What can I say about this band that would do them the proper justice? They are just fucking awesome. When we first started Catfish Mustache, Herb n Life was one of the very first bands we played with and I have been die hard fan ever since.
The first video I'm posting was written by an original member of the band, Joe Pealstrom. Although he passed away, his memory lives on strong through the wonderful music he wrote. I never got the priveledge to actually meet him, but something tells me that he is not resting in the afterlife, but rather rocking out somewhere and blessing each note that Herb n Life plays and sings.
One of my very favorite songs....
This next one was written by lead singer, Sam Edwards. Enjoy.
If you will be in the Phoenix area on Novemeber 5th, I highly recommend catching these guys at the Marquee theatre. They will be opening up for another hometown favorite, Authority Zero. Go here for more info.
I need to think of a better title for these posts, instead of Daily Inspiration. It sounds like some kind of religious post, but I guess in many ways music is my religion, so...
As most of my friends know, I'm not a big fan of main stream music. It seems that, more often than not, bands are signed to big labels for other reasons rather than talent. Just take a look at the top 40 hits of today and you will see what I mean. So, I often search for new music through independant labels and most often through bands that we play with.
Most recently, we played at The Hut in Tucson, and another band that was on the bill that night was this lovely trifecta of gentlemen called Spartacus. They rocked their asses off that night! Seriously, I found myself thanking them after each song they played. I made sure to get their cd and it has been playing on repeat in my car ever since.
These boys are from California, but I am working on getting them back out here to AZ to play another show with us.
Enjoy
this vid starts off a little slow, so watch the whole thing please
Based on my last post, about how I am often inspired by kids tv shows, I decided that I will now start posting something that inspires me every day. Hopefully, I will be able to keep up and remember to do it everyday.
To start it off, I am posting this nice video of Kool Keith. This song is off of his album "The Return of Dr. Octagon". And I have to say this is probably my favorite track from the disc.
Kool Keith is an original member of the Ultramagnetic MCs, a hip hop group based out of the Bronx. It is from this band that I learned about him and have been a fan ever since.
From his start with this group he has branched out as a solo artist and has produced countless albums. He also goes by countless aliases, such as, Dr. Octagon and Black Elvis, just to name a couple.
So, without futher ado, here is my daily inspiration from the one and only, Original Black Elvis...
Once you become a parent, you will soon find yourself watching childrens television shows. Some of them will be hard to get through, but you will suffer through it for the enjoyment of your children. Some of them will be so good that you will catch yourself actually watching them even when your kids aren't around. Good or bad, one thing that almost all kids tv shows have in common is music. It is nearly impossible to watch a kid show without there being some sort of song incorporated into the storyline.
As a musician myself, the music is often my favorite part of these shows and often times, I find myself inspired by some of these songs. The most recent of these shows is, The Electric Company, which airs weekdays at around 4 on PBS. My kids, who are ages 6 and 7, absolutely love it. The show is filled with songs by the cast and they also feature musical guests.
Here is one of my favorite songs from the show. It's pretty funky. Kinda makes me wanna dance.
One member of the cast is a dude named Shockwave, who is an incredible beat boxer. Here is one video of him teaching kids about punctuation.
My daughter, who is 7, beatboxes everyday and I have to attribute that, in part, to this show.
Here he is with a beatboxing guest.
My most favorite of Shock's beatboxing videos is when he teams up with Lin-Manuel Miranda, a Tony award winning writer for the Broadway sensation, "In the Heights".
I sing this song all the time!
... and this next one...
They also work together outside of The Electric Company. I found this little vid of them announcing an open mic mc battle.
Now, I'm going to get off subject a little to talk a little more about Lin-Manuel Miranda. I found out about him, hilariously enough, through this show. However, his talents far exceed what you see in this show. As I said before, he won a Tony Award for his work on the broadway play, "In The Heights". Now, I'm not a big fan of broadway, but this guy gave the best acceptance speech of any award anyone has ever won anywhere, ever! You have to check this out.
As if that wasn't amazing enough, he also performed at the White House and performed this little number.
So many MC's can write about how great they are at rapping. It seems like that's the only topic of most mc's raps these days. But, how many mc's can write an amazing rap about a historical figure? I doubt very many can.. at least not like Lin-Manuel.
So, now that I've gone far off topic to show you the outstanding talents of Lin-Manuel Miranda, let me get back to the Electric Company and show you one more outstanding musician that has been featured on the show. I'm talkin now about the "Music Man" or better known in the real world as, Reggie Watts.
Here he is performing live in Chicago. While he is mainly considered a comedic musician, his songs are still super bad ass! Just look him up on youtube and find a million incredible videos of him.
So, I will wrap this up now, but what is the point of this post besides showing you a bunch of videos of music? I guess the goal here is to show you that inspiration can come from anywhere... even the television shows your young children watch. So, pay close attention to the world around you. You never know where you might see a spark of genius.
