New Location

http://amymantis.tumblr.com

I've been using tumblr for a while, and I find it easier to use and I like it better. Thanks to everyone that read/reads this. I hope you continue to do so!

Jemsite Award

As stated in my last post, I was recently honored with Jemsite's Recommended Reader Award! Huge thanks to everyone out there that reads my blog!

Jemsite is a guitar website with forums, blogs, pictures, and more. They really love Ibanez guitars over there! It's a cool site, and I really appreciate the award I recently received.

Midterms are this week so I better get back to work! Again, huge thanks to everyone!

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Catch Up / Jemsite Award

I feel like Carrie Bradshaw writing at 3 in the morning. I'm surprisingly awake, too.

I was recently honored by Jemsite, a guitar website/blog. I received the Recommended Reader Award which I will post as soon as I can. The HTML code isn't quite right.

I was seriously surprised! Thank you to everyone who recommended me and to everyone that reads my blog. It means a great deal to me. Especially since lately my posts have not been guitar or Berklee centered. The good news is, that's about to change.

Midterms begin the week of March 8th. I am so not ready for them. Ear Training might kill me. I had a quiz today..er, yesterday, and it went pretty well. Paul said it was my best yet, and it definitely was. I hate Ear Training, but I love Paul (because I haven't said it enough).

I'm taking the Jimi Hendrix Lab with Julien Kasper (who is also my private instructor). It's a lot of fun and my Hendrix chops are steadily improving. That man was so incredible. So far we've done Spanish Castle Magic, Who Knows (first two solos), and Wait Until Tomorrow. For our midterm we have to transcribe a Hendrix song. I chose Manic Depression as recommended by Bob. The main riff is really easy. The solo will take a bit of diligence on my part. Don't get me started on my social life. It's great, really, it is. I have problems saying no when it comes to being with friends. I always feel like I'm going to miss something.

I'm taking a course with Livingston Taylor, as in James Taylor's brother, this semester. The class is fantastic. Liv is fantastic. He's so wild; I love it! James recently gave a clinic here and it was incredible. I never realized how great of a guitarist he is. He's an absolutely beautiful guitar player. Magnificent.

I always had assumed that Art History would be boring, but I was wrong. I'm taking Renaissance Art History with Ross Bresler, and it's great. I've been to Florence, Paris, and Venice so I've seen a lot of the paintings and buildings we talk about which definitely impacts my perception of the course. Ross is an art genius. He knows everything, and he's really enthusiastic about it all.

I'm also taking Advanced Computer Applications. It's about building databases, something I don't foresee myself ever needing to know how to do. I'm debating withdrawing from it. I currently have a 4.0 in my major, and I'd like to keep it that way. I missed an assignment and didn't do so hot on my quiz so I'm afraid I might not be able to get an A and consequently bring my concentrated GPA down. I don't know why I care. GPAs don't matter in real life, but they help with scholarships! At the same time I just want to get the class over with. So we'll see what happens.

I've talked about Accounting already. Marty's awesome, but accounting is a snooze. I can see why he's eager to retire. I couldn't imagine doing that for a living, although you can make bank doing it. Which is probably why people go into accounting in the first place.

Now I'm tired. Thank you again for reading/recommending!

Does It Ever End?

Do yourselves a favor and never get mono. Never. Get. Mono.

For the past seven weeks or so my life has been turned upside-down. I don't even know where to begin to explain it. I'm repeating myself as it is.

You know what, just don't get mono. Unless you enjoy being debilitated for a bit. I have been attacked, compromised, however you want to look at it, I'm answering to something I don't want to. Not that I typically rail against exhaustion, but usually it's caused by running (something I love dearly). In this case, it's constant.

Lately I haven't been myself. I'm usually in good spirits and bursting with energy. At the moment I'm just alright and pretty tired. I feel like I'm copping out when I say I'm tired because I have mono. Those words don't easily roll off my tongue, which is also unusual.

My whole state of being is unusual. My sleep habits are bizarre. For example, I went to bed at 11.30 last night, didn't fall asleep until after 1, and woke up starving at 6. I thought my stomach was going to eat itself, which is odd because I had a bowl of cereal around 10.45, shortly before I went to bed.

Clearly my eating habits have been bizarre, too. My dad and Bob (my second-dad who has done more than his fair share in terms of listening to me whine about mono) said that my metabolism has gone crazy because of mono and they're probably right. Up until this week I was an eating machine. I was hungry all the time. Now I have to think about whether or not I actually am hungry.

