A faithful case, in memoria

The birth of my black and chrome Eurolite record case is shrouded in mystery, its origins unknown. At some point in its early days it found itself on a shelf in a Guitar Center in Houston Texas, where I came along and adopted it. It was never the most fancy case available. Lord knows there are many out there with thicker walls, more industrial corners, better fitting tops, and more generous padding on the inside. But there was something about it that spoke to me - its humble pricing, its rounded and feminine corners. We were not unlike, the Eurolite and I. Both of us in the infancy of our journey into the realms of DJ culture. We deserved each other, and this is why we ended up together on that hot Houston night.

Things were rough at first. I knew jack about how to manipulate records. The Eurolite went for months carrying nothing more than a pair of cheap headphones and a couple of drum and bass records. But we learned together. Slowly, records found there way into its depths. I learned more and more. The cheap headphones were replaced by much better Sony cans. Eventually, there was no more room for peripheral items. Stickers began to adorn the Eurolite. It became something of a work of art, emphasis on "work," as it never fell out of service.

Lots of equipment came and went. Things broke. Things died. The one constant through everything was the little record case that could. I came to rely on it almost more than any piece of gear I owned.

But all good things must come to end. The Eurolite met its maker in Gaylord, Michigan on the 20th of June, 2008. The mechanism that kept it closed disappeared into the aether, rendering the humble case utterly useless. It was a sad, sad day.

Let us now take a moment to remember one of the most amazing pieces of gear I have ever owned.











My Eurolite record case
2001 - 2008
R.I.P.

You are lost, but never forgotten. My brand new lime green Eurolite case will forever stand in your shadow.

-Hogan

11:54 AM - 28 Comments - 41 Kudos - Add Comment

I wonder if Mungo Jerry had this in mind when conceiving of "In the Summertime?"

Two apologies:
1) Sorry for the lack of communication as of late. I am a bad blogger. You deserve better.
2) Sorry for the somewhat obtuse and cryptic title. For those of you not in the know, turn to Wikipedia. For those of you who do (I would guess this only applies to those who either a} had parents that listened to the oldies radio station, or b} got fed up with modern pop radio programming and turned the dial in hopes of simpler and more immediate forms of aural stimulation and/or wanted to purposely seem weird and underground to all of your friends), know this: "In the Summertime," while one of the most blissful couple of minutes in the pop canon, is only challenged in lasting glory and over-arching feelings of good will by the wonderful French/tuba antics found in "Les Champs-Elysees" by Joe Dassin - one of the most joyful 2:37 your ears shall ever be graced by. Both make me think of warm days in the sun, which I guess is all I was trying to get at anyways. Which I suppose leads me to...
3) Sorry for being so long-winded. I need to keep it simple.

We are now in the midst of the summer festival season. Rather than going long, allow me to give you all a short recap:

We saw Myrtle beach for, I think, the first time. Also, some of us went on a bike ride. It was awesome.

I saw a ground hog/woodchuck-ish thing in Alabama. It was brown, big, and next to the sidewalk.

Communed with Family Force 5 at a festival in Kentucky. I mean this in a typical "hung out with" sort of way, but also in a more literal sort of way. Like - we had an impromptu communion. This is was unexpected to say the least. I also got to see MxPx play for a bit. Since I have already apologized for being too wordy, I wont go into what this band meant to me about 10 years ago, but lets say it was substantial and leave it at that. I didn't hear "Chick Magnet," but what can you do? They are still doing work, and it makes me smile.

We played again in Kentucky.

We embraced Columbus. Shout out to that guy Nathan at the bike shop, Roll, in the Easton Town Center. Nathan - if you are reading this, any chance you would want to hook a guy up with that Swobo Del Norte at the front of the shop? I don't have much to offer (read - nothing but pocket lint), but I would be happy to treat you with a gratis sandwich from Cosi next time we are in town. (Read - sooner than you might think...)

Tonight we are playing the Alive festival in Ohio. Right now I am in a hotel lobby. I am typing. I will now post a picture of fake Mexico, inside of a fake Texas, taken in London. Because, you know, why not?



-Hogan

1:37 PM - 31 Comments - 44 Kudos - Add Comment

euro pics

Whoa... I am running late on these. Here you go.

















More to come.
-Hogan

7:55 AM - 21 Comments - 29 Kudos - Add Comment

brazil pics part deux

Here are some more pictures. Please excuse the ones that are out of focus. Enjoy.





This is the view from my hotel window. I don't actually know how big Sau Paulo is in terms of square miles, but I would hazard a guess that no matter which way you turn the view would look something like this. Sort of amazing.





