Artsy Craftsy Indie Pop Cross-Stitch

Click either half of the image above to download the corresponding half of a counted cross-stitch pattern depicting indie-pop heroes Small Factory on stage at the Met Cafe!

The Last Time That We Rocked

I was so “Happy To See” Small Factory, Honeybunch and Flower Gang at the Met Cafe in Pawtucket on April 14 — and if you were there, I was happy to see you too.

Bob Franke at Stone Soup

My parents drove out from Connecticut tonight to see Bob Franke and John Schindler at the Stone Soup Coffeehouse in Pawtucket, and I’m glad that I decided to clear my schedule of conflicting appointments so I could accompany them.

Happy Boxing Day!

My brother-in-law John Sarmento drew the delightfully droll boxing Santa above. (“Read More” to view full image.)

Breeders reunion?

If you’re a fan of ’90s indie-rock supergroups, but not a fan of reality-TV showboats who take the Biblical decree “be fruitful and multiply” to the limit, then you may find this image momentarily amusing.

"Today I am a man."

No, it wasn’t my Bar Mitzvah, but another rite of passage commonly associated with adulthood that I celebrated today.

The Death of Milhous

There were monks on the beach
And we bound to the ocean
Jumping and playing in the waves.
We were happy.
October 30, 1994

There were punks and some freaks
And we bound up the stairway
Jumping and playing in the foam.
We were evicted.
October 31, 1996

Boxing Ring

Boxing Ring (after Duchamp)

Ancient Chinese Secret?

/usr/bin/fortune -m 'change' |grep -C 1 'effects'

It seems appropriate to launch my new weblog with this image of a dog-eared fortune cookie epigram, which I captured with my iPhone on December 27, 2010.

Dreaming Just Comes Natural

Title Attribution: John Prine, Donald and Lydia

Dreams, like butterflies, can be elusive. In order to capture and catalogue them, one must remain patient and alert.

Homage to The Mad Peck

Flyer of the Year Nominee

I spotted this gem while walking in Edgewood, Rhode Island on a recent, intermittently rainy June day.

Magnolia Electric Co. Makes Lightning Work

Interviewed in August 2005 for The Agenda (Vol. 1, No. 9) by Matt Obert.

Ten years ago, a shadowy figure rode into Providence, RI from the badlands of Oberlin, Ohio—diminutive in stature, wearing a cowboy hat, worn corduroys and square-toed loafers, with a four-string tenor guitar slung over his shoulder. Of those who met him at pizza joints and used-record sales during the summer of 1995, few knew that his real name was Jason Molina. (He preferred to introduce himself as “Sparky,” and also mysteriously acquired the nickname “The Guardian.”) Unless you have a copy of the flexidisc released with Wingnut fanzine #3, you’ve probably never heard Sparky belting his heart out at the Milhous co-op, accompanied by legendary Providence drummer Joe Propatier (Sourpuss, Scarce, Silver Apples, Bevis Frond, etc.) Not long after his departure from Providence, Molina’s star began its rise to the heavens when Will Oldham released the first Songs:Ohia recording on his Palace Records imprint.

Pulp Fiction at the Green Room

Three reviews in one

by The Colonel, Ashley Mercado, and Matt Obert

Originally published in The Agenda (Vol. 1, No. 3) on March 24, 2005.

Take These And Call Me In The Morning

Music reviews originally published in The Agenda (Vol. 1, No. 1) on Friday, February 25, 2005. Reprinted with footnotes added by the author on Monday, June 13, 2011.

Mahi Mahi Move Your Body (Corleone)
Alec K. Redfearn and the Eyesores The Quiet Room (Cuneiform Records)
Superchief Trio The Devil Knows Me Better (Needlenose Music)

Newspeak Block Party, May 1993 (NicePaper ad)

Von Ryan’s Express @ Newspeak Block Party in Providence RI, May 1993

Thanks to Frank Difficult for posting this amazing video to youTube, and to Chris Adams (a/k/a Major Hemisphere) for filming the footage in the first place.