Guards of Metropolis

Merry Christmas from Jason & Silver

2007-12-24T22:31:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas from Vietnam!

Jason & Silver

SICKO

2007-11-08T01:16:00.001-08:00

I just finished watching "Sicko" the movie by Michael Moore about the
American Health Care system. If you haven't seen it - you should. I
think all you great Americans that so easily offer to help, support
and lend a helping hand to others in need - should rise up, join
hands (regardless of which political party you belong to) and DEMAND
health care for all. I know you can. So much greatness has come from
this country and I believe in the American people. I think you should
receive what you rightfully deserve. So when you are sick, you can
concentrate on getting well instead of worrying about your medical
bills. I am from Norway, where we have health care for all and it
works. See the movie or speak to someone you know that doesn't have
health insurance or can't get it. Or even worse someone who has it,
but their co-pay is robbing them. Make up your own mind. Change can
only come from the people and if you want change then speak the truth
and talk loud. Vote, make yourself be heard so it can truly be a
democracy.

-Kristin Blix

The newest video

2007-10-23T12:41:00.001-07:00

There's a 13 year old kid that lives here in Salem named Evan Farris. He likes to mess around with stop-motion animation using bits of clay, scotch tape, old pizza boxes, etc. He makes the sets and props with his brother Sean and his sister Juliana, and they painstakingly shoot frame by frame with a digital still camera and then assemble the photos together on their computer. For those of you who don't know much about animation or video, they must take 30 individual pictures for each second of screen time. That's 5,400 separate pictures for a 3 minute video.

A few weeks ago we asked them if they would make a video for one of our songs. They chose "Perfect World" and we told them to go ahead and do whatever they wanted with no creative input from us. One month later they showed us what they had come up with, and we were astounded! They created a very cool storyline packed with detail, symbolism and very unique ideas. So for your viewing displeasure, here is the new Guards Of Metropolis video for "Perfect World" :

So there you have it. These kids are so creative, and we're honored that they took the time to do this video for us. Evan currently has one of his short films in a film festival in Italy. We wish him luck and know that these three siblings have a great futre ahead of them. Now, go ahead and watch the video again and check out those ladybug rollerskates!

The Musician's Alarm Clock

2007-10-17T03:02:00.001-07:00

I am among those few people on the planet who are blessed and cursed with the ability to sleep anytime - anywhere. I've had security guards enter my hotel room after the maid's been in there three times with no luck getting any reaction from me, thinking I'm dead... So obviously waking up is not my strong suit... In fact, I have three alarm clocks strategically placed around my bedroom and still I'm able to turn them all off and go back to sleep with no recollection of having done so when I finally wake up hours after my wake up call. I've tried the old fashioned bell clocks which I've then easily incorporated in my dreams for half and hour or however long they ring. I've dreamt of construction sites, train rides, factories and action movies. I've tried waking up to music which has put me in many cool rock concerts in my sleep.

Then I had a brilliant idea... I'll set up an alarm clock with a headphone jack in the bathroom, and run cables to the stereo in my room, so that I'll have to actually get out of my room and into the bathroom in order to turn the damn thing off. And like a lot of musicians my stereo is nothing but a mesh mash of studio gear, so I used a 1/8" to 1/4" adapter from my radio clock in the bathroom and ran a 1/4" jack to one of the channels in my mixer and voila: I've got a sleeping-in-proof alarm clcok... Did you find the flaw in this theory? Exactly. Turning off my stereo which is located right above the head of my bed would also turn off the sound, right? Duh! But I thought, I must be on to something here... If I mount a set of passive speakers (with no on/off switch) on the wall of my bedroom and run cable to the alarm clock in my bathroom, I'll either have to tear the speakers down off the wall or get my sleepy ass to the bathroom to turn it off. Hopefully I won't just lay down on the bathroom floor and go back to sleep...

If you'd like your own "Musician's Alarm Clock" here's what you need:

• 2 passive speakers that can be powered simply by a headphone jack
(Unless you want to run the signal through an amplifier
that will have to be located in your bathroom.)

