Tuesday, July 31, 2012

How the Dead Helped to Make Olympic History


"This is all a dream we dreamed one afternoon long ago."

The phrase "Dream Team" is synonymous with United States basketball, based off the 1992 Olympic team that won gold in Barcelona. That team's roster of course, is a virtual who's who of basketball prominence.When one thinks of the greatest players who have ever played in the NBA, many members of this team come to mind.

There's Michael Jordan, Larry BirdMagic Johnson, Charles Barkley, Clyde Drexler, David Robinson, Scottie Pippen, and Patrick Ewing. The roster reads like a handbill passed out at the Basketball Hall of Fame.

In the relatively short history of men's Olympic basketball, the United States have dominated the Gold Medal winnings, bringing home the gold 13 times since the game's inception at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. The Soviet Union has won the gold twice, with Yugoslavia and Argentina, each once.

The Soviet Union has had some great teams, especially in the '50s and '60s when they took the silver throughout, finishing 2nd only to the United States in each of the four Olympic games from 1952 through 1964. Finally in 1972 the Soviet Union earned a gold medal, and again in 1988.

They have not been in the medal round since.

This is due, in part, to the fact that in 1990 Lithuania became the first republic to declare it's independence from the Soviet Union. Lithuania has a rich history of producing top-notch basketball players and many of these athletes were a part of the great Soviet teams that battled their way into the medal rounds during the Olympics. In fact, in 1988, the last year the Soviet Union earned a medal (they won the gold),  the top three scorers on the Soviet team were of Lithuanian heritage.

As one can imagine, defecting from the Soviet Union took great courage.

It meant new freedoms for the Lithuanian people but these freedoms came with huge sacrifice. There was violent opposition and financial instability. As a republic within the Soviet Union, Lithuania shared in a planned economy. When they broke away they suddenly found themselves in a free market society and, consequently, at square one in terms of  being financially sound. There wasn't a lot of money, and when the Olympics rolled around in 1992, the prospect of sending it's basketball team to Barcelona to compete seemed pretty dire. As a country that had just gained it's independence, it wasn't financially feasible to compete at this time.

Then came an offer of help from a very unlikely source.

A little ol' rock and roll band from the United States known as the Grateful Dead heard about Lithuania's plight, and  took it upon themselves to sponsor the team and send them to Barcelona.

The Grateful Dead created merchandise with a Lithuanian basketball flair, and sold it at their concerts. It sold like hotcakes and the proceeds were more than enough to finance a Lithuanian trip to Spain, thus allowing the team to compete as an independent country for the first time on the world stage.

""It was really wonderful," Mickey Hart told CNN in 1996. "They were not financed at all, and they were real underdogs, and what was happening in their country was just terrible."

Inspired, the team battled into the medal round and beat the Commonwealth of Independent States, (formerly the Soviet Union), 82-78 to ensure a spot on the medal platform. Then predictably, they lost to the United States in the semi-final. There were no glimpse of disappointment however, as for a team who was almost unable to compete at all, a bronze medal in the Olympics was a truly incredible and welcome achievement.

As a token of their appreciation to their sponsors, the Lithuanian basketball team wore tye-dyed clothing during the award ceremony.

The Grateful Dead sponsored Lithuanian basketball team
accepts their bronze medal at the 1992 Olympics.
While the American Dream Team is made up of legendary basketball players, the Lithuanian team is the stuff that dreams are made of. Their story is that of fairy tales and for the men who played on that team, it was literally a dream come true. Lithuania has made it back to the medal round twice since then, proving for a fact that they are an international basketball power. And to think that they may have never gotten a chance to play had it not been for a little ol' band from San Francisco.

God bless the Grateful Dead.



