October here, speaking on behalf of myself and Spencer.
We're unhappy to say that Gia and Sara have left us. We love the both of them and wish them luck with whatever they decide to do in their future, they're good people.
On a second note, Spencer and I have been talking and we've decided to put this on the back burner. We're looking for what we really want to do with our lives and we both feel that this just isn't it. It was a good dream for a time being, but things fade, faith slips. We're both going to continue writing, but probably more from our imaginations and less for the glorification of spark and fade musicians. If you need to reach either of us our links are in the staff section.
Thank you,
October
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Warped Tour's Finest
Until my seventeenth birthday, I had never heard of the little band of adorable Ocala boys that is A Day To Remember. Upon being asked what I wanted for my birthday, I did what every kid tries to do and wrote out a list. This list just so happened to be illegible and I live three hours from mum so she was on her own for shopping. Uh oh. Every kiddo’s worst nightmare, right? Well, it was mine anyway. I had asked plane tickets and an Adema album. I received the tickets, no problem. Even I can’t screw up a Berlin. However, in lieu of Adema, I received the Old Record. A Day to Remember. I don’t have the heart to be ungrateful or mean to my mum, and she had just bestowed upon me my dream vacation, so I graciously accepted the well wishes and album, sans receipt, much to my dismay. In spite of my own better judgement I pulled off the cellophane and decided to give it a try. It was insta-love. My ears nearly melted, as did my heart with “You Had Me at Hello”. I’m not going to waste time telling you how much I love this band, or this album. I’ll just get to the point. This band MADE July sixth for me. So let’s fast forward, shall we?
Present Day.
July sixth.
New Daisy Theater, Memphis, TN.
The Blackout, VersaEmerge, Millionaires, Breathe Carolina, Attack Attack, Emmure, Saosin, and A Day To Remember, I mean REALLY, is it humanly possibly to think of a more fitting lineup?
Duh. Of course it is. One ‘band’, I think we ALL know who they are, served as the sore thumb in the middle of a hand model convention. Hardcore fans, Electronica fans, indie metal fans, rock fans: they all flocked to the Daisy. What’s missing here? Millionaires fans. Yea. That’s right. These three... ladies were mercilessly booed from the stage. In spite of all of the shit talking, however, they clearly cared and thankfully DID NOT take off their underwear. In my opinion, their presence was somewhat of an insult to the other performers of the evening. Lip-syncing is so Avril, but they’re not above it. Let’s quit roasting though, shall we?
Want commendations? Well here they come.
The Blackout: Well, they weren’t MY type of music, but I’m not here to tell you all what to listen to. For what they did, they were good. And their performance/stage presence? I dare say that as far as opening bands go, they were second to none. It’s hard to open a show. If you’ve never been there, take my word for it. Everyone is ALWAYS skeptical about the first band to play, and these UK fellas took this with a grain of salt and played one of the most energetic, and humorous, opening sets that I’ve ever seen. You should definitely look into them.
I feel that everyone else in the lineup speaks for themselves. VersaEmerge: you can tell these guys, and girl, worked to get where they are, and they’ll keep heading up. BC? WOW. Attack Attack, Saosin and Emmure? This is at least the second time that I’ve seen these guys (third for Emmure) and it’s been a worthwhile investment every time. Last but not least, A Day to Remember. Simply put, from the very first chord to the last beat of the encore, they lived up to their name, and then some.
Written by: Kaytee
Present Day.
July sixth.
New Daisy Theater, Memphis, TN.
The Blackout, VersaEmerge, Millionaires, Breathe Carolina, Attack Attack, Emmure, Saosin, and A Day To Remember, I mean REALLY, is it humanly possibly to think of a more fitting lineup?
Duh. Of course it is. One ‘band’, I think we ALL know who they are, served as the sore thumb in the middle of a hand model convention. Hardcore fans, Electronica fans, indie metal fans, rock fans: they all flocked to the Daisy. What’s missing here? Millionaires fans. Yea. That’s right. These three... ladies were mercilessly booed from the stage. In spite of all of the shit talking, however, they clearly cared and thankfully DID NOT take off their underwear. In my opinion, their presence was somewhat of an insult to the other performers of the evening. Lip-syncing is so Avril, but they’re not above it. Let’s quit roasting though, shall we?
