Jim profile picture

Jim

I'm living the Brady life!

About Me

I cover music for the North County Times , a 95,000 circulation daily newspaper in San Diego - if you're a band in the area, click on that link (or the NCT profile in my Top Friends list below) and add us as a friend!

I also publish/edit a literary/arts 'zine at Turbula.net and maintain an archive of my writing at Trageser.com with more than 1,200 record reviews . I also write the weekly Hot on the Web column about on-line life for San Diego's ComputorEdge magazine.

Most importantly, though, I'm husband to my wonderful wife, Barb, and father to my wonderful children Larissa, Chris, Elizabeth, Connor and, in August, Clara Grace!

My Interests

Blues, jazz, computers, computer history, astronomy and cosmology, literature, computer games, fado, flamenco, tango, bluegrass, chanson, reel to reel tape decks, old motor yachts, baseball

You Belong in Paris
You enjoy all that life has to offer, and you can appreciate the fine tastes and sites of Paris. You're the perfect person to wander the streets of Paris aimlessly, enjoying architecture and a crepe. What European City Do You Belong In?
Your Linguistic Profile:
50% General American English

15% Dixie

15% Yankee

10% Upper Midwestern

5% Midwestern What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

I'd like to meet:

Friends with shared interests in music, literature and science are always good!

Music video you should watch:
Lawrence Welk show - "One Toke Over the Line" (REALLY!)

Vintage gaming video:
"Atari football" - arcade game

Music:

Count Basie and Johnny Cash, Sinatra and Piaf, Duke and Cake, Henri Salvador and Jonas Hellborg, UFO and Gershwin, The Farmers and Polltax.

Movies:

Anything with Bogie in it - "Casablanca" remains the finest flick ever made. Other faves include "The Man Who Would Be King," "The Quiet Man," "Kings Go Forth" ... I'll also sit through most any action flick or comedy ...

Television:

Monty Python ... Monk ... Northern Exposure ... Quark ... that's about it ...

Books:

Camus, Hemingway, Calvino, Dumas, Duras, Potok, Saint-Exupery, Richler, Wodehouse, Hillerman, cosmology, history, astronomy, planetary exploration, music history, computer history

Heroes:

My wife Barbara, Brother Joe Trageser, Albert Camus, Ernest Hemingway, Antoine Saint-Exupery, Cesar Chavez, Norman Granz, John Hammond, John Paul II, Mother Teresa, Father Joe Carroll, Brother Benno, Albert Schweitzer

My Blog

NCT interview: Wynton Marsalis

Marsalis reflects on role as educator as well as playerWynton Marsalis can flat-out play that horn of his. Of that, there's been no doubt, not since he came storming onto the jazz scene in 1980 as a t...
Posted by Jim on Thu, 10 Jul 2008 12:33:00 PST

NCT interview: Frank Sinatra Jr.

Sinatra Jr. bringing dad's music to townFor anyone over the age of 35 or so, it seems nearly impossible to believe it's been a decade since Frank Sinatra died. Beginning with his days as lead singer w...
Posted by Jim on Fri, 27 Jun 2008 07:50:00 PST

North County Times interview: Augustana

Augustana finds an adopted home base in North CountyLIke many a Midwestern ex-pat, the men of North County-based alt-rock band Augustana ended up in Southern California seeking something better than t...
Posted by Jim on Sun, 22 Jun 2008 09:25:00 PST

NCT interview: Dave Gonzalez of the Hacienda Bros.

Hacienda Brothers, Alvin to honor fallen colleague GaffneyChris Gaffney had been a respected member of the Southern California roots rock scene for several decades before co-founding the Hacienda Brot...
Posted by Jim on Sat, 07 Jun 2008 09:22:00 PST

CD review: Nortec Collective

Techno with a Latin touchThe San Diego area isn't known as a hot-bed of top-rank electronica outfits. Not that we don't have some talented locals, but the county hasn't produced electronica's version ...
Posted by Jim on Sat, 07 Jun 2008 09:07:00 PST

CD review: Joel Rafael

Back to writingWith "Thirteen Stories High," Rafael has issued his first collection of his own songs in eight years. And it's as solid a collection of new songs as he's yet recorded. Thirteen tracks, ...
Posted by Jim on Sat, 07 Jun 2008 09:04:00 PST

CD review: Jesse Cook

A more accessible flamencoNo matter what his record label or MySpace page want us to believe, the music that Canadian guitarist Jesse Cook plays is not flamenco. Not the real thing, anyway, and never ...
Posted by Jim on Sun, 01 Jun 2008 07:42:00 PST

CD review: Eric Frazier

A solid jazz setAn interesting release, this. Eric Frazier is a congero based out of Brooklyn, yet this set was laid down at the San Diego landmark venue in 2004 - and featured Del Mar local Tripp Spr...
Posted by Jim on Sun, 01 Jun 2008 07:38:00 PST

CD review: So Long Davey!

Glam rock for a new millenniumFronted by San Diego rock singer David Vaughn, So Long Davey! is a light-hearted hard-rocking combo whose four-song debut EP shows a band with presence, musicianship and ...
Posted by Jim on Sun, 01 Jun 2008 07:35:00 PST

CD review: Years Around the Sun

Sweetly challengingBlending the noir atmosphere and lush melodicism of 1980s new romantic with a touch of the edginess of alt rock, San Diego's Years Around the Sun has produced a second album that is...
Posted by Jim on Sun, 01 Jun 2008 07:33:00 PST