I was surprised to see news coverage of protesters at the Marriott today while president Bush visited. Normally, I feel the press more or less ignores such gatherings but that may be on the larger scale. I’m happy our local television news and papers took the time to interview and relay an understanding of the passions the 150 people gathered to protest the war.

Bush, of course, went through a back entrance and may not have seen them. His comments today did acknowledge the issue, though: “I understand the angst among the American people. I know that people are weary of war.” Then he went on to tell the group of prominent legislators and business executives “…I plan to use my veto to keep your taxes low.” Great! Tax breaks for the rich. Just what we all need.

So some of my favorite Philadelphia rock bands are playing all at the Grape Street on Saturday. IKE, OutSet, and Jealousy Curve. I feel jealous of Brett, who gets to play two awesome sets in the same night, both as OutSet’s lead guitarist, and the honorary leadguitarmasher of IKE.

But get this. IKE is having an all-ages shindig too. Their all-ages is happening in Phoenixville, PA at Steel City Coffee. I’m almost tempted to go, but I’ll be with most of my band at the grape street, hanging out, getting too trashed to drive, and having a generally good time enjoying three bands I love. IKE, OutSet, and Jealousy Curve.

Tomorrow I’ll tell y’all more about it tomorrow. For right now, I got a job interview to attend. In Princeton, NJ.

I was listening to the radio this morning on my way in to work, and they just happened to have upcoming mayoral candidate Milton Street on in an interview. And I have to tell you that at first I was very impressed. He seemed to be making a lot of sense and I was thinking maybe…just maybe he’s actually for real.

Then he started going on about the black community and how most murders are committed by blacks and how most taxes are paid by whites. He then went on to say that black people need to stop blaming white people for the problems they are having in their communities and they need to realize that the whites are the only ones paying to improve their communities. I don’t have any sort of a statistic to back up what he’s saying. I do think he uses too many phrases involving the words “most” or “all.”

I’m not calling him a racist because I sort of see what he was trying to get at, but I’m concerned that if Milton Street is elected mayor we will only see a broadening of any racial divide that is in the city. Call me naive, but I’m not making the distinction when I walk down the street, and I really don’t think most people I run into downtown do either.

I’m very sick of everything coming down to race. I don’t think that we need to ignore race but I don’t think that everything in life has to come down to race. And - until I think everyone can learn to make that distinction - I don’t see any of these problems going away.

On the advice of an e-mail I received earlier in the week, I went down to the Tin Angel. Kyle Justin opened last night’s show, followed by Erik Mitchell and then Adrienne Hamilton. I stuck around for the first two sets.

Let me just set one thing straight right now: When I heard the Angry Video Game Nerd’s theme song I dug it in that entertaining-song sort of way. But it didn’t sound anything like a Kyle Justin song. It was just a fun and silly song. OK, Kyle? I like the song. I just originally thought it wasn’t gonna go anywhere.

Man, was I wrong. He announced at the show that he and the Angry Video Game Nerd himself are going to MTV Studios in Los Angeles to record an interview and everything. He’s going places. And oh s#!t the Angry Video Game Nerd was there, too! So I got to tell him exactly what I thought of his little videos. I think I came off as more of a babbling fan than anything, though.

Kyle was joined onstage by his drummer Pete, and they put on a solid forty minutes of entertainment. The addition of Pete gave his music a more upbeat feel. And I never get how his songs kick ass without being terrifically rhythmic, but somehow nothing changes with Pete and Matt (his bassist, absent from last night’s show). He debuted a new song, and I wish my phone weren’t an idiot because I would have had the first live, public recording of it ever.

Erik Mitchell’s a cool guy. I met him a few months ago at a coffee house in West Philly–or maybe it was in Barrington, NJ. Anyway, he had a great following and a cool, laid back vibe. He played solo. Last night, I saw him with a whole band. Jazzy and poppy and acoustically rocky all in one, I really got to re-enjoy all of his songs, and I finally got to hear the fabled “Piece of the Pie” which he couldn’t play at open mics, because, you know, children are present. He really filled the stage with his band, a five-piece which included Jon Mernyk on lead guitar, and others whose names escape me because I’d only met them that night.

