Hey y’all, a couple of weeks ago I set up a website for my new warehouse space, The Devil’s Playground. This past Saturday we had our first event and it went off without a hitch!

The Infintesmal Records BBQ V featured a ton of great local (and one traveling) bands, Bold City Beer and good food. The party kept on until about 4am. Thanks to everyone who came out and if you missed it, there will be other parties soon so don’t worry.

You need to pick up the new Infintesmal Compilation, {the real better Jacksonville plan} volume 3. It’s got 34 tracks of the best local music (+ some out-of-town friends) and it’s only $7. There’s even a previously unreleased Chicken & Whiskey song on there!

So from now on, all info on Unit 6 and The Devil’s Playground will be on the new site so add it to your reader, blogroll, links, whatever.

(Photo Credit: Kali McLevy)

First off, thanks to everyone who participated, came out, and otherwise supported this event. I was extremely pleased with the quality of art and the turn-out and I couldn’t have done it without the help of a lot of really awesome people.

If you missed the show, stop by Bogda before the end of the month and check it out. There is some really cool stuff still available for sale.

Here’s some pics from the event:
The Outer Box flickr set
My flickr set (photos by Kali McLevy)

And what’s up with this? Biting my style, dog!

If you have any photos of the event, please let me know!

And to all those who’ve asked – yes, there will be another show. Different location, different artists (some, anyway) and a different theme. More details to follow.

Thanks again, Duval!

Do you or anyone you know have a band (or want to start one) but have no place to be as loud as you want as you hone your chops, rehearse those pelvic thrusts and figure out just how much pig’s blood you need to royally douche the front row at your show?

No longer.

Holler at me and I’ll set you up with some prime practice space at my warehouse aka The Devil’s Playground over off of Talleyrand (near the stadium). I have one 8X14 room available to share with local band National Dairy and another room that will be completed soon. It’s damn cheap as it is but I’m offering a $75/month special to the next band that signs up to rent it out.

Hit me up at unit6jacksonville@gmail.com for more info.

Don’t delay. Once the word gets out, the space will be gone before you know it and you’ll kicking yrself in teh junk for passing up this GOLDEN opportunity…

In case you haven’t heard, I’m putting on an art show…

A few months ago, Joy from Bogda asked me if I wanted to put on a show. Pretty sure I had put away a few beers at this point, so I said, “sure, why not?” Fast-forward a few months and I finally came up with a theme. I knew I wanted to do something psychedelic and eventually decided on spirit animals. I have no artistic ability to speak of but I know plenty of folks who do so I asked some talented friends of mine if they’d like to participate and the feedback I got was more than I anticipated. Everyone seemed really stoked on the idea and now people I don’t even know are asking to be in the show.

Not only is this my first art show, but it’s the first production I’m doing under the new business venture I’ve started – Unit 6 Productions. I don’t really know what all Unit 6 will encompass, it’s more of an idea right now. Or more accurately, an umbrella for all the stupid shit I like to do. A majority of the future events will be held at the warehouse I’m renting, but more on that later…

The event will be held October 3rd at Bogda Gallery on 1253 McDuff. I can tell you right now, there is going to be some killer art at this show. Just check out this abbreviated list of participants:

Squid Dust
Chad Landenberger
Brian Gray
EdBot5000
Ashley Hazen
Karen Kurycki
Tobias Williams
Crystal Floyd
Nicole Middleton
Sara Turner
Tom Pennington
Sarah Napier
John O’Brian
Bloo
Christina Boykin
Cody Miller
Fillup G

and more…

If I forgot your name I apologize (email me to make sure I know you’re doing it). If you still want in and can make the deadline (a few days before Oct. 3), shoot me an email with a sample of your stuff and I’ll see if there’s room. And for everybody else, do me a solid and head over to the Facebook Event Page and RSVP.

Totem.

If you got ‘em.

Big ups to JOB for the sick-ass flyer!

May I have your attention please..

Thank you. I am very pleased, even pleasantly so, to announce a very exciting new venture I have undertaken. I know what you’re thinking and yes I do have a an extremely full plate as it is but this new project is something that will bring it all together.

