Last night: This Is Ivy League at the Knitting Factory. Amazing. I didn't doubt for a second it wouldn't be good...I just didn't let myself count on it being AS good as it was. The only real drawback was the blonde chick in front of me who seriously almost got my beer all over her when she and her drunk friend wouldn't shut up. Obnoxious drunken behavior = not cute. remotely.
The New Jerk Times were highly entertaining as well. Too bad most of the kids in front of the stage looked like they'd rather be anywhere else. Apparently they  missed the memo that (should have been issued and) said "tonight's music will not sound even remotely like Cobra Starship". I actually heard a girl near me turn to her friend and ask "When are they gonna sing?"
The Mood wasn't bad. The Knitting Factory tends to have really shitty mixing every once in a while so I bought the fairly cheap CD to give it a spin and see how I like it when everything doesn't sound mish moshed together. My problem during their set was that if I didn't see the keyboard on stage I wouldn't know there was one. Same with the fact that they had 2 (possibly 3 I was at a band angle to see) guitars on stage and it sounded like there was one really loud guitar. If you have that many intstruments you need to differentiate so that it doesn't just sound like a lot of noise.

Let's see what else happened last night...finally met (however briefly) an internet 'friend' whose opinion on various matters I actually respect (firstcrush). Very cool chick. Got to say hey to a couple of other people I haven't seen in a while both before the show (it's amazing who you run into at penn station) and after the show. Still pretty sure Alex "hates" me (unless it's just my complete and total lack of overreaction around him that throws him off lol).

Just got final word yesterday that yes I will definitely be able to attend Bamboozle this year (yay for comp'd tickets. I'm so fucking broke it's not even funny) and I will apparently also be attending MCR at MSG (not so much with the comp'd tickets but my friend has fairly cheap tickets and her boyfriend can't go now). So yay for that.

It's now 10 to 11 and I have a stack of stupid busy work on my desk that I could probably do with my eyes closed. Supposedly we're getting an intern (from New Paltz who is majoring in Creative Writing...who majors in creative writing?) mid-may to take the stupid mindless stuff off my plate. At the same time - last summer I had almost nothing for our intern to do (except answer the phones - which is great 'cause I hate that) until July because if I gave the intern work then I had nothing to do then I got yelled at. "Researching pop culture and how it will effect our Festival" as an answer never really goes over very well.

So 119 days til the Balloon & Music Festival. Which means it is 134 days until the Seafood, Craft & Music Festival (this itty bitty festival my boss does on the side out east in Sayville -- good eats though). Which means it is about 143 days until I've been on salary for a year. And then I can say "Bossman, I need X amount more money (I'm shooting for a 10k raise...which will still put me damn near the poverty scale with all the loans I have to pay back) because I will be 25 this month and it's nothing personal but I can not afford this anymore" and when he says that there is no way he'd be able to do it (not even his decision ironically) I can say "ok...then just so you know I'm sending my resume everywhere."
And I shall do that. And I shall get a "better" job. Depending on the job I'd work for even less then I make now. I just hate this so much and I can't stand that I'm truly miserable 93% of the time I'm here. It sounds like mindless complaining but when you spend 80% of your day: playing mediator between your boss and the only other person you work with, typing dictated emails, doing no free thinking work and the 20% of your day answering the phone or twidling your thumbs TRYING to look busy you'd be ready to scream too.

So yea - This Is Ivy League. get the new CD. They're good dudes. and if you're on buzznet chances are you know this and you've bandwagoned already.

on one hand I get to say "this year at the balloonfest we will have the music of...Aerosmith, Queen, Steely Dan, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, The Allman Bros...and more..."
on the other hand I am in tribute band hell.

All because it POURED on Friday last year and Joan Jett just doesn't sell tickets like she used to -- combined with The Black Crowes bending us over for $125k and then cancelling for the Saturday -- and Pat Benatar causing a near riot by refusing to play until the seats were filled. It's a GA festival lady.

But NO. Dave heard me saying I couldn't wait to pick up a copy of the movie and goes "oh..change of plans we're working late now."

fuck.

