He started making music by writing a song for his girlfriend.
Wow, that is cool.
I wish my boyfriend could do that too ;)
Being asked in an SSG Music interview whether he would have started playing music if there hadn´t been a girlfriend at that time, he gave the response: “I would have found another reason probably, maybe like a dead pet ... there could have been a million reasons. [...]”
You don´t know who I am talking about?
Well, then have a look.
Source: Facebook
Do you recognize this guy?
Well, maybe not at first sight.
But I bet you know the lines of the following song
“My old man he kicked me out
He kicked me out
When I told him I lived this way “ ~ Arrows
Oh, yeah that was the guy who made this song with Macklemore and Ryan Lewis.
You´re right. The guy I am talking about is called Chris Mansfield. Never heard of him?
Well, he is better known as FENCES, a nom de plume which he has taken from an August Wilson play.
FENCES is a band consisting of lead vocalist Chris Mansfield, Ben Greenspan at the guitar, Lindsey Starr playing the bass and last but not least the drummer Elliott Chaffee.
At the beginning of his career, Mansfield was invited to record some songs at the studio of the Candadian duo Tegan and Sara. The beginnings of the band started off in Nashville with the producer Jacquire King who worked for "Of Monsters and Men" and the drummer of "Death Cab for Cutie" Jason McGerr.
Ben Greenspan and Chris Mansfield wrote a bunch of songs ... but in which direction should this whole stuff go?
At that time, the producer Chris Walla (who is also the guitarist of "Death Cab for Cutie") showed up and with a lot of talent he managed to turn songs into that which we now know as the latest album “Lesser Oceans” which was released in 2014.
Source: iTunes
The album “Lesser Oceans” contains a lot of catchy lyrics and music which will be stuck in your ear for a long time.
“Well this life can be such a devil.
So I wrote the songs about angels.
I took my coat, I went to the city. [...]”
With this lines the album´s opener “Songs about angels” is introduced. I think he is right with saying that life can be a devil ... well, it can. It might also be beautiful and colourful. The music is simple and the lyrics go deep. Somewhere in the song the says “For you I would do anything” which is followed by the line “I think that death is coming around and I like it.”
It may sound strange but I´ll leave it to your own interpretations ;)
“I confess that I love you more than the dogs at the table.”
“Dogs at the table” is considered being a love song as well as several others like “Sunburns” in which he described him dreaming of a brunette with curly hair. Besides, it is a nice thing to know that a girl is prefered to dogs ;)
“And man I loved her like it hurt. When being buried I´d prefer she be the dirt.”
~ Sunburns
Although both songs include lyrics which deal with the topic of love, “Sunburns” is a faster song and with more rock elements in it whereas “Dogs at the table” is something to come down and just chill and listen to the lyrics.
“Running Off The Gods” is the most emotional song on the whole album.
“People all around me / are telling me I'm so damn lucky / In getting what I wanted / I became so goddamn ugly.”
Underlined with smooth guitar sounds the song invites the listener to dream and maybe let his own thoughts flow.
Hard words though. Most people hide this weakness from others but Fences clearly points it out loud. Sometimes it is better to face the problems and the things you are worried about and start doing something to make you feel better :)
In “Lesser Oceans”, the titletrack, Chris Mansfield becomes melancholy “I know, I know, that I'm getting older. I don't think they really like me. If I could just stay a little longer”. He also pulls out nostalgic memories “Think back, to the time we drove to Park Slope for a walk. It's okay, it's far away.”
“I know this body isn´t my real home. But skin and bones.”
In “Temple Dreaming” he reflects a lot about other people and about himself. Maybe you´ll also think about yourself and about the fact that music can change a lot when it has good lyrics. It can affect your life and you can become stronger by inhaling the messages the songs want to give you.
Source: billboard.com
The song “Arrows” I mentioned above came into being because he asked his friends Macklemore and Ryan Lewis if they were interested in working with him on that song and so they worked together a third time after having produced several other songs like “Otherside”. It is something like one of the best tracks on the whole album.
It is about making your own way and doing your own things no matter what other people say.
To conclude this in an appropriate manner:
Check out Fences on his official website www.fencesmusic.com as well as on Facebook and listen to his music via YouTube or Spotify where he also has a lot more to offer than I´ve just shown you.
So have fun with the album!
“The cameras off, the show is over.
You close the curtains and just escape.”
Speaking of addiction, most of you probably think about people knockin back a lot of alcohol each day or drug addicts.
But addiction doesn´t necessarily have to have a negative connotation.
(It can, though.)
I am addicted to . . .
. . . MOVIES
source: moviepilot.com
You can´t decide which of the many actors in our universe you like best.
You have watched almost every movie existing (only the good ones of course) and you like to impress people with your film knowledge.
You change your real life to a movie and impress your friends by citing famous movie characters like Batman´s Joker or Gollum from "The Lord of the Rings".
