"West of La Brea"

So... I play tenor sax and a couple other instruments in The Tartans. We're a five-piece band indie pop band. I've been playing with these folks for over a year now, and in that time, we've toured the east & west coasts, played with some of my favorite bands (Magic Bullets, Dum Dum Girls, Cats on Fire, Radio Dept... to name a few!), and released a new 7" on YAY! Records called "West of La Brea". Though this single has been quite invisible in the two short months of it's release, i assure you... it does exist!

Update: Word is that you can now pick up "West of La Brea" at Ameoba, and possibly Origami Vinyl & Vacation Records in LA... though I'm not 100% sure of that.

My Favorite Librarian

At the Hollywood Forever B&S show, Annette met the host of a weekly radio show on KUCI (University of California, Irvine) called "Our Digital Future". The show is all about libraries and their changing role in the digital age. Annette did a phone interview with the host, and it was broadcasted live on October 8, 2010. To listen, click the link here: http://www.kuci.uci.edu/podcasts/?ShowID=1008.

While I'm on the subject of Annette and libraries, I'd like to mention the Herklotz Music Library blog. Annette manages the Herklotz Music Library at Occidental College in Eagle Rock, and the students who work there are tasked with maintaining this awesome music blog. Check it out! http://oxymusiclibrary.blogspot.com/

A Crazy Week of Shows

A few weeks ago, Annette & I found ourselves at three of L.A.’s finest venues to see some of our favorite bands. 9/30 was Pavement & Sonic Youth at the Hollywood Bowl. Then, we saw Belle & Sebastian at the Hollywood Palladium on 10/3, and again at Hollywood Forever Cemetery on 10/5.

I’ll speak briefly about the Pavement show… of course they were great, I mean, it’s Pavement! We saw them play last May in Paris, while on our honeymoon (see pic below). Annette got us up to the front and we had a blast getting beat up and shouting along to our favorite songs (which is all of them pretty much!). The Bowl show wasn’t quite the same experience… our seats were waaay back, but it was a beautiful night, and kinda bittersweet knowing that it would probably be our last opportunity to see them live.

OK, on to Belle & Sebastian! The Palladium show was one the best and most fun B&S concerts I've ever been to (and that's saying quite a lot!!). This was our first time seeing them in over 4 years, so we were definitely excited. When Stuart & Co. arrived on stage, it felt like seeing old friends. Their new songs sounded great, and of course, it was nice to hear some of my all-time favs..."Expectations", "Me and the Major", "Sleep the Clock Around", and "Lazy Line Painter Jane" (with Jenny Lewis guesting on vocals). But the definite highlight (for us anyway) was when Annette was pulled on stage to clap along to "There's Too Much Love". After that, an impromptu dance party broke out during "The Boy With The Arab Strap", where most of the stage kids received medals that read "I MADE IT WITH BELLE & SEBASTIAN". Unfortunately, Stu ran out before Annette could get one (boo!). Ah well, it was still an amazing moment! (That's her dancing in the green dress).

Their next LA show, at Hollywood Forever Cemetery, was definitely something special. It had been raining for two days straight, so we were almost certain that we'd get drenched. Thankfully, the sky cleared the instant people started laying out their picnic blankets. The weather was almost perfect, and there was plenty of goodwill, food and booze to go around. After a screening of Trainspotting (which I only caught bits and pieces of in-between conversation), Belle & Sebastian hit the stage with... what else... "Sukie in the Graveyard". The setlist that evening was quite different, with a generous amount of tunes from my favorite LP, If You're Feeling Sinster. It was also nice to hear "We Rule The School". Annette didn't get pulled onstage this night, but our good pal Mabern did (that's him to the left)! All-in-all, a fantastic night.

It's a Blog...

Welcome to See What I Made!
I'll be posting every so often about music I'm making, music I made in the past, and music I wish I made. Basically, anything related to music that I'm involved in or thinking about. I'll also be posting on behalf of my wife Annette, as she's always up to something. I hope you find something here that sparks your interest! xo, Brian