INK-N-IRON Day 2- The Queen Mary,Long Beach,CA- 6/9/12

  

 SUPER DOOPER LATE with this one but it had to be done. I gave a dude a ride to do this and he bought me a ticket. Win,win. I only went day 2(Day 1 line up was better tho) but I ain't complaining for free stuff. 
   I went in late so I missed the first 3 bands. The 3rd band I missed was a Horror Punk band named Calabrese. Ive been a fan of em since high school but by the time they were finishing I was still in line getting in. From outside tho they sounded spot on just like their studio stuff. A bit bummed i missed them. I talked to the drummer after really nice. Listen to their album "The Traveling Vampire Show". For fans of Misfits,White Zombie,etc.
Then was big time band Guanabats. They're a big known Psychobilly act. Tho I'm not very into they did a great set and even did Zeppelin and Billy Idol covers all Psycho'd out. If you're into em already im sure you would love them live. Go see em you billys!

Then was LA's own reggae band The Aggrolites. Ive seen em before and they pretty cool for a reggae act. I didn't pay much attention but they did ok. Listen to their album Dirty Reggae.
Then was New York's ska band The Slackers. Tho im not into Ska anymore. They did an ok set. They had kids dancing and what not. Go see em if you're into em.
 I got upfront for the next couple bands I actually cared about. First was one of my all time favorite old skool punk bands,The Adolescents. Lead singer Tony Cadena(one of my favorite punk vox ever) still had it and started out with No Way. Through out the set he joked about opening for "Chuck Berry" and opening for spooky bands. Me and some people upfront kept shouting the lyrics to Rip It Up,No Friends,and of coarse Amoeba and Kids Of The Black Hole. Such a a great set even tho it was short. I later talked to Tony and greeted him. Such a nice guy. If you don't have their self titled album you're seriously missing out on some of the best Punk Rock ever.
 My favorite band of the night tho was The Vandals. Unlike Adolescents,I've NEVER seen them before even tho I've been a fan since i was like 12. I was quite excited. Bass player Joe Escalante came playing the riff to "Urban Struggle". Right away me and the punks around started getting rowdy. And soon the song finally kicked in there was crowd surfing,moshing,and me screaming a long. They played all their pop punk songs like Its A Fact,Oi! To The World,and I Got An Idea For A Movie. Then 2 more old skool ones,The Legend Of Pat Brown and Anarchy Burger. They ended with My Girlfriends Dead. Lead singer kept joking around with the audience and told us he only played the show so he can see Buck Cherry. We all started booing and he looked at me,flipped me off,and said "Fuck You man,Fuck You." HA! Then it was over. Seriously go see The Vandals. They're such a fun band live. And listen to Peace Thru Vandalism and Hitler Bad,Vandals Good.
Up next was Alternative,Indie band She Wants Revenge. Major Bauhaus/Joy Division rip off. They suck. Don't listen to them.
The band everyone that night went to go see tonight was the legendary Punk band, The Misfits. Yes,yes I know with out Danzig they suck ass and blah blah blah. But whatever I got in for free and since 14 year old me never went to see Jerry Only in action I might as well do it now. Plus I can tell my grand kids I saw The Misfits. The place got super tight and packed(might have happen during She Wants Poop). I made my way as far as I can get into what seemed to be the middle. They started off. Jerry Only,Dez Cadena(of Black Flag),and their new drummer Eric"Chubbacraba"Arce(formally of Murphy's Law). They played 2 songs off their new album that I refused to listen to. They were as I expected bland and boring. The crowed was somewhat moving around. Their 3rd song was a Michale Graves era song,Scream. Right there people went a tad bit more nuts and I sang my more up to the front. Right after they did the classic Astro Zombies and boom! They place erupted and I some how screamed my ass off the front. People who have never been to a punk show where complaining. They did more Danzig era songs like Static Age,Children in Heat,Bullet and etc. Holy crap those songs live made me the loudest mofo singing upfront. Then even 2 of my favorite Graves songs were sung like American Psycho and The Shining(I was the only one singing those). They ended with Die,Die My Darling and it was over. It was super short so I'm glad i didn't pay for it. Me and the rest of the audience went home after cause no one likes Buckcherry and I respect myself too much to see them. So would I advise someone to see the new Misfits? Maybe 2 years ago when all they would play was old material. Now maybe. But I did have fun. Jerry ain't no Danzig or Graves but he did an ok job. 14 year old me was super happy. If for some some stupid reason you have NEVER heard of the Misfits listen to the album Static Age. Seriously one of the best albums of ALL FUCKING TIME.
Oh! And early on the day Jerry Only was actually out in the public being a Mickey Mouse and taking pics and giving autographs to people passing by. I thought that was super cool of him. He was even nice enough to give people huge Misfits stickers and sign them. Here's me with him. 14 year old me would've been in tears.

