One night, tangled deep with We Barbarians

Contrary to the sick image I developed of We Barbarians after first hearing their music, this tight-knit indie rock band—simply identified as "Quon, Van Heule and Warkentin" on their MySpace page—came out for a benefit show at Costa Mesa's Detroit Bar last night. That totally softened my views. What this Long Beach, grunge-sounding band was really like: The lead singer is a sliver of a man who belts out huge, fevered screams that ask for gentle attention; the bass player, partial to the right side of the stage, maintained a heavier demeanor, slipping deep into smouldering grooves most of the time; and the drummer, who sported some sexy scruffy facial hair last night, you'll find most likely camouflage behind a cluster of a silvery drum set, banging away like a secret agent. No, these weren't black-stained pouty hipsters from the LBC, even if their songs all seem to be cut from the same bruised fabric. Instead, their following surely seem like the in-the-scene kind, and definitely not moody. Did I mention that We Barbarians' fans also include Long Beach poet Derrick Brown and the Cold War Kids? They were also in the audience (or on stage!).


Photos by Barbara Navarro.

We Barbarians will next play at Spaceland
on Monday, May 12.

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.

Green, Green, Everywhere Green

The Green Scene on St. Patrick's Day, CSULB
Happy St. Patrick's Day!
Saint Patrick. Does anybody know the true story behind this patron saint's life?? I'll share the bits of what I know—like, how he traveled around Eastern Europe before finally ending up on a tiny island called Ireland, his native country, now where Scotland is; like, how, actually, he lived in southwestern Britain before he was literally carried out of the land by pirates and sold into slavery in Ireland; like, how he might've lived to be 120, according to legend; or, according to another legend, how there were no nights for 12 days after his death on March 17, 461—and I'm not sure staying-out-all-night-long, green-fashioned barflies would like that. But then again, I wasn't in bars looking for who was wearing green today. I found plenty of students, faculty and professors looking cute in a festive green all over the Cal State Long Beach campus!

Who are they? (Click photos to enlarge.)

Column No. 1: Economics Professor, Russ Arslan; Ruth Fabela, 24, San Pedro; Friends Allie Russi, 23, from the OC, and Ryan Sharp, 24, from Laguna Hills, both business marking students; Colleen Donnelly, 21, journalism major (the managing editor at the Daily Forty-Niner, in fact).

Column No. 2: Bonnie Shaw, 48, of Cerritos, studying for teaching creditials; Kevin Forest, 25, San Clemente, pyschology student; Kacy Jacobsen, 22, Napa Valley, political science student.

Column No. 3: Bikes!; Allison Baldwin, the design coordinator for the Daily Forty-Niner, 21, journalism student; beautiful green gardens throughout CSULB campus.

Column No.4: Andy Franks, 21, a journalism student and the top news editor for the Daily Forty-Niner; CAPS faculty member, Kirsten Chun.

Substituting an 8th century bishop for a 20th century drunkard—and a German at that

"It was a joy. Words weren’t dull, words were things that could make your mind hum. If you read them and let yourself feel the magic, you could live without pain, with hope, no matter what happened to you."
Henry Chinaski, Ham On Rye
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How big of a fan of Charles Bukowski are you?

I've read so many of his books and own some of his newer poetry anthologies. I've been to his grave at Green Hills and I live in the town where he died, San Pedro (but, I was born here, so I didn't have a choice; it was just a coincidence that the ol' Buk and I ended up in the same place). Plus, I toured with Esotouric recently!

Bukowski doesn't fit a genre in literature, because it's a lifestyle. I loved reading his books a few summers ago (after I was introduced to John Fante's Ask the Dust) and I loved watching "Barfly." It's a classic movie and it captures L.A. in a way I've never seen before, either with my own eyes or by movie. I definitely recommend you try touring with Esotouric if you're interested in beating your friends out on who's the better fan of Angeleno authors and their history here. Rumor is, they'll be visiting Vroman's in Pasadena this summer, a place where Bukowski was a usual. But if that's too far off, they have trips focused around Raymond Chandler and the Black Dahlia scheduled for pretty soon.

PHOTO: With the Esotouric group on March 9th, celebrating Bukowski's 14th year death anniversay. Here we stand in front of the Reading Room at the downtown L.A. Public Library, where Buk disvored his God, John Fante.

{Visit ESOTOURIC online. Just click HERE.}

Also be sure to visit the library's Special Collections (2nd floor, to right off the elevators) where you can find Gerald Locklin's memoirs on how he got to know the great ol' Buk in "A Sure Bet." Locklin, a retired English professor from Cal State Long Beach, helped me create today's '5 to Try,' which was dedicated to the greatest barfly of all times, Charles Bukowski.

Cheers!

A Tasty Blend at Surf City Squeeze

Monday's '5 to Try'...

Surf On Over
Cruise over to Surf City Squeeze at the University Dining Plaza for a thirst-quenching chiller or smoothie.

You're still not sure where or what I meant? Here's a video to remind you...

In the video, Jennifer Lee, 18, a SCQ worker and sociology student of the university, blends my favorite drink: a small smoothie made of strawberry, apple, bee pollen and ginseng. Jennifer shared her favorite drink with me too—the blueberry banana smoothie.

What's your favorite drink at Surf City Squeeze?