When we do more than just listen.

Here I will talk endlessly about music. You can, too. Click here to see what I'm listening to on Spotify

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Stop saying “...is my guilty pleasure.”

           This idea of guilty pleasure music is insulting to your true self. My guilty pleasure used to be Kelly Clarkson. I thought my emo-loving self couldn’t actually be into some true pop music so I had to classify it as something different. Turns out, I just like it - plain and simple!

           Whenever I was riding in the car with people and in charge of the music, I would hover over the ‘next’ button incase a “guilty pleasure” came up on shuffle. Wouldn’t that just be the worst? Actually, it wouldn’t be. I stopped thinking of certain music as something I shouldn’t like (but do) but instead just thinking of it as another musical interest of mine. If I can go from Fall Out Boy to Protest The Hero, then I can certainly go the other way to Olivia Holt or Lorde. You can’t be ashamed of what makes your cells excited.

           This has less to do with music and more to do with accepting who you and your evolving tastes. If someone listened to my iTunes on shuffle, they would probably think a lot of it sounds the same. The truth is, it does. I listen to a lot of bands delivering a similar sound, but they’re what make my world what it is. They give me shows to go to and lyrics to relate to and scream while I’m driving. I used to download endless indie/lo-fi records to give my library some depth but I really didn’t enjoy it. Now I’m true to me and save a lot of space on my hard drive that way.

           Calling something your guilty pleasure takes away from the efforts of the musician. You’re saying their work isn’t good enough to be proud of. I’m sure they go into the industry knowing not everyone is going to like what they do, but it’s absolutely bizarre for someone to like them but be completely ashamed of it. Love Every Time I Die and Avril Lavigne? Cool, me too. I have Avril’s first two albums in my iTunes and know all the words because I genuinely like her.

           Pride, a deadly sin, is considered to be the excessive admiration of the self. Musical elitism isn’t a cool thing to feign. Integrity is a cool thing to strive for.

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Punchline wants to make a Netflix special and you should be into it.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/punchline/help-punchline-make-a-netflix-special

           So if it hasn’t been clear so far, on this blog I would really love to focus in on the emotional connections we make not just with music but the individuals of the bands as humans because that’s usually the even more memorable part. Example: I’ve stopped paying to see Brand New because I give all my insides to them during performances and receive little attempt at connection in return and it exhausts me. Their music is still ever-important to me, however.

           Punchline is a band you might not have heard, but it doesn’t matter for the time being. They began making some great rock/pop-punk music a whole 20 years ago. I’ve never been committed to anything for 20 years, kudos to their perseverance. Some of their more archetypal achievements would be being signed to Fueled By Ramen and touring with Fall Out Boy, creating the indie label Modern Short Stories, and maybe appearing on Fox’s Mobbed? Success is relative.

            Their most notable accomplishment (to me) is how they have made breath-taking strides as musicians. Listen to “Punchline” or “Action” and then “Thrilled.” They amaze me because their sound has not changed to fit the current scene, which is all too common these days. I’ve never been so whole-heartedly into the evolution of a band like I am with Punchline because it just reflects their depth as individuals, which is something I used to really overlook when I was a younger fan searching for the exact same sound to be replicated from album to album. We must learn to stop looking for that nostalgic feeling every time one of our favorite bands puts out new tunes. We can connect with the songs in a different way because we also change, like when Steve Soboslai softly sings to us that “it’s gonna be different than you ever could have imagined” and we get the chills.

           Last week, we were invited into bassist Chris Fafalios’ home for a viewing of their early Rewind DVD that accompanied the EP. This was done as a super unique part of their Kickstarter campaign for their Netflix special. What a cool idea! We got behind the scenes commentary live and from a very different perspective because of how long ago it was released. To make the night even more memorable, they dug out the Action DVD and watched that with us, too - unplanned. Just because we wanted to. How sweet is that?

           The theme of the night was togetherness. We were coming together to revel in some memories and create new ones. That is their goal with (hopefully) making this Netflix special. It’s a time when we can join forces in Pittsburgh and do something really different. Of course there will be live music performances, but they described it as simply hanging out together so that in another 20 years we can watch the fun, you guessed it, TOGETHER. This is really important to me. We can all see a decent concert almost any night of the week; at least I can here in New York. We can’t always have intimate experiences with bands we’ve listened to relentlessly for 5, 15, 20 years. They want to curate that perfect moment where we are present and joyful in music and it will be beautiful for all fans to see even if they can’t attend. Will there be tomfoolery in the special as well? Obviously. Pivotal information regarding the history of the band that you won’t want to miss? Probably. Watch their Kickstarter video for a more detailed discussion on what the special will look like. Click the link because it will also sell you on the comedic styling of the group which is really unbeatable. 

