March 8

I just got out of the shower post-Macklemore show. Regardless of the fact that it is nearly 2am and I have yoga at 830, I want to take a minute and reflect on the show.

So let me outline my day…

Got up around 8, totally solid, went to the grocery store for breakfast, headed out for a run, showered, Went up to campus, took my Spanish oral final, went to Sociology section, went and did some time over at the radio station and headed back to the house around 445. Ate lunch, peaced the fuck out with only one thing on the mind

Macklemore

I was flying solo to the show, which ended up being great as far as having some me time driving and such. Finally hit the road around 545 after some necessary errands, which, as everyone in the Bay knows, is the worst time to be driving into or out of the City. But doors didn’t open until 830, so I figured I was solid on time.

Which I totally was. Got in line about 715 and it started drizzling a little. Saw Ryan Lewis and some of the crew and got to ask Macklemore a question on that lovely Canon they were shooting with (I asked what his favorite candy bar is…in retrospect I feel kinda lame for it). Then Ben and Ryan drove off in their big white rapist van to go do whatever it is you do before you perform.

Well they let us in right on time and I rolled up into the venue, which was smaller than I expected, which is synonymous with being better as far as venues go. Pre-Blueprint, I rocked a little Words with Friends and milled about the stage, getting more and more excited as the seconds ticked by. Finally Blueprint came on and he fucking KILLED that shit, no lie, the man can flow and I was feelin it deep. After 45 minutes of pure passion and energy, I was even more hyped on Macklemore walkin out on stage.

The atmosphere of the venue was getting to be a little nuts at this point. Some chick who was fucked up and not able to handle her shit was escorted out and everyone was crawling up the stage begging for the show to really start. As soon as the setlist got taped down, everybody (yes, guilty) busted out their phones to snap a shot. A few minutes later, Macklemore finally walked out and from this point on I was giddy, smiley, happy, a 12-year-old girl at a Justin Bieber concert. I was completely starstruck, bowled over by the fact that HOLY FUCK MACKLEMORE IS 3 FUCKING FEET FROM ME. Now, kids, let’s just check in with who we are talking about here: Miss Even-keeled, Keeps-her-cool-no-matter-what Gayle mother fucking Kouklis, and I had gone high school fan girl over this shit. He played tracks off of The Language of My World, The Unplanned Mixtape, The VS (the original and the redux), My Oh My, Wings, and a new song on which he spit so fast I thought the mic was gonna catch fire. Of course Raven Bowie made an appearance for And We Danced during which he busted out some filthy dance moves. At one point, during The Town, I was you know singin along and what not, and Macklemore and I had a moment where we were flowin together and homeboy straight FIST BUMPED me and needless to say the fan girl hidden inside of me fucking peed herself. It was as though Justin Bieber and the Jonas Brothers had simultaneously asked that same 12-year-old’s hand in marriage.

Ok well fuck getting married to Biebs or any of those Jonases. But you catch my drift.

And on a side note, I would like to acknowledge the fact that Ryan Lewis is straight bangin. Just a heads up, if you roll through the bay mid-July, those pesky little x’s on my hands will be gone and we could legally get a drink together after the show if you’re into that sort of thing…

(And Ben was lookin fine as usual, but I’m sure he got in enough trouble with his girl over those panties that ended up on stage)

Anywho, it’s nearly 230 and next week is finals week so ima be out.

I would just like to sincerely thank Ben Haggerty and Ryan Lewis for creating such fantastic music. It strikes a deep chord with me and has inspired me to work on getting a radio show up at school focused on the West Coast hip-hop scene. I have so much love and respect for these two guys, from the bottom of my heart. I hope to see you both again soon

Keep movin like the legends you are

—G

December 28, 2010

I have never been a big fan of the Morning Benders. But after watching this, everything has changed. And the lead singer is too adorable for me to handle



--Gayle

My Oh My

Again, I have been failing miserably at maintaining this blog at all. BUT in light of today's events, I must post. And it can be summed up in one word:

Macklemore

He is a white, I mean Irish, MC out of Seattle and I have recently fallen absolutely head over heels for his work. A conscious rapper if there ever was one, his music has such passion that I can't help but keep his albums on repeat. I have even gone as far as to get a fucking Twitter account to follow him in hopes of hearing a California tour date announced. To my great delight, today he leaked a new track off of a hopefully soon to be released album. It's written in tribute to sports announcer Dave Niehaus and his excitement as a child infatuated with baseball is tangible in the song. With samples of Niehaus' announcing, I feel like I'm up at a Seattle Mariners game. Please read his and his producer's (Ryan Lewis) blog at Bengal Yucky and give the song a quick listen.

