Our Genesis

I have just received word from my sources deep in the Mustache ranks that our Mustachioed Heroes have just recording several tracks which are to become their first official release. The project which I hear rumor of being named “Magnum Mustache”should have around 8-11 songs and should be expected before summer. If you have not yet been familiarized with the band The Mustache Rendezvous please check out this previous article… you MUSTache!!

This is fresh and exciting news coming from South Florida especially since we have not heard anything from this fantastic band (or even from this blog) for several months. I don’t know about you but I can barely contain my excitement… physically speaking. Below are some samples of some of the demos from the most recent studio session. These songs may or may not make it to the full album release. Enjoy!

Cracked Pavement

Those of you that check this blog may be wondering where I have been. Why haven’t I been active in the past month? Well… I’m going to be honest here: I had decided to put an end to the Juke Joint Chronicles. I figured that since it was started as a summer project it should end when summer ended. I admit, I felt liberated from my internet obligations and things were going well. But then I felt bad. I have been feeling bad ever since. I have so many things that I want to share with the outside world that I just can’t without my blog. So here it is. My official announcement that the blog is resurrected. Keep checking daily for new morsels of goodness that the Juke Joint provides you… My return to blogging also marks the birth of my new blog. I will not divulge much information about it until it is ready for the world but I will say this: it will be the sister blog to Juke Joint and it will have a more specific goal than Juke Joint. Oh boy I just can’t contain myself! 

Check back soon for more updates!

 

The band Why?

I know it has been a long while since my last post, but a lot of shit has been going on lately and I have been waiting for something truly golden to fall into my lap and give me that old Juke Joint feeling. Well ladies and gentlemen here you have it. A Juke Joint exclusive interview with the artist known as Why? Jason Katz of Miami Magazine conducted the interview with Yoni Wolf:

 

   “ I have been listening to Why? hard since my heads-up homie in school out in SoCal played me “Crushed Bones”. It’s been cool to see you progress to more mainstream success. Now you are on an international tour to rock meccas. Miami, for all its cultural happenings, is still lacking in a strong rock music scene. I am sure that there are a few of us that have heard about you from West Coast buddies, but for the rest of us… ”

JK: Have you ever been to Miami? 

YW: Nope. 

JK :You must have a relative or family friend somewhere on Miami Beach that would want you to come over for Shabbat…would you go?  

YW: Don’t think I know anyone in town unfortunately. 

JK: Miami is often referred to as “The Magic City,” is there any dream you would like to see come true here? 

YW:  Co-ed Naked Orgy (Miami, make this old t-shirt a reality) 

JK: I know you’re “not a ladies man”, but you might find the city a bit overwhelming…do you plan on taking advantage, or do you have a girlfriend? 

YW: I think I still have a girlfriend, although I haven’t spoken to her in 2 weeks.  I’m not sure if she’ll still have me.  I just tried calling her on Skype a minute ago and got the voicemail.  (I’m in Berlin, She’s in New York.) 

JK: You’re in Miami for one day…it’s hotter and buggier than anywhere in the USA….do you stay inside and sample Miami’s finest Cuban cuisine or spend your day enjoying the Everglades or on the Beach?  

YW: I will try to find the dope Vegan-Cuban spot.  I will hit the beach if I have time.  I’m not sure if the people of Miami are ready for my Adonis-like physique though.  I might give some of you soft body jocks low self esteem and make you ladies slip out of your plastic beach chairs on a wave of your own ecstasy (and I ain’t talkin’  MDMA). 

JK: Miami is a city that thrives on its sexuality and its wealth….how do both of these things influence your songwriting?  

YW: I wack off with hundred dollar bills while I record vocals to make sure I get that solid gold performance.  I make love to the mic, sexually. 

JK: Do you ever vacation or is it work, work, work lately? 

YW: Well, lately it has been work, work, work.  But the kind of work that we do has its weird kind of frequent no man’s land downtime. 

JK: Ok…so random question…but there’s no real way to lead into this one….When in your life did you determine that masturbation would be a recurring theme in your musical life?    

YW: They say “Write what you know.” 

JK: I had to….ok next question…Before you got into making music, were you into any of the other arts? …filmmaking…story writing….studio arts… 

YW: Yes.  I used to draw a whole lot and I have fiddled with video stuff. 

JK: What’s your favorite instrument?  

YW: Grand Piano 

JK: Why do you use Fisher Price toys and instruments in your music?  

