Live Music Archive

I received the following email today.

Dear Live Music Archive uploaders,

Thanks to your efforts the Live Music Archive is approaching a couple of major milestones. By October 2011 there should be 100,000 shows on the archive from 5,000 bands. There are already over 1.5 million tracks in the LMA.

We'd like to thank you and celebrate these achievements with a bit of swag!

Everyone receiving this email has uploaded at least 10 shows to the LMA, and we'd like to say thanks by sending you an official Internet Archive baseball hat (see the attached photo below) and maybe some other goodies.

If you'd like an Internet Archive hat, rsvp to swag@archive.org with your name and mailing address and we'll send one to you. 




Thanks for your support and your contributions to the Live Music Archive and archive.org.


To which my reaction was, "whoa, I've uploaded 10 different live recordings to the Archive?!?!"

I guess I should rewind a little bit. Back in the days of 2004-2007 (ish), I was going to a lot of local concerts, which introduced me to the taper community. Certain bands and artists gave their explicit permission to have their live concerts recorded (audio) and uploaded to the Live Music Archive so that fans around the world could get to experience shows they wouldn't otherwise be able to attend, or for those fans who were at the concert the ability to relive those good times.

I met a few tapers and became friendly with a few of them - they were known for taping live shows of Jason Mraz and John Mayer, both of whom were taper friendly, and being a fan of both, I wanted in on the action. Which led to me investing in the equipment, wiring myself up before heading to a concert, and stealthily recording these shows. And I say stealthily, because while the artists themselves might be cool with it, the venues and their security wouldn't always be quite so friendly.

I'd recorded a few local musician friends of mine, like Pete Thurston and Saba, but I'd also recorded sets from Switchfoot, John Mayer Trio, Tristan Prettyman, Future of Forestry... but I wouldn't necessarily upload them. The whole process was kinda long, because you'd have to go back and edit the recordings, and I'd get all perfectionist about the sound and not want it out there. So I haven't taped in a long time... I'm not opposed to trying again though, if there's new equipment I can get my hands on that would pair well with my iPhone, for example...

Anyways, I was taken by surprise when I got that email with an offer for a hat... because I don't think I'd uploaded that many shows (and when I search for myself, I only see 4 shows that I officially uploaded)... but it was a neat reminder of fun days in my early 20s.

(Oh - and here's a link to the shows I did upload... http://www.archive.org/search.php?query=taper%3A%22Ryan+Prades%22 )

Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-changes...

Turn and face the strain
Ch-ch-changes!

Gotta love some Bowie.

Month #3 of 2011 begins tomorrow, marking the last 90 days in the apartment. With my cousin moving back home to her parents, I'm reluctantly moving back to mine. I'm definitely going to miss having my own quiet space and that feeling of freedom after work where I can just kick back and relax... and oh my God, I'm going to be back in that tiny house with my parents again... okay breathe... breaaaaathhe...

[exhales]

I can do it. Six months, I can do this... saving up money, planning to buy a house of my own, and the time will fly. These first two months of 2011 certainly did, so the six months (at minimum) that I'll be at home should go fast as well. Knock on wood. I'll just probably be asking various friends if they want to go to a bar every evening after work... (Just kidding... kinda/sorta.)

My treat to myself though, at least I'm contemplating, is to go to New York in the summer. See the sights, a Broadway show or two, and escape... I've got the vacation hours, I'll have the money from being at home again, so I think a little action in the Big Apple for this theatre lover is appropriate.

Speaking of theatre, I have an audition tomorrow. A small local theatre company is putting on a production of Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat, and I'm going to just go for it. I'm seriously not expecting anything, since I have no theatre resume to my name, save for high school drama class (ten years ago) and skits I've been in at Flood. But since they're okay with that (I did ask first) and I had put down "go to an audition" in my 2009 list of goals (but never did that year or in 2010), I figure "why not now?" I just want to get out there and feel that pressure of theatre again, even if for two minutes. I already have my song picked out and the sheet music too! (It's not Bowie.)

Not talking about raindrops on roses, or whiskers on kittens...

This week's episode of "How I Met Your Mother" featured Barney Stinson doing a rip on Oprah's Favorite Things, which caused me to think: "what were some of MY favorite things in 2010?"

