Common Market is debuting their "Black Patch War" EP with a bang, I tell ya.

They're playing an EP release show tonight at the Vera Project at Seattle Center and two shows tomorrow at Hell's Kitchen in Tacoma.

This morning, I went to Cafe Verite (aka Cupcake Royale) in Ballard bright and early at 7 a.m. to catch an on-air interview and performance for KEXP. Wow. Damn near 200 people showed up AT 7 A.M to watch. That's crazy. That's hype.

In The Stranger review that published yesterday, Charles Mudede gave the EP four out of four stars and wrote:

"The rapper, RA Scion, and the producer, Sabzi, have created a work that's brought them closer to the region of hiphop greatness. This is no exaggeration. Black Patch War is a big step up for the duo. It contains some of Sabzi's best material, and though RA Scion's words are sometimes lost in the warm and sad sea of music, the force of his concerns is always felt. The global justice movement, fair trade, criticisms of American violence, the state of local hiphop, the state of the 21st-century rapper—all of the issues that were in the first Common Market record are further developed and refined."

Even more exciting, this EP is just a preview for the full-length "Tobacco Road" album dropping later this year.

"Now go play monopoly with vigilantes and bandits."

Because I know most of you lurk on this blog waiting for that needle-in-the-haystack post about my personal life, I'm going to prick you with this pin.

I'm Match.com-ing it.

Whereas I have previously proclaimed that I'm done with online dating and girlfriends are too expensive anyway, Scott still has faith and has taken it upon himself to raise funds for a (pricey) Match.com membership. If Scott has your contacts, he will likely hit you up for cash. You've been warned. He's supposedly already set up a PayPal account in my name.

My better judgment tells me that I should avoid this endeavor, especially after learning that online dating is designed for women, but if Scott can pull the cash together, I'll roll with it.

Hell, I know a couple people in my office who met their spouses through Match.com. That's what makes me nervous though. Match.com is next level. Something like 60,000 new singles join Match.com each day. These people on there are serious about dating, and I'm not sure if I am. I've gotten too comfortable with the single lifestyle.

Today I told a coworker that I'm heading to Puerto Vallarta for a weekend next month.

"That's amazing how you can just make a decision and go somewhere like that," he replied. "No hesitation."

"That's because I don't have to check with anyone," I said. "You have to think about your girlfriend and what she wants to do. You have to worry about your dog. I just have to worry about where I want to go and if there's money in the bank. When the bank is green I go."

I like that freedom. I understand the literacy of "ball and chain." Regardless, I'm taking Scott's lead (and money) on this. Something tells me, "It's okay to look."

Update: Like a girl scout outside Albertson's, Scott is asking for your money. Click here to donate to the PayPal account dedicated to my Match.com future.

I've decided I'm not busy enough, so I may get going on grad school this summer quarter, starting June 23, if I get get the finances together in time.

I was notified today that they could bump my admissions up if I wanted to get a jumpstart. Might as well, right?

I'm also trying to work out a trip with Scott to Puerto Vallarta the weekend before school starts. We'll see how this shakes out...

The Desert Sun reports, via Gramps, that Palm Desert's premiere meat market, South Beach Nightclub, has closed its doors.

"It was not immediately clear why the Palm Desert, Calif., club shut its doors. Financial reasons, of course, are often the primary cause.

However, the word around town via the 20-something chicks, is that the club actually "peaked' more than a year and a half ago when men-about-town, Paolo Mottola Jr. and Scott Chaffee, from Seattle, spent a memorable evening there. Their inability to return to the club (due to European travels and marriage, respectively) undoubtedly started the down-hill spiral to it's closure last Thursday."

Something tells me Gramps altered the original report...

For those of you out of the loop, South Beach was the location where Scott and I ran sick game nearly two years ago. You can read the original post about our adventures here.

Month

So yeah, I know I've been posting a lot of photos lately, but a picture's worth a thousand words, right? I'm also super busy with a photography right now (a good thing) and that seeps into the blog content. Deal with it.

I'm working on finishing an engagement set for my friend, coworker and occasional blog reader, David, and his fiance. We went out shooting a couple weekends ago under some less than favorable conditions. Nevertheless, we got some great shots. Here are some favorites: