2010 Coney Island Rockabilly Festival

It's summertime and the time is right...time for cars and guitars, surf and turf at Cha Cha's on the Coney Island boardwark!



Here's alllll the info for the events this weekend. If you're like me and have nothing to do, maybe you'll swing down to catch some tunes, some tan and some titties (there's always a huge burlesque show involved. Yeah, I know, that was an alliteration stretch there...).

Friday Night, September 3rd
Cha Cha's on the Boardwalk
Viva Le Vox (Davy Jones Locker, FL)
Guitar Bomb (Brooklyn, NY)
King Sickabilly (Providence, RI)
Hickry Hawkins and The Panty-Sniffers (Charlotte, NC)
The Holy Roller Sideshow (NYC)
Live Burlesque and Sideshow
$12 advance / $15 at the door

Saturday, September 4th
On the Outdoor Stage
Hickry Hawkins (Charlotte, NC)
Sean Kershaw and the New Jack Ramblers (Brooklyn, NY)
Elsa Cross (Dover, NH)
Susquehanna Industrial Tool & Die Co. (New York City, NY) - these guys are worth going to see all by themselves!
$8 advance / $10 at the door

Cha Cha's on the Boardwalk
Tombstone Brawlers (New Jersey)
Jason James and the Bay State House Rockers (Worcester, MA)
Mean Mean Man and the Brass Knuckle Band (Charlotte,NC)
The Hollowbody Hellraisers (Gainesville, FL)
Live Burlesque and Sideshow
$12 advance / $15 at the door

Sunday, September 5th
On the Outdoor Stage
Nick Williams and The Anteaters (Staten Island, NY)
The Mallard Drakes (Brooklyn, NY)
The Krank Daddies (Chicago, IL)
Tex Railer’s Doomtown (Allston, MA)
$8 advance / $10 at the door


Cha Cha's on the Boardwalk
Sasquatch and the Sickabillys (Providence, RI) - featuring my buddy Bobcat on guitar!
The Memphis Morticians (NYC) - one of my favorite Psychobilly bands in the city!
Soul Reapin' 3 (New Haven, CT)
Creepin’ Cadavers (Amity, MA)
Live Burlesque and Sideshow
$12 advance / $15 at the door

Monday, September 6th (Remember...no work today!)
Cha Cha's on the Boardwalk
The 2010 Miss Pin Up Coney Island Contest, Hosted by Eddie Dickfingers
Matty B and The Dirty Pickles (Erie, PA)
Nerve Tonic (Dirty Jersey)
Filthy Still (Providence, RI)
Electraluxx (Garfield, NJ)

I'm not going to Myspace link all those bands right now, but you can find more info.....uh, basically in one place (and there's not much more info than that!). Rockabilly events in NYC - always pretty awesome, never very organized...everybody too busy wrenchin' and drinkin', I suppose.

Die you zombie bastard!, originally uploaded by orgutcayli.

Rumblers NYC 10th Annual show - THIS WEEKEND

It's that time again, kiddos, for those of us in the NYC area to get our fill of flames, open exhaust pipes and slap bass at the 10th Annual Kustom Kills & Hot Rod Thrills show under the BQE, right near Union Pool.




It's only $10 to see the bands over at Union Pool, including my ol' friend Bobcat's band the Arkhams, Al & the Black Cats, Labretta Suede and the Motel 6, Rehab for Quitters, and Those Hated Hearts. I've never heard of any of those other bands, but I'm always up for good music, and have yet to be disappointed at a Rumblers show. I also have no idea what the band schedule is, as I can't find the info anywhere (the Rumblers always seem a little disorganized when it comes to promoting their yearly show, but whatever). They also have a Facebook page now, which might have more info as the week goes on. Union Pool doesn't even have a real website yet (no surprise there), and neither their Myspace page or their new blog say anything about this event either. Oh silly, lazy hipsters.

See you fools there!

Man...Or Astroman? An Interstellar Return

Holy Haley's Comet, Spaceman! It has come to my attention that the ever amazing Man...or Astroman? is heading to the East Coast to play some shows after some triumphant sets during this year's SXSW.


Image courtesy of Brooklyn Vegan
Having somehow missed out on seeing them play in their heyday (mid to late 90's), I am happy to report that tickets go on sale this Friday for their shows at the Bowery Ballroom in Manhattan (11/12) and the Williamsburg Music Hall in Brooklyn (11/13), where I will be, with my 9 volt tongue.


Check out more photos from a recent show in Toronto at Brooklyn Vegan.

