Raul Soria Photo

Awaken The Mosh

2009-07-30T17:26:00.000-07:00

I've switched over to a different site. I won't be updating this blog anymore.

You can find me at
www.AwakenTheMosh.com

The Voluptuous Vixens VS Axles of Evil!

2009-05-02T20:13:00.000-07:00

04.25.09- Last Saturday frickin rocked! My bud, Katie invited me to go check out her team skate during the first Derby event of the season. I headed over the H-3 to the Kaneohe Marine Base excited as all hell to check out some friends tear it up on asphalt once again.

Under the boiling mid-afternoon sun these women still put on their A game. The crowd was as hyped as usual, cheering on their favorite ladies take on an onslaught of rollin wheels and flying elbows. The OOOOHHHH's, WHOOAAAHHH's and OUUUCHH!!!'s from the sidelines entertained me as much as the screams from the sidelines of the girls themselves trying to motivate their teammates. I admit I had to completely stop what I was doin and recompose myself after when I heard one of the women from the Voluptuous Vixen's pit area scream out, "GIVE THEM PAIN!!!"

[ CHECK OUT THE FULL IMAGE GALLERY! ]

We gonna rock all night long!!!

2009-04-30T23:12:00.000-07:00

04.24.09- God I miss good ol' fashioned rock shows. I love it when I show up to a show and I'm the youngest one at the entire venue. Its even more awesome when I have friends on the stage who specifically asked me to take photos. It was an absolutely epic night that shook the island like I haven't seen in a long time. Bands that usually never stray far from their usual bar atmosphere finally took the stage at Pipeline cafe.

The house was filled with old school rockers with tight leather pants and long hair. I felt at home. I smiled a bit knowing that their dream hasn't died with age. They were still up there rockin like they probably did back in the day. A few of them surprised the hell out of me. Velvet Mantis covered Robin Trower!!! I think I was the only one besides the band who knew what they were playin. I couldn't stop screaming, well occasionally to take a few pictures but thats about it.

I wasn't expecting a Journey cover band. Honestly. But they were bad ass!!! That dude hit every note. And the band was amazing.

And Brett killed it as he does with his hard hitting band Big Dawg. The "not as evil" stepchild of the metal band Black Prizm.

Along for the ride were the band, Lucky 13, the always amazing Friends of Adam, and the hilariously high energy, Bari Bari 13.
I was absolutely pooped by the end of the night. The show went from 8pm till 3am. Did you read that? 3AM! And I stayed awake the whole time. Bari Bari 13 definitely knows how to wake a guy up.

[ CHECK OUT THE FULL GALLERY! ]

Poetry slam finals

2009-04-30T22:59:00.000-07:00

04.02.09- I had a chance to witness an incredible night of poetry and spoken word at Pipeline cafe a few weeks ago. It was the Slam Poetry finals. These were the best of the best, pitted up against each other on one stage. I've seen them all before in previous slams but this was their shining moment. They put on their best and tore at the heart strings with the crowd hanging on every word.

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Armed with my telephoto and a well placed chair I was able to get up and take some pretty good shots. I ran up and sat at the foot of the stage every once in a while when I felt that burning urge to capture the emotion of the night up close.

[ click here to see full image gallery ]

Busekrus Birthday show

2009-04-30T22:51:00.000-07:00

04.11.09- For my post Rise Against show I headed down to Sand Island R&B to check out my friend's band, Busekrus. Marcus Busekrus, the bands frontman was having a birthday as well, so it was a nice old fashioned rock show with a lot of familiar faces in the audience.

I walked in just in time to see my buds, A Sedated Nation do their thing. As well as a bunch of other friends who were also playin that night.

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[ click here to see full image gallery ]

Rise Against

2009-04-30T22:40:00.001-07:00

04.10.09- So after recooperating from the night before from Bad Religion, I decided to check out the band, Rise Against whom I had no idea were so popular with the kiddies. I walked in completely unaware what I was getting myself into. I thought I would have photo access this time but no such luck. So I stuck the 50mm on to the rebel xt and prepared myself to get a bit sweaty.

