i think i seriously have one of the best internships ever.

if it weren't for McSweeney's, i don't think i'd ever get the once in a lifetime chance to meet a band-- not just any band, but my own favorite band-- THE AIRBORNE TOXIC EVENT.

going backstage, i met up with Mikel, Anna, and Steven from TATE and got a really awkward (on my part for being so nervous) but honest and insightful interview about these guys. this interview shall hopefully go into publication soon in an upcoming issue for The Believer, published by McSweeney's.

and as if the interview was enough, i got to just take it easy, have lunch, some salad and jambalaya with Noah and Steven-- no big. not only did i get to hear about radio shows, Coachella, and kittens, but i got to ask the two of them insight on being a band on the road that would help me write my new short story, "Break."






the best perk was getting to be front row ahead of like, everyone else later that night.

 

so to myself, let this be a reminder of the following, to remember for forever:

- i can accomplish anything. if i didn't put it up to myself to go out and track down the publicist, i'd probably have a horrid and distorted view of my limits.

- have faith, more of it in this case. i really have to stop being timid and shy. this was when i had to do my best to put all this aside and just have fun, enjoy the moment.

- if this happened, just keep on forward and remember just what other exciting opportunities can happen in my lifetime. i am young, and so i am still ready for the impossible in the rest of my life

and a shout out to Matt, who made this beyond any doubt the best Christmas present i could ever ask for!

song to get us through a gorgeous sunny day in the Bay.

Frank Turner, "Recovery" (2013)

I hear the birds on the summer breeze, I drive fastI am alone in the nightBeen trying hard not to get into trouble, but II’ve got a war in my mindSo, I just ride...

“Ride” by Lana Del Rey
just obsessed with this song of late.

my October song.

Beach House, "Myth" (2012)

i've come a long way.

Glasvegas, "Geraldine"

summer night favorite thing to do is blast Airborne Toxic Event when it's hot and the window's open. i blast that lovely, gorgeous, motherfucker of a sound. especially if my neighbors don't care for it. but i love it. i love how TATE reminds me of summers in California.

this wondrous feeling came about when i had the privilege to see them live in Sacramento at Ace of Spades. it was live, epic, and not alone. the drive there with my friend Grace was great, just talking and catching up and getting pumped and excited about the show and our futures. i even got a good first row standing at the show and got to take pictures with the band AND met lead singer Mikel in line just as we arrived at the venue. loved and remembered and savored every minute of that day, June 16th.

  now a summer later, their music still projects that feeling of youth and spirit into my surroundings. that is, California. TATE is California. their music screams it. not in the obvious ways, but to me their songs are all beautifully written lyrically and melodically. As The Owl Mag writer Mayumi Okamoto observed in her review of the Ace of Spades show i attended, The Airborne Toxic Event "has more to bring to the table than just songs lamenting about an ex" as well as "generating rich textured tones with Anna Bulbrook’s violin providing a ethereal yet dramatic quality to the soundscape." there's just an innocence, dreaminess to when i hear their songs that seem like what life is about out here at times.  the rest of the world perceives us, and they are right, as carefree people tricking ourselves into pursuing big dreams and dismissing falls as little defeats we can learn from. there's always going to be something bigger and better for the west coast. that's the ultimate illusion we have out here of ourselves. TATE writes in this way, but ultimately their songs are like the blessed lyrical fall back into reality, remembering and reminding that that's just life, and it's all okay. it relates to everything, in a romantic twisted way i guess only i can understand and make of the tunes for myself.
 

i think the band would disagree with me, but as a fan that's why i love their music. they're that one band where i appreciate all the lyrics in their entirety; with each song it's not like i regret any of the words to the music or wished they could have been better written. every tune is perfect, poetic.

summers in California. they're long, never without a few palm trees, hot, and unique in that summer always feels like summer on a west coast.












(images via google)

disco dazed

falling in love all over again with 1970's San Francisco.

absolute favorite song of the 70's. Yvonne Elliman live, "If I Can't Have You"

wrapping up my story for the semester and a possible win

really proud of this story i'm finishing up, "By Your Side." it's not finished, with about two or three more segments to go, depending on the length and relevancy of those parts. i plan on finishing it all by tomorrow, even though i had hoped to turn it in on time for the USF English Department writing contest by last Friday. i've put so much into this story, and worked so hard on getting the ideas and characters, that i know i have a good thing going on, and in doing so it got to me to figure out the one thing i couldn't understand from the start:


what was this story really about?

  for one, i listen to this to get the ending of the story; The Naked and Famous, "Girls Like You"

it's a love story on the surface, but then from there the layers unfold into youth, college, graduates, California, summer, nostalgia, choices, memories. now i've figure it out. it's a critique on priorities and growing up, i can guess. i shouldn't be telling readers this, no writer really should i guess, so not to sound pompous and pedantic, but how can i write something i don't understand? now i do, and i'm more than thrilled.

it makes sense anyhow, putting together almost everything that's influenced me into creating this tale:

family/500 Days of Summer/ Echo and the Bunnymen/ California/ summer/ old motels/ college/ the ocean/ girls/ guys/ regrets/The Airborne Toxic Event/ sunglasses/In N Out/Arctic Monkeys/road trips/ promises

just a few things. it's got a loose narrative that fluctuates between the past and present and past of the past, showing the rise and fall and uncertainty at the end of the romance between Noah and June, people from different worlds and focusing on different directions.

college does that. after college does that even worse-- when we graduate, it's time to move on and find that spot in life you want to remain in for a good time. and in the process, it destroys possibilities, dreams, and relationships. i guess you'll have to see at the end of the story, but hopefully you will all read "By Your Side" and get what i mean.

look for the story on the side right link tonight :)

because Kasabian rocks like no other.

yes. i saw Kasabian, in the flesh, in America.

