Because I Owe This Thing An Update.

This sucks.
The only part of music journalism that I cannot stand is transcribing interviews. I listen to music very nearly 24 hours a day. Things like... work tend to get in the way but in the car: music. While I'm writing: music. In the shower: music. Cooking: music. Sleeping: music.
You get the idea.
It's tough to spend hours sitting slack-jawed in front of my computer monitor hitting play-stop-rewind-play for hours on end and listening to my stupid voice ask questions while a musician doesn't sing but... answers my questions.
It redefines tedium.

I'm caffeinating for motivation.

For the sake of the website, I've been trying to love more female vocalists. I'm not anti-feminism or anything. In fact, if you saw the music I do own by women, you'd think I was a hardcore, militant man-hater. I like Tori Amos. I love Beth Hart. Tracy Chapman. Brandi Carlile. Diane Birch. Janis and Joni, duh. Heart. Nina Simone.
I just don't like women to sound like little girls.
That's actually what we had drilled into our heads in choir. The director would yell, "Sing like women, not little girls!" If the vocalist doesn't sound like she has a spine, I want no part of her music.
I want tough. The music industry is totally a man's game, and only the strongest female vocalists have lasted long enough to become iconic. Even in pop, people like masculinity. Madonna, Janet, and Britney are all kind of masculine when you see them on the stage-- even if their shows are built around female sexuality.


Anyway. Two things before I actually plunge into the transcription process:

One. The website (per usual):
As of today, we have TWO NEW WRITERS FOR THE SITE. I'm so excited. They're really good.
(Let me get cheesy for a moment because the website is my kid.)

It's been really hard to find people to write for the site. Of the people who express interest, they're... not really what I'm looking for. And of the people I've wanted in the past, well, they're paid professionals who write for actual publications that will pay them with more than things like hi-fives and eternal gratitude.
So Nick and I kept up with the site by ourselves because I'd rather not compromise the tone of the website just to have a little extra help-- though I thought about it at times because this shit owns my life some days.

Our first new writer is Sara, who is super talented. She thinks about music and can also translate emotion into text really well, which can be tough to do without sounding too self-serious or pretentious. As I told Nick, I feel like she's an asset to the site and not just a filler or one more person to contribute content.

Our second writer is someone I've been reading for over a year. He does the new music updates for The Hub on MySpace. He's very aware of new music and what's worth hearing. He also seems to bear an impressive amount of knowledge regarding band history as well as music structure, two areas I'm admittedly weak in.
I'm really excited to have him with us, too, because when I first decided to (finally) set all of this music journalism stuff in motion, I kind of looked up to The Hub as a reference point for how I wanted to interact with artists. I even went to one of The Hub's house shows in Huntington Beach. (They'd put together live concerts with some of the more well-known independent singer-songwriters and invite strangers to their backyard/living room for the low, low price of $15 to watch like, 5 artists perform. Now they do a cruise thing. The living room is now a yacht and $15 is closer to $50. Still rad, and I'm still looking up to them because I want to do that, too. Eventually.)

I'm going on an intern hunt next week. I really have no idea what I'm doing so anything would be a step up, even if it just means getting some paperwork on what I need to get a damn intern. (I'm not kidding. Kids need college credit and I need an intern. Everybody wins.)
I'll be stalking college campuses circa mid-week...


Two. Butch Walker (go figure):
These people are really reserved. Though it's just a cover, I would've lost my shit if I saw Butch Walker cover this song:



The West Coast is waiting patiently, Butch...

Perks.

My interview with Glasvegas was great. They are a really nice group of people-- so much so that they decided I was cool enough to attend the concert with a plus one, despite its sold out-edness and with complete disregard for fire safety ordinances. So, because of Glasvegas, I got to see Carl Barat play live. For free.


cornered, the boy kicked out at the world. the world kicked back a lot fuckin' harder.

Feel free to disagree, but this is a once in a lifetime-type experience for me. No matter what else I do in this life, I will have gotten to see Carl Barat play live in my home state because of Glasvegas.
That. is neat.

We spent a portion of the Glasvegas set standing next to Carl. Inside, I was a groupie who just wanted to be creepy and take pictures of him with my phone. Outside, I pretended to not notice by holding a conversation with a very cool photographer named Boone, who I still need to email.

Music journalism is the best thing I've ever done for myself.

Related: I am someone who loves to be busy. I love being too busy to be busy.
I only have time to talk about the time I don't have.
But this week has proven a bit overwhelming. To get things done, I have to travel-- but in traveling, I can't get anything done.
It's something I need to learn to juggle.

And! Dude. I saw Carl Barat play live.
I am crossing it off my List.
He's got kind of a see you in another life, brother/Desmond from Lost look about him, right? Maybe it's just the shirt. And the hair. And the face.

P.S. I really like Kelly Clarkson, but based on the rules I've set for the site, I can't write about her unless I have to. And I can't write about music that I don't like (-- which, I'm learning, means we have a lot less content than I'd like). That said, I can tell you here that Kelly Clarkson is better than her new song, "My Life Would Suck Without You". Way to not try, Clive Davis. We really do need more of that in the music industry...

Let's Get Vague.

I read something fantastic just now.
More or less, it talked about how things don't have to be dramatic to be great. Sometimes having fireworks in everything you do is more toxic than it is good.

If I can remember that and keep it in my back pocket for the rest of my life, things will improve exponentially in every way.
I won't be able to apply this to every situation that it should be applied to because I will get wrapped up in the fireworks and forget-- right up until I'm sad that I forgot this rule that I vowed to remember and am kicking myself for getting wrapped up in the fireworks. Again.

And such is life.

I'm tired of the rollercoaster.
Aren't you?

I'm going to Portland tomorrow to interview Glasvegas.
... Actually, no. I am going to Portland to see Andy for a few days. To lift the fog and to laugh. The Glasvegas interview was the catalyst, but it is not the reason.

I am leaving in 7 hours, and I have so much to do.
An intern would be fantastic.

And I'd Like To Interview You Or Someone From Your Band...

My bedroom and general workspace is a mess. A flurry of papers and CDs and notes and magazines.

Mess.

It's a little embarrassing. I'm 25. You'd think I'd have my shit more together than this.

However.
It is also a little exciting. Because rather than my room being cluttered with the random crap that would've made it a mess even two years ago, it's now full of music journalism stuff.
CDs from bands, PR people, and record labels.
Notes and research from previous interviews.
Ideas written on pieces of scrap paper (some of which I've actually been inspired enough to actualize).
Contact information.
Concert ticket stubs.
The past seven issues of Esquire magazine...

That's all it is. My field disaster area of dreams.
Oh.
And four loads of unfolded laundry.

I'd rather scrub three toilets and cook dinner all week than fold one load of laundry.