Picon

December 7, 2017 Fil Corbitt

The Picon Punch. A bitter, brown basque cocktail unique to the American West.

Exploring shades of brown at the JT Basque Bar and Dining Room in Gardnerville, NV The Martin Hotel in Winnemucca, NV, Santa Fe Hotel and Louies' Basque Corner in Reno, NV, The Overland Hotel in Fallon, NV, The Star Hotel in Elko, NV, and Shepherds Inn in Fresno, CA.

Thanks to the legislative voice actors: Watson Meyer, Sam Gates, Ivan Gates and Joey Lovato. Joey has a rad podcast called Niche.

Music:

Roots Connective by Yclept insan (Earth)
Rainforest by Drips Zacheer (Greece)
Txalaparta performance by HUTSUN TXALAPARTA TALDEA (Pamplona)
Friends in Faraway Places by Tea Haze (NV)
Blu by BluOrangee (Italy)
Tether by Coastwest Unrest (NV)

Also, I wrote an accompaniment article to this episode for the travel site Roads & Kingdoms. It's a sweet travel/culture site that touts Anthony Bourdain as an editor. You can check it out here.

This episode of Van Sounds was sponsored by TravelNevada. Plan your trip at TravelNevada.com

Snake in the Grass

November 6, 2017 Fil Corbitt

Touring the DIY Punk circuit of Southern Brazil.

The skyscrapers of São Paulo are like blades of grass. They stretch upright in every direction, farther than you can see.

It’s winter and it’s night time. A line of motorcycles slithers through the sparse traffic on a backstreet of Pinhieros and the moon is behind the clouds. I’m on a street corner at the base of a skyscraper on the top of a hill at a bend in the road. A single motorcycle zigzags up the hill, leans into the turn and disappears into the tall grass, never looking up. Just ahead.

Xau in front of Lavanderia • Curitiba, Brazil • Photo by Kent Irwin

Alan Chaves + Mark Nesbitt in Porto Alegre, Brazil

Gus drinks beer from the corner store • Florípa, Brazil

This episode of Van Sounds was brought to you by Astray Goods Company -- honestly handcrafted backpacks made to last a lifetime. Search for Astray Goods on Kickstarter to get a pack at an early backer price.

Postcard #9 - Pacifica, CA

September 20, 2017 Fil Corbitt

Van Sounds contributor Emily Jiang finds a house on a cliff between the highway and the ocean.

Photos by Emily Jiang and Abby Mitchell.

September 1, 2017 Fil Corbitt

"...But this show is entirely unique...It’s often a lesson about music or sense of place, and it’s always an aural escape." - Erin Berger, Outside Magazine.

Repeater

August 30, 2017 Fil Corbitt

I have a 100 theme songs in my head.
They bounce around, bounce off each other, but mainly, they repeat.
They play, then they play again. Then they play again. Then the show happens until the theme comes and plays again. And then the show and then the theme and then the theme. The television is either mocking or celebrating my repetitive movements, and then in turn I do the same to it.

Maybe think about the engine of a freight train. Maybe think about the pistons somewhere deep in there pumping up and down, over and over again. The repetition makes it go. The repetition moves it.
But even if the pistons stop, the train keeps moving. Repetition builds momentum.
You repeat something enough, and it starts to repeat itself

I called up Union Pacific and asked the first person to answer the phone, "if an average freight train is cruising at full speed on flat, straight tracks, and they cut the engine, how far would it go before it stops?” And the guy on the phone replied — quote "i dunno, pretty far."

MUSIC

Roots Connective, Tutzi, and Beet Tape Coop by Yclept Insan
n e e dr e s t by Odyssee
A bunch of theme songs including BREAK MASTER CYLINDER
M-800 by Over Vert.