Fluffy Lumbers: Bringing Nice Back in 2k9

I was sitting on a bench at an outdoor gallery in Miami, fighting off a hangover with vodka and Vitamin Water, when I see a tall cutie walking past in a Real Estate shirt. My mind was boggled... not only had Real Estate fandom made it down to Miami, but t-shirts too?

But no, this wasn't some random Miami dude who really loved Real Estate, this was the bassist for Fluffy Lumbers, the newest band, in a series of seemingly a million, to break out of the Ridgewook/Glen Rock area of New Jersey.

I had heard Fluffy Lumbers on Myspace and had heard good things about him from friends, but after seeing Fluffy Lumbers perform live in Miami, PopJew is officially a fan. Fluffy Lumbers, new "best band". The band sounded awesome: refreshing and poppy, and they are a good looking group of boyz, which I think is important.

Fluffy Lumbers is the personal recording project of Samuel Franklin, a 20 year old college student from Ridgewood, New Jersey. I had the pleasure of spending a good amount of time chatting with him over the course of the weekend in Miami. He's a great guy, knows his shit when it comes to music, and he is very much like his music: Extremely nice, charming, sincere, while not taking himself too seriously.

That's the thing about Fluffy Lumbers: If you introduced Sam, or anyone else in his band, to your mother, she would definitely say "What a nice boy." And he is, he's a nice boy which is something exciting and refreshing to find around "The Scene". In the drug addled, beer soaked, profanity laden cesspool that was the crowd at So Raw, Sam and his buddies were a breath of fresh air, just sitting around and watching The Simpsons.

This nice sincerity comes across in his music in the best way: Lo fi pop at it's most catchy, and least pretentious. Put on the songs, sit and smile, be in a better place.

Sam, chilling at the after party

When talking to Sam, he admitted that he was nervous about being compared to Wavves, and sadly, I think this is inevitable. You take a young, cute guy with a lo fi personal recording project and everyone is gonna throw some Wavves around... but hey, everyone, I'm serious DON'T COMPARE FLUFFY LUMBERS TO WAVVES. These songs have so much more pop, so much more potential, so much less bull shit. Be original, don't go there.

Fluffy Lumbers has a 7" coming out on Weird Hug Records any day now. Buy it and jam it. Jam it hard.

Also, in maybe the most important news of the summer: Fluffy Lumbers is playing my birthday party at Silent Barn on August 14th with The Beets and Pop. 1280 and one more band.

If you like bands that play great songs and look great doing it, you'll love Fluffy Lumbers.

Best Vibes, Best Vaction: So Raw Fest, Day 2- Night Show, Day 3- Epic Hangz

When we went back to the venue, after chilling in the pool for a few hours, I had no idea how hard my mind was about to get blown. The only band I had seen before was Pink Reason. I don't want to sound dramatic but, this was one of the best shows I have ever been to. The line up was The CouchFace, Brian's Dirty Business, Rot Shit, Melted Sunglasses, Jacuzzi Boys, and Pink Reason. The show was fucking amazing, beginning to end.

It was the weirdest fucking show of all time and no one took anything seriously and it was amazing. Here are my RawBerry pixx from the beginning of the show, up until the after party:

Danny

The CouchFace

Brian's Dirty Buisness

Rot Shit

Free Vodka

Brian Snuggling up to Kev

Naked Boyz

Where the fuck do I begin?

-The CouchFace played some super catchy poprock with funnie lyrics.
When I heard this band was a "joke band" I wasn't expecting very much... but the songs were solid, they were just about stuff that's kind of goofy... but I see nothing wrong with that.

-Brian's Dirty Business rocked my world.
I should have known. I should have known. I should have fucking known that a joke set by Brian Pinyero would be the most perfectly executed, funniest joke set of all time. It so, so, so was. It was this crazy set, and after this set was over, all I could say was "DAMN that was fucking incredible," over and over again.
First of all, to give you some idea of the flavor of this stuff, here is a write up on BDBiz that was in Victim of Time:

Brian's Dirty Business, an intrepid man of international sexy mystery, and a libido equal only to the size, girth, and tone of his massive manhood. Legend has it, he was born into sex slavery in Miami's most upscale rock'n'roll brothel, but was one day rescued and taught the black tantric sex magic by the Sex Wizard Overseer; Chicago's own filthy secret. So keep your lady friends close because his infectious hooks, sexy voice, and arousing stage performance will have them dying to give Brian himself an RJ in the alley. This dude is most definitely a prowler of the night and a dirty hustler of sin, the dirty business of Brian.

