Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Wednesday: Weekly Picks: 3/30- 4/5

Weekly Picks for this week... 


PICK ONE:
Miss-i-sippin is back! 
This twist on the wine and food pairing parties is such a great time! 
Many different regional beers and food flavors will be available to pair together. 
NOT TO BE MISSED! What better way to raise money for The Arts Council than to do with two things that are fun and social.. food and drink? 
This takes place at The Powerhouse Arts Center
Thursday, March 31st. from 7:00-9:00. 
Tickets are $35 ($25 for Arts Council members)at The Powerhouse. 
See the full menu here


PICK TWO:
Explosions In The Sky with The Octopus Project
are playing at The Lyric
Friday, April 1st. 
Doors at 8:00
(I'm a huge fan of Explosions In The Sky, so I'm very excited for this show)


PICK THREE:
The Books are coming to The Lyric on 
Tuesday, April 5th. 
Doors at 8:00
**This is a general admission, seated show. Tickets are limited. 


What are great week to be in OXFORD!

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Tuesday: Scene Beat- Band Of Horses

Today's Scene Beat is all about Band of Horses, which is now on our own local label Fat Possum. Years ago, before BoH, Ben Bridwell was in a band called Carissa's Wierd. They were an amazing local band to Seattle in the late 90's early 00's. 


I lived in Seattle from 1999-2002 and became friends with Ben while playing softball together every Sunday, followed by a big group of us getting dinner and heading to the bar afterwards. It was like the pre-rock star team with members of Death Cab For Cutie, 764-Hero, Modest Mouse, Murder City Devils, Pretty Girls Make Graves, Hint Hint, Minus The Bear, and Kill Sadie, just to name a few, playing on the team, when they were still mostly unknown, underground local bands. We all did a lot together... like on nice, summer nights, we would get carloads of people to go night swimming in Lake Washington or have dinner parties at friends' homes. It was a good time. 


             


The first Band of Horses video was filmed at the softball field we used to play on, with a lot of the teammates in the video as well. 


And finally, Make Me A Mixtape by Ben Bridwell


"Here's my ten song mix for tonight while I'm drinking George Dickel Whiskey alone at the bar"
1. South Carolina- Archers of Loaf
2. Aids In Africa- Cass McCombs
3. Act together- Ron Wood
4. Sin City- Gram Parsons
5. Run Of The Mill- George Harrison
6. Pot Can't Call The Kettle Black- Jerry Jeff Walker
7. Just The Other Side Of Nowhere- Kris Kristofferson
8. Witchita- Gillian Welch
9. Wagon Wheel- Old Crow Medicine Show 
10. Open Your Heart- Will Oldham


*Photo by Erin Austen Abbott- Seattle, WA 2001. 
Property of Afterschool Oxford. 
Please do not use without written permission. Thanks!

Monday, March 28, 2011

Monday: Things I'm diggin' today.

If you aren't familiar with Pinterest, here's the quick of it.... anything you see on the web, you "pin it" to a board and you will have all your inspiration all in one place. It's highly addictive yet very inspiring. 


Here are a few things I've pinned lately that I'm loving... 


1. DIY bracelet
2. Mountains
3. Cardboard camera art
4. Caramel apples


Follow me here on Pinterest. 

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

I Heart Motel Art

The 5th Annual One Night Stand at The Ole Miss Motel is back 
                                         October 29th, 2011. 


            Submissions are now being accepted until July 11th, 2011.

To submit, view Amelia and click on Motel Art Show for all the information.
Some things have changed, so please read carefully. YAY!!

*Photo is property of Erin Austen Abbott and Afterschool Oxford. Do not use without permission.

Weekly Picks... 3/23 - 3/29

I am so sad that I missed the Fringe Art Crawl last night. I'd love to hear how it went.....And I'm really looking forward to the next one on April 26th.
But there so much to catch this week, starting with....

