Cutoff

I'm doing it. For roughly the next three weeks, I am cutting myself off from basically all things related to the internet (Facebook) with the exception of email, the Red Sox, and iChat from time to time. I've become too distracted by it all, and I need to focus my energy on school, guitar, and working out (and the Red Sox) until either:

A. All my work is completed
or
B. May 7th

That being said, I'm gonna go--not a moment to spare!

It's That Time Again!

Red Sox season has returned! Actually, it returned eleven days ago, but up until yesterday, I hadn't been a part of it.

Last night, Katie Lannan and I went to one of the most exciting games either one of us has been to. If you combine the amount of games we've gone to, it's well over 40. Brad Penny gave up seven runs in the second inning, and to many people, all hope seemed lost. Not to us. The Sox came back and won 10-8. J.D Drew (one of my favorite players) and Jason Bay both had homeruns, and I think every player made it across the plate at least once. I reccommend you read the box score.

I've been to four Red Sox-Yankees games, three playoff games, and I've been to at least two other come-back victory games, but last night's was something entirely different. I know it's only April, and I know it's still early in the season, but last night's game shows how good the Red Sox are and how good they are going to be throughout the season. They just have to get their footing, and then we will no longer be at the bottom of the score board.

24 Days (Until Possibly The Best Summer Ever)! And Other Things

I only have 24 days left in my first year of college. I don't think there is an adjective that can describe how I feel when I think about it. I'm incredibly excited for summer, but I'm also sad because I've had such a great time this year.

If things go according to plan, then I will have the greatest summer ever--even better than last year, and I saw five incredible shows and went to Europe for a week and a half. There's so much I want to do, all I have to do is do it (like Nike). Take a look at my plans:

--(It looks like) A few friends and I are getting a band together. We kind of had one last year, but it was more like we had jam sessions. I have to play shows this summer, otherwise I will explode. I gotta give my singer/pianist/guitarist a call this week.

--I want to take a few liberal arts courses to save time/money. There are two four-week sessions at USM, and if I can get Art History, Western Civ, and a physical science out of the way, that would be fantastic.

--I have to work. I need money! I need money mainly to buy Red Sox tickets when I'm back at school haha! I also need money to get new gear.

--I want to go back to karate. It's probably my favorite way to work out (with the exception of running). Not only am I burning calories, I'm having a great time doing it, and I'm also learning. I also love my Sensei and my fellow martial artists.

--There are a zillion books I want to read. There are also a zillion songs in me that need to be written/recorded. if I could get some studio time, that would be the cherry on top of everything.

--I absolutely positively have to take lessons (aka hang out) with Bob. I couldn't survive all summer knowing that he's 20 minutes away from me and I don't see him on a weekly basis. That is unacceptable. I want to come back here in the fall and be so much better than I am now that my friends will ask me what I did to get to that level.

--I want some time to chill and go to the beach (even in April, it's calling my name). It doesn't look like I'll have much with that schedule, but believe me, I will. I now know why college ends in May and not June like high school. If it were to go until June, we would all die. At least I would.

I think that's it. I hope that's it! Haha! I don't know how much more I could handle, and still get some sleep.

In other news, I am shooting for all A's (and a B in Ear Training because there is no way I can get an A at this point) this semester and I have been very busy doing work for the past week. My life consists of homework, music, and the Red Sox. I had a ton of English homework to do, and I'm redoing all the stuff I received a B on. Luckily there aren't that many. I did one last night, and it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be.

I have a ton of other homework, too. I have an Ear Training quiz tomorrow, a Harmony quiz Thursday, and my Arraning project is due in two weeks. I also asked for extra credit in that class because I have no idea how I only got a B on my midterm. The class is so easy that I slack off sometimes when I know I shouldn't.

I've also been trying to put in two hours of practice a night. I've been reasonably successful. I won't be putting in two hours of guitar tonight, though. Gotta get an A on my quiz tomorrow! It's so nice out, and I've been inside all day Ear-Training my face off. If I don't get an A, I will be very disappointed in myself. I'm working my butt off!

I'll give the Red Sox their own post later this week, but there are four games this weekend--one of them is at 11 o'clock in the morning! I want to go to that game just to say I went to a game at 11 o'clock in the morning. I'll be at Friday's, Saturday's, maybe Sunday's, and definitely Monday's game. I should just say I'll probably be at all of them. Save myself some time.

Okay, back to work I go!

Homework Overload Results In A Hiatus

I'm drowning in my homework. So as much as I want to post, write/record songs, go to Red Sox games (OPENING DAY IS TODAY!), read, and do ten thousand other things, I have to get my work done. All of the above are incentives for me to get my work done. So with that being said, back to work!

