i believe i found this sassy, portland-based lady thanks to everyone’s favorite pink-haired aussie blogger, gala darling. i just wanted to promote this gal’s efforts because i LOVE the necklace she made me — and if you’re anything like me, then you want to rock a fancy-a$$ necklace that says something hella perverted like pole smoker, hussy, pillow biter, sleaze, slutbag, etc.

WELLLLL..

the giraffes’ official/unofficial rallying cry is ‘smoke cock,’ right?

ta-da.

how classy am i?

how classy is TRASHYDELUXE for banging this baby out for me?

(captain is quite classy too for buying it for me for xmas.. chingching$ <3)

anyway.. seriously. hit this lady up for all your perverse necklacey needs. or just pop off a pearl necklace and call it a day. one lasts and one doesn’t. YOUR CALL.

check out trashydeluxe on etsy!

and if i haven’t mentioned it before — which i know i haven’t — etsy is AWESOME. ‘your place to buy & sell all things handmade.’ they have AMAZING stuff on there.. check it out!

<3

da leopard

‘slippercrumble’ live @ santos party house, 12/15/08, filmed by captain

and so without further ado, ladies & gentlemen, back we go to giraffes frontman aaron lazar’s solo project, RUMANIAN BUCK! we saw them on 2/28 @ the annex, sandwiched between RIBS and the netherlands for RB’s long-anticipated CD RELEASE!

the RB shows seriously get better every time. aaron & crew have worked hard to bring the DIY feel of the original tracks to the stage (without their instruments exploding/imploding). this time nothing could be better than the cap & i dancing in the front row with jens and damien giraffe. you HAVE to dance to this shit! you just do! seriously though — it was a BLAST. they own it.

andddd… now you can DOWNLOAD THE EP! and you really, really should. mp3s of all tracks and a pdf of liner notes & lyrics — where else can you see a bottle of xanax listed as an instrument? aaron, you so crazy.

the live version of RUMANIAN BUCK featuresssss..
aaron lazar (the giraffes) — vox & guitar
danny barria (the big sleep) — guitar
mishka shubaly (beat the devil & ribs) — bass
mitchell king (beat the devil & ribs) — drums
jessie blockton (the vitamen) — keys

BUT for a look back on how the project began, you should read an article that i’ll post here for your convenience.. ;D thanks, eric sanchez! whoever you are.. -looks around-

+ + + + +

here’s an album review of the rumanian buck EP as published in LIC art & music mag, ins&outs magazine, vol. II issue 03:

D.I.Y. never sounded as good as this! Singer/artist Aaron Lazar (The man behind the mic in Brooklyn’s own The Giraffes, and the art in Tzgani Design) brings us his newest gift to those out there looking for something interesting in this world full of repetition: Rumanian Buck. In a city where almost any sound has been recycled and repeated over and over again, then once more for good measure, Lazar has again proven he always has more to offer. Starting off by messing around with the program GarageBand on his laptop while on the road with The Giraffes, Lazar has built up his homemade sound into something layered with style and soul, yet still sounding more beat up than clean cut. He notes that the sound is somewhat similar to that of Tom Waits, who is known for using unconventional sounds and methods of recording that are considered by many, according to Lazar, to be “wrong and ghetto.” Lazar was exposed to Waits’ method while both were working with The Book of Knots on their second album, Traineater, back in 2006. While noting the similarities, Lazar says jokingly, “The only reason he’s doing it wrong is because he wants to, not that he has to.” Recorded in his own home with no fancy studio-style setup, Lazar has all he needs.

The heart of Rumanian Buck is really the drums – a percussion sound working off an Eastern European Gypsy style that was originally played on his girlfriend’s exercise ball as a bass drum and a CD case as a snare. According to Lazar, “The drums come first, then the vocals, then anything else… I live in a noisy neighborhood, so sometimes I’ll get random shit that comes through [while recording], too.” He adds to his raw sound by using some old guitars – one being an acoustic with a broken neck, and another a brandless electric given to him by his grandmother when he was 16. Lazar also uses a lot of rhythmic clapping along with any other wild sounds he sees as fitting, including keys, plates and even quarters. While describing how he works up a song, Lazar explains, “I almost never have a plan, I just like playing around with things… It’s actually a lot of fun.” Though some of the songs may not have the happiest subject matter, throughout the entire album you can really hear that Lazar is truly enjoying himself.

