After seeing my first Warped Tour in 2007, the first band I went to see live to start my mid life crisis of  doing live shows was “Bowling For Soup” at The Central Washington Fair in Yakima. I love the music of these guys and their sense of humor which really shines in their songs both in the lyrics and in their videos. I also like the fact that they don’t really seem to take this punk music thing too seriously.

Bowling For Soup, from Whicita Falls, TX have been together since 1994 and in their current line up since 1998.  They consists of Erik Chandler on bass and vocals, Jaret Reddick on guitar and lead vocals, Gary Wiseman on drums and Chris Burney on lead guitar and vocals. To date they’ve released seven lp’s with their newest one, “Sorry For Partin’” due out in March. They have actually gotten some air play here in the states and have charted a couple of songs but like many “punk” bands from the states they are big in Europe, especially in the U.K. where they have charted numerous songs.

An interesting part about their live shows is that they work without a set list. They just play whatever inspires them at the moment whether it be one of their own songs or a cover tune such as Bryan Adams “Summer Of ‘69″,  Flock Of Seagulls “I Ran” or, as  when I saw them, The Ramones “I Want To Be Sedated”.

The following video’s are three of my favorites. Just click on the links. First up is “Punk Rock 101” which tells you how to be a punker then there’s “High School Never Ends” which is so true according to their lyrics then a big hit for them which talks of the  music history of the 80’s is the song “1985“.

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 We didn’t have “regular” radio at our house–just a big brown box to huddle around, listening to “Jack Armstrong, All-American Boy”, “Capta-a-a-in Midnight”, or on Saturday nights, the Grand Ole’ Opry, all the while hoping the battery would last. I was too young to know what electricity was; I just knew we didn’t have it.

In town we had electricity and a radio; my mother bought a big blond box that was radio on one side and record player on the other.  Nat “King” Cole and Johnny Ray sat along side  Jose’ Iturbi and Isaac Stern.    Saturdays, “WHO Des Moines” broadcast the Hit Parade, which kept us in suspense as we waited to hear the top song of the week.

Years passed and favorite songs and performers appeared, and then made way for new favorites. Music of the sixties and seventies was for me especially memorable.

Time and place, I guess……California at the time of anti-war protests and songs. 

Fast forward to Georgia, blue grass and country: Waylon, Willie and the Boys. Kris Kristofferson. Luckenbach TX.  Gordon Lightfoot. Emmy Lou and Nancy Griffith. The music never stopped.

In Connecticut I discovered Chris de Burgh. Drove everybody crazy for awhile.

Now, Washington. Zip 98826.  We don’t have regular radio at our house. No battery-run boom box  or tape player. So passe’. Yeah, we used to say that. Only CD’s. And  satellite TV. And DISH network with Sirius

I’m not much of a TV person  A little morning GMA and evening news, an old “Friends”, Jeopardy, and now Monday’s “Big Bang Theory” and I’m pretty much through. Bed, book and music: Bocelli,  Brightman, Carole King, James Taylor and Chris de Burgh lull me to sleep.

Occasionally in early evening I fiddle with Sirius on the TV: Classic Pops, Sinatra, a little Blue Grass. But the rest seems mostly fifteen dozen kinds of Rock. Not to my taste. But one evening I ventured out of my comfort zone of 6077, 6076, 6075, 6064 and went further down, all the way to 6033 where I saw the category “Mellow Rock.” And there I found it–My Music. John Denver, Gordon Lightfoot, Joni Mitchell, Harry Chapin, Nilsson, Joan Baez, Simon and Garfunkel, Cat Stevens and countless more. And I’m discovering the music of other names that I didn’t listen to, except accidentally, and finding I enjoy much of it:  Air Supply, early Beatles, Elton John, the Eagles and more.

                             So I found it. My music, outside the box.  Siriusly good.

