I'm going to be as brief and as non-mushy as I possibly can with this, because I could honestly go on for days:
Four years ago today, I performed my first interview with a then relatively unknown band from Stillwater, Oklahoma at the Birch Hill Nite Club called The All-American Rejects.
That night, from being parked outside with Mike Kennerty knocking on the window of the van I was in, to witnessing Nick Wheeler peeing in a bucket in the corner of their closet-sized dressing room (I swear I averted my eyes), completely changed my life.
I never knew I wanted to do anything having to do with writing, with music, or with bands until that night when I interviewed them for kicks. I was never the same after that. Not only did they make me realize a dream I didn't know I had, they were--and remain--some of the most genuine, sweetest people I've ever had the pleasure of knowing, and it's an honor to see my features pop up when I google their lead guitarist's name.
I am so proud of them and their success, and they deserve it more than anyone I know. You know you've made it when my mother calls me and says, "Oooh, I saw the Rejects CD in Target, and I told my friend, 'My daughter knows them!'"
Thank you, Nick, Tyson, Mike, and Chris, for your amazing contributions to popular and rock music, as well as for being amazing people.
Love, Xs, and Os,
Jessica, who was a sophomore in high school back then and is a sophomore in college now and feels old as Hell.
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Thursday, February 22, 2007
All Hail St. Louis
Greenwheel just may perhaps be the best band of whom you've never heard. I have loved them since their Island debut came out years ago. They wrote the best break-up song ever - "Breathe"(it deff. was the soundtrack to me shedding many tears during my first major break-up)- and never got any credit for it. Except when Melissa Etherige covered it and then came the Grammys. So of course, Island, like many major labels only concerned with marketing music no one really likes but is shoved down consumers throats, dropped Greenwheel.
Fast forward to present day. Meet Go Van Gough- the reincarnation of Greenwheel. The band describes their sound as a cocktail of "sex, lust and anger......lost love and winning hope.....at times.....frantic and visceral,.......at times melodic as a lullaby." There are still signature Greenwheel vibes, a lot because Ryan's vocals are so distinctive. While their self-released debut, RUBY AND THE STARLIGHT BALLROOM, doesn't have any mega-singles, you'll still find yourself coming back to hear the songs. Particularly "So In Love." That chorus had me at hello.
This time the boys are doing it for themselves and I'm excited to see where it'll take them. If they're in your town, don't miss the show. Excellent stage presence and captivating performances will await you.
www.myspace.com/govangoghtheband
I found out about Go Van Gough a few days ago. This morning, while eating oatmeal and opening Planet Verge mail, I came across a band called Autovein. Of course, I dismissed them almost immediately, having never heard of their indie label, Outlook Music. And when the lead sentence mentions "armed with self-produced demos, self-produced video...." you kinda feel like it's gonna be, well shitty. It's bad, I know. But we get countless crap CDs sent here everyday and that's usually the case.
Anyway, I read the rest of the short bio. Turns out the band has supported notable acts on tour, including Fallout Boy, Coheed and Cambria and my favorite boys, LOSTPROPHETS. Then I looked at the press photo and recognized one of the members because he is Brandon from Greenwheel! The bio didn't mention where the band was from (tsk, tsk) so I jumped on their MySpace page and saw that yes, the band was from St. Louis, Missouri.
Autovein are pretty mainstream rock and I can deff. see them getting radio play. The song "Bullet In An Angel" should start breaking the path for them. I like it more every time I listen to it. The vocals sorta remind me of Breaking Benjamin. And even though the members of Breaking Benjamin are jerks who literally walked out of the venue to go brush their teeth or something when I was supposed to interview them and never came back, I still like their music. You just won't catch me supporting their live shows anymore. But that's off topic.
Go listen to Autovein. They were once signed to Columbia (there goes that major labels suck thing again) so you know they're doing something right. The chorus' are infectious.
www.myspace.com/autovein
*Joelle
Fast forward to present day. Meet Go Van Gough- the reincarnation of Greenwheel. The band describes their sound as a cocktail of "sex, lust and anger......lost love and winning hope.....at times.....frantic and visceral,.......at times melodic as a lullaby." There are still signature Greenwheel vibes, a lot because Ryan's vocals are so distinctive. While their self-released debut, RUBY AND THE STARLIGHT BALLROOM, doesn't have any mega-singles, you'll still find yourself coming back to hear the songs. Particularly "So In Love." That chorus had me at hello.
