007
How many Fake Messages do we need to hear from Bin Laden?
Posted at 09:28:43 on 2006-01-21
If it is conceivable that there is one group of fundamentalist individuals who wish to change the way we live because "they hate our freedom", then it is equally as conceivable that there is another group of richer, more sophisticated fundamentalists that wish to do the same thing themselves and will use the first group as a cover for what they do.
Autumn Autism (Space Captain Finds the blog)
Posted at 06:20:03 on 2005-12-01
The following is a conversation that took place between the Space Captain and Matto from the band Viv. Together they try piece together what little facts are known about the Autmn Autism Mystery. Please read... and if you have any more information please send it to us so we can continue the research on this amazing story.
-----Original Message-----
From: spacecaptainman@yahoo.com [mailto:spacecaptainman@yahoo.com]
Sent: Sunday, November 27, 2005 9:18 AM
To: 007@vivtheband.com
Subject: penguins
Alright, my friend told me this story so i googled it and the only place I
could find it was on your site. Dude, Ive been to Mystic and I know which
penguin he took. there was one that needed to be takin care of by humans
when it was a baby. As a result he would not socialize with the other
penguins and instead thinks he is a human. HIs name is yellow, yellow. Im
guessing all the other penguins jumped into the water when this kid entered
the exibit and my man yellow yellow just hung out. let me know where you
heard about this. peace
Signup:yes
<007@vivtheband.com> wrote:
Hey,
I heard this story from Pie's mom- Pie is the bald guy in our band that
plays guitar and violin. His mom is friends with the kid's mother and so we
heard the story from her point of view... I can't believe that you found
this blog man... this is awesome! Let me know if you have any other
information on this... if you don't mind I would like to post what you wrote
to me on the website under a follow-up to the first story b/c this is new
information and the name of the penguin is definitely needed to bring the
story home...
Thanks for writing!
Matt
no problem, that sounds like a great idea. . His name is yellow yellow, because he has two small identification beads on his leg- both being yellow.
I didn't even check out your music yet. Are you on myspace? If so befriend us http://www.myspace.com/spacecaptain - good luck, peace
Autumn Autism Mystery at the Mystic Aquarium
Posted at 08:27:03 on 2005-10-18
The following is a True story. It is told with much awe and admiration for its main character. I could only wish to be so clever.
Pie's mom lives in a small town in Connecticut. We have spent many sleeps at her home and we have always been treated with care and gentle hands. Breakfeast is usually ready before you wake to the smell of a fresh pot of coffee and some english muffins. Pie's sister Liza is usually there too and her warmth and kindness are something everyone should experience at one point or another in their life. But this story is not about them, this story does not have much to do with them except for the fact that a friend of Pie's mom's friend knows a woman who has an Autistic 11 year old child. He is a typical 11 year old from what scant evidence I have received by way of 4th party story telling but for the purposes of my diary entry I will say here that he is generally a happy boy. Anyway, the woman decided to take her son to the Mystic Aquarium last week. Keep in mind that he is high functioning but does not necessarily communicate with the outside world the same way we do. To put it bluntly he will never talk about the world in a linear fashion the way we do.
I digress though. Here they are having a wonderful day at the aquarium and all of a sudden when the woman turned her back the boy was gone. Whoosh, just gone. They looked high and low and could not find him; they called for him over the loudspeakers, they asked everyone to help them and nobody could find the boy. he was simply, gone. After what must have seemed like agonizing hours he returned, silently, without uttering a word with one thing different about him: he was soaking wet from head to toe. Dismayed they tried to ask him where he was and how he got sopping wet but the boy was not talking. So they did what any parent would do, they went home.
The boy retired to his room and was again silent- not an explanation, no story just this mystery of him being wet. His mom went upstairs to his bedroom to see what he was doing and when she got there she saw that the door was locked. This is against the rules and so she called to him through the door to unlock it immediately. this was different and strange behavior for her different and strange boy even and so she was curiously listening as they were in the process of opening the door. attached to his room is a bathroom and he was in this bathroom. In the bathroom is a tub and he was running water. The mom entered the the bathroom and upon entry glanced down at the tub and saw what had made her boy act so starngely. he had a new friend, a penguin.
in hind site and afer they called the aquarium to ask if tyhey were missing a penguin she thought about the ride home from the aquarium and how he kept on unzipping his back pack, looking in, then zipping it up again. The thing is, she just thought that because he was autistic this was kind of normal behavior.
Once again, I want to say that there are animal rights groups with chalk boars, secret passwords and some black market funding trying to organize a jail break that this boyu pulled off better than any cat burgler out there. Kudos to him and next week I will write this same story from the penguins perspective.
Love,
Matto
Hi Fog Heads
Posted at 08:25:22 on 2005-08-08
Hi There,
I am sitting here on a monday night in my little office inside of my apartment in san francisco on the internet. I'm cruising around checking everything out from news to funny website names that I make up and just put www before and see where it takes me...
I wanted to take a moment to say hello to all the fog heads out there and also say thank you for buying the local scene 2 CD. You not only are getting some great music you are also helping your community by bringing the gift of music to kids who would not be able to afford instruments nor have access to the teachings of great musicians from the bay area music scene.
If you are a Fog Head like me, you take pride in this place and you believe that the bay area is at the forefront of modern community living. This place has so many incredible people that it makes me smile to know you are out there supporting this cause. I'm guessing that you remind me of myself, which is to say you and me are a lot alike: we love music, we listen to KFOG, we live in the bay area because we couldn't live anywhere but here and we love to make this place fun and supportive for as many people as we can- thank you! I hope I get to meet some of you at one of our shows around the bay area. It has been great playing here and an honor to be played by the worlds greatest local radio station: KFOG 104.5 FM.
peace in the middle east,
matt
recording
Posted at 07:53:40 on 2005-06-07
hi there,
After visiting the message board I realized that I have neglected to write here for a while. It is not that we don't have anything going on- we do.