• x feet of stereo cable: 1/8" jack to rca
(depending of the speakers you use)

• 1 cable to go from speaker 1 to speaker 2
(which kind depends on your speakers)

• cable clips to attach cable to wall or ceiling

Patent pending. :o)

Anybody wanna make a bet on how many days till I sleep in again???

-sleeping silver

VOTE FOR GUARDS OF METROPOLIS ON ENGAGE INTERNET RADIO

2007-06-28T01:13:00.001-07:00

We're being featured on Engage Internet Radio for their Most Wanted Top Ten.
Please help us out by going to this link:
http://www.evolvingartist.com/ENGAGE_Feature_Artists.aspx
and vote for Guards of Metropolis - Whatever It Is.

Thank you!!!!!

-Kristin, Charles, Silver and Jason

Jason's Blog - On The Road With Frank Black

2007-06-22T07:13:00.001-07:00

Hi Everyone,

I've set up a blog site for ya'll to check out while on the road with
Frank Black:
www.skippyondrums.com

I'll be updating it frequently.....well, I'll try to at least!

Jason a.k.a. Skippy

Zen Spam

2007-02-25T13:16:00.000-08:00

I used to get furious at all the junk emails that I'd have to sift through every morning. Most of them are for Viagra or antidepressants. Which is stupid, because I figure that if you take only ONE of these products, your other problem will go away... but what do I know.

Anyway, I've started to actually like getting these spam mailings now that I've discovered that they all contain surreal zen poetry. Seriously, scroll down to the bottom of your next junk email and you can read what spammers think is a way around spam filters, but I think is a new and exciting art form.

Check out these words of wisdom from a recent Cialis ad:

"man and the slave will cease to exist, for if the man is not a reference to a boat qua boat, as there are boats which have no each to each, or of parts which do not. The parts of a line bear in the case of those contraries which have an intermediate weapon found near forms of vegetable life."

Genius.

Or how about this from an email whose subject line was "Coattail Quickstep":

"Effect allows dodge of bullets or run up walls.
Jump higher farther otherwise would Opponents tougher good?
Track goals Hacking the hacking expected and provided surprises?
"Stop the wheel" Edipon shouted."

It's pretty good stuff. It's not Haiku... it's a new form of poetry I call Spamku.

I think I'm going to make a concept album based on these emails. The lyrics will be lifted directly from junk mail. The album will be called "Edipon Shouted" and track one will be a banjo number called "The Coattail Quickstep."

Anyone know how to play banjo?

--charles - guards of metropolis

I used to have a girlfriend called Stella...

2007-02-13T22:47:00.000-08:00

But we broke up about 4 months ago. I haven't really thought about her much since. It's weird how sometimes when you break up with someone, you can't get them out of your mind, while other times, they just fade into a faint memory really fast. I tried to break up with her a couple of times before. Then I'd miss her so much that I caved after a week or so, and just had to see her. But not this time. We were a really bad match.

She would always get me into trouble. We used to hang out every night. We were inseparable. It always started out like fun, but by the end of the night I'd always do something stupid and I guess she was left feeling kind of... empty. Occasionally we'd hang out with this girl from St. Pauli, but that wouldn't exactly improve things. They'd do dumb things like push me down the stairs and stuff. Just for a laugh.

I guess I shouldn't bad-mouth 'em too much. We did have a lot of fun together. We'd throw parties and invite our friends, Bud, Pabst and Jack over. We'd crank the stereo with that Ramones song "My Corona" and dance on the table. We used to talk about everything. It probably sounded stupid to any outsider, but it made perfect sense to us. Ah, those were the days, ha?

Well, anyway, I met someone new already. This bloke from Ireland called Kaliber. He's a really nice guy. I think I'll give him a call now. :o)

-silver

Super Bowl Sunday...

2007-02-04T07:34:00.000-08:00

Since I'm sure I'll be stepping on some toes now, let me start with
saying that I love America! Or the people here I should say... But
there is one thing I don't understand: what you call sports here...

Take football for example. For starters, why do you call it football?
They're grabbing the ball with their hands! In the football games
(okay, I know you call it soccer here) I grew up with that would be a
foul, you give the ball over to the other team. And secondly; what's
a sport? Sport means a competition including physical activity,
right? And top athletes should be the people who are pushing the
boundaries of what the human body is capable of, right? At least they
look like they work out more than the average Joe.

