BooksofJobe.com

Coastal Transmissions From an Oregon Transplant

rock

  • One of my favorite things is discovering a band that is already established, and you get to immerse yourself in their entire catalog, seeing the choices they made from one album to the next, etc. It’s been a while since there’s been a band I dove headlong into like that, but here I am with… Read more

  • You could make a lot of assumptions about the city of Wichita, KS. You could assume it’s a flyover state hellhole devoid of any culture or art, but you’d be (mostly) wrong. You could assume it’s a city full of hayseeds and rednecks who don’t take kindly to outsiders, but you’d be (mostly) wrong. You… Read more

  • In  the pantheon of great motivational speakers, certain people come to mind: Saturday night, thanks to an overwhelming sense of curiosity and a girlfriend who’s always up for something new, saw me at a venue normally associated with rock performances, hosting a rock singer. This, however, was different. It was a spoken word appearance by… Read more

  • So, August turned out to be a pretty shit month for me and a lot of people I know. I try not to be one to complain, but…just wow. Talking about it here, in a (relatively) public forum, may seem to some people like I’m oversharing or not keeping something private that others may not… Read more

  • “The Grammys is the one award that doesn’t matter to anyone until they win one.” For 15-20 years, I dismissed the Grammys as utter crap. It all started back in 1989, when they decided to branch out and recognize heavy metal and hard rock with its own category/award. And in a year when Metallica’s …And… Read more

  • How Do You Find New Music?

    I would generally consider the ’90s to be my musical peak. Not only in terms of writing/performing (although it certainly was that), but also in terms of just listening to music. I still love music, and I still listen to music as much as I can, but it doesn’t compare to the way I went… Read more

  •   In the past year, members of two of my three favorite bands have died. Not from drug overdoses, not from plane or bus crashes; when I was a kid, I thought those were the only ways rock stars could die. First, there was Adam Yauch (MCA) of the Beastie Boys, who lost his battle… Read more

  • 1984 by Van Halen was the first album (tape) I ever bought with my own money. I was 11 years old, and I don’t remember how I got the money (by honest means, I assure you), but I knew that was what I wanted. I was raised on rock music. I remember as a kid… Read more

  •   I still remember the first time I heard Morphine. It was the summer of 1998. My girlfriend put on their CD, Like Swimming. It instantly grabbed my attention, and never let go. I was stunned by it. I play guitar, and found myself fascinated by this power trio that didn’t even have a guitarist.… Read more