Street Scene invading town this weekend

It's not the same festival five years ago or even last year, but San Diego's signature music festival is coming to Coors Amphitheatre this weekend. The lineup isn't as strong this year, and the only street is the one that will be choked with traffic leading to the outdoor amphitheatre in Chula Vista, but Street Scene is here. I wrote previews for both the Union-Tribune and the OC Register, along with a slew of profiles for SignOnSanDiego.com's Street Scene feature.

I'll be there this weekend taking photos and joting down notes.

Here's the Union-Tribune piece:

Stop me if you've heard this one ...

... the Brits are coming! English bands – the Invasion, Take II

By Chris Nixon
For the Union-Tribune
September 20, 2007

It was 20 years ago today, Sergeant Pepper taught the band to play ... actually it was more than four decades ago.

The Beatles stormed America in 1964, launching the first British Invasion on these shores, and Brit bands have occupied the minds of music aficionados on this side of the pond ever since.

Enter Street Scene, San Diego's signature music festival.
As festival founder Rob Hagey skewed the demographic younger every year since 2000, the Brit indie pop quotient has increased. In 2005, Kasabian and Hard-Fi represented. The following year, Bloc Party, Editors, The Futureheads and Nine Black Alps all made the journey to San Diego to ply their wares.

This year, Birmingham's Editors returns, along with Arctic Monkeys, Simian Mobile Disco, Paolo Nutini and Saturday's headliners Muse.

DETAILS
Street Scene 2007When: Saturday, noon to 11:30 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 11 p.m.
Where: Coors Amphitheatre, Chula Vista
Tickets: $65 per day
Phone: (619) 220-TIXS
Online: www.ticketmaster.com

Every year, dozens of new bands come out of England, Scotland or Ireland, renewing the U.K.'s status as a mainstay of indie rock.

“It seems pretty vibrant, pretty colorful,” said Editors lead singer and guitarist Tom Smith during a recent concert stop in New York City. “There's a lot going on. A lot of people talk about the second coming of the golden Brit pop years. But I don't really believe that.”

Smith is right: There can't be a second coming. In fact, pop music from the U.K. never stopped influencing American bands.

British groups don't have the stranglehold on the charts as they did in the 1960s, but a constant stream of young talent continues to pour out of the U.K. And the admiration is mutual on both sides of the Atlantic: “I may not be the best person to talk to, because most of the indie bands that I take to heart or I fall in love with are American,” said Smith.

“I like Klaxons. I think they're a really interesting band. But I love The National's record. I think they're an amazing band. LCD Soundsystem, Arcade Fire, these are the bands from recent times that I've really fallen in love with.”

Arctic Monkeys, sharing the Street Scene bill with Editors this year, rocketed into mainstream success with the 2006 disc “Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not,” the fastest selling debut album in British music history. Despite a general downtrend in record sales for most British bands, opportunities abound for young bands trying to get their start.

“Record sales aren't doing as much as they were 10 years ago,” said Smith, whose own band just released its second record “An End Has a Start.” “But there are more and more people going to shows. A new band on their first record will get to play Brixton Academy in the U.K. now. Years ago, you wouldn't get to Brixton until your second or third record. So, people are hungry for new music and hungry for live music. It's a good time to be in a band.”

It's a good time to be a music fan, too. With touring becoming the driving force behind a band's success, more groups are coming to the U.S. from the U.K. to tour.

“It's so hard to get on the radio here; it's nearly impossible,” said Smith. “So, you have to bring it to the people. We enjoy coming here and we always have a good time. We're aware that we're in the very early stages of the new record here,” he said.

“Of course, we'd like to be successful here. And I think given enough time we feel that American audiences will get it. I don't expect it to happen with this record. Hopefully, we can continue doing what we're doing and eventually take a bite of the big American apple.”

Despite Smith's comments, the Editors have made inroads into the American market. The band's first album, “The Back Room,” was packed with heady New Wave-layered guitars and catchy choruses, reaching No. 14 on the U.S. Heatseeker Chart. And, bolstered by the singles “Smokers Outside the Hospital Doors” and the title track, “An End Has a Start” climbed to No. 1 on the same chart.

More bands gaining early acceptance in their careers makes for a healthier music scene in the United Kingdom, Smith said, and that trickles across the Atlantic to the U.S.