We went scouting around for lunch today, but nearly every place was shut down. Oh, and don't let that little halo above the S on the sign lure you into a false sense of well being. This is the place that served us the sketchy sandwiches from the previous post.





The micro-bus is alive and well in Brazil. This is the sort of thing that gives B-wack pleasant dreams at night.





Best soda ever?





The competition. I actually think this one goes down a little smoother. Also, it's produced by the Coca-Cola behemoth, so you can rest assured that the quality is controlled. Also, that they put an addictive chemical in it that makes you want and crave it nightly. (Props to "So I Married an Axe Murderer")





The venue. The mass of dark matter in the right side of the frame is, I think, the big noggin of one Jesse Reeves, just in case you were wondering.


Ok. Gotta catch a plane soon.
-Hogan

12:41 PM - 19 Comments - 24 Kudos - Add Comment

we are in the third largest city in the world, and all we have to show for it are...

...some lousy pictures. I'm being serious, here - my camera work the last day or so has been shoddy at best. Nonetheless, here are some images for all you happy friends out there...



On the way from the airport David broke out the guidebook, pointing out that if we are not careful, we just might get a knife to the gut... or not. I honestly do not know what he is pointing at. Perhaps an article on where to get the best BBQ.




But does that really matter when Brazilian soda comes in bottles this big? You know, littering is a big issue the world over. BTW, this is one of the more awesome things we have come across. Also awesome? Guarana Antarctica. Now if only I could figure out how to get a bottle of the stuff back home...




We don't speak the language. To compensate we have quickly becomes experts at finding something on a menu and pointing at it while wearing silly, slightly confused grins. Sometimes this works. And sometimes you end up with this sandwich.




Markus considers his meal. The great irony in this is that as soon as we got up to leave a waitress walked over to the table behind us bearing the most perfect looking, beautiful turkey sandwiches you have ever seen. We need to learn how to point better.


Stay tuned. There will be more pics from beautiful Brazil forthcoming!
-Hogan

6:55 PM - 31 Comments - 47 Kudos - Add Comment

The price of gas is lame, but thank goodness for the internet, because you can buy stuff there.

Currently, there is not much on television. Seasons and series are ending (a moment of silence, please, for Scrubs - you were much loved, but alas, it was your time...) while giving way to the upcoming wasteland months of summer reruns and endless (ENDLESS) episodes of Law and Order. (Here is a working theory - Somewhere in the world, 24 hours a day, an episode of Law and Order can be found on T.V. in one of it's three iterations. Feel free to replace L&O with any of the CSIs, Without a Trace, Criminal Minds, or any of the other one-hour crime shows which look as though they were shot with a blue filter on the camera lens... Let me know the results.)

That's okay, because things on the music front are HOT. Now, you could interpret this as a plug for our very own Special Edition Version of Remedy (in stores now!), or that the new DCFC record released on Tuesday (I like it), but what I am really getting at here is that the new Myriad record is out! ("Hazaa!" Cry the east coast prep-schoolers wearing boat shoes!) All of you need to go show our boys some love. They put out an awesome record that needs to be in your hot little hands (my old German teacher used to use that phrase all the time, in case you were wondering...).

Go here for ordering information.

So, in conclusion, you need to go get the Myriad's new album, give me your thoughts and theories in comment form on crime show saturation (while I can't provide pay or class credit, I can pay you credit with being classy!), and just agree with me that summer television is like a three legged dog - unsteady at best.

Because you know that I am right.

-Hogan

8:40 AM - 30 Comments - 35 Kudos - Add Comment

Jury Duty

Let me be the first to say this: We live in a pretty amazing country. I can say this for a myriad of reasons, and you can go ahead and take your pick of whichever one you want. There are bunches. Now, there are those who can argue against the above statement, and I perfectly respect that. I even encourage it, because that's another thing that makes our country awesome. (See how I turned that around to where I still win? You can do that here.) But this is not a forum to vent views on politics or opinions about international policy or debate whether or not Holland's bicycle friendly infrastructure fosters more commerce amongst locals in the city center regions than our own personal car/free parking system. (For the record, the jury is still out on that one…hey, speaking of juries…)

However, this is a space for me to talk about whatever is going on, and what's going on right now in my life pitted me face to face with one of the weirder experiences I have had with the American justice system. (A note – thus far my dealings with the justice system have been limited to minor driving violations and I wish to keep it that way, though I have had friends and acquaintances who have been, shall we say, less fortunate.) Okay, the fact that we can drive and vote are two of the things that, I would say, fit into the aforementioned list. The deal about registering to do those things is that you are automatically placed into a pool from which our government draws in order to make possible one of those other little things that is awesome: the right to a fair trial. And yes, a fair trial is pretty great.

