Not really but i felt the need to write a quick post to recognize Nate Beaty. He's sponsored so he's kind of a big deal and he plays in Circle Back so he's pretty much the biggest deal. Check him out below...
This is Nate as his spirit animal...
And this is Nate's official "Look At How Sponsored I Am" photo...told ya, big deal
And this is what Nate looks like when hes playing Final Fantasy or about to throw down
I've got nothing to say, but these photos of dogs under water make me laugh every time I see them.
If you don't find those hilarious, you have no soul.
Other than looking at pictures of dogs underwater, life is busy. Went and saw Every Time I Die in Myrtle Beach this past weekend with the Stonez and Jared. Such an amazing show and one of the openers, Let Live, absolutely blew me away. I saw them open for August Burns Red but the sound was so bad (popping speakers are the worse) that it didn't dawn on me how amazing they were. ETID had tons of energy but nothing will compare to a Let Live show, dude was all over the place. We're going to have to get Kyle a longer mic cable for our next show.
Here's "Homeless Jazz" off of Let Live's "Fake History", you should go pick it up....right now. Support good music by good dudes.
Besides the great show, hanging out with Jared, Kyle, and Harmz is always a blast. Lots of laughs, stupid jokes, and good, good food (you'll always have my heart Steak & Shake).
This weekend the House of Fools dudes will be playing Charleston, so that's going down on Saturday and if you're in the chucktown area, you should be there. I've already roped Jared into coming, which is awesome. Plus it's nice to see them play live without having to drive 4 hours to Greensboro.
April is already shaping up to be a pretty busy month, should be a banger.
And here's ETID's "Grudge Music", just because it's awesome and I enjoy it a lot.
In the event that the title doesn't give it away, Ex Lives is the title for the new Every Time I Die album...and I'll be damned if all the hype leading up to it wasn't spot on. And when I say all the hype, I mean ALL of the hype because there were tons of it. From the music sites I visit daily to the merch guy at the Maylene show who happened to get a few listens somehow.
Ex Lives is every great thing they did on the previous five albums, mixed into one of the best albums I've heard in years. And I don't even own it! My pre-order should be in today but up until today, I've been listening solely to the album stream on SoundCloud (provided below, not sure how long it'll be up). So thanks to modern technology and the SoundCloud iPhone app, I've been able to listen to this in the car, at the gym, at work, etc...hell, i'm listening to it now as I type this up.
So yea....highly recommended pick-up. Listen to Underwater Bimbos, Typical Miracle, and Grudge Music.
Other notable releases for this week are Good Old War's Come Back As Rain and Lovedrug's Wild Blood, and Moonlight Bride's Twin Lakes EP. I actually listened to and bought the Moonlight Bride EP and was worth every penny, I have a feeling that band is going to get the attention they deserve in 2012. I've yet to listen to GOW and Lovedrug's albums though, I'll have to get to them this week sometime.
Also, Merchants had our first show on Thursday, and holy hell that was fun. I'd almost forgotten how much fun playing live was. I screwed up a ton but I jump around too much, and I'm still learning how to play guitar properly, for me to be to surprised by that. We've got our second show lined up on the 13th with Hollow Earth (Shai Hulud side project....yea, that Shai Hulud), we sold out of all of our shirts (we only made 11 but still), got rid of a lot of stickers and patches and overall had a good time. A lot of friends made the trip out which is more appreciated than I can ever properly express. Actually, I think it's only something another musician could truly understand...the idea that someone is willing to come listen to you make a ton of noise for 30 minutes, just because they know you love it.
I started my volunteer work with the Charleston Miracle League this past Saturday too. We were able to wrap up the adult league games before Charleston's mini-monsoon started up but I had a blast. It was a little awkward at first, just because I knew no one and most of the volunteers are high school kids trying to up their college applications. Plus, my tattoos made every one a little hesitant first but luckily they needed a pitcher and I happened to be standing right there so I got signed up and pitched for the first 2 games. By the time the third game rolled around, I had been hit by enough balls and made enough semi-funny jokes for everyone to warm up so I was able to chat away with people. Definitely plan on being out there this Saturday, hopefully we'll actually get to the kids games this time.