And then Adrienne played and she’s hot but I had to leave when she started so I missed her set.

kyle justin + erik mitchell

Last night somebody pointed out to me that it’s been more than a year since my interview with Dorothy Krysiuk, the morning traffic reporter for Fox 29. Wow.

http://philadelphia.metblogs.com/archives/2006/01/wasmy_interview.phtml

In the spirit of this grandiose anniversary, I plan to unveil the next subject for my Metblog interview. I realize many of you are probably unfamiliar with the rules, so here goes:

1.) I will announce the name of my next interview on the first of the month. Because there are only 30 days in February I am pushing that date up to tomorrow.

2.) I will have 30 days to get in touch with this local or national celebrity for an interview posted on this very blog. If I don’t get the interview then I lose. I’m not sure what happens when I lose. It’s never happened yet.

3.) Periodic updates will be made available here at the Philly Metblog site.
See you all tomorrow.

Floyd Landis, the Lancaster native (and isn’t Lancaster PRACTICALLY part of Philly these days?) who recently won the Tour de France has shown up with high levels of testosterone in his blood. Testosterone could be a marker of some sort of performance enhancing drug. His mother, when interviewed over the phone said,

she wouldn’t blame her son if he was taking medication to treat the pain in his injured hip, but “if it’s something worse than that, then he doesn’t deserve to win.”

“I didn’t talk to him since that hit the fan, but I’m keeping things even keel until I know what the facts are,” she said in a phone interview from her home in Farmersville, Pa. “I know that this is a temptation to every rider but I’m not going to jump to conclusions … It disappoints me.”

Tour de France winner flunks drug test [Inky]

I heard Glen Macnow** talking about this the other night with his callers on his 610 WIP program, wondering out loud exactly who is Philadelphia’s Sports Scene MVP. The general consensus, quite strangely, is that there is no real consensus. So I’m going to try to arrive at a conclusion as an official Metblog stance. And I’m going to do that with a single-bracket tournament.

**Read my Metblog Celebrity Interview with Glen Macnow
Read more

Smith, was in town today as part of his huge promotional tour for Clerks II. This morning he was in studio with The Preston & Steve show on 93.3 WMMR. His appearance can be downloaded as part of today’s podcast on ITunes. He also had a nice little interview featured over at Philly.com. He also let it be known he is no longer making the big budget Green Hornet. Clerks II opens July 21 in theaters everywhere.

That was a lousy pun. I’m sorry. As the United States goes up against the Czech Republic today for World Cup Super Action, most people tend to forget that the United States as a national men’s soccer team. The Philly connection with our boys in blue in Alemania happens to be kinda-blind, all-the-way-awesome Bobby Convey.

Convey was part of the first Bradenton Academy class in 1999, alongside such soccer stars as Landon Donovan and DaMarcus Beasley. He was drafted into the MLS by D.C. United in 2000 at the age of 20, making him as of then the youngest player signed into the league. He scored his first professional goal on July 4, 2000, with a header against the Colorado Rapids. From the MLS, he signed with the Reading football club in England. He became a starter on the team in 2005, and will play in the Premier league when the season starts this year.

In an interview with the BBC, Convey talks about growing up in Northeast Philly. “My sister, my brother, my parents, everyone always played soccer so I did. My sister played for the National team in the US so I always played soccer with her, my family has always been athletic and soccer was just the sport I chose. In Philadelphia I didn’t grow up in a rich area, we just played in the local playing fields whenever we could get the chance. There were just two fields so you had to wait your turn and play at 7am which my parents probably weren’t too happy about!”

In a time where the Phillies are floundering, the Sixers and Flyers are done, and the Eagles are still scrambling to find another good receiver, The World Cup is where Philly fans can turn to to get some kind of homebrewed sports action.

As you lords and ladies know, tonight my buddy Kyle Justin is performing at the Tin Angel. Show starts at 8:30pm ($8/21+) and also features Greg Ralls, Sarah Hyntze, Bevin Caulfield, and Liat. I’m gonna be heading up there around nine to catch the show. Find me and mention the blog and I’ll buy ya a drink, cuz that’s what all the cool people do.

If you missed the interview I did with him (my first ever, and I only did it cuz I was bored), then you can check out the transcript right here and the audio right over here.