Corwood isn't going to get to play, it'd be nice if he could at least get "paid" for all the time he put into this.

Totally agree.

and one laminate to share amongst all the band members

??!! WTF? Woe to the band member that loses the holy laminate.

Attention David Smay! -- This just in from John Petkovic:

COBRA VERDE STARS ON "THE OC" THIS THURSDAY!!!

Hey Hey Hey ...

How's it going? I could tell you about all the action on Planet Cobra Verde... The hot new album we're working on... Or how our drummer Mark is homeless because a flood consumed his house... Or how an airport terror squad accused us of being terrorists...

But ultimately it would come back to this OTHER thing:

At 9 p.m. Thursday, March 16, we -- Cobra Verde -- will make our prime-time acting debut on "THE OC." You know, the Fox drama about happy-go-lucky rich people in Orange County. The OC folks have been down with the CV action and have been trying to get us to come out to their sprawling Manhattan Beach studios -- which, by the way, is in Manhattan Beach, which is NOT in Orange County....

At first, we figured they'd have us give back rubs to "The Hot Moms" on the show or play stunt men or something. Nope. Last month, we flew out there to not only play, but also act. DUDE, we're like playing a FOREIGNER TRIBUTE BAND. I can't give away too much, but I am "authorized" to reveal this:

The main guy, Seth, asks us to play the 18th birthday party of his buddy, Ben, who really loves Journey. Seth prefers Foreigner, so he asks us to play Foreigner tunes, instead -- like "Waiting for a Girl Like You." (Coming up ANY DAY on iTUNES!)

The OC folks even made posters to hang out The Bait Shop -- the club where everyone parties on the show. You can see it --- and some other pics Tim and I took -- on cobraverde.com or our myspace site, [link]

The pics tell only part of "the story." For two days, we went through enough '80 clothes to stock an A-Ha (or Killers AND Yeah Yeah Yeahs) video, from mesh shirts to trench coats to those weird, floppy '80 boots. The overriding theme behind our "look" was, "Foreigner, Ramones, New Wave, Rock 'n' Roll -- it's all good." I guess it is when it comes to '80s nostalgia.

Tim wore a zebra-striped sleeveless shirt. Frank was breezy in his mesh shirt. Mark felt like a flasher in his trench coat. Ed looked like a fisherman-turned-safety-patrol-guard in his yellow vest. I had a hard time breathing in my red dog collar.

Like I said, check out the sites: www.myspace.com/cobraverdemusic and, of course, cobraverde.com. The tunes -- uh, I mean, that slow-dance anthem, "Waiting for a Girl Like You" -- is going up on iTunes any day, too.

Starting Thursday, we're also going to have a diary about about the whole experience, featuring stuff like:
1. Our worst bands and songs list;
2. True Hollywood Story behind-the-scenes gossip;
3. Reviews of the junk food buffet on the set.

Until then, hope you are all well and thanks again for being who you are, wherever you are....

Yr pals...
John, Mark, Tim, Frank, Ed

Now THIS is an album cover.

Now THIS is an album cover.

There's intentionally funny/horrifying, and then there's unintentionally funny/horrifying. The cover kept me from paying full price, but when I saw it on sale my love of Duane Allman snapped me out of my cover-induced paralysis and I bought it. I think it was Duane's last session before he died. He's particularly good on the bonus track, "Funky Nassau," and the title track, which popped up on my ipod just as I got to work this morning.

there's unintentionally funny/horrifying.

My eyes! My eyes!

The Capitol Records building in Hollywood is (probably) going condo: [link]

I ... I can't believe I'm about to ask this:

If I really really REALLY like My Chemical Romance (Oh, hush. Stop giving me that look.), what other bands would you recommend to me?

(They're so ca-yute! And tortured! And surprisingly, talented musicians who care deeply about their fans, so I don't know if I'd actually like any other bands in their genre, but I figured I'd ask.)

