Busy Makin' Stuff

Hey everyone!! I've had an unproductive weekend, but all weekdays so far have been the opposite.

On Friday I went to see X-Men: First Class, which was EXCELLENT. I don't know what it is, but there's something about modern movies taking place during the 60's that I love. Definitely my favourite X-men movie yet...And I'd know, considering the next day I watched 1 and 2!!

Also on Friday, I went shopping for, wait for it, circuitry supplies. I got a book at the library called Homemade Electronic Music, which is all about how to electronically alter household objects to make music. It also has some stuff about building equipment like mikes, and making distortion-type things for guitars, which I'm extra excited about. ANYWAY, in order to make the stuff, I had to get supplies. Namely, a soldering iron and solder, as well as assorted wires and cables and resistors and capacitors and blah blah blah.

To get my soldering iron, I went to Harbor Freight. For the first time ever. That place is insanely amazing!! I got one for 4 dollars. At RadioShack, they were 20 bucks for the cheapest one. Is that crazy or what? I kept going through the store, saying "it's only TWO DOLLARS!! Might as well get one..."

So far, I haven't got much built. I tried to make a contact microphone, for recording acoustic guitars and stuff. It wasn't successful, but only because of the fact I bought cheap parts. I did everything else right, and it's actually pretty legit looking. Hopefully, I'll have some more related projects to tell you about in the near future!!

As for today's productivity, first I went to work. Actually, that's how pretty much every day starts off, but it sets the scene decently. Anyway, for the last hour or so I was there, I printed up an image of Crush Of Society's logo. Specifically, the words on it. I took the piece of paper, and cut out each of the letters so I had a stencil. Then, I headed home with a plan in mind. A plan to build...A Crush Of Society screen printing template!!! You know, for T-shirts and stuff.

I found a big 1x3 board, and cut it into four equal pieces. I made a square out of them, and then found some window screen. I drove back to my grandparents' house, to use their staple gun to affix the screen to the frame. I did, with the help of my grandpa. Seriously, without him I wouldn't have thought to hammer in the loose staples, and I wouldn't have stretched the screen enough. After that I headed back home, and taped the stencil I made to the screen. I colored it in with Sharpie, so the logo would appear on the screen. Finally, I found some duct tape, and taped all the parts of the screen I wouldn't want ink to go through.

Now, I have one (1) completed shirt. It's actually not dry, but it's already EXCELLENT looking!! In my opinion, anyway.

I did all this because someone asked for a shirt on our Facebook page, and I suddenly remembered my plans to make some. And since it's summer, I just went ahead and did it!! I'm quite excited about having these, because we'll be able to sell them at our (currently unbooked) shows!

Anyone want one? Seriously, if you'll pay for the shirt and shipping, I'll totally make one for you. Custom!!!

Anywhoo...I'm gonna go check on the shirt. Stay excellent!!

Summer (Woo?)

Woo, Summer!!! I've been on break for about a week now...and despite my enthusiasm in the previous sentence, it's been pretty boring so far. I've mostly been working, and running, and that's about it. I've been getting up really early to do both those things, so once they're done the rest of my day is more or less spent online. And no one is blogging...but neither have I, so I can't complain too much.

Fortunately for my sanity, I've been making plans. Next Thursday, Tanner and I are (hopefully) going to hang out. On Friday, Bobby and I will be heading to a local free studio for teens, and recording. The place that it's at is actually pretty amazing. I guess the best way to describe it would be a youth community center? Apparently other places have them, but I've never heard of one other than the one we'll be going to. If it was in my town, I'd probably spend all my time there, because it's pretty sweet. They have art classes, and a huge drama club, and stuff like that...and, of course, a recording studio!! They book shows for bands too, both for the teens in bands and the teens who want to see those bands play. I'm definitely going to try and organize a show for us there, once we've recorded. From the pictures I've seen, their previous concerts' audiences are mostly shrieking teen girls, which will be a major bonus, hahaha!!!

Well...I'm afraid I don't have much more to write about. Hopefully I'll have some excellent insights for you soon, particularly ones concerning circuitry and whatnot (hint hint!) It'll be very awesome, I hope...until then, have a less boring summer than me!! And blog about it, please!!

End Of The School Year!

Hey, everyone!! Sadly, I've been distracted by finals for the last week, so I haven't blogged. Luckily for you, right now I'm just chilling in my mom's classroom after school. It's an excellent excess of time, perfect for updating everyone on how things are going.

First things first, for all of you Crush Of Society fans, our upcoming concert was cancelled/postponed. The school gymnasium they were going to hold it in backed out, saying they were afraid of being liable for anything that may happen. I suppose they have a good point, as my fast and loud music is likely to start a mosh pit. wouldn't want anyone's toes to get crushed...of course, I doubt the school would really be liable. STILL, Bobby and I are going to try out a new temporary drummer, run a few practices, and book a few shows in the greater Detroit area. Lucky for us, we both have some good connections. Also, there's a Facebook page that's dedicated to booking concerts in the area, and all you really have to do is ask them to play. Convenient, right?

Back to my exams, so far I've taken 4: Econ, English, Chemistry, and French 1. I got a 99% on the first two, because they were both insanely easy. The Econ test was 120 questions, but every question was repeated about 3 times. I was pretty confident about Chemistry for the days leading up to it, because the teacher let us make a one page cheat sheet. Mine was insane; I practically needed a magnifying glass to read it, hahaha! Unfortunately for me, it was due at the end of the day Tuesday. guess who forgot to turn it in? This guy.

I realized I'd have to study a bit, so last night I pulled out my notes and started reviewing them. Cue panic, when I realized I didn't remember anything. I had a mini-panic attack, but I managed to calm myself down after awhile. I played random chords on guitar, and sang what I needed to remember, and it worked well. I didn't remember anything I sang, but the things I studied stuck with me. the grade isn't posted yet, but my teacher stopped me in the hall to tell me I had the highest grade out of all the classes so far. I figure it's because I got rid of my crutch, and used only my own brainpower. Can you imagine what it'd be like if I studied for every test??

Ahh well...I think now is the time to study for my last exam tomorrow, Algebra. I have a note card cheat-sheet, but now I'm wondering if I really need it...anyway, wish me luck!! And of course, stay amazing!

Cruisin'

GUESS WHAT? I got my Level 2 license today!! For those who don't have to deal with Michigan's graduated license system, that means I'm now able to drive alone!! Of course, there's a catch: only one other minor in the car with me, and no driving past 10 (there are exceptions to both if it's for school or work).

Passing my road test was, to be honest, ridiculously easy. I showed up 20 minutes late, partly because of an accident at an intersection right outside of the testing place. Because of the delay, my actual drive was only about 20 minutes. It was a little freaky, though - the roads I was on were WAY more congested than what they normally test people on, but I had no choice because of the accident (a tipped semi, no injuries).

In celebration of getting my license today, we ordered a pizza. A pizza, my friends, that I picked up myself. Alone. In my car. Blasting The Pixies. Know why? Cause I have my license!!

...And that's about it for this post. I still have an entire week of school left, PLUS tomorrow and Friday. My teachers are still introducing new lessons...bogus! Anyway, have fun not being in school!!

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.