Monday, October 10, 2011
Pictures From La Dispute/Thrice at Masquerade
Last night JP and I witnessed La Dispute complete and utterly melt faces. Here is a link so you can bear witness to but a fraction of the awesomeness. Besides La Dispute, I got to see a bunch of old faces, meet some new ones and proceeded to get tipsy. Good times were had by all. After the show ended a "secret" solo Dustin Kensrue show took place in an alley across the street. At this point my vision was a little blurred as were my photos. Damn the cheap fish-eye! Anyhow, enjoy....
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
lemme stretch muh legs a bit.
Oh, it has been a ride...
I have been neglecting my platform for public musing about the lazy, disconnected youth that is you and I! I apologize. Today I inform you that I have all but given up on my little picture-uh-day/post-uh-week/meandering project I started. I have instead started a few other little ditties that I hope to get fully under way real soon. Ugggghhhhhh....
The first of which is a photo book/zine that I hope I can keep patience for long enough to finish. The currently untitled project will be a sort of coherent look at Atlanta through my cynical, sarcastic eyes. I don't want it to be just pictures that I plan on taking. I would also like to include some stuff by others as well. I want it to be sort of a statement about the current generation of artists (whatever that means anymore) that I like. At the very minimum it will be a look into the drunken nonsense that I tend to find hilarious. So yeah... Bikes, skateboarding, destruction, punk rock, broken glass, lyrical content, street art/non-traditional graffiti, stencils, protests, crackheads, whores, prostitutes, gangsters, hipsters, slick fucks, and the whole, as they say, shuh-bang! More to come on this later.
The next is sort of a duology of sorts...
I have been working on my zombie epic for so long now it has become legend. At first I wanted it to be a novel and then a novella and then it slowly turned into all kinds of other incarnations and then after that it became forgotten. I wanted it to be all sorts of things except a comic book because, dammit, I would not ape on Walking Dead if it was the last thing I ever swore to. Fast forward till a few weeks ago. I re-read everything I had written and jotted down about this tale and low and behold, I am going to break my oath. There are parts of this project that the protagonist goes through that just don't feel right just written down. Here is an example:
Picture yourself in a post apocalyptic waste and your alone, completely. Now picture that it has been this way for a while. Your just a survivor in a barren waste that has been pillaged to the brim. It would be the small things that would put a smile on your face. I wrote this short excerpt about the protagonist scavenging about through an old strip mall and going into a shoe store and finding an abundance of his favorite pair of shoes in his size. Now writing this doesn't sound that cool, but to have it visually there changes things. I know if I were just trying to get by and sort of looking for things to keep me happy as time slowly goes by and I found like twenty boxes of size 10-1/2 Vans Authentics in various colors and they were all mine cuz hey, who the fuck else needs'em? I would probably cry tears of joy. Maybe that's just me.
Anyway, my story is different than Walking Dead. This guy is alone most of the time and has gone pretty crazy... and he has a room in the building he is occupying that has a wall of 10-1/2 Vans Authentics stacked in boxes to the ceiling. Rick Grimes has a stump for a hand and a dead family because of his poor decisions. Who took what they had and made the best of it? You be the judge. In my humble opinion, my story wins by a long shot.
Now, I did say this was a duology. I want this comic to be anthology of two stories in one book. The problem is I just can't decide on the second story. Every time I come up with something I lose interest because it's not that great. So there's that.
In closing, keep your eyes peeled cuz Imma smang it.
I have been neglecting my platform for public musing about the lazy, disconnected youth that is you and I! I apologize. Today I inform you that I have all but given up on my little picture-uh-day/post-uh-week/meandering project I started. I have instead started a few other little ditties that I hope to get fully under way real soon. Ugggghhhhhh....
The first of which is a photo book/zine that I hope I can keep patience for long enough to finish. The currently untitled project will be a sort of coherent look at Atlanta through my cynical, sarcastic eyes. I don't want it to be just pictures that I plan on taking. I would also like to include some stuff by others as well. I want it to be sort of a statement about the current generation of artists (whatever that means anymore) that I like. At the very minimum it will be a look into the drunken nonsense that I tend to find hilarious. So yeah... Bikes, skateboarding, destruction, punk rock, broken glass, lyrical content, street art/non-traditional graffiti, stencils, protests, crackheads, whores, prostitutes, gangsters, hipsters, slick fucks, and the whole, as they say, shuh-bang! More to come on this later.
The next is sort of a duology of sorts...