Pipeline cafe was shoulder to shoulder and in some places worse. It was a frickin sauna. But I somehow managed to get myself to the bar area near the front of the stage where I decided to set up camp. Did I mention it was hot? And ridiculously crowded? Rise Against were pretty good. Not a particular fan of that style of pop/rock, but not bad. So here I was squished against the bar with the audience digging various body parts into my sides and occasionally hitting me in the head. I struggled to squeeze my right arm in between all the sweaty people, over the audience and started shooting away.

Some how I still finagled my way in front of the barricade, the security was pretty cool to me this time around. So I was able to stand comfortable and shoot as I pleased. I walked away that night covered in sweat, from standing still nonetheless, not moving, just standing. I had to ring out my shirt after the show and clean my sweat covered lens. God I love concerts.

[ click here to see full image gallery ]

Punk rock lives!!!

2009-04-30T22:24:00.001-07:00

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An epic weekend of music for yours truly. I got to witness one of my personal favorites, Bad Religion play an epic set and survive to tell about it. I ran in with my camera for the first couple of songs and then just went nuts for the rest of it. Greg Graffin came on like a hurricane of intellectual punk rock authority as only he can. And I left with a going away present, I scored a pick from the band which bounced off my head and landed in my hand. Woooo!

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Bari Bari 13 warmed up the stage for them with their always high energy Japanese rockabilly punk rock. I could tell it was the first time most of this old school punk audience would witness the monster that is Bari Bari 13.

Midway through their set they surprised the hell out of every one by building up the suspense of what was about to happen with a ground shaking drum beat and then bamm, they dropped their pants and played the rest of their set in speedos. If thats not punk rock I don't know what is.

[ click here to see full image gallery ]

Transient Colors

2009-03-08T13:40:00.000-07:00

02.28.09 - Hometown heroes, Pacifica returned to Oahu with welcoming arms and their own particular brand of atmospheric pseudo-rock last weekend. The venues were filled with friends, family and fans (new and old) for a rare musical event. Frontman, Kika Diama's vocals soared over their audience with commanding authority as if to say "No, we haven't forgotten about you."

The band's flawless renditions of crowd favorites from their EP Transient Colors were nothing less than Epic, showing this island that there are still musicians out there who aren't afraid to push the limits and destroy stereotypes of what music is supposed to sound like.

[ click here to see full image gallery ]

Thats a swanky suit indeed...

2009-02-23T02:10:00.000-08:00

02.13.09 - Weird Al and Spaceball fans rejoice, Richard Cheese and his band, Lounge Against the Machine have entered the building. Well known for his lounge renditions of popular hits, he ran through everything from 2LiveCrew to the epic "Spongebob Squarepants theme song." My sides hurt after about 10 minutes into the show and found it a bit difficult to take pictures while laughing so hard.

True to the style of lounge Richard Cheese engaged the audience with his raunchy and hilarious in-your-face humor dragging people on stage, flirting with women in the audience (sometimes even in the presence of an uncomfortable boyfriend).

At one point he walked into the women's bathroom mid-way through a song and claimed he was "in search for lesbians" to sing to. He continued the song from inside the bathroom and coersed 2 women to come out and kiss.

It was a difficult shoot due to half of the venue being closed off for the "lounge seating". But I still managed to finagle a few shots in with the telephoto.

[ click here to see full image gallery ]

The Presidents of the USA

2009-02-23T01:50:00.000-08:00

02.04.09 - The Presidents of the USA still got it. Kickin' the Jams and makin ya smile. One really nice dude in the front working security and promoters for once who were greatful for the fact that the 808 Scene Zine was there to cover the show. Everyone in attendance was ridiculously happy and the stage was extremely well lit. Complete 360 from my run in with Terror.