NO WORDS.

other than that they're brilliant live, and the energy of the crowd is overwhelming, exciting.

concerts are just time well spent, if that's an understatement. especially when you're seeing a band you're passionate about, you get this incredible feeling that it's not just the music or the band (well yeah, the band of course!) but the concert and the universe just within that venue-- you're seeing your ultimate superheroes of the heart and soul (isn't that what music stimulates?) right there, in their awesome and physical being feet away giving you songs that mean everything, make you feel everything run through your body and come alive.

Kasabian was just one of those bands where i see live, and then i'm done. but i'm not. there's just one more band i care to see in person. when i see them, then my list of ultimate bands for me will have come to an end:


Arctic Monkeys
Franz Ferdinand
The Airborne Toxic Event
Kasabian
Green Day

i love concerts, the feeling, the spirit of the audience and the way music moves the place-- but it is a special moment in my life i reserve for only the highest inspirational acts. there wasn't a time where one of those bands above didn't come to mind or aid me in writing, from the BART rides to walking the streets of the City and just jamming, dancing alone to my own accord when no one is around to see such a sight. so i still can't believe last night. i saw them. i saw one of the most epic and popular bands out of Britain and on one of their rarest tours, with every song so spectacular and mind-blowing in its own way. the music of this band is all over-- psychadelic, experimental, progressive, alt, it just sounds good to me. every song.

 it's worth every headache, sore feet, and shot-up hearing. a concert is that moment where you yes, you give a shit and you live life, because life right there is just on stage before your eyes and outside that arena is put off. i move on today, got two papers to write and notes to get my classmates,
but then and there was a story waiting to happen.

and Kasabian fans are nuts. one Vlad the Impaler in the audience and many MANY Irishmen. drunk Irishmen. moshing Irishmen. and then there was us, Grace and I. put into that, good grief. loved every minute. worth the night. every time.

 

THIS:

really wish i saw them this past week while they had a 2-night performance in San Francisco.

Fun., "We Are Young"

sure reminds me of this weekend.

no doubt about it, but I NEED to see Kasabian when they are playing The Fillmore April 16.

they like, NEVER come to the United States. it's ridiculous. and they make incredible music. a really unique and experimental sound that doesn't just stay to rock. love these guys. but even more i love concerts, which i've been deprived of for so long! last was The Airborne Toxic Event in June. but this is KASABIAN. such a great band from England that's pretty much overlooked in the United States. shame on you there, Uncle Sam. for shame

some great tracks from the boys themselves:

"Rewired"

"Underdog"

"Shoot the Runner"

"Where Did All the Love Go?"

am deeply, sincerely in love with this song. suits the cold weather out here in the Bay, and it's really been a comfort for a long week ahead of me. thank god for Ben Gibbard's voice.

Death Cab for Cutie, "Stay Young, Go Dancing"

the song on blast as i rewrite The Muse Land.

Arcade Fire, "Ready to Start"

songs to listen to: music that's getting "By Your Side" written

music is a BIG factor in my technique of writing. i really like music to define the story because the melody or words just put the reader into the mindset of what's going on-- the music's what the characters listen to, it's the sounds that drive them, define their emotions in that setting. so here you go, a few songs i'd put down on the imaginary soundtrack for my coming short story, "By Your Side"

the music video for this is pretty romantic realist to me. drawn to the setting of the desert and the sort of  characters brought out in this. different sort of love. Arctic Monkeys, "Suck It and See"

LOVE THE SMITHS. and this song's just a great fun beat i pictured for one of the scenes in the story. it's a song that's pretty poppy and free, like June. The Smiths, "This Charming Man"

Rooney always reminds me of my summer in 2007, when i went down to Orange County. just the perfect ballad of Kirk and June, to me-- especially for the nostalgia in the tune. Rooney, "If It Were Up to Me"

June Wyath, the girl for Kirk in the story, is very nostalgic and loves old tunes-- but she's not that old. new wave seems to be her thing. i love this song, and it's going to be played during a birthday party scene while June and Kirk are dancing together. Echo and the Bunnymen, "Lips Like Sugar"

The emotions of this song, and the music video too-- they just capture what i want to write with this story. The Airborne Toxic Event, "All I Ever Wanted"

ARCTIC MONKEYS.

forever and always, this band first concert i ever went to, all songs spectacular. really heavy influence in my earlier writings, especially with San Francisco. songs from Favourite Worst Nightmare album specifically bring me back to the City narrative. streets, youngsters, bar fights, break-ups, and running. didn't necessarily write about all of them, but certainly i salute them.


"Suck It And See" from their fourth album of the same title. their sound's a little more rock and retro with this, but in all honesty it's better than Humbug in my opinion. particularly i miss summer and california beaches when listening to this. any given day.

be inspired, my friends!

just one of those songs you regret not having on your iPod.

"Ceremony," New Order

VITAMIN STRING QUARTET. bringing you classical covers to today's fantastic hits. notably i'm in love with all their rock/indie covers, ever since high school. Muse, Green Day, Coldplay, Amy Winehouse-- they're taken the best and made it classics.


"Pumped Up Kicks"

"Dog Days Are Over"

"Kids"

great song to start off a sunny morning in the City!

Death Cab for Cutie, "Your Heart is an Empty Room"

writing so much good stuff to your music, let alone your favorite boys.

FRANZ FERDINAND.

something chill for Friday night.

Wax Tailor, "Seize the Day"