Well it's been a week since South By and I'm still re-living the moments. It was right back to work so I haven't really had a chance to sit back and write about all the bands I saw, but I will, I hope. Work is good. A lot going on as the students wind down for the semester. We are already booking into June which is crazy talk. This week we have the last Executive Session of the semester Natalie Maine's dad and Acapella Friday night. Also the one year celebration of the club with three alum/student groups on Saturday. Steven's going to the KS formal as are a lot of people so it will probably be a pretty quiet weekend. Although after a week of detox after Texas I'm ready to go out again.
Thursday night will probably go to Northeastern's alumni center to grab a drink to celebrate Rebecca's new job (She's coming to Berklee yay!). Then its home to settle in for 3 hours of the end of ER. The end of an ERa. Growing up we had one night a week we could stay up as late as we want and pretty much do whatever we want, within reason. That's when I first saw ER. Carter was just an intern who had never been in an ER and Carol was supposed to die. 15 years later the hospital I grew up with, and which at one point had me wanting to be a doctor, will leave the air for good. (I once even watched a season finale from the Albany Med ER, a girlfriend had put her teeth through her lower lip and needed stitches.) Hopefully they do Michael Crichton and the original writers, and the characters the justice they deserve.
I might be going to New Orleans in June. Berklee pays for 4 Faculty and 4 Staff members to go and volunteer their time and build houses for Habitat for Humanities in a music village down there. I'm applying this week and will hear back the first week in May. Wish me luck.
Another casting call I may attend for fun this weekend, but look for more details on that later.
-S
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Monday, March 23, 2009
Back to Boston
South By Southwest was a whirlwind. I'm exhausted and refreshed and excited to get back to work with some great ideas and some great new bands. I'll update tomorrow when I'm fully rested.
-sh
-sh
Thursday, March 19, 2009
SXSW Day 1
Ok. So I'm a little tired. The worst part was I woke up at 8:59, my free breakfast ended at 9pm. Awful. Yesterday was day one and I personally think it was a great pre-game for the rest of the week. I took it kind of easy. This is who I saw:
Ten Out Of Tenn - Caught a quick two three songs from these guys. I've seen these guys before and they are really great. I'm trying hard not to repeat bands I've seen previously, because it just takes away from why I'm doing this.
Roman Candles - These guys came on at the same British showcase that Ten Out Of Tenn were. It was really awesome and this was the first band of the day that I know I want to get to come play The Red Room. They are out of Nashville and even had a couple Ten Out of Tenners out to sing on a song.
Heartless Bastards - Her voice is just mesmorizing. It's very deep and had I not seen them on David Letterman, I would have thought it was a male lead. These guys know how to rock. They are probably too big for The Red Room, but still a great show.
Janelle Monae - This was a suggestion of a friend and let me tell you it blew me away. This girl can sing and she rocks out. With the soul and swagger of Amy Winehouse and the funk of Outkast (she is friends with these guys and Big Boi is performing tonight), Janelle isn't likely to be the unknown Grammy nominee for long. That's right she was nominated for best new artists and you now that I told her about you, you have to check her out.
Jessica Lea Mayfield - I've had Jessica tabbed on my computer for about a year after I saw a write-up about her on PopCandy so I knew I wanted to get to this show. At 20 years old, Jessica has built up some considerable buzz. While I wasn't blown away at her performance I was definitely impressed.
Angie Mattson - Caught her for a couple songs before Joe Pug. Really interesting. I'm going to spend some more time looking into her.
Joe Pug - Joe was supposed to play The Red Room and for whatever reason didn't really work out. So I knew he was playing and decided to check out a few songs. Really great singer/songwriter with a little country/americana feel. Solidified trying to get him into the room.
Delta Spirit - Okay so I KNOW I said that I wasn't going to see bands that I've seen, but these guys are SOOO good. I mean mindblowing soulful rock. They just put so much into their music and they are the real deal. No doubt in my mind that these guys will see some great press and rewards from this weekend. They played a new song which gets me really excited that they will be going back into the studio after they get back from a European tour.
So that was a really brief recap of day one. I'm actually in a panel about blogging as I type so I'm going to go, but I'll try and include links to all the bands later.
Sh
Ten Out Of Tenn - Caught a quick two three songs from these guys. I've seen these guys before and they are really great. I'm trying hard not to repeat bands I've seen previously, because it just takes away from why I'm doing this.
