Yikes.

The first 6 months of this year have flown by at an incredible speed.  Normally I wait until the end of the year to do anything like this but I have done so much stuff so far this year I thought it would be nice to take a moment and reflect.

January through May were crazy and I am not entirely sure how I survived without breaking down and pulling my beautiful hair out.  Below is a list of my Top 5 things that stick out for me in my head from that time...

1.  Graduating - It happened quick and I am actually starting to feel the itch to get started with Graduate Work.
2.  SXSW - This was like a dream for me and I am very excited to go back next year.  Badges go on sale in August!
3.  Friends - I miss hanging out with everyone all the time.  It is weird not seeing Kendra everyday, or listening to DJs ramble, or eating out all the time.
4.  KSAU - I had good times there for over a year but it was nice to pass it off to someone else and leave knowing that I did a good job.
5.  Work - I worked a lot during that final semester, I had 4 jobs!, but it has afforded me a lot of opportunities now and a pretty flexible schedule.  I am eager to get back to school but so far this break has been very nice, just working is easy.

Obviously somewhere around a billion more things happened during that semester but those 5 things are what still pop into my head on occasion.  Outside of SXSW all of those things were such a big part of my life for my 4 1/2 years at SFA and I think it will remain a bit strange to not be fully involved with them all the time.

On the other hand I have managed to find a way to be on the brink of being too busy again.  Outside of my work at Clear Channel, Wal Mart, and the AV Club I have gotten involved with other things so below is a list of a couple things to watch out for from me.

1.  MP3 Blog - This should be up sometime in August, it will be called Side One: Track One.  I would like to have guest writers on the weekend so if you are interested let me know.
2.  Riot Act Media - I have started doing some small things for them and I am really excited about getting involved on the PR side of the music world.  The client list for these guys is amazing: Suicide Squeeze Records, Bouncing Souls, These Arms Are Snakes, etc..

So while I am doing this I figured I would also take a moment to put down my top 5 favorite albums/films of the year so far...

Albums
1. The Magic Numbers - Self Titled 
2. Cat Power - The Greatest
3. Crystal Skulls - Outgoing Behaviour
4. Black Angels - Passover
5. Aloha - Some Echoes

Films
1. Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang
2. V For Vendetta
3. United 93
4. Dave Chapelle's Block Party
5. Cars

Alright, now some random stuff...

I catalogged every piece of music that I have.  I now have over 13,000 MP3's.  The process was a pain in the ass but it is awesome now that it is done.

Netflix is fantastic, get it now.

I think all of my best friends are getting ready to leave town.  Katy is already gone, Beth and Brett will be gone by the end of the summer, and Kendra may be gone by then as well.  Sure I have other friends but these are the ones I would take a tranq dart to the neck for.

There are no good tours in the summer.

Sarah is awesome for getting through the second semester of Nursing School, which is considered the hardest, and for being an awesome beast on wheels for the Nac Rollergirl Team.

Look out later this year for new albums from TV on the Radio, Cursive, and The Mars Volta.  All 3 are favorite bands of mine and the new stuff that I have heard so far is pretty great.

My new Motorola V3i phone is amazing.  Zach had no idea what would come of cell phones back when he had one on Saved by the Bell.  This thing has a camera, a video camera, iTunes, and a trillion other options...its just insane.

Being able to take a day to just play Xbox 360 is refreshing.

Running a couple of times a week is nice but Texas is hot.

Well I guess that is it for now.  If you are around and bored give me a call and we will hang out and be merry.  I will post up another one of these in January.  I am sure by then a lot more will happen and my Top Albums/Films list will probably be different.  Enjoy.

And make you listen to me Monday and Tuesday nights from 12am to 5am on Q107!  Or come see me at Wal Mart Thursday through Sunday 5pm to 11pm!  Or drop by Clear Channel on Mondays, Tuesdays, or Thursdays!

Hello Friends,

Yesterday Sarah and I set out on our trip to Houston to see the Bodyworlds Exhibit at the Museum and the Metal Hearts who were opening for Langhorne Slim and Murder by Death.

We got to Houston about 3:30ish and grabbed some wonderful, healthy food at Bennigans.  Potato Skins and Steak are the path to good health, TRUST ME.

After we left there we arrived at the Museum about 4:35 despite the fact that our tickets for Bodyworld were not until 6.  Lucky for us the IMAX Nile River was about to start so we got tickets for that and it was a pleasant surprise.  By that I do not mean the film, don't get me wrong it was pretty neat, I mean the price...it was only $7 for the both of us...that still seems all wrong.

After the film we grabbed some ice cream from the snack stand at the museum and received the worst customer service ever.  I am mostly sure that the women who works there is a retard....on the other hand I love repeating my order 109 times to a blank face of confusion that is hiding a great lack of interest in doing any sort of work.