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.
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.
so it's 2012 now. fingers crossed no one i'm close to dies this year and that the mayans weren't correct and the world collapses on December 21st. other than those two things, it's just a different number at the end of the date. let's roll with the tunes.
so my pals in house of fools finally released their new album (after years of record label turmoil) and it's everything i expected and more. i couldn't make the release show on the 30th since i had some band stuff to do down here in chucktown but i've heard nothing but good things about the show. plus HoF has always been a band that you have to see live, no matter how good their albums are.
anyway, back to the album. it's full of great music, great songwriting and great harmonies. it's equal parts classic rock (tom petty, pink floyd), americana (wilco, ryan adams) and pop (the format, steel train). since i haven't owned it for even 24 hours yet, i'm reluctant to pick a favorite song but it's safe to say Time will remain as one of my favorites. so watch the video below and then go pick it up over at cdbaby.
also, yes i'm a bit biased since i've known these dudes for a while and they're one of the reasons i wished i still lived in the g'boro area so i could see them live more often but even listening to it objectively, i still think it's an amazing record.
now, there are two releases in 2012 i couldn't be more excited about, and completely different type of music than HoF, Every Time I Die's Ex Lives and Lamb of God's Resolution.
if you've known me longer than a week you'll know how Every Time I Die is one of my favorite bands so even without hearing anything off the new album (drops March 6), I planned on pre-ordering it. luckily, they released a song yesterday and it's every thing I would expect from them(and yes, I completed my pre-order package within about 20 minutes of posting).
also, lamb of god has a new album coming out January 24th. they're in the same grouping as etid in the fact that they never disappoint. their single, ghost walking, speaks for itself. two things to add to that though, (1) how amazing that lyric video is, and (2) how someone can play that riff on an acoustic is beyond me...then again, i'm a shitty guitarist.
the best thing about both of those singles is that they sound like the band they represent while still evolving their sound. it's not an easy thing to do.
in other news, the merchants set is coming along nicely and hopefully we'll have our first show in the next month (shooting for a february 10th show currently). we'll begin recording soon too so that should be frustratingly fun (stupid click tracks). and i actually posted a new by sea / by land demo the other day up on soundcloud. it's nothing fancy, pretty simple to be honest, but i like it.
2011 is about to wrap itself up and while, personally, it was somewhat of a shitty year, musically it was fantastic. I was originally going to try and narrow it down to just 10 albums but that seemed to be an injustice to a lot of good albums that did drop this year, so i'm doing 20 instead.
Also, I hate narrowing this down, there will be a lot of albums that will be left out that probably would have made my top ten in other years, but I've got to cut it off at some point.
Wanna know something else pretty cool? There are a ton of albums that I've heard great things about that I have still not have had the chance to listen to, so I'm sure sometime in early 2012 I'll have a post about albums that should have been somewhere on this list.
And since I never really get to use my minimal HTML skills, i decided to do that here too....no idea why.
20
Kevin Devine ~
Between the Concrete and Clouds
one of my favorite lyricist, great mood throughout the entire album
19
Manchester Orchestra ~
Simple Math
great hooks, great lyrics, great album
18
La Dispute ~
Wildlife
the whole "talk music" thing is really hard to pull off but la dispute does it beautifully
17
Into It. Over It ~
Proper
another great artist with a knack for great, introspective lyrics and hooks
16
Four Year Strong ~
In Some Way, Shape, or Form
i was pleasantly surprised at how great this album is when i first bought it. if you've liked any of their previous albums, you'll love it.
15
Saves the Day ~
Daybreak
saves the day is back! the 11 minute, 4 part opener track, Daybreak, is worth the price of the album alone. also, got to hang with these dudes about a month ago and have to say they're some of the most down to earth guys i've ever met
14
Trash Talk ~
Awake EP
the best 5 songs that clock in under 9 minutes; thrash metal at its finest
13
The Appleseed Cast ~
Middle States
it's appleseed, of course it's amazingly layered and beautiful and of course it's good.
12
I Am The Avalanche ~
Avalanche United
if you take 6 years between albums, it better be good. and yea, this thing is beyond good. listen to "brooklyn dodgers", just an awesome song.
