Alli's Articles
INTERVIEWS, REVIEWS, CULTURE PIECES, MUSICAL RAMBLINGS.
The music you hear in your teenagedom greatly influences your view of the world from then on. If this article was an argumentative essay I had to write for my senior year AP English class, that would be my thesis statement. My supporting evidence would be the entirety of the year 2019, where, whenever an event that invoked strong emotion inside of me happened, I would tune into Spotify to help deal with it. It’s my exercise, or drugs, I guess you could say. (Although some people pair music with both of those things. I just sit down and ponder about the current happenings in my life.) It’s a coping mechanism for sure, but it’s anything but a bad one. It just gives you memories for the future, and instant, ecstasy-filled flashbacks whenever you hear the first note.
Slide, the second album from George Clanton under his own name, was released in the summer of 2018 long before I heard of it. I was introduced to this album through two recommended songs at different parts of this past year, “Make It Forever” being the first one and “Dumb” being the second. It took me months to finally listen to the whole album, and in late August, when I was home from college for Labor Day, all I could do was shake my head at how stupid that was. Clanton’s previous projects, Mirror Kisses and ESPRIT 空想, are drenched in vaporwave influence, something I didn’t realize until I listened to the rest of Slide. Those two tracks I mentioned earlier are amazing in their own right, but they definitely were more shoegaze-inspired as compared to the rest of the release. “Livin’ Loose” is an intro song if I’ve ever heard one. I felt greatly overwhelmed by the trippy synths, but in the best way possible. It felt relaxing, like I was in a dream. That, paired with the trumpets and the echoed vocals and the hip-hop-like beat drop made for an amazing introduction to the world that lay ahead. “Tie Me Down” was definitely a song I had on repeat for the end half of 2019. The garage rock noise quality and Clanton’s unrequited, lovesick lyrics hit me right in the heart. Still, listening now, I want to go to a public place and just scream the words. Then there’s “Slide.” The monster title track. The way I felt when I heard the breakdown near the end of this song for the first time is indescribable. There’s something about Clanton’s voice on this song that truly makes me feel like I’m sliding down a slide, not in control, only the notes steering me in the path they want me to take. The “Asleeps” and the “My dream is to be with yous” always get me. This song is almost 7 minutes long but it definitely doesn’t feel like it. I think that’s just because I’m enjoying every minute of it. “Monster” is the next song, and it totally cools down the mood from the faux-acid trip that was just experienced. A heart-wrenching track about two lovers caught in alcoholism and other problems, it was my go-to angst song whenever things didn’t work out. As sad as it made me, it also made me happy because of how amazing those instrumentals were. All of this praise about how this album makes me feel powerful things reaches its crescendo in the 8th track, “You Lost Me There.” Out of all of the 80s-like tracks on this album, this one takes the cake. I really felt like I was in a Stranger Things episode, and a horrible, plot-twisting event just took place. This 6 minute electronica ballad made it onto my 2019 Spotify Wrapped Most Played Songs, so I guess it really is my favorite on the album. It played in the music videos that my melancholic mind made up during serious angst-y times, and it made the experience oh-so more powerful. It’s lyrical content is a mix of struggling, moving on, being ready to give it all to a person, them not feeling the same, losing someone not physically but emotionally, and just so, so many unrequited feelings. I’ve morphed and flipped this song to match my own life so many times. I think that’s my favorite thing to do with music, especially when they’re so specific to a certain situation. I will blast this song whenever I’m feeling any of those listed things until I feel better until the end of time. “Walk Slowly” is the soundtrack to an ending credits scene. Somehow I find the ultimate comfort in it, like it’s the swan song at the end of a long, emotional journey. I feel like it’s sending me off into the world. Like, “Okay, you just heard an album that will change your viewpoint on music and basically the world forever, so go on and do something about it.” The hypnotic melody of the chorus, “I’ll wait, my turn, I’ll rush, you’ll learn” definitely adds to this feeling. It just seems like the perfect way to end it off. There are few albums where I’d say that all of the songs successfully compliment each other, and Slide is one of those few diamonds. Even putting my personal connection aside, this album is flawless to me: The vibe, the length, the interludes, the subjects, and even that beautiful cover that finishes the aesthetic perfectly. Searching for technical information about this album taught me an important lesson: Never look at Pitchfork reviews for albums you adore because it will get you angry. No snobby critic’s review will ever change the way I look at this album, though, which is the way it should be. George Clanton is going on tour with The Garden, another one of my favorite acts, later this spring, and I really hope I can catch them and hear some of the songs I hold so close to my heart live. 2019 was an eventful, bizarre year, with loads of things being thrown at me all at once. There were times where I was feeling too much, or too little, even, and needed an outlet to reflect on everything that was happening. Slide was that outlet. I truly made this album my own last year. So, thank you Slide, thank you George Clanton, and thank you for everything that has happened in my life that has pushed me out of my box and made me feel uncomfortable. It sucked at the time, but, with the power of music by my side, I allowed it to shape me into a better and stronger person in 2020. I’m looking forward to what my Slide of this year will be, but it will definitely be a long time until I completely get over this album.
