CONCERT NEWS: BON IVER SEPT. 27
Concert News: Bon Iver is playing the Hollywood Cemetery next month and you should be pretty excited. It will be like a Santa Monica Pier Concert but w/ far better music (that you’ll actually want to hear. No offense Squirrel Nut Zippers), less sand, and just about the same amount of dead people. As i said earlier if you live in or around LA you should get tickets to this unique show ASAP. Sure spending a night in a cemetery is kind of bizarre but it beats the hell out of the Hollywood Palladium and is more appropriate for him considering the story behind “For Emma, Forever Ago”. After a run of bad luck: His band broke up, His girlfriend dumped him, and contracting mono (probably why his girlfriend dumped him) Justin Vernon AKA Bon Iver moved into his dad’s spooky cabin in the woods of Wisconsin and set out to recover physically and mentally. The product of those three months of isolation and inner soul searching was “For Emma, Forever Ago”. Good for him. When I got mono I ate jello and spent far too much time on MySpace, so I can’t totally relate. Sure my soul search was done with bulletin quizzes but it was practically the same thing as independently releasing a collection of heartfelt introspective songs.
Listen to the album and then come see Bon Iver sooth the living and the dead on the 27th! Don’t be scared. I’ve seen enough zombie movies to know they’re easily defeated. If Zombies rise from the grave Bon Iver’s sweet sweet voice will keep the undead distracted long enough for us to chop off their heads.
Bon Iver at Sunrise
Sunday, Sep 27, 2009 12:00 AM PDT (12:00 AM Doors)
- Sunday, Sep 27, 2009 6:00 AM PDT
at Hollywood Forever
in Los Angeles, CA
Buy tickets here!
Eric’s Favorite Pieces: Prokofiev’s Lieutenant Kije Suite
If movies and literature are any indication, high school is one of the easiest times in a person’s life. Friends are made, everyone looks great all the time, parties involving making out occur with staggering regularity, and occasional vampire attacks keep everyone cheerfully on their toes. This was, it may surprise you to know, not the case at all for me. I was confused! I looked terrible all the time! Girls were far more frightening than vampires (the vampires at my high school were usually stoned, and didn’t pose much of a threat)! I had crippled myself socially by electing to play viola in the school orchestra (who would’ve thought membership in the high school orchestra didn’t come with a lifetime membership in the Playboy Mansion Free Handjob Club and the adoration of all who dared look upon me?)! Life was baffling and tumultuous!
Meanwhile, almost a century earlier, Sergei Prokofiev had written his first opera when he was frigging nine years old. Good thing one of us had things figured out, because as it turned out, Prokofiev helped me through all the tumultuity and bebafflement—possibly without even knowing he was doing it! In fact, I used to listen to the entirety of Abbey Road every morning (while eating crumpets, wondering what it was like to be all cultured and British) and fell asleep listening to Prokofiev’s suite from Lieutenant Kije. (more…)
THAT’S LIFE – WHAT’S IN A NAME…
Twenty Questions. I haven’t played that game in a long time…not voluntarily at least. A few days ago I came across someone who seemed determined to engage me in a round of this. The topic? My name.
The inquisitor started off with a rapid-fire round of basic questions I’ve heard a million times including:
“How do you spell it?”
S-I-R-I-A
“What does it mean?”
Sun-bright, Glowing (finally all of those ‘Siria is very bright’ remarks growing up finally make sense) On a side note, I didn’t know the meaning of my name for most of my life and doubt my parents did when they christened me with this. The name could’ve meant “your daughter is easy” for all they knew (FYI-I’m not).
Lesson to be learned: Parents, look up the meaning of a name before selecting it.
“Are you Syrian?”
I think I am basically soliciting this question, as normally when I introduce myself and people look bewildered at my name I add “Siria like the country but spelled differently.”
However, no I am not Syrian. Not that I know of. Perhaps somewhere along the way … did the Spanish/Portuguese/Mexicans go to battle with Syria somewhere in history? If so, then maybe.
The previous question is usually followed by either “Are you Middle Eastern?” or “Are you Persian?”
No, see the previous answer. Although, I now know Siria is of Spanish and Persian origin.
“How did your parents come up with that?”
A friend of my mom’s in high school had this name and she thought it was different and liked it.
After the interrogation is over they usually have a closing line of something to the effect of “That’s pretty, it suits you.” To which I usually reply “Thanks, it’s different.”
Slight variations of this back and forth are common occurrences in my life, happening probably at least once a week due to the high volume of new people I constantly meet.