“I can understand when the music fans get disillusioned when there's a new band every few weeks. But if you don't read the NME and you don't take that kind of music journalism to heart and you make decisions for yourself, I don't think it can be a bad thing.

“As in any era of music, if the band is good enough and they have good songs, the test of time will sort the wheat from the chaff. Won't it?”

Chris Nixon is a San Diego music writer.

And here's the OC Register piece (please note that Mike Ness is a morning person, and like to conduct interviews at the crack of 9 a.m. when he's not on tour....Mike Ness!):

San Diego's Street Scene is on the move again
Pushed out of the city's downtown in recent years, the festival takes place this weekend at a new venue in Chula Vista.

By CHRIS NIXON
For the Register

For the past 23 years, Street Scene has gathered together the diverse musical interests of Southern California on the streets and open spaces of San Diego. The festival was originally located on the streets of the then-seedy downtown Gaslamp District and founder Rob Hagey helped define the area as an entertainment destination, bringing in bands such as R.E.M., Ben Harper, Wilco, Wyclef Jean and Black Eyed Peas to name just a few.

By 2005, the Gaslamp and East Village neighborhoods had grown into upscale entertainment districts and residential areas, and the residents weren't happy about loud music blaring through their windows one weekend a year. Forced out of downtown, Hagey moved the festival to Qualcomm Stadium's parking lot. The move provided easy access to the trolley and obviously ample parking, but festival goers complained about enduring the scorching hot pavement and unofficially dubbed the show "Parking Lot Scene."

This year Hagey teamed with the Los Angeles based Live Nation to help promote the show. Street Scene was originally scheduled to take play at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. But the failure to book a big-time headliner and sluggish ticket sales forced the festival south to Coors Amphitheatre. Live Nation owns the 20,000-capacity venue. Street Scene this year will feature over 60 artists on five stages, with headliners Muse anchoring Saturday's lineup and the Killers holding down Sunday.

One thing has been constant through all the changes: Orange County's Social Distortion. Mike Ness and company have played the festival for the past five years, starting in the Gaslamp Quarter, through the years at the stadium and now in Chula Vista.

"It's kind of cool, because it feels like we've become a staple in Street Scene, wherever it's held," said a deadpan Ness.

Like many Street Scene fans who have been visiting the festival over the years, Ness misses the feel of Street Scene when it lived downtown: "I just remember doing it on Friday at 11 o'clock downtown. It was overwhelming. It literally felt like the whole city of San Diego was there standing in the middle of the street. It was like the town square almost. It felt really surreal. I don't know the word for it. It just felt really awesome."

Ness knows what he's talking about on the subject of music festivals; he's headlined many over the years. The 45-year-old singer grew up in Fullerton before forming Social Distortion in 1978. Alongside other young punks like the Youth Brigade and the Adolescents, the band quickly became nationally known in the underground punk scene.

Mixing traditional punk with country and rockabilly influences, Social D found a home on alternative radio stations in the '90s with songs like "Ball and Chain" "Story of My Life" and a cover of Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire."

Social Distortion started playing Street Scene at the height of its popularity. The festival was drawing over 100,000 people in 2004.

"Unfortunately, things change and you have to adapt," said Ness. "I think it's a great event. And when it finds its final place, I think it will be a long-lasting thing. But it's so important where it's held. To me, if I lived in San Diego I would want to go to a cool place and see cool bands. Unfortunately, stadiums and parking lots are sterile.

"A rock vibe is hard to create. You throw a stage up anywhere and bring in a P.A. system and some lights and you have a show. Technically that's true. But it's always nicer if you have something with a vibe."

Hagey and Live Nation are hoping Coors provides Ness' definition of "vibe." Traditionally, Street Scene's lineup came from all over the musical map: reggae, world music, funk, rock, punk and soul. Since the record setting crowds of 2004, Hagey has booked acts that appeal to a younger demographic: AFI (2004, 2006), Ludacris (2004), the Used (2005), Yellowcard (2004, 2006), Method Man (2005, Kanye West (2006) and Matchbook Romance (2006).

