LB author, poet Paul G. Maziar tells me his secrets!

Barbara is on Pacific Time: 8 p.m., San Pedro. Feeling spy-like, password: Mommy.

That's almost a line from Paul G. Maziar's book "What It Is: What It Is." I found it at {Open} Bookstore in Long Beach in late March, right after visiting Matt Maust's teeny art show going on inside. Maust, being 1/4 of the Cold War Kids, as well as an extraordinary graphic artist, collaborated with the prose writer that is Maziar and voila: "What It Is: What It Is."

In preparing a book review of Maziar's latest, I got in touch with the author where he revealed more on his book's title, his friendship with Maust and his relationship with Long Beach (and what it means to come back). You'll be able to find my review of "What It Is: What It Is" in Monday's paper. For now, here are a few excerpts taken from our correspondence:

On his relationship with Long Beach...
My relationship with Long Beach has been on an elevator. The place stirs my mind and all my senses, (and) so far has been the place where I’ve been the most productive as a writer.

Where he hangs out in Long Beach...
My favorite place to get a burrito is La Taqueria, I think it’s the best.

On the title of the book, "What It Is: What It Is"...
The title of the book is partly nonsense jive, which we wanted to be something fun that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Plus Maust and I have long been saying “What it is?” as a greeting to each other and friends.

On meeting Matt Maust...
The first time Maust and I met, we hit it off— talking about music and art and books. When he began showing me some things he has been inspired by as an artist— I realized it would make perfect sense to collaborate on our own project. Two years, and a few versions of WHAT IT IS later, here we are.

On Matt Maust...
Maust is an immense talent, someone who’s so true to what he does he is at all times a creative soul— in various ways, whether it is in speech, comradery, travel, or interpreting music/art/literature.

Mingle with Paul G. Maziar and his special musical guests, along with Matt Maust, at the {Open} Bookstore tonight in Long Beach.

Visit Maziar's MySpace page for the complete 411 and flyer. The event is free and truly one of a kind. (http://www.myspace.com/whatitisbook)

Book cover by Matt Maust, courtesy of Paul G. Maziar. Other photos by Barbara Navarro.

ISM: In Long Beach, they're totally an IN-ism

Juicy bits of those ISM magazines do a good job of catching my eye whenever I shop at my favorite local bookstores. How I wish every bookstore anywhere carried these 8-by-6-inch, colorful things. The magazine stands for something interesting, coming from an official non-profit organization and all, and it’s got even more interesting content, always pushing forward local artistes (writers, photographers, painters and the like) into the limelight with interviews and full-colored spreads.

But looking beyond the soft matte finish of the magazine, and looking beyond the simple ISM logo stamped across every one of their covers, I found an even greater community that simply calls itself ISM. Altogether they are, in fact, “ISM: A Community Project.”

What do they do as a community? Party and celebrate their fabulous existence, for one. To embellish the atmosphere, they do a good deed of hanging their even more fabulous collectibles—photography art and such. Everybody who contributes to the magazine, and those people whose names we see on the masthead, gather their things and shower them into various local art galleries, leaving their mark as ISM: Gallery.

And the parade doesn’t stop there, they have their own place online, too—ISM: Online, a place outside the random, every-now-and-then ISM: Gallery gatherings or the even rarer two-times-a-year business of the ISM: Magazine.

During spring break, I had the happy chance of joining the fun at the ISM: Gallery, taking residence inside Long Beach’s Koo’s Art Center on Broadway. Apparently, the two—Koo’s and ISM—have been sharing space for the last two exhibits heard of out of this place (“Hello, My Name Is” and “Shudder,” the one that kicked off my weekend of spring break), so it’d be healthy speculation if eventually Koo’s turned into ISM’s.

ISM’s relentless affection of breaking into Long Beach art scene seems to be working for them, especially with their latest exhibit, the fashionable-looking “Prelude,” which will open on Sunday at Koo’s Art Center, or the ISM: Gallery. So, if you’re into fashion, and the fashion shows of late on campus aren’t cutting it for you, then perhaps this will satisfy your fashionista appetite and should also quench your curiosity of who or what exactly ISM is all about.

