Thursday, December 15, 2011
A Real, Live Show! On Film!!
I've been quite busy lately, musically. Last Tuesday was a big event at my school, our annual spaghetti dinner fundraiser for the local charity Julie's Kids. At this dinner, student musicians are invited to perform and entertain the people eating their spaghetti, so of course I jumped on the opportunity to play! Bobby and I prepared a nice, happy set to play, and generally got ready. We learned a Christmas song to play for everyone, my favorite, "Merry Christmas (I Don't Want To Fight Tonight)" by The Ramones. If I'm gonna be playing a Christmas song, I'm going to do it up right!
We used Tanner's drumkit for the show, because it's way nicer. However, transporting the kit involved tearing it completely down and cramming all the pieces into the back of my car, along with all my guitars and amplifiers and whatnot. I arrived at the school about half an hour before the show, planning on having ample time to set up all our gear (including Bobby's equipment and Stephen's PA system). Sadly for me, when I walked in I discovered a list on the wall with the order everyone would play in, and saw Crush Of Society listed as the first act. And the last act. And an act for somewhere in the middle of the show. We weren't at all prepared for being the openers, or the longest total performance there. Fortunately for the organizers, we WERE prepared to be awesome, so we managed to set everything up in time for the start of the show, and we split our set up and lengthened it to their needs.
Let me tell you - I was PUMPED for this show. When the MC, Tessa, was introducing us, I was behind the curtain doing jumping jacks and crazy kung-fu kicks in the air. My warm-up method seemed to work fairly well, because our set went AMAZINGLY! My guitar was obnoxiously loud for the first song, but I honestly didn't care very much. My only concern with the set was that we were too noisy for the people eating their spaghetti, and that some boring old person would ask us to not go back on for our other two sets. Fortunately, my fears were unfounded. Tanner was a hero and recorded all of our sets, so you'll get to see them too!! here they are:
The last set we played was probably the tightest in terms of performance, but the levels were off and the only people still at the show were the volunteers cleaning up. Like I say towards the middle - we played music for them to clean up to!
Other than my musical endeavors, I haven't been up to very much. My mom had leg surgery on the day of the show, and since then she's been recuperating at home. I took two days after her surgery off from school, which was a nice little break with virtually no missed work. I managed to get a post written for ZME during that time, which is about the first free album I've received from a band! It's The Dead Milkmen's first album in an incredibly long time, The King In Yellow. I was super happy to get it, actually, because the lady who sent it also included a bunch of EPs from other, lesser known artists.
All in all, things are going quite well. I'll try to post more, but I shan't make promises. Hopefully, we'll talk again soon!! If you don't mind me basically advertising about my band, I'll post more about what we do musically. Let me know what you want to read!!
Thursday, November 3, 2011
School Bloggin'
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Apparently, her name is Lil'Boo. Weird. |
This week is the tech week of our school's fall play, Granny Smyth Goes To Washington. Trust me when I say that it's going to be terrible. Tonight is the dress rehearsal, and most of the actors still need scripts for the second half. We've only been onstage since Monday, and we haven't run the last two scenes onstage yet. Lights (my task) are going to be iffy, though Bobby (who's helping me) and I are doing our best. Tonight's practice will probably run until 8 or 9, and it's gonna be one long and painful crunch. Still, it's terribly fun! I'd be more worried about embarrassment if I was actually in the play, but since no one sees the light guys, I'm not too concerned about the play's quality. I'll have fun either way. Not to mention Denny's!! We're going there after tomorrow's premier, like we do every time. I'm gonna drink ALL the fruity drinks!! Don't judge me.
After drama's over, I won't have anything major going on for about two weeks, until quizbowl starts up again. What will I do with my time? Who knows! I haven't been able to see Gabby at all lately, other than at drama and while hanging out in her kitchen. Maybe (cross your fingers) we'll get to hang out! Along with that, I'm going to try and make it to band practices. I haven't been to one in three weeks, and it's upsetting. They've been getting stuff done without me, but I want to be involved. What if they discover they don't need me?? Haha, I don't think that will happen, but...I'd be best off making myself useful and showing up to practice!
The school's crappy WiFi keeps fading in and out...since I'm streaming the album, it's really annoying. The school's new I.T. guy is far better with the internet than the one who retired last year, but it turns out that's a bad thing. Unlike our old guy, this one actually knows what websites to block. He's even gotten to...*GASP*...Grooveshark! Not the entire website, mind you, just the songs that are deemed offensive. I have no clue how he did it, but that's what it seems to be.
Wow, this has been the longest hour ever, for some reason. It's finally coming to an end! Well, 15 more minutes. I must say, this is an excellent album I'm listening to. My last concert review, the Mustard Plug show, mentioned all the opening bands as well. My favorite of the bunch, Ego & The Maniacs, was a local ska band that found my article via Google Alerts. They posted a link to it on Facebook, all happy and whatnot, and emailed me a thank you. They had about the same number of fans as The Black Belles, so hopefully they'll talk to me personally about the review too! I'd love for anyone associated with their label, Third Man Records, to hear about me. What if *LOUDER GASP* Jack White himself reads it?? That'd be amazing!!
Well, I've got to get going. I'll probably be writing the album review over the next couple of days, so I'll keep you updated! Until then, keep on blogging!
Sunday, October 23, 2011
I Apologize, My Friends