This year's lineup includes a slew of young rock bands that appeal to even younger audiences: Panic! at the Disco, Augustana, The Academy Is…, The Rocket Summer, Brand New Tiger Army and Gym Class Heroes. You also have a select few mainstream hip-hop acts like T.I., Too and T-Pain. Throw in some reggae and world beat (B-Side Players, Eek-A-Mouse, Steel Pulse, Ozomatli, Pepper) and a few annual favorites (Social D, G. Love & Special Sauce, Slightly Stoopid) and you have the general thinking behind this year's Street Scene.

For Ness, Street Scene marks an annual string of shows running through Southern California and the Southwest. No matter the venue, Social D pencils in the music fest every September: "We look forward to it every year. It's nice playing outdoors and the weather is usually pretty nice. It's just a show that we always look forward to."

Matt Sharp comes to town

I wrote a little piece on the real Return of The Rentals (also the name of the band's debut disc) for the U-T, who are in the midst of a comeback bid with a new EP and a new full-length on the way. The leader and former Weezer bassist Matt Sharp and I talked a few weeks ago. He spoke about cleaning out the cluttered tour van, his hiatus from the music industry and his days back in Weezer. The piece isn't my best and the folks at Night&Day chopped the end of the story. My only defense is the story came amongst one of my busiest weeks as a freelancer (five stories due).

I had a chance to check out the show at HOB with my friend Greg. Copeland warmed up, but they were a little too whiney for me. Matt Sharp and The Rentals sounded good, but the crowd was super small and some of the band members looked a bit bored (including bassist/vocalist Rachel Haden, who appeared to be searching for the nearest fire exit during the show).

Anyway, here's the Night&Day piece:

After stepping back, Rentals step forward

By Chris Nixon
For the Union-Tribune
September 20, 2007

After forging a name for himself as the bassist-songwriter in Weezer and the architect behind the retro-keyboard outfit The Rentals, Matt Sharp needed to step away from the bright lights and surreal life of a modern rock star.

So, he packed up and moved to the tiny town of Leipers Fork, Tenn., an hour southwest of Nashville.

“There was a feeling of wanting to be completely disconnected from the whole lifestyle that I had inherited,” Sharp said recently. “I wanted to disconnect from not just the music industry, but everything in general. It was time to rethink things and start over, not just with music, but with life. I wanted to get a better understanding of how to be a better person.”

So, Sharp retreated from Los Angeles to the rural South. He released a solo album of acoustic tunes. He held low-key concerts, using the Internet and postering to promote shows. Little did he know: Stepping away from the mainstream music business for five years would make this year's Rentals reunion that much sweeter.

DETAILS
The Rentals, with Copeland and Goldenboy
When: Tonight, 8 p.m.
Where: House of Blues, 1055 Fifth Ave., downtown
Tickets: $22
Phone: (619) 299-BLUE
Online: HOB.com

Sharp first came to the spotlight through the indie rock-gone-pop quartet Weezer, co-writing the band's breakthrough “The Blue Album” along with popular singles like “Say It Ain't So” and “Undone (the Sweater Song).” Much like Kim Deal's success with The Breeders proved her worth to Frank Black and the Pixies, Sharp's achievements with The Rentals shed light on his major contributions to Weezer. While they are a fine rock 'n' roll band, Weezer has never been the same since Sharp's departure.

As mainstream music turned its eyes away from the metal-meets-punk of grunge, The Rentals' 1995 debut disc, “The Return of The Rentals,” marked an embracing of buzzing 1970s synthesizers and stripped-down pop sentiment. When Sharp started The Rentals with drummer Patrick Wilson (also of Weezer), Rod Cervera (guitar), Tom Grimley (keyboards), Cherielynn Westrich (vocals, moog), and sisters Petra and Rachel Haden (daughters of jazz bassist Charlie Haden and members of the indie rock group that dog), he had no idea the band would blow up like it did.

“When we recorded the first Rentals record, we didn't expect that there was going to be any audience at all,” recalled Sharp. “We didn't think it was even going to be released properly: maybe on some independent, maybe on some seven-inch singles. We didn't really have a big picture in mind for it.”

Fueled by the popularity of Weezer's “Blue Album,” Sharp and company found themselves riding a wave of attention.

“But by the time (the first Rentals record) was released, a lot of expectations were put on the album right away,” said Sharp. “The people who worked at the record company really thought it was going to be an instant success. The first Rentals album came out during the pinnacle of 'The Blue Album.' It came out just after 'Say It Ain't So' reached its peak and we'd already had multiple singles in Weezer. So, there were a lot of expectations for The Rentals.”