0 Comments
Oh my god, it’s December.
That was not a thought-up intro statement for this article, that was my genuine realization that it is indeed the last month of 2019 and that this year has gone by way too fast. For as speedy as it was, this year was chock-full of amazing and innovative music, from chart-toppers to rockin’ comebacks to indie breakouts and everything in between. The soundtrack to these last 12 months was a pretty good one, and my taste has definitely developed greatly because of it. I’ve “liked” a lot of albums this year, but if I wrote a piece on all of those albums, I’d be slaving away in the SUNY New Paltz Starbucks forever. For the sake of time and my sanity, I’ll only be writing in detail about my seven absolute favorite albums that were released this year, the ones that fascinated me and caused me to hit the repeat button over and over again. They’re a variety of well-known immediate classics and lesser-known unique favorites of mine. Without further ado, let’s gush over the music of 2019. As you’ve seen by the very obvious influx of “New Scene, New Paltz” articles, I’ve been very, very busy. I’ve met with multiple artists so far on SUNY New Paltz’ campus, and they’ve all changed my view on the music scene for the better. I’ve been absolutely overwhelmed with all of the musicians I’ve befriended, but it’s a beautiful feeling. The connection I feel with the community here has heightened, and it’s only getting higher from here. This past Tuesday in the SUNY New Paltz Student Union Building lounge, I sat with Matt Motherway and Jack Salzman, who make up the New Paltz-based indie band Man’s Mother. They released their first EP under this name, Scudder Sessions, this October. Since then, they’ve been releasing singles and demos on their Spotify and Soundcloud. Their newest release, a two song EP titled For The Better, was just put out this Friday. I take a psychology class with Matt, and I’ve been listening to their EP and singles a lot lately. This was definitely an interview I was very excited to conduct. Alli: At what age did you guys start making music together? Matt: We were in 6th grade, we were in DMJ Squared, a stupid pop band. We played, like, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and what was the other one… Jack: He was drumming, I was playing guitar, and there was no bass player. It was totally switched. Matt: There were two singers, that we’re friends with now, but it was awful. Oh, we played Neon Trees, and we would perform in, like, talent shows. So yeah, that was like the origin of it. God, that’s disgusting. Alli: Oh my god, Neon Trees. I forgot they existed. Now, I feel like I know the answer to this already, but what’s the meaning behind your band name? Matt: Oh, it’s so deep... Jack: Is it deep? Matt: Not at all. My last name is Motherway, and his last name is Salzman. Jack: But that’s not even why I said it though! I don’t even know why it came out of my mouth. I think we were just talking about “mother…" Matt: Yeah, no. When he said that, I didn’t even realize it until he explained. I think it has such a cool ring to it. Like if you don’t know our last names, I think it’s so cool, but once you know our last names it’s like “Oh, that was so not creative.” Jack: Some people didn’t get it though! Matt: I didn’t get it, and I’m involved... Alli: Yeah, I kinda figured it was your last names, but it just sounds coincidentally awesome. Who are some of your biggest inspirations musician-wise? Matt: We have some different ones. Recently, while we’ve been writing the stuff that we’re putting out now, I’ve been listening to a lot of Bon Iver, huge inspiration for both of us, Ray LaMontagne, and I listen to The 1975 constantly. But inspiration-wise, I’d say definitely John Mayer, I can’t lie and say he’s not an inspiration. Jack: For me, I guess, Ben Howard is big with the acoustic stuff. Grateful Dead, we’re not even realizing it, but they play a huge part in our music, especially the way we play live. Mac Demarco was also a huge inspiration for synths in our music. Alli: What do you want people to feel when they listen to your music? Matt: Wow. Um...lemme sit on that for a sec. I guess the stuff that we’re putting out Friday, that’s like, happier than our other stuff. It’s more up-tempo. Jack: I think there’s potential in all of our songs to travel with the music, in a sense. I think that’s a cool dynamic to have with a crowd, they could, like, feel it. They could feel where it’s going. Matt: Lyrically, half of the shit I’m saying doesn’t necessarily make any sense, but it works in our favor, because you can kinda interpret it however you would like. Everyone will interpret it differently. But it’s more about the connection. You can just enjoy it in however way you internalize it. Alli: I was gonna tell you guys how your songs make me feel before, but I didn’t want to influence your answer. *laughs* I get a very warm, welcoming, and just a very comfortable vibe from it. Jack: Yeah. “Love U,” it’s just trippy, man. It just feels like a dream Alli: Yeah, I agree. Huge fan of that single. You recently came out with your first