The world is a small place. Sooner or later paths will be crossed, like in the tv show Lost. I've experienced it so many times by now that I've stopped trying to act surprised, allthough I must say it mostly makes me happy. Once I went to a Jamie T concert in the outskirts of London and these girls taps me on my back, putting on their biggest smiles when I turn around. It turned out it was the girls me and my friends had as neighbours the first night on Bali one year before. Their parents owned the bar next to the venue we we're at. People sooner or later runs into each other. And It's not that strange if someone's ending up humping someone they know has allready been humped by someone they know. Exchanging body liquids. Uniting. Becoming FB's and FS's. I guess it's just the easiest way to do it. And we must not forget - the world is a small place. I've stopped being surprised.

Bought my first wet suit ever this weekend. The guy in the surf shop said: "Wow, this is normaly a $330 one. You're lucky!". It's a used one, but it's in really good shape. And I got it for $120, including a hood. Most importantly it fit's me very well and keeps me warm in the cold water.

And I once again went to surf in Pacifica with Ryan, Brandon and Marius. I was in way better shape this time around and actually managed to capture most of the waves. From now on I'm gona try to go once every week.







Hung out in Dolores park, one of SF's most beautiful parks for sure. Me, Johan and Maja worked on our tan (sorry Mom, I forgot to put sun lotion on), ate some ice cream, played some football and enjoyed the amazing view over the city skyline.







Went to see Titus Andronicus throwing the best show I've seen in SF so far. An melodic, powerful and emotional indie rock odyssey that sended me into the most delightful state of mind. Their latest album The Monitor (which is loosely based on the U.S. civil war) is definitely one of the most interesting albums I've heard this year.

The Monitor, on Spotify.

First time I've ever tried something that tastes like how a new leather seated car, warmed up by the summer sun, smells like. Kinda weid. Maybe I just got foul corn bred?

Frightened Rabbit - Swim until You Can't See Land


Titus Andronicus - No Future Part 3: Escape From No Future


Fang Island - Daisy

So many roads to take. Where do they lead? Which one is mine?

Azin and Hanna from the Interactive Art Director program just arrived to San Francisco and we celebrated that yesterday with some beers and hamburgers. They will be art directors at one of the biggest agencies in the world - Goodby Silverstein & Partners. I wish them good luck on their journey and hope that we get some fun times together here in this lovely city.

You can follow them at http://blog.hannazin.com/

It feels like I've been longing forever. But the past week the time had finally came. It was time to go surfing!
I got to borrow a board from my friend Ryan's friend Brandon (who had one of the most charming dog's I've ever met) and I hired a wet suit from the local surf shop in Pacifica/Linemar. It was a pretty beginner friendly beach, but I had a hard time in the water. The water was cold and I felt so fucking weak (maybe because I had been drinking to 5 the night before and catched 5 hours of sleep). My arms weren't strong enough to get me out as far as I wanted. Frustrating as hell. And I only managed to stand on one wave. But hey, it was actually two years since I surfed the last time. What's more important is that I finally got to do it again. And it definitely once again sparked my surf flame. Now I'm trying to do push ups every night to get in better shape for the next time, which hopefully will be soon.

Yes, there is a sequel. First - a short resume:

Met this pet lawyer named Bruce at the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club a while ago. We chatted for a while, mostly about music. I met him again, at the Manchester Orchestra gig some days after. He asked me for my email and I gave it to him.

So - Last week I got an email from him, Bruce. He wanted to invite me to a gig with this band Gomez that he mentioned the last time we met. And he wanted me to mention my five favorite bands. Of course I accepted this friendly guesture. So I once again went to The Great American Music Hall. This time Bruce was friendlier and more talkative than ever. He said: "When I met you for the second time I knew this was something special" and handed me a package containing four bootleg recordings (the last concerts we'd been to + The Hold Steady + Pavement). It turned out that he was some sort of well known guy at this venue. He was good friends with the owners and used to record the gig's as often as he could. He also knew this night's band. He ran into them in a record shop in San Francisco, shortly after they released their first record in the late 90's, and they've been friends ever since.

The gig wasn't that good. But I'm very happy to have met this cool old fart.

My friend & hairdresser David definitely deserves a salute

Well, I don't think even 1% of the Americans know why they're celebrating St.Patricks Day. It's just an excuse to get drunk (which indeed is very Irish). On my search for the actual reason I scrolled through the St.Patricks Day Wikipedia page just to get some more meat on my legs (swedish expression). I learned that the original celebration colour was blue (which helped me out later that night when people were asking why I wore a blue epic false beard) but that the shamrock became such a strong symbol that the green colour became number one. Good for me. I like green more. Green matches my hair. And my hair makes me look Irish.



I didn't try to be Irish last night though. But that's what some girls thought after talking to them for a while. I was rejected, accused for having an fake Irish accent, without even trying (even if it may've sounded like that when I mumbled through my beard). When I said I was from Sweden they just said: "Haha, you're such a looser, trying to hit on us with you're fake accents. We've lived here for 6 years and we're so fucking tired of guys like you". I said: "You know what, fuck off!", showed the rude girls the finger and went for the big outdoor dance alley where I later was lifted up into my first crowd surf ever. 