As though I needed another reason to dislike this overrated band...bolded parts are the most "cringe worthy" to me.

link to article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7226757.stm
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Turning youthful energy, emotion and attitude into passionate, melodic heavy rock, US band Paramore are rising fast.
Fronted by the flame-haired Hayley Williams, the Tennessee quartet have been nominated for best new artist at the Grammy Awards and are in the middle of a sold-out UK tour.

Lead guitarist and songwriter Josh Farro, 20, talks about their fanatical crowds, their Grammy plans and their Christian beliefs.



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Q: How is the tour going?

A: It's going unbelievably. We've been to Manchester and London and both have been about 4,000 kids a night. We're having a blast. The gigs are full of energy.

Q: What do you have that fans relate to?

A: We're pretty young, and all of our fans are pretty much our age and they can relate to us pretty well.

Also a lot of our songs give kids our age hope. Even if the songs aren't very uplifting - they may be about a tragedy in life or something - kids relate to it and think "wow, I'm not the only one that goes through this".


Q: Who is your average fan?

A: I would say the average is probably about 16 years old. Most of the time it's a girl, and if it's a girl she's got red hair and wears skinny jeans and hoodies and studded belts. Just like Hayley.

Q: Who are your musical heroes?

A: As a band, probably Jimmy Eat World, the Foo Fighters and we love Muse.

Q: What first inspired you to pick up a guitar?

A: At about age 13, my dad was teaching my older brother how to play guitar and I was pretty curious. I wanted to learn as well.

I watched him teach my brother, and then once they'd walked out of the room, I'd pick up the guitar and try and figure it out on my own. Since then, I've fallen in love with it.


Q: Your younger brother Zac is on drums - did you think about forming a band with your older brother too?

A: No - when we first started playing it was when Hanson was pretty big. We didn't want to be Hanson.
I really wish he had completed this sentence and stated WHY they didn't "want to be Hanson"...'cause quite frankly, musically none of them even come close to Hanson's ability.

Q: You've just had a day off from the tour - what did you do?

A: We had a Sunday roast, which was amazing. And we went to Oxford Circus in London and shopped because we needed to find some clothes for the Grammys. We all found some nice stuff, mainly in Top Man. That's our favourite store over here. I bought some black pointy dress shoes for £50.

Q: Are you going to wear them to perform at the Grammys?

A: We're not performing, but we are performing at a couple of shows around the Grammys. A couple of days before, Timbaland's throwing a party and we're playing a couple of songs there.

Q: You're up against Amy Winehouse in the best new artist category - are you a fan?

A: No I am not. I just don't like her music, I don't think she's very good and I think she's a drama queen. She makes artists look like divas, which some are, but her head is in the wrong place. If she's an artist she needs to be about the music, not about always trying to get attention. I don't really like her either...but she IS very good.

Q: How do you have fun on the road - are you well behaved or debauched?

A: We're pretty well behaved. We don't really party or drink. It's not really our thing. On the road, we like to hang out and watch movies together. Especially over here in the UK, we like to go sightseeing and see the countryside.

Q: How important is your faith to your music?

A: Our faith is very important to us. It's obviously going to come out in our music because if someone believes something then their worldview is going to come out in anything they do. But we're not out here to preach to kids, we're out here because we love music. We do believe that God has blessed us with an opportunity to be in a band and tour the world and we're going to use this gift to the full potential.

Q: What are you more interested in - Super Bowl or Super Tuesday?

A: What's Super Tuesday? [The big round of primaries for the US presidential election.] Oh, Super Bowl all the way. Go Giants!
fucking moron. way to be a tuned in role model for teens today. "What's super tuesday?"

Josh Farro was speaking to BBC News Entertainment reporter Ian Youngs. Paramore's new single, Misery Business, is released on 11 February.

- Album of the Year: HA FUCKING HA! Amazing. Herbie Hancock is one of the great jazz pianists of our time - combine that with the beautiful music of Joni Mitchell and yes Album of the Year. Fuck the addict and the egomaniac.

- "I just got an award from a Beatle....has that happened to you yet Kayne" - Vince Gill fucking rules all just for that.

