SURFPUNX: Year 2012 - Feb-Brewin'

Most mixes created by our own Es Digga Tee start in similar fashion. While working around the house or driving to music set on "Play All", songs pop out of nowhere and demand your appreciation. Songs of this nature are what drive most DJ's to do their jobs, the melodies and tones created simply require an audience to enjoy them. It's one or two of these songs that often anchor the concept of each mix.

For this week's mix two idioms were followed. Jamiroquai's "Loveblind" was the initial inspiration with its eclectic arrangements, slow breakdown in the middle, but most importantly the undeniable beat and boogie the melody provides. One cannot help tap to the beat. The other inspiration was the RE:Generation Music Project featuring the talents of Mark Ronson, Skrillex, DJ Premier, Pretty Lights, & The Crystal Method.

Tuesday Brewsday - Brew's Best 2011

Last spring we wrote a preview highlighting what to expect from the Inaugural 2010 Brew's Best Festival held at Lake Las Vegas, Nevada. We had an overwhelmingly good time last year, so much so that we never got around to producing any sort of follow up to that article. Well in case you were curious what the gathering and the surroundings look like we have your back with coverage from the 2011 Brew's Best Festival.

Weird Wednesdays - Honey I'm Home from Las Vegas

For many of you a trip to our home of Las Vegas is filled with benders on the craps tables, over-indulgent nightclub tabs, and a few strangers that might have followed you back to your hotel room for the night. That's all fun and games while you're here but if you have a spouse or a significant other to return home to you may have some issues explaining some of your extravagant expenditures.

Mad About Music Monday - Adele

The whole purpose of this weekly post is to inform our viewing audience of new and not-so-well-known artists. Well today we are educating ourselves as we were completely unaware of today's post until we began researching it. With three simple words I located today's musical rising star, BEST-NEW-ARTIST. Today's feature is the reigning 2009 Grammy Award Winning Best New Artist, and winner of the Grammy's Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

Forgetful Friday - Alice in Chains (self-titled)

In November of 1995 Alice in Chains released their self-titled album after reuniting with Layne Stanley after a brief hiatus from the band for rehab, and time for his UNREAL side-band Mad Season. (Oddly enough I've only recently first heard of Mad Season on SIRIUS' Lithium 24) The album "Alice in Chains" had three major single releases for this album. The best-selling and most well-known is 'Grind', accompanying were 'Heaven Beside You', and 'Again'.

Forgetful Fridays - Pure Funk

When I was in high school I purchased what was to be one of the best dance discs I would ever own. That CD was "Pure Funk" featuring various artists from Curtis Mayfield, Issac Hayes, Kool & the Gang, Rick James, etc. Every track on this CD is a classic, but I think they knew that as they put it together 20-some years after most of these songs were first released.

I'm not one for most of the 'dance' music that is out today. Many have simple beats, uninspired lyrics, and most simply try to see which song can bust the nearest subwoofer first. On the contrary, most funk songs have great topics to sing about, some of the catchiest hooks (as can be seen by hip-hops sampling of said hooks) and a playability decades later that I doubt anything released in the past few years will be able match.

Below I have embedded Earth, Wind, & Fire busting out their hit single "Shining Star". Also, if you click HERE you can view Earth, Wind & Fire's interview with late night PBS personality Tavis Smiley. Check out Pure Funk for more wonderful funk tracks.

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Bike Across America - Duzer Did!

For the past few weeks I have been watching Ryan Van Duzer ride his 3-speed New Belgium Cruiser from Oceanside, CA to Washington, D.C. on YouTube. Yes, I said 3-Speed Cruiser. No Ryan's not riding on some lavish expensive road bike, or a high-tech 21-speed mountain bike (although he did once ride from Honduras to Colorado on a mountain bike) Ryan is merely riding an old school beach style cruiser across this beautiful country.

He's gone through the Arizona and New Mexico deserts, over the Rockies, through the Plain States and over the Appalachians, and now he's on the doorstep of democracy, Maryland. The Duze has almost finished his journey to D.C. and now he needs our help. Please help spread the word about bike riding, sport cycling, pushing small children on bikes or anything that would get more people on one, two or three wheels and out of their carbon polluting vehicles.

Ryan supports bicycle co-op's like his local Community Cycles in Boulder, CO. He wants you to donate money, bikes, or time to your local bike co-op to help those in your community get on a bike or stay on a bike so they can stop putting the pedal to the metal and start putting their own feet on the pedals. Please watch Ryan's incredible journey across this great nation of ours and help him on his journey to convince Washington that NOW is the time to get behind bicycles and the HUMAN POWER that makes them move. So hop on your bike and tell people about bikes and Ryan Van Duzer's amazing ride across America.

Check out - Duzer Duz America - on a cruiser . . . (click link at the bottom to view vids on my blog.)



Also if this intrigued you Ryan has a whole bunch of videos on YouTube throughout all of his crazy adventures around the World. He's also been featured on the Travel Channel with some of his antics.