We were allowed to wander around pretty much whatever we wanted for the entire show. I sat in front of the barricade in the photo pit for almost the whole concert with my trusty Press Pass. I felt like a rock star. I couldn't help but laugh my head off and smile a bit. Hearing them rock their hits "Peaches" and "Lump" sent me spiraling through memories of high school. I'm sure everyone in attendance felt the same.

[ click here to see full image gallery ]

Terror

2009-02-21T02:13:00.000-08:00

01.31.09 - Sometimes walking into a venue, the anticipation of the crowd's reaction to a band can overwhelm even the music. Hardcore (particularly New York... hardcore, HARDCORE!) invites a certain call and response from its audience. This call to arms, invokes certain inner demons to show its ugly self. It pits friends against one another, unlike most metal bands, Hardcore produces a rogue insanity which disassociates its fans from even each other. And to further induce this tension, there seemed to be more security at that show than there were audience members.

Corrupt Absolute who opened and sponsored the event, came out like an assault rifle as always and their fans answered back with a whirlwind of fists and brotherly aggression. I was invited to take pictures on stage for the first time to chronicle the battle that would ensue.

No surprises when Terror's frontman demanded that we "Destroy each other" during their first song. The hardcore dancing ensued as always with the punching of random people, arms flyin, and legs connecting with anyone who happened to be standing too close. I witnessed one fan leave bloody with a towel wrapped around his head and another being dragged out after getting hit in the head by one of the above mentioned.

I felt an uneasyness as the crowd was split in two, the metalheads who came out to see Corrupt Absolute do their pseudo-thrash metal and the "hardcore" audience who just looked like they wanted to try out their karate moves to a drum beat. So I decided to not get hit and stand towards the side of the stage and take pictures. But of course there happened to be a small army of security anxiously waiting to lecture me as she did throughout the entire set, that I needed to stay behind the barricade OR ELSE. Even after I got permission to go on stage from Corrupt Absolute?!? Not one of the most welcoming events to shoot at but a learning experience none the less about the trials of human behavior.

[ click here to see full image gallery ]

Rock Solid Saturdays

2009-02-10T23:31:00.000-08:00

01.24.09 - It would be a smart move if Black Prizm employed massage therapists and ear doctors at every show. I guarantee not a soul in Pipeline Cafe drove home that night without at least wondering if that buzzing in their ears was only in their heads or perhaps its something to have checked in the near future.

With Pipeline Cafe under the refreshing new management style of Gregg Azus, this venue has fast become the forefront of local music and the last hope for emerging artists of every genre to be heard as intended.

Brett from Black Prizm intends to destroy more ear drums in the coming months with a slew of shows (cross your fingers) making these nights a valiant attempt to replant metal and rock music back on its thrown.

Slug

Broken Glass

Friends of Adam

[ click here to see full image gallery ]

THIS DREAM...

2009-01-28T02:06:00.000-08:00

The blues speaks to the soul. It speaks of pain and hardship, love and joy. It can put together the pieces of a shattered heart or send you running for a kleenex with a slight bend of a note.

Friends of Adam have time and time again proven that music is what binds us all. Destroying all stereotypes of how traditional blues are supposed to be played, all the while tearing apart every stage they've ever stepped on. From the smallest dive bar in Waikiki to the blaring lights of Pipeline Cafe, they have sent audiences all over the island into a complete frenzy with every chord.

Here are a few favorites from their gig at Coconut Willie's in Waikiki.

[ click here to see full image gallery ]

SK808 INVITATIONALS

2009-01-14T03:18:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday I drove up to Waimanalo to witness yet another incredible event.
The 1st Annual SK808 Women's Roller Derby Invitationals.

It was held in this tiny lil' warehouse out in the boonies of Waimanalo. Once I rolled up on that dirt road I knew I was in for something special and seldom seen by the masses.

Derby Girls from all over the nation gathered together that day to show their support for their sisters out in the middle of the Pacific. Teams were formed randomly to further reinforce the strong bond that held them together. They played 30 min. scrimmages on a tiny track half the size of a normal regulation rink, but with the brutality equal to that of an arena event. Inside the warehouse, surrounding the rink, stood old mattresses that served as padding for the small rink. They were spray painted with skulls and other characters displaying the misfit personalities of these girls. Clearly, these women don't play with dolls.

