…and Deutschemark, FBI and Scotland Yard.

Thanks to Sabrina, Randall and their extra ticket I was able to go to last night’s Interpol show at the Fillmore. While a bit more indie than my usual robot band d’ jour, I really enjoyed their performance. They sounded amazing, had a great on stage presence, and flaunted a flair for smoking cigarettes that in my experience has only been topped by Ian McCullough of Echo and the Bunnymen (who only had to casually raise his to fingers to his lips in order to have a roadie scurry onstage and carefully place a lit fag into his idle hand - a sight to behold). Anyhow, the show was great.

And imagine my surprise when the first opening act came onstage, and it was S.F.’s very own Ghost Orchids! They put on a rockin’ electro-goth set that is sure to be talked about. Nice job, guys. I was able to snap just a few shots before I had to skillfully negotiate with the Fillmore’s security staff to keep my Sony spy camera, but I’ve posted what I did get below.



I also got a chance to meet Bridgit, Juju (a skillful catcher of drumsticks with her own band called Park Avenue Music) and a nice guy who works at Apple who’s name I can’t remember.

It looks as if my comment system is now operational. I need to redo the popup design, but at least it's functional. Go ahead, give it a shot.

In the notable short films of interest dept. I recently saw Todd Lincoln’s Leave Luck To Heaven (the literal translation of the Japanese word "Nintendo").



It’s a gorgeous, fascinating exploration of human loneliness and the longing to find answers in video games and technology. I highly recommend checking it out if you get the chance.

I just recieved my copy of This Is A Magazine's Compendium #1. It's stunningly beautiful. Over 200 oversized pages filled with amazing words and pictures by 30 artists from around the world.



If you don't have yours yet, I suggest you get on it before they run out. It's available in the U.S. at Vacant, 43 Mercer St. @ Grand, Soho NYC, or puchase online.

Uh huh, that's right...

I have a feeling this Friday night’s Fischerspooner release party with DJ Unknown at Club Fake is going to be the party to end all parties. I mean, sure it’s been over two years since I first heard FS and saw them perform live, so the fact that their album is finally being released domestically is a total *non-event*, and a testament to how slowly the big ship of the lame mainstream record industry turns. Nonetheless, I’ve got friends converging on the cit-tay this weekend from all over the globe, and we’re all going, so you should too. Let’s bring the Cat Club to its knees and pack it so tight with gyrating bodies that the Fire Marshall bursts a blood vessel.

Oh yeah. Hell yeah. The luxury of space is definitely not over-rated. To quote Ferris, “It is so choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up”.

Oh, the irony.

So as it turns out, no Electroluxe at Fake, but next Friday is the big Fischerspooner release party at Fake with DJ Unknown - good times!

I guess $1999 must be my threshold. It arrives Friday. I'm *beyond* excited. And some birdies have told me that Electroluxe is taking over Club Fake this Friday night, but I haven't been able to confirm it. If so, that should be lots of fun.

Every now and then I like to "pop" on over to glamourpimple.com to check out their flip book. Always a fine selection of snaps.

I almost forgot to mention, make sure to check out the January 2003 issue of XLR8R Magazine, on page 14 they're featuring photos from October's Electroclash weekend taken by none other than yours truly. Click on the article below for a closer look.

 

Gnod is an interesting website. It presents a visual way of organizing relationships between music artists and their listeners. For example, this search shows what bands listeners of Fischerspooner are likely to listen to, and clicking on any one of the other artists (say, Depeche Mode) will re-arrange the links and cause new band names to 'emerge' (I couldn't help myself). Sort of reminds me of the early experiments done by Plumb Design with their visual thesaurus.

I have nothing to say about the Super Bowl, seeing as I didn't even watch it. Maybe I'll pop over to CNN and see who won. Of more importance, after finally downloading the latest version of Apple's new Safari web browser, it's painfully obvious that this site, which looks great on IE for Mac, looks like garbage in Safari. I guess one of these days in the not too distant future, I'm going to have to give the site a redesign so it's Safari friendly. However, if you've got any idea why my CSS is not being picked up by Safari, shoot me an e-mail.

It looks as if I'll be out of town, but if you're in you should go see Cat lay down some serious electro beats at the Arrow Bar (6th and Market) this Thursday night. Friday night should be fun too as SF's own Solar takes control of the tables and makes Club Fake quake. Have fun for me.

This is one of the most absurdly funny PC add-ons I have ever seen.

Interesting factoid: next.com, the would-be domain for Steve Jobs' failed computer company NeXT is still owned by Apple Computer, Inc. according to the whois database. Simply a case of not being able to let go of his aged dream, or does Mr. Jobs have something in mind for the future of NeXT?

