The Runny Pen

The Roseland Theater sits inconspiculously at the corner of Burnside and NW 6th Avenue in Portland, Oregon. It is within stumbling distance of Voodoo Doughnuts, Chinatown and skid row. On Monday July, 13th Lamb Of God took the stage with Hatebreed and Three Inches Of Blood supporting them. A cyclone pit spun from the opening song. [...]

If you abruptly interrupt your girlfriend by turning up the radio when you hear the DJ announce the Canadian trio will soon perform at your local sports franchise’s facility, then you my friend are a certified Rushgeek.
You know these three men to be the most proficient trio within all that is rock and roll. “Moving [...]

It was a natural progression for her. Roller Derby. Over whiskey tumblers we brainstormed for pseudonyms, double checking availabilities on the net.  Portland, Oregon summer of 2008. Me, Trevor and Yvo… well, the athlete in search of a team.
Velvet DeVil is the name she’s known by. She’s on the practise squad (Fresh Meat) competing for a spot in [...]

So there I am, Italy, the Tuscan countryside, August of 2003. Italy was experiencing a 110 degree plus heatwave which eventually claimed the lives of more than twenty people over that freakishly hot summer.
But I was there to create the art of reality television. Joe Millionaire 2. The operator I usually assisted bailed on the [...]

He was only five foot-four but his authoritative voice commanded Black Sabbath! Heaven and Hell, The Mob Rules and Live Evil were recorded between ‘79 and ‘82. Afterwards, he immediately formed Dio and hit the radio with Holy Diver and The Last In Line. And both those albums were instant classics. That’s five fucking great albums [...]

Ever seen one of those old pianos playing by itself? Nobody seated in front of the thing but the keys are depressing and music somehow boils from its innards. Jazz guitar wizard Pat Metheny expanded the concept of these machines exponentially. His new album “Orchestrion” is another brilliant offering from the man with more Grammies than anyone on earth. Seventeen!

He came [...]

In August of 2008, Vince Li used a Bowie knife to behead Tim McClean on an overnight Greyhound bus trip across the Canadian prairie. That’s right, en route decapitation. The other passengers reported there was no rage in Li’s face as he proceeded to dismember and cannibalize the corpse. His gestures were robotic and methodical. When finally arrested, police found an [...]

Check out the new video for JBOOG featuring Richie Spice shot by my cousin Dylan Maddux, a photographer and video director out of San Francisco. He shot this in Jamaica. So hire him, the man will travel!

In the fall of 2009, I began volunteering at a non-profit called Living Yoga. Yoga is something I would have cynically driven into the ground ten years ago. But after my Nana died last fall (she was a life-long yoga practitioner), I became attracted to the practice.
Many people come to yoga seeking serenity and relaxation, [...]

It was a weekend of compulsive ping-pong. Weisenberger found his serve and I was behind in points. He hesitated, then reached for his backpack. I just had to hear this New Zealand reggae band he’d recently discovered. I was annoyed because we were close to game point. But Weisenberger ignored my complaints. “Settle, lad. Settle.”
Layered [...]