Musical comedy duo Garfunkel and Oates hosted the December charity auction at Amoeba Hollywood. This was actually their second time hosting the auction and, once again, their zany and "in-yer-face-perfectly-appropriate-for-a-Saturday-afternoon-at-the-record-store" humor proved that they ain't just pretty faces. The girls drew a really great crowd of about 70 to see them perform a couple of songs and then launch into the rapid-fire auctioning frenzy. 

Ya had to be QUICK to get a bid in 'cause they weren't kidding around about this auction. They were HIGHLY entertaining and definitely hilarious -- and they had more than a fair share of people wondering, "wait did they just say....??? "

Here are some of the highlights from the auction:

• Beatles lunchbox with Trader Joe's Gift Card - $80.00
• Tiny Furniture Blu-ray signed by Lena Dunham - $30.00
• John Waters Holiday Show tickets + Hairspray DVD - $40.00
• Public Enemy and Sufjan Stevens concert tickets - $97.00 (Awesome!!)
• Urban Outfitters Gift Card - $ 65.00
• Led Zeppelin package - $20.00
• Beatles collectibles (in a Rolling Stones bag) - $25.00
• Limited edition Record Store Day bag - $70.00
• Special Amoeba in-store VIP pass - $80.00
• Polyphonic Spree tickets with Hit Record book signed by Joseph Gordon-Levitt - $50.00
• Amoeba special gift bag with random crazy stuff - $40.00
• Yo Gabba Gabba package - $20.00
• John Cale and Ty Segall concert tickets - $25.00

Cool stuff and some great bids! All together Garfunkel and Oates (and you guys!) helped raise $652.00 in bids, and together with the Amoeba match it comes to $1,304.00 to the wonderful organization Five Acres, which helps families and kids in need over the holidays. All in all it was a ROCKIN' good time. Thanks so much to Garfunkel and Oates for coming back to our charity auction and making this one of the most memorable Saturday auctions ever!

Word's been circulating on the Internets this afternoon that famed film director / friend of Amoeba Music John Waters was hitch-hiking in Ohio earlier today and that, coincidentally, indie rock band Here We Go Magic picked him up, as reported on the DCist website this afternoon. Van passenger Jen Turner has been posting updates via her Twitter account. In one post from a little over an hour ago she wrote, "He's the real deal. He just wanted an adventure! Imagine! A true artist." In a later post after dropping off Waters, she tweeted, "What an utter gentleman, as natural and observant of people as one might imagine. A total joy, full of stories. Thanks JW, be safe out there."

Meanwhile, earlier today band member Michael Bloch recalled first noticing the director of such cult classics as the 1972 film Pink Flamingos starring Divine. "Getting back on the highway this morning, there was a man at the side of the on-ramp with a sign that read 'to the end of Rte 70.' Jen wanted to pick him up, but we drove past him. As we passed by, our sound guy said 'John Waters!' Luke said, 'Yep, definitely John Waters.' We got off at the next exit and circled back. He was still there. We pulled up, opened the door and asked where he was coming from. 'Baltimore,' he said. And we said 'Get in, sir.' "

This month we are celebrating 20 years of Amoeba! It's our anniversary! And one of the ways we wanted to celebrate was by highlighting here for you some of our best, most memorable instores of all time! We have been so lucky over the years -- we've hosted shows, signings and events with Paul McCartney, Queens of the Stone Age, The Shins, Flight of the Conchords, John Waters, The Gossip and zillions more. You can find video footage and interviews from many of our instores right here! Read on to find out what three of our most seasoned instore reviewers thought were some of our very greatest.

But first, get further immersed in our 20th Anniversary! To check out our first Anniversary blog post, with testimonials from some of our favorite customers, click here! Our second Anniversary post is an interview with co-owner Marc Weinstein about getting the Berkeley store off the ground all the way back in 1990 and what Amoeba means to him. Read it right here. Our third Anniversary post includes Top 10 lists from some of our old skool employees -- click here to check out their favorites in music and movies from the past 20 years!

Continue reading...

The Castro Theater premiere of Joshua Grannell (aka Peaches Christ)'s brand new film All About Evil was truly the all-out extravaganza of the year here in San Francisco! The 1400 seat historic Castro Theater sold out in record time, and the line was insane outside before the show -- all the way down Castro Street, down 17th Street, and curving around onto at least half of Hartford Street! The line was jammed full of Peaches Christ fans -- some in drag, some wearing wigs, some gothed up, all beside themselves with excited anticipation to feast their eyes upon Joshua's film, which is about a former librarian turned small theater owner whose mantra at ANY cost, even the lives of others in the name of entertainment, is "The show must go on!"


Search lights added to the premiere ambiance as the crowd gathered and the huge "rush" line for those who did not already have tickets was stretching along Castro Street as well. Peaches Christ arrived, stepping onto the red carpet with her flawed sidekick Martiny and a host of actors from the movie, including Natasha Lyonne, Thomas Dekker, Mink Stole and more! There were cameras everywhere, capturing the moment for an upcoming documentary of this world premiere event. I ran into the ever-amazing local legend Timmy Spence, who has a small role in the film as the principal of the high school, and he was beyond excited!

Many of the artists performing at Coachella 2010 have performed live and/or shopped at Amoeba, including John Waters, Dave Grohl, Boots Riley, Aterciopelados, Sia, Vampire Weekend and more!

Check out their instore performance videos, interviews, and What's In My Bag? features right here in Part 1, and get a little insight into these artists' inspirations, what they listen to, and their music! To see Part 2, with Steve Malkmus of Pavement, Zoe, The Soft Pack and more, go here!

Dave Grohl of Them Crooked Vultures - What's In My Bag?

John Waters - Interview