Well, if those things mentioned above are familiar to you, you should probably consider ... no, not seeing a doctor, but facing the truth that you are a movie addict.
But don´t worry. Being addicted to movies is not that bad ... well, maybe it is.
You´re just getting on your friend´s nerves by saying things like "Why so serious?". Ah well, and sooner or later you will have a real money problem because you went to the cinema too often or have bought too many DVDs.
You´re not a big fan of watching movies at the cinema or supporting the local economy by buying movies on DVD? Then ... congratulations! You are not a movie addict. But there are a few more addictions ... maybe you´ll find out, which one you can relate best to.
. . . SHOPPING
source: huffpost.com
"Honey, how was your day? Stay here, I have to show you something. I went shopping."
When you hear someone saying that there are two possibilities: either stay and see what your girlfriend wants to show you ... or run away and never let the female people in your life use your credit card again (NOTE: this is not to be taken seriously!).
You can´t get enough of good-looking clothes? You use every free minute during work to call your friends to go shopping? Your wardrobe bursts at the seams? Your husband rolls his eyes as soon as you come in with shopping bags? You are not given any money anymore because your bank is worried about the amounts taken from your account each day? You can´t pass a shop window without having to look for new clothes in the shop?
Welcome to the “CoSA” (Club of Shopping Addicts). You are now an exclusive member of this noble club in which you are going to learn everything from knowing shops where to make the best bargains to the techniques to assure your bank that you are not addicted.
STOP! When you answered all those questions with a clear “YES!”, you are definitely addicted!
To all the ladies who suffer from this terrible need of possessing new clothes, here is one tip:
Go see a doctor who can help you!
To all the poor gentlemen suffering from the addiction of your girlfriend by noticing that the wardrobe is a bit ... deformed, here an advice for you to help your girlfriend break the addiction:
Just let the clothes disappear a bit! Not much, just take every day one thing you have never noticed your girlfriend wearing it. Trust me, it will help ;)
. . . GAMBLING
“What do you wanna do today?” - “Let´s go to the new casino! I just received my salary! Let´s have fun tonight!”
Fun ... another word for: Let´s play.
source: longwoods.com
“I've never been a gambling man. I've never had the winning hand. But for you I'd lose it all.” ~ Gambling Man
This song by The Overtones called “Gambling Man” perfectly fits the current situation. Imagine you being asked to come to a casino for having fun, which means gambling.
You are sitting in front of a sparkling slot-machine and you feed it with your coins.
Suddenly it shows three identical signs and as a reward you get the double amount of coins you´ve just put in. You are on fire! You start looking in your wallet for more and more coins to feed the machine with. The machine is hungry and you want to make new achievements and of course you want to get back the coins you just lost. In the next round you don´t have much luck. The slot-machine takes off its masquerade and reveals its real face. You don´t get any money back.
Desperately, you take your last coins you got with you and put them into the machine, praying you will win this time.
But ... bad luck. The machine pretended to be your friend at the beginning, but no, she isn´t.
You are eager to try it again the next day. Maybe the slot-machine will be in a better mood by then.
You start going to the casino daily. You start losing money. You start making depths. [...]
STOP!
You should have stopped at the point when you lost money the first time. It is a game of winning or losing and it is completely controlled by chance.
This addiction is up to now one of the worst ones I mentioned. When you wanna lose all your money to some tin box, it is your own choice. But if you don´t wanna lose the people around you because of your addiction, do something to break it!
. . . ADMIRATION
“Honey, do I look good?” - “Sure, my beloved, you look perfect.” - “No, you´re a liar. I don´t.” - “Honey, you REALLY do look perfect. I love you like you are. You don´t have to change anything.”
When a conversation like this can be heard in your home, it is time to call it ADMIRATION!
You go to the hairdresser every week to make sure your hair looks perfect.
You keep to a strict diet to get compliments of complete strangers like “Wow. You really look good.”
You enjoy being in the centre of attention. You enjoy other people staring at you.
But to say it in one word: you are looking for admiration. You are looking for people, who tell you all the time that you are perfect (NOTE: really nobody is perfect!) and that they admire you for your style and your look. It is not only the aspect of style which is important to you. You also pay great attention to the things you do. You raise charity organizations not to help abandoned animals, but to feel happy that other people are looking up to you for what you did.
It is not really the good thought that matters; it is all about your own well-being.
I admit, sometimes you can really ask: “Do I look good?” and be happy when a positive response is given to you.
As soon as everything else gets irrelevant and you´re only focused on what other people think about you and that those thoughts are always good, it might be the case of an addiction.
In that situation:
Go see a doctor! It might damage your health! (I´m just kidding.)
It damages your self-esteem and you should definitely work on having more confidence in yourself without being told it every time!
Last but not least ...
. . . THE WEB
source: happy-messages.com
Everyone knows them in the 21th century. The web addicts. Those people who use their laptop or their smartphone 24/7 to tell people all round the world about their thoughts via Twitter or Facebook.
