Tag Archives: Music

Feb 13 2013
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I Hope This Song Starts a Craze Video

The Band Formerly Known as Future Ghosts

There is power in a name. It changes things. Different names create intense emotions just from them merely being uttered. So it is no surprise that when the band formerly known as Future Ghosts from Greensboro, North Carolina was made to change their name, they chose something that set them apart and propelled them into the future. Allow me to introduce you to Unifier.

With the release of their amazing brand new album “Colorado” only yesterday, it seems that they are quickly forgetting about their recent past and only looking to move forward as they should. From small waves of feelings of Jimmy Eat World to explosions of something not yet experienced, Unifier is quickly making it’s way around and through my house and on repeat in my head. There is something comfortable in their music like I’ve heard this all before, but the more that I listen the more that I discover. And the more that I discover, the more that I want to hear.

So, until they come to the West Coast, I will have to settle for dancing to their album in my living room. But that’s not such a bad thing after all…

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Jan 28 2013
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I Hope This Song Starts a Craze Video

You + Me = Endless Possibilities

“I hope this song starts a craze/ The kind of song that ignites the airwaves/ The kind of song that makes people glad/ To be where they are/ With whomever they’re there with” -Brand New “Okay I Believe You, But My Tommy Gun Don’t”

There are few nights that I will remember as vividly as when I saw Kevin Devine, Manchester Orchestra and Brand New play at the Warfield in San Francisco in 2007. There are few moments when you witness musicians share a stage and truly enjoy one another. There was not a single moment that night that was wasted. Yes, there was something magical about that night at the Warfield, and it has yet to be recreated.

I have found myself over the years more and more drawn to this collective of musicians, this collective of friends. They are doing what this Project hopes to create someday-a community of friends that collaborate and support one another in their individual projects. Because that’s what this whole thing is all about-supporting one another. It’s about the local bands. It’s about the bands that open for the larger bands that come through town. It’s about you and me.

So when I heard that Kevin Devine had started a Kickstarter to fund his next two albums, I was stoked. Not only could I support someone who I was artistically in awe of, I could be part of the art. And after all, isn’t that what it’s really about? Isn’t that why we go to a show and sing along to our favorite songs with a room of complete strangers because we want to be a part of something bigger than ourselves? So, be bigger and support and share because one day it’ll come around back to you.

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Jan 21 2013
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Song Birds Video

Something New

“For last year’s words belong to last year’s language/ And next year’s words await another voice.” -T.S. Eliot “Four Quartets”

The bright Wednesday morning bubbled around me in the corner of the cafe. People buzzed by on the street and chatted with one another as they made their way through Lake Merritt. In that moment, I got lost in how much can happen in just a year.

When I moved to Los Angeles, I finally felt at peace. It suited me. And over the past six and half years, I have managed to find a community of wonderfully talented friends in what could be the loneliest city. I have met people and had experiences that are uniquely L.A., and as much as I despise the traffic, I would never trade my time in L.A. for anything in the world.

But just like anything, there is always a moment when you need to open yourself up to new opportunities. So, in the matter of six weeks, I was accepted to a school and found myself packing everything up to move back to the Bay Area. And while I was so excited to go to this amazing school and start something new, a huge part of me was sad to leave my life in L.A. behind.

As I move further and further into this new year, I feel more at ease with letting go. Last year was an obstacle of its own-things that I want to keep and things that I want to leave. Things that I will always remember and things I am trying desperately to forget. Things that brought me so much happiness and things that broke my heart. And while I have no regrets of anything that happened last year, I am ready to hear a new song-a song of 2013 and a better me.

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Dec 11 2012
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I Hope This Song Starts a Craze

Halfway There

“Write a song/ Make a note/ For the lump that sits inside your throat/ Change the locks, change the scene/ Change it all but can’t change what we’ve been” -Atlas Genius “Trojans”

I’ve been obsessed with music for as long as I can remember. I have to find lyrics for a song that I hear randomly as soon as possible. I want to know every word and will have those words resonate with me for days. I will listen to the same song over and over and over…and over again. So, it makes sense that I would want to write about music. I would love to go to shows and write about bands that no one knows or that some people know and expose them to the world at large.

As I was searching for internships for music magazines all across the country, I came across a little blurb on Alternative Press’ website, “Start your own webzine or a music blog to showcase your work. Be aware of the scene you enjoy, and soak up any knowledge you can about new bands. The better you understand your source material, the better your writing will be…Most importantly, keep writing constantly. Even if no one but you or your blog followers see your concert reviews, the more you learn to express your opinions via writing, the better your clips will be when you get a chance to publish an article.” 

So, I guess that I’m a little further along than I thought…and I won’t stop here.

