Tag: the pandemics

Life Happens

Earlier this month I wrote my first post in over a year because one of my favorite shows turned 20 years old and I had to add my two cents on what that meant to myself and the industry as a whole. Writing that article made me realize I had one that was grossly overdue, a review of a comic for someone whose work I usually love. I wrote him an apology email today about how life got busy and I’m really sorry. And then I read the comic and wrote a thing on it and in that one article I came up with two others I should write – this being one of them (the other is a thing is on the current run of Doctor Strange and how much I LOVE it, but that can wait). The actual article I wrote about the thing I was supposed to will be coming out very soon, but for now I wanted to do yet another giant update on what I was doing that kept me here.

Mostly I got a new job that kept me very busy and RELEASED A RECORD.

Yes, Lonely Atom Records, the small start-up record label I work with, finally released our first 7″ record late February. The two bands featured are The Pandemics and InCircles (both bands from NYC/LI). You can either download the songs or purchase the vinyl on our Bandcamp. There’s also stickers and pins for sale, and we’re working on t-shirts.

Between releasing the record, booking shows, and my actual real job(s), I’ve been fairly busy. I honestly love writing on here though, so I’m going to try to pick it up again. I’ve been reading a lot of comics lately, and between that and watching The Wednesday Club every week on Geek & Sundry’s Twitch channel, I will probably want to talk about that more. Don’t worry though, I’ll still have plenty of music musings as well as just general stuff about the news and other random things. The site is called “News on Shuffle” for a reason…

That’s all for now. Stay tuned for the review I just finished and whatever other things pop into my head and scream to be written down into this void we call the internet. And remember folks, when life gets you down you gotta remember to just keep swimming.

Pandemics + Pete Porker @ Characters

The Pandemics backed Pete Porker on a bunch of tunes back in January and in the final stages of me playing catch up, I finally uploaded all the videos to YouTube. Here they all are for easy consumption:

And here are photos from the show:

Your next chance to see The Pandemics will be playing with The Fad and a bunch of other cool bands at Hollis Woods Community Church this Saturday, March 28th. Details of that can be found on Facebook (of course).

Books, and Music, and Traveling… OH MY!

First off, I have a real quick entry on the latest chapters in the Nerdist Book Club. Then there’s a super big update on the band I kinda sorta work with. It’s super exciting news so stay for the whole post (or just skip ahead, I won’t be offended).

Ok, so in Ch 5-8 of The Silmarillion we get to see Galadriel introduced and what her family line looks like. I love getting to see how this history stuff connects to the world we know in LotR, so that bit is pretty cool. We also see the big bad guy Melkor get released from bondage (as if I have to tell you that this only ends in sadness). I find it fascinating that a group of people that are supposed to know everything that goes on in the world are so easily fooled. I guess that is just a metaphor for how we in general are often blind to the evil that surrounds us or people we may know. The real big thing we get in this section though is the creation of the Silmarils – three great jewels of unknown substance. Even though we don’t know what they’re made of, I picture that just means they are an odd combination of all the things and SUPER SHINY. I can’t blame Melkor for being his usual jealous self at the thought of them.

That concludes my real quick thoughts on the latest section of Nerdist Book Club. Next week’s entry I will be on the road, so there might not be a post on it. Which brings me to my big announcement…

The Pandemics are going on tour! And I’ll be traveling with them as merch girl extraordinaire!

That’s right, kids, your humble blogger gets to travel starting tomorrow all the way till August 3rd. If you happen to be in any of the following areas, please come to the show. Stop by the merch table and mention this post and I’ll see if I can hook you up with a sticker or something. Or just buy things from me and make me look good. PLEASE!

Tour dates are as follows:

  • Tour kickoff – Thurs, July 24th @ Stephen’s Talkhouse in Amagansett, NY – Only $10!
  • Fri, July 25th @ The Fire in Philadelphia, PA
  • Sat, July 26th @ McGarvey’s in Altoona, PA
  • Sun, July 27th @ Charm City Art Space in Baltimore, MD
  • Mon, July 28th @ 123 Pleasant St in Morgantown, WV
  • Tues, July 29th @ Lynchburg Lofts (1009 Jefferson St, Lynchburg, VA) – Only $5!
  • Wed, July 30th @ The Odditorium in Asheville, NC
  • Thurs, July 31 @ The Hideaway in Johnson City, TN
  • Fri, Aug 1st @ Local 506 in Chapel Hill, NC
  • Sat, Aug 2nd – Sadly had a show fall through on this date. We have possible leads but any help is greatly appreciated. You can leave a comment or email me at newsonshuffle[at]gmail[dot]com
  • Sun, Aug 3rd @ Mill Hill in Trenton, NJ – the official after-party for Punk Rock Flea Market

The dates that have their own Facebook events I linked to where I could. The full list of dates and other information (like prices and other bands playing) can be found in one handy little spot here. I really hope this post brings a few people out. Like I said, definitely come say hi to me at the table so I know I’m not just talking to dead space. If you can’t make the show, I’m gonna try to take as many pictures as possible while chained to a merch table. You can expect the results of that when I get back and recover a bit. I’m also gonna try to do a tour journal but we’ll see how that goes (if I have internet and/or interesting things to say). Until next time (to steal Wil Wheaton’s catchphrases) PLAY MORE GAMES and DON’T BE A DICK.