In other news, I got backstage access to the JFK from MSTRCRFT show at the Catalyst next month as a photographer, so expect an update after that

--Gayle

November 12, 2010

Well now it's been a while hasn't it.

In the past two months, I've been to five phenomenal concerts:

Atmosphere
The Black Keys
G. Love & Jack Johnson
Gold Motel
David Dondero & The Moaners

Above all, I would say see The Black Keys at any chance you possibly get. Their show was packed with energy, energy that is somewhat lacking on the records. If you enjoy any of the albums they have released, seeing their live show is essential. It will put their studio recordings to shame.

Atmosphere was great as well. I haven't been to a lot of hip hop shows, and the crowd was different than what I'm used to. But regardless, Atmosphere spits just as hard live as he doe on any album. He adds dimension to many of his songs by telling little stories about them.

G. Love opened for Jack Johnson at the Greek Theater in Berkeley, and, as per usual, grooved out a nice little dance set to get the crowd going. He's one of the quirkiest, most enthusiastic performers I've seen in a good while. Jack Johnson of course was fantastic. I mean, there's not much more I can say about him. He's very honest in his performance and tells very personal stories about his wife and father and is probably one of the sweetest men alive.

A couple weeks ago, I saw Gold Motel at a small venue here in Santa Cruz called the Crepe Place. Their music is so upbeat and happy that it's impossible to stand still for even a second during the set. Whether it had to do with the small bar atmosphere or it was just a representation of the band's personality, they began to take requests as they moved through the set.

Last night I saw The Moaners and David Dondero. The Moaners are a two-woman band (guitar and drums, with the occasional musical saw appearance) from North Carolina. The show was very much like their music: somewhat slow and drawling yet intriguing. There are moments of heavy energy in some of the break downs due to the open tuning on the guitar, the use of a slide, a loop pedal, and some aggressive drumming. David Dondero on the other hand, walked shyly up to the microphone with his beautiful Gibson acoustic and gave a very humble performance. I saw him several years ago when he opened for Against Me! and he is still just as shy and humble and grateful as he was then. Some of his songs are funny and frivolous, others are deep and political, and some are heart-wrenching.

In other news, I have discovered the glorious Seattle MC that is Macklemore




Also, there is a young photographer at Puget Sound who shoots lots of the Washington hip-hop scene. His stuff is pretty cool and he has quite a nice little collection of cameras

Greg Niss

--Gayle

September 11

Today was Power to the Peaceful in Golden Gate Park up in San Francisco. I got there just in time for Rebelution's set. After wading through several thousand people (I heard rumors that there were about 70,000 there total), my friend who I was with and I managed to get situated about 30 feet behind the sound stage tent. Rebelution played a killer set, albeit short. The setlist included "Attention Span," "Feeling Alright," "Courage to Grow," "Green to Black," and copious amounts of pot smoke. After that, a woman led a yoga-inspired prayer that involved the entire crowd. A different prayer was offered to each North, East, South and West. Michael Franti and Spearhead finished up the day. I had never heard their music before and thoroughly enjoyed it. Though it clearly has roots in reggae, their songs tend to be more upbeat and dance-y. We left about half way through the set to (hypothetically) beat the crowds and fought our way back through the thousands of people.

On the other side of the park, another stage was set up for DJs and I heard a few snippets as we were heading out, but nothing really noteworthy. There was a great street artist that was spray painting large canvases maybe while we were making our way to the main stage. There was also a tent that was selling pocket vaporizers, another with blown glass jewelry, and many others. Only being there for two hours severely limited our wandering amongst the tents, but if the event happens again next year, I will make a point to be there the whole day, if not the whole weekend.

--Gayle

September 8

So I've been out of town and off the grid for a few days. But really quick, I would like to present a friend of a friend's blog. She posts playlists once a month and they are wildly diverse. Some songs I hate, some songs I love, but all in all I enjoy hearing what other people are listening to.

I Wear My Chaos Well

--Gayle

September 4

Today is going to be dedicated to not so much the artist side of music, but the photography side.

I just discovered Mel D. Cole, who is primarily a hip hop photographer, working with the likes of everybody from Mos Def to Kid Cudi to Jay-Z to Diddy to Wale, doing a lot of show photography rather than promo, but he has also worked with people like Bloc Party, The Noisettes, John Mayer, Bassnectar, Eagles of Death Metal, and Vampire Weekend. He primarily shoots in black and white which I totally dig. Aside from working with bands and musicians, he has an intense set of fairly political pictures that draws attention to the increasing level of homelessness. There are several striking photos that he took of the 7th Street Fire in Jersey City, NY. Check out his work here.

The Noisettes

Cubic Zirconia

Kid Cudi

Lady Sovereign

Mos Def

All images © Mel D Cole

--Gayle