As the Hawaii derby teams slowly regain their momentum and popularity from decades of obscurity, it was exciting to say I was there to witness its rebirth. Here are a couple of photos I took during that rare event.

[ click here to see full image gallery ]

PUT AWAY YOUR DANCING SHOES

2009-01-08T03:32:00.000-08:00

Back in November I was fortunate enough to witness an event so incredibly epic, I'm still having trouble describing the insanity that ensued on that day.

Girlfest presents
The Pacific Roller Derby team VS the Maui Roller Girls

One of my closest friends happens to be on the Oahu team. She invited me to capture all the craziness (from a safe distance of course) behind the lens. A sport perfectly fitting a woman who even came with me to a Testament (thrash metal) concert with a broken foot and still rocked harder than anyone I've ever met.

Katie and Me

The battle continues this Saturday at the SK808 INVITATIONALS where Derby Girls from all over the nation join the Women's Pacific Roller Derby Team to show the island that Women's Roller Derby is alive and well and yes... these girls can kick our ass if they wanted to.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/raulsoriaphoto/collections/72157613108786093/

YOU CAN'T KILL THE METAL

2009-01-07T02:25:00.000-08:00

Only a few bands on this island have ever been able to send me headbanging into oblivion to the point where I have to hold my own head up to drive home properly. Here's a band I witnessed tear serious sh!t up last weekend. Before Fire.

HORNS HELD HIGH

2009-01-07T02:09:00.000-08:00

The local metal scene seems to fluctuate as much as the tides here in Hawaii. As the last wave of local metal bands gravitated towards the possibility of rock stardom overseas, the few who chose to remain here are struggling to keep the scene alive.
Here are a few of them.

Augustine

Baptized in Smegma

The Miltons

My kind of island music

2009-01-07T01:11:00.000-08:00

I've been quite fortunate to have been able to capture some ridiculously talented musicians here in the islands doing what they do best. Here are a few of my favorites from 08'. Enjoy

The Music

2008-11-04T09:44:00.000-08:00

The last 10 years of kicking my own ass at concerts is starting to pay off. My music experiences have finally started reaching epic proportions. Thanks to the zine and BAMP I've been living some of my dreams these last few months.

Getting to meet the some of the guys from one of my all time favorite bands, Thrice. Got to scream my lungs out up in VIP (while trying to not over exert myself due to the injuries) along with my closest friends. I was still buzzin days after that one. I've met some of the most talented musicians in my life here on the island. And have got to watch their gradual rise to greatness and capture it all behind the lens. Friends of Adam, I'm lookin your way! So much damn undiscovered talent in the islands and I get to live the experience night after night and share it through my pictures and our zine.

Got to hang with Spencer from Underoath and learn from him first hand that it is possible to live your dreams. And I got to be apart of it once again with my camera.

And just 2 days ago, DRAGONFORCE! HOLY HELL!!! That had to be one of the most fun experiences I've been able to be apart of. I got permission from BAMP to run around and take pictures in the photo pit for the first 3 songs!

Just me and 2 other ridiculously passionate photoheads. Right at the foot of the stage! I'm still smilin'. I felt so darn "accomplished". Feels like its all starting to come together.

Than I got to go absolutely nuts in "THE PIT". I had to prove to myself that I could do it again after all that I've been through with the accident. And it was the most fun I've had in years! Got to have hundreds of other insane fans carry me over there heads who brought me face to face with the band again. I had so many friends in that audience it was overwhelming.

And now thanks to technology I get to share that night with the world as I saw them! How freakin awesome is that!?

Halloween

2008-11-04T09:43:00.000-08:00

Halloween, decided to strategically plan my voyage this time. Left work a lil' early then parked at Kaiser Bowls. Took the skateboard to Downtown to look at all the freaks that were out and about. Was freakin weird. Giant crayons walkin around with pokemon, 2 older folks with butts the size of yoga exercise balls dancing there heads off. Good times.

