Adult Crash opens at Standards Record Store Vista
When you think of Vista you probably don’t think of it as the center of Punk music here in San Diego but if Colin Tappe can make his dream a success that is exactly what you will be thinking this time next year. I first met Colin when he was lead singer in a band my brother played in. I think at the time they might have been called “Excellent Covers” but I can’t be sure. Colin has turned his passion for punk and become an entrepreneur by putting his own money down and opening a new record store called Standards in Vista on East Broadway. The area is pretty cool with some interesting restaurants and businesses in the area. There is an old fashioned Frosty’s around the corner. I thought they had all closed years ago. The record store is called “Standards” because Colin wants to focus on selling the standard stuff you would expect to find in record stores when your looking for old records you want to buy. He also has a huge stock of classic punk t-shirts – stuff like the white Minor Threat Out of Step T Shirt that I bought there last night. Man this place can help you relive some great moments in history.
Standards opened yesterday with a Punk Show featuring Adult Crash (my brothers band). The place was packed wall to wall and actually turned out to be an excellent venue for a punk show. Colin was sure to tell everyone at the start of the show to be respectful and low key so that he could have more shows in the future. Judging from the steady stream of police cruisers that were passing by the store almost constantly you could tell the city was in no mood for any trouble. As far as I could tell there wasn’t any and I’m sure Colin could breathe a sigh of relief.
If you have ever had a chance to see Adult Crash you’ll know that there are three things that really define them – loud, tight and super fast sets. The average set runs about 12 minutes and its a blur of old fashioned punk played by original straight-edgesters from Chula Vista. I am always impressed by the flawless performance of the band and also at my brother Patrick. The set is only 12 minutes but he gulps down a gallon of water in that time and tears all the skin off his hands because he is pounding the drums so hard. Now that’s Punk. I am hoping that Colin can turn this place into a success because he’s got something really special here. Check them out if you want to see something cool happening.
Check out Adult Crash’s Website Here
http://www.frankiefoto.com/Music/Standard-Records/21335495_PzvHmx
http://www.facebook.com/standardsrecordstore
Stunning Photograph’s of Antelope Canyon
I just returned from Arizona and had a chance to visit a very beautiful place called Antelope Canyon. Antelope Canyon is called Tsé bighánílíní, “the place where water runs through rocks” by the Navajo and the formations under the ground are some of the most beautiful you will see. The canyon is deep but it still allows for lots of natural sunlight to come through the slots. That makes this a more beautiful place than many caves that I have visited which are lit up by a variety of colored lights. All the light in this canyon is natural which makes it the most beautiful to photograph. There are two canyons, Upper and Lower Antelope Valley. The Upper canyon is very famous for light beams that shoot from directly above into the canyon and make for some marvelous photos. The lower canyon which I had basically to myself for 2 hours is a more difficult and narrow canyon than upper canyon and does not have the same light beams. People usually come to this place during the summer months because the sun is literally overhead and provides the most dramatic light into the canyons. That’s probably why I had this place to myself. But the pictures came out very well and I had as much time as I needed in the various places.
It was cold in the canyon (about 30 degrees that day) but it was very calm and peaceful inside the canyon. I could literally hear every breath that I took since I was all alone. The canyon is owned by the Navajo Indians and they charge $26 dollars for a photographers pass but you need to bring a tripod and an SLR lens to get that pass. Also the photographer pass allows you to go on your own without a guide so you can avoid the crowds. The canyon can be a bit dangerous because it is subject to flash floods and the slots can fill up very quickly when the rains come. If it starts raining you need to exit very quickly to avoid drowning in the canyon. In 1997 12 tourist died in the canyon when flash floods two hours earlier miles away poured into the canyon. The ladders in place at the time were swept away by the flooding waters through the cave so they had no way to get out of the cave as the raging water swept them to their death. This canyon is beautiful but can be dangerous.
http://www.frankiefoto.com/Travel/Antelope-Valley/20623144_F3WstH
Mabel wants to go outside
Mabel does not want to stay home. Mabel wants to go outside. Mabel thinks it’s more fun out there then in there, unless of course she is out here, then it would be more fun to be in there. Mabel likes snacks. Mabel is hungry. Mabel wants to shred something. Mabel wants a pet. Mabel looks outside. Boy that looks like fun out there. A snack sounds great. I want to go out there. I am going to find something to shred. Mabel wants to go outside. It’s more fun out there then in here, unless of course she is out here, then it looks more fun in there. Mabel you’re cute.
Chaos at Wal-Mart
Turkey, Cranberries, Apple Cider and WalMart stampeding. Unfortunately, Thanksgiving has become about all of these things – the best and worst of what we are about here in America. It’s hard to believe that a Holiday that has us giving thanks for the simple things in our lives has been over-run by greed, groveling and outright disregard for other humans. That is what I think of Black Friday at Walmart. Just this week at Black Friday sales people were shot, robbed from and maced as they tried to do there Christmas shopping on Thanksgiving. We decided to have a look first hand at this mess and headed out on Thanksgiving to WalMart in Mira Mesa and it did not disappoint. People were there in force – probably 2,000 jammed into the store and everyone was out for themselves – groping pushing and shoving to get a chance at deals on things they probably didn’t need or want. My brother handed a 99 cent video game that he had scored (an outdated Xbox game that never caught on) to a lady next to us and she was thrilled and then stated that she actually needed to buy the Xbox now so she could use it. It’s that illogical behavior that companies like WalMart are hoping for when they have these frenzied midnight Thanksgiving sales. People are hoping to improve their lives by getting a fantastic sale on something but they just dig themselves in deeper.
