i smell. i have a mustache. i listen to metal.

tuesday nights have meant quite a bit to me over the past 3+ years as i've been djing a noise/hardcore/metal show on 90FM WWSP. lately, as ive been trying my best to stay away from over consumption of alcohol and mindless exhaustion of my paychecks, tuesday nights have become more important and entertaining than friday nights. im losing the desire to surround myself with drunken nonsense, though i still have my moments.
though music has been of utmost importance to me for many years, im finding more solace in it lately as i try to stay focused on finally leaving my hometown. while i still have my nostalgic moments and memories attached to certain albums and songs, they are serving more and more as motivation rather than artifacts to keep me content with my current situation. i certainly dont look forward to the last tuesday night i will have in the air chair, but i am working on making it happen sooner rather than later.
i've been slowly and sluggishly making trips into creative endeavors i haven't made in quite some time to keep me occupied. i'm drawing with colored pencils in a journal fashion. an animated entry of whatever's on my mind every so often. i figure i don't write in my journal enough so i thought drawing on a semi regular basis may stimulate some new ideas. im still messing around with my drum machine and in garage band. i am lazily compiling lyrics for a maximum carnage themed project that may take a lifetime to complete given my sloth like tendencies. and to make matters more complex i've decided to dig up my father's old guitar and see if it still works with a friends amp. if it does, who knows what sort of improv noise is coming. if not, oh well, it was worth a shot.
of course all of this is dependent on how much time i spend with my ps3. but one thing is certain: i've been really into pantera lately.

march moustache

march has rolled around all too quickly, but with London clearing up and allowing some sunshine through for a change im not complaining. i even decided to give my tight jeans a rest and wear shorts today to appease the sun. as for the moustache im now sporting, well i have no explanation other than looking creepy is a fun hobby i exercise every now and again. onto London then....
i left off with premonitions of cannibal corpse and karaoke, both of which rocked with great vigor. i am well on my way to being recognized as a bar star for my stunning renditions of Queen songs. i did take a break this week however, as i came down with cold like symptoms. im over the worst thanks to rest, pills, and vitamin c (thanks Kirsten).
Over the past few weeks i experienced the wonders of the London Eye, eaten some most righteous kebabs, wandered Hyde Park, and got my ears cleaned out by the noise rock group Young Widows. In a most decadent display of debauchery i visited the HMV Forum this past sunday for the Church. this holy ceremony only takes place from 12-4pm on sundays, and was one of the wildest experiences of my life. i dare not disclose details, but i do believe that the extreme circumstances led to my feeling ill.
work has been work and i'll leave that at that.
tomorrow ill be paying a visit to Bath, then on to take a look around inside St. Paul's Cathedral on sunday. loads of pictures will follow.
in disappointing news, i did not act fast enough to secure tickets to see Animal Collective, as they are now sold out. another time and another place i suppose.
the Packers are laying low yet again in free agency, but should be able to add some real talent through the draft, so worrying wont start for a while yet. were I in Ted Thompson's place i wouldnt have let Chris Canty sign with the Giants. but now that he has, make a run for Igor Olshansky!!! in addition, dont let Mark Tauscher walk via free agency! i havent been able to predict draft strategies after i made the right call with AJ Hawk, but i dont think the Packers can let BJ Raji or Brian Cushing fall past the no. 9 spot. theres my two pence.
and of course, the boys in red, the Badgers, are poised to make another March Madness bid and show that defense is important come tourney time!