Want commendations? Well here they come.
The Blackout: Well, they weren’t MY type of music, but I’m not here to tell you all what to listen to. For what they did, they were good. And their performance/stage presence? I dare say that as far as opening bands go, they were second to none. It’s hard to open a show. If you’ve never been there, take my word for it. Everyone is ALWAYS skeptical about the first band to play, and these UK fellas took this with a grain of salt and played one of the most energetic, and humorous, opening sets that I’ve ever seen. You should definitely look into them.
I feel that everyone else in the lineup speaks for themselves. VersaEmerge: you can tell these guys, and girl, worked to get where they are, and they’ll keep heading up. BC? WOW. Attack Attack, Saosin and Emmure? This is at least the second time that I’ve seen these guys (third for Emmure) and it’s been a worthwhile investment every time. Last but not least, A Day to Remember. Simply put, from the very first chord to the last beat of the encore, they lived up to their name, and then some.
Written by: Kaytee
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Review: All Time Low - Nothing Personal
Among my favorites in the world of pop punk, ranging from bands such as MxPx to Good Charlotte, All Time Low has made it into the Sara Hall Of Fame for pop punk music. Lets start with the opening track and first single, Weightless, an anthem for the teenage adolescence feeling down and out. The song is uplifting in a lot of ways. With the lyrics "Maybe it's not my weekend, but it's gonna be my year" it's clear to see that they aim to lift your spirits a bit.
For the past few years I've had to endure listening to acts such as The Maine and Metro Station and although both bands are catchy, All Time Low is a breath of fresh air in the pop punk scene of sorts. On reading fans responses about the new album a lot have said that the band needed to live up to their debut release The Party Scene and sophomore release after signing to Hopeless Records, So Wrong, It's Right. Although true that those two albums were what launched ATL (their sophomore release hit number 62 on the Billboard Top 200), Nothing Personal boasts a lot.
Tracks like Stella are evident of that. The song itself, to me, is reminiscent of bands like Bowling For Soup, with the upbeat sound that can get anyone jumping around.
By far my favorite track off of this album is Lost In Stereo. Nothing more can be said about this album, but I know this is for certain, All Time Low is going to be around for years to come because unlike every other cookie cutter so called pop punk act out in the world, these guys actually have a solid foundation of influences that show in their music.
Written by: Sara
For the past few years I've had to endure listening to acts such as The Maine and Metro Station and although both bands are catchy, All Time Low is a breath of fresh air in the pop punk scene of sorts. On reading fans responses about the new album a lot have said that the band needed to live up to their debut release The Party Scene and sophomore release after signing to Hopeless Records, So Wrong, It's Right. Although true that those two albums were what launched ATL (their sophomore release hit number 62 on the Billboard Top 200), Nothing Personal boasts a lot.
Tracks like Stella are evident of that. The song itself, to me, is reminiscent of bands like Bowling For Soup, with the upbeat sound that can get anyone jumping around.
By far my favorite track off of this album is Lost In Stereo. Nothing more can be said about this album, but I know this is for certain, All Time Low is going to be around for years to come because unlike every other cookie cutter so called pop punk act out in the world, these guys actually have a solid foundation of influences that show in their music.
Written by: Sara
Humankind
I think a time comes in all our lives when we become devastatingly aware that some of us have a lot, while others have a meager little. I also think that deep down, we all have a drive somewhere inside of us to help our neighbors in need. The stopper for most people, thought, is simply not knowing how to go about it.
Some very great friends of Vermin&Jetlag have created a way themselves, and are helping those in need by providing something I'm sure most of us take completely for granted. The best thing I could do to plug this great cause is to just let founders Ryan and Christina Rado speak for themselves.
Who and what is Humankind?
Some very great friends of Vermin&Jetlag have created a way themselves, and are helping those in need by providing something I'm sure most of us take completely for granted. The best thing I could do to plug this great cause is to just let founders Ryan and Christina Rado speak for themselves.
