As the Footsteps Die Out Forever

lately, I've been feeling reminiscent of the good ol' times. The times back in the far, far past of the summer of 2006. A time when i was, i guess you could say, turning into the human being i have started to shape myself into in my current years. Recently, i dusted off my illegal, burned copy of Keasbey Knights by Catch 22 (Sorry, Mr. Kalnoky, but at the time i had no money and an Internet connection and way too much free time). I look back on that summer as one of the greatest times in my life. So, i guess the cliche is true: these really are my greatest years. This was the summer where my musical 'persona' started to flourish. Ska was a new thing to me, even though i had played in a ska band with my friends. It was the perfect mix of good friends, hot weather, teen angst, and boredom. This blog in fact does tie in a little with the earlier post about TSA. At the time, Lucas, my guide through this musical journey i was going through, was teaching me about all these different arrays of bands like Streetlight Manifesto, Catch 22, The Slackers, and Choking Victim. With no school in the way, we were able to all hang out around the bay area and just enjoy each others company and savor the imminent separation of high school graduation.

The reason i bring up these happy memories is because today i decided to give Catch 22 a listen again and instead of doing my homework, all i could do was just think of all those awesome times we had together, whether it was going up to El Sob and hanging out in berkeley, or stopping at Jes' house for some band practice. That school year, adam and i were going into our junior years while lucas, nick, alan, devon, jes, julia, and heather were all going to be big ol' seniors. I didn't know if they knew or if any of us knew, but we had to have known that that would be the last summer we would have together that was care-free. No worrying about going off to college or what was gonna happen after school, but just plain fun. Catch 22 is my biggest connection i have to that time. When "Keasbey Nights" starts with the muted guitar strums, i imagine all of us on Ocean Beach around a bonfire or in Nick's garage attempting musical genius.

I can't help think back to those great times because this summer it's my turn. it's my turn to be worried and frightened about what's going to become of me. i have no clue. I'm petrified. But typing this blog right now, it makes me think that because it's no longer mandatory and I'm still adding to it, that this might be something i could get into. This might be my career path in front of me. These words could be the inspiration i have been looking for. I just needed something to push me into the right direction. I'm not sure what kind of things i could do. Fiction, journalism, movies, TV. They are all the things i have been introduced to thanks to Mr Gibbs and Mr. Greenwood, quite possibly two of my coolest teachers I've ever had....ever. They're definitely in the top 5. And the fact that Mr. Greenwood's into a lot of the same stuff as me, musically and in entertainment, makes me hopeful for whatever may come.

So thank you, Catch 22. You have helped me make a difficult decision even easier.

That's What Friends Are For!!!

oh Zaiem, how i love you. You know everything about everything. You lend me a hand when i need some help. I thank you for the flash drive. thank you for the free movies like animal house and knocked up. Thank you for nearly killing me in your car and letting me appreciate my life. Thanks for the flash drive for resident evil 4 and thanks for the free entertainment. This was just a short ode to zaiem, my friend, the maniacal driver. Its amazing he only has gotten one ticket for speeding when he tries to go 120mph on the freeway every time. so, Zaiem, this one goes out to you. i raise my glass to you.

People Who Can Eat People Are The Luckiest People In The World

Goddamn Folk! I don't know what's going on, but i find myself listening to a little bit more folk everyday. This band i've been listening to a lot lately called Andrew Jackson Jihad is a folk band that is really good and really cool. The lead singer Sean Bennett is the main lyricist and has an eloquent way with words and his lyrics have a way of describing the mundane with a touch of human life. The music can be catchy and make you want to move around and other times, they just make you think about life and its many miseries. Like, the song "People" is about Sean's trust in the people of the world and how we are all people regardless of the way we look and dress and our skin and how we look at life.

