A-Z, 1-2-3 Round 2: Face To Face

Posted: 27th January 2011 by ed in Blogs, Ed

Face To Face has been kicking it since 1991.  I would guess I found them a few years after the fact when my pal Larry let me borrow Big Choice.  This was the period in my life where I started to look for music outside of what was on pop radio.  For whatever reason I had harbored a fear of “punk rock”.  Perhaps it was the fact that I was a nerd from the suburbs who was scared of people with huge mohawks, studded belts and shit kicker boots.  Luckily I was introduced to bands like The Descendents and NOFX who made me realize that it was okay for me to be into punk and that had I any musical inclination or talent I might have been able to create it too!  Since I can’t sing or play an instrument (not that this stopped a lot of punk bands) I just became of fan of the music.

They broke up for a bit back in 2004 but eventually reunited are releasing a new disc this year.  While they might not be the biggest or most loved band in CA punk they will always be in my collection.

A-Z, 1,2,3 Round 2: Val Emmich

Posted: 26th January 2011 by ed in Blogs, Ed
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Isn’t he dreamy?  AND he plays guitar!  I am sure the ladies drop their panties in a hurry when Val Emmich is around.  Oh, did I mention he is also an actor?  Swooooooon…

I first learned of Val when I was in college at the age of 25.  I was working at VCU‘s radio station WVCW when I got his  first record The 15 Minute Relationship.  It sat unlistened to until I received his 2nd record Slow Down Kid.  For some reason I deemed SDK worth of my time.  I was instantly taken by track 2, “Shock” and was a fan from then on.  How could I not love a song where a jilted lover threatens to “punch your fucking face”?

As time has gone on Val has added more layers to his tunes and pursued his acting career; appearing on Ugly Betty, 30 Rock and in commercials.

Listeners of The Empire are already familiar with Kevin Begley but at the time of this recording Begs was kicking it out on the West Coast on Indie 103.1.  This is his first call to the WTF Line and he decided to recount all of Charlie’s “catchphrases”.  As you will hear Fletcher and I thought it was hilarious.







A-Z, 1-2-3 Round 2: Deftones

Posted: 25th January 2011 by ed in Blogs, Ed
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Formed way back in 1988 (I had no idea, thanks Wikipedia!) the Deftones released their  debut Adrenaline in 1995 and were unfairly lumped in with Nu-Metal bands like Limp Bizkit and Korn.  I say unfairly because this band is so much more.  While they were certainly new and influenced by metal they also played a more sophisticated for of it.  With influences ranging from hip-hop to bands like Lynyrd Skynyrd, Jawbox and The Cure the Deftones are the best of the crop of bands to come from the reign of Nu-Metal.

First, let me apologize for there being no show last Wednesday and for me not letting anyone know.  I am sure all 6 of you were heartbroken.

With that out of the way I must now inform you that we will be taking a brief (or slightly longer) hiatus from podcasting.  With the loss of Doug and Begley (we lost Charlie ages ago) it has been tougher to get everyone together to do the show.  We all know that if it is just me in a room the show is terrible.  Coordinating with Jim can be tough and we are still trying to find new voices.  Pad stepped in last time and did a wonderful job so you will be sure to hear from him again.

Let me say that this isn’t Goodbye.  I am just taking some time off to figure things out.  Rather than do the show live every Sunday I think we might try to record another day of the week but post/air it every Wednesday as per usual.  I have to thank John over at UnregularRadio for being a fan and for giving us an outlet for our stupid little show.  The world needs more people like him.

In the meantime I will continue to post my A-Z, 1-23 which you can hear live on 92.9HD2 (also known as the Ocho) MOn-Fri 6-10a.  I will also be posting podcasts and videos from the days of yore.  You will see and hear the birth of The Sandbox as I dig up stuff from the past.  Stick with  us please, there is plenty of Shanahagins to be had.

Here is a quick teaser:

The Surly Cow – This was a bit from our Richmond days where I assisted Charlie on his morning show.  The gist was that I would talk about how hard life as a cow was while interjecting “Moo!” into my conversations.  I then went to hide somewhere in town and whoever found me won the prize.  It wasn’t Rocket Science.

Robo-Fletcher – Just us tormenting our old PD  Mike Murphy.

Bah Weep!

-ed

Jack LaLanne: D-E-D Dead at 96

Posted: 24th January 2011 by ed in Blogs, Ed
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If ever anyone lived a life that was the antithesis of The Sandbox/The Empire when it comes to physical health it is this man.  We were lucky enough to interview Jack and his lovely (and crazy) wife Elaine during out days in The Sandbox.  Pay your respects to Jack by enjoying our interview with him in all its glory.  And put down that cheese stick fatty.





What happens when comic nerds form a band?  Coheed and Cambria.  Named for the two protagonists in singer Claudio Sanchez’s sci-fi epic the band got lumped in with the “emo” scene of the early 2000s but has more in common with At The Drive In and Queensryche than Rites of Spring and The Promise Ring.

There is no way I can explain the plot behind the story that each of Coheed’s records tells without my head exploding.  So just enjoy my 3 favorite songs from the band.



A-Z, 1-2-3 Round 2: Brand New

Posted: 21st January 2011 by ed in Blogs, Ed

Some bands never change.  They find a style/genre that works for them, maybe record a hit, rinse and repeat.  Brand New very easily could have been one of those bands.  Their debut record was of the pop-punk variety and they could have continued to churn out that record every release.  Instead they chose to evolve and reinvent and I couldn’t be happier.  If you have time sit down and listen to Your Favorite Weapon and then throw on Daisy and tell me if you hear the same band.

I love every record from Brand New for different reasons.  “Jude Law” is a perfect pop-punk kiss-off song, “Sic Transit Gloria” is a natural and mature progression and “You Won’t Know” is a mature band challenging itself.  I easily could have picked 10 songs but that wouldn’t work with the 1-2-3 part of this bit.

Ash is one of those bands that everyone should know but most don’t and that is a shame.  Hailing from Ireland the band formed in 1992 as a 3-piece.  They eventually toured with Weezer and felt limited by the number and added Charlotte to flesh out their sound.  Like any broad she eventually became a pain in the ass and they kicked her out of the band.  (I can’t confirm that is what happened but I wouldn’t bet against it)

Do yourself a favor and after listening to these songs go buy everything every recorded by Ash, you won’t regret it.

PS – Enjoy the bonus track of Chris Martin joining Ash on a cover of the Buzzcock’s “Everybody’s Happy Nowadays” from the “Shaun of the Dead” soundtrack.

A-Z, 1-2-3: ZZ Top

Posted: 19th January 2011 by ed in Blogs, Ed
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” Who are these old geezers?”  Shame on you if that was your reaction when you first gazed upon that image to the left.  Theses guys from Texas have been rocking longer than most of us have been alive.  Not to mention they have some sweet beards.  Well, except for the guy whose last name is Beard but, whatever.

These guys are rock n roll, no question.  If I could be half as cool I would be 100 times cooler than I am now.




Legs – One of the first, if not the first, songs I heard from the band.  Not only was it an awesome tune but it also made for a great video that was in heavy rotation on MTV.  It helped that said video had hot chicks.  8-year-old me might have had some sort of awakening while viewing this.



Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers and Waitin’ For The Bus/Jesus Just Left Chicago – Two classics (3 actually) off of the amazing Tres Hombres. Just listen to the guitar work!