Awesome Band Alert!

Its late and I need to go to sleep, but this is more important. So tonight I went to see Counting Crows (who were incredible by the way, but that's not what this post is about), and when we got there we went straight for the merch table. The first thing I noticed was this super cool tshirt for the opening band. From the moment I saw the shirt I knew I was gonna like this band and their music would be stellar (so naturally, because I'm me, I bought their EP before I had even listened to them play), but they completely exceeded my expectations. Something about them made me really made me really excited about the thought of being in a band one day. The band is fantastic as a whole, but each member is so great for their own reasons. First of all, I must acknowledge Erik, their incredible bass player. Watching him play made me look forward to my future as a bass player, and I hope one day, with practice, my bass will sound as great as his. Then there's Mikey, the drummer, who is crazy talented at what he does and really fun to watch too. And Chris, lead vocalist, who really puts everything he's got into every song. And Aurore, guitarist, who basically is just all around extremely cool and a totally awesome guitar player. So after their set was over I decided I had to buy their tshirt. Which was a good decision on my part, because after the show I was so excited to them hanging out by the merch table. I had the pleasure of having my picture taken with them and getting both my CD and my shirt signed. They were honestly four of the coolest people I've met, and so nice too. So yeah, really good music. Do me a favor and check them out.

Also Erik, (or Mikey, Aurore, Chris) if you are reading this, thanks for taking the time to check out my blog it really means a lot, and let me know if you guys would ever be willing to do an interview over the phone or something. Aaaannnnddd happy birthday Aurore!!

Project 143

I first heard about Project 143 at an All Time Low concert when I went to talk to my friend in line and saw she was helping someone sell wristbands. She introduced me to Jared and he told me a little bit of what his organization was about. He told me how it was in support of cancer patients, and how he wanted to use music to help people.  So I bought a couple of wristbands for my friend and I but by the end of the night, although I really liked what Project-143 was all about, I didn’t really think to do any more research on the organization. A few weeks later I went to a local Bay Area battle of the bands, still wearing the P-143 bracelet, when I noticed a P-143 booth set up in the back.  I talked to Jared and started to learn even more about Project-143, which really inspired me to support this cause. I felt like I could really connect with the way Jared used his passion for music to help others. Before I left I bought a couple of tshirts and another wristband that said Project-143 on them. Every time I would wear a shirt or the wristband I would get questions from friends asking me what P-143 was. I do my best to explain it to them, and it almost always seemed like they became inspired to support it as well. The only problem was they had more questions than I had answers, so in order to answer any questions my friends and I had, I asked Jared if he would mind if I interviewed him. So thank you, Jared, for taking the time out of your schedule to answer these questions.

Q: What is the story behind Project-143?

A: When I first came up with the idea for Project 143, I was 14 years old. The idea for Project originally began as an idea to put on a benefit concert here in San Jose and donate all of the proceeds to American Cancer Society. After working on this idea for a while with little success, I was referred to another organization called Skate 4 Cancer by one of my friends. I was inspired by their work so much that I reached out and emailed them, asking if they would be willing to collaborate on the idea. They said that they thought what I was doing was awesome, but that they didn’t have enough staff or manpower at the moment to help pull of an event of that size (granted, the show was going to be at HP Pavilion with over 30 bands). But at the same time, they suggested to me that I go ahead and start my own organization and keep them posted on my work. And thus, Project 143 was born.

Q: Is there a personal reason why the organization is set up to benefit cancer patients? Or why music is the basis of what you do?

A: When I was 6 years old, my grandfather passed away from lung cancer, and when I was in 7^th grade, my neighbor who was a great friend of my family’s passed away from bladder cancer. It was really emotional for me, and I guess in the back of my mind, I always said that one day I would do something to help out with cancer relief, do a Relay For Life event or something like that. During the summer that I came up with the idea for Project, my friends and I had really been getting into music, and discovering every band, like Taking Back Sunday, Fall Out Boy, Boys Like Girls, Cobra Starship, The Academy Is…, you name it. It just kind of happened naturally. I wanted to combine my love of music with my love of helping other people.

Q: Why did you choose to start the organization when you did?  Did you receive a lot of outside encouragement or was it a difficult to get started?

A: When I started the organization, it just kind of happened. I definitely didn’t plan it out that way, I had never said to myself “I’m going to start a non-profit organization when I get older”, and I think that’s what is really cool about it. It happened naturally, and everything just kind of fell into place. When I had first told my parents what I wanted to do, they supported it but were a little skeptical. As I started to set up booths at more shows and eventually get booked on Warped Tour, they started to see that I was much more serious about it, and they’ve given me nothing but an incredible deal of support. All of my friends have been nothing but supportive, and I love them for it. There is only one instance of discouragement I have ever received that I can recall, and it was in my junior year of high school. One of my peers told me I was too young to start an organization and that I should probably be focusing on other things. Oh well, here I am.

