And then, suddenly

Crowd inside Teatro Miela before Trabant concert/launch party




The webmaster comes on stage for the encore playing surprise guest air guitar impossible parts. Special thanks to Elena for sending me the pictures and for being the only person this decade who's managed to make me look good in a photo. And to Trabant of course for the graceful surprise invitation.


And this one is from Fallenlady.com.
There's also a video of the event online somewhere but there's no way i'm linking to that.


Crowd outside Teatro Miela after Trabant concert/launch party

And hardly a week after holding a sold-out concert before 450 people and publishing their debut LP, what does Trabant go on to do? They go and win Italia Wave of course. And i can't help mentioning how adorably surprised they are about all this attention, wondering why people want to have them come and play concerts outside their region and giving good reviews a suspicious look because you never know, it might just be an elaborate joke from their friends.

Blogging explained in one sentence

Dear internet, my cat just farted.

Update for other people

I realize i should post a little info about what i've been doing lately instead of hopping around the continent and blogging. But i have my priorities - there's much to be told but i'd rather talk about what other people have been up to first. All sorts of interesting stuff has been going on around here!

Trabant


For starters, i'll be in Teatro Miela in Trieste tonight for the launch of Trabant's first album. Yes, it finally came out! Reviews are everywhere! And the funny thing is, most of the reviews compare them to bands that have only started to show up in the year that passed between the album's being recorded and its publication, but i digress. It's tremendously exciting for me to see a band i've been loving for so long get the appreciation it deserves, and tonight we're going to celebrate that fact. I'll probably be going around with a video camera in the immediate pre- and post-concert moments, so if you also show up you'll have a good reason to avoid me. There, that last bit was the best publicity for a gig i could ever write.

So what else is good in this boot-shaped country?


So as i said, Trabant's album came out and it's rather good (i'm not that biased in that if i hadn't liked it i would have immediately started bothering chuk about it), but what else is good in the italian indie scene? You're in luck, my dear imaginary reader who asks rhetorical questions, for said scene has been enjoying a most exciting rebirth for the good part of a year already. One specific work i feel the obligation to point out is the debut album from My Awesome Mixtape which you can listen to in its entirety here. It's been a constant soundtrack here at WGD Central for the past month or so (along with the new flaming lips live album, the FPM greatest hits double album, and the usual healthy doses of beefheart and P5) with its somber moods and essential arrangements. All the more fitting if you consider how much this summer had been shaped by their more party-oriented EP whose main single, The Painter And The Anthropologist, has a title which seemed to be constructed especially to make me fall in deep deep geeky love with it.

speaking of this summer...

I've uploaded another video from our August Guča Adventures. Featuring: More dancing! More musicians! More macedonians! And more Mitko! Click here to view, 'cause i can't be bothered to embed it right now.

Not related but still most notable

The 17th of July has been a rather eventful day, not just because of our shenanigans at Italia Wave, which was just starting that day to everyone's amazement. It was also the day former members of one of my favourite bands ever, Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, decided to (temporarily?) reform. They met up at bass player Sr.Flavio's radio show where they talked about old times and most importantly performed some of their old favourites for an hour or three. The whole historical event can be downloaded at pleasure from Vito Rivelli's marvellous lfcrarezas website. Whether the reunion was really temporary or a sign of new adventures starting remains to be seen. But Fabulosos Calavera continues to be one of the best albums ever published, so whatever they decide to do is fine by me.

Pinochet Update


oh, and speaking of Latin America, My Father sent me this image the other day.
And no, considering who i got it from it is definitely not in bad taste.

That's all for now. I'll soon be updating again with links to stuff i've done. Forgive me for linking to interesting things instead.

Flo & Eddie explain the Music Business

It's all true...


Via Mark Evanier who adds some wise words of appreciation.

First thought of the day

Knowledge (and, if possible, a demographic) of how much people are paying for the new radiohead album is definitely more valuable than the album itself.

Actually, i'm pretty certain that somewhere in the world there must be someone who's thinking of how to hack the website just to get that information.


UPDATE: This website asks people how much they paid, but very cheekily doesn't give the results (unless you're one of the people who gave them the info for free). And it's very cheekily been set up by an online magazine which also does music business consulting. How unsurprising.

