On the Road with Kazai Rex

Hey everyone. John, Stacey, Austin and I are in a band called Kazai Rex with our good friend Danny and we’re leaving Friday to spend a few days and play a couple shows in Oregon and northern California. Needless to say, we won’t be posting while we’re gone, so nothing new is going to be up until April 2nd. To see if you’re going to be near any of our shows, go to our website or our myspace—we’d love to see you there. Also, we just self-released our debut EP, “Lester Bangs the Drum”, and if you're interested in getting a copy, you can find more info on either of those pages. As always, thanks for reading. While we’re gone, I’ve compiled some reading material to keep you satisfied.

WELL, HERE YA GO:

Arthur Magazine may be dead and gone, but its final issue was home to one of the most incredible pieces of journalism I’ve ever read. It’s an epic 11,000 words on Joanna Newsom (and her latest album, “Ys”) and has esentially brought me back among the lovers of Newsom after several months of resistance. It may take an hour to read, but I promise you that it’s worth every second. Check it out here.

I dug this one up from the Cokemachine Glow feature archive: Clayton Purdum hating passionately on “My Humps” and giving it the shit-kicking it truly deserves.

Our good friend Dave (from The Rawking Refuses to Stop) spent some time last summer musing on illegal downloading in the digital age and came up with some good thoughts. Read it here.

A couple weeks ago, Paper Stereo’s Austin Bauer did an interview with Dr. Dog’s Scott McMicken for the Daily Bruin to preview their show at the Troubadour (which we posted pictures from on Monday).

The Thursday Night Payola Scam, one of UCLA’s better-known radio shows, compiled a brief list of Japanese bands you should be listening to on their occasionally-updated blog. I heard of half of these bands for the first time and so far have loved them all, so it’s definitely worth checking out. Do so here.

Malachi Ritscher, an American hero who self-immolated to protest the war in Iraq at the end of 2006, posted a sort of mission statement before his death, and it’s very worth reading.

- Dominick Duhamel -