hue and lights at cto

Last night was an outstanding show.
After a grueling amount of rehearsals over the past weeks, we pulled together a well-received set that was over 3/4's new material. There were a lot of highlights to the show as well: I got to play the drums sideways, Darcy and I both had solo's during a jazz intermission (except he got to play the kazoo), we had a song that was just drums and whistling, and most importantly, nothing broke or disconnected. It was just one of those shows where everything went smooth from start to finish, except when our sound guy Eric had us set up onstage in front of everybody, only to make us wait while he took a piss. But once we hit the stage, it was all set to go.

Seeing as we were playing with the pop-wonder LIGHTS (myspace.com/lights) we knew that people would show up, but we weren't ready for how many.
I got a text from my sister early on in the night asking when to show up for the show, I replied "come now, there's 150 people waiting to get in", and that was before the doors even opened. Once they did, the place just flooded and we were to hit the stage in about an hour. By the time we'd finished our set, the Sold Out sign was placed on the front door. It got really, really tight. Once we hit that last note (or punch), it was time to tear down everything at record pace. Yet the only problem was, we couldn't get off the stage. People had surrounded every corner of Call the Office and we had no way of getting our gear off the stage. So we (meaning Hue and Everlea) formed a gear-train that involved lifting huge amps above our heads in an effort to get everything off the stage so that the next set of gents could get playing.
Another thing I wasn't expecting from this show was the general demographic. I forgot who we were playing with and what her fan base really is: screaming young girls. I am not, in any way, saying this is a bad thing. In fact, it was one of the most hilarious and enjoyable crowds we've ever played to. Playing to a hoard of girls kicked ass. After every song they'd cheer, and after everything you'd say they'd scream. I joked later about screaming "Does your mother like it dirty?"..."YAAAHBLLAAHHAAA!" I even threw away broken sticks at the end of the show, and they ate that shit up. I guess if you're too young to drink, you have to have your vices, which leads me to my next point: these kids spend!
Not only did they like the music, but they wanted to have it. Apparently we sold over twenty albums last night and filled up over two sheets of paper for a mailing list. We also signed a lot of CD's, which made me feel like a rockstar dickhole, but it was all in fun and it was nice to meet a lot of cool people.
Needless to say, the night was a huge success and I only want to tour with popular female musicians, forever.

hi, i'm a mac

Yeah yeah yeah yeah, new laptop. Fairly excited.
I found it really strange when I was asked about my new computer, to which my response was pretty unenthusiastic. But really, what is there to get excited about when your computer has nothing on it? Photo Booth is fun, because I can make crazy faces, but other than that I'm still getting used to the platform. Macs are funny machines. Everything is quite streamlined, but it's like learning to ride a bike again. I've been rocking on windows so long that I know no other way around. So yes, it will be a many days reading manuals and playing around with hotkeys, which is kind of fun. One thing weird about this computer is that the "v" key is HYPER SENSITIVE. By that I mean I just have to touch the key, not even press, and the fucker clicks. So I've been seeing all these v's spread out randomly through my writings, and if I leave my finger on the key without looking, a huge mess of v's show up, like this vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv. I probably changed some sensitivity settings without thinking, or not.
Aside from that, I plan on acquiring some nifty programs: Photoshop, Logic Pro, Final Cut, all the Garage Band Jam Packs (thanks Dan), and maybe something else nifty. Even with the new machine, I still do not plan on downloading music, mostly just because I feel bad when I do. Sometimes I feel that if I can't afford it, I shouldn't hear it, which is rediculous in many ways and I could analyze that to death, but I won't.

Lately, I feel as though I've been in horrible overall health. Not only do I feel like I'm going to faint all the time, but I've been getting short flu flashforwards. My knee painfully buckled yesterday when walking, which is incredibly random because I've never experienced any sort of injury down there. Other than that, my friend Aaron and I have decided to become men and grow mustaches, which is really funny because we both have blonde facial hair and we look hilarious because the staches are transparent.

Things I've been into lately:
- the fact that I can learn anything, which is an elementary idea, but it excites me to no end.
- George Carlin. Watch his material online and be enlightened. I'll soon post some favourites of mine.
- Bill O'Reilly (the exact opposite of Carlin). Quite possibly one of the largest assholes on the Fox Planet, but so entertaining to watch and such a flaming patriotic jackhole.
- Considering a degree in fine art.
- Chicago
- Bruce Springsteen's Devils and Dust
- Film. Fuck digital, for the moment.
- Working on my bounce-flash technique (thanks for the tips Jenna)
- new Hue songs
- realising that I don't have to wait until New Years for a resolution
- asking questions, a lot of them.
- drip coffee (ps. since when?)
- the voice recorder on my phone, which I use almost every day. most of it is freestyles.
- freestyling

There, now you know what I'm interested in at the moment. Do you care? The only reason I do is because I can look back on this post one day and laugh about drip coffee and freestyling.

