Band Business

Trying to think of something to write about has been difficult, because there's so many good topic's i had to choose from. But my people of Facebook have had some pretty interesting ideas. So i think i'll talk about the first one, and leave the others for a rainy day. ;)

My Band!

Just Another Band is my band, as many of you probably don't know. :) I am the lead singer (only singer for that matter) and four of my closest friends play the normal band instruments. (Guitar, rhythm guitar, bass, drums, and occasionally piano) We got together about a year ago now and we've done way more than i ever would have imagined. About two months ago, we all drove up to the cities to meet with our producer, now friend, Jason Walsh to record our first single. The lead guitarist, Alex Vespestad, writes many amazing songs so we decided to record our first original song, This One's For You. Jason is an amazing producer and the outcome is absolutely stunning (or at least i think so). If anyone reads this, if your interested in taking a listen our songs on iTunes:) (promote promote promote, right?) and we also have a Facebook page, so you can definitely check it out if you feel like it:)

It's crazy how being in a band really makes you love all people. I mean don't get me wrong, i genuinely love people, and meeting people, and talking to people, but just knowing that there are people out there that care enough to help us out, makes me love people even more. There are so many amazing people that have done things for us that i would have never even dreamed to ask, and in the music business, you're fans make you who you are.

Now i'm rambling, but that's my story so far. :)

Hope

It's something that's not very easy to talk about, which is probably why i never do. It's hard to think back in time about things you wish you could have changed, at those few regrets you choose to live with. This is one of those things.

I am very close to my mom's side of the family. She is the youngest but she only has two sisters so it's easier to keep up with everything that is going on with that side of the family. My dads side however isn't that way. We all live close together, but he was the youngest of six siblings, all of which have passed away but two. His side of the family just isn't very close knit, so it was hard to get to know them as well as i would have liked.

My grandmother, Hope, was the one person who kept the whole family together. When we finally got together it was for her, with her, or about her. But me being my busy self didn't make it to nearly enough of those few and far gatherings, one being her 90th birthday, the last birthday she would have. It is for this reason that i am writing this tribute to her.

She spent the last few months of her life at St. Mary's which made it not easier, but more convenient to visit her. I imagine that sitting in a bed every day doing next to nothing was something that was far less than fun to do. So, because i enjoy singing, and my father enjoys playing guitar, we decided to go in and play some songs for her every week, and it is these days with her that i remember most. The smells weren't the greatest; stale air and hospital food. But the sounds of our music putting a long awaited smile on her face made all of the bad smells more than worth it. Going to visit her was hard, but knowing i wasn't there as often as i should have been before was even harder, and i had to do anything and everything to attempt to make that up.

On March 7th, 2010 she left us, as we were all gathered around her bed, in the same hospital room that we had once sang such lovely songs. At her funeral i was asked to sing a song in her memory, and although i knew it would be hard, i remembered the smile that it put on her face, and saying no was out of the question.

I love you grandma.

The Crickets Have Arthritis

My absolute favorite poet is Shane Koyczan. I not only like to read his poems, but i also love to listen to him read them. His poems are not traditional by any means, so if that's what your expecting, turn back now. He writes them in a way that the words just flow off your tongue. I'm not one to memorize things, but I've managed to memorize this one. I recommend that you go read it/listen to it. (his words will probably make you forget about his neck beard) (oh and there is profanity. i apologize in advance)

To read click here

To listen click here

So if you did go listen or read that poem, i hope you  understand why he is one of my favorite poets. Every poem he has written i have liked, but this one stuck out the most to me. If you decided not to read it, in a nutshell Shane is basically talking about his hospital roommate who has cancer. That whole concept is really where i can relate most. I've watched many people both win and lose their battle with cancer in my years, and i can completely understand the frustration in Shane's voice when he talks about it. This poem is inspirational to me because it really makes you think about other people's situation, and how when your down, there's always someone out there who has it a little worse than you do. I'm the type of person who truly respects those who are willing to express their full emotions and when Shane says the words he does, you know they mean something to him, you know he means every word he's saying. I guess if anyone can't feel the emotion in this poem, then they are the one's missing out. I call this perfection.

Writing.. and I.

Writing and I, haven't ever got along. Well not really well I'd say. When I am given a writing assignment, in my head before i sit down to write something, writing sounds like the most awful thing i could ever have to do with an hour or two of my day. For example, this assignment. I laid around all day dreading of going to the computer and writing this down, when in reality, i love to write.

I love sitting down, and pouring my ideas out onto paper. In the past i have wrote about reality (how I'm feeling/events going on at the moment) fictional stories, that usually tend to lead nowhere but help me clear my head, or even letters to people saying everything i would or would have said to them had i gotten the chance. I love blogging and expressing my ideas in an unstructured do-it-how-I-want way.

I think that's what gets me. I don't like structure, because its almost as if it scares me. Having an outline of five paragraphs, with three body paragraphs, an intro, and a conclusion. I feel like i have to form my ideas to fit someone else's writing style, the way that they think a paper flows best. Then again, that's probably just my personality coming through.

Don't get me wrong I'm not the rebel type, i follow rules. (Obviously, otherwise all of my previous papers would be written in the format I feel like writing in, haha.) But I've never been the girl who has wanted to follow the crowd, and I've always wanted to do things my way, and no other. I hate being told what to do, and procrastinating is just in my blood. Despite these things, I think this class is going to greatly help me get over my fear of structured papers, so i can use the talent i already have for writing in full.

Now that wasn't so bad :)