Sep. 21, 2011
A couple weeks ago the Florida-based rock & roll combo Jacuzzi Boys released their latest record Glazin'. I sure do hope you picked up a copy because it's more fun than a busload of cheerleaders and makes everyone else playing reverbed-up, ramshackle and loose R&R look like they are trying too hard and getting nowhere. We asked them for a list of things they've been digging lately and Danny and Gabriel came up with some pretty boss stuff.....First, here's a song from the record: "Cool Vapors"
Tattoos (Danny): Now this may seem like a funny choice, seeing as how I don't have any tattoos, but lately I've been pretty interested in looking at, and learning more about traditional American tattooing. Now I really don't know much about it, or know artists by name or anything, but watching the Tattoo Age special on Dan Santoro/Smith Street Tattoo Parlour really sparked my interest. All the guys at that shop hand paint their own flash and it's really some of the raddest stuff I've seen in a while... The sheets just look incredible! And their aesthetic and approach to tattooing seems to have a certain respect for the past that I find pretty neat.
Cuban Coffee (Danny): One of the few things, if not the only thing I truly miss while out on tour. You can find a walk up window that serves it on almost any street corner in Miami, and no mater what time of day it is, it's always a good idea to have some. It's typically served in tiny little cups and it's pretty much all you need... The coffee itself isn't that strong though, but it's loaded with a bunch of sugar. Every time I meet someone that's never had any, I feel a slight obligation to introduce.
Christian Patterson (Danny): I've been a fan of his work for quite some time now, and it's getting better and better! His first body of work, Sound Affects, dealt with the city of Memphis, Tennessee and how music plays a major part of everyday life there. And he just recently completed his most recent project Redheaded Peckerwood, in which he follows the path of two late 1950's teenage serial killers and sorta creates his own fiction within the real-life facts. I encourage everyone to take a look at his pictures, you'll be sucked right in.
"Omaha" by Waylon Jennings (Danny): I think I first heard this song from our friend Rydel. He had made a mix CD of his favorite country tunes and we just about played the thing to death in the van... I remember liking the song, but it didn't get its hooks in me until while later... I'm not sure I even knew it was Waylon Jennings, actually! Anyway, I finally got around to listening to Honky Tonk Heroes, and while I'm a big fan of the entire record, I just can't get enough of "Omaha!" For me, it just has that special something that makes me want to play it over and over and sing along at the top of my lungs... This may seem a bit cliched, but it makes me want to be in a bar somewhere, drink in hand, drunkenly dancing and singing along with a woman that may be a bit too old for me.
The Point! by Harry Nilsson (Gabriel): So I finally saw the Harry Nilsson documentary Who Is Harry Nilsson (And Why Is Everybody Talkin' About Him?)... It's amazing. I found out about The Point!, his sixth album & animated film, through the documentary. I watched it soon after & was blown away... So cool! Really entertaining, silly, trippy & and smart. "Me and My Arrow" has been stuck in my head for weeks.
He-Man & the Masters of the Universe (Gabriel): I used to own every episode on VHS tapes, but I somehow lost them. I was so obsessed with He-Man as a kid that I would wake up an hour earlier than I had to to catch every episode. I had every single toy too. Netflix just made the series "watch instantly" & I've been seriously going down memory lane. It's such a trip trying to remember what happens in each episode. It's still so cool to me... what an awesomely weird cartoon.