Sources: Ramirez used fertility drug

NEW YORK -- Manny Ramirez was suspended for 50 games by Major League Baseball on Thursday, becoming the latest high-profile player ensnared in the sport's drug scandals.
The Los Angeles Dodgers star said he did not take steroids and was prescribed medication by a doctor that contained a banned substance. The commissioner's office didn't announce the specific violation by the 36-year-old outfielder, who apologized to the Dodgers and fans for "this whole situation."
However, two sources told ESPN's T.J. Quinn and Mark Fainaru-Wada that the drug used by Ramirez is HCG -- human chorionic gonadotropin. HCG is a women's fertility drug typically used by steroid users to restart their body's natural testosterone production as they come off a steroid cycle. It is similar to Clomid, the drug Bonds, Giambi and others used as clients of BALCO.
"Recently, I saw a physician for a personal health issue. He gave me a medication, not a steroid, which he thought was OK to give me," Ramirez said in a statement issued by the players' union.
"Unfortunately, the medication was banned under our drug policy. Under the policy that mistake is now my responsibility. I have been advised not to say anything more for now. I do want to say one other thing; I've taken and passed about 15 drug tests over the past five seasons."
The video of the first single from NYLON Records' Plastiscines
It's just so, so, NYLON Records-y...

The Silent Years || Listen || Watch
“The rock sextet, The Silent Years take audiences on a magic carpet ride through lush soft-pop atmospherics and glittering rock landscapes on the band’s latest release, The Globe. Produced by The Silent Years, the music has avant-pop intonations relatable to The Arcade Fire, a chamber-rock bounce liken to The Polyphonic Spree, and folk rock inflections with the sensibilities of Ben’s Brother. The music is designed to be savored as the songs penetrate deeper into the listener’s mind with each take. The band’s emotional esthetics comes through in each track with meaningful chord changes and tempo shifts that go in rhythm with the story being told in each song.” - Absolute Punk
with:
Hello Vegas
Roughed Up Folk
The Belle Brigade
8:30pm / $8 adv, $10 doors / 21+

RESTAVRANT 12a
GIMME 5’S 9p
THE HIGH SOCIETY 10p
WAKE UP LUCID 11p
RESTAVRANT
Narnack Records presents this Texas duo's raging garage punk influenced swamp rock that guarantees a good night out. Banjos, guitars, and some extremely interesting percussion (oil drums, boxes, license plates & whatever else they can pull from the local dumpster!...) plus a heaping spoonful of hillbilly = GOOD TIMES.
“Restaurant are two screemin freeks—term used so respectfully—from adorable Victoria, Texas, that use expired license plates for drum parts and bodily drag truly addled hillbillyism into the digital age. They engineer a sloppy collision between Hasil Adkins and DJ Assault that boils down to beat, guitar and rooster-at-sunrise screaming, and behind them the drunkest dancers fall obediently in line.” - LA Record
Oh, hell yeah! They're playing tonight with WARPAINT!

OVERHEARD LAST NIGHT:
"Do you think a medium sized pizza will be enough?" "Yeah! I've got a pizza cutter too, so we can slice it up so there's more." "What do you mean, more? Are you going to get all 5 loaves and 2 fishes on that shit, or what?"

Modest Mouse drummer joins The Shins

Modest Mouse drummer Joe Plummer has replaced Jesse Sandoval in The Shins, as part of a shuffle in the lineup of the band. Keyboardist Marty Crandall is also out of the band, while Fruit Bats man Ron Lewis has joined the band on bass. In an interview with Pitchfork, Shins main man James Mercer revealed that he felt it was time to shuffle the lineup after playing with both Crandall and Sandoval since the mid-nineties. "I started to have production ideas that I wanted to do that basically required some other people. It's mainly about that. It's an aesthetic decision. It's kind of hard to talk abut stuff like that, isn't it? Because I don't want to bum anybody out. I'm on good terms with those guys, I hope to maintain that. I wouldn't say I'd never work with them again. I love working with those guys," he says. MORE AFTER THE JUMP
Ida Maria:
Neurosis Meets Sass In 'Naked'
By Christian Hoard

NPR.org, May 6, 2009 - Long before the U.S. release of Fortress Round My Heart, Ida Maria Sivertsen was an indie-rock It Girl overseas and on music blogs here. By the end of 2009, "I Like You So Much Better When You're Naked" may well be overexposed. But until then, it's best to enjoy it as a likable slab of garage-pop that's both confessional and bloody-good fun — a song where the singer wears her heart on her sleeve, but prefers to wear nothing at all. MORE AFTER THE JUMP
Exclusive First Listen:
Grandaddy's Jason Lytle
Hear His Entire Solo Debut Two Weeks Before Its Official Release

Few songwriters possess Jason Lytle's gift for telling stories. In a 15-year run as the frontman and creative force behind the Modesto, Calif., rock band Grandaddy, Lytle penned an inspired catalog of neo-psychedelic pop songs, with gut-punch tales of destitute drunks, failed suburban dreams and at least one robot that died from a broken heart. They're songs that unfold with the plainspoken elegance of a Raymond Carver short story, striking a curious and utterly affecting balance between the cosmic and the comic...more after you click on the image above.
Sonic Youth Sneak Preview,
The Year's Best Jazz Record (So Far), More