Roman Candles - These guys came on at the same British showcase that Ten Out Of Tenn were. It was really awesome and this was the first band of the day that I know I want to get to come play The Red Room. They are out of Nashville and even had a couple Ten Out of Tenners out to sing on a song.
Heartless Bastards - Her voice is just mesmorizing. It's very deep and had I not seen them on David Letterman, I would have thought it was a male lead. These guys know how to rock. They are probably too big for The Red Room, but still a great show.
Janelle Monae - This was a suggestion of a friend and let me tell you it blew me away. This girl can sing and she rocks out. With the soul and swagger of Amy Winehouse and the funk of Outkast (she is friends with these guys and Big Boi is performing tonight), Janelle isn't likely to be the unknown Grammy nominee for long. That's right she was nominated for best new artists and you now that I told her about you, you have to check her out.
Jessica Lea Mayfield - I've had Jessica tabbed on my computer for about a year after I saw a write-up about her on PopCandy so I knew I wanted to get to this show. At 20 years old, Jessica has built up some considerable buzz. While I wasn't blown away at her performance I was definitely impressed.
Angie Mattson - Caught her for a couple songs before Joe Pug. Really interesting. I'm going to spend some more time looking into her.
Joe Pug - Joe was supposed to play The Red Room and for whatever reason didn't really work out. So I knew he was playing and decided to check out a few songs. Really great singer/songwriter with a little country/americana feel. Solidified trying to get him into the room.
Delta Spirit - Okay so I KNOW I said that I wasn't going to see bands that I've seen, but these guys are SOOO good. I mean mindblowing soulful rock. They just put so much into their music and they are the real deal. No doubt in my mind that these guys will see some great press and rewards from this weekend. They played a new song which gets me really excited that they will be going back into the studio after they get back from a European tour.
So that was a really brief recap of day one. I'm actually in a panel about blogging as I type so I'm going to go, but I'll try and include links to all the bands later.
Sh
Monday, March 9, 2009
New Feature!
Ok. So I'm getting ready to spend a whirlwind week in Austin, TX next week for the South By Southwest music festival. I won't have my computer with me all the time, but I will be provided live updates over here ==============> on the right side of my blog. I can text what I'm doing or what show I'm at and you can all follow along. Exciting right? Of course it is!
Laters
Shawn
Laters
Shawn
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
A-Rod, Michael Phelps, and Chris Brown
So it's been a crazy week for these three men. One had a photograph surface of him smoking marijuana, one had a positive steroid test released from 6 years ago, and one allegedly beat is famous girlfriend and then left her on the side of the road. Phelps and Brown have had several sponsors and upcoming performances dropped, Brown has yet to make a comment (but charges have been confirmed), and A-Rod came out and fessed up to the Performance Enhancing Drug use.
Let's start with Phelps. Already with a DUI on his record, this isn't the first time Phelps' partying has gotten him in trouble. This time it was not a run in with the law, but a perhaps jealous or greedy party attendee that decided Phelps fate. Let's be honest, he isn't Bode Miller who has become infamous for his partying, he's a 23 year old who has set world records and won tons of medals for his country. As a result of his success, he has been put up on a pedestal to be a role model for young people. One commentator said that while he has been put in this position it is not necessarily a position he asked to be in. He accepted endorsements and in many ways was a representation of what hard work and determination will get you. So he's celebrating his accomplishments. Did his smoking marijuana that night take away from what he's done? Probably not. One comedian said parents are concerned about what to tell their kids when they ask if they can smoke marijuana like Michael Phelps and her response was "When you win 8 gold medals for your country you can smoke all the marijuana you want?" Marijuana in many states (such as Massachusetts) is slowly becoming decriminalized. I do not think that Michael Phelps career should be over over this. I don't even know if he should have been suspended, but I guess that had to make a statement. Luckily for them, the statement comes at a time when he wouldn't normally be competing for them.
