2 Weekends In a Row.

I have a mea culpa moment right now.  I am running 2 weekends in a row where the plans that were stated were not accomplished.  This will not a be a long blog post because I am starting to feel a tad bit overwhelmed.  Suffice it to say we did have a wonderful time at the Bumble Bee BBQ on Saturday night instead of Tin Roof Grill. and it is the most AMAZING Korean fast food I have had.  I will do a full write up on it a bit later, I am currently wrestling with a cold and a crisis of confidence.  I will write later this week with a revised calendar and some other ideas. There does not seem enough time in my day currently to accomplish EVERYTHING.  So the plan now is to take some NyQuil sleep myself better and then meditate and reset.  This blog and lifestyle is too important to me to let go, I am just fine tuning!!!

February 19, 2015 Weekend Preview

We start today off with some great news.  My Q3 video camera arrived and I am getting ready to learn the ins and outs so that we can start recording the band interviews and other events.  In addition we are trending over 100 views per week and that is very cool.  I would encourage all of you to sign up with your emails, that way we can start trading top 5 lists (that page just got added this week) and I will be able to send you the recipes and drink recommendations each month.

On to the weekend at hand.  This is the restaurant week for the Lords and we have decided on Tin Roof Grill in Sandy Utah.  Tin Roof was actually featured on a Food Network show called Diners, Drive Ins and Dives which Bomba and I both enjoy.  It intrigued a number of us before we even knew it was on the show because we had seen the Best in State awards and the numerous recommendations online.  We have no clue what to expect however it is a Small Plates (Tapas) menu.

This is the quote from the Tin Roof Website "TIN ROOF AND GRILL AND TAPAS: King Alfonso the 10th couldn't drink wine without taking small amount of food with it, so the story goes. He issued a royal decree that everyone should take small bites of food with their drinks. Once the botillerias (bottle-shops) and tabernas (taverns) became established throughout Spain, the King's decree remained in place. It was said that a glass or jar of wine was served covered with a slice of either smoked ham or cheese. Two reasons given were to prevent insects or other impurities to fall into the jar, and also, for the guests to soak up the alcohol they had drunk with something solid, as King Alfonso had advised. This was the origin of the tapa, a solid food that covered the wine glass, and a word rooted in Spain tradition. And so the tradition of the tapa spread throughout Spain, and continues right up to the present day. Many other countries have adopted the tapa, calling it and serving it in many different ways."

Checkout the Tin Roof Facebook Page and their website.  We are really excited and can't wait to let you know how the experience was.  Here is a YouTube showcase that Sandy City made featuring the Tin Roof Grill.

Show of the Week:

Come to 5 Monkeys and join Dottie's Dames Pinups for our 3rd Pin Up Carnival, "Casino En Rouge"! You've been to Vegas, you've been to Wendover now come and play to win, and all for a good cause, benefiting For the Love of Paws! Guest emcee's 'Salt Lake's Favorite Hot Mess' The Darling Duo! 

Downstairs: 
Blackjack 

♥ ♦ ♣ ♠ Vendors and entertainment galore!!! ♥ ♦ ♣ ♠
Rock A Bella Pinups 
Dogs R Us
Paul Griego Frame

Live musical performances by:
Hi Fi Murder
Calvin C. Law aka Ol Skool Flava
Blue Moon Bombers
The Hurricane Kings

Upstairs: An exquisite buffet by Chef Boudoir Dee

Doors open at 8pm
21+
$10 at the door!

Eatery of the Week: 

Tin Roof Grill 


Booze of the Week:

Tawny port

I have fond memories of the first Tawny Port I tried and now I want to share the experience with my good friends.  Here is the Wikipedia on what a Tawny Port is:

"Tawny ports are wines, made from red grapes, that are aged in wooden barrels, exposing them to gradual oxidation and evaporation. As a result, they gradually mellow to a golden-brown colour. The exposure to oxygen imparts "nutty" flavours to the wine, which is blended to match the house style.

Tawny ports are sweet or medium dry and typically consumed as a dessert wine.

