lists

in no particular order

ten albums that shaped the way i play guitar:

choke – needless to say

pearl jam – vs

the suicide machines – destruction by definition

the get up kids – four minute mile

mock orange – nines and sixes

mineral – end serenading

rage against the machine – s/t

refused – the shape of punk to come

deftones – adrenaline

cave in – beyond hypothermia

ten albums that shaped the way i play drums:

huey lewis and the news – sports

nirvana – nevermind

dave matthews band – under the table and dreaming

green day – dookie

the suicide machines – destruction by definition

braid – frame and canvas

refused – the shape of punk to come

mock orange – nines and sixes

choke – needless to say

pearl jam – vs

so this is the new year (sweet harmony on year)

so here it is.

i spent my new year alone, working on music, and im pretty damn content with that.

maybe im a cynic, maybe im jaded, who knows, but i just dont care as much anymore about the traditional things that we are supposed to get excited about every year.  im not saying that i dont enjoy a good new years party, dont get me wrong, just saying i dont have that feeling in me anymore where i tell myself that i must go out.  a quiet night at home with some headphones was perfect for me.

so here’s a life update.

i spent most of december with strangers, writing and recording music and it was awesome.

the beginning of the month i was in seattle, with a new project called Isles and Glaciers (www.myspace.com/islesandglaciers).  we recorded 5 songs with Casey Bates (www.caseybates.com) in Shoreline, WA.  im currently trying to wrap up the 5th song with some extra production, then itll get a final mix and be sent off for mastering.  ideally this will be out in March, and we may just try to play a show… more info on that when i know im allowed to talk about it.

next i flew back to michigan, spent a day in bed, and then packed up the car for a 3-4 drive “up north”, as we say in michigan.  i drove with my new pal Nick Martin and my old pal Brad Bell, up to Luther, MI.  we took this trip to hang out and work on some music in a cabin.  im not sure if im allowed to talk too much about this so i will keep it short.  lets just say we wrote 10 songs in about 3 days, spent some time at the only bar in Luther, and a deer ran into my car.  great times.

so now ive had 2 weeks or so to chill out at home.  im about to start writing an album for a new friend… this will be my first time writing, recording, and producing an entire album.  i couldnt be more stoked.  more info on this will come once its all official.

at the end of january, Fordirelifesake will be heading back to Japan, 6 years later, for one final tour.  we got the offer right as we were working out the last show.  we felt like it would be very foolish to pass on this, so we’re going to take one more trip, then the band will be dead forever.

when we get back, i will be meeting some new people, and doing my best to produce a 5-6 song demo for them.  should be really cool.  they are a great band and i hope i can capture this right.

then in march, i am most likely going out tour managing and playing with Craig Owens, on his solo tour.  should be really fun.  im excited to spend some time with good people.

also in march, march 14th to be exact, my cousin Dave is getting married, and im the best man.  stoked, honored, excited, and terrified.  i keep having dreams where i forget to write a speech and i freeze up.  hope i can pull it together.

so i think thats it… thats my life up until mid april…good stuff

my favorite poem

love's function is to fabricate unknownness

(known being wishless;but love,all of wishing)
though life's lived wrongsideout,sameness chokes oneness
truth is confused with fact,fish boast of fishing

and men are caught by worms(love may not care
if time totters,light droops,all measures bend
nor marvel if a thought should weigh a star
—dreads dying least;and less,that death should end)

how lucky lovers are)whose selves abide
under whatever shall discovered be)
whose ignorant each breathing dares to hide
more than most fabulous wisdom fears to see

(who laugh and cry)who dream,create and kill
while the world moves;and every part stands still:

stu stu studio

ive been having this dream since ive been in the studio… twice now.. but the first time was minimal.  im at my parents house, and i walk into what used to be my bedroom, and my dog is starring into the corner, and i look in the corner and theres like some sort of strangeness going on, which i assume is about to materialize into a ghost or something… the first time i just woke up i think, but last night was different.

same situation, i come in, dog is starring into the corner, i look, it looks weird, then all of a sudden im hearing really loud noises and the phone rings and immediately goes to the answering machine… the answering machine picks up and i hear a really old sounding recording saying ” all employees please evacuate the area” over and over… obviously im freaked out in the dream, and i run out and look out the front window and two huge trucks are pulling into the driveway.  at this point im thinking some ghost has my back and is trying to get me out of here alive, but i was so creeped out i had to wake myself up.

then after i had this dream where there were scorpions in my bed, and when i jumped up, they just kept coming at me.  if i tried to step on them they would jump around and shit.  it sucked.

