Events: Joe Pug, Aloe Blacc, And A Food Truck Festival

If you love music, science fiction movies, and food trucks, then you'll want to tune in to our weekend preview.

Guest

Liz Bradshaw is the curator at The Loft at UCSD and has worked in the music industry for many years.

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CAVANAUGH: I'm Maureen Cavanaugh, you're listening to These Days on KPBS. Now that the rain and unseasonable chilliness seems to be moving out, it should be fun to get out of house this weekend am we've got some suggestions from a food truck festival to creating your own Sci-fi movie sound track. And a couple of interesting concerts as well. I'd like to introduce my guest, Liz Bradshaw is the curator at the loft at UCSD. She's worked in the music industry for many years. Good morning, Liz.

BRADSHAW: Good morning, Maureen.

CAVANAUGH: Let's start out with Joe Pug at the Casbah. He's playing the Casbah tonight. Tell us about him.

BRADSHAW: He is, and I'm really excited to see Joe Pug back in San Diego. I think he's a really great artist. He's folk country Americana, singer song writer from Chicago. Still in his late twenties but has got such a rich older sound with his years with his great story telling. He's essential one of the most hard working touring [CHECK AUDIO] musicians. I've had the opportunity to work with over the last couple of years, he's been out touring nationally with people like Josh Ritter and M. Ward, appeared at festivals like the lollapalooza, and the [CHECK AUDIO] he's currently touring his latest album, and it's actually his first full length album called marriage. And yeah --

CAVANAUGH: You know, you go on his website, and it seems like he has some interesting marketing strategies. What can you tell us about those?

BRADSHAW: Yeah, for me he's definitely DIY. And I think one of the really great things about Joe's website, and it's so comprehensive. You can see all of his tour dates, you can listen to streamed music from his current album and previous EPs, and then something else that he does is you can down load or be sent actually a four song sampler of his music are if free, which over the last year or so, he has himself been sending out to people in the mail. I think he sent out something like over 15,000 CDs to 50 states and 14 country, you know with a little note saying thank you to people for kind of giving him the chance and taking a chance on him, and listening to his music. And if you go on his website and read his website, he says that he trusts his fans. He doesn't believe in asking people to spend 15 bucks on something they've never heard before and they might not like. And he believes that if you know, he sends them a free CD, they like his music, they're gonna come out to his show, support his live shows and buy his bull length CDs at his shows. And it seems to be working for him, so I think that's really great.

CAVANAUGH: Let's hear what he sounds like. This is the door was always open, from Joe Pug's messenger.

(Audio Recording Played).

CAVANAUGH: That's Joe Pug, the song the door was always open off his album, messenger. What is his live show like.

BRADSHAW: It's a pretty intimate set. I've experienced him in some smaller venue, and I think he really strikes up an excellent rapport with the audience, and it's hard not to be captivated. He has some great banter with the audience in between songs. And the last time I saw him, and I believe tonight as well, he'll be playing as a trio, so he'll have with him an upright base play are and an electric guitar. Just to give the sound [CHECK AUDIO].

CAVANAUGH: So Joe pug plays the Casbah, that's tonight. For something very different, Sci-fi radio and film lab is happening at UC San Diego's guysel library on Saturday. What is this event, Liz?

BRADSHAW: So for those people who might not be familiar with gazelle library, it's that [CHECK AUDIO] this event is actually in celebration of guisel library's 40th birthday, and it's an event that's taking place in the UCSD arts library between 4 and 5. And what they're doing is inviting folks to come out and make a ton of noise and [CHECK AUDIO] with all these weird and wonderful instruments. So the events are taking place in three separate, brand-new, high definition listening rooms in the UCSD arts library. And there'll be some classic Sci-fi films, some not so classic Sci-fi films, and then in addition you can kind of review some Sci-fi radio drama script, play with the sound effects tools, and one of those I think is the war of the worlds 1948 radio drama, [CHECK AUDIO].