So that's your first hint. Secondly, check out the lyrics to "Girl on the Side", BDBiz's radio single, as written by Brian on the Facebook wall of Rot Shit bassist John:

Oh(oooh) Yeah(yeah) Brian's Dirty Bizness gunna rock ur wurld

Well I don't know what to do, cause i can't be with you
I got too many girls on my mind
But babe you are one too, brian will make you go ooh ooh
if you'll be my girl on the side

Girl on da side, (let's go for a ride girl)
Girl on da side, (i wanna get inside girl)
Girl on da side, (ill be your guy girl)
Girl on da side ( Just be my girl, girl)

Well i don't nkow what to do, cause i fell in love with you
Now you're the only girl on my mind
And girl, you love me too, you suck my dick u make me go ooh ooh
and you let me do you on the side

Girl on da side, (let's go for a ride girl)
Girl on da side, (i wanna get inside girl)
Girl on da side, (ill be your guy girl)
Girl on da side ( Just be my girl, girl)

[sic]

Now, here's what went down in the set: Brian takes the stage with a backing band that would dwarf Liquor Store. He plays "Girl On The Side" and the crowd goes wild. He plays another song, people are digging it. He plays "Girl on the Side" again. He plays "Girl on the Side" a third time. He plays the other song again. He closes his set with "Girl on the Side". It was the best set I have ever seen.

Srsly, Brian's Dirty Business gonna rock your world.

-Rot Shit threw a pie in my face.
Yep. I've lived a pretty slapstick life for a while now... I always fall, I always trip, I always do the wrong thing at the wrong time... but I've never been hit in the face with an actual pie. Thanks Rot Shit! Can't wait to see you at Silent Barn on Saturday?

On a sightly related note, does anyone know where I can buy some pig semen?

-After the pie incident, the rest of the show becomes a bit of a blur.
I do know that lots of people have beef with Jacuzzi Boys and were throwing beer at them and stuff. The whole show was all about jokes. Jokes jokes jokes. Jokes are big in 2k9.

The party raged into the night and continued into the next day. There were dive bars, there were swimming pools, there were people sloppily making out at a penthouse, but those details would probably bore you.

Suffice it to say: The weekend I spent at So Raw Fest in Miami was one of the best weekends of my life. Full of rock, full of budz, full of booze. Good looking people, good tunes.

Thanks Miami, I miss you so much it kills me inside.

And here are the rest of the party pixx, I guess:

Eric and Sarah

Mini Keg

Too many shots!

Victor

Vinnie

Eric

Best Vibes, Best Vaction: So Raw Fest, Day 2- Day Show!

Waking up on Day 2 of So Raw Fest in Miami was not a pleasant experience. We had all partied a little too hard, until a little too late, and waking up was not the most pleasant thing... Also, the day show had the ambitious goal of starting at 12pm... as if anyone in the city of Miami would have been able to make it there by then.

After texting nearly every person we knew who might possibly be in the city of Miami, my roomies Claire, Lauren, and I were able to con the members of Chicago band The Pelts into driving us over to the venue for the day show.

We got there around 2:30, and to absolutely no one's surprise, the show had not yet started. For the first few bands (whose names I didn't even catch) I was in a bit of a hungover daze, but the last two bands completely blew me away. One of my favorite parts of the whole festival.

Here are DayBerry pixx from the show, and ensuing hangouts:

Little Beard

Brian's underwear

Fluffy Lumbers

Claire Dactly, Lauren Oh, STEVE (Rot Shit)

Fluff Lumbers's bassist was wearing a Real Estate shirt!Tony (Melted Sunglasses)
Drugula (Rot Shit)
Fluffy Lumbers Str8 Chilling
Wylie (Weird Hug)
STEVE

So yeah, the show was totes awesome.