So here is what you really need to know.  Bodyworld is effn neat.  I kind of thought that only Sarah would be all into it but I was wrong, I was very interested in the whole thing and so was everyone else that was there.  It really is something that needs to be seen by everyone....even if you do not like seeing some guy hold up his own skin.  What's really crazy is that apparently it is the new "thing" to get this process done to your body after you die.  Since the exhibit started over 6000 people have signed up to have their bodies donated.   I even heard someone ask if any of them would be put in sexual positions....this was easily the strangest thing that I heard the whole trip.

As for the show, it was pretty great.

I talked to Anar from the Metal Hearts for awhile before the show.  You know it is always nice when someone who has met a bazillion people remembers you.  Granted it was not a clean remember, it was more like "Hey Anar"  *Look on face like, you know who I am?* and then "Oh Hey you are from the radio station"  It was not as clear as when Chantel from Morningwood came up to me at the Sounds show but I'll take it.  Anar had some way interesting things to say about the band and I got to hear a couple of new songs in their set.  I think they are going to be widely known as fantastic one day.

Langhorne Slim is very interesting.  On record they are good but not great, yet live they are amazing.  A ton of energy and passion just oozes everywhere during their set.  Their bassist even wore a big platinum grill in his mouth for their set, which was hilarious given that he was this country twanged guy with a big stand up bass.

Murder by Death put on one of those shows where you can tell a band has perfected what they do.  They were very professional and had really great sound throughout the set.  One really cool thing that they did was playing clips from old noir films in the background.  They had sorts of clips from one of my favorites, Night of the Hunter, which is crazy creepy if you have never seen it.  They are very cursive-esque in their setup, they even have a hot cello player and a frontman with an instantly recognizable voice...strange.

Sarah I left Walter's around midnight and made it home a bit before 3am.

So then of course I force myself to get up this morning to listen to KJ103 so that I can do my station monitoring report early to free up some time for the game tonight.  This is where not getting enough sleep and listening to country music for over an hour can fuck you up, I accidently closed it without saving and then lost the whole thing!  So now I am at Q107 dumping syndication into the system with the hopes of getting home in time to listen to KJ again and then watch the game!  Ahhh!

Alright kids, until next time....

John

This show was easily one of the hottest that I have ever been too.  I do not mean hot in the way that the bands were on fire and played a lights out show, I mean in the way that I think the baking of humans in venues around Texas should be illegal.

The show got kicked off with an OK set from the Life and Times, the only non-instrumental band of the night.  They certainly did not blow my mind but I thought they were better then Brett gave them credit for.  I do think they should drop the weird vocals though...

After the Life and Times played Brett and I moved away from the bar, which somehow was cool, and then moved into the furnace out on the open floor of the venue for Mono.  Mono put on a great hour long set.  I am not as familiar with their stuff as Brett is but I still really enjoyed the show.  Professional is an understatement when talking about Mono live.  After the set was over Brett and I hit up the merch table, yes I was a merch whore as usual, and then left the venue to dump the stuff off in his car and catch some fresh air.

We entered the venue right before Pelican began to play and luckily it was still 7 million degrees in there.  Half way through the Pelican set Brett felt the need to escape the furnace so he left and hung out in the front of the building.  I stayed behind and watched the kids from Chicago put on a nice hour long set.  I enjoyed Pelican and all of their instruMETAL but it definetly was hard for them to follow Mono...especially with a less pretty sound.

All in all it was a good show, especially for my first big instrumental show, but I could have done without all the heat.  If the show wasn't enough, riding in a car with Brett for a few hours is always an adventure.

Until next time, Murder by Death and the Metal Hearts!

Hey All

So this past Saturday I saw TV on the Radio and Celebration at the Warehouse Live in Houston with Kendra and Jerron.

So I have to say that it might be the most annoying thing ever when bands come out and rip through a entire set of new songs from a disc that does not even have a release date yet!!  Cough*TvOnTheRadio*Cough

So I was obviously disappointed in the show because of the very thing I just mentioned.  I think they only played 4 or 5 old songs so that was not all that great.  On the other hand I did get to hear "Dreams" and "Ambulance" so it was not a total waste..but it was CLOSE!

Celebration put on a nice 30 minute set despite starting an HOUR late!

Ack!  I did get to hang out with Kendra and Jerron all day, skip out on Wal Mart, go to a record store, and eat at Cha Cho's.  As you can see all of the events leading up to the show were better then the show.

Hopefully it will be better next time I see them...

Until next time, Mono and Pelican!!!

John

Whoa!

Yesterday Kendra and I drove to Houston to see Action Action, Morningwood, and the Sounds.  We left from the Red Lobster in Lufkin about 3ish and then proceeded to get lost in Houston for an hour trying to find the Warehouse Live.  Despite being lost we still managed to get to the venue at a  reasonable time, get in for free (yeah for guest lists), and get right at the front of the crowd (if that is what you want to call it, it was not crowded at all).

