“Certified gnarbuckle” says Thrasher. “Smell my finger” says Racket. Silas Baxter Neal folks!!! Read on…

Wesley: Are you psyched that none of these questions are about being a hippy?
Silas: Yes!!!
Wesley: (laughs) I gotta say though, your new Elwood ad probably isn’t helping. I mean, you look good in the ad, but you are sitting in the middle of a forest.
Silas: Yeah, I mean, their whole theme is woods though. They’ve got the tree on the side of the ads.

They had 19 years and this piece of donkey feces is all they could come up with????? A small part of me has died.
For starters, let’s just get to the obvious core problem with the movie. An Indiana Jones movie is an action-adventure movie, NOT a fucking sci-fi! Not that I don’t enjoy sci-fi’s thoroughly, but it’s like going to a strip club only to find out that it’s a scientology …

“Here’s that fucking book you wanted, you better write a good review! Why the hell doesn’t it have any pop-ups?”
-The Emperor
The new Thrasher book, Epic Spots, did indeed show up on the Racket doorstep the other day. First of all, let’s be honest, it is doubtful that any Thrasher book will live …

Hey George, first of all, I just wanted to congratulate you on yet another blockbuster movie, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls. Really, not many can pull off that many hits in a row.
However, Mr. Lucas, I do infact take umbrage with several areas of your methodology. I guess we’ll go ahead and address Star Wars, Episodes 1 – 3. You know, the most recent ones that for some reason defied natural chronological order. No one was more excited than I was when Episode One came into …

Entourage
HBO Books
Rating (for fans) 6 of 10 (for everyone else) 4 of 10
Here’s the thing: If you are a fan of the show itself, Entourage, is a good read. If you’re not, prepare to be confused. For those of you who are fans of the show, the book is an interesting read, but probably not something you’d read more than once. The interviews with the cast and the show’s creators, including some interviews with those the show is actually based on (contrary to popular belief, the show is not based …

Fuck, man. Racket. Wu Tang. Not two things you would normally put together, but here it is: The Emperor and Masta Killa of Wu Tang Clan.
Masta Killa: Peace peace peace!
Racket Jonathan: What’s up, man?
Masta Killa: Oh, you know, I can’t complain, man. There’s a lot of goods things, you hear?
Racket Jonathan: Sounds like an exciting time to be alive, man.
MK: Thats always, that’s an always thing.
RJ: Well, man, I’ve been hearing a lot on this question and wanted to get your input on it: is hip hop dead?
MK: Man, …

It’s not my fault I went. As Jonathan so gracefully put it “Since when do you like punk rock?” (Referring to me. Duh.) I admit, my very limited collection of music does not include any punk (in my defense, no one has shown me any I like). Yet somehow, I found myself at a little hole in the wall in Long Beach smaller than my living room seeing Underground Railroad to Candyland and Pinhead Gunpowder. I won’t lie, it was pretty kickass (despite getting kicked in the head a few …

Oh, Alison. My dearest Alison. Now, you’ve all heard the saying “go big or go home.” Well, I was already at home when the lovely Alison Sudol, known to most as the guiding force behind A Fine Frenzy, called me. Obviously, I had no choice but to go big. Now, Alison is on Capitol, and as I’ve said before, Capitol girls are effing hot, staff or artist. Any of you lovely ladies want to pick up the pieces that Alison left behind (Katy Perry???), let me know. Here’s the interview/entire …

When I first started thinking about writing articles on the subject of recording and studio stuff, most magazines wanted me to write about “anything studio related.” Well, this sounded like a recipe for an industry rant (which I’m prone to do from time to time). In order to avoid the temptation of any soap boxing, I thought I’d rather take this spotlight opportunity to introduce a rather infamous ‘friend’ of mine, and tell the story about his rise to notoriety… and leave the ranting to Dennis Miller
I’m …

Artist: Imogene
Title: Imogene
Self-Released
6/10
Well, at first, I just felt that Imogene was that band playing in the corner of the bar that no one really finds offensive, but just kind of nods along to and at some points wishes they would turn down their amps. But that all changed when, after the first four songs, I realized that the formula for Imogene was basically an 8-string bass riff played for three minutes while a dude’s vocals drones over it. The 4 string bass is basically playing the same shit the 8-string …

Artist: Henry Rollins
Album: Provoked.
Score: 9/10
Henry Rollins comes strong with yet another spoken word album. It dances an interesting line between story-telling, and stand-up comedy, but as always Rollins hits hard with an energy that’s unparalleled.
Love him, or hate him (how could you ever hate the man?) Rollins is completely engaging, and always enigmatic. The only hindrance with “Provoked” is simply the fact that it ends. I feel this should have went on longer.
Rollins spins tales of sexual mis-course, growing up as a punk rock youth and just…his lexicon is …

Wanna hang out with the Racketeers? Well, we’ll be having a booth at the SoCal Warped dates (Pomona, Ventura and LA) so come on out, hang out with us. Bring us shit. Stickers, your band’s shitty demos and choco tacos are all appreciated.

Holy Shit! This show is amazing! I didn’t even know that the dude from Jerry Springer had his own show, but it’s amazing. Tonight’s episode was a daddy and a step daddy arguing over who molested the daddy’s little girl. Racket’s Tech Guru Patrick nailed it: This is like watching Pro Wrestling. Just intense enough to keep your attention, but just fake enough to have that entertainment value! Fucking amazing! Ahhh!!! The SUSPENSE!!! NOOOO!!!! They’re bleeping out a bunch of words, it’s someone’s name, the suspense! The SUSPENSE!!! Shit! The …

I am not going to lie, I don’t know a lot about politics. I save my political rambles for those I know will correct me or for those I know aren’t listening. In my opinion, political banter is best saved for people who know what they are talking about, like NPR junkies and campaign trails. Not for rock shows. Repeat- politics have little place at a rock show.
I take it back. Politics do have a place at rock shows, but under certain circumstances. There have been plenty of successful …

Foo Fighters
Serj Tankien
Against Me!
5/6/08 & 5/7/08
What can be better than seeing the Foo Fighters at a sold out Forum show? Seeing it twice. Possibly the only thing that could have made it a better show would be if we could resurrect the dead. Or pick a better opener.
Both nights Against Me! rocked the house. Well sort of. I think had more people known who they were and appreciated what was going on, they would have gotten a warmer reception. Maybe it was because the sold out Forum was less …

First pro skater interview in Racket and who do we land? That’s right, Ed F’ing Templeton. Introductions are unnecessary. We all know Ed and if you don’t then that’s okay, you obviously don’t deserve to. Commence brainwashing…
Wesley: Okay Ed, what is your least favorite interview question?
Ed: Let me think about this one.
Wesley: Do it.
Ed: There are two tiers. There’s the informal interview of a kid asking for your board at every demo you show up at. That’s not officially an interview but that’s one …