EP, Scudder Sessions. What was the writing/recording process of that like? Jack: That was fun. That was one of the best weeks ever. All of the songs Matt pretty much had a base for. We wrote one from start to finish here, by the lake. Matt: Yeah, “From Delaware.” We sat down by the lake and wrote that one. But all the other ones have been in the bank for a while. We went to my dorm room in Scudder Hall, and put a mic in the middle of the floor and sat on the sides of it. We just sang and played guitar. It’s pretty much a live album. We don’t know what we’re doing mastering or mixing wise, so it’s not mastered or mixed at all. We just recorded it and put it out there. It was wholesome, I loved it, but I would love to remaster it at some point. Alli: For the “Best Of” album, for the “Greatest Hits!” But yeah, I loved that vibe, personally. I felt like I was in the dorm room with you guys, like just sitting there on the floor, while listening to it. And also, I really like the designs of your newest single covers. They totally fit your sound. Matt: Ohhh, where is he?! Alli: Oh, it’s a guy who makes them? I was gonna ask if you guys make those covers yourselves! Jack: No, we have no artistic ability whatsoever. Matt: No, none at all. It’s our friend who makes them, he also goes here. His name is Paulie, He makes all of them, but he’s super scared about putting them out. He’s in our Spotify Bio, it says all artistic aspects courtesy of Paulie Tucci, and he’s like, scared, to be put out there. Jack: He’s a graphic design major! It’s good stuff! Matt: Yeah, I really love what he did with the Scudder Sessions cover, and what he’s doing with the singles. Alli: Yeah, it is! Like the crumpled paper effect? How does he do it? I love it! Matt: I have no idea, but I love it too. It’s so cool. Alli: Right?! He deserves the recognition. How are you enjoying the New Paltz music scene so far? Jack: I can see it in everyone, everyone is really into music to an extreme degree here. Matt: I like that, that a lot of people are involved in it, and pretty much everyone is interested in it. We went to one show, at the Skatehouse I think, and I like the vibe. We just have no idea, personally, how to get involved. Like we’re putting out music and stuff, but… Jack: I’m sure eventually it’ll be easier. Matt: Yeah, hopefully we’ll try and figure it out. I saw Andre (Sleeked)’s answer, and I was like “Yeah, that’s kinda true, too.” His was like “It’s a lot of the same sounds,” and you and I both agree with it. Not even the same exact band, but a similar type of music. Like the show we were at, it was all kind of punk rock-ish, which I can appreciate, but I just feel like there needs to be a little more diversity. Alli: Yes, exactly! And hopefully, you guys get booked, because I feel like a nice little acoustic show would be a good change. It’s weird, when I first started asking that question, I thought everyone would be like “Oh, I love it,” but then everyone was like “Actually...there are some issues.” *laughs* I really hope that all gets fixed. Matt: I feel like if everyone’s aware of it, then hopefully it’ll start to fix itself. Alli: Yeah, it definitely has the potential to do that. But that’s why I keep on asking that question, because I like the topics that are being brought up. My last question is...what’s next for the band? Are you guys looking to release a full length album soon? Jack: Yeah! Right now, in total, we got like 16 or 17 songs? Matt: I think we have a good amount of songs that we’re probably gonna split into two albums, like two 8 or 7-song albums. Jack: And right now we’re trying to figure out how to perform it live. Matt: It’s hard with two guys to get all of the production and everything set up. But yeah, hopefully by sometime next year after the long winter break, we’re hoping to put out one of the two albums. Jack: I just wanna play live so badly here. Matt: Yeah, that’s our biggest thing. Before we put an album out we want to get a live performance together. ~~ Thanks so much to Matt and Jack for taking the time to sit with me and answer my questions! I really love their sound, and I hope you do, too. I can tell that they’re going to do great things, and hopefully they play a live show sometime soon. Listen to Man’s Mother on Spotify! Follow them on Instagram! If you’re a New Paltz student who enjoys the house shows in the area, the name “Skatehouse” should be very familiar. It’s the closest venue to campus, in a quaint little house hidden in the trees. I wrote an article about my first show there in September, and have gone to multiple shows since then. It’s probably my favorite venue that I’ve been to yet, because the bands are always spectacular, the basement is always decorated to the theme, and the people are just great. I always have a great time, and I love moshing with my friends and enjoying the music. One person in particular I’ve noticed promoting the house constantly, and overall is very passionate about the shows there is Connor. Not only does he live in the Skatehouse, he also is in charge of the Skatehouse Instagram and all things social media-related for the