I have been working on my zombie epic for so long now it has become legend. At first I wanted it to be a novel and then a novella and then it slowly turned into all kinds of other incarnations and then after that it became forgotten. I wanted it to be all sorts of things except a comic book because, dammit, I would not ape on Walking Dead if it was the last thing I ever swore to. Fast forward till a few weeks ago. I re-read everything I had written and jotted down about this tale and low and behold, I am going to break my oath. There are parts of this project that the protagonist goes through that just don't feel right just written down. Here is an example:
Picture yourself in a post apocalyptic waste and your alone, completely. Now picture that it has been this way for a while. Your just a survivor in a barren waste that has been pillaged to the brim. It would be the small things that would put a smile on your face. I wrote this short excerpt about the protagonist scavenging about through an old strip mall and going into a shoe store and finding an abundance of his favorite pair of shoes in his size. Now writing this doesn't sound that cool, but to have it visually there changes things. I know if I were just trying to get by and sort of looking for things to keep me happy as time slowly goes by and I found like twenty boxes of size 10-1/2 Vans Authentics in various colors and they were all mine cuz hey, who the fuck else needs'em? I would probably cry tears of joy. Maybe that's just me.
Anyway, my story is different than Walking Dead. This guy is alone most of the time and has gone pretty crazy... and he has a room in the building he is occupying that has a wall of 10-1/2 Vans Authentics stacked in boxes to the ceiling. Rick Grimes has a stump for a hand and a dead family because of his poor decisions. Who took what they had and made the best of it? You be the judge. In my humble opinion, my story wins by a long shot.
Now, I did say this was a duology. I want this comic to be anthology of two stories in one book. The problem is I just can't decide on the second story. Every time I come up with something I lose interest because it's not that great. So there's that.
In closing, keep your eyes peeled cuz Imma smang it.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
draggin my feet...
Hokay guys, I know I am dragging my feet but that is because a certain Con will be in town this weekend. Expect three weeks worth of posts to be put in the form of three seperate posts from the Dragon*Con. Why? Because it is my sweet heaven.
In the meantime, go check out Funny or Die. Don Cheadle is Captain Planet. PEACE!
In the meantime, go check out Funny or Die. Don Cheadle is Captain Planet. PEACE!
Thursday, August 25, 2011
hangover.uggghhh.
Morning turds. I trust you slept well. Not me. Well, I did when I finally put my head down. Now, running on somewhere around three or four hours sleep (Does it really count when you're all hopped up on jager-bombzzzz?) I am sitting at work contemplating a great many things... Things like "How am I going to get obnoxiously rich?", "Why does Jager or Red Bull by themselves taste like armpits, but when you combine the two, literal specks of heaven rain down upon my soul?", "Where is Darkness at?!", "Why do I continue to abuse my body on a more-than-a-few-times-a-week basis?"....
I came here with full intentions to re-write my previous post that was lost to the vast, unknown reaches of the internet yesterday but you know what? I'm not gunna. Instead, I am going to give you a brief run down on alcohol titled....
I came here with full intentions to re-write my previous post that was lost to the vast, unknown reaches of the internet yesterday but you know what? I'm not gunna. Instead, I am going to give you a brief run down on alcohol titled....
Hi, My Name Is T and I'm A Borderline Alcoholic.
(my parents are going to hate this post)
I remember ten years ago (holy shit, really?) when I had my first run in with the Devil in liquid form. Actually, let's go back even further to one of my earliest memories in this stage of the soul. When I was a wee-T, somewhere around the age of threeish? I remember wobbling across the living room floor of my parents place to my grandfather or as called him, "Grandeddy". I don't remember any words, but what I do remember is something that would stick with me till this day. He was sitting in his chair drinking a Budweiser from the can. He hoisted me up into his lap, said something to the same effect as the adults from Peanuts and handed me the Bud. I grabbed it cautiously, peeped around for my Dad and then took a swig. Then I immediately spewed it out. It was the equivalent to piss in my mind. I vowed from that point on that I would never drink and I would never smoke.
Boy, how things change. Roughly twelve years later, after much internal debate I gave in to peer pressure and drank with a red giant named Stephen. He introduced me to two bottles. Everclear and 151. That's strong, even for a seasoned veteran but I didn't know any better. I took three shots of Everclear and nothing happened, or at least I thought nothing was happening. On the outside I was fine and wanted a sandwich. On the inside, my body was transforming into something else. Something rigid and set on destruction. Needless to say, those shots kicked in to high gear and I made a sandwich while doing the lean from Michael Jackson's "Smooth Criminal". Did I mention I was trying to hide my drunken behavior from my friend's parents who were standing on either side of me? That night will go down in infamy, stored in my brain somewhere between "Hobo-finger-smash!" and "Stinky Steve drank his own vomit."