The music is kind of like a teleporter. One moment, you're on the street corner of New York listening to a street band play for money with an acoustic guitar and an empty bottle of whiskey. The next you could be in the middle of a Southern forest on the porch of an old run down house from the 19th century listening to the music in the distance, strumming a banjo as you just sit back and enjoy the life that was given to you. Some of the songs are fast and kind of upbeat like "Survival". But a lot of the songs are a little slower and more on the depressed/revenge side, like "Little Brother", a song about the protagonist's little brother with fetal alcohol syndrome and his experience with using and selling crack-cocaine to his classmates which eventually led to revenge upon the kids that ridiculed his brother for being born different.

Instead of the usual guitar/bass/drums affair in all the other bands these days, AJJ has only two members Sean Bonette and Ben Gallant. Bonette is the lead singer...ok, maybe singer is a bit of an overstatement. His vocals are powerful and hit you hard, but not in the way you might think. His voice sounds almost like a thirteen year old kid who's still growing up. Wales and cracks in his voice are what make his voice so discernable from other singers. He adds to the music with his acoustic guitar and makes it sound different from other bands. He strums the guitar like crazy and puts his heart into each song. Gallant contributes with the beat with the upright bass and backing vocals. Although he's not the center of attention, he is still an important part of the sound of the band.

I saw them live with Bomb the Music Industry! and that was the first time a saw them. When they played, it was with this huge intensity that was like a wave that went over all of the people in the crowd and i couldn't help but sing a long, only i didn't know the words. That's how intense the band was. They wanted me to yell gibberish at them along with the song. And i think that's pretty special

So, until next time...

Yo Bones!!!

Rule of the Bone is a coming of age story about young boy named Chappie that leaves his home and gets into all kinds of horrifying and life changing experiences. At this point in the novel, Chappie, now referred to as Bone, has travelled to Jamaica with his new best friend and mentor, I-man.

In the story, Bone looks up to I-man as not just a friend but a father and a teacher. I-man starts teaching young Bone about rastafarianism. He teaches him about Jah and how only one person can know himself. He describes it to him as more than just a religion or following, but a whole other way of life. Bone really has no father as of yet that he looks up to, so he needs to go to I-man for some kind of guidance because even if he doesn't want to admit it, he's scared. He is terrified because he's a 14 year old kid living his life as a squatter. He wants someone to help him and tell him that he's gonna be ok. He's helpless and doesn't fully know how things work in the society around him.

Bone needs a father figure in his life because his biological father was forced to leave by his mom after trying to get back into the family and his step father Ken is a complete asshole and douche bag that would make Chappie touch his penis and jerk off when he was in the bed with him. But Bone wouldn't take that. At one point, Bone goes back home to find Ken alone in the remains of what used to be his house and Ken tries to fuck him. Bone doesn't just run away from him, though, as most of us would. He takes a gun he had kept in his backpack from an earlier adventure and points it directly at Ken. But Bone knows he can't just shoot him, Ken would have to egg him on one last time, he wanted him to call him "faggot" or "asshole" one last time so he could make him suffer for what happened to his childhood.

During his misadventures in Jamaica, Bone runs into his biological father. Now i know it sounds very convenient that his father just happens to be in the same area that Bone now resides and that even I-man knows him. It's a Deus Ex Machina type of situation, but he meets his father and starts to really like him, until he realizes that he's just another drug abusing asshole after one night of significant events. I won't spoil the ending, but by the end, Bone starts to come to his self-realization, like he finally found Jah. He discovered I-and-I.

Side Projects Are Never Successful

What's better than the zombie apocalypse? It's a hard thing to top, i know, but just think about it. How about living through the zombie apocalypse with 3 of your friends! That's the basis of Left 4 Dead. Four survivors taking on the zombies that have taken over your city of inhabitance.
The game is the epitome of badass.
There's not much else that can top fucking with your friends as a horde of zombies attacks them outside the safe house while you sit inside safe and sound.
This wasn't meant to be a long post...just filler in between my posts of other unimportant stuff i like. cool shit.

So, until next time...