Sunday, July 29, 2012

Phobia-The Glasshouse-Pomona,CA-7/21/12

Scion (haters gonna hate) put on another Phobia show since I missed the last one. They got Skarp and Total Fucking Destruction to open. Hooray for free Grind shows.

First band was Seas Will Rise. A Crust/HXC band with ex members of Landmine Marathon. Like Landmine then did have aggressive vocals. Punky Death Metal? Fuck I don't know,its just crust influenced hardcore. And it rules. They're not so known unlike Landmine so please give em a listen. They were cool enough to give out free pins/stickers and that's cool in my book. Download their EP here!
The next band was one of the main reasons a lot of people showed up. Skarp- Grind from Seattle that mixes other things in between. They haven't been to LA in 5 years or so so it was a big deal. Kids finally started pitting and screaming a long to lead vocalist Renee Betts vocals. They played a good solid set. They ended with an Op Ivy cover. I got a free magazine later which interviewed all the bands that played. Unfortunately they plan to break up real soon due to Renee just having a kid or something. Sucks if you missed em. Black Out Grind! Download here!
The band I mainly went for was Total Fucking Destruction. Featuring drummer Rich Hoak of Brutal Truth. For some lame reason all the people left outside for Skarp so very few people were there for TFD. This was their first show in Cali so I went upfront for them. They play very unique Grindcore. All 3 of them sing. I kept shouting my favorite songs but no luck. They were OK live(I expected better) but I still enjoyed em. After I talked to Rich about shows,TFD,and Brutal Truth. Super nice guy. Would've bought a shirt if I wasn't broke.  Download here!
  Up next was Sludge/Crust band Morne. And even tho they had Disrupts drummer,I couldn't get into em. You know me,I don't like Sludge :(. But if you do,download here.
 Finally I got to see OC Grinders Phobia. They got on stage and lead singer Shane The Pain muttered a lot of drunken stuff. It was awesome. I believe he was complaining about a hungover and other stuff.  He seems like a cool dude. Anyways even tho Phobia played the best set of the day(same with Skarp) they played super short. They played a good amount of songs and Shane did an amazing job with the vocals. After a few songs and a beer or two they were done. Everyone was wondering why but that's Grindcore for you. Even tho it was super short it was a great set. See Phobia if they're ever near you. Download here!
SET:

  1. Bring the War
  2. So Full of Hate
  3. Savannah's Assault
  4. Fuck What You Think
  5. Drunken Spree of Violence
  6. Rise Up
  7. Rehashed
  8. Dying for Who?
  9. Death to False Punks
  10. Blind Arrogance
  11. Ultimate Suffering
  12. If You Used to Be Punk, Then You Never Were
  13. Selfish Minds
  14. Cheap Life
  15. Cruel
  16. Beer, Bitches and Bulletbelts
  17. Get Up and Kill
  18. Instruments of Deception
  19. Contest to Amend


Special shout out to Moshpit Tragedy records. They have a pay-what-you-want policy and that rules hard. They gave out free shirts/sweaters but I realized they were free when it was too late :(. I got a patch tho. So go download great bands from these great guys. Pay from One cent to a $100 for an album. Or download it for free!  All download links today (except SWR) brought to you by Moshpittragedy.com

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Trash Talk-Chain Reaction- Anaheim,CA- 7/19/12

After finally breaking my Magrudergrind cure this year,I also broke my Trash Talk one,which really made me happy. Trash Talk was touring with rapper Spaceghostpurrp so this made it a HxC/Rap tour. Each stop had both genre openers which made this really unique. This made the show even more exciting. I was super afraid that it was gonna sell out. I went early and got a ticket.