Flashback

Must have been around late 2004 or early 2005

Me: We can't go in there. It's evil.
A.: Robin, how can a shop be evil? People are evil.
Me: Ok, ok, let's go to bloody starbucks.

2'48" in Guča

Sorry, had uploaded this two weeks ago but forgot to link it here. Original text so you don't have to go over to its respective youtube page (and so i can finish this and go off to a party in time):

Recorded on thursday, August 9th 2007 at 22:48, at the trumpeter monument of Guča. Clearly visible are Sandro, Johannes, Dave, a glimpse of Derf, and Chuketti's hat.

Presto!

Hey there, i'm back and have to report at work in about 10 hours. Sleeping must therefore ensue. Plenty of content will come for those who have patience.

...is off again.

Once again, i'm leaving. Once again, to a festival. Once again, to a festival like no other.
And it also seems that in each of these festivals i have and will show a different face. In Rototom Sunsplash it was the face of the translator and bon viveur. At ItaliaWave it was that of the webeditor and music enthusiast (and, surprisingly, of the good team worker). In Guča, it will be that of the anthropologist and drunkard.
If you've clicked the link, you should already have seen that the previous sentence is thoroughly justified. However, it is my pleasure to leave you with this 1951 recording made by Alan Lomax during his travels through Serbia:
Library of Traditional and Primitive Music - Frula Duet(Serbia) (128kps mp3, 1.5Mb)
I dare you to figure out the tempo, especially in the final section. Anyone who succeeds wins a prize.

So, anyway. I'll be away for a week or more. This time i can't promise updates, because who knows when and where i'll be finding an internet connection. What i have done is to put a twitter update on the sidebar. I'll try to update that (from my cellphone) just to reassure people that i'm still alive.

A quote.

"I miss congrio. I remember when your father and I were still going out together, in Chile. One time he told me to eat congrio in a big restaurant, it was called El Rey Del Pescado. It was delicious. It was also expensive, i don't know how he could afford to take me there. We were students, and we were poor. Now we're teachers, and we're poor."

-My Mother, twenty minutes ago.

Four days later.

Sure, i could write an update. But God, i'm tired.

We're coming!

Pelo fixing something for the neighbouring office, yesterday.


Sala Parto, yesterday.


Global Stage, yesterday.


Chill-out zone, yesterday.


Main stage, 5 minutes ago.
(Michele, preparati.)

Um.

Ok, i'm back home. For fifteen minutes. Then i leave for Florence where the whole Italia Wave adventure begins. Still packing. Yesterday this blog turned four years old. Welcome to its fifth year of existence. I've got something special to celebrate, which will be online as soon as i find the files which mysteriously disappeared during my absence.
As for the sunsplash, i will try to keep this blog updated while i'm away. Which will be easier because i should be online quite a lot, but harder because i'm also supposed to be working. One thing's for sure - it's going to be fun.

Natural miscomprehensions

1. Tuesday evening, in front of Main Stage. Screaming over crowd noise.
Me: Can you believe that one week ago today i was seeing fucking Dionne Warwick live?
Him: What? You fucked Dionne Warwick??
Me: No, i saw her perform, in concert, live.
Him: Oh.

2.Friday afternoon, at the music and clothing stalls.
Peter Tosh(from a loudspeaker): Legalize it...
Me: Legalize what? Please be more specific.
Her: He said what at the beginning of the song.
Me: But i wasn't here yet! Now i'll never know!

...and a video.

Improvised traditional percussion and dance, Rototom Sunsplash, 10.07.07.
Beware: poor sound. But at least the kora can be made out a little.

Two images from Rototom

Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra live in Rototom Sunsplash, 11.07.07


The book. I'm reasonably proud of this, so i guess you'll be seeing more book-related posts in the near future.

Briefly toyed with the idea of distributing Pastafarian leaflets, but that would probably get me hanged and, um, eaten.

