http://jasonbugg.com/blog The Official Podcast from The Bugg Blog. Toilet humor, political ramblings, local happenings for Asheville NC and great music from one of the more infamous voices in Western North Carolina. Tue, 21 Feb 2012 00:30:29 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 2010-2011 1440 http://jasonbugg.com/blog/wp-content/plugins/podpress/images/Bugg-Podcast-Logo.jpg http://jasonbugg.com/blog 144 144 Bourbon, soul music, profanity, politics, social and media critiques. The Official Podcast from The Bugg Blog. Toilet humor, political ramblings, local happenings for Asheville NC and great music from one of the more infamous voices in Western North Carolina. Jason Bugg Jason Bugg no yes http://jasonbugg.com/blog/2012/01/14/the-mcrib-is-like-mary-j-blige/ http://jasonbugg.com/blog/2012/01/14/the-mcrib-is-like-mary-j-blige/#comments Sat, 14 Jan 2012 04:53:53 +0000 Jason Bugg http://jasonbugg.com/blog/?p=2557 http://jasonbugg.com/blog/2012/01/14/the-mcrib-is-like-mary-j-blige/feed/ 2 0:00:01 Today I was a guest on Local Edge Radio on 880 the Revolution. It was a good time that I spent talking about the blog, the McRib, self-deprecation, children and some plans I have with my writing in store for this blog and my writing in general.  Th[...] Today I was a guest on Local Edge Radio on 880 the Revolution. It was a good time that I spent talking about the blog, the McRib, self-deprecation, children and some plans I have with my writing in store for this blog and my writing in general.  The interview was about thirty minutes long and I had a great time chatting with Blake on the air.  I’ve edited my section of the show together, and you can listen to it here.     In other news, I’m working on several things at once with my writing. I’m planning on releasing a collection of writing that I’ve done – cleaned-up, edited and expanded blog entries, some of the journalism stuff that I’ve done that I own the rights to, some other writing that for one reason or another I’ve never put up on the blog and even some comic strips that my buddy Chris and I are going to do based upon some stuff that’s happened to me in the past.  I’m thinking about just releasing this in e-book form once I get everything formatted, but if readers are interested in buying a hard copy of the book I can do that also.   But the main thing that I wanted to put on here was this: I’ve been discussing doing some more radio in the future, and as of right now it’s looking like I’m going to be doing a guest stint on Local Edge Radio starting on Fridays in February. That means that you can hear some of my inane crap aurally instead of waiting for more blog entries. I’ll have more details about this as they become clearer, but as of right now I’m even more entrenched in local media than I am now.   I’ll have more later. news, radio Jason Bugg yes no http://jasonbugg.com/blog/2012/01/11/five-eight-and-the-mendoza-line/ http://jasonbugg.com/blog/2012/01/11/five-eight-and-the-mendoza-line/#comments Wed, 11 Jan 2012 04:55:24 +0000 Jason Bugg http://jasonbugg.com/blog/?p=2541 http://jasonbugg.com/blog/2012/01/11/five-eight-and-the-mendoza-line/feed/ 0 0:06:41 If I were to be so arrogant (and knowing me, I would be, and will continue to be) as to point to a big musical moment in my life it would be the discovery of Five-Eight. I remember being in ninth grade and hearing from a girl named Jenny about this[...] If I were to be so arrogant (and knowing me, I would be, and will continue to be) as to point to a big musical moment in my life it would be the discovery of Five-Eight. I remember being in ninth grade and hearing from a girl named Jenny about this band from Athens, Georgia that had played somewhere in Asheville that let all ages audiences into their shows.  It was mind blowing to hear of even that – the teen punk scene that I fell into hadn’t really taken hold and in my mind, bands played big places like the Civic Center or smaller bars, and if they played there they had to be cover bands. But here was a group doing their thing and playing music for adults and kids. It was amazing, in theory. I heard details of their shows – the lead singer wearing a blazer and a sweater bashing himself and his guitar into the wall while playing, the awesomeness of their songs, and all of that. I sat in Jenny’s bedroom and listened to a dubbed copy of their cassette-only album, Inflatable Sense of Self, and was amazed. The only way that I could describe what they were doing was that they sounded like a real band – meaning that this wasn’t the sort of band that only existed in attics and basements; these were talented guys