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/punchline/help-punchline-make-a-netflix-special

           You should consider donating to this Kickstarter even if you don’t think that you’ll ever remember to check out this band because you know what it’s like. You’ve desired closeness to the people you look up to and expend energy on. It’s not a foreign concept. I think you also want to give back to a scene that has given you a home (more on that later). And maybe you will start listening to Punchline, so when this DVD is released we’ll watch it together via social media and you’ll feel a sense of togetherness because it doesn’t matter when you got on board, all that matters is that you found a seat by the time the train started rolling.

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I never get excited about opening bands.

           So when I do, I start to analyze why and what a band needs to do to capture a brand new audience.

           I guess Sorority Noise wasn’t all that new when they opened for The Menzingers and Bayside in August at the Starland Ballroom, but to me they were just another opening band until they started playing. To my surprise, they played like there were thousands of fans screaming in front of them and so they would fulfill their duty of blowing their minds. That is exactly what they did to me. Their sound was great but how they delivered it was different from even some of the most experienced bands.

           Lesser-known bands try to play as many shows as possible so they can gain exposure. More people hearing your songs = more fans, right? Not always right. The idea makes sense, but isn’t totally foolproof in today’s age of oversaturation. They have to connect on a deeper level while playing to make those new ears really listen and understand. I can imagine how daunting it must be to play, night after night, to kids who didn’t come to see your band and look back at you with blank faces. Seriously, it takes a lot of perseverance to keep getting back up there. But if bands can just crack the code and stop simply playing but instead playing with the intention to connect with our true essence as people, they will find success.

           An example of a band that did the exact opposite of this, to my surprise, was Saves The Day at their fifteenth anniversary of Through Being Cool. Now I wasn’t a fan of the album since it’s release in 1999 (I was literally 9), but if I were I would have been even more disappointed in their performance of the album from cover to cover. They just played it. Straight through. We didn’t talk about the album at all or how awesome it was that so many people still held it close to their hearts. We weren’t even given any time that was solely ours to sing the words that meant so much. Maybe I’m approaching this selfishly – but the tour wouldn’t have happened had we all forgotten about that album’s existence. We kept it relevant and I felt it should have been noted. It was one of the very few times I was deeply disappointed in a live show. In a future post I will talk about an amazing band called The Matches that may have set my expectations a little high for album anniversaries/shows in general. They got it right.

            After seeing Sorority Noise get down during “Nolsey,” especially the final instrumental jam that begins around 2:48 of the recorded version, I couldn’t wait to consume more of them in every way. They grabbed me by my soul and took me on a journey through their songs and it was beautiful. Playing like we were the most important fans in the world, they were impossible to ignore even though I didn’t know a single word. Members of the band surrendered themselves to the music, making it hard to remain distant in the crowd. I wanted to be a part of the experience - that’s the ticket. I felt every note and word and I promised myself to never skip an opening band again for fear of losing out on a potentially amazing experience.

(CUTTERS at Brooklyn Bazaar this past weekend gave me similar feelings. Each member was completely passionate about what they were doing and I was elated to be there though I had never heard their music.)

           I don’t remember exactly when in the set but Sorority Noise decided to get personal with us new fans. Lead singer, Cameron Boucher, told us he has bipolar disorder and also explained that if we were suffering in any way to remember that we were important. He said it much more profoundly than that, or at least it seemed profound enough to tug at our hearts and help us feel more optimistic. I can’t remember ever being talked to in such a way by any band no matter their level of fame. It was cool and took the fact that music helps us not feel so alone to a whole other level.

           Presently, Sorority Noise is one of my most played bands. They also just released their third full-length title called “You’re Not As _______ As You Think” and it pairs emotional lyrics with powerful music that is hard to not head bang to. Next time you go to a show late, you are potentially giving up discovering music that may seriously impact your life.

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When they need it just as much as we do + almost getting kicked out of Brooklyn Bazaar

           Well, it happened! The place was New York City’s Webster Hall, the date August 16, 2016. It was, of course, everything we could have ever imagined. Envy on the Coast is one of the few bands that deliver consistency again and again no matter the venue or size of the crowd. They are hard-hitting from beginning to end in terms of curating pristine set lists and never failing to connect with our souls, exhausted as we mirror Ryan Hunter’s energy.