We've been busy recording our next album and the songs are coming along great. here are some titles for you:
Diamond eyes
I've got a gun
How do you do
Jane
Mr. President
Late at Night
lay down your weapons
when to say when
That's all for now- we have extensive pictures of the recording sessions from our friend jessica and we'll post them as the summer comes along- we are recording about 4 songs a month right now so we should have more by the end of June... we are aiming for 20 to pick from... I think this time we are going to let the street teamers listen to the songs and get first crack at them before the rest of the world listens in...
peace,
matto
Hot House Flowers
Posted at 11:40:26 on 2005-03-07
I think that these past two gigs were some of my favorite shows with viv. The audiences were big and fun and the venues were beautiful but most of all it was an honor to play with this great band from Dublin, IRE! They are icons in music history, known as a bigger band than U2 in Irelend at one point and of course they were nice guys and incredible artists as well. The highlight was playing the song "Waiting" written by their friend Colin Devlin and having the lead guitarist Fiachna O'Braonain of the Hot House Flowers sit in with us. I will never forget it- we exchanged info and he may be back this summer--- look for viv to go to Ireland at some point to play with them!
New Songs for the New Album
Posted at 02:22:14 on 2005-02-23
Well, I am really excited about Viv's new songs... we have been working on them at the warehouse every week and doing som recordings to get ready to record some demos and stuff... this album is going to be our best and most beautiful album to date... can't wait to share it with the world- it may be a while as we collect ourselves financially :)
Green Renewable Energy
Posted at 08:35:19 on 2005-02-06
Man, today I read an article on all the companies that are developing green energy alternatives to the fossile fuels that we use so much every day. The news is exciting because instead of it being a bunch of "tree huggers" developing pet projects it is a bunch of entrepreneurs working things out so that they save the enviornment and become billion aires... good for them! Finally people are starting to see that it isn't the economy vs. green energy! Now we have a chance to save the planet from destruction and still make a good ole american buck in the process... lots of people in silicon valley are calling green energy the next internet!
That is very good news for those of you who are wanting our troops to come home safe from Iraq and get the hell out of the middle east once and for all. Also loving this news is the government, consumers, eviornmentalists and capitalists... Hello God, yea Matt here, I love this country when we do things right. It's all about everyone winning not just business and not just the enviornment and not just the patriots - football team that is.
Of course the makers of the bumper sticker that is so popular in the "RED States" that says: "Why is our oil under their sand"? will be upset but F-them anyway.
Cowshewitz & Prince Harry
Posted at 04:03:54 on 2005-01-20
Before reading the following know this: I am not making light of what Prince Harry did NOR am I making light of the horrible travisty that was the holicaust. I am simply making an anology that seemed to come to mind on mny trip back from LA on Wednesday Morning.
Driving up through the central valley of California on highway 5 is something that everyone should experience. The seemingly endless vineyards with rows of grapevines perfectly layed out for optimal use of space and harvesting. The desert rocky soil mixed with hot days followed by fog that is drawn off the ocean nestled against the mountains that are just north of LA are the perfect spot for raising the delicate grapes that make the grape jelly, wine, balsamic vinigar and a plethora of other stuff that California exports to the world - not to mention the best place for an 87 car pile-up. Just past the vineyards going north on 5 are the orange groves that have been slowly migrating north of la as they are squeezed more and more out of the limelight that was once orange county before the fast food craze and urban sprawl abruptlty halted farming in that area.
Just a little more up the road, that there are mandarin groves that run into pastachio farms that run into apple orchards with migrant workers working in the cold of winter banging the trees, tilling soil, spreading fertilizer and pruning trees so they are ready for the next season.
Beyond that there are lemon orchards, cabbage patches and kids in the cabbage patches picking cabbage...
Then finally about 125 miles south of San Francisco is a little place we call: cowshewitz.
You've got to be wondering why, why would I call a place cowshewitz? Sacralige man! Let me describe this place and you tell me if you think the name fits - andrew came up with the name and I need to give him credit- andrew it is yours.
You pass this place at 80 miles an hour and it takes a solid minute to pass it so that should give you the scope of the size...big, very big. Looking out to the east it stretches farther than the eye can see and there is not a single blade of grass. Mud and feces are the landscape sculpted by bulldozers operated nonstop to push the poop into manageable piles of manuer that are eaten and stood on by these beautiful but totally moronic animals. The guys that operate these machines - god bless them - must smell like shit 24/7. the animals are several but all the same- cows. My estimate- and it is just a rough estimate on that day as I assume the numbers ebb and flow as the animals are brought to slaughter- is that there are about 3500 jammed into a space that is fit for a small heard of 200. Remember, cows need tons of space to eat grass and roam because that is all they ever do they are natural lawn mowers. As you case the place you slowly realize that there is absolutely no escape. On one side of the holding pens is 5 and no human wants to cross that thing let alone a cow. on the other side are fences upon fences... these animals are outside but the may as well be in a prison camp because that is what it looks like. But the most incredible thing is the intense and undeniable smell that accompanies these animals- holy cow shit batman I think its a steaming pile of farm animal dung!
Grass fed beef, that is all I will ever eat, Grass fed beef, that is all I will ever eat,Grass fed beef, that is all I will ever eat,Grass fed beef, that is all I will ever eat,Grass fed beef, that is all I will ever eat,Grass fed beef, that is all I will ever eat,Grass fed beef, that is all I will ever eat,Grass fed beef, that is all I will ever eat,
Now about harry, well he screwed up royally ( i guess that is where that saying came from because when you screw up as royalty it makes the front page). I think it is straight forward to say that Harry is damaged goods b/c his mom died when he was young AND you could say that having a father like prince charles is no picnic AND you could say that his station in life is somewhat more restricted in the way of career choices. Sure he's a spoiled little prince of a prince and he gets to go to costume party's and drink stuff that is expensive and he probably goes skiing in the alps whenever he wants and he probably has a team of scientists working around the clock to invent the time machine.
however, should Harry be b-b-q'd for wearing a costume?? Is it fair to say he's a young kid and didn't know the ramifications of wearing a cotumne like this just a week before national holicost day in britan where the celibrate the 60th anniversary of the closing of the well known sick and disgusting war crimes central camp of the third reich? Is it lame that one of his so called friends took the picture and then sold it to a tabloid? Can Harry kick his ass at chess or something to get back at him for betraying their friendship?