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Pundits are forecasting a very tight game between Arizona and Pittsburgh on Sunday. Thought I’d pass along how our sports department thinks the game will shake out. By the way, everyone set your alarm clocks. ESPN’s pregame coverage begins promptly at 7 a.m. on Sunday. That’s a mere EIGHT hours before kickoff.

Steve Maher: Steelers 31, Cardinals 17. “The Steelers are going to shut down Larry Fitzgerald, and without him Arizona doesn’t have a chance.”

Eric Gordon: Cardinals 34, Steelers 17. “The Cardinals managed to outwit Philadelphia defensive coordinator Jim Johnson and keep Kurt Warner off the ground in the NFC Championship game. No reason why they couldn’t do it again here and pull off what would be a stunner to most. ”

Corey Voegele: Steelers 31, Cardinals 21. “Pittsburgh’s offense is better than people think.”

Brent Stecker: Steelers 27, Cardinals 20. “Defense, defense, defense. I don’t think there’s a better unit in the league than Pittsburgh’s. They’re mean and nasty and the Cardinals don’t have a running game.”

Finally, to my pick. I really had a hard time with this one, because I think both teams are capable of winning the game. I can totally see arguments on both sides. I just think this Steelers team is tougher, and their defensive coaches will figure out how to keep Fitzgerald and Boldin from killing them.

Steelers 21, Cardinals 17.

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The last of the concert blues lists, and if there’s any one thing this list proves, it’s that beard-rock bands are always awesome live.

The 10 bands I never miss live (with video proof of rocktitude)

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Queens of the Stone Age (“In the Fade” live at the Paramount, 2007)

Pearl Jam (“Garden” live at the Gorge, 2006)

My Morning Jacket (“Mageetah” live at McCaw Hall, 2007)

Band of Horses (“Ode to LRC” live at the Showbox, 2007)

The Presidents of the United States of America (“Peaches” live at Sasquatch! 2008)

Wilco (“Impossible Germany” live at the old Spokane Opera House, 2008)

John Butler Trio (“Sista” live in Bellingham, 2007)

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (“You Wreck Me” live at the Gorge, 2008)

The Mars Volta (Seven-plus minutes of noise live at Sasquatch! 2008)

Fleet Foxes (“Katie Cruel” completely unplugged and live at Western Washington University, 2008)

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I went about a half mile up past the end of the pavement on Mission Creek Road yesterday to find over 500 feet of washed out dirt and rocks that used to be the entrance to a well-used recreation area called Devil’s Gulch.

I hiked around the area, carefully stepping on the ice covered tributary that the washout created.

Here’s the picture I like most.

To get this shot, I held on to some brush at the top of the steep incline while holding the camera away from my body and out, over the “road”.

It shows the path that the road, seen in the background, used to take – now a small river.

So after shooting my stills, I hiked back to my car and met Mike Milts, who lives in a cabin next to the river. He let me interview him on a video camera and described what happened when the river flooded the area. I was able to use the interview in video that I shot later of the scene.

But I found that the video images don’t necessarily match what damage Milts described. It was just so beautiful along the washed out road as ice formed on the edges of the flooded areas. I’m happy with the audio of the Milts interview and the video images separately, but not the two of them together.

Here’s the video I ended up with:  Click here

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That’s right, it’s Friday, and time for another installment of lolcat of the week! This week we have two, nominated by Joanne Saliby, of community blogging fame.

more animals

more animals

Both worthy additions! Wuts ur favrit lolcat? E-mail nominations to pruitt@wenatcheeworld.com, and I’ll post ‘em up! Happy weekend to all!

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If you’re anything like me, finding the time to read can be difficult (if you are eerily MORE like me, you wear cardigans and sit in front of a computer all day.) Between work, home, and trying to think of a decent dinner, I don’t always have the opportunity to begin a good book, much less to finish it. I am also scatterbrained, so my books often get lost in strange places. Luckily, someone (thanks, Jaima!) informed me of this website.

