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
Irish is heading off to College
Irish was just a small baby last time I remember and now 18 years later he is heading off to college. It is truly amazing how time flies when you look at in the perspective of your nieces and nephews and how quickly they grow up. Irish has always been a very genuine and respectful kid and has more natural acting, musical and dancing talent in his pinky than I could hope to have in a hundred lifetimes. Today he came over and recorded some music as he is entering the acting program in college and needed to submit his musical talent and head shots. So we did both and next weekend we shoot the music video for his audition. I think we are looking at one of the next great actors on the big screen or Broadway. Ladies and Gentlemen, meet the next star Irish Giron.
Perfect winter weather in San Diego
San Diego is turning out to be quite miraculous this year. Everyday I wake up, I look outside and there are blue skies and perfect weather. I am not sure why we are so blessed this year but everyday I think to myself that this is the best weather that we have had in many years. It is winter you know and most parts of the country are tormented with freezing temperatures, rain, snow and all the other painful winter effects. But in San Diego the sun continues to shine on us as never before. In fact we are projected to have another weekend of 70 degree plus temperatures. Part of me feels guilty for stealing all of the best weather and part of me gloats about it. We are truly blessed here in San Diego. Here is a picture of Tu that I took last weekend at sunset. Most sunsets are like this in San Diego these days.
When your smiling, the whole world smiles with you
There is none cuter than the adorable Darla. There is not much more I can say to prove this to you then to tell you to just watch this video.
She loves to hug
Darla is the cutest little baby you could ever lay your eyes upon. What makes her cute is not just the fact that she is adorably cute to look at but the fact that she is so happy – laughing and smiling at everything. I do not think I have ever seen a happier and more content baby then her. When you walk in the room and smile at her, she will smile right back at you and let out a joyful scream of delight that you are looking and smiling her way. It is truly amazing.
I took a picture of her with my other adorable nephew Oliver. She was so happy and loving to him. When he came in the room she dropped her doll and gave him big hugs and patted him on the back. It was amazing to watch her joy of life and how she just wanted to share the love she was feeling inside with him. It was quite possibly one of the cutest things I have seen in my life.
Run, Get your camera
Ever have a moment when you walk in a room and you say, wow, I need to get my camera right now because something special is happening. I had one of those moments tonight when I walked into Geno’s room (my nephew) and saw his mom Camille reading him a bedtime story. The moment was real. I could see how much it meant to both of them, this ritual that helped comfort each of them each night. Camille had just finished a pretty rigorous dance schedule in preparation for a dance show and it had required her to spend hours practicing late into the night. Unfortunately it meant that she missed this nighttime ritual with Geno. She told me after I took this picture that she didn’t think she would do another dance show because this particular moment with Geno each night was so important to her. Sometimes a picture can paint a thousand words. I think this one does.
Using Photoshop to make eyes pop
Eyes are the windows to someones soul. In any photograph it is very important to make sure that someones eyes are sharp otherwise the photo will look dull and not very interesting. While there are probably thousands of video tutorials to help people use Photoshop to sharpen eyes, I discovered a pretty interesting technique using the High Pass Filter in Photoshop to really help sharpen someones eyes and make them pop. I have a video tutorial here on Photoshop of exactly how to do it. It only takes about 30 seconds to improve any picture by using this technique to make the eyes really pop in a photo.
Here is a sample photo of Tu where I used the technique.. Look how her eyes sparkle.. It only took 30 seconds to get this effect.
Irish driving through downtown
Last Saturday was a fun day. Pete, Charlie, Irish and myself spent the day making cool videos and trying out lots of fun things. On Saturday night we decided to head downtown and let Irish drive. The rest is history.