rocking like the dudes on Mtv. I studied that tape and dreamed of being in a band that was as good as Five-Eight. Soon I was starting bands and joining other bands. I dreamed big and Five-Eight became a measuring stick of sorts – a Mendoza Line for punk rock bands, if you will. If you opened for or played in bigger places than Five-Eight and you’ve made it, but if you had done neither than you were just a garage band. Over the years I played in a few bands, but we never crossed over the Mendoza Line. During this time Five-Eight came to town and left. Every time they seemed on the precipice of becoming a popular band. They had new gear, a new album, a new label, and all of the telltale signs that a band was getting larger. But at the same time, the band’s local draw seemed to be getting smaller and smaller until later on they just stopped coming to Asheville altogether. Around the same time, I pretty much stopped playing in bands. Life had taken me in a different direction, and that Mendoza Line had haunted me for years.  I watched as band after band emerged from Athens, Georgia and none of them possessed the power and majesty of Five-Eight. I owned their later albums and EPs, but none of them sounded rough and poppy and amazing like that cassette in Jenny’s bedroom. A few years ago, when I was at the height of freelancing for the weekly in Athens and Five-Eight’s lead singer, Mike Mantione, contacted me. He’d seen my writing in Flagpole and was curious to see if I’d be interested in writing something about the band – a bio or something. We passed emails back and forth and I planned to make the drive down to Athens to hang out with him and talk to him about the band. I told him in the email that his group reminded me of an old Western film starring Gary Cooper. In the movie a terribly evil and destructive man comes to town and wipes everyone out. Cooper begs for the villain to spare him his life, because someone has to live to tell the story to others. I didn’t imagine Five-Eight being that pathetic, but I saw them as a living document in town of all of the other acts that came through. They came of age in the late 80s, and were around in the 90s and early part of the 2000s. They never got out and “made it”, but they served as a conscience for the town.   Sure, it was a heady idea, but it was still awesome.  Mike and I never arranged a meet-up to speak about his band. I guess it wasn’t supposed to happen. Maybe they didn’t want to be portrayed that way, who knows. Tonight while looking for something to write about I came across Five-Eight’s new website. I signed up for their mailing list on the slim chance that they would book a show on a date that I could actually make. But when I filled out the form for the mailing li[...] music Jason Bugg yes yes http://jasonbugg.com/blog/2011/12/22/the-christmas-podcast/ http://jasonbugg.com/blog/2011/12/22/the-christmas-podcast/#comments Thu, 22 Dec 2011 14:24:51 +0000 Jason Bugg http://jasonbugg.com/blog/?p=2510 http://jasonbugg.com/blog/2011/12/22/the-christmas-podcast/feed/ 1 0:00:01   I’m a Christmas fan. I don’t know why, I guess I have plenty of memories of sugar plum fairies and all of that stuff from when I was a child, but it’s still just a nice time. In a lot of ways, my wife helped me rekindle everything that worki[...]   I’m a Christmas fan. I don’t know why, I guess I have plenty of memories of sugar plum fairies and all of that stuff from when I was a child, but it’s still just a nice time. In a lot of ways, my wife helped me rekindle everything that working retail all of those years soured about this time of year. It’s full of music that I love, food that I like and trees inside of the house. It’s full of sweaters and twinkling lights. It’s just nice.   Well, with the exception of this year’s holiday.   We are broke. We have been for this entire month. We’ve been scraping by and panicking to figure out how to pay bills, eat and just exist. For the most part, the wife and I have kept a decent head on our shoulders and been okay with this. We agreed not to buy each other anything, and outside of a few gifts for close family, we aren’t really doing anything.   My big joke that I’ve been telling people is that this is the year when we finally learn that well-worn and often used as a cliché true meaning of Christmas.  I pictured us hunkering down and through our own poverty having a moment when we declare this is what Christmas is supposed to be!.   