Q: When looking for support from a band, how do you approach them/contact them?

A: There are a number of different ways I approach a band about working with them. Most of the time, I will find out when they will be coming through my area, and I will set up a brief meeting with them by emailing their manager. In some cases, I’ve actually been fortunate enough to run into them at shows without arranging any meeting, and speaking with them about Project 143 on their own time. The bands are always willing to help in some way, shape or form, whether just by donating some autographed merchandise for a patient or for an auction we are holding, doing a signing at our tent during Warped Tour, or filming a video for us.

Q: What bands are currently most involved with for P-143?

A: As of right now, the bands I would say that have been the most involved with Project 143 at the moment would probably be Pierce The Veil, Breathe Carolina, and Set Your Goals. They are the ones we have worked with the most within the past few months, and they have been really great to work with!

Q: What bands would you like to get more involved in P-143?

A: I’m open to any artists becoming involved with us. If we’re talking about my personal music tastes, I would love to work more with A Day To Remember and The Devil Wears Prada. But other than that, if you are a musician, we are always open to working with you regardless of genre!

Q: Are there any other organizations you connect with?

A: We haven’t completely done any kind of official partnerships or anything like that with other organizations, but I can definitely say that I find inspiration from groups like To Write Love On Her Arms, Keep A Breast Foundation, Music Saves Lives, and Invisible Children. We’ve actually even been fortunate enough to collaborate with the Make A Wish Foundation office in San Francisco when they messaged us in regards to a project they were working on.

Q: Do you find the kids you work with through other organizations? And how do you choose which children benefit?

A: Back in May, we sent out a mailer to every Children’s Hospital in the United States telling them about our organization and what our aspirations are in terms of helping patients and survivors. We included these questionnaire forms that patients fill out, and then send back to us, informing us of their favorite music and genres. We then work to see what we can provide them, whether it be concert tickets, merchandise, etc. We have been receiving them ever since May, and we work as hard as we can to make sure that we can fulfill as many as possible.

Q: What are some of your favorite stories/experiences?

A: I can recall two. The first is when we got tickets for a patient and a survivor to attend a Green Day concert last September at Shoreline Amphitheater. It was an indescribable feeling to hand them the tickets and showing them to their seats, knowing that they were going to see an artist that they loved. The other memory I have was from when Madina Lake complimented Project 143. At our first Warped Tour date in 2009 in San Francisco, I was walking back to the site to make sure we had picked up everything, when I see Nathan Leone from Madina Lake walking. I talked to him for a second, and told him about what I was doing. He said it was really cool, and my friends and I took pictures with him. Right when we left, he looked at me, smiled, shook my hand, and said, “Thank you for doing something so great to help this world.” It’s one of the most unforgettable compliments I’ve ever received from anyone, and it meant a lot to me that someone said that.

Q: What do you hope for the future of Project-143?

·      Do you plan to continue with it after you graduate from college?

A: I plan to make Project 143 one of the most well known non-profit organizations in the country, by making sure that we can successfully help as many patients and survivors as possible and promoting our work in as many places as possible. I hope that we can successfully create partnerships with more Children’s Hospitals and musicians, and just continue growing as an organization. I’m very excited for all of the work we are doing! I definitely plan on continuing with Project 143 after I graduate from college.

Q: What are some ways in which people can help support and bring awareness to Project-143?

A: One of the easiest ways that people can help raise awareness of Project 143 and the work we do is actually pretty simple. Go like us on Facebook, follow us on Tumblr (p143.tumblr.com, we follow back!), and follow us on Twitter (@Project143). All really simple ways, and they are honestly some of the most effective ways to promote what we do. The Internet has become such an important tool for us in terms of promotion, and it’s an effective way to communicate with our supporters and let them know about our work! You can also take a look at our website, which will be having a brand new layout very soon, at www.project143.org. Other than that, tell everyone you know about Project 143! J

        

         I think the way that Jared decided to use music to reach out to those who need comfort and joy in their life is really great. It’s also pretty amazing that he didn’t let the fact that he was only fourteen get in the way of him accomplishing something he felt convicted to. Now that you know what P-143 is all about, I hope you find yourself inspired to support Jared and his organization in whatever way you can. Oh yeah, and in the time between the interview itself and now, Jared found out he would be going on the road with Pierce the Veil for part of Warped Tour this summer. So if you’re going to Warped you should look for the Project-143 table and go say hi, and maybe even buy some cool stuff.

