Here's a bit of good news -- turns out that in spite of all the damage that has yet to be fixed down on Galveston Island (some of which, I suspect, never may be), nothing stops Mardi Gras. The island may be down, but apparently some things never die, and drunken purple-and-gold-festooned revelers are among them.

The official festivities run from February 13th through February 24th, but it looks like there's already some krewe parties going on -- check here for the full schedule of events. Glad to see Galvestonians aren't letting that goddamn storm get 'em down...

Labels: Entertainobabble, H-Town News, Ike News, Musical Crap, Public Service Announcements, Things To Do

gaijin || Link || E-mail || 0 comments

Argh. Feels like deja vu, y'all... Power's out here at SCR HQ, so I'm forced to e-blog from the iPhone; apologies if anything comes across garbled. CenterPoint assures us the lights will be back on soon, but seeing as the last time we heard that, we were powerless for 12 days, well, we're a bit freaked.

Anyway, wanted to post & dispel some misinformation our own shows list included 'til recently. I'd thought there were two separate shows this weekend at Walter's, one a News on the March EP release and one a Riff Tiffs/Eastern Sea show.

Turned out, though, that the NotM show'd been postponed, and the Walter's folks were confused as to who was supposed to be playing what night. The real show is actually tonight, Sat., November 29th, and it's got a ton of cool folks playing: the Riff Tiffs, The Eastern Sea, Piano Vines, Earnie Banks, & The McKenzies.

So, now you can feel accurately informed -- make yr plans for tonight...

Labels: Ike News, Musical Crap, Public Service Announcements, Random Rambling, Things To Do

gaijin || Link || E-mail || 0 comments

No, I'm not talking about a Denzel Washington movie, The Scorpions, or any attempt at a lame-ass, after-the-fact "list of songs to listen to while a hurricane pummels your city" playlist (hell, in our 'hood we barely listened to music, period, with the lights out & all). I'm actually talking about trying to help out budding musicians who attend Galveston-area schools, which I happen to think is a really worthy cause.

I got a somewhat-cryptic email forwarded to me a few weeks back that talks about a series of drives to replace school band/orchestra-type instruments that were destroyed or damaged due to Hurricane Ike. I'm including the info from the email below; it looks like the list is only for Central Middle School down in G-town, but I'm sure it'd be way, way longer if it included specific needs for every school on the island.

At any rate, here's the info I've got:

We are very excited about this initiative to replace musical instruments for Galveston area schools due to loss from Hurricane Ike.
As discussed, we are sharing the initial details with you regarding dates and the instruments needed by Central Middle School.

The dates for the drives in the different cities are as follow:

Nov 11- Houston - Texas Latin GRAMMY Celebration monetary donations
Nov 20- San Antonio- location TBD, drop off from 12p-6p
Nov 24- Dallas- location TBD, drop off from 12p-6p
Dec 10- Austin- Open House, drop off from 9a-6p and during Open House

As promised, here is the list of what is needed:

8 Flutes
1 full conservatory system wooden oboe
2 long bore short reach Fox Bassoons (that I had just refurbished)
19 Bb clarinets
7 Eb Alto saxophones
3 Bb Tenor saxophones
1 Eb Alto Clarinet
1 Bb Bass Clarinet
35 Bb trumpets and cornets
17 Tenor trombones
4 Euphoniums
3 BBb Tubas
1 four valve (rotary) BBb Tuba
Mobile Percussion cabinet
1 Peterson 12 window strobe tuner Peterson 505000
I Roland PF4 digital piano
1 Baby Grand piano (white)
1 Baby Grand piano (mahogany)
2 Upright pianos
1 Model 10-A metronome
1 Set of HANDBELLS 5 octave set with tables and cushions
Several string instruments were also lost:
1 viola
2 3/4 size cellos
9 violins ranging from full size to 1/2 size
Sound equipment for the Band Hall and the Choir Hall

More details regarding this campaign to come soon. In the meantime, please let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks!

