Buzz - October 11, 2007

Basil Wolverton The Master of Comics

Radiohead Pay any price to be

In Rainbows

Find out where it is fun to play in Downtown L.A. Plus:

La Bomba is the bomb!

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BUZZ 10.11.07

An artist whose disgustingly graphic style made him a comic legend

BASIL WOLVERTON LA, LA, LA LA BOMBA! EBBNFLOW The Buzz Editor: Jennifer Caddick

RADIOHEAD IN RAINBOWS

Executive Editor: Ian Hamilton Director of Advertising: Stephanie Birditt Assistant Director of Advertising: Sarah Oak Production: Jennifer Caddick Account Executives: Nancy Sanchez Juliet Roberts

/FX 4VNNFS %SJOL 1SJDFT rĚž BOE PWFS

The Daily Titan 714.278.3373 The Buzz Editorial 714.278.5426 thebuzz@dailytitan.com Editorial Fax 714.278.4473 The Buzz Advertising 714.278.3373 ads@dailytitan.com Advertising Fax 714.278.2702 The Buzz , a student publication, is a supplemental insert for the Cal State Fullerton Daily Titan. It is printed every Thursday. The Daily Titan operates independently of Associated Students, College of Communications, CSUF administration and the CSU system. The Daily Titan has functioned as a public forum since inception. Unless implied by the advertising party or otherwise stated, advertising in the Daily Titan is inserted by commercial activities or ventures identified in the advertisements themselves and not by the university. Such printing is not to be construed as written or implied sponsorship, endorsement or investigation of such commercial enterprises.

Copyright Š2006 Daily Titan

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BUZZ 10.11.07

downtown l.a.

By Marissa Armstrong

Daily Titan Staff Writer

At the cross-section of business, politics and culture is Downtown Los Angeles, and it has a great nightlife too.

Need to impress a date and have a few extra bucks to do it with?

Make a reservation at the Blue Velvet. Well-hidden from the street, it has an expensive and exclusive ambiance.

It’s best after sunset. Half the restaurant’s walls are streak-free glass that gives diners a view of a beautifully illuminated pool and mesmerizing fire pits. Its intimate candlelit setting is sure to impress.

Curtains divide the table seating area from a bar, a lounge area and a banquet-like table that starts about two feet below the ground to give the appearance of floor seating.

The menus are fastened to the most expensive frosted-blue plastic ever seen and served on a blownglass plate. The wine list is longer than the menu, but every dish promises a delicious adventure for your taste buds.

There is also the option of a spontaneous six-course meal for $75 or a nine-course meal for $95 in which the cook takes you on a personalized journey through the tantalizing world of fine cuisine with the added option of a $45 wine

The Golden Gopher

pairing.

Surrounded by people deep in conversation, sipping on wine and relaxed by jazzy new age music, your journey begins with “a gift from the chef ” such as a chilled zucchini soup, served in tiny teacups, to excite the palate.

Don’t worry about your napkin or which utensil to use. They put your napkin on your lap for you and reset the table specifically for your meal after every course.

At some point, go check out the bathroom. It is possibly the most fancy room in the place.

When the food comes out it looks almost too pretty to eat – but do.

It’s delicious. The portions are small, but only so you won’t get too full for dessert because that would be a tragedy. There is also a cheese, tea and coffee menu to finish off your meal.

Whatever you choose, prepare for the food orgasm of your life.

It will leave you in a blissful state reminiscent of great sex and not even the bill will bring you down.

“I think I need a cigarette,” said Vithiavy Tin, 24-year-old guest.

“This is the best feeling ever.”

If you can’t afford the luxury of the Blue Velvet, or you just need somewhere to go after, there are a handful of bars to go to for a fun night out.

The Golden Gopher is just a few

The 107 Bar

left turns away. It has a very old school vibe to contrast with the modern décor of Blue Velvet.

The cash register behind the bar looks like it’s straight out of a ‘20s ice cream parlor, which is fitting because the bartender makes a delicious raspberry popsicle. The rest of the bar is dimly lit by lamps with Golden Gopher stands and has table-like Ms. Pacman and Galaga video games scattered throughout the seating areas.

“We come here just to play the video games,” said Elliot Lee, 27.

On Fridays and Saturdays huge crowds, mostly the inhabitants of

The 107 Bar

the surrounding lofts, pack in to the cozy joint, but if you’re looking for a more relaxed setting Sunday is a good night to go. Then you can have your pick of the videogames or stroll on out to the patio. The patio looks like an alley but cleaner. There are brick walls on either side but the only things up above are a few strands with orb-like lights hanging from them, and the nighttime sky.

On each end of the patio is a big couch that you can stretch your legs out on, sit back, relax and sip on a cocktail.

The music is an eclectic mix because there is a CD jukebox on

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one wall where, for a quarter, anyone can make a request.

If you’re into more of the dive bar scene, 107 bar is less than a mile away. 107 is a fairly narrow-shaped bar with high ceilings, a few red vinyl booths and a ton of things to look at.

When you walk through the door you are greeted by a life-sized wooden Indian and policeman that promises you’ll “get lucky here.”

The range of décor is endless from a moose head with jeans hanging from the antlers, to a blow-up Spiderman riding a rooster, a disco ball, mini piñatas, neon signs promoting beer and paintings in ornate gold frames.

It’s definitely not the low-key and consistent theme of the Golden Gopher but it does have Ms. Pacman. Walk in, all the way to the back and make a right. Hidden in the corner are Ms. Pacman, Galaga and Donkey Kong standup videogames to entertain restless drunken fingers.

The crowd is loud, the dress is very casual and everyone from the partiers to the bartenders dance around.

“I’ve been to about three bars tonight,” said patron Anthony Jerome. “So far this is one of my favorites.”

Downtown is a fun place to party with a very diverse group of people.

However the streets don’t seem nearly as inviting as the bars that occupy them. So ladies, if you’re going out don’t forget that precious mantra you learned in grade school, “strength in numbers.” Pepper spray on a keychain couldn’t hurt either.

Photos by marissa armstrong

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BUZZ 10.11.07

Photo by joy alicia

Photo courtesy of plan59.com

By Joy Alicia

Daily Titan Staff Writer

Basil Wolverton’s work is so unique, grotesque and humorous; he has been labeled a “master of comics.”

He has influenced a generation of artists in the Underground Comix field. His work is as equally relevant today as it was a few decades ago.

Grand Central Art Center visitor and part-time artist, Jason Fleischman, said Wolverton’s work isn’t just good, it’s “pretty awesome!”

During the ages preceding computer programs like Photoshop, which brings artistic concepts to completion at a fairly rapid speed, a rubber eraser took the place of an electronic one, while patience, pencils, paper and brushes were the only tools available to an aspiring cartoonist.

Wolverton’s ability to manipulate

the pen and brush to create an impressive assortment of unique, humorously grotesque drawings of villains, heroes and every character in between has given him fame and notoriety.

As a young artist, he knew he was capable even at a young age. While many teenagers are concerned with everything except launching their career, at age 16 Wolverton pitched his first comic strip. He aspired to turn his freakish yet humorous cartoon drawings into paychecks, but his style was a little too original and perceived as strange. It took Wolverton 13 years before he had his first sale.

Then, one newspaper’s interest led to a comic book’s interest and decades later his work was published in Mad magazine, Circus Comics, Timely and many more during his career from the late ‘30s through the mid ‘70s.

Frank Sinatra even voted on a panel that chose Wolverton’s work over hundreds of thousands of applicants’ pieces for his depiction of “Lena Hyena,” the world’s ugliest woman, earning the ambitious artist prominence.

Fleischman has been drawing for 20 years. While looking at Wolverton’s creations in the GCAC gallery, he said Wolverton’s drawings remind him of art chrome from the ‘60s and ‘70s.

“The cartoon-y style is kind of what I’m into. I like doing that, too.

This cross-hatching style is pretty detailed. Like every line, every circle [in Wolverton’s artwork he] had to draw there.