This time the boys are doing it for themselves and I'm excited to see where it'll take them. If they're in your town, don't miss the show. Excellent stage presence and captivating performances will await you.
www.myspace.com/govangoghtheband
I found out about Go Van Gough a few days ago. This morning, while eating oatmeal and opening Planet Verge mail, I came across a band called Autovein. Of course, I dismissed them almost immediately, having never heard of their indie label, Outlook Music. And when the lead sentence mentions "armed with self-produced demos, self-produced video...." you kinda feel like it's gonna be, well shitty. It's bad, I know. But we get countless crap CDs sent here everyday and that's usually the case.
Anyway, I read the rest of the short bio. Turns out the band has supported notable acts on tour, including Fallout Boy, Coheed and Cambria and my favorite boys, LOSTPROPHETS. Then I looked at the press photo and recognized one of the members because he is Brandon from Greenwheel! The bio didn't mention where the band was from (tsk, tsk) so I jumped on their MySpace page and saw that yes, the band was from St. Louis, Missouri.
Autovein are pretty mainstream rock and I can deff. see them getting radio play. The song "Bullet In An Angel" should start breaking the path for them. I like it more every time I listen to it. The vocals sorta remind me of Breaking Benjamin. And even though the members of Breaking Benjamin are jerks who literally walked out of the venue to go brush their teeth or something when I was supposed to interview them and never came back, I still like their music. You just won't catch me supporting their live shows anymore. But that's off topic.
Go listen to Autovein. They were once signed to Columbia (there goes that major labels suck thing again) so you know they're doing something right. The chorus' are infectious.
www.myspace.com/autovein
*Joelle
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
There's A Reason He's Still Single.
In my two and a half months of post long-term relationship single life, I've met a lot of men. It's amazing how many charming, cute and seemingly-eligible bachelors there are out there when you open your eyes and are ready to see them. And it's so easy to meet them. Just last week I locked eyes with a guy on the 2 train. Embarrassed, and not really wanting to get to know my fellow commuters outside of the boxcar, I looked away and rushed off the train, hiding amongst the masses of the evening rush hour. I was halfway up my block (and rocking out to Motion City Soundtrack on my iPod) when I was startled by the 2-train guy, patting my shoulder.
To my point - they are around every corner, every city block, in every cab and train, at the gym, at the grocery store, the seemingly-eligible men are everywhere I go!
Seems great, right? So many men, so little time?
Not at all.
How do I pick the good ones? Just because a guy chases me off the train, does that mean I should give him a chance? Who do I let through and who do I pass up?
Despite the hoards of men all around, meeting a decent one doesn't come easy. The curating process is a bitch.
There's just always something wrong.
Most recent loser: John.
I thought I had been a curator worthy of the finest art museums on Museum Mile. I thought I had weeded out the creeps for a real man. A smart, fun, witty and ever so cute one! I was even ready, if all continued smoothly, to drop the runners-up, the b-team and the c-team of the "mediocre but maybe this will become awesome eventually" men.
John and I had an amazing first and second date and many great conversations. Dates with John were spontaneous, but well thought-out on his part. For example, he knew how much I liked live music so he picked a show for us to go to – after which we hopped around to every dive bar on the Lower East Side before a late night dessert at Yaffa Café. Knowing I was a vegetarian, on our first date he took me to one of the best vegan restaurants in the city where we enjoyed four courses and three hours of stimulating conversation.
I knew I liked him a lot. And he seemed to like me, too. Each time I saw him he told me many times that he loved being around me, that I was amazing, smart and beautiful. Why was this man still single? How could it be that he'd lived ten years longer than me and still hadn't found anyone yet?
Of course there was a reason!