Starting off with “Slippercrumble,” one of the heaviest songs on the album, Lazar throws you right into the Rumanian Buck feel. With a simple but heavy guitar riff, a beat that sounds like playing drumsticks on a table, lots of clapping and distorted vocals, this song is an instant favorite. The following track, “It’s Me,” is one of the catchiest songs – between the opening riff, intro lyrics, and the style of the chorus (which varies each time and sounds sung in one breath!), it’s guaranteed to be stuck in your head. Another standout track is “Crack in My Tooth,” which, after the rush of the first couple of tracks, mellows down with Lazar’s voice undistorted and singing slowly, backed with just a few acoustic notes and a low beating sound.

The second to last track is “Tineretze.” The intro is somewhat hypnotic with its sliding guitars, and later with Lazar dubbing himself in humming in the background. As one of the sadder tracks, seeming to reflect on some of the more recent difficult times experienced with The Giraffes, this song is actually far from depressing. Opening with the lyrics, “Remember when you were told, you’d save rock ‘n roll, now you’re getting too old, you’re moving slow, nobody says that you’re clever no more,” it can seem like this song is about to bring you down. But by the end, the song has more of an uplifting sound, which is revealing of the kind of person Aaron Lazar is – an artist, musician, and individual who keeps looking ahead to something, no matter how hard this world has been for him.

Seemingly short at seven tracks (but running near forty minutes), Rumanian Buck stands against the most polished and primed albums out there with its genuine character and soul you can hear in every note, every clap, and every random sound playing through your speakers.

+ + + + +

yeah, yeah! i’d like to finish off by saying SEE THEM, SOON. aaron dreamed up such a genuinely different, gritty, dancey, gypsy, experimental mix-up of sound that translates AMAZINGLY live. when the drums and the rest of the instruments kick in and it’s all right in front of you, it really overtakes you. and it’s SO fucking fun.. so you know what to do.

now for more PROPAGANDA!

NEXT UP is saturday, march 7th @ union pool with — who else — THE GIRAFFES!!

playing a show & premiering their video for ‘prime motivator’ directed by b.a. miale! also with i’m in you & moon rabbits. should be delicious and bloody and beer-y. as usual. CAN’T WAIT!

according to el giraffos themselves: “By the time she [b.a. miale] was done with us, we had sailed the murky waters of the Kings Plaza Marina; decimated a pinata in a frozen, rusty-nail festooned alley; been soaked with fake (and perhaps some real) blood and vomit; and put the ‘sloppy’ in some truly sloppy joes. All this, and we weren’t even around for the stop action sequence featuring He-Man villains and a set made entirely of meat from Key Food, with us four Giraffes as stop-action figures.”

for 8$ you’ll get: “The VIDEO DEBUT, and THE GIRAFFES LIVE (pure beef!) at 10.30 pm, I’M IN YOU (putting the ‘mental’ in instrumental) at 9.30 pm, MOON RABBITS (Brooklyn’s premiere potty-mouths) at 8.30 pm. Plus, DJ Jackie Roman on the double decks from heck. And a patio filled with young, wide-eyed, fresh-faced new arrivals, eager to learn all about New York.”

or VD. whichever. (will the std jokes ever end? NO! … maybe.)

BE THERE!