My mom said that one of the reasons I've been feeling down is probably due to my inability to run (out of fear of spleen-rupturing, which would really be the cherry on top of this) and therefore I'm not getting any endorphins. Julia said that as well. To quote Legally Blonde, 'Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don't shoot their husbands.' Not that I'm married, but that's true, and easily one of my favorite lines from a movie.

My workload is fairly daunting at times. Two months ago it wouldn't have been, but given the circumstances it's intimidating. I'm doing too much: 16 credits (a full schedule at Berklee), Peer Advising, Music Business Club, and the Music Business Journal just to name a few. I didn't cut back out of fear of falling behind, but I think I screwed myself over by not taking a step back. I might withdraw from a class if my energy/normal life doesn't return soon.

My doctor told me that one day I'm gonna wake up and be full of energy. On that day I will and go for a long run by the river while crying tears of joy.

Today...Was Full Of Win

It really was.

It started off alright. I woke up later than planned. Actually I woke up on time, I just opted to hit snooze several times and finally drag myself out of bed at 10.00 instead of 9.00. My first class wasn't until 11.00 anyway, so I gave myself a little more leisure time this morning. Part of it's the mono for sure. I wake up, and either instantly or shortly after I wake up I'm so tired I could roll right back to sleep.

So I went to my 11 o'clock class, Principles of Financial Accounting with the always hilarious Marty Dennehy. A bunch of my friends are in that class, and Marty's fantastic so despite it being accounting and incredibly boring, it won't be that bad.

After class, I scooted over to the bookstore, hastily purchased my books because I was expecting a very important phone call from Mike Davidson of Mike Davidson Recording. I submitted my band's song (they're on the right of this page if you care to listen) to a contest he was having and we won! We won eight free hours of recording time. So those two songs on the right will sound infinitely better in the coming month. We'll also be recording a third song called Doubt which is here somewhere...That really made my day.

Not too long after that phone call I received an email from Kim DeVito (Music Business/Management Department Coordinator at Berklee) saying that I passed the test to get into Advanced Computer Applications. Excellent! The Basic Computer Applications ('Basic' from here on out) class didn't fit in my schedule anyway.

However, I do have a problem with how the system works with this class. Had I not taken the test out and just taken the Basic class, I wouldn't have to take the Advanced class. So even though I technically passed the Basic class, I don't get credit for it. That really bugs me. Whatever. At least I'll learn something new, and I don't have to have a class on Mondays. My Mondays are free of classes and I love it. Not that I've experienced it yet because we started classes on Tuesday, but it will be awesome.

My classes are awesome thus far. It's going to be a killer semester, even with the mono. Things are happening, and I love it.

Down With The Sickness

Towards the end of my break, I came down with mono. My throat was so sore for a week that I wanted nothing more than to tear it out. I had a fever of 102, and I was just all around miserable. I no longer want to tear my throat out and my fever is gone, but the virus still remains. The only good thing is that it's only contagious via saliva so I'm not quarantined from civilization.

The thing about mono is that it stays in your body for a really long time, and it makes you tired. Really really tired. All the time.

I'm not used to this whole being-tired thing. My energy level is normally through the roof, but as of now I have no energy. It's frustrating. I wake up and the first thing I want to do is fall back asleep. Right now I'm supposed to be doing community service with my fellow Peer Advisors, but it would have drained me, and I have another Peer Advising thing to do tonight. So I opted out of today's first activity. I didn't want to, but I kind of had to.

I haven't exactly figured out how to deal with the tiredness yet. At least not effectively. I'm working on it. I'm also working on figuring out how to be lazy. It's not in my nature to do nothing, especially when I have stuff to do.

Another thing I hate about mono is that I can't work out for a few months. I can't run and I can't snowboard. I have to adjust my diet because I can no longer simply run off all the carbs I eat.

This could last until the beginning of February, which wouldn't be that bad. Or it could last until the beginning of April, which would suck big time.

The only thing I can do is go about my life the way I normally would and sleep when I need to. Contrary to what I may think, my life is not over. Far from it.

Hello Again

Hello. It's been a while since I've posted here. My tumblog's seen some action, but I've been neglectful of this blog. This is a quick post, but I needed to reestablish my connection here.

Like I said, quick post.

Welcome To Crunch Time

With only three weeks left in the semester, it seems that everyone I know (including people that don't go to Berklee) is feeling stressed, overwhelmed, and unprepared. Emotionally, mentally, and physically. I know I definitely fall into a few of those categories. I usually have everything all together, and while nothing is out of control, I'm on the brink of losing all control.