stupid dreams.

last night was great in the studio, we tracked a lot of guitars, and i had about 12 beers and did some weird stuff that i think is probably going to be pretty cool.  i think we do some bass today and maybe some more guitars.

back in the studio

today marks day 1 of work on a brand new project.  im in seattle (near seattle), recording in casey bates studio, with some new friends.

woke up yesterday at 4:30 am, sarah drove me to the airport, flight left at 7:20 am, eastern… landed at like 11:00 am pacific… tired as fuck.  met 1 guy who i had only talked to online, and 3 other guys who i had never talked to ever.  luckily everyone was into old fat wreck chords stuff, so now we are all friends.

sitting in the control room now, working on finishing up the songs so we can keep rolling.  the plan is 5 songs, 10 days.. its going to be ridiculous but i think we can do it.  should be fun.

once i know its cool to actually talk details, ill stop being so vague

everything in its right place

im laying in bed, in a holiday inn express, in state college, pa.  i think thats actually the name of the town, but maybe im totally blowing it.  who knows.

day two of tour playing drums for the hard lessons (www.myspace.com/thehardlessons).  its been fun so far.  a few more shows then im back home, and back to being a bum.

i think i really just felt like writing because i saw something that bummed me out.  i just watched a music video of a band that some guys i know play in… and its basically saying ” we are punk, kids who look this way or act this way are ridiculous, and we are cooler/better than them “.

im pretty sure i hate that.  dont get me wrong, i think trends, fashion, music, etc… these days is pretty awful and i dont dig it…. but i mean what good are any of us doing if we just mock and make fun of people who arent the same as us?  if you actually grew up in this punk rock scene, then youve definitely gone through some awkward phases trying to figure yourself out.  youve definitely been made fun of, picked on, laughed at, but you stuck to it because you felt something.

yes i think most bands these days are stupid, i think boys in girl pants suck, but i mean who says its wrong? it obviously wasnt cool to wear a huge pair of jnco jeans when i was younger, but that didnt stop me at all.

i dont know… maybe im hypocritical, but i just dont get the point in making fun of people for something they love.  i dont think theres anything wrong with making a living because of music, and i think its pretty smart to pay attention to the market, instead of just say youre so punk that you dont care, because thats false.

i dont really even know where im going with this… i guess im just thinking… do things because you care… because you are moved by something, inspired by something… and if someone else is inspired by something else, dont rain on their parade.. it usually just means youre jealous.  there are better ways to make your point then by making fun of someones hair.

pet peeve

i really hate when people say “we arent gonna hang out anymore” or “ill never do that again” or things of this nature.

id say whenever you say that, you usually end up doing the thing you said you wouldnt do within 48 hours.

someone treats you like crap, “we arent going to hang anymore”, except for in a few days.

secrets

we are all guilty of the same things.  when those things annoy us, we get on our high horse, and we pretend we would never do such a thing, and ask “how could they do that!?!?”.  it’s so ignorant and annoying.  there are no rules for living, there are no rules for who you like, who you love, and why you do so.  no one will ever mind their own business, and its ridiculous to even ask now a days.  everything you do will always be talked about by the people around you, and i dont really think anyone is in the wrong.  i dont think you should ever be ashamed of anything you do, anything you care about.  we all need our secrets, but usually the things our friends want to gossip about, arent those deep dark secrets that we cling to, but more than likely they just wanna know who we’ve been making out with so they can judge and decide how they feel about that.

grow up.  people date, usually they break up, and they should always be allowed to move on, in whichever direction theyd like.  there’s no rule that says if your brother is dating someone, and he doesnt appreciate that person, that you shouldn’t get a chance to say or show that person how you feel.  maybe that person is your “soulmate”.  it really blows my mind that anyone would think that after theyve dated someone, they have eternal dibs on that person.  there are numerous ways to respect the situation, numerous ways to handle it accordingly, but as intelligent people, we should be able to handle it and move on.

and even more ridiculous to me, is when any certain instance bothers an outsider more than it bothers the person they are concerned about being hurt by this.  when some lonely asshole has to run his mouth and sound the alarm because he doesnt agree with what happened.  and usually, this person who is crying out for justice, if you through their past, youll see some nice things, and great backstabbing moments, where they defied everything they claim they stand for, and had some fun with their best friends boyfriend/girlfriend.

im just writing cause i hate when anyone tells another person they are out of line for following their heart, and you know what, i could care less if in the end they were only following their dick(and dick in this case can stand for girlie parts too, i just think it sounds better right now).