(in no particular order)

Homemade Tortilla Chips

I have an addiction. And I've boiled it down to this: crispy carbohydrates. I love them. French fries, potato chips, tortilla chips. But these things tend to be fried and not exactly healthy for you... until I came across the idea to get corn tortillas, season them a bit, spray some cooking spray, bake for 13 minutes at 375, and voila! A healthy alternative for me to get my crunch on! One corn tortilla has less than a gram of fat, only 15 grams of carbs, and makes 8 chips. Dip in salsa, and it's all good. 

Non-fat Greek yogurt

Keeping with the healthy theme, I've been getting down on some of this stuff. Non-fat, otherwise the fully loaded kind is laden with bad stuff. But this is a great snack when you want something dessert-ish, and has double the protein of regular yogurt. Throw in a bit of crunched toffee bits for flavoring up plain yogurt, or buy the pre-fruited kind. 

iPhone 4
You already know about this. You either have one, want one, or don't care. I am in love with mine, and the various camera apps (namely, Hipstamatic and Instagram). 

AppleTV

I was skeptical about this product, but I love it. It's not for everyone, but it's been great for my particular needs. I eliminated cable TV altogether to save money, since I have my ways of downloading the TV shows I do watch anyway, and I can stream all my media (music, videos, pictures) from my laptop to my big-screen TV. I can watch one thing on my laptop while streaming another movie from my laptop to the AppleTV (and thus my living room). And it allows me to access Netflix streaming and YouTube as well. Pretty cool. 

2011 Hyundai Sonata SE
So I got a new car this year, and I'm pretty happy with the choice that I made. Not too flashy or expensive, but certainly has plenty of cool features and should serve me well as I go into my late 20s and early 30s. I think this car says "Ryan" more than my two previous trucks did. 

Camelbak water bottle

Upon recommendations from friends, this is the water bottle I decided to try and am so glad I did. It's caused me to up my water consumption like 10 fold, and I use it all the time, even forgoing the use of glasses in my own home. It's spill-proof, easy-to-sip from, and comes in various colors. 

Modern Family
A hilarious comedy. It's not saccharine-sweet like the Full House-type shows of the 90s (which I loved too), but it's got plenty of heart. The cast chemistry is perfect, the characters are all a joy to watch even when they're being silly, and it's definitely worthy of the Emmy Award for Best Comedy. 

Bowflex SelectTech 552 Dumbbells

One of the new things I've gotten that I use almost every day. Easily adjustable weights that go from 5 lbs to 52 lbs. Definitely glad I invested in these, so that I can workout in my room - seeing them right by my desk, I have no excuse to not get some sort of workout in daily. 

Lin-Manuel Miranda

I've had a man-crush this year, and it's this guy. It's not just "In the Heights" and the fact that he composed the music, wrote the lyrics, and freaking starred in it on Broadway and in the LA production (which I am SO lucky to have seen). He's just so talented! He's writing a new musical based off "Bring It On", a rap CD from the perspective of Alexander Hamilton (yes, the one shot by Aaron Burr), and in his recent wedding, he organized a rad thing at the reception to surprise his wife, wherein he and the wedding party did a choreographed number to "To Life" from "Fiddler on the Roof". Check out the YouTube video. 

Incredibly sweet, right? It's also what inspired me to write the speech that I did for...

Chris and Jordan's Wedding
I like weddings. I've had a good time at the few I've been to... but it's a whole other thing to be a part of one when it's not just one, but two of your closest friends uniting. Sure, it happens on TV a lot. But seeing it happen in real life, and seeing the expressions of love and joy on their faces...  it's a pretty beautiful thing. Inside I just kept wanting to go "awwwwww", but I had to stand still. Anyways, I'm super thankful to have been blessed by these two over the years, and it's also made me thankful for the little things from the past - such as MySpace and Spring Awakening - and reminds me to keep trusting in God's planning and timing. Because who knows what the little things from last week or tomorrow might bring?




And that sums up my 2010 Favorite Things. :) 

Free Concert!