When a port is described as tawny, without an indication of age, it is a basic blend of wood aged port that has spent at least two years in barrels. Above this are tawny with an indication of age which represent a blend of several vintages, with the nominal years "in wood" stated on the label. The official categories are 10, 20, 30 and over 40 years. The categories indicate a target age profile for the ports, not their actual ages, though many people mistakenly believe that the categories indicate the minimum average ages of the blends. It is also possible to produce an aged white port in the manner of a tawny, with a number of shippers now marketing aged white ports."

Wikipedia

The Epic Not So Fail Weekend

But Mousie, thou art no thy lane,

In proving foresight may be vain:

The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men

Gang aft agley,

An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain,

For promis'd joy!

Robert Burns                                                

The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.

I in my utmost arrogance have thought that since everything was running smoothly with the blog there would be no stopping me.  Oh, how wrong was I, and in the writing of this weekend recap I am happy to be able to quote the right Scottish Robert Burns and then move forward to regain my lost innocence and plan again.

Needless to say I was unable to attend any of the shows I planned to.  The Ska Spectacular with Reel Big Fish, Less Than Jake and Authority Zero was sold out mere minutes before I pushed the purchase button and then Lord Darksteel informed me that he was unable to make the drive to Logan for the Rum Rebellion show.  He being the most loyal Lord Alistair Darksteel LaDouche was wracked with matriarchal guilt in the endeavor of taking his aged grandmother to dinner so we shall not fault him his nobility.

In regards to Friday night and the sold out show, we Lords of Kalehalla (myself, Kalenar, Bomba, Vladimir and Morgan La Fay (new nickname fitting if those of you understand your Arthurian legends) decided on an outing. Our spirits were low and it was agreed that we needed lifting of the beverage variety (and since the whole weekend was fucked anyway we did not even have the cider boilermakers) therefor we went to El Chihuahua and drank Deathstars and such while feasting on Mexican comfort food.  Not anything to truly erase the disappointment but enjoyable and always good for memories.  After dinner we went to The Highlander and sang Karaoke and continued imbibing.  Singers for the evening included me, Bomba and Morgan with guest vocals by Vladimir and numerous patrons of the Highlander enjoying themselves.  To my chagrin on Sunday I was made aware that Bomba made a video of me singing Drunken Lullabies so I have included it here in the posting.

Now as for Saturday, some of you might ask why I just did not drive myself up to Logan.  The reason for that is...I made a conscious decision 3 years ago to go car free after the Trax station was built a block away from Kalehalla.  I despise driving in Utah.  If ever there is a worry of putting your life on the line it is to drive in this state.  This is getting increasingly harder however first because UTA does not serve late hours and is not convenient on weekends (especially Sundays). Secondly my health makes it very hard for me to go out in hot or cold weather.  Due to the issues with my lungs from my plural effusion in 2014 breathing becomes very difficult at times.  I want to continue to live the green lifestyle but I am not sure I will be able to as time goes on.

Enough of that issue.  Saturday was Valentines and I decided to take the Wee Dancer out to lunch and buy her a present.  I do not get many activity days with my daughter because of various schedule conflicts so when my schedule became open I jumped at a chance to have time with her.  So we ate and shopped and then came home and relaxed.  We also took Valentines to her cousins with her Aunt Firebrand and her Grandmother the Raven Queen.

Loki

Heimdall & El Diablo Gato

The other exciting thing of note is we added another animal to the household.  On Friday night I kind of got into a throw down drink for drink duel with Kalenar (who is not the drinker he used to be) and so he was home sick for the majority of Saturday.  He did find the strength later to go purchase Loki our new chameleon.  So now our household is Kalenar, Chadivus Maximus, The Wee Dancer, Heimdall the strong, Shelby the dumb, Leah (El Diablo Gato), Spike Fafner-Smaug the World Serpent and Loki the Trickster.  Just a nice note to end the Epic Not So Fail Weekend.