I imagined that happening, but I’ve also come to the sad conclusion that the things that Christmas are supposed to be about to us of the light and varying degrees of faith – things like charity, compassion, communion with friends and family, taking care of our fellow man, and just being good and loving humans are better exemplified on Thanksgiving. Instead, Christmas is some orgy of commerce, wrapped in good tidings to make people feel better about their selves.   I’m not shitting on Christmas. I’m still happy that it’s happening and I can’t wait to go to Greensboro with my in-laws and see the pretty lights on the houses. I am excited to watch my niece and nephews open gifts. I’m even excited to go to Midnight Mass in Asheville this year, but it’s still a hard time of year to be desperately broke.   But there’s also music: sweet, wonderful and happy Christmas music. I think the music is my favorite thing about Christmas. So because of this, I’m giving you the only Christmas present that I can: a collection of strange and wonderful Christmas songs. It’s fun and it’s the latest edition of The Bugg Blog Podcast of Indeterminate Awesomeness of Doom (For the Cure).   I hope you enjoy it and for those of you who care to celebrate, I hope that you have a great Christmas. Or Hanukah. Or whatever else you do. Jessica, life, music, Podcast Jason Bugg yes no http://jasonbugg.com/blog/2011/12/16/podcast-thirteen/ http://jasonbugg.com/blog/2011/12/16/podcast-thirteen/#comments Sat, 17 Dec 2011 00:34:57 +0000 Jason Bugg http://jasonbugg.com/blog/?p=2507 http://jasonbugg.com/blog/2011/12/16/podcast-thirteen/feed/ 0 1:13:48   In lieu of making everyone a mix CD for Christmas, here’s one I made for myself. I hope you enjoy it. Also, feel free to send me a list of some of your favorite Christmas songs for my second annual “Hey it’s Christmas[...]   In lieu of making everyone a mix CD for Christmas, here’s one I made for myself. I hope you enjoy it. Also, feel free to send me a list of some of your favorite Christmas songs for my second annual “Hey it’s Christmas” podcast. I’ll be on the floor with the dogs if you need me. music, Podcast Jason Bugg yes no http://jasonbugg.com/blog/2011/11/29/podcast-episode-twelve-a-quick-dusting/ http://jasonbugg.com/blog/2011/11/29/podcast-episode-twelve-a-quick-dusting/#comments Tue, 29 Nov 2011 20:09:07 +0000 Jason Bugg http://jasonbugg.com/blog/?p=2458 http://jasonbugg.com/blog/2011/11/29/podcast-episode-twelve-a-quick-dusting/feed/ 1 0:00:01 It’s snowing outside and the usual idiots are freaking out about it, but that doesn’t stop me from hastily throwing together another edition of The Bugg Blog Podcast of Indeterminate Awesomeness of Doom (for the cure)!   On this edition you’ll[...] It’s snowing outside and the usual idiots are freaking out about it, but that doesn’t stop me from hastily throwing together another edition of The Bugg Blog Podcast of Indeterminate Awesomeness of Doom (for the cure)!   On this edition you’ll find me playing a few songs and that’s about it. There are no guests, and most of you will probably hate the music that I’m presenting with very small gaps for intros between the songs. Anyways, it’s happening and it’s here.   If you’d like to meet up with me and record a future edition of the Podcast or have suggestions, get in touch with me.   Thanks   music, Podcast Jason Bugg yes no http://jasonbugg.com/blog/2011/11/13/how-is-it-only-sunday/ http://jasonbugg.com/blog/2011/11/13/how-is-it-only-sunday/#comments Sun, 13 Nov 2011 06:29:15 +0000 Jason Bugg http://jasonbugg.com/blog/?p=2370 http://jasonbugg.com/blog/2011/11/13/how-is-it-only-sunday/feed/ 0 0:19:11   I sat down to write this tonight to recap and place a bunch of links and info on the blog for readers that I doubt they care about, and I realized that this has been a pretty full weekend and (as of this writing) Sunday has yet to really beg[...]   I sat down to write this tonight to recap and place a bunch of links and info on the blog for readers that I doubt they care about, and I realized that this has been a pretty full weekend and (as of this writing) Sunday has yet to really begin. Whew.   Friday was an eventful day. I spent my time being nervous about the hours leading up to my band’s first-ever show when I got an email from Blake at Local Edge Radio. Blake asked me if I’d like to stop by the studio and talk about the story that I broke on this blog, and I said yes.  It sounds weird, because I spent a day or two whining about the Mountain Xpress not giving me my just due, despite the fact that the overwhelming evidence suggests that Bondage freak and shitty reporter David Forbes stole the story from my blog without giving me proper credit, it felt good to go on Blake’s show and tell my story, express my views and even empathize with Ms. Fraser a bit.  