Long Time No See :)

Hey everyone, I know it's been a while but I'm going to try to post more often (again... I know I say this a lot). And I will have a website up soon, so that should be some incentive to post more! Today I'm feeling the Never Shout Never vibe, actually I've been feeling the NSN vibe since I saw him in concert with a friend a couple months ago. After finding out he had changed his life drastically, and then witnessing it for myself at the concert, I have not only gained a whole new level of respect for Chris Drew but I'm just so excited to see him happy again! And since you might be sick of hearing about how much I adore Christofer Drew I will just post a video that I think says it all. This video is Never Shout Never's first video as an actual band, apposed to the Never Shout Never only consisting of Chris Drew, and it talks about Chris's journey from the beginning to the present. He talks about how he lost himself as his life went further and further off track and how he had this, sort of, epiphany.
 Fun fact, I learned that the "X" on one of his cheeks means straight edge, so I guess it's kind of his way of saying he's sober now and wants to keep it that way.

Until next time,

Peace, Love, and Music

Fun.

Fun. I can't think of any words I could use to describe this band; I can't even think of what genre they would fall under... Unless of course fantastic was a genre. But, in all seriousness I think everyone should know who this band is. Their music and Nate's voice is different than almost anything I've heard before and it never gets old. For a while I had their CD, Aim and Ignite, playing on repeat in the car and I never got tired of it but my mom did, so now it's in my CD player in my room. I've had it on repeat for the past two days and I'm still not tired of it. Now that might just be me, but I still think everyone should give them a listen because this music will definitely not disappoint! Here is the video for one of my absolute favorite songs, Walking the Dog:

Random YouTube post: Josh computernerd01

If you've read the title of this post then you know that this is not the usually post about a band or CD, but a post about one of my (many) favorite YouTubers. The first time I talked about a YouTuber on my blog was one of my very first posts, and I talked about Charlieissocoollike who on top making random vlogy type videos also makes "music videos" of sorts for his original songs. If you have not done so go check out his YouTube page, which I will post a link to at the end. Anyway, back to today's topic: Josh, better known as computernerd01. Aside from making random skit videos, he writes, films, and stars in parodies of popular music videos. He parodies artists anywhere from Justin Beiber and Rebecca Black (who hasn't?) to Miley Cyrus, Katy Perry, and Lady Gaga. So if you're bored with nothing to do, or if you just feel like laughing, check out Josh's channel. Here is one of my personal favorite parody videos by the computernerd01, called Party in the Local Park:

And here is the link to Charlieissocoollike's channel in case you want to check that out as well:
http://www.youtube.com/charlieissocoollike

Random blurb: Mayday Parade

If you like music, then I guarantee that you will like Mayday Parade. I feel like there is no need to say more than that, but since some of you are probably not familiar with the band I will tell you a little bit about them. Mayday Parade, according to wikipedia, is considered a pop punk or emo band but I feel like those labels do not do them justice at all. So, according to me, Mayday Parade is a solid rock band with punk influences. The reason I chose to talk about Mayday Parade was because of all the awesome things happening for them lately, such as: releasing their, self titled, third full length album that sold almost ten thousand more copies than the last, and they're headlining The Noise Tour 2011 (which I am very excited to hopefully be seeing). Oh, and if this is your first time hearing about Mayday Parade I highly suggest checking out their first record A Lesson In Romantics, which is by far their greatest achievement as a band (the record was completed before losing one of their most important members). Their newest album, however, is definitely a close a second. Check out this video for the first song off of the record Mayday Parade, entitled, "Oh Well, Oh Well,"

Check out the band Reverse Order!

Hey guys check out this super sweet band Reverse Order! Their music is pretty fantastic! You should all help them out by liking the Reverse Order Facebook Page, seriously, it would make you awesome! And here is their music video for the song These Summer Nights! Enjoy.

Dear Christofer Drew

Dear Christofer Drew,
I am excited about Never Shout Never's first CD as a full band, and considering this journey you've taken that has led you to redefine who you are I'm expecting something a little different (and maybe happier, not that I didn't love your music even when it made me sad for you). I'm quite excited to hear the transformation in you as I listen my copy of Time Travel. And don't doubt I will learn all the songs by Sept 27 when I see you in San Francisco! :)

Musicbox #2 - The Black Parade by My Chemical Romance

Now, I know that this not My Chem’s most recent CD, but it’s definitely one of their best, which is why I have decided to write about The Black Parade out of all the great My Chemical Romance CDs. My Chemical Romance is known for telling incredible stories through their music, and with The Black Parade you can really feel the true emotions in every one of the songs. It is definitely the most personal of all of their CDs, and it really makes you see Gerard Way (vocalist, lyricist) for who he is and the experiences he’s had. This is what has the power to make you fall in love with the music. You can just relate to every word of every song, even if you haven’t gone through any of the things the music portrays, it still makes you feel as though you know exactly what Gerard is feeling as if you were in his place living out these songs. If I'm not mistaken, all of this is what makes a band and an album so sucessful, and this is why I will be seeing My Chemical Romance perform at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in three weeks instead of a small club in San Francisco. People say they became popular because they sold out with their latest album, Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys, but if you know My Chem, then you would know that's not true. They've had a small, but solid, fan base since the release of their first album (I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love), and that fan base continued to grow with the release of Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge. But it was The Black Parade that drew in the incredible following that they have today, and it's amazing to listen to all the CDs and hear how they have progressed as a band over the years.