Had a chance to see this really interesting band, Art is... & the family band I think they were called. I guess this is the same guy who does those big ol' eagle flag paintings. But it was cool. So much love screamin outta one family, made me smile a bit.

Couldn't imagine rockin out with my own mom, dad, sister, so watching their whole family on stage together crackin jokes trying to steal the mic's from each other was fun to watch. I ran around taking pictures trying to beat the "professional" photographers to all the good spots, well I'm normally upfront bobbin my head anyways so I'm usually there already.

Then Papa Mali came on, rockin the dreads straight from the bayou of New Orleans. Saw him open for Derek Trucks a while back. The dude is bad ass.

Wanted to stay but promised a friend I'd go check him out in Waikiki playin with Crucible. So I skated back to my car, well, tried to than gave up and took the bus, but there was so much damn traffic goin' into Waikiki I pretty much gave up that idea. Riding the bus with the Joker, a giant baby, the Harlem globetrotters, an escaped convict, a samurai and Sweeney Todd and his twin brother was getting a lil' weird and not to mention louder than hell, so I got off and skated back to my car instead.

Went to Cirque Hawaii (the old IMAX theatre) to catch Crucible and Killswitch... uh I mean Phoenix Rose. Got there and to my surprise it turns out to be a Halloween Dance party in the main area, random skanks, drunken tourists and slutty nurses galore. And moved my way to the main stage where the opening band Technical Difficulties were doin some pretty good covers. You could tell they weren't quite used to the whole stage presence thing yet, but they did a good job. The sound was pretty awesome in there. I couldn't stand the fact that it was IMAX seating though. And you had to you know... sit. So I ran up to the front in this 5'x5' lil' standing area were the staircase was connecting to the theater and stood there and took pictures. Crucible did there thing as they always do, came out heavy, Had sound problems galore. Matt did what he could and rocked it as only he can.

Crucible

But there set was quite short, not worth my $15 bucks (it said $5 on the flyer, thanks Nick.) It was still fun trying to capture the night through the lens.
And Phoenix Rose did their usual Killswitchy set. Overall a pretty interesting night.

In working sleep.

2008-10-26T04:23:00.000-07:00

From

Done, finished, finito, pau.

One more zine off the computer and into the hands of the printer. So the power napping failed me. Tried to stay up Thursday night to finish up. Attempted the power nap at about 11:30PM. Sat in my chair, feet on the bed. Set my alarm for 12:15am. My cel phone alarm in my pocket, set it for 3, 5 minute intervals, so it would possibly scare the hell out of me when it would go off and again if I refused to wake up. I even put my guitar and a bunch of books on my bed so I wouldn't be tempted to get on my bed and sleep comfortably.

So did what I could on the zine before hand. Decided to take my sleepy break. Closed my eyes.
Woke up at 4am, in my bed, guitar on the ground, books and 3 ring binder underneath me. Don't know how I got there. Was in a daze for a few minutes. And I couldn't figure out why I felt stressed out like I missed a deadline in my dream. than it smacked me in the head. Daaahhhh, gotta finish zine. Dragged my butt outta bed and planted it in front of the computer. Turns out things worked out pretty good. I had my Dr. check-up that morning so I was going to go in late to work anyways. So that gave me an extra hour than usual. Got the usual last minute changes and managed to complete the whole thing and send it off.

Here's the spread I did of our interview with Underoath complete with my own pictures. Wooohooo!

in the family

2008-06-09T13:56:00.000-07:00

I was going through some old drawings to remind myself of stuff I've done in the past and I came upon these drawings my dad did. Sometimes I forget that I'm not the only weird one in my family. If my dad was on the phone, (cell phones weren't around yet, so you had to sit still) he would grab any random scrap of paper that was within arms reach, and any markers, pens or whatever and this weird stuff would happen. He would just throw them away after, I would take them out of the trash and put them in a binder. Here's a couple of um'.

