I have this thing about meeting musicians/writers/artists I admire: I don’t like to. Because it’s crushing if they turn out to be jerks. Granted, this hasn’t happened all that much because the opportunity doesn’t present itself too often.* And I already knew that the guys from Binary Sunrise would be really cool. But it turns out they’re also so incredibly nice. And genuine. And brilliant. And fun! They are fun to eat lunch with at Veselka.**
They are also fun to watch onstage. They played a great show on Thursday night (see the lousy cameraphone pic above) and — I say this in all seriousness — blew everyone in attendance away. Super high-energy, really tight, and they seemed to be really enjoying themselves.
I think I saw some video cameras at the show, so hopefully we’ll find some footage soon on YouTube. In the meantime, here’s something from a show they played in Dallas earlier this year:
Really looking forward to their new album. In the meantime you should buy this one.
On Saturday Kenneth and I went to the WFMU record fair, where I bought three things and he bought like 20 obscure disco records and then explained each of them to me with utmost sincerity and authority. Coolest record fair ever.
***
Speaking of cool things, friend and in-house designer Tom Deja has launched a new design blog, Design/Destroy, where he highlights things he actually *likes*, a challenging endeavor for him, to be sure. Go check it out.
***
And one sad thing: RIP Gregory Isaacs, the prolific reggae star with the sweetest croon.
Gregory Isaacs, Philistines
*When I met Ray Pettibon, he was not so much jerky as strange, which I kind-of expected.
**Seriously, such sweet guys.
Me, pointing at the toast guitarist Steven ordered: What’s this? You asked for jelly and now you’re not even putting any jelly on it.
Steven: I just want to thank you so much for your support of our music, Dana. It means a lot to us.
Kenneth: That’s an interesting response.
Stroke me.
