blurred lines

Recently, I spoke with a friend who is involved with music. More specifically, he’s in a band. We were having a conversation which was roughly about how bands, namely the up-and-coming variety, interact with each other. From what I gathered, it is common for a band to view another band as two distinct entities: as artists/people/friends, and as a business. After I pondered all this, I decided that I take issue with this supposed black/white, either/or view.

A band may be a business, but I believe you cannot distinctly separate “people/friends” from “business” when the people ARE the business. They are interwoven, especially in music. The people are physically creating the end product every single day. Yes, they also function as a business as they choose how to market this product and themselves. However, without the people, the emotion, the creativity, and the music, the business would not exist. Simultaneously, business is not cut and dry. Whether people realize it or not, their business decisions are influenced by their human emotions- jealousy, curiosity, greed, happiness.

The people and the business are not two distinct entities.
They are joined at the hip.
They influence each other.
They do not stand alone.

Obviously, a lot of bands don’t agree. They say and do things in the name of “business” that they wouldn’t dare do in the name of friendship or artistry. I find this to be wrong, and I think this all-too-common ideal is a weakness that is rarely recognized. From there, it's a slippery slope down to where even the music suffers for the sake of business, and that is the ultimate tragedy.

Is this merely my personal opinion? Yes. Is this supposed to be directed at anyone in particular? No. I am fully aware that I am not involved in the business side of the industry, and therefore in theory, “I do not know what I am talking about.” That may be true, but I know enough about the human aspect of music to realize that it is impossible to truly separate the people and the business.

I'm trying as hard as I can
But I'd rather write a song than a business plan
Because this is me, saying the words I actually mean
I won't compromise this thing just to make it
. . .
Do you even know what you're even saying?
Or you just saying it, 'cause someone else said it?

[The Rocket Summer]

dear loser...

Thank you, internet, for allowing things such as this to exist.

Breakup Letter, Dramatic Reading

This is hilarious.
It requires sound.
Thank me later.

ohhhhh, hio. [cavashawn @ the balcony]

"I want Cavashawn to be the ex-boyfriend you keep coming back to."

-Scott Salmon

I was recently berated for not blogging in ages (Hi Scott) so now I'm finally posting something. On Saturday, Amanda and I met up in Oxford, Ohio to see our buddies Cavashawn. Again. (Show #14 for me I think? Yes, that's in less than 6 months. Shut up.) The show was at the college where the guys all went, which is Miami University of Ohio, now known to me as U of HTSND [University of Honey, That's A Shirt, Not A Dress]. No offense to the girls of Miami, but in 30 minutes of people watching from a bench in Oxford, we saw more short, ugly, and hideous dresses/non-dresses than you could possibly imagine. I may not be a fashion plate myself, but I know what looks good... and 90% of these did not. We even saw a girl who appeared to be wearing a swimsuit cover-up, and half her bra was hanging out as she crossed the street. Classy. Do people look in mirrors anymore?

But I digress.

We hadn't even planned on going to this show, but on Friday, Ama brought it up and we decided to go ahead and go. I've been sick with a lovely cold, and I've also become drastically behind in school, so in theory I really shouldn't have gone. That theory is BS, so of course I went. The show wasn't until late and the drive was about 3 hours, so I didn't leave until 4 or so. It was smooth sailing (aside from the I-70 road coma that tends to occur) for the most part, until I was on Highway 27, which leads from the interstate to Oxford. Part of the road was closed to thru traffic, so I had to take a detour. I just followed my GPS, and she rerouted me through some serious Ohio backcountry. Granted, there aren't many major roads in that area, but yowza. It was just me and the corn.


I did eventually make it to the hotel, and Ama got there shortly thereafter. After we got ready, we met up with the guys at Skyline Chili for dinner. It's an Ohio thing, or at least a Cincinnati-area thing, and it's become a staple everytime we're in the vicinity. I always get the chili 3-way... spaghetti, chili, and a mountain of shredded cheese. Don't forget the oyster crackers. Yumba. In the meantime, my right ear decided to stop working. Sometimes when I'm sick, my hearing suffers, and this was no exception. It was great. Anyway, we hung around at Skyline for awhile until they had to go load in, then Ama and I finished our food and proceeded to kill a lot of time by wandering the area and people-watching. We went to The Balcony at showtime and decided that the situation called for beer. (Some settings just require it. Don't judge.) We hung out primarily at the bar, met a couple people the guys knew, and watched the first band, Look Afraid. I wasn't sure if I was going to like them from listening on Myspace, but I did end up liking them a lot. Definitely a rock band.

By this point, we both had a reasonable buzz going on and were ready to dance around/rock out. Ignoring the usual "it feels awkward in the front" issue we have, we scooted up front for Cavashawn and had a blast. It seemed like the guys enjoyed themselves onstage too. The crowd was moderately drunk, but in the "having fun" way, not the "belligerent asshole" way. There's not much to say about the songs that I haven't said in some form before, I suppose. I really like their new song "Back to Me," and the newish song "First Hello." We first heard FH at Summerfest and I've pretty much loved it ever since. Scott plays guitar on BTM, which still is odd to see, but it works. I managed to take some decent pictures, so here are a few of them.






After the show was over, we avoided getting kicked out of the bar when it closed by assisting with packing up the merch, then helped them load out. This involved a flight of wet stairs, which was a little hazardous. I managed to trip up them at one point, and have a cute bruise on my shin now. Whoops. It was really late by this point, and by the time we got a ride back to the car, said goodbyes, and got back to the hotel, it was about 3:30 in the morning. We got up a whopping 4 hours later, ate hotel breakfast, and headed back for our respective homes. By the time I got home, I was exhausted and fairly worthless for the remainder of the day. That wasn't quite part of my plan, seeing as how I have an exam tomorrow, but I should have expected it. It's okay, though. I don't regret going at all, I really needed the emotional pick-me-up that shows provide. It's for that reason that I can never say no.

Scott got his wish.
We always go back.

absence makes the heart grow fonder...

...which means you all must REALLY love me.

I apologize for letting this blog die.
I will bring it to life again, I promise.
So much has happened that's worth mentioning...
There may be some "flashback" entries.
I'll be back writing again soon.
Just not tonight.

Get ready.