Spike

Shelby with Sir James

Lastly go to Bandcamp and buy Hearts and Machines by The Last Gatsby and Bridges by The Anchorage.  Also go to Kickstarter to help the Anchorage reach their production goals.

February 13, 2015 WEEKEND PREVIEW: Ska & Celtic

Weekends like this do not happen very often in Utah.  This week there are 2 AMAZING shows to go see (3 if you count the Sunday show that just got added).  First just a little bit of business.  I am very happy with the amount of page views we are getting on the Chadivus Blog.  The Last Gatsby review generated over 100 unique views which is the most we have had so far.  If you haven't read it please do so, I am truly impressed with this band.  I would like to ask all of you a favor this week.  In the right hand margin, please note that there is a subscribe by e-mail entry, please take the time to do this I would greatly appreciate it.  Also if you all could take the time and share the blog on Twitter and Facebook, that would be great as well.

Now to the weekend.  First on Friday 2/13 the Lords will be attending The Reel Big Fish/Less Than Jake/Authority Zero show at the Murray Theater.  I was very happy that the bands decided to add Salt Lake on their winter tour 2015 schedule and the show fits nicely into our weekly activities.  As I said when I reviewed The Anchorage, I have been a fan of  Ska for decades now and it is awesome when some of the bands that I love decide to tour together.  I have seen Reel Big Fish and Less Than Jake several times over the years and the shows never disappoint.  Reel Big Fish has even recorded my Ska Theme Song "I Dare You to Break My Heart"  watch the video here.  The other bonus is that Authority Zero is on the show as well.  Bomba, Vladimir and I saw this band open for The Atari's and we are VERY excited to see them again.  The ONE problem we are having is that the tickets are all sold out.  This should add some fun to the adventure.  I will let you know as to whether our success or failure is at hand in the weekend review.

Rum Rebellion

The next event is on Saturday 2/14 up in the far north reaches of Logan, Utah. As far as I know this event is only being attended by Lord Darksteel and I.  The goal is to head out early enough to enjoy the drive and such. The reason we are heading north is that the first true Celtic Punk show of the year is going to be held. My friend Adam is bringing in Rum Rebellion from Portland, Oregon.  I recently discovered this band on ReverbNation and added them to my Spotify playlists as fast as I could. I have been branching out to lesser known Celtic bands over the last 6 months and I was very excited to see one not only from the West Coast, but also in the United States.  The last few have been either from Europe (Belgium as The Black Tartan Clan) or Canada (Dust Rhinos and Irish Moutarde.)  When listening to Rum Rebellion I also like the fact that they are VERY pro working class.  You can watch their newest video here.  One last item of note is that Rum Rebellion just added a show Sunday 2/15 in Salt Lake at The Music Garage if you can't get up to Logan.  The Logan show is free so we will spend money on gas and food and the Salt Lake show is $8.00.

Show of the Week:
Obviously Reel Big Fish/Less Than Jake/Authority Zero on Friday if you can get in and Rum Rebellion in Logan on Saturday and Salt Lake on Sunday.

Eatery of the Week:
The White Owl bar in Logan.  The white owl is a standard bar and grill however I have always found when you get away from major cities, a burger in a small town diner or bar tastes AMAZING!!!.  I am looking forward to this (and yes Logan still has a small town feel.)



Booze of the Week:
Hard Cider Boilermakers.  This drink has many names from Angry Balls if you are branding it with Angry Orchard and Fireball, to Original Sin (which is my made up name for it.)  I prefer to use Hornsby's Cider (either the Crisp Green Apple or the Amber Draught) and then Evan William's Cinnamon Whiskey.  I like the taste of those better than Angry Orchard and Fireball.  What you do is pour the cider into a pint glass and then take a single shot of cinnamon whiskey and dump it in.  Down the hatch and dangerous.