YW:  I used to use those because we had them lying around at my parents house from when we were children.  Also, advertising that you have those kinds of things around is a way to get little boys to come over your house to play. 

JK: You sang about Costa Rica and over-logging that you witnessed there…Tell me what you thought of the place, as I am a Costa Rica superfan and curious.  

YW:  Sorry to say, I have never been to Costa Rica.  Take me there. 

JK: Lastly…and self indulgently… I’m a wannabe front man and I was wondering if there were any things you do now as a songwriter that you wish you did when you were 20.  

YW:  I don’t suck as much now as I did when I was 20.  I know it sounds cliché, but you just have to work a hell of a lot and if you have raw talent, you will continue to evolve and improve.  If you don’t have raw talent, you will continue to suck.  Good luck!! 

JK:Mmmmk….well that’s all I’ve got. I appreciate the time and I’m happy for you and your success. You’re a talented poet and I will be in Miami to see you. I look forward to it. Enjoy Europe. Adios from the City of Vice. 

And that is that. Who can deny that Yoni Wolf is one of the funniest, most talented musician out there today? Not me.

Today was a slow day

I was slow to wake up finally at 1:30

I was slow going about my morning routine

I slowly thought about how I was going to spend my time

Now that I am not working for my last 2 weeks in Miami there is plenty of it.

At about 4PM I decided I was tired of sitting around the house.

I packed up my camera and lenses and drove my car towards Key Biscayne.

I was to stop short at Marine Stadium on Virginia Key.

I parked my car as inconspicuously as possible and stepped out onto the pavement.

I carefully observed my surroundings:

I was in some sort of a boat yard.

There were no more than 10 people in sight (many of them busy working).

There were two Key Biscayne police SUVs parked side by side by the water.

No one seemed to be looking at me.

Even still I was careful since I was about to encroach on government land.

I pretended to be the typical tourist taking pictures of the bay and the skyline. 

I slowly made my way down to the shoreline and eventually out of sight. 

I came across a dead fish in tin foil.

I carefully stepped along the beach, over old beer cans and bloated boat cushions washed ashore.

I found a hole in a fence and crawled through. 

There it was in front of me: a huge structure called Marine Stadium.

I spent maybe an hour walking around taking pictures.

I enjoyed the feeling of being alone in a place made to seat thousands.

Here are some pictures of my adventure:

I’ve seen a bunch of interesting movies in the past three weeks or so. Here’s my thoughts on some of them.

Mongol (2008; Sergei Bodrov)

I was interested in this movie for two reasons: Asano Tadanobu and the fact that it was a joint-venture between Mongolia, Russia and Kazakhstan (I don’t think I’ve ever seen an actual Mongolian or Kazakh movie before so, I hopped on this opportunity). I was slightly disappointed with the film. I thought I was going to see an epic war movie with an asian edge and stylization to it with a knockout performance from Asano portraying the great conquerer Genghis Khan. Instead what I got was a Braveheart knock-off with a mediocre performance who’s only highlight is that a Japanese actor plays a role entirely in Mongolian. My main complaint with the film is the pacing of the story. The bulk of the story takes place in Genghis’ early-life. Once we finally get to Genghis as an older man the story is so rushed to fit in all the important stuff that happens during this time, that it feels like we are flipping through the story 20 pages at a time (and sometimes skipping 50 page chunks).

I would not call this a good movie by any means. I kept checking my watch throughout the film to see how much longer we had left, it was that type of movie. But I have to say it was very interesting to be offered a glimpse into ancient Mongolian culture. As a note of differing opinion: my friends that I brought to the movie said that they enjoyed it and that it was a “good call” by me to go see it. So what do I know?

Army of Shadows (1969; Jean-Pierre Melville)

Jean-Pierre Melville is high in the ranks of elite French filmmakers during the new wave movement. His film Le Samourai has been a major influence amongst several hitman/gangster films of the past 25 years including John Woo’s A Better Tomorrow series and Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs. While Le Samourai may very well be his best film, Army of Shadows is his most personal film. It is Melville’s film portrayal of the men and women of the French Resistance.

