Last friday (the 24th) I went to Velour in Provo to see Midas Whale play. Påndo opened and I had never heard of them, but they were really talented and I really enjoyed their stuff, and then Ryan Innes finished off the set. The atmosphere was so cool. I was just standing in awe of the decorations and lighting and whatnot. It got me really excited about the music scene here.

I went alone, and I honestly don't know if I would have enjoyed it more or less if I were with a group. I've been going to things alone a lot lately, (especially since I moved to Utah) so it gets easier each time. I would say it really started last fall when I was up at school and Kelsi was engaged and Brianne had just left on her mission, and I knew that I still wanted to do things and go places even if there was no one to go with me.
I hope that feeling doesn't prevent others from doing what they want to alone, because going solo isn't always so bad. I made a friend at this show and I ended up having something in common with her, and it's something that I don't find myself having in common with a ton of people, so it was cool that she understood. It was cool that I met her.

A friend posted this on Facebook today and I just watched it 5 times.

It is pure glory.

My friends were able to bring my glockenspiel from California to me. I am so happy.

It's time to start planning for the Christmas cover volume II.

Neon Trees were in town the other night pour Rooftop Concert series 5th anniversaire. They sounded great, but I couldn't actually see them (I saw Tyler's head once though!), and getting pushed in a freakin huge crowd was just not my cup of tea. 

I was there with Tim, and when we climbed out of the group, I noticed another perspective as I saw these people watching from their windows and rooftops.

Ok, so I know I posted a song the other day, but I've really been into The 1975 lately and I have to talk about them.
I only remember hearing their song "Chocolate" on the radio a lot last year and I got over it because Alt Nation plays the same 15 songs, so I didn't feel inclined to listen to them. But somewhere along the line, I listened to one or two more of the songs and liked them.

It was only just the other day that I got the whole album, and I really love it. There are few albums I enjoy listening to as a whole, but it really is quite nice. It varies from mellow to upbeat in a very natural sort of way and yeah, I just can't stop listening.

Stromae - Tous Les Mêmes from Caviar London on Vimeo.

Drop everything and watch this. Killer choreography and cinematography.

The other day, Amy asked me, "Why haven't we covered Fleetwood Mac yet?"
And then I happen upon this cover by Dana Williams and Leighton Meester. We're going to have to use this as inspiration.

This is actually perfect.


P.S. - Anyone want to buy me a ticket for the Fleetwood Mac San Diego show in december? They're only $200 or something ridiculous...

6 days until the band is reunited.

I discovered Grimes this last weekend. wowowowow When she talks about producing music? wowowowow
I'm obsessed.

Oh, I dream of the days when I will have saturdays to myself. For now, it belongs to research papers and the like.

I miss California all the time. (I miss earthquakes, strangely enough?) Today it is rainy and blustery, so I suppose it's just as well - maybe now I won't be tempted to go read at the park instead of doing homework.

When I close my eyes and listen to this song, I see myself in a car, windows rolled down, driving down the 15 to San Diego. It's my perfect daydream.

Last night was the most fun I've had in a while. Some people in town were having a benefit concert for the Door of Faith orphanage in Mexico. I realized it was the orphanage that we used to go to when I was younger, and we'd go spend the day, bring stuff that they needed, and play with the kids. They function solely off of donations because they don't get any financial support from the government, so it was cool to have a tie to this cause. Also, great music. So I was really excited.

I got my roommate Amy to go with me and she really ended up loving Preston Pugmire. I forgot how talented that guy is - we decided he is a performer and not just a musician.
Then West Memphis came out and Preston Pugmire, Garrett Sherwood, Ryan Hayes, and Jon Peter Lewis all sang and it was a freakin party. I've always enjoyed West Memphis and their groove.
Tandem was last and Amy and I just marveled at how well their voices blend together. They actually sound like angels. This is probably something we noticed because we like to sing together.

As I was watching, I was having a really good time but there was also this small part of my heart that hurt because I missed this. I miss all the shows featuring all my favorite people and  I miss playing music. It's nice to play with Chris and I am dying to play with him when he comes back in a few weeks, but we're not a part of the Rexburg music scene. Watching everyone on stage - it just seemed like life was so much fun, just all these friends out to have a good time.
It makes me want to change that next semester, to get out of the secret hallway where we always play and to play somewhere where people can actually hear us, to practice for a reason.

So of course, Amy and I were so excited to go home and sing and play ourselves, and we had pizza and geverything was great.

