I splurged* on a bottle of El Set this week as opposed to going with a cheap bottle of Sauza or something of that ilk. Also went local with the margarita mix by way of Freshies. Freshies, btw, is among the best in the mixer department, if you choose to go that route. Typically, I’m a Cointreau/Tequila/Triple Sec, but I thought I’d switch it up.
…Since it’s Summer, it’s Friday, it’s the end of July, and before you know it it will be Fall again, squueze in as many marg nights as you can. Tonight? I’m gonna be on the porch of Amanda’s house, watching the sunset, enjoying the company, and sipping margaritas. Happy Friday.
*$25 is hardly a “splurge,” I know. But when you consider the fact I typically buy cheep booze ($8 liters of vodka are standard), tequila is one booze to drop an extra dime on. There is a difference between cheap and quality.
StatusBro and Knot Belt Co. have teamed up this Summer for a brotastic giveaway. Up for grabs is a ribbon belt and t-shirt from Knot and a t-shirt and prize pack from Status. Embrace you inner-bro. We all have one. Even you ladies have one. And, hey, you’re eligible for this prize as well.
How to enter: Comment with your finest Summer Vacation story / Best way to “Bro-out” in the Summertime / Where you’d wear the Knot Belt and StatusBro Gear.
I’ve been in bands since I was 13 years old. In that time, I’ve made quite the connections with other musicians, industry folk, fans, and elitists from all walks of life. They’ve schooled me on bands I should know about, and I, inturn, have let them in on some of my faves that they may or may not already be privy to. Lately though, and yes this album didn’t recently come out, but I was surprised to learn how few of my “tuneage” friends knew about Hologram Jams, the latest release from Jaguar Love.
I was an avid Blood Brothers fan from the first time I ever heard the group. I admit, that I was first introduced to them when Burn, Piano Island. Burn hit the shelves, but after, I quickly acquired their entire catalog, Jungle Rules Live DVD included. Needless to say, when the groupd announced their breakup in late 2007, I was A) a bit crushed, and B) completely understanding of it. After listening to the tunes of Young Machetes on repeat a good few hundred times, it was clear that the band as a cohesive unit had peaked. Much like the Postal Service: I care to never hear another original piece by them as Give Up was perfect and anything else may tarnish that rep. But when the group revealed two new projects would come from the ashed of the Blood Bros, my interest repeaked.
Photo: WeAreJaguarLove.com
From the dust of the break up came Jaguar Love, fronted by Johnny Whitney. The other groupd, Past Lives, got the voice of Jordan Blilie. Tending to opt more for the Whitney songs of the Bllod Brothers, I gravitated more towards Jag Love. Their first LP, Take me to the Sea, was packed with killer jams, indeed, and had me hooked from second one of the first track. That particular sound on the record didn’t last long as the lineup changed, and the group lost their drummer. “Ain’t no thang,” is what I imagine Johnny said, because shortly down the line, they released their latest, Hologram Jams. Since I acquired my copy, I can safely say it’s in my top ten (or five, maybe) releases of 2010.
If you haven’t yet, get a copy of the record, STAT. That way, when you come over for Dance Party Night at my house, you’ll know a few of the jams beforehand and not have to interrupt my groove by asking, “Yo! Will! Who is this??”
As if hanging out with my favorite people on the planet wasn’t enough to make this past weekend one of the best of my young life, I had to go ahead and add a few choice encounters to ramp it up even moreso. This one in particular was a bit of a milestone for me, as geeked out and simple as it may sound.
I have expressed my fondness for the Nissan Skyline GT-R in previous posts and highlighted how amazing I think it would be to own one. Then even more recently, I showed anger in missing the chance to see one in real life during Bull Run 2010 in Boulder, CO. So when I spied one blocks from where the lovely Amanda and I had brunch, there was little doubt I was going to slam on the brakes, flip a bitch, and get up close and personal with the car of my dreams.
Amanda, too, was a good sport in A) obliging me in taking pictures on front of the car and B) not making too much fun of me as I peered into the windows, etc. While getting this up close an dpersonal with Godzilla made the day all that much better, I still am no closer to actually obtaining one. But you know what? After the tremendous time I had in these past few days, ain’t nothin gonna get me down now. A new chapter in life has been opened, friends. And it looks like it’s going to be an interesting read…
I’ll admit that at my age, there are few excuses for me not having graced the strip of Sin City with my presence, but there are a lot of places I haven’t been. Las Vegas has never been one of those, “Holy crap, I need to be there now!!!” places to me. Maybe I’m too frugal and careful with my cashflow. Or maybe there’s just been nothing appealing about neon lights and strippers and buffets. Of course, all I know about the city is what I’ve seen in movies and heard from friends. But that all may change come August 2010.
I was reading one of my new favorite sites, when I happened upon an announcement for an upcoming drifting event. As gung-ho as I’ve been about getting back to my gearhead ways as of late, my interest in street racing and that style of tuning has been slightly diverted by the excitement of drifting and kind of maybe wanting to learn how to do it. Problem is, as is the case with any “project,” I don’t have a garage nor storage space to work on a car. And using a drifter as a daily driver? Probably not the best plan. Maybe somewhere down the line when I’m rolling in dough, have the space, and need a few minutes away from the wife…
Back to the topic at hand: If all goes like I want it to, I should be finally making my inaugural journey to the desert sands and Las Vegas. While the purpose of my journey is not of the cliche manner, the fact I can now put a new pin in my map on the wall is good enough for me. And because I’d be remiss in posting about cars and races and drifting and NOT mention the Fast and the Furious or Bow Wow or the quarterback from Friday Night Lights (the movie) who tried to replace the dashin Paul Walker in Tokyo Drift, here’s a choice scene from the flick…in Japanese.