Not so great? Getting that little card in the mail informing you that you will be reporting to the county courthouse on a specified Monday for JURY DUTY!!! (Bah bah buhhhhhhhhhhh…..)

That was me. I got that card. I then called the phone number on the card and tried to get out of showing up, because like 98% of Americans out there, I believe that a fair trial is sweet, but serving as a juror for said fair trial sort of sucks. The conversation went something like this:

Me – So I, uhhh, have this job you see that makes it so I'm not in town much, and well, I was wondering if there was an exemption because if I cant show up for work, well, there will be some people who are, uhhh, unhappy.

Lady on the Other Line: Will you be in town on the Monday listed on the card?

Me: Well, yeah, but I have to leave town that following Wednesday, and if I get picked for a jury, well, it just can't happen…

Lady on the Other Line: MmmmHmmm. How about May 5th? Great, we'll see you at the courthouse on the 5th.

Me: Well, errrr, I guess that would be okay, but what I really want…

Lady on the Other Line: dial tone………………

So last Monday I got up and, in the pouring rain, went downtown. I went through security and made my way to a smallish room packed with a near perfect cross section of the populous of Waco Texas, where I found an empty seat in the back between a mom and a kid in ill-fitting clothes. At the front of the room a round man called everyone to attention and dispensed with some pertinent information, telling us that we were in fact at jury duty, that he was in fact 85 years old, that we should be taking better care of our Veterans, and that he was now going to sing us all a song about butterbeans and if anyone cared to he would enjoy a few raised hands in encouragement. He then sang about beans, and a lady in the front of the room threw up some enthusiastic worship hands.

The old man then left and was replaced by a severe woman who claimed to the room that she was not a very nice person, so don't go telling her any sob stories about how you need to not serve on a jury, rather, tell it to the judge. She then detailed the requirements to serve, that you should be 18 years old and of sound mind and good moral character. It is at this point that the kid next to me decides to pipe up in my ear saying, "I have the sound mind, but I don't know about good moral character! HA HA HA!! You know what I mean."
"Uggghh…" I said as I turned the other way.

It was time to start sorting people into groups. The severe woman held a stack of cards and explained that the first group would be for a trial taking place in the town of West, which is a tiny spec of a place about a half hour north of Waco known best for baked goods of an Eastern European persuasion. The trial is to take place on the following Thursday afternoon. She begins to read names off. Upon reading one name a lady nearby replies loudly "EXPLETIVE!" before getting up to take her instruction card. The severe woman retorts with a short "Yup." More names are read off. Then, "Michael Hogan."

Of course.

Flash forward to Thursday, around 8:30 am. The card I received on the past Monday listed a phone number and explained that I was to call on the morning of the trial for instruction on where to go. I ring up the number.

Me: Hello? Yeah, I've been summoned to appear in court as a juror today, and I'm calling for instructions.

Lady on the Other Line: Don't worry about it.

Me: I'm sorry, what?

Lady on the Other Line: Don't worry about it.

Me: What does that mean?

Lady on the Other Line: You don't have to come. The trial has been cancelled.

Me: Okay, so now what?

Lady on the Other Line: Well, I guess you're done. Thanks for your service.

Me: Uhhhhh, you're welcome?


And that, ladies and gentlemen, is your tax dollars at work! In all seriousness, though, this truly was one of the more surreal experiences I've had. And who knows? Maybe that's just the way things go here in central Texas. Maybe not. But let me tell you this: civic duty is a gas.

-Hogan

9:57 AM - 58 Comments - 74 Kudos - Add Comment

The secret life of cobblers

I don't buy a lot of new clothes. For one, I'm sorta cheap, and two, I like the clothes I have and they take up plenty of space in my closet already thank you very much. But there is one occasion that comes along every year that allows me a perfect excuse for purchasing some new duds without the burden of buyer's remorse - the Dove Awards. Ahhh, that annual night which combines fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants production with more gospel music than you most likely will hear in total over the coarse of the entire calendar year. It's fun.

This year, instead of concentrating on an entire outfit, I decided that my secret weapon would be the accessories. Namely, I would indulge a recent fondness for cobblers. (Sadly, I have yet to find a quality haberdasher.) I figured I would be rolling phat when I settled on these:


Mmmmmmm... boots...

Call it a new fondness for boots. (To quote Mearle, they are still in style for manly footwear...) Call it an attempt to get as far away as possible from this whole boat shoe trend. Whatever. The bottom line is that they are comfortable and they look nice. I figured my awesome meter was through the roof.

