Mix master Mike Czech has brought the goods. Persistence pays off people. Check it...Kelis vs. Depeche Mode. The most brilliant non-commercial remix of 2003. To hell with The Grey Album. That's nothing but a publicity stunt. Mike Czech pulled this Milkshake/Enjoy the Silence mix on the radio fly live. Catching this song on 91x was a highlight of my 10 day Inland Empire Hell Tour back in September when I finally got down to San Diego. This shit is genius if for no other reason than it could sell BIG TIME and as far as I can tell this website is just about the only place you can get it. To hell with Kelis and Depeche Mode but rejoice the skills of gestalt genius Mike Czech.

Pardon me whilst I digress back to The Grey Album. While one could surely assume that Mike Czech had the same problem securing rights from Kelis and Depeche Mode as DJ Dangermouse did from Michael Jackson (or Paul McCartney or Sony or whoever) for use of The White Album, you don't see Mike out there declaring his craft illegal art and seeking publicity beyond this lonely cult. Or if he is, damned if I found it and I scoured the web like comet on steel wool to find it. And alas, six months later (yesterday) I get an email from Mike saying basically "hey, you still want that remix?". Hell yes I do! And hell yes does the world Czech. Get the rights and sell this shit man!

Click HERE to download the song.

It is the end of an era for Skycam. Thursday night we played an interesting and evolving bill at Pianos with a couple of excellent bands including the fabulous Dirty on Purpose. Skycam is now down one guitarist. The future is currently uncertain except for the fact that there will indeed be a future so stay tuned for more details.

Parentals were in town this weekend so it was a NYC tourism weekend for us. We hit all the hot spots, enjoyed a meal for 400, a great show, and almost a parade. Spring sprung a bit this weekend so it was great to entertain the rents with the backdrop of Manhattan warm, sunny and about to bloom.

I'm not sure if this website is cool or totally ridiculous....either way, if you have an affinity for the 80's check it out. The 80's arcade games are pretty lo-fi but I'm a fool for a few rounds of Donkey Kong anytime.

Peace out for now.

Your ASD (attention surplus disorder) cult master,
Mr. White Chocolate Squeeze

Postscript cheers to Tenacious P, The Player, for the fun links.

On the long (much longer than usual) flight home from the UK in my caged window seat position I spent about 3 hours listening to Acetone's York Blvd. record over and over too weak and tired to bear the thought of climbing over the sleeping Brits next to me to grab a few extra mini-discs from my backpack. First of all, if you have any taste in music and haven't heard Acetone, stop reading and buy the records NOW! Pure genius really. I don't even know how to classify it...alt-indie-country-blues-rock...I don't know but it's really some of the most elegant beautiful music you'll ever hear.

I'm home but still on UK time so even with a half dozen up market margaritas last night I was crack wide awake at 5am this morning. Acetone still on my mind I thought google might bring me a new record or better yet a live show like the AMAZING set I caught at the Lakeside Lounge a couple of years ago. But no, google didn't giveth....google taketh away.

Richie Lee, you FUCKING PUSSY, I can't believe you did it. You smack head piece of shit ASSHOLE. How could you? I'm ruined and I didn't even know you. How many people this must have hurt. It was all right there in the lyrics just like Kirk Cobain, Shannon Hoon, Elliot Smith (and many others) foretelling their own demise. Your friends and family must have seen the forest through the trees. For them, I'm ruined...for all the potential and opportunity, I'm ruined. I'm behind the times (Richie killed himself in the summer of 2001) but still today this is bad news.

Call me insensitive, call ME an asshole but suicide infuriates me. I've had a few extremely close people me commit suicide in my life. It used to make me sad, empathetic, retrospective....but now: pure rage. Except in cases of the terminally ill suicide is a weak, selfish, cowardly act and not a stunt to which I'll lend my attention.

If you haven't heard Acetone, please do yourself a favor and get the records. I myself, I'm considering throwing mine away.

Oi from London. I'm a little warmer, a little better paid and with a whole bunch happier lot than when I was here a few months ago so this is good.

Having some really interesting meals and conversations with my newly reunited work mates.

On the topic of meals, I've been introduced to the UK concept of the gastro-pub. Basically a pub in the general sense until you start looking at the food. The last two nights (Monday with a friend from Singapore and last night with work mates from Ireland and Copenhagen) I've been to the Ladbroke Arms pub in Notting Hill. No bangers and no beer battered cod at this joint. Monday I had an amazing sea bass fillet with chicory and fingerling potatos in a blood orange/white wine sauce.....INSANELY good. Last night (on someone else's tab!) I started with a potato & leek soup with stilton and continued with a bone-in rib-eye with herb caper butter. This pub and the whole gastro-pub phenomena is working for me. And plus no entrees at this joint over like $20!

On topics of conversation my mate from Copenhagen spent about an hour and a half last night detailing how Muslim immigrants are flocking to Scandinavia and pillaging the social welfare system. Apparently no corner shops or groceries are found any longer staffed by Scandies and the crime rate is growing exponentially. The conversation couldn't keep me from thinking that perhaps a similar conversation happened over and over again in early 1900's Poland amongst the ethnic German population. Dangerous talk, very dangerous. Difference here I guess is that the Jews of eastern Europe weren't hijacking planes, bombing trains and blowing up buses. Although the talk in Poland certainly played out to the worst possible outcome, in these dangerous times and feelings that some groups are in the process of "asking for it" let's hope for a different outcome.

Peace out.

"Where you been, biatch?" I hear that too much...so here you go...



That's right, I don't like being landlocked...I need to know if necessary I can swim for it.

Just back from a 7-day ski vacation to Park City, Utah with the wife's family. The terrain and resorts of the Wasatch are truly amazing. I'm barely an intermediate skier while the wife and her whole family are experts so I spent a lot of the time pondering the possibility of death and dismemberment while trying to keep up. I escaped injury but truthfully never really kept up. The 50 person tour group from Wisconsin which the wife's family were part (we were too actually but traveling separate) added a nice level of camp to the entire week. Lot's of cheese... They put on a great show with days at Snowbasin, Park City, Deer Valley and the Canyons. We spent an extra day at Snowbird as well. Beautiful terrain, the best snow I've ever seen, accessible runs (Snowbird was hard) and nice apres activities...loud cheers for Utah! Although a week at 8,000 feet, 6+ hours of hard skiing every day and constant eating and drinking can take a toll. It'll be nice to wake up at home in NYC tomorrow!

My man Michael from shiny around the edges shared a great link to the mp3 legacy of the band Lifter, a great mid-90's LA outfit....slightly grungy, slightly indie, slightly feel good...kind of like if Weezer got Mesa Boogies and Les Pauls and embibed a bit in the trinity of rock. The site is basic and offers a lot of free unreleased demos and the ENTIRE Melinda record for download. If you haven't heard of Lifter (note, this is NOT Lifter Puller...a different band) and like the concept of Weezer high with dual rectifiers, check it out.