Along with a new lineup, Sharp is happy to have another crack at mainstream music.

Chris Nixon is a San Diego music writer.

Listening to an innocent version of you: A conversation with Emily Haines

It's been a couple of weeks since I posted, mostly due to a crazy hectic writing schedule and housesitting for a couple of friends. The fruits of all the hard work have started to be printed for public consumption, with three articles in today's Night&Day, an article in the OC Register, a blurb in the Phoenix New Times and numerous profiles for SignOnSanDiego.com. You'll be able to check out everything here, with some comments from me on each story.

Today, I'm cranking out a story on Metric for the Union-Tribune. I wanted to give you a glimpse of the conversation I recently had with lead singer Emily Haines. She was in New York getting ready for a North American tour, and she had a lot to say about the crazy year or two Metric and its members have experienced since the last time I talked with her (in the wake of 2005's "Live It Out).

Here's part of the conversation:

Nixon: Since it was recorded so long ago, what goes through your head when you think about “Grow Up and Blow Away’?

Haines: Everything that work symbolizes for us is the innocent and naïve period of beginning to try to be musicians for a living and all of the obstacles that we’ve encountered on the way. When I listen to that music I think of how pure and sweet our vision was of how it could be. Since then we’ve really taken matters into our own hands. We realized it’s probably a blessing that we weren’t handed (a contract) and then became recording artists in 1998.

It takes me back to the early days of how everything’s changed with the distribution of music and how people get the music they want. We had no real reason to release the record. But we finally got it back. We bought it back from the company that owned it. It was owned by Rykodisc. We just constantly got requests from fans, even though you can get everything free online. I’ve personally mailed out maybe a 1,000 CD-Rs in manila envelopes to pretty much anyone who wrote in to us and requested it. If they requested it, I would send it to them.

When I listen to (‘Grow Up and Blow Away’), it’s like listening to my little sister that I don’t have.

Nixon: A more innocent version of you…

Haines: Yeah. I have no regrets. Those are the days that we thought we could just sit in our house and make music and other people would do the legwork for us. We quickly realized that was never going to be a life that we could handle. Instead of listening to people who said that we’d had to look for someone to help us realize our potential, we just did it ourselves. I’m really glad we made that decision.

Nixon: Do you feel like you’ve songwriting has developed – in terms of lyrics, melodies and song structure -- since the first album?

Haines: I don’t really think about it. You do the best with the place that you’re in at the time. Some of the stuff on the album kind of cracks me up: the kind of R’n’B vocal stylings I was doing at the time. At some point down the road, I may look back at some of the stuff that I’m doing now and it may crack me up. But I’m O.K. with that.

Nixon: I know it’s been quite a ride for the band since the last time we spoke, in terms of selling albums and being generally embraced by fans with open arms at all the shows I’ve been to. How has that ride been for you from the inside looking out?

Haines: We often joke about the fact that we’ve been on a 20-percent incline since we’ve started. We’ve never dipped from that. And we’ve never gone vertical (in terms of popularity). We just do what we do. The four of us are music fans ourselves. Right now it seems like such an obsessive time about celebrity. I feel like people are constantly trying to complicate what we do for us, and that’s just made us clearer on what we do. It’s really not that complex at all. The four of us really love making music together and we have a lot of respect for people who can let loose and have a good time at a rock ‘n’ roll show. I go to other concerts and I’m like ‘We’re lucky, our fans are the best.’ It’s definitely a two-way thing. It’s a night of your life, let’s create a feeling.

Nixon: How important was it in terms of moving forward for the band to go and do a few music projects away from Metric?

Haines: It’s part of the concept of the band, I guess. I see it all the time with musicians: you get stuck in a rut. It’s like playing a role in a sitcom. You become a one-dimensional character if the only way you function is in a particular role. The reason why this clicked when we met was because everybody was really big music fans. I’d say Metric is probably the most pop thing in any of our record collections. Our tastes are more experimental and we’re all really open-minded about music. Everyone in the band has multiple skills. Jimmy went to Juilliard for trumpet and Joules is a great bass player and Josh is is a great singer and songwriter in his own right. It’s part of the concept that everyone should be able to develop. It just really worked out well this year. It gave everyone a chance to breathe and do some other things. And so coming back to start writing the new Metric record has benefited enormously from that.