 

 

February 2015 Music Review: The Last Gatsby

As I have said before I am only going to write about music I like.  Life is too short to waste time listening to music you hate.  So when I set upon finding a local band to feature on the blog I go through an extensive bit of research.  First I go to my ReverbNation fan page, then I go through the local charts of the music styles I enjoy.  Then I listen to the tracks listed for the bands and I know within a few seconds if the music is worthwhile or if the artist or band are just fooling themselves (that may sound harsh, but people who play music are not realistic about the art they create at times and some just delude themselves)  After I have selected the band, I research them online including Bandcamp, Facebook and Spotify.  I also listen to the music A LOT.

I first heard of the band The Last Gatsby over the summer of 2014 when I was finishing up working with Blinded by Truth before my health problems came back.  They were the band that was getting a great deal of press in the Salt Lake Market and everything in the scene was buzzing about them.  So after I took care of my health problems and decided to start this blog I felt that it was very important to research them and listen so I could get to know their music.  I AM VERY GLAD THAT I DID!!!

Chase Gerber

 This band impresses me a great deal, from the powerful melodic vocals of Josh "Chewie" Paul, to the rhythm of Jon Hoopes on drums and Chase Gerber on bass,  to Gary Samuelson III's and Wes Winner's innovative guitar riffs, this band has a sense of magic about them.  

The Last Gatsby plays a style of music that I like to call aggressive pop-punk.  It has its roots in the early pop-punk days but then branches into a sound influenced more by AFI  rather than by other early pop-punk bands. Their music then moves in the direction of My Chemical Romance and The Used and I hear some echoes of the east coast sound like Four Year Strong and All Time Low.  Also when you listen you will hear a Blink182 influence, but that is to be expected noting the generation this band comes from.

Josh "Chewie" Paul

Wes Winner

On January 31, I had the privilege of interviewing The Last Gatsby and got a chance to meet members of the band.  This was an amazing experience for me because I had been listening to their album Hearts and Machines for about a week before the interview and I had an idea of the level of musicianship the band was at, or so I thought.  The members I interviewed were Josh the singer, Jon the drummer and Wes, the guitar player. On the band's website they listed a news announcement of a new album coming out this year where they actually went to The Panda Studios in Northern California and had Sam Pura, who has worked with The Story So Far and State Champs plus a host of other new gen punk bands, record their newest album.  With this information in hand I immediately dove in with the interview.  I asked some fluff questions that would give a hint of the band's sense of humor, For instance when

Jon Hoopes

asked what the most outlandish thing they had seen or done at a concert was, they said it was amazing to watch the singer of a local Salt Lake pop punk band that I know well, get continuously hammered on alcohol while playing on stage before them. They said something unique would be to "have an actual audience at the show," but then went on to say "if they or the audience did anything suggestive or "incorrect" they would be fine with that"  I then asked if they expected to have a public meltdown like Blink182 and they answered "we already have...kind of ...not in public...that is better done in private" then they all laughed and shrugged it off. One thing they did say is that "side projects are not a good thing to keep a band together" which I felt was very mature.  This maturity led me into my next question which was "What was the recording experience like with Sam Pura?"  The answers they gave make me truly hopeful that this band goes forward with success.  First they said "it was the hardest and most humbling experience they had gone through"  They also stated "it was hard recognizing our egos and then putting those egos in check to make the recording better." In addition it was stated that they went into the recording"a little under prepared, hoping that Sam would give them musical insight" but then found that "Sam wanted us to put ourselves into our recordings and he did not tell us how to play our music" They felt that the experience was amazing and that most bands do not know the level of work required to "make it" on a professional level.  At this point I was just enjoying talking with three down to earth individuals who play music.  We talked about the Salt Lake Market and we talked about the different promoter personalities in the valley but generally I felt that I was talking to a different band than I had expected to, a band that had gone through a rite of passage very similar to what I had done when I was making a living playing my horn back in college.  These young men were starting a journey that I myself was envious of and wanted to join.  It makes me excited for them and I get very melancholy yet full hearted remembering that time of my own life.  It is a hard step to be at a level of performing and playing that seems amazing, only to learn that there is so much work to do to get even better than you are now.  The feeling that you can be better than you ever thought you could is exciting.  The key is to be humble enough to recognize it and I am convinced that this band is. 