What I am getting at here is I opened Pandora's proverbial box a while ago and have yet to show signs of slowing down. I have had more adventures making questionable decisions under the influence than just about anyone (outside of my social circle[DAT RITE DARE GOES OUT TO ALL MY THUGS AND THUGETTES IN MUH REEL WORLD]) that I know. Some would look at this as a very bad sign but I feel as though I excel under the stress. Here are some pro and cons/highs and lows of my history with alcohol.
pros/highs:
-I have yet to hit a woman in an angered state of mind. (Acts like smacking a Clarmont strippers bare ass is not in the same category as giving your sweetheart a black eye. Frowned upon maybe, but even then it depends on who you're asking. Sometimes it's encouraged!)
-I have not been mugged leaving any Ponce/Murder Kroger area events. I pay attention to my surroundings.
-Getting bomb drunk on spring break in P.C. and not remembering most of it. (FUCK YOU FOR JUDGING ME!)
-Upping the evening at almost every "get away from the city" spot I have gone to.
-I don't have any tattoos from a rough night on the rocks.
-No little T's I don't know about running around.
-Nights on tour that I don't even know how to explain.
-Never gotten significantly hurt under the influence
-No arrests, period.
-Dragon*Con.
-I haven't pissed the bed.
cons/lows
-Hangovers. The way these things have mutated over the years boggles my mind every time I have one.
-Getting bomb drunk on spring break in P.C. and not remembering most of it. (FUCK YOU FOR JUDGING ME!)
This is a very brief list but I honestly can't think of any more lows. Though, to be fair, hangovers are pretty terrible and weigh in pretty hard. Still... I think the pros here outweigh the cons. I also don't drink for the taste.
I believe I am rambling now. The whole point of this entry was to... Well, I'm not really sure anymore. The point now is I don't like being hungover. There you have it. My brain hurts and I want to put my head down on my desk but that is frowned upon at work. Maybe I will go find Darkness and try to tame him. I think it's a him.
Last few lines and then you can get off my lawn. Darkness is a stray black cat that loiters around my work. Being that I was a loiter for a long time, I feel for the dude even though he doesn't seem akin to my charm. I shall make him like me.
To be continued....
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Sunova!
I just wrote a novel of a post and you know what happened? DO YOU!? I sure as fuck don't. I turned my head for thirty seconds and when I turned back there was nothing on the screen but "ts" and it saved. Oh well. I'll let you know my plans for world dominance soon enough children. In the meantime....
ts
fuck.
ts
fuck.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Still no update...
..BECAUSE YUR BOY T! HAS DISCOVED THE GREATNESS THAT IS MASS EFFECT! Seriously though, I am going to try and get two new posts up this week. Wish me luck!
Friday, August 19, 2011
The pains of being bored at heart.
Welcome back loyal followers! I haven't posted an actual blog with words in a minute so what better day than today? Trouble is, I am kind of drawing a blank here. What's good? Mass Effect? I got nothing. Maybe I should go lie face down in an empty bath tub covered with a mattress and just lay there for a while. Nothing gets those gears moving like a good ole' natural hallucination! Self-driven madness might be the ticket.
No, no. I feel as though I am becoming fully complacent, which is odd considering that lately I have been accomplishing things on a small scale. The creativity is waning I guess. It's terrible really when you think about it. I am all of 25 and my juices are drying up at the moment. BLAME THE INTERNET!
You know what would be cool?
So, I have this idea for a photo shoot thing I want to head up that involves zombies, professional make-up artists (all you lucky ladies within my group of friends who excel at this sort of thing), some destruction, and some bright lights.
I want to do semi-cinematic photo shoot once the leaves start changing color and would need roughly 20 bodies who are willing to waste some time with me and my camera. Keep this in mind people. I will provide pizza and beer when things are said and done. Deal?
Ok, back to me being complacent. I may have been harsh. I actually feel like I'm doing some shit lately. I mean hell, I did a an actual shoot with a band Sunday(Preview shot is in my previous post). This week has been boring and having a broken pinky toe didn't help. *Side note: My toe has all but healed up since Sunday, which is insane considering that it was a spreading, swollen purple mass yesterday morning and now it is just a little larger than normal.*
It is my lack of writing that is beginning to drive me insane. UUUUGGHHHHHHHH!
