So Many Things To Do! So Little Time!!!! Shows, Friends, Comics, Sacramento?

Again, I have been neglecting my little darling of a blog here, but I feel spread pretty thin these days, like butter over too much bread as my Pops used to say. Its surprising with so little actually happening in Arcata these days that my scheds would be so filled to the proverbial brim as to not allow me to vent and gripe to this computer screen at least once every 24 hours. But this should not be something to complain about. I like doing things. Im good at them.

Martha, sorceress, succubus and general conjurer of Doom, and I went up into the arid shale and clay mountains of Siskiyou county last weekend to visit Joe and Kelly, OG friends who met one another a mere 10 give or take months ago, and now have a ferocious baby due on Sept. 26th. They live inside two converted buses, Connected by a modern bathroom and conjoined in an L-Shape on a 40 acre plot nestled in the hills just past the tiny town of Orleans. A puppy, a kitten, lots of poison oak, guns, bullets, the Salmon River, lots of food and baby talk, a freaked out Joe and a very pregnant Kelly. Good times were had by all. I even forced Joe to watch Grandma's Boy, while i wasn't even there! This resulted in a phone call specifically to tell me of how much he loathed the movie and how displeased he was that i suggest he view it.

Went and saw INCEPTION the other day...much to debate and complain about. Full Review to come.

Just finished THE WALKING DEAD vol. 12!!!!! Amazingly tense and slow paced. Very Stepford Wives at parts. Full Review to come!!!!

Plus the new AMC series THE WALKING DEAD!!! Is there any chance it wont totally suck?!!! Cannot wait to find out on Halloween for the Premier!!! Crappy or not this now takes Lost's place and joins the new eps of Futurama as the new weekly TV parties.

Ive been on the radio seemingly endlessly for the past few weeks, covering shifts for djs out of town, training brand newbie Dj My Buddy Dave for his new show, Diabetic Coma on Tuesdays, and trying to make it through my own train wreck of a radio show, Sandwiches Time, Saturdays 9 to 11 or whenever im beamed back aboard the mother ship for the night. But Again, cant complain as i absolutely love the radio. Its one of the few reasons that i am still currently in this cursed foggy vortex that is Arcata. And I have so much debt to repay to all the djs who constantly cover my show as im doing my stupid traveling adventures. Thanks gwuuys!

Guida, an Italian punk/crust band played at the local all ages venue, E squared. These fine people had played at my house a year or so before. Everyone was a little awkward and nervous and none of the band spoke English and our attempts at Italian were embarrassing at best. Then they caught a glimpse of a friend's Twin Peaks back patch and we somehow managed to break the language barrier to nerd out about our favorite show. The ice was broken and a great show was had by all. This time, it was great to see them play to a large crowd of young enthusiastic kids in what i realised was a flipping amazing venue. An all ages, volunteer run show space, where you can bring and drink your own beer inside, E squared is tucked away in the dark industrial district of west Eureka and still has to battle with the local cops, who cruise by after a noise complaint every so often. So with the FireHouse evicted and the Aloha House currently on hiatus, and more and more shows lined up at E squared, Guess ill have to be going to Eureka more often these days. The Shanty does have 3.50 Bloody Mary's on Sundays...

God Help Me im sending out my resume again and looking for jobs. Man, i hate the term "job hunting". and "networking". This is an all-around very displeasing and disheartening experience. Lets stop talking about this.

So im heading down to Sacramento today for my first dentist appointment in 6 years. Think about that one. I feel good about this though, no matter how much they yell at me, it has to end sometime and afterward my teeth will have a chance of surviving...

More Later. Now the 5 hour drive.

BUMMERFEST 2010!!!!

A big ol' Thanks a bunch owed to all of the kids and folks who came out and supported this years slimmed-down version of BUMMERFEST! This is an annual 10+ band fundraiser for the Placebo, an all volunteer collective that hosts all ages shows and other events, and this year was pared down to a one-day only affair as opposed to the 3 day event of years past. It was a spirited and enthusiastic time. Though not the greatest turn out ever, once the crowd filled in a bit, the kids felt a little more comfy and felt free to start dancing and singing along to the bands set up at either end of the Eureka Vet's Hall. I noticed that I had an unexpectedly good time, and ended up staying till about the 4 hour mark before heading back to Arcata. I somehow felt less jaded and bitter about this small but dedicated Humboldt Music Scene, probably due to my recent excursion to the UberSweet oasis of a scene in Flagstaff AZ. I didn't scoff and immediately judge the bands i didn't know, and I wasn't pointing out all of the hipsters and their costumes, largely due to the fact that there really weren't many hipsters there. The crowed consisted mainly of 13-17 year-old girls and boys with nothing much better to do in Eureka on a sunny August Saturday, eager to see some other kids like them out and about. That is why places like the Placebo should be supported and have to survive; there really is No Place Else To Go for an underage youth in this city.
A great time was had by all of us over at the Pirate Radio merch table, and thanks to all you hungry little creetins for supporting us by buying slices and drinks and buttons and shirts. Thanks to the Raven Project and the folks at Humboldt Grassroots for tabling also!!! That's good People!