Up next A-Rod (see also A-Roid, A-Hole, A-Fraud, etc). Was I disappointed when I read that A-Rod had tested positive for steroids? A little bit. Was I surprised? Not at all. Baseball is the one sport where I don't think I'd be surprised if there was a list of 104 players who tested negative for steroids. I think A-Rod's smartest move was coming forward and saying, yes I did it. I took Performance Enhancing Drugs, I didn't necessarily know what I was putting in my body, but I knew it would help me compete at a higher level. I can't believe how excited Red Sox nation was about this revelation. I'm sure if A-Rod had ended up on the Red Sox, they wouldn't be so happy about it. Again though the issue is this information was leaked. Someone with a vendetta against A-Rod or maybe the Yankees took it upon themselves to make it known 1/104 positive test results to the world. If they were concerned for the state of baseball they might have chosen to release all the names, but oddly enough they chose only one. Some are calling for the release of the other names (Curt Schilling) while others are probably shaking in their boots. I think that if we keep sweeping this under the rug it's just going to keep going. Perhaps we just put it all there and start with a clean slate. Some people will probably choose to deny it and others might admit it like A-Rod, but to punish A-Rod now is just not fair. After at the time of this testing non of the substances he tested positive for were banned by the MLB. It will be interesting as teams start reporting to Spring Training the end of this week how things progress.
Chris Brown, 20 years old, on the top of the world. Hit singles, Top 40 dominating collaborations, and a pop princess for a girlfriend. Then something went terribly wrong. While there are limited details and tons of speculation this much is known, after leaving a pre-Grammy party Chris Brown and Rihanna got into and argument that quickly escalated. It moved from the car to the park where Brown allegedly attacked Rihanna and left her on the side of the road. Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. Is this the end of Chris Brown? No. Is it the end of his clean cut image? Probably. Brown is talented and an assault charge and possibly jail time isn't going to change that. People will forever think differently of him, but I'm sure it isn't the end of Chris Brown. Rihanna will come out with a killer album with Supergirl attitude and rise back to the charts, this isn't the end of her either. Domestic abuse isn't a laughing matter, but the sad part is that millions of people are involved in domestic abuse every single day. They don't have the support that Rihanna has and they don't have the money for attorney's that Chris Brown does.
All of these stories happen to ordinary people everyday. I work at Berklee with a ton of musicians, do people smoke pot? Yup. Do they have multimillion dollar endorsement deals? No, but does that make them any better or worse as people? (Financially is a whole different story.) I go to the gym almost daily, I don't necessarily know people who use performance enhancing drugs, but do they exist for sure. Are they setting records? No, but are they trying to out do the next guy or live up to a public image? And Chris Brown, Ike Turner, Bobby Brown and other celebrity's who let money and power get the best of them, their actions are not justified or acceptable, but let's remember we don't know the whole story. We're just reading all of this through the eyes and ears of 'sources' and tabloids.
Heading home for a couple days this weekend for much needed family time.
-Sh
Let's start with Phelps. Already with a DUI on his record, this isn't the first time Phelps' partying has gotten him in trouble. This time it was not a run in with the law, but a perhaps jealous or greedy party attendee that decided Phelps fate. Let's be honest, he isn't Bode Miller who has become infamous for his partying, he's a 23 year old who has set world records and won tons of medals for his country. As a result of his success, he has been put up on a pedestal to be a role model for young people. One commentator said that while he has been put in this position it is not necessarily a position he asked to be in. He accepted endorsements and in many ways was a representation of what hard work and determination will get you. So he's celebrating his accomplishments. Did his smoking marijuana that night take away from what he's done? Probably not. One comedian said parents are concerned about what to tell their kids when they ask if they can smoke marijuana like Michael Phelps and her response was "When you win 8 gold medals for your country you can smoke all the marijuana you want?" Marijuana in many states (such as Massachusetts) is slowly becoming decriminalized. I do not think that Michael Phelps career should be over over this. I don't even know if he should have been suspended, but I guess that had to make a statement. Luckily for them, the statement comes at a time when he wouldn't normally be competing for them.