Sorry! I will be back shortly and be posting like crazy.

Hey, everyone. In case you aren't aware I'm basically the biggest bum ever for not posting last Friday or this Tuesday, and still I won't be posting the first entry of every Thursday's "Chasing a Rockstar," yet. Since last Wednesday I have had a headache off and on which has limited the amount of time I am able to stare at a computer screen, unfortunately. Next week I will be back on track with both Musicbox, on Tuesday, and Chasing a Rockstar, on Thursday. For Tuesday's Musicbox entry I will be talking about a CD that almost none of you have heard about it, so I highly recommend checking it out if you are looking for some new music. Next Thursday's Chasing a Rockstar entry is an interview of awesomeness with a band that I met when I went to see All Time Low. So please stay tuned I can guarantee you won't regret it.
Oh, although I'm going to be posting a Musicbox entry, I will share with you another music video of the week.
Here is: Nirvana- Smells Like Teen Spirit

Enjoy this video, and have a great weekend!

VideoGirl: Video of the Week (I'm switching things up)

I realize those of you reading this were expecting a review of the Plug In Stereo concert, but, as of now, I will be posting that tomorrow. Tonight I will share with you a note worthy music video for you guys to check out this week. Okay, well I literally just stumbled upon this right now and it's not my original video plan, but at the moment I like this song better. My original plan was to show you guys a Jimmy Robbins video, but I guess I will just save that for another week. So, here is Superman by Joe Brooks:

I hope you guys enjoy this video, and if you do check out some of his other music on his youtube page:http://www.youtube.com/user/joebrooksmusic

Have a great rest of the week, and I will talk to you all tomorrow!

Musicbox #1 -- Patrick Stump Truant Wave EP

Welcome to the first ever weekly Musicbox! Today's topic is Patrick Stump's solo project entitled, Truant Wave - EP. Now, I guess this was a pretty controversial project considering the constantly asked question, "Does this mean Fall Out Boy is breaking up?" But, that question is not what I'm going to be talking about today, since too many people have already discussed the drama behind it all as opposed to actually looking at the music Patrick made. To be honest, I have gotten caught up in the all the controversy around Fall Out Boy and how Patrick Stump himself has changed, but with that said, I will be doing my best to put that aside and judge solely on his music.
Patrick is calling his new music "soul punk" which is a pretty accurate description of the seven songs he has recently released, with collaborations with artists like Lupe Fiasco, Alph-a-Bit, and Om'mas Keith. The lyrics are classic Patrick Stump, but the music is definitely moving in a totally different direction than Fall Out Boy fans are used to. I'm split right down the middle with this EP; I'm totally in love with half of the songs, but the other half almost disappoints me. "Love, Selfish Love" and "Spotlight (Oh, Nostalgia)" are without a doubt two of my favorite songs from Truant Wave, followed by "Big Hype" and "This City." Although they are very different for him, they do still feel like they belong to him (if that makes sense). They fit his style and suit his voice very well. The other songs "Cute Girls," "Porcelain," and "As Long As I Know I'm Getting Paid," just don't feel like they should be Patrick Stump songs. "Porcelain," has a very heavy techno sound, and not that I don't like techno, but I just don't like techno mixed with Patrick Stump. "Cute Girls," is almost jazz meets R&B and it just doesn't fit with the rest of the songs. And it's not even that those songs are bad, they are just very very different. But, if anything, this experience has made Patrick better at what he does. He is showcasing his voice more, and he really has a beautiful voice that you don't always pay as much attention to when you are listening to the heavy rock music of Fall Out Boy. Patrick has really pushed himself with this solo project and personally I think it really paid off. His new music is very original which will set him apart from the legacy that is Fall Out Boy, and I think that is exactly he what he was looking to do.
Thanks for reading, and please let me know what you think. Coming up on Thursday I will be reviewing the Plug In Stereo concert I went to last week, and then there will be a great suprise video of the week on Friday!