For those who choose to rock and to those who don't

2008-06-09T13:31:00.000-07:00

A trip through memory lane. 9th grade art class. My friend Andy and I were the only 2people in class that were up front about our hatred for the crap our class chose to listen to every day on the radio. For an entire semester we had to sit and listen to whatever the majority wanted, all the while being made fun of for listening to our music. Well one day we decided to go and change the station. Remember radio free. Yeah, we were teased a lot because we would come to school in metal shirts and listen to it.

So Andy and I came early one day and changed the station, (this was actually the system that was in place, you come in first, you rule the radio). The whole class just stared at us, crying "what the f@ck is this sh!t?" Or they had that look on their faces if they didn't say it out loud.

Eventually this lil' korean racer-gangsta-wannabe, bastard (we shall call pelepele, he wore that same damn shirt everyday) walked right up to my friend Andy and said "You the f@ck that changed the station? We looked at him and said, "uh... yeah." We tried to be rational about the subject of who had control of the radio without causing a ruckus. I guess he really liked that Barbie girl song that was on before we changed the station. Well, he walked right back to the radio, changed it back glared at us and I guess went back to living in his Barbie world. Anyway, we being the humble guys we were, we just went back to doing what we were doin and decided that from that day forth, there were going to be those lines between us and them, but we wouldn't let them get to us.

To keep our minds at ease we decided to draw pictures of him daily as our own personal revenge. Here's the first.

then there was silence...

2008-05-16T11:36:00.000-07:00

Good metal bands in Hawaii are hard to come by. Its a shame that this show will mark the death of two really outstanding bands here in the islands. Green Eyes and A World Engineered. Some friends of mine asked me to do this for them as a final goodbye.

SKINLAB!!!

2008-05-15T16:57:00.000-07:00

Skinlab. One of the most awesome music experiences ever. And a heavy metal reunion of sorts. I met most of my friends the first time they played here almost 10 years ago. I had a chance to meet with the band at Sam Goodys and not to my surprise no one was at the signing but me. Which kicked royal behind.

I couldn't move my neck for a good week afterward the show. But it was well worth it. And the fact the band recognized me from the signing was awesome. Carlos, the band's frontman, tossed me a bottle of water from the stage and the guitarist would run up and put the guitar in my face during the songs and give me the "Ya I remember you, dude" look. Before shakin my hand during the set. Woohooo!!! Only a metal head would understand.

At the end of the show a friend of the band (manager perhaps) saw me going nut, banging my head for a good 2 hours. He eventually walked up to me and screamed "DAMN, YOU KICK ASS!!! Thanks for coming, man!" And handed me the setlist as a going away gift, complete with the lead singer's footprint on it, hah. Kick ass!!!

Stopping time

2008-04-28T12:30:00.000-07:00

I grabbed my tripod last night and went on a lil' night field trip to a freeway overpass. After I set up, I was amazed at the people screaming from their cars and honking their horns at me. No real reason, except to uh... distract me? I didn't get it. After about an hour out there a car pulls up behind me. They sit there for about 5 minutes. Eventually they pulled up to me and a woman asked, "What are you doing?" I replied. "Taking pictures." They asked "Of what?" I said, "Cars flying down the freeway?" They continued "Why?". I answered "Because its fun."

They then asked with a confused face "Is this what you do all the time?" I said. "UH... yeah, I like taking pictures when I'm not drawing them." They looked at me like I was from a different planet and said, "OooooKaaaay?!? Well be safe." and drove away. I got a kick outta that look on their faces.

Love & Loss

2008-04-28T12:19:00.000-07:00

This was pretty sad. This Meerkat named Kapa lost his friend a few months back. He disappeared without a trace. And Zoo Keepers could not find him. And the first of the 3 died a while ago. He had the face of someone who just lost a loved one. So he slept. I wonder what he was dreaming.