Overall it was an epic night. Started with some awesome Italian food and ended with some car park roof exploration.

Santa Barbara was great. It's a sunny city with lots of beautiful houses, girls and cars. It's a city where students have their own college cities with beach houses and stores and awesome surf. It's a city where beer pong is beeing played every day and where cops storms house parties filled with red beer cups. I think it's the closest I've been to experience the "O.C life". It was so fun to see my friend Jocke Schafer after all this time apart. Allthough I have to admit that I havn't been drinking that much alcohol since I came to the states.

Here's a short video of what we did last saturday:

Gyllene Tider (Golden Times) is a old famous Swedish Band where Per Gessle(Roxette) started his career. I used to love them as a kid. I remember having mime contests with friends in our living room. Nowadays I have mixed feelings for the band. Gyllene Tider stands for Swedish summer, with everything that comes with it. Swedish summer is the best, no doubt about it, but there's also the bad parts, or stuff that I pitty. When I was a teenager other teenagers on the country side where getting way to shit faced on camping grounds in their silly attempts to loose their virginity. For some reason I associates Gyllene Tider with these teenagers. Maybe because they always screamed songs like "Sommartider". And now when they grown up, they're still singing "Sommartider" because it reminds them of the "good 'ol times", or because they simply don't know any other music. I was never one of these teenagers. Maybe that's why.

Anyway. This song gives me the creeps. it makes me angry. So fuckin cheesy and icky.

Crying rivers at work after seeing this picure. Epic fail indeed. The owner just wanted to cuddle.

Went to another gig tonight (finally managed to bring three other people). Manchester Orchestra (ranked high on my 2009 best of list), warmed up by Biffy Clyro and The Features . Super solid show! The guys know what they're doing. A mix of the early Kings of Leon, Brand New's melancholy, Nirvana's riffs and Creed's most bombastically sides. Damn, I think I nailed it!

Been listening to Gorillaz new record Plastic Beach a few times now, and I must say - It's rockin'! It's surprisingly good. The album sounds and feels like it's cover looks like. The animated characters invites you to their sunset drenched island where a crazy party is going down. At first visit it may seem pretty stiff and weird, but after a while it loosens up and the subtile melodies and grooves all starting to make sense. I took a while, but once I dropped my guard I was totally swept away. Join the party!



Stylo


On Melancholy Hill

Sorry if 50% of the audio is me singing along behind the camera. Couldn't help it.

I shook hands with Ace Ventura yesterday, or it was not the Jim Carrey version, but pretty damn close. After buying a Jack Daniels (tried to put myself in a rock mood, and hell yeah it worked!) and waiting for Black Rebel Motorcycle Club to start I saw this old but cool looking dude standing next to me. I asked him if he'd seen the band before. He had. This was his forth time. Bruce was a pet lawyer. Took care of cats,dogs, horses, elephants...but not giraffes, and no white bats for that matter. But he was a cool ord fart. He'd been to all Coachella festivals so far, and he seemed to be more down with the music than many of the hip indie kids out there. Every Coachella festival he never went to see the bands he knew he could see in San Francisco. Instead he went to explore, to concerts with unknown bands he'd only heard was supposed to be good. We kinda clicked. Apart from his big music interest he seemed to have the life I would like to have at his age. He lived in a house right at the beach north of San Francisco. He used to surf, but nowadays he just ran and meditated at the beach 1,5 hour per day. In the end of the gig he asked me if he could give me a ride home. I said thanks but that I had a bike waiting for me oustide.

He nodded his head and went into the rainy night with a young boy that I assume was his son. How kick ass isn't that?
If it was the other way...not so kick ass.

I finally got a bike, which enables me to explore the city in my own way and pace. Oh the freedom! Love biking to work in the mornings, when the sun starts to heat up the city and it's inhabitants, when the workers cleaning the sidewalks, when people heading to work with one bagel in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other. When the American flags waves slowly in the morning breeze and the sun reflects onto my face from the giant skyscrapers stretching towards the sky. Sometime's the feeling is overwhelming - I'm actually here, I'm in America! Fuck yeah!

Yesterday I got another revelation, when seeing Black Rebel Motorcycle Club perform at the rock club Slim's. I finally got to see a band I've been dying to see for several years now. And they played every single one of my favorite songs. There was smoke, strobe lights, Jack Daniels and dirty guitar riffs at a small and intimate venue. Exactly how I wanted to experience them. And they performed so fuckin' well that I started to think of how, or if, I will be able to not have THIS in my life.

I seem to live in the heart of San Francisco, or at least in it's musical heart. From my front door there's only 5 minutes to the majority of all the good venues - Great American Music Hall, Slim's, The Fillmore, Regency Ballroom...
In Stockholm you travel 30 minutes to go and see some good band perform at Debaser every each month, in San Francisco there's at least one good concert every week, only minutes from my front door. Amazing.