- Alicia Keys. Beautiful....John Mayer is sex on two legs when he plays a guitar. But seriously? That's it? That's all I get? A medely woulda been nice...or just doing Lessons Learned - more Mayer damnit. (the boy is going to go disappear and record soon, I gotta get what I can)

- Justin Timberlake needs to get his ass into the studio and record a new album and stop milking Future Sex/Love Sounds. All four other songs nominated for Male Pop Vocal were better songs then "What Goes Around..."

- speaking of awards -- hey RIAA - Where were the fucking awards? SOME of us actually care about those rather then a 2 hour "concert" and commercials.

- And Rhianna won soley for production from Jay-Z thank you very much. The fact that girl even has a career scares me.

- I don't care if you ran over CBS...you don't cut off The Beatles. Ever.

- Amy Whinehouse (errr...Winehouse) winning Record of the Year (she won so many I forgot which one it was) and having that "Jaw on the Floor - I don't Effing Believe It" moment was truly amazing. I'll give her that. Most honest reaction ever. Maybe tonight will be enough of a kick in the ass to get her shit straight.

- Beyonce. Tina Turner.  On stage together.  I may puke.  Legend and a hack job. a hack who was lip synching freaking spoken word no less. lame.

- Daughtry won nothing. Thank you. Considering how they tend to just hand the little record players out now-a-days I'm very glad the wanna be Ed Kowalczyk didn't win shit. Let him have his AMAs (the award that proves the general music buying public are morons) - keep him away from the grammys.

- Foo's. Nuff said.

- Kayne - STFU. You're overrated. I'm sure you're a very nice (if by nice I mean egomaniacal and narcissistic) person - but musically, you're overrated.*

- Jerry Lee Lewis. Little Richard. John Fogerty. My inner child of the 1960s is having a party right now.

- Everyone who is bitching about the Album of the Year over on ONTD needs to school themselves with music history before opening their mouths.**

- Who dressed half these people?

- Josh Groban can call me now. And sing me to sleep. His cover of 'America' please. Thanks.

Full on jealous "rage" over here as one of my best friends was at the ceremony and is now hanging out at the RIAA party while I am sitting here in NY "enjoying" 7am office call times. Staff meetings. and fucking telephone standby jury duty this week.

sleep now. Will re-watch and possibly add more comments late.

*I mean no disrespect towards his speech for his mom. It's everything else that makes me want to claw my eyes out.
**most of them just shouldn't open their mouths in general. ever.

This is me lately.

Most of the fans I've seen around the internet (like the hardcore fans) seem to be also really really big fans of bands like Nickelback.

John Mayer....Nickelback.  Somehow, I don't see the connection. (Admittedly I don't know why anyone would like Nickelback to begin with) -- I could understand Dave Matthews (and I don't like DMB, but I'd at least "get it") but Nickelback? ugh. ew.

perfect way for me to lose all respect for anything you ever have to say about music: say you like Nickelback.

I grew up learning how to stop seizures brought on by alcohol consumption. How many 6 year olds know to stick a popsicle stick in between their mothers teeth and stick a pillow under her head? But hey...by the time I was 10 she was sober. So yay for that.  Now I just had the weird mom everyone knew USED to drink.
Fast forward 14 years later -- she's drinking again. But she's stopping and she's only drinking 'cause she's depressed from detoxing herself off prescribed pain killers her doctor basically just kept giving her for the last 9 years. (ah the gift that keeps on giving)
Fast forward to tonight...neurotic behavior...wayyyy too helpful...slight slur...I happen to be in her bedroom and what is sitting in the trashbin - a mikes hard cranberry.
Ironically the first thought I had was: The woman who used to drink a 6 pack of beer by noon is drinking girlie drinks?
And then what I was seeing fully processed.
Growing up with a recovering alcoholic I've been to more AA meetings then I can count. I used to play in the church basements with other kids whose parents brought them. And while I didn't ever really truly pay attention subconsciously I learned things. (after all if you hear the same thing over and over enough it sticks)
And despite the "strong discussion" (as god forbid my grandparents hear what I found out) we had -- I am more hurt then angry. But when she started making excuses for why she's doing this (including how she's worried about my weight and it causing me diabetes eventually -- hi I'm only about 15-20 lbs over where I should be and yes I know this) I flipped. Because there is one thing I do remember --- powerless over your addiction you may be but we don't make excuses for the behavior and we accept it.  Hell -- one thing I've actually lived by for as long as I can remember is the serenity prayer:
God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
Courage to change the things I can;
And wisdom to know the difference.
It might sound hokey as hell but I've always had a certain respect for those words and knowing how to apply them to my life.
I see so many spoiled kids. Kids who have this sense of entitlement to them. Kids who honestly hate me (yea they do). And I want to scream at them: My Life Sucks!
I've had people tell me that my life is perfect..etc etc. and I laugh at them.
For example -- I'm going to see Cobra Starship on Friday in NYC -- and I have 2 guest list spots and no one to go with me as most of my friends are currently in LA at the NAMM conference. So I asked if anyone wanted to join me and I got told that I was being braggy about having the guest list spot. WTF?! Free concert. ugh.

