogg for this huge summer tour.

It will be interesting to see the mix in the crowd of who is there to see Snoop and who is there to really see Stoopid. They have been touring hard for years and really earned the followings they’ve established. Baltimore is definitely one of those places. Check this gallery of Stoopid and Half Pint playing Baltimore’s Pier Six. They respect the fans and put forth all their energy, every single night.

Check back here later for photos from the show, plus exclusive coverage over at Examiner.