Photographic Evidence of the Spinto Band Recording.

And not goofing with any bees.

Sound Crank

When in Salt Lake City last March, we finally met up with Greg and picked a few songs to form a podcast around. Greg is one of the homeboys at Soundcrank. He put our mumbling over a noisy high powered heating unit together with some digital music files to form what is yet another example of the spinto band not knowing when to shut up and play the music already.

We hope you enjoy!

http://www.soundcrank.com/files/podcasts/the_spinto_band_podcast.mp3

How Many Burritos DID Jeff Eat?

Well folks, the recording is coming to a close and we figured we’d update you on how the new songs have been going…

SIKE! Here’s a tally of the burritos we ate!

That brings us to a total of 64 burritos. On the first day we figured we could easily make it to 100. I suppose our stomachs are not as strong as our desires. Here’s a breakdown:

1. Jeff and Dave, 13 each
3. Jon, 9
4. Thomas, 8
5. Sam and Josiah, 7 each
7. Joe, 6
8. Harry and Julie, 1 between the two of them
10. Nick, 0

Sam Hughes Reviews: Mountain Dew Game Fuel (in assosication with Halo 3)

Sam Hughes Reviews: Mountain Dew Game Fuel (in association with Halo 3)

When I first heard about this product, my “what the fuck?” alarm went off in my head. A whole soda based around a videogame? Aw, hell no, that just isn’t going to work! The more I thought about it though, the more it makes sense. What is the stereotypical drink of the stereotypical dude living in his stereotypical mom’s basement playing a stereotypical first person shooter? Of course, it’s got to be Mountain Dew. That’s how those dudes stay up all night fraggin’ and shit. Anyway, the team up between Mountain Dew and Halo 3 also includes Halo 3 fucking Doritos. Now, I don’t know whether they get their own special flavor or just more Master Chief money shots like the Dew bottle got, but I think it just makes this team up even more powerful. I don’t even really want to imagine exactly what Halo 3 tastes like anyway. Gun powder? Alien Intestine? Either way, it definitely couldn’t be any worse than the X-13D Doritos. They sucked!

As I said, the packaging is kind of how you’d expect. It’s got a picture of Master Chief (star of Halo for those who don’t know) looking badass alongside a different colored Mountain Dew Logo and the words “limited edition” and “game fuel” (not to confused with Gay Fuel) Upon opening the soda which claims to be “Dew with an invigorating blast of citrus cherry flavor” I was greeted with quite the pungent odor. I’d liken it to the sensation of sniffing gasoline fumes at the pump. I mean, yeah it smells awesome, but that shit can’t be good for you. It’s also just a bit too radioactive looking to me. It certainly shouldn’t be a surprise by any means, considering this is a Pepsi product and those guys have produced a chemical product worse than fucking anthrax.

In terms of taste, it’s not nearly as bad as Pepsi Blue. It tasted very familiar at first and I think that I have found the culprit. To me it tastes like a hybrid of Mountain Dew Baja Blast and a Cherry Slurpee from 7-11. Since 7-11 is also co-conspiring in this whole campaign by selling the Doritos, I wouldn’t be surprised if they just let the Pepsi people just take some of their unused Cherry Slurpee syrup and make another soda out of it. Another issue of confusion here is if this is a cherry version of Mountain Dew, then what the hell is that Mountain Dew Red Fusion shit we’ve been drinking? It doesn’t really taste the same at all, so I don’t really get it. Different kinds of cherries? Whatever. This thing, along with the Doritos will sell well (I think) because assholes like me love to buy into this thing. I’m may never even play Halo 3 but I’m all psyched about there being a soda about it. The soda is alright. Not better than original Mountain Dew, but better than Pepsi Blue. A huge accomplishment, right?

6/10

Sam Turns 40

Happy Birthday to Samuel Bradway Hughes, who joins other spinto-leos in celebrating his birth west coast style! A bit was captured:

Late Night Special

I've been meaning to post this video for everyone to see for a while. Fellas like Pipelayer and XTC are what make the world go round. I think if this video were played before every U.N. conference, the world would be a much more peaceful home.

After watching, try humping an ottoman near you or just walk and hump at the same time, like Relentless does, in what the spinto band refers to as "the snake dance" and/or "the snake walk". It feels good. Next, try getting together with 4 or 5 of your buddies, take your shirts off and hump ottoman's together. The smoother the tunes playing in the background, the better. Every Wednesday at our ottoman humping pot-luck dinner, we try playing new rhythm and blues or sometimes try a bit of japanese pop just to mix things up... it's all fun to snake dance to.

Now that we all know that it's alright to film ourselves in our parents' living rooms humping furniture, I hope to see a lot more of liberated human beings letting loose on coffee tables, love seats, and flower pots.

"This video is fucking hilarious." - Karl Rove

heart in a blender

to some, los angeles is a magical place...i was skeptical of of this sentiment until i got hit full force in the bread basket and knocked on my aaaeeesh with a fist full of l.a. sweet-juice.

here at the studio there resides a guitar that was previously owned by the rock outfit eve 6.

i held this guitar in my hands.




www.eve6.com
www.myspace.com/eve6

From The Vault

Hey folks. We thought you might enjoy a few clips of audio we recorded in the summer of 2006 for the Oh Mandy single campaign. These little gems helped us climb somewhere around #54 on the UK single charts and without these, we probably wouldn't have cracked the top 40 in the Canary Islands, peaking at #21.

