Blurbex

By now, most of us know that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled yesterday that Americans have an intrinsic right to own a gun for self-defense.

The St. Petersburg Times ran a wire story on 1A today about the landmark decision, but then, in a sidebar about Florida’s bring-a-gun-to-work law, appeared to digress into another ruling by the court.

Reporter Jennifer Liberto wrote that the justices upheld the right to “bare arms.” “That changed when the Supreme Court decided for the first time that individuals have the right to bare arms …,” goes one passage.”

So it’s settled. The Supreme Court has upheld your right to wear a wife-beater.

1. Beach Theatre hosts a 1970’s weekend, with a reduced admission price of $2 to screenings of Blazing Saddles, Rocky, Dirty Harry, Jaws, and Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

2. It’s St. Pete Pride weekend! Share some laughs with ANT, walk in the promenade and shop at the festival, return to Babylon, and rock loud and proud with Betty.

3. Enjoy free food and drink samples, and peruse the offerings of an array of local independent businesses all in one place at the third annual TIBA Expo at Nature’s Harvest Market.

4. Blac Soap plays Club 360 in Ybor City.

5. ARTpool stages a one-night film fest featuring short films, an “installation spectacle,” music videos, and plenty else by various local artists, among them, David Meeks, Alex De Campi, Charlotte Stirk, Greg Brewer, Diana Lucas Leavengood, and Marina Williams.

Former Flat Duo Jet (and one-time Venice, Fla., resident) Dexter Romweber, who I interviewed here, has inked a deal with the venerable cow punk label Bloodshot. St. Petersburg’s own Brett Steele of Steele Management (Mojo Gurus, Blind Buddy Moody, Some Dancing Skeleton), manages Romweber. The roots rock hero’s debut disc for the label will feature dutes with Cat Power’s Chan Marshall and Neko Case, among others.

Here’s the press release from Steele:

AMERICAN MUSIC LEGEND DEX ROMWEBER SIGNS MULTI-ALBUM DEAL WITH BLOODSHOT RECORDS NEW ALBUM FEATURES CAT POWER, NEKO CASE AND EXENE CERVENKA 

SUMMER TOUR ANNOUNCED!

Bloodshot Records and Dex Romweber announce the signing of a multi-album deal – a match made in heaven between two arbiters of the edgy side of rock, R&B and country. The first album, as yet untitled, will feature duets between Dex and Cat Power, Neko Case and Exene Cervenka. Recording commences in mid-August at Overdub Lane in Durham, NC; John Plymale (Meat Puppets, Squirrel Nut Zippers, Corrosion Of Conformity) is producing. Said Nan Warshaw, Bloodshot co-owner, “Dexter’s reputation as a musician’s musician is well-established and so deserved, but we here at Bloodshot are also in awe of the unbridled fury and raw soul he has unleashed for decades.”

 

The Dex Romweber Duo will stretch their legs prior to the recording with a tour that is bookended by two festival dates: Festival For The Eno July 6 in Durham, NC and the Deep Blues Festival July 19 in Lake Elmo, MN. All tour dates are listed below.

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I’m moving this weekend, so yesterday afternoon I took some time to call and schedule my cable and power services to be transferred to my new address.

I started by calling Bright House Networks first, only because it was at the top of the list of customer service phone numbers I compiled a few days ago. The process of scheduling a technician to come out early next week to plug me into the World Wide Web and my digital cable only took about 10 minutes. Sweet. Moving on.

Next up, I called Progress Energy Florida. That call started out fine but ended really weird.

After going through the menu options to ensure that my call was transferred to the proper department, I placed the order with Kyle (a real person as far as could tell). Kyle took only a few minutes to set up the order and then he transferred me to Allconnect, a trusted Progress Energy partner, to confirm and complete my order.

Instead of speaking to an actual person, as I was foolishly expecting, I was assisted by a computer cleverly disguised as a real man who went over my order with me and took down my email address to send my confirmation number and some “valuable” coupons.