With that stated, I am pleased to recommend the album Hearts and Machines.  This is the first foray into recording that The Last Gatsby has given us.  Hearts and Machines is a 10 song album available on Itunes, Amazon, Bandcamp (my recommended purchase option) plus if you have Spotify the album is available there as well.  I write this blog as a fan of the bands so in full disclosure I purchased the album on Bandcamp as my way of supporting the bands I write about.

I offer the reviews of the bands on this blog not to criticize but to offer insight into ways to listen so the audience is more educated.This also gives the band an opportunity to have an honest viewpoint of what they sound like to their fans and how the music comes across.

As for the musicianship of the band, at the point this album was recorded, they are all equally matched on a musicianship level.  The band has a good sense of phrasing, they have a fair sense of timing, the playing of each part (Rhythm, Melody, Harmony) enhances the other parts and nothing gets in the way of the music. 

The vocals provided by Josh are clear and concise.  He does not stress out his voice plus he breaths well.  The one area I would suggest for his improvement overall would be to consider not just the beginning of his phrases and sentences but the ending as well, sing through the lyric so the ending of each phrase stays with us. I am a believer in singing like you talk and we as humans do not taper off at the end of a sentence, With this said Josh's voice is powerful and he does not shy away from the heavy guitars and drums and actually carries the melody in a way that organically makes it part of what the instruments are doing.  I would however like to hear more layered vocal harmonies throughout this album.

The Rhythm section made up of Jonathon on drums and at the time Patrick on bass create a good foundation for the band.  Timing is fair and there is a driving force from the drums that help push the music forward.  The bass also does a very good job keep the intonation of the band grounded.  All intonation comes from the lowest fundamental sound and too many bands forget this aspect and are not consistently in tune with their bass voice.  I would like to see the tempo driven more by the bass.  In jazz, the bass player plays on or off the beat as needed for the feel of the music, in Rock music, of any sort, if the bass drives the tempo and stays on the top half of the beat, the drummer becomes free to enhance the melodic riffs of the guitarist and the vocals, then the bass itself can also play around with the tempo to enhance the other members harmonically.  I appreciate Jonathon's skills on his drums on this album I was mainly concerned with his fills not ending in tempo at times and him having to catch up to the beat.  However after what he said in the interview, I am confident that this young man has already made the improvement and I am excited to hear the new album and what his drums sound like on it.

Gary Samuelson III

Hearts and Machines was recorded when the band only had one guitar.  Gary sounds amazing on the
album, his solos are innovative and you can hear his natural musicianship come across.  I actually feel that the guitar work is very strong on this album and if anything I want to hear more of his counter-melodies that he plays over the vocals on certain songs.  I like his harder edge sound

My favorite tracks on the album are the 2nd Track Symphony, (good lyrics and a very strong melody, plus it plays on my romanticism) track 5 The High Road, Track 6 Blue Skies and Track 9 Blacklight, but all of the album is extremely listenable and I enjoy listening from front to back which is rare for albums in this modern age.

I will note an early media article quoted their lyric from The High Road stating "With the words, "Choke on your judgement, I'm here for the moment" lead sing Josh Paul makes it clear that The Last Gatsby is not to be ignored"  This statement is truer than I believe the writer originally imagined.  The Last Gatsby IS NOT TO BE IGNORED.  They are the most innovative musical band that has come from the Utah Market since The Used.  Their sense of melody is second to none and the drive they have to better themselves indicates an ability to adapt and grow no matter what comes their way.  The only thing I think that they have wrong is the lyric.  In my mind it should be "Choke on your judgment, We're here for FOREVER"  I hope that whatever Gods this band holds dear smiles on them and lets the rest of the world discover them for many more years to come.

The Last Gatsby performs this Tuesday February 10th at the Loading Dock with You Blew It! and Tiny Moving Parts.

