Can't fight against the youth!

I guess I kept everyone waiting for this blog long enough.

Well here it is guys, and it is going to be cram fucking packed with all the awesome shit that happened this week.

First and foremost, I would like to thank all the kids that came out to the show on Sunday and totally went apeshit, Tim Shortell for filming and putting together that sick trailer, and Dob for putting on such a sick show.

Overall the show was incredible. The energy was high and the crowd response to our set was unreal. The big slip up during our set was of course my good buddy Sebastian getting thrown out for dancing. I heard a lot of bullshit about this like "He swung at the bouncer" or that "The bouncer was just doing his job". I watched the whole thing happen right before me and I can assure you that Sebastian, who is small as fuck, did not swing at the bouncer. And as for the bouncer doing his job, well lets just put it like this. At a bar like Ollie's Point, that hosts very different events, you would think that the staff would learn how to diffuse certain situations without it escalating. Sebastian was thrown out of the venue like he was 6 feet tall, 220 pounds and 14 beers deep. In reality, he probably weighs a little over 100 pounds, cant be more than 5'5'' and doesn't drink. For a short time I was a "security guard" at the Vibe Lounge, and I have never put my arms around some ones throat, no matter how rowdy they were. The bouncer could have handled the situation a lot better than he did. In the end though, the problems were resolved and the crowd was able to go nuts for With the Punches and Hit the Lights, so I am happy that there was a resolution.

Other than that slip up, the show was probably one of the best shows I have ever played.

So, anyone who has been on facebook this weeks knows that their has been a campaign for my friends in No Good News to open up for Stereo Skyline at Vibe this summer. I have gotten several messages from guys in the bands that are already playing that show and I figured I would address that here.

What has been happening in regards to that show is all in good fun. I am not looking to ruin anyones time, just to stir the pot a little bit. Not everyone is going to like your band, in fact, I am not a big fan of any band playing that show, and they probably aren't the biggest fans of me, and that is fine. Wether or not you agree with what has been said for or against any of the parties involved, one fact is undeniable: Everyone has gotten a little more attention than if no one said anything. Don't feel attacked or discriminated against, cause the truth is wether No Good News plays or not, I probably wont be at that show, nor will any of the other kids that hopped on that band wagon, we are just having a good time dickin' around.

To put it simply, our case holds no water.

Well thats about it. I hope to see you guys at the show tomorrow!

https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=167479929979836

Check out the trailer!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlNSo4JFZ4I&feature=youtu.be&hd=1

And check this out too!

http://touchdownboyli.bandcamp.com/

Up All Night.

I figured this deserved its own post.

When I was in 3rd grade, I discovered blink-182. I was watching the VMA's on MTV and they performed All The Small Things.

Here is the footage:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRMkD5n6WuY

Since then I have been a die hard fan.

Today was the first time I have heard any new material from them since the release of Not Now in 2005.

I have noticed that a lot of people really don't like the song; most of them are complaining that it sounds too much like AVA. And thats fine, everyone is entitled to their opinion.

I however, have a much different opinion, and it is not because I will just like anything they put out. This list is why.

-Listening to the intro brings me to a place I have never been with blink, or any other band really. The phaser on the guitar isn't simply just used as an effect, it is a melodic device. If you listen to it, it descends with the bass and it compliments the chord progression without having to put to much emphasis on the descending line. Not to mention that Travis is totally fucking killing it. Listen to all the shit going on in that beat, on the hi-hat and the ride. Dudes a monster.

-Now we are at the second part of the intro. The transition from what is a spacey and ambient part to a heavier part is flawless. This part reminds me a lot of Box Car Racer, very much like I Feel So. Fast and dirty.

-I am assuming the verse is the part of the song at which people start to feel like they are listening to AVA. Well guys, I hate to break this news to you all, but both bands have the same lead singer. If you listen to the guitar, Tom is just pounding out one octave the whole time, while Mark plays the chord progression over it. This is very Take Off Your Pants And Jacket; just listen to the song Shut Up. And still during the verse that descending guitar with the phaser is going, linking the verse to the intro very nicely.

-Now the chorus does the opposite of the intro, the chord progression is ascending, giving the song a good contrast. I will admit that I am not the biggest fan of Tom's vocals here, but it suits the song well. At the end of the chorus, the song progresses into a bridge/post chorus that sounds very similar in vibe to the bridge after the first verse in Asthenia off the self titled.

