Reports from the scene
San Diego Music Awards announce nominees, Megan Fox doesn't know the dude from Panic! At the Disco and DJ Artistic breaks on through
Locals Only
The nominations for the 19th annual San Diego Music Awards were announced Sunday, and Crocodiles lead the pack with four nominations (for Best Alternative Album plus Song, Album and Artist of the Year), followed closely by Scarlet Symphony, Jason Mraz and Anya Marina with three nominations each. South Bay punk legends The Zeros have been selected to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award. The awards ceremony happens Thursday, Sept. 10, at Viejas Concerts in the Park. www.sandiegomusicawards.com
Drummer Ben Johnson of Hostile Comb-Over has confirmed that the band’s show at The Radio Room on Tuesday, Aug. 11, will be its last. All three band members are involved in other projects, from The Long and Short of It to Rats Eyes, and Johnson confirms that the band wants to focus on other things. “No drama,” Johnson says, “just different ideas and directions.”
Also headed in a new direction is Demasiado frontman Jon Piotrowski, who’s started a new band with Eric Flynn (First Wave Hello) and Dan Merino (Sex Mannequin) called Cats From Japan. The band has yet to perform in public, but early buzz has been loud enough for them to land their first show at U-31 on Friday, Aug. 28. Piotrowski says the group is more dance-oriented but with an early Depeche Mode vibe. “It’s like flamenco, funky dance stuff. It’s super-sexual and people will be happy when they hear it. It’s so fun.” Although Piotrowski still plans to perform with Demasiado and says the band should have an album coming out soon, Cats From Japan will be his top priority. www.myspace.com/catsfrom
japanmusic.
Fox hunting
No one got Comic-Con fanboys salivating more this past week than Transformers hottie Megan Fox. And what better way to celebrate what will surely be an Oscar nod to Fox for her role in Jennifer’s Body (the Diablo Cody-penned cheerleader horror flick) than to throw a party at the Kin Lounge complete with red carpet, paparazzi and a guest list tighter than an inmate’s sphincter. Once Fox had fielded kiss-ass questions from everyone but local media (who were not allowed on the list), handlers whisked her to a cabana with five security guards—as if the crowd of mostly L.A. jackasses and their model girlfriends were a huge danger.
Brendon Urie from Panic! at the Disco played a short, three-song acoustic set, his first performance since his band split in half. The crowd seemed more interested in doing blow in the bathroom, which gave the Panic! song “I Write Sins, Not Tragedies”—with its chorus of “Haven’t you people ever heard of closing the goddamn door”—a whole new meaning.
Meeting Urie before his set, and identifying myself as press, he asked me very politely to please “holla at that girl” if I happened to run into Fox. Since he was a nice enough guy, I poked my head past a huge security guard as I was walking out and yelled, “Megan, Brendon Urie hollas!”
Fox looked up, confused, and yelled, “Who?”
Exactly.
Sweet Beats
Our semi-regular look at the local DJ scene
Artist: DJ Artistic (real name: Arthur Mitchell III)
Sound: When it came to getting a reaction from the crowd, Jim Morrison famously said he would settle for anything, adding, “If you can get a whole room full of drunk, stoned people to actually wake up and think, you’re doing something.” DJ Artistic, however, who comes from a “straight-out boom-bap classic hip-hop” background, doesn’t stop until he gets every member of the audience going. “I don’t just stand there,” the Rancho Bernardo High alum says. “I’m more of a party-rocking DJ. I’m a DJ that’s gonna rock the party from the turntables and also behind the mic.”
Stats: Taking a page from the legendary Doors frontman, and inspired by the anthem “Break On Through,” the Michigan-born Artistic founded the Breakthrough Hip-Hop Collective in the early 1990s and ended up not just laying the ground for much of the current local hip-hop scene, but also launching the careers of DJ Gaslamp Killer, Orco, Tony Da Skitzo and Mr. Brady along the way. And though he cites several influences—like Abstract Rude, who gave him his DJ name—the North Park resident says his greatest comes from his 3-year-old son and 11-year-old daughter, the latter proving to be a chip of the old block as part of a Junior Symphony.
When not working on his weekly live show on Jellyradio.com or DJing for hip-hop group Deep Rooted, the beat guru can be found at the ’80s and ’90s night at U-31 every Thursday, as well as every Saturday with his “Jump Off” night. He’s also the person behind No Sucker DJs, whose Run-D.M.C-inspired logo recently caught the attention of The Rev. Run’s son JoJo.
“He found us online and sent me a copy of his drop, which I played on my World Premiere Wednesday’s radio show,” Artistic says.
As for longevity in the youthful club world, the time to hesitate is through, as 34-year-old Artistic remains not only unscathed but longing for the new experiences.
“Man, I can’t wait to be 50. Can you imagine? I’m gonna know so much about music,” Artistic says. “I’m gonna be a wicked DJ then. At the end of this, when someone publishes the book, some people will get a paragraph. I want my own chapter.”