It felt so good that you can listen to the story here.   Then after a few hours, my band was finally able to take the stage for the first time ever.  It was weird because I’d been trying to talk John and Jack (the two guitarists of the band) to do quick one-off shows as a punk rock trio for the past three years or so, but we waited. Then we waited some more. Finally we decided to add Richard, our drummer (who I’ve played with in bands since around 1995), to the mix and we sound great. There’s a lot of muscle and even more camaraderie.  We played well, only completely screwing up one song, and we played loudly. The guitars filled up that dark upper room of Broadway’s and it felt like we impressed a few people. It felt good to stand up there and do that. Even if we never play another show again (which I highly doubt) we’ll always have that show. Here’s a video of us playing “Lipstick”.   (check out the sweet Peter Hook-inspired bass part I play during the break)   Playing and loading all of our gear back to our Ranch House of Rock made for a late night, but it was worth it. I was so happy to play with those guys. My other band Glaze may be my first love but this band is a lot of fun.   After some well-deserved sleeping in my wife and started cooking for a Thanksgiving-potluck with some friends and it was wonderful. The comfort food that everyone makes this time of year is among my favorites and I decided to try to make a Green Bean Casserole from scratch. The results were particularly amazing and I doubt I’ll ever make the time-honored quick-fix version of this dish again. It was wonderful. I took the camera tonight to take pictures of friends and their delicious creations, but instead all I got was a collection of people I love making the slutty-girl-on-Facebook pose. Enjoy these. Last month the boys walked down to the beach armed with sandwiches and wraps and wives and dogs and kites and footballs and lawn chairs. We sat in the sun soaking it up and watched people walk by. We made small talk and carved out curved lines in the sand that had been packed down hard by time and tide. There was a relative quiet amongst us, outside of the tide, in and out. More than all of us, older than we could collectively imagine. We told stories and tried to remember times that had gotten withered and rusted in our brains.   Soon the dogs and girls the rest walked back to our rented home. The boys walked down to the water, removing their shirts and inched into the ocean. That big grey and green ocean where we’d spent our childhoods and my father swam just down the shore. In and out, the tide went and we waded further into the water as if to see where it came from. Looking for that turbine just beyond the breakers that carried the ships out and brought jellyfish in, but the boys didn’t find it.   The water felt colder in the air, and the boys laughed and made the jokes that boys make in the water – something about testicles shrinking and nipples hardening in the cold. But they went fa[...] friends, life, radio, random Jason Bugg yes yes http://jasonbugg.com/blog/2011/11/02/the-beach-boys-smile-sessions/ http://jasonbugg.com/blog/2011/11/02/the-beach-boys-smile-sessions/#comments Wed, 02 Nov 2011 22:47:03 +0000 Jason Bugg http://jasonbugg.com/blog/?p=2302 http://jasonbugg.com/blog/2011/11/02/the-beach-boys-smile-sessions/feed/ 1 0:02:39   If you are a Beach Boys nut, you’ve heard versions of their lost 1967 album Smile in some way. Maybe you bought Smiley Smile, their replacement for Smile and the subsequent albums and pieced together a Frankenstein-like version of the album.[...]   If you are a Beach Boys nut, you’ve heard versions of their lost 1967 album Smile in some way. Maybe you bought Smiley Smile, their replacement for Smile and the subsequent albums and pieced together a Frankenstein-like version of the album. Maybe you bought the Beach Boys’ Good Vibrations: Twenty Years of the Beach Boys boxed set and created your own version of Smile from the release of those tapes, or maybe you looked through small record stores for bootlegs, or pillaged file sharing sights for other people’s versions of the album. Possibly, even if you aren’t a nut, you found Brian Wilson and his touring band’s representation of Smile when he released it back in 2004.  These songs and this album is almost old hat by now for most music fans, which is what makes the long-awaited release of the Beach Boys’ Smile Sessions set all the more strange that it’s so damn essential.   