Coming Soon (Just a short update)

Hello everyone! I've been doing some planning recently, and I just thought I should update you so you know what to expect. From this point on, Tuesday is going to be "Musicbox," where I will post CD and artist reviews; Thursdays will be "Chasing a Rockstar," where I will be posting concert reviews or interviews; and Friday will be "Video Girl," where I will post a music video of the week. And, yes, I did borrow all of those names from the titles of songs.Hopefully this schedule will work out, at least for now. I will be starting up next week with a review of Patrick Stump's solo project the Truant Wave EP, and Thursday's concert review will be of the Plug In Stereo concert I actually just went to last night! The video of the week is going to be a suprise, considering I haven't actually thought of it yet. But to start us off, since it is Friday, I will go ahead and post a video for this week. It's their very first music video, and if you like it check out their brand new EP on bandcamp or on their Facebook page. Here is: Auzerias by A Yawn Worth Yelling

Slim's and Upcoming Shows (I'm alive and blogging again!)

Hey everyone I'm still alive! I'm sure you're all wondering why I've been gone for so long -- actually you probably really weren't thinking about that at all so let's just move on shall we.
There are a couple things I want to talk about. First of all: Slim's. Slim's is a club (for lack of a better word) for live music. I have been to a few concerts there, and it's definitely one of the greatest clubs in San Francisco. I absolutely love the atmosphere in that place; it's very small and it gives the concerts a more personal feel. It only holds 1200 people but it feels like it's even less, and the stage is set so that you can see from where ever you are standing. Although I've never been far from the stage my mom and my uncle can always see from the back, and they take some pretty bomb pictures from where they stand, so I take their word for it. Another awesome thing about Slim's is that when the actually concert is over the bands usually come out and hang with everyone. Sometimes there is a line you have to wait in for pictures or signings, but usually you'll just find the band members roaming around the floor, talking to people, taking pictures, and selling their merch. Overall, my experiences at Slim's have been great and I would definitely put it in my top three venues.
The second thing I wanted to talk was upcoming shows, local and tours. Pin Up Productions Battle of the Bands semi-finals have started (I'm keeping my fingers crossed for Eyes Like Mine, Patheon, Two Star Hotel, Start the Fire Up, and A Yawn Worth Yelling.), and they are a great way to support local music and discover some pretty great bands in the proccess! Ticket info? Just contact me and I can help you out. Other upcoming concert are the Plug in Stereo (which I'm a promoter for!!) and Never Shout Never. The Plug in Stereo concert is this Thursday, and I'm totally stoked for it!! It's going to be a really fantastic concert, and don't think I'm just saying that because I have to. If you don't believe me look at the line up, it says it all right there. All the bands are super talented; Bird by Bird, DownDownDown, Weather, and Plug in Stereo! I'm most excited for the two, since I've been listening to them for a while now and have never had the chance to see them in concert... Until now! You can buy tickets for that show on Slim's website, and I definitely recommend that you do. Never heard of any of the bands? Check them out on Facebook, Myspace,etc. I can guarentee that there is something there you will like. Now, Never Shout Never is coming out with a new album sometime in the next month or so and he's going on tour to help promote it. He's coming to San Francisco fairly soon, but I'm unsure that I want to see him again. I definitely love Chris Drew/Never Shout Never and A Rocket to the Moon, but I've seen them twice and I'm thinking about waiting for another concert to come around but at the same time I would love to see them for a third time... Decisions, decisions. Anyways, tickets for that show are (I think) available on The Warfield website or Never Shout Never's website. If you haven't seen NSN or A Rocket to the Moon and you have the opportunity to go, I would completely reccommend going.
The last thing I wanted to say was: expect quite a few concert reviews, and a couple interviews in the near future!

Glamour Kills Tour (We Are the In Crowd, The Downtown Fiction, Allstar Weekend, The Ready Set)

I know this post is almost two months overdue, and I'm extremely sorry for that, but I'm finding it harder to focus on my blog as this school year comes to an end. I've been trying to get as much school stuff as I can, and it seems that music and my blog have taken the back seat to that. I'm taking this part of today to catch up on my writing, so that way I just won't have to keep putting it off and I will be able to stop thinking about how horrible I am for not keeping up with my blog. Enough with explanations, here is my opinion of the GK tour:


Since this is way past due, and the only important part of this is the actual concert and the bands that played, I'm not going to go into all the detail about how I prepared for the concert and the wait in line. I will tell you, though, that the concert was at Slim's, one of my absolute favorite places to see concerts, and I took my friend Vanessa who had been to one other concert with me. We ended up right in front of the stage, (by my friend Carly, who we ran into while waiting in line) with about six or seven twelve year old girls behind us. So, there was a group of annoying girls behind us and they were trying to kill us to get to the stage, but who cares, we could see perfectly!!! The first band to come on was a band called, We Are the In Crowd. My first impression was they were going to be really good, but they ended up coming off as very fake. Tay Jardine, who is the female lead singer, had two different personalities (in a not-crazy-person way). On stage she would say crazy things and cuss up a storm, and it seemed like a very forced personality. Then, after the show Vanessa and I talked her and I couldn't believe how genuinely nice she was. So after that, and meeting a couple other members of the band, I had a completely different opinion of them. I actually really enjoyed their music and performance, but I was just a little put off by their excessive use of bad language.