“That’s dedication right there.

That just shows the guy took the time. I used to want to emulate these people, but it takes a long time. It’s work intensive,” said Fleischman.

The creative genius’ work featured

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BUZZ 10.11.07

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Photo courtesy of grand central art center

WHERE’S THE SCENE Photo courtesy of supertouchblog.com at the gallery is the collection of Glenn Bray. Cal State Fullerton art teacher and GCAC assistant director, Dennis Cubbage, explained how networking made Basil’s creative exhibit possible.

“The president of our board of directors is friends with Glenn Bray who owns this artwork. We talked with Basil Wolverton’s son, Monte Wolverton. What’s unique about it is that Glenn has the largest collection of Basil Wolverton’s work so it’s an honor to have it here because his work’s not seen very often,” he said.

“His work ranges from the late ‘30s to the late ‘70s.”

Cubbage said numerous articles have been written about the rare show and they’ve also had a book published on the Basil feature.

“What’s kind of important about the show is Glenn was just a comic book fan and he befriended these artists who he was collecting.

Glenn was maybe 18 at the time when he met Basil. He befriended him and became a collector of his work,” Cubbage said.

The dedicated artist died in 1978 but The Original Art of Basil Wolverton from the Collection of Glenn Bray and Mark Mothersbaugh Beautiful Mutants lives on at the GCAC through Oct. 21.

IN FULLERTON???

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Visit www.dailytitan.com Fill out our Best of Fullerton survey Enter for a chance to win 2 FREE park hopper passes to Disneyland!* *Visit www.dailytitan.com for details. All entries must be received no later than 9-20-07.

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BUZZ 10.11.07

this weeks concerts 10.11 Glass House- The Spill Canvas El Rey- Rogue Wave with Port O’Brien Troubadour- Bang Camero The Echo- The Gray Kid

10.12 El Rey- Dark Star Orchestra Troubadour- Akron

10.13 The Greek Theater- The Australian Pink Floyd Show Troubadour- Polysics The Echo- Fujiya & Miyagi

10.14 Chain Reaction- Careless Days The Gig- The Kiss Electric

10.15 Hotel Cafe- Limbeck Spaceland- Oliver Future

10.16 The Gig- Arden Kaywin Hotel Cafe- Gemma Hayes

10.17 Glass House- The Black Lips Spaceland- The Subways

By Daniel Batalla

For the Daily Titan

You know that store you always drive by on your way to work, on the way to a friend’s house, on the way to another store?

You know the one.

The one you’re never really aware of but would most definitely notice if it wasn’t there anymore?

That’s La Bomba!

Vintage clothing is no longer a thing of the past.

Members Only jackets, metallic cocktail dresses and those old Tshirts your dad just couldn’t throw away are all back and stronger than ever.

Sure, Hollywood’s vintage district may just be a hop, skip and a freeway away, but Melrose can break the bank.

Long Beach’s Fourth Street “Retro Row”, located in the heart of Long Beach, is the new Melrose.

Its hip, vintage clothing includes all the Hollywood-esque threads minus the pretentious “scene kids” and the overly priced outfits.

“I love working here. It’s really cool and I get first dibs [on all the clothes],” said Caitie Rolls, a La Bomba employee of one year.

La Bomba’s racks and racks of vintage goodies bring back threads from a simpler time, a time when there were no fashion faux pas.

Mixing a zebra print skirt and an argyle tube top was considered eccentric, not tacky.

La Bomba’s unique setup and inexpensive clothes make for one enjoyable weekend.

La Bomba’s real surprise, though,

lies at the back of the store, the part most people overlook.

The third weekend of every month, La Bomba holds its Pile Sale.

Come down on Oct. 20 and 21 and rummage through the vintage collection.

The pile consists of clothes time forgot, clothes with owners who didn’t know what treasures they had, clothes that owner Jorge Avalos buys wholesale.

However this is no ordinary pile, this is more of a load, a heap, a mountain of clothes.

This “Pile” is roughly 7 feet high and 15 feet across.

