Saosin guitarist Justin Shekoski posted on the Saosin forum last week that while the band is taking a break from touring to write their next record, he will be teaching guitar lessons in South Orange County:

As you guys know, we will be home writing a new record and taking some time off from touring. While we are home I am going to start teaching guitar on a regular basis. So I thought putting a post on the message board would be a great way to get the word out. I have taken lessons for years starting from the moment I picked up a guitar. It’s a huge reason why I am where I am today. I have my teacher and great friend Marc Seal to thank for motivating me to keep playing and leading me to make music my profession. Now I think it is Important to pass on everything I have learned over the years. I would love to teach anyone from beginners who have never picked up a guitar before, to more advanced players who want to learn some new skills. Personally I have found the best way to get the most out of lessons is by meeting weekly for a half an hour. My goal is to keep guitar fun so you always want to play, which is the key to progressing. So if you or anyone you know wants to start playing or wants to learn so new stuff, please email me for more details at JUSTIN@SAOSIN.COM. We get back to the states at the end of this month and I’d like to start teaching in April.

Take care and I hope to be playing together soon!

Justin Shekoski

If you live in the South Orange County area, have a sweep swoop haircut and rich parents and you DON’T hit up dude for some lessons you are seriously blowing it. Video Matt recently met up with Justin and a couple other Saosin doodz to rap about some shit. Check out the video below and make sure to leave comments about how shitty the audio so we can convince our boss to buy some new audio equipment:

Get Silly?, I thought I had to Superman that hoe. Now my Friday nights are way to busy.

Why is the gym turning into Barnum and Bailey’s Ringling circus?, I’ve witnessed some stupid shit over the last year. There is this one cave troll, child eating monster who likes to gather up every known weight in the place and put it on his machine. I wouldn’t be surprised if he ripped the drinking fountain of the fucking wall and brought that over as well. After an hour of talking with everyone within a mile radius and looking at his meat arms from hell, he will finally attempt to lift something. It’s usually just one lift and a whole lot of screaming, then he’ll walk away, leaving some 98 pound kid to try to dismantle his battlefield of weights. And this guy has a shit load of friends that can barely fit through the door. I have nothing against being healthy and strong (I bench press my gym towel), but these guys are really taking it too far. I just wish for one day that I was a 900 beast, just one day. I’d start off my workout experience by driving my lifted Ford through the front door of the gym playing Godsmack, naturally. Then I’d put on my weight belt, gloves, ipod, chalk bag, bat belt and spray on tan, and be ready to dominate. I’d go find the biggest guy working out and slap him, leaving imprints of my massive sausage fingers across his face. After that I’d rip off my clothes like Beowulf and start squatting flat screen TV’s. that I stole from the locker room. At this point a 16 year employee would ask me to leave because my intestines are protruding from my ass, also known as “pink sock”, I’d respond by using him as more weight on my bench-press, this while I’m screaming as if I’m being murdered. If anyone looked at me wrong I’d tear a piece of my arm off and throw it at them, proving that I have enough to go around. All the hot girls would sit upon my chest as if they were bleacher seats. And if anyone asked me who I was, I’d tell them that I came from the mountains and have been eating raw bears while lifting giant fucking rocks. By the end of the day I’d probably have to load up the back of my truck with protein and chicken and find a giant blender to mix it all up, maybe a cement mixer. Just one day.

My hero. R.I.P, wait he’s still alive?

After speaking out in support of Tibet Independence in Shanghai, Bjork has ruffled the feathers of the Chinese government.

“We will further tighten controls on foreign artists performing in China in order to prevent similar cases from happening in the future,” the Ministry of Culture said in a statement on its website.

“We shall never tolerate any attempt to separate Tibet from China and will no longer welcome any artists who deliberately do this.”

Here’s a crappy Youtube video of the incident:

Sigur Ros’ “Heima” a feature length film documenting their 2006 tour of their home country Iceland is streaming in its entirety on YouTube today:

‘heima’ is sigur rós’s first ever film, filmed over two weeks during the summer of 2006 when the band undertook a series of free, unannounced concerts in iceland. they hauled 40-plus people round 15 locations to the furthest flung corners of their homeland for their debut venture into live film, to create something, well, inspirational.

on their way they went to ghost towns, outsider art shrines, national parks, small community halls and the absolute middle-of-nowhere-ness of the highland wilderness, as well as playing the largest gig of their career (and in icelandic history) at their homecoming reykjavik show.

‘heima’ (icelandic for “at home” or “homeland”), truly, shows sigur rós as never before. whereas seeing the group live is normally a large-scale and sometimes overwhelming experience, making full use of lights and mesmeric visuals, ‘heima’ was always intended to reveal more of what was actually going on on stage. it does this via long-held close-ups and a rare intimate proximity, without ever once breaking the spell.

loosely based on a documentary format - and including personal reflections from the band - ‘heima’ also serves as an alternative primer for iceland the country, which is revealed as less stag destination-du-jour and more desolate, magical place where human beings have little right to trespass.

‘heima’ features performances of songs from all four sigur rós albums, many radically reworked, as well as two exclusive new songs in ‘guitardjamm’, which was filmed inside an abandoned herring oil tank in the far west of the country, and the traditional ‘a ferd til breidarfjardar 1922′, performed with poet steindor andersen.

‘heima’ was directed by dean deblois, a long-time fan of the band and director of the oscar-nominated animated feature ‘lilo & stitch’, using an icelandic crew.

Our friends Saves the Day announced that they are going to be selling the 2nd and 3rd volumes of their homemade Bug Sessions recordings during their stint on the upcoming Bamboozle Road Show tour:

So I’ve got really great news! I just heard back about a little surprise we’ve been keeping from you… Bug Sessions Volume 2 AND Bug Sessions Volume 3 will be ready to sell on the Bamboozle Road Show this spring! We just received word that the discs are now being shipped to us so we can bring them on tour to sell directly to you, our beautiful fans! Bug Sessions is our little way of showing our appreciation to our hardcore fans by doing acoustic renditions of old and new STD songs. You can’t find Bug Sessions in any stores. You can only buy them at Saves The Day concerts, which ensures only diehard fans can acquire the special CDs. We know you guys loved Bug Sessions Vol 1, so we set out to give you two brand new Bug Sessions at once! Last fall, David and I embarked on an acoustic tour of the US, and we recorded every night to use the best performances for Bug Sessions Vol 2 & 3. So after listening to all the shows, we decided we had enough good material for two new Bug Sessions. Each CD will have 7 songs, a mixture of old and new Saves The Day music. One of my favorite aspects of these new Bug Sessions discs is the audience participation. I can hear you guys singing along real loud, and it gives me goose-bumps on songs like “Hold” and “Rocks Tonic Juice Magic”. It’s really neat to be able to feel the vibe of the show. And in Austin, TX, we got pretty drunk, so you can hear us having a good time with the songs! Ha ha. Well, that’s all for now. Just wanted to fill you in on the exciting news. And if you haven’t already bought tickets for the Bamboozle Road Show, then now is the time! Gotta make sure you can get your hands on Bug Sessions 2 & 3, cause they’re sweet as strawberry jam! Werd out, twigglies. Love ya!
chris

Dates for the tour, which also features Armor For Sleep, Set Your Goals, Metro Station and on select dates, A Cursive Memory and Lydia  can be found after the jump. In the meantime, interviews with Saves The Day, Set Your Goals, Metro Station and more can be found on our YouTube channel. If you’re bored (and you are, if you’ve read this far) check that shit out:
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