I was struck by how life-like he (it??) seemed. It was like talking to a real person who wasn’t reading from a script. It’s a very sophisticated system.

When I gave him (it) my email address I didn’t spell it out as instructed, but first spoke it out of habit. Nonetheless, he (it) got it right the first time. He (it) actually spelled it correctly when he (it) read it back to me, which was impressive because I have an underscore in my email address and when I give it to an actual person I usually have to explain what an underscore is and how to make one using a keyboard. This fellow (thing) was on top of it, which is more impressive from a voice-recognition aspect than a keyboard-using aspect since he (it) is a computer and likely has a keyboard as a part of his (its) body (plus, I heard typing as I was talking to him/it).

Then things got awkward.

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Like I predicted here, Boy George is having visa problems and it appears unlikely he’ll be able to make his July 27 date at Jannus Landing.

From Reuters:

“At the moment, Boy George cannot come to the United States of America because he has been refused permission to enter by the USA Administration,” read a statement from the artist’s management. “This is not in respect of anything he has done in the past but because he is facing a trial in November in London for something that happened in April last year.”

Creative Loafing cover girl and Tropical Heatwave star Amanda Shaw returns to Tampa Bay to play Skipper’s Smokehouse on August 8. If you saw the singer/songwriter/fiddler in May then you’re already excited about catching this roots rock/Cajun pop act return for a headlining gig. Click here for my review/photos of Shaw’s outstanding performance at Heatwave. Here’s the WMNF press release, which includes an extended excerpt of my review, and me requesting Shaw play Skipper’s in near future (photos by Wade Tatangelo):

Amanda Shaw and the Cute Guys, plus Sara Hickman

Friday Aug 08 08:00PM — Skipper’s Smokehouse

$12 advance, $15 door.

Louisiana teenage fiddle sensation Amanda Shaw returns after her triumphant set at Tropical Heatwave.

Heatwave review:
“Shaw’s poise, charisma, and chops belie her age. Then again, she’s been performing in public for a decade, and it showed Saturday. Shaw elated the crowd with her singular brand of Cajun-flavored roots rock. Boasting a strong and expressive voice colored with genuine twang and beat-the-devil fiddle skills, the diminutive frontwoman turned in a dynamic performance that included interestingly reworked blues (”Got My Mojo Workin’”), traditional zydeco (”Hot Tamale Baby”) and Cajun-spiced punk (The Clash’s “Should I Stay or Should I Go?”).

Shaw’s originals, mostly culled from her Rounder Records debut Pretty Runs Out, were equally varied and impressive, with the teenager revealing a knack for mature lyrics and catchy hooks that make her rustic sounds appealing to pop fans — without sounding too poppy. Could Shaw bring Cajun music to the masses? Perhaps. For now, I just hope she returns to play a local venue like Skipper’s in the near future.”
- Wade Tatangelo, Creative Loafing

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In all of my previous experience, Tampa has been a safe haven for underage drinkers — all you need is a fake ID and a pretty smile. At least that’s what’s always worked up until now.

First, let me introduce you to my partners in crime, Danielle and Melissa. Melissa looks like an angel, tiny with blond hair and big, green eyes, and she’ll flirt with anything in a 5-mile radius willing to buy us drinks. Danielle is fiery and has the tendency to be overly dramatic, but only in an entertaining way. I’ve been getting into trouble with these two since high school. As soon as we were semi-old enough to begin frequenting local bars we started searching for fake IDs. I was the lucky one: I have an older sister. I was the designated 21-year-old in our group of girls for a while, but after our first semester in college, all of our friends had fakes.