HAAVVV OFF!!! rock,
da leopard

side note. my dad is now listening to CHUMBAWAMBA. it’s happening. OH YEAH. AND.. i have a hundred other things to mention, BUT i just want to say that i listened to THESE songs over and over and over while at work today:

gONNA gET gOT (bklyn) — my bullshit pontiac remix (ggg & MSI mashup)
[the cap got me fuckin HOOKED on ggg!!! bastard.. i love it]
goNNA gET gOT — the girl ain’t ready
rumanian buck (bklyn) — slippercrumble
rumanian buck — the flood
hops (queens) — sometimes
[just spoke to this guy for the first time today -- love his shit!]
illimanjaro (queens) — not invited
[these guys are also from my 'hood of astoria, queens! check them out!!!]
pass kontrol (bklyn) — love is a dog from hell
demander (bklyn) — books
gutter & spine (queens) — d’orca
little embers (queens) — phraseology

nice bklyn & queens balance, eh? there’s fucking AMAZING things going on in my li’l big ol’ boro right now.. seriously! iheartqueens.

as it should be?!

err.. MERRY XMAS, PEOPLE! ;D

nothing like being up at 2:21 am on xmas eve searching for “sugarnthunder” on google.. and finding that captain’s giraffes birthday advice video has found its way onto some really fucking RANDOM a$$ sites.

uhhh..

VIETVIDEO.COM???

and even on the UK’s NME.com under their collection of vids for the giraffes.

fuckin sweet?! or fuckin ripoff?! whichever.

just funny.

holly-daze -n- shit

<3

da leopard

ps rumanian buck’s “the flood” owns my life. the end.

Rumanian Buck

As if the release of Prime Motivator wasn’t enough, The Giraffes’ singer Aaron Lazar brings to the world some new tunes with a side style known as Rumanian Buck.

Now I would write more but I actually already have. So if you click on this link here (which brings you to a very awesome magazine worked on by none other than Sugar – n – Thunder’s resident Leopard), click on music on the left side bar and scroll past a couple of other awesome music reviews, you will see an article on Rumanian Buck written my by alter-ego, Eric Sanchez.

Enjoy,

El Capitan WhiptasticO  (that’s what a person with the last name Sanchez would call me)

P.S. Check out Lazar’s new freaky styles in the music player over to the right (“Slippercrumble”!)

P.P.S. I’m working on getting more footage of Rumanian Buck’s Debut at Santos Party House during the Punk Rock Pillow Fight, to cut together something pretty. Update on that shizz to cum.

edit/
WORD, it’s the leopard. -laughs hardcore @ el capitan whiptastico- oh, spanish people. rumanian buck was AWESOME, i was seriously floored. even more SURREAL was the way the rest of the giraffes, goes cube, and others were dancing around and jumping up and down on the pillow fight mattresses while RB was playing. crack fantasy, much? I LOVED IT. haha. speaking of which, check out these pix from the show from metromix & the lovely jackie roman over at limewire music blog. YEAH!

.. is it tomorrow yet??? is it tomorrow yet??!?!?!

can’t. fucking. WAIT.

“The Giraffes will be releasing our long awaited full length PRIME
MOTIVATOR nationwide on 11/11/08 thanks to Crustacean Records.
We will be performing the entire album from front to back
along with party hits and classics at our NYC CD Release show:
Saturday 11/15/08
Mercury Lounge
w/ Goes Cube & Ribs”

…………

-CREAMS SELF-

end transmission.

you hurrrddd me. CHECK IT!

in other news:

sarah palin is a dildo.

CHEERS!

- da leopard

ps

and also..

amazing. ©the giraffes

PRIME MOTIVATOR is COMINNNGGG.. all over your face.
11/11/08 on CRUSTACEAN RECORDS! thank youuu, wisconsin. ;D

and BE THERE @ MERCURY LOUNGE 11/15 to celebrate the release.. this album is seriously worth celebrating — no bullshit whatsoever. sick riffs, vox, lyrics, and DIVERSE styles integrated into their already thunderous & melodic amalgamation of rock, surf, punk, & metal — including 2 gorgeous slower songs, an epic instrumental, and aaron screaming over a fucking ACCORDION on one track! .. you canNOT pin them down as the average rock band. the sheer VARIETY and ingenuity of the sounds these guys can twist out of their brains — seriously amazing.

i’ll spread the good word of the giraffes till my face turns blue.. ;D

pps

wordpress works like SHIT on a PC! JKAHDSjkahdjkaDhak.