Kevin Staniec, founder and executive creative director of ISM, will be in full swing on the 11th, catering to all Long Beach art darlings. He’ll be presenting new artists to the ISM: Wall (something described as an ISM ritual), and the night will be lit up by the fashions created by UCLA students for their fashion show FAST.

ISM says they’re promising that everybody will be sharing oohs and ahhs over the original sketches on display, the runway shows, over-the-top accessories, the one of a kind wearable masterpieces... All of which will be lovingly showcased. But if this event will turn out to be as fun as “Shudder’s” opening, I’ll come prepared with my best face for all the fun photo booth action and my dancing shoes for the hot DJ music.

RSVP for Sunday night's opening of "Prelude" like a VIP at ISM: Online. (www.ISMcommunity.org/)

All photos were taken by Barbara Navarro at the opening of "Shudder" on Saturday, March 29.

A crazy night at the cool Matt Costa show

I'm usually not into Matt Costa's type of music, that folk-tinged, raspy kind of stuff. But when you're a reporter in my position, open-mindedness comes very handy when you have a prominent OC performing arts center inviting you to his sold out show. So, there I was, Thursday night at the Orange County Performing Artscenter for the Matt Costa show.

I had been to this Costa Mesa venue about a month ago for the Cold War Kids concert, but the vibe in the air was different this time. The lobby surely wasn't buzzing and the lines at the bars weren't snaky either. The demographics, to put it simply, were different. Conversations I overheard in the bathroom consisted of cramming for lab hours in a high school AP class, to older women chit chatting about working with the lead singer from the opening band, Satisfaction, at a nearby skin care corporation in the finance department. Oh, the interesting landscape of random-land.

The vibe, anyway, was enhanced by juicy remix hits from some of my favorite bands—like the Cold War Kids, the Klaxons, Interpol and Peter, Bjorn & John—that played at the break time between the Satisfaction and Matt Costa sets. (I arrived after Satisfaction ended their set, about 20 minutes before Costa took the stage at around 10:05 p.m.) I found my way to the front row, finding a spot to the side of the stage, uncomfortably in front of the loud speakers. I could feel wind coming from those speakers—that’s how close I was.



But the crowds were thick with teens dressed to the nines in their best knee-high gladiator sandals and Newport Beach jewelry. Yes, the front row was lined up with precious young girls hoping to lock deep stares with the singer.

Finally, with my paper Moleskine notebook and pen in hand 10 minutes into Costa’s set, I attracted a few fans of my own. One man brushed his way to my right for a while, and then to my left, at last asking, “What are you writing?” I’m usually quite secretive about my note-taking, and so this kind of question made me so much more self-conscious than ever before. It made me realize something: Matt Costa, or even his band musicians, could possibly see me from the stage and identify me as “the critic.”

This inquisitive stranger didn’t quit, either. He repeated stared at my notebook every time I opened it for more notes and asked me the usual questions—like, Who do you write for? “Cal State Long Beach. Daily student paper,” I said loud enough over a stompy Costa ditty. “Do you know a writer named Sean—?” “Sean Boulger?” “Yeah, I just got through interviewing with him.” “Oh, the Union Weekly.”

Then I started thinking of all that rivalry talk I hear around campus—how the Union has something better. May be. But they weren’t around scooping up all the Behind the Scenes treatment I was just digging into.




For about the next two hours, the lead singer of Satisfaction (yeah, that's who that was), Michael Rosas, and I pretty much stayed on consistent wavelengths. He tamed some wild fan girls, for example, who jumped their way onto the stage, while I shot footage and snapped their glittery wickedness on our side of the stage where we all collected in front of those woofing speakers. Rosas made new friends, while I greeted some old ones (yep, Cassie, the girl from the Cold War Kids show was there this time, too). By now, people knew Michael was someone exclusive, either recognizing him from the previous set, or recognizing his authentic rock star behavior. As for me, I was handling myself with more mystery, but still looking quite “in” with my nice notepad and careful reporter eye.

It turned out that Rosas liked me more than I thought, being completely uninhibited as I snapped candid shots of him having flirty moments with his new admirers. After the show, we even got into the “free fun” photo booth outside where we took some pictures of us two together. There, surprisingly, I also ran into Jonny Bell from the Crystal Antlers and then we took photos in the booth, too.