One last thing that is somewhat of interest to me: Taking your current state of personality and analyzing what parts of you came from which parent. That's one thing I'd like to unravel, and I recommend you do the same.

hologram

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living in a glass house

Here are my albums in current rotation. Not my all time favorite stuff, but it's usually what I've been craving to hear at 5 am.

Bloc Party's Intimacy, is not exactly what I expected from those boys, but it indeed blew my fucking head off. The first track has lead electric work that would make you cry, and the drummer is still awe inspiring. I still plan on attempting to play to one of their albums continuously on the drums, even though I know I wouldn't even come close to the speed and precision they can pull off. But as expected, there's crazy drumming, lyrics that don't rhyme, dark motifs, and gripping instrumentation that has you buy the nuts the entire album (except for the two remixes at the end, which seems to separate themselves from the entirety of the album). Needless to say, it's dope and you should grab it.

Tegan and Sarah's The Con. I bought this album only because I could get it for cheap and it came recommended by a friend. This still continues to be one of the favorite albums of the year, for several reasons. For one, the writing is second to none in its originality. The production Chris Walla gave the album is phenomenal; everything is juicy, tough, organic, and sharp all at the same time. The album alone inspired me to delve into not only T&S's catalogue, but into Wallas as well. Thirdly, the drumming is gorgeous, and more importantly, effective. Well done Jason. And finally it came with a sweet behind the scenes look at how every track was born and was completed. Everything from the writing, to the recording, the mixing, with some additional Forest Fone sequences that are pretty hilarious. You can watch them on youtube if you have an hour to kill.

Daniel Johnston's Welcome to My World. The vocals are annoying as all hell, but the songs are like nothing I've ever heard. Performing all by his lonesome, usually with just the help of a guitar or piano, Daniel pumps out beautifully articulated songs of heartbreak, humor, satire, John Lennon, and speedy motorcycles. Anyone who considers themselves a music aficionado should buy at least one of his albums immediately.

The Who's Who's Next. Listen to it. Love it. Rock out to Baba O'Reilly and remember what rock is supposed to sound like.

Matthew Good's The Audio of Being. The whole album rules (most notably The Rat Who Would Be King, Tripoli, and Advertising on Police Cars). But the solo at the end of Carmelina is just something I can never get loud enough in my ears. It's everything I look for in a solo: loud as fuck, full distortion, entire scale, and terrifying.

Beast, Beast. It's not out yet, but I heard the clips from the album on iTunes today and still love that shit. I saw these Montreal cats at NXNE this year and was blown away. Think industrial beats on top of the Triplets of Belleville soundtrack, and that's literally what it is.

Placebo's Sleeping With Ghosts, and Meds. Another group that I was inspired to listen to simply from one good song. I actually took the long way around when listening to these guys; a route that I usually avoid like the plague, and that is the first record I bought was a singles album. Weak! Singles are for low-frequency jackholes. Regardless, I'm glad I did because their albums rule, especially these two. Beautiful lyricism surrounding dark, romantic times that is best listened to on wet cobblestone streets. Some tracks just make you feel like a strung out junkie roaming around Sussex on a Saturday night looking for cheap sex and cheap drugs. Tracks like In the Cold Light of Morning and Pierrot the Clown just move me in a way that would normally have cost me a plane ticket to Paris. Brian Molko is a cool androgynous mother as well.

Tchaikovsky's Three Disc Collection. Probably the only record that I own and haven't listened to. Sole reason for this? It's on vinyl and I don't have a record player. I saw it at Goodwill for THREE DOLLARS and bought that, among others. Three dollars for a triple-Tchaikovsky vinyl? Pff. Mine.

Anything by Cat Power. A voice that takes you from worrisome to care-free. I eat up this acoustic lounge shit. She's just as edgy as Amy Winehouse, except she has a better voice and shows up to concerts. Oh!

Radiohead, Amnesiac. I listen to this album, unconsciously, about once every three weeks. I just look at the spine of the record when it sits amongst my others and pop it in my player. It's so weird and crafty. There are only a handful of songs on the record that I would consider structured, literal "songs", and that's what is so cool about it. The rest of the album is just full of loops, crunchy bass, Thom Yorke's choir-boy falsetto, and a whole lot of talent. And time measurements that make you want to go back to school.