An Alsatian Jew himself, Melville fought back against the Nazi invaders in French resistance armys and the French underground. Therefore if anyone knows this material best it is Melville. Many of the characters in the film are based on real people that Melville knew are at one point was acquanted with and this is probably why the characters seem so true to life. They are not over-the-top stereotypes, they are stoic and thoughtful and full of life, just like real people. The film stands apart from our history lessons about the French Resistance because the film shows that these resistance fighters were real men and women from all walks of life, in the parlance of our times: these freedom fighters were real people. I think that is something that is particularly difficult to convey in any medium aside from film and literature. Don’t get this film wrong, it is a war film, but not your typical war film that is about the actual war going on. Instead it is a study on how the ongoing war affects an entire country worth of people. Go see this movie if you want a history lesson.

The DVD: A note about the DVD. A really nice Criterion release. The blue packaging goes well with the blue-dominated color scheme of the film. The cover design is simple yet the hidden swastika makes it very catchy. The transfer is clear and the although the colors are not magnificent (I don’t think they were meant to be) it is the contrast that is beautiful in this transfer. There are scenes that are shot in complete darkness and on the DVD (in a dark room) you can just barely make out the silhouette of our main character in one specific shot. This is just the way Melville intended. The special features are great as well. There is a film comprised of newsreel footage straight from the streets of the French resistance fighting the Nazis and the footage is outstanding. There are some interviews and lots of insight regarding Melville and his method. Definitely worth the buy and the watch.

Young Mr. Lincoln (1939; John Ford)

I used to be a self professed non-fan of classic films (pre-1950s) but this film really got caught me off guard. I saw it on the shelves and noticed that it was a film about the greatest president in the history of these glorious United States. Lately I have been getting more interested by American history and so when I saw this movie I decided that I had to give it a shot. Only later did I find out that the actor who plays Lincoln is none other than the great Henry Fonda. In the photo on the cover you could not tell that it was Fonda, it really looked like Lincoln! Those are some well made prosthetics. The film is not boring one bit.

The story follows young Lincoln a fresh-faced lawyer who stands up to protect two brothers convicted of murdering a local man in a drunken brawl. Henry Fonda’s Lincoln is such a heroic character. He uses logic, intelligence, reason and a natural understanding of his fellow man to communicate with the people and eventually (SPOILER!!!!)….. get his men off the hook. This is a really great film that transports you back to early America and offers a glimpse into the formative years of one of the most important men in American history.

Robinson Crusoe on Mars (1964; Byron Haskin)

This was a fun retro space movie that apparently was very difficult to find a copy of until this brand new Criterion release. For many people this film brings them back to their childhood sitting in the den with a TV dinner in their lap taking in some Mars adventure. For me it was just campy. I enjoyed the movie though, it was very cool. The production design was interesting, the special effects cheesy and the costumes were comedic. I enjoyed the monkey and the aliens. A fun movie to get high and laugh at. The DVD is also very nice, as one can expect from Criterion.

2001: A Space Odyssey [Blu-Ray) (1968; Stanley Kubrick)

If you have a blu-ray player (aka PS3) get this! There is nothing else to say.

Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart at the River Styx (1972; Misumi Kenji)

I certainly watched the first installment of the Lone Wolf and Cub series enough times before I decided to move onto this, the second chapter in the Lone Wolf series. In this chapter we find Ogami Itto and his child Daigoro on the road to vengeance amidst several groups of adversaries: the female assassins, the Yagyu spies, and the feared three brothers, nicknamed “Gods of Death”. While the plot is a bit lacking in this film, let us remind ourselves that this is a film who’s values lay more on action sequences over story and plot. There are a handful of great action scenes in the film and I would say that the gore is kicked up a notch from the previous installment. There’s a head splitting scene. Theres a scene where a bunch of Japanese chicks slice pieces of face and fingers off of a ninja. There’s blood spurts. There’s dismembered feet. There’s even a slashed titty. That’s right, a slashed titty (Ichi style). My favorite part is when the Lone Wolf and Cub are traversing the country-side and they encounter several female assassins. As they battle the leader she pulls several tricks on them. But it all culminates to some cheesy camera tricks where she seems to fly out of her kimono dress and then procedes to run away from the battle (backwards) in jumpcuts. You need to see it to believe it. So go see it.

That’s all for now. I’ve seen more movies lately but these are the ones I feel are worth discussing. I’m going to see The Big Lebowski in Cosford Cinema tomorrow night and I can’t wait. I wonder what the crowd is going to be like. It will be really interesting to watch Lebowski since I haven’t seen it in months (unusual for me) and I just finished Chandler’s The Big Sleep. So maybe I’ll have some new insight into this great film for tomorrows viewing. Until next time…