The Catfish Mustache family definitely enjoy good food.
Can't you tell?
Not only do we like good food, but I (Tania- singer/bassist) most definitely like to cook it. My creations don't always come out delicious, but I really have a good time experimenting in the kitchen. I've learned so much just from trial and error that I have come quite a long way since the days that I burnt fried chicken on the outside and left it raw in the middle.
I don't serve my fried chicken raw anymore, but I am still working on perfecting that recipe. One recipe I have seemed to master is beer batter. The first year that Catfish Mustache was a band, it became a ritual to go to our house after every show and I would make beer battered onion rings. Normally, I like to eat pretty healthy, but sometimes there is nothing better than fattening, fried food... especially after a night of drinking and rocking out on stage. So, after dozens of shows and dozens of batches of onion rings, I think I've finally got this beer batter thing down.
In this post, I used the beer batter for fish, but it is a recipe that can work for just about anything you can imagine.
Don't have a good imagination? That's ok, let me give you some ideas of what you can use this for:
onion rings- duh
fish- double duh
zucchini
eggplant
okra
fresh broccoli or cauliflower (trust me, it's freakin delicious)
chicken strips or breasts (haven't tried it on bone-in chicken yet)
i hear you can fry a twinkie this way, but i haven't tried that one yet, either.
Keep in mind that the measurements in this are all relative, the most important thing is that you get the right consistency, which is close to a thick pancake batter.
Basic ingredients:
about a cup and a half of white flour
seasoning- whatever you like! In this recipe I used salt, pepper, cumin, cayene pepper, curry, and garlic powder-to TASTE!
about 12 oz. of beer - give or take- and whatever kind you like! I prefer an amber beer
2 egg whites
First, season your flour in a large bowl. Depending upon what you like and what you are making, you may want to season this differently at different times. So, start mixing in flavors you like about a 1/2 tbsp at a time, then taste the flour! Yea, that's what I said, taste the flour. It's going to taste floury, but on the back of that you should get the flavor of the seasonings coming through. If you don't, then you need more seasoning.
Once you are happy with the flavor of that, it's time to add the beer. Add a little bit at a time and mix in between until you get the right consistency, which will be like a very thick pancake batter. Taste it again. You should be able to get the beer flavor now and the flavor of your seasonings coming out. If you only taste beer and flour, then add more seasoning. Start with salt and pepper, because most of the time, that is the first thing you need. Also, if you still only taste beer and flour, you might just have a shitty pallette and there is not much anyone could do to help you with that.... proceed to the next step.
In a separate bowl whip two egg whites to soft peak stage. This means that you beat them until they turn white and frothy and sort of look like bath bubbles that you use to make crazy hair doos or beards and such with. Or until they look sorta like this
Now, fold that egg mix into the beer batter. That doesn't mean to stir it in like a crazy person using all your arm strength or all you mixer's strength. Just gently scoop it around the bowl a couple times until it is just mixed in. Over mixing will take away all the bubbles in the eggs that you worked so tirelessly to get, which you don't want. The air in the bubbles is what helps to make such a crispy, delicious batter.
At this point, check again for consistency. The goal here is thick pancake batter. If it is too thick, add a little more beer. If it is really thin, add a little more flour.
It is important to note, that different climates and different elevations, always affect your cooking. You really have to play with your food to find out what will work best where you are cooking.
Heat your oil at a medium high heat. Use oil with a high smoking point. I usually use vegetable oil. If you are making something small, like onion rings, okra, zucchini, etc.. heat your oil in a deep pot. For something larger, like, fish, chicken, etc.. use a skillet, but be sure to fill the pan up about half way with oil.
Test your oil to see if it is ready before you begin. Throw a pinch of flour into your oil and if it bubbles up, you are ready to fry your food. If the oil in the pan is smoking, it is too hot. Turn the temp down a little and maybe move the pan from the heat for a moment.
Before battering wet items like, fish or chicken, be sure to pat dry with a towel and season well with salt and pepper.
Now, dip your food into the batter allowing excess to drip off and gently place it in the oil. Cook until golden brown on both sides. Transfer to a plate with a towel to pat the excess oil off. Season with a little salt.
I served my fish with a garlic horseradish mayo and a side of french fries(chips) and coleslaw.
In a later post I will give recipes for this full meal, but until then, I hope you experiment with this one and fry up something delicious.
The newest addition to our family decided to arrive 7 weeks early! Technically, as I write this, she should still be in my stomach... for two more weeks! Alas, she is sleeping in her bassinet right now and I am enjoying a much yearned for glass of wine.
The poor babe had to spend 12 days in the hospital after delivery. It was the worst thing in the world to leave my brand new baby there as I went home. I drove to the hospital everyday, with my other two munchkins in tow, and stayed until they basically kicked us out everynight. It was rough. And might I add, I will not miss eating the hospital food!
So, now she is home and doing quite well. We had a little photo shoot today and here are just a couple pics of our little munchkin.