The next band to perform, and possibly my favorite, was The Downtown Fiction. Like I had said in one of my other posts, I didn't really like The Downtown Fiction very much before I saw them perform live. They were fantastic and pretty much stole the whole show and they were super nice. If you are looking for a really good Alt. pop/rock band I would highly recommend checking out The Downtown Fiction; they're a need-to-know band.

After The Downtown Fiction, was Allstar Weekend. I had no clue who they were, other than the fact they were a Disney Channel band and that Vanessa was in love with them. We actually didn't even know they were part of the tour, but they were surprisingly not that bad. They performed a cover of Bowling for Soup's, "1985," which was fantastic, and the lead singer sang to me a couple times which was fun! They were good performers, and their bass player looked like a slightly less attractive Nick Jonas, which was a plus! All in all, they completely surpassed my expectations.

And, of course, last but certainly not least, was The Ready Set! First of all, Jordan Witzigreuter is one of the most attractive people I have ever seen (second only to the beautiful Brendon Urie)! Now that I've gotten that out of the way, let me tell you what I thought about the actual music and performance. It was definitely an incredible performance, with a light show and everything. Being in front, right in front of the lights, was a little bit painful at times, but still very much worth it. Jordan was amazing; he sang old and new songs, and he did it incredibly well. His music would fall under Alternative, and a bit techno at times which means he uses some auto tuning to make the songs sound all techno-y (wow, I sound professional) so I wasn't sure how he was going sound live. At the concert, there was no auto tune in his voice at all and he sounded even better than he does on the CD; I was insanely impressed and really happy!

After the show was over Vanessa and I met all the bands, except for The Ready Set, as he stayed backstage, and got stuff signed and took pictures with them. All in all, it was a great concert, and a great night. If you ever have the chance to see any of these bands, I would say definitely do it and take me with you!!

Pounders and The Relay Company Hot Topic mini concert!

Last night I went to see an acoustic show at the Valley Fair Hot Topic that featured two local bands, Pounders and The Relay Company. It was pretty incredible!
Unfortunately I only made it for the last two songs of Chris Pounders acoustic set, but the songs that I did hear were fantastic. If you haven't already heard their music, please go check it out; I can guarantee you will be happy you did!
Even if you haven't heard their music I'm sure most of you have at the least heard of the band, The Relay Company. Well fun fact about me and The Relay Company, they kind of helped my friend Ashley and me celebrate our thirteenth birthdays, they just didn't know it at the time. It was almost three years ago, in July, we were having a birthday dinner at the Cheesecake Factory with Ashley's grandparents, and then they gave us birthday money so we could shop at Valley Fair. We walked into Hot Topic, and The Relay Company just happened to be playing an acoustic set. We thought it was the coolest thing ever since we had never been to such a small concert, let alone ever seen a local band perform! That was how I discovered The Relay Company, and the local music scene for that matter, and I've been following their bands work ever since. So, it was very cool to finally be able to see them perform in Hot Topic again, and then get to talk to them about how I had first heard of their band. Their acoustic set was amazing, and their music has grown a lot since I first saw them! Check out their music on Facebook, or iTunes!
I encourage you all to look up both of these bands, not only because they're great, but also to show your support for local music!