On the positive side of things, I will be eating BBQ tonight, Sam has given a new found love for Jay-Z that I did not know existed and Dragon*Con is only a few weeks away. I have been growing a mustache for close to a month already and have two weeks worth of growth ahead. My Luigi will be superb. If you people go to this and don't dress up, you are totally missing out. Case in point: I went for like four years before I ever dressed up and had fun. I dressed up last year and I believe I may have found the meaning of life in those three days. Do yourself a favor and cut up some boxes, make a Lego costume and go ham. Or get asked if you are dressed up as hipsters again. Either way I will still think you are cool but will probably keep my distance during the festivities.
I guess this goes to the next part of Dragon*Con I need to figure out. How are we going to get booze in the Marriott. I can not afford that retarded bar again this year. While I may spend a nice sum of money there hanging out with every one's favorite jheri-curled bartender at SKYBAR, I am more interested in sneaking a nice large bottle of vodka and/or, your favorite frat buddy, Jagermeister into the festivities and letting the mayhem ensue. I guess only time will tell. Expect an awesome, two to three day late photo update that week.
-Yours truly, T-Pizzle.
ADIOS TURD NUGGETS!
No, no. I feel as though I am becoming fully complacent, which is odd considering that lately I have been accomplishing things on a small scale. The creativity is waning I guess. It's terrible really when you think about it. I am all of 25 and my juices are drying up at the moment. BLAME THE INTERNET!
You know what would be cool?
So, I have this idea for a photo shoot thing I want to head up that involves zombies, professional make-up artists (all you lucky ladies within my group of friends who excel at this sort of thing), some destruction, and some bright lights.
I want to do semi-cinematic photo shoot once the leaves start changing color and would need roughly 20 bodies who are willing to waste some time with me and my camera. Keep this in mind people. I will provide pizza and beer when things are said and done. Deal?
Ok, back to me being complacent. I may have been harsh. I actually feel like I'm doing some shit lately. I mean hell, I did a an actual shoot with a band Sunday(Preview shot is in my previous post). This week has been boring and having a broken pinky toe didn't help. *Side note: My toe has all but healed up since Sunday, which is insane considering that it was a spreading, swollen purple mass yesterday morning and now it is just a little larger than normal.*
It is my lack of writing that is beginning to drive me insane. UUUUGGHHHHHHHH!
On the positive side of things, I will be eating BBQ tonight, Sam has given a new found love for Jay-Z that I did not know existed and Dragon*Con is only a few weeks away. I have been growing a mustache for close to a month already and have two weeks worth of growth ahead. My Luigi will be superb. If you people go to this and don't dress up, you are totally missing out. Case in point: I went for like four years before I ever dressed up and had fun. I dressed up last year and I believe I may have found the meaning of life in those three days. Do yourself a favor and cut up some boxes, make a Lego costume and go ham. Or get asked if you are dressed up as hipsters again. Either way I will still think you are cool but will probably keep my distance during the festivities.
I guess this goes to the next part of Dragon*Con I need to figure out. How are we going to get booze in the Marriott. I can not afford that retarded bar again this year. While I may spend a nice sum of money there hanging out with every one's favorite jheri-curled bartender at SKYBAR, I am more interested in sneaking a nice large bottle of vodka and/or, your favorite frat buddy, Jagermeister into the festivities and letting the mayhem ensue. I guess only time will tell. Expect an awesome, two to three day late photo update that week.
-Yours truly, T-Pizzle.
ADIOS TURD NUGGETS!
Monday, August 15, 2011
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Week1
Okay, so I am gonna back up and punt here. The challenge I set for myself may have been a little to much (being that I feel like I am sort of a perfectionist). What I have decided to do is upload a minimum of seven of my favorite pictures from the week pryer. This set a few oldies in it, but it also has some newbies. Anyway, I hope you like'm.
Monday, August 1, 2011
RE: IMA GIVE THIS POST-UH-PIC-CHUR-UH-DAY THING UH SHOT...
Ok people, don't lose faith in me yet. I have been taking tons of pictures and between being pressed for time and hungover, I have not got anything posted yet. There are tons of pics in my Flickr account that I painstakingly added yesterday. It took literally four plus hours. It took so long that I had to leave my apartment for the night and didn't get to label and distribute any of them. Take a gander if you want to go ahead and get a sneak peak. Hopefully, they will be posted today. UUUGGGHHHHHH.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
IMA GIVE THIS POST-UH-PIC-CHUR-UH-DAY THING UH SHOT...
Hello world. Today has been just about the slowest day since I started my new position at work. With all of this extra time I have read about Glenn Beck comparing the victims of of the recent shootings in Norway to the Hitler Youth, a few separate indecent exposure arrests, an excerpt from Diablo Cody's memoir about not judging people by their looks (which was surprisingly funny and disturbing), and lastly, Herman Cain being able to dish it but definitely not take it. Pretty interesting stuff huh? Not really. Well, the Diablo Cody part was pretty damn funny and I can never get enough of drunk, naked people caught in awkward positions.
