AN INTERVIEW WITH FREE MORAL AGENTS IN OC WEEKLY

Thanks to the magic of the Intranets, this interview with Long Beach's Free Moral Agents literally came from nowhere.

It was 10 p.m. on a Wednesday and I was chatting with OC Weekly music editor Danielle Bacher. She asked what was going on in town and I told her about the Free Moral Agents playing the following night at the Blue Cafe. One thing led to another and within an hour, a story had been written.

Check it out here.

PS Photo by Mary Bell

AN INTERVIEW WITH TKO RECORDS' MARK RAINEY AT OC WEEKLY

I used to think Christmas and punkers didn't mix. Now I'm starting to think I was wrong.

Based on this interview with TKO Records head honcho Mark Rainey and after attending the TKO Records Xmas Party at Alex's Bar, I think Santa would look pretty good in a jean jacket and Dickies.

Don't believe me? Read this.

MARCIA FORD AND THE HOLLYWOOD CANTEEN SWING BAND AT OC WEEKLY

Marcia Ford and the Hollywood Canteen Swing Band is an 18-piece big band from Long Beach. They play the hits from the golden era of swing and look good doing it.

Click here to find out more about them.

PUNK ROCK KARAOKE AT OC WEEKLY

I like punk rock. I also like karaoke. So naturally I would like a band called Punk Rock Karaoke, right?

Right.

Plus, I hadn't been on stage with a live band in a while and I figured doing so might be another hurdle in the race to beat anxiety. My singing might not have been perfect, but I think I won this battle.

Also, I've been listening to the Descendents' "Bikeage" with a whole new appreciation for that song now that I've sung it live.

Click here to read all about it.

GARY DELL'ABATE IN THE DAILY BREEZE AND PRESS-TELEGRAM

I am a daily Howard Stern Show listener. I know that factoid makes most people think all sorts of things about me and you know what? Let 'em. The fact is the show is awesome and I don't care that the public perception of Stern's strippers and porn stars is all most people know about the program (In full disclosure, those segments are usually my least favorite).

One day I was listening and discovered that producer Gary Dell'Abate was writing a memoir. My first thought was, "I gotta write about that." You see, Stern staffers don't just give out interviews and this was my only chance to talk to Baba Booey.

Rarely do I get excited for an interview with a celebrity, but when I picked up that phone and heard Dell'Abate ask for me, I was pretty fired up. I had a ton of questions to ask, but had to get to the stuff I knew I'd use for the story because I was given a mere fifteen minutes.

Dell'Abate had been doing interviews all day and I was the last one. Had I known that initially, I might have found a way to stretch fifteen into twenty-five. Instead, I burned through and didn't get much time to shoot the shit.

In case you were wondering, Dell'Abate came off as authentic and genuine on the phone as he does on air. There were even a few Baba Booey moments that made me chuckle (which I won't mention because I don't want to lose all credibility. Just know that they weren't anything major).

The bummer of the whole thing was that I didn't even go to the book signing. I told Dell'Abate I was going to because that was the plan, but that was one of those Saturdays that was booked solid from 10 a.m. to nearly 3 a.m. Maybe next time.

I'd link to the story, but it's already gone. But there is hope. Go to the Googles and type in "Ryan Ritchie" and "Gary Dell'Abate." Then find the first link and click "cache." I know that sounds like a lot of work, but I am totally not lying when I say it is the absolute best piece of journalism of my career. You'd be missing out by not searching for it.

MIDDLE CLASS AT OC WEEKLY

I'll be honest. The older I get, the less I care about band reunions. In fact, I'm almost positive they shouldn't happen. Of course, there are exceptions and Orange County's Middle Class is one.

The group is credited with founding hardcore and was doing more of a post-punk thing by the time the rest of the punk scene caught up to them.

The fact that they weren't afraid to change was reason No. 1 I liked the idea of this story. Reason No. 2 was the fact that the band hadn't played in 27 years. This told me that something must have felt right for these guys or else they wouldn't have bothered? I mean, this wasn't Coachella offering a million dollars, nor was it a reunion of a band that gets back together every five years and plays the same set each tour. I figured, "Hey, 27 years. That must mean their hearts are actually into it." And I was right.

Middle Class guitarist Mike Atta owns a great vintage store in Fullerton called Out of Vogue, which is also the name of his band's first single. I must have bothered him because I called weekly for about two months before doing the interview. My logic was, we could have done the interview right away, but I wanted the band to practice as much as they could before we spoke. This seemed to work out well because Atta and his brother/singer Jeff Atta were in good spirits and had lots to say as we lounged on some awesome vintage chairs at Out of Vogue.

Unfortunately, I couldn't make the show. I got stranded at O'Hare Airport for three hours (that's a different story) and the thought entered my mind that I could have been at the show had I stayed in Los Angeles. The Attas say their reunion was a one-off, but if they play again, I just might check it out.

Click here to read all about dudes in the 50s playing songs they wrote as kids. But this time, don't feel depressed about it because it's actually a positive story!

MAKING LEMONADE PUBLISHED AT HAGGARD AND HALLOO

I wrote this short story called "Making Lemonade" about a year ago. It was born from a rather inconvenient morning that found me rudely woken from a deep slumber by an alarm clock going off from somewhere that wasn't my bedroom. Luckily for me, the beeping went away after about five minutes.

But I got to thinking: What would happen if the alarm never went off? "Hmm..." my pea brain thought. "I could write something about that."

So I did. The draft came fairly easy (not easy easy, but as easy as any writing comes, which is to say it was a pain in the ass) and for a reason I can't recall, I forgot about the story for months.

One day I was looking for another file on my unorganized computer and there she was. I re-read it, made a few changes here and there, and without much thought (that's how I roll) sent it to the fine folks at Haggard & Halloo. I have had a few poems published with them, but never any fiction, so I assumed "Making Lemonade" would now sit for eternity on both our hard drives.

Imagine the splendor when I got that email saying they liked my story and wanted to use it. I imagine the feeling to be similar to what people feel on Christmas morning (I wouldn't know -- I don't like Christmas).

A few days later the story went viral (Am I using that word correctly?) and although as of this posting there are no comments on the H&H site, I can guarantee that everyone who has read it thinks it is, without a doubt, the best short story not just of all time, but also of future times.

Don't believe me? Check it out here.