Cheers from sunsplash land. Very quick observations since i only have 10min of internet left.
Tokyo ska paradise rocked, if that can be said about ska bands. They did ignore my requests of Rydeen, however. Dammit.
We're camping with a hammock and a swimming pool. Classy.
Today, book presentation. And meeting David Katz. Kind of nervous.
I think i'll go jump into a river to relax a bit. See you later.

Update attempt

Once again, i'm going to try to write an update while i pack my bags and prepare for Greater Things. There's quite a lot to say so i'll proceed with bulletpoints, which are instrumental in hiding the fact that none of the things we'll be talking about have any connection with each other whatsoever.

• So, what's going on? Simple, i'm leaving for four days of rest and relaxation at Rototom Sunsplash. I don't have to interview anyone, i don't have to translate anything, i just have to chillax.
• Why the Sunsplash? Well, i was invited. A former employer of mine works there and offered me free entry and stay. Of course i couldn't refuse.
• What did you do for this guy to make him display such generosity? The guy in question is Alberto Castelli and what I did is translate a book for him. Yes, that's what sort of kept me from blogging in the first four or five months of the year.
• A book? What book? The book is called Solid Foundation - An Oral History of Reggae, by David Katz. It's a great book, in that it relies on voices of the genre's authentic originators to tell it's history. The italian title is Raccontare il Reggae - La storia del reggae narrata dai suoi protagonisti, a title which may or may not have been chosen by yours truly, i can't really remember and can't be bothered to check my email archives. But we'll be hearing more about this when the book comes out.
• And when, pray tell, is it coming out? This Thursday! Alberto, David Katz and myself will be presenting it at the Sunsplash, within a series of lectures called Reggae University. Please note that my participation to the event will very probably be limited to waving my hand from the front row if and when my name is mentioned.
• Can I come? Well, sure, if you feel like buying the ticket to the Sunsplash. It's no big deal, really. I'd like it more if you just went ahead and bought the book. In italian.
• In italian? Ugh. Well yeah, in italian, although i'll be the first to tell you the english edition is closer to reality, has a richer vocabulary and the beautiful colorful expressions of the interviewees. If you buy the italian edition though, people might take notice of the bloke indicated as translator on the second page and give him more jobs. Or not, but you can let me dream in the meantime.
• So, what was it like to translate this book? It was fun, hectic, tiring and taught me to cope with my deadlines. Ok, it tried. The main thing is that for all my life i've been complaining about poorly translated books, so this was my chance to start setting things straight. I hope to have many, many more such chances. Plus working on a topic which interests me was fantastic, translating the chapters on ska and rocksteady was a ball. There are all kind of interesting tidbits in this book, such as Don Drummond's nutritional habits, how Max Romeo became a singer, and the real reason Bob Marley's so important.
• Cool! Can you tell me? Nope, buy the bloody book. Ok, i'll copypaste some of the funny bits in future posts from time to time, just to keep some hype on the publication. i'm such a sell-out.
• So, now you're going to the festival and then you'll be back home and everything's back to normal, right? Nope again. A night's rest at home on saturday, and then i'm off to Italia Wave, where i'll be working as a sort of web editor-like animal thingy. And seeing loads of bands. And delivering a brief lecture at the WaveCamp. And cheering Trabant for their main stage appearance. But we'll talk about all of those things when i'm back, i'm sort of busy packing right now and it feels like there's still a grillion things to do.
• Ok, see you later I guess. I'll be trying to update the blog with things i've seen or heard around the festival as much as possible. It's gonna be fun and i hope to share some of that fun with my readers. Reader. Whatever.

Ok, i've got about an hour before my bus to Udine leaves, so i'd better cut this nonsense out. Just have to pack the tuna, have a bite, and i'm out.
Oh, i'll have a little present when i get back. Stay tuned.

You still can't use a blog to swat a fly, but rss is a step in the right direction.

(Actually, it's Atom)
After at least two years of "yeah, i'll do it tomorrow", i finally added a link on the sidebar to this site's feed. So now you all know where to point your feedreaders and proceed to party like it's 2004. Yes, i'm also not very good at maths.

Silvia Penide

Performing Como El Agua O Como El Viento at Centro Giovanile Piero Poclen, Monfalcone.
My interview to the artist is coming soon. (i know, i know, they all are)