“I’ve been to tons of vintage stores and I’ve never seen a pile like La Bomba’s anywhere else”, said Cheryl Groff, a veteran thrift shopper and longtime customer of La Bomba.

Walking onto the back patio of La Bomba’s tiny store, you’d never expect to find this enormous amount of recycled clothes.

This overwhelming pile is every fashionista’s dream.

To be able to literally climb a mountain of clothes, to dig for hours on end, to find that one article of clothing that will complete any outfit, is worth the trip to Long

daily.titan Beach.

La Bomba also unintentionally creates a bonding experience among its regular customers.

As you sit atop this heap of clothes you have, there’s not much else to do but chat with your fellow thrifter.

If you happen to find a pair of Kelly green gauchos but are in a “black phase” then just pass it on to your new pile pal.

Despite their already low prices, items found in the pile are reduced even more so than the articles found in the actual store.

Nothing in the pile is priced over $5; This includes leather pants, ball gowns and bedazzled denim.

“People will shop for a couple hours and walk out with trash bags full of clothes for 50 bucks,” says the store manager, Albert Gonzales.

Just grab a price guide, a Hefty bag and begin the search for the next big trend.

Or find clothes you feel comfortable in to start your own trend … Kelly green gauchos anyone?

La Bomba, 2222 E. Fourth St., Long Beach, (562) 433-9112. Sat., May 20; Mon-Sat., noon-6 p.m.; Sun., noon-5 p.m.

Released 10.16 Artist:

R.E.M. Album:

R.E.M. Live Artist: Jimmy Eat World Album: Chase the Light Artist: Thrice Album: The Alchemy Index: Vols I & II Artist:

Neil Young Album:

Chrome Dreams II Artist:

Underworld Album:

Oblivion with Bells Artist: Soulsaver Album: It’s Not How Far You Fall, It’s the Way You Land

BUZZ 10.11.07 7

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a Q&A with an up-andcoming local band

By Nathan Wheadon

Daily Titan Staff Writer

Photos by belinda hurtado Daily Titan Staff Writer

Faith Onwusa Liberal Studies Major “I made up my style. I like the hiphop style and rock-n-roll. I like skinny jeans so I mix it together.”

Dan Anderson, Jake Anderson (no relation) and Dean Kanski have been playing music for a few years now. Although neither Dean nor Dan knows exactly when, where, why or how it happened, they do know that they love making music together. Ebbnflow is the brainchild of Dan and Dean. With an upcoming full album production in February, the guys are putting the finishing touches on their demo and excitedly looking forward to recording the tracks. With Dan on guitar, Dean on bass and Jake on drums, ebbnflow is three guys who love music, just pursuing their dreams.

Nathan Wheadon: What inspired you to start playing?

Dan: I would just have nothing to do, and I would pull it down and kind of play with it. Eventually it was just always down and I realized I could do it, so then I got an electric guitar. It was a Stratocaster.

NW: So what kind of bands were you listening to when you first started playing together?

Dan: Well, we both really like bands like A Perfect Circle and Tool. And also bands like Autolux and Mars Volta, I don’t know.

Dean: We started liking a lot of common things that different bands had to offer and we would kind of throw them back and forth.

Derek Ortega Comm./P.R. Major “I would say this is a vintage look. I have on a vintage shirt, dog tags, the pants are gray with ripped pockets to give off that vintage look.”

NW: So when you write songs, do you take elements of music that you like and make them your own?

Dan: Yeah, kind of. Everything inspires, definitely.

Dean: It’s a very organic experience.

NW: Did ebbnflow start when you met Dean?

Dan: ebbnflow was already in progress with the drummer; we were roommates. We had a garage that we used to jam in. I had some things and he had a good way of playing something with it ... We wanted a bass player because we wanted some kind of third part of it. Dean was just like out of the clouds.

Alesandra Esquivel Art Major “I get my style from music. I do go to some trendy stores and some obscure stores ...”

NW: Who writes the lyrics?