Who and what is Humankind?
CR: Humankind is a new thrift store in Nashville, TN. The name Humankind alludes to the fact that we are all human - all part of the human race, with the same basic needs - one of those needs being clothing. Ryan and I run the store with help from friends and volunteers. We've had so many people step up to help, from sorting through clothes, designing logos and fliers, doing publicity photos, building clothing racks, providing a facility, sewing, donating inventory, and staffing the store - it's totally been a group effort.
What was your purpose in founding?
RR: I remember talking with my friend chad right before he went to Africa- he was telling me stories about the overall climate of the people and I immediately called Christina and said "I need to go to Africa!!!". After thinking a bit more, I realized that people in this city (Nashville) need assistance as well. So, we decided to start at home.
What raised your awareness to the problem of children affording school uniforms in metro schools?
CR: I was an elementary school teacher in Nashville Public Schools last year. I taught an ELL class (English Language Learners), so all of my students were originally from other countries and needed extra help learning English. Many of the kids in my class were refugees from Somalia. Since Nashville Public Schools recently implemented a policy stating that students have to adhere to “Standard School Attire” – basically, polo shirts, khaki or navy pants, etc. The kids got in trouble if they didn’t have the right clothing, or were sent home to change! Many of these refugee families struggled to purchase clothes in general, much less specific colors and styles of clothes that were needed for school. Refugee parents often don’t speak or understand English well and the petty rules in the dress code like “no cargo pockets” or “skirts must be knee-length” are hard to understand.
One of my students had one yellow Oxford shirt that he wore almost every day of the week during winter – I think it was one of the only long sleeve shirts that he owned that actually followed the dress code. When we started thinking about making Humankind a nonprofit, this was a cause that almost immediately came to mind.
We specifically want to help refugees because they're in such a unique situation. Refugees are different from immigrants in that they relocate to another country because of some sort of trouble in their home country - politics, war, hunger, etc. They don't come here by choice. It's a scary thing to flee from your home and find yourself in an entirely new situation - we wanted to help ease at least one facet of life for these families with school-age kids.
What kind of a dent do you hope to make in this problem with HK?
CR: We want to help students have the right clothes for school so they don’t get in trouble or feel silly. We want the clothes to be new and fit well, so the students can feel proud of how they look and to concentrate on school instead of what they're wearing. We’ve been working with an organization called World Relief that resettles refugees in the U.S. Our church also has a ministry called The Harbor that mentors refugee families and also works with World Relief to do things like set up apartments for families moving in, meeting them at the airport, and teaching them English. So, we work with The Harbor and World Relief to link up with refugees just entering the U.S. who need school clothes. With our profits from this summer, we're planning on doing a huge clothing drop in August. Our goal is to help as many refugee children as possible to have at least two outfits with which to start school.
The thrift store's location is inside a church building called The Anchor in Nashville, isn't it?
RR: Yes, at the moment. We're working on moving into E. Nashville. Be thinking of us!
What is your connection to The Anchor? Anything more than floor space?
CR: Ryan and I have both been a part of The Anchor since it started about six years ago. The Anchor does a lot of work with social justice issues, one of those being helping refugees. They offered to be sort of an incubator for this new business, and we are currently a part of their nonprofit status. We’ve really appreciated the leg up and the support from The Anchor staff and church community.
RR: Christina's answer is good.
How can one get involved in helping your cause? When are donations accepted?
CR: We pretty much just want to get the word out at this point. Plugging Humankind on your social networking sites like Facebook , MySpace, and Twitter are all so helpful! You can follow our Twitter at HumankindNash for updates on the store's needs, events, and accomplishments.
We’re always accepting donations! Clothes, shoes, outerwear, and accessories can be dropped off inside The Anchor during store hours and church services. Those hours can be found on our MySpace page.
RR: Spread the word!
Links to Humankind's Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter, as well as their physical location and other information, can be found under Connect at www.humankind-nashville.com. Clothing donations for Humankind are also always being accepted by V&J; just email October or myself.
Please show some love and help us support.