Royal Flush Magazine: Book Seven Sponsorship Drive

Hey there! Do you like music, art and comics? Do you think it's a fucking shame that so many print publications are disappearing faster than endangered turtles in the oil-filled Gulf of Mexico? Do you want to reach out a helping hand and do some awesome strangers a favor, boosting your rock-and-roll-karma-quotient???

Well then have I got a charity case for you!


Royal Flush Magazine is primed to put out issue #7 of their acclaimed magazine, read by more than 50,000 of the most serious fans of music, art,comics, rock and roll culture, street culture, skateboarding, grafitti, pro wrestling, political satire and so much more. But like every other great, grassroots publication, they are in need of some cold, hard cash to keep their demented dream alive.

What do you get for putting your money in RF's proverbial print g-string?:

Pledge $5 or more (the cost of an extra pint of beer here in the city!)
Receive a free Royal Flush Magazine bookmark and Hispanic Batman collector's pin.

Pledge $10 or more (cheaper than a pack of NYC smokes!)
Receive a free Royal Flush Book 7 PDF edition, a Royal Flush Magazine bookmark and Hispanic Batman collector's pin.

Pledge $25 or more (about the cost of a pair of tickets to one of those lame-ass new 3D movies everybody is pissing themselves to see)
Receive a free copy of Royal Flush Book 7 upon release of the book in October 2010, a Royal Flush Magazine bookmark and Hispanic Batman collector's pin.

Pledge $50 or more (the cost of ten days worth of McDonald's lunches...save your fat ass AND support a good cause!)
Receive a free copies of Royal Flush Books 6 & 7 upon release of the book in October 2010, a Royal Flush Magazine bookmark and Hispanic Batman collector's pin.

Pledge $100 or more (less than your tab after a depressing night getting lap dances by aging, herpes-farm strippers at your local girlie bar)
(LIMITED REWARD)
Receive a personalized thank you printed in the pages of Royal Flush Book 7. You will also receive copies of Royal Flush Magazine, Books 4,5,6,7 A bookmark and a collector's pin

...Don't think you can afford to pledge more than $100 to anything these days? Well guess what, my friend, overspending is as American as Apple Fuckin' Pie!!! Someone will bail you out later!

Pledge $200 or more
(LIMITED REWARD)
Receive a personalized thank you printed in the pages of Royal Flush Book 7. Your copy of Royal Flush Book 7 will be autographed by all the book's contributors. Royal Flush 18"x24" silkscreen print of Joan Jett, signed and numbered by Flush artist Josh Bernstein, limited to only 200 prints A Royal Flush bookmark and a Hispanic Batman collector's pin


Pledge $500 or more
(LIMITED REWARD)
An illustrated portrait of the donor by one of Royal Flush's top contributors on archival paper and signed by the artist, Receive a personalized thank you printed in the pages of Royal Flush Book 7. Your copy of Royal Flush Book 7 will be autographed by all the book's contributors. Royal Flush Magazine issues 4,5,6 Royal Flush 18"x24" silkscreen print of Joan Jett, signed and numbered by Flush artist Josh Bernstein, limited to only 200 prints A Royal Flush bookmark and a Hispanic Batman collector's pin

Pledge $1,000 or more
(LIMITED REWARD)
An illustrated portrait of the donor by one of Royal Flush's top contributors on archival paper and signed by the artist that will appear in Royal Flush Book 7. A copy of Royal Flush Book 4 signed by My Chemical Romance's Gerard Way Your copy of Royal Flush Book 7 will be autographed by all the book's contributors. Royal Flush Magazine issues 4,5,6 Royal Flush 18"x24" silkscreen print of Joan Jett, signed and numbered by Flush artist Josh Bernstein, limited to only 200 prints Royal Flush Poster Set (5 classic Royal Flush offset poster prints) A Royal Flush bookmark and a Hispanic Batman collector's pin

What are you waiting for?? As Mike Shinoda, from LINKIN PARK verifies**: "I wish they had ROYAL FLUSH when I was a kid–I would have stood in front of the mailbox waiting for it." DO IT!!!

**While this is a real life endorsement for Royal Flush Magazine (one of many), I still believe Linkin Park sucks, and this was used strictly for ironic purposes.**

Brooklyn Psychobilly Luau - July 10th & 11th

Woah nelly! Another rockabilly music festival in Brooklyn?? What the hell is going on here! I just heard about one going on from the 16th - 18th of July at the Warsaw in Greenpoint called the Rebel Night Weekender, but didn't post about it because I just didn't have the time. That one is much more traditional rockabilly sounding (The Trashmen, Sit & Die Co., a lot fewer bands), but who knows! Could totally rock.

