SORRY

I'm in a hurry and my back hurts, so I don't have the time and/or desire right now to space out all those links I posted below. But I'll get to it. Hopefully soon.

TRAVEL ESSAY IN MATADOR NETWORK

Here's a travel essay titled "You Don't Go Anywhere Without a Xanax in Your Pocket." It's fairly self-explanatory.

OC WEEKLY STORIES

Here are links to recent stories in OC Weekly. Click here to read a review of Michael Cavanaugh and the Long Beach POPS! Symphony Orchestra. Click here to read a review of Susan Egan and the Long Beach POPS! Symphony Orchestra. Click here to read a review of Metalachi at diPiazza's in Long Beach. Click here to read a story about Hot Snakes guitarist/The Night Marchers singer/guitarist John Reis. Click here to read Ten Punk Albums To Listen To Before You Die. Click here to read an interview with the band The Hoagies. Click here to read an interview with The Ska Parade head honcho Tazy Phyllipz. Click here to read an interview with punk band Dodge Dart. Click here to read about "Uprising: Hip Hop and the L.A. Riots." Click here to read an interview with Jim Florentine and Don Jamieson from VH1 Classic's "That Metal Show." Click here to read about Hirax's new record. Click here to read an interview with Susan Egan. Click here for "Six Songs with the F Word in the Title for Valentine's Day." Click here to read about Gillionaire's Valentine's Day Gift. Click here , here , here and here for four must-hear J Dilla tracks. Click here for "Five Really Good Recent Break-Up Songs." Click here for a review of the Gillionaire song "Imdabes." Click here for a preview of the Bleeding Through song "Goodbye to Death." Click here for an interview with Long Beach Symphony Orchestra conductor Enrique Arturo Diemecke. Click here to read "Top 4 Gift Ideas for Howard Stern's Birthday." Click here to read "Five Ways to Celebrate Elvismas." Click here to read "An Open (Love) Letter to Nancy Sanchez." Click here to read a review of The Spell's New Year's Eve show. Click here to read an interview with Lords of Ruin singer Lauren Boquette. Click here for an interview with X's Exene Cervenka. Click here for an interview with Dead Kennedys guitarist East Bay Ray. Click here to read another interview with Hot Snakes guitarist John Reis. Click here to read my failed attempt at interviewing Alkaline Trio's Matt Skiba. Click here to read an interview with Pennywise guitarist Fletcher Dragge. Click here for an interview with Bleeding Through.

LA WEEKLY MUSIC STORIES

Here are a few recent music stories I've written for LA Weekly. Click here to read about The Spell. Click here to read about Metalachi. Click here to read about F.Y.P.

LA WEEKLY BLOGS ABOUT VEGANISM

Here are a few links to recent blogs about veganism published in LA Weekly. Click here to read about Happy Veggie. Click here to read about The Spot. Click here to read about Orean The Health Express. Click here to read about the Urban Food Crawl. Click here to read about Stuff I Eat. Click here to read about Roots Gourmet. Click here to read about No Udder Desserts. Click here to read about The Vegan Joint.

LOS ANGELES TIMES TRAVEL STORIES

Here are links to travel stories I've written for Los Angeles Times. Click here to read about my vegan in Las Vegas story. Click here to read about Ely, Nevada. Click here to read about Santa Paula, California. Click here to read about Hanford, California. Click here to read about Yreka, California. Click here to read about Temecula, California.

POETRY/SHORT STORY ROUND UP

So I've totally slacked on updating my site for a long time. Instead of trying to play catch up, I've decided to create this post as a way to link to some poems I've had published recently. Perhaps when I have more free time I can write a little story about each one, but for now, here are the aforementioned links.

Enjoy!

Click here to read "Advice to Men" and "The Sunset" published at Hobo Pancakes.

Click here to read "Punk is Dead" published at Haggard & Halloo.

Click hereto read the short story "Danny" published at Haggard & Halloo.

Click here to read "Donut Shop at 6:45 a.m." published at Forty Ounce Bachelors.

Click here to read "Insufficient Funds" published at Haggard & Halloo.

Click here to read "Living the Dream" published at Haggard & Halloo.

Click here to read "A Real Man" published at Vis a Tergo.

Click here to read "Sure, One More" published at Modern Drunkard Magazine.

Click here to read "Rest in Peace" published at Haggard & Halloo.