Two Cups of Tea

Recently, i have come across one of the greatest folk musician guys i have ever heard (but, to be fair, i don't hear a whole lot of folk musicians). His name is Jason Webley. His music is contagious and really enjoyable. Now I'm not the kind to listen to a whole lot of music that is comprised of his style, but i really enjoyed the music that infested my eardrums.

His style is very different from most of the stuff I've heard in recent years. His music incorporates the acoustic guitar as well as maybe his main weapon, the accordion. When he plays the accordion, you can't help but feel like dance around in joy and ecstasy. Normally, he plays with a full band with drums and various brass instruments, but on this occasion, Jason showed up to the show with just his guitar, accordion, and will to sing. Many of his songs were the singalong type that included the audience. He liked to joke around with the crowd, too, when he didn't think we were giving him 100% on the vocals.
He likes to play with a lot of emotion in his music, and really showed it in his performance. By far, the high point of his performance for me was his last song he played called "Drinking Song". It was one of those singalong songs with lyrics that get stuck in your head. In the middle of the song, he stopped everyone's singing and said, Ok, it's not sounding right. You guys aren't drunk enough yet. After the many cheers of the crowd, Jason continued with his solution. Now, i have the perfect way to get really drunk without putting a hole in your wallet, he said. Point your finger to the sky and hold it up proud and firm. Ok, we all started to look very confused as we all raised our hands up with pointer fingers straight up, proud and firm. Now, on my count, you're all going to start spinning in circles for 12 seconds while you stare at your finger and nowhere else, he said. We all looked skeptical, but we joined in on the fun. We didn't doubt it would be a drunk simulator, but in such a cramped area, it seemed a little difficult to do. But we went with it. And just before we started, he prepared us with the emotional battle cry of: Now, ARE YOU READY TO GET FUCKED UP! Of course we all started yelling like drunken savages already. It had to be one of the most fun live experiences I've ever had the pleasure of joining in on.

So until next time...

They Provide the Paint for the Picture-Perfect Masterpiece That You Will Paint on the Insides of Your Eyelids

My love for music branches out beyond just listening to it. I've tried starting a band before. That is seriously one of the best feelings in the world. Being on stage in front of a crowd is exhilarating and really exciting and fun. When i think back to when i was in a band, i just can't help but think that it was one of the best experiences in my life to have ever lived out.

The first band i was in was The Starving Armenians. There's a whole back story to the name, but I'll focus elsewhere this time. Maybe in the future I'll confront that story. But, anyways, this band, The Starving Armenians, TSA for short, was one of the most fun things i was ever had the opportunity to be apart of. Playing music is so much fun by itself that the prospect of playing in front of people for entertainment just screams out to me. Besides the thrill of actually playing, i loved that part of my life because that's when i got some of the best friends that i ever met.

Lucas was the one who started the band. He is one of the most enthusiastic people i know. He loves everything and just loves life in general. He totally embraces all aspects of his life. He can take anything that life throws at him. Some would call him weird, sure, but the weird little things he did were the things we came to love about him. Lucas loves music and everything about it. He's one of the ones that actually got me into ska. I love him for that. He always talks about starting a band even after TSA ended. Yes, that's the full band in the main picture. And yes, that's right, TSA had to come to an end. Everyone was leaving for college and everyone just got lost in school and too busy to make any time for the music.