I’ve heard these songs a million times, in different shapes, sizes and forms. I’ve heard the puzzle pieces of the album arranged and rearranged in so many ways, but this set of songs culled from the Beach Boys’ tape vaults and remastered by longtime Beach Boys engineer Mark Linett is simply gorgeous. The songs sound better than any bootleg could and the music is great. Wilson’s 2004 version was damn good, but it felt at times like the songs were being played by a really good cover band. This version is a more thorough and complete version of Smile than any fan could ever hope for.   The thing about it is that I’m not sure if it was made for the average listener.   People like to create alternate realities and speculative fiction when it comes to Smile.  Beach Boys nuts like myself often trot out their inner Harry Turtledove’s and pretend that if Smile had been released they would reign supreme of The Beatles and the world would have changed, and I’m not so sure.  This is a complex album. There’s not a lot of clear singles on the record. Sure, it’s got “Heroes and Villains” and “Good Vibrations” opening and closing the album, but it also has a lot of “Do You Like Worms” and “The Elements”. This album is a big sweeping think piece, and I’m not sure if casual fans will get the album in 2011, much less in 1967. The Beach Boys wrote an incredibly ambitious album, while The Beatles wrote an incredibly ambitious album full of singles, and there’s a big difference between the two.   That isn’t saying that Smile shouldn’t be heard. It should be heard. It should be listened to on real stereos and nice speakers and it should be felt. It’s a damn amazing piece of music that I love hearing. It’s not all giggly psychedelia, either. This is an album that is thematically very American. There are touches of Tin Pan Alley, Nashville and Hawaii in the music. There are big moments of emotion and little subtle musical nods that just kill me. I adore this record.   Once upon a time liked the legend of Smile, then I liked people’s impressions of Smile, but today I hear this record and I can say that I truly love Smile.   As an added bonus, I wanted to include audio of Van Dyke Parks, the lyricist of Smile, talking about the album in an interview that I did with him last year for a newspaper in Athens, Georgia. He alludes to the album as Song Cycle, his 1967 solo album, but I’m sure he means Smile – Song Cycle was released in 1967, while Smile languished and became the legend that it is for the past 40 years. Sorry that the sound is so dicey, but I hope you’ll enjoy it.   music, reviews Jason Bugg yes yes http://jasonbugg.com/blog/2011/11/02/liars/ http://jasonbugg.com/blog/2011/11/02/liars/#comments Wed, 02 Nov 2011 17:04:24 +0000 Jason Bugg http://jasonbugg.com/blog/?p=2305 http://jasonbugg.com/blog/2011/11/02/liars/feed/ 3 0:00:01   It was going to be a nice calm day; the Beach Boys had just released their much-anticipated Smile Sessions and I had sat down to review a copy. Their music pumped through my speakers and I heard a nearly forty-five year-old album come to lif[...]   It was going to be a nice calm day; the Beach Boys had just released their much-anticipated Smile Sessions and I had sat down to review a copy. Their music pumped through my speakers and I heard a nearly forty-five year-old album come to life in wonderful sound and vibration on my computer, when a big and nasty lie came across my computer screen.  It wasn’t a normal lie. It was a lie from someone who in the Western North Carolina news media had positioned themselves as a “Person of Maintained Integrity”.  So that’s when it got juicy.   Let’s back up and paint the picture.   Cecil Bothwell is an Asheville City Council member. I like the guy’s politics. I don’t know much about him, but it’s nice to see that he’s there doing his thing on council. Ever since he came out as an atheist, the local Republican snake handlers have had it out for the guy. So, when Cecil got mad at a local politician misrepresenting him in the paper with this letter to the editor, Cecil got mad. So mad, that he called the guy on the phone and left a less-than-friendly message. It’s vulgar, it’s crazytalk, it’s local politics, sure. But above all, it’s two people who have a long history and some degree of familiarity with each other having an ugly falling out.  Bothwell knows Dunn, and decided to let him know that he wasn’t pleased with what he had said in the Asheville Citizen-Times. (I’ve uploaded a version of the letter here in case that AC-T link goes bad). So that happened, and it happened between two people who know each other.  Then Dunn (or some other snake handler associated with him) decided to release the tape to the media, or the local conservative media, which means that it was Mittan and local psychopathic fascist Thunderpig.   