I’ve got to admit, the music wasn’t the center of attention at this show. (OK, OK... It was actually pretty good and fun and different.) But on top of it all, I felt like I slipped into a new dimension I hadn’t experienced before, concluding that rock shows, or any show/concert/event, is not always about why you ever went, but about who’s there (yourself included) and how they’re going to make things happen.

Photos by Barbara Navarro.

A psychedelic night: Crystal Antlers, Thursday

LOVE
WHO: CRYSTAL ANTLERS
WHAT: KBeach Concert Series (second in three-band line-up)
WHEN: Thursday night, on stage from about 8p.m. to 9p.m.

WHERE: Nugget Pub & Grill, somewhere on CSULB

WHY: Oh, they're one of a handful of Long Beach bands next in line to be huge

Here's a snapshot of my notes...

• High energy
• Their sound: can be mellow, droopy, intensely psychedelic, even, and then utterly sparkly at the same glittery moment, especially with the boys' charming on-stage chemistry
• Saw some crazy instruments handled by Sexual Chocolate, the band's percussion man, including a minature baby blue piano he held in his hands and blew into like a whistle
• The keyboards were beautiful, fusing and bridging each song with the next
• "A Thousand Eyes" is a hit; it's so popular, everyone went ooh and ahh over it
• The crowd was at a colorful, voluminous capicity (obviously, they were there for Crystal Antlers... 95% of the crowd left right after the last song)
• For the last two songs, two worshipping audience members stood up to sing along literally face-to-face with the band's singer/bass player Jonny Bell
• The boys ended their set, and everyone was happy
• Crystal Antlers hung out to sell their cool six-track, self-titled EP "Crystal Antlers;" some fans asked for their autographs, others for their pictures
• I spoke to Jonny Bell afterwards, too. I was amazed at how sincere and collected he was after all that sweaty, high-energy rocking

Cyrstal Antlers will next play at the Prospector in Long Beach for the Fidotrust Fest on Saturday night.

Photo by Barbara Navarro.

Other music events going on around town tonight...
{open} bookstore, with bands of the experimental genre for Third Saturday on Retro Row
Fingerprint Records, with Silversun Pickups
Grand Prix, with Pennywise
Detroit Bar, with We Barbarians

Long Beach Antlers: it's like bringing Christmas early for Cal State Long Beach indie rock fans!

I'm fixated on their name. Even more fixated on their sound—psychedelic and smooth.

And it's only been about a week since I found out about them.

Who are they? None other than Crystal Antlers—a Long Beach band you SHOULD know about.

The band is rather underground still, but, as DJ Oldboy put it, "They are probably our biggest band to come out this whole year."

Why did DJ Oldboy (or Chris Lynch) fall in love with Crystal Antlers? Apparently, Oldboy went on to the band's MySpace music page, heard their cover of Bob Dylan's "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" which had that Chocolate Watchband sound, he recalls, and then: Love.

It's all over now for me, too. I want Crystal Antlers. Rapido!



Here is an exciting Q&A with Crystal Antler's singer/bass player Jonny Bell, where I got to delve into the dynamics of this Long Beach band, their sly playnames, and what "grawge" means.

What's going on at the Nugget? Why is it THE place (of all Long Beach venues) for your show Thursday night?
Well, we've never actually been to the Nugget before, so we don't really know what to expect. It is THE place we were asked to play on Thursday and we're pretty excited about it.

Do any of you go to school? Or, maybe you already graduated from college?
Damian (a.k.a Sexual Chocolate; percussions) and I graduated from UCLA; Victor (organs) went to Otis; and Andrew and Kevin (guitar and drums, respectively) work blue colar jobs.

I hear your music. I like it. Though, I've read such descriptive words like "grawge" used to label your music, and I'm not sure how to make the connection. Can you explain what "gwarge" means?
Thanks for the kind words... When I think of "garage" I think of the Sonics or Love, that kind of stuff. We're not really trying to be 60's revivalists. We just like the old gear.

Where did you get started?
I think our official start was when we recorded our first single which was in San Francisco.