The first sign that something was off was when I called him on a Sunday night and he cut me short because he was at work. I was a little put-off by the conversation, but understood he was at the office, and who likes to chat when you're at the office on the weekend anyway? He called me back two hours later, but he was even more distant. He asked if we could just talk during the week, and, hardly listening to my reply, hung up the phone.
When the apology e-mail came 24 hours later, I was happy to agree to see him again on Valentines Day.
When he picked me up, he claimed that all the flower shops within three blocks were out of roses and he felt awful because I "deserve all the roses in the city." I swear, he really said that..
I wasn't expecting flowers and didn't care that he showed up empty-handed (really, I didn't!). What bothers me now is that he was clearly lying and I was too hung up on trying to hold onto what I thought was a good catch to question his damn line. Even if he had gone to all the flower shops within three blocks (there are about
four) and couldn't find roses, if he'd made that much effort to look, he probably would've come back with tulips or something, right?
That night he told me that he wanted to spend every second with me.
He wanted to go to work with me, sit in boring meetings with me, watch me write contracts!
And then things really went downhill.
The next day he cancelled our plans for the following night because of a hang over. On Saturday he was "visiting family til late" and on Monday, he left the lamest voicemail message: "It's definitely been a while. I blame myself. I'd really love to see you today, but I have plans. Talk to you later!"
I get it – it's over. Unfortunately, it took me those few hits to my ego because I didn't want to admit that I bagged a bad apple.
But, in life and lust and dating disasters, there's always a message:
Ahh, the reason why he's still single at 35! (That is, unless he's not actually single and has a girlfriend he's cheating on). Any way you look at it, John is a huge asshole.
*by Jordana, who wasn't sure if she should post this, but who is dedicating this to dating women everywhere. Just say no to assholes.
To my point - they are around every corner, every city block, in every cab and train, at the gym, at the grocery store, the seemingly-eligible men are everywhere I go!
Seems great, right? So many men, so little time?
Not at all.
How do I pick the good ones? Just because a guy chases me off the train, does that mean I should give him a chance? Who do I let through and who do I pass up?
Despite the hoards of men all around, meeting a decent one doesn't come easy. The curating process is a bitch.
There's just always something wrong.
Most recent loser: John.
I thought I had been a curator worthy of the finest art museums on Museum Mile. I thought I had weeded out the creeps for a real man. A smart, fun, witty and ever so cute one! I was even ready, if all continued smoothly, to drop the runners-up, the b-team and the c-team of the "mediocre but maybe this will become awesome eventually" men.
John and I had an amazing first and second date and many great conversations. Dates with John were spontaneous, but well thought-out on his part. For example, he knew how much I liked live music so he picked a show for us to go to – after which we hopped around to every dive bar on the Lower East Side before a late night dessert at Yaffa Café. Knowing I was a vegetarian, on our first date he took me to one of the best vegan restaurants in the city where we enjoyed four courses and three hours of stimulating conversation.
I knew I liked him a lot. And he seemed to like me, too. Each time I saw him he told me many times that he loved being around me, that I was amazing, smart and beautiful. Why was this man still single? How could it be that he'd lived ten years longer than me and still hadn't found anyone yet?
Of course there was a reason!
The first sign that something was off was when I called him on a Sunday night and he cut me short because he was at work. I was a little put-off by the conversation, but understood he was at the office, and who likes to chat when you're at the office on the weekend anyway? He called me back two hours later, but he was even more distant. He asked if we could just talk during the week, and, hardly listening to my reply, hung up the phone.
When the apology e-mail came 24 hours later, I was happy to agree to see him again on Valentines Day.
When he picked me up, he claimed that all the flower shops within three blocks were out of roses and he felt awful because I "deserve all the roses in the city." I swear, he really said that..
I wasn't expecting flowers and didn't care that he showed up empty-handed (really, I didn't!). What bothers me now is that he was clearly lying and I was too hung up on trying to hold onto what I thought was a good catch to question his damn line. Even if he had gone to all the flower shops within three blocks (there are about
four) and couldn't find roses, if he'd made that much effort to look, he probably would've come back with tulips or something, right?
That night he told me that he wanted to spend every second with me.
He wanted to go to work with me, sit in boring meetings with me, watch me write contracts!
And then things really went downhill.