If anyone has listened to XFM, they know how most single advertisements go: "Coming Soon... Razorlight's new single, I'm an Ass, on CD, 7 inch and digital download. blah blah blah." They are all pretty much like infomercials and make you wish they just played that Whats That Coming Over the Hill song again. We tried to do something different with ours, hope you enjoy.

Bummer in the Summer Ad

Prep Yoself Ad

Ides of August Ad


end note- we are trying to locate the radio ads for Did I Tell You and Direct To Helmet featuring such characters as Dr. Octavius and Bill Cosby. So lets hope we can find them.

Jeff Rockin Out

(Thomas) Hughes Reviews: 9 Soda Discoveries of 2007

Having the pleasure of being so close to Galco's has had a big impact upon my exotic soda intake in the past couple of weeks. Here's what I thought of them, in order of best to worst.

1. Jamaica’s Finest Extra Spicy Ginger Beer – You’ll notice that this label says “Hot! Hot! Hot!”. They are not lying. Drinking this soda is like ingesting raw, liquid ginger root…And it is amazing. A word of warning, though: I was so excited while drinking this that it went down the wrong pipe and for a moment, I saw god. I can’t really say much else other than that Jamaica’s Finest provided me with one of the most enjoyable soda experiences in recent memory. I can’t wait until I get my hands on a copper cop and make some Moscow Mules with it!

2. Mint Julep Soda - A soda version of the south's favorite cocktail? I’m in! This number is made with real mint leaves, comes in a green glass bottle, and could quite possibly be the perfect drink for a hot summer’s day. The only gripe I really have with it is the artwork. The layout seems kind of lazy, and at the top you might notice it claims to be “Plantation Style”. As crisp and refreshing as the soda was, evoking imagery of the old south made it taste a little racist.

3. Fukola Cola – It took me a bit to work up the nerve to purchase this soda. It’s ugly and has a terrible name in a hideous font. You probably can’t read it, but on the label it reads, “Anytime, anywhere, with anyone”. Ugh. This bottle is just brimming with the kind of Dionysian attitude I hate, but since I’m a fan of micro-brewed cola, I had to buy it. The tragic thing is about Fukola is that it actually tastes good. It has one of the best aftertastes of any soda I’ve ever had. It resembles the flavor of Candy Cigarettes or the white edible “dipper” in Fun Dip. Why, Fukola, why? Why do you have to try to be such a badass? It’s like finding a Beach Boys CD inside of a Buckcherry jewel case. Just change your lousy design so I can buy your delightful cola without any further embarrassment.

4. Faygo Rock & Rye – Before I tasted this lovely beverage, the only thing I knew about the Faygo brand was that it was the drink of choice for shockrockers The Insane Clown Posse (Never a good association to have when diving into a new soda). The only reason I bought it was because of its intriguing name, “Rock & Rye”. What does that mean? Could it be the American version of Dandelion & Burdock? Whatever the meaning of “Rock & Rye”, it turned out to be quite the tasty concoction. Soft and satisfying, with a simple, elegant, painted-on bottle design that California Proposition 65 warns me against.

5. Green River – This soda is awesome. It is bright green. Taste-wise, it’s got that “liquid version of a green freezepop” thing going on, which (in my opinion) isn’t a bad thing. However, the aspects I love most about Green River are its name and bottle design. “Green River”: it just sounds like a fictitious soda from a David Lynch film. Serene and sinister at the same time. Besides its claim of “Caffiene Free Since 1919” (like anyone cares), there is no other text. Its vague title and corresponding image speak for themselves, which only upholds the mysterious air this soda has.

6. Moxie Original Elixer – Now, I’ve had “Moxie” before, but this is supposedly the real deal. Any kind of Moxie sold in regular stores is just “watered-down diarrhea juice”, according to John F. Nese*. John did tell me, however, that this stuff is so strong that it takes years to acquire a taste for it. This made my expectations pretty high, so I prepared my tongue to accept what I thought would be the most heinous medicinal liquid imaginable…It actually turned out to be pretty good. It’s a bold, unique drink that I would never have on a regular basis. Maybe once a month, to keep the spirits strong and the doctor away.

7. Iron Beer – The only one in this batch that came in an aluminum can. It originates in Cuba, and tastes like a mixture of cola and orange soda…Sort of like what I imagine OK Soda tasted like. Nothing offensive, really, and nothing interesting, either.

8. Ancient Cola – I was so excited for you, Ancient Cola. Your claims of being an “Asian Herb and Spice Brew” had me salivating from the moment I put you in my shopping basket. I was a tad suspicious, however, about your dirty, peeling label…But perhaps the bottler had done that on purpose to enhance your “ancient” look. I was wrong. You were flat. So flat it’s as if you actually got bottled at the peak of the Roman empire (Get it? Ancient!). I suppose it’s not ethically fair to review a soda that’s lost its carbonation, but it’s also not fair to sell them, either. Oh snap!

9. Malta Hatuey – By far one of the worst sodas I’ve ever encountered. How did this vile fluid even make it into my mouth? Well, several aspects of the bottle roped me in: the interesting name, the illustration of the American Indian, the term “non-alcoholic cereal beverage”…Really, this Malta Hatuey seemed to be the most exciting of the bunch! I kept on thinking this until I finally opened the bottle. It smelled like death. It tasted like a mixture of carbonated ovaltine and expired tomato juice. People actually drink this? Afterwards, I did some research on it and learned that it is named after the heroic Chief Hatuey, who, in the 16^th century lead his people in battle against the imperialistic Spanish colonists. Sadly, he was eventually captured and burned alive at the stake. Before he was burned, a priest asked him if he would accept Jesus and go to heaven. Hatuey asked “Are there Spaniards in heaven?" When the priest assured him that there were many, Hatuey replied that he wanted nothing to do with a God that allowed people of such cruelty to be perpetuated in his name. Man, you seem like an awesome guy, Hatuey, but your ceral beverage kind of blows.