ya know --- part of me wonders if she's doing this because she knows it'll be enough to stop me from applying to school in Chicago. Hell -- it's enough to make me not apply to school at all. Because despite the fact that I'm 24 -- I still have that 6 year old inside me who is running around in circles freaking out because Mommy is going to get sick. I now start to worry about things like money, bills on the house, the fact that my grandpa is getting really sick (THIS should be what stops me from looking at out of state schools), my grandma is going senile, my uncles/aunts don't help out at all, my car is fucking busted (and I'm trying to squash a panic attack over the fact that I'll be getting a call from the tow truck company at around 8am to pick it up).
I truly hate my life. Truly.
I absorb myself into TV shows/books/movies to give myself even the briefest escape into a world that couldn't possibly exist in reality. I lay in bed and stare at the ceiling and wonder when Seth Cohen, John Carter, Dean Winchester or Harrison John is going to swoop in and take me away from all the bullshit.
Then I wake up and realize that I got delt a really shitty hand of cards and its a fixed deck.

whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger right?

So far, I've done absolutely nothing except take 4 hours to get ready. It was fabulous. I didn't do anything special--- I just let myself be lazy about it.  Watched the finale of the Next Great American Band that I Ti-faux'ed last night - and was thrilled to see The Clarke Brothers won (since Dot Dot Dot got eliminated they were my favorite - not a huge country fan personally, but I enjoy musical talent and passion for music and those guys have it). 

Plans for Today: mani/pedi before Christmas - my one indulgence considering how broke I am right now.  Getting the air in my tires checked since I'm driving to Brooklyn tonight.  Heading over to Colleen's to pick her and Hobart up around 5pm.  Driving into Williamsburg for Col's graduation diner at FoodSwings and then being DD and taking them to a bar to celebrate (why we have to be in Brooklyn for the bar portion is beyond me - I'd much rather come home here to LI so I don't have to worry about lugging drunks around in my car for over an hour drive in holiday city traffic).  Needless to say I'll probably bring a book with me. 

In work news (which means music news for people who actually pay attention to me) - I'm 85% sure at this point we'll be working with either Live Nation and/or AEG Live this year.  That should make the lineup come August incredibly interesting.  We're already throwing around major major names based on who's releasing albums in '08 and will be touring in support of them this summer (and it was dark blueeee...darkblueee....). 

Still no word on Bamboozle headliners and I need to know that before I decide if I'm buying that $244.00 golden ticket.  The "VIP" bathrooms/lounges personally are enough for me to buy it no matter what ('cause I'm definitely going) but I might wanna buy 2 so that Kristin can go with me (it's no fun to have ONE pass like that and have everyone else you're with have regular tickets). At the same time though I need to find out if there is anyway I can get guest list...'cause well...Free = better then paying for "VIP" treatment (note the quotes. That shit is as far from real VIP as you can possibly get).
Umm...also - can we all laugh a little at the fact that MSI is playing Bamboozle.
Hobart and I had a discussion about this last night on our way to the movies.  We both agreed that it might be the most out of place band on the planet (considering the crowd BBoozle caters to).  But that we were both ridiculously excited to see LTJ (I just have to get Col & Hobart to go with me). 

ok....that's it for today.  I'll probably be gone til late tonight.