amsterdam, bruges, live music

im a little closer to saying ive seen enough after this past weekend. Amsterdam was not a big surprise regarding what to do, but more so on the historical side. sure the lure of sex and drugs was enticing and marks an historical date on my timeline, but the city has so much to tell in its architecture, canals, and art, among other things. i managed to get a glimpse of both worlds, as my trip included a canal tour, a tour of the heineken brewery, an art museum, cheese, clogs, and windmills. the other side included a walking tour of the red light district, the most bizaare sex shops ive ever seen, coffee shops, and Oxford Collapse playing a gig at the hotel i was booked in. i decided to leave my camera in the room as i a) didnt want to be the annoying american taking pictures of a night on the town and b) would rather not chance a facebook scandal. the only pictures i took while actually in amsterdam were of the open air courtyard at the hotel. it was a calming place when i wanted to escape people and just listen to tunes.
my camera got plenty of action in Bruges though, as the parts of the city i wandered in were absolutely beautiful. i was only allowed about 3 hours in the city, but that was enough time to grab some gummi crocodiles from a confectionary shop, eat a lamb gyro, enjoy a cool duvel, and chillax with a voluptuous mermaid. time well spent. i hope i can do it all again before Amsterdam is shut down in the coming years.
in other news ive been fortunate enough to get out and see some live music. on the 17th i strolled over to soho to see Women. the venue was Madame JoJo's and it was underground, small, and quite intimate. Women played a good set, with multiple songs turning to white noise for a climax. tonight ill be paying the Forum a visit to see long running death masters Cannibal Corpse. i havent seen them for close to 5 years, so im pretty pumped. and of course after the gig ill be returning to ISH bar to tackle some Queen in karaoke.

let there be rock

just finished my pseudo-sushi lunch and i have some time to get a blog post in during my break. today is great so far. i spilled indie tracks all over the airwaves this morning, the sun is actually shining today, and i got the cool kids in my ears. word.
last week i went down to Proud Camden to cover "AC/DC: Let There Be Rock" for Invincible. i highly advise you to check out the Proud website, www.proud.co.uk. this was the premier night for a new exhibit of rare and unseen photos of AC/DC from the 70's. they were all courtesy of Phillip Morris and the collection was quite amazing. I arrived on the guest list and helped myself to a bunch of free beer while i mixed and mingled with the crowd. i took a bunch of pictures and wrote up a review for Invincible. after 3 hours of chatting, interviewing, drinking, and taking pics the tribute band Dirty DC took the stage. im not much for tribute bands, but they pulled it off. i stayed for 3 songs then booked it. the gallery up at Proud Camden is everything from sweaty live debauchery to smoky candid studio shots. really intimate stuff that helped me realize a bit more respect for early AC/DC. select pics are up in facebook.
in other news, im booked for Amsterdam and Bruges this coming weekend, and lots of live music in the near future including: Viatrophy, Young Widows, Fleet Foxes, Cannibal Corpse, The Cure, and Crystal Castles.

i am evan's superbowl blog post

as promised i will retell my superbowl night and my opinion on the outcome. the night began at 7pm with a beer pong tournament at the ISH bar. i teamed up with my roommate Nick and we volunteered to play in the first game of the 8 team tournament. what was unfortunate about this is that the table was 3 tables put in a row, making the completed table a good 3-4 feet longer than a standard pong table. the cups we had to use were smaller than your standard 10-12 oz cups as well. nothing about this says reguation. but thats what we had to work with. the game ended up taking 35 minutes due to the near impossibility of hitting a shot. Nick and i ended up losing by 2 cups and proceeded to walk away with bruised WI reps. fittingly, after our game the consensus was to remove the shortest table to make the game more manageable. not expecting to lose that early, i found myself with 3 hours until kickoff and no desire to watch that much pregame analysis. the group of WI students/interns played a few rounds of flip cup with our left over pong cups, but one can only play it so much. i made a dash for my room to get some food and less expensive drinks, returning in time to miss a good chunk of the national anthem and see the opening kickoff.
i'll say right away that im not a fan of either arizona or pittsburg. and i dont revert to an NFC team just because the packers play in that conference. i was pulling for the steelers for the fact that they have an outstanding defense, and i greatly appreciate any good defense.
watching the defensive player of the year, James Harrison, return a pick for 100 yards was a dream come true just watching. i honestly thought after that the cardinals were done. that was a tough blow to take right before halftime, but credit their desire and passion to play for not bowing out. it's hard not to love a reciever like Larry Fitsgerald. he doesnt boast or talk trash or make everything about himself. he's a true team player, and is fun to watch. im sure he'll get a ring at some point in his career. by the time the fourth quarter rollled around it was 2.45am in london. i was crashing pretty hard, even nodding off momentarily. but thankfully i was awake to watch the magnificent final drive by big Ben and the steelers. there's nothing more that can be said about Santonio Holmes' td catch that hasnt been said already so ill leave it there. this was a fun game to watch, debatable as the best ever, but needless to say at 3.30am when the final whistle blew i was ready to get to bed. and thankfully due to the massive amount of snow that was coming down, i got to sleep in the next morning.
cheers