The next day he cancelled our plans for the following night because of a hang over. On Saturday he was "visiting family til late" and on Monday, he left the lamest voicemail message: "It's definitely been a while. I blame myself. I'd really love to see you today, but I have plans. Talk to you later!"
I get it – it's over. Unfortunately, it took me those few hits to my ego because I didn't want to admit that I bagged a bad apple.
But, in life and lust and dating disasters, there's always a message:
Ahh, the reason why he's still single at 35! (That is, unless he's not actually single and has a girlfriend he's cheating on). Any way you look at it, John is a huge asshole.
*by Jordana, who wasn't sure if she should post this, but who is dedicating this to dating women everywhere. Just say no to assholes.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Silverchair Leave Webster Hall in AWE
"I can't even speak right now." That's what my friend Adam (you all know and love his band PERFUMA, right?) said to me after Silverchair finished their encore at Webster Hall in New York City. This show, like the night before at Bowery Ballroom, sold out in five minutes. Not bad for an Australian band that gets zero promotion in this country and was recently dropped by their record label, eh?
The night included mostly songs off of their last release, Diorama. No complaints- that's my favorite album. Refreshingly, the band premiered about five new songs, including the new single, "Straight Lines." All the new songs are super catchy and have SINGLE written on them. I can't wait to hear the album. Once they self-release it, I'll have my New Zealand friends mail me a copy ASAP. No word on a US release date, of course.
As for the good 'ol grunge days of Silverchair, which I'm sure are the ones most everyone remembers... they played "The Door" and "Freak." I was craving "Isreal's Son," and "My Favorite Thing," but that didn't happen. Not that anything was missing from the show. It was perfect. Every note, each vocal breath. And form, well Daniel Johns is looking healthy, totally recovered from anorexia, and has a built bod, which he proved by playing the encore shirtless.
Oh what a night! Let's just hope I don't have to wait another seven years to see them!
WATCH MY FOOTAGE:
The Lever
Ana's Song
Without You
PS--sorry if you hear some annoying girl behind me singing!
Love,
Joelle, who battled a near blizzard to go to this show.
Monday, February 12, 2007
Furrever Love
I went to the Exotic Pet Expo this weekend with one thing on my mind--seeing the 9 week old tiger cubs. For years, I have followed Save the Tiger projects and sponsored Russian tigers. It's my dream to actually pet one. The closest I came was when I did a behind-the-scenes investigation on the treatment of animals at The Ringling Brother's Barnum and Bailey Circus while I was in college. I was centimeters away from the beautful caged creature and could watch the whiskers on it's nose move as it was breathing. Amazing.
Well....thanks to the pet show, where a white bengal romped with an orange one, I found a place to make my dreams come true. The Horseshoe Creek Wildlife Reserve in Florida! You can take Animal Ambassador Interactive Tours that include feeding tiger cubs,hold an aligator, play with a baby panther, etc. HEAVENLY. I thought the only place like that was Tiger Island in Australia, where tigers walk around the park on leashes. I'm excited to go.
I also feel in love with an adorable Husky/Lab puppy named Lexi, who you can watch here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nVXsrUPceY
I applied to adopt Lexi. Wish me luck!
The Husky House is a great organization dedicated to finding homes for these dogs. Everyone likes them as puppies, but has no idea how hard it is to raise a Husky and the older dogs wind up being sent to shelters. It's really sad. Visit www.huskyhouse.org to find out how you can help foster a dog until a home is found, donate money, buy a really cool hoodie, or adopt a new pet today!
This is my husky/shepard Skye. Jessica is her aunt.
*Joelle
Well....thanks to the pet show, where a white bengal romped with an orange one, I found a place to make my dreams come true. The Horseshoe Creek Wildlife Reserve in Florida! You can take Animal Ambassador Interactive Tours that include feeding tiger cubs,hold an aligator, play with a baby panther, etc. HEAVENLY. I thought the only place like that was Tiger Island in Australia, where tigers walk around the park on leashes. I'm excited to go.
I also feel in love with an adorable Husky/Lab puppy named Lexi, who you can watch here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nVXsrUPceY
I applied to adopt Lexi. Wish me luck!