So I haven't been to many concerts this year, and it's already mid-April. It's a little sad... I feel like by this point last year, I'd been to at least 8. This year, I've been to one, and that was for my bro-date with Chris to see Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. And I probably would've missed out on that one if it weren't for the fact that it was part of his Christmas present to me.

But I was at a free radio station concert this past Monday. I guess I don't consider it a "real" concert since it was a non-ticketed event put on by Sophie 103.7 in a (nice) bar/lounge at the Hard Rock Hotel. I found out a few days before the event that Kris Allen was having a free show, and that Sara Bareilles was opening.

Two artists I already really like, and it's free? Heck yes, I'm there! I was bummed to miss out on my Monday night hill run, but it was worth it. I went with Weezy -- and just so that any readers are clear, Weezy = Brittany, but I always tend to refer to her as Weezy. (And I'm KD. But that's another story.) We took the trolley down, expecting downtown to be crazy because it was opening day at Petco Park (the Padres won), but it was an afternoon game, and the concert was at 8. So we would've been better off driving ourselves. Lesson learned: check the time if there's a game.

Sara went on first, and she played a short four song set. I've seen her before though, and I really think she's incredible. Great vocals, catchy tunes, good stage presence and banter with the audience. But it was nothing new, I'd heard all those songs before. (But don't get me wrong - if she comes back and it's relatively inexpensive, I'm there.)

But I was positively blown away by Kris. I was a fan of his on American Idol last year, and you betcha I was voting for him. Not just because I was turned off by Adam's theatricality/vocals and didn't want him to win, but because Kris' style appealed to me. Since I started getting into music/concerts in 2004, I've been a fan of the acoustic singer/songwriter types. And I loved his song choices and arrangements on the show, and he seemed like a genuinely good guy on stage (humble and having fun).

Kris hasn't blown up on the radio though, and while I have his CD downloaded, I hadn't listened to it yet, save for the one single. So I really wasn't sure what to expect. But he got on stage for an acoustic set with one of friends accompanying him, and he had us with him the entire time. They may not have been shredding on electric guitars or had a drummer, but they rocked out plenty to some of his originals and some fun covers too.

Here's a video clip of him singing MJ's classic (with a good message at that), "Man in the Mirror"...

And here's one of his originals from his self-titled CD, called "The Truth"...

Not exactly rocking out songs that I chose to share here, but these were two of my faves... and I'll admit, I was man-crushing a little bit throughout the show. No wonder girls fall for guys with guitars! I should pick mine up again... anyways, I do have another "official" concert in the works though. I've got another bro-date with the OSF around the end of the month - heading up to LA to see a band he introduced me to called Sleeping at Last. Very stoked about getting to see them (as they're not coming down to SD), and it'll be cool to have a mini-road trip with one of my best friends since he's getting all hitched soon. (You take care of my man, TGO!)

On a Sunday, I'll think it through...

The title for this blog entry is the name of one of my fave Jimmy Eat World songs... but has nothing to do with the song. I just wanted to jot down some reflections on today, tis all.

IT WAS AWESOME! =)

Act 1: Carlsbad 5K

Got up there just in time to meet up with Pete, who had his family there to cheer him on, and my old roomie Ben. The three of us gathered together at the start line, and off we ran! We all pretty much made our goal times. Ben finished in at just about 26 mins, Pete in an even 28:00 (when he hoped for 29), and I clocked in at 29:39 - just under 30, which is what I was hoping for! I tried to give it all I had, which needed to include a few walks to catch my breath, but this race marked another improvement (pace-time wise) from my previous run (new pace 9:33 min/miles vs 11:06 min/mile). After I caught up with the guys at the finish line, we got our t-shirts and went to the beer garden. Because apparently that's what you do at these things: you run a good distance, you treat your liver to some alcohol... Cassandra snapped a pic of us guys with our beers in hand, and I hope that pic soon to commemorate a fun run. There were professional photographers taking pics of all the runners during the race too, and I hope those get posted online during the week.

Act 2: Oggi's Pizza

After the race, I wanted to treat Ben out for some pizza. Post-run is a good time for that usually unhealthy meal, heh. Plus it was his birthday a few days ago. So the two of us former roomies went down to Oggi's Pizza and shared our usual pepperoni. Definitely miss hanging with the dude, as he's always been a stand-up guy and one of the very few that I could always be real and raw with.