Up next A-Rod (see also A-Roid, A-Hole, A-Fraud, etc). Was I disappointed when I read that A-Rod had tested positive for steroids? A little bit. Was I surprised? Not at all. Baseball is the one sport where I don't think I'd be surprised if there was a list of 104 players who tested negative for steroids. I think A-Rod's smartest move was coming forward and saying, yes I did it. I took Performance Enhancing Drugs, I didn't necessarily know what I was putting in my body, but I knew it would help me compete at a higher level. I can't believe how excited Red Sox nation was about this revelation. I'm sure if A-Rod had ended up on the Red Sox, they wouldn't be so happy about it. Again though the issue is this information was leaked. Someone with a vendetta against A-Rod or maybe the Yankees took it upon themselves to make it known 1/104 positive test results to the world. If they were concerned for the state of baseball they might have chosen to release all the names, but oddly enough they chose only one. Some are calling for the release of the other names (Curt Schilling) while others are probably shaking in their boots. I think that if we keep sweeping this under the rug it's just going to keep going. Perhaps we just put it all there and start with a clean slate. Some people will probably choose to deny it and others might admit it like A-Rod, but to punish A-Rod now is just not fair. After at the time of this testing non of the substances he tested positive for were banned by the MLB. It will be interesting as teams start reporting to Spring Training the end of this week how things progress.
Chris Brown, 20 years old, on the top of the world. Hit singles, Top 40 dominating collaborations, and a pop princess for a girlfriend. Then something went terribly wrong. While there are limited details and tons of speculation this much is known, after leaving a pre-Grammy party Chris Brown and Rihanna got into and argument that quickly escalated. It moved from the car to the park where Brown allegedly attacked Rihanna and left her on the side of the road. Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. Is this the end of Chris Brown? No. Is it the end of his clean cut image? Probably. Brown is talented and an assault charge and possibly jail time isn't going to change that. People will forever think differently of him, but I'm sure it isn't the end of Chris Brown. Rihanna will come out with a killer album with Supergirl attitude and rise back to the charts, this isn't the end of her either. Domestic abuse isn't a laughing matter, but the sad part is that millions of people are involved in domestic abuse every single day. They don't have the support that Rihanna has and they don't have the money for attorney's that Chris Brown does.
All of these stories happen to ordinary people everyday. I work at Berklee with a ton of musicians, do people smoke pot? Yup. Do they have multimillion dollar endorsement deals? No, but does that make them any better or worse as people? (Financially is a whole different story.) I go to the gym almost daily, I don't necessarily know people who use performance enhancing drugs, but do they exist for sure. Are they setting records? No, but are they trying to out do the next guy or live up to a public image? And Chris Brown, Ike Turner, Bobby Brown and other celebrity's who let money and power get the best of them, their actions are not justified or acceptable, but let's remember we don't know the whole story. We're just reading all of this through the eyes and ears of 'sources' and tabloids.
Heading home for a couple days this weekend for much needed family time.
-Sh
Thursday, February 5, 2009
25 Things You Might Not Know About Me.
Ok so, for those of you not on facebook, or not on my friend (you are really missing out), there is a thing going around where you write 25 things about yourself that people may or may not know. Then you include 25 other people and they have to do it. It's like an epidemic and I was bound to catch it, so I felt like I would share all with you. Enjoy!
1.) Music is my life, even though I'm not musical. If I had the time and effort I would learn and instrument, I still might.
2.) Along those lines I have an unnatural and sometimes creepy obsession with Bruce Springsteen. I blame my Aunt and Mike. The first time I heard him I sat outside Fenway Park freshmen year of college. Mike took me to my first show, my aunt was with me on my 21st birthday for my 3rd show and my best friend and I got soaked before my 4th show at Gillette Stadium.
3.) My best friends are like family. I'd do anything for them. Sometimes even if it's detrimental to me.
4.) I lived in Australia and it was some of the best and worst times of my life.
5.) I want a tattoo, but I'm afraid that I'll get one and then I'll be covered.
6.) I'm a Gemini (Some may read bi-polar)
7.) I love to travel and if I was independently wealthy, I would constantly be on the move.
8.) I enjoy cooking and I do it pretty often.
9.) My parents are two of the greatest people I know and sometimes I hope they outlive me.
10.) I will live in NYC again.
11.) It was once a life goal to be on the Real World and I've been to multiple casting calls. When I was in Australia Real World was too and I hung out with them, and bought a couple rounds of drinks before they told me they have an alcohol budget. I bummed a cigarette of Isaac. I did not make it on TV.
12.) I auditioned to be an MTV VJ, then they got rid of music on MTV.
13.) More often than not I work out to really embarrassing pop music.
14.) I've been working on a movie script/TV pilot for years, someday I might just finish it.
15.) I'm really 5 11 and 3/4 but I tell everyone I'm 6'. Sometimes I wish I was taller.