While I can't answer Jilli's question, I *can* post my frankenmix. You are warned: these are the Liner Notes of DOOM. Also, this is handily posted over at my livejournal for anyone who wants to see the liner notes + artwork + download link. And it's emailed to BR@gmail. Here we go:

LIKE THE GHOST OF A HAND

The Categories:

1. The first song you'd put on a mix tape for somebody you were attracted to

11. A song with a year in the title

RACHEL YAMAGATA - 1963

Well, 11 is pretty obvious. But I've like Rachel Yamagata since her album first came out; she did for me in junior year what Fiona Apple did for me in high school--that is, give me a voice to sing to and emote with. But when you listen to this song, wouldn't you send it to your crush? It embodies that light, happy feeling I associate with new love. I find it to be magical/I feel like I'm loving you in 1963/Flowers in my hair/Little bitty hearts upon my cheek

2. A song that makes you think of BTVS that was never used on the show

DAWN LANDES - SUSPICION

It's got that slightly off, dark quality to it; while I think it's probably too far from mainstream for the producers to ever have actually used it on the show, can't you just imagine Buffy, hiding and looking beyond a brick wall at Faith, or Angel, or Xander and Willow, and thinking, "why can't I just be there?" If you can't, I can. Hence this song. suspicion, suspicion/can make you weak/like running, you're running/trying to speak

3. Cross-genre cover song (such as a soul musician covering a country song)

THE CHAPIN SISTERS - TOXIC

Anyone who's known me in the last four years knows that I developed a sort of pathetic adoration of Certain Pop Stars, of which, I confess, B. Spears was one. I also have a healthy love of covers of pop songs. This is really just one in a pretty large library of pop-goes-alternative covers I have, but it's also one of my favorites, because it really showcases that pop songs aren't really that simplistic or vapid in comparison to less mainstream artists. I mean, I'm never going to say that Britney's lyricists are The Magnetic Fields or anything, but I listen to this and I end up being haunted. The Chapin Sisters do a lovely job of conveying the longing/wary mix evident in this song. With the taste of your lips/I'm on a ride/You're toxic I'm slippin' under

4. Quotes another song, either in the music or words – bonus points if by the same artist

BARENAKED LADIES - BRIAN WILSON

Okay, I cheated on this. I had no idea what songs quoted another--I mean, the absolutely only one I could think of was "Like I Love You" (Justin Timberlake) where he does a shout-out to Pharell halfway through, but since I used Jup later, I didn't want to do so here. So I googled. And it turned out that, in this utterly random ode BNL did to the Beach Boys singer, they quote the title of a BB song. Plus, well. I love BNL. And if you want to find me I'll be out in the sandbox,/wondering where the hell all the love has gone./Playing my guitar and building castles in the sun,/and singing "Fun, Fun, Fun."

5. Makes you want to get high, drunk, or, if it's your druthers, dizzy & giddy from spinning around in circles KANE - THE HOUSE RULES

Okay, ya'll. Due to Recent Events in Fandom, I have become re-obsessed with this band. I mean, I liked Christian Kane a lot during his time on Angel, and like every other AtS fangirl out there I squeed all the way through CK singing at Lorne's. And when a couple tracks of CK started floating around, well, I got into those too. But I never looked any further until this month, when Supernatural fandom exploded and suddenly CK was everywhere--and everyone was sharing the music of his band, KANE. It's really good. Really, really good. (Though I'm getting some serious, "SA, what the hell are you listening to?" looks from my friends.) This song in particular is my pick-me-up song, my alternate-life song, where if I was, you know, completely (continued...)

( continues...) different, I'd probably be the chick goin' out to the honky-tonks on a Saturday night in Podunk, Tennessee. It's fun as hell to sing, and makes me want to exploit my youth and go out, get fucked up, raise some hell and kick up some shit. Around eleven o'clock when the front door locks/and the boys start raisin' the bottle/and the girls do the thing with the mardi gras beads/yeah, you know they're gonna show 'em if they got 'em

6. Features a great bridge

12. A song about traveling

PATRICK PARK - SOMETHING PRETTY

This song has more or less been attatched permanently to Firefly fandom because it more or less exemplifies Mal; which is how I came across it. It's twangy and alt-country and, completely randomly, it was on "The OC Mix 2" soundtrack. Go figure. But I love it becuase it's so desolate and lonely, and the first rising movement just makes me swoon, a little. Or, in my room, alone, wave my arms around and go, "YES! Yes! That's it, man, that's it!" At the most I’m a glare,/I’m the hopeless son who’s hardly there./I’m the open sign that’s always busted./I’m the friend you need, but can’t be trusted.