AND.. check our spankin’ new madd official URL! www.sugarnthunder.com !!
i owe captain the butt because he paid for it. whatevs.

okay, these things need to be mentioned.

the limewire music blog is pretty flippin’ awesome (esp. since jens from the giraffes writes for it!) — they have events and reviews and pix going up all the time..

here’s their take on the giraffes @ mccarren park for the brooklyn kickball league tournament on 7/12! we were there.. of course. they attracted a pretty sweet crowd, too! biggest of the afternoon, i think. someone should also attest to the fact that really old men AND little mexican girls were diggin’ the giraffes. HARDCORE. they just wandered over and didn’t leave. who needs a record label?

AND check out the always awesome todd kancar’s pix in the giraffes’ photo albums on myspace.. ya gotta log in to see ‘em.. just do it! we know you have one! tool.

we unfortunately missed most of goes cube‘s set after getting hung up on beers and free hot dogs (!!!!!!!!!) at the turkey tavern down the block (or whatever the fuck it was called).. but we stayed for freshkills then called it an afternoon.

the next day we rolled out of bed at almost 1 (har, kim deal busted us when she told the audience she was up at 10 AM! while the rest of us had probably rolled out of bed at 12 and walked over hahaha) and sauntered on over to the same neighborhood for THE BREEDERS show @ mccarren park pool on 7/13, a jellyNYC pool party, apparently. very, very fucking awesome. seriously, cheers to jellyNYC. i’ve never been to something like that in the city — which either makes the pool party particularly awesome, or me particularly lame for not going out to more free city events. i’m leaning towards both. ANYWAY.

we later found out that the show was hella hard to get into after awhile, as i guess they were shutting people out around the time the breeders were supposed to go on, which was after 5, even though the pool wasn’t full. not cool. there was a line when we rolled up at 4 something, but we got in towards the middle/to the end of UK electronica/pop/disco house (oo yeah!) openers the whip, who did sound REALLY awesome, but we didn’t get down into the crowd to fully watch as a result of walking around and exploring, buying $6 beers, etc. arg.

beers in hand, though, we did get down there.. there was a slip n slide on one side, soccer/kickball or something going on as well, tons of people were in bathing suits and half naked, hula hooping, taking pictures, beers, tatts, emo sunglasses.. etc. ;D fucking great atmosphere. it was seriously unreal how beautiful the day was (BLARING sunshine) and how many people were out. as a venue, the pool is AWESOME. FUCK turning it back into a real pool. people can use fire hydrants and piss in the street, okay? where are you going to see a super rock show while standing in an EMPTY POOL? nowhere. except maybe my house, but there would be water in the pool, and the band would be standing outside. anyway. ;D

the next band to take the stage blew us the fuck AWAY! presenting drums/synth wonders MATT + KIM from brooklyn! i fucking love them. as if opening their set with the hilarious and immediately recognizable intro to THE FINAL COUNTDOWN wasn’t amazing enough, their songs were totally fun and they were absolutely OVERFLOWING with good energy. seriously. kim was adorable with that HUGE smile on her face as she banged away on her kit — and oh, did i mention the two little girls kim used to babysit dancing around with huge sound-blocking headphones on during their set?? ADORABLE OVERLOAD. =D

BUT THEN, as if things couldn’t get any better, matt said something was about to happen.. and the RUDE MECHANICAL ORCHESTRA appeared onstage to close their set with them! YOU NEED TO SEE THIS. there was dancing and green sparkles and horns and half nakedness/crazy costumes and a tuba with FLAMES painted on it. AMAZING. even KIM WAS DANCING! they started with “uh oh, this war has got to go,” sung to the tune of “crazy in love” haha, and then played a GREAT song of matt + kim’s called “yea yeah” (seriously, i LOVE it — listen to it on their myspace).

