Positively State Street
From Punk to Pop
WALK IT OUT: For the first time in a long time, our friends over at KJEE are getting serious-sort of. Since the start of the month, a whole team of the station’s (gender inclined) supporters has been collecting cash and rockin’ the ‘stache in honor of Mustache March, the crew’s now-annual fundraiser for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. The nonprof, which has been raising money to fight MS since way back in 1946, will be hosting one of its many walks for a cure on Saturday, April 4, at Leadbetter Beach (801 Shoreline Dr.). The Santa Barbara event also marks the end of the mustachioed road for the Morning Show‘s Spencer and Adam, who will be hacking off their facial hair post-race.
“After last year’s race, Spencer drank his,” explained Adam. “And we ran the whole 10-k,” added Spencer. “That’s six miles of sweat collecting on your face.”
Gross man challenges aside, the guys definitely are going all-out for the drive. They’re encouraging (and stressing that I encourage) donors to drop money to the radio station, located at 302-B West Carrillo Street. Friendly sponsors will score a personalized on-air shout-out and generous thank-you, not to mention a high-quality certificate of gratitude, courtesy of Adam and his lackluster Photoshop skills, and an invite to the station’s Mustachio Bashio at Sharkey’s. So far, the guys have raised more than $1,800 from area businesses and individual listeners, already squashing to smithereens last year’s $1,300 mark. To learn more about Spencer and Adam’s Mustache March campaign, visit independent.com/kjeemarch. And for information about Santa Barbara’s MS Walk, or other fundraisers in your area, visit nationalmssociety.org.
YOU CAN’T DO THAT ON TELEVISION: With spring break coming to a close at UCSB this weekend, I’m throwing my eggs in the back-to-school basket in terms of must-see live shows. On Tuesday, March 31, the Biko Garage plays host to two of the nation’s up-and-coming punk rock outfits, the So So Glos and The Widow Babies. Hailing from the hipper-by-the-day streets of Brooklyn, So So Glos are so New York punk. Skipping past the cliched Ramones references, I simply encourage you to check out these guys. The songs are captivating, crunching, and even manage to slip in a bit of that dancehall vibe. For a sampling, visit myspace.com/sosoglos. L.A.’s The Widow Babies will share the stage (and represent for the West Coast) with their delightfully deconstructed noise rock. Have a listen at myspace.com/thewidowbabies.
Also mulling around campus this week, New York’s TV/TV (myspace.com/tvtv) hit UCSB’s Storke Plaza for a free noon show on Thursday, April 2. The three-piece punk poppers will be making the stop as part of their post-South by Southwest, pre-Warped Tour gig schedule. And don’t be surprised if you recognize some of the tunes, as these guys have been picked up and passed through more MTV shows than we can count. Catchy, danceable, and plenty capable of making good of their namesake’s promise. Visit aspb.as.ucsb.edu for info.
ST. ELSEWHERE: This Saturday, March 28, Santa Barbara’s Matt Simpson will return to Elsie’s (117 W. De la Guerra St.)-which he rocked on St. Paddy’s Day, by the way-with San Fran’s The Rhombus (myspace.com/therhombus) and Coolzey (myspace.com/coolzey). To describe the elements going into this show-Simpson’s an alt-folk rocker, The Rhombus sound like an early, acoustic Radiohead meets Her Space Holiday, and Coolzey’s a smooth flowing rap duo-would make me sound nuts, so I recommend you just check it out for yourself. The show starts at 8 p.m. Call 963-4503 for info.
Also this week, singer/songwriter (with an emphasis on the songwriter) Steve Seskin (myspace.com/seskinmusic) heads to the intimate Trinity Backstage Coffeehouse (1500 State St.) on Saturday, March 28, at 8 p.m. for a night of heartfelt folk, country, and pop tunes. Seskin has penned music for everyone from Tim McGraw to Kenny Chesney to Peter Frampton to Peter, Paul and Mary. And the velvety vocals of Orlando Napier will rock The James Joyce (513 State St.) on Thursday, April 2, at 10 p.m. This Santa Barbaran is currently touring around SoCal in support of his most recent release with backing band The Cats ‘n’ Dogs. Visit myspace.com/orlandonapiermusic for more show dates.