DailyLit allows you to subscribe to electronic versions of books. These e-books are then delivered to you in short segments, either through your email or through RSS feeds (I have no idea what this means, by the way.) You can also set how often you wish to receive your book installments and subscribe to different books at a time. Reading is now as easy as checking your email.

This website also has a great variety of genres and titles, from books on Roman history to titles like The Underachiever’s Manifesto.It also features “Wikipedia Tours,” where you can subscribe to daily Wikipedia articles about a particular subject (this month, the subject is famous poets.) While some of the e-books cost a nominal fee, there are many free books and articles. If you’re afraid of purchasing a book you might not like, you can try an excerpt for free.

If you like talking about books with other readers, you might enjoy DailyLit’s forums and message boards. Think of these as virtual book clubs where you can discuss what you’re reading and what other readers are enjoying.

I haven’t navigated the website very much, but I do like the convenience of receiving book snippets to my computer. It is almost like receiving a present every day. Almost.

 Happy reading!

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As a million jillion people have already mentioned, the Coachella lineup has finally been released. Forgive me for my tardiness in doing my own part to announce this, but I have this terrible habit of sleeping through the night, driving to work in the morning and tending to the tasks my company pays me to perform — all while other people get the scoop. As you can see, I’m not the least bit bitter about it.

For those of you who don’t know, Coachella is an annual weekend-long music festival set in a giant field at Indio, Calif., just outside of Palm Springs. I’ve never gone, but after writing that sentence, I kind of want to.

My editor told me a while back that it was rumored David Bowie would perform as Ziggy Stardust. The final lineup doesn’t reflect that rumor, but there are a lot of other good acts to catch. On Friday, April 17, you’ve got Sir Paul McCartney, Leonard Cohen, the Black Keys, Girl Talk, the Crystal Method and M. Ward. Saturday, April 18, brings the Killers, Fleet Foxes, Drive-By Truckers, Blitzen Trapper, James Morrison and Billy Talent. Finally, on Sunday, April 19, attend the church of the Cure, Throbbing Gristle and Okkervil River — to name a few (the complete lineup shows on the flyer to the right, click to enlarge).

It’s no Ziggy Stardust, but you’ll probably find your money’s worth in the $99 single day ticket or a $269 weekend pass. I wouldn’t count on Amy Winehouse (anyone should know that booking her is essentially dooming yourself to crying, “Wolf,” or at least targeting yourself as tabloid bait), but I’m sure you can find plenty of other good reasons to go. Besides, if the concert fails to please, Disneyland is just a two-hour drive away. What could be better?

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Usually, I can’t stay awake long enough to catch The Colbert Report, let alone The Daily Show. But yesterday, for some reason I did. And I’m glad I did. Colbert reported on a possible chicken wing shortage in advance of Super Bowl Sunday. While I haven’t scheduled a party, I certainly know how devastating a shortage could be. What would the Super Bowl be without wings?

Colbert had the chicken spokesman, Richard Lobb, on via satellite to explain. Mr. Lobb was hilarious. The shortage is driving up prices more than creating empty shelves, so I guess there’s really nothing to panic about. I figured you all should know anyway.

By the way, the Twisp River Pub makes my favorite Buffalo wings in NCW, well, as far as I’ve tasted. Where do you find yours?

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Congrats to Wenatchee boys hoopster Austin Bryan on being named the Class 4A Seattle Times state athlete of the week for the past week. Bryan had 32 points and 11 rebounds at Moses Lake and 27 and five against Kennewick at home, both Panther wins. Would have been nice if our colleagues on the other side of the mountains acknowledged that Bryan also became Wenatchee’s all-time leading scorer.

Apparently, I have more pull than I think. The Covenant School came to its senses and fired the girls basketball coach that ran up the score in a disgraceful 100-0 victory over Dallas Academy. I called for Micah Grimes’ dismissal in this space earlier this week.

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