So about the Luau: a few weeks ago I was at my friend Mike Fisher's band's show at the Lit Lounge in the LES. Mike's band is called D.I.S., punky death metal at its finest! Mike is also a great artist; check out his work at www.maxiumumflouride.net. While there, I met a guy who works for Rebel Angel productions, and though I forget his name (I wrote it down somewhere but lost that piece of paper), he was super nice and told me about how Rebel Angle had recently put on the first Deadbolt show in ages a little while back and said I should check out their site.

Rebel Angel is putting on music events for the hot rod set in NYC constantly, and the Psychobilly Luau, already in it's 4th year, is coming up next weekend! Good thing I finally got around to looking at their website, eh?


Psychobilly Luau @ the Bell House, July 10th & 11th, Brooklyn NY.

In addition to a zillion great bands playing over the two days, there will be all kinds of other rod-related revelry to partake in: sideshows, vendors, fashion shows, burlesque dancers, hot rods, BBQ, contests and more!

Just check out the list of bands:
(Saturday July 10th - ALL AGES!!)
GUANA BATZ (Midnight)
The Goddamn Gallows (10:45)
Memphis Morticians (9:45)
The Hypnophonics (8:45)
Stellar Corpses (7:45)
Psycho Charger (6:45)
The Arkhams (5:45)
The Othermen (5:00)
Viva Le Vox (4:15)
The Rebel Angels (3:30)

(Sunday July 11th - 21+ only)
THE NEANDERTHALS
The Swingin' Neckbreakers
Jukebox Jodi & her 45s
Labretta Suede and The Motel 6
The Thunderfucks
King Sickabilly One Man Band
Thee Atomic Cavemen
Amy Rose and Her Trouble Makers
The Twang Bangers (Germany)

Damn...that's a lot. Tickets can be found on the Rebel Angel website and are $25 for Saturday, $20 for Sunday and $40 for a weekend pass. See you there!

Rolling Bones Hot Rod Shop

Sometimes, I think New York must be heaven on Earth. Around every corner I turn or every city I look up on the internet holds some gem, some oasis from the sea of crap and mediocrity that our world generally is these days. And today, I found a fresh breath of garage air called the Rolling Bones Hot Rod Shop, located in Greenfield Center, NY. It's kinda stupid that I haven't heard about them until now, because they are masters of what they do and quite well known in the hot rod community. Way to go, me! Always two steps behind.


Image from Hot Rod Revival
The two proprietors of this old school speed shop, Ken Schmidt and Keith Cornell, appear to be (I say appear because I haven't been there or anything) churning out some really well-built, classically styled hot rods prime for melting salt out in Bonneville. They even have a documentary out about a trip with their cars to the Mecca of rod-racing, aptly titled "The Road to Bonneville".

I highly recommend checking them out if you are anywhere in that area. They seem like a bunch of like-minded good guys who are worth supporting. Check out more photos of their shop here and a Deuce frame buildup process article at Street Rodder mag.

Another Icon Passes On

Almost everyone in America is familiar with this icon image of a young sailor in Times Square on VJ Day, August 14, 1945, smooching the bejesus out of a lithe young nurse, in one of the most palpable images of spontaneous passion I've ever seen. It was photographed by Alfred Eisenstaedt, a German-American photojournalist known for his candid portraits, specifically this memorable snapshot, most shot with a Leica M3 rangefinder camera.

Well today marks the passing of Edith Shain, the lucky nurse in that photo. Eisenstaedt was in Times Square as the end of WWII was announced, and went to photograph the celebrations. He remembers the moment thusly:

In Times Square on V.J. Day I saw a sailor running along the street grabbing any and every girl in sight. Whether she was a grandmother, stout, thin, old, didn't make a difference. I was running ahead of him with my Leica looking back over my shoulder but none of the pictures that were possible pleased me. Then suddenly, in a flash, I saw something white being grabbed. I turned around and clicked the moment the sailor kissed the nurse. If she had been dressed in a dark dress I would never have taken the picture. If the sailor had worn a white uniform, the same. I took exactly four pictures. It was done within a few seconds.

So much was happening so quickly he didn't have a chance to record the names of the couple in the photo. For years no one knew who the woman in that classic photograph was, until she came forward in the 1970's to identify herself. The identity of that sailor remains unknown.