On a side note: Who the fuck pays attention to Glenn Beck? Seriously? Who takes this guy for his word on anything? I'm assuming American flag wearing mall walkers and I sort of feel for them because they are, for lack of a better description that won't make me sound like too much of an ass, American flag wearing mall walkers. Other than this dwindling group of bat-shit crazies, who else is taking this guy for his word? I would like to actually sit down with one of these people and try to have an honest to god intelligent conversation about life. I have yet to meet one of these people. Are they all closet Glenn Beckites waiting for the end of the world because no one claims to actually listen to his rhetoric and dude is effing HUUUUGE!
Alright enough about that. Yesterday, after I gave the spice a whip, I cleaned my apartment and played LA Noire till my eyes burned and then became bored. After this I watched Tyler Perry and reality game shows. All the while my camera is sitting on the table collecting dust. I somehow could not find the enthusiasm to get up and go to a busy corner and just take pictures. Instead I enjoyed how unfunny Mr. Perry is and some new show with Howie Mendell that rips The Price Is Right. I was mostly tired and wanted to just lay around and be lazy but looking back today, I could not justify this at all.
Starting today, in the year of our lord, July twenty-seven, twenty-hundred and eleven, I shall take at the minimum, one picture a day and then upload it the next. So yeah, if anyone has a copy of Photoshop for Mac that they would be so kind to contribute to the Trailer's Trash for Underprivileged Adults Fund then I will be in debited to you and one day take your wedding photos if, at that point, I have reached peak performance levels. If I have not then I will gladly drink jager-bombs with you and your friends and play Misfits covers and sing as out of key as you can stand. That is a deal if I have ever seen one people so spread the word to your friends because with only one follower thus far, I definitely need help here.
So to tie it all together so nicely, tonight I will pick up the most wonderful of women, eat the best chicken parmigiana that has ever graced these lips and then after a brief calm, head to MJQuzie, camera in hand, belly full of booze and attempt the art of party. Wish me luck.
PS: Sam Starke takes way better pictures than me, but I am determined to win.
On a side note: Who the fuck pays attention to Glenn Beck? Seriously? Who takes this guy for his word on anything? I'm assuming American flag wearing mall walkers and I sort of feel for them because they are, for lack of a better description that won't make me sound like too much of an ass, American flag wearing mall walkers. Other than this dwindling group of bat-shit crazies, who else is taking this guy for his word? I would like to actually sit down with one of these people and try to have an honest to god intelligent conversation about life. I have yet to meet one of these people. Are they all closet Glenn Beckites waiting for the end of the world because no one claims to actually listen to his rhetoric and dude is effing HUUUUGE!
Alright enough about that. Yesterday, after I gave the spice a whip, I cleaned my apartment and played LA Noire till my eyes burned and then became bored. After this I watched Tyler Perry and reality game shows. All the while my camera is sitting on the table collecting dust. I somehow could not find the enthusiasm to get up and go to a busy corner and just take pictures. Instead I enjoyed how unfunny Mr. Perry is and some new show with Howie Mendell that rips The Price Is Right. I was mostly tired and wanted to just lay around and be lazy but looking back today, I could not justify this at all.
Starting today, in the year of our lord, July twenty-seven, twenty-hundred and eleven, I shall take at the minimum, one picture a day and then upload it the next. So yeah, if anyone has a copy of Photoshop for Mac that they would be so kind to contribute to the Trailer's Trash for Underprivileged Adults Fund then I will be in debited to you and one day take your wedding photos if, at that point, I have reached peak performance levels. If I have not then I will gladly drink jager-bombs with you and your friends and play Misfits covers and sing as out of key as you can stand. That is a deal if I have ever seen one people so spread the word to your friends because with only one follower thus far, I definitely need help here.
So to tie it all together so nicely, tonight I will pick up the most wonderful of women, eat the best chicken parmigiana that has ever graced these lips and then after a brief calm, head to MJQuzie, camera in hand, belly full of booze and attempt the art of party. Wish me luck.
PS: Sam Starke takes way better pictures than me, but I am determined to win.
Monday, July 25, 2011
Bored and Lazy.
Hello inter web losers! I am back again and to be brutally honest, I have been dragging my feet with this blog like nobodies business. Sooooooo... I am going to try something a little different. I am going to post something from the loins. That's right, from the deep... down in my plums. In order to do this though I am going to beat around the bush for a bit, make absolutely no sense and then somehow tie it all together in the end. How am I going to do this you ask? Through the sound (well maybe not sound) of music!