           Nothing is more off-putting than a band that engages in painfully generic banter every couple of songs. Yeah, we’re there for the music. Most of us are there, however, because the music does a lot more for us than just sound pretty. It seeps into our blood and runs through our veins – there’s a serious physical and emotional connection happening when we listen to our favorite music. That idea in mind, imagine seeing it live! It’s easily my favorite experience and though I’ve been to (probably) almost 100 shows by now, I never get tired from it or disconnect emotionally. If I’m not ‘going through the motions,’ the creators on stage aren’t allowed to, either.

           Ryan and his best friend and band mate, Brian Byrne, would never dream of doing such a thing. Envy’s members have figured out how to talk to us because they know how intense their period of absence was for us. I begged the virtual world for them in June 2012, but we had already been without them since July-ish of 2010. We saw some amazing music within that time period from our favorite humans – North Korea, 1st Vows (wow, amazing), and The Hand That Wields It. The six-year wait was padded with some comfort of familiar voices, but we couldn’t help but yearn for screaming our favorites from back in the day at the band in a sweaty room.

           So the EOTC reunion happened (and I went into a slump the next day after experiencing something so thrilling) and we also got some nice, mellow action down on Long Island where we heard SO many great songs while raising some funds for Planned Parenthood. Ryan and Brian gathered a couple of great musicians to feed us some of their post-Envy jams, cover songs, and classics. It was a beautiful, intimate evening down to the décor, which for some reason was important to me. That night, they confirmed there would be new Envy material and we found relief. Being the pessimist I am, however, I would walk on eggshells and not get my hopes up.

           That all changed this weekend at Brooklyn Bazaar, an entertainment mecca in Greenpoint that supports a lot of things like putting on shows (mediocrely, more on that later), feeding you bar snacks, and letting you play ping pong. 2 nights of our band helping us tear the place up was just what we needed. Amazing attention to detail when it came to delivering the music paired with infectious energy coming from the whole band made a weekend we won’t ever forget. The experience was really reinforced, however, by what our friends in the band said to us. After giving us absolutely everything he had during a song, Ryan let us know how he was feeling in that moment. I can’t thank him enough for letting us into his mind and heart. He explained that he needed the experience that was transpiring even more than we did. We can now understand that all of us connecting through music is essential to his wellbeing. It brought me to tears to know that, I don’t know about anyone else. It was just a beautiful exclamation of that fact that we support them in more ways than just buying their music so they can make more.

           Then something else amazing happened – they played a new song! Let’s be honest, every time a band says “we’re gonna play a new one now” it’s always a little bit of a let down. More often than not, I just wanna head bang and sing to what I know and I’m sure I’m not alone in that. This was a completely different situation though. “Virginia Girls” was a complete jam and it’s newness made the set for me. What is super appealing to me about Envy on the Coast is their ability to make songs that are just so good to see live, so even if you don’t know the words you can still get down and get down hard. Again, utter relief. We now have more proof that they are not going anywhere. Brian’s excitement to play the new song helped put my mind at ease that they are enjoying the journey of creating together again.

           Friday night, before they started “Virginia Girls,” I heard a murmur over the venue’s PA system. Something about getting shut down, to which Brian responded something like “Okay shut us down, you’re the ones who started late.” Yeah, doors opened about 30 minutes late. They played the new song and at the end, there was more talk of getting shut down. Sure, they had already blown our faces off with an amazing performance that night, but I couldn’t imagine it ending without a song we all knew. There was an aggressive employee from the venue getting on stage, yelling at our guys to stop playing – she said they had “another show.” Irrelevant. From the crowd we stood our ground, yelling back at her as she yelled in Ryan’s face that was delivering a voice of reason, trying to say it’s literally only going to take 3:00 (Headfirst in the River clocks in at 3:48, close enough). You really had to see this scene. It was intense and I was scared but they held on and gave us our final song and gratitude rushed over me as I watched this miserable girl stand on the side of the stage when she didn’t get her way. Thankfully, Saturday went off without a hitch.

           So basically what I’m trying to say is I am so damn appreciative of this band and their constant effort to give us the best possible experiences. Since my first Envy show in December 2006 at The Ritual on Long Island when they only had a 5 song EP out, they have grown into exceptional musicians and human beings (which may be even more important).

           If you’ve stuck with me throughout this story but have never heard Envy on the Coast’s music, head on over to Spotify where you can stream their EP and both full lengths.