To The Sea, Any Port in a Storm, and more!

Haha... the title seems like a gimmick. No gimmick here, just procrastination.

I bought Jack Johnson's "To The Sea" when I purchased tickets to his concert at Madison Square Garden. On the first of this month, I was able to download it. I couldn't explain the excitement, being I had been waiting for this release since "Sleep Through The Static", and his single "You and Your Heart" was just so happy and amazing. I learned from "Sleep Through The Static" that the later of Jack Johnson's music I have to listen to over and over for the music to grow on me. Unlike "In Between Dreams" and "On and On", etc. I've been listening to this album almost non-stop since 6/1... and I'm sick of it. I couldn't believe the album... I'm actually going to have to put it away for a month or two, listen to nothing but death metal for that time, and then try to listen to the "To The Sea" again. The CD is just so.... boring. I know that Jack usually puts out very chill music, and I love that; but on this album, every song sounds almost exactly the same. Plus, for me to get sick of an album after 11 days, isn't a good sign. As of right now I'd give the CD a 3 out of 10. Lyrically, the songs are pretty cool (except for "At or With Me"), but musically, they all sound the same. But, in the defense of all musicians--- all music groups have a shitty album or two. I know Pepper will admit that "Pink Crustaceans and Good Vibrations" is their least favorite album, and as much as I enjoyed it-- I understand that many fans feel the same way. And in my opinion 311's "From Chaos" on the whole wasn't as great as the other albums. So hopefully this album grows on me, or Jack will come out with some AMAZING stuff in a couple of years.

I have also been listening to (almost nonstop) since May 1st, "Any Port In A Storm" by The Dirty Heads. Since meeting them backstage at Sublime with Rome, Dirty Heads, and Del Mar; I started listening to them. I find it weird that I didn't listen to them before I saw them perform... but their live show is exceptional. And they are all such great, kind guys... with a sense of humor.... or senses of humor? I don't care. But being I've been listening to this album nonstop, I have to say that it's one of the best albums I've ever laid ears on. Haha. It's been out for quite a while, too. They just released the Special Edition of the album this year, but I'm pretty sure the original album has been out for at least a year and a half. The song "Believe" is pure genius, and as I told them, I first heard of them with "Stand Tall" on the movie "Surf's Up" I kind of flinched when I told them because I heard of their music on a cartoon penguin surf movie made for kids, Dirty J (Jared Watson) told me that the song featured on the actual movie was butchered compared to the regular song... so I went home and watched the movie and then compared it to the track.... he was right. Anywho, the entire album is musical genius... I can't wait to hear more from them, but to be honest I don't mind listening to this album for the rest of eternity, either. Their song "Lay Me Down" with Rome has been chillin' at the top of the charts for quite some time. I recommend this album to everyone with ears-- you won't be disappointed. So I officially give it a 10 out of 10. :)

Hazmat Bay has officially added a new bassist to the group! The new guy's name is Jeff Lockhart and he's a BEAST on the bass. He came in with a great attitude, and great renditions to the previously established bass lines. As Hazmat continues to practice, their sound becomes tighter with an added funk. The band will debut the new bassist at the Vibe Lounge in Rockville Centre on June 25th as they open for Law Records' The Supervillains. Then, after that, the band will be opening for Ballyhoo! at the Vibe Lounge in Rockville Centre on July 3rd. After that, I think the band may plan on laying low for a while, performing at a house party or two, and working on writing new material as well as making their sound and on stage performance even tighter. Great things are in store for this band! They're currently working on recording a new album, with Tom Romano at Sound Room Studios in West Babylon. Now that all the pieces are properly in place, Hazmat has nowhere else to go but up! You can check them out on Facebook, (under Hazmat Bay) and from there check out their Reverb Nation account. They have pretty awesome merchandise available online; including some mp3's from "The Red Tide", ringtones, t-shirts, and tote bags. Buy stuff, it's good for you. :)

BP is stupid. They suck. Boycott them. They screwed up on April 20th and oil's been leaking into the Gulf since April 20th. Almost 2 full months ago. Wildlife has been killed, including birds and just about every species of shrimp in the gulf. Oil has hit the beaches of Alabama, and Louisiana and are headed towards  the coast of Florida and up the panhandle. Projections show that if the spill continues at this rate for another month or two, oil will find it's way up the East Coast to Virginia, New Jersey, and even New York. Their attempts at stopping the spill have been pretty stupid and continue to fail. Currently, many people are finger-pointing to the American Gov't for not stepping in to stop the fill, and I think instead of blame-placing... we should all be brainstorming for a solution. Plus, many American citizens still fuel-up at BP. My cousin told me that she leans on the horn every time she passes an occupied BP station; I've begun to follow the trend. Especially on my way home from work yesterday: I passed a Hess station that was moderately empty, and then maybe two blocks away there was a fully occupied BP station. I mean, how are they not boycotting this horrible company?! Do they live under a rock!?! So I leaned on my horn. It wasn't like they were stuck in the middle of nowhere with no gas and nowhere to fuel up-- there was a Hess like 40 feet away! Dumbasses. The UCB Comedy group has filmed a small-scale version of this oil spill- taking place at the BP Headquarters board room. It's really funny, and is sadly true.