If you haven’t caught on by now, I’m in a band called Frauke, which I am constantly pimping (shameless self promotion) on this blog. In any event, we recently released our debut album Dirtier Than Horses, which is conveniently available for digital download from both iTunes and Amazon. Or if you want the real deal CD you can pick one up from insound.

Last week we got a little mention on Pitchfork for our song Parasite Fungus:

Frauke rock “Parasite Fungus” as if it’s funny (hey, it kind of is) and as if they hate you (they probably don’t, but that’s their URL if not their M.O.). Either way,Brooklyn-based punk trio of Tammy Duncan, husband Andrew Duncan, and Goes Cube’s David Obuchowski dig this track– from full-length debut Dirtier Than Horses– a shallow grave of trebly hammer-on guitar riffs and attention-deficit drumming, then cover it up with some distorted banshee wails. read full post

And a nice leaky Faucet review from PoptartsSuckToasted:

Dirtier Then Horses, features a slew of humorous indie-rock for everyone to consume. It’s all written with a sharp tongue, but you can’t help believing that maybe this band doesn’t really hate us so much. I mean, could they really abhor us and provide us with awesomely fun music at the same time? read full review

And lastly, Earfarm was out our record release show at cake shop back in April:

Frauke had their album release show two nights ago at Cake Shop and attacked the room the way they always do, with wit, guile, and tightly imperfect pop-punk songs about boyfriends in prison, fake Canadian girlfriends, and hiding one’s grade school erection with a Trapper Keeper. Read full post

Probably not news to everybody else, but my good friend LJ has introduced me to the site Photo Basement.

A few recent samples:

And the cream of the crop “41 Hilarious Science Fair Experiments“:

Our good pal Ava just sent us this postcard from her trip to Japan. I am so J…

My favorite new cat is the eat-anything apprentice chef and namesake of the Cartoon Network’s new show CHOWDER. The illustration/animation is really beautiful (and unique) and matched with clever writing that registers for adults without being overly ironic or cynical. It’s just plain funny. I’m especially fond of Mung Daal’s Ladies Man-esque quips and Shnitzel’s constant disdain and “radda radda”s. And well, Chowder’s enthusiasm over everything is the best. I laugh out loud all the time at this show which is saying something. Andrew is much much better at this writing stuff - so check out his 2 cents on Chowder over at KFR.

and i mean, how could i not love the show after this quick moment…

Over the weekend I stopped by the inaugural Brooklyn Flea. My visit was two-fold. First, I love flea markets and the prospect of strolling (as cold as it was) and browsing all morning was too good to miss. Secondly, I have been working with my friends at Three Birds Bakery on the branding and packaging of their Granola and wanted to see how it all came together. And I must say, it came together nicely and the ladies even SOLD OUT! Which, I might add, is not a surprise because their granola is absolutely delicious and freshly made. They have two kinds - one with fruit and one without - both are excellent.

Anyway as far as the flea market itself, there has been a lot of blogging and commenting on how “non-flea markety” it is (sometimes I get so sick of blogs and people complaining on them — like I am doing right now- um- anyway…) . For the record, I thought that the flea was perfectly lovely. It was spacious with a good number of vendors selling a nice variety of things. I thought there were plenty of vintage/antiques to satisfy my traditional flea market cravings and while I’m personally more into the “old” stuff, I really did enjoy seeing what people were crafting and making. I’ve got my eye on a bag from the Etsy table (different fabric than this link) and may just have to go back next week to pick it up. And to all the “haters,” don’t fret, I am sure the laws of supply and demand will, over time, adjust the offerings at the flea market to suit the shoppers. But isn’t it just sort of nice to see an event organized by a small community business/entity (brownstoner) bringing together other individuals and small business of the community.

In summary - go check out the flea this weekend and keep an eye out for that granola!

As mentioned in a previous post, I’ve had a bit of a bacon backlog. I had received the Bacon of the Month packages for February and March but hadn’t had any opportunities to cook them in someone else’s kitchen. This weekend I was able to cook up the March package at the Wall Street Poker Second Chance Tournament at Jamie’s place. I was hoping to cook both month’s bacon but the Saturday event fell through for me. So I still have another package waiting to be cooked up - any volunteers?

March’s bacon was a peppered country bacon from Missouri. This bacon was sweet and chewy and not as peppery as I expected. I was hoping the bacon would be a bit more spicy.

Cooking the bacon in Jamie’s Kitchen

Once again Full Tilt Poker and AlCantHang (along with Hoyazo, Mookie, Miami Don, CrackNAces, and the Riverchasers) are offering up some great prizes for the BBT3. Through the generousity of Full Tilt, I was able to go to Australia to root for Jeciimd in the Aussie Millions in January. Maybe I’ll see you at the WSOP this year!

Brought to you by the Online Poker Room Full
Tilt Poker and the Dead Money Poker Blog by AlCantHang

One of my bounty prizes from the WPBT Winter Classic 2007 was the book Texas Poker Wisdom by Johnny Hughes. I won it from him when my AQ of hearts flopped the nut flush to his A9 to knock him out of the tourney.

A while back I had read quite a few stories on the 2+2 forum about poker games and players in Texas, little nuggets of poker wisdom from Johnny. I was excited that he was joining the bloggers for the Winter Gathering - I was looking forward to hearing some of these tales in person. Unfortunately I never really got the chance to socialize with the man, I just spent a little time with him at the opposite end of a poker table. Luckily I won his book.

I really won’t go into a full book review, I’ll leave that to the pros linked below. That said, it was a fun read filled with plenty of sage advice for all poker players as well as colorful tales of poker in Texas. As a former resident of Lubbock, Texas, the book brought back a lot of memories of my time there. Thank you Johnny for reminding me of some of the things I loved about Lubbock.

Buy the book

Some reviews:

Dr. Pauly
Gary Wise

Figure with Meat by Francis Bacon

I just received March’s Bacon of the Month package so I now have two packages of bacon in search of a kitchen. Any volunteers?

We were watching John Water’s Female Trouble last night and noticed a striking resemblance between Divine and Amy Winehouse. Right?

I recently got this bit o’news from Goes Cube. I was planning on going to the show anyway (gotta go get me a copy of the new EP!) But maybe you all will want to join in the fun.

GOES CUBE KICKS OFF WINTER TOUR WITH BAM NEXT FEST SHOW AT BROOKLYN’S MAGNETIC FIELD ON FRIDAY 2/22

This is NYC’s FIRST of TWO opportunities to purchase Goes Cube’s tour-only EP. Titled “Not What We Thought,” EP is limited edition, hand-numbered; already receiving advanced accolades from press.

For nearly all of March (and the end of February), Goes Cube will cover 15 states (including DC, which technically isn’t a state), and play nearly every single night for a month. This is the third time in a year Goes Cube is on the road for a significant tour.

The odyssey (also their chosen brand of mini-van) is getting an early start thanks to their kick-off show happening 9pm Friday, 2/22, at Magnetic Field (97 Atlantic Ave, at Henry St, in Brooklyn). The show is part of the Brooklyn Next Festival.

A year ago, Goes Cube was touring in support of their top-selling EP, “Beckon The Dagger God.” That EP is now sold out, but that’s no cause for concern: Goes Cube will have their limited-edition EP “Not What We Thought” for sale. In fact, this tour is the only opportunity for people to get their hands on it – and this show is the first of two opportunities for NYC (the last being their highly anticipated homecoming show at Union Pool on 3/28). Featuring all new and unreleased songs (with the exception of the lead track, which was premiered by Stereogum in late January), the EP is limited-edition, and hand-numbered by the band.

Press was given an advanced listen to the EP, and the reviews have been spectacular:

- Stereogum said “We’ve never heard them get this massive.”

- EarFarm said “Goes Cube has offered a road map for the future of heavy music right here in Song 56, on all of ‘Not What We Thought.’ Deadly.”

- The Culture Of Me called it a “fucking masterpiece” and said that Goes Cube “has exerted every possible ounce of themselves into ‘Not What We Thought’ and what’s come out as product is astonishing.”

- Tuddd’s Muddd said “Goes Cube has counted to infinity. Twice.”

Those who like their rock music loud and without pretension are advised to mark their calendars (schedule here: www.goescube.com/shows.html) so they can pick up their copy of “Not What We Thought” and experience Goes Cube’s live set, which has been described by the press as “brutal” “punishing” “destructive” “painfully loud” and “purely visceral.”

Goes Cube is:
Kenny Appell - drums
Matthew Frey - bass guitar, backing vocals
David Obuchowski - guitar, vocals

www.goescube.com
www.myspace.com/goescube

Remember these drawings from oh so long ago? They’ve been “lol”-isized. Good for a couple of laughs. Reload the site to see more.

Hat tip to plime.com