I dunno but I can offer my solution to good young prince of a prince Harry.. he should just have to spend one lonely night at cowshewitz... in a nazi uniform...eating what the cows eat, sleeping where the cows sleep and feeling what cows feel- whatever that is- just before they are slughtered like the jews were.
Tsunami, water, hope and looting
Posted at 11:18:39 on 2005-01-16
Hi there,
I've been reading about the Hace province in Indonisia people and the effect that the tsunami has had all over the globe. I've read about the support that many countries have offered for help in the hard hit regions and i've heard of the people who live in those areas that have come together and helped each other and are fatalistic and have hope for the future- god bless them. One of the things I can't get past is the reports of the food and other aid -that has been sent by the UN and various other organizations- disappearing and then reappearing in the black market. I am disgusted by this. I can't believe it, here we have a situation where over 150,000 people were wiped out in a few hours... whole villages were washed into the sea destroyed, dead bodies are rotting and after shocks are stronger than most earthquakes we experienced in the last century here in San Francisco. Yet, these theives decided to loot the aid that is being sent and then sell it for a profit? I am saddened by the world that we share with these people... I am saddened that the atmosphere exists where this behavior would be condoned or even tolerated... the army and the rebels hate each other and there are complexities that we just can not understand over there but for once you would think that a tsunami would make one take pause and say: what is this all for?
XMas and New Years
Posted at 02:11:13 on 2004-12-18
I'm here in San Francisco and while I really love this place it just doesn't "get" Christmas really... sure theres a skating rink downtown outside where you can go and listen to christmas carols and eat some crappy food while hurling accross the ice with your lover and 4 dozen random other people AND usre there is a christmas tree in union square and the shoppers are all merrily and frantically buying gifts for the people in their lives while sounds of music are piping with smells of pretzels into the cool noght street air BUT there are still palm trees, surfers in the water and no snow on the ground. So officially I'm calling SF one of the best cities except for this end of the year wintery stuff...
Now to my point: I am heading back to NYC for the week to spend some time with friends and relatives and relatives of friends but I only am wishing for a cold and snowy week filled with mistletoe, green stuff that smells great and lots of woodburning smells in the air... plus, i happen to love airplane food too..
see ya,
matto
Crisp, clear cold ... A perfect Thanksgiving week
Posted at 06:42:23 on 2004-11-23
this week was what i always pictured fall to be. crisp, clear and cold... thanksgiving is just two days away and i wanted to say thanks to all my fre=iends (old and new) and family... thank you for always being kind and supporting this band... we love playing rock music and you all have made our dream a reality... hope to see you out there and have a great thanksgiving and stuff yourself with good food...surround yourself with those you love and know that I am giving thanks to all of you that are part of our world...
peace on earth,
matto
what's the difference betweeen a large pizza and a drummer?
Posted at 04:23:12 on 2004-11-17
a large pizza can actually feed a family of four.
Thanks Johnny! and congratulations on yer engagement man!!!
Rainy day here in SF
Posted at 11:44:14 on 2004-11-10
Man I hate the rain sometimes and other times I love it. I like the fog all the time. If it were up to me it would be foggy a lot cause it makes me want to write and I am happiest when I am writing. Looks like we got lots of shows on the horizon and me and the boys are real excited about a practice we had this past sunday at the warehouse. we worked on a bunch of new songs that i've been writing and they are starting to come together really nice. I think the next album is going to be a step beyond our current album in that it will be produced by daniel lanios... he does not know this yet but we think we'd make a great team with him :)
see you soon,
matto
seperation of church and state + having a monkey as a pet is a bad decision
Posted at 01:21:06 on 2004-11-07
first things first. in this country there is very little that religion is supposed to influence unless it is a majority of the people and they choose to vote for a religious agenda in a secular way. so, why all the hub bub bout religion? I think it is simply a part of evolution of democracy that religion would find itself front and center to all issues... deal with it peeps cause it is not going to change in the short run. however, in the long term people will find that religion is not the answer to their problems just the way voting for your favorite presidential candidate isn't either...
also, don't buy or acquire a pet monkey from anyone unless you are a trained professional... that is all for now... have a good night.
m
can we get about 250,000 democrats to move to both florida and ohio please?
Posted at 03:20:03 on 2004-11-06
Yes, I am serious. I am not a democrat but I am not a republican either. simply put, I really feel the united states needs a new political outlook. nader is one of the smartest and transparent leaders we have seen run for president in a long time. why did he not even get to debate these guys? this is just totally a sham and a mockery... its a shmockery and we are all (we being fiscally conservative and socially liberals) are going to suffer because of this administrations extremist agenda. I sincerely hope that the terrorist decide that it was not new york that did anything to re-elect this president.
love always,
matt
Arizona Jeans, some red wine and community
Posted at 09:14:34 on 2004-10-29
Have you ever heard of Arizona Jean company? I have not but we just got picked by them as one of the bands in their new music promotion thing. I am excited that the band is getting all this attention.
it is really amazing to see peeps from all over the world get into the music you wrote late at night sipping some red wine and smoking marlboros... i don't smoke anymore... but i can remember how much I thought I was bohemian by smoking and drinking wine at 2 am on a tuesday with my headphones on and with my acoustic guitar and 4 track and 57 mic...in my dingy apartment in lower haight... i would listen to all the crack addicts talk outside my basemnent apartment window and try to imagine what the hell they did during the daylight hours... then i realized that i was just about 5 feet from them addicted to songwriting and recording...
a city is a strange place isn't it? i mean, you could pass your neighbor on the street for years and not even smile then if you were traveling (and this has happened to me) and you run into that same person then all of a sudden it is ok or pc or "safe" or something to say "hey, don't you live next door to me in SF?"... I have never felt so crowded in my lonliness... know what I mean?
it seems we are all living so close to each other and yet there is very little community.. of course it depends on what neighborhood you live in and where you live in this country.. i realize that this is not the case everywhere but in my hood it is...
i have a good relationship with vic the corner store guy and he seems to know everyone but none of us know each other...