Remember when you were younger and you were just this kid kind of stumbling into teen hood and you weren't so sure about yourself or any of your peers and all the girls (or guys depending on your sexual preference) were lame and no one understood anything? Ahh... Those were the days right? Paranoid about every movement but on the outside declaring you didn't care? Grasping desperately to connect but somehow just missing? Then, wait, whats this? A hand reaching out, if you're lucky, to help guide you through the next five to six years of your young life. That hand for me was punk rock music. Granted I was new to the game I held on to it as tight as I could, lapping up anything that was dropped into my dish. Keep in mind this was 14 years ago and the Iiternet was almost non-existent, especially for poor old me. No illegal downloading, no Purevolume, Myspace or Facebook. These were the DIY days still. I would basically grab up anything that had faster music and beat it into the ground. More often than not, they were Doc. Martens samplers that were really terrible minus one or two songs and even those songs looking back today make me cringe.
Now, I will try to explain the first big three for me. These are the bands that had me hooked first and even after I had moved on to bigger and better things I held onto these three and even now I still listen to the records that grabbed me...
I will start with Guttermouth. These guys will get the most heat from all three or four people that read this blog. When I was but a wee Trailer, my world was full of terrible music. All of my friends at the time were either into nu-metal faves Limp Biskit and Korn or trying to be gangster and I couldn't even begin to explain what they were into since I was 12 and I didn't understand rap music at all. Lucky for me I had discovered a skateboard. That skateboard opened all kinds of doors for me that should not have opened. Anyway, there was this chick across the street from me and she was like 17 and smoked weed with her hippy parents and loved Tool and so on and so on. She did however think it was cool that I was twelve and liked faster music. One day she handed me an album named "Full Length LP" by Guttermouth. HOLY SHIT! My world instantly turned up on its head. The hole in my heart was becoming full. The first time I heard "Racetrack" I want to say I probably stomped something into pieces in my room but that would be a lie. I still don't know what Mark Atkins says through out most of that song.
Next up, something a little more happy. My best friend had started going out with this girl (*side note: we were in seventh grade so I don't even know what you would call that relationship although we would regularly go to the skating ring where he would feel up her shirt and she did fail eighth grade so he would catch up with her. That's love right?). Like I was saying, he started dating this total bitch of a girl that I would have to put up with on the reg for like two plus years. He was gangster and she was nu-metal/alternative/step-kid/gross. It didn't make any sense but the one redeeming factor she had going for her is she had a copy of MXPX's "Life In General". she told me that I might like it and let me borrow it. It was never returned to her. Ever. Bitch. With this album I found out that punk rock music doesn't always have to be an asshole. Sometimes it can be happy and about girls, which I sorely lacked in my life.
And the last in the bunch. My other best friend growing up had an older brother that was this more metal head-than-punk asshole guy who was like twenty and never hung out with us cuz we were 11-12. When he would drag us around he would try to embed racist shit into our heads and force us to listen to Cannibal Corpse. All in all he was pretty lame. He did however, listen to mostly punk rock before the dark lord gobbled up his soul and spit out a neo-nazi tool bag. I snuck into his room one day, stole his cd book and grabbed AFI's "Very Proud Of Ya", double taped it and then put it back before being caught. This album is the probably the most "punk" of the bunch and was the nail in the coffin for me.
After having this trifecta of double time music firmly under my belt I began to expand my horizons at full force. Reading those liner notes front to back and finding other bands names in the "thank yous" section, I would save up lunch money for Best Buy and the nitro mail order. I started going to shows and finding more and more music.
Now lets add fourteen years to these bands existence. Two of them are still sort of the same but not quite and the other is almost unrecognizable. Guttermouth and MXPX are still out there doing their thing but on different scales. Guttermouth barely tours and has a rotating line-up like a high school hardcore band. Their albums seem to always be just short of the mark these days. And lastly, you never can tell if they want to be a full fledged punk rock band or this weird synth thing that pops up randomly. It's pretty weird. MXPX still tours on the occasion but took on a more friendly radio approach (which is odd considering they are already sort of a christian band sometimes) and they just didn't age well with me. AFI is pretty much a stadium cock rock band now. their last two albums didn't do it for me and Davey doesn't know if he wants to be the chick from Beetlejuice or Axel Rose. Its just not for me.