All of my friends feel the same way, too. None of us wanted to go back to school. We wanted to skip over Thanksgiving and have it be Christmas (just like the department stores). Where did our drive go? More specifically, where did my drive go? I can't remember ever being this lackadaisical. My MO is to be on the ball, and my energy level is typically off the scale. At the moment I am no where near the ball and my energy level is low. My low is probably normal for some people, and if that is the case, then I don't know how they function. I'm struggling with this, and I still have a thousand words left to write for my article.

Speaking of my article...The amount of work I have to do within the next 18 days makes me exhausted just thinking about it. It came out of no where. Well, not really. It just seems like it did. I had this grandiose idea that I would get nearly all of it done either before or during my all but too brief Thanksgiving break. That didn't happen. So now I have no choice but to do it all now, and avoid death in the process.

So it's back to work for me and for everyone else for the next three weeks. Then we can go home and relax for a bit until the whole cycle starts all over again.

Wish us luck!

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.

Seventeen

365 days ago I wrote a post entitled "Seventeen" because I was going to be home in seventeen days. Well, I decided to do it again.

In seventeen days, I will once again be home for Thanksgiving break. With the exception of Ear Training (I have a test the Monday after break), I want to be work-free. I've been a bit of a slacker lately, and I have more work now than I did at this time last year I think. Well, it's a different kind of work. I like the work I have now much more than I did last year. A lot more. Even the stuff I really don't like to do isn't that bad. It's just boring.

I have the privilege of registering for class a week before everyone else because I'm a Peer Advisor. I have a great schedule, too. No classes on Monday and no classes before 11. My Thursday's intense: class 11-1 and then 2-8 with no break. My last class of the day is with Jay Fialkov, so it's all good. Most importantly, I have Paul Stiller for Ear Training 4. I based my schedule around his class. I'm potentially taking a harmony course on the Beatles. I have to test out of Harmony 4 to do so. Or I can try for a waiver. I'll have to investigate.

I need to get on a better schedule. These next 17 days can kick my ass into gear. The best thing is, at the end of the 17 days, I get to go home and see all my friends that I haven't seen in a while. Including the one and only Bob Thompson.

Berklee Music Business Club Fall 2009 New York Trip

This post is to provide a schedule and necessary information for all members of Berklee's Music Business Club (MEISA) who are going on the New York Trip. This post is also intended to inform other members of the Berklee Community about MEISA and the New York trips that happen every semester.

To club members going on the trip, if you find these links do not provide much information (head's up: a few don't), then try researching the company online. There are many interviews floating around the web.

For those of you that stumbled upon this, welcome! MEISA/Berklee's Music Business Club is a group of students that are interested in the current state of the music industry. We meet once a week to discuss hot topics going on, have the occasional guest speaker, and to plan trips such as this. Recently we helped organize Berklee's Music Business/Management Department's Autumn Affair. If you would like to keep up with us, check out our Netvibes page to see what we're discussing, and feel free to email us at berkleemuiscbusinessclub [at] gmail [dot] com.

Thursday, November 12th

ASCAP (10.00AM)
Try to become familiar with their "about us" page as well as the rest of the site. ASCAP is a performing rights organization, often referred to as a "PRO."

Sirius Radio (10.00AM)
Browse their "about us" page. Upper-semester members, if you are interested working or interning for them, there is a "working at Sirius" page you should take a look at.

Nettwerk (12.00PM)
Some of you might remember that Terry McBride came to Berklee last semester. Nettwerk is a management company, a label, and beyond. Essentially, it's an all-inclusive media group. Check out their "about us" page and just browse the site a bit.

Remember that if you go to Crush Management, then you are also going to Shapiro Publishing. If you are going to Sony, then you are also going to Orchard.

Crush Management (2.00PM)
A management company that is home to Fall Out Boy, Panic! At The Disco, and Cobra Starship to name a few.

Sony Music (3.00PM)
We will be meeting with the Vice President of of Media Development. Sony is the parent company to many labels including Columbia, J Records, and RCA. Look around the sites to learn more about Sony and their labels.

Shapiro, Bernstein and Co. Publishing (4.00PM)
Shapiro Bernstein is one of the oldest publishing companies in America. They publish some of the biggest names in music. You can read about the history of them here.

The Orchard (5.00PM)
The Orchard is the leading distributor of digital music. Check out their site. Orchard distributes over one million songs all over the globe.

Live Nation (7.00PM)
The world's leader in putting on shows. Their mission is "to maximize the live concert experience."


Friday, November 13th:

Warner Chappell (Time 10.00)
Check out their site. They're one of the largest publishing companies in the world.

Platinum Rye Entertainment (11.30AM)
The world's "largest broker of celebrity talent." There really isn't much else on the site except for that.

Remember, if you go to Paradigm, then you cannot go to SESAC.