Then I heard that our friends in Third Day played the big youth rally in Yonkers for the POPE. With Kelly flippin Clarkson. Ok. That's cool.

Then I peeped these monsters:




Word.

Looks like the old awesome meter has a ways to go.

-Hogan

12:11 PM - 35 Comments - 50 Kudos - Add Comment

An oasis of blogginess (or, the longest essay I have ever written for myspace)

I am about as far back as I can get on the airplane. By the time I've placed my oddly oversized backpack (odd, because all it has in it is a computer, an ipod, some loose change, a paperback book ((Bed, by Tao Lin)), Rushmore on DVD, some old school headphones, a Nintendo DS, some old receipts, well…ok… that's a lot of crap) under the seat in front of me and dug the seatbelt out from between the seats and gotten settled the rest of the passengers are filtering, sleepy eyed, down thee aisle. It's at this point that a very normal, non sleppy-eyed middle-aged looking lady catches my gaze and asks, "what band are you guys?"

"Uhhhhhhhh," I say back. It's early. I look next to me at Rob. He turns the other way and looks out the window. "Uhhhhh, the David Crowder Band."

"EEEEEEH!" Exclaims the housewife. Her husband peeks around from behind her with a curious smirk and asks, "are you David Crowder? She loves you guys."

"Uhhhhhh, no." I say.

"Awesome." He says back.

-----------------------------------------------------------

So this got me thinking. Band names are weird. I don't think our name is weird, mostly because it is completely accurate and without pretense or exaggeration. It is exactly what it purports to be, namely a guy by the name of David Crowder and a band. If you were to put our name on a scale with 1 being completely subtle and understated (Muse) and 100 being the most over-the-top name possible (Dragon Force), we would be in the dead freaking middle at 50, having a bland cup of coffee with Lyle Lovett and his Large Band (who like cream in their coffee…) and, yes, Dave Matthews (who probably prefers other things to coffee).

If you get to thinking about it, unless you are in that middle ground along with us, band names can be highly deceptive, nay, even tricky. Example: the phenomena of band names that aren't even bands at all, but rather one guy who goes by a band name for some reason such as, I dunno, privacy or something, which then only begs further questions like if he/she wanted privacy, why did they put an album out in the public forum to begin with? Usually with a picture of said musician somewhere in the artwork? You have to wonder, is the name Trent Reznor not more interesting than NIN? The guy has an honest-to-God letter Z in his name, a fact that lends him oodles of cred and still manages to be creepy, yet he operates under a band name that is, let's be honest, sort of a mouthful. Not enough for ya? Ok – Bright Eyes. It's a nice, sensitive, emo-tastic name that conjures images of navel gazing, disaffected youth, and reading The Perks Of Being a Wallflower – but I will put it all on the line and say that the name Connor Oberst is a much more accurate account of what the music really sounds like. (Think about it…You know I'm right.)

Then you have the issue of band names being much cooler than the music the band plays. There are countless examples, but the most recent one has got to be Vampire Weekend, the obsessively blogged over critic killers wearing cable knit sweaters. I (and the rest of the DCB) will be the first to tell you that they have one of the most amazing band names ever. It's the sort of name that gives me goose bumps it's so awesome. But here is the catch: the music does absolutely nothing for me. Not a thing. (Note - I am still speaking for the rest of the DCB when I say that.) I would not go so far as to say they suck. They don't. They seem to be good players, each talented in his own right. But if I wanted to listen to angular guitars from blue-blooded east coast post punks I could put on some Talking Heads and at least have a little music history and influence to mull over. Maybe I just don't get it. Maybe this means I am finally getting old. Maybe, just maybe, I have started down the hill of becoming like my parents.

Or maybe Vampire Weekend are just a group of way over-hyped frat kids wearing boat shoes. (This could very well be the root of my issues with them. They are boat shoe guys, and I am a cons/vans guy. Always have been. I have not worn boat shoes/top-siders/penny loafers since my mom dressed me for Easter Sunday. While I may have had hard U.S. currency tucked away in the uppers of my footwear at church, I had a pair of bright red converse high tops waiting for me at home even at that young age. Now, that being said, I will concede that Vans makes a boat shoe. I realize that this pokes all sorts of holes in my theory, but I prefer to see it simply as a large company wishing to capitalize on a trend to turn a profit, and who am I to say that's a bad thing?)