Lets jump ahead to me at 25. Things have undoubtedly changed. I'm no longer a snot nosed teen. I live on my own, have a car note and pay my taxes. Some would say I'm a respectable citizen of the United States. The punk is still in there but I am no longer giving middle fingers to cars passing by and I ditched my studded belt years ago. Instead I feel a little more intelligent and can argue as good as the next. I still think the world sucks, not because my favorite band sold out but because there is a Walmart at every interstate exit and corporations are stripping this world to dust. I still have my nose ring, but I take it out when I go to work. Things change.
Did I, at twelve have a different approach to these bands, thus giving them a far better chance? Of course. I had never heard any of them or any thing like them. My ears were virgin and they were the suave older dude smoking cigs with a mustache and an '87 camaro at the skating ring. They stole my heart and well, my punk rock v-card. Does that change the fact that there were better bands out there doing the same thing? No, they were who I came into contact with and connected with forming a bond. Do I hate them now like I do that dude? No way. I went and saw Guttermouth last year when they came and it was one of the best shows I have ever seen in my 13 years of shows. They brought the proverbial rain as they say. These bands are still the same bands but have grown and changed over the years. I cant hate them for that. I can hate some of the material that they put out but that doesnt change the fact that "Black Sails in The Sunset" will most likely be in my rotation till I can no longer hear. It doesnt change the fact that "Steak" is probably one of my favorite songs ever and it is a Guttermouth song. Now, add in the fact that I have changed over the years as well and boy, the world just got a lot bigger. How can I expect them to play to my same tastes? I cant.
To the point of this entire entry. People, much like music over a vast amout of time changes. The song may remain the same but the people playing it to the people embracing it, or lack thereof, change. We are an ever changing variable in a world full factors. The people that I grew with may have changed their ways and their haunts over the years but nine times out ten, the same person is still in there. Unless of course they got sexually molested by their frat house buddies or crack took a serious hold on them. Those things can change a person at the core I would imagine. Things just change, flat out.
I love all of my friends. Some of them are more family than family. I dont want this enrty to alienate anyone of you but I felt it needed to be said and I hope you understand. I feel like when I am around some people these days, they just don't look at me the same and I do the same to them. I would rather not argue about it but maybe they will read this spiffy little blog of mine and the message gets across that way. So all in all, things may have changed in more than a few ways this last year but I still love you guys. Call me when you want to go out on an adventure.
Remember when you were younger and you were just this kid kind of stumbling into teen hood and you weren't so sure about yourself or any of your peers and all the girls (or guys depending on your sexual preference) were lame and no one understood anything? Ahh... Those were the days right? Paranoid about every movement but on the outside declaring you didn't care? Grasping desperately to connect but somehow just missing? Then, wait, whats this? A hand reaching out, if you're lucky, to help guide you through the next five to six years of your young life. That hand for me was punk rock music. Granted I was new to the game I held on to it as tight as I could, lapping up anything that was dropped into my dish. Keep in mind this was 14 years ago and the Iiternet was almost non-existent, especially for poor old me. No illegal downloading, no Purevolume, Myspace or Facebook. These were the DIY days still. I would basically grab up anything that had faster music and beat it into the ground. More often than not, they were Doc. Martens samplers that were really terrible minus one or two songs and even those songs looking back today make me cringe.
Now, I will try to explain the first big three for me. These are the bands that had me hooked first and even after I had moved on to bigger and better things I held onto these three and even now I still listen to the records that grabbed me...
I will start with Guttermouth. These guys will get the most heat from all three or four people that read this blog. When I was but a wee Trailer, my world was full of terrible music. All of my friends at the time were either into nu-metal faves Limp Biskit and Korn or trying to be gangster and I couldn't even begin to explain what they were into since I was 12 and I didn't understand rap music at all. Lucky for me I had discovered a skateboard. That skateboard opened all kinds of doors for me that should not have opened. Anyway, there was this chick across the street from me and she was like 17 and smoked weed with her hippy parents and loved Tool and so on and so on. She did however think it was cool that I was twelve and liked faster music. One day she handed me an album named "Full Length LP" by Guttermouth. HOLY SHIT! My world instantly turned up on its head. The hole in my heart was becoming full. The first time I heard "Racetrack" I want to say I probably stomped something into pieces in my room but that would be a lie. I still don't know what Mark Atkins says through out most of that song.
Next up, something a little more happy. My best friend had started going out with this girl (*side note: we were in seventh grade so I don't even know what you would call that relationship although we would regularly go to the skating ring where he would feel up her shirt and she did fail eighth grade so he would catch up with her. That's love right?). Like I was saying, he started dating this total bitch of a girl that I would have to put up with on the reg for like two plus years. He was gangster and she was nu-metal/alternative/step-kid/gross. It didn't make any sense but the one redeeming factor she had going for her is she had a copy of MXPX's "Life In General". she told me that I might like it and let me borrow it. It was never returned to her. Ever. Bitch. With this album I found out that punk rock music doesn't always have to be an asshole. Sometimes it can be happy and about girls, which I sorely lacked in my life.