Here is Danny sleeping in Aisle 5 of Walmart.
Here is a photo I snapped of the gang loading up on silly stuff that they had no intention on ever buying.
Thanksgiving Day
What a Thanksgiving Day. Tu and I spent the day making rounds visiting the families in various parts of San Diego. There was a trip up to San Marcos to have Turkey Dinner/Lunch with Tu’s Uncle and her family and then it was off to Danny and Camille’s house to have a second dinner. All in all we did what everyone does on Thanksgiving – eat too much and have a great time. On the way back from San Marcos we spotted this beautiful church and I thought it looked really nice as the storm clouds brewed in the background. I shot this picture and I was pleasantly surprised at the beauty and drama of it – the clouds really made the picture.
Occupy Los Angeles
Last week I visited Occupy Los Angeles. It is my third visit to Occupy camps throughout the country and it was quite interesting to see. What is most interesting having visited the camps in various cities is that the movement in each city really seem to take on the identity of the city itself. The Occupy movement in Los Angeles has over 100 tents and they completely surround City Hall. In the middle of the camp they have a created a super size structure that has interesting artwork documenting the movement itself. Los Angeles by far had more tents than New York and San Diego combined. It also appeared to be more heavily populated by homeless people than the other two camps and I would have to say the camps in San Diego and New York had at least 25% homeless populations. While the movement was large in Los Angeles it seemed to be much more heavily skewed toward Marijuana legalization and environmentalism than either San Diego and New York which were much more heavily focused on economic injustices. I am not sure why that is, but that is what it seemed like to me. The police seemed to be much more lenient than the other two cities as well. In fact, for the very large camp (probably 100 tents or more), I really only saw two police officers patrolling the perimeter. In San Diego for example I saw about 25 police officers monitor 7 to 10 tents and 50 protestors.
The Occupy movement is growing stronger and new people are joining everyday. There was a national day of activities for the movement last week and it resulted in a flurry of activity that was well publicized. My next stop will be San Francisco and perhaps Chicago as my goal will be to photograph and document as many camps as possible.
http://www.frankiefoto.com/BlackWhite/Occupy-LA/20210561_LKz7v4#1596782548_VhKW92x
There are performers, and there are artist.
There is the Ukulele. There are people that play the Ukulele. Then there is Jake Shimabukuro. I got my first glimpse of Jake Shimabukuro years ago when I was browsing YouTube and came across a video of him playing in Central Park New York. He was playing a song written by George Harrison “While my Guitar Gently Weeps”. The way he played that song completely transformed my perception of the Ukulele. The beauty and complexity of the sounds that he was bringing out of the Ukulele were grander and more beautiful then a 34 string harp yet he managed to deliver it with the simplicity of a traditional Hawaiian Ukulele sound. The video went on to become a viral sensation and since then Jake Shimabukuro has been transforming the world of the Ukulele with mind-blowing renditions of familiar songs as well as creating beautiful and timeless original pieces. Jake Shimabukuro has transcended from performer, to artist, to virtuoso. We are lucky to live in times where we can see a musician who is truly the best of all time.
I got a chance to see Jake for the second time in my favorite music venue in San Diego – Anthology. The atmosphere of the club is picture perfect for a performer such as Jake. The acoustics, lighting and ambience is conducive to watching and listening to every single note; and Jake does not miss a single one seemingly playing on every fret and string of the Uke in every single song he performed. If you have a chance to watch Jake you will find that he is like no other. He is young, hip and brings a rock and roll attitude to every song while respecting the timeless tradition of Ukulele playing and his Hawaiian roots. Jake loves San Diego and has many friends and fans here. He has played at Anthology 5 times and I have seen two of those performances thankfully. After each show, Jake takes the time to meet with fans back stage, sign Ukulele’s, CD’s, T-Shirts and anything else they present. People come from all over the world to see his shows in San Diego – there were 5 people that flew from Japan to watch him at this show. I feel lucky to have only been required to make the short 10 mile drive to Downtown to catch the show. Every time I see him, I feel like I am watching history in the making – watching the greatest Ukulele artist ever to play.
http://www.frankiefoto.com/Music/Jake-Shimabukuru/20180563_VRHCHD
Most beautiful place in Los Angeles
I have never really loved Los Angeles to tell you the truth. It is a city that has never made any sense to me. It is a hodge-podge of 99 cent stores, check cashing places and homeless everywhere, everywhere and that feeling that just about everybody is on some type of drug. Sure it is probably a city that appears in more movies than any other city in the world (thanks to it’s proximity to Hollywood), but the city can never seem to progress like other cities have in the past 20 years. It is as if nothing has been rebuilt and restored, as if everything there has been mis-managed into a state of disrepair.
There is a single bright spot in the city that rises up and provides some real beauty in stark contrast to the rest of the city and that is the Walt Disney Music Hall. It has almost cartoonish lines and curves and is entirely made of smooth brushed steel. When you see it in the city you almost cannot believe it at first because it is so beautiful. I took a couple of pictures of this beautiful building the architecture is just astounding to me.