Last week we strode into a bar on Bruce B. Downs and presented our fakes confidently. It wasn’t the nicest place, but it had great service, lots of pool tables and dart boards, and the best thing is they give you these blue tickets when you walk in the door that are good for two $5 pitchers. Danielle, Melissa and I hadn’t seen each other in a while, so we just wanted to catch up. Every time I go out with Melissa we drink for free. It never fails. She has this uncanny ability to get guys to offer her and all her friends whatever they want before she politely thanks them and sends them on their way. Normally, I frown upon this type of behavior, preferring to buy my own drinks rather than feeling like I owe a conversation to some sleaze, but this particular night for some reason was especially easy for Melissa to secure our buzz for free. After the bar closed and we were thrown out, we decided to head over to the Seminole Hard Rock Casino.

This is where the night took a very wrong turn.

At first it was perfect. We stumbled into the Hard Rock, but not before stopping to pee in a well-hidden crevice between wall and bush. (It was a very long walk from the parking lot.) Our Casino entrance was very well-executed. When you’re drinking underage, everything is like a special-ops mission, and the trick is confidence. We made our way to the bar, flashed our IDs and the party continued. Melissa began working her magic while Danielle and I sat back and laughed as we watched her score rounds of drinks for us. She even weaseled $20 out of one poor dude so we could try out the slot machines.

Then our party stopped. A security guard swooped in on Melissa and asked for her ID. Shit. She kept her game face on and answered all of his questions before he ruthlessly threatened her with the P-word: Police. After wriggling the truth from Melissa, he moved on to Danielle and me. In the few times my fake has been questioned, I have recited perfectly my fake name, my fake address and my fake zodiac sign, resulting in immediate surrender from the bouncer or bartender, but this guy was not fooling around. After questioning us, he got out a pen and paper and made us sign our names so he could cross-reference our signatures with those on our IDs.

We were toast.

How embarrassing. We successfully fooled everyone at the bar only to be discovered and thrown out in front of everyone. Our IDs were confiscated, but I’m thankful law enforcement was not involved. It really got me thinking about what could have happened, so I looked it up.

From the University of Florida Police Department Web site:

F.S.S. 322.32: Unlawful use of license is a second degree MISDEMEANOR.

This statute makes it unlawful to display, cause, permit to be displayed, or have in your possession any canceled, revoked, or suspended, disqualified, fictitious, or fraudulently altered driver’s license. It is also unlawful to lend a license to any other person or knowingly permit its use by another.

Example: An older sibling or friend loans their driver’s license to younger sibling or friend who uses it to get into clubs/bars; the older sibling would be charged. To display, or represent as your own or any driver’s license not issued to you is also illegal.

Example: Same scenario as above but this time the younger sibling or friend would be charged.

Since my ID was my sister’s and my friends had friends’ IDs, we would have been charged with a misdemeanor, but presenting a forged ID, like many of my peers do, is a felony.

F.S.S. 322.212: Unauthorized possession or other unlawful acts in relation to, driver’s license or identification cards is a third degree FELONY.

It is unlawful for any person to knowingly have in their possession any blank, forged, stolen, fictitious, counterfeit, or unlawfully issued driver’s license or identification card. It is unlawful for any person to barter, trade, sell, or give away any driver’s license or identification card or to perpetrate a conspiracy to barter, trade, sell, or give away any such license or identification card unless authorized.

Example: A person provides false information or someone else’s information about their identity to the Division of Driver’s Licenses and has an official ID card or DL made with their photo on it and the erroneous information they provided.

Example: A friend has a “board” made that you stand in front of and have your photo taken so that the photo looks like an official ID card or DL issued by the State of Florida.

My first instinct was to call my sister and beg her to get me a new ID, but now I’m questioning if it’d be worth it. I could easily get a new one, but I’m thinking I might quit while I’m ahead.

