Often Awesome and an Overall Life Update

It's been a little while since my last post, a lot has happened and a lot has stayed the same...guess that's about par for the course.

First, i fell compelled to call attention to the passing of an insanely inspiring dude, Tim LaFollete. Tim had ALS, better known as Lou Gehrig's Disease. I only had the pleasure of meeting Tim on a few occasions but he's been a great friend to a lot of my close friends (Mark, Joel, Josh, Seth, etc...) so even the first time i met him, I felt like I knew him. if you're familiar with the NC music scene, you may know him as the bass player from Kudzu Wish...and if you're not familiar with Kudzu Wish, you're missing out. Anyways, after his diagnosis, instead of being depressed and feeling sorry for himself, he along with friends and loved ones, started Often Awesome, a web series helping bring some light to ALS and the struggles of those that suffer from it. Go to the site, watch some of the videos, get inspired.

For those that may read this and don't know me, yes, I can be sad at the passing of someone I don't know that well. No, it's not the same type of sadness that I felt when jeanna, adam, or the other friends that I've had to bury (sadly too high for being only 27) but a sadness that this world lost one of the people that were actually trying to make it a better place. Tim's story is one of those stories that remind you to live life looking forward instead of looking back.

Ok, in other news, the acoustic album is close to being complete. It managed to morph itself from an EP to a LP, which is alright. Kyle is awesome enough and patient enough to let me work through the songs and keep recording as many songs as I feel. But, we have one song left to do, then some mixing...probably a few re-recordings (mainly vox cause lord knows i'm not a singer) and then it'll be out for the world to judge as they see fit. I'm fighting the urge to post demos on a daily basis. I'm proud of the songs but I'd also like people to hear a couple of the songs fresh, without hearing any version of it before so I'm going to hold off. If you really want to hear something, and you have my email, let me know and I'll send you something.

Also, BearHugger is back in action! I'm stoked on it. It's been hard to find a drummer in this town but I think we've found a dude that's excited about the material and excited to play it so for the past couple of weeks we've been working with him, re-learning the old songs, and writing new ones. It's been fun. While I enjoy the acoustic stuff, I really love playing metal...especially live. Hopefully, by the fall we'll be back playing shows on a regular basis. We're also re-recording the old songs so when i'm not recording the acoustic album, i'm at the studio there. Lots of studio time.

Started going back to jujitsu and I'm pretty rusty (10 months is a long time to be away) but I'm enjoying it, even when I'm losing all the time. I got to hang with Nicole and see Bella a couple of weeks ago, which was nice. Bella is growing up entirely too fast. But she still rocks the Zeppelin shirt I got her like two years ago and her favorite movie is Poltergeist...so a pretty awesome four year old. I went to a party this past weekend where I knew beforehand I wouldn't know anyone there and had a great time (happy bday Brandy). Normally, I wouldn't do this but it's nice to get out of your comfort zone from time to time plus Brandy always invites me to social events and I never go, but I plan on changing that.

So that's my life update. Lots and lots of music and writing, friends, jujitsu and just overall trying to stay busy. Busy helps me deal with my own personal crap in chunks instead of all at once and that makes it easier for me to think things through logically. May possibly add more stuff into the schedule if possible, I still have a free night or two a week...maybe some volunteer work or something if i can find something I think i'll enjoy. Who knows. Still, kind of working on moving to Charlotte, haven't been applying to any new jobs but if something came my way, I wouldn't be against it.

Music recommendations (promise I'll do a full on new tunes blog soon): Stray From the Path ~ Rising Sun; Beirut ~ The Rip Tide; Pentimento ~ Wrecked EP

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moniker change and loner status and being labeled a "nice guy"

so i've spent the past two nights recording some songs with Kyle. It's going well, even though last night was cut short by lightning. there's still some mixing that needs to be done but "lies dipped in gold", "cynical", and "nostalgia" are all recorded. my original idea was to add a bunch of layers but now that we've actually begun recording, and having a chance to listen to the songs a little closer (having the same song on repeat for an hour, even if you wrote it, can be irritating), i think i'm going to keep them simplified. With the new EP, will be a moniker change. I'm retiring Urban Electric Company and going with By Sea / By Land. Kyle informed me that UEC sounds more like house music and I'd have to agree. I like the name, but just didn't fit the style. I've already changed the soundcloud so any links in previous posts won't work. As of now, I'm going to call the EP "The Hathaway Sessions" because, I live on Hathaway Dr and I wrote all of these sitting inside the music room at my house. Makes sense to me. Hopefully, after I get back from Baltimore next week, Kyle and I can wrap up these last song or two and I'll get it out to the world.