How To Make Your Own Pirate Radio Station! Short Video...

I just stumbled across this quick video from the good pirates over at Free Radio Berkeley and even though it's dry it's a decent introduction to the basics of low-power FM broadcasting. The beginning is fairly technical as he explains how the actual circuitry of the transmitter works but then he quickly shows you how simply and easily you can set up and start rocking out! Humboldt Free Radio Alliance works primarily the same way though we have an amplifier to boost our signal to about 55-60 watts and those are easy enough to purchase over the web for under $100. So go out and take back the airwaves people!

How To Make a Radio Station from Seth Gadsden on Vimeo.

New Episode Of SANDWICHES TIME! Finally PodCasting!

Its been far far to long since my last podcast, therefore i am super excited to have Episode 4 of my Pirate Radio broadcast SANDWICHES TIME! up on line at long last! Sorry for the delay and a huge thanks to our resident red rasta wizard who came through in the clutch with the technology blast! that allowed me to record my show once again. Check out the link on the sidebar to my podomatic page and remember dear reader/listener, a time when finalfantasy VII ruled the world and enjoy this random hiphop/thrash barrage of a show!

Awesome Short Documentary On London's Pirate Radio Stations!

This has to be one of the coolest clips I have seen in a long time. These Pirates have stations, transmitters and relays all throughout sprawling downtown London, and you get to see how a few are set up in this vid. And unlike us Pirates here in the States, they face very severe penalties if caught by the UK authorities. Here, Pirate stations are usually only fined or eventually raided after multiple offences from the same location. It seems things are a lot more strict for our fellow English Pirates, but as is shown in this short video, that is not stopping them from broadcasting from more than 80 unregulated stations in London!

Coffee At The Great Northern Podcast: "Sandwiches Time"!!!

99.9 FM Humboldt Free Radio Alliance is going to sail for destinations unknown starting Wednesday, March 24th, with shows running from Wed-Sun. To celebrate I've decided to start podcasting the radio shows over at SpecialAgent-DaleCooper.Podomatic.com. I really got inspired by Downbeat, Rex and Mike Manix, all of whom have produced some really sweet shows; All Hail Downbeat the Red Rasta for his long running, and surprisingly highly listened-to podcast in addition to his years on Pirate Radio. Whatta Guy!

On the first few ships i crewed i did the Blue Rose Variety Show, which now, i think is going to be called Sandwiches Time, just to get a breather from all the twin peaks references, and to spice shit up a little bit, make it fresh, new, for the kids, you know? Sandwiches Time will also have much more than just the radio shows, we're hopefully going to have movie and comic reviews by Jaz Brown, video blog review thingies, movies? animation? who knows where this baby will go!

So if you ever find yourself sucked into the vortex of Arcata, Ca, tune into 99.9 fm Wednesday thru Sunday and check out Local Pirate Radio, and listen to Sandwiches Time with Special Agent Dale Cooper : Saturday nights 10PM-Late. With any luck, the podcasts will maintain a regular schedule in addition to the radio shows.

HFRA 99.9FM Pirate Radio Has A New Ship!!

Prepare for the glorious, long-awaited return of HFRA 99.9FM to the airwaves of Humboldt County. After one of the longest hiatuses in HFRA history, a cozy studio has been located and a brand-spankin' new ship was built in a day thanks to Downbeat and Tex-Rex. The Pirate flags will be raised and we will finally set sail once again within the month. (How to build your own pirate radio station: coming soon.)

Some have jumped ship while others have been captured and brought aboard and still others hover and lurk amidst the shadows. Here's a partial list of DJs and shows

Charger- "Blast Radius"
Red Rasta- "Reggae Revival" Also visit: reggaerevival.podomatic.com
Toby Baker
John From the Legend
Monster
Rex Everything
Umlaut
Francios the Usurper, whether he likes it or not!
Empire
Special Agent Dale Cooper - "Sandwiches Time"
Skull Shrinker

Plus, in addition to your classic line up, stay tuned for a few rookie DJs and as always, super awesome random special guests! Call in your requests and be put on the Air! Challenge your favorite DJ to a duel or trivia contest with a classy champagne breakfast at Crosswinds on the line! Impress your friends! Fun at Parties!

The Humboldt Free Radio Alliance has been serving the Humboldt Bay Area for over 10 years, surviving stormy seas, sinking ships, crew mutinies, outraged conservatives, an off duty cop who threatened death, two different FCC visits and a fire. Now once again we are ready to party hardy in internationally funkified waters! Within the next three or four weeks, the frequency will be dialed in and we'll see how long we can stay afloat this time. We are operating now out of a vessel which will most likely come to be known as "The Dingy", or "LifeRaftXtremeSupreme", but given the fact that HFRA was effectively dead in the water for a year because we had no ship at all, we'll take what we can get. HFRA needs community support now more than ever. For more info on the station check out

humboldtfreeradio.org


"I think I'm quite ready for another adventure..."
-Bilbo Baggins