I don´t judge anyone doing that. Sometimes it can really get on other people´s nerves when someone is using his laptop everywhere he goes. He has to be available all the time to tell complete strangers what he did in the last 10 hours.
Isn´t that crazy?
Our world today is dependent on social media.
But, do we really have to be online 24/7? Is it that important that we can read every tweet of some celebrities? Or is it really necessary to let everyone know where we are at the moment and share every single moment of your private life with the whole world?
Sometimes I feel like for some people the real world doesn´t exist anymore.
So my advice: Go out, meet real people and break your addiction! You can make it!
YARA
NOTE: This whole entry is not to be taken that seriously, except some parts.
It doesn´t reflect any personal experiences or opinions.
I am using a lot of humour in it (just to avoid misunderstandings).
The answer to that question could be: "We are in the crowd."
Just change the arrangement of words a bit ;)
And no, this is not someone looking for friends in the crowded place of a festival.
Did I catch your interest?
Close your eyes, let the stream of music flow through your veins and just rock out!
Source: buzzworthy.mtv.com
We Are The In Crowd is a quintett from Poughkeepsie, NY, consisting of lead singer Taylor Jardine, guitarist/vocalist Jordan Eckes, guitarist Cameron Hurley, bassist Mike Ferri and drummer Rob Chianelli.
But ... what makes this band so special? Well, I can tell you: Some people just don´t need a lot to be considered special.
The tunes easily find their way into your ear and they´re stuck in there.
Although their videos (which you can easily access on youtube as well as on spotify) are a blast, their live versions are even better.
Taylor stage presence is incredible! She is one of those people who make you wanna be like them because of her ... I don´t wanna call it perfect because nobody is perfect ... but ... individuality.
Speaking of individuality, the sounds of two guitars, drums and of course Taylor´s and Jordan´s incredible voices make We Are The In Crowd outstanding.
The whole band has released a bunch of songs, you can relate to.
An example will show you what I mean:
"[...] I think I slept right through the good part
But somehow I’m still tired
I know it’s time to make a new start
I can’t seem to find a way
To walk out of my head
I’m afraid of what I’d miss
I think I slept right through the good part [...] " ~ Dreaming Out Loud
Source: http://wearetheincrowd.com/
Sometimes everyone of us is afraid of missing the important or good parts in life.
Wouldn´t it be a real gift for people just having the ability of pressing the
"restart"-button or just to reverse time up to the moment you want to change?
Well, I think sometimes it would be good. On the other hand, questions like the following raise "In which way does it help you? Are you willing to change your life once you get the chance to? Are you ready to leave it all behind and start completely from the beginning?"
Everyone has to find the answer which fits best to his or her lifestyle.
We Are The In Crowd definitely managed to remove all doubts because they are a really good band of the pop/rock genre.
Not all of their songs want to make you stand up and feel like a rocker. Sometimes it is better just to chill and come down, what is shown by the song
"Kiss Me Again".
Just listening to the lyrics, it can be seen as a love song. Underlined with rockin sounds made by the guitars and the drums, Taylors voice is stunnin as always. The mixture of rock and great lyrics could even soften the heart of someone always listening to hardcore rock music.
You will be hearing the - maybe to that moment of time unknown - voice of Alex Gaskarth, a guy which perfectly fits the lead singers voices.
This was a small glimpse on the band We Are The In Crowd.
When you liked that article, just follow the band on tumblr or facebook.
For those of you who want to visit a concert, the band is currently on tour.
Check out their official page http://wearetheincrowd.com/
or have a look at the dates on facebook.
I know you hear me now. We are a different kind. We can do anything.
We could be heroes. ~ Alesso
We could be heroes? Do you really think it is that easy?
Yes, of course. Some people have the dream of being a superhero like Spiderman or Batman and saving the City of Gotham. But ... is it really that simple?
When can a hero can be called a hero?
I can say: I helped my old neighbor by working in the garden and I saved a bird which was caught by a cat. Do those actions really make a hero out of me?
Well, in our imagination, they do.
Doing good things doesn´t make you a hero at all.
I don´t think there is an exact definition of a heroic moment.
You might feel like a hero when you achieved something which is important to you and maybe is concerning the people around you.
Some people want to feel admired for what they do, but only a few really help to change something in real life.
Like in a movie: you can change things, you can fight the bad guys and you can be celebrated for having made an achievement which saved your friends or family.
Maybe it is just the feeling ...
Or everyone is born to be a hero. Just start being one. :)
YARA
Change the game. Don´t let the game change you. ~ Macklemore
Just a quick intro of myself.
I am a person who loves writing and everything that has to do with art.
(I know, everyone says that, blabla.)
In the following weeks you will find here everything concerning music, arts, stories and stuff which I think might be interesting and important.
Maybe I´ll also post some art works I did myself.
Stay tuned to see more :)
YARA
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