After witnessing the potential of what can be done with a little space and a whole lot of initiative such as the BBB complex and what the crew at 8B are doing, I decided to give it a go. I am now renting out Unit 6 in the same complex I wrote about on JaxScene (or JaxREAX, whatever). Right now it’s a clean slate but I have some major plans for the future.

The plan right now is to use a portion of the space to build practice rooms for local bands. As of now we are looking at 2 rooms and it looks like they already have tenants. There is some additional space available for artists or anyone who is doing something to further advance the culture of Jacksonville. Hit me up at jack@jackdiablo.com if you’re interested.

There will be shows and parties from time to time and I will be diligent in promoting the shit out of them because I’ll be taking a serious financial hit until it really gets off hte ground. In the sprit of what I feel makes Jacksonville such a great place, I intend on making every show/party free to attend. We’ll be running on donations so if you enjoy yourself and would like to see more events happen, pay what you can or what you feel the experience was worth.

As of now, we should have things up and running around the middle of August. There are some really awesome people working with me on this and I have no doubt that it will be successful with Duval’s support. I should have a name for it by then, you can comment your suggestions.

There isn’t any real thing called the Wambolt Collective but it’s starting to feel like there might be, an off the beaten path nucleus for art, music and culture in our fair city.

Stay tuned for details in the near future and let’s make this happen!

Hey y’all. Quick update.

Just renewed the jackdiablo.com domain for another 2 years. How’s that for commitment? In addition, I went ahead and set up an email account for the blog. If you have questions, comments or would like to suggest something for me to write about shoot me an email at jack@jackdiablo.com. If you have local music scoop, hit me up at jdiablo@eujacksonville.com.

Diablo out!

I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again… I am the busiest unemployed dude you know (or don’t know). But who needs a “real job” anyway?

It seems like these posts are getting fewer and further between but I haven’t given up yet and I neither do I intend to. I’ve just been a busy little bee lately with tons of new projects that just keep adding up. But I’m not complaining, not one bit!

So here’s what I’m working on these days:

Chicken & Whiskey

That’s my band and my most creative endeavor. As a drummer, I’m used to the background, providing the rhythm and leaving the creation to the song-writers but this time I get to sing. Well not sing so much as scream, I have no singing voice to speak of but I do okay. It’s a completely different animal to try and sing while you percuss (is that a word?) It’s like throwing another limb into the mix and it’s trickier than you might think. Writing lyrics is hard too so for now I just repeat shit.
We’ve had a good run so far. It usually takes a while for a band to book out of town shows but our first two were in Gainesville and St. Augustine, respectively. We’ve only played Jacksonville twice and our next show is July 28 at Doozer’s Pub with Republicorpse, Time To Die, Buff Clout, and National Dairy. We’ve also played Pensacola, Savannah twice and hopefully Orlando real soon.
So far the feedback has been phenomenal, despite our many fuck-ups and the occasional technical difficulty. Just yesterday we played a fest in Savannah for the 4th and the sound guy turned us off during our last song. Apparently there were some kids returning from some kind of dolphin tour during the middle of one of Big Dunn’s colorful impromptu segues. It was fun though.
Be sure and hit up our MySpace page to hear our crummy home recording and stop by Burro or catch us around town to snag a Florida Is For Haters shirt. We’ll be printing new ones tomorrow with a gnarly design by Dylan, your favorite boozehole bartender (the image up top)!

Burro Bags

Before I moved back to Jacksonville from Afghanistan, I spent a lot of time learning about all the cool shit that was going on here while I was gone. One of them, of course was Burro Bags. Even from 10,000 miles away, I could tell Matt and Chris were onto some serious shit and made owning one of their custom bags a top priority upon my return. In September of last year I had them make me a bag out of one of my sea bags and desert cammie uniforms. It turned out awesome and I still take it with me almost everywhere. Fast-forward and here I am working (and living) as part of the Burro family.
In an effort to enhance online sales and marketing, Matt and Chris sought the aide of GoFresh Design to build a better, more functional website. It looks incredible but takes a bit of work to keep current. Enter me. It is my esteemed pleasure to contribute to the success of the Burro brand through managing all of Burro’s online content, including the blog and Twitter feed. I’ll be tackling the MySpace page and setting up a Facebook page in the near future. Believe me when I say that we are going to be taking things to the next level and beyond as time goes by.