The first band up was Action Action and they were solid and fun.  I saw them at SXSW and found them enjoyable and the DJs at KSAU were into them when they were in rotation.  It was nice to see them on a big stage despite the small crowd.

After they played Morningwood came out and did a wonderful set.  The band sounds so much better live then on their album.  Their firecracker of a singer is an amazing performer and the rest of the band follows her energy throughout the show.  They were fun when I saw them at SXSW, but it seemed to be turned up a notch for this show.  For those that don't get "it" the band's performance with props like play horses, pom poms, and handcuffs may seem gimicky but it totally is not!  It is obvious that they just love to perform.  Plus, where else are you going to see the singer of a band find two willing women to come on stage and let her lick their breasts!?  And to think...Kendra and I saw this for free!

Last the Sounds came out, not to mention they were introduced by a Journey song, and they totally blew my mind.  Maja is beautiful and really knows how to work a crowd....and a stage.  Her air humping and leg kicks on the stage with her wonderful dress were almost too much to handle.  Kendra had to make sure I was not about to pass out quite a few times.  That band is so much fun on their albums but the live show brings a whole new angle to their sound.  It is much more fun and full live and I can't wait to see them again.

A couple of random things now...

Kendra and I each spent $50 at the Merch table...we are officially Merch Whores.

The singer from Morningwood recognized me from SXSW and the Flight of the Conchords show which was neat.  I think she would make an awesome Rollergirl.

I have never gotten lost and then showed up late for a show only to find out that we could still get a spot as close to the stage as possible.

On the way home Kendra and I ate most of a whole package of Cinnamon Rolls, we are expanding at an unbelievable rate this semester.

The Morningwood drummer is a nice guy.

The security people at the Warehouse are way over zealous, they looked like they were going to explode everytime someone moved in the crowd or one of the ladies jumped off stage to mingle.

The space between the crowd and the band at the Warehouse is equivalent to that of the Grand Canyon.

After SXSW it was nice to go to an early kick ass fun show to get me back into the whole thing again.  Plus, hanging out with someone who loves going to shows as well is always nice.

Until next time...TV on the Radio on April 22!!

Well I must say that Sarah and I had a great 8 days in Austin doing all sorts of fun stuff.

It was really nice to get away from school, the radio stations, and Wal Mart.  We did some shopping at the Outlet Malls, both of the malls in Austin, and some other downtown places.  We saw a couple of great movies and checked out a nice IMAX feature. In other words we just really enjoyed being in Austin for the first 4 days of our trip.  I can't wait to move there.

Once Wednesday started though it was the 4 most chaotic and tiring days of my life.  We were up between 8 and 10 every day, except Saturday, and in bed around 2:30 or 3 every morning.  This was of course after standing up the majority of the day or traversing the packed streets of Austin from club to club.

I must say though that I learned so much during the SXSW heavy 4 days of our trip.  Despite being a bit burned out I am very excited to go next year.  It will be so much easier to work and enjoy.  The simple fact is that most of the music I like is enjoyed by a small amount of people and the lines for those shows just are not that long.  Sarah and I had no problem jumping from show to show once we figured this out.  We saw over 50 performances during our trip and I am convinced that we can see more next year.

As far as the business side is concerned, it will for sure be easier next year.  The trade show was a good learning experience and I will know how to better work it next year.  The panels, according to some others, are a little bit of a waste of time but apparently sometimes you can meet cool people there.

Like I said, I can't wait to go next year.  It will be more fun, even though it seems like that would not be possible, and probably more lucrative business wise.

Now I will run over some stuff that I noticed on my trip....

A lot of cash must be spent on free stuff, we brought home a lot of junk....they hand it out on the streets like there is an endless supply in all of their little trucks of goodies.

Parties are cool if you get invited to the private ones, they have free drinks and food, not to mention better artists performing.

There are free shows everywhere, some cooler then some of the showcases going on.  You could have a great time during SXSW without a badge or a wristband if you wanted.  You would have to wait in line a lot, but waiting is FREE.

Indie artists are some of the nicest people ever.  I don't know if it is the environment or what but they are so thankful for your praise of support.  I talked to a lot of artists to tell them about how they were doing at the station or some other tidbit of information and all of them took the time to chat with me.  I mean I told the Noisettes girl she was amazing and that I loved her band and she held my hand and told me that I was awesome.  Most artists are just like "thanks....(insert awkward silence.)"

Standing in one spot sucks....walking all day is not as bad.

A lot of bands do not bring Merch to their showcases.  This is a good thing for the most part because I would have come home broke if they had but it was a bit unexpected.  I really thought I would come home with more vinyl and concert tees.  On the other hand I probably did come home with more then enough...