Saturday, October 1, 2011
Story Of My Life (A Small Piece, Anyway)
Anyway, school has been picking up and falling into routine. It doesn't feel like the beginning of the year anymore, which is nice; I tend to feel like the first two or three weeks are a waste. I dunno if I've mentioned it, but I started doing dual-enrollment at the local community college. I'm replacing one of my elective classes with a college course, and the school is paying for it. This semester, I decided to take Programming Concepts. It's a decent class, though I haven't learned how to hack into the CIA's databases, which was my goal. [NOTE: to any CIA agents reading this, I'm joking. Don't taze me, bro!!] The biggest bummer is losing an elective class. At the beginning of the school year, I still had all six classes I'd originally signed up for. I was quite happy with this, and hoped no one would notice. Yesterday, I finally got a call down to the counselor's office, and she made me drop a class. I was quite snarky and irritable with her, because I'd already had a bad day. I really liked speech class, and after four weeks of doing all the homework, taking the tests, etc., I didn't want to leave. I'll try to blackmail them into giving it back to me, though...I'm crafty and persuasive enough!
Last Saturday was Gabby and I's one-year anniversary!! I'm incredibly happy to have made it this far with such a wonderful girl. We went to dinner at Applebee's to celebrate, and got all dressed up fancy for it. Both of us were just coming down with colds though, so we didn't have too big of appetites. Still fun!! We also went to an orchard the week before, and got pizza from the local, unfrequented pizza shop. It was a blast as well!
The band has been having practices regularly. I'd say "COS" or "I Eat Stickfigures," but it's hard to tell which band is which anymore. We're kinda just playing each other's songs, trying to get stuff written for each other. All four of us (not counting Stephen, who hasn't been practicing lately) are writing our own songs, and each song kind of requires different people playing different things. However, we have been working on some awesome stuff! Kaylee has a cool Metric-esque song that demands electric guitar, which I gladly supply. Tanner, Bobby, and I have been doing various goofy things, like playing a weird hard-rock version of "The Cha-Cha Slide", which I love playing. We also worked on a blues song called "The Stalker Blues," which I suggested and Tanner took running. I tried singing it, but my voice was completely shot from my illness.
Actually, that song was inspired by personal events of mine...I have a bit of a stalker. I met her at Math Field Day last spring, and she looked me up on Facebook via the programs that listed every single person that went. I added her, we started chatting, and I soon gave her my cell number for texting. We texted quite a bit for the next few months, which progressed into phone calls and eventually Skyping. She actually sent me the money to buy the webcam (which I used in my vlog), along with two Queen CDs. Unfortunately, things took a downward turn. She started getting more and more dependent, and quite needy. For a while I suppose I didn't discourage that, which I feel bad about. However, it started to get ridiculous. I got sick of the drama that seemed to constantly surround her, and I got sick of getting non-stop calls from her. At breakfast, while I was in school, during times I'd made it clear I didn't want her calling. She got super-defensive when I called her out on it, and things eventually climaxed with her telling me "You're an impatient ass." In response, I quit responding. Period. I've gotten about eight or nine texts from her since then, spread out over the past four weeks. They swing between lonely, angry, and dramatic. I don't plan on responding, no matter how immature that is. I think a clean break is what's best, and that's what I'm going to do. I don't miss her, and I'm relieved to no longer feel the pressure, stress, and obligation that texting her made me feel.
Anywhoo...that took an odd turn, eh? In totally other news, here's my first article as a music journalist!! It took a really long time to get it posted, but it's there!! I talked to some guys from Creem magazine while at MI-fest, and apparently it's going back into print. I told them I was reviewing the concert, and they told me to contact them about being a writer for them! I'd freaking love to write for a real magazine. *GASP* What if they paid me?? That'd be amazing!!
Haha, I'm done geeking out now. Actually, I think I'm done with this post. It was nice to touch in with everyone; thank you for sticking around despite my infrequent posting!!
Friday, September 16, 2011
Concerts Every Which Way
Sunday, September 4, 2011
My Last Week Of Freedom
Friday, August 26, 2011
He's Alive!!
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Let's All Skank!!
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Obligatory Chicago Post: Pt. 3
Monday, July 11, 2011
Obligatory Chicago Post: Pt. 2
Friday, July 8, 2011
Obligatory Chicago Post: Pt. 1
Once we were untethered by our possessions, we wandered around downtown for a few hours. I stopped at a Reckless Records, and got a Flaming Lips CD and 2 Beck CDs. That store is amazing!! Used CDs are automatically better than new ones, because they're cheaper. Afterwards, we went to Buckingham Fountain and watched a dude blow bubbles. He was pretty talented; he had two sticks, with a string web between them. The bubbles produced were HUGE, some bigger than my torso. Of course, those were the bubbles that killjoys liked popping the most.
Monday, June 27, 2011
Busy Makin' Stuff