-Back to the second intro and then into the second verse. Mark is playing a different chord progression here, although this verse sounds identical to the first verse due to that one octave chord. Non-the-less, the subtle difference here holds your attention even if you aren't aware of it. The phaser is still going on here too.

-After the second chorus, there is a slight pause before they go into that second intro again. Only this time, its in half-time, giving it a breakdown type feel. The song comes to a close with the into returning to how we first heard it, and then double time, and finally with heavily accented eight notes. So now we have heard that one idea done numerous ways.

-Just like the self titled, the verses are split between Mark and Tom, once again giving the song a nice contrast between vocalists.

After analyzing the song, I don't see how anyone can say it sounds like AVA, cause it sounds very much like blink.

In the end I think the song is great, not everyone will agree and thats fine. I think this is a logical step forward for them, but if you listen close enough, you can see that they are still the same old blink!

Shameless plug:

Check out my new, and old, songs!

http://touchdownboyli.bandcamp.com/

Well here I am, I don't know how to say this.

I haven't written a full blog post in awhile. And I didn't announce my last few post publicly. I'm gonna try and fix this now.

As always, I have a few things I want to write about.

I guess the first thing I should tackle is my breakup with Gina. I am still not positive how it happened, all I know is that it did.

I don't know how to make this short, so I wont.

Lets rewind a little bit. For those of you who read this regularly, you may have noticed that in a few posts I have called out a friend of Gina's who will remain nameless out of respect. I had a few problems with him due to the terribly inappropriate things he wrote on her Facebook wall. After finding out that he too reads this blog, I made a point to let him know, that I know, that he is following me on the internet and that this shit has got to stop. Sure enough he messaged me his points, I messaged him my counter points and that was it. I wish he had sent another reply. I would of liked to maybe work things out with him to a point at which both of us can coexist, and I would of also loved to hear what I did to him that made him hate me and act so hostile towards me, but that never happened. Regardless, I think I got my message across, and sure enough the horrible comments stopped appearing.

Fast forward to this Saturday. I wake up and see that my friend Ben has left me a post urging me to control my anger. At first I am unaware as to why, until I made my way to Gina's page. Not so much to my surprise, this friend of hers hacked her facebook and made some childish gibberish her status. This didn't really upset me. I understand why Ben thought it would, and I appreciate him looking out for me, but dumb people will do dumb things, so I wasn't going to lose my shit over childish antics.

Later that night, Gina admits to me that the conversation that Ben and I had upset her. We argued a little bit, and this is where I start to forget exactly what happened. I think I got her to subconsciously admit that she was aware that her friends had gone out of their way to torment me over the internet and did nothing to stop it, but I guess we resolved the issue temporarily. However, I didn't feel like anything was accomplished, because one fact remained: I hate her friends for no real reason other than the way they all interact with one another on the internet. I guess what irritated me more than anything was how alienated I felt as her boyfriend, never being asked to spend time with her and her friends, having secrets kept from me about their relationships etc.

As usual, we started texting when both of us were awake on Sunday. Forgive me once again because the details are fuzzy, but I believe I brought up the events of the previous night and we began to fight once more.

In the midst of all of this, I admitted to feeling shitty about how I will post "I love you", "Marry me" and all other cute shit on her wall and never receiving a response. Furthermore, I admitted to how it sucks to not be displayed as her boyfriend on FB. Aside from the constant questioning from people about wether or not we were still dating due to me not being mentioned in her relationship status, it sucked having to reason out why. Why does she not have me displayed as her boyfriend? Is she ashamed of me? Does she not want people to know that we are dating?

To all of this, she simply replied "I don't give a shit about facebook!"

But to me, it wasn't about facebook. It was about being able to be an item in public, outside of my bedroom. It was about being able to flaunt the one I love carelessly without being a nag. How hard is it to type "I love you too."? Really, I don't think I was being unreasonable.

I recalled that the last time something like this happened, I changed our relationship status to "It's complicated" and she had a fit about that. So I called her out on it, and did it again.

With no hesitation, she told me that I might as well change it to "Single". So I did.

Later that night I went to a party. I had plenty of time to think about the whole thing. In the end I realized that after 2 years of dating, we barely left my bed, she never met my extended family (who are always asking about her), I had to force my way to meeting her family through her cousin, I was unable to even attempt to make peace with her friends, I was seeing strangers on a more regular basis than her, we had only spoke over the phone twice, never got her email address or screen name, never got her oovoo to video chat, never really got a birthday gift from her (not to mention that on my last birthday she bailed on me to hang with her friends, and if I recall correctly, they were treating her like shit that night, irony), and the list goes on.

