Tuesday, January 21, 2014

The Art of Moving On From a Younger Scene.

I have noticed that, upon getting older. It has become harder and harder for me to actually build up the energy to attend concerts like I did when I was younger. Granted, being 27, I rather not be the "old guy" at shows, but I have plenty of memories to fulfil my need for nostalgia if required. But, putting that aside, I still support music in any way I can. The way I find most rewarding is vinyl records. The old teenage past-time has made a booming return over the past couple of years. Having bands of all shapes and sizes creating a product that is actually worth buying. Vinyl is where the music business is returning too, and if any bands wants to hop on the vinyl train. I suggest they do so. Pronto.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

so lets move on

The reason I haven't written any entries in a long time is because I began to feel bored and irrated with the fact that no ONE was reading this besides myself. Then... just now...it hit me.... when it really comes down to what I like musically, does it really matter what anyone else thinks about it. f-no.

*smiley face*

So moving past our differences, who ever you may be, lets move on from our differences, and move on to something new. I have been to a great number of shows in the past, from my last entry, leading up to today, December 15, 2009.

Instead of talking abuot one particular show, I'll bring up one particular band. Take Cover. Take Cover is one of those "I-Tunes Genius" discovered bands of mine, and believe me, I have a lot of those. To some it all up, if you have itunes, you know what genius is, and you also know, when you listen to certain bands, "Genius Suggestions" appears.

I was listening to Quietdrive when a band known as Take Cover appeared. I clicked, listening, and fell in love. Abuot a month and a half later, I learned that Quietdrive was doing a tour, and what do you know Take Cover was along side them.. and you know.... i was too. (at least for the lansing date)

They put on an amazing amazing show.. and they were amazing dudes. I literally have never seen so much damn appreciation for a fan in my life. They greeted me, shook my hand, asked me my name and litterally shot the shit with me for a bit. I can really take that to heart. As a fan, you buy their merch and cds, tickets to their shows, sing a long as best you can and hope that they notice, well these guys did.

Props to Take Cover, for being the same dudes on stage as they were on the merch table, legit.
(www.myspace.com/takecoverofficial)

Cheers.

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

My New Findings: Ver. 4

I have to give credit again to my friend Mandie for this one. She always seems to give me the best inside on what bands I should be listening to. So..this blog is dedicated to her. yay. and this band...That Was Something. (www.myspace.com/thatwassomething). Yes, the catchy catch phrase is also a band, a poppunk-rock band that is, from Detroit, MI. My home across the river.


I really think that BEARS! and Down But Not Out, are both decent albums, but they both have differences. One difference, is different members. From what I'm told, the lead singer when they had the album BEARS! split for his own reasons and left the band to form something new, but all in all, they still kept the band what it was in the beginning.


I really dig this because its catchy, fast, and has sing-a-longs, and seriouslys, what more can u really ask for in pop-punk. These dudes from the D really know how to throw it down, and I can really appreiciate it. My favourite song is off Down But Not Out..and is called "She Is The West Coast", i really think this sets the tone for the rest of the album, very solid.


I give this band 4.5 lighters going side to side in the air out of 5.


Tuesday, May 5, 2009

My New Findings: Ver. 3

This isn't really a "new finding" but more of an explanation of awesomeness. My friend Mandie got me into these guys a while back, and I really dig their stuff. For the most part, its pretty much what most people would call "emo,emo-rock etc". Nevertheless, I dig it, along with alot of other bands along the game genre. Who cares if they sing about love/heartbreak and create songs that mite make us feel sad; the point is..it makes you feel raw emotion, and thats the beauty of it all.


Marianas Trench (www.myspace.com/marianastrench) is hailed straight from Vancouver, BC. And they blare out soft pop-punk rock that will make any heart sing. "Beside You" off of their newest full length "Masterpierce Theatre", is my favourite song on that album. Bringing out the emo in me, (dont you hate that word, emo, blah, makes me gag, *cough*), "Beside You" is song about just that, being next to the one person that means the world to you; and anyone who has had a gf/bf and has been in love, can relate to that.


Josh Ramsay's vocals are unmatched. Seriously, this guy has some insane talent on this record. If i knew the correct termonology for "hitting those high notes" I would say he did that flawlessly. If you want some classic pop-punk mixed in with some surprises with 3 "Masterpiece Theatre" songs, which basiclly remix the whole album into one song; you definitely want to check these guys out.


www.myspace.com/marianastrench

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

My New Findings: Ver. 2

Lately I've been on a major binge of poppunk/hardorcish type of music. Bands which the likes of Four Year Strong have followed along with in their genre of music. Keeping with that theme, my next band to talk about is "The Wonder Years", straight from Lansdale, PA. This band reminds me of some old school Four Year Strong, with hardcore type guitars, loud vocals with hardcore-sing-alongs, and mix of a synthesizer in the background.

This band is a definitely must have if your down for sing-a-longs and having a good laugh. Songs have a certain humor about them that makes it fun to listen to. The song "Let’s Moshercise!!!" is on their album "Get Stoked On It!!!", and goes on about how moshing is in fact better than normal excercise and healthy eating habits. Also, songs like "Bout To Get Fruit Punched, Homie" (also from "Get Stoked On It!!!) use kool-laid and a character of Captian Crunch to describe coming home from a hard days work to find your girlfriend with your friend.