Zoo voyage

2008-04-28T12:06:00.000-07:00

Went on my zoo voyage with my sister's DSLR for the first time last weekend. It was alot of fun, but also quite sad. Zoos make you contemplate life quite a bit. Some of the animals seemed pretty content in their open spaces with the other animals. Then there were the others. Just kinda sitting there with that beaten down by life look. Caged. No other option but to sit there and stare at the guy with the camera. Safety has its price. Especially when you have no choice.

Ligeiro

2008-04-24T02:27:00.000-07:00

Capoeira. It is a window into who I am deep inside, it's a reflection of how I deal with conflict and strife & a test to bring myself to smile during the struggle. It has become a big part of my life.
But it is also painful. You start to learn that the world isn't all song and dance. There is sorrow. There are those who wish to do you harm and take out their own pain out on you. They can knock you down. But you must get back up. You look into their eyes and see their shadowed past hidden in their Capoeira. Friendships are made but they are also broken. It is a true test of who you are deep inside when faced with adversity.

I live through my Capoeira. I struggle with my Capoeira. I face the harsh realities of this life but Capoeira has taught me to smile & dance during the fight.

Fake Smiles & Blank Stares

2008-04-24T02:24:00.000-07:00

Sitting alone at JazzMinds watching a friend's band play I decided to open the book. I sat there for an hour just staring at a blank page during their set. Then without warning, in walked about 50 UH students, conquering the place. They surrounded me and the sound of their voices clouded the music and eventually brought it to a halt. As it turns out I was about to witness a "Poetry Reading" from UH's poetry magazine.

The MC took the stage and asked the audience, "how many of you are poets out there?" I looked around in complete disbelief as the entire audience looked like they were staring into the headlights of an oncoming vehicle. 4 rose their hands, they ended up speaking all night, over and over and over. Lots of exaggerated hand movements and an over use of the word F&%K & SH!T to stir a rise out of the audience. It was annoying. There I was, sitting in a sea of blank expressions, trying to relate to these people. I sat there with my book. They stared at me commenting on the weird thing that began to take shape within it.

They asked me if I was an artist, maybe a poet, perhaps? There I was barefoot cross-legged on my chair, I replied, "I've never called myself any of those things before. Words & images just bounce around my head until they find a way down my arm and through my fingertips." Blank stares... all over the room. Yeah, it felt good.

It ended with the lead "poet/mc" telling everyone in her best stereotypical cheerleader voice "Like wow! How's that for some awesome poetry. Now who's gonna buy me a shot? I think we should all totally get wasted!" That was interesting, she wasn't faking it. So I sat, as they left single file outta the club when their time was over. The house Jazz band started playin. I looked around. It was just me again. Alone, with the music and my book. And this happened...

Doodles from the Dark Side

2008-04-24T02:22:00.000-07:00

The drawing experiments continue. This is probably the most fun I've had in a while. Another fun compilation made possible by the blues sounds of Friends of Adam and two very interesting creative friends of mine.

To their future...

2008-03-30T12:14:00.000-07:00

My friends are all growing up in their own special way. The wedding I attended yesterday was probably one of the most enjoyable ones I've ever experience. Led Zeppelin and music from the Blues Brothers blasted on the speakers and weird doodles were passed from guest to guest to create a very weird but very interesting icebreaker amongst family and friends. Families from the mainland were joined by local families, bikers, metalheads and past/present Home Depot employees all who which were held together by a common thread of friendship.

Here's a fun thing I created for my friend's reception table.

Cartwheels in the land of Curry & Blues

2008-03-28T12:21:00.000-07:00

Doodling is good for you. It creates a sense of playfulness and creativity you can only get while your brain is turned off.
Here's a collection of randomness produced on napkins and comment cards while waiting for food to be cooked or bands to be heard.

Turning the lights on

2008-03-27T17:50:00.000-07:00

Sometimes your brain works sometimes it doesn't. And sometimes you have to stick your head in the scanner for something cool to show itself. Here's my centerspread for a small publication I work on called the 808 scene zine.