There are whirlwind weeks, then there are weeks where the whirlwind is more like Typhoon Paka. This has been one of those weeks, exhaustion and fun mixed together to create a crazed sense of tension and euphoria.

It all started Friday night with Tommie Sunshine at Club Fake. Lots of fun with new friends and old, and the usual assortment of scandalous behavior electro style. Click here for some photo evidence of the evening’s debauchery.


Then Saturday I and a crew of 8 hopped a plane to LA where I art directed a new photo shoot for Sony at the Downtown and Hollywood Standard Hotels. 3 grueling 16-hour days later, I’m confident in saying the photos turned out absolutely incredible. Some of my best work to date. I couldn’t have done it without my amazing crew of models, styling by Travis from Rudy’s Barber Shop, makeup by AWNY, amazing clothing from Allison at RedThreds and my photography crew, Damon, Deanna and Sean from Clear For Launch. I’ve posted a few fun behind the scenes photos from the shoot here.



Then, upon returning I had the nicest note in the world waiting in my mailbox from the beautiful and talented Phoenix of Memory Systems thanking me for my enthusiastic support. They even gave me a shout out in the liner notes of the CD – thanks, so much guys! Totally unnecessary, but totally appreciated! BTW, I’ve been spinning the new CD non-stop since my return, and it’s incredibly infectious – if you haven’t already, make sure to order it now. So what’s next? Stay tuned.

Pssst. Pass this on...
Make sure to stop by Club Fake this Friday @ the Cat Club, where Tommie Sunshine will be manning the turntables. If it's anything like the e-clash weekend back in September, it's sure to be scandalous!

Clear your calendar on March 7^th fellow robots, because our favorite electro-sensation Ladytron is headed for Bimbo's as part of their full North American tour!

Finally got around to posting the pics from the 2002 Fake vs. Popscene New Year's Eve extravaganza:



Just click here, but be patient while it loads, there are lots 'o shots. Enjoy!.

Just in time to start the new year off right, our very own SF expats better known as Memory Systems have released their new album titled Ad Placement for the Collective Unconscious is available on their own label, Form Records. I was able to hear an advance track several months ago courtesy of Michael at Burnlab, and it's brilliant. I advise you buy it online. Immediately.



Still no word on the mysterious band called “Fitness” out of Seattle. Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

Also, I’ve got lots of pictures from Club Fake’s NYE bash that I’ll be posting in a day or two, after I catch up on work.

New Year's Eve:
Looking for some robot love to ring in the new year? Come down to Omar and Jenny's latest shindig tonight. It's all happening at Club Fake's New Year's party featuring SF's own Gold Chains and Ghost Orchids playing live. It's all happening at the Border Cantina, 1192 Folsom (right next to the Cat Club).

If you're a robot living in the Seattle area, I'm looking for a link or URL or any information about a local band called "Fitness". E-mail me if you have any information.

Department store window, Shibuya, Tokyo.

Just back in town from travel. Got all my shopping done, and I’m prepped for the holidays in record time this year. One plan not nailed down just yet is New Year’s Eve. Astute observers will notice that the Club Fake website is down, and has been for quite some time. I’m supposed to call Omar from Fake this weekend to discuss some business, so I’ll ask what’s going on with the website and if there’s any goings on, I’ll be sure to post it here. In the meantime, I’ll probably keep the other NYE invitees on hold until I survey all my options.



In other news, I just finished designing a postcard for Sarah, and her Fluxus Experience event on 2.20.03 at Printed Matter Bookstore in NYC. We’ll be flying out for the event (well, her more for the event, and me more just to hang out in NYC in freezing weather). I’m excited – it’s been at least 2 years since being in NYC, and there’s a lot of new buzz to catch up on, and old friends to reconnect with – it should be a blast.

We apologize for any technical difficulties and hope to correct them soon. Link courtesy of Michael at Burnlab.

You knew they would "emerge" sooner or later. Uh-huh, that's right. Its FISHYSPOON, the Fischerspooner cover act. Courtesy of Lester.

Looking for a last minute gift item that isn't official irobotnik branded merchandise? Then try Froogle, a new service from Google that makes it easy to find information about products for sale online.

In case you were wondering, yes, the thongs are for real. Get yours now! Also, this just in, check out the new video clip from Robots in Disguise, "ARGUMENT" (QuickTime required) here.

Just 2 days left to order your official iRobotnik branded paraphernalia in time for holiday delivery from the iRobotnik online store. Get quality items, like the 100% cotton and 100% cute iRobotnik thong.

For no particular reason other than the fact it was fun to put together, here's my gift wish list.