vic has been here for 50 years and i have known him for about 10... he is cool, he was in the korean war and his brother was in veitnam and vic is voting for kerry... although not because he likes him - but i digress.
the point i'm trying to make is this: love your neighbor b/c you just might need him in a pinch somewhere half way accross the world... kidding.. no no the real point i am trying to make is.. don't judge crack addicts at 2 am... wait, i was just trying to tell the world thank you for liking viv- our little humble band from a dingy apartment in lower haight... where vic used to tell us that "hey, you guys sound pretty good" on our practice breaks when we ran accross the street for cigarrettes, soda, m&m's and whatever...
this one goes out to lower haight and my sort of cold community of crack addicts, school kids peaking through the windows while we practice and vic the oak hill market corner store guy who has fueled many a practice day and night!
m
Dishwalla and megan slankard and viv in modesto wednesday night
Posted at 12:57:40 on 2004-10-22
it was great playing with megan again and also playing with our new friends dishwalla. we will definitely play more shows with those guys.. they are real cool and a great band to boot. the crowd was great and even though our drummer got lost on the way to the show and we had to play it acoustic, the response was great and we made a ton of new friends... hopefully we'll see all of you modestians again soon.
there is a rumor that viv will be bringing opening acts with them during the next spring tour ... yes, it is a rumor...
California Sunshine and some Fog
Posted at 09:39:39 on 2004-10-15
I love the weather in San Francisco. Last night when I was going to the gig up in Mill Valley, I had to go over the Golden Gate Bridge to get there... when I came up to the bridge I couldn't see the other side or even the top of the bridge towers and then all of a sudden when I got to the marin side opf the bridge the fog was completely gone. I love that it was sunny all day and then the bridge was all fogged in at night...
m
The Last Day of the East Coast Fall Tour
Posted at 03:17:38 on 2004-10-09
Wow, has it been 5 weeks already? This trip flew bye... 40 shows makes 5 weeks go quicker than I could have imagined. We had some really incredible shows and the beautiful fall weather was an added treat. To all the people we have met on the road I wanted to say thank you for supporting us... we ended up selling about 500 CDs this month at our shows and we are really proud of doing that because it shows how much we connected with you all... stay in touch and always feel free to email any of us... we love to hear from you and we will get back to you as soon as we have a chance. I will try and add at least one entry each week until the spring tour on the east coast... look for our live dvd and a companion cd to be out this winter... also, viv will be playing shows in seattle and the northwest for the first time- come on out and hang with the band...
take care and don't forget to vote...
peace and love,
matto
Groton + beautiful weather = fun
Posted at 12:49:09 on 2004-10-04
groton school kicks butt! We had a blast playing for the fine young peeps that call the school their collective home. it was incredible to look out upon the youth of america and realize they are wearing viv t-shirts and singing the tunes with us... we WILL be back in the spring and we shall rock you once again... p.s., the bbq was killer..
m
Maine Lobster and 1100 pound Moose Crossing
Posted at 08:47:31 on 2004-09-29
The Moose here in Maine are huge. They have signs that say slow down for the next 17 miles because Moose are crossing and after taking a look up close at one of these things we decided to slow down. If you happen to see a moose in your life then it will be an incredible experience... these things remind me of an era totally gone from the earth... a time when we didn't crap on the enviornment and make the land polluted and kill off entire species...
Now to lobster, Lobster is the biggest and most well known thing about Main... that and arcadia or acadia national park. Lobster is cheap, big and plentiful in Maine and the peeps here are proud of it. We are proud of them because they are proud and therefore there is a lot of proudness going on... proudness leads to self flattery and self congradulatory talk about the biggest and best things in the great USA...
ok, enough bullshit about the land and whatnot... todays phrase is: " fromaway" yes, you read that correct... From-A-Way is a term used for outsiders when you arrive in Maine...
the shows here in Bangor at the 2 schools have been really great... we played an outdoor show two days ago and then last night in a beautiful little theatre... we will definitely makew it back to maine sometime soon...
m
Vermont and Massachusetts
Posted at 04:13:38 on 2004-09-23
Wow! This has been an amazing trip... we've met some incredible peeps out here and all us Californians are pretty damn impressed with you northeasterners...
The show at Bay Path was incredible.. as were all the others.. thanks to all the fans who are following us to multiple shows... it feels great to know you'll see a new friend in the audience...
peace,
matt
some cafeteria ratings, Maple Syrup and Some dead Colorfull leaves
Posted at 09:49:31 on 2004-09-17
Being on the road is all about the simple things that you see and taste and experience that are outside of your bubble. Now that I am outside of mine I am realizing that Vermont is an incredible place to visit during the early fall... It is still warm out at night and the trees are turning and the maple syrup is tasty... Net week we are in Massachusettes (did I spell that wrong?) anyway, there I will be sampling some of the finest chowdah this land has to offah... it is wicked good...
Local saying # 1:
"not knowin is hard tellin"
Cafeteria ratings for the first week:
Green Mountain College cafeteria ratings for breakfeast:
I would like to say that the breakferast at the Green Mountain Dining hall was incredible but the ambiance is not up to snuff with the rest of the schools artsy vibe!
ambiance **
Service *****
Staff ****
Selection ***
Quality ****
St. Mike's
This dining hall is consistantly incredible. if you are thiniing of going to school in the burlington area then think about eating shitty food everyday and then make a decision to enroll at st. mike's b/c the food is kick ass!
ambiance ****
Service *****
Staff *****
Selection *****
Quality *****
Posted at 10:10:36 on 2004-09-11
i am in our cargo van with cathy our road manager and we are on the gwb going into ny on our way to our show in new london,ct. i can`t believe how dope it is to surf the net on a pda
m
Monday, MTV, Queer Eye For the Straight Guy and ESPN
Posted at 04:39:20 on 2004-08-09
Kids,
Have you ever stopped and thought about where the days of the week came from? How the heck did we decide on all of this stuff anyway? whew, we are an interesting bunch of monkeys aren't we? Anyway, me and two other Viv Monkeys will be at a few bay area stores playing some new songs and some songs from the the first album... the two new songs: "Jane" and "How do you do" are getting too stuck in our heads and that is a good thang for us cause we always seem to like those songs that make a lasting impression on us as we write em...
what else, oh yea, we just gor some songs licensed by MTV's The Real World, MTV Road Rules and MTV Extreme!!! Last week we heard about getting our music licensed to Queer Eye For the Straight Guy and ESPN as well!!! Whew, this has been a good two weeks...