But i loved those times in the garage playing ska and having fun with my friends. I can't count the numerous times we got mad and angry at each other when we felt like one of us was asking too much of the rest. A band of this magnitude shouldn't be concerned with being perfectionists.
The band was really fun though and each member contributed a lot. Adam played his heart out on those drums. Devon provided the bass sounds of the trombone and was sort of the go-to guy when we were coming up with horn lines. Nick was the sax player who's skills transcended just playing for the high school band. Plus, he had a car...that was helpful. And Alan. Oh, jesus. What can i say about Alan? He was the king. King Alan. He was the most skilled musician we had. Not only was he an incredible trumpet player, but that motherfucker could play the shit out of the drums and just about every other instrument in the band. He started picking up on the bass and was already good at the trombone. That kid could play. Garrett provided the vocals, even if he didn't always provide the lyrics. But he really did sing really good and with a lot of soul. If you were to look at the band as the human body, each of us being a vital organ making up the insides and heart of the band, then Lucas was the brain. He structured all the songs and wrote the music, excluding some of the horn lines. But he was really the brain, the force behind the band. And if we were a human body and Lucas was the brain, then our IQ wouldn't hit triple digits. That kid, as much as i love him and as skilled he is at playing music, couldn't make his mind up on a fucking song. I think that we only had maybe two songs that were complete. All the other songs, Lucas would come to the next practice like, "ok guys, i just thought of something new we could add into this part," or "Alright, let's take a big chunk out of this song and make it something completely ridiculous and hard to play." sigh.
That kid was too much sometimes, but i tolerated it because i looked at him almost like a mentor. He was one of the important people in my life leading me somewhere. He led me to a huge passion in my life. I just wish school didn't separate us apart like it does. He since then has become one of my best friends. I couldn't imagine where i would be now in my life had Adam never introduced me to him or i never even met Adam freshman year. Had i never went to that first full band practice, i would have never met Devon or Alan or Nick or Jes and Heather and Julia.

I suppose I'm starting a theme right now for my blog. No regrets. I just have to be thankful for the cards being dealt to me, even if i get shitty cards.

So, until next time...

A Prayer For The Complete And Utter Eradication Of All Generic Pop-Punk

I've written on this subject in the past, but i'll continue it here. It has been way, way, WAY, too long since the last time i was at a good ol' ska show. I love being in the crowd at a show and just feeding off the energy of the band on stage.

When i look back, three specific shows come to mind that stood out as the best. And since i have your attention for the time being, i'll list them here for you. And they're in no particular order, so don't think that whatever is listed #1 is my favorite of all time. If anything, they just stand out the most as being overall fun. Just remember that it's all my opinion and if you think that show was complete shit and the bands sucked...well hey, that's your opinion. Opinions are like assholes. Everyone has 'em.

1. Slim's - Cracktoberfest

Not only is this show memorable, but it was when i got to see one of my new favorite bands: Leftover Crack. The opening bands were nothing really to talk about. 1) cool punk band that we came in half way through their set but were still pretty good. But we still got to see STZA(lead singer of Leftover Crack) sing a song with them. 2) ok punk band from new york. not as good as first band, but i liked it. The lead singer had some of the nastiest dreads you could imagine. These things went down to her ass and were as thick as a fucking lead pipe. still, a decent band. 3) Holy shit! must've been the shittiest hardcore band i've ever seen. ha. Now this band, i remember the name: Toxic Narcotic. Now, the music was decent. Decent drums, decent guitar and bass. But as soon as the vocals started...ok, imagine a pitbull just barking and barking. Vicious and gnarly sounding. Now imagine that sound sped up about 10 times. And not only did his singing suck the biggest balls imaginable, but every song sounded like he was saying the same words...or atleast yelling the same inaudible screams.

But of course, the show was stolen by the headliners, Leftover Crack. They started the show with the typical song about killing cops and living in a squat. They played some songs from the original band that leftover crack spawned from, Choking Victim. The first Choking Victim song played was "500 Channels". Now the bass line in the album version is hard enough, but the bass player speeds it up about 2 times faster. The show was full with almost every song in both the leftover crack and choking victim library. The highlight, though, came when the band played the most depressing song that i have ever heard (and i listen to Bright Eyes). The song was Operation MOVE and the band played it with so much intensity and emotion. When stza yelled into the mic, i couldn't help but feel a bit of sorrow and pain. The part that really hit me about the live rendition, however, wasn't while the band was playing, but after. When they started playing a kind of upbeat song, i couldn't get into it. i was still clinging on to the emotion that hit me during the last song. The only thing that would have made that night any better was if i met stza himself. But i'm sure that opportunity will arise the next time they're in town.