*Not true. John Nese is a wonderful man who would never use this kind of obscenity.

End of the debate.

We've taken Catalina's suggestion and have found a perfect solution.

Shark Week or X-Games?

There is an issue this week that is dividing the Spinto Band. It comes in the form of two annual television events: Discovery Channel's "Shark Week" and ESPN's coverage of "X-Games". At the beginning we were all pretty excited for Shark Week (especially Jeff), but last night while eating the free popcorn at the Roost, we saw extreme Skateboarder Jake Brown fall from fifty feet in the air...In both regular and slow motion. Jon had already voiced his dissenting opinion of Shark Week earlier, but as a group, we're not sure we we stand. What do you think? Here are two representative videos to base your vote on.


X-Games.


Shark Week.

The wonderful world of YouTube

So we were pretty excited when Michelle at YouTube hooked up the Oh Mandy video on the front page. It was made a featured video on Saturday and has been receiving a bunch of great comments since then:

Roobocop (1 hour ago) Marked as spam

GAYED!

Drupacalypse (3 hours ago) Marked as spam

this is great
i couldnt stop getting boners!

vivek3000 (18 hours ago) Marked as spam

dylan should never have gone electric.
your music sounds commie.

Killerone360 (1 day ago) Marked as spam

His voice kinda sucks cold play is better

supremaciadelmexico (1 day ago) Marked as spam

GO BACK TO EUOROPE WHITE BASTAsRDS MEXICO IS TAKING BACK

billjriv1 (1 day ago) Marked as spam

Dear God,I believe Jesus died on the cross so I could be forgiven of my sins and have eternal life in heaven.I believe He rose from the grave.Please forgive me of my sins. Lord Jesus, come and take control of my life. Help me to live for you. Thank you for hearing me and for saving me. I accept the precious gift of eternal life and repent of my sins. In the name of Jesus I pray.-Amen-

Driver3stunts (1 day ago) Marked as spam

9/11 was an inside job.

meggmarie93 (1 day ago) Marked as spam

this song is writtin for my bestfriends sister Amanda. her and Joey went out for two years or so and since he started this career she didnt want to feel second in his life so she broke up with him. there still bestfriends. i see him all the tiem considering my bestfriend lives next door :]
you most likly don't believe me but whatever. that's why we live in the same city and state :p

mrjoshuAtee (1 day ago) Marked as spam

cool

nandroid (2 days ago) Marked as spam

Ah, this song is good. But The Spinto Band is really just a poor man's Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Both are good but CYHSY is much better.

Edvinold (2 days ago) Marked as spam

Without doubt this band has Swedish influences.... Sheit. I really want to punch him in the face.

paseko (2 days ago) Marked as spam

伊東家の裏ワザでしたよね

jonwiener (2 days ago) Marked as spam

What a video! These gentlemen surely are the bees knees and I am confident that they are all fairly heterosexual.

TwoGuysDrinking (2 days ago) Marked as spam

Wow... okay relax nevermind. Have drink.

spekfoo (2 days ago) Marked as spam

yeah, you're a bunch of huge gay emos.

lightfm (2 days ago) Marked as spam

I know for a fact that these boys aren't gay and they are all really good at Pac-Man. They deserve greatness! They're Pacmasters.

Likkehh (2 days ago) Marked as spam

[]D ][ []\/[] []D ][ []\[]

bluenote311 (2 days ago) Marked as spam

Sin City kicks ass! and so do u guys! and viva el jason becker!

ipoonu (2 days ago) Marked as spam

this song is as old as my year old vagina

protronix (2 days ago) Marked as spam

fucken ice.

WobblingHobGoblin (2 days ago) Marked as spam

Shit dude dont wait to hear from a docter on line, get your ass in to one asap.

longboarddude (2 days ago) Marked as spam

i saw them when they came to portland last year. they talked about bridges and the free transit system. this isn't the first song of theirs youtube has featured.

hetchiX (3 days ago) Marked as spam

it's paper mario all over again! =)

RDJim (3 days ago) Marked as spam

this vid made me hungry for ice.

jflyin123 (3 days ago) Marked as spam

totally gay

TruTV (3 days ago) Marked as spam

emo homo-rock.

ch0fs19 (1 week ago)

Marked as spam

I just Love it (:
Best of lucks from Mexico! hehe

And then, as if that isn't overwhelming enough, the video comments are stellar. Here are a couple covers some youtubers did:

What a fun site.

viva my dry heaves

well, here i am...minding my own business watching some shark week programing when i come face to face with this:



this is the worst commercial i have seen during shark week! maybe of all time...

aye-yi-yi

ps: street mix

Celebrity Spotting with: THE SPINTO BAND!

When we first set foot in this beautiful "City of Angels", we had a hunch (or was it a hope?!) that we might encounter a living, breathing, CELEBRITY...But who knew that we would encounter so many?!?! I guess when you're so close to "Tinsel Town" it's inevitable that you're going to come WITHIN INCHES of someone who works in this "Business of Show". Pardon the late post, but we're still a little starstruck from last night's sightings.