11
Bayside ~
Killing Time
bayside's best album yet. it seems that every member stepped up their musicianship a few notches for this album. super proud of chris' and jack's work on this album and anthony never fails in the lyrics department.
10
The Dear Hunter ~
The Color Spectrum
spend the money and get the complete collection (all 9 EPs), worth every penny. just the idea, to write an EP based on the feelings of each color in the spectrum, is pretty intriguing and the fact that it was pulled off so well, i find amazing. Favorite EPs? Red, Black, White and Yellow...in that order but for real, get the entire thing.
9
The Wonder Years ~
Suburbia I've Given You All and Now I'm Nothing
i've gotten back into pop-punk this year, after quite a few years off (minus an album here and there), and i can owe it this album. this album reminded me of what's good about pop-punk.
8
Former Thieves ~
The Language That We Speak
I really wish I would've heard about this band back in April when this was released but I didn't know about them until the chariot show back in november but i love this album. reminds me some of the later poison the well stuff. sounds especially amazing on vinyl.
7
Thrice ~
Major/Minor
probably the final album from thrice, which is sad but if you've gotta go out, go out on top and this is their best effort, which says a lot because i loved the alchemy index and beggars. it's one of the most honest albums that i've heard on the sad state of our society and yet is still a very hopeful/uplifting album.
6
Bon Iver ~
Bon Iver
i can't say anything about bon iver that hasn't already been said a million times over. i find this album more beautiful every time i listen to it. i can't think of a more deserving artist to be nominated for 4 grammys.
5
David Bazan ~
Strange Negotiations
when you've spent a career as pedro the lion, you have high expectations for every album that you drop. Bazan ignores those expectations and releases his best work since Pedro's Control.
4
Hands ~
Give Me Rest
i don't typically listen to overtly christian bands (i hate being preached to) nor sludge metal but i can't get enough of this album. i've been listening to this album since it came out. every time i listen to it, i want to steal all of the riffs and use them in Merchants' songs.
3
Balance and Composure ~
Separation
this was my number one at the halfway mark, back in the spring. it hasn't lost any of its luster, still an amazing album that i find on play at least once a week. it's albums like this that make the entire post-hardcore recent uprising worth paying attention to, plus they're young so i have a feeling their best work is still yet to come.
2
The Story So Far... ~
Under Soil and Dirt
if the wonder year's album restored my faith in pop-punk, this is the album that restored my faith that new/young bands could write good pop-punk songs. if i'm not mistaken, this is their first LP release and to start off this strong is impressive. i'll keep rockin' this until LP 2 comes out, yea it's that good.
1
O' Brother ~
Garden Window
it's not very old, especially in comparison to 2 & 3 but i'll be damned if it's not great. it's at the point were i subconsciously just put the album on when i'm in the car (and i'm always in my damn car, it seems). each song flows into the next, everything sounds connected without sounding like a regurgitation. it's impressive on a whole different scale than the other albums i've listened to this year. there's a reason they tour with bands like Thrice, Manchester Orchestra and The Dear Hunter on a regular basis. nicely done, gentlemen, nicely done.
originally, i wanted to write a lot more about the albums but 20 albums is a bit more taunting than i originally thought it would be and free time is sparse for me these days so that's all you get. i'll be the first to admit that there will be a lot of albums that i've missed so feel free to let me know.
Also, two more categories....
Record Label of the Year: No Sleep Records 5 of the 20 albums on the list are No Sleep bands and if I would've done a top 25, there would have been 6 or 7 of their bands (Touche Amore & Such Gold) in the list. they continually sign good bands and their bands continually release fantastic albums. Whatever their formula is over there, it's working.
Best New Music Site: ElectricMariachi.com Stumbled across this site looking for an album stream of some sorts and i'll be damned if they didn't have that stream (trapped under ice's new one, i remember correctly) but they have a ton of other album streams, many albums that i forgot were released and all. so yea, cool site and their player works on a mobile too.
There ya go, enjoy. if you like my taste in music and haven't heard some of these releases, go pick it up somewhere. If you don't like my taste in music...i have no idea why you've read this, it's the internet, there are better things to read.