First rapper was a dude named Alexander Spit. He started with saying how he loved being in a show that mixed Hip-Hop and Punk. He rapped pretty fast and had the Hip-Hop fans moshing and jumping a long. We all raised our hands to the air like we didn't care. He had a guest women singer who helped him out for one song. It was a really sick Rap song. I talked to him for a bit after the show and was a super nice guy. This guy gives all his music for free online which is really cool in my book. If you like Rap give this guy a chance. This ain't your typical mainstream rap. This shit rules. Download and info here.
 Bay area hxc kids Sabertooth Zombie was up. They haven't played here in so cal since the first Gnarmaggedon so a lot of people probably went for them. They got on stage and yelled "FREAKS TO THE FRONT!" Kids pushed up all close and they delivered one insane performance. There was 2 pits. One pure moshing and the other pure hxc dancing. I thought that was actually pretty cool. Plus lets not forget the kids upfront stage diving and singing a long. Tho this set list was weaker than last times,they were way better live this time. They once again insulted So Cal for having weak weed and crappy baseball teams. They where super great. I hear they might break up so go catch em foos and listen to their album, "Midnight Venom" .
For some reason Spaceghostpurrp didn't headline and went up next. Some dude introduced him and stayed to back up him up the rest of the set. SGP came out and the Swag Hip-Hop kids got super excited. Kids began to stage dive,mosh,and take cell phone pictures. His Rap songs where kinda typical but the music was actually pretty good. Most kids sang a long to his songs. He got an encore and was loved by many. I thought he was cool.
Finally Trash Talk  hit the stage. As soon the drums started kids got on stage and got kicked by 4 different people in one second. That second the whole place erupted in the small tiny place. It got hot and I was singing.  Front man Lee had us all fighting for the mic. During one song he had us all fist bang in motion. The next one he forced us all to sit down. We all screamed in motion JESUS IS IN ME. After that it erupted into a big ass pit again. Lee announced that there was a special guest. We already knew it was famous Rapper Tyler,The Creator from OFWGKTA. We knew since he popped out and smiled at us. He sang his song Radicals with TT(he calls the mash up TrashxWang)and the place went insane with us singing "Kill People,Burn Shit,Fuck Skool!" And that it went crazier with Explode. I couldn't get onto stage,and when I did I was super dead tired. This is is the most tiring show I have ever been too. Check out TT's album Eyes and Nines. This is HxC. and for good rap listen to OFWGKTA.
SET:
 Dogman (New song)
Walking Disease
Manifest Destination
Incarnate
Blind Evolution
F.Y.R.A./Worthless Nights
Dig
Well Of Souls
Envy
Hash Wednesday
Babylon, CA
#9 (New song)
Awake
Explode
Sacramento Is Dead
Slander
Radicals(with Tyler, The Creator)
Lepers To Feed The Lepers
Birth Plague Die


Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Gnarmageddon II-The Observeratory-Santa Ana,CA-6/23/12

 This was a show Ive been excited for since last years Gnarmageddon. This years line up blew away last years and 2 months before I thought I wasn't going to go due to my sisters wedding party. I found out the day before that the party was canceled so right away I figured stuff out and made the little trip. This years flyer only change was that The Infamous..... Gehenna was not able to play. This was pretty bumming news since Iver been wanting to see em for a while now but oh well. Check em out anyway,Blackened HxC.