People who are celebrities to you are everywhere.  Ever stand in line with an artist you like?  I have.  Everywhere you look at SXSW you see people who are celebrities to you...its both strange and awesome.

6th Street has everything that a person needs; music, food, alcohol, and mostly nice people.

The strangest thing for me was Saturday night when I was actually ready for the Cribs to stop playing and to be away from downtown Austin.  It made me think of what Anar from the Metal Hearts had told me earlier in the week.  He said that all of the music and chaos going on was too much for him and it actually made him feel a little sick and that he would go to the bathroom on occasion just because it was the most quiet place.  This hit me on Saturday and that my friends is why SXSW is an annual event, people would be dying if it was more then that.

Bad weather or not nothing stops SXSW or the people trying to see the artists that they love.  Luckily we only had one day of not so great weather but even on that day people were very determined looking people.

Having a badge is the most convenient thing at SXSW, it is worth the money.  It pretty much eliminates standing in line for most shows...unless of course you are trying to see the Pretenders or something.

Volunteers mostly know nothing.

Port-a-potties are easily the best and worst idea ever.  They are ok during the day when there is light.  But in the dark after a bunch of drunk people have been in there is not cool.  Rock and Roll soup (vomit, shit, piss, alcohol, etc) as one band called it.

NO MATTER WHAT YOU WILL BE TIRED AND BURNED OUT BY THE END OF THE WEEK.  I COULD NOT GO TO ANOTHER SHOW FOR A LONG TIME AND WOULD BE PERFECTLY FINE WITH THAT.

I'm out like a fat kid in dodgeball, see everyone on Monday.

Well this day was kind of strange.  I still wanted to go to some shows but I was ever anxious to just go home.   In the end though Sarah and I toughed out one last day.

First up we slept until noon, the latest by far that we slept in, and then went to Dave and Busters, which I love.  After that we went down to the Convention Center and the Rippy Fest Party to see the Tolchok Trio, who put on a nice 40 minute set.  They were nice guys as well.

From there Sarah and I went down to Red 7 to watch a couple of bands open for Action Action and the M's.  All of the bands were good but for some reason the vocals were not turned up very loud so it was hard to hear them.  Before the last M's song we left to run down to Club DeVille to see Controller.Controller and the Cribs.  Controller.Controller was amazing but during their last song some guy exploded his beer all over me and given that I was tired and a bit cranky I wanted to smash his stupid face in.  The Cribs were solid and destroyed their equipment at the end of the set after the guitarist threw up and ran off stage...uh..yeah.

After this Sarah and I again waited forever to get out of the parking garage but we finally did and again made it to bed around 3ish....all to get up at 8 and drive home.

Well here I am again with another late post on what Sarah and I did this past Friday at SXSW.

First up we went to the trade show again and walked around talking and swapping business cards with people.  It is strange how some people are slightly rude to you if they think you might not be of any benefit to them.  Eh...whatever.

After the trade show we went to wander around 6th Street to see what we could find and we got crazy lucky.  First up we got to see My Brightest Diamond do another complete set and it was awesome.  I talked to the singer after the performance and she was really nice, I am really looking forward to that disc this summer.  After we left that we walked down to Emo's where we learned that My Chemical Romance was playing a free show.  We stuck around for that and it was OK, they said they had not played for about 4 months and it showed a bit.  It was just neat though to see a guy have so much control over the audience.  He would say stuff like "Fuck all of those teen magazines!"  This of course given that most of his fans are teenagers, but they still went crazy.  He even opened the show saying that if anyone was not interested in seeing his band then they should get the "fuck out." 

For the night time we saw Ambulette, who were amazing despite not playing my favorite song, "Fall."  I talked to Maura and told her how well she was doing at the station and then got her to sign the setlist.  She is crazy pretty and nice.

After that wonderful performance Sarah and I left for the SubPop Showcase and were met with a  surprise.  The line for it was long and the venue was full!  Apparently everyone had come to see the Flight of the Conchords, who I had not heard of until that night.  Let me tell you right now, they are like Tenacious D but from New Zealand.  They were soooo funny, I even met the singer from Morningwood in the crowd....who luckily was more subdued then her dirty onstage presence.  After that Sarah and I saw great performances from Kelley Stoltz, Band of Horses, Rogue Wave, and the Elected.  Sadly the Elected set was only about 25 minutes because of tech problems but it was a great set.  Blake was pissed because the house had the tech problems and the band was ready to go on time.  So they tell him he has 3 songs left, he argued with them in between songs and then slammed them after the last song, which was the longest in their catalog and one of the coolest things I saw during SXSW.  It was so funny because you know he did it on purpose.

Sarah and I then went to the car and waited 40 minutes to get out of the parking garage...I think we go to bed sometime around 3:15ish...