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Oct 28 2012
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I Hope This Song Starts a Craze

“Literate and Stylish/ Kissable and Quiet”

“Stop it, come on/ You know I can’t help it/ I got the mic/ And you got the mosh pit” -Taking Back Sunday “Timberwolves at New Jersey”

A sweet nostalgia swept through the venue as the original line up of Taking Back Sunday filled the stage. Songs that blasted through my car speakers ten years ago were being sung back to me ten years later. My fifteen year old self was dying. There was something different that night. The band was different than I remembered, but then again, I was different too. Things will never be quite what you remember them to be. However, things can always surprise you. But as they brought out Michelle DaRosa for “Existentialism On Prom Night” and closed with two pretty obscure songs, “Your Own Disaster” and “The Ballad Of Sal Villanueva”, in those moments, my memories of them were redeemed and renewed. And while it will never be quite how I remember it to be when I was fifteen, there will be something that I find in Taking Back Sunday, something that I find in myself that can never be taken away.

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Oct 13 2012
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Song Birds

Find Me

“It’s always that one song that gets to you. You can hide, but the song comes to find you.” -Rob Sheffield (Love is a Mixtape)

And oh, how it finds me.

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Sep 17 2012
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I Hope This Song Starts a Craze

Destroyed

With merely a triangle of one degree of separation between us, I knew that I had to see I Was Totally Destroying It when they made their way to L.A. (even if that meant going solo…which is sometimes the best way to see a show). After a fiery start from The Trophy Fire (I always love a good band from the Bay that makes me proud to call it home), IWTDI erupted with little warning. Even listening to their new album, Vexations, on repeat could not prepare me for their performance. While I truly believe that they are a band that must be listened to over and over to be able to fully appreciate everything that they create, they are a band to be experienced. Their energy, flawless vocals and cohesiveness onstage make it really hard to not break out into a mini dance party all by yourself. So, if you haven’t already, you need to be destroyed by this band. They are finishing the last leg of their national tour before they pick it back up in November with Motion City Soundtrack, Jukebox The Ghost, and Now Now. So, put your dance shoes on, grab your friends or yourself, head to the next closest show to you and destroy it. Oh, and don’t forget to say hi…

09/17 - THE CASBAH, SAN DIEGO, CA
09/19 - THE SLIDEBAR, FULLERTON, CA
09/21 - THE UPTOWN, OAKLAND, CA
09/22 - BUNK BAR, PORTLAND, OR
09/23 - SUNSET TAVERN, SEATTLE, WA
09/24 - THE SHREDDER, BOISE, ID
09/25 - LION’S LAIR, DENVER, CO
09/26 - EIGHTH STREET TAPROOM, LAWRENCE, KS
09/27 - O’LEAVERS, OMAHA, NE
09/28 - CAUSE, MINNEAPOLIS, MN
09/29 - CRUNCHY FROG, GREEN BAY, WI
09/30 - TONIC ROOM, CHICAGO, IL
10/01 - BERKLEY FRONT, BERKLEY, MI
10/02 - THE TREE BAR, COLUMBUS, OH
10/03 - HOWLER’S COYOTE CAFE, PITTSBURGH, PA
10/04 - PIANOS, NEW YORK, NY
10/05 - THE DOUBLE DEUCE HOUSE, PHILADELPHIA, PA
10/06 - SWEET TEA PUMPKIN PIE FEST, WASHINGTON, DC
11/03 - TREMONT MUSIC HALL, CHARLOTTE, NC*
11/04 - THEATER OF THE LIVING ARTS, PHILADELPHIA, PA*
11/06 - IRVING PLAZA, NEW YORK, NY*
11/07 - TBA
11/08 - CHURCH STREET PUB, FREDERICK, MD
11/09 - PARADISE ROCK CLUB, BOSTON, MA*
11/10 - STARLAND BALLROOM, SAYREVILLE, NJ*
11/11 - MR. SMALLS THEATRE, PITTSBURGH, PA*

*w/Motion City Soundtrack, Jukebox The Ghost, Now Now

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Sep 16 2012
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I Hope This Song Starts a Craze

Shaking Charlotte

“I’m changing, I hold myself to keep from shaking/ These hands are done, but I’m not/ And I’m not full, but I’m not done either – just trying to hear what I need to see” -Listener “You Were a House on Fire”

It was barely 9am, and it was already ninety degrees. My iced coffee was already melting, even though I was in air conditioning. A slow work morning made for good chatting with my co-worker. Somehow, we got off into this flurry of the best shows that we had ever seen. I grinned, “You know, what is weird? My favorite shows that I’ve seen have not be in L.A. People are so dead at shows here. I have been to some of the best shows in the smallest venues in small cities.” My coworker glared at me, “Well, that’s because people in L.A. are just too cool to have fun.”

When you grow up in suburbia, you come to think that everything that is great happens in a big city. In fact, I had an acting teacher tell a girl in a class one time that she was suburbia. Cities were where great things happened, and she was boring and would never make it. I think that attitude is true for many people still. It’s hard to look at the community around you as see the world of potential. Don’t get me wrong, cities are wonderful places for opportunity, culture, and individual growth. However, I am a huge supporter of the arts in places that you would least expect or even in places that you may have just overlooked. Art and culture are not just in New York and Los Angeles. Exciting things are not just happening everywhere else. Spectacular things are happening where you are right now.