Thursday, June 23, 2011
Summer (Woo?)
Thursday, June 16, 2011
End Of The School Year!
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Cruisin'
Friday, June 3, 2011
A Weezer-Themed Post
Hey there, everyone. I know that I told you I'd have some of the demos up, but unfortunately I still don't. However, as compensation, here is the video of me playing "Put Me Back Together," like I said I would make after the collage concert!
The reason I haven't posted the demos is, well, because I didn't like them. They were really hard for me to listen to, and the first time I did I had to skip over a few tracks. They had many problems, with blame spread out evenly. The instruments, vocals especially, were not played well. That's the band's fault, and I'm willing to accept that. Also, they didn't blend very well in the mixes; the vocals sat on top of all the other instruments, and guitars were too quiet. I understand that with some musicians, vocals should be higher up in the mix. However, our songs are mostly written with vocals as just some words to go with the music. We're not focused on highlighting our voices, because they're not good enough to do that with.
We're just going to focus on getting ready for the show in two weeks, and stop worrying about making something to sell. I know we play well live, because I've seen video proof. Therefore, we're just gonna have to please them in person.
On Wednesday, I had a persuasive essay assigned to me, on the topic of my choosing. Of course, being the music nerd I am, I decided my thesis would be "Pinkerton is an extremely important album, both sonically and culturally." Yes, I wrote a three-page report on an obscure emo album from the Nineties. What of it? Here it is, in case you'd like to read it! I have to deliver a speech on it Tuesday. Am I concerned? Not at all!!
So, that's about all that has been going on. Ohh, by the way, stop by and check out Lemons Don't Make Lemonade!!! It's an excellent blog, and whenever I see a new post from Jessica come up in my reader, I know I can look forward to laughs for the next few minutes! Her posts are terribly inappropriate, yet very intelligent at the same time. She's nearing 100 followers, so I had to help her out with a name drop.
Okay, then...I really hope you all like the video!! It took all of 45 minutes to make, you know...tons of effort!!! *sarcasm* Anyway, I have to go do musician stuff now, so stay wonderful until next time.
Monday, May 30, 2011
Locked In The Studio
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Viva La Revolution!


Thursday, May 19, 2011
Drew Morgan, Live!!
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Most Of My Post Titles Involve Exclamation Points!
About Me

- Boyd
- Well, for starters, I'm a teen who thinks it would be fun to write about every little thing that pops into my head to be read by everyone on the internet every single day. Doesn't that tell you enough about who I am?

My Favourite Albums
My Favourite Bands
- AC/DC
- Beck
- Bend Folds
- Blink-182
- Bob Dylan
- Cage The Elephant
- Crush Of Society
- Danny Elfman
- Dave Matthews Band
- David Bowie
- Depeche Mode
- Everclear
- Franz Ferdinand
- Girl Talk
- Gorillaz
- Green Day
- I Eat Stickfigures
- Jane's Addiction
- Jennifer Trynin
- Johnny Cash
- Josh Ritter
- Led Zeppelin
- MC5
- Misfits
- Nirvana
- Oasis
- Oingo Boingo
- Operation Ivy
- Owl City
- Paramore
- Pearl Jam
- Pink Floyd
- Queen
- R.E.M.
- Reel Big Fish
- Rivers Cuomo
- Roger Waters
- Roses & Riots
- Sex Bob-Omb
- Social Distortion
- Soundgarden
- Star Fucking Hipsters
- Streetlight Manifesto
- Sufjan Stevens
- The Beatles
- The Black Belles
- The Boomtown Rats
- The Clash
- The Cure
- The Dead Kennedys
- The Dead Milkmen
- The Dead Weather
- The Doors
- The Flaming Lips
- The Jimi Hendrix Experience
- The Killers
- The Pixies
- The Racontuers
- The Ramones
- The Sex Pistols
- The Smashing Pumpkins
- The Smiths
- The Strokes
- The White Stripes
- Third Eye Blind
- Tom Waits
- U2
- Violent Femmes
- Weezer
- Weird Al


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