CAVANAUGH: Scott Paulson is coordinating this evening. [CHECK AUDIO] 92 and he's a really, really great character. He's an award winning sound scape artist, and such an institution in his field, his work's been featured on radio, television and film, he's got a performance ensemble that you'll see out about town regularly, they're called the teeny tiny pit orchestra, and they provide great, great live music to silent film screenings, radio dramas, operas, and all of the host of theatrical productions. It's definitely not uncommon that if you're at one of their events or an event that Scott is performing at, you might get roped into some audience participation, and he'll throw out some great instruments that you've never seen before into the audience. And he's at outreach coordinator for the UCSD arts library, and he can often be found performing live on guisel's roof top chime, and I think this month in honor of the 40th anniversary, he's also taking requests at noon every day.

CAVANAUGH: On or about that's wonderful.

BRADSHAW: Very exciting.

CAVANAUGH: Now, for this event, do you know what movies are gonna be screened.

BRADSHAW: Yeah, so, a couple of the films again they're gonna be screened, things like 2,001 a space odyssey, then Fritz Lang's metropolis. There'll be a bunch of select films dating back from 1898 and onwards like the earth stool still and the forbidden planet. Then they're gonna be showing some super low budget really bad '50s B movie Sci-fi films and hoping to make them a bit better with your sound track.

CAVANAUGH: Now, I hear a sound track, there's gotta be gongos, right?

BRADSHAW: Maybe. Who knows?

CAVANAUGH: What other instruments are gonna be there?

BRADSHAW: So they're definitely, you know, really playing on the Sci-fi theme and weird and wonderful. Things like that really interesting. So they've got these Moog synthesizers, which have these old school knobs and dials on them. They even have scratch pads on them so you can find [CHECK AUDIO] theremins, I'm told, actually, there'll be a theremin in every room. A theremin is one of the first electronic instruments, [CHECK AUDIO] from back then, and are still super futuristic, so it'll be very interesting.

CAVANAUGH: It certainly sounds that way. So I would imagine you don't have to know anything about Sci-fi or even music to enjoy this event.

BRADSHAW: I don't think so, I think it'll just be fun for everybody and you can just, you know, really get into it, and it's definitely something different especially if the weather is not looking so hot.

CAVANAUGH: Exactly. Sci-fi radio and film lab takes place Saturday morning. Oh, is it kid friendly?

BRADSHAW: I believe so.

CAVANAUGH: Okay. Saturday morning in the west wing of guisel library at UCSD. Now, a food truck fest will va. We were talking about food trucks on this program just a couple of weeks ago. And there's really, actually a really rather large festival this weekend. Tell us about it, Liz.

BRADSHAW: Well, the veryaptly titled food trucks and fun. It's taking place in different boomers locations around San Diego this weekend, and they'll be playing host to around 20 food trucks brought in from -- down from LA, and also from San Diego as well.

CAVANAUGH: Oh, okay. Tell us a little bit. We had a guest on who explained to us about food trucks. But tell us again a little bit about how they operate and how they become so popular.

BRADSHAW: So, you know, certainly in my perspective, food trucks are fancy street food. And they, you know, you can find them in different locations, you can find them at different events that often have really great websites where they change up their machinue ever day, and you find out what they're serving.

CAVANAUGH: Change up their locations every day too.

BRADSHAW: Right, exactly. And what you really like, is I think they've kind of taken your food truck that just serves fat fried food at festivals and they've created a restaurant in a food truck. So it's not your standard fried everything that makes you feel really sick a half an hour after eating it. And usually they're known for something in particular. So they all have very unique stamp on them, for instance cup cakes or bellian style fries. And I think there's a lot of younger chefs and foodies really taking this very seriously, providing yummy streets from everyone from hipsters to office workers. And many of them -- there's so much care and attention that goes into the food they produce, they're often using locally sourced seasonal produce, and changing their menus up, and I think it's really exciting.

CAVANAUGH: Did you say bog standard?