Nixon: Were the songs for The Soft Skeleton kicking around a while for you?

Haines: It’s more like the sound of those songs was kicking around. I had established a relationship with Guy Maddin, the filmmaker, and I was inspired by his movie ‘The Saddest Music in the World.’ The imagery of the film informed how I wanted my record to sound. As a songwriter, piano has always been my first instrument and I’ve always been interested in doing more ambient soundtrack kind of stuff. It’s just a natural progression. Some of the songs have been around for a while. Most of them were written while everything was happening with Metric.

Nixon: And this current tour?

Haines: We haven’t toured the States in over a year. So we just wanted to come back and say hello and develop some of the new songs. We’ve written about 10 or 15 new songs and we’re going to play a bunch of them on this tour. It’s a really nice way to work. You write a song, and then before you get too committed to anything, you let it live and breathe as a song.

One monkey's opinion: Free is my favorite number

I'd like to speak on the concept of free for a moment. I can't tell you how many times greed has gotten the better of my better judgement and I've blindly followed pronouncements declaring free items: free credit report, buy one get one free, free shot of tequila if you just step inside. Most "free" experiences end with an intern at the bank spending a half an hour trying to earn a commission, or an evening of gluttonous chowing of mediocre food, or an evening surrounded by unspeakable debauchery in the haze of cheap tequila.

Even as freelancer, free from the life of commutes to work and 10-hour days living in cubicles, I'm saddled with the unsettling doubt of where the next paycheck is coming from and the crazy isolation of working from home (filling the void of the emotional roller coaster of office politics). That's what free gets you.

You see, people tell you nothing in life is free. And in general, I agree with them. "Free" just means you will pay with your patience, time and sanity. But last Saturday right next to Petco Park, I witnessed an afternoon and subsequent evening at the Belly Up of free music, no strings attached except maybe a few heart strings.

Celebrating its second birthday, the Southern Comfort Music Experience sounded too good to be true: Galactic, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Z-Trip, the Flaming Lips and an excellent local stage packed with SD-centric talent. Lis (my wife and eternal plus-one on the guestlist) and I went early to SCMX and secured a spot right on the barricades to check out Galactic (complete with MCs like Mr. Lif and The Coup's Boots Riley) and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. The former sounded solid as always and lifted by Lif and Boots, The former looked like the aftermath of a tough night in Vegas but sounded gritty, raw and appropriately rock 'n' roll.

Just after BRMC's buzzing set, Lisa and I ran into an old friend, the verbose and wonderful Mr. Scott MacDonald. The knowledgeable Mr. MacDonald gave us two tix to Zap Mama later that same night at The Belly Up tavern in Solana Beach. We quickly accepted and scuttled home to eat dinner and prepare for even more free music.

After a rendezvous with Scott outside the Belly Up, Lis and I witnessed an incendiary set by Marie Daulne, complete with percussive vocals patterns and soul-tinged African funk jams. All in all, a very free-ing day on all fronts.

Marilyn Manson chases Alice

Shock rocker looks in the mirror and likes what he sees

By Chris Nixon
Union-Tribune
August 23, 2007

Marilyn Manson's adventures in Wonderland led him from the depths of despair, through the looking glass and the surreal world of red carpet celebrity and into a newfound period of growth and self-realization.

In the past five years, the singer-songwriter-producer-filmmaker survived a failed marriage to Dita Von Teese, the blinding lights of celebrity photographer flashbulbs and a general loss of direction in his music career. But it was during the writing of his upcoming film – a Hitchcock-esque psychological horror film titled “Phantasmagoria: The Visions of Lewis Carroll” – that Manson regained his identity as edgy rocker and boundary-pushing artist.

“This past year – before, during and after making this last record – made me realize a lot about self image and a lot about belief in yourself and identity,” said Manson recently from a hotel room in New York City. “I was in a period where I almost decided to not make music anymore. Then I started working on my script about Lewis Carroll.

DETAILS
Marilyn Manson with Slayer
When: Saturday, 7 p.m.
Where: San Diego Sports Arena, 3500 Sports Arena Blvd., Midway District
Tickets: $50
Phone: (619) 224-4171
Online: www.ticketmaster.com

“ 'Alice in Wonderland' in itself to me is a story about the search for identity: the girl getting smaller and bigger, and she doesn't know her name. I know now looking back that I was more than just fascinated with those things.”