Mittan latched onto this like a Kardashian on a black penis. He sent out an edited version of the tape to his 300 twitter followers that conveniently left out all traces of who the call was to and all bits of familiarity between Bothwell and Dunn. He even said the call was between Bothwell and an “anonymous local constituent”. It is a classic misrepresentation.   Thunderpig, (being someone that is too stupid to follow the orders of his handlers or too honest on days that he has to go to church) didn’t pass along the correct link, but instead put the unedited call up, leaving in Dunn’s name.   Along with a few other people, I’ve pointed out to Mittan, a “Person of Maintained Integrity”, that he is misrepresenting the truth. But he keeps pretending that there is no difference between an edited conversation passed off as something between strangers and someone being mad at someone that they know. He keeps saying that these are Bothwell’s words, and he keeps saying that he is just pointing out things that are out on the internet, never mind that they are wrong and dishonest. That doesn’t seem to bother Mittan.   This is still developing, and Mittan is saying that he is in contact with Bothwell at the same time as trying to figure out who had edited the call, but I doubt him. He’s nothing more than an attack dog for the right wingers in the area, and this is his latest bite. Asheville, politics Jason Bugg yes no http://jasonbugg.com/blog/2011/05/19/podcast-nine-the-gary-bugg-memorial-edition/ http://jasonbugg.com/blog/2011/05/19/podcast-nine-the-gary-bugg-memorial-edition/#comments Thu, 19 May 2011 19:52:32 +0000 Jason Bugg http://jasonbugg.com/blog/?p=1921 http://jasonbugg.com/blog/2011/05/19/podcast-nine-the-gary-bugg-memorial-edition/feed/ 0 1:15:24 These last few days have been sort of a blur. There have been condolences and memories and arrangements and worries and a ton of other stuff. I’ve been trying to help out my sister the best I can and trying to take some time to take care of myself,[...] These last few days have been sort of a blur. There have been condolences and memories and arrangements and worries and a ton of other stuff. I’ve been trying to help out my sister the best I can and trying to take some time to take care of myself, but I feel as if I’m doing a horrible job with both of these things.  Mostly when I’m not calling people and trying to talk to people so that I remain sane I’ve been just staring off into the middle distance in my office at home or petting my dogs. I keep waiting for that deep breath that says okay this is done for the moment, now move along like other deaths have done in the past, but it hasn’t happened yet. I think that it may happen on Saturday when I we have the funeral or whatever we are calling it. My dad left no insurance behind and barely any money, so we’ve really been scraping by. There’s a Paypal box here on the blog. If you have an extra five or ten bucks, kick it my way, it’d really help out. Okay, now that the begging is out of the way, I decided to start and finish something today, since I’ve spent most of this week waiting for anything to happen.  I’ve created a new podcast. On it, I talk about my dad and play some songs that I remember him liking as well as songs that make me think of him. Be sure to listen to it. With any luck the blog will return to normal in a few days. Thanks for reading, thanks for listening and a big thank you if you decide to donate.   family, Podcast Jason Bugg yes no http://jasonbugg.com/blog/2011/02/27/episode-8-robbie-allen/ http://jasonbugg.com/blog/2011/02/27/episode-8-robbie-allen/#comments Sun, 27 Feb 2011 23:23:15 +0000 Jason Bugg http://jasonbugg.com/blog/?p=1676 http://jasonbugg.com/blog/2011/02/27/episode-8-robbie-allen/feed/ 0 0:54:15   On this week’s Episode I call up Robbie Allen (ex-Rob Rule guitarist, Thermadore singer and Red Hot Chili Pepper roadie) for a long interview. Check it out here. Also, I forgot to mention in the interview that Robbie is currently in a [...]   On this week’s Episode I call up Robbie Allen (ex-Rob Rule guitarist, Thermadore singer and Red Hot Chili Pepper roadie) for a long interview. Check it out here. Also, I forgot to mention in the interview that Robbie is currently in a band called Cowboy and Indian. You can find them on Facebook or watch their awesome video for “Crazy Train” here.   The podcast is now on iTunes, and you can subscribe to it for free. Please keep listening and replying. It helps me know that I have people who tolerate all that I do.   Thanks and be good.   Podcast Jason Bugg yes no