Vibra Optic's biorhythm for September has fluctuated almost as drastically as (insert Oprah weight-related punchline aqui)....

September 6th - Our third show scheduled for the Airliner w/Pursuit Utopia and Buffalo Electric goes horribly wrong when it gets so late that we don't even get to play. By 1am we find out that the booker for this event has taken off for the night, relieving himself of any responsibility for the few people who paid to see us play on a monday night. Explicative. As far as we are concerned, the Airliner's has firmly super glued itself onto our shitlist.

September 10th - Redeemingly successful show at the Dawg House in my backyard (Hacienda Heights) graciously shared with our friends Buffalo Electric. They owned the night, yet their shadow was very welcoming.

September 13th - We made our third appearance at the Commonwealth Lounge in Fullerton. Mixed in with an incredible lineup that included Adult Film and Beatmo, we played to the most packed house I had ever seen on a Monday night. Unfortuanately the sound was pretty off that night as there was a horrible buzz/cracking sound coming from the speakers that, as far as i know, no one was quite able to fix that night. Not only that, but the sustain pedal from the piano came loose that night during our slowest, most legato song (crucial time for a sustain). Kinda messed me up. I chose to drink that night away from recollection.

September 17th - Invited back at the dawg house on somewhat short notice. By this time, my sustain pedal decided to leave me indefinately for another woman. We battled through our technical issues nearly the entire set, though Bronson kept the beat going strong, which apparently was enough to generate interest in the crowd that night.

Sometimes I don't understand why were received so well during the times we sound like a menstral cycle, yet we're completely slept on the whenver we just kill it. But its at those times i turn on the tv and see Justin Beiber ride up in a limo and perform to thousands of screaming fans, and then I remember just how this world works.

Joey got PUNCHED IN THE FUCKIN' FACE

CLICK FOR RECORDINGS OF THIS SHOW
    
     That is correct, Joey at P.B.&J. took a shot to the face by our friend Liza. That was pretty gnarly. But, thanks to Liza's fists of fury, we now know that intermissions are extremely beneficial; you get to talk with the crowd on a personal level, rest ur arms and vocals, spit game at everybody's girlfriends, and do some cocaine**. But most importantly, you get to drink water.
     The show (with a few intermissions) went from about 10:30 to 1am or so. A Mexican dude came off the street and started singing on the mic while Chris and I improvised. That was cool. A fellow lyricist/musician by the name of "SuNWhoa! the black Samurai from the Circuit" also hopped on the mic and blessed our ears with a sick freestyle while Chris and I did our best impressions of black people music, (A.K.A. hip-hop. See Wu-Tang Clan). You can also check out his hip-hop trio The Circuit here. All in all, it was a pretty fun night and we got a lot of playing in, which is exactly what we needed. We got some good material from the show, pretty much pulled out all the stops and did the craziest shit we could think of. If you would like to hear the craziest/coolest part of the show, in my opinion, click here for the last track "Lady Day and John Coltrane" and listen to the breakdown/bridge thingy. That shit is nuts.
     Special thanks to all the people who stayed home and masturbated to pictures of Oprah when she was jailbait.

   
                   ....that would be everyone.

** Just kidding about the cocaine.
-love, bronson

I've had Diarrhea since 2007

      On Saturday the 21st of August, we played at a gig that was labeled, "Bud Pharm". It was in the High Desert, (get it.... High  Desert) and I thought it was a 5-acre Marijuana Farm with licensed growers, vendors, and patients, all stoned and ready to listen to some egotistical psychadelic music and reminisce about the good ol' days when they used to lick acid off of Jimi Hendrix's shaft. But, it was only a get-together at a fuckin Ranch in the middle of nowhere that druggies could go to if they wanted to get super baked and reminisce about the good ol' days when they used to lick acid off of Jimi Hendrix's roadie's shaft. It was kind of a bummer, but the stage was pretty big and one of the little stoners said that he drove around the desert picking up old telephone poles to help build the stage. As gone as these people were, that was the best stage we've ever played on. By far.
     Turns out I wasn't the only person to misinterpret an email; these guys thought we were a Bob Marley cover band. That's the only reason they booked our asses! The whole time they were telling us a really good Bob Marley cover band was going to play. We played one cover to stimulate their Bob Marley blue-balls, but we threw some musicianship into the mix and everybody went back to doing heroin. We'll probably never play that gig again unless they book some real bands or start paying.
     Our friend Gamaliel helped out as a roadie that day and kept us company while all the rednecks stared at his black ass like he just stole their bike. There was one other black guy there, and boy was he dark. He was a  pretty cool dude, and liked our music. He had a two-man band also, and they did the damn thing. The girls there were disgusting as all hell and reminded me of all the times I threw up.
    