Tired, but not asleep...Yet! part 2

   Last night I was have trouble sleeping, and I seem to find myself in that same position right now. Tonight I will continue my thoughts on my recent band discoveries; all this letting out my feelings about the music that is on my mind seems to make it easier to sleep. I'm still zombie brain, but getting better as the days go by!
   It's really time for me to talk about Downtown Fiction. Once again, this band is not new to me, but I had underestimated them until I saw them perform live. I was completely blown away! They are really very incredible; although they are an insanely attractive group of guys I promise I did not let that cloud my judgement... At least not too much. I have been following their work since about the time they started two years ago, but I never really took a liking to them. Well that's not entirely true, I have always loved their music, but I had a hard time believing they had real talent and that it wasn't just the work of a fantastic producer that made them sound the way they did. Boy, was I way off! Now that I know how talented they really are I have a larger amount of respect for them. They are also some of the nicest guys I've ever talked to. I was put off, at first, with how full of himself Cameron Leahy, the vocalist, came off in their music videos and on stage at the concert. After the concert I met every member of the band, and I couldn't have been more wrong about Cameron. Even though he had tons of girls crowding him it seemed to me like he took time to actually have a short conversation with each of them and tell them how much he appreciated their support. When I talked to him he seemed like a genuinely good guy, as well as the other three guys in the band. All of them seemed very humble, kind, and appreciative of their fans. Now enough about their personalities and more about their music. It seems like all the work they've done for the past two years is paying off. They have released two EPs in the past two years, and now they are working on their first full length album. Keep an eye out for it, because I'm thinking it's going to be pretty impressive. My favorite thing about their music is that it's the kind of music you want to blast in your stereo to feed off the energy of the beat. It's good stuff! Also, if you take time to listen to the lyrics you find that they are actually quite well written, and you may start to notice you relate to them very easily. Their lyrics are very, I don't even know how to word it... They leave me speechless, or I'm just too brain dead to come up with a descriptive adjectives at the moment (I'm going to stick with their lyrics leave me speechless, it sounds better). But, my point is, don't make the mistake of judging them as just another guy band with meaningless music and fake talent, because you would be making a bad judgement call. I personally think they are very underrated, and you should all check them out on iTunes, Facebook, or Youtube.
   That's all for now, because I need to attempt to sleep! Listen and love Downtown Fiction just as much as I do!

Tired, but not sleeping... yet! Wanted to share with someone a few of the bands I have recently stumbled upon!

   Heeeelllllllo everyone! I'm still on a concert hangover from Sunday's Glamour Kills adventure, but do not fret for a blog explaining every detail of that "really ridiculously good looking" concert (virtual high-fives if you got that Zoolander quote!) will be posted as soon as I can make my brain work well enough to write something that would do the show justice! Here's a teaser for those of you who can't wait: I brought my friend Vanessa, we got there maybe an hour and a half before the show and saw someone that works at Valley Fair Hot Topic whom I know from my way too frequent visits to that wonderous store(she has my email address memorized... Yeah if that's not sad, I don't know what is)-- she had been there since 10:30 that Sunday morning, we slipped in line with a group of people behind her who had been there since noon, waited very impatiently outside of Allstar Weekend's -- I had no idea they were gonna be there, and it weirded me out because they are a Disney band-- tour bus, said "hey" to the Allstar band members as they headed to their bus to chill before the show, and then we waited some more scoping out all the hot band guys that were walking by us for the last hour before the show. Let me just say, I'm more than almost positive that was a run on sentence, but like I said... concert hang over, brain functioning like zombie. I like zombies, but enough with my rambling!! To here more about my concert experience keep checking the blog for entire post devoted to the insanity that is a concert full of teen-aged girls!!
   Moving on to the real topic I wanted to discuss: my discoveries of some pretty fantastic bands that are worth a listen!! First band-- I will explain more about the band, as people, in my blog about the concert; this is based solely on the music aspect-- We Are the In Crowd. I might have been lying when I said that I had new bands to discuss, because I've listened to this band before I've just never given them the credit they deserved. I am actually listening to their CD right now! It's a very good CD over all; the band consists of Cameron Hurley, Jordan Eckes, Tay Jardine, Mike Ferri, and Rob Chianelli. Here's an equation that will only make sense to some: Paramore + Mayday Parade + All Time Low = We Are the In Crowd. What that means is that they are like a much more kick-butty version of Paramore, but only in the sense that both bands have strong female leads and that the rest of the band consists of dudes. The instrumental part is where the reference to Mayday Parade comes in, for WATIC's music has the wonderfully powerful presence of the bass guitar and drums which always makes the music better (and louder :p). The part that reminds me of All Time Low is the way the lyrics are written to abruptly, and automatically, get your full attention. The male vocalist of We Are the In Crowd, also, has an Alex Gaskarth (All Time Low) meets Derek Sanders (Mayday Parade) tone to his voice which makes him such a perfect match for Tay's-- female lead of We Are the In Crowd-- powerful vocals. They are definitely worth listening to.
   My next victim is, North of the City. I was on Facebook just now and came across them, so this description will be pretty breif until I start to learn more about they're music. My first impression of them = very talented band! They seem to really love what they do, and all the fans who support them. They make an effort to make a real connection with their fans. Their music is very addicting to listen to, and very catchy. They seem like they are honest in what they are doing, and not putting up a "rock star" front; they come across as genuinely talented and happy with who they are as a band and what their music is. That is something that always strikes me as a little scarce with people in bands these days, but these guys have real talent and not just the fake out kind.
   I need sleep now... There are many more bands I would love to tell you about, but how about I tell you after I sleep?