Paradigm Talent Agency (12.00PM) A leading entertainment talent agency in nearly every arena.

SESAC (1.00PM) Known as "the other" performing rights organization. Their membership is by invitation only, and their roster is about five percent of ASCAP's.

Fahrenheit Media Group (3.00PM)
Look at their site. This visit is not yet confirmed.

Cornerstone Promotion (3.00PM)
There's a link to a recent article about them. If you are going to Cornerstone, be sure to check it out.

Sterling Sound (5.00PM)
Sterling is the world's largest mastering studio. Take a look at the CDs they've mastered. Very impressive!

When I Can't Sleep, I Blog

I'm breaking all the cardinal-rules of trying to go to sleep: eating, listening to rock music (U2, to be more specific), and looking at a bright screen.

This whole Amy-not-going-to-bed-until-at-least-two started last week. I came home from a jam, and I was so excited, I just couldn't sleep. I slept great the following night, but then my pattern was messed up after being out until two in the morning Friday and not going to bed until three in the morning Saturday. I'm not sure I like it. I like to sleep.

I recently realized several things causing my insomnia:

1. Running. I'm not running. Exercise definitely helps you sleep, at least running helps me. I haven't gone for a run in a while. A long, long while. Blame it on my schedule, but it's my own fault. I'm not exhausting myself the way I should be in order to sleep the way I want to.

2. Midterms. I've been thinking so much about midterms that they could easily be keeping me up at night. I have one tomorrow, I mean today. It's Ear Training Part One: Dictation. I am horrific at dictation. Give me a guitar, I'll play you back the melody after listening to it once, maybe twice. Make me write it down, it's torture. This time I was smart: I scheduled a tutoring session right before my exam. I'm gonna walk in, and have my tutor play me Lydian and Mixolydian melodies for an hour. I can't think of a better way to prepare for it. Why didn't I think of this before? Paul Stiller used to (he still might) have dictation classes for Ear Training 1 and 2 on Wednesdays at 4. I went to as many as I could, and on my final dictation I got a B+. Practice makes perfect, it's just hard to practice dictation.

My other midterm I'm concerned about is Sound Reinforcement. I'm not so worried now. We reviewed in class today. As long as I do some prep work, I'll be fine.

3. Other things. I have so many little things to do. My lists are everywhere and unaccomplished, which is so unlike me. I have to get back on track. Not that I'm derailed, but my wheels are coming a little loose. Not in every area. Usually my guitar chops get lost in the shuffle (oddly enough) when I'm at school, but I've been spending a lot of time playing. Which is great. I didn't play nearly enough my first two semesters.

I've been thinking too much lately about everything. I think I'm thinking about sleeping too much.

I'm listening to U2's Zooropa, and I feel like it's December of 2008 during finals week because this album was my soundtrack. My mom called me sometime that week, probably that Tuesday, to tell me that she never bought the plane tickets to fly to DC for my cousin's wedding, but it ended up being the best mistake she ever made. A massive blizzard was headed for Boston the day we were supposed to fly. We would have missed our flight. Having never bought the tickets, we got a last-minute deal to fly out on Thursday and we ended up staying at the Willard and eating at Old Ebbit's Grill that night. It's amazing how I associate all that with Zooropa. And the Devil Wears Prada. I watched that movie eight times that week I think. I would put it on whenever I could. Ask my old roommate. Throughout November and December it was on all the time.

I could go on for a while now, but I need to stop myself and try and sleep.

Thank you for reading my late-night ramblings. I hope there are fewer of them.

Six of Ten: Bob Thompson

My graduation party. June 2008

Anyone that knows me more than to just say hello to knows who Bob is. For those of you that read this and don't know who Bob is, you're about to find out. I was going to save him for the last influence post, but after having dinner with him yesterday, I can't wait that long.

Bob is my favorite person in the world. He's my second-dad, my guitar teacher, my go-to guy to talk about anything with. He's the greatest. I adore that man like you wouldn't believe. Let's put it this way: my mom once said, "If Bob told you to jump off a bridge, you would." I replied, "...Yeah, but Bob would never tell me to jump off a bridge so we don't have to worry about that." I told that to him yesterday over our every-six-weeks-or-so-catch-up-dinner-now-that-I'm-back-in-school dinner. He laughed, and he agreed because he knows it's true.

I met Bob through a mutual friend/guitar player when I was sixteen. I had just finished up lessons with my former teacher Tom. At my last lesson with Tom, he said, "I've taught you everything I can teach you. You gotta go to Bob." Mark (mutual friend/guitar player) was very adamant about me taking lessons with Bob. So I emailed him, told him my shpeel (Berklee, pop/rock/blues lover, Eric Clapton freak, etc...), and shortly after that I began taking lessons with Bob. I had no idea how much impact that one email would have on me.