When we went to press with my profile of Summer Jam 4 headliner, Dennis “Dow Jones” Shaw (South Rakkas Crew), it had yet to be determined exactly which acts would be playing Crowbar and New World Brewery on Saturday. On Wednesday, I received an email from the promoter that straightens everything out. Should be good times. Here’s the email:

NWB NEW WORLD BREWERY]
8-830 – DISH
845-915 – JINX
930-10 – PETROGRAD IN TRANSIT
1015-1045 – DYNASTY
11-1130- XOXO
1145-1215 – THE BASIQS
12-15 - ??? – POSITIVE RESPONSE
+ DJ TERAS, SCOTT IMRICH, JOLAY & DJ COLONIC

CROWBAR
8-830 – JUICE CITY
845-915 – KING OF SPAIN
930-10 – HARD TARGET
1015-1045 – TIDES OF MAN
11-1145 – BIRD STREET PLAYERS
12-??? SOUTH RAKKAS CREW
+ DJ SANDMAN, SOFT ROCK RENEGADES, MIN.E HORSE & DEACON
FREE BBQ & LIVE MURAL BY: NOAH DELEEDA

Saturday June 21

Summer Jam 4 w/ South Rakkas Crew, Bird Street Players & Much More

$7/$10/$12 » 18 and Up

Cross-posted from Tampa Calling.

This year is flying past like they all tend to do. In fact, we’re more than halfway through, which means time to assess the year in music (so far). It’s difficult to compare one year’s music output to another’s, but I do feel 2008 is shaping up to be one of the strongest of recent memory. Anyway, here’s what I’ve dug the most.

Top 10 Albums of 2008 (so far)

1. Evil Urges (Ato Records/Red), My Morning Jacket (Photo by Danny Clinch)

At my editor Eric Snider’s suggestion, I just bumped my MMJ review from a 4.5 to a perfect 5 (it will run in next week’s Creative Loafing.)While still at USF, I started doing freelance CD reviews for CL (back when it was the Weekly Planet) in 2001 and during my two stringer stints with the paper and my current full-time gig have easily done hundreds of reviews. This marks the first time I 5-starred a new release. Read my MMJ review here.

2. The Odd Couple (Atlantic), Gnarls Barkley

Dark, cerebral and highly danceable, this batch of spaceflight soul is pure brilliance. And by the way, complaining that it doesn’t have a “Crazy” equivalent would be like knocking Zeppelin’s Houses of the Holy for not featuring another “Stairway.”

3. Robyn (Konichiwa/CherryTree/Interscope), Robyn

This Swedish star still hasn’t blown up here and that’s a shame. The pop world would be a far better place if Madonna, Spears, etc. could pen lyrics this poignant and implement beats this fresh. Read my review here.

4. Fleet Foxes (Sub Pop), Fleet Foxes

Debut albums really have no right to be this fantastic: dreamy organic pop, perfectly recorded so that the band sounds like they’re playing your living room; with close, gorgeous vocal harmonies that will melt your ears. Read my (mini) review here. My proper review will run in the CL that hits newsstands July 3.

5. Accelerate (Warner Bros), R.E.M.

It’s official: R.E.M. has made its best album in more than a decade. Nothing new here, just a first-rate collection of the band’s finest attributes. Read my review here.

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We’ve all seen — in the movies or, worse, in person — the power-tripping parking meter person who writes you a ticket even when you’re begging to get in the car and drive away. Well, I just had an experience that shows it doesn’t always have to be that way.

My pal Hamgravy and I were standing by our cars on the corner of Zack and Florida in Tampa, yapping about this and that. Our parking meters had run out. Suddenly, up barrels a white compact car with “Public Works” on the side and speed-parallel-parks right in front of us. We quickly made the move to our rides. A guy jumped out of the Public Works car. Immediately, we started pleading for a break. “Our meters are up, but can we just get in and drive away right now?” I asked him.

This is how he responded: “It’s OK. I’ve got to check out that Explorer across the street. No hurry. Finish your conversation.”

Huh? … Uh, thanks.

We wrapped up our chat and drove off. Thought I’d pass along a good story about meter people for a change.

What’s the line between interrogation and torture? I admit to not having given it much thought until recently. Some stuff is obvious, like beating a guys balls off (e.g. Daniel Craig in the latest Bond movie) and forcing someone to listen to “Afternoon Delight” for days on end. From what I’ve heard about waterboarding … seems like torture.