Things To Do This Weekend

Quick post to let you know about two really cool shows happening this weekend in the NYC area.

1) Lyzfest, otherwise known as my good friend over at Candy Apple Red’s birthday show. She always puts together a great night of music, but she goes all out for her big day. This year the night doubles as the kickoff to Tail Light Rebellion’s tour. They go on 1st at 8pm, right after the open bar that takes place 7-8. All this is happening at, (where else?), Trash Bar in Brooklyn. It’s a great way to start a great night for a great lady. Come on out and celebrate with us, folks.

2) The 2nd show I want to throw at you is for the often ignored Long Island kids. The Pandemics are opening for The Toasters over at 89 North. They’re calling it “The Ultimate Ska Party” and I have to agree that it looks like it might be. I’ve never been to the venue myself, but my boyfriend tells great stories of hanging out backstage with The Slackers last time he was there. I’m looking forward to seeing the place. Also looking forward to seeing The Toasters again since last time I saw them I started feeling sick halfway through their set. It would be nice to actually get to dance this time…

There you have it, two great shows to get you through the weekend. I know LI feels super far away and not worth it for most people, but there are some great shows you’re missing out on with that attitude. Take a chance and come dance with us, won’t you?

Pandemics/Inspector 7/Mephiskapheles @ Revolution

Editors note: This post should’ve come sooner but I didn’t have internet for most of the weekend.

Friday night The Pandemics had a big show opening for Inspector 7 & Mephiskapheles at Revolution Bar & Grill in Amityville, NY. Everyone played a great set. Unfortunately my camera has been having some focusing issues, and by the end of the night I had mostly given up on getting anything publishable. That is why Mephiskapheles gets half the photos the other two bands have. Sorry guys, but I promise I liked you and had fun. Also, thanks for saving “Bumblebee Tuna” for last because it’s one of the most fun songs by any band ever; AND shout out to the lovely couple who got engaged right before the song started. Here’s to a good long musical life together.

Pandemics Take Philly

As I mentioned in my most recent post, I plan on adding a lot more content to this site. I also mentioned a certain band I’m associated with called “The Pandemics,” and that I would be writing about a recent trip to Philly they took. The show itself was nothing special, but it was still a worthwhile trip. For one thing it was their first show since November, so it was good practice for a bigger show they have coming up later this month with Mephiskapheles and Inspector 7. For another, it was the first time the band had gotten together for 2 or 3 weeks, since holidays got in the way of their rehearsing schedule. So, even though they were competing against the Eagles game and didn’t have many people in attendance, it was still a great trip out for everyone. That’s an important lesson for touring bands to learn. When you first get out on the road, you don’t always make money on tour. In fact, your first couple times out you should expect to lose (or at best break even). But it’s still great for you to get your name out there and also get some bonding time with your bandmates. If you play your cards right, eventually the money will follow.

Thanks for waiting patiently while we dust ourselves off from a rough year. Here’s some picks from the road to hold you over until next time:

 

 

PS – If you’re interested in the Meph/Inspector 7 show I mentioned, it’s Jan 24th at Revolution Bar & Music Hall in Amytville, NY. Message me on the Facebook page and I’ll tell you how to get reduced price tickets from the band. Support your local ska scene!

 

The Blog Is Dead, Long Live The Blog

Last year was pretty dead for this blog (looking back my last post was in March, which is way too long to let something sit here and take up space, in my opinion). If anyone is still out there patiently waiting for new content here, I’m sorry to keep you waiting for so long. There were a lot of distractions to keep me occupied in my personal life. Two major factors were my move from Brooklyn to Long Island, and my only having the time to see the one band that has recently taken over a large part of my life. My writing wasn’t the only area that suffered because of it. I also majorly stopped with my photography pursuits. Fear not though, for my new year’s resolutions for 2014 are as follows:

1) Get this blog back on its feet and start posting content regularly again.
2) Dust off my camera and start taking pictures of anything and everything that crosses my path.

As I mentioned before, there was one band in particular that took over a large part of my life in the past year. That band is a LI ska band called “The Pandemics“. The guy I’ve been seeing for about a year and a half now is their bari sax player. This past year was very good to them, and they got a lot of great opportunities to play with some amazing acts. While I was pleased for them, their schedule combined with my work schedule left me with less ambition to run around taking pictures and writing about everything. I pretty much got in a routine of go to work, go home, occasionally see boyfriend’s band play. It was fine for a time, but it left me looking back on the year and wanting to push myself more in the future. I’m going to do my best to put myself out there and introduce you all to some great new things. Having said that, I’m also probably going to talk about The Pandemics a lot, simply because I have easy access to them and they are a large part of my life. Luckily for you, they’re not just some dumb band that I am close to. They actually are pretty good, and I think you will enjoy what I have to share with you. I promise to mix stuff up though and not just turn this into a lovefest for some guy and his stupid band.

Thank you for being patient with me as I work towards making this space more active again. I already have a couple of posts planned, first of which is going to be about the trip I took to Philly this past weekend. That should be out later this week, pending the status of the annoying plague-thing that has made residence in my chest. Until next time, happy new year and stay warm, kids!