I recently read this lovely article in Charlotte Magazine “Les Provocateurs” about “twelve artists and creatives that are shaking up Charlotte’s cultural scene.” They are artists, musicians, filmmakers, directors and everything in between because when you are truly an artist, you cannot be placed in a tidy little box. These “creatives” seek to influence the world around them and to make their community aware of what is happening there. Their passion for their craft and their city is infectious. Perhaps, this quote by filmmaker Scott Lazes said it best, “I often say that we really don’t create anything; we just point the camera at creative things that are happening in the community. If anything, the creative work in Charlotte simply needs more exposure.” I could not agree more.

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Sep 01 2012
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Song Birds

Four Years and Counting…

“I normally live in Los Angeles, if you can call it normal living.” -Morrissey

Dearest Los Angeles,

It has been four years today that I packed up my car and started my life here (again). I started in the Valley, found my way to Los Feliz, and now call the Westside home. I have been extremely lucky to have found some of the most incredible people to call my friends. I discovered the waffle brownie sundae at Cafe 101. I fell in love with improv. I survived a plethora of car accidents. I went back to school. I came to know all of the homeless people in Hollywood. The Santa Monica Farmer’s Market on Sunday mornings cannot be beat. I might be one of the only people to not be stoked on the Hotel Cafe, but that probably has to do with being shushed by the lady next to me eating dinner while I was singing along with Kevin Devine at the top of my lungs. I did not eat nearly enough strawberry rhubarb pie from the Trails Cafe. I came to enjoy exploring you all by myself. My drives up PCH were breaths of fresh air. The Los Feliz 3 became possibly my favorite theatre. I learned that you should not point and yell at a widely known and convicted gangsta while you’re intoxicated at Saddle Ranch. I also learned that you should never go to Saddle Ranch. Ever. Griffith Park became my safe place. I escaped the first Carmageddon. I went on far too many first dates with “men” that ordered salads. I also realized that dating in L.A. sucks. I found a new satisfaction in wearing my Giants shirts around town, especially when we BEAT L.A.! Kay ‘N Dave’s became a staple in my life. I loved the three or four overcast and rainy days that reminded me of home. I avoided LAX like the plague and flew out of Burbank every chance that I had. I discovered that I could never be done discovering you; you were full of surprises.

So, thank you for being good and bad and everything in between. You were not what I expected, and I know that I was not what you expected either. Lets continue to be unexpected, and if the time ever comes for us to part, I will always love you and carry a piece of you with me forever.

XO,

Amanda

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Aug 22 2012
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I Hope This Song Starts a Craze

History in the Making

“Some people have a hard time explaining rock ‘n’ roll. I don’t think anyone can really explain rock ‘n’ roll. Maybe Pete Townshend, but that’s okay. Rock ‘n’ roll is a lifestyle and a way of thinking… and it’s not about money and popularity. Although, some money would be nice. But it’s a voice that says, “Here I am… and fuck you if you can’t understand me.” And one of these people is gonna save the world. And that means that rock ‘n’ roll can save the world… all of us together. And the chicks are great. But what it all comes down to is that thing. The indefinable thing when people catch something in your music.” -Jeff Bebe “Almost Famous”

“Hi, welcome to the Annenberg Space for Photography. Is this your first time visiting?” I smiled at the cute receptionist, “It is.” She gave me all of the necessary literature and grinned, “Great! Well, welcome. This is our largest exhibit, right now. So, please take your time and enjoy.” I thanked her and spun around to what I had been waiting for so long to see, the collection of 166 prints from over 100 photographers chronicling the history of rock and roll in, “Who Shot Rock & Roll?”. As I made my way through the space, I was bombarded with the beginnings of rock and roll. Tender candid shots of Elvis led into Zeppelin and Henry Rollins in the middle of the pit. I wandered into the middle of the space and found a cozy seat on one of the leather benches in front of one of the giant screens. For over twenty minutes in a stunning original documentary that was made exclusively for the Annenberg Space for Photography, some of the most legendary photographers in rock and roll shared their stories spanning over fifty years. It included everything from wanting to only shoot the Beatles’ feet to capturing Sid Vicious carve into his own chest with shards of glass while on stage. Most of them did not know that they would be a part of creating history with their art. Most of them became friends with the people that they photographed. And most of them, still create because that is all that they know how to do.

I could have stared at those photographs for hours, but after two hours I finally made my way out. But the thought that could not escape me was, “Who do I know that will be in this exhibit in twenty years?” Because none of the musicians that I happened upon that afternoon could have possibly known that they would be included in such an extensive collection of the history of rock and roll. So, as I think of my friends or musicians that I have written about, I know with great certainty that I will see some of those faces in twenty or so years when the next, “Who Shot Rock & Roll?” exhibit comes to whatever town I’m in, and I can’t wait.

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