Karla Martinez
Project Manager
Recording Academy
Phone: 512.328.7997
"karla dot martinez" at "grammy dot com"

So, there you go -- if/when I hear more, I'll definitely post it here, but keep your own eyes peeled for more on the drive, too, eh? Like I said, definitely a worthy cause...

Labels: Charitable Things, Ike News, Musical Crap, Public Service Announcements, Things To Do

gaijin || Link || E-mail || 0 comments

Okay, so it's kind of sad we apparently can't do this around here, but it's good news, even still. Per Sara @ HandStamp, a bunch of good-hearted folks up in Luckenbach are holding a benefit tomorrow, Sunday, October 26th, to help raise money to rebuild the fine, fine Old Quarter Acoustic Cafe down in Galveston.

I'd heard the establishment was severely damaged by Ike, so this is good news. A bunch of cool folks are playing at the Luckenbach Texas Dance Hall up in Luckenbach (near Fredericksburg), including The Gougers & Ray Wylie Hubbard; check the HandStamp piece for more details...

Labels: Charitable Things, Ike News, Musical Crap, Out-of-Town Stuff, Public Service Announcements, Things To Do

gaijin || Link || E-mail || 0 comments

Yes, it's apparently true. First I hear that the only big-ish and non-local benefit for Ike survivors scheduled will be down at Moody Gardens in Galveston with Dad favorite The Beach Boys (see here for details), and now HandStamp (yep, they're on a roll, at least with me...) is reporting that at his show here in town last night, Neil Diamond promised to donate 100% of his merch sales to the Gulf Coast Relief Fund and match whatever that total was out of his own pocket.

First off: um, wow. That, my friends, is the kind of spontaneous, big-hearted, generous gesture I'd been sincerely hoping we'd see from the big-timers who pass through our city, and it warms even my black-as-coal music-critic heart. And I'm now put in the extremely strange, kinda uncomfortable position of liking a guy who I've loathed for the better part of 30 years, ever since my dad tormented us with the guy's greatest hits on nonstop repeat while driving across the desert to the grandparents' in Arizona. My father now denies he put it on repeat, but goddammit, I know what I heard, and it was painful enough that just the opening notes of "America" have made me long to stick my face into a blender or something, just to drown out the sound.

'Til now, that is. I've always wrestled with Diamond's music, wanting to respect the "old stuff" everybody assured me was actually really good but still scarred by the '80s cheese, but this pushes it absolutely over the top. I'm going to have to call my dad & apologize at some point for sneering at his music all these years, but for right now, I'll just say this to Mr. Diamond: thank you. It's nice to know somebody cares.

Labels: Entertainobabble, H-Town News, Ike News, Musical Crap, Public Service Announcements, Random Rambling

gaijin || Link || E-mail || 0 comments

Okay, so I stand corrected; my dad told me today that one of his all-time favorite bands, The Beach Boys, is actually coming to Galveston -- not just Houston, but Ground Zero G-Town -- to play a benefit concert for Ike survivors (by way of the United Way of Galveston) on Saturday, November 1st at Moody Gardens (which, thankfully, appears to have mostly survived the hurricane intact).

They're playing with a local band I've never heard of called The Coastliners, and no, I sincerely doubt Brian Wilson will be in attendance himself (for Beach Boys afficionados, this is apparently Mike Love & Bruce Johnston, plus a bunch of side guys that includes one of The Cowsills), but the hell with it -- this is very cool. They may not be the biggest band in the universe these days, but I seriously respect the fact that they're coming to help our neighbors down the freeway out. Tickets are $20 for lawn seats or $45 for "premium seating," which I'm assuming means closer to the stage.

The show's organizers are also encouraging concert attendees to bring non-perishable food items, and according to the news the Red Cross will be on hand, too, if you want to help out that way -- every little bit helps...

Labels: H-Town News, Ike News, Musical Crap, Public Service Announcements, Things To Do

gaijin || Link || E-mail || 0 comments