The New York-based group Sonic Youth has been making some of the most inspired and influential rock music of the past quarter century. The band is about to release its 16th studio album and its first for the Matador record label. The Eternal won't be out until June 9, but you can hear an early cut on this edition of All Songs Considered. Also on the program: Pakistan-born singer Natasha Khan and her Bat For Lashes project; music from the grasslands of China and Mamer; French singer Marianne Dissard; Ethiopian jazz legend Mulatu Astatke and the Londo-based jazz group Heliocentrics; and the Atlanta-based rock group Manchester Orchestra. Listen to the entire story! Just click on the image above!
Download this show in the All Songs Considered podcast.
Cool Kid's Gone Fishing mixtape is finally finished. Free download after the jump. The artist themselves are the ones who are giving out the mixtape download for free!

download here

From one my favorites, ROCK INSIDER:
Los Angeles by way of Oregon psychedelic pop outfit The Parson Red Heads have something to celebrate! Their new EP “Orangufang” is available on Rock Insider's very own little vinyl label JAXART Records!! Be sure to download to "Raymond" from the release above and order the 7 inch now to get the exclusive digital EP with two more amazing tracks.
The record is also available at Origami Vinyl in Echo Park. Read a great article about Origami Vinyl in the LA Times. It was featured on the front page of the paper! [READ MORE]
Exclusive First Listen:
Conor Oberst And The Mystic Valley Band's
'Outer South'

NPR.org - When Conor Oberst hit the road last year in support of his eponymous solo debut, he took with him a group of close, longtime friends he dubbed The Mystic Valley Band. The group of half a dozen musicians had helped Oberst record his country-flavored album in Tepoztlan, Mexico's Valle Mistico in early 2008. While on tour, Oberst and members of the band continued to write and share songs with one another, eager to capture the energy of their live performances. By the end of 2008, Oberst and The Mystic Valley Band had enough material for a second album, and entered a studio in Tornillo, Texas, to lay down 16 new tracks. The album they came up with, Outer South, won't be released until May 5, but you can hear it in its entirety on NPR Music as an Exclusive First Listen. CLICK ON THE IMAGE ABOVE.
the new must see...
Anvil: The Story of Anvil
Ha! look at little joy basking in the daylight with its new tricked out blinkity blink bling!

"They say nobody walks in LA, but many people cross Sunset Blvd. at Portia everyday. This new signalized crosswalk will make it safer for them when they do," Council President Eric Garcetti said today at a news conference introducing Echo Park's new pedestrian friendly feature.
meet the charm known as WATERCOLOR PAINTINGS
Watercolor Paintings - Telephone Wires from If You Make It on Vimeo.
some more really fun kids we met a few days ago...they go by name PANGEA
DENGUE FEVER
Sleepwalking Through the Mekong follows Los Angeles based band Dengue Fever on their recent journey to Cambodia to perform 60s and 70s Cambodian rock n' roll in the country where it was created and very nearly destroyed. The odyssey is a homecoming for singer Chhom Nimol and a transformation for the rest of the band as they perform with master musicians and record new songs along the way.
yeah, as many of you know from seeing them live, they're really THAT good! check out this footage from their current tour.

COMPETITION IS NOW OPEN!
The Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council is a grassroots-level advisory committee set-up by a 1999 revision to the City of Los Angeles Charter that created the Neighborhood Council system. We represent our community on issues ranging from affordable housing and sustainability to arts, land use, education, and public safety.
Our 28-member volunteer Board of Directors represents residents, business owners, public and private sector employees, the homeless, social service providers, artists, and educators across Downtown and is elected by stakeholders every two years. Past successes include ArtWalk and other community events such as Park[ing] Day LA, Project Homeless Connect, community mixers and advocacy on many community issues.
The Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council logo competition is now open through May 12, 2009 and we're looking to redefine our image to reflect the qualities of Downtown and the neighborhood we so proudly represent.
How to Enter: Enter up to three submissions and help us define our organization by emailing your submission to logo@dlanc.com. If you have any questions, please email us at logo@dlanc.com All entries will be on display for public viewing at the May 14, 2009 ArtWalk! MORE INFO AFTER THE JUMP
Silver Lake Neighborhood Council Says Sunset Junction Needs an Overhaul
[...]Ultimately, the Board voted unanimously in favor of a motion stating that it will "oppose the Sunset Junction Street Festival in its current format." What this means for the future of the popular festival is still unknown... LAWeekly.com
Relocation, fee changes, cancellation? Speculate wildly!
Here's some video of Soko's last and only known L.A. performance:

Echo Park Named One of Top 10 Great Neighborhoods

And when you hear that, you might find yourself asking which Realtor came up with that ranking. Luckily, this time there is some creditability behind the designation: the American Planning Association. They "singled out Echo Park because of its breathtaking topography set in the hills above downtown, historic architecture, pedestrian-oriented streets and stairways, and engaged residents who, over the years, have gone to great lengths to protect and preserve their community," according to an APA release (add: their website has more info and history on why EP was chosen) .... more after you click on the image!
SUBMIT YOUR PICTURES!!!
THE MAE-SHI @ Spaceland

THE MOVIES @ Spaceland

DENGUE FEVER @ Viper Room

No comments:
Post a Comment