      Vibra Optic '73, bitches.

   love, bronson

     these were the guys.
 

Official CD Release Coming Soon!

As I write this I'm listening to my new cd from the band Voice On Tape, whose set i caught last night at one of the Tuesday night residency shows being put on by KSPC 88.7 at The Press in Claremont. Voice On Tape gave a beautiful performance to say the least. The smooth, dark, and ever so passionate vocals of Lou Anda fill the air and cut through the perfectly blended mix of dirty acoustic guitar sounds and the hypnotic drumming style of Isaac. Following them was the equally charismatic So Many Wizards, who had the crowd up on their feet dancing around them as they carried on with their uptempo rythms and bittersweet chord progressions and melodies that when all put together, seem to generate a sense of longing for another time or place. Both bands performances provided me with yet another excellent reminder that great songwriters are continuing to emerge from the underground and are at least getting some palpable form of recognition, at least from the folks at the always ahead of the curve KSPC radiostation. This was my first time attending one of KSPC's weekly events at The Press, but I don't believe it will be the last. It's so nice to see a local radio station actually investing in its own music scene this way. So great job to 88.7, great job to Voice On Tape, and once more to So Many Wizards.

 These past couple of weeks we've been getting ready for our official CD release! Im so excited to see all the pieces finally falling into place. The artwork which we designed ourselves, the discpainter so we may print artwork on our cds at our leisure, our cd duplicator all the way up to the blank cd's themselves-all the materials that we ordered or designed in order to press up these cd's have just been arriving in the mail one package at a time. We've already put together a few finished products, so now were just waiting on one final piece (the jewel cases) so that we can continue with the mass production.

If you haven't gotten the hint already, this Record is the epitome of DIY. Everything about this record is the effort of two people. We've cut corners, haggled for equipment, recorded, produced, and licensed ourselves. We've managed our time to make a record while at the same time worked day jobs, played in other bands, and to a certain extent, maintained our daily lives. So for everything to come out with this level of quality, we are very pleased to say the least. Once a CD release date is set, we will begin taking preorders which will probably include some sort of bonus such as alternate cd artwork and a personal note. Who knows? Maybe even a "gas prices suck cock" t-shirt! In the meantime until all that is set up, feel free to hit us up on facebook or email us at vibraoptic73@gmail.com with a request for a preorder and well let you know when its ready.

 Other than that we have played a couple shows that I didn't get around to covering until now. One being a second show in Fullerton, and previous to that, an incredible mini-festival put on by the guys from Pursuit Utopia. That was that show in Long Beach, and man, it was dope!

Gustavo Franco

 (She Knew It Was There Somewhere)

Paul (drums) and Brion (bass)
 of Pursuit Utopia

Amazing sets by our friends from Stay Cool Forever, She knew it was there somewhere, and Pursuit Utopia along with many others. Finally having gotten to witness Pursuit Utopia's live show, i was thoroughly impressed. So much energy, so much soul,  and so much sound, and for it to have come out of one band of three people, i was astonished. They even had a conga set up for fans to come join them onstage. Now these people have love from their fans, and rightfully so. "Stay Cool" and "She Knew" both put on the best performances I've seen out of them as of yet. I'm very proud of them as they are my friends from which I've seen such a vast growth and musical development over the years. Great job guys!

Rene Carillo (guitar) of Pursuit Utopia

Stay Cool Forever

(Left to Right): Gustavo Franco,
Keith Yergens, Nina, Nicolas Chacon

We went on stage that night around 830 to be greeted with open arms and open minds. There was definitely a sense of love and respect in the air for one another at that party. We played our asses off and were received very well. Thanks again to Paul of Pursuit Utopia for setting that up and having everything run smoothly. Can't wait for the next one with you guys.

So stay posted and make sure to check for any updates on our FB page as well as this blog concerning our EP release.