Act 3: Coffee with Matt

After I got home/showered, I went over to Linda Vista and had coffee with my growth group leader (Matt) at a little shop by the Flood campus. He was my prayer partner for the week, so we caught up on the latest hap's and discussed life... I'm liking being in growth group this time around. It's still a little hard to break down my walls and talk sometimes (although I did manage to give my personal story last week), but I know it's something I need to keep trusting God to work in and through the group.

Act 4: Flood with Jess

Straight after coffee, I met up with Jess and her cousin Camille in the Flood parking lot. Chatted it up a bit and went inside for the service. Once I saw the piano on stage, I knew that The Gate Called Beautiful was likely leading worship - and they were. It was a good service - worship was awesome, and the service marked the beginning of a new series called "Touch: Real Sex in an Artificial World". Earlier in the week, another friend of mine saw the name of the series, and she kinda gave me a look, like "mmmmhmmmm..." But the fact is, sex is a big part of the culture we live in and regardless of one's age or marital status, the Bible does have lessons to learn on how we should view our sexuality. Thankfully, Adam (our speaker) didn't just throw down the stereotypical conservative church party line of "pre-marital sex is bad". (Actually, he started out with a rather hilarious look at the lyrics of Usher's song "Yeah"). But to sum, I'll just use a quote that they gave us from author Philip Yancy:

People worry that they will miss out on something if they heed the Bible's warnings against premarital sex. Actually, the warnings are there to keep them from missing out on something.

I'll definitely re-listen to the podcast, as I enjoyed the message (even if I can't properly express how it went - I'm tired now, lol) and I'm looking forward to the rest of the series. Also, this was the second week in a row that one of my original Mitchell besties, Jess, joined me for a service. Aside from the fact that it's been nice having a friend join me at church again, it's rad to feel like she's enjoying it (both the music and message), and to feel that the Holy Spirit is just doing it's thing.

And that's what I prayed with Matt during our coffee session. A lot of times I feel that uncertainty of the future, and I have my periods of doubt and lack of faith. But then I get that still voice pulling me back in and reminding me, "Hey... I'm still with you... for all those times you feel like I'm not there, or you may not even want Me there, I'm still working in your life. You may not see it right away, and you may not understand something, but trust in Me." When I hear Him reminding me of what He's already done and what He's promised us in Jeremiah 29:11, I realize that it's all good and I can put my fears aside and start finding peace/rest/hope in His love.

With that being said (quoting my Medicare mentor right there) -- Happy Sunday!

All of my life, in every season

You are still God

I have a reason to sing...

Worship Music

I've been in a worship music kick as of late - spinning it sometimes on the drive to and from work (and if I can sneak in my headphones I'll listen to a song or two while at my work desk), while doing the dishes, and even now while typing this out. I had lunch on Saturday with my growth group leader and in talking about my journey thus far as a Christian, I thought of the role that music played and how important it's been in my experience. When I first went to Flood six years ago, it was the music that first hooked me. I didn't know the songs at first, but there was something in the music itself that was moving. And then as I kept attending and singing along with the words that Eric wrote (he was the leader of Something Like Silas, which was the band at the time), there'd be those moments where the words finally punched me. I'd be struck by the meaning of the lyrics and how fitting it was for where my heart was at that point in my life. Eric (gifted lyricist that he is) wrote a lot of songs that I feel God was able to use to speak to us.

I look now at my SomethingLike Silas playlist and many songs jump out as ones that have resonated deeply with me over the years. The band moved on from the church in 2008, and I've missed them terribly. Eric understood that the music wasn't about just singing. It was about preparing our hearts for the message and helping us experience God through worship. This song, called "Please" (aka #5), is one of the ones I miss the most, and happened to be up on YouTube. Sometimes I'll have those internal struggles and doubts, and it's in those times that I think of this song and the chorus...

Please, tell me

In this holy fear that You are near me (I cannot touch You)

In silence (I cannot hold You)

I will know (I cannot see You)

That You will hear me, Lord... (but I know You)

Love Came Down

The Pat Little Band has been singing a song at Flood lately called "Love Came Down", originally written by Brian Johnson. It's become a fast favorite of mine, and I wanted to share the lyrics and video below. With whatever fears we may have in life right now, I'm reminded that God is right there to fill us with hope and guide us through whatever comes our way, and that we have His perfect love to cast out our fears (I John 4:18).

