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Melvins Exhume Houdini [25th Anniversary Show w/ Green River]

June 7, 2009 in Music, Reviews

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Melvins 25th Anniversary Show

May 23, 2009

The Showbox

Seattle

It was a Saturday night in Seattle when me and Dead C hopped into the bat mobile (aka: my Honda Accord) and rolled downtown.  We were on our way to catch the Melvins 25th Anniversary show at the The Showbox by the Pike Plac Market.  Melvins were doing a handful of nationwide dates to celebrate their ¼ century as a band, but only the two Seattle dates featured the special guests, and local legends, Green River.  Both of these two bands have played a significant roll in the progression from 70s metal into the grunge, garage, punk scene, and were a sigh of relief in a sea of glam rock and hair bands that were polluting our television and radio airwaves at that time.  All of the musicians have  a close affiliation and history with each other, including the sharing of early show bills and even a band member.

Growing up in the Seattle area as a teenage delinquent, grunge was a way of life.  It was something to identify with in a whirlwind of bullshit.  In the beginning, the music was for the kids who didn’t buy into the fucked up corporate game plan that was being shoved down our throats.  In my case, it made me feel like I was part of something bigger than myself so, I have great respect for the musicians that contributed that. Read the rest of this entry →

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Getting Up & Rising Down: The Roots live in Seattle

April 28, 2009 in Music, Reviews

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The Roots

April 9th, 2009

Paramount Theatre

Seattle

When I was growing up, it seemed as if only a few thing were always consistent.  One of those was my love for music.  Me and my brother would lock ourselves in our rooms for hours, going through albums from Jazz and Hip-Hop to Rock n’ Roll and Punk.  It didn’t matter what it was as long as it was captivating .  In one of those sessions I was introduced to the Roots crew, Philadelphia’s stetsasonic-style hip-hoppers.  At the time, the only other rap group that I was familiar with who were accompanied by instruments, in addition to their turntables, were the Beastie Boys.  I was already very fond of the New York trio, so I became an instant fan of The Roots, and was extra stoked when Dead C asked me to review their recent Seattle show at the Paramount Theatre.   It was a show that I would obviously need to take my big bro to. Read the rest of this entry →

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In Space No One Can Hear You Laugh: Boldy Going Nowhere

February 9, 2009 in Comedy, Global Destruction, Movies / Television, Reviews

Boldly Going Nowhere It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia

Television today is so exhausted.  It seems that every time I turn on the old boob tube, there’s either a new reality show or crime scene investigator series going down.  Not to mention the remakes.  Beverly Hills 90210, Knight Rider, Battlestar Galactica, Flash Gordon…  Come on people!  David Haselhoff is the only man allowed to drive KITT and Flash Gordon was corny as fuck to begin with.  Have we run out of ideas?  Have we been conditioned to just except this shit as entertainment?

I remember the good old days when I would get home from school, flip on the TV and rock the After School Specials.  There was nothing like sitting on the couch with my bowl of Cheerios watching Helen Hunt jumping out a second story window high on pcp just to show us kids that drugs are bad or, the A-TEAM.  Take a bunch of trained military lunatics, stick them in a pimped out molester van, add some action, a little adventure, and then just throw MR T in that bitch and we’ve got a show folks.  Even the sitcoms back then were good.  Taxi, Cheers, and the Cosby Show were simple concepts, but the content was funny.  I’m sure you’re reading this and thinking, “Fuck this guy, CSI Miami is the shit!” and I’m sure it is, but it’s played out.  In fact, it’s all played out.  That’s why you have to be more creative if you want to make a TV show that will get my attention.  Not even necessarily with the concept but, defintiely with the content.  That’s also why I was so excited when I read the  pilot script for a new project by the writers/creators of  It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (FX), one of my favorite shows currently on television today. Read the rest of this entry →

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Simple Man: Interview w/ The Grouch

August 19, 2008 in Interviews, Music

Out of Los Angeles California, Oakland transplant, Cory Scoffern (AKA The Grouch), is continuing to make a mark in the West Coast rap scene as a prominent figure who has helped to pioneer and spotlight what was once considered an underground movement. The rapper/producer/beatsmith made his dent with the infamous, 8-strong Living Legends crew and with such projects as G&E, Mystic Journeymen, and CMA.  In 2008, The Grouch has already released two albums; “The Gathering“, with the Legends crew, and his first solo album in 5 years, “Show You the World“.  Since the release of his last solo effort, 2003′s “Crusader for Justice“, Scoffern has released “No More Greener Grasses” (G&E), Classic (Living Legends), Sound Advice (w/ Daddy Kev), All Over (CMA), and “Heroes in the City of Dope” (with Zion-I) as well as experienced the birth of his first child.  After promoting Show You the World earlier this year with a tour and between a handful of G&E shows which will take him to Victoria and South Wales, before embarking on a full on West Coast run with the Legends, he definitely has a lot on his plate.  Somehow, in the midst of all of this, the lyricist took time out of his schedule and was accomodating enough to answer some questions for us at MonsterFresh.com. Read the rest of this entry →

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Sacks and the City: A Male Review

July 9, 2008 in Global Destruction, Movies / Television, Politics, PSA, Reviews

Rock Paper Scissors.  It will make you or rape you.  Me and my fiance tend to resolve a lot of our split decisions with a simple game of Roshambo.  “Who’s car should we take?“  “What restaurant should we eat at?“  “Should we stay for another drink or go home and go to bed?“  Simple conflict resolution.  Take my advise people: Don’t wager on a game of Roshambo and, if you do, be prepared to face the consequences.

About a month ago, my fiance and I were on a nice walk on the Burke-Gilman Trail by a canal in the Fremont district of Seattle.  We were discussing the fact that I seem to be subjected to these cheesy Sandra Bullock / Jennifer Aniston, wedding and love story “chick flicks” more and more but that I can’t get her to watch any ass-kicking/horror “man movies“.  I’d had enough.  I swear to god men, if you don’t  balance your masculine and feminine entertainment, you will start to menstruate every month.  You might be telling yourself, “Whatever man!  I’m no bitch!“  but, when you find yourself snuggled up on the couch with a bottle of wine and a chocolate bar watching Project Runway, you’re beginning the transformation.  Go to the corner store, buy a couple of 40oz high gravity malt liquors, get loaded, and beat the shit out of something fast!

So, we decide to make a fair wager.  If I win, she has to see a horror movie and, if she wins, I have to go with her to see Sex and the City.  Well my friend, I wouldn’t be writing this article if I had won, so I’m in the position of settling up with a Sex and the City evening of magic and wonder. Read the rest of this entry →

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The Future is Now! (where’s my Hoverboard?)

July 19, 2007 in Technology

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It’s 2007 and im finding that im being surrounded by the same fads that kept me entertained as a child. Transformers  the movie just came out as well as Spiderman, Teenage mutant ninja turtles, Dukes of hazard, and Miami vice. Im just waiting for someone to remake the A-team and Knight Rider. That’s just in the realm of movies. Walking around in Seattle, its impossible not to to notice the abundance of feathered mullets and glam rock hair styles, not to mention the slip on checkered vans with no socks. The eighties rocked and at the same time sucked balls.

Being a product of eighties, culture I developed certain interests such as GrandMaster Flash and the Furious 5, Casio Keyboards, Parachute pants, Atari, stompers, and, most of all, skateboarding.  I was an official, unanounced, silent partner of the legendary Bones Brigade.  My life, fo many years, consisted of nothing but school and skateboarding.  I was gleaming the cube.  In 1989, I saw “Back to the Future 2″ and was blown away by this revolutionary new  concept known only as “The Hoverboard.”

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