My first lesson was sometime in May of 2007. I had never met Bob before, I'd only emailed him a few times. The second I walked into his house, it was an instantaneous friendship. A typical guitar lesson is an hour long. My first lesson with Bob was two. My second lesson was three. My third lesson was four. You get the idea. I think the longest lesson I've ever had was six hours. It was a lesson, a clinic, and just some hang time with Bob. It was almost like we'd known each other forever and we were (I should say are) making up for lost time. My friends kind of hated my lessons during the summer because I'd be gone from 4.15 to at least 9.00. Often times I wouldn't pull into my driveway until 10.

Now the entire time wasn't spent playing. Bob and I like to talk a lot. A lot. We talk about everything. It's one of the best and it's probably the most natural friendship I've ever had with anyone. I trust him one hundred percent, which is why I can tell him anything. Not only do we talk a lot, we laugh a lot. Just last night, I set him up perfectly for a joke. It was great. I make fun of him, he makes fun of me. It's all good. He tries to get my going, and sometimes I let him because it's all in good fun.

When I left for school last year, I didn't cry when I said goodbye (temporarily, of course) to anyone. Except for when I said goodbye to Bob. It was heart-wrenching. I get sad just thinking about it. I was sad again when I said goodbye to him in August. It was a different kind of sad, but nonetheless, I was not happy, and it was not easy. I kept prolonging leaving. He could tell, and he didn't try to stop me. I would often play that game with him even in lessons. I love spending time with him. There'd be a lull, I'd quickly glance at the clock, and it would be way too early to call it a night (often times this would be about two and a half hours into a lesson). So I'd ask a question, or say something and we'd start right up again. To this day I still do this with people.

Anyway, back to Bob. Before I met Bob, my friends would ask me what I did with my life before guitar came into the picture. I don't know, really. I did what everyone else did, and I still do, only now guitar takes up much more of my free time. Now my friends ask me who did I have before Bob. And honestly, I don't know. To think about not knowing Bob is very strange to me. He fit right into my life instantly. I can't imagine him not being there. I survived sixteen years without him. It's funny how that happens.

When I would go on vacation, no matter how much fun I was having, part of me couldn't wait to get back home and have a lesson/hang with Bob. We'd play, we'd eat, we'd talk, we'd play, and he became such a part of my routine. He still is. My lessons (up until this summer) were on Mondays. Most kids hate Monday because it's the start of the school week. I loved Mondays (I still do) because it meant that two hours after I got home from high school that I would get ready for my weekly God-knows-how-long lesson.

I've grown exponentially as a musician thanks to Bob. Everything about my skills as a musician are better thanks to him. I don't think I'd be at Berklee if it weren't for him. He (and others) say(s) otherwise, but I don't.

Yesterday my mom said (in reference to me enjoying coming home once in a while), "She gets to see all the people she loves, her mother, her father, her sister, her friends, Bob, and she gets to play her guitar...Let me put that in the correct order: she loves BOB, her guitar, her mother, her father, her sister, and her friends. She won't deny it, either. And we know it's true." It is. For example, I went home for a long weekend in February not to see my parents, but to go out to dinner with Bob.

I would not be the same person had I not met Bob. I can't think of anyone that has had so much of an impact on me so fast. He's one of the greatest people I have ever met, and the person (with the exception of a few high school friends that aren't in Boston) I by far miss the most when I'm not in Maine.

Clearly, I could go on for hours about Bob. I miss him big time when I'm here at Berklee. As much as I love it here, I often catch myself counting down the days (46 or 47) until I get to see Bob again.

What do I do now? I just get lost in my college life, which I love almost as much as Bob.

The Subject Box Looked Naked Empty

I've been working on Ear Training for probably three hours or so now. I think that qualifies for a break.

I hate it, but I'm determined to get an A. So therefore I will continue to solfege the life out of me. I got a B on the first recitation. I have three more, and I have to get A's on them all. I also had my first dictation exam yesterday. I'm not sure how I did on it. They're hard to study for. The one thing I must say I like better about my dictation exams this year is that the rhythm and the melodies are separate. Instead of having to hear dotted-eighth notes and sixteenth rests, I only have to watch for quarter notes and half notes. That's nice.

Enough about Ear Training, I'll be going back to it after this.