Dan: Right now, I write the lyrics and basically the core structure of the rhythm, but as I get further into, it’s not really something you can do

alone, so the sound that is spawning now is definitely impressive and exciting.

NW: When are you guys going to have music to show people?

Dan: We’re going to have music to show people in February.

NW: What are you guys doing until then?

Dan: Right now we are just recording tracks, and getting that

ready for full production in the studio.

NW: Are you guys excited to see everything come together?

Dan: Oh yeah, I’m almost convinced that when all the little things do come together or when something is accomplished, you feel good about it. Chasing your passion, it’s definitely a joy.

NW: How would you describe

ebbnflow?

Dan: I’ve heard it be called captivating more than anything.

Dean: If I were to describe it, I would describe it as a good feeling.

NW: What, if anything, do you want people to get out of your music?

Dan: Listen and enjoy. Do what you do. And of course, you know, it’s nice to see people moving to it, and feeling it.

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BUZZ 10.11.07

By Sylvia Masuda

Daily Titan Staff Writer

Music junkies have no doubt about the much-anticipated release from the trailblazing rock band Radiohead.

A full downloadable version of In Rainbows debuted this past Tuesday on the Web. The CD release of the album is set for early 2008.

Just hours after the band unveiled the album exclusively through www. inrainbows.com, fans were already buzzing with critique and praise on the band’s official message board.

Usually, radio stations and publications receive promotional copies of albums before a band releases it to the public. In this case, there wasn’t any promotion at all. Only on Tuesday did In Rainbows become available to everyone.

The most talked-about part of the release is the album price. You pay what you want. You can pay five bucks. Hell, 50 dollars, if you want. For once, you can legally pay absolutely nothing. Critics consider the online release a breakthrough in the industry.

It’s been about four years since Radiohead released its last album, “Hail to the Thief,” the longest wait period in between albums, discounting lead singer Thom Yorke’s 2006 solo release, “The Eraser.”

Known for their politically-charged yet often indecipherable lyrics, their previous six albums have strayed from formulaic three-chord rock to brilliant audio vision hard to categorize.

In Rainbows, however, is surprisingly more conventional than the trend might suggest, but it is in no way a drastic departure – just a slight dip in the experimental category. Here’s the skinny on the album.

“15 Step” – The opening song shoots for the love-it-or-hate-it techno sound appearing in “Idioteque,” from their 2000 release, Kid A. The difference here is that “Idioteque”’s urgent, uneasy beat creates mental images of a London apocalypse; “15 Step” is mellow, accompanied by clear, clean guitar and trip-hop elements similar to those on Think Tank, fellow British band Blur’s latest album.

“Bodysnatchers” – A catchy KROQ-breed flavor makes this song single-worthy. It’s also a decent showcase of lead guitarist Jonny Greenwood’s skills.

“Nude” – Yet another of Radiohead’s sullen lullabies. Though it’s not as moving or eerie as their other similar compositions (see “I Will” from Hail to the Thief), you can tell that this track is a grower.

“Weird Fishes/Arpeggi” – Possibly the weakest track on the album. “All I Need” – A love song. Or is it? You can never tell with Radiohead. The quiet despair of “All I Need” doesn’t have

the level of angst as 1993’s “Creep.”

“Faust ARP” – The band keeps up the album’s fluid vibe with strings reminiscent of Rufus Wainwright’s early albums. Unfortunately, the overdone strings can get bland.

Luckily it’s only a two-minute song.

“Reckoner” – A few standout elements (look for a bridge that sounds like Cold War Kids on Klonopin) are present, but it’s among the less impressive tracks on the album.

“House of Cards” – Ethereal and not particularly depressing, this is the best track on In Rainbows for being tossed into a chill-themed playlist.

“Jigsaw Falling Into Place” – The quick-tempo here is a welcome leave from the last several tracks.

Yorke could have brought his usually impressive vocals to its fullest potential.

“Videotape” – A simple, excellent end track about one talking to his love from the dead through a videotape. Out of Radiohead’s entire discography, “Videotape” makes the best impact for a close.

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Photo courtesy inputsoutputs.com