Focus on Freshman, Matthew Sweet

Matthew Sweet at McCabes

For anyone who's bingo card I signed at the Focus on Freshman conference, yes, I do in fact blog.

Sweet, tuning up for the show

But more important was my trip to McCabe's Guitar Shop, where I saw one of my favorite singer/guitarists, Matthew Sweet, play my all-time favorite album, Girlfriend, in it's entirety.

I've been a Matthew Sweet fan since Girlfriend was released 20 years ago, when I was working on KOTR in San Luis Obispo as their fill-in overnight disc jockey. The album was in heavy rotation at the station, and it's mix of pretty harmonies and crankin' guitars appealed to me. Sweet's just a bit younger than I am, and all of his influences are the same bands that I, too, grew up with, so the sound of that album just appealed to me. At the time I had just ended a long relationship-one of the reasons I moved to San Luis in the first place, and I was juggling a few 'girlfriends.' What I really wanted was the one girl who could represent everything to me. It seemed like that was what Sweet was singing about, so I could instantly relate. Since that time, the album has continued to grow on me, and many times I've tried to count the guitars playing on a track as complex as "Divine Intervention," or "Holy War." In my collection of over 3000 cd's, this is the go to if I want to show someone the type of music I enjoy.

I've seen Sweet once before, in '97, I think, touring with guitarist Ivan Julian, and it was an amazing show at a small Hollywood club, with Sweet pulling out a different vintage guitar for every song. This show he played the whole time with a Fano Stratosphere (except when the McCabe's management pulled a MIM Stratocaster off the wall to loan to Sweet when a string broke), which had a vintage crunch and a cool, space age look. Lead guitarist Dennis Taylor handled all of the Robert Quine/Richard Lloyd parts easily with his Statocaster, and even did a fair job at mimicking Greg Leisz's pedal steel on tracks like "Wynona."

McCabe's is a great place to see a show, and sitting in the third row to hear my favorite album performed live was an amazing experience.

Johnnie's Culver City

I know that Culver City isn’t anywhere near Ventura, but good food should be written about.

The plan was Tito’s Tacos, a Culver City tradition, serving big, crunchy tacos with shredded beef, grated cheese, shredded lettuce, sour cream-what I would refer to as a “white man’s taco,” not the street tacos I’ve come to favor in recent years. But when I drove there, the line was incredibly long, and I didn’t feel like waiting. So I went to another Culver City tradition around the corner.

 

Johnnie’s, at 4017 Culver Blvd, has been in the same location for the last 60 years, serving something that I remember from when I was a small child growing up here in LA, the pastrami sandwich.

I remember the pastrami as being a man’s sandwich, something that my dad ordered when he was really hungry, with so much meat that he would often pull some of it off and make a rather healthy looking second sandwich. Back in the 60’s when no one talked about health food, cholesterol or calorie counts, and before the proliferation of bland hamburger chains, there were places serving pastrami sandwiches all over LA, places with names like Jim’s, or Chris’s, or Pete’s. Some, like the local chain out of Alhambra known as The Hat, still exist if you happen to know where to look. Johnnie’s of Culver City is one of those places.

I vaguely remember eating there once with a Jewish girl I used to date 20 years ago and remembering that it was good. Tonight, when I noticed it was busy but with no line, I thought I’d go again.

Plopping down at the counter, I ordered the Deluxe Pastrami Plate ($15.50) from a waitress that looked like she might have been there 20 years ago when I was in last. I also ordered a root beer before I noticed that I could have had a nice draft.

The plate was served quickly, with pickles, cole slaw and a big basket of fries. There were also two slices of lettuce and two slices of tomato, which I guess constitutes a second salad.

The pastrami was lean and fresh, piled high on the roll. The slaw was tangy and sweet, the pickles home made, and the French fries were hot and crisp. It was far more food than I intended to eat, but I tried my best anyway. I still left a half basket of fries.

It was good, plain and simple. For reasons unclear to me, I haven’t found a good pastrami in Ventura, and didn’t realize how much I’d miss them when I moved from LA. I wouldn’t have thought of LA as a pastrami town, but I guess I’m wrong.

If you’re in the Culver City area, strongly recommended.

Los Comales, Saticoy

Los Comales Mexican Food-June, 2012

Crossing through Saticoy, I noticed this place’s outdoor patio in an old section of Ventura. Located just off of Wells on Violetta by the 126 Freeway, Los Comales is a family owned restaurant, in many ways typical of the Ventura County taco places.

I ordered four tacos at the cost of  a $1.25 each. It was an early Saturday afternoon, and there were a few people eating there, locals mostly. The staff was prepping, it seemed, possibly for a busier Saturday evening.

The order came with chips, which they happily refilled for my kids and I while we were waiting. We had Mexican sodas, but they do serve beer in the bottle.

My tacos, with onion and cilantro, arrived reasonably quickly, two asada, one lengua and one barbacoa. The asada was fine, the lengua, too, but the barbacoa was the high point of the tacos, with really good flavor.

The staff was friendly, with one pretty waitress striking a conversation about the fluctuating power, which went out for a few minutes while we were eating. “It’s an old city, and when it’s hot we lose power,” she said. One of my kids also ordered some rice, which was okay.