I can't believe it's Tuesday. I am so confused on my days. That's what epic weekends in New York and New Jersey do to you. Now I'm all lost, and it's only going to get worse because I'm going home this weekend. I have a wedding to go to. It should be a lot of fun. Monday's a holiday (Columbus Day. Yes, we here in New England celebrate it--be jealous), which means Tuesday becomes Monday here at Berklee. It's confusing for everyone, and my entire internal calendar will be thrown off for probably the rest of the semester. Between this past weekend, next weekend, Halloween, possibly a trip to New York the first weekend of November, the Business Club trip to New York November 11th-14th, and Thanksgiving, I think all hope is gone. It's not necessarily a bad thing, I just have to pay a lot more attention.

I had a great meeting with Peter Spellman today. He's the head of Berklee's Career Development Center (CDC). The CDC is probably the most underutilized (is that a word?) resource at Berklee. It's also one of the greatest. Located on the 6th floor of the Uchida Building, it's a bit off the beaten path, but makes for a great place to get away without really going away. Peter and I talked about everything from my future to baseball to how attractive Tom Brady is. I had been meaning to go for a while now, but I just didn't. Now I'm going to stop by every week for an hour or so because it's a resource I need to use more.

Great things are going to be happening in the next few months. I'll be sure to tell you all about it either here or on my tumblog. All the posts from here go there (as I mentioned in a previous post), so either one works. I'm not quite sure why I have both, but I like them. So I guess that's why I've got two.

Anyway, as much as I don't want to, I should get back to Ear Training. That test ain't gonna do itself! Sadly...

Berklee 2.0

This post is so overdue it's not even funny.

I'm a sophomore/third-semester student at Berklee College of Music. The Greek definition of a sophomore is a wise fool. I may be a sophomore, but I don't think I'm a wise fool. I know a lot more about everything this year than I did last year, but I still know I don't know that much.

Last year was an incredible year. I learned so much and met/befriended some of the most amazing people. I would have loved to have started last year the same way as this year. I know it would have been impossible/entirely different, but I feel much better about this year. I'm forever the optimist, and I was an optimist last year, too. There's something different this year...I have a whole new level of optimism and confidence I had no idea I could muster. Even now as I type this alone in the dark, I glance over at my guitars and I get a rush of gusto, if you will. It's an incredible feeling. I wish I could share it with everyone.

Back to Berklee. I have a great schedule this semester. I'm done at one on Thursdays and I have no classes on Friday! Next semester I think I'm gonna flip it and have no classes on Monday. I think I'd like that more. Not that I'm complaining, but if I can do it, I will. Plus, Paul Stiller, aka P-Stills, normally has his Ear Training 4 class on Wednesdays and Fridays. He offered it to me this semester at the last minute (some foolish person dropped it), but I opted to stay in mine because it would give me Fridays off. I probably should have taken him up on the offer but RIck DiMuzio's a nice guy and a good teacher.

I think part of my new-found outlook on life has to do with being a Peer Advisor. It's kind of empowering, not that I'm power-hungry, but it's cool to say, 'Yeah, I'm a Peer Advisor.' I usually get a very enthusiastic response and it's probably the best job on campus. I can't get enough of it.

Scotty Johnson is just about the coolest guitar teacher in the department. I'm really enjoying my lessons with him. He has such a high level of energy and enthusiasm. He's so encouraging. If I don't take him next semester, I'll definitely take his Musical Theater lab. Not only do I love him, I have a burning desire to write a musical. I love musical theater. I've seen just about every show on Broadway that's out right now. There are sixteen musicals out not counting shows in previews. I've seen twelve. I've seen six in the past six months--including Hair twice.

Here's a little twist for you. Last year I was kind of missing having books to study from. I find that having a book makes it easier because you know exactly what to do. This year I have five books (not the workbooks you get for Ear Training and Harmony), and I miss not having them. It's more fun to explore on your own. As much as I enjoy economics, it can get a little dry and that book isn't exactly appealing all of the time.

On that note, I really love my business classes. Especially Taxation in the Music Industry. Everything is deductible! Well, not everything, but I never realized how much you can write off. When worded properly, I think your whole life could be deductible. My teacher is hysterical. I learned that Mick Jagger's lips are insured. Who would have thought...

What else, what else...There's so much to say. As you may or may not have noticed, I don't have any labs or ensembles this semester. I like it because it let's me focus on my private lessons more. I don't like it because I miss learning not only from different instructors but other students as well. Next semester I'll take at least one lab.

My History class is pretty sweet. Not as good as Shirley Tardif's class (BHS kids will understand), but hey, no class ever will be so I'm okay with that. My Sound Reinforcement class is interesting, but the book is so dry. It's a class that is much better in practice than in theory.