...So we were driving down HOLLYWOOD BOULEVARD (I guess we should have KNOWN something CRAZY would happen there!) and guess who we saw?! The one and only Darth Vader! And he was hanging out with a Storm Trooper!!! There must have been a MOVIE PREMIERE because the STARS we're out that night, and I'm not talking astronomically! Right after we observed "Ol Darth", we saw none other than Wolverine! From the much buzzed-about group, X-MEN!!!

Now dear readers, I believe we have an exclusive bit of GOSSIP for you. Wolvie was having a conversation with silver screen LEGEND Freddy Krueger. Could this be the beginnings of a future project?! Who knows?! Well, one thing's for sure: you heard it here first!

And when we finally thought our Celebrity Luck Well had run dry, out of the woodwork walks Hollywood up-and-comer Matthew Perry. If you've never seen a MOVIE STAR in person, you're in for a treat. Matthew was just as handsome as he is on screen, except he was tanner, more buff, and had WINGS! (photo below)

Well folks, I have a feeling we're going to spot more of these elusive creatures they call CELEBRITIES in the near future, so keep checking in!

The Spinto Band with Matthew Perry (dramatization)

Unfunny activities, made funny by doing them while sitting on a beanbag chair.

1. husking corn
2. making an important life decision
3. witnessing an execution
4. complaining about your iPhone
5. Giving Birth
6. watching King of Queens
7. trying to convince your roommate that it wasn’t you that drank the last of his milk.
8. disciplining your children
9. Delivering the Gettysburg Address
10. waiting in line at airport security
11. begging for change
12. flirting
13. being a supreme court justice
14. renewing your wedding vows
15. cleaning your rifle
16. trying to sit like AC Slater
17. getting up from a seated position
18. buying a bean bag chair

A trip to the Kwik E Mart

We took Sunday off from recording and looked for a few ways to spend our day. Pretty much the only thing all of us could agree on was to take a visit to the Kwik-E-Mart.

I don't know if you folks have heard about this, but for promotion of the upcoming Simpsons movie, whatever hot shot movie company is involved changed a bunch of 7-Elevens into Kwik-E-Marts. It seems like such an elaborate promotional tool, so we had to check it out. Lucky for us there are 2 of them in the city of angels.

The first thing we saw when approaching the Kwik-E-Mart was this big sign:


...We were all saying, 'holy crap, this is going to be awesome!" For some reason, we were super excited to check this place out, yet its magic would remain untapped for a little while as there was a line wrapping around the side of the building.
You can see all the people waiting to get in here as well as Bart and Millhouse chillin' on the roof undoubtedly drinking super concentrated squishees.

This security guard was awesome. He managed the line of people cued up to get squishees and said things to exiting people like, "Ooh little boy, you brought me a donut." and "You make sure you don't steal anything, or i will hunt you down buddy!" We waited in line with the rest...


Once we were allowed to enter, Jeff made a B-line to grab some Buzz Cola. He pounded a sixer on site, then grabbed a few for later. Lucky for us, there was no Duff on the premises.

There were also the donuts that Homer always drools over. They were pretty intense on the stomach. They were glazed and frosted and now I know why Homer drools over them.





Jeff and I moseyed over to the Squishee machine. Its great how much better a slurpee tastes when you plaster a bunch of Simpsons characters on the side of it.




Outside, we all gathered around some El Barto graffiti and sipped our bevvys. There was a gentleman with his kids outside kind enough to take our photo. I accidentally cursed in front of his youngins', apologized, and he forgave me. Then, his kids asked what the graffiti said and he told them, "well girls, that's El Barto and he thinks Skinner stinks!"

it was a great way to spend a Sunday.

Galco's

Here at spinto band HQ we realize that, lately, topic variety on our web journal has been about as varied as Tim Donoughy's calls during that Spurs Suns game in the NBA playoffs. While sodas are interesting and it's fun to read Sam curse them out every now and then, people visit this site to find out other happenings as well. So, while the bottom of this post will be all about a video we shot with John Nese at Galco's Pop Stop, I thought I could first offer up a few happenings (non-soda related) which occurred over the past few days:

1. Jeff took a commanding lead in the burrito tally. With six burritos eaten in 7 days, it looks like Dr. Jeffrey Hobson will lead the way in our quest to eat 100 burritos in our time here. After the first week we are well on pace with 29 burritos eaten between the spinto band, Dave, Harry, and Josiah.

2. Nick is setting the groundwork for a campaign to be cast in Ghost Rider 2, due to hit theatres in 2009.

3. We played Bingo at the Bigfoot Lounge, but none of us won.

4. Joe is planning on celebrating his 21st birthday on Saturday by visiting Spaceland and then telling them they are assholes for the way they treated him those times he played there when he was underage, then listening to the Rentals.

Now - on to the Galco's Interview:

We had to cut it into 3 parts for 2 reasons:
1. YouTube only allows 10 minute vids to be uploaded
2. Who has a long enough attention span to watch it in one sitting?

John Nese delivers some brilliant commentary on the state of America, touching on small business, government regulation, and the secret ingredient for Coca Cola Classic. While we don't claim to be competent documentarians by any means, we hope you find this video informative and entertaining. Try watching it while drinking your favorite carbonated bevvy.