Oh, and if you're in the Boston/Cambridge area, there's a great show at TT the Bear's tonight at 9.00! 18+, $7 to get in, but it's worth it! See you there?

Okay, back to work!

Three of Ten: U2

Never in my life have I been so influenced by a band so fast.

I went to Dublin last August, and I had been a mild fan of U2 for a long time. I knew of the brilliance of The Joshua Tree album and that they were from Ireland, but that was about it. The second I stepped foot in Dublin, I became consumed by U2. I thought, "Oh, I'm in Ireland. U2's from Ireland. Let's check 'em out."

I was hooked.

I didn't have any of their songs on my iPod at the point. So I YouTubed them like mad whenever I had the chance to. I was so obsessed with them that learned how to play With Or Without You and I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For via YouTube while in Europe. I must have heard half of their catalogue through YouTube on my trip. We left Dublin before we could go see the U2 Wall, but that's okay. I'll go back.

The day after I got home, I went out and bought six of their CDs and played them all the time (The Joshua Tree, Achtung Baby, Zooropa, War, All That You Can't Leave Behind, and How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb). Their music covers every single emotion. Their approach is so different than anyone else I listen to.

The Edge is the epitome of less-is-more when it comes to guitar. There are some very guitar-driven songs/albums, but on songs like With Or Without You, he only plays like..three different licks throughout the song. Pride has one of my favorite guitar riffs in it. There's a lot, and then there's a little. I love it. I want to be able to do more with less like Edge can. He's the only guitarist in the band, and while they can overdub in the studio, there's not a whole lot of looping going on live because Edge (and Larry and Adam) can fill a stadium no problem. I could talk about his effects and his tone for hours, but the Edge is a better guitarist than anyone gives him credit for.

Bad is one of my favorite songs by them. It's prosody at it's finest: it sounds like it feels, and it feels like it sounds. It's empty and almost hollow at parts (to me anyway), but it fills you up. When Bono wails "I'm wide awake I'm wide awake wide awake. I'm not sleeping," I get more than shivers down my spine.

A lot of people don't like Bono because they think he's just doing charity work for the attention. Bono doesn't need to do anything for attention. He's done so much to try and help the world, and sometimes a cause need a famous face to get noticed. As for Bono, he doesn't care if the public thinks he's doing it for the attention. He's doing what he wants to do, and trying to make a difference. I have tons of respect for the man. His voice is phenomenal, and he writes lyrics that move me. He uses a lot of cliché rhymes, but he can get away with it. He's also probably the only person that can get away with saying "sexy boots" more than once in a song.

You can't talk about U2 without Larry Mullen. If it weren't for Larry, U2 might not even exist. He posted a sign on a bulletin board at school, and that's how it all began. Larry is definitely the looker of the band. His drumming is so cool. Bullet the Blue Sky, Bad, and Sunday Bloody Sunday all have incredible drumming. He's not crazy like Keith Moon was, nor is he as straight as Charlie Watts. He falls somewhere in between. The sound he gets out of his drums is incredible. The tone is so great.

People sometimes forget about bassists, but Adam Clayton makes sure he's not forgotten. While his bass does lie in the background, on songs like With Or Without You, New Years Day, A Man and A Woman, and Magnificent, the bass is right up in your face. He's so smooth. I hardly get the chance to play bass, but Adam makes me want to get one. I love how Adam is able to make himself heard and at the same time fall back and jam with Larry.

U2 is truly a band. They have never broken up, the line-up hasn't changed, and they don't seem to hate each other. All of the songs are written by U2. It's a democracy, and I like that a lot. Bono may write the lyrics (he puts that in the liner notes), but there would be no lyrics if there was no music. They all need each other.

I haven't written any songs that are really U2esque, but they're in me somewhere. There's no possible way I could ever say that U2 has had no affect on my music because they have. I can feel it. You might not hear it yet, but it's there. The songs are on their way, and they will be coming at you soon. Very, very soon.

A Little More Truth

You know, I was going to write some big post about what I want to do with my life, but I decided I could sum it up better in a short one:

I may be a Music Business/Management major at Berklee, but that doesn't mean anything.
I want to write songs*, play shows, build a fanbase as well as an online presence, and release records. In that order. Well, not necessarily, but I need the first two to do the last three.
I want to develop myself as an artist (with help/advice from others of course).
I want to meet and connect with as many people/music lovers as possible.
I want to get in a van and go.
I want to play festivals.
I want to jam. A lot.

So yeah. That just about sums it up.

And at some point in my life, I am going to write a Broadway musical. I just need a story.

*I already write songs, and have been doing so for over five years. You can hear a couple on the right. One of them will be coming to you on an EP and at shows soon.