Where do you usually play (shows, parties, etc.)?
Nowadays we play anywhere that seems like a good time where we can reach a log of people and get drunk for free. I guess it's a good thing we finally get to reach the CSULB crowd. We'll have to get LA Record some distro out there. (Barbara's note: You can find LA Record at {open} bookstore on Fourth Street.)

Do all of you live in Long Beach?
Most of us live in Long Beach...

Where do you hang out?
We hang out at the local gay bars sometimes. Everyone seems to have more fun than at the other dives in town and there's not much pretention. Also, lately we've been having BBQ's in Bixby Park and playing kickball.

Do you have playnames? Like, "Sexual Chocolate"?
Haha... Damian Edwards a.k.a. "Sexual Chocolate." Damian doesn't identify himself—he just IS.

How do you feel about the Long Beach music scene? Where do you fit in with it all?
I like the LB music scene. There's all sorts of interesting stuff going on in different styles and none of the bands sound like each other. I think we fit right in there.

Are you friends with famous LB musicians, like the Cold War Kids (or anybody else who isn't as "mainstream")?
Haha... We don't know the Cold War Kids. Are they from Long Beach? We're friends with Free Moral Agents and Magic Lantern as well as many others.

Watch out for the boys performing tonight at the Nugget Pub & Grill at 7 p.m. The show's free and features two other bands. But, um, Crystal Antlers, just as Oldboy said, will "make eyes and ears bleed." I'm intrigued. See you there!

To hear Crystal Antlers' music (and to view their videos, tour dates and catch a glimpse of Mr. Sexual Chocolate himself), please visit their MySpace page by clicking here.

Photo by Grant Peterson. Artwork by Crystal Antlers.

Ode to the District Weekly

I thank them for not having porno ads dominating the back section of their issues, ever, which I know is the standard for most alternative publications. I admire them for being so animated in their storytelling and so committed to giving this city (and often times, the surrounding cities) some color. Like Technicolor color. And, after one full year in business now, it’s safe to say, also, that they’re not some elitist group in town who just write to show off. They have something real to say and they do it so exquisitely with so little—they’re out once a week and, on average, probably have 15 full pages of stories and reports. I like them for many reasons. Congratulations, District Weekly! You’re one year old, and yeah, you’re growing up quite fast. But that’s OK. It’s as if you were born with a hundred brains at a hundred years old. That’s what’s so sexy about you!

Images courtesty of Kristina Coffeen at the District.

Cold War Kids: Distorted in Tinted Shades of Grays and Reds

It’s a group of men, living and working in and around Long Beach: the four-man band Cold War Kids and their photographer/poet/artists friends. They're producing a wealth of artistic goods while hitting bold, battered-out notes across international airwaves.

And it's way cool and raw in the end.

Looking at the Cold War Kids, many might just stop at “Hang Me Up to Dry,” the hit single from their 2006 debut record, “Robbers and Cowards” that sprinkled the airwaves all last year in irritatingly excess doses. (Yes, irritating—just listen to lead singer Nathan Willett’s feverish screams over a repetitive, wrinkly bass-guitar hook "way too many times.") But that’s not all the Cold War Kids should be known for. Even their band name comes from bassist Matt Maust’s graphic design Internet company from about a decade ago, which is just the start of the band's deep roots.

To be even more amazed at how vast and boundless Cold War Kids actually are, turn off your radio. With only “Robbers and Cowards” to their name (and rare, hard-to-find EPs from way back when), they’ve shot themselves farther and wider into the world by producing other musical compilations and putting out some avant-garde book and art projects. Some may not understand it or even get it or want to get it. But it’s exactly what so many fans around the world love about them.

Some have described the indie-artists as creating a “repertory of craggy guitars, verge-of-a-nervous-breakdown vocals and elliptical songwriting,” while the band describes itself as "[striving] to make honest songs about human experience in orchards and hotel rooms, Laundromats and churches, sea ports and school halls.”

Most recently, bass guitarist Matt Maust made an appearance in the Long Beach area (where he still lives today) with poetry readings and art shows. In February he accompanied his author friend and fellow East Coaster companion Derrick Brown with a show at the Found Theater for a reading. In early March, Maust debuted one of his solo gallery shows at {open} bookstore on Fourth Street, which closed on Sunday.