Ok, enough with the soapbox. Let us look at another category: band names that are lame, but the music is awesome. I always thought that Smashing Pumpkins was a crappy name for a band, but when they were good (this would be back in the nineties), they were really good. They rose above the limitations of their name by combining the metal-ish drumming of skins-monster and on-again/off-again drug addict Jimmy Chamberlain, the did-she-ever-really-even-play-and-does-it-even-matter-because-we-have-a-girl-in-the-band plodding bass of D'arcy, and some of the furriest guitar tone ever put on tape from James Iha and Billy Corgan, who put the icing on the rock and roll cake with his nonsensical and possibly religious vocals (at least later in his career). Then they wrapped it all up in a pop package and tied it with a radio friendly bow and a gift tag of awesome. (For fun, feel free to count the number of ridiculous non-musical images used in that last little description, and then see if you can beat it! It's a game!)
The same goes for Jimmy Eat World. (Yeah, I said it… but I really love these guys, so it's okay. No? Alright. Sorry.) Actually come to think of it, the Jimmys have a pretty cool name. And they are from Phoenix. So I guess they can go into the last category, which is…

Band names that are as awesome as the music the band makes. In my opinion, this group consists mainly of metal bands. That seems right to me, so I wont argue. They seem to have figured out that if they make huge, dense riffs, then they need a name that matches. Metallica was/is a great name for a metal band, and they were a great metal band. (Notice the use of the past tense there? When they bring back whispy mustaches, shirts without sleeves, and mullets I'll become a believer again.) Mastodon sounds like the name of a band that would make bone crushing guitar parts and growl near-melodies about Moby Dick and wolfmen, and that is exactly what they do. It's all over-the-top and fantastic. Here is an incidental bit of knowledge – music majors seem really drawn to metal bands. I can't say if it is the technical chops one needs to be in a metal band that attracts them, or if they are all just angry at having spent the greatest portions of their youth rehearsing rather than hanging out with friends, but when I was a music major in college all my buddies really liked Tool. And Jazz. Go figure.

Oh, and then you have bands with bad names and bad music. I wont even go there. (Got any ideas? Leave a comment!)

All that to say, I guess being in the middle of the road as far as band names are concerned really isn't that bad of a place to be. Even at 6:00 am on an airplane.

-Hogan


P.S. This is only an opinion piece. Except that portion about Vampire Weekend. And music majors. That was pretty much true.

P.P.S. I repped this show earlier, but I've seen it twice now, and it is well worth it. Not a bad band (or bad band name) among them.

11:47 AM - 64 Comments - 74 Kudos - Add Comment

Every single one of you needs to see this.

Spring is here. I know this because all of my bushes are covered in little white flowers, the fire ants are building mounds in my yard, there are a couple of cute little birds considering building a nest under my back porch (they stare at me in a menacing sort of way every time I stand at my back door to check the progress of the afore-mentioned ants/white flowers), and the local weather forecasters have to recant their predictions on an almost-nightly basis.

Also, people say things like "spring has sprung!" with gleeful, idiotic toothy smiles. Hhmmmm.

But, if you find the little things like ants and such erring on the side of mundane, there are other indicators of the change of seasons, namely the Spring Tour.

Now, don’t go and get that rumor mill churning just yet. I am not referring to the DC*B here. Rather, I am going to use this week’s post to promote some other friends. Our buddies in The Myriad are hitting the road with our other buddies in Eisley (c’mon Texas!) for a monster 2 month tour. It starts today in Houston, and chances are that no matter where you live, a show will be near you. Or next to you. There may even be a show in your basement. Thats how many stops there are on this tour.

For those of you in the dark, and since I am a tastemaker (Phoenix, I’m looking at you), here is a quick rundown of the players:

Eisley - Repping east Texas. Dreamy indy pop. Back in 03 a friend clued me in to their debut e.p., and I have been a huge fan ever since. Their songwriting is only getting stronger and more beautiful. I would go and see them no matter who they were playing with. Special bonus - our own Mark basically grew up with these guys, which lends them an air of extended family.

The Myriad - Maybe our best tourmates of all time? Many of you guys probably saw them on the club tour, and if you weren’t blown away, well, I don’t even want to think about it. They are amazing, both musically and as people. We miss them greatly. And their bass player has the nickname "Detective." Awesome.

The Envy Corp - I don’t know a whole lot about these guys, except that I have heard their new record, Dwell, and it pretty much rules. It is so good. And they might be a bunch of farm kids from Iowa, which I hope is true. I might have to start repping Iowa farmland as the new Scottsdale...

So, yeah, this is one of the best tour lineups I have seen in a really long time. You should all check it out. I am not joking about this.

Get dates here, here, and here.

Seriously.
-Hogan

7:52 AM - 21 Comments - 32 Kudos - Add Comment