So in football, a bunch of guys (with beer bellies) line up, one of
them gets the ball, runs about 5 yards, and then everybody stops!

"Okay, that was quite the exercise, lets take a break, re-group and
think about this for a second. Do we really wanna run anymore? I'm
getting kind of tired. What about you?"

And then there's baseball... (where most of the top players also look
like their too found of potato chips and soda pop, while exercise...
not so much. They throw a ball, hit a ball, run a little, then take a
break! Don't wanna get tired. And what's with the "World Series"?
There's only American teams competing! Doesn't that make it a
National Series? Since, after all, there are other countries in the
world.

So am I gonna watch the Superbowl? Probably, after all Prince is
playing the half time show.

-silver

Portland, Oregon: Sit/Lie Ordinance

2007-02-02T00:35:00.000-08:00

No one will be allowed to sit or lie down on a public sidewalk between 7 am and 9 pm in the downtown “Fareless Square” area and the Lloyd District, the first two areas included in the ordinance. (Other business districts can apply to be included.)

(www.portlandonline.com)

The controversial new sit/lie ordinance, which will make it illegal to sit or lie on the sidewalk within fareless square and in the Lloyd District.....

(www.portlandmercury.com)

I am upset. I have NEVER heard of such a ridiculous law. How can one make it illegal for people to sit down or lie down, take a nap, whatever.... in a public place? AND with a timeline? "You better wake up early every day and not rest until 9 pm." Where are these people with no homes supposed to go? I mean the whole reason they are called homeless is because they have NO home. I mean they have NO HOME. Are they supposed to walk around Portland ALL day long, is that it?

A day access center, that is great:) But, it is every person's right to choose for themselves. If you want to sleep in the park, then why not? Are the benches/chairs/stools busy? Occupied? Tired? I mean, why are they even there? Aren't people supposed to use them?

Of course, I do think the city should offer to help, OFFER being the keyword. I believe we all have certain freedoms as citizens and fellow human beings. If you WANT TO (not because you HAVE TO) lie on a sidewalk, sit on a bench, sleep in the park (as long as you are not hurting anyone) - then go ahead. Let the police hand out blankets instead. To keep them warm while they rest, Blankets not citations. Merry Christmas, Mr. Potter.

So much for the Freedom loving Portland I thought I knew. Booooo!

Kristin Blix/
Guards Of Metropolis

We're on iTunes...

2007-01-19T18:11:00.000-08:00

Our EP - "Whatever It Is" is up on iTunes!

1. Whatever It Is (EP only)

2. Exhole (from our upcoming album "Alligator")

3. Perfect World (from our upcoming album "Alligator")

4. Have You Found Your Yoko Yet? (EP only)

Go check out the free snippets, buy it, review it, tell your friends about it, listen to it while you're chewing breakfast cereal, chasing your dog around the house, driving over to your friend's house to watch the Sopranos on DVD, brushing your teeth or simply sitting down to enjoy killer tracks from... us. :o)

Click here to go to iTunes.

Enjoy your weekend!!

Hadet så lenge!!

-silver

Pearl Harbor Day

2006-12-07T19:21:00.000-08:00

Today is Pearl Harbor day, in which we're supposed to commemorate those who died in the Japanese attack that triggered U.S. involvement in World War II. I'm sure it barely registers to lots of people today, but the events of December 7, 1941, took the lives of over 2,400 and injured more than 1000 in a war that eventually claimed over 60,000,000 lives.

That's sixty million. Say that number out loud and think about it.

My cousin was there at Pearl Harbor that day. Kenneth M. Taylor, my third cousin on my mother's side. He passed away a couple of weeks ago at the age of 86. You can read about him in this excerpt from the Washington Post:
_____________________________________

By Patricia Sullivan
Washington Post Staff Writer

Kenneth M. Taylor, 86, an Army Air Forces pilot who managed to get airborne under fire near Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, and shot down at least two Japanese attacking aircraft, died Nov. 25 at an assisted living residence in Tucson. He had been ill since hip surgery two years ago.