PICK ONE: 
VOX PRESS ARTISTS SERIES presents 
"Noises from the Nerve Center Collective" 
on Thursday, March 24th 2011 at the Power House Arts Center.  
Doors open at 7:00 p.m.  
The event will feature a sound collage of experimental music and readings from  Valerie Solanas 'S.C.U.M. Manifesto and the works of French playwright and poet,  Antonin Artaud.  
Wine, absinthe, and dinner will be served for a small donation.  The event will be filmed and sound recorded for future television and radio programming.     
The event is free to the public but donations to VOX PRESS, INC are greatly appreciated.  VOX PRESS, INC is  a non-profit literary press based in Oxford since 2004.  All donations are tax deductible.  The VOX PRESS ARTISTS SERIES is sponsored in part by the Yoknapatawpha Arts Council, the Mississippi Arts Commission, and West Jackson Wine and Spirits of Oxford, Mississippi..  The Series seeks to offer a free community forum for celebration and appreciation of the arts.


PICK TWO:
Southside Art Gallery has a really interesting art show opening this week. 
Two writers, poet Claude Wilkinson and novelist, essayist and short-story writer, William Gay will show us 
another side of their talents, painting. 
The opening reception will be held on 
Friday, the 25th 
from 6:30- 8:30 at Southside on the Square. 


PICK THREE:
Two-Stick Sushi presents
Auld Lang Syne   (Rochester New York)
Adult - featuring Edwin Broyles and Deg Ronillo (Oxford, MS)
Jason Cimon (Oxford, MS)

on Saturday, the 26th
Show starts at 9:00 
*Grab dinner at Two- Stick before the show


Have a fun week!!!!  

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Scene Beat: Rancid and International Noise Conspiracy.

When I was touring full time, I did merch on Warped Tour three summers. The longest summers of my life. But I had the chance to see some really special collaborations in that time.

Here are some fun pictures of Rancid and International Noise Conspiracy playing together in Ohio. 
*For those of you not familiar with INC, they formed when their old band Refused broke up. 



        *Photos property of Erin Austen Abbott and Afterschool Oxford. Do not publish without permission. 

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Weekly Picks... 3/16- 3/22

It's spring break... But there are still lots of fun things to do around town and out!! 


PICK ONE:
This Saturday, the 19th, Maker's Market returns for a day of local made crafts for sale. 
The artists set up in front of Amelia and The Lyric, from 10-5pm. Come see all the new goods
that they have been working on all winter long. 


PICK TWO:
Proud Larry's and Cats Purring presents
A Place To Bury Strangers (Brooklyn, NY) and Hooray For Earth (NYC, NY) at Proud Larry's
Tuesday, the 22nd. Doors at 7.


PICK THREE:
SXSW is going on in Austin as we speak.  
There are so many great bands playing this week that it's sort-of bananas. 
You can find some of the local bands that are there now over at Cats Purring. You can also check out Colour Revolt at one of the five shows they have there this week. 
*I find sxsw overwhelming. It's much bigger and different than the last time I went, nine years ago. 
More power to you if you can hang. I'd love to hear all the stories and about the bands you saw though. Maybe I'm just big crowd phobic at this point. 

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Make Me a Linked Mix Tape: Number Eight

This week's Make Me a Mix Linked Mix Tape is all about Touch and Go Records
Based in Chicago, Touch and Go have always been one of those labels that I buy from just because they are consistent with their releases, even when I haven't heard the band. Here's a few of my favorites....


1. The Monorchid
2. Slint
3. Rachel's
4. Seam
5. Red Stars Theory 
6. Shellac 
7. Three Mile Pilot (still one of my favorite bands today)
8. Pinback
9. June of 44 (another one of my all time favorite bands)
10. Calexico


Enjoy!!

Scene Beat is here!