Written by: Spencer
Saturday, June 27, 2009
SMS: Blink 182 - "Dammit"
"Dammit" by Blink 182
This is one of those songs that our kids will call classic rock.
Go to any typical American fourteen year old kid learning to play
guitar's bedroom, and he's probably learning "Dammit". He'll probably
play it at his band's first pay gig by the pool at Six Flags. It'll
probably be on the playlist at his first house party. He might sing it
for some girl on a first date.
The influence that Blink and songs like this have had on punk music
from the mid-nineties forward is truly insurmountable. You'd be hard-
pressed to find one of us that hasn't had that song playing in the
background of some significant point in our lives.
Written by: Spencer
This is one of those songs that our kids will call classic rock.
Go to any typical American fourteen year old kid learning to play
guitar's bedroom, and he's probably learning "Dammit". He'll probably
play it at his band's first pay gig by the pool at Six Flags. It'll
probably be on the playlist at his first house party. He might sing it
for some girl on a first date.
The influence that Blink and songs like this have had on punk music
from the mid-nineties forward is truly insurmountable. You'd be hard-
pressed to find one of us that hasn't had that song playing in the
background of some significant point in our lives.
Written by: Spencer
SMS: Jimmy Eat World - "Work"
"Work" by Jimmy Eat World
When I think Jimmy Eat World, I think of the span of their musical endeavors and how there are so many songs out there that basically could make up the soundtrack of anyone's summer. Work being one of them. This song, to me, knowing that the class of '09 is departing and going off to shoot for their dreams and heading off to college this is the perfect song for such an occasion. This song is about taking risks and just living it up because we're moving on to college. We've spent our whole lives (most of us that is) never really getting into trouble or living it up like we should. This is the last years of some pretty memorable moments of your life. You experience so much in high school and you'll always have those memories, good or bad. In life we have to take risks or we're all just standing still as the world passes us by.
Written by: Sara
When I think Jimmy Eat World, I think of the span of their musical endeavors and how there are so many songs out there that basically could make up the soundtrack of anyone's summer. Work being one of them. This song, to me, knowing that the class of '09 is departing and going off to shoot for their dreams and heading off to college this is the perfect song for such an occasion. This song is about taking risks and just living it up because we're moving on to college. We've spent our whole lives (most of us that is) never really getting into trouble or living it up like we should. This is the last years of some pretty memorable moments of your life. You experience so much in high school and you'll always have those memories, good or bad. In life we have to take risks or we're all just standing still as the world passes us by.
Written by: Sara
SMS: UnderOATH - "It's Dangerous Business"
“It’s Dangerous Business Walking Out Your Front Door” by UnderOATH
I’m going into my fourth summer with this song, with this album, and I will never forget the first time I heard it. I was thirteen years old and had just purchased the Warped Tour 2005 compilation. As I was sitting in my room, reading a book, a song came through the speaker of my CD player and I was blown away. I looked at the back of the CD case and scrolled to the number of the song. “It’s Dangerous Business Walking Out Your Front Door,” was what it was called. The name of the band? UnderOath. I had to know everything about this band, immediately. Their songs, their albums, upcoming music. I had to know. A few summers has passed and this band has yet to move from top spot of my favorite bands. I’m very proud of how far they’ve come and the struggles they’ve overcome and have began to reveal through their lyrics. I’m proud to call those six men my heroes, my favorite, because it’s absolutely true.
Written by: October
I’m going into my fourth summer with this song, with this album, and I will never forget the first time I heard it. I was thirteen years old and had just purchased the Warped Tour 2005 compilation. As I was sitting in my room, reading a book, a song came through the speaker of my CD player and I was blown away. I looked at the back of the CD case and scrolled to the number of the song. “It’s Dangerous Business Walking Out Your Front Door,” was what it was called. The name of the band? UnderOath. I had to know everything about this band, immediately. Their songs, their albums, upcoming music. I had to know. A few summers has passed and this band has yet to move from top spot of my favorite bands. I’m very proud of how far they’ve come and the struggles they’ve overcome and have began to reveal through their lyrics. I’m proud to call those six men my heroes, my favorite, because it’s absolutely true.
Written by: October
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