But what about sensory deprivation? Long periods of isolation? Playing on a prisoner’s phobias? How much is too much? The issue can get dicey.

Well, I’m glad to pass along this little tidbit from CIA counterterrorism lawyer Jonathan Fredman. In ‘02, he told a gathering of military and intelligence officials that torture “is basically subject to perception. If the detainee dies, you’re doing it wrong.”

Don’t know about you, but I’m glad that’s cleared up.

1. UK cross-dressing comedian Eddie Izzard (pictured) brings his “Stripped American Tour 2008” to Tampa Theatre and kicks off a two-date run of comedy tonight.

2. Last chance to see St. Petersburg Opera Company perform a political adaptation of Mozart’s Don Giovanni.

3. Restaurant Week is almost over – make sure to dine at one of the 21 participating restaurants and try items from special menus set up in honor of our celebration of the local culinary scene. Today’s featured establishment: Cheap.

4. Gainesville’s third-wave ska favorites Less Than Jake play a show at Jannus Landing.

5. The several-week run of The Lion King at Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center sees its end this week.

Have you noticed that during the three NBA Finals games in Los Angeles ABC showed the player introductions, went to commercial and, when they returned, the players were still on the court warming up? WTF? After player introductions, ballers strip off their sweats, come out to the center jump circle and the game begins — that’s just the way it’s done.

Did the NBA configure it that way in L.A. so the announcers could do some more pre-game gabbing? Is that really necessary? Isn’t there enough chatter during the pre-game show? Keep a watch out and see if they do the same thing in Boston.

That said, I think that the announcing team of Mike Breen, Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy is doing a particularly good job. The color guys aren’t shy about criticizing players, even superstars, and play-by-play man Breen doesn’t mind challenging his cohorts. The arguments the trio have on the air are playful and fun, not annoying.

You may want to invest in a good pair of walking shoes, because we will all be walking a lot more in the near future.

The website Walkscore.com lets you input an address and calculate a score for a neighborhood based on how close it is to grocery stores, restaurants, entertainment, schools, parks and a host of other amenities. The results are listed under their respective categories on the left side of the screen along with their distance in miles. Scores range from zero (Driving only — you can only walk to your car) to 100 (”Walker’s Paradise”).

Click on an entry and it will show you where it is located on the (Google) map, as well as provide a bubble complete with an address, phone number and a clickable link to a Google search of that entry.

Walkscore.com is especially helpful if you are moving to a new neighborhood because it helps to know the likelihood of being able to leave the gas-guzzler (aren’t they all nowadays?) at home and walk.

My own Pinellas Point neighborhood got a meager score of 51, which means that some places are close by, but a car or public transportation is still required for most trips. I could easily walk down the street to a restaurant or a drugstore, but if I was feeling picky I would need the car.

On the upside I did discover a number of restaurants in my area I didn’t know of that are within easy walking or biking distance. On the downside, plenty of the listings were for places in downtown St. Petersburg, about seven miles away, that may be within walking distance by European standards but that I wouldn’t walk to myself often.

Another major drawback, and a factor that could seriously affect walkability, is that the ratings don’t take crime statistics into account when factoring the scores. The site searches under plenty of relevant categories that would be moot if the neighborhood isn’t safe enough to walk around in.

With gas prices on the rise, however, it certainly helps to know if your new neighborhood is walkable.

(photo by alexandralee).

In this week’s Food Issue, I take a look at my favorite summer treat: iced coffee.

Unfortunately, finding a decent cup of iced java in the Tampa Bay area is a frustrating venture. Read about my findings here and then add your own comments.

The St. Petersburg Times has an interesting profile on Tampa’s favorite (confederate) son, Marion Lambert. The South Tampa beekeeper has been a media darlin’ the last week, ever since a massive confederate flag flew on his property at the intersection of I-4 and I-75.The Times article painted the man generally as a gentle Southern enthusiast, who snookered the county officials when he applied for the proper flag permits. But when I interviewed Lambert on Friday, I saw an angry, almost bitter man.