And the last in the bunch. My other best friend growing up had an older brother that was this more metal head-than-punk asshole guy who was like twenty and never hung out with us cuz we were 11-12. When he would drag us around he would try to embed racist shit into our heads and force us to listen to Cannibal Corpse. All in all he was pretty lame. He did however, listen to mostly punk rock before the dark lord gobbled up his soul and spit out a neo-nazi tool bag. I snuck into his room one day, stole his cd book and grabbed AFI's "Very Proud Of Ya", double taped it and then put it back before being caught. This album is the probably the most "punk" of the bunch and was the nail in the coffin for me.
After having this trifecta of double time music firmly under my belt I began to expand my horizons at full force. Reading those liner notes front to back and finding other bands names in the "thank yous" section, I would save up lunch money for Best Buy and the nitro mail order. I started going to shows and finding more and more music.
Now lets add fourteen years to these bands existence. Two of them are still sort of the same but not quite and the other is almost unrecognizable. Guttermouth and MXPX are still out there doing their thing but on different scales. Guttermouth barely tours and has a rotating line-up like a high school hardcore band. Their albums seem to always be just short of the mark these days. And lastly, you never can tell if they want to be a full fledged punk rock band or this weird synth thing that pops up randomly. It's pretty weird. MXPX still tours on the occasion but took on a more friendly radio approach (which is odd considering they are already sort of a christian band sometimes) and they just didn't age well with me. AFI is pretty much a stadium cock rock band now. their last two albums didn't do it for me and Davey doesn't know if he wants to be the chick from Beetlejuice or Axel Rose. Its just not for me.
Lets jump ahead to me at 25. Things have undoubtedly changed. I'm no longer a snot nosed teen. I live on my own, have a car note and pay my taxes. Some would say I'm a respectable citizen of the United States. The punk is still in there but I am no longer giving middle fingers to cars passing by and I ditched my studded belt years ago. Instead I feel a little more intelligent and can argue as good as the next. I still think the world sucks, not because my favorite band sold out but because there is a Walmart at every interstate exit and corporations are stripping this world to dust. I still have my nose ring, but I take it out when I go to work. Things change.
Did I, at twelve have a different approach to these bands, thus giving them a far better chance? Of course. I had never heard any of them or any thing like them. My ears were virgin and they were the suave older dude smoking cigs with a mustache and an '87 camaro at the skating ring. They stole my heart and well, my punk rock v-card. Does that change the fact that there were better bands out there doing the same thing? No, they were who I came into contact with and connected with forming a bond. Do I hate them now like I do that dude? No way. I went and saw Guttermouth last year when they came and it was one of the best shows I have ever seen in my 13 years of shows. They brought the proverbial rain as they say. These bands are still the same bands but have grown and changed over the years. I cant hate them for that. I can hate some of the material that they put out but that doesnt change the fact that "Black Sails in The Sunset" will most likely be in my rotation till I can no longer hear. It doesnt change the fact that "Steak" is probably one of my favorite songs ever and it is a Guttermouth song. Now, add in the fact that I have changed over the years as well and boy, the world just got a lot bigger. How can I expect them to play to my same tastes? I cant.
To the point of this entire entry. People, much like music over a vast amout of time changes. The song may remain the same but the people playing it to the people embracing it, or lack thereof, change. We are an ever changing variable in a world full factors. The people that I grew with may have changed their ways and their haunts over the years but nine times out ten, the same person is still in there. Unless of course they got sexually molested by their frat house buddies or crack took a serious hold on them. Those things can change a person at the core I would imagine. Things just change, flat out.
I love all of my friends. Some of them are more family than family. I dont want this enrty to alienate anyone of you but I felt it needed to be said and I hope you understand. I feel like when I am around some people these days, they just don't look at me the same and I do the same to them. I would rather not argue about it but maybe they will read this spiffy little blog of mine and the message gets across that way. So all in all, things may have changed in more than a few ways this last year but I still love you guys. Call me when you want to go out on an adventure.
-T-pain, signing off turds!
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
myxemergency's photostream
myxemergency's photostream on Flickr.
Photo's from the 4th of July, 2011 at the Glen Iris house!
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Living Walls.. Christ,Lord. Hippies.
myxemergency's photostream on Flickr.
Photos from last nights show!
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