I don’t consider myself a superstitious person, however certain things are difficult to completely let go of. Reason being is because I grew up in a very superstitious household, whistling in the house was bad luck, as was opening an umbrella, if a black cat crossed my dad’s path he would always turn around and go a different direction, everyone always knocked on wood, my mom reads her horoscope every day without fail (and will actually print out mine for me to read), we have many books about karma and reincarnation, etc.
Now among all these superstitions, if certain odd or ominous things occurred, it was always the full moon’s fault. Many times I would actually be told not to go out at night when there would be a full moon because no good would come of it.
And speaking of full moons, the year’s biggest full moon was last night. Why the moon has seemed so big lately is because it is at it’s closest point to the Earth (called perigee) and then coinciding with the lunar cycle’s full moon.

It has also been brought up throughout history that women have a connection with the moon because of the way the lunar and menstrual cycle mimic each other.
Particularly more on women and the moon:

“The Lunar or Lunation cycle refers to the journey that the Moon makes each month as it travels through its phases – from new moon to full moon and back to new moon again.
This cycle exerts a major influence upon women and their menstrual cycles. It affects a woman physically, emotionally and spiritually.
Physically, the Moon influences cycle length. The average length of a menstrual cycle is 29 days, which is exactly the time it takes for the Moon to travel through her phases.
The Moon can also trigger ovulation at any time during the menstrual cycle, regardless of when biological ovulation takes place. This means that a woman can be fertile or ovulate twice in a menstrual cycle. This is sometimes referred to as double ovulation or the Natal Lunar Phase Fertile Time.
Emotionally, the moon affects our moods.
For example, feelings and emotions are heightened during a Full moon. Recognising the Moon and its phases can help at those times when you are feeling overwhelmed and emotionally ‘over the top ‘. It can help to anchor you and help you realise that this mood will pass.
If the emotion is overwhelming, and it is being made worse by the moon, then you can take action to minimize the damage caused in your life by taking time out and realising that it is not all your fault.”
(The Lunar Cycle)

Last weekend I was invited to sit in on a review of Cal-Poly Pomona School of Architecture Grad Students. I friend of mine is going through the program and let me know that the VDL Research House would be open to friends and family for the evening and I jumped on the opportunity. The VDL House is just up the street -Silverlake Blvd.- from a cluster of houses he and his son Dion designed, which are right around the corner from the Neutra Office Building -and the ChaCha – on Glendale Blvd. Needless to say, Neutra’s got the whole town on lock down!

I’ve been lucky to tour more than a few steel and glass, SoCal Modernist landmark residents from the Palisades to Silverlake but this is the first time I’ve had access at night… This lead to gorgeous views of the reservoir and two bruised shins! At night it is hard to get your bearings in a house of 90 degree angles, slivers of powder-coated aluminum floating in air and windows with harsh reflections or none at all. The later resulting in yours truly, acting like Conan trying to find the wizard in a hall of mirrors, only the wizard is nowhere to be found and I was not holding my broad sword and Ugg boots. Tip-toeing around an architectural landmark is one thing when you’re on a tour with fifty other people and there are “security gaurds,” watching your every move but I had the place all to myself.

I imagine you would get used to maneuvering in a house like this one after a few weeks but for a first timer, it was not at all comfy and cozy. But it did photograph well, photos after the jump.

This is kind of a commercial/product endorsement, but it’s at least an earnest one and I thought the story was worth running on here (bonus photos of BR/Girl Talk shows and me getting mauled by a pitbull while brushing my teeth after the jump):

On our recent tour with Girl Talk, we were lucky enough to have a short run of exhilarating shows that were all packed with wild and receptive crowds.  We went through the Northwest, where each different city is beautiful and lush, and has its own distinct flavor.  We felt on top of the world, able to treat ourselves to regional food and drink that we only hear about in legends down in Los Angeles, and we were extremely pumped for the crisp weather and copious amounts of roadside thrift shops teeming with secondhand wool.  Our days were filled with excellent meals and good weather, and our nights were full of febrile dance parties.  Everything was perfect. Except that time we ran over Bobby Evans’ laptop with the tour vehicle.

A little back story:  Bobby Evans is the DJ/Producer for Brother Reade.  I should also mention that for one reason or another, he’d had the same record bag for far too long.  So you can imagine, that when Incase contacted us and wanted to furnish us with some pieces of theirs he was elated and couldn’t wait to use their products to organize his road gear and dispense with the (let’s be honest, somewhat tattered) bags he had been using to date.  We picked up the Incase shipment at our show at Music Fest Northwest and were truly psyched to get it (very infrequently do the right pairings happen in the world of artist gifting/sponsorship, but those guys over there seem to be on to something).

Now, after Music Fest Northwest our next show was at the Showbox Sodo in Seattle, where Mr. Evans finally got around to switching out his gear into the new bags.  We somewhat ceremoniously trashed the old bags, packed up the rest of our things, and pulled out of the parking lot.  And we heard a dragging sound.  Everyone’s first thought in the car was that we were dragging the old bags.  The old bags had been left outside, not thrown in the dumpster, and were being dragged by the car.  We all believed this.  So we pulled further out of the parking lot, when it hit us.  Oh snap.  We’re driving with one of the NEW bags under the tire of the car.  The one with the laptop in it.  The laptop with all the songs for our set, that we can’t play without.  In the middle, not the end of the tour.  Uh oh.

So we did the obvious thing, stopping the car, retrieving the laptop, assessing the damage, and something like a small miracle happened.  I can’t stretch the truth to say that the laptop or the bag weren’t at all damaged, but I can say that they weren’t damaged beyond repair, and we were able to link the laptop to another computer and retrieve all of the songs we needed to off of it.  AND after minor repairs the computer is fine, still in working order, due in no small part to the design of the bookbag, which we can now firmly endorse and attest to, in a true and completely sincere way, devoid of any of the usual cheesiness/self interest that normally lurks behind such sentiments.  Now if you come see Brother Reade play a show, it’s likely you’re watching Bobby Evans DJ off of a laptop that HAS BEEN RUN OVER BY A CAR AND STILL WORKS.  You might also see him carrying it around in a bookbag with roadrash and the tags still on it.  What are the chances?

In the future, we here at Bad Beat hope to bring you inside scoops and in depth reviews of people workplaces, studios, practice spaces, showing the little things in interesting peoples lives that make them interesting.  Luckily we know lots of interesting people, so this whole thing should work out well.  First up is our good friend Sam Spiegel, better known as Squeak E. Clean, and one half of the Brazilian / American group NASA.  Sam has had an infamous Hollywood studio for a pretty long time now, nestled in an alleyway by a gas station its a bit inconspicuous, but once inside you’re in a very comfortable bungalow vibe, fit for the most mellow of bros.  Sam’s studio takes up just as much time making awesome new tunes, as it does for producing commercial music for everything from movies to TV, video games, to just about anything where sound happens.   Here’s a dozen or so random snaps I took while stopping in with Jams for a quick vocal session Sunday the 9th of August 2009.

Check out Squeak E. Clean for more info.

Photo set after the jump!