Archive for January, 2008
Funk It Up with Pittsburgh Band JAZZAM
And, once more, I have to write about my favorite Pittsburgh band, JAZZAM. After the loss of their lead singer a few months back, the future of JAZZAM was uncertain. I spent many a night listening to their “It’s About Time” album and praying to the music gods that the band could work it all out.
Needless to say, as you could tell from a prior post, New Year’s Eve brought this amazing funk jam band back to Pittsburgh. And, you could say that this past weekend has re-established their rank as one of the most popular regional bands in Pittsburgh. Music fans from around the city showed up to Thunderbird’s Cafe this Saturday to see JAZZAM, with Morgantown, WV opener, Symmetrical Kickboxing. In fact, the band was so missed that the Thunderbird sold out + 10 people!!
I’m just glad the band is back and touring again. Keep an eye out for them in the near future in Pittsburgh and other (relatively) local dates. AND, for you festival-goers - keep an eye out for this summer because JAZZAM will be out and about!
- Molly Brannigan’s - February 8, 2008
- Docksider’s (Erie, PA) - February 9, 2008
- The Shadow Lounge (with Ryat) - February 29, 2008
- The Empty Glass (Charleston, WV) - March 7, 2008
- The V Club (Huntingdon, WV) - March 8, 2008
- Agora Theater with Ekoostik Hookah (Cleveland, OH) - March 28, 2008
- Thunderbird Cafe - March 2, 2008
And stay tuned for more! This is my favorite band in the whole wide world and I want to share them with as many people as possible!
Pittsburghrantsandraves.com has been featured (for the first time) in a major media outlet - the Pittsburgh Post Gazette! This past Sunday (January 26), we made the Cutting Edge: New Ideas/Sharp Opinions section for a post I had written in the Oakland series about landlords failing to make tenant repairs. I’m glad to see that this was the topic from my blog that was shared with Pittsburgh, because although the situation is improving, there is still MUCH room for improvement! Also, thanks to those readers who have contacted me with specific questions about their landlord issues. I hope I have been able to provide some half-decent advice. Have a happy Monday all! More soon….
National Buffoon’s European Vacation
I understand the interest in bringing green initiatives and international business to Pittsburgh. In fact, I think Mayor Luke Ravenstahl has many great ideas along these lines and I can’t help but believe that our city has been consistently improving in reputation, environmentalism, business relations, and many other ways. But, do I think that in order to accomplish these two goals that two of our officials actually need to concentrate on what’s going on here first and then maybe later vacation in Europe. Further, the main locale to visit is Amsterdam… Sounds like a fun TRIP!
Instead of flying to Europe on an economic expansion trip, couldn’t our dear leaders have saved us a few economic dollars and held a few conference calls? Half of the trip is said to be funded by the Pittsburgh Regional Alliance, an affiliate of the Allegheny Conference on Community Development, while the other half is funded by conferences and councils in France, although I’m not 100% sure what they have to gain from it. At least they don’t hate us…
Oh, and of course, Ravenstahl’s wife needed a vacation too…well, at least the mayor’s office is REPORTING that the money is coming from her own pocket.
Needless to say, if this trip does help to accomplish those two initiatives (increasing globalization and environmentalism in Pittsburgh), then I may just have to turn this RANT into a RAVE. But, if it turns out to be just a damn vacation to go get high, then I will just RANT away!!!
Pitt Basketball Uses Underdog as Rally Cry as Starters Sit and Newbies Start…
Why do Pitt sports teams always kick butt when their oldest, best players are injured? This year’s Backyard Brawl, anyone? So, once again, because two starters were injured (in this case Levance Fields and Mike Cook), Pitt wins! Now, that doesn’t mean that I think Fields or Cook aren’t good players, but it just seems that ‘underdog’ is the rally cry of University of Pittsburgh sports problems - and do correct me if I’m wrong.
Either way, Pitt basketball is at number 13 as of now and climbing. Maybe they’ll actually do something in March Madness this year. Or, maybe we’ll be pitted against Wisconsin in Wisconsin again?
Hi friends and strangers alike,
I wanted to apologize for abandoning this site for so long. Needless to say, there was a good reason.
My 20 year old, younger brother was recently diagnosed with testicular cancer, which has obviously put my family into a bit of a whirlwind over the past few weeks. I’d like to take a second to talk about how amazing my brother is - that he handled everything that happened to him so far is truly amazing…and he handled it with class - and humor!
In fact, I think some of you may get a kick out of the fact that when he first found out, he told me he was going to ‘kick cancer in its nuts’ and then right before surgery he mentioned he might get a ‘prosthetic that plays music or blinks or something.’ Does this kid rock or what?
In tribute to my brother, I’d like to post a few quotes (translated into Pittsburghese, of course, with courtesy from the Pittsburghese translator!)
Da Pittsburghese translation is:
“Yinz gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which yinz rilly stop to looky fear in da face. yinz must do da ting which yinz think yinz cannot do. ” ~Eleanor Roosevelt:
“Love da moment. flahrs grow aht of dark moments. derefore, each moment is vital. It affects da whole. Life is a succession of such moments and to live each, is to succeed.” ~Corita Kent
“Da world is fool of suffering, it is also fool of overcoming it.” ~Helen Keller
“Whenever a resolute young fellow tramps up to da great bully, da world, and takes him boldly by da beard, he is often surprised to find it comes off in his han, n’at it was only tied on to scare away da timid adventurers.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
Enjoy all - and I’ll be back soon. Also coming: videos, interviews, event coverage, and MORE! Stay tuned because this site is about to blow up!
While I’m just about fully recovered from New Year’s Eve, my tapping feet will not recover for weeks after the amazing musical show put on by regional touring band, JAZZAM, at Molly Brannigan’s this Monday night.
I attempted to get some video on my new camera so I could post it here. While the picture was fantastic, the audio is horrible - and the most important part - so, yinz will have to wait until I get my new digital video camcorder to see these guys in action (PS: donations are welcome!) Until then, check the band out on Archive.org, YouTube, or Myspace!
Finally, if you’re looking to see JAZZAM again, they will be playing on January 26 at the awesome Thunderbird Cafe! Here’s a collection of pictures from New Year’s Eve so you can see the fun you missed!
Student Residents: Part of the Problem or Part of the Solution?
Oakland Series Continued…
“You’re paying how much money to live here? They should be paying you to live here!” – my Mom when she saw my sophomore off-campus house.
Please see my past postings on Oakland housing if you are interested in learning more about the Oakland community - and if you are interested in helping to improve the problems!
Students agree with the resident’s assessment (mentioned in a recent posting on long-term residents in Oakland) that landlords are the cause of Oakland’s demise. In an all student focus group monitored by the Oakland Planning and Development Corporation (OPDC), the complaints surrounding the need for repairs were endless. The problem of landlords neglecting to make repairs is a universal one. Some students have moved into messy apartments infested with fleas or termites, but the landlords did not respond immediately to these complaints. One student’s bathroom window broke. The student explained,
“The window [which was on sash weights] collapsed and exploded. The past week it’s been like 30 degrees outside and we just don’t go in our bathroom and our whole apartment is cold. It was broken for a month…she [the landlord] didn’t send anyone to fix it until today and that was because our parents called and said they would no longer send the rent until it was fixed, so she finally sent over this dude and he put in like a piece of garbage bag plastic.”
Other horror stories included a broken stove, a refrigerator (which was replaced by a mini-fridge!) and other safety concerns. Full Story »
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Rant and Rave!
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