*Video is commin up commin up*

Last night my self diciplinary me set the alarm for 7 AM, and hell yeah, it managed to drag my body out of the warm and cozy bed this morning. While Johan#2 where sleeping as a baby I conquered San Francisco's steep hills in the cold(IT WAS FUCKING FREEZING!) dawn. Ran some laps in a small park and then headed up to Almo Square(Full House) from where I saw the entire city skyline being revealed by the morning sun. Pretty satisfiying.

And tonight it's finally time for Black Rebel Motorcycle Club to enter the stage at Slim's. Hell yeah!

There's something special about biking. The feeling of being able to go everywhere, with the wind in your hair, for free!

After sending out a sentimental letter to all my co workers - explaining how I grew up biking every day as a kid on Öland (I attached some pictures of my house and Alvaret to make it even more powerful), how I havn't been able to live without a bike ever since and how badly I wanted to have one in this city - I got five replies, all offering me a bike. I finally went for the one from Mekanism's boss Tommy. It tuned out he builds bikes and sells them. This one he would've sold for 400 USD, but I got to borrow it for FREE during my internship period.

How awesome isn't that?

And it's a freakin good bike. And it's BEAUTIFUL! The most beautiful I've had so far. It's a fixed gear, but it rolls like it had Swedish ball bearings. The pedals usually spins automatically as the back wheel turns, but I flipped the back wheel to get rid of that feature. And I removed the straps on the pedals so my feet won't be stuck. Not so hardcore, but I prefer to not get my self killed in the sometimes rough traffic.

Here she is, Surly, in her full glory, before she's going to bed with me and Johan (even if Johan disapproves).

FINALLY got to see 500 Days of Summer, and what can I say. I'm still in love with Zooey!
And if I'm going to this years Coachella Festival she will be playing there, with her and M. Ward's band She & Him.
Guess who will be standing in the front.



And btw, the movie was great!

Found this package in the hallway. And it had a strange name on it.



Jul in Swedish means Christmas.

I wonder if there's any person out there with one of the following names?

Jul Bord

Jul Gran

Jul Klapp

Jul Bock

Jul Tomte

The new promising band Local Natives just released their splendid debut record Gorilla Manor.
This is my favorite song so far.

World News


And a live version

We lied. Said we were going to a bar called Revolution Bar. Johan didn't have any idea what was about to go down.
6.20 pm me and Maja storms into our apartment whe're Johan sits, talking to his girlfriend/ex grlfriend/whatever.
We blindfold him, put headphones on him with some loud Queens On The Stone Age and jumps into a cab, going down to Fishermans Wharf. We meet up with the others and when we finally reveal the reality for Johan there's 8 boobies (4 Hooters waitresses) standing in front of him singing the fastest version of "Happy Birthday" I've ever heard.
We then enjoyed some really fat but amazingly good food at Hooters before the booze swept us away towards the jazz bars and the 90's dance floors.

Sleeping in the same bed and even sharing the same sheet with Johan works fine, but lately the situation has become more and more intimate. I think the lack of girls starting to take its toll. A couple weeks ago I swear I felt Johans morningwood against my back. Last week I woke up when Johan wrapped me in his arms whispering something like "I want you". Yesterday was a really busy night. First Johan grabs me in the face (Or as he said: "I made the bowling grip") and then I wake up having is tounge against my arm. I don't think he's ever done that to any of his girlfriends,  But I don't really mind. I'm actually feeling kinda flattered.

And today is his birthday 

Happy Birthday my friend!

I've been incredibly bad at updating this blog lately. But unfortunately there's other things I put first in line right now. I can't say it enough - the day has way to few hours. After work you only have like 4 hours before bed time. I would need like 2 or 3 more hours to be able to feel satisfied.

But now I finally got some free time here at work, so I will give you a small update on what has happened lately:

- Attended at a commercial shoot at the tv station KPIX, starting 7 in the morning. I was production assistant, which means carrying around heavy props and providing food for all participants (Ramne, you Know what I'm talking about). Even if I didn't have any super important and challenging task it was still fun to watch...the HOT actresses!




- Ran, rain, rain. I got washed away for fuck sake! San Francisco felt more like London than a Californian city.



- Found the perfect cure for the sad weather though: The Radio Dept - Heaven's On Fire



- The dark clouds finally vanished and some great sunny days came along. Took a nice long walk over some of the highest located hills in downtown. San Francisco is a white city in general. And from these hills it almost felt more white than The White Hell(tm). My old men back in Stockholm would like this city for sure.







- Saw Mark Kozelek (singer of Sun Kil Moon and Red House Painters) at the Berns looking venue Great American Music Hall. Amazing how a man only equipped with a guitar can create something so emotional. Got to hear one of my favorite songs of all time, which was amazing indeed.



- Went to see the Chinese celebrating the Chinese new year with a huge carneval downtown.




- After a sunny breakfast on our roof I went on my first bike ride so far with Johan and Maja. Biked over Golden Gate, down to a hidden beach and climed up to a secet cliff (can't say my purple Converse was the most suitable foot gear). The reward - an amazing view over the Golden Gate Bridge and the San Francisco skyline.