also, on a completely separate note, i've realized I am, in fact, NOT a loner. a simpleton yes but not a loner. i've called myself a loner for so long that i had become to believe it but the fact of the matter is, i love being around my friends. i don't care for big crowds or doing anything "big" (i.e. harbor cruise) all the time but if i could sit around every evening with kyle, andy, dj & lori, the hefs, etc..., i'd be more than ok with that. or sit around in a bar and have a couple of drinks, completely down. i don't prefer to be myself, it's just kind of how my life has worked out. i'm ok with me time, but i rarely turn down an invite to go do something so i can sit around by myself. plus being around people i care about, really helps with the whole overactive brain thing that i mentioned in the previous post. just because a lot of people annoy me (looking at you ed hardy shirt dude) doesn't make me a loner, it makes me picky, that's all. there are plenty of labels that can be applied to me, some i wish i could change, others i'm glad to have, so there's no need to give myself labels that don't actually apply.

speaking of labels, a friend of mine (chick) informed me for the millionth time in my life that i'm a nice guy and that girls don't like nice guys. ok, cool, whatever. one, that makes no sense at all, who wants to be with a douche? and yes, if you ask me to do something for you, more than likely i'm going to do it, but i expect the same in return (even though my pride rarely allows me to ask for help) so i see no issues with that. but it is what it is and i'd rather be labeled as a nice guy a billion times over than ever be accepted as a douche/shithead/asshole dude. plus, i don't really think i'm that nice. maybe in comparison to today's selfish, fucked up society, i am essentially part gandhi haha. ok, that's a stretch. but really, i'm not that nice, just not a complete shithead.

anyways, rant is over. hopefully i'll have the EP up in a couple weeks. if you really only read this for the music suggestions go pick up Polar Bear Club's new EP "The View. The Life", The Story So Far's "Under Soil and Dirt" and Sainthood Reps "Monoculture". There ya go, new tunes.

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products of an overactive brain and then the rest of life

my brain never seems to shut itself off. i wake up multiple times in the night with things already running through my head. it's annoying, sometimes i wish i didn't have it and i could just relax and not think about things that have or haven't happened (yes, i stress myself out over things that may never even come to fruition). my friend leah believes it to be a curse for us that have some sort of creative side (art, music, etc...) and i'd have to agree, my overactive brain does help me write music but fuck...give me a break, would ya?? anyway, enough of that.

saw bon iver this past friday. such a bittersweet show (if you know me, you know why), he was incredible though. definitely happy i got to see him at least once in my lifetime. i was able to record a couple of songs on my phone, Holocene and The Wolves (Act I and II). They turned out well for being recorded on just an iPhone, using the voice recorder thing. they're at the bottom of the post for those that want to listen. I recorded skinny love too but that was his final song of the encore and you couldn't hear much with everyone singing along, yelling, etc... such an amazingly talented songwriter/composer.

i'm still writing enough to warrant looking into owning a paper company. i shouldn't care anymore but i still do, so until that changes, i'll keep writing as much as necessary. the good thing to come from all of the writing is that i've written two songs that i'm proud to call mine. i'm still working out the recording aspects of one, but a rough demo of the other is up on the soundcloud page and i'll put it below in case anyone wants to peep it. i plan on adding a lot of layers to it (banjo, bass, keys, possibly harmonica) so hopefully in the next couple of weeks it'll take shape. also, did an acoustic cover of bonnie raitt's "i can't make you love me". bon iver did a piano ballad version on his calgary single's release (and a fallon appearance as well) and ever since i heard it a couple of months ago, i wanted to try and do my own little version. fyi...his is a ton better.

my life is still a roller coaster, can't seem to focus on where i really want to go from here. thinking about heading west (i could transfer to san diego easily) or possibly out of the country or maybe just back to charlotte. who knows, they all have pros and cons. i've also realized how spot on city and colours "little hell" is in regards to me, my life and the way i process/think. it's always nice to find a song like that, makes you feel like someone else, somewhere goes through what you go through.

anyway, enjoy the tunes. constructive criticism on my stuff is always welcome. you can criticize the bon iver songs too if you want, but you'd be dumb to want to change any of it.

Bon Iver - Wolves (Acts I and II) Live @ Raleigh Amphitheater by Urban Electric Company

Bon Iver- Holocene (Live @ Raleigh Amphitheater) by Urban Electric Company

Lies dipped in gold by Urban Electric Company

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