As a child, I hated the uniqueness of my name for the attention it would bring me as I was super-shy. My middle name wasn’t much better to go by (here’s a clue it means “Victory-Bringer”…yeah I know I am Siria – the “Sun-Bright/Glowing Victory Bringer”).
Why couldn’t I be an Amy/Jennifer/Susan/Megan/Sarah like the other little girls? Even my brother got a normal name. Who cares if there were multiples of each at school? At least no one mispronounced their names (Sierra, Serina, Seria, Sariah, Suri) and most importantly they never had to special order their personalized souvenir keychains/coffee mugs/pens and wait 4-8 weeks for delivery. Nope they could have them same day.
I’m not really complaining as I’ve sort of grown into my name and can’t imagine having another (I was informed as a child by my parents that my name was to be Vanessa, but they changed their minds). Also, it seems that the older I get the less of an anomaly it is as people with different, interesting names surround me more and more these days.
My answers to the questions posed to me regarding my name have long since become automated (eventually I may just start directing them to this column entry or print out copies of it to keep handy) and don’t really annoy me ever as I am fine with people’s curiosity. I can’t help but wonder how the other Sirias of this world (I’ve only met one in my lifetime) address the same questions.
DELTRON 3030 RECOMMENDED – Antlers ‘Hospice’
This intimate yet grandiose.album tells the story of a grief stricken nurse assigned to take care of a young girl who is terminally ill with cancer. Just to make sure that wasn’t sad enough they also manage to throw in a song about abortion. This album makes Ben Folds’ “Brick” look like “The Thong Song.” Sounds like a party doesn’t it? I’ve literally listened to nothing else but it all day. I’ve tried to move on but I find myself transfixed by it. Hospice hardly contains the party starter subject matter of a “Feed the Animals” but it is as good, if not better. I know that’s a bold statement, especially coming from me, but something about this CD grabs hold of you and squeezes feelings out of you…whether you want it to or not. I’m guessing this is what I was supposed to feel when everyone raved about that Grizzly Bear CD. NPR has named it the best album of the year so far and I’m pretty sure I agree with them. I need to stop. I don’t want to over hype this more than I already have. I tend to do that to people. No one will ever appreciate an Apple Pan burger now because of how many times I’ve raved about them. Consider this a steak burger.
OK, No more typing for me, just go ahead and get it and find out for yourself what I learned today: The Antlers made a heart wrenchingly beautiful album
Highlights: “Kettering”, “Sylvia”, “Bear”, “Two”
THAT’S LIFE – Keys to Success?
Can you have too many keys?
I’m not necessarily the most organized of people (which is kind of ironic since I am usually the organizer of most things I’m involved in).
However, dealing with so many projects that involve many different people/schedules/timelines, as well as a full-time job (where I couldn’t get away with being completely scattered), and a highly active social life (that lately I’ve really put on the back burner) I do have to maintain a certain level of organization. Most of this organizing takes place in my head.
I rarely think about all of the keys on my key chain and whether they are 
organized or not. Each of them has a purpose and when I need them they are there…all in one place (except for when I can’t find them at all…I can’t begin to recall all the times I’ve left them on the table/my bed/kitchen counter and they were nowhere to be found)
However, lately due to the fact that my car is currently being worked on, I’ve had to add or remove keys a few times as I’ve changed vehicles.
Each time I’ve thought the following:
1. Do I really need all of those keys?
2. I should probably go through them to remove any keys that I don’t need, who knows what I may still have a key to?
3. With that many keys, how the heck do they still end up way at the bottom of my purse each time I go to look for them?
Well in this day in age where keyless entry methods (pin code entry, push start buttons, doormen, badges/scan cards, and voice activated entry) seem to more and more sneak into my world, I thought there is absolutely no way I still need all of these keys! (more…)
OUT IN TRAFFIK – St. Felix One Year Anniversary (Fri. & Sat.)
If you’re looking for something to do this weekend, this Friday (August 14th) and/or Saturday (August 15th) St. Felix in West Hollywood is celebrating it’s 1 Year Anniversary! This is one of our favorite places to hang as we adore the owners and staff. Their fruit infused tequila, Sangria, and Kobe Beef Sliders are addicting.
Lady Di, Amanda Jones, and I among with many other friends will be putting in an appearance on Saturday night.
St. Felix is located at:
8945 Santa Monica Blvd. (at Robertson)
West Hollywood, CA 90069
(310) 275-4428
(click on image to enlarge flier)