Through retelling this tale of self-discovery in his own dark manner, Manson stepped away from the red carpets and the premières. He rediscovered his artistic mission: mixing mediums with his macabre take on Gothic, industrial rock.

“I started to stray from what was most fitting for me in life,” the 38-year-old singer said. “I was starting to feel obligated to fit into certain parts of the world that I don't want to. I wrote about that in a song called 'Red Carpet Grave.' It's no fault of my ex-wife's. I feel like I was expected to be more predictable or conservative in some strange sense, or just more tamed down and not being the person that I really am in order to signify my dedication and my love.

“I felt like I had to fit into this ideal role that is expected by society when you're married, and that's how you prove how you feel. The way I prove how I feel is by making music.”

Like the “shock rockers” and performance art musicians before him (Alice Cooper, David Bowie), Manson – who took his name from the buxom blond actress Marilyn Monroe and the guitar-strumming cult leader Charles Manson – used gender-bending attire and Gothic horror makeup to create an image to go along with his music in his striking videos and live shows. But for the past few years, Manson (the singer) had been in a rut. His marriage collapsed, and he went through a bit of a breakdown.

“There was a period when I didn't want to leave the house,” Manson said in his gravely voice. “I didn't really like being me. I started to feel like being me wasn't something that I had to do anymore. Maybe I didn't have anything left to say in music.

“A lot of the things that I represented seemed to become apparent to the rest of the world or seemed to become stylish to the rest of the world. It took me regaining my idea of who I was, essentially through making this record (this year's “Eat Me, Drink Me”), to realize I liked being me and I don't mind the idea of maintaining something important and powerful, in my opinion.”

Chris Nixon is a San Diego music writer.

Time Warped: Geezers beware, pt. 2

You have to plan out your schedule if you want to maximize your live music quotient when you visit festivals like the Warped Tour. Bathrooms, random puking teenagers, meandering shell-shocked parents, vendors, beer and BBQ can really slow you down. I usually try to have a vague plan when I enter the buzzsaw to your senses known as large music festivals.



For this year's Warped Tour, I wanted to check out Fishbone (re-united cause it feels so good), Flogging Molly ('cause Guiness tastes so good, as leader Dave King can attest) and Bad Religion ('cause they ARE the Warped Tour, aren't they?).



I also wanted to wander around and check out random bands, try to look cool backstage (I hung out with 94/9's Tim Pyles -- who seems to be at every show I go to) and check out the kids.



In general, the venue was hot and a little crowded. And too many of the bands sounded emo-whiney. But I did get to see my big three, along with Pepper.

OK, so Fishbone. They're a brilliant band mixing metal, ska, funk and rock. 311 wish they could be this good. Horns, funny lyrics and a general oddball sentimentality are a few of my favorite things, and Fishbone's. I don't think the Warpe Tour audience got it. They weren't even born when Fishbone started out in 1979. Hell, I was only eight years old. They sounded better than ever (but maybe not quite as good as when I saw Primus warm-up for them in the early '90s in Massachusetts).



Flogging Molly represented the pinnacle of the afternoon, taking into account my tastes and the audiences' tastes. The crowd lost it, and they put on a great show. They also graciously hung out after to sign and meet their fans.

As I Lay Dying: Amazing local band playing thrashy metal. I got some great shots of these guys. I normally don't listen to a lot of this kind of music, but they were the exception for me. The thing I like in my metal is musicianship, and As I Lay Dying has it. Plus their name refers to a novel by one of my favorite authors, William Faulker.



Bad Religion are pros, and they delivered a high intensity show that the crowd ate up. Pepper brought some island vibes. Overall, a good afternoon of music. The youngsters might be the Warped Tour's main demographic, but I dug it too.

Nick Hipa of As I Lay Dying

Time Warped: Geezers beware, pt. 1

Last Friday the Vans Warped Tour came through San Diego, making a stop on the sizzling asphalt of the Coors Amphitheatre parking lot. I had a few thoughts and photos I wanted to share.

First, the thoughts: The venerable tour celebrates its 13th birthday in 2007, making it the longest currently running annual touring festival (and also making it older than half the audience at the show this year).