16.) There are very few things I regret in life. Although I regret not trying harder sometimes.
17.) I may or may not have a gambling problem. I once lost a $100 and lied about it. I once spent 2hours driving between different gas stations buying scratch tickets because if I won I refused to go back to the same place twice. I went to the Casino or played poker EVERY night in Australia. I was broke.
18.) I started a blog to share my thoughts with the world. I have a journal to write my thoughts that I will probably never share.
19.) If I'm not drinking Bud or Guinness, it's Jack and Coke or Soco. (Or water, I'm not that bad, anymore)
20.) I'm not a 'typical frat guy' but my Fraternity experiences are very much a part of who I am today.
21.) I wish I were Peter Pan, not because of the tights and weird hat, but because he could fly and never had to grow up, and to be honest growing up sucks.
22.) I think the only time I've ever cried watching a TV was the episode of ER where Mark Greene dies. Devastating.
23.) I hate the thought of teeth. If I hear about someone cracking a tooth or root canals I get the chills. I also have recurring dreams where I'm brushing my teeth or flossing and my teeth fall out one at a time.
24.) I hate cold weather and don't know why I've chosen to stay in the Northeast for so long. I'd rather be hot than cold any day.
25.) I sing in the shower, sometimes at the top of my lungs. I catch myself thinking out loud sometimes. This was way harder than I thought.
1.) Music is my life, even though I'm not musical. If I had the time and effort I would learn and instrument, I still might.
2.) Along those lines I have an unnatural and sometimes creepy obsession with Bruce Springsteen. I blame my Aunt and Mike. The first time I heard him I sat outside Fenway Park freshmen year of college. Mike took me to my first show, my aunt was with me on my 21st birthday for my 3rd show and my best friend and I got soaked before my 4th show at Gillette Stadium.
3.) My best friends are like family. I'd do anything for them. Sometimes even if it's detrimental to me.
4.) I lived in Australia and it was some of the best and worst times of my life.
5.) I want a tattoo, but I'm afraid that I'll get one and then I'll be covered.
6.) I'm a Gemini (Some may read bi-polar)
7.) I love to travel and if I was independently wealthy, I would constantly be on the move.
8.) I enjoy cooking and I do it pretty often.
9.) My parents are two of the greatest people I know and sometimes I hope they outlive me.
10.) I will live in NYC again.
11.) It was once a life goal to be on the Real World and I've been to multiple casting calls. When I was in Australia Real World was too and I hung out with them, and bought a couple rounds of drinks before they told me they have an alcohol budget. I bummed a cigarette of Isaac. I did not make it on TV.
12.) I auditioned to be an MTV VJ, then they got rid of music on MTV.
13.) More often than not I work out to really embarrassing pop music.
14.) I've been working on a movie script/TV pilot for years, someday I might just finish it.
15.) I'm really 5 11 and 3/4 but I tell everyone I'm 6'. Sometimes I wish I was taller.
16.) There are very few things I regret in life. Although I regret not trying harder sometimes.
17.) I may or may not have a gambling problem. I once lost a $100 and lied about it. I once spent 2hours driving between different gas stations buying scratch tickets because if I won I refused to go back to the same place twice. I went to the Casino or played poker EVERY night in Australia. I was broke.
18.) I started a blog to share my thoughts with the world. I have a journal to write my thoughts that I will probably never share.
19.) If I'm not drinking Bud or Guinness, it's Jack and Coke or Soco. (Or water, I'm not that bad, anymore)
20.) I'm not a 'typical frat guy' but my Fraternity experiences are very much a part of who I am today.
21.) I wish I were Peter Pan, not because of the tights and weird hat, but because he could fly and never had to grow up, and to be honest growing up sucks.
22.) I think the only time I've ever cried watching a TV was the episode of ER where Mark Greene dies. Devastating.
23.) I hate the thought of teeth. If I hear about someone cracking a tooth or root canals I get the chills. I also have recurring dreams where I'm brushing my teeth or flossing and my teeth fall out one at a time.
24.) I hate cold weather and don't know why I've chosen to stay in the Northeast for so long. I'd rather be hot than cold any day.
25.) I sing in the shower, sometimes at the top of my lungs. I catch myself thinking out loud sometimes. This was way harder than I thought.
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