So that's about it for Berklee stuff. I've been playing a lot lately with some friends, and it's been good. It's only gonna get better. Be on the lookout for shows in, around, and out of the Boston area in the near future (November-ish).

I also have a great social life this year. Not that I didn't last year, but this year has been much more exciting. So far I've been to two winning Red Sox games (at this point last year I think I was at five, but I had a losing record and in my defense the Sox have been away a lot since I've been at school), and saw U2. I've gone out a lot more. I won't be in town the next two weekends because I have to go to New York (yes, I have to go haha) this weekend. The following weekend I have to go home for a wedding and to have my six-week catch-up dinner with Bob. It'll be good to get away. I haven't been away-away yet. I've been at BU (Boston University) a lot, but no where beyond the state line. It'll be good. No, it'll be great. Don't get me started on New York. There are a few posts about my love for it already.

On that note, I think I'm gonna try and go to bed. I wanted to two hours ago. Clearly that didn't happen. I'm not so sure my morning run will, either...Ah, well. Always tomorrow.

Anyway, I will be posting more regularly either here or my tumblog. All the posts that go here also go there so yeah. It's all good.

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.

City Obsession

I'm currently sitting in Connecticut traffic en route to my favorite city on this side of the pond, New York.

The other day I realized that I have an obsession with New York. All my favorite TV shows are New York-based (30 Rock, Seinfeld, Sex and the City, Ugly Betty). Billy Joel is from New York (so is Alicia Keys). A large part of the music industry is in New York, as well as all my favorite places to eat.

You can't be bored in New York. If you are, then you're a boring person. I'm paraphrasing that a bit, but I believe it. The things to do in New York are endless. As are the opportunities, which is one of the main reasons I'm so in love with it. I feel like anything is possible in New York. I do believe that anything really is possible, but when I'm in Manhattan that feeling is multiplied by a million. Just the thought of it makes me smile.

In a few hours time, I will be walking through Grand Central to hop on a 4 train to my hotel. It's almost as if all my time spent in the city is practice for when I live there, and I will no longer need to obsess over a dream because it won't be a dream anymore.

It will be reality.

Another Post

I used to be a regular blogger, what happened to me? The summer weather has me spending less time online and more time outdoors. I've also been heavy into karate again (I have about half an hour until my next lesson), and I've just been neglecting my blog. I'm torn between keeping this or only using my tumblog. These posts feed right into there, but those don't feed into here.

I'll keep this for now, but I'm not sure how much longer.

Anyway, I've been writing a lot of songs lately, which is great! I'm excited to get to work on them. I've also been transcribing a boatload of Beatles songs for my lessons, and because they're amazing. The songs are beyond perfect. My next influential post may have to be about them.

I'm going to New York on Thursday. I'm very excited to return to my semi-adopted home. I haven't been since May. I'm overdue for a visit. I swear I could write albums worth of music about New York. I may do that. Write ex-number of songs about the City. I already have one. It's over there on the right. I have a better version that I should post soon.

This has been kind of scattered. I think I'm gonna go now.

Five of Ten: Mick Jagger/Keith Richards/The Rolling Stones

The second you see this, you know what comes next. It's arguably the most recognizable band logo of all time.













Keith Richards is the most unlikely guitar hero. Maybe that's why I love him so much. He doesn't play flashy solos, he probably couldn't tell you the modes in a major key, nor does he do anything really esoteric.

That's what makes him so awesome, and that's why I was drawn to him and the Rolling Stones. The music the Rolling Stones created (the songs he and Mick pegged) is pure rock 'n' roll (with the exception of their brief/somewhat disastrous disco phase) with a heavy undertone of blues. The Stones started off as a blues band. They also had a few hits before Satisfaction took over the world.

Enough about their history. There are countless books that have it.

I owe this one to my mom. She was a child of the British Invasion, and loved the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. She got 40 Licks for Christmas one year, and that was my first adventure into possibly the biggest musical influence in my life. I played (and still do play) those CDs for hours. I remember sitting in my bedroom trying to master the solo in Sympathy For The Devil. My friend taught me Brown Sugar when I was 15 and to this day it's my favorite song to play--in or out of Open G tuning.

Let's go back to Keith. I have a 1952 Butterscotch Blonde Fender Telecaster Reissue mainly because of Keith. He played them. I wanted one. Bad. I was in Sam Ash in New York City in April of 2006, tentatively on a mission for a new guitar. And it was definitely going to be a Telecaster. I walked into the main room, and I didn't see anything I liked. So I walked through the door on the right, and right in front of me was a beautiful Telecaster. There was no name on it. I picked it up, and plugged into a Fender amp, strummed an E chord, and knew instantly I had to have it.