He was a new second lieutenant on his first assignment, posted in April 1941 to Wheeler Army Airfield in Honolulu. A week before the Japanese attacked, his 47th Pursuit Squadron was temporarily moved to Haleiwa Field, an auxiliary airstrip about 10 miles from Wheeler, for gunnery practice.

After a night of poker and dancing at the officers' club at Wheeler, where the dress code required tuxedoes, 21-year-old Lt. Taylor and fellow pilot George Welch awoke to the sound of planes flying low, machine-gun fire and explosions. They learned that two-thirds of the U.S. aircraft at the main bases of Hickam and Wheeler fields were demolished or unable to fly.

They quickly pulled on their tuxedo pants and, while Welch ran to get Lt. Taylor's new Buick, Lt. Taylor, without orders, called Haleiwa and commanded the ground crews to get two P-40 fighters armed and ready for takeoff.

Official records credit Lt. Taylor with two kills. For their service, Lt. Taylor and Welch were awarded the first Distinguished Service Crosses of World War II.

You can read more about his life at:

www.pearlharborhero.net

Kenneth M. Taylor, third from left, received the Purple Heart after downing Japanese planes. With him, from left, are 1st Lt. Lewis M. Sanders, 2nd Lt. Philip M. Rasmussen, 2nd Lt. George Welch and 2nd Lt. Harry W. Brown.
_____________________________

I hope you stop today for just a moment and think about what people have sacrificed in order for us to have all the luxuries we take for granted like freedom of speech and other basic liberties that some have tried to take from us in the past. And I hope we remember these sacrifices when some try to take away these liberties in the present and future.

Have a nice Pearl Harbor Day.

- normal ::::: guards of metropolis

The Rain Tour

2006-11-17T15:06:00.000-08:00

We've been out driving around the Pacific Northwest for a few days now, doing a short 7 gig mini-tour. First stop was Seattle where we stayed with our friends in the stellar punk rawk band Cookie, who also have a side project called Heartbreak U.S.A.. Their house has been converted into a Bed & Breakfast style rental home (without the breakfast part) that's outfitted in kitsch '60s and '70s stylings and is called "The Shag-a-licious Suite." It's cheaper than any hotel you'll find nearby and way cooler. If you ever need a place to crash in Seattle we all give this place a big thumbs up.

The gig that night was at the High Dive, an above standard club with a nice staff and a hipster clientele. We had a good show and met some nice humans including the members of the two opening acts The Kindness Kind and Andy Wirth. The next day we crawled out of the Shag-a-licious crash pad and went to Ballard, a small neighborhood with a huge Scandinavian population. At Olsen's we stocked up on a couple of hundred bucks worth of Norwegian geitost (goat cheese), skinkost (pureed ham and cheese that you squeeze out of a toothpaste tube), and " sjokolade", which is how Norwegians think "chocolate" is spelled.

JR's in Everett, Washington was the next stop. We played for a bunch of people who apparently dug it a lot. A ton of merch was sold and a lot of hands were shook before we rolled back to Seattle early in the morning.

The Wonder Ballroom in Portland, Oregon was great. We opened for Frank Black and then went out into the audience and watched his set when we were done. Of course they were great. A bunch of our friends from Portland were there, so we brought some of them backstage after the show and friends and family of both bands hung out in the dressing rooms until late. It was great to see everyone again.

The next night was at Dante's in Portland... we played and howled inside while the skies howled and fell outside. 50 mile an hour gusts and rain blowing sideways while we tried to load our gear into our road machine. It was worth it though. Not a whole lot of people came, but the ones who did brave the weather got to see a great show with The Charmparticles and... well... us!

We're back in Salem for a day now (Nov. 17) and are off to Eugene, Oregon tonight for a show at Diablo's. We'll let you know how that one goes in a couple of days.

Hey, is anyone interested in leaving comments here? It would make it a little more interesting for us if you did ;-)

Lefty's gig report.

2006-11-07T16:22:00.000-08:00

On Friday, Nov. 3rd we played at Lefty's in Salem. It was a good show. The coolest part was seeing the opening bands, Righteous Animal and Whiskey Priest. They we're both very cool and I suggest you check them out if you want to be cool too. Righteous Animal is like Black Sabbath meets Supergrass with Marc Bolan singing Queens of the Stone Age covers while Keith Moon bangs on the drums. Or something. I think they're my new favorite band. I'm not sure though. I'll have to ask around and do a little research first to see what I think.

