ah shucks

so it's been a little over a week since i turned 28 and this birthday was one of the better ones in recent memory (minus not hearing from a couple of folks i kind of expected to...oh well), definitely since i've been down in charleston. so while i don't do sappy well (or at all really), i would like to thank anyone that wished me a happy birthday via text, twitter, or facebook.  the facebook posts were a little overwhelming so i didn't try to respond to everyone but they didn't go unnoticed.  big thanks to everyone that was a part of that surprise party the sunday before (you scared the shit out of me btw) and those that came out on valentines day to have a drink with me.

ok, enough of that. since no new music has been released lately that i care about i have no idea what to really write about and i always feel odd just talking about what's going on in my life ( i just assume those that are intrigued have my number and can get a hold of me) but i will mention a couple of things i'm stoked about.

one, merchants finally has something somewhat properly recorded.  we wanted music for folks to hear prior to the show next week so they can decide to either love or hate us, so we setup a bunch of mics last night at practice and tried to play the songs as best as we could. below, in all it's raw, mistake filled glory (mostly mine), are a few of the songs recorded last night. it should update as we add tracks.





also, i start my volunteer work with the charleston miracle league next saturday.  super stoked on that.  baseball and helping kids with disabilities play baseball is right up my alley.  it'll be nice to get back into physically volunteering since the past few of years i've only provided monetary donations.

music wise, i'm just waiting on ETID's "Ex-Lives" to drop on the 6th (video below because it's awesome and i like posting it) and listening to as cities burn's "hell or high water" album a lot....and i mean a lot.  the opening track for that album, ''84 sheepdog", is one of my all-time favorite songs.  since that's the album opener, i tend to continue listening to the rest of the album. which brings me to track two, "errand rum", which has one of my favorite lines written.

was i really listening or was i just waiting for my turn to talk?

so simple. so awesome. i've put vids to those two songs below too, so give it a listen, you may find something you enjoy.

hope every one is doing well, much love. 

X

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a gentle reminder

So it's been a while since I've blogged anything. Not much to say and I've been staying fairly busy so there are my excuses. merchants first show is in a month, pretty stoked on that. I'll be 28 in 2 weeks, not stoked on that...at all.

Anyways, merchants should have merch soon. Stickers and pins are being printed now, we're going to start pressing shirts soon so all in all, the band stuff is coming together quite nicely. Hopefully start recording an EP here soon too.

let's move on to some music.  two main albums have come out in the past two weeks that are phenomenal and should be on your list...unless you hate good music, then please ignore.

first, lamb of god's new album is everything you would expect from them with just enough new changes to keep it from sounding like one of their previous albums.  they open the album with a sludge/doom metal track and closes with the grandiose "king me", an almost 7 minute track with one of the best string tracks I've heard on a metal album. check it out below.

The Jealous Sound is back! After years off, they reunited (it's all the rage these days) and went back into the studio to release a proper follow up to 2003's Kill Them With Kindness. I'll admit, i was a bit worried about how it would turn out but after one listen to their first single, i knew it would be great.  I have a hard time describing the jealous sound's sound but it's a good mix between 90's emo and rock.  Always great, introspective lyrics that seem to apply to just you and everyone at the same time. Change You is one of my favorites off of the album, check it out below. Also, they have wolves on the album cover, can't really beat that.

For those that aren't metal or emo fans, check out First Aid Kit's Lion's Roar. I've been listening to them a lot lately.  it's good folk, acoustic music along the lines of Mumford & Sons and Bright Eyes.  Actually, Conor Oberst was involved in a couple of songs off the album and the album was produced by Mike Mogis (Bright Eyes, M. Ward) so that should give you an idea of the talent involved in the album.

So there you go, three different albums with three completely different styles, pick your poison.  Hope every one is doing well. Much love. 

X

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