How wild is it that it’s almost the end of March, and spring is practically here? Last Saturday, KOKORO had their Cookout event as a spring break party. If I counted correctly, nine artists performed throughout the day. During the BBQ contest, the crowd was advised to move around, stretch their legs, and take a break while there wasn’t anyone performing. People could also check out all the vendor booths there and watch the four restaurants cook up a meal in twenty minutes for the contest. Between Great Ocean Club, Saucy’s Taqueria, Bento, and Pop’s Diner, the judges gave the cash prize money to Pop’s Diner. Based on my notes, their delicious “biscuits and gravy with brisket covered in bourbon sauce, with a sunnyside-up egg with a nice yolk, on the side is cottage fries” also won them a jingle from Lulu Moon. I can’t wait to hear Lulu’s jingle for Pop’s Diner.
The highlight for me was when everyone was vibing so hard that they were all dancing in sync by the end of the event. This went on for over eleven songs between the three final artists. It was really cool to watch and gave me so much serotonin. More, please.
Trashy Vibes…
On Tuesday night, Tortuga Marine Conservation hosted the Warriors for the Whales cleanup event at the beach by the Del Perro Pier. Harlow Greene, an honorary orca and Tortuga volunteer, led the clean-up. It turns out a lot of people dump old car batteries at the end of the pier to charge the eels. I’m not sure how true that is, but I also don’t know much. When I asked Harlow how much trash was found, she said, “a fuck ton.” So there you have it, folks; unless you want to swim in a sea of trash, please stop littering in the ocean.
Blue So Cool…
Have you heard of Blue Bionic, our local superhero? He once saved me from dying on the sidewalk when he stopped to get me medical attention after finding me lying on the ground. Blue just released his limited edition energy drink, Bionic Berry Blast, in partnership with the ArCola company. Blue describes the flavor as “blue raspberry with a kick of citrus, similar to lemon almost.” If you’re worried about dying your tongue blue or using artificial food coloring, Wallace Riggs from the ArCola Company confirmed that they use natural blue food dye, which will not stain your tongue like those fruit roll-up tattoos. The drink is only in stock for a month, so grab them before April 15th!
Pop-Up Parties Grow…
If you haven’t noticed on Twitter, there has been an increase in pop-up parties lately. There was one across the street from PW HQ, outside of Nut Buster, on Cayo Perico, and many more. There’ve been a variety of DJs at these parties, including DJ FOXI3 and someone named DJ Daddy Dom(?). I think it’s a great trend, and it’s nice to see people having fun with their friends.
Speaking of Parties…
Oh, how the tables have turned, are turning, want to turn. With how many pop-up parties have been happening, DJs around the state want to have portable turntables and speakers so they can play their music properly. It would make them more legitimate than playing music from a boombox or phone, or so one DJ told me. Get the party aesthetics just right with easy to set up turntables. If you like the idea of portable turntables, you can find a petition and sign it to show your support.
Blacked Out…
As far as I know, I did not consume any alcohol that led me and the rest of the state to black out. The whole state blacked out not once but twice at the time of me writing this. People seem to be really curious about what’s causing all this, which I understand, but maybe don’t trespass the power station or the place across from it and get a $10,000 fine. We all know you have a better way to spend that money than to pay a trespassing fine. If we keep getting more blackouts, please make sure you’re carrying a flashlight with you so you can see in the dark.
Two Businesses No More…
I was a frequent patron of the High Five Pawn Shop. I often went there to sell things I’ve found and collected. For weeks, I didn’t know why they weren’t open, but now I do. Turns out they are closed forever, and so is this one other Mexican restaurant, La Linterna. They lost a ton of money, twenty-five cars, and a life (maybe more if the ones who didn’t die are stuck in prison). I guess the lesson here is to keep your criminal life away from your places of business.
Lose Two, Gain One?
Two businesses are out the door, but one is coming back with an event to kick things off. Remedy, the aromatherapy shop in Vespucci, is open again after their grand reopening on Wednesday night. DJ FOIX3 and DJ Spooky provided the people with jams to dance to, while Cream Pie and Craft Bar and Eatery provided the yummy stuff. I was told they got new packaging for their products and are ready to open up regularly again. If you are looking for candles, soaps, and good-smelling things, go down to Vespucci and check out Remedy.
Elephants and Music…
On Saturday night and Sunday morning, the Board of Education and San Andreas Medical Services collaborated to bring us the Festival of Color, with the Lost MC sponsoring the event. I can definitely confirm that the university’s track and field was not short on colors with all the bright decorations. They even had elephants! Artists from KOKORO performed on Saturday night, and bumper cars bumped on Sunday morning. SAMS sold their limited-time trading cards over the weekend. I got a cool-looking card of Seraphine!
On the unfortunate side of things, there were people that destroyed the library and burned books on Saturday night. I’m not sure what part of history you’re trying to erase or create, but please don’t burn books. They’ve done nothing to you but educate you.
More Cooked…
The Black Lotus MC also had a Cookout. Unfortunately, I missed it. I do know that Jason Tanners performed featuring the new Black Lotus song. I haven’t heard it yet, but knowing Jason, it’s probably a banger.
Upcoming Events:
March 21st @ 4PM ET: SA State Library Creative Writing Club
March 21st @ 9PM ET: Del Perro Jetskii Races, Hosted by FnS and MKE
March 22nd @ 9PM ET: Recovery Support Group: Forgiveness
March 24th @ 9PM ET: Ladies Bar Crawl presented by Vixen Cabaret
March 24th @ 10PM ET: Cosplay Party Event, Hosted By The Hub
March 25th @ 4PM – 8PM ET: ULSSA Job Fair
March 25th @ 9PM ET: Aiko’s House
March 25th @ 9PM ET: Vixen Cabaret’s Retro Drive-In Night
March 26th @ 9PM ET: Blood Night Bouts: Championship Finals
Stella’s Recommendation of the Week…
Have you listened to BurgerBump by the one and only Mykie Romance? If not, you really need to. This song is super catchy and totally earned its first place in the Confess contest I covered two weeks ago. I thought it’d be fun to do a casual interview with Mykie herself about this song. We met up at BurgerShot, where this song is based on. The anonymous confession this song is based on was: “I sometimes do large amounts of coke in the BurgerShot bathrooms.” How do we even start?
First, I had to ask Mykie an important question, and the answer was: no, Mykie Romance has never consumed coke before and has no desire to. Now that we have that out of the way, I was able to find out how the songwriting part went. From receiving the prompt to finishing the song, it only took Mykie three days to make the song. She came up with “coked out burger out order up / coked out locked out ‘nother bump” before finding the beat for the song. It’s super catchy. You have to listen to it.
It only felt right to take our photo together in the bathroom, which so happened to also be Mykie’s first time in the BurgerShot bathroom. Regarding upcoming stuff to look forward to from Mykie, there are two unreleased songs right now. If you were at the KOKORO Cookout, then you might have heard Mykie perform Sweeter during her set. Other than that, there are currently no upcoming shows for Mykie. Keep an ear out for when Mykie releases her songs on her Soundcloud.
Have a Stella Day and a Hardcore night, San Andreas!
"Paco" Vargas
March 20, 2023 at 3:21 am
I look forward to reading these everytime they come out, since they help me get caught up with what’s going on around town! Thank you Stella!
Paco Vargas
March 20, 2023 at 3:58 am
I always look forward to these! They keep me updated on what’s going on around the state and they’re filled with charm!