SO YEAH! after that DAYTON, OHIO (woot woot)’s own THE BREEDERS hit the stage and of course they were awesome and hella comfortable, kelley even played the violin, haha! “cannonball” was a highlight for me — the crowd was so into it. here’s a bunch of pix from metromix of all the bands — check the 11th pic of matt with his hand up — there was a SHITload of people out. amazing.

i also just found this internet mag, QRO magazine — they have a lot of cool NYC events, pix, vids, and reviews goin’ on.. here’s a QRO review with pix and video, and a lovely gallery of 3 sets of matt + kim. cheers, QRO mag! but someone’s gotta get you guys into the giraffes!

AND while i’m at it, here’s another throwback from the lens of the lovely jackie roman: captain’s birthday demander/giraffes/bang camaro show! i was too busy rootin’ around downstairs and laughing as the cap filmed what would become his birthday advice video to go upstairs and see the explosion of men onstage that was bang camaro but.. who cares. ;D

now i have to go and clean. -shakes fist-

rock steady,

- da leopard

ps FIGHT COMMUNISM. LOVE ELECTRIC SIX.

haha, speaking of which. southpaw show, late last year: THIS -points to pic below- is up on my wall! ;D

photo by ted chase

the set list, not the wires.. uh.

ladies and gents, introducing nicole atkins & the sea. they’re playing a free show at the socrates sculpture park in LIC on june 17th, which is why i’ve been seeing her everywhere. i finally took the time to listen to the band this morning and loved the sound — after which, i was totally floored seeing them perform on david letterman awhile back. WATCH THIS. it sounds strange to say, but i literally got chills watching her sing. i think it was because her voice just soars on CD (or on the myspace tracks, rather), and then to just watch her belting it out and sounding just as great live.. just wow. and i LOVE the artwork she uses for her album, “neptune city” — it totally reminds me of old coney island. girlcrush much! more on nicole.

in other news, THE GIRAFFES ARE COMING.. !!! bowery ballroom june 12th, baby! AND.. the texas firehouse in LIC rocks. there’s really nothing like listening to live music on a ROOF and having no one bitch at you about it. in addition to humor, awesome art, and just an all around good vibe.. i even left my cell phone in the bathroom, panicked when i went back in and it wasn’t there and thought someone had definitely stolen it.. only to find the DJ had it. SWEET. more about this later ;D

oh and ps KEEP YOUR EYES ON LOLA STAAR! her dreamland roller rink NEEDS YOUR HELP and there are TWO benefits (june 13th and 15th) planned for NEXT WEEK!!!!!!!!!! they should be totally fun, and helping the dreamland roller rink reopen is a GREAT cause.. pps anyone notice the “reithoffer’s playland” that just went up in coney island in the space where the go carts and batting cages used to be?! awesome surprise the other night — good to see more amusements and less empty lots. fuck that shit!

rock steady!

- audrey

we shall be back, all in due time. we had an adventure! and now we’re tired.

since we’ve been gone:

b-52′s new album “funplex”! goldfinger new album “hello destiny”! we don’t have either of them because we suck! and we sure as hell don’t have MSI’s new release either. i know, we’re lame.

NOT. in the weeks to come..

THE GIRAFFES at bowery ballroom june 12!

GOLDFINGER at roseland ballroom june 26!

and all the way at the end of the summer.. ELECTRIC SIX ROCKS OFF CONCERT CRUISE AUGUST 14!

sweet jesus.

hopefully we’ll survive until then.. but just so you know, we’re not dead. zombified, maybe, but not dead.

we’ve got more rants to do and music to write about, oh yeah.

but first. LIFE. ugh.

;D

rock steady,

- audrey

edit/

haha, now that i look back on it, both of us got pretty sick after that giraffes show. mm, germs.

AND..

New York University (Unit #80411)
www.chick-fil-a.com/nyu

figures the only chick-fil-a within 15 miles of me would be in NYU! FAGS! DON’T YOU HAVE ENOUGH?!?

-weeps-

ok i’m done. ;D