February 2015 Calendar and Weekend 1 Preview

And so February 2015 starts and outside it feels like early April which on one hand is really nice but on the other makes me very worried.  So what have I done since my last post?  Well I have been going over my notes from my interview of The Last Gatsby last Saturday and I have been listening to their debut album Hearts and Machines probably 10 times straight through and select songs even more.  I can tell you right now this band will surprise everyone and needless to say I am impressed and it is not just about the music.  The review will be posted next Monday so my recommendation is to go get this album and listen to it.  It is available on Spotify and I have the link from Amazon in my ads.  Personally I purchased the album from Bandcamp because I like that resource for musicians.  It makes it easy to support local bands.


Kalenar at a job he hated

 



Regina Elsa heir to the Chadivus Legacy

With all of the research I am doing for this article, I almost forgot that I had to put together a calendar of events for the month.  This is a busy month, We have the birthdays of 2 of the Lords, Regina Elsa

on 2/21 and Lord Kalenar on 2/23.  Luckily the Festival of Vali allows us to have a proper celebration on 2/28.  In addition Reel Big Fish & Less than Jake hit town on 2/13 and Rum Rebellion is in Logan on 2/14. I have added the calendar to the full blog so you can see what we are doing


Show of the Week: 
Riksha and LHAW at Kamikazis in Ogden Great old friends playing together in one of the best music
venues in the state. See the poster for details >

Eatery of the Week:
Training Table, I am in the mood for something simple with good memories this week.  A Hickory Burger and Cheese Fries sounds amazing.


Booze of the Week:
Decadent White Russians:

• Take a Rocks Glass
• A full shot of Vodka
• A full shot of Kahlua,
• Fill with Whole Milk
• A full shot of Irish Cream
• Add ice and stir



January 2015: Field Trip to Piper and What does a Mushroom Head look like?

January 2015 is in the books and the goals for The Life and Times of Chadivus Maximus were all met.  Not bad, every week there was 2 posts, we had 3 events and a great time writing about our new favorite SLC Ska band The Anchorage.  Good times...

This last weekend we had our first field trip weekend for The Lords of Kalehalla.  We went to Piper Down, Salt Lake's best Celtic Pub and a place that Bomba and I feel is our home away from home even though we do not get to spend much time there.  The Lords that were on this little trip were Myself, Bomba, Vladimir (after he had to realize that it would be fun) Lord Darksteel and Kalenar (with his minion).  We also welcomed our old and dearest friend Madame Gnarly.  It was so good to see her.

This time was more about just getting out and doing something than anything else.  There was really no huge purpose behind it other than time well spent.  We did make sure to eat there because the pub menu is very delicious.  Just to go over what we had, I had the Fish & Chips (which are the best in Salt Lake with real English Chips and Malt Vinegar) Kalenar had the Corned Beef & Cabbage (more potatoes than cabbage but the corned beef was good)  The rest had Appetizers and there really are only 2 to get EVERY TIME.  The first is the Scotch Eggs with Guinness Mustard. These are hard boiled eggs that have been dipped into a sausage batter and then deep fried, I just went into Food Nirvana thinking about them.  The next is The Smothered Leprechaun.  Oh My God this is AMAZING! First you make a queso with cheese and jalapenos which needs to be so good you could eat it as a soup.  Then you take home made guacamole, put a huge scoop of guac in a bowl and then ladle the queso over the top and serve with chips.  I literally was lost and drooling like Pavlov's dog at the thought of this appetizer.  We also had beers which were OK and we had carafes of Strongbow from the tap (this is the best development of Utah liquor laws in a long time in that you can get Strongbow Cider on tap, but it has to be served in a carafe because it is a "wine" not a cider.  So still lame)

I am truly grateful for just having a place like Piper to hang at and it was not this huge weekend of booze and such but it was satisfying and I love being with my friends.  One thing of note...make sure you ask Lord Darksteel what a mushroom head looks like the next time you see him.

Look for the February Calendar and preview later this week, I had a very good interview with one of the freshest sounding bands in Utah this last Saturday and if you want a heads up go to Spotify or Bandcamp or click on The Amazon link here for the album Hearts and Machines by The Last Gatsby