-Peace

Christopher

(Vibra Optic '73)

Playing Saturday July 3 in Long Beach

Got to play another show with our friends Stay Cool Forever and a long beach band by the name of Wild Pack of Canaries. This time was at our newly beloved spot the Tribal Cafe in echo park. We played first, and unfortunately, I only was able to stick around for the first few songs of Wild Pack of Canaries which were definately interesting and energetic to say the least. And I completely missed Stay Cool Forever as well, as I had to go play the last of a four day Nigerian women's conference in Inglewood. Good thing is we will be seeing both of these bands along with many others this Saturday in Long Beach at a Show being put on by Paul, the bassist of the band Pursuit Utopia, who will of course be playing as well. Pursuit Utopia, btw is the band of high school friend, Rene Carillo, who as I recall was the only person in high school who had me jealous of his guitar skills and always advanced musical taste. I'm super eager to see his band finally, as well as to meet Paul who seems like a pretty cool guy just from our phone conversations regarding this show.

One cool thing with this last show we played is that we finally got a sound recording of it with our zoom handheld recorder (which we just so happened to use for a lot of what you'd hear on our record). The vocals are pretty hard to hear on account of the fact that the mic was placed behind us and there was no stage monitor, but other than that it came out pretty well with the mix between the keys and the drums despite our careless placement of the recorder. You can currently hear most of the recording here at the music tab of our facebook page. But I'm thinking for the near future we'll possibly release an album(s?) of bootleg recordings for your downloading pleasure, free of cost. So be on the lookout for that.

Lots of stuff has happened this week in our personal lives as well this band. And it seems the more we experience the more im taken away from this blog, but im doing my best to keep up with it all. But between all these random things like our other band, Ginger breaking up and my ever increasing disgust for pay to play concerts which I unknowingly was a part of last night, there's just too much to write. I'll just try to get all the Vibra Optic info in and whatever else I have the energy for afterwards will come second in priority. Until then, I gotta get back to this hustling business.

Upcoming Shows:
July 3, 2010 at 250 Oregon in Long Beach, CA. 6:40pm

Okay, so Adult Film wasn't on the bill for this last show in Fullerton after all. But Adrian Rodriguez (Adult Film) did book the night and apparently enjoyed us, so a future show with both Vibra Optic and Adult Film is in order, so stay tuned for that. In the mean time, we will be performing this Saturday 26 at the legendary Tribal Cafe in Echo Park. Its gonna be early, like 3pm so make sure you order your food around 2-2:15 or so to get it in time. I've already put in my order for the avocado club and I'm salivating.

The show in Fullerton was definately an enjoyable one, somewhat similar to the first show. It was later admitted to me by Bronson that our opening jam literally gave him an erection so i guess that should be a good indicator that things are functioning well. Special thanks to Stay Cool Forever for opening and coming thru in a clinch. They had about as much warning as we have for most of our shows, so I really appreciate it that they came and played even with sick/missing members. Real Troopers. Thanks guys, you killed it IMO.

Stay Cool Forever, to my understanding, started out as a two peice between Keith Yergens (keys, vox) and Nic Chacon (drums) and has now expanded to a five peice including my good friend Gustavo Franco of She Knew It Was There Somewhere, Franco's solo project. Now Stay Cool is definately something of a different nature-full of horror and irony. And I mean that in good way. Inhumanly uptempo beats over a sea of reasurring casio sounds remeniscent of a six year old's wet dreams stemmed from his Oedipus Complex. A blend of magical resolutions and cartoonish fantasies seem to run wild broken occasionally by brief outbursts of primal scream therapy. All the while that this is going on-and this is the scary ironic part- the band as a whole looks tormented and depressed! I like to think of them as the band version of the Christmas Critters from Southpark. All cute and fuzzy, yet scary and demented at the same time. Very trippy. If you haven't heard of them, make sure you give them a listen. Great Job, guys! I really enjoyed it.

This also marks the first show that we've gotten on tape. I'll post the videos as soon as we get them up. Anyways, lots of stuff going on in the works as far as shows go. July and August should see us pretty busy. Lots of other things on the sidelines as well. Speaking of which I played a gig last night for something called the Legends Ball. Which was basically a Playa's Ball like from hbo and that dave chappelle skit. I got a video of these guys talkin about their pimp game. Enjoy.