If my heart is overwhelmed and I cannot hear Your voice

I’ll hold on to what is true though I cannot see

If the storms of life they come and the road ahead gets steep

I will lift these hands in faith

I will believe

I remind myself of all that You’ve done

And the life I have because of Your Son

Love came down and rescued me

Love came down and set me free

I am Yours, I am forever Yours

Mountain high or valley low

I sing out remind my soul

I am Yours, I am forever Yours

When my heart is filled with hope and every promise comes my way

When I feel Your hands of grace rest upon me

Staying desperate for You God, staying humbled at Your feet

I will lift these hands and praise

I will believe

Love came down and rescued me

Love came down and set me free

I am Yours, I am forever Yours

Mountain high or valley low

I sing out remind my soul

I am Yours, I am forever Yours

I am Yours, I am Yours, all my days, I am Yours

Catching Up

Currently listening to: "Wild Wild Horses", from Atmosphere's new CD: When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Sh*t Gold. I'm not a big rap guy, but I wanted to check this one out after hearing his name for the past few years... I dig.

I haven't kept up well with writing on here this month... between work and going out to various things (mostly concerts) and there being no more real coffeehouse outings, there just hasn't been a good time to sit and write my thoughts out.

But guess where I am... a coffeehouse! On a chill Wednesday evening. Initially I was supposed to hit up Flood's bonfire with Mindy, but I wanted some time to myself. Us introverts need that time to relax. So here I sit at The Living Room, and perhaps heading for a drink later with Weez.

July is about over, and it's been a good one.

The final tally of concerts/shows:

• Incubus
• Dirty Sweet / Get Back Loretta
• 311 / Ziggy Marley
• Ray LaMontagne
• Coldplay
• StayClassy Tailgate (w/ Cage the Elephant)
• William Fitzsimmons
• Demetri Martin
• The Fray / Jack's Mannequin
• Bedouin Soundclash

And now to plan ahead for more concerts this year... seeing The Fray live last night solidified my love of going to all these concerts. It can be tiring, for sure. But it is so exhilarating to see a band/artist that you love perform songs that you love with music/lyrics that resonate with you. To be in that audience, to bask in all the lights and the staging and all the cellphones swaying in the air with certain songs... for me it's a rush. And I'm glad to be getting my highs from all of that than from other sources. And I'll be sure to keep enjoying them while I still can.

Halftime

Current status: Sitting at the dining table, having just finished the dishes, while that infectious song of Beyonce's plays on my laptop. Darn you, Beyonce, and your catchy tune ("Halo") that make me sing along. (Although, I kinda feel that I like this song more since it's going to be featured on "Glee" this fall... can't wait!)

It's a beautiful Saturday afternoon, and I'm in total relaxation mode right now. I'm currently in the middle of Summer Concert Fun, the 2009 Edition. Here's a quick recap of the first two concerts of the weekend...

Thursday night

Chris, Jordan, Johannah and I were supposed to go another of those free Hornblower concert cruise events (courtesy of KPRI) to see Andrew Bird (an amazing artist that blew Chris and I saw perform earlier this year). Then a short series of unfortunate events happened that led to none of us going on the boat, and I ended up taking a coworker's offer for cheap tickets to see Incubus, who I've never seen but always wanted... so I took my friend Ria and met up with Ann (coworker) and her friends down at Cricket Wireless Ampitheatre in Chula Vista. My cousin also happened to be there with her boyfriend, so we chatted with them for a bit. Incubus put on a good show - not much in terms of stage intricacies, but they sounded fantastic and opened with some of my favorite songs. Two personal highlights: the audience all singing along to their uber-hit, "Drive", and then once Incubus left the stage and the PA system started playing Journey's "Don't Stop Believing", the audience started singing along as we all left the ampitheatre. Good times.

