Fog Rising

West Coast stoner rock fans, rejoice: the Fog Rising Festival is coming to San Francisco on Saturday, November 7. The brainchild of Tee Pee Records and Secret Serpents, the Fog Rising event promises to be "a celebration of the twisted offspring of the fragmentation [that is the rock music scene]."

Among the bands performing are the above-pictured Witch (featuring Dinosaur Jr's J Mascis and my boyfriend, Mario Rubalcaba of Earthless on drums*), and will mark Witch's only West Coast performance of 2009. Other stoner-friendly bands to watch for are Saviours, the incredible Red Fang, and sludgy doomsters Ancestors.


*He's not really my boyfriend, but he could be...

Bands include:
Witch
Saviours
Assemble Head In Sunburst Sound
Night Horse
Red Fang
Ancestors
Black Math Horseman
Imaad Wasif with Two Part Beast
Lecharis Gaze (members of Annihilation Time)
Citadelle

Artwork will be displayed by famed poster artists Alan Forbes, David DAndrea, Alan Hynes and Marq Spusta.

For more info, check out the official site: Secret Serpents.

And here's a bonus video of Red Fang's stellar "Prehistoric Dog."

Passports and Pussy

It's been an odd few days. I've been so under the weather that simply sitting in front of the computer for more than a half hour has been fatiguing, and I've been napping even more than my kitty. No, it's not H1N1 (I Googled that shit). Thankfully, I'm on the mend, and while scanning through my overpopulated Inbox, two press releases piqued my interest. Both are for my music people.

First and foremost, I know I'm spoiled. I'm lucky enough to be a working journalist and can easily email publicists to get on guest lists for shows. My friends are not always this fortunate. BUT, Live Nation is hoping to change that by announcing their Club Passport program.

According to them:
"For a limited time only, concert fans can buy The Live Nation Club Passport for $49.99, All-In and No Fees, and see every show at Live Nation clubs in their city for the rest of the year, subject to availability. If you're a Live Nation Club Passport holder, and the show's not sold-out, you're in! The Live Nation Club Passport is available only at livenation.com.

Here's how it works. Beginning today concert fans go to LiveNation.com and purchase a Club Passport. A list of participating shows will be immediately available. Every Monday thereafter, Passport holders log on to LiveNation.com/Passport or follow LiveNation on Facebook or Twitter to see the list of participating club shows in their city and to reserve their ticket. From here, Club Passport holders just bring their Live Nation Club Passport number and photo I.D. to the club's box office and get right in, no extra charges, no hassles."

Some of these venues include LA's Avalon, NYC's Irving Plaza (eff you, I refuse to call it The Fillmore), all of the national House of Blues clubs and Atlanta's Tabernacle Theatre. Not bad, eh?

And now, it's pussy time!! No, not my aforementioned sweet semi-racist Ava, the pussy in question here is Rammstein's first video and single of the same name. I've got to admit, based on their live show, I initially thought they were referring to, ahem, "back" pussy (a la Borat). But this video is some pretty sexy hetero stuff. Naturally, the video is being hosted on a German porn site. Link to see it here... just make sure your boss isn't in the room.