These days, martial music also means Marshall stacks. That’s right, soldiers rock—officially. In fact, every branch of the armed services maintains “show bands” as part of their music divisions. Not only are these groups of sailors and soldiers battle-trained, they also know how to plug in and squeal out a note-perfect version of Van Halen’s “Eruption.” This is an overview of ten military rock bands currently defending our freedom with guitar solos and cymbal crashes — check out the videos!

I will be appearing at the Litquake Lit Crawl NY on Saturday May 16^th, as part of the Opium Live onstage interview series, along with Christopher Kennedy and host Todd Zuniga, whose delightful cartoon this is. There’s two hours of events through the East Village and the Lower East Side. Ours will take place at the Happy Ending Lounge, a former Chinatown brothel with a great name, 302 Broome St., 8 pm. When it wraps at 9, we’ll all head down the block to the Lit Crawl after-party at Fontana’s, 105 Eldridge St. Come on down!

At last scheduled for publication this October, from Penguin. Since December 2006 I’ve been working almost full-time on an oral history of punk rock in the Bay Area. My co-author is Silke Tudor, and we’ve interviewed nearly 300 people, from Green Day, Rancid and Operation Ivy, on back to Maximum Rock n Roll magazine, the Dead Kennedys, Flipper, The Avengers, Crime, and The Nuns. Check out our myspace page for a nice swath of Bay Area punk!

A history of the world’s most famous acoustic guitar, including an interview with company president Chris Martin IV, and a visit to the factory in Nazareth, Pennsylvania.

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In a world where many hotels can appear so similar, it’s always nice to know that there’s room for the offbeat, weird, and just downright bizarre lodging options, like the following hotels, which actually exist and await your reservation. Vacation anecdotes are one thing, but it’s a guaranteed crowd-pleaser to tell your friends you stayed the night inside the head of a giant dog.

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It’s amazing that mankind has gone for this many years without a proper giant moose. And now in 2009, the world’s largest such creature, named Stoorn (“The Big One”), begins construction as an international tourist attraction in the Norrland region of northern Sweden.

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The amazing true story of how a tourist bumming around Cambodia in the mid-1990s, inadvertently launched the careers of many musicians, including the Cambodian/American hybrid Dengue Fever.

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Late at night, lying in the bed of a tent cabin, the entire island of St. John comes alive. Waves regularly rinse the beach. Frogs call out to each other. And somewhere nearby, a spastic iguana slowly crunches through the forest, before suddenly falling off a branch. This isn’t $1000-a-bed resort citadel living. This is Maho Bay Campgrounds, where for 100 bucks you can spend a night in the world’s first eco-resort.

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After 14 years of pursuing far less interesting careers, editorial staff, contributors, subscribers, and fans of the 1990s satirical Nose magazine will congregate for one night at a swank Tenderloin nightspot to share memories, rekindle friendships, and revisit old disputes, against a backdrop of a publication both reviled and revered. Admission is free, party runs from 5 to 8 pm. Treasured memorabilia, happy hour drinks, and even a smoking section. Reunion show will also feature astonishing live performance by Nose in-house rock band Rëzzin! At least come and see the stupid band, we only play every few years.

Although The Nose folded abruptly and with much drama in 1995, through the magic of Facebook and other time-wasting social networks, the magazine’s extended family will congregate once again, to observe the aging process up close, and bitch about how much money they are still owed. Hemlock Tavern is located at 1131 Polk Street in the colorful Tenderloin. No ceviche will be served.

I will be bouncing in and out of events all week long at Litquake, and will be reading on Thursday, October 9 at Hemlock Tavern, 1131 Polk St., in San Francisco. Show starts at 7 pm and is free. “Alan Black’s Nightclub” features readings by Bob Calhoun, Alan Black, Michael Disend, Beth Lisick, Michelle Richmond, Sylvie Simmons, David Henry Sterry, and myself.