thank you japan.

so in 1912 japan decided that they were besties with the u.s. and gave dc a shitload of cherry blossoms. and now those lucky of us living in dc or those visiting the city in late march to early april have the pleasure of enjoying japan’s gifts. too bad the city becomes packed with confused families trying to figure out the metro system and when to get off at the smithsonian.

photos by Alia Khayrullina

hear this: alcoholic faith mission.

So…this is probably the only band you should listen to right now. Not because they have interesting faces, or because they are Danish kids dallying around Brooklyn. Not even because they recorded their first album in a Copenhagen apartment lit by candlelight. You must adore Alcoholic Faith Mission because they make music that no one else is making. It’s a little bit Angus & Julia Stone, a little bit inebriated, and often a Bowiesque exercise in sexy subtlety. Did you eat your skin and bones, waiting for the grave? Anyways, there are big things happening for them soon, including the release of their new album, “Let This Be The Last Night We Care” on March 5, and a show coming up in Baltimore which I am going to try very hard to barnacle onto. You’re welcome.

jukebox the ghost takes on sweden

dc/phili-based band jukebox the ghost made it across the pond and partied with some dirty euros.  their upbeat songs and playful lyrics have created quite the following that has stretched all the way to sweden. quite fantastic for a couple of dudes who went to g-dubs. thus, i danced to their songs all night, drank some free beer, and had a member crash on my tiny apt floor. i guess that’s what happens when you go to uni in dc and get your masters in the land of vikings.

jukebox has now made it back stateside and they will be playing in a city near you. blackcat on march 25th.  i hope to see you all there.

leila, professional wanderluster.

Meet Leila Hadley, travel writer/socialite/general badass. Although she was the “chic, high-level, in-the-know career girl that millions of young women dreamed of being about in New York,” she decided it would be more fun to run away to Singapore. So in 1951, she took off to South Africa, Jamaica, Beirut, Malta and the West Indies with her six-year-old. And had some torrid affairs with dashing sailors along the way. Happy spring break/summer travels little capslocks, and if you ever think about going on a cruise to Cancun…what would Leila do?

see this: boston +cambridge in an american car. part one.

I arrived back in Boston after dark. Just enough time to explore a bit of the city.  The hotel that had been booked for me in Cambridge was a giant leap above the horror-story lodgings that I dealt with in Hadley and Lewiston.  I even had my own patio/balcony with a view of the western part of town.  I hailed a cab and crossed the river into Boston proper and got out on Beacon Street.

I walked aimlessly up and down the blocks for a bit – seeing nothing much in particular, I headed toward where I thought Fenway Park would be.  I saw some bright colorful lights in the distance and decided to follow them.

come get glittery

whether you’re on spring break and you’re in full-blown party mode or the work week has got you wanting to start your weekend a bit early glitterthug is your answer to the usual thursday night drinking routine. expect fun music, funner people and a lot of glitter.  this thursday will be no exception so check it out.

drink this: firefly vodka

one of the few good things to come out of the south, firefly vodka aka  sweet tea flavored vodka.  fantastic on the rocks, with a splash of water, or mixed with lemonade. this genius vodka comes in five delicious flavors: raspberry tea, peach tea, mint tea, lemon tea, and sweet tea bourbon. i was introduced to this dangerous vodka last summer on a road trip to charlottesville, va, where we partied in condos, swam at the gated-community’s pool, and ate their complimentary cookies.  i soon forgot about its existence (this may or may not be because i couldn’t remember drinking it in the first place), however, it was reintroduced to me last weekend. this could partly be the reason why my fellow capslockers and i did not completely make it to the warehouse show. be warned: it is dangerous and delicious… just remember you are drinking vodka and it does have the same effects of vodka even if it does not taste like it. so please don’t make our same mistake and think it is wise to consume a bottle or more. cheers loves!

hundred hundred, honey boat and sea monsters at the ‘flur warehouse.

The first show at the bellflur mansion (read: warehouse) featured honey boat‘s debut, sea monsters and hundred hundred. Shout out to the Capslocks who made it but didn’t quite make it, brother, hundred hundred’s shakespeare story, blake in the bathroom, will‘s awesome photography and tom’s musical dance moves. There was enough Wii, Jameson, oriental carpets, toddlers, animal masks and tunes for all. Groovy.

rockabilly in the burgh

in the dive bars of bloomfield the rockabilly scene is still alive a kicking. monthly rockabilly riots at howlers are packed with three generations of rockers. the music alone is worth the trip and make no mistake about it, the 50+ crowd brings some sick jitterbug skills. please take note of the accordion and washboard.

see this: maine in an american car.

After spending almost 700 miles in the Impala, I escaped the smoky chokehold of Worcester, Mass. bound for the purity I expected to find in the quaint vanilla charm of the state of Maine.  The state had always been a mystery to me – I had never been there and had never even met anybody from the land of lobsters and L.L. Bean – but I’d always felt a strange attraction to it.  My feet have spent winters warm inside the iconic Bean boots, and the Pine Tree State and I share the initials: ME.  My exodus from Massachusetts was further common ground, as Maine itself was an exclave of Massachusetts until 1820.  But Maine needed the Missouri Compromise to escape Massachusetts. All I needed was a Chevrolet.

I drove north at dusk while a thick blanket of fog formed over the coast, blocking my view of the rock littered shoreline of the open Atlantic.  I arrived in Lewiston after dark – to a dimly lit motor lodge 30 miles inland.  The woman at the front desk appeared shocked to see an unfamiliar face.  It seemed as though all the “guests” were actually long term tenants – living in a backward utopia of week to week rent payments and dinners warmed in the microwaves that sat atop the mini-fridges in each room.  The light fixtures were just low energy bulbs screwed akimbo into dual light sockets – naked to the open air with no lampshade to soften the glow or keep you from burning yourself.  I decided to spend very little time in the room.