Hopefully, we'll see you out there on the asphalt sea but if not you can always check here to see what we's is doin...
peace, love and music,
matt
Acoustic Shows, Fall Tour and The Lunch room rating system
Posted at 02:27:50 on 2004-08-04
It's wednesday... the week seems to be flying by and yet I seem to get nothing done? Do you feel the same way? The acoustic shows at the record stores and the barnes & nobels have been great this summer so far! It really makes us stretch to play a different set that relies on raw ability rather than hiding behind electronics... it's the way we write all our songs so it is really nice to head back there and visit the songs in their origianl form the way i played in my apartment in san francisco at 2 am with some wine and a cigarette (don't smoke-I'm not saying it is cool). That said, it is great to share the stage with erik and pie... they are both incredible musicians and incredible people... it is not often that you get to play with people you respect and like and that are in the same place you are musically. we are underground but there is a leak in the boiler room.
The fall tour is coming up in about 5 weeks. we are pumped. the tour is the first tour that we will be bringing a set design with us and putting on "a show" so to speak that incorporates the visuals with the music. The show is called "flawed" and we have great hopes that you will be blown away by it and want to see it many times. Check out all the shows in your area b/c you might be able to catch a show twice! trust me it will be worth it :)
Someone wrote to us and asked if we will be doing the dining hall rating system again this year. I am happy to announce that this will be the case AND we will be holding a lottery for the top schools and the band will play for free the next time we are there.
laterz,
m
KFOG 104.5 FM rules! So do the Bodeans and Bob Snieder!
Posted at 11:57:56 on 2004-07-24
Hey,
it is saturday morning and I am still reeling with excitement from our KFOG show this past thursday. Playing in front of 3000 people was pretty amazing and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't scared. It was incredible to share the stage with The Bodeans and Bob Snieder! They are two truly talented bands/artists and I felt honored to be a part of such an incredible show. If you have never checked out KFOG you should b/c they are one of those radio stations that isn't totally programmed by some corporation somewhere. They are real and very cool and they are the #1 station in the USA... I want to thanks to Haley, Benson, Renee (my good friend) and Rosalie for putting together such an incredible program for us nobody's! Hopefully this will lead to bigger things and I hope they can continue to make the music scene in san francisco one of the best in the world!
peace...
Camper Van Beethoven
Posted at 02:35:51 on 2004-07-09
It was a pleasure and an honor to share the stage with these legends. Thanks guys!
J Mascis and the Fog
Posted at 03:07:53 on 2004-06-08
They are the loudest band I have ever played with and yet I fell asleep in the green room with earplugs in...
Thank you Master's school, St Paul's, Tilton and GDA
Posted at 06:56:57 on 2004-05-28
Hi,
WE had a great time playin for you all this past weekend. Tonight we are playing at the famous sweetwater in mill valley with our friends LUCE. It was great to make new friends this week and we are looking forward to our fall tour (30 shows in september alone!) look for a show near you...
I will post the cafeteria ratings on monday..
peace out,
matt
Looking forward to Chico then on to Salt Lake City
Posted at 10:20:48 on 2004-03-17
Hello Chico!
We'll be up there soon... tell your friends, tell your enimies too... we are gonna rock LaSalles...
Laterz,
mjo
Back at the RDL (and soon in Berkeley)
Posted at 07:20:34 on 2004-03-02
welp, it's about time we get back there for a gig. this is only the 2nd one in 2004... we are loking forward to having a great show... stay tuned for a berkely vaam starting up soon...
pittsburgh is great
Posted at 10:14:52 on 2004-02-14
hey everyone,
we had a great time playing for all of you and making such great new friends. thanks for the warm reception and the fun times... shannon, katy, rebecca and amber... we had a great time hangin out with all of you... looking forward to seeing you peeps again... I will be posting another email with the cafeteria ratings for this past tour... stay tuned :)
The Cafeteria Ratings are in for this tour :) January 23rd- February 2nd 2004
Posted at 08:42:16 on 2004-02-01
kids,
this tour took us from the great city of boston all the way down the eastern coast of the united states to D.C. with many stops in between... we had fun, we met great peeps and we ate some food - cafeteria food... however, we also got food buyouts and so we feel inclined to include those as well...
here are the cafeteria ratings for this tour (January 23rd - February 2nd 2004)...
AND again, we'd like to add that we are mearly reporting on the experience of the dining... in our own humble voice, we are just glad to get food most of the time but felt it was useful for us to report on our experiences... and, let's face it.. it's fun too :)
so without further ado here's the ratings:
Lesley University Take Out:
atmosphere ***** (we ate in our dressing room and so we had to give this the all time highest rating possible b/c we felt it was very rock star)
variety **
quality of food ***
taste of food ***
staff *****
Conn College
atmosphere *
variety ***
quality of food ***
taste of food ***
staff ** (they have anumber system and the counter person skipped a bunch of numbers)
Sacred Heart University
(they gave us money and we stopped at a greek diner in connecticut)
atmosphere **
variety ****
quality of food ****
taste of food ****
staff ***** ( we believe that if every diner had an old greek guy as a waiter this would be a better world... i felt like he took care of us with class, speed and respect without pandering... it was a smooth experience... the guy is probably the best waiter in connecticut and could be in the top ten for diners in the nation)
George Washington University
atmosphere *
variety **
quality of food ***
taste of food ***
staff **** (very nice check out girl)
Mercersburg Academy
we went out to romeo's with trini - thanks trini, you treated us like rock stars
atmosphere *** (quaint pennsylvania style small town restaurant)
variety ** (it's a pizza joint :)
quality of food ***
taste of food ***
staff * ( i LIKED the staff but they just were not quick and so we gave them a low rating)
that's all for now... we'll add to these on the next tour...
