Canary (My New Band)

I'm very excited and pleased to announce that I have a new band (!):

Canary is a new Boston/Berklee based rock/pop and blues band that falls sonically somewhere between Coldplay and the Who with a touch of Eric Clapton.

Driven by Ellis and Amy's in-your-face guitars, Isaac's pounding drums, and Drew's production chops, Canary is looking forward to making a mark in the New England music scene and beyond.

For more information, please contact us at canarytheband[at]gmail[dot]com

The widgets on the right side of the page are an email list you can sign up for as well as a music player featuring two songs. Please check them out and sign up for the email list if you like what you hear! We'll be playing shows (potentially) near you in the new year. What with the end of the semester coming (studying for finals, practicing hard), no full-time bassist, and limited rehearsal time (due to finals), suffice to say that the odds of a show before the end of the year are not in our favor.

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and I can't wait to really kick it into high gear with Canary.

It's Been A Looong Time

I think this may be the longest I've gone without blogging. I've had what I call IBS--Irregular Blogging Syndrome--and I apologize for it. To be honest the only reason I'm writing right now is because I don't have the will power to do anything else. That's not say I don't enjoy blogging, I do. But I've either caught a horrendous cold or contracted a sinus infection. Either way, it's not fun.

I'll tell you what is fun, though. School. I have a great schedule this semester (no classes on Friday!), and I'm a Peer Advisor. What is a Peer Advisor? Well, a Peer Advisor is a third-semester or higher student that acts as a mentor/friend to a group of incoming freshmen. I was fortunate enough to be selected to do this. Am I qualified? I'm not entirely sure. Has it been fun? Fun doesn't even begin to describe it. I've met some of the most amazing people through the program, had an absolute blast on the retreat-like thing earlier in the month, and I have a great group of kids. Oh, and I get paid for all of it.

I really like my new guitar teacher, Scotty Johnson. Today we jammed and basically traded licks and riffs for half an hour. He's really encouraging and energetic and we get along really well. My other teachers are all great, too.

I think the best part about being back is seeing all my friends. I haven't jammed with any of them yet. That's gonna change. I don't have a band yet. That's also gonna change. I'm working on changing a lot of things in my life. All good things. It's going to be a great semester/year. I can feel it.

I thought I had more in me, but I'm giving up and going to bed. I refuse to be sick; I'm going to the Red Sox for Christ's sake (reference to a movie. Name it).

I'll write/share more later.

1.33 AM

If it weren't 1.33 AM, I would write a more extensive post, but I have to wake up in four and a half hours to go to New York.

I will finish up the seven remaining influences.
I will update you on the status of my band.
I will post songs.
I will show you my pedal board once it's complete.

I will go to bed now.

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!