If you are in the Arizona area and need professional pics done, please contact this amazing photographer! She is sooooo good! Brittney Williams Photography
Monday, June 6, 2011
It's so easy, when you become a parent, to judge the way others parent their children. I try so hard not to do this, because everyone is different and has different parenting styles and really who am I to judge anyone? I'm not a perfect mom. I still have a lot to learn and still make mistakes, so how could I possibly tell someone else that they are doing it all wrong? This is the attitude I try to have, but sometimes there is just no way I can remain that righteous when I see a truly shitty parent.
I spotted said shitty parent at a Catfish Mustache show a few months ago. We played at an all ages bar/ restuarant and we were set to go on stage around 8pm. As we were loading all the equipment on stage a little kid came up and started talking to us. He was a really cute and polite little kid, same age as my daughter, 6 yrs. old. I thought it a bit odd at first that his parents would just let him come up on stage, but given that the set up of the place was slightly family oriented and it seemed his family was sitting right up front, I quickly dismissed the oddity.
Then we started playing our set and we were suprisingly joined by the little kid as he stood in between Eric and I and played air guitar throughout our songs. He was really getting into to it too, dancing around a bit and sporting a serious rock star face. It was a pretty cute scene, but I was concerned with his safety. He posed a distraction, because I was so worried that one of us might bump into him or that he would fall off stage or that his delicate, little ears would be damaged by the loud sounds booming all around us on stage. None of this seemed to be a concern for his parents, however, as he remained on stage with us through the entire 2 hour set. I didn't have the heart to make him get down off stage, because he was so polite and he made sure to stay out of the way and well, he wasn't my kid. This is where the judging comes in; I would never let my 6 yr old do this. I would at least make sure it was ok with the band first, before I let my kid dance around on stage the whole time. However, no adult came up to claim the kid, to check on him or anything of the sort. Did she have her back to the stage the whole time, I wondered?
I proceeded to help the guys get the gear off stage and help our friends in the next band bring their gear on stage. The whole time, the little guy was trying to help us as well. We let him carry a couple light weight things off the stage and each of us spent a little time just chatting with him. He said he was in kindergarten and he had school the next day. He really liked the guitar, but the drums were his favorite. I asked him if he needed to go check in with his mom and he said no. In fact, whenever I mentioned his mom, he appeared to be quite annoyed. It was evident that he didn't care to spend any time whatsoever with her and it certainly seemed like she didn't want to spend any time with him either.
As the night progressed, the other band went on stage and they were also joined by the six yr old. He spent the whole 3 hr set with them and he even hit on the drums a little during. Luckily, the drummer of that band is highly talented, not easily distracted and was very tolerant of the little guy. He let him hold a couple drum sticks and gave him a nod when it was time to hit the cymbal. I couldn't help but worry that he was going to get knocked in the head as the drummer jammed out on some of the heavier parts. He never got hurt, but I worried about it the whole time.
I convinced him to sit with me at the merch booth for a little while. We chatted and I shared some of my dinner with him. He seemed hungry and I don't think he had eaten anything the whole night. Poor little guy. I have to admit that he was a very good kid. He was super polite and seemed amazingly well-adjusted despite his mother's neglect.
At 1:30 in the morning we were set to leave and the little guy was still hanging out with us and his mother was nowhere to be found. We debated calling child services. His mother had been drinking all night long and we wondered how he was going to get home. I worried that some sicko might come up and steal the kid after we left. We were the only ones watching him and what was going to happen after we left? Who was going to watch him then? Surely, it wouldn't be his worthless mother. The only thing that reassured us, was the fact that his mother was an employee at the place and everyone working there seemed to know him and was aware of him. However, no one was really watching him except us. We had become the entertainment/ babysitters for the night. A couple of us convinced him to go hang out with his mom, because we had to leave. We didn't want him to be all by himself on the side of the bar that had a gate opening out into a dark, dismal street. None of us would leave until we saw that he was finally sitting at the table where his mom was, although she still seemed to be oblivious of his presence, her "boyfriend" was talking to him and he finally seemed "safe".
It was still hard for us to leave. We all felt like we should do something, but what exactly? I'm sure we didn't know the whole story, I guess, but still. I was heartbroken when we left. I was torn between bitching out his mom for being so neglectful and just calling child services. I think about that kid all the time. I wonder if he is ok. I wonder if his stupid mom still takes him to the bar on school nights. I wonder if he is safe. I still debate whether or not I should call child services in the area and let them know about the situation. I'm sure they would do a thorough investigation. I would adopt him if I could. If we play there again, I hope he is not there, being ignored by his parental unit. I won't be able to hold my tongue a second time. I'm still not sure if I did the right thing by holding my tongue the first time. I'm always going to wonder about him and hope that he is doing ok. Maybe one day I will be going to one of his concerts; he loved the stage so much. I can only hope that something positive like that comes out of such a heartbreaking situation.