So, if you missed my post last week, I'm starting a new, weekly blog feature called Scene Beat.
A tongue and cheek twist on Teen Beat magazine. It will feature old photos and stories from my time touring on the road, fun interviews that I've compiled over the years as well as current ones, mixtapes, and more.... every week there will be a new surprise. Last week I brought you a mixtape from Mark Kozelek of Sun Kil Moon and The Red House Painters. This week, well, enough of the talkin'... 
Let's get to it. 
Scene Beat presents Hot Water Music
Hot Water Music is the most loved band that you've never heard of. They rank high on the "list of influences" for many, many bands. Forming in 1995ish, they have made it back together from several band break-ups over the years. They were also the first band that I toured with on a regular basis, back in 2002. Here are some photos from the road...



We had a day off in Norfolk, VA. It was 2003. Turbo Negro was playing at the same venue, the night before Hot Water Music. We took advantage of the good routing and headed to the show. Before hand, Chris Wollard had the chance to get a new tattoo that night. 
These were taken in the back of the bus, in the parking lot. 

*Photos are not to be used without permission of Afterschool Oxford and Erin Austen Abbott




Monday, March 14, 2011

Par-tay!

Spring is here and it makes me want to entertain. Here's some of the dream party goods to put spring in your step.
3. straws
5. cake (yeah, I know it's a wedding cake, but dang, that is awesome!

Alright then, seems it's party time... 




Saturday, March 12, 2011

60 blocks + 8 trains + three days = my trip to NYC

I just returned from New York City on Tuesday. I hadn't been there since I worked for a certain race car driver, which, when I worked for him, I was in NYC for two weeks out of the month, every month, for a year. So I was there a lot, but that's been about two years. Wow! Time really flies.


This time I was there for Playtime NY which is a wonderful, small market for children's clothes and goods. I found five new lines that I will have in the store soon. I looked for things that wouldn't just be for children but all the customers that come into the store. Mission accomplished.
More about that as things come in....


Here's some of the restaurants and shops that I came across on this trip.


Eating:
My friend Amy and I went to one of her favorite places... Five Leaves in Greenpoint. It is such an awesome restaurant. It was packed all morning and lunchtime... I'm sure that
A) It's like that all the time
B) Because it's pretty small
C) Because the food was just so good.
I had the kale salad. It could feed a small army in size and tasted great! Look around and notice all the little touches that they've thought of.... Love this place!


Barrio Chino is one of those places that I always try to head to when in NYC. It's in the Lower East Side. Talk about great tortilla soup and fresh grapefruit margaritas. It's tiny, but what place in NYC isn't?


Paris Sandwich on Grand Ave. in China Town/Little Italy was a great, quick stop. Vietnamese sandwiches might be my most favorite thing to eat. This one was perfect and so cheap.


Taim is one of the best Middle Eastern sandwiches I have ever had. I got the roasted eggplant sandwich. It has a name, but I can't remember what it's called. Just look for the roasted eggplant with a hard boiled egg. You will have arrived. I also got the honey tea. You would think it would be sweet. Not the case. Very bitter. Pass on that, but I'm sure one of their other options would be great. It's really, really small, so unless it's a really nice day and you can sit outside to eat, don't go right at lunch time. There are five or six stools and that's about it.


Shopping:
Phoenix and Nola is this really great line of kids clothes. Everything is really affordable and so soft. I came home with a few presents for friends children.  This is just a few blocks down from Five Leaves.


Erica Weiner Jewelry now has a brick and mortar location in SoHo. She has a great eye for the whole package. I am actually going to start carrying her line in at Amelia, but not for a few more weeks.
The storefront has some things you can't get anywhere else.


Papabubble is a super fun candy store in Little Italy. You can watch them making the candy fresh, before your eyes. You walk in to a wall of candy smells. The candy is so yummy!! And they have samples of just about everything there for you to try. I recommend the passion fruit and the soda filled candy. Ummm, yeah... so good.


That should give you a few new places to try next time you are in the neighborhood.


PS.... I just heard about this hotel and I really wish I had stayed here. Next time....