lesley u and connecticut college
Posted at 12:33:03 on 2004-01-25
we have had a great time playing at both lesley and conn college ... the theatre at lesley was so intimate and fun and it was great to play for that incredible and receptive audience... thank you! we will definitely come back again....
conn college was great too... the people dancing and especially the great energy of the crowd was awesome to play with... you kids are allright :) ... we will be back again to rock out and we look forward to growing up with all of you ...
take care and have a great semester... we'll see you in the fall
matt
Brooks school and GDA
Posted at 09:13:46 on 2004-01-12
Well we are back here in san francisco now after spending the weekend playing on the east coast up near boston at a few private schools in the area... these are great schools with great peeps running the show.. thank you all for a great weekend - tim & deanna you both rock! even thought the temperature difference wasn't that noticable -20 degrees on the east coast with the wind chill and 60 degrees back here in SF- no problem, really... food ratings will be in a seperate diary entry... right now i need to check me emails!
chickens and ostriches
Posted at 10:51:34 on 2003-12-18
prarie sun recording rules!
My visit to play for the peeps at the Juvenile Correction Center in San Francisco
Posted at 12:38:06 on 2003-12-11
Three weeks ago I was asked by a friend of mine to go and play some songs and talk to the kids at the Juvenile Correction Facility in San Francisco on twin peaks... the peeps there are all from the ages 13-17 for some it is their first offense for others they have been in and out every few months and for others they will be there for their entire childhood b/c they've committed some serious offenses. When she asked me if I'd like to play, my first reaction was: what the hell would they want with some white guy who plays and sings songs on his acoustic guitar? she laughed and said she thought the same thing but that the song that she wanted me to play is the one called suffer... if you've seen viv live in 2003 then you might have heard this song... it will be on the next album that we are releasing in jan 04. (next month) anyway, i decided to try it so i got up at 7 am (ughhh) and drove myself and my guitar down there... she asked me to type out the lyrics and i did... then she made copies and we walked over to lockdown... they took my keys, my cell phone and my guitar stand from me and said that i was not allowed to pass around cd's or bring any writing instruments in there... all of them could be used as weapons... apparently someone has used a broken cd as a knife in a fight once ( sad but true)... so after walking through the maze of locked doors... signing logs and being stripped of anything dangerous i made my way to b-5 (the maximum security division of Juvi ... i walked into an open area and then into a class room with my friend and two of her colleages... we sat down and waited as the guards called roll and then allowed the inmates (kids) to enter the classroom very carefully in some unknown but intentionally systematic way. I was sitting on a desk with my guitar.. i looked down and wore neutral colors so i wouldn't challange any of them... i was scared. i knew there were some bad ass crimes committed but i was not told if those guys were in isolation or if they were in with the others who were now sitting all around me staring at the white kid with the acoustic guitar. the teacher introduced me as the front man of the band viv. he said i was an independant musician and that i was here to play some songs and then i would answer questions... the teacher was hoping to spur interest in his upcoming class on putting together a band... (his clever way of teaching them much needed economics)
he said this is matt... i looked up and waved shyly and said what's up guys... then i started to play my song and sing... the room fell silent and all eyes were on me... soon i saw some of the kids rocking in their chairs and the guards came over to the glass window... when i finished instead of hearing them say that sucked they all clapped and hooted then said "that shit was deep" and "you got skills man" some of them asked if i could play another song, others asked if they could play my guitar and others asked if i was famous... the hour went bye so quickly that the only thing i remember was that i was no longer afraid because i realized i was in a room with a bunch of children and that they had been thrust into this situation that was chaotic and truely nightmarish without any sense of reason at all. they were going to pay for their mistakes and they all knew it. one more thing: they were all more scared then i was. after the class i kept remembering this one kid, he had a kind and gentle face, he was big and a little chubby and he seened to be about 15 or 16 years old... out of everyone in the room i thought to myself.. if any shit goes down that guy would be there to save me... the teacher pulled me aside and said, see him right there, and i said yea... he's in for murder... he beat someone to death with his hands... but he was still just a kid...
The Cate School Rules
Posted at 10:00:38 on 2003-12-10
Talk about the greatest bunch of music fans... these peeps are nuts! mosh pits not withstanding...
here is our rating of the food at the cate school... please see the rating system entry if you are not familiar:
atmosphere *****
variety *****
quality of food *****
taste of food *****
staff *****
I want to go on record here as saying that this was the best school food i have had in 2003... not only were the crab cakes devine but the atmosphere eveokes memories of winters past as the fire crackles and wafts a simple aroma of burnt birch...
not to mention the mosh pits kicked some serious ass!
see you again soon cate school peeps... see you again soon...
# 77
Posted at 08:39:28 on 2003-11-18
well last night was pretty much the best music we've had at viv and a movie thus far... let me give you the line-up so you can check them out when they are near you:
Tim Hilton- SF- Acoustic singer songwriter (think smiths)
Granian- New Jersey- Acoustic Singer songwriter (think seal)
Emilee - Maine- Acoustic Singer Songwriter (think ms. defranco)
Alexis Harte Band - this guy is a cross between tom waits and bruce....
Vanessa Lowe and Bug Eyed Sprite... original, quirky and a great voice to boot... she tried out her new dobro and some new material that is awesome...
