Monthly Archives: May 2010

FREEDOM RIDE: Halo Benders on the Real Stories of the Highway Patrol

May 24, 2010 in Global Destruction, Music, Politics, PSA, With Video

I spent a good part of this morning unsuccessfully looking for an old black & white Halo Benders promotional photo from the mid 1990s.  I’ve been working the same type of hustle that I am now for half of my life and, when I was in high school, I spent the majority of my focus on getting companies to send me free shit for my marketing program’s “trade show” projects.  The Calvin Johnson founded, K Records was one of the most helpful and provided me with tons of merchandise and materials, including that Halo Benders photo, which was intended to hype the group’s sophomore effort, Don’t Tell Me Now (1996).  Two years prior, when Johnson (Beat Happening) first started the side project with Doug Martsch (Built to Spill), I had begun hearing the song “Don’t Touch My Bikini” on the local community college radio station.  Both keeping with and ending their pattern of dropping a new album every other year, Halo Benders released their final album, The Rebels Not In, in 1998.  That release contained “Virginia Reel Around the Fountain“, a song that is still a regular feature on Built To Spill set-lists to this day.  Calvin hopped on stage with BTS for a few random cameos throughout the following decade and the group reunited with a slightly altered lineup for a pair of shows in Boise, Idaho.  There have even been some random non-confirmed rumors of a possible new album and/or comeback but, for all intents and purposes, The Halo Benders were a Nineties band.  At one point or another during that initial run, the side-project even made an infamous, yet rarely seen, appearance on a quintessential 90‘s television program.  Thanks to today’s technology, the footage from that fiasco is just one more thing that has managed to resurface in our current times. Read the rest of this entry →

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WIN a Pair of Passes for Henry Rollins’ “FREQUENT FLYER TOUR” in SEATTLE!

May 20, 2010 in Global Destruction, Music

CONTEST HAS ENDED!

Henry Rollins may be pushing 50, but 2 things haven’t changed: he’s still in frighteningly good shape and he’s still an extremely interesting character.  For many of us he will always be the frontman for hardcore punk legends Black Flag.  For a slightly later generation he is primarily known for fronting the Rollins Band and for an agressive spoken word-style delivery of his lyrics.  He’s appeared as a white supremacist on the FX drama, Sons of Anarchy, while devoting time out of his real life to such endeavors as fighting for human rights and LGBT marriage equality.  Rollins has hosted radio programs, appeared in films, and even branched out to host 2 separate television programs on the Independent Film Channel.  Basically, he’s done a ton of shit with his career and he doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon.  As an example of his continued respect by his peers, the flyer for his latest/current spoken word performances on his FREQUENT FLYER TOUR was created by renowned artist and owner of Obey Giant, Shepard Fairey.  On the official press release for the tour, Rollins sarcastically asks the following question:

“Doesn’t it piss you off a little that I keep pulling this off every year and keep getting asked back when you were so done with me years ago?”

For those interested in attending the Seattle stop of the FREQUENT FLYER TOUR at the historic Moore Theater on next Thursday, May 27th, we have good news… we have teamed up with the Seattle Theatre Group again to offer yourself the opportunity to get a pair for free.

HOW TO ENTER

This contest is time sensitive folks, so let’s get down to business. Read the rest of this entry →

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OPTIMUS PRINE: John Prine Live @ The Paramount Theatre

May 6, 2010 in Music, Reviews

One day when I was reading The Stranger, I noticed that living musical legend, John Prine would be playing the Paramount Theatre in Seattle on April 17.  I instantly wondered if Monster Fresh founder/editor, Dead C could take a swing for me and get me into this show.  So, I called him up and gave him a few lines, reminding him what a huge Johnny fan I was and all that hogwash, and then asked, “Hey dude, do you think you hook this up for me?”   From my understanding, this show had some outside promotion and was a little tricky but, thanks to some extremely gracious assistance from the Seattle Theatre Group, my friend Megan and I were provided with a pair of seats, in the exclusive Paramount Club lounge no less.