Ryan Van Duzer Show Reel from Ryan Van Duzer on Vimeo.

TO VIEW THIS AND MORE CLICK HERE!

He Will Be Missed . . .

Unless you've been living under a rock you probably are aware that the greatest entertainer ever to grace any stage has passed away. Mr. Micheal Joseph Jackson is no longer with us. Much talk has come up over the past couple days over his performances, life, and legacy. I think that Tavis Smiley's recent guests have articulated his past, present and future as an icon in American culture.

Here is Michael and the Jackson 5 covering Smokey Robinson's "Who's Loving You?"





TO VIEW THIS AND MORE CLICK HERE!

Angels Pitcher Dies in Hit-and-Run Accident

On a much heavier note, Angels Rookie Pitcher Nick Adenhart died in a hit-and-run accident in the early morning hours of Thursday April 9th. He was one of the top prospects of the Angels organization. Here is a video of Torii Hunter and his reaction on this sudden loss.

Nick was only 22 years old.




TO VIEW THIS AND MORE CLICK HERE!

Bacon

TO VIEW THIS AND MORE CLICK HERE!

Buffalo Says Goodbye to the Aud

The Buffalo Sabres old home, the Memorial Auditorium, is being demolished to make way for bigger and better things in downtown Buffalo. One of the most notorious games in NHL history occured in the Aud. The "Fog Game" as it is known was a result of an unusually humid May day in Buffalo during the 1975 Stanley Cup Finals versus the Philadelphia Flyers. Here is a video from Sabres TV talking about Aud memories and a short clip showing footage from the "Fog Game".

Naked pole vaulter seeks sponsor

** FROM ESPN.COM - NOT ORIGNAL CONTENT **
Reuters

PARIS, France -- A French pole vaulting champion ran naked with his pole through the streets of Paris and posted the video on the Internet, hoping to draw attention to his quest for a new sponsorship deal.

Romain Mesnil, who won a silver medal at the 2007 Athletics World Championships in Osaka, was sponsored by Nike but says his contract expired last year and was not renewed.

"It was probably for budgetary and strategic reasons. It's the crisis," he wrote on his Web site.

Many athletes have reported difficulties obtaining corporate sponsorship as companies cut costs because of the global economic downturn.

In his video, Mesnil runs with his pole as if preparing for a vault at tourist spots like Montmartre and the Pont des Arts across the River Seine. A black square has been added to the footage to cover his groin area.

The video has succeeded in drawing attention to Mesnil's plight, at least in France. It was broadcast on prime-time state television news bulletins.

Sex On Fire

The new single from Nashville based rock band Kings of Leon, "Sex on Fire."

Fatboy's New Kick

Norman Cook, better known to the world as Fatboy Slim, has a new moniker and music project entitled "The BPA" or Brighton Port Authority. One of his first singles is a catchy track called "Toe Jam" but whats even better than the track itself is the lost art of the music video. Here is The Brighton Port Authority and "Toe Jam":

Minnie the Moocher

While I was searching about YouTube for different videos I came upon this old Betty Boop episode featuring Cab Calloway and his Orchestra playing Minnie the Moocher. I used to love Cab Calloway and for the longest time I had no clue what his name was and only remembered seeing him on Sesame Street. I continued years later to tune into Sesame Street in hopes to catch either Cab Calloway or an also then unknown to me, Savion Glover.

So I Married . . . Best Clips

Often when I hear someone say woman, I repeat, "WHOA-MAN!" and maybe half the time people get what I'm saying. Maybe I can pass on such a practice to you and also help educate you about a exclusive club called 'The Pentavirate'. I hope you enjoy these two clips from So I Married an Axe Murderer.

The Pentavirate.

Woman. WHOA-MAN!

My Cousin is Crazy

Here's a video I just found of my cousin and his trek up 4,000 feet to the top of the Jackson Hole ski resort. Watch as the climate vastly changes as he climbs. Just another Montalva grandkid living life!

Take Some Time to Skank Today

Turn up the speakers, push back the chair and SKANK! Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you - THE SKATALITES performing the "Guns of Navarone". Enjoy!

Detailed instructions of how to skank here -

NHL Voices - Rick Jeanneret

For my first entry of the day I bring you the NHL Network's series Voices featuring Rick Jeanneret in the Sabres broadcast booth for the last 36 seasons. Please forgive the quality of video, its the audio of RJ that is priceless in the end. If you haven't seen this special yet I highly suggest you do. Here is Part 1 of this episode, the other files should line up afterwards.

Are You Juicy Too?

I had this song stuck in my head, so now you can too! Here is Better Than Ezra making a comeback with their 2005 song "Juicy". Apparently the song got a boost when ABC's Desperate Housewives used it for their ads in '05. Since then Applebee's has used them in commercials as well. But my favorite fun fact about the song is that the NHL's Dallas Stars play it when Jussi Jokinen scores a goal. Here's the video without further delay, enjoy the song as these ladies (and one dude) boogie down just for your enjoyment.