When in doubt...

     So, maybe it's true that the last big swell wasn't nearly as good as the prior. Plenty of big waves, plenty of big wipeouts, and the when a wave was made, it was really good. The sad fact is that falling in love with a sandy-bottom beach-break is bittersweet, and while we enjoyed the sweetness of the surf at Sandal and Wounded Gull a few weeks ago, now the early morning view is tinged is tinged with bitterness. Where once were perfect, empty, hollow barreling lines there are now sand-sucking closeouts. More sand has washed down from HC and really ruined the place, and to drive the point home, Frank witnessed the actual Wounded Gull, after a period of time with nary a sighting, battling a bigger, stronger gull for a dead bird. The outcome? Wounded Gull lost! O! But the bitterness is made a little easier to stomach by the spectacular sunrises, which, it turns out, are not influenced in the least by shifting sandbars and seagull battles on the beach. Thank God.

    Been working a little on Frank's board, figured on art layout and stuff like that, but have been a little busy preparing for a new addition to the Erricozia household: Henry, pictured above. He is a White German Shepherd/Husky mix and will be ours on October 2nd. He was at a "high-kill" shelter (I know, never realized the term existed, and it is terrifying) in South Carolina, and is on his way up here. A Southern gentleman? I think those eyes say it all.

    And on the music front, the hardworking prog-psych-stoner-rock-free-form-jazz-explosion Brooklyn-based trio La Otracina has just released another album, Reality Has Got To Die, a double-LP mind-bender from everyone's favorite psych/strange/interesting music label Holy Mountain. The album definitely leans towards the harder side of psych-rock, part of which is due to drummer Adam Kriney's vocals, which fit the part to a "T", as they say. The band has been leaning towards more definite song structures as of late, but there are still the free-form psych-aural exploratory jams that everyone who is a fan of the band have come to love. Just take the title track for example. When I checked the album out, and saw that it was 19 + minutes long, I knew it would be good, if you're into that sort of thing, which I am. For your consideration, two tracks from the album.

Click here to hear.

01 - Hail Fire
06 - We Ride On (Maybe my favorite on the album, although I admit I have only given it one serious straight-through listening so far)

   Without a doubt, the best advice I have ever received from a fortune cookie.