-Little Beard is really fun poppy music with killer female vocals and sexy style.
They were just what I was hoping I would see in Miami- attractive people playing fast music while wearing bright colors. Being outside in a beautiful garden was the perfect setting for them to play in. Check them out on Myspace. Come to Brooklyn, Little Beard! The kids would love you!

-I am totally obsessed with personal recording project/pop band Fluffy Lumbers.
I am so obsessed with them that they need their own blog post, dedicated to Samuel Franklin and the rising awesomeness of cute, sweet, nice-as-can-be Fluffy Lumbers.
For now, suffice it to say, that some h8rs at So Raw were being boring, uncreative, and wrong and saying Fluffy Lumbers sounds exactly like Wavves. This is wrong and stupid, give it time... but I think Fluffy Lumbers can rule the world.
They were another band that just looked right playing in the sunny outdoors. I had a great time chilling with those guys... some fresh air, in sharp contrast to the degenerates that I usually hang out with.
Give them a good listen, gonna be big (if not in 2k9, by early 2k10) and they have a 7inch coming out on Weird Hug Records pretty soon. CHECK EM OUT CHECK EM OUT CHECK EM OUT!!!!

-Eric (TeePee) has a sweet van that we got to drive in!
This van is one these vans that if you were a 16 year old boy, driving around your bandmates, you'd be the coolest kid in school... and it's still pretty chill as an adult. We all piled in, and Steve and Tony wore silly hats. Drugula put a funnel on his head. Funny times.

-Everyone went to the pool at Rene and Manny's house to str8 chill.
I think that, as a weirdo New Yorker, I haven't really been swimming in at least three years. Just sitting in a pool, chilling with mad bros, drinking some beers... man, it really made me feel like life was just awesome.

Nothing like floating around in between two rock shows. Life is solid, bro.

Take me back 2 Miami, bro.

Best Vibes, Best Vaction: So Raw Fest, Day 1

Here I go, finally sitting down to tell you about the weekend I just had, maybe one of the best weekends of my life, to date. Yes, that's right, I went to Miami for Miami Is So Raw Fest. It ruled, raw to the max.

The thing is, going to a fest is usually my worst nightmare. I have so much fun, and do so many things, and meet so many people, that I forget stuff and writing about it starts to be overwhelming.

Anyway, here are my RawBerry pixx from Day One of So Raw Fest... featuring my arrival, and the first night's show (The Yolks, Electric Bunnies, TeePee, Hahahelp, Palm Trees, This Heart Electric):

Claire Dactyl

Kevin (Pink Reason) and BrianJohn, Vinnie (Rot Shit) and wnkrs
Elena at the Honesty Booth
Brian and his Dirty Business
TeePee


Electric Bunnies

I didn't do the best job of listening to/taking pictures of the bands, but I do know that TeePee and Electric Bunnies are both awesome.... Friday night was not my finest hour, as far as music, but I did have the best time.

Here's what went down:

-I got bumped up to first class on my flight.
I got free food, a vodka soda, and three glasses of wine. I was sitting next to a Jewish lawyer dude who was on his way to a bachelor party (MIAMI STYLE). He made me laugh when he said, "You'd like my sister, she's into music, she liked The Shins before Garden State.

-Brian Pinyero, aka Wnkrs, aka some dude in Bundle of Fags, picked me up at the airport.
Brian is the best person I met in Miami. I already knew him from the Internet, and he is my favorite poster on Terminal Boredom. He's one of these guys, that much like me, lives for a good joke, and he is just as retarded/funny/ridiculous in real life as he is in person. I saw his junk about 2,000 times that weekend. More about that in Day 2.

-We picked up Rot Shit and Pink Reason in Ft. Lauderdale.
I was nervous to meet the Rot Shit guys, but, you know, they're funny and whatnot. We all went to get Cuban food at some place that has food and a laundromat. I ate a frita and had some cool Cuban coffee stuff.

-The show was in this cool space with a big outside and there was free vodka and beer.
Bands played, I guess. I'm a terrible music journalist. I was confused, I don't know, give me a break.

-AFTER PARTY (the party, not the band) at a sweet pent house.
Fucking Miami, so so raw.

Stay tuned for the more music-related events of So Raw, and more naked Brian.