Friday night

After visiting my parents and then my cousins for the evening, I journeyed out to rock the Casbah and see Dirty Sweet. I went by myself to this one, and almost didn't go because I'd be flying solo and I was already tired and this was going to be a late show (as it always goes at the Casbah). But I'm so glad I came out! I was initially disappointed that Get Back Loretta (another local SD band) was opening, because I've seen them before and have never been impressed. But they completely won me over tonight with their energy and melodies. They've really polished up their live show and looked like they were having fun. During their set, there was this trio of cute blondes right in front of me, drinking their Pabst Blue Ribbon and posing for plenty of pictures. I laughed to myself thinking, "I'm sure Andy would've made some new friends tonight." LOL.

I almost left after GBL's set, because it was already 11 and my feet hurt and I just wanted to go to bed. Just can't hack it like I used to! But I was resolved to see the band that I came out for, even though I really didn't know a single lick of their music. I thought I'd seen them before (way back in 2004), but it must not have been the same band because the frontman I remember seeing was a pretty-boy blonde. When this band came out, I thought "hmmm, definitely not the same guy." Long brown hair, tattoos, and kinda grunge-y. But once they started rocking out, I was like everyone else in the small crowded room - banging my head with the music and having a good time. I almost had beer spilled on me, as the guy next to me was dancing along with a 3/4 full pint glass in his hand that was held up too high for my liking, but thankfully I was spared. Another drunk guy bumped into me a few times - I didn't drink anything there and was getting annoyed but kept my cool the whole time - and towards the end, when he bumped into me again, he put his arm around me and slurred something about how he was sorry for everything but that I was such a good sport. He said quite a bit more than that, but it was really loud and dark, so I just tried to smile and nod along and say "yeah it's all good, man." I did catch that he claimed to have been on the road with the band before and has known them for four years, and he was excited for them and thought that they're on the verge of blowing up. I hope they do - and now I'm glad to be able to say that I saw them "way back when." The concert finally finished up at 1am. Tired as I was, they were just so great that I didn't want to miss a single moment of it - and I think that's the mark of a truly great concert.

Show me what I'm looking for...

Last week, during Coffeeshop Tuesday, I was sitting at the Starbucks as per usual and checking my email on my phone, when I noticed another email from radio station KPRI. And as soon as I saw the headline, I think I may have "squeeed" like a fanboy just a little bit... because Carolina Liar was having a show on the Hornblower!

I can't remember exactly how I got into this band... but I'm pretty sure Kasey told me to check them out a few months ago. And I was sucked in, thought they were rad. They're the type of rock music I'd normally like. So when the chance came to see them for free, I jumped out of my seat and drove like a maniac to try to score my free tickets.

And I did. Made it in the nick of time before the store closed!

I told Kasey about the concert the next day, since I figured both he and Tiff would be down to see them. We went on our lunch break to score more passes. I checked with Janice to see if she was going to get her passes too, and she did. Each pass covers two people to get on the boat.

I've been on these radio station boat concerts plenty of times before, but I don't think I've ever been so stoked. It ended up being Melodi and me, Kasey and Tiff, and the OSF heading down there. When we got to the boat, we were almost pushed away when the bodyguard was trying to say that there was no more room on the boat. We almost walked off but decided to wait a little bit longer, and then he let those of us waiting on the side onto the boat. It was crowded, and full of people who didn't really know the band but were just there for the free boat ride. But we found a nice spot where could still see the band and could sing along.

Only two of the band members were there - the lead singer, and another guitarist - so it was more of an acoustic set. They came across as really friendly and it was cool to hear them talk about the songs before playing them. They didn't play many of their songs, but they did play my two faves ("I'm Not Over" and "Show Me What I'm Looking For").

Tiff really wanted to meet them, and really so did I, so as the boat kept cruising around, we eventually found them signing pics and taking pictures on the 2nd level of the boat. Tiff pushed her way up there and I took a pic, and she had a little poster signed. We walked away, thinking we were content with that, and then Kasey and I caved in and made our way back up to the guys. Talked to the guitarist for a bit and he was very cool. I guess the band has played at the House of Blues down here before, so I'm bummed that I didn't get into them sooner. But they might go back on a full band tour later this summer. If so, I'm there!

Glee

I don't think I've ever been this amped with anticipation for a TV show before, but thinking about and watching previews for Fox's new show "Glee" fills me with such... well, glee.