Back in SF for a few days
Posted at 02:59:41 on 2003-11-10
we just got back a few hours ago from NYC... had a blast at the NACA north east conference... whew! can't wait to get out there and play for everyone...
we are headed into the studio tomorrow and wednesday then off to portland for the next few days then back to palo alto to play at stanford... hope to see you all there..
oh and tonight we have a gig in sf at the rdl, nadine condon will be there signing her book about the music biz.... rumor has it we are one of the bands she wrote about in her book... who knows?
i need sleep
sarah kicks ass at jeopardy
Posted at 04:28:38 on 2003-11-04
we'd like to take the time to salute sarah... todays winner on jeopardy... she waited until the double jeopardy round until unleashing what we all thought was a definitive win in the only contest thought fair on this fine day in the u.s.a.
whew--- heavy
Posted at 03:46:33 on 2003-11-03
this is the more sane and happier matt personality and i'd like to say that i am not politcal at all ... just out for a good time :).... please bare with me while I sort this out between myself...
it's warm in conneticut
Posted at 12:47:19 on 2003-11-03
65 degrees F. Why don't we use celsius like everyone else in the world? I'll answer that one: "b/c we are the United States- that's why"...peeps copy our shit not the other way around - you dig? I can't remember the last time weather was so wacky... I want to go on record as saying that it is my hunch that it may be something to do with the ozone, global warming thing... dunno, but. have a sneaking suspicion. please take the time to think of the similarities between the vietnam war and the situation in Iraq... at this moment in time it is headed there...
twins, cold weather, cmj, recording, the yankees and getting lost near williamsburg talking about the SWK movies
Posted at 09:32:56 on 2003-10-23
hello jillian and miles... welcome to the earth... we love you... i had fun feeding both of you this morning...
the weather here in NYC is getting colder by the minute... the leaves are turning and i'm glad we'll be heading back to the sun and warmth of the west coast... the west is the best... although the peeps on the east coast are very cool and fun - of course.
cmj- college music journal music conference in nyc... yea, it was just a convention... the guys from the amp energy drink compilation are nice and very cool for getting us in for free... saw a great band from manchest called elbow- check them out... beautufl vocals over a bed of emo... felt like everyone there was reading a book that came in the form of music...
we're headed back into the studio this week to work on a few more basic tracks for our upcoming album... we are expecting to be done with it by december... tom canova over at coast recorders has been greast to work with... tim too.. the room that we are recording in has been used by chris isaac, R.E.M., and countless others... you can feel the artistry drip from the walls...
the yankees lost tonight and last night... have you ever seen a bar filled with yankee fans after the yankees lose a game in the world series... some of these guys are gonna need some anger management... or maybe just a little love and kindness...
how do you miss NYC when driving from long island you ask? if you start recapping versions of the Star Wars Kid movies... that's how...
check it out:
http://www.starwarskid.com
Three Days in ballroom with 100+ schools
Posted at 02:11:29 on 2003-10-22
Have you ever been to a NACA conference? ViV recently attended the Mid Atlantic Region NACA conference... it was fun! we met some great peeps there and of course got to eat some crab at the inner harbor... now i'm in philly at chief parents house... had a good jacuzzi this morning and slept in a single bed for the first time in years... i think my grandparents slept in single beds... we're headed to nyc for the next two days for the CMJ conference... we'll be hangin with our friends from the amp energy drink compilation... then it's back to SF for the 75th anniversary of VaaM and some recording to finish up our 2nd album... so far we've gotten some great response :)
last night at the VaaM show
Posted at 02:40:44 on 2003-10-07
Thanks to Mr. Egg and all the others who shared the night with us. It was fun as usual... 72nd VaaM show at the RDL.... the street team packages went out today... look for em in the mail...
m
The Cafeteria ratings are in from vivs September tour - East Coast ratings
Posted at 10:01:07 on 2003-10-03
Let me first say that this is merely a cafeteria rating and in no way does this illustrate our experience at the school (good or bad)Nuuf said here's the ratings:
Simon's Rock
atmosphere ****
variety **
quality of food *
taste of food *
staff *(snack bar lady moved like glacial drift- sorry but 45 minutes for a grilled cheese is out of the question)
***** cafeteria lady gave us excellent directions to someone who could give us good directions.
Green Mountian College
atmosphere *****
variety **
quality of food ***
taste of food ***
staff ***
St. Michael's
atmosphere ***
variety *****
quality of food ****
taste of food ****
staff ***
Norwich Academy
atmosphere ***
variety ***
quality of food ****
taste of food ****
staff *****
Some Kind words from the schools we played at- Thank you!
Posted at 09:58:34 on 2003-10-03
The San-Francisco alternative rock group ViV recently rocked the house up north at St. Michael's College in Burlington, VT. The band gave an excellent delivery of
many of their new songs from their recent self-titled debut CD. Most memorable in the performance was Drummer Steve Bowman's adaptation to the coffee house
venue by incorporating a makeshift percussion set consisting of 1) a recycling bucket, 2) a folding chair, 3). two metal mike stands, and other found objects along with
his staple bass drum, snare, tom and cymbals.
Other highlights were bassist Eric Semo's alto (verging slightly on soprano) backing vocals throughout,
lead guitarist Mike "Pie" Fiorentino's electric violin on "Green",
(my favorite track from the debut), and singer/guitarist
Matt Ostrander's rough, bluesy, yet angelic vocals throughout.
All this, combined with coffee, hot chocolate, and a mind-boggling DVD display of psychedelic computer-controlled colors made for one heck of a start to a semester's worth of great music to come. Besides "Green", you might also want to check out the tracks "Too Good to be True", and "Waiting". All that remains to be said is thanks, ViV. You guys rule!
Edward
We recently produced ViV and a Movie at the University of Colorado at Denver and would like to briefly share our experience.
First and most importantly, the members of Ten Toes Over Productions are a very professional team. They were extremely helpful in allowing us to structure VaaM to not
only fit our campus venue, but to incorporate and promote the art of our students as well. The program is flexible enough to accommodate all arts communities, big or
small. In addition, the allure of bringing in art and films from around the country makes the program very marketable. On the Auraria Campus in Denver, we had many
students volunteer their time and submit their art work to the project, which added greatly to the over-all experience. We would gladly book ViV on our campus again, and
highly recommend to any organization or events manager the experience of working with Ten Toes Over Productions.
Tom Sheridan
Thanks for your wonderful performance at Pikes Peak Community College last Thursday. It was wonderful to have students passing through the Atrium stop dead in their
tracks to hear you play! Your excellent musicianship, interest in students, follow through on technical considerations, and cordiality of roadies and band members alike made it pleasant for us to host you. We would love to have you play here again. Best of luck to you!