the london experience

wow it has been an interesting and fun time so far. the recent snow fall crippled London on monday, and it was hell getting around. reports estimate that the country lost 1.7 billion pounds due to closings all over. most of the students/interns enjoyed a snow day and made snowmen. i made an afternoon trek and then called it quits to spend the rest of my day relaxing and writing in my journals. this city is not designed to handle snow at all. honestly the snow fall was pretty weak compared to what wisconsin sees on a regular basis, but then again 8 million people in one city compared to 5.6 million in WI does make a difference. enough about weather though.
i did a little more sight seeing last week at the Tower Bridge. pictures are up on facebook. the tour of the bridge was very modest with my international student id and i was able to see the most advanced warship in the world docked on the River Thames. it's pretty badass and if it's still around i might go take a tour of the inside this coming weekend.
in other notable news, i found my flash drive that i thought i had lost, so cheers to that. i bought a new pair of jeans after discovering a hole in my favorite pair. also found an excellent organic cafe to eat at in camden (another small reason camden rules).
this post is getting ever so long so ill wrap it up with tonight's plan of attack:
tonight im covering the unveiling of "AC/DC: Let there be rock" which is a new exhibit at Proud Camden. you can check out the website here: www.proud.co.uk ill be mingling and taking pictures for Invincible and possibly doing a write up for the next issue of the magazine. while not a huge AC/DC fan, im still stoked to be able to attend a premier event for free. makes me feel fuzzy inside. thats all for now. ill check back in soon with my belated superbowl analysis and an overview of tonight's experience.
cheers!

having a punkgasm on the tube

a couple days in to my internship and i've gotta say it's very exciting and fun. oddly enough, im enjoying the morning and evening commute on the tube, rail, and bus. diving into the daily grind in a foreign country just has an exhilarating feel. plus listening to the mathy grooves of don caballero helps. i can see how London would depress and wear on it's people but by the time i get remotely close to that i'll be back in the states.
i had an interesting night on tuesday sharing stories and discussing cultural differences with some mother sons of London herself. apparently there's nothing a cold pint cant bring together.
im off to watch some real football tonight at the ISH bar. photos are up on facebook if you have it. more to come in the following days.

tomorrow the fun begins

well actually i've been having fun since i arrived in London, but tomorrow (tues) i start my internship at Invincible Media. I'm quite excited about it, as I'll be getting some great exposure and experience in my field of study. I think getting accustomed to morning travel will be the most exhilirating part. I'm used to rolling out of bed and walking a few blocks to class or work, but now i have to hit the tube for a couple stops and do some real navigating. guess im ready to do some growing up finally. and growing out as well as i already love this city. I've never really liked big cities though i havent been in many, but London feels great. somehow ive been able to wake up at 7.30am and function. and actually want to function.
earlier tonight i attended an italian dinner at ISH that had a roman twist. the movie gladiator was screened during the pizza and pasta dinner and to top it off there was jousting in an inflatable gladiator arena. delicious food and a fun atmosphere.
tomorrow is also a big day around the world as Mr. Obama takes his seat in the oval office. the press is just as big here in London as in the states and Obama's wax statue debuts in the wax museum tomorrow. even though i didnt vote for him im still happy to see this day finally come. it means a lot of things to a variety of people around the world and im getting a much better sense of that overseas.
tomorrow will be an exciting day all around, so remember where you were and what you were doing. cheers from London!

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Hi, this is Evan Clucas. This blog will be used to recount my time spent in London and Europe for my final semster at UWSP. I leave tomorrow, January 16, and will return on April 27. I'll attempt to check in with this blog as often as time allows so keep checking it out periodically to see what I've been up to. Or at least what I feel comfortable publishing on the internet....