Feel free to add to this list and tell me about places to head to next time I'm in the city.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Scene Beat sneak peek

Next week, I am starting a new section to Afterschool Oxford called Scene Beat.
A tongue and cheek spin on Teen Beat magazine, each Tuesday it will feature interviews, mixtapes, indie rock cribs, pins ups and more, from different bands, writers and artists from around the country and locally.
This has been 15 years in the making.... I will take you back through old photos that I've taken over the years from my life on the road, interviews that I've been compiling along with new ones to come, and so much more.... 
Here's a sneak peek into just one of the many mix tapes Scene Beat will bring you...

This week's Make Me A Mix Tape comes to you from:
MARK KOZELEK OF RED HOUSE PAINTERS/ SUN KIL MOON

1. Send In The Clowns by Judy Collins
2. Carpet Crawlers by Genesis
3. Tea For One by Led Zeppelin
4. Glory Road by Neil Diamond
5. How Can I Love You by Cat Stevens
6. Baby I Love Your Way by Peter Frampton
7. Win by David Bowie
8. Machine Gun by Jimi Hendrix
9. Darcy Farrow by John Denver
10. I'm Not In Love by 10CC 

Enjoy!

Let me know what you think! 

Weekly Picks... 3/9 - 3/15

I know it's almost Spring Break 2k11, but hopefully you will still have time to work some of these rad events into your spring break plans.... 


PICK ONE:
This week's very special Thacker Mt. Radio will take place at The Lyric, on March 10th from 6- 9PM. It's a free event. 
Guests this week include Andre Dubus, Matt and William Arnett, Lonnie Holley,
John Francis and the Gee's Bend singers. 
Join Thacker Mt. Radio and The Quiltmakers of Gee's Bend directly after the 
radio show for a special screening of the Alabama Public Television documentary
called, "The Quiltmakers of Gee's Bend" followed by a question and answer session following the screening. 
*Thank you to The University Museum for their continued work on this very amazing exhibit. 


PICK TWO:
Proud Larry's presents
Young Buffalo (Oxford), Holiday Shores (Tallahassee, FL) and Idiot Glee (Lexington, KY)
on Friday, the 11th. 
This is an 18+ show. 
Doors are at 7. 


PICK THREE:
Cats Purring presents 
Prince Rama (Brooklyn), Jeff The Brotherhood (Nashville), King Tuff (Vermont) 
and Amen Dunes (Brooklyn)
at The Cats Purring Dude Ranch on Saturday, the 12th at 8pm SHARP. 
For directions, show times, door fee and more, visit the Cats Purring website. 


SPRING BREAK EXTRA PICKS:
*Bozarts Gallery presents
The Glass Art Exhibition opening reception
on Friday, the 11th from 6-9pm
Artists include:
David Arbuckle
Dianne Smith Fergusson
Hattie Amelia Marshall
Sheri C. Marshall
Jerri Sherer
Deirdre Uncapher
403 N. Main Street
Water Valley, MS

*Cats Purring and Proud Larry's present
Dom (Worcester, MA), Wise Blood (Pittsburgh, PA) and 
Sore Eros (Northampton, MA)
at Proud Larry's on Monday, the 14th. 
This is an 18+ show. 
Doors are at 7. 



Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Weekly Picks... 3/2- 3/8

Here you go.... 
My Weekly Picks for 3.2.11 - 3.8.11


PICK ONE:
Taste of Oxford will be held tonight at The Library Bar and Grill, Wednesday, March 2nd. 
All proceeds will benefit St. Jude's Research Hospital in Memphis. 
Starts at 7pm. 
Many great, local  restaurants will be there to give you a taste. 
Great night for a great cause!!


PICK TWO:
It's Gee's Bend Family Fun Day at the University Museum at Ole Miss. 
From 10am- 1pm, get your fill of crafts and quilting, something for the 
whole family. 


PICK THREE:
Cats Purring presents  
Sic Alps (San Francisco), Kruxe (Memphis)  and Flight (Oxford)
at Proud Larry's on Saturday, March 5th. 
Doors at 8pm