EU

Some time ago, Kellie from EU interviewed Tom and I about JaxScene. While in the photo pit at Harvest of Hope this year, Kellie approached me about doing an album review and I jumped at the opportunity to further refine my writing chops (and get my hands on advance albums). Since then I’ve been writing regularly for the monthly about everything from biking to nightlife to comic books (in this month’s issue). But my main area of focus is music, both local and on a global level. I am constantly running around doing interviews, listening to music, and checking out shows to bring what I feel is the most comprehensive music coverage in Northeast Florida. I have my own page now on the website with all the articles I’ve written and hopefully, very soon we will be launching an all new music page with the help of a very talented cat you call know. But I don’t want to spoil the surprise just yet. Suffice it to say, this thing is going to be big, no EPIC! I am envisioning it as more than just a resource but a portal for the Jacksonville music scene and I couldn’t be more excited about it and the platform it will provide for this city’s talented artists.
I’ve also set up a Twitter account (@eu_music) solely dedicated to the Jacksonville music scene that I update as much as possible about shows each night and other interesting little tidbits.

Urban Jacksonville Weekly

This is my newest endeavor. As I mentioned before, in preparation for my return to Jax I was trolling the interwebs and Urban Jacksonville was the place that turned me on to almost every cool thing I’ve found in this city. So when Joey asked me to be a part of the weekly podcast, I couldn’t refuse.
As “producer” I will be managing the interactive side of things, interfacing with listeners and commenters while Joey, Tony and Jonathan do their thing. I’m sure I will be adding my two cents from time to time and I’ll also have a little segment on upcoming music-related events. If you haven’t seen (or heard) this yet I strongly encourage you to check it out and join the dialogue. No one else in Jacksonville is taking such a unique approach to moving the city forward and I am proud to be a part of it.
Tune in every Tuesday at 5:30 to watch the show or you can subscribe to it on iTunes to download the audio.

As you can see, it’s been a busy summer but that hasn’t stopped me from having the most rad time possible. In the four years I’ve lived in Jax, this is the first summer I’ve spent stateside and so far it’s been incredible.

Adios amigos!

I hope you haven’t already made plans this weekend, or if you have that they involve seeing some great local bands.

Tonight at Eclipse is the Karen Carpenter Tribute show put on by none other than Owlbeemoth. Logan is known for putting together some incredibly interesting and unique shows. He recently did a Philip K. Dick tribute at Shantytown that was very cool. This one features a ton of local bands, each of which will cover a Carpenters song as well as some of their own stuff. But before all of that, he will screen what looks to be a very interesting doc about Karen herself.

From his blog:

9PM – Superstar : The Karen Carpenter Story
A film that uses Barbies to tell the tale of Karen Carpenters batlle with anorexia while living as a famous singer. This movie has been banned by the courts from being shown or sold due to a lawsuit by her brother. Also the first film for director Todd Haynes who recently made the Bob Dylan film ‘Im Not There’

Just check out all these bands!

Friday night sees Buff Clout at the best little boozehole in Springfield, Shantytown Pub. I shouldn’t have to tell you that this will be a good time. Be sure and pick up the latest issue of EU for my article on Buff Clout. Also appearing are Honey Chamber. I’m doing the Artist Spotlight for EU on them in the July issue and they have a new album out now called Bridge To Homesick that is excellent. A couple of Orlando bands will also play so come check it out.

And of course, on Saturday is the second Jacksonville Chicken & Whiskey show also at Shantytown! The first show was incredible and this one will be even better. If you missed it, check out Birdie’s review in haiku on his blog. Also, watch this video:

We’ll be playing with Scum Of The Earth (Gainesville) and (drumroll, please) TOUGH JUNKIE! I’m doing an album review on TJ’s new album Grab What You Can also in the July issue of EU. I got an advanced copy and I can tell you right now, it is AWESOME! We have new t-shirts that will be available. The first batch went quick so we printed a new color.