Megan
School Cafeteria Rating System
Posted at 07:49:53 on 2003-09-30
Let this entry forever forward be known as the key to the rating system we here at viv enterprises have developed to rate the school cafeteria's accross this great country of ours- god bless america and tax cuts.
we will rate on the following categories:
atmosphere
variety
staff
quality of food
taste of food
* = shitty
** = better than shitty worse then average
*** = average
**** = good
***** = superlative
we're back in sf
Posted at 02:45:13 on 2003-09-29
thanks to everyone at the gothic... especially the posse up front air guitaring at the foot of the stage... we love you... it was a running for the airplane doors type of trip back but luckily we had a great groupd of stewardesses and other peeps to help out... we can't wait to be back in denver and boulder and the mountains...
tonight is our first show back at the red devil lounge... see you there
welcome to drunksylvania
Posted at 11:02:41 on 2003-09-27
as pie so aptly put it towards the end of the night when a pint glass was indescriminantly heaved from the rooftop of the Foundry in boulder, co last night on its way to the crowd of passersbye as it hit the mini van we rented, smashed all over the place, while spewing beer everywhere and almost killing pie... luckily it didn't.... "welcome to drunksylvania".. aside from the late night incident, it was a great gig for viv as we continued to make great new friends and spread the word of good instead of evil... our quest came about 100 people closer to becoming a reality- domination of the free world airwaves by viv friendly tunes crafted especially for your pleasure... tonight we end our tour of the country with a classic gig at the gothis.. the show will be recorded as per usual so if you want shoot us an email and we'll hook you up with a live copy...
love,
matthew james ostrander
bowling for columbine
Posted at 11:34:49 on 2003-09-23
denver is beautiful and warm... it was fun playing at arapahoe college today... we miss san francisco and the east coast now too... had fun this evening at dinner... did i say we had fun at arapahoe today? thanks heather lawler for inviting us to play at your school... we'll see you kids at the gothis theatre this saturday
on to denver
Posted at 03:22:27 on 2003-09-22
hey there peeps...
well we've had a great tour playing in nyc, vermont, mass, rhode island then new jersey... now we'll hope a plane to denver and play 4 shows there before heading home for a month of recoding and relaxing... the hun school was an interesting gig as mikes amp blew up during the gig and he played my amp wile i played acoustic the whole night again! the theatre was real n ice and again it was fun to play for all the new jersey faithful... we'll see you guys again soon..
laterz,
mjo
St. Georges
Posted at 09:15:47 on 2003-09-21
St. Georges sits on a bluff overlooking the ocean in newport rhode island... the beach is about a 15 minute walk away and the buildings are old and wooden :)... this place is incredible... names like kennedy, dupont etc.. are engraved on the walls in wooden squares that are attached to the walls of the dining room... viv played two sets... my amp broke during the second song of the night and i play acoustic he whole time- it was fun, exhilirating and totally off the cuff.. we recorded the show so if any one of peeps want it just sign up for the street team and we'll send it out to you.... now we're off to new jersey after crashing at pie's mom's house in connecticut... she's a great hostess and a wonderful woman... if anyone out there knows a wealthy, widower, who has kids past the age of college, who likes to travel and would be looking for a friend we think we have a match for you here...
also, i love you kristy... miss you terribly :)
norwich academy
Posted at 03:45:27 on 2003-09-20
these peeps are bad arse! i'm glad i can say i knew them when... we hade fun and are looking forard to getting back there to rock the field house again.... we got this on tape too... very good show perhaps the best...
st michaels acoustic show
Posted at 08:44:07 on 2003-09-18
let me start this entry by saying steve bowman is incredible! instead of playing a drum kit, he decided to play the following:
a plastic recycle bin, a music stand, a chair, a snare drum and a floor tom and a cymbal... I played acoustic the whole night for the first time ever in viv! it was great and we met some great students from the school who joined the viv street team... we'll beback in the spring... the new songs are starting to gel a little more each time... tomorrow our gig has been moved to a bigger venue! we'll be playing in the field house 400+ peeps maybe more... can't wait... chris - one of the road crew has a brother who just graduated from there and he's says they are ready for some viv...
vermont is beautiful and green and there are a lot of outlet stores here... the food was great again and i have my own hotel room with a stove, microwave, living room and two beds... and a whirlpool bathtub- yas a hot tub in my room baby aw yea!!! we miss san francisco terribly and can't wait to get back... the show on october 4th is gonna be fun with jesse denatale, noelle hampton and finding phil and viv... should be a great and vibey night... i still don't have cell phone reception, i'm getting a sore throat and my email isn't working either but i am having a blast and loving hangin with the guys... i miss you kristy :)... i'm almost done with al frankin's new book... read it!
Green Mountain College in Vermont
Posted at 09:26:07 on 2003-09-17
well... after playing new york on monday night and having a blast at our favorite clube in nyc... we headed up to simon's rock college last night. it was a great set in their little theatre... had some grub at the greasey spoon and then drank and slept the rest of the night in a condemned house on campus that they put us up in for the night... charming place really and my wave machine was crankin full blast so i could remember my roots back in sf...
on to green mountain college for the hottest set of the tour (1st set) we taped it and will realease it to all the street team peeps sooooo, sign up suckas! the peeps there are real nice and the food is pretty good too... they are puttin us up in the 2 editors inn... we have it all to our selves... we're just in the living room (side note: 2 editors inn is named after the two guys who started the new york times... seems they used to go to the green mountain college back in the day...the town of poultney is great too... just beautiful with the leaves turning and the smell of fires burning... just a little chilly but no too cold yet... the people are feeling good because the air is clear and the water is clean... off to another beautiful town tomorrow in middle vermont winooski/burlington... to see my good friend cathrine reilly... i'll try and write agin tomorrow or this week....
In NYC and Ready for tomorrow night
Posted at 06:42:38 on 2003-09-14
Hey everyone,
we are here on long island in Northport. It is on the north shore about 35 miles from NYC... tomorrow we'll be playing at the Mercury Lounge and opening for us is Jesse Denatale... if you have not seen him - he's someone you should take the time to come out and check out... also, viv is planning on trying out all the new material for the upcoming viv album... we will be releasing it at some point over the next few months... anyway, we miss everyone back in san francisco and we are looking forward to making some new friends out here and then we're on to Massachusettes to play at Simon's rock college...