I would probably make a perfect major label A&R guy.

- normal ::::: guards of metropolis

Kaboom!

2006-11-07T16:04:00.000-08:00

A couple of days before Halloween we all drove out to a farm between Portland and Salem for their annual harvest festival. What else is there to do in late October in the Willamette Valley? There were all the things you would expect. A hayride out to a field to pick pumpkins. a petting zoo of exotic animals like goats and cats, caramel apples, and strange people wearing overalls. But what wasn't expected was encountering something that's perhaps the most glorious invention mankind has yet to produce; a gigantic, flatbed truck-mounted pumpkin cannon. It only cost $3.00 per round to pull the trigger, so we stayed there for about 2 hours firing pumpkins 1500 feet across a half-plowed field at an old school bus on the other side. Amidst all the kabooms and cheering whenever a pumpkin hit its target, a thought struck me. What other nation is so gluttonous that its citizens will line up and pay good money to destroy food?

None!

And that's just part of what makes this country great!

We also have monster truck rallies.

- Normal ::::: Guards Of Metropolis

Music Fest Northwest

2006-09-10T15:39:00.000-07:00

We just got back from a three days of being STOKED at the MusicFestNW which took place at various clubs around Portland, Oregon. Highlights of the weekend were too numerous to mention, but some of the coolest were:

A) - The Burnside Distribution party where we met a lot of cool people (and some not so cool) and watched Richmond Fontaine play a tight set of Americana tinged rock...

B) - The Crystal Ballroom, where we were blown away by the talents of Smoosh, two girls aged 12 and 14 who play drums and keyboards and absolutely rocked the hall with complex songs and great melodies. You should do yourself a favor and check them out...

C) - The Zombies at Berbatti's Pan. That's right, THE Zombies! You know, "She's Not There", "Time Of The Season", etc., etc., etc. They were stunning. One of the best shows we've ever seen, and we've seen a lot. I don't know which was better, watching the crowd of 300 tattooed and pierced rockers going absolutely ballistic at the end of every song, or the expressions on the faces of the 65 year old guys onstage who were soaking up every minute of it! It was great. My hands still hurt from clapping so much.

We had a good time meeting people, schmoozing, boozing and cruising while getting work done at the same time. If you've never been to Portland you should definitely make it your next vacation spot. And if you're into music you should consider moving there. We'll see you on the street...

- normal ::::: guards of metropolis

Jason Carter in Vietnam

2006-09-05T19:50:00.000-07:00

Jason Carter arrived in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) today for the third time in the past 6 months, this time with Guards of Metropolis' long-time live sound engineer Alan Stone in tow. On this trip, Jason will be guiding several first time visitors through the southern part of the country to show them the results of their donations to the Village School Foundation, a non-profit organization which builds schools for underprivileged children in Vietnam. The Guards of Metropolis have been working closely over the past year with the organization in raising money for the construction of educational facilities, tuition, and school supplies, all without the support of the Vietnamese government. Read more about the foundation (and see photos of Jason floating down the Mekong River) at the foundation's website.

New CD project with Frank Black

2006-09-05T19:45:00.000-07:00

G.O.M. guitarist Charles Normal is in a Portland, Oregon recording studio working on a CD project with Frank Black, singer of the legendary Pixies. The album, a collaborative effort between Black, singer/songwriter Larry Norman, and Mark Lemhouse backed by the Guards of Metropolis, is still in pre-production with an eventual release date slated for Spring 2007. Stay tuned for more info...

Guards of Metropolis CD Release set

2006-09-05T19:39:00.000-07:00

The Guards of Metropolis' debut CD "Alligator" has a confirmed release date of February 2007 on Slackertone Records. The band will be returning to their native Norway for Christmas but will head back to the U.S. for a national tour coinciding with the CD release. In the meantime, you can listen to song samples and download free MP3s by going
here.

Blah, Blah, Blog

2006-06-11T13:06:00.000-07:00

I guess to get this blog started I'll post a few older news items and then we'll take it from there on a daily basis...