Sunday I suggest heading out to Doozer’s to see Patriot with Talk Sick Earth. TSE played a killer set at Bury Your Bike 2 on the St. John’s River. Come see them do their thrash-metal thing, it’s rad!

Don’t freak out, everything is going to be okay!

I got a new tattoo from Kyle Miller at 8th Day in Five Points today and wanted to share it with all of you because it is so incredibly DOPE!

You may or more than likely may not remember my previous post on the last tattoo I got from Kyle. Read about it here if you want. I was so impressed with the fantastic job he did on the first one that it only felt appropriate that I get him to finish the bottom part of my sleeve. Since the other one is of a giant kraken taking down a pirate ship I wanted to stick with the theme of scary underwater shit. Here’s the old tattoo right after it was done:

I figured a shark is scary enough and would fit well across the back of my forearm so I took my idea to Kyle and we looked through some books and discussed ideas. He made a quick sketch of what we talked about and a week later came up with a sick-ass design of a shark and a giant sea snake fighting. I came up with the idea of a treasure chest below it and Kyle suggested a giant pirate dabloon (sp?) as an additional piece. My upper arm is done in a more traditional style than the squid so I wanted the rest of the lower part to be a fusion between traditional design and Kyle’s individual style for something truly unique. Here’s the sketch:

So after another week of anticipation, today I went in to get it done. Check the blank slate:

In progress:

The linework:

And the wrap-around finished product:

Pretty sweet, huh? Even though the design isn’t a traditional one, the shading is an the coloring will be. I think the treasure chest looks pretty old school though and the snake is very Japanese-style and how gnarly is that shark?! I’ll be heading back in for the coloring session in a couple weeks. There’s still some space for some small pieces and once the upper arm is done, I’ll fill it in with stars and dots. Can’t Freakin’. Wait!!!

I’ve been slacking on posting here due to other commitments and for that, I apologize. You may have noticed that I’ve changed the name of the website from Jack’s Jax to simply Jack Diablo. Since starting this blog, I’ve met tons of awesome folks with like-minded intentions and embarked on many projects and collaborations. As a result, I am trying to focus my efforts within each project to better serve them. So this website is now more of a personal blog for stuff that doesn’t fit anywhere else. For Jacksonville community-related stuff, I’ll try and do better to post more often on JaxScene. Music stuff can be found within the pages of EU Magazine and on the website.

So a big ‘ol dose of love to everyone who came out last night to see C&W at Shantytown. It was a blast! I’ll have pics and video up soon so stay tuned amigos! If you missed it, we’ll be playing again June 6th (same spot) with Tough Junkie and Scum of the Earth so don’t miss it a second time.

Today I took advantage of the dramatic change in weather to go on a little bike ride. I recently purchased a new touring bike from Freddy (74 Soundsystem) at the Cycle Spectrum on 3rd Street.

I hope to embark on a trek of significant mileage sometime in the near future so to prepare I biked to Native Sun in Mandarin for a late lunch. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize that the hot bar I keep hearing about is actually at the Baymeadows location. I did have a nice little tempeh wrap from the deli so all was well. It was bright and sunny and the traffic was pretty mild. Most of the way was easy riding thanks to the bike lanes and parking shoulder on Hendrix. There is a little stretch on San Jose that gets a little crazy but other than that it is pretty bikeable. The whole trip was 24 miles, give or take. When I made it back to the ‘field, CW treated me to Memorial Day beer (Blanche di Brusseles) at the Boozehole.

And speaking of biking, Cherri is working on a pretty awesome new endeavor that will enable more school-age kids to bike to school. Check it out on her blog actionville.

And finally, just noticed two new posts on the EU website. Check em out!
mc chris v. Astronautilis: A “Rap Battle”
Q&A with Willie Heath Neal

Diablo out!