On Valentine's day, my roommate Dani and I went to our local cupcake store, Cocoa Bean, for some drinks. 

I was standing in line, thinking about what to order when this guy came up to me with his hand extended, waiting for me to shake it. It was my dad's boss Mark, from home!

Surprised to see him, I looked over and saw his whole family. They told me they were there visiting their son, who also attends school at BYU-I. 

We had a nice chat and then he asked if he could "treat" Dani and I and buy our drinks. I was so touched by his kindness. It might not have been a big deal to him, but it was a really nice gesture.

So the son that goes to school here - he has a band called Dirty Gold, and I'm not just saying this because I know him and his family, but his music is really good. My family loves listening to their EP. And I really admire the fact that he walked away from it for two years to go on a mission when they were starting to get big - I can't imagine that was easy to do. Really cool. 

I found out last minute that they were playing at Sammy's, so I thought I'd go. I haven't seem him play since the Che Cafe in San Diego (it might have been their 1st show?? I can't remember. Anyways, I'll always remember that as the time I accidentally used a men's bathroom.) and it did not disappoint. 

Something feels a bit different about Sammy's nowadays. In the past it seems like we were always there to see Fictionist or for a slam, and I don't know what has happened - maybe the music scene isn't what it used to be, maybe Sammy's is catering towards a different audience these days - I don't know, but I don't love it as much as I used to. It's become this place to be seen now, and not to experience. 

But the Dirty Gold show was freaking great, and I LOVE the direction he's moving in now. My friend described it as "underwater techno" and I about died laughing. I think that's the best genre I've ever heard of. I hope he's coming out with a full CD soon because I really want some of the new songs I heard last night.

First off, I should mention that I made a Christmas cd.

Sometime after my birthday in November, I started feeling listless. The weather was getting colder, Daylight Savings meant that the days were getting shorter. I fall into a pit of S.A.D. every year, around this time.
I am powered by the sun, like many other people who are affected, and it's just something we have to deal with.

I figured it would be a good idea to throw myself into some sort of project that I could get excited about and look forward to each day. I decided on the Christmas cd.

I worked on it for several weeks. Some things ended up being a lot harder than I thought like it would be (like singing like Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas" - GEEZ) and things were recorded several times. And then again one more time.

Despite a few trial-and-error recording sessions, I had a really fun time making this. It served its purpose, and gave me a chance to be a bit creative and experiment with different sounds and instruments. I also shared it on fb, and I'll share it here.

To be honest with you, my favorites are: Christmas Waltz, Carol of the Bells, and O Come Emmanuel.

Kelsi, Chris, and Brianne have heard me drone on about this, but I have never really articulated my feelings about Deep Love for anyone else. It wasn't until a week or so ago that I realized why it means so much to me.

My experience with Deep Love started in the fall of 2011, when Brianne and I were both doing things for I-Comm at school. Brianne was photographing for the Scroll newspaper, and was assigned to shoot this rehearsal of a show in Idaho Falls. She came back that night just overflowing with praise, telling me that we had to go see it the next day. So we did. 

I was looking around for the place to buy tickets, and the stage manager came up to me and asked if I wanted to be an usher. I said of course, and from that moment on, Deep Love had my heart. 

(Fall 2011)     

We even went out to eat with the cast afterward. That was a lot of fun.

I've ushered with Kelsi and Brianne every year since then. They do so much to improve it and make it memorable for the audience, and I keep telling all of my friends to go see it because it is fantastic. Each year I find myself looking forward to Deep Love season like it is some sort of twisted holiday.

Deep Love had a domino affect on my life though. The following spring, one of the co-authors, Garrett Sherwood, started up the Rexburg poetry slam. We decided to try our hand at it. I doubt I'm any good, but it's really exhilarating, standing up and baring your soul to some strange crowd. Kelsi even won 2nd place one time. 

We made friends with people who played in the orchestra; many have left or graduated by now, but there are a few left, and I still keep in touch with them. 

And of course, I freaked when I saw that Jon and Ryan had made it on The Voice as Midas Whale. I went to their show at the tabernacle last semester, and it was really really fun - really entertaining. 

In addition to all this, is the fact that it's made me think about all things music related. Now that I've finally gotten Chris excited about Deep Love, we were just sitting in awe, critiquing everything. "Did you hear that vocal slide-um, WOW!" "Listen to the trumpet in that section there!" The show inspires us to write music and to push ourselves vocally, to try new things.

