Time to Die's Last Show

This Friday Time to Die will be playing their final show. It will also be Republicorpse's last show. Both bands are awesome and will be greatly missed. Please show up and support if you are able to attend.

Upcoming Shows

The show tomorrow will be Learn Nothing's last show in Orlando. It will also be Time to Die's second to last show ever.

Record Stores: Park Avenue Compact Discs

Park Ave. used to be located on South Park Avenue (surprised?) in Winter Park. They moved to a new location around the corner from Stardust Video & Coffee a few years ago. They've been in business for about twenty-five years selling new and used CDs, DVDs, and vinyl LPs. I find the prices are a little too high but it is another option to Rock & Roll Heaven. In addition to finding out about upcoming shows, via flyers and posters, Park Ave. holds instore events. Past performers have included Jason Mraz, Jimmy Eat World, Frank Black, From Autumn to Ashes, Little Brother, Stone Sour, Pelican, Angels and Airwaves, People Under the Stairs, Fall Out Boy, All-American Rejects, and many more. I actually saw Living Colour perform there for free yesterday.

Upcoming Shows

Here are a few upcoming shows through November. They are at The Black Box Collective and Uncle Lou's. Check them out if they interest you.

Record Stores: Rock & Roll Heaven

Record stores are few and far between in Orlando. However, one such store is Rock & Roll Heaven. Rock & Roll Heaven is located in beautiful College Park, mere minutes from downtown. It is also within walking distance from Ethos Vegan Kitchen and a short five minute drive from Uncle Lou's and Will's Pub. They claim to be Orlando's "best" record store and carry everything from hardcore/punk and hip hop to reggae and gospel. I believe this place will be your best bet if you're looking for an affordable record (whether 7" or 12") in Orlando. Check it out the next time you are in the area.

Saturday, September 12th, 2009

Great Friend of Mine is playing an apartment show in Oviedo near the University of Central Florida this Saturday. The apartment is located in the Tivoli complex and there are a few metalcore bands playing as well. Great Friend of Mine used to be known as Aim at the Kid. The members are the same but the sound has progressed tremendously. Come check them out if you are in the area. Think. Create. Teach. Repeat.

Show Tonight

Sorry for the late notice but this was the first I heard of it. The show is actually in Kissimmee (a bit south of Orlando). I'm not familiar with the venue or most of the bands. Advent is on tour from North Carolina.

Vegetarian/Vegan Spot: Stardust Video & Coffee

Stardust Video & Coffee is also located in the hipster mecca of Winter Park. It is conveniently located across the street from Park Ave. CDs. Stardust tends to offer a more Bohemian ambiance than Austin's Coffee and the selection isn't as good. However, Stardust prides itself in its massive indie film collection. When I was in high school I used to come here to find rare films. They had an impressive collection of B-Movies, Foreign, Indie, Documentary and Cult films (except someone never returned the VHS copy of The Holy Mountain). The entire collection was easily organized by genre and even director. So if one wanted to view the entire Todd Solondz catalog it was organized in such a way. That was then. On a recent trip to Stardust I found quite the surprise. There is an empty space where the movie collection used to stand. It seems the space is now used for lounging and listening to pretentious music. The collection now hangs on one wall; an amalgamation of no more than fifty films.

Vegetarian/Vegan Spot: Austin's Coffee

This entry will begin a series of restaurants/coffee shops in the Orlando area that have vegetarian/vegan options. I will begin with Austin's Coffee since it was the most recent place I visited. Austin's is located in Winter Park near Rollins College and Park Avenue. They have a variety of vegan sandwiches and soups available for both lunch and dinner. Also worth noting are the selection of vegan desserts such as chocolate cake (my selection). An independent company called The Fat Vegan runs their line of vegan donuts out of Austin's as well. If you like coffee I suppose this is the place for you. Austin's has "organic fairtrade beans" that are roasted right in the shop. This shop also plays host to a variety of events such as Open Mic Hip Hop, Comedy, Music, etc. I believe Baroness played a show here once. Check out their site for more information: http://www.austinscoffee.comThe Fat Vegan (www.myspace.com/thefatvegan)

Saturday, September 5th, 2009...An Actual Show?

Yes, believe it or not there is a show taking place in Orlando this Saturday. It's a house show in East Orlando near the University of Central Florida. Here are the details:

"Coming home show for Protagonist after almost 4 long months on the road! Come hang out, drink some beers, and welcome us home! $5 bucks to get in and we'll be buying the first keg."

PROTAGONIST
TEEN HEAT
1 MORE TBA

2270 Corbett Road
Orlando, FL 32826

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=2270+corbett+road%2C+Orlando%2C+FL

http://www.myspace.com/protagonist

Burn Unit

Location: Orlando
Years Active: 2008-2009
Website: www.myspace.com/burnunithc

Another project from the mind of Matt Pickler, Burn Unit began late in 2008. A lot heavier than previous Pick bands, Burn Unit features Khann guitarist Andrew and drummer Josh (who also played with Pick in Make or Break) and first time vocalist Jack. The band played a few shows around Central Florida and put out a seven song demo in 2009. Unfortunately, like most bands from the area, Burn Unit did not live up to their potential and parted ways. Jack moved to Philadelphia. Andrew and Josh are busy writing a new record for Khann. Pick will more than likely appear in another band soon. Download the demo if you can.

Third and Long

Location: Winter Park/South Orlando
Years Active: 2005-2006
Website: www.myspace.com/thirdandlonghc

Third and Long was a melodic hardcore band from Orlando which played out around '05/'06, comprised of Asya Han on vocals, Emelio on guitar, AJ on bass, Maika on drums, and myself (Gil) on second guitar. The sound was basically post-In My Eyes guitar-octave 2000s hardcore played by 17 year olds. The band was started between Asya Han, Emelio, and Maika who had written a few songs and were looking to nail down a full lineup, which would be brought together when I was asked to play upon meeting Asya Han, and I brought a friend Chris who would be our first bassist. Our first gig was a 5 minute set opening up the first show which Sammy Triple-B booked, which also ended up being in a park resulting in us playing outdoors with our drums and amps on the grass. Chris didn't play this show because he didn't know the songs, and subsequently only played one show with the band before quitting via a message board - cool (no hard feelings here, this kind of move is part of Chris' appeal). AJ was brought in on bass, and we wrote a couple more songs sometimes bordering on genre confused (our intro sounded kind of like Biohazard, and we played a "We Gotta Know" intro multiple times). The music was recorded for a demo to be released on Triple-B towards the end of the band, during the summer before Asya Han and I graduated high school, yet this recording never saw the light of day because Asya Han never got around to recording vocals. Not sure if Sam cared whether or not this demo ever really came out. A final show was booked, which took place at the AKA Lounge in Downtown Orlando, Years From Now and Make or Break both played and were awesome. It was a good note for the band to go out on, and while TnL wasn't much to be missed at least we got to finish our run properly.

All in all, Third and Long wasn't so bad and helped to compensate for the lack of young bands coming out of Orlando at this time. I think that if we finished the demo, nailed the Turning Point cover, and if Asya Han was a better singer that the band actually woulda been pretty ill. As of today, Maika sings in There For Tomorrow on Hopeless Records, Emelio is in Guilt Parade, Chris is doing who knows what, AJ moved back to the midwest and is doing something somewhere, Asya Han attends college in Boston and sold me Division One Champs on blue for $5, and I sing in a hardcore band called Free Spirit out of Boston which actually does have a demo on Triple-B. Reunion - never.

- Gil Sayfan