I can't watch a promo and not smile. They always seem to air the "Glee" commercials during "American Idol", and while we always fast-forward through the commercials (thanks DVR!), if I ever spy a promo for the new show I have to rewind and watch. I even downloaded the extended promo (over 4 minutes long) and will watch it a few times while doing my cardio workouts at the gym. Andy called me a nerd, and that's totally right. The show's become more to me than getting to watch Lea Michele (the beautiful and amazingly talented star from a certain Broadway musical that I love) on my TV on a weekly basis, although she was my main draw. But it's taken me back to my junior high (and part of high school) days when I was a musical theatre nerd.

In junior high, I was in our school's small choir that every spring went to this annual competition in Santa Maria that some school's from the GSACS (Golden State Association of Christian Schools) participated in. We'd compete in the fine arts (like music and drama) and also in academic subjects. I think in 4th grade I won in the writing category, and from 7th-9th grade I won the spelling competition -- fun times, those were. Anyways, our choir was awesome back in junior high, I remember our choir won when I was in 7th grade. That same year I was also in the boys ensemble. It was 5 of us, and I was the #2 tenor (#1 being the choir director's son) and my voice was able to reach those high notes. We sang "How Majestic Is Your Name" (I think I can still remember the words), and we won 1st place too. The readers theatre group I was in also won, so it was good times for our school. I didn't do sports, so this provided the thrill of competition for me.

Later in the spring, we also had a concert at the school, which was a much less formal affair than the earlier competition (where we had to dress up - guys in ties, etc). But the spring concert was fun. We sang this song our director wrote called "Lazy Summer Days", where we got to wear t-shirts and sunglasses and I wore a hat backwards for probably the first time in my life - it even had light choreography too. I miss those days so much now...

Anyways, like Lea Michele's character says in the "Glee" promo - "Being a part of something special makes you special, right?" And her question resonates with me, because being in choir and drama gave me that rush and it was nice to not feel so anonymous and boring but to be part of a special team - it was exciting. Singing, acting, choreography... I need to get back into that.

Happy Songs

I'm in a cranky mood right now because of UPS. I now refuse to ship anything through them, and if I can help it, I will try to choose alternative shipping options if I'm receiving a package.

So to curb my frustration, I'm listening to my happy song of the month. I was thinking about it, and I've had a different happy song each month. It's always a poppy song that I listen to over and over, that really has no solid meaning to me or any lyrical insight, but for whatever reason (the beat?) I get entranced by it. And I get happy. Not two beers happy, but it's good enough.

They're all guilty pleasures. January's song was especially guilty. "Anonymous Sex", performed by Phoebe Strole and Skylar Astin. Two original Broadway cast members of "Spring Awakening". I found it on YouTube, and thought it was fun. Not something I'd be singing in front of my parents, and clearly (hopefully) not something I believe in, but it was catchy. Although I'm sure the fact that it was SA related played a part.

February's song was "Go Your Own Way", as performed by David Cook and Carrie Underwood. Another YouTube find (although TWOP led me to this, really), the duo of American Idol winners performed the duet of this Fleetwood Mac song at the opening of Walt Disney World's "American Idol Experience". I really wish I was there because it looked like they were having so much fun in the video, and their vocals were great. Just like January's song, I'd sing this one on the way to work too... made the dread of another work day a little more bearable.

Which brings me to March's song: "Just Dance" by Lady GaGa. (Yes, I like pop music.) I'd heard of her before but paid no attention to what she sang. I also heard the song on the radio but didn't pay attention to it and treated it as background noise without knowing who sang it. But then this week, Suzy mentioned the song and the artist and how bummed she was that Lady GaGa's concert at HOB was sold out. And then she and some of the other girls from work started singing it, and I had that moment of "ohhhh that song!" At which point, because I really wanted to listen to it, I immediately bought the song on my iPhone (which went online to iTunes) and started rocking it... that was three days ago. I really have no idea what she's singing, but it makes me want to dance. So I guess Lady GaGa's mission has been accomplished...

Anyways - now I sit and wait for everyone else to get here so we can caravan down to that park just south of Cricket Wireless so that we can steal the Rascal Flatts concert. More on that later.