PART 1- topics discussed: The Home of the Free, South Africa, Cucumber soda




PART 2- topics discussed: FDA, vanilla beans, Cuba





PART 3: topics discussed: Moscow Mules, New York Times, effective labeling

Sam Hughes Reviews: Nesbitt’s (of California) Peach Soda

I’ll start this review off by admitting that I’ve never had a peach soda that I’ve actually enjoyed. How many peach sodas have I actually tasted in my life? Probably two, maybe three. How many actual peaches have I eaten in my life? Honestly, it’s got to be less than ten. I’ve never been one of those “pick up a peach and eat” kind of guys. You know the type. There’s something about that fuzz which makes a little too human-like and a little too tickly. That’s troubling to me. Anyhow, whether this makes me qualified to review this soda, I don’t know, but what really makes me qualified to review anything? Absolutely nothing, and that’s why I post these things on a poorly trafficked web log rather than the New York Times. Blah, blah, blah, onto the review.

I had never heard of Nesbitt’s until Mr. Nese (yeah, yeah, yeah I’m cupping his 65-year-old balls) explained their history a bit. In his interview he claimed that the secret ingredient for Nesbitt’s orange soda was passed down verbally from generation to generation, and by coincidence he ran into a relative who knew the secret recipe. They now bottle it how they used and the secret has been prolonged. Well, I’m not sure if the same goes for their peach brand, but it has at least given me confidence in the brand.

The bottle has a very classic feel to it, and as the bottler of the soda claims, they “manufacture nostalgic and gourmet 50’s style glass bottle sodas.” No, really, “Orca Beverage Soda Works”? You think I didn’t know that? You think I’m a dumbass? Look, I know what you are going for. We all know what you’re going for. You don’t have to shove it down my throat that you’re being all nostalgic. We get it, asshole (no offense).

Upon smelling the soda I realized that it definitely smelled like a peach. Unfortunately once I tasted it, something went awry. This drink is way too sweet. Despite using cane sugar, this drink still has 48 grams of it which seems unnecessary to me. It’s like what Jones did with their new line of cane sugar sodas. They taste a bit more crisp, but way too fucking sweet, and that’s been my problem with all peach sodas I’ve encountered so far in my short life. There is a tinge of something chemical* in there and that’s never a good thing. That said, this is inarguably the best that I’ve had, but there’s still something missing, and that something isn’t caffeine because this soda inexplicably has it! I’ve never really seen a fruity soda of this kind that contains caffeine, and whether it affects the taste or not, I don’t know, but it kind of weirds me out. Then again, I still kind of hate or at least am indifferent to peaches in general (yes, this includes the recording artist, Peaches!), so what the heck.

6/10

*I always liked the name “Chemical Ali.” That made me think of him. He died, right? From now on, all peach sodas will be known as Chemical Ali’s favorite drink because that’s what they taste like, chemicals.

Well For That Price....

I spent 26 long years searching out things that are just expensive enough for me to want to buy them with the logic, “well, for that price- it must be good.” This logic comes at different times for different souls. The wealthy business owner uses such logic while shopping for automobiles or swimming pools while the apron-stained diner cook thinks this when vacationing in Reno. Regardless of where one experiences such logic, it is undoubtedly a universal feeling had by men from all corners of the earth whom have carried a change purse or bitten their finger nails while running over their bank statement.

The other day while at Galco’s soda emporium such a product arose fitting all necessary criteria for me to speak between my earlobes the statement previously discussed. A cola, stored within a shaped bottle of glass and labeled with all the necessary lingual and logoed fancies to force one’s eye to spend an extra second photographing the image and sending it through the many chambers of the brain until one of them says, “this little gem deserves a closer look.” This cola carried itself as though it had come from a far away land and offered an alternative to the evils of the coca cola and the pepsi co giants that squash competition within gas station coolers around the globe. Such flavors are branded into our tongues as if they were no different from the backsides of cattle. Our choices have been watered down the same way our colas have been. A man’s brain needs fresh stimuli daily. While sounding like an opinion, this is fact. New experiences are the dawn of progress, and the richer and fuller the experience, well all the better for everyone. I undoubtedly decided, “delicious.”



When placing the cola in my case, I came across the price tag located atop the bottle cap. One normally addresses soda pricing with a simple nonchalance. Reaching for pocket change below the bric-a-brac stored within a pair of pants, enough copper can normally be scratched together to quench the thirst. Today, however, we found out that certain colas stored within glass bottles and labeled with fancies required more than the leftovers from the lunch tab. A 275 ml bottle of Fentiman’s Curiosity Cola comes to a total of $3.29 (plus tax). I have heard from a reliable source that this cola wins awards and trounces upon the competition as though it were a San Antonio Spur, so certain logics outweighed other logics and I handed the bottle to the check-out lady.



Later on, I grabbed Fentiman’s Curiosity Cola from the fridge with the need to quench a thirst compounded by the southern California sunshine and the southern California burritos. I hoped and prayed that along with my thirst, I would vanquish the doubts I had involving being taken for a ride by Mr. Fentiman and his overpriced cola. I capped it, smelled it and sipped it.

The cola tasted alright.

Sam Hughes Reviews: Manhattan Special Cream Soda

Sam Hughes Reviews: Manhattan Special Cream Soda

This review must be prefaced with the fact that I had somewhat of a religious experience earlier today. No, I haven’t converted to Islam (yet) nor did I become a Hare Krishna (double yet), but today I met John Nese, a man I have proclaimed the Soda Jesus. His knowledge of soda was unbelievably immense and just being within earshot of his words made me feel as if I have apostle status. Maybe I won’t go that far, but as you’ll see in our little video post on him which will hopefully be up soon, dude knows what he’s talking ‘bout. I know I’ll go into his wonderful soda shop (www.sodapopstop.com) again, and I kind of want to ask him if I can be his adopted grandson (sorry, real grandpa) so I can one day own his store (or better yet open one up on the East Coast), but truly I am not worthy yet. I thought I knew a lot, but I clearly have some work to do. I shall start with this review!