The show, “Five Easy Pigliano Pieces,” was an interesting fusion between photography, graphic design and Maust’s genuine celebration to traveling the world, touring as a Cold War Kid and then a poet.

It's nice to figure it all (or some of it) out. The Orange County Performing Arts Center has done it—and they’re quite a success for it. Wanting to reach out to the college-aged crowd, the usually posh-and-all-sophisticated center invited the Cold War Kids for a performance March 27 in a music series called Off Center. Peter Bjorn and John, The Walkmen and We Are Barbarians have also been part of the series since it began in late January.

Coming along with them to the OCPAC (or, more precisely, the Samueli Theatre at the OCPAC) is one of Cold War Kids’ friends: photographer Matt Wignall from Long Beach and the band's official photographer. Wignall’s art springs from his interest in Malawi’s environmental conditions, something he’s been apart of with an organization called Water Wells for Africa.

It’s a pretty hot ticket, especially when you consider the size (500-seat capacity) and location (a lush neighborhood in the bright Costa Mesa) and the other entirely fun stuff happening.

WEEKEND: COLD WAR KIDS

1. LIVE The Long Beach-based Cold War Kids make their return to the OC tomorrow night (Thursday, March 27); it's been way too long—the last performance was at the Detroit Bar in Dec. 2006. The Kids will be at the Samueli Theater at the Orange County Performing Artscenter in Costa Mesa. The show is sold out. *Look forward to my review after spring break.*

2. ART Bassist Matt Maust and the band photographer Matt Wignall show their artwork through Monday at Found Gallery in Echo Park. The show's name is "Matt Maust + Matt Wignall: Your Alimony Check Won’t Buy a Bigger Room." Hmmmm... Sounds like a must. Check Found Gallery's website for more details.

3. READ Maust also collaborated with friend Paul G. Maziar for a book called What It Is: What It Is. You can find the book for sale at {open} in Long Beach. Interviews with Maust and Maziar are sprinkled throughout various underground-esque publications around town, like LA Record and ISM. Look for those at {open}, too.

Photos by Barbara Navarro. Band photo via OCPAC.

Barbara's Weekend List

1. 2. 3.

Photo Credits 1.-ART STAR: Robin Rhode, Color Chart, 2004-06, digital animation, 4:50 minutes; Orange County Museum of Art; 2-A TIME TO BE SO BIG: Louis Leplee (Gerard Depardieu), Edith Piaf (Marion Cotillard) and Momone (Sylvie Testud); Photo by Bruno Calvo; 3-AUTUMN BLOSSOMS IN SPRING; Photo via Darla Baker

This first week of classes: so overwhelming. While I recommend a lot of sleep to all of you, there are still so many more things to do. Here is my little list of what's happening.

1.
Global chaos and disorder are examined in a vast collection by various artist at the Orange County Museum of Art for their newest exhibit, "Disorderly Conduct: Recent Art in Tumultuous Times." Their opening reception is Saturday night, Feb. 2, 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. Expect to leave all sense of balance at the check-in door. From all the press material I've seen, it's looking to be a show that'll tilt your perception.

2.
"La Vie en Rose" is a beautiful film. This movie, from the very beginning, does an interesting hopscotch around Edith Piaf's life-map. Her emotions, history, pain and spotlight alike, were all so colossal and great and at the same time surprisingly low, it was so interesting to meet this woman from another era in today’s time through Marion Cotillard’s fine performance as the legend. I recommend you rent the DVD and watch this Olivier Dahan masterpiece with all the lights out. (This movie has a dark tone.) I also recommend you read Marion Cotillard’s interview with Newsweek, a piece that came out about a week after her grand Oscar nom for her act in “Rose.”

3.
Whether you're into Yohji Yamamoto or YSL, or simply "Project Runway," you've gotta know: the New York Fashion Week is officially on, starting Friday! I look forward to seeing what's ringing for fall season and I wonder who will give better coverage—The Moment or Teri Agins at the Wall Street Journal? But I'm almost more interested in seeing who is featuring American supermodel Darla Baker. (I've been following her career since her time on MySpace, a long time ago now. But her stardom on the catwalk has been so demanding she's disappeared from cyberland, maybe indefinitely.) Autumn is my favorite season, so I'm always excited to see what will be the trends later on.

What are you doing this weekend?