The Husky House is a great organization dedicated to finding homes for these dogs. Everyone likes them as puppies, but has no idea how hard it is to raise a Husky and the older dogs wind up being sent to shelters. It's really sad. Visit www.huskyhouse.org to find out how you can help foster a dog until a home is found, donate money, buy a really cool hoodie, or adopt a new pet today!
This is my husky/shepard Skye. Jessica is her aunt.*Joelle
Saturday, February 10, 2007
Ladies and Gentlemen, They Have Done it Again...
It seems that there are tons of categories you can place bands under....poser-punks, sugar coated pop, hardxcore, altmetal, altrock, i could probably go on forever. Well, there are all those catagories, and then Saliva. The band that has, seriously, made their mark on the world through creating xbox anthems and songs that girls can say "yeah, i did a strip tease to that." Well, boys and girls, they are at it again. The new 2007 version of good 'ol "Click Click Boom" is now in stores, and the single to be released is entitled, "Ladies and Gentlemen." This one is sure to be the new playstation anthem or strip club theme song or something.... Its a catchy number that now graces mine and surround beings ears whenever work summons me.
All I can say, is keep in eye on the youtube...rumor has it there is going to be a major kick ass video....
By Amanda, who thinks kelly k. is super cool.
All I can say, is keep in eye on the youtube...rumor has it there is going to be a major kick ass video....
By Amanda, who thinks kelly k. is super cool.
Friday, February 09, 2007
Girls Don't Cry and Arckid at Pianos
So last night I had the pleasure of checking out Arckid, formerly Spacehog, at Pianos. What a treat it was!
I got to Pianos around 10pm, just in time to catch the house band, Girls Don't Cry. While I appreciated their Go-Gos feel and rather polished songs, these girls made ME want to cry! I haven't heard lyrics so horrendous and cliche since ... well, ok, I take that back, I forgot that Hillary Duff plays at the gym ALL THE TIME!
Arckid was tight. So impressive. Each song rocked out and rocked hard and right into the next. A tittilating half hour. Yes, tittilating. Best song: "Remains." Check em out on Myspace - www.myspace.com/arckid. Their page is a little weak, but I guarantee if you have the opportunity to see these guys play, they won't disappoint.
*by Jordana... who just took a powernap at the office
Thursday, February 08, 2007
Anna Nicole Smith is dead.
We have soldiers and civilians dying in Iraq and Afghanistan everyday. We have people starving everywhere. We have women and children being sold to human traffickers (not to mention my favorite, being raped legally in various countries of the Middle East). We have all sorts of shit going down in Darfur. We still don't have cures for AIDS or cancer. We have skyrocketing rates of autism in America, most notably in New Jersey. We have global warming and an oil supply that won't last more than forty years--tops. We have the existence of shows like My Super Sweet Sixteen.
And this "tragedy" is the big, breaking story on the evening news?
God forgive me, but I have more important things to worry about.
Hopefully you do, too.
*By Jess, who's really disgusted with the media today.
And this "tragedy" is the big, breaking story on the evening news?
God forgive me, but I have more important things to worry about.
Hopefully you do, too.
*By Jess, who's really disgusted with the media today.
Monday, February 05, 2007
The Parisian Paradox
I can't decide whether Paris Hilton is a genius in disguise or if she really is an honest to God imbecile.
She's made a "career" of venturing to night clubs sans undergarments (as well as modesty) and spewing out mindless drivel that winds up--with a photo of her barely clothed and perpetually appearing to be on the verge of winking--on Page Six. She also had that Simple Life show with Nicole Richie (who I find only to be slightly less useless as a human being), but lest we forget--her sex tape debuted before that did.
With the opening of the now-on-hiatus-pending-a-lawsuit parisexposed.com, any and everyone could gain access to Paris Hilton's "private" property (bitch please, it's too easy, and so is she) for forty bucks--and people actually purchased it in droves. What were the contents of the site? Videos of Paris in a bubble bath, on a boat with an overweight man snorting an enormous amount of cocaine off of his own heaving manboobs (seriously, they were so big that I felt a little jealous), and having softcore relations with a model exboyfriend whose name I don't know nor care to learn. There were also scans of prescriptions (use your imagination) and driver's licenses and other paperwork you wouldn't want strangers to get a hold of.