I decided to buy this very Cream Soda because of the recommendation of Mr. Ness, and I wasn’t disappointed. As John explained, (first name basis, why not?) the Manhattan Special soda company is appropriately enough located in New York City and they have quite the penchant for using the most natural ingredients. When I first glanced at this soda, I wondered what the little particles were doing floating around in there. I mean, this is a cream soda we’re talking about here, what the hell is it that shit? Curdled cream? Gross! No, no, no, the little particles were actually tiny pieces of real vanilla bean! And guess what their orange soda has in it? Real fucking orange pulp! Guess what their pube soda has in it? Real pubes!*

Anyway, the shock and awe of the beautiful vanilla bean aside, of course this product also uses pure cane sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup. C’mon, I didn’t have to tell you that, yeah, you knew that already. Upon opening the bottle (not even a twist-off!), I put my nostrils to the test to see how natural this thing smelled. Well, if you’ve ever put your nose to a bottle of vanilla extract, and I know you have, then you would know what this cream soda smells like. This left me worried about the taste of it. It’s gotta be too strong after a whiff like that, right? No, not right! It’s absolutely refreshing, crisp, and the asshole of all adjectives, sublime. I never really wanted to use that word to describe anything besides that shitty band that, but Manhattan Special cream soda made me do it. You happy about that, soda? Well, you should be, you delicious specimen, you. Maybe it’s the euphoria of the experience I had today at the soda store, or maybe the soda is just that good, but here are the reviews. Definitely the best cream soda I’ve ever had.

Galco’s Soda Shop: 1000000000000000000/10!

Manhattan Cream Soda: 9.5/10

*Ridiculously false. But, if Manhattan Special soda company were depraved enough to make a pube soda, you can guarantee that shit would be straight off the balls, no artificial polyester pubes or something.

An $85 Nintendo 64 helps no one.

Dear Salvation Army,

Don’t get me wrong, I’m usually a fan of your thrift stores. In fact, I’ve purchased most of my pants and bric-a-brac from some of your finer establishments. In terms of quality, service and management, your shops are always miles ahead of your smiling competitor. You organize your clothes by both size and color and you keep your prices low to accommodate those in need of inexpensive t-shirts and coffee mugs. You even reward loyal patrons by offering daily discounts and sales, and I can’t really explain why, but I’ve always felt a sense of warmth upon walking through your doors.

However, upon entering your location at 201 N Brand Boulevard the other day, I was met with an unfamiliar feeling…one of disgust. Now, this is Los Angeles, I know, and some of your stores in bigger cities like New York are usually picked over by the vintage shops in the area, which is to be expected. That is not why I’m upset.

The store in question was filthy, disorganized, and extremely over-priced. Now, there is a slight chance I’m letting my prejudices of this city color my judgment here, but a twenty-five dollar typewriter that didn’t even work? You must be joking. In addition to that, there was a serious lack of effort in the organization of clothing. I’m going to guess that the lack of gender separation owes less to the progressive nature of California and more to sheer laziness of the staff.

The thing that really got my goat, however, was the $85 Nintendo 64 you had in your little display case. Eighty-five dollars? Did you even do any research before you affixed that ridiculous price to its plastic casing? The Nintendo 64 came out ten years ago. On Ebay they are going for about 25 bucks, and that’s the worst place to find a deal. From what I could tell, your Nintendo 64 didn’t come with any games, controllers, or even a power source. The Salvation Army has never been an antique shop, nor should it strive to be one. You’re supposed to be a charitable organization whose goal is to help your fellow man, and an $85 Nintendo 64 helps no one.

I mean, I don’t even want the Nintendo 64, but what about some old woman who thinks their grandchildren might? You want to rip off a poor old lady? Then you’re a dick, Salvation Army. I thought I knew you.

- thomas

Jeff Interviews Booker T. Jones

We here at the Spinto Band Home Office were very excited to hear that our producer, Dave Trumfio, would be recording none other than Booker T. Jones on the very day before he started recording us. We blog hungry lads jumped at the chance to get a word in with Booker T. and he was nice enough to take a few minutes out of his busy recording session to have a few words with our very own Jeff Hobson.



Jeff Hobson: Now we talked about how when you started at Stax you were in high school and then, in fact, you went to college.

Booker T: Mm hmm.

JH: And studied the PBMax.

BT: Mm hmm.

JH: Now so many people, if they were in your position, would say, “To heck with college or even high school, I have what I’ve always wanted I’m doing what I want to do, I’m eating Reese's peanut butter cups I’m eating Payday bars, who needs school.” What kept you going to high school and college in spite of all the peanut butter themed candy you were eating?

BT: Well I had not yet met my own standards, I uhh, I wasn't yet eating the peanut butter candy I was tasting in my mind. And uh, you know, I had a classical peanut butter background and I had the curiosity for all of the European greats that had made so much wonderful peanut butter candy and you know I had to eat the PBMax with the orchestra, I needed to conduct the PBMax, and I needed to know how to eat the PBMax for my job at Stax also. So, umm, I just had to continue my education in order to improve myself as a PBMax eater.

JH: You know had I just been listening to your records, I might not have guessed that you were into peanut butter. And I might not have known, kind of, that you were as studious and serious sounding as you are.