They really know how to use good music and humor to talk about issues that all of us seem to go through in our lives. Its good to hear things that remind you of things in life and help you deal with issues that might be bothering you. I will be seeing The Wonder Years alongside Fireworks May 31, in Romeo, MI at Static Age.
This band deserves 4 Clenched Fists in the Air out of 5.


Monday, April 27, 2009

A Night of Greatness: Concert Review #1

So here it is, as promised. Last night I went on a mini-road trip with my buddy to Royal Oak, MI from Windsor to go see 3 bands, well 4, but the 4th we won't count..well maybe. First of all, the drive there wasn't bad at all.. i good 15 minute drive and we were there.

The line of the night was
1) Fireworks
2) Set Your Goals
3) Bayside
4) New Found Glory

This has to be one of the most impressive/awesome lineups I've been witnessed to in a long time. Every band, which the exception of Bayside, I am a huge fan off and am willing to sing-a-long with 99.1% of all of their sets; not braggin..just sayin.

Fireworks started it off. The hometeam, straight from Detroit, literally..minutes away. It was clear that the majority of the people on the floor knew who they were. As soon as the first chord was hit from the song "Detroit" (off their new album "All I Can Offer is My Own Confusion") the floor exploded with singing and circlepits, basiclly..dreamland. The singer, Dave Mackinder, told the crowd his voice was almost gone, but nevertheless, I couldn't tell, and from the crowds energy, it didn't seem to bother them anyway. As their short but sweet set went on, they juggled through songs from both their first album "We Are Everywhere" and their newest enstallment. They ended they're set with "From Mountain Movers To Lazy Losers", in my opinion, their top song and single. Without being biased, this band is one my favourites, and from their performance last nite with the bands they shared the stage with, it is clear they are destined for greatness.

2nd.. Set Your Goals. When I first got into this band, their fans would probably be described as "a cult following", they was a lot of hate, but also a lot of love. This 6 piece band knows how to perform and get the crowd going..hard and fast. For the most part, I knew most of the songs, but in intisipation for their new album coming out in summer, they rocked out some new tunes, which didn't bother me at all, just gave me the time to rock out and give my vocals chords a breather. They never disapoint me, everytime I see them, this being the 3rd time, they definitely held their own.

3rd...Bayside...Booside...booshit....just kidding. But me and my buddy didn't really enjoy this bands set as we moved our way from the floor to the top seats. I am pretty open with music I listen to, but this band, just isn't my cup of tea. For what they are, they do a good job, but it's not for me, and personally I think they were a bit "slow-paced" for this tour.

4th..the legends. New Found Glory. All I can about this set was that it was the best I have ever seen them, and I've seem them 4 times. Their Set combined songs from almost every album, with songs like, Boy Crazy ("New Found Glory"), Truth of My Youth ("Catalyst"), Hold my Hand and Too Good to Be *Acoustic*("Coming Home"), Don't You Forget About Me (From Screen to Stereo Part 2), Forget My Name ("Sticks and Stones"), Don't Let Her Pull You Down ("Not Without a Fight"), Tip of the Iceberg ("Tip of the Iceberg EP"), Hit or Miss ("Nothing Gold Can Stay), and along with a bunch of others made an awesome set. Most of the songs that I mentioned I have never heard before so it was awesome they changed it up for this tour.

Pictures:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=117472&id=501235750&l=80ae9adca4

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

B-Sides Rock and So Do I

Downloading music from the internet has been an issue that has been plaguing the music industry for quite some time now.Programs from Napster, to Limewire to ingeneral Torrent Programs have allowed people to share and distribute music from their computer to all over the world. But is it really a plague? Many people would say that this is wrong, and that over time, it will indeed bring an end to the compact disc; which has already begun with the evolution of Mp3 Players/The Ipod/and Itunes over the years.

this is an article I am across in regards to New Found Glory's Album Leak
http://www.killyourstereo.com/news/0/2553/new-found-glory-guitarist-addresses-new-album-leakage/





New Found Glory guitarist Chad Gilbert has addressed the leak of the band's upcoming Epitaph debut "Not Without a Fight", due out next month.He explains as follows: "As far as the leaking thing. If my favorite bands cd came out early online i would download it to. For instance the new Morrissey record. I dont think it comes out for another 2 weeks and i've had it for like 3 weeks now. I will still buy it though because when i love a band or singer i gotta have the album artwork. It is a bumm out that some of the anticipation is lost. the whole building up to release date loses a bit of its excitement but to be honest the fans that would go out of their way to download it are the true fans that go out of their way to buy merch and post online about how much they like it and are the ones that will know the words first and sing every song at the show. You are driven to get it because you like NFG so how can I be bummed at that! So to all that have it. Spread the word if you like it and get people to go pick it up when it comes out! Not even for our sake but for epitaphs to. They are so passionate about NFG and our fans. They are true music lovers and they try to always put together cool and fun stuff for fans of this genre of music."

Having said this, I am no hypocrite, I have an ipod, i have itunes, I download music and yes... i enjoy every minute of it. You can call it selfish, you can call it inconsiderate of the artists, but to be honest, when it comes to this, I don't care..and it'll tell you why. I, similar to most who probably do this, are the fans who have gone to an insane amount of concerts, have bought countless band-tees and band hoodies, and are the ones willing to get an elbow in the face just to fight to the front row to sing-a-long with bands or mosh it up in the pit. I may not purchase every piece of music that I own, but I damn well appreiciate it.

just because:
http://bsidesrus.blogspot.com/
http://wewantleaks.blogspot.com/

if you agree, everything you could ever want and listen to and then some.