7. A song released the year you turned 21 (you didn't have to know about it then)

SPOON - I TURN MY CAMERA ON

And here, I show my age. Yeah, this was released last year in '05, and if you're a Veronica Mars fan, you probably heard it on the promos. Or, if you're like me and adore Spoon, you heard it from their latest album. It's got a sort of head-bopping beat and their trademark weird-but-catchy vocals. I dig it. Great walking music. Whe n I turn my feelings on /I turn my feelings on inside/Feel like I'm gonna ignite /I saw them stars go off

8. A song dedicated to your nemesis (or who you imagine your nemesis to be)

9. A song about committing a crime

10. A song from a tribute or charity album

JOAQUIN PHOENIX AS JOHNNY CASH - FOLSOM PRISON BLUES

Ha, three in one. Yeah, the "Walk the Line" soundtrack isn't *technically* a tribute album, except in the way that it totally is. I think it might be just a little blasphemous that I like Joaquin-as-Johnny as much as I do Johnny himself, but ce la vie. This is just such a great cover. And what worse nemesis is there than isolation, lonliness, and dependance? Plus, best line about crime ever. When I was just a baby,/My Mama told me, "Son,/Always be a good boy,/Don't ever play with guns,"/But I shot a man in Reno,/Just to watch him die

13. A song that does not feature a guitar or a piano as the main instrument

EDITH PIAF - LA FOULE

The accordion! Ha! This is from my month-long fling with French music, and what came out that was not only an appreciation for a language I will never be able to pronounce, but also Edith Piaf. She's like the Billie Holiday of France. I actually have no idea what the title means, or what any of the song means. But it's very pretty. Je revois la ville en fete et en delire/Suffoquant sous le soleil et sous la joie

14. A song by a band that you could have, but didn't, write about for Lost in The Grooves

26. A song by a band with an awful name

THE CAT EMPIRE - HELLO HELLO

I adore this crazy Australian band. They're funky and bouncy and groovy and have a name that means they will never go mainstream, until they do. For those of you who don't know what Lost in the Grooves is, well, it's a book by one of my favorite people ever and you should buy it right now. The premise is a book full over overlooked musical marvels, the best songs you've never heard. And I bet none of you have heard this, and it's great. Therefore: listen. Walking down the street/with some evil in my eye/and some thoughts in my head/that were making me feel high

15. An upbeat song about a sad thing.

THE POLICE - ROXANNE

Dude. Nothing better than a song you can dance to about a person in love with a prostitute he or she will never be able to be with. If this song needs more explaining, where have you been for the last twenty years? I loved you since I knew ya/I wouldn’t talk down to ya/I have to tell you just how I feel/I won’t share you with another boy

16. Midnight driving in the rain music.

GRANT LEE BUFFALO - MIGHTY JOE MOON

This is the perfect track for two very specific reasons: 1) this song is about the Kentucky/Tennessee border line, and since I pass the Cumberland Gap every time I go from home to school, I get a little thrill about this song; 2) I listened to this song in the middle of the night drive home last Friday and it was so ridiculously perfect for the mood I was in and the atmosphere of the night, there was no other choice. GLB (who has at least three separate versions of his name) has captured some of the slightly creepy rural beauty that is Apaplachia, and some of the legends that drive it. I love this track so very much. Have you been to the Cumberland Gap oh no/Fix your eyes on the green of the map oh no/Where the Appalachians rise oh no

17. More cowbell: A song containing that essential instrument

CAKE - SHORT SKIRT, LONG JACKET

I cheated on this one too! I have no ear for the cowbell. I used a list of songs-with-cowbells to find one that I not only liked, but actually owned. It's pretty surprising just how many songs include cowbells. Listen closely: it's really quite easy to hear when you're looking for it. Also, everyone loves this song. It's fun and weird and funky. With fingernails that shine like justice/and a voice that is dark like tainted glass/She is fast, thorough, and sharp as a tack/She’s touring the facilities and picking up the slack/I want a girl with a short skirt and a long, long jacket

18. A song that reminds you of your first love

MICHAEL JACKSON - THE WAY YOU MAKE ME FEEL

My first love was Matthew Goldberg, a sort of step-cousin (but not really, because he was the son of my dad's ex-wife's before he and my mother married's sister and they sort of kept in touch but only occasionally and matt and I were in the same grade; welcome to tennesse.) He had the Michael Jackson 2-disc HIStory cds (shut up, I know I'm showing my age) and we used to listen to them in his room and never-but-almost fool around; and I wanted so badly for him to tape them for me because I didn't have a cd player and I loved good ol' MJ. But then Matt moved away, and it took ten years before I got the cds for myself. Hey pretty baby with the/High heels on/You give me fever/Like I’ve (continued...)