My dad came in shortly after, and I said to him, 'I'm not leaving the store without this guitar.'

He laughed, and said, 'Well, happy birthday.' I think I was shocked that he bought me that guitar. He knew I was serious, though--about that guitar and playing guitar in general. I had been playing a Silvertone strat for over two years. I felt like I really earned that guitar. I remember the feeling of pure elation as I walked down the streets of Manhattan carrying my Telecaster in its beautiful tweed case. I felt like a real guitar player that day.

To this day, I often find myself coming up with riffs that Keith himself could have concocted up. Some people say he's lazy. I don't care. He's written some of the greatest guitar hooks ever. Jumpin' Jack Flash, Satisfaction, Honkey Tonk Women, and Gimme Shelter to name a few. Wild Horses is one of my favorite ballad-y songs ever.

I recently purchased a Fulltone OCD, and I discovered that I can pretty much match the sound of any Stones song (with distortion, that is). I had a big grin on my face for the rest of the night after I discovered that.

When people used to ask me who I wanted to sound like, I always responded with, 'Keith Richards and Eric Clapton combined.' I wanted the solos of Eric and the feel and rhythm of Keith. I'm still working on combining the two.

I saw the Stones in January of 2006. I probably had the worst seats in the house, but I didn't really care. I heard all my favorite songs live, and witnessed Mick Jagger in his full-on lunatic stage mode. It was fantastic.

Speaking of Mick Jagger. I really haven't talked much about him.

In another life, Micky Mick and I were married. I'm convinced haha! He is the world's greatest entertainer. The man does not stop for a second on stage. On the Steel Wheels tour, he would run up to four miles a night! His stage presence and sense of performance are second to none. He just keeps going and going and going. I used to blast the Stones and run around my house in a Mick-like fashion. I would also strap on a guitar and play along with what I could. Back then I preferred being Mick to Keith when it came to pretend-performance. I could have more fun with it because I wasn't plugged in.



I can't write this post and not mention what Keith calls "The Ancient Form of Weaving." The Stones have had a few lead players. Brian Jones, who was killed in his pool. Mick Taylor, who was with them when they recorded arguably their best albums (Let It Bleed, Sticky Fingers, and Exile On Main Street). And my personal favorite, Ronnie Wood. Keith and Ronnie are the "Weavers." Listen to Beast Of Burden, and you'll know what I mean. The two of 'em flow so effortlessly in and out of each other's playing. If they weren't both married, I'd say they might be a couple themselves. Anytime you see a picture of them, they look like a happy couple.



Charlie Watts, the backbone and the provider of the backbeat, is a human metronome. Like Keith, he's not flashy, but he never misses a beat. I wish I had more to say on Charlie. He's a fighter. I'll leave it at that.



As for Bill Wyman, I really have nothing to say. I don't think leaving the band was a good move on his part, but hey, to each his own. I've also heard from many Rolling Stones fans that it's just not the same without him--live, that is.

Here's something I find a little funny. My senior year, I had a class on Bob Dylan (yes, it was wicked cool). During the first class, my teacher played us two covers of Dylan songs. He doubted that anyone would know who was singing. Well, I knew. I guessed correctly, I should say. The first song didn't take me too long to get--it was Sheryl Crow. Other kids guessed right, too. The second one, however, was not so easy to the rest of the class. They were all like, 'Who IS this?' I sat there, focusing very hard on the CD player, and said, 'Keith. Richards.' My teacher laughed and said "very good!" He was somewhat shocked that I had gotten it right. I was quite impressed with myself, as was the rest of the class.

Anyway. Lately I've been working on some "blues-fusion," mainly Robben Ford songs. While I do enjoy playing that style, I'm not aspiring to have a career in that realm. I'll take what I can from those songs and incorporate it back into straight rock, giving my music (mainly the guitar solos) a bit of a different touch.

Robben Ford, you may be wicked good, but you ain't got nothin' on the Rolling Stones in my book.

He's Done It Again

Roger Federer won his 15th Grand Slam tournament by beating Andy Roddick in another epic match at Wimbledon. The final set lasted thirty games, which is a record. The whole match broke a record (more games than any other match). Andy put up a phenomenal fight, but Roger slowly broke him down physically, mentally, and probably emotionally. If you watched the match, you probably noticed that Roger was not anywhere nearly as sweaty or tired-looking as Andy was.

I became infatuated with Roger some time ago. Having always been a mild tennis fan, I became a much bigger fan in the past few years mainly due to Roger (and the Williams sisters, especially Serena). I used to play, and I might have to start playing again soon.

The best part of this? I finally get my hat!