BT: Mmm hmm. (laughs) Uhh huh. Yeah I spent many hours as a boy watching my mother eating peanut butter. My mother was a classical peanut butter eater. And then when I was at Indiana they had a great snack bar underneath the music building which was open twenty-four hours a day. So I spent many hours there eating the PBMax and learning the PBMax and learning how it was put together and studying.

JH: How did your mother feel about the PBMaxs you were eating at Stax?

BT: She loved it.

JH: Good.

BT: She loved it. She loved it She loved it.

JH: Good, (laughs) uhh huh.

BT: Yeah at the time she was my greatest fan, she kept a scrapbook and she loved it. I was fortunate, both my parents were fans of the PBMax.

JH: You played a lot of instruments when you were young. Tell me if I’m wrong here. You played ukulele, oboe…

BT: Mm hmm.

JH: Saxophone, trombone, piano…

BT: Yeah

JH: Organ, and clarinet. Did having a working knowledge of all those instruments help you as a musician and as a musician eating the PBMax.

BT: Yeah I think it did, I think it helped me get the structure of the PBMax in my mind.

JH: Does it bother you when really funky records like the Booker T and the MGs records are used as an argument against the PBMax? Do you know what mean?

BT: No I don't know about that.

JH: It’s been great to talk with you, thank you so much for talking with us.

BT: Thanks Jeff.

An open letter to the Burrito Tally

To whom it may concern,

As a life long eater and fan of frivolous contests I am writing to take issue with the rules and bylaws of the “Burrito Tally.” In short, I was shocked to learn that self-prepared burritos were to be excluded from the tally. The partisan approach of only including store bought burritos is a barbaric policy and completely undermines the ethos on which all Spinto Band tallies are built.

As far back as I can remember, the Spinto Band’s extracurricular activities have provided a jovial backdrop for the bands exploits and enabled us to pass and/or waste time in an enjoyable manner. Unfortunately, the current rules of the Burrito Tally threaten the band and their cohorts’ freedom to choose how they consume burritos by pressuring them to buy store bought burritos. Furthermore, by excluding homemade burritos, the Burrito Tally begins to marginalize resourcefulness and frugality, some of the characteristics that the Spinto Band has relied on for survival since it’s inception, the grift perhaps being the preeminent fruit sown from these ideological seeds.

As a citizen of this band I urge one and all to strike down this hypocrisy and up hold the precedents set by the bands founding fathers.

"A free people [claim] their rights as derived from the laws of nature, and not as the gift of their chief magistrate." –Roy Spinto


Concerned,
Nick Krill

Based on a True Story

"It's about kookin' time!" blurted a young midwesterner when discovering the latest news from Delaware gringo-pop six piece The Spinto Band. Quickly slipping on a pair of Vans and hopping onto her motor-scooter, the excited corn consumer went uptown to climb the tallest steps of the public library to the uncongested computer cluster housed behind the architecture books. She swiftly uploaded and downloaded the latest feeds from dot coms and dot co dot uks and a few dot nets until she realized she was late for her garden club meeting and exited the way she arrived.

The kookin' time news was all about the prementioned band being back in the studio to record a few songs that will undoubtedly form a record and be released sometime, somewhere in the midwest and maybe even Australia.

The band thought it was a good idea to let people know. The next five weeks or so will be filled with guitar intonation, tape head alignment, drum sounds, microphone mumbo-jumbo, proper mood lighting, and a fuckload of burritos. Hopefully, keeping with a deep hearted promise they made to themselves, they will keep everyone informed with news and other such happenings at the very URL you stand before. Keep in touch.

Damn Straight

Jokers

Since we've run out of Cisne episodes and are restocking the backlog, I found myself desperately wanting to click the upload now button on YouTube. So, while Treasure of the Cisne is preparing for fall sweeps, here is a video from our tour last March that I found laying around.




If you are wondering who the bearded man in the vid is, it is none other than Joel Alter of the Martha Dumptruck Massacre. If you like his jokes, leave him a comment on his Myspace. Also on that myspace is a chilled out sleepy time cover of an old spinto tune. So make some eggs and instead of reading the newspaper's crappy funny pages, watch some youtube on your new Sony.

sock it to me!

Treasure of the Cisne Episode 10: Dream of the Cisne

Here is the 10th episode of "Treasure of the Cisne"



Well, friends. It looks like this series is on the verge of wrapping up. What will happen in the next couple of episodes? Will we discover the treasure of the cisne? Will we learn a lesson? Will we stop producing poorly-planned, hastily-written internet serials and make another album? Stay tuned.

Treasure of the Cisne Episode 9: Where There's Smoke, There's Cisne

The next chapter of Treasure of the Cisne goes down like this:



Any Franco Prussian fans out there? Next week's episode will be will be like an episode of "Frasier", if Franco Prussian : Frasier Crane : : "Frasier" : "Cheers". Francophiles will not be disappointed!!

In Memoriam: Asleep in the Sea 2004 - 2007

I was originally going to post an obituary for Bobby "Boris" Pickett, but something of more importance came up (if you can believe that).

Tonight in Phoenix, Asleep in the Sea will be playing their last show. We first had the pleasure of encountering this band during our first tour of the western United States in the summer of 2005. They made some of the finest music our precious ears have heard, and were, in all respects (to use a word from their own vocabulary) quite "radical". Fortunately, Asleep in the Sea is survived by two EPs and one LP (The amazing "Avenue" to be released this year, but in limited quantity). We wish them luck with tonight's show and can only hope that these three talented musicians will proceed with other musical endeavors in the future. We'll miss you, "doooods".