Shows:

Jun 26, 2010 at Tribal Cafe in Echo Park. 3pm

Playing June 14 in Fullerton

In our tradition of booking shows less than twenty-four hours in advance of the said performance, we latched ourselves on, last minute, to an event at the Airliner club this last monday the seventh. This marks our fourth performance, that is, if we are counting our stutter-laden visit to melrose the other day. Otherwise, that makes three appearances inside of a venue. Thanks to our friends Matt and Jr. for showing up and helping out. In case you have never been so fortunate as to lift a suitcase rhodes piano, trust me that it is an experience best enjoyed with the company of other helping hands. So guys, thank you for that along with a hilarious night at the Denny's in Downey.

We do have a show this next Monday 14th, at the Commonwealth Lounge in Fullerton. I dont have all the details just yet, but you can follow us on facebook to receive updates as they come and we'll let you know as soon as we know. Be glad, however, if your a fan (the both of you), because so far this is the greatest advance notice we've been given, and subsequently released for any of our shows, that being a whole week. Things are looking up!

Also I do believe we will be playing with our friends Adult Film lead by Adrian Rodriguez. Now this guy, Adrian, who I've known through mutual friends for a short while, has got to be one of the best song writers to come out of this region. And as far as I know all of his groups have seemed to generate a lot of steam pretty quickly, with his old bands ERS and Puzzle Being (puzzle being era was when I was introduced, I wasnt around to witness ERS), and now his new band Adult Film. There's a certain natural fluidity in this guy's songwriting, even while introducing odd time signatures or intricate phrasings in the songs. And these 'tricks' never seem to be put in a manner that attempt to "show off" or alienate anybody, but rather it seems the music flows best that way. All I'm saying is watch out for this band, and this next show should be a good one. Hope to see you there.

Brain Jail

First of all I hope everyone had a great memorial day weekend, that it was relaxing and safe for everyone who owns a grill and an ice chest. And while we didn't exactly get the chance to put either of these utensils to use, rest assured that our weekend was interesting and productive.

Lets start off with saturday, performing on the street in front of SLOW clothing store and the Vizzi Truck on Melrose Avenue. A special thanks to Melissa of Stop & Listen LA for setting everything up. We did run into couple of slight snags in the form of noise complaints during soundcheck. Nothing too major, though. And definately nothing that can't be fixed, apparently by moving the piano about 4 feet in one direction. But seriously, who moves to Hollywood expecting peace and quiet? I know just the place for these people. Its got great scenery, a similarly moderate climate, more parking, and ofcourse, less noise. Its called Outside of LA. We were, however, fortunate enough to have a surprise cameo performance (that we didnt even know about) by a sweet old lady blowing bubbles onto our instruments as we attempted to play through our confusion. Overall we had a lot of fun and made a few new friends there and just may possibly play around those parts again, hopefully in the near future.

No sooner than we were off the street had we temporarily retired to watch Kobe rain on the parade that is the Steve Nash foundation with an onslaught of three's, facing a vast variety of defensive challenges on the part of the Phoenix Suns. What a performance! Another special thanks to Melissa's Dad for the San Miguel and the wonderful hospitality.

That night we checked out a show at a large loft in downtown where I was to play bass for an Indian group called Lal Meri. The spot, appropriately named Downtown At Large was really neat and full of familiar faces. None more familiar, ofcourse, than our good friend Jason Morton, who Ive known and played with on many occasions for some time now. I was really impressed with the distinct acoustic sound of Voice On Tape as well as At Large venue in general. And as the night ended with a jam with me, jason and a couple other cool musicians, it was time to call it and head back to the area from which i reside, known as "east of east la".

Sunday was a new day. After coming home from Nigerian Church, It was time to rest up for the final performance of the weekend. I was beginning to get a little worn out. And while this would be Vibra's second performance over these two days (third overall), it was my 4th. Plus my lingering cough of the past two months and sore throat was beginning to flare up into a full blown hacking up of flem. But I can't complain. Bronson's chronic mesothemiolac cough has been with him for something like 3 or 4 years now. Come to think of it, man you really need to get that checked out again, and this time NOT with Dr. Nick from the Simpsons. Cause I agree with you that after a few years straight with the same cough, there could be a possibility that it may be due to something other than allergies....