BRADSHAW: Maybe. Is that another one of my -- little Britishisms.

CAVANAUGH: Great stuff. And so now you say the trucks will be at different boomers. Do you have to pay an admission to boomers so that you request get to the food struck.

BY DEFENDANT:

CAVANAUGH: You do. [CHECK AUDIO] [CHECK AUDIO] gaming credit. So you can go go carting or play minigolf, or all those other things?

CAVANAUGH: And how much food should you take with you to take advantage of these food trucks?

BRADSHAW: I think if you're expecting, like, a $2 burger then this really isn't the place for you. But looking around the websites, they have [CHECK AUDIO] clam chowder, they have these artisan burgers, so I think looking around, you can expect to pay between 3 or 5 for smaller dishes and sides, anywhere from 5 to $12 for more of an entree sized meal. It's not the cheapest version of fast food, but it's fresh and exciting and I think it's great for people to experience.

CAVANAUGH: So that's boomers food truck festival, [CHECK AUDIO]. Aloe black is playing belly up tavern, that's tomorrow night. Tell us about him, Liz.

BRADSHAW: Yeah, so aloe black is a really, really great kind of modern soul artist but with this wonderful kind of rich, vintage retro sound to him. He started off some years ago as an CAVANAUGH, he's from an indie rock duo. He's from Orange County and he's on a record label called stone's throw, which is out of LA and features other other kind ever, like, vintage soul artists and DJ funk. [CHECK AUDIO] who's also a wonderful producer as well. And I feel like in the last few months in part due to some great sort of play on various TV show, he's gone from being kind of this relatively under ground funky soul singer to, you know, he's been topping the chars all over Europe, which is really fantastic.

CAVANAUGH: We're gonna be playing a song right now. The track, I need a dollar, may be familiar to may be of our listeners. This is aloe black off the album good things.

(Audio Recording Played).

CAVANAUGH: That's aloe black playing I need a dollar from the album, good things. Aloe black, is he a UK artist?

BRADSHAW: No, he's from ogoc.

CAVANAUGH: Oh, I didn't know that. Am but he topped the chart on UK, right.

BRADSHAW: Yeah, he really did. Over the last couple months he's found massive success out there. And he's been touring over there. And us Brits have excellent taste. What can I say, Maureen?

CAVANAUGH: [CHECK AUDIO].

BRADSHAW: Theme song to H, about O's how to make it in America last year. And I'm pretty sure that I've seen it on other trailers and some commercials recently as well. So it's definitely been around.

CAVANAUGH: What -- can you tell me what his shes are like?

BRADSHAW: Awesome. You know, for me, just super fun and like full of energy. And he's -- his band is, you know, really excellent, he played a show at the end of the year at the Casbah in December last year. He did this great cover version of Michael Jackson's Billy gene. But you weren't quite sure what it was when it first started because it was so different. He really made it his own. And it was kind of like much slower and much more soulful. And it'll be really great to see what he has up his sleeve this time. What I kind of loved about his show in December he kept saying to everybody this is a soul show, everybody, this is a soul show. So he's kind of really intent on taking it back to some roots from, like, the 60s and '70s. So it'll be fun.

CAVANAUGH: This is kind of a homecoming for him then, in a way, up in Orange County, it's close. Is this part of a big tour for him?

BRADSHAW: Yeah, he seems to be out on the road nonstop at the moment. And I think he's got a couple of Southern California dates, some LA dates as well. So he is just non-- his twitter feed just goes all the time. He's like thanks Germany, thanks to the UK, France I'll see you next week. He just seems to be really, really active. And I think everybody's just really digging his sound. It's something a bit different at the moment. And it's excitingly.

CAVANAUGH: We've been talking about the artist, aloe black, who will be playing the belly up tavern in Solana beach tomorrow night. Liz, I want to thank you so much.

BRADSHAW: Thank you.

CAVANAUGH: And we'll be seeing more of you as These Days changes into midday edition.