To give you a little background on my fascination with Prine, we must travel back in time to Olympia, Washington and Crazy Leland’s Mormon Mansion on Biscay RD, about a mile away from The Evergreen State College.  I was getting pretty wasted in the kitchen and staring into a huge tropical fish tank that was built into the wall.  It was Bond movie type shit, except that it was financed with the trust fund money of a wingnut with an addiction to weed and comic books.  I must admit that the fish never looked so pretty (I believe that I was probably on mushrooms at the time).  Friend and fellow Monster Fresh contributor, MEMES had suggested that we go into his room to jam some records.  I figured that it sounded like a good idea, so I grabbed a couple of beers from the fridge and moved on.  When we reached his room, the first thing that he asked me was if I wanted to smoke some glass.  I declined, both because I was already high and drunk and because, after growing up in the suburb of Kent, I was perfectly aware of what that shit can do to your teeth.   I’m pretty sure that  99 percent of people would have immediately left the room at that point.  In fact, I might have even been one of them, if it wasn’t for MEMES‘ next comment, which went something like this, “Hey bitch, you wanna hear my favorite Country music?”   I had to know what a glass-smoking hippie with a drum n’ bass obsession could possibly know about country, so I stayed.  He put on Prine‘s self-titled debut and the first song that he played was “Paradise“.  I thought to myself, “Wow!  This is a great song.”   Next I heard “Sam Stone“, a track that would both change the way that I view Country music and music in general.   It has honestly established a formula with which I would  judge lyrics by any artist from then on out, whether it be country, rock n roll, soul, blues, singer/songwriter etc.  If you have never heard “Sam Stone“, you should probably stop reading this right now and Youtube that song of a bitch (or simply view it in this pop-up box HERE).  It’s a great piece of work; similar to Oliver Stone‘s  Born on the Fourth of July, except that Prine‘s version involves a wife and kids and more drugs. Read the rest of this entry →

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FREE JANEANE GAROFALO TICKETS to LIVE DVD taping in SEATTLE (8 Winners!)

May 3, 2010 in Comedy

CONTEST HAS ENDED!

Stop emailing us mother fuckers!  It’s over!

We originally posted that we had 10 pairs of tickets to give away (5 for each show), but we worked with our contact at the Seattle Theatre Group to up that to 50 pair at each show (yep 200 tickets!)  and we’ve actually given all of those away too!  I recognize that we easily had 100 more entries that didn’t make the cut (basically, came in too late), but hey, we gave away a lot of free stuff and I personally compiled the list and emailed everyone.  It took all fucking day, so appreciate it!  If you’re bummed out that you lost… sorry, but damn a lot of people did win!  Congratulations!

It seems like Janeane Garofalo has been around forever.  Since the first time that I ever became aware of her as a cast member on the short-lived Ben Stiller Show (canceled in Jan. of 1993) her careers has taken multiple twists and turns.  She’s made some really shitty movies and she’s been a part of some really good TV shows.  Through it all, the one thing that has remained is her role in the stand up comedy game.  This weekend, Garofalo will be traveling to Seattle to perform 2 live shows at the historic Moore Theatre.  The Moore has operated as the location for multiple live comedy tapings in the past and this event will be no different.  The actress/comedienne will be utilizing her back to back shows to tape an upcoming DVD release and we are offering you an opportunity to attend the filming for free!  Who knows, maybe your crazy mug will be burned into a high grade plastic disc to be viewed via laser by future generations.

Our friends at the Seattle Theatre Group have again teamed up with Monster Fresh to offer us the opportunity to kick down a pair of passes to 8 of our readers.  That’s right 8 PAIRS!  That means that 16 of you will be able to see this show for free and, if you’ve never seen a live comedy show before and/or ever been to the Moore Theatre, this is your chance to check some things off of your tragically pathetic bucket list.

The shows will both take place on Saturday, May 8th.  There is both a 7:00 and a 9:30 show.  We are giving away 4 pairs of tickets to each.

HOW TO ENTER

We’re doing this shit real simple like.

First off, go to our official FACEBOOK PAGE and become a fan by clicking the “LIKE” button.

Next, just email us at MonsterFresh@gmail.com and tell us your facebook name (if different) and which showing you need a pair of passes to.  Winners will most likely be chosen based on how quick they email us but, if it’s close and you feel like sending us a shitty joke or something along with your entry, that might tip the scales in your favor.

Make sure to let us know which show you want tickets to and if you have a priority or not.  Keep in mind that, if you don’t have a preference, you will have a better chance of getting passes, but be honest.  We don’t want to get entries from anyone that will not be able to actually attend the performances.  We are offering you free passes, so don’t fuck someone else over just because you “might” go or because you like winning shit.  Leave these open for the other people would be happy to use these.  We will be holding contests in the future and all that you’re gonna do is make yourself ineligible, if we think you’re sketchy.

All right, that’s it!

Thanks jerks, and good luck.

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