5 Kick Ass Things from Wizard World Anaheim

The weekend before last Allison and I drove on out to Anaheim, got our press passes and hit the floor at the Anaheim Comic Con AKA Wizard World Anaheim. We got a couple reality show contestant interviews, which is why we went, but we also just had a really good time. Here’s the 5 things that just kicked a major amount of ass (other than being there and having an awesome time w/ my rad girlfriend).

Talking to Doug TenNapel
I’ve liked Doug’s work since I first was introduced to him via the “Scud: Tales from the Vending Machine” issue that he wrote and drew. Then I find out he was behind “Earthworm Jim” and did album covers for Five Iron Frenzy and I knew he had to be cool. He was awesome! Very friendly, talked about Rob Schrab w/ me as well as “Sockbaby” and talked to Allison about “Catscratch” and directing Kevin McDonald. Really laid back and fun.

Running into Nathan Barnant
You may know him better as Keith Apicary or even Trale Lewous, but he was there, just walking around as himself. He was gracious enough to stop and talk to Allison and I when we stopped him. He even took the time to pose for a picture with Allison too. Ran into him later and he said “Hey, I know you!” Total class act, that guy!

Futurama Voice Panel
Billy West and Phil LaMarr hosted a panel of them talking about working on “Futurama.” It was pretty funny, Billy is pretty silly and Phil is pretty quick witted, an awesome pair for sure. One fan even asked for them to quickly do Fry meeting Samurai Jack, and they went for it. They talked a bit about making the new “Futurama” episodes for Comedy Central. I’m finding it hard to explain how cool this all is, but trust me, it was a lot of fun seeing these 2 guys just talk.

Hug from Doug Jones
I had to stop by and say a quick “hello” to Doug Jones after enjoying him in a few things (like “Hellboy”) and hearing how friendly he was. I stepped up and told him that and then I mentioned how much I liked seeing him in “Sockbaby” and he immediately hugged me. Allison snapped a quick picture then gave her a hug as well. The man is awesome!

Handshake from Junction Jack
Late in the convention when things were slowing down and our interviews had been done I took the time to tell Bob Gunton that I was a big fan of “Greg the Bunny” and that I just wanted to shake his hand. I don’t know if it was because it was late, or he’s just super nice but he talked to me for quite a bit knowing I wasn’t there to buy and autograph or anything. He even said “Greg the Bunny” was one of the most fun times he had doing television and to watch out for Warren “Professor Ape” DeMontague’s upcoming MTV show that he’s making an appearance on.

On the Lookout for Adventure

Jake and I are on the look out for adventure. That or we’re totally all “Duty Now for the Future.”

Monday Morning Music Video : Crooked Teeth

I’m not really much of a Death Cab for Cutie fan, in fact I really’ve only liked about 33% of the songs they’ve recorded. Not only do I like this song, but I’m a huge fan of director Rob Schrab. Any one who knows me for any amount of time will always learn what a total Schrab fan I am. For Christmas this year my girlfriend got me a signed poster from the man himself, personalized to me! It is awesome! It’s hanging in my room all nice and framed.

23min of Ska : California

K-Swiss shoes declared it “California Music Month” in April on some ad I saw on late night television, so I said “I’ll run with it!” That’s right, all these bands are from my new found home of California. Had to kick it off with Op Ivy, had to, hands down, no other way to do it. Some of these songs get very far away from ska, but in the end Slow Gherkin, the Aquabats and Voodoo Glow Skulls still bring the goods. The After Hours toss in a nice traditional sound for all the sticklers out there. And try as I might, I still love the pop ska of Save Ferris.

If you’re in a ska band and would like to be featured or if you know some music that you think I should hear for future inclusion, please email me at radjose[at]gmail[dot]com!

You can also subscribe to the podcast by going to your advanced tab on iTunes, then select “subscribe to podcast…” and entering this: http://23minofska.podomatic.com/rss2.xml into the box that opens. Or you could download it.

Popcorn with Jake

Jake and I make pop corn as an after work snack. Look out Jake, it is pretty hot!

Monday Morning Music Video : Daisy

I’m new to the world of Fang Island due to my friend Adam, and I couldn’t be happier about it. Not sure how to categorize this music, progressive? I dunno, I just know that this music is good, and this video is weird in an awesome way!

5 Best Things About the Working the Day Shift

I have some place to go out to lunch
For real, eating out of vending machines or going to Bob’s Big Boy all the time get old after a while.

The afternoon nap
One of the best things in life is passing out on the couch for about a half hour after work, I got that back, awww yeah!

Being around people w/o trying
I could go week w/o seeing anyone on overnights, that’s not the case anymore. Everyday I see about half a dozen people at least.

I can do things in the evening w/o worry
If something goes late I can still do it. Instead of being late to work, I’ll just be a bit sluggish the next day, that’s a huge change!

Sleeping next to my girlfriend
When we’re on separate schedules we’d never sleep at the same time and spend our evenings together. Now that’s changed, hurrah! Time to cuddle! Our older cat Pants tries to get in on the act but he always takes up too much space and must be tossed, sorry Pants.

Highly Professional

Jake and I being highly professional on the day shift at work! Woo! Day shift!

Monday Morning Music Video : Bicycle, Bicycle, You are My Bicycle

In honor of riding my bike to work again, a song and video about bikes! Yay! Even though it rained and I couldn’t ride today… boo! be your own PET became a fast favorite of mine when they were still around. Bratty, fun, volatile punk from Nashville that won’t be stopped… until they broke up… boo!

23min of Ska : Foolish

Basically I was foolish to even attempt to do an entire English free podcast. I tried, but Frau Doktor and King Changó just couldn’t help themselves. It’s not that all these groups are particularly foreign either. King Changó is as much from New York as Venezuela, the Kingpins are at least from the French part of Canada and, well, Greenhouse is just a bunch of guys from Naperville, IL that know how to sing in Korean. I’ll admit that intro is a bit of a tease, but it was too fun not to do and a well done cover to boot. Speaking of good covers, the Kingpins take on the new wave “L’Aventurier” is so fantastic it almost makes a case for ska covers. Putting together these songs introduced me to a bunch of bands that I hadn’t heard before, like the Riddim Cats and Firebug who I’d heard of but hadn’t really looked into much, and Frau Doktor whom I found out about specifically looking for a German band for this podcast and became amazed by.

If you’re in a ska band and would like to be featured or if you know some music that you think I should hear for future inclusion, please email me at radjose[at]gmail[dot]com!

You can also subscribe to the podcast by going to your advanced tab on iTunes, then select “subscribe to podcast…” and entering this: http://23minofska.podomatic.com/rss2.xml into the box that opens.
Alternatively, you can download it!