As much as I love to loathe Paris, I think what's more pathetic than her IQ and complete lack of class (she referred to a girl on video as being a "public school bitch," uses the N-word and that other word that got Isaiah Washington in hot water with ABC and GLAAD), is that people actually pay to invade her privacy. The fact is, the girl's not that interesting. I can think of nothing profound, charitable, or worthwhile about her as a human being. Okay, scratch the "charitable" part, but while we're on that note:
Here are a couple of worthwhile websites that'll help you be almost as giving as Paris Hilton, just hopefully not in the same vein--and for free:
*By Jess, who is in the mood to bake because it'll keep her warm through the twelve degree temperatures of late.
She's made a "career" of venturing to night clubs sans undergarments (as well as modesty) and spewing out mindless drivel that winds up--with a photo of her barely clothed and perpetually appearing to be on the verge of winking--on Page Six. She also had that Simple Life show with Nicole Richie (who I find only to be slightly less useless as a human being), but lest we forget--her sex tape debuted before that did.
With the opening of the now-on-hiatus-pending-a-lawsuit parisexposed.com, any and everyone could gain access to Paris Hilton's "private" property (bitch please, it's too easy, and so is she) for forty bucks--and people actually purchased it in droves. What were the contents of the site? Videos of Paris in a bubble bath, on a boat with an overweight man snorting an enormous amount of cocaine off of his own heaving manboobs (seriously, they were so big that I felt a little jealous), and having softcore relations with a model exboyfriend whose name I don't know nor care to learn. There were also scans of prescriptions (use your imagination) and driver's licenses and other paperwork you wouldn't want strangers to get a hold of.
As much as I love to loathe Paris, I think what's more pathetic than her IQ and complete lack of class (she referred to a girl on video as being a "public school bitch," uses the N-word and that other word that got Isaiah Washington in hot water with ABC and GLAAD), is that people actually pay to invade her privacy. The fact is, the girl's not that interesting. I can think of nothing profound, charitable, or worthwhile about her as a human being. Okay, scratch the "charitable" part, but while we're on that note:
Here are a couple of worthwhile websites that'll help you be almost as giving as Paris Hilton, just hopefully not in the same vein--and for free:
*By Jess, who is in the mood to bake because it'll keep her warm through the twelve degree temperatures of late.
Friday, February 02, 2007
I smell an Emmy!
There is no way General Hospital is not going to sweep every category this year. The whole hotel hostage situation is showcasing the excellent writing team and giving the actors a chance to shine with their dramatic art. Everything is keeping me on the edge of my seat. I don't even want to read the soap magazines to find out what's going to happen because that just spoils the fun!
Tune in weekdays on ABC. I even got my boyfriend hooked. haha Don't forget some of the best actors in movies today came from soaps!
*Joelle, who grew up on soaps and ditched NBC for ABC.
The day has come
Silverchair are FINALLY touring America!!! With two sold out dates in New York City (Webster Hall and Bowery), there's proof that Silverchair is the best and biggest band that seems to have fallen off the face of the earth but never did. See, while most of you i'm sure forgot about them after their grunge days, a beautiful thing happened: Diorama. I can't even explain the beauty of this album. It was shocking how they transformed as a band. And it was a mystery as to what they could possibly do after that and how they could top it. Well, it's here: "Straight Lines" is the new single. Go watch the video at www.myspace.com/silverchair.
The last time I saw them, Silverchair OPENED for an immature, undeserving- of-sharing- the- stage- with- them band called Blink 182. There was Daniel Johns singing with a hot pink feature boa and all the fans, little bratty punks awaiting fart jokes from Tom, Mark and Travis, didn't appreciate it.
Well hot damn, I'll be at Webster Hall on Feb. 13 if my Craigslist purchased tickets come through (thank you Adam). So keep your fingers crossed. Silverchair are the most UNDERRATED BAND EVER!!!!!
*Joelle, who has a Silverchair song picked out for her wedding
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