Anyways this show at Room 5 on La Brea, was where we learned an important lesson: We need more songs. Our set was basically cut short when we... ran out of music to play. Now normally its in our nature, when life throws such a lemon, to improvise and jam for a bit till nearly everyone is pissed. But were trying a new thing here. Also we got a pretty weird reaction of dead silence, which im not used to. Applause is nice. Booing and Cussing i can take. Having a bunch of 15 year olds run up on stage and call you "sluts" in the middle of your song- not ideal, but I've lived through it. But dead silence? Now that was awkward. Not to say I didnt enjoy myself. And I'm ever so greatful to our friend Mitchell Schaffer for setting it up and having us there. I just didn't feel that people wanted to hear our Bob Marley encore this time.

We concluded the night with a plethora of much needed and appreciated advice on touring and etiquette in the music business by Mitchell, to be followed by drinks from some of Bronson's family who were visiting from Seattle.

Overall this weekend in the world of Vibra Optic '73 proved to be if nothing else, an educating one. We've learned not to burn bridges. We learned that you dont need a permit for street performance in Los Angeles. We learned from the bubble lady that school is "Brain Jail" and that Bronson is the "Snare Master Man". And most importantly we learned that we are not made of solid gold. Though we've had our share of "off" performances in the past, we figured, due to the nature of this band, that we'd always play with a sort of conviction that commands attention. This is not always true, and we must take it in stride and learn from it.

I want to thank one last time all of the people who helped us out or were there for us in one way or another by either booking us, feeding us, or showing support for us. To our family, friends, and new friends made, thank you.

-Christopher

Vibra Optic '73

The Morning After

Our first show finally took place last night at PB&J art gallery during the Pomona Art walk. Familiar faces crowded the "stage", meanwhile a refreshing sight had unfolded as many unfamiliar faces came rushing in to see what was going on.... Ok, so they just walked in calmly and took a seat on the ground. Nevertheless, I feel like we definately made some noise out there as we were asked for an encore, at which, we happily scrounged for a Bob Marley cover - "Three o'Clock Road Block (Rebel Music)". Other covers included Segun Bucknor & his Revolution's "LaLa" and Gil Scott-Heron's "Lady Day and John Coltrane".

Although I dont believe there is any footage of the performance, this one has already burned images in my memory bank and will probably remain as one the more significant performances of our lives. Those few who were there for the most part could probably see that something special was happening, that being a complete and utter release of energy and light that had been bottled up for so long. Finally we've gotten to expose our true selves, without reservation, as artists and musicians.

"Yes.... a band.... yeah, just us two.... I know"

This week marks the release of our first record (first copywritten work of any kind ive ever been a part of) and all i can think is how much room our sleeping bags will take up on someone else's car camping spot for coachella (and if they will notice/report us). If i can make it, then some of the acts i'll be most excited for will include Ceu, the dead weather, mew, and the Specials ofcourse. Yet the one that is going to realize one of my wet Woodstock dreams is Sly Stone. Originally billed to include "the family", im curious to know if the others even knew about the gig until they saw the posters everwhere. Either way i'll take it... higher.

The other thing itching at me (although not with the same severity that of Sly's attendance record) is my concern for the immediate future of this band. With our first record having just been released, one big question lingers: who's going to play bass for us? Im not ready to ray manzerek this stuff no matter how much i'd like to think i could. Well, the offer stands.

And as if i haven't plugged our record enough in this first blog for a band who hasn't even yet gotten the chance to become defunct, the best place you can hear this music i speak of for free and/or buy it is currently http://vibraoptic73.bandcamp.com/ This bass playing position comes with a free burnt copy and a "gas prices suck cock" t-shirt! We need a percussionist too, so Hit us up.

And to everyone else, please DO NOT listen to the album by clicking on the link. And when you DON'T click on the link, definately, DONT click the download album or any particular tracks. and when you DONT do that, definately, DO NOT, i repeat, DO NOT whatsoever, name your own price of ten dollars or more with a smile on your face knowing that almost a half of a year went in to making this record for a couple people who did it 100 percent on their own. And only then, after you HAVENT done any of that... you better not enjoy it.

I will truly appreciate it. I cant curb my current addiction to the Shoki Shoki album by FEMI KUTI. I too had been wondering what tomorrow would bring for nigeria, that is, until i learned it was I.

With love,

Christopher

http://ninetongues.blogspot.com/