Emo: It's Really Just Rock and Roll

So last night a discussion was sparked over the term 'emo', and how to properly define the music that falls into this category. The conversation didn't really lead anywhere so it left me with an idea to do some research on when and where the term originated, what bands consider…

Gettin' Made: Happy Trails and Clearance Sales

Folks, it's with a heavy heart that I share with you that after a year at its location in Santa Ana,  The Craft Kitchen is closing its doors. I'll give you a moment to let that sink in–after the jump, more on what to expect in the craft class/gift boutique's final days…

Fullerton's Audacity Start US Tour This Week

Though Fullerton's Audacity called Orange County's music scene “a joke” in a recent interview with the District, we still heart them and their sloppy poppy ways. So it's cool to see them about to embark on a 15-date national tour, starting this Thursday in Tucson, AZ, and joined by a…

Wax On, Wax Off: “Echo Beach” Film Screening

Echo Beach tells the story of the Newport Beach surf scene in the eighties. Originally a reference to the steep, fast breaks between 52nd and 54th Streets, the name “Echo Beach” came to signify an entire era of Southern California surf culture. A group of innovative, extra-rebellious local surfers rose…

The Willy Wonka of Muslims Invents a Ramadan Fasting Pill

Azhak Hussam is positioning himself to be something like the Willy Wonka of Muslims. The Garden Grove cosmetics company owner (with a background in pharmacy, according to this article in Anaheim-based, InFocus, a Muslim newspaper) has invented what he calls, the Ramadan Fasting Tablet, which, if it works, will be…

Wax On, Wax Off: Big Waves and Hurlington Beach

This past weekend, our coast was bombarded with the biggest waves we've had in a year. Rumors raged across the county of freak triple overhead closeouts, broken leashes and far worse. We all shuddered and thought of our own near-death surfing moments when we heard that Monte Kevin Valentin, a…

Easy Writer: The Newbie Motorcyclist's Journey Begins

Home for the summer with way too much free time on my hands after a long and miserable year at Chico State in Northern California, I quickly discovered that pretty much everyone I knew in Orange County had either moved away or moved on. I needed a hobby I could…