Wishing you merry music listening, until next time,
Emily

Interview with Luke Renoe of Inexorable

If you're a Christian and you like screamo music, then look no further than Colorado's own Inexorable. With influences like Underoath, August Burns Red, and The Devil Wears Prada it's hard to go wrong, but when I watched the videos of them performing live it was beyond my expectations! I am very happy to say that I was able to interview Luke Renoe, the vocalist of Inexorable, thanks to one of my friends who helped me get in contact with him. The interview was made possible via Facebook message, and here's how it went down:

1. When did you first become interested in music?
"I don't really remember when I first became interested in music. It was probably around age 10 or 11, even then I wasn't a big fan. I started buying my own CDs around age 13 or 14. The first one I remember buying is Mhmmm by Relient K."


2. When, and how, did you and your bandmates meet and decide to form Inexorable?
"I attended an August Burns Red concert over this past summer with the lead guitarist of Inexorable, Shawn, along with a few others. Apparently, I was screaming along with the lyrics, not even knowing I was even doing it well at all. I got a message from him a few weeks later and he asked if I would join him and Alex, our rhythm guitarist in a band. We started practicing and it took off from there."

3. How, and why, did the band come up with the name Inexorable?
"I was in the middle of researching for a literature paper on A. A. Milne when I found a quote of his: 'Time goes on inexorably...' I posted that phrase as my status because I liked it. Shawn saw it and said it was ideal for our band name."


4. What are your musical influences?
"We have so many musical influences, it's ridiculous. We love so many different bands it would be impossible to list them. However, at the top of the list would be Underoath and The Devil Wears Prada. We covered songs by these two artists for a school chapel."

5. What is the writing process like for Inexorable? Is there one songwriter, or do you work as a group?
"Ha! The writing process...We only have about five songs written lyrically. I've written three, Shawn wrote the others. We haven't recorded yet because of every one's busy schedules. We are, for the moment, a cover band. Until we put these songs together and pound out some mp3s, that's what we'll remain."
6. What are your hopes for the future of Inexorable?
"Right now the future of Inexorable is hoping for the chance to put together an EP. Until then we're planning on another concert at Waterstone Community Church, (that's my church) and a Battle of the Bands at another church. The Battle of the Bands will be a wonderful way to get our name out there and perhaps win some support money and fans."

7. What bands/artists would most like to collaborate with?
"An artist to collaborate with? Well that depends on whether we're talking realistically or not, haha. Our top choice would probably be either Underoath or The Devil Wears Prada. But really, any band, any gig, and venue we ever get to play would be a blessing."

8. It's wonderful that your faith in God is the inspiration for what you do! How have you seen Him work through you guys as a band, and through your performances?
"I think the biggest way we've seen God at work in our efforts is at our chapel concert. I, personally, was worried that all these things were going to go wrong: lights, mics, amps, lack of crowd participation. I was sure that I would sound like crap. I knew all the other guys would be amazing, but I was worried deep down. The day came, and we'd prepared for hours. We nailed the first song, I mean NAILED it. I was so happy. To my disbelief, I actually sounded good. I know it was God working in that auditorium. I remember so many people after that came up to me and said: 'Wow! I hate that kind of music, but you guys were amazing!' I was thoroughly stunned. I hope we can reach people, like that, with out music; influence people who normally wouldn't be influenced, like the people who told me they usually hate that genre."


There you have it! I really enjoyed reading Luke's answers, and I hope you all do too! Even if you aren't a fan of screamo music, you have to go look at Inexorable's Facebook page, and like them (I read somewhere that if you type something in the form of a command, then people are more likely to do it, so I thought I would try it out)! But in all seriousness I hope that whoever you are, whatever kind of music you enjoy, and whatever you believe in, you still see how God is working through Inexorable; I hope you appreciate what they are doing and I hope you are encouraged by how they feel God working through them.
I would love to, one day, be able to see them perform, whether in Colorado, or, when the time comes for them to go on their first tour over here in California! As you can probably tell, I am very hopeful for the future of Inexorable, and can't wait to hear the original mp3s that they are working on!

Special thanks to Luke Renoe and Inexorable for the interview, as well as my friend Alex for all the help! Thanks guys!

Already working on three interviews!!

Hey friends,
I'm working on writing one interview, with a band called Inexorable; waiting on the answers to the interview question (which I will hopefully get over the weekend, as soon as they are all able to answer!), from another band, Key to the Midway; and working on setting up an interview with a band entitled, Too Soon to Say! So be patient with me while I'm working it all out! I'm very excited and grateful for all of the interviews that I have been given! These three bands are going on my list of new favorite people!! And, of course, their music is great, too; I highly recommend checking them out!! I will be posting all of the interviews on my blog as soon as they are finished for you all to enjoy, and to get to know a little bit more about the bands!
Thanks everyone,
Emily