HAPPY JAWBREAKER DAY IN OC WEEKLY

If you're like me, May 4 is a big deal. Yeah, it's some sort of Star Wars day, but it's also the day when Jawbreaker nerds such as myself celebrate the band.

Why? Click here for the answer.

This story also marks the first time a reader tracked me down via Facebook to tell me they liked what I wrote. So thanks!

JIM NOWELL INTERVIEW IN OC WEEKLY

It's never easy asking a man to talk about his deceased son, but Jim Nowell is a strong man, which made this interview informative without being overly emotional.

Big thanks to Mr. Nowell for letting me into his home and talking to me about an obviously very difficult subject.

Click here for some video and here for part of the cover story I wrote.

AVALON BAR ANTI-SOBRIETY PROTEST PREVIEW IN OC WEEKLY

I think the guy who made the Kent State comment is lying. But maybe I'm wrong.

Click here to find out why a bar would protest sobriety.

Come to think of it...don't all bars protest sobriety?

ANTI-SOBRIETY PROTEST IN OC WEEKLY

Girls were protesting sobriety and I still couldn't get a phone number.

Click here.

YOUTH OF TODAY INTERVIEW/REVIEW IN OC WEEKLY

I spoke to Ray of Today and now you can read all about it by clicking here.


I was staying in Palm Springs the week when this show happened, but I still made the 90-minute trek to Pomona to review the show. Who says I'm not committed to my craft?

Click here to read all about old dudes in a band called Youth of Today.

Q&A WITH MILO AUKERMAN IN OC WEEKLY

It might seem like I've spoken to Milo Aukerman from the Descendents a lot. The truth is, this here Q&A is just stuff I didn't use in the story I wrote about the Descendents playing in Long Beach.

Call it leftovers, bonus material or whatever, just click here to read it.

ROAD TRIP SOUNDTRACK RECOMMENDATIONS IN OC WEEKLY

I just got back from driving a 12-passenger van (with a trailer) from New York City to Long Beach. Let's just say, I followed my own advice and listened to lots of this stuff.

Let's also say that anyone towing a trailer should not ever go to Manhattan. Unless looking for parking for almost three hours sounds like fun. Then they should totally do it.

Click here.

FOUR THINGS TO DO INSTEAD OF SEEING U2 IN OC WEEKLY

So far there are 17 comments and they all think I suck.

First off, this was meant as a joke, which obviously none of these people got.

Second, U2 sucks. There's nothing more ironic than U2 fans telling me I have bad taste. Wait, sure there is. One of them called me a hipster music journalist or something like that. I'm lots of things, but I'm not the sort of dude who's looking to "discover" bands. Save that for the A&R dudes.

Click here and tell me if you agree.

A REAL MAN PUBLISHED AT VIS A TERGO

This poem is pretty self-explanatory, but in case you don't understand, it's about this totally rude jackass I saw at the Long Beach farmers market. Just because you have tattoos and a Social Distortion t-shirt, that doesn't make you a real man. Besides, Social Distorition is punk rock for girls, but that's another story for another day.

Point your cursor in this direction to read the poem.

HOLLYWOOD BOWL OPENING NIGHT IN OC WEEKLY

There's actually a really good story about how I got to go to the Hollywood Bowl for free twice within five days. Unfortunately, I'm saving that one for later. Until then, read my review of opening night. It was a lot of fun. I even wore a suit.

It's all right here for your reading pleasure.

FLIGHTS OVER NEVERLAND IN OC WEEKLY

File this one under...uh...um...I don't know.

JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER ORCHESTRA AND HUGH MASEKELA REVIEW IN OC WEEKLY

Sure, the Hollywood Bowl's not in Orange County, but the outdoor venue is such a SoCal staple that shows there appeal to everyone. I was fortunate enough to check out the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and Hugh Masekela. I'd seen the JaLC before, but was unfamiliar with Masekela. Man, I should have heard him before because he was great.

Check it out hereRya.

INTERVIEW WITH CHRIS MARRS PILIERO IN OC WEEKLY

Not sure why, but I really liked doing this one. I mean, I like doing all of them, but this one was really fun. Chris was a good dude and the fact that I'd never spoken to a music video director before meant I got to ask questions I had never thought of asking. Then, I turned this puppy around in about an hour, so maybe the fact that I can move quickly when need be made me feel good too.

Whatever the case, I think it's good. Click here to decide for yourself.