Thrice - Interview

I finally got the fabled Thrice interview up. I shot this nearly a year ago, on the same day as the Say Anything interview.

http://www.theoffline.com/interviews/thrice.php

I've been up to a lot of exciting stuff lately. We'll have more on the blog and on the site soon, so keep slamming those f5's.

Shaun of the Dead / Hot Fuzz

Graham, Scott and I went to Bloor Cinema on Saturday night for a double screening of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, hosted by Edgar Wright, who has a really funny voice. Really nasal. And British. He took a photo of the fans who stuck around for the QnA. I am in the top left holding up my paperback copy of Dune, pretty much only because I had nothing else on me to hold up in the air. See graham to the right of me.

Check out Edgar's blog, he posts a picture every day showing his adventures, being a film director and all.

http://edgarwrighthere.com/

I guess you guys don't know who Graham and Scott are. They're friends that I'm doing a few projects with. One is a top-secret movie that's gonna be huge. The other is a series that we might be seeing later this summer. Stay tuned.

Chili Peppers + Inca Roads = :S

I never really liked the Red Hot Chili Peppers. I've tried, believe me, I've tried. It's weird because I love funk rock fusion. I love Fishbone, Faith No More, Praxis, Primus, Urban Dance Squad, and even Mr. Bungle's demos; all those early 90s alternative crap bands. Give me some fat bass, schizophrenic guitar, and clever or explicit lyrics, and I'll be a happy man.

But for some reason Chili Peppers just don't mesh for me. I've tried. I was even listening to Blood Sugar Sex Magik when I started writing this, but after a song I got bored and put on Urban Dance Squad. By the way, if you haven't heard of them, they were pretty much the Dutch version of Rage Against the Machine, but with metal traded for a bit more hip hop and pop sensibility.

Anyway. Point is, I'm not some douche who has a thing against RHCP... the fact is, I want to like them. Their output over the past few years (californication and beyond) I feel especially neutral towards, but BSSM, Mother's Milk, Freaky Styley are all albums that I should love, as they contain my favorite, most indulgent, musical ingredients.

As this battle rages in my head every once in a while, I stumble across something that puts my mind at ease, and makes me comfortable with the thought: "I don't like the Red Hot Chili Peppers". Examples of this could be anything, whether it be a new single, (I couldn't stand By the Way, which at least in Ontario, still got regular airplay 5 years after the album's release.) or RHCP kicking Mr. Bungle off of festival lineups for a decade-old grudge that started with Kiedis bitching about Mike Patton "stealing his moves".

Once again, while browsing the vast media entity known as youtube.com, I came across the most recent addition to my list of "Why RHCP sucks" list:



Now, maybe you have to be a Zappa fan, or maybe you just have to be as neurotic as I am for this to bother you. For whatever reason, this bothered me. I'm not sure why, as obviously they're just goofing around. Butchering beautiful songs might bother the pretentious fan, but not me; hell when my next musical project hits the stage, I plan on ruining plenty of old classics, including a Zappa song or two. Maybe it's Kiedis' joking arrogance? I'm really not sure. It just doesn't feel right in my gut. Whatever it is, they're doing it rong.

Realistically though, in a month or so, I'll be at a party, or in a friend's car or house, and Red Hot Chili Peppers will be playing. And I'll like it. I might even move my hips or bob my head. Then I'll go home, all excited to hear Freaky Styley, only to turn it off after ten minutes to put on Fishbone's Reality of my Surroundings. Rinse and repeat.

Here's a real version of Inca Roads. If you aren't familiar with Zappa, this is in my opinion, one of his best "serious" rock pieces.




So what did you guys think of the RHCP clip? Did it entertain you? Annoy you? Am I crazy? Leave a comment; share your thoughts.

New Year's Screen Resolution: 1280x800... Same as last year.

So I got another package from the LumberJerks. It had this nice card, a vhs tape with their latest work, a new show called "Bill's Home Videos" and a note promising another episode later in the month.

So I suppose it didn't occur to them when sending a Christmas card, to send it in advance so it arrives before Christmas; not to put the card in the mail on Christmas. Oh well, I still enjoyed it.

I've uploaded the first episode of Bill's Home Videos, catch it here.

Also, I recently put together a silly little short from old footage, so that'll be up soon. It stars... Brian and Corey, of course. I mean, I have plenty of friends, but... well it's not like they're my only friends.

So Happy New Years! And if you missed it, a couple days ago theoffline.com was a google adds site briefly. Here's a screenshot just in case you wanted to know how you could speed up Outlook or get a trial of Paintshop Pro.