First band(and local unknown band,Gnar is cool to do that) was Pop Punk band Aukerman. They obviously get their name from the Descendents lead singer but I wasn't a fan. I got a more Blink-182 vibe so I sat these guys out. Sorry dudes! But if you like Pop Punk check em out.
 Second band was Texas Powerviolence Chest Pain. I made sure I made it early so I can make it to see them(and to get a ticket). They were the first band on the main stage(I had to go back n forth from each band until the last 3 bands,kinda annoying but it saved time). They did a descent PV set with full on aggression even tho they were on a big stage and the crowed was a bit small. The singer kept joking how everyone came just to see them(kinda true!) and that they only started the band to get into shows for free. Awesome Powerviolence from awesome people. Plus a Lack Of Interest Cover. They started the Fun ness of the day for me. Download their sick 7' here!
Once again I saw one of my local favorites, HxC Hordes. They played their usual sick set but the singer had a mask one this time. Gotta love Hordes homie!
  Trench Rot hit the main stage.  So cal band that describes themselves as “Negative Approach style Hardcore mixed with brutal Scandi D-Beat” and I agree. Last time I saw em they played as a two piece and did ok but with a full line up they're a total powerful band. They give a strong performance. Check out their 7'.
The men who made the fest possible Media Blitz played the mini stage and made kids go nuts. They put on a sick hxc set and had kids stage diving and singing along to songs like Never Grow Up. They ended it the set with a Dead Kennedy's cover of California Uber Alles. Once again I would like to thank MB for once again again making such an amazing fest possible and doing it for the kids.
From St. Paul Minneapolis comes In Defence. A fun Thrashcore band that loves interacting with the crowed. I missed em last time they came so seeing them now was well worth it. They played songs with silly lyrics and hardcore music. Songs like "Call More Dudes" and "No Wars But Star Wars" had some of us singing a long and headbanging. Singer kept making jokes on how old skool bands originally sang  about pizza instead of politics. Such a fan band. Check out Party Lines and Politics!
For the millionth time i saw ACxDC play. Heres a video of their performance that day at the small stage. I come out crowd surfing at the 7:03 mark.
 Back at the main stage was HxC band Soul Search. Full with breakdowns and HxC dancing I enjoyed this band a lot. The only time that night the pit was full of Hardcore dancing. Not many people enjoyed em but I loved em and thought they did a great set. Check em out! Stop being closed minded punks! This band rules hard.
Up next on the mini stage was Thrashcore/Hardcore from D.C.,Coke Bust. I also missed em last time and was excited as fuck that I was able to catch them. They played a pretty violent set as I predicted and SxE speeches where made. I even got in the pit for them(that's how much they rule). Don't believe me? Listen to Lines In The Sand. Great fast shit. The drummer Chris had to play again with the next band. Gotta give him cred.
Finally. The band I was most excited to see next on the main stage. After 3 fails of going to their shows and missing them I was finally going to get to see Magrudergrind, one of my favorite bands ever. The guitar amp turned on and people were already going crazy. As soon as  front man Avi let out his first grunt I went ape shit with the people around me and sang my ass off. They mentioned how last time they came was for California Discord Fest and how it was a fail but the house show was fun.(I went,and missed the house show by 2 min). I got my boogie board jumped on someone and surfed all over. They did such an amazing set. Later I went to to their merch booth and told Avi my bad luck story with them. He laughed and we talked a bit. I bought their exclusive shirt to CDF from as i felt i deserved to own now since I finally saw em. They fucking rule. Check out their self titled full length. This is Grindcore.
Another band i was stoked to see was Dangers. They where the last band on the mini stage(schedule was changed due to Chris Moore being in both Coke Bust and Magrudergrind).  They played a solid set with kids going on stage and singing a long as well as me yelling lyrics to stuff. I honestly wish I could've enjoyed cm more but they're set was too short for me. Great tho. Check out their  Anger LP. So good.
Knife Fight was next. I sat down for them but they're sick Thrashcore feat. members of Terror,Nails,and Trench rot. Super fast,super sick.
Stalag 13 was the first headliner. They're a legendary 80s Nardcore band who reunited for a few shows this summer. I got up from being tired to see these guys upfront. Holy crap they started and the place erupted. They played most of their only album, "In Control" and even some Minor Threat and Aggression covers. The audience sang a long to all their songs. Lead singer had the most energy that night out of the front man. He lives in Australia now so if you missed these select shows you missed out. But no worries,they have new music coming out soon. They played some new songs and they ruled. For now just listen to In Control and listen to it religiously. NARDCOOOOOREEE!