The point is: this is a sappy post. This is because sometimes I am a sappy person. But how can I help but be emotional when I think about the impact that a friend's photo assignment had on my life?
Everything changed; I made some friends, got involved with some out-of-the-ordinary extracurricular activities, and it helped me realize different parts of myself. This is the experience I've had with it, and I've only been an usher. Like, I am so far removed from this show, but still, it has been an incredible ride.

So much has happened in the last two weeks, and I've wanted to blog about it, but I didn't. I wanted to write it down, but I also wanted to live it and have some time to process. So forgive me, as this probably does not make sense to you.

On the 5th, I met up with Brianne and we went down to San Diego to see Branches play.
They are the cutest, and it was actually the most perfect night.

They played in a friend's backyard, and they had lights all strung up. Cupcakes and a veggie platter sat on a table near the merch booth. A dog showed up at one point, and wandered through the crowd licking people. Branches told some funny jokes and stories. They even played a cover of "Chim-Chim-a-ree" and everything was so endearing that I was beaming. It was a perfect night with my best friend, and I honestly couldn't have asked for anything better.

Someone had complained to the cops, (which, who knows why, because it wasn't 10 yet, and they are a really low key, mellow band.) but when the cops came, they politely told us to wrap things up, and asked what the name of the band was, cuz they liked what they were hearing. It was the greatest.

Then on wednesday, the 7th, I said goodbye to Brianne for the last time...physically.
I drove up to Corona to see her get set apart as a missionary, which was a really special experience.
During our final hug, we said how strange this feels. It didn't feel real - like I was just going to come up again next week to sleep over and maybe we'd go to a movie or to the beach.
Growing up is so weird man.

On Saturday, Brianne and I went to the Paul Bunyan Music Festival, which was conveniently located at the park across the street from our house.

There were a lot of really diverse bands, and I feel like there was something for everyone. 

My favorites were Mallorie (her voice, what even), Tandem, and Jeff Smith. I had a really good time, despite the oppressive heat.

They wrapped it up with Garrett Sherwood (who we are big fans of) and the West Memphis. They are so groovy and so much fun and everyone was dancing. 

I got nothing done this weekend, but I don't regret any of it. It was so much fun, and I'm really glad that there are people around that put on these events, because I appreciate them. It makes Rexburg special to me.

Yesterday was a pretty great day. 

Brianne is still out of town, so Chris came over and he did homework while I read Jurassic Park. I'm really enjoying it so far, but it is different from the movie.

(That's how these things usually go.)

Then for some reason, I felt that going to the track and doing bleachers was a good idea.

I sort of passed out.

I mean, I was conscious the whole time, but I felt like death. I tried to walk home and couldn't make it more than a couple feet before I would have to drop to the ground. This happened about 3 or 4 times, so then I just laid there, looking pathetic, I'm sure.

This nice lady walked by and asked if there was anything she could do for me.

A few minutes later, I had a group of people rushing to my side, checking my pulse and asking about the last time I ate.

This man suggested it was heat exhaustion, which made me feel incredibly lame because it wasn't even that hot outside.

They drove me home. Humanity is great.

Then a little while later, I went to a show at the tabernacle. Fictionist and Midas Whale were playing, and I really wanted to see them.

It was an interesting venue, and though it was beautiful, I think it all made us hesitant. We were all sitting in pews and they were playing at us and there was something very formal about it all. 

So Stuart (main singer of Fictionist) told everyone to come up to the first few rows and stand in the aisles. 

Man, I love watching these guys play. It's probably my 4th or 5th time seeing them live, and they never disappoint. They are so talented it makes me sick. 

Midas Whale closed up the show, and they were so endearing. Because I've ushered for Deep Love a few times, I've gotten to interact with them here and there. I don't know them well, but I have these inexplicable "proud mama" feelings for them. 

They played stuff that they had written for their debut cd, which they said should be out by the end of summer. 

Based off of what I heard last night, I feel like I'm really going to like the album, and I'm really looking forward to it!

This has been a really difficult week.

But this song makes it a little bit better.

And I'm not really sure why.

Please listen to this gorgeous (cover, rendition?) of "Strawberry Swing" by Frank Ocean

and have a fantastic friday.

(I seriously love this guy, he's so talented and fascinating.)

Brianne texted me to tell me that one year ago today,
we were with Tim at The House of Blues in San Deigo
watching Dustin Kensrue play.

It was difficult to think about, a year already! What a grand day it was.

It was the first time he played this song, so you should go ahead and listen
because it gives me heart cavities.