True, Lambert is a gentleman. Before he arrived at his house from a late bee removal job, his family showed me some true Southern hospitality. Then he gave me a nice tour of his five-acre farm.”I’m a very liberal person in my heart,” he told me during our first few minutes together. “I’m a very conservative person in my brain.”

He even used to be a hippie. Well, I’ll be …

But don’t let Lambert fool you: he knows full well that this stunt is divisive, even if he doesn’t believe in the flag’s links to slavery. In one of the most unusual analogies I’ve ever heard, he compares the flag going up to “childbirth,” in that the act will cause a lot of pain and agony, but in the end a more perfect truth will be born.

Did I mention the guy is a born-again Christian?

“We found ourselves marginalized, put on the back table of the community,” he said, railing against the decision to remove the confederate flag from the county seal and other slights. “The only way we could get their attention is to slap them in the face, and slap the community in the face.”

He knows the power he has over the commissioners, especially after they practically begged him to not fly the flag at last week’s commission meeting. This is how he describes county commissioner Rose Ferlita:

“I saw Rose Ferlita look at me like a puppy instead of an angry dog.”

An edited version of the interview will hit the streets and Web site on Wednesday, but for now, here’s the full version (after the jump): (more…)

Friendly Fisherman’s still in the lead, so if you’re a FoFF (Friend of Friendly Fisherman), get in there and seal the deal with your final votes. But if you want to see another waterfront spot get its due, now’s your chance: Voting closes at the end of the day today, May 28. Find your ballot here.

Just in time for Memorial Day:

Yesterday, coastal expert Dr. Stephen Leatherman — better known as “Dr. Beach” — named Caladesi Island State Park as America’s Top Beach for 2008.

If you’ve ever taken a trip out there, you know exactly why: The sand is white and powdery and the water is a perfect blue-green. There are plenty of kayak trails, a lush mangrove forest and tons of birds. Best of all, there are no roads and, by extension, cars. In fact, you have to take a boat to get there.

Fort DeSoto, a frequent Best of the Bay winner, won this award in 2005.

I’m sure the Pinellas County tourism authority is having a party right now. And I hate to poop in their punchbowl, but there are some troubled waters on Florida’s west coast.

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After returning to Florida two years ago, one of my first “urban explorations” was driving on down to Upham Beach and taking a swim. Nearly every summer day growing up, my grandmother, who worked on St. Pete Beach, used to bring my brother and I there for some fun in the sun.

But on this day, as I walked onto the sand, I swore some jaundiced whale had beached itself on the shore. On closer inspection, I discovered the huge, yellow mounds were sand-filled fabric tubes used for erosion control.

Over the last several years, Pinellas County officials noticed that erosion is particularly bad on this part of Long Key. For years, they’ve paid to bring in tons of sand to nourish the beach area, to little avail. The installation of these tubes was a last ditch effort to stop the erosion.

Well, not everyone likes the water barriers. One group even has a petition calling for their removal.

On May 9, the Surfrider Foundation, a non-profit organization “dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of our world’s oceans, waves and beaches,” published the “Free Upham Beach Petition.” They claim these tubes are detrimental to the environment and seem to have amassed research backing their claims, including an United States Army Corps of Engineers’ Coastal Engineering Manual and several professors from Western Carolina University.

They want all five tubes off the beach — along with a promise of no additional tubes in the future.

This is the Surfrider Foundation’s first local campaign.

So what do you think? Should the jaundiced whale-looking tubes stay, as Pinellas County officials want. Or do you agree with the Surfrider Foundation’s call to action?
(Photo courtesy of Surfrider.org)

OK, got a nice comment on Undertow – but still just 1 % after more than a thousand votes? And no love for Oystercatchers? Swigwam? Crazy Conch? The Hurricane? Beach bums, get in there and vote, or your favorite hangouts will never get the respect they deserve!