Final headliner was the legendary Hardcore Punk band,Negative Approach. They hardly come to the west coast so I was super excited to see these guys. I got all the way to the front. They started and it got tighter than ever. I screamed my dick off to my favorite songs like Sick Of Talk,Why Be Somthing That You're Not?,and everyone favorite HxC song,Ready To Fight. Members of the opening bands were on  the side of the stage singing from there spot. When their personal favorite song came out they stage dived into the audience. Ready To Fight had all those kids sing with lead singer John Brannon. John vocals have changed over the years. I heard more of a Black Metal/Grind vocals than the usual hxc ones,which actually made them like em way more than I already. They did most of their discography including two covers of Oi! bands Sham69 and 4-Skins. Overall they ended the greatest fest of the year with a bang. They ruled so hard. Check out their Total Recall(discography) album and see em live! Gnarmaggedon II is show/fest of the year.

Monday, July 23, 2012

Bob Patton: The Commonwealth of Irony


The Commonwealth of Irony. Artwork by Bob Patton
Drawn exclusively for The Bigfoot Diaries

Friday, July 20, 2012

"Dead Moans, Ia" Zombie Flick Premiers TONIGHT!

"Dead Moans, Ia" is the brainchild of Ether, the head honcho at Starving Iguanas. And while it's yet another zombie flick, this one is different because it was shot mostly with regular people whom Ether encountered during his travels.

Starving Iguanas present "Dead Moans."

Ether, who proclaims himself "Voluntarily Houseless," is in constant travel, whittling his way across the country in the sense of the American hobo, a vagabond who is as likely to hitch a ride on the Union Pacific as he is to hitchhike a ride with you to his next destination. It is along these travels that he gathered the inspiration for this film, and it's in his travels that the film came together, with characters based off real people he has encountered, and actors and actresses handpicked from the same pool. In many cases, the actors and actresses plays themselves, in an impromptu situation, as most of the film is based without script, although one might not realize that when watching it.

The show will premier tomorrow night at 7:00 in Carlisle, Iowa. The movie will be projected onto the side of a barn, so it should really offer the effect of Zombieness... Spectators will be gathered around on lawn chairs and blankets, outside in the elements to watch this viewing.

The address for this event is 3592 183rd Ave, Carlisle, IA. Use GPS, or Mapquest for best results.

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From the Dead Moans, Ia. Premier event Facebook page:

What we will provide:

1. We have secured a spot just East of Carlisle, IA a mile or two.

2. A bad ass time and a keg of beer.

3. Movie theater popcorn...okay, I lied...we aren't that fucking awesome! A few guys can only do so much people!

4. We will have professional DVD's, different styles of 'Dead Moans, IA' shirts and bandannas as well as other badass merchandise (printed locally) and lots of free Dead Moans, IA patches for anyone who wants one!

5. Camping if you set up a tent. There also is Webb's campground down the road if you wish to check out that facility (pretty nice).

What YOU will provide:

1. BRING LAWN CHAIRS or blankets to sit on... there is flat mowed area to set up shop for a nice view of the projected film.

2. Tents if you plan on camping.

3. Beer.

4. A face for the owning.

5 Cash for Dead Moans Merch... 'cuz you can't buy merch with food stamps! (you can only fund a zombie film with food stamps!)

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Theatrical Trailer for Dead Moans:



This event is FREE... Go and support your local arts!

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Pertinent Links:

Starving Iguanas Official Website

Starving Iguanas FB Page


Spam Mail You Might Actually Want

Recently I was in Austin Minnesota at the Spam Museum. I grabbed a stack of postcards which depicts an image of the famous Patterson/Gimlin Bigfoot holding a can of Spam as he makes his way back into the woods of Bluff Creek.
Quite a big stack, actually... And we want to send one to YOU!

Swedish Rocker Magnus Sellergren of Dumbell fame,
as well as the Cymatics, Svarta Maria,
The Plastiques, and The Dialtones
poses with the postcard.

If you would like to receive one, simply send me your mailing address.

Our email is bigfootdiariesblog@gmail.com
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Pertinent links:

Sellergren Design - Art is the Enemy

The Cymatics

Gig Posters

Svarta Maria

Dumbell