do what you want, whenever the fuck you want it.  you arent going to live forever and you should experience everything you can, while you can.  it might be something you remember and cherish for the rest of your life, who knows.  and that angry angry person who always has so much to say, check in on them in a few years, and i bet nothing will have changed.

the end

sitting in the same damn back lounge i was sitting in when i wrote my first ever blog entry, and oddly enough inspired to write by the same person, just for different reasons this time.

so its done.  the 2008 MCS record cycle is over.  done.  no more damn shows.  we ended it with some ridiculousness.  on 10/2 we played nashville, our final day of tour with Chiodos (love those dudes), and then proceeded to make a 12 hour journey to Stillwater, OK to play with Sugarland, Kelly PIcklier, and Ashton Sheppard.  to say this was a weird night would be an understatement. sugarland’s PM and crew were actually all super nice and really cool to use, which was refreshing, but we were definitely out of our element.  the country crowd was a bit confused during the set, but i dont think it went over as bad as we had all worried.  so we finish up this set, this long day, and we all go to bed sad, knowing that in a few hours we will be at Tulsa International Airport, unloading 23 pieces of gear, and printing our boarding passes to fly to Pittsburgh, PA for the final show of the tour.  another college show, this time with Saves the day.  So we get to the airport at 630 AM, flight leaves around 9.  we have some delays, and we land in Pittsburgh around 3 PM.  the band is supposed to play at 530 PM.  we get picked up, drop the guys off at the hotel to clean up, and diaz, claudio, pavan and i get to the site as saves the day is playing.  we have less than 40 minutes to get our shit together and get ready for this set.  it was pretty ridiculous and we were all incredibly slap happy from lack of sleep.  it took some doing, and we had a lot of issues wth the ears, but it ended up alright.  the show was fun, we had a good time, and we were really happy to close it all out.  we all go together in the hotel lobby for a few beers, a meal, and just one last time to hang.  it was a good thing.

ill miss all the dudes.  its been a really fun time touring with them.  i feel like im walking out of it with some new good friends, and i hope we all end up staying in touch.

tour memories might be all i really have someday, so im pretty happy when i get some new ones to add to the scrap book.  i think some of my happiest times come from sitting around with friends, and laughing about something stupid that happened some day on tour.  i still do it with everyone in FDLS, so im sure ill still do it with people ive toured with since.  its great to just think about something completely stupid, and laugh until your face hurts.  i feel pretty lucky for being able to do what i do.

so now im 6 hours away from home.  got band practice tomorrow with justin and adam which im thrilled about… hopefully this thing works out, who knows.  i have some plans to hang with lots of old friends, and some brand new ones, which should prove to be interesting if nothing else.  and i think i have some new friends flying in to spend some time with me soon, which will be great!

im starring at the possibility of months off of tour, for the first time in at least 3 years i think.  ive turned down every offer that ive received, and i have no intention of looking for a job for some time.  i cant wait to have nothing to do, and be completely free to write music all damn day.  i plan to write and record at least 20 songs for this project with justin/adam/brian… i plan to be ready to record at least 10-11 songs for my solo album by december… im working on a few more covers with certain special friends, its going to be great.  and on Nov 28th, i get to play one final show with fordirelifesake.  its going to be amazing, and these are going to be some great months in my life.  now i just have to find a way to not end up broke and ill be so happy.

so thats my life right now.  pretty fucking awesome in my opinion.  good friends, good times, hopefully some babes, and always, always time to write music!

stay warped

i’ve been out on the vans warped tour now for i think 5 days.  about 3 days before that, somehow i did something, which i think resulted in my pinching a nerve in my lower back.  needless to say, i have barely been able to walk since we started this tour (which is awesome since its an outdoor festival and you have to walk around all day), and i hate everything as a result.

i bought a bike the other night at super kmart, and that is helping.  it slightly resembles pee wee’s bike, so thats a good time, as long as i can avoid that asshole Francis.

pretty much everyday tony and i have a conversation like this: “what time is warped tour?” “did you mean the vans warped tour?” “oh, its whatever time Kevin Says” and then it branches off from there.  probably doesnt seem funny if you arent there.

there is this band called the ORESKA BAND, who is just amazing.  we are all smitten and everyone has been watching them like every day.  check it out, its good times.

hmm what else… warped tour sucks.  its hot and gross and hot.  the hang outs are good times, but it doesnt always make up for the whole “being on warped tour” thing.

the bronx are awesome.  reel big fish are great. i think thats all i got.