3. Ashkenaz - The Phenomenauts

What can i say about the Phenomenauts that hasn't already been said about star wars? They're interstellar musicians bringing a message of peace throughout the universe. With their rockabilly sound, they find their ways into each of our hearts. ha. But in all seriousness, they are one of the best live bands ever. They come from Oakland, so they're a local band to the bay area. They have the most original show that i have seen and when they play, they are full of so much energy. They come dressed up in their space gear ready to play the show. There's not much else that i can say about the band. Their shows are something to be experienced. No words can fully capture the intensity of the show. So....go see em!

3. Nickel City, San Jose - Bomb the Music IndustryNow, some of the greatest things i have witnessed gave all been at shows. Never before this show, though, did i see a band play at an arcade. Not only was it the first time seeing a band play at an arcade, but it was also the first time i saw bomb the music industry!, my new favorite band. You see, some might think that having a show in such a small confined place would be horrible and sweaty and cramped. True, it was all these things, but did i forget to mention it was bomb the music industry! playing? It didn't matter to me one bit being in such small space. Besides, that only meant that i could be closer to the band. which i was. Btmi! played their hearts out and played their fingers to the bone. The only thing that was bad was that they only played a 20 minute set....!!! Of course, being so close, i was able to get some decent pictures with my phone. They played some really good songs, a couple covers, and ended it with one of their best songs "Syke! Life is Awesome". After they played, we got uninterested in the bands after, so we went and enjoyed the free arcade games. Soon after, we got to witness the greatness that was Jeff Rosenstock (the lead singer) play DDR.

A really cool thing that the band does is let's the fan bring a shirt to the show and they'll spray paint some stencils on it for free. So, i took the opportunity to get a free btmi! shirt. But we were feeling drowsy by this time and wanted to go home. And who do we see but Jeff Rosenstock playing some arcade games. I nervously approached him and asked about my shirt which i gave the merch girl early in the night. He said, Yeah sure, just hold on one sec and i'll check for you. As we waited, the merch girl was with him playing games and asked if we wanted to play. We couldn't refuse, after all that would be rude. While playing an intense game of Bust-a-Move, Jeff came back and placed the shirt on my back, but we couldn't leave until i could get the chance to beat him at his own game. I reigned champion for a few matches, but of course, everything must come to an end. It was seriously one of the best nights of my life. So, we got his autograph and started the journey home.

My reason for sharing these things with you is to help me cope with not going to any shows in recent months. But i do hope that i atleast entertained you for the time you spent here.

So until next time...

So Lets Go! Nowhere

The introduction. The basis for the entire reading of this blog. Without a good intro, how can i pull people in and keep them coming back for more? Well, i'll have to try my best.

The whole of most of the things i write here will revolve someway and in some form around the people and things i love: family, friends, and music. My world revolves around music and the sounds of life. As ridiculous as it sounds, i couldn't think of a world without music. Along with poetry and literature, music is the life source of the world. Just imagine a world without any of these things and you will surely be dissapointed with the results. Music brings the mundane to life, gives the dead new life, makes life worth living. At least in my opinion it does.

There's a quote from High Fidelity where John Cusack says "Nobody worries about kids listening to thousands, literally thousands of songs about heartbreak, rejection, pain, misery and loss. Did I listen to pop music because I was miserable? Or was I miserable because I listened to pop music?" I feel a sort of connection to character in that respect. Am i miserable because of the music i listen to, or do i listen to the music the cope with being miserable?

I try not to look too much into things like that for the results will surely affect me. And i'd rather not know how the results would change me. i feel pretty good about my life so far. of course there's regret. Everyone has regret. But i dont need to change. not now. I have too many good things to fuck them all up now.

Well, i guess i'll be posting here for the next couple months, so i'll try and keep the topics a little light and not delve into the depressing, taboo, or inappropriate. then again, it's my thoughts. It's my blog. i can say whatever i want. That's what's gonna be happening, so if you must come back, come back with an open mind.