Here's their myspace page, where you can listen to their music, then purchase their albums.

Treasure of the Cisne Episode 8: When the Irish are Away, the Cisne will Play

The new Treasure of the Cisne is a doozy. (Warning: NSFW)



But what have Boss Tweed and Franco Prussian been up to? Will you learn about them in next week's episode?

Baeble Music

So the kind souls at the Baeble Music website have a good thing going. I recommend popping some corn and entering full screen mode.













“Check it out! recently filmed our March 31st gig at Luna Lounge in
NY! You can view a song from the concert by visiting the Baeble site -
click here to watch it! You can keep this forever when you
buy the entire concert – either as a DVD or high-quality download – for
$8.99.”

Treasure of the Cisne Episode 7: Did Somebody Say Cisne?

Hello "Cisne" fans! We apologize for the week-off. Even cisnes need a break now-and-then. Anyways, we hope you're prepared for this week's episode, featuring a VERY special guest star.


Enjoy and stay tuned for next week's episode!

Cisne and More

Just remembered that I never posted the latest Cisne episode on this page, and would hate to break up the archiving we have created here.

Treasure of the Cisne episode 6: The Good The Bad and The Cisne
alternately titled: You're in Ogre-Country, but you're not Ogres!




Keith Murray and Chris Cain from We Are Scientists guest star as the ogres.


I figured we should also mention a few other things.

First off- we got hacked pretty hard the other day. I felt like Bill Lambier was standing in the lane as I tried for an off balance lay up. A foul was called, and the referee (in this case, the administrators at mySpace) went through the rule book and awarded us 500 myBucks and a dinner for two at myCafe. For more information on this, there is some information up on the information part of our mySpace page.

2. Jeff Hobson received from carnivorous plants for his birthday. He is currently questioning their health, so if anyone knows anything about carnivorous plants (ya right!) try to get in touch with Jeff, to help calm his nerves.

3. We just confirmed a show at Maxwells in Hoboken on May 18th. It isn't up on our website yet, but Maxwell's site tis'. We will be joined by two stellar starrs*: The Teeth. and Bikini Carwash Company! Damn straight!

4. thats it!

Treasure of the Cisne Episode 5: The Chase of the Cisne

So here is the latest in the Cisne Tubisodes. For those of you having a bit of trouble following the complicated web of characters, I thought I would offer up a quick recap of what has happened so far. 2 thieves, Alowishus and Herman (played by Nick Krill and Thomas Hughes) break into a house and steal a package from hot shot mobster Boss Tweed (Joe Hobson). The thieves then try to deliver the package to their employer, Franco Prussian (Jon Eaton). Before the package is delivered, the thieves become curious what is inside. They find a suit, but while goofin'- they rip the suit and a treasure map falls out. Realizing the potential value of the map, the thieves keep it and sew the suit back up and deliver it to Franco.

Meanwhile, police detective Timothy Horton (Sam Hughes) has a hunch that Tweed is hiding something from him and is gathering information to reveal his secret(s). Tweed, too, is enlisting the help of a renegade henchman, Antony Keidis (Jeff Hobson) to prevent Horton from figuring out too much...But where does Keidis' loyalty really lie?

Treasure of the Cisne Episode 4: Magic of the Cisne

its a doozy!


credits:

Boss Tweed- Joe Hobson
Antony Keidis- Jeff Hobson
Tim Horton- Sam Hughes
Alowishus- Nick Krill
Herman- Thomas Hughes
magician- Jenny Lewis
magician's keeper- Aaron Harris

Treasure of the Cisne Episode 3: Whats Good for The Cisne is not always Good for the Gander

enjoy!

credits

Alowishus - Nick Krill
Herman - Thomas Hughes
Franco Prussian - Jon Eaton
Young Jesus - Frankie Muniz

Oh boyeeee it's been a long time since I've decided to actually review a freaking soda in here and what comes to those who wait? Vault fucking Red fucking Blitz. Yeah, it's pretty much the soda equivalent of Alfonso Ribeiro but as many producers have said about Alfonso, "It'll have to do."

So the story begins early this morning at about 1:00 AM in whothefuckknows, TX which might as well have been the hometown of this guy. In fact, I think that Grandpa was the cashier at the gas station where I saw the Red Blitz for the first time. Either way, I was surprised to see this new flavor of Vault which apparently just launched on March 1st. In a way I shouldn't be surprised because the original Vault was a direct rip-off of Mountain Dew and so this new "Vault injected with a Berry Blast" is a direct rip-off of Mountain Dew: Code Red. Now I acknowledge that this happens all the time, Pepsi Vanilla ripped off Vanilla Coke, Coke Blak ripped off Pepsi Kona, etc. but if Vault releases an orange and grape flavored Vault to match Mountain Dew Livewire + Pitch Black, then a foul really should be called.

In terms of the actual beverage, I actually like it better than the original outing from Vault. It is very red, I think red enough to be scientifically dubbed "a blitz" which is a good thing. It has the same overall flavor as Vault with a hint of some kind of dubious berry infused with it to make a palatable enough taste. Again, I was never in love with the original Vault and I think I might have enjoyed it simply because I was tired and the promise of caffeine and energy ensured me that I wouldn't fall asleep at the wheel, but this isn't much better. At least it'll give Coke an excuse to release a bunch of ridiculous flavors to combat the large hold that Mountain Dew has on the Cool Boy Citrus Soda market...

6/10