When she texted me in an attempt to make up, my mind was set. I had been in that position too many times to fool myself into thinking that things would get better.

I don't hate Gina. I still love her. I always will. We just weren't compatible. My wants and needs exceeded her willingness to give. I hope that one day she finds someone a little less needy than I, and I hope they will be happy.

As for me, I think I am gonna take some time off from playing house. I have pretended that I was married to a bunch of different girls since 2003, and I am just a little tired of pretending. I am gonna try and take my Aunt's advice and "play the field" a little bit. The summers still young, and there are plenty of opportunities for Bellwether to play out of state. Lets see if I can get some fine young ladies off of the island to ride the L.I.E.

If you are still reading this, you deserve a reward. But since I have nothing to give you, I will just start talking about something completely unrelated.

So on the 4th I had some friends over. We grilled, set off fireworks, swam, smoked and drank. I have to say that even though all of that was great, I was just stoked to be with so many great people. I really can't express how lucky I feel to be surrounded by really great people who are so accepting. I hope that this is a precursor for the rest of the summer. I would really like to have some sweet #GTFN Parties soon. I think we are all well over due.

So back tracking a little bit. Went to a nude beach with Hannah and Ally about a week or so ago. Have to say that it was an awesome experience. Fucking, why can't we all just be nude? Life would be a lot better if clothes didn't exist. I think my balls would be a lot less sweaty. But anyway, we met some interesting characters and I am pretty stoked to go back. Hopefully we can get more people on board next time, make a big event out of it.

NEXT TOPIC!

I started my next summer class. Its a gym class. Like, we go to the gym. I think it will prove to be a good experience for me. I am enjoying it so far.

...I guess thats all I have to say about that.

Bellwether has officially finished tracking "The Elephant in the Room" and we should be getting rough mixes back soon. I can't wait for everyone to hear it. We put a lot of effort into it, and we have good feelings about it. We also just received sketches for a limited addition shirt from our good buddy Bob Wulff. So be on the look out for more news to come!

Now before I get serious, I would like to mention that I may lose my job due to pissing off a "celebrity" who is years removed from having a commercial on TV. So if you know of places where I can work, let me know. I might need one. I think my dad got me a valet parking job. Amazing.

Ok, serious note.

I think my younger brother is bipolar, possible manic depressive. He has terrible mood swings, refuses to let anyone know what's bothering him, gets very hostile. It's bad. But literally within a few hours of one of these episodes he will be happy and fun and a joy to be around. I have tried reaching out to him, but he wont have it. My parents refuse to get him help, because the refuse to admit that he has a problem. I don't know what the hell I'm gonna do, but I am tired of feeling like I'm a hostage in my own house. I hope I don't have to get him help on my own, but it looks like it might be that way.

Finally, I should be releasing a new song for Touchdown Boy, my acoustic side project. It has been years since I have put anything out, so I hope everyone enjoys it. Its about how Gina and I met and our relationship. I am just waiting for Mark to get home and send me the file. I have an odd feeling that it wont be till tomorrow, but thats ok. I really put a lot of effort into this song, I have been writing it for about a year and a half and I refused to half ass anything. So once its out, I hope you give it a listen, and I hope you enjoy it, and I hope you tell your friends about it. If it gets a good reception, it may become a Bellwether song on the next EP. I also have 2 old Touchdown Boy songs that will be posted with it. Listen to them too. I have been pushing to convert them into full band songs, but no luck yet.

Well, if you read all of this, god damn. You either love me or are bored as fuck. But I guess I end every post with a similar comment. So for this one I will end with a funny quote, to lighten the mood a bit.

"Wait a minute! Hesh is gonna hunt Chewbacca? I'm a big fan! This is gonna be great! To kill a hero!"- mc chris as Hesh on Sealab 2021

I know just how you feel tonight.

I am pleased to say that yesterday was exactly what I needed. After an emotionally and mentally exhausting weekend I really just need to hang out with my friends, cook a lot of food, drink a lot of beers and light a lot of explosives. I know its a cliche, but I really do feel honored and blessed to have the friends that I do.

The revisionist never gets you perfect.

Gina and I broke up today. In retrospect, it seems like this was bound to happen, we just weren't compatible. I am still letting the feeling settle. I don't know when things will be ok. I don't know if they are ok now.

I am hoping this is the start of better times.

I don't think I will publicly post this. I wonder if anyone will stumble on this simply out of habit.