It's hard to believe, but I went to my first Warped Tour nine years ago. I was living in Vermont then. So I made the trek 45 minutes south down to Northampton, Mass., catching Ozomatli on its first East Coast tour (I helped carry one of the big samba bass drums back to their tour bus). I also had a chance to talk with Deftones guitarist Stephen Carpenter and saw the crazed Aquabats for the first time.

When I was 26 (like I was for that Northampton show), the Warped Tour experience was entirely invigorating: tons of live aggressive music all day and into the night. Noe the Warped Tour is an annual reminder of my age and general softness.

Journeying to the Van Warped Tour for me now is a little like a stroll through the seven levels of hell for geezers like me, a 35 year old recovering from knee surgery two months ago. Again, for the second time in a eek, I found myself sitting in traffic to get entry to Coors (see my 311 review for more bitching about Coors). While talking a slow tour of the grounds around the amphitheatre en route to the parking lot, I witnessed a 16-year-old kid puking in the bushes. Listen, I'm not saying I never puked in bushes when I was 16. I'm sure I provided sufficient fertilizer for bushes around my small hometown in New Hampshire as kid. Anyway, I felt bad for the kid. And it set the stage for a day of hot sun, loud music, more traffic, dust, stale beer smell and tons of damn kids in my way with their rock 'n' roll music and such. All of which makes me feel old. Next stop: I'll be sitting on my front porch in a rocker with a shotgun full of rock salt chasing kids off my property. People who say "you're only as old as you feel," probably haven't been to the Warped Tour lately.

I think I'll finish this rant tomorrow, but first here's a link to the digital images I took at the festival. I especially dig the As I Lay Dying photos.

More words coming soon

I have all sorts of spanking new stuff brewing on the site. Coming soon: I'll have a review of the Warped Tour along with photos (see the preview which came out in the Union-Tribune below), and I'll talk about the epic weekend of music in San Diego (Southern Comfort Music Experience, Zap Mama at the Belly Up). And also I'll publish another preview from the U-T on Marilyn Manson (I really wanted to go check out the show Saturday at the San Diego Sports Arena, but I failed to make the proper sacrifices to the guestlist gods.

But first... hey check me out at the Phoenix New Times:

http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/search/results.php?author=405398

I've done a few articles for Niki at the New Times, and I'm enjoying having another outlet for my rants. I'm writing up a preview on English R'n'B crooner James Hunter as we speak. More to come on him...

Warped Tour: A dash of pepper

North County trio to bring a special flavor to Vans Warped Tour

By Chris Nixon
Union-Tribune
August 23, 2007

Reggae, ska and punk will always be the natural soundtrack to an ideal San Diego day at the beach. The Hawaii-bred, North County-based trio Pepper knows this, bringing a perfect day at the beach to people all over the country and the world through its music.

“San Diego is the perfect place for our kind of music,” said Pepper drummer Yesod Williams during a recent Warped Tour stop in the Midwest. “It was the first place that really opened up for us as far as a major market goes. The beach culture and the surf culture go hand-in-hand with our music.”

Williams – along with Kaleo Wassman (guitars, vocals) and Bret Bollinger (bass, vocals) – formed a decade ago with no ambitions in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, mixing ska and rock in a potent package set for popular consumption.

“We started in '97 in Hawaii, so we just actually hit our 10-year mark,” Williams said. “We started out for the first couple of years just playing parties and just having a band for fun. When we started, we didn't have an inkling of doing this for a living.”

DETAILS
Vans Warped Tour 2007, with Pepper, Fishbone, Bad Religion, Killswitch Engage, Flogging Molly, more
When: Saturday, noon
Where: Coors Amphitheatre, 2050 Entertainment Circle, Chula Vista
Tickets: $31.30-$33
Phone: (619) 671-3600
Online: www.ticketmaster.com

San Diego has played a key role in Pepper's development, giving Williams, Wassman and Bollinger a base on the mainland.

“The summer after we started the band, I took a trip to Southern California and hung out with some of our older friends who were going to college over there,” Williams said. “This is totally random, but I saw Buck O Nine play on the boardwalk in Mission Beach, and I just felt like maybe we should move the band over here and give it a crack.”

Now Pepper holds a spot on the Warped Tour's main stage, spreading the ska rock gospel to both coasts and beyond. But it wasn't always so cushy for the three guys in the band.