On the whole, not a bad stop. Not worth a special trip, but I wouldn’t avoid it either. They also offered burritos, mariscos and breakfasts.

Fame Guitar

In the early 70's, the music man came to my elementary school. Just like in the movie of the same name, he came, promising to create a school band, with uniforms and everything. I sat at the school assembly and listened to what he had to say, and knew that I wanted to play drums.

I convinced my parents to come and listen to him that evening, when he gave the same spiel to the parents, and I proudly told my parents that I wanted to play drums. My parents were having none of that, but were interested in me playing some sort of instrument. They offered me guitar.

In the same South Gate music school where Weird Al Yankovic learned accordion, I learned the Chet Atkins'  "Fame" method of guitar lessons, a system involving film strips, a record and an instructor. As part of the plan, it was necessary to buy the "Fame" guitar. Interestingly, it had the pickup that you see in the picture. It came with an amp, probably still in my mother's garage, and a cord.

I diligently took lessons for a few years, until I broke my arm bike riding. By then, I could play the usual beginner folk songs, "On Top of Old Smokey," "Little Brown Jug," and "Tom Dooley," among others, but I would always try to speed them up. I could play the chords A, C, D, E and G, but the F and B were too hard for me.

Though I didn't realize it at the time, I learned to read music slowly. After I stopped taking lessons, the guitar stayed in my room, where I would occasionally take it out and play, but not well. When I went off to college, I took it with me, but again, didn't play very much. I did have a roommate one summer who showed me a couple of things, and would occasionally run into someone willing to teach me more.

As I've mentioned elsewhere in this blog, I ran through several electrics (including the unplayable-until-recently Crown, and a very difficult MIJ Fender Stratocaster), but never bought another acoustic until '95, when I bought a Epiphone PR-5E, an acoustic-electric cutaway, which was then followed quickly by a Baby Taylor and a Mitchell 12 string. The Fame stayed in the case, and I almost threw it away before moving to Ventura, but was talked out of it.

It's been in the garage since then, and I'd take it out once in a while, but the strings were so old that I never played it. But the summer's coming up and I like to barbecue and I don't really want to take the good guitars into the yard while trying to cook, so I thought maybe I could restring the Fame. I know it was made in Japan-the label is still on the headstock. Back in the 70's, everything made in Japan was still considered cheap, but everything I've been able to find on the internet suggests that by the '70's, the Japanese craftsman were able to make better instruments than what was coming from the USA at the time. The tuning machines still seem to work well. I believe the guitar is a laminate, but the fretboard is rather nice, and as you'll hear, with some decent strings it has a pretty good tone.

I took all the strings off for the first time ever. I remember when I was young, I would only replace a string when it was broken, so it is possible that some of the strings had been on the guitar for the entire time I owned it-in all of my recent playing, I can't think of any time that I broke an "A" string. I dusted and polished the whole guitar with some wood wipes I bought from Lowes. I thought the neck was separating from the body, but now I think the finish is just cracking. It doesn't really show in the pictures.

Considering it's age and the age I was when I got it, it's in very good shape. I always took pretty good care of my stuff, and the guitar came in a pretty good chip board case. There's a few blemishes, but overall, the guitar shined up pretty good.

Using a quarter, here's where the action is at the 12th fret. It's about the same as the Japanese Sigma that I had set up for me not too long ago, which I found rather surprising.

Okay, now for the part you've been waiting for, the sound. I used the iPhone to record, and I'm sitting outside, so there's probably some backyard noises as well. I checked the pick-up a few months back, and it worked. I didn't have an amp to plug into, so I'll try to get another post up with the pick-up plugged in.

If you know anything about the "Fame" course, or you still have your "Fame" guitar and know more about it's manufacture, let me know and I'll post it up.

Tacos Jerez, Ventura

A taco truck that has been regularly set up across from the library on the Avenues (Simpson and Ventura). Tacos Jerez serves only tacos and burritos.

The people are friendly, and the kitchen and grilling area are clean. Tacos are $1.50, with asada, cabeza, lengua, tripa and pollo, and burritos ($5) are all that's on the menu.

Tonight, I went with two asada and a lengua, which were served with onions,

cilantro and salsa verde on the top. Radishes and limes were on the side. They were served quickly, and I thought very well done. The meat was hot and moist-often the meat can get dry, which can negatively impact the flavor. For a basic taco, it was good and for a good price.

Taco Introduction

Growing up, my father liked tacos. But he was very specific in the type that he liked-crunchy, with lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream and red salsa, generally on ground beef, but occasionally with shredded beef. I remember my mom making taco shells and preparing ground beef (with little pieces of potatoes, I think), and that's how tacos were done.

When I moved to Oxnard, I acquired a taste for soft tacos. Simple and easy to eat, it seemed to be the essence of street food. Two small tortillas, meat, onions, cilantro and a touch of salsa, when done right an explosion of flavor that is perfectly washed down with a Mexican Coke (when out on the street) or a beer (in an indoor setting).

Here are a few of the places that I've found and enjoyed.

First Act Garage Master Guitar

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