CD Watch #1
We get a ton of CDs delivered to the Indy offices every week, so here’s a couple we’re listening to right now that you should be watching out for in the coming weeks.
Author: Matt Kettmann
Pirate Music
On August 22, actor Johnny Depp and director Gore Verbinski will proudly unveil their Rogue’s Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs, and Chanteys.
The Indy’s A&E Blog
Welcome to independent.com’s arts and entertainment blog, the space where various editors, writers, and other Indy-folks will be posting brief commentary and links to a wide assortment of artistic endeavors both near and far.
A Down-Home Thriller
The Mystery-Writing Mind of J.F. Freedman, Author of A Killing in the Valley
Few locales scream storybook more than Santa Barbara County, where urban sophistication and extravagant wealth smash into colorful California history and the rural realities of cowboy-land.
From The Bowl To SOhO
FROM THE BOWL TO SOhO: The Damian Marley/Ben Harper show on Tuesday, August 15, at the Bowl will slide into SOhO for an official after-party sponsored by Everloving Records, the label that launched Jack Johnson’s first album.
Meet the Marleys
On Friday, August 11, the Roots, Rock, Reggae tour brings Ziggy and Stephen Marley, as well as Bunny Wailer and Ozomatli, to the Santa Barbara Bowl for a night to celebrate the musical legacy of Bob Marley.
Hypnotist
When most people think about onstage hypnosis, embarrassing images of grown-ups frolicking like animals come to mind.
Jimmy’s Last Night
“Laaast caaalll!” was announced with boisterous reverence by bartender Willy Gilbert last Saturday night inside a jam-packed Jimmy’s Oriental Gardens. It was the final farewell to the Chinese restaurant cum stiff drink-serving bar that’s closing its doors after six decades of business. When owner and chef Tommy Chung announced one month ago that he planned to retire and sell the property, Jimmy’s business boomed like never before, peaking last weekend with lines snaking out the door and down East Canon Perdido Street. Drinkers and eaters lament the loss, but so do Santa Barbara’s legions of historians, since Jimmy’s-which first opened on the waterfront in 1940 before moving downtown in 1947-was the last reminder of what was once Santa Barbara’s bustling Chinatown.
Old Spanish Days Soundtrack
Spencer the Gardener Releases Fiesta Album
Rock Gods at the ‘Mini Gorge’
Pearl Jam, with Sonic Youth
At the Santa Barbara Bowl, Thursday, July 13.
In these wicked days of corporate pop sensations and the resulting musical cynicism, rock gods are hard to come by. It’s a sad state, because we need them more than ever. They scare the white men in charge, they breathe hope into despair, and they provide strength to fight institutionalized fear. Luckily, Santa Barbara got a dose of such divinity last Thursday, when Eddie Vedder and his little band Pearl Jam descended from their heavenly thrones to deliver a spine-tingling, chill-inducing concert at the Bowl.