“We got our bearings around 2000 or 2001 when we went on the Warped Tour. I think we realized how hard it was going to be,” Williams said. “It was the longest tour we'd ever been on. We were driving ourselves in a van with no AC. We had to set up and break down the stage every day. But the Warped Tour was cool because it was the hardest thing we'll ever do in our lives, and it was all downhill from there.”

Pepper first struck with the 19 tracks of ska and roots reggae of “Give'n It” on Volcom Entertainment, followed by the breakthrough disc “Kona Town” in 2002 (heavily influenced by Sublime's success). Pepper employed more rock in 2004's “In With the Old,” recorded at 311's Hive Studios in L.A. The disc found the band exploring more varied territory, verging on the eclecticism of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Nick Hexum of 311, Tony Kanal of No Doubt and Sublime producer Paul Leary combined to help produce 2006's “No Shame.” In 2007, Pepper released a retrospective of outtakes titled “To Da Max,” providing a glance back to the group's straight-up ska and reggae days. With its roots in surf culture, Pepper knows that dues must be paid on a continual basis to be a success in life.

“We all grew up surfing,” said Williams, who helps Pepper co-headline the Vans Warped this Saturday at Coors Amphitheatre in Chula Vista. “It's one of those things like if you haven't eaten (it) real bad in a long time, you wonder when am I going to pay my dues. You have to pay your dues to Mother Nature every once in a while. It's the same in music.”

Chris Nixon is a San Diego music writer.

PEPPER STATS
Lineup
Kaleo Wassman – guitars, vocalsBret Bollinger – bass, vocalsYesod Williams – drums

Discography “Give'n It” (2000, Cornerstone Ras Inc.)“Kona Town” (2002, Volcom Entertainment)“In With the Old” (2004, Volcom Entertainment)“No Shame” (2006, Law Records)“To Da Max” (2007, Law Records)


'THE CIRCLE OF TRUST': PUNK GOES TO SUMMER SCHOOL
Since its inception in 1995, the Vans Warped Tour has been known by the bands as punk rock summer camp. A camaraderie builds among bands camping out for the summer together. For Pepper and a handful of bands this particular summer, there's a subculture among Warped Tour groups called “The Circle of Trust.”

“Basically, we call it 'The Circle of Trust': us and Bad Religion, Pennywise, New Found Glory and Flogging Molly,” said Pepper drummer Yesod Williams. “We set up all of our tents in a circle. When you're done with work, it's pretty much like you're at camp, like you're camping with all your heroes. So we're barbecuing and mixing cocktails with some legends that we grew up listening to and influenced us.”

Here's a breakdown of some of the bands in Pepper's “Circle of Trust” playing this year's Warped Tour:

Bad Religion: Despite the mileage, Bad Religion continues to radiate a youthful exuberance. Along with a co-headlining spot on this year's Warped Tour, Bad Religion released one of its finest records in 2007. The 14th album by the Los Angeles-based sextet – titled “New Maps of Hell,” marking the band's quarter century of contributions to punk rock – features songs penned by singer Greg Graffin and guitarist Brett Gurewitz. “New Maps of Hell” marks the third studio album with Gurewitz after he took a hiatus to run his label, Epitaph. A Warped Tour mainstay, Bad Religion continues to be the conscience of modern punk rock.

Pennywise: Pennywise's loquacious lead singer Jim Lindberg says on the band's Web site: “cogit ergo sum.” The short, clear phrase – “I think, therefore, I am” – sums up the SoCal punk band's 14-year history and mentality in three words. The members of Pennywise – Lindberg on vocals, guitarist Fletcher Dragge, bassist Randy Bradbury and drummer Byron McMackin – churn out hard, crunching guitars and machine gun drumbeats, staying true to their punk rock roots and their fans.

Flogging Molly: Irish rock and punk have been at home with each other for decades. This year, the Warped Tour gives another tip of the cap to Flogging Molly, a band melding sweet Irish acoustic sentimentality with sweaty, blue-collar punk brawn. The band's story begins appropriately at a pub, Molly Malone's on Fairfax Boulevard in L.A. After a few pints of Guinness, impromptu jam sessions would break out and an often-rambunctious Dubliner named Dave King would initiate the festivities. Born out of merry sing-alongs and Harp-soaked lullabies, King and the F.M. crew have exuded the same exuberance in their many shows since.

– CHRIS NIXON