shows. I’ve wanted to talk to Connor for a while, but one event in particular made me even more curious about the Skatehouse. On November 1st, 2019, the house hosted a Halloween Hangover show. The lineup was great, it was being promoted nearly every day, and it was looking up to be the perfect show. I arrived at the very start, and I immediately noticed that the vibes of this show were slightly off. It was overflowing with people. Usually, a lot of guests attend the shows, but this time, it was too much. I couldn’t even get to the basement, and was stuck in a sea of people who saw it as a normal house party, and were there just to be out of the dorms on a Friday night. It wasn’t about the music anymore in my eyes, and as the cops came to the driveway and began to shut it down, that became pretty apparent. There was supposed to be another Skatehouse show on November 15th, but all show activities were stopped after the shutdown. “We hope you all had a blast at the shows at Skatehouse,” read an Instagram picture posted on the Skatehouse Instagram two days after the event. Countless users flooded the comment section of that post, expressing gratitude and sadness. “Skate house will never die,” and “Gone but never forgotten,” are just two examples of all of the love guests were sending. Seeing these comments made me upset, but also confused. Is this the end of Skatehouse forever? Will they ever try again to put on the great shows they once hosted? Refusing to believe this was the end, I met up with Connor in SUNY New Paltz’ Atrium and got to the bottom of how the Skatehouse started up, how it operates, and what the future holds. ~~~ Alli: Could you tell me a little bit about the origins of the skatehouse? Connor: So…*laughs* We bought this house from our landlord, and, I don’t know, I’ve always wanted to host shows there, so last year I got into contact with the Lavender Ladies which is Denise and Elana, and they asked if they could have a show in our basement. So, we said yeah, and they did that, and it ended up being really cool. I realized, “This is what I wanna do, I wanna start hosting things.” I just completely took over the social media aspect of it, like making Skatehouse into an actual platform and venue. Slowly but surely, we transformed the basement from what it was into a stage and completely decorated it everytime. I don’t know...it just became really...like so much fun. I love it. Alli: Were there any venues previously, before the Skatehouse? Connor: So last year, there was Crossroads, but it was closer to campus back then. Like right across the street near the high school and middle school. You would cross the road and it would be right there. Alli: Oh. That’s why it’s called Crossroads! Connor: Yeah! You cross the road and you’re there! And then there was Nacho House. It was ran by the people in the band Winnebago Vacation and TOP nacho. And they had shows, like, all the time. It was insane. There were so many bands. They ended it off with Nacho Fest last year, where they had an all day thing where 20-30 bands played. Because Nacho House is gone now, and Crossroads is a little further, I wanted to make something that was more apparent to New Paltz, to kinda keep the music scene alive and to bring it back a little bit more, because it was falling out and leaving with the people that were maintaining it. I don’t know, I wanna keep the music scene alive. I really want to. Alli: Why is it called the “skate” house? Connor: Ummm…*laughs* So...I don’t really know. Someone asked me once, I’m pretty sure it was Denise or Elana, “What is this called?” so they could put it on the poster, and we were all joking around at first calling it “Skatehouse,” and I just didn’t know what to say, so I just said that. And it just became that. Now we’re changing it to Mountain Dew house. Alli: Oh my god, really? Connor: No. *laughs* Maybe. I don’t know. But we’re trying there. Alli: Who makes up the Skatehouse, and what is your role in the house? Connor: There’s Jack, there’s Ben, there’s Duncan, there’s Matt, there’s Brandon, there’s Koby, there’s Eddie, there’s Danny, there’s Peyton, there’s me...I think that’s everybody. I hope I’m not forgetting anybody. Pretty much what I do is the social media aspect of everything. I advertise, I book the bands, I talk to the other venues, I get the equipment set up, I talk to the people for the doors, the people running the PA system, the photographer. Everybody helps prepare and clean up after the shows, which is nice. I’ve decorated a little bit, and Ben helps do that as well. It’s very easy to do. It sounds like a lot of work, but I’m really prepared for it. And I love to do it, it’s one of my favorite things to do here. Alli: Yeah, I’ve learned that in a way. For the Music Collective here I was in charge of booking the bands for this upcoming show on December 7th. I had to reach out to the bands and negotiated, and it was so much fun! I had to send them the paperwork, I felt like such a professional person. Connor: It’s so much fun! It’s so great. You get, like, a sense of independence. You get a look into what the business is like. Alli: Yeah, exactly. It’s like, if I want to go into the business, now I know what it consists of. Next...what is the show preparation process like? Connor: So basically, what I’ll do is go into the basement, look around, clean it, get whatever is left down, I vinnegar-ed the floors completely, and washed them to get rid of any smell that was left. It rained and we left a window open, so we had to get rid of the carpet because it got all messed up. We have three electronic lights that connect and make cool little animations, we have shower curtains that we put on the sidings of the wall that makes it look kind of like white plating that the lights can go on, which is cool. The sound system comes in at around 7, before the show which usually starts at 9. I set up the GoPro to record the crowd. The camera guy usually comes at 8, the door people come at 8. All the equipment people just start coming in, and yeah! I don’t know! It’s pretty easy once they all start coming. It all just comes together, really. Alli: I was running these questions past my friends, and this was the one that everyone wanted to know the answer to. How long does it take to completely clean the house after a show? Connor: Um…*laughs* I don’t know. Don’t come into our house. It’s been a while. After our third show, I think, I realized that it usually takes so long to clean it after, so I went down the day after and cleaned the whole entire basement. Honestly, the upstairs is usually clean, so it varies. We can either take a day or a month. Depends on how we’re feeling, and, to be honest, we have not been feeling very urgent lately, so.... Alli: Do you have a favorite band that has played at the Skatehouse? Connor: Ah! Oh my God, Run for the Whales, obviously have been incredible. I love them. They’re all great. Greenhouse Lake was incredible, Koalamode is so good. It was just all great. I loved it. It was so much fun. Alli: Yeah, I agree. I loved when Run for the Whales covered “Sugar We’re Going Down” at that one show...That was definitely my favorite mosh of the night. Connor: Yeah! And then “Build Me Up Buttercup!” That was so cool. Sean Brennan is my hero. Alli: I understand you make music as well, under… Mono Neko (pronounced Moe-Noe NEE-koe). Who are some of your inspirations? Connor: I don’t really know how to describe my music taste, because it changes a lot. My inspirations are kinda just who I’m listening to at the time. A couple big ones are Hippo Campus, I love the way they’ve been sounding lately. I’m super into a lot of the indie bands. I love Wallows. Deerhunter is great, they’re a little more rock. If you’ve heard “PRIDE.” by Kendrick Lamar, it has the same vibe as an indie artist like Steve Lacy, and how he makes things. Anything that sounds spacey, and makes me feel like I’m in the 80s, basically, I’m inspired by. Alli: Out of all of the Skatehouse shows you’ve had, which one was the best? Connor: I don’t wanna say the last one, but...Okay. The most successful in terms of everything going great, everything was perfect, was probably the one before the last one, the one on 10/25. That was an incredible show. We had Winnebago Vacation, bby carrots, Run for the Whales, and Vanity Jones. That was an incredible show. But, I think I have to pick the last one. The one where we got shut down. Playing in front of 400 people throughout the night coming in and out at our 11/1 Halloween Hangover show, that was probably the coolest thing I’ve ever done in my life. So I would say that’s my favorite show. Alli: Yeah, my next question was actually about that. The Halloween Hangover show got shut down a few weeks ago. How do you feel about it, and what’s the next step from here? Connor: So, right now, we’re on a bit of a hiatus, indefinitely. Not really sure what’s going on. All I can say is we now have so many places in the community that are all connected. Even if Skatehouse isn’t running, there’s Sanctum House, Sanctuary, Crevice, Crossroads, Groove Grove, and Crazy Dan’s. There’s still a community. I think for Skatehouse right now, we’ll probably be on hold for a little while, and that’s pretty much all I can confirm right now. But it was great, it was so much fun when we had it. Stay tuned, I guess, for something maybe not involving Skatehouse, but something else, who knows? And stay tuned for the Skatehouse Instagram, we’ll definitely be posting a lot there. Alli: Exactly. We can only go up from there. I mean, I was there for the last show, I left early because there was a situation going on, and I remember seeing a police car in addition to that. Personally, I saw many people I knew at the house that night. There was nothing else going on that night, the frats were dead and I guess the bars were as well, so people who aren’t really into that scene came. The basement was dead but the pong table upstairs was popping, and that’s what upset me about it. It wasn’t for the music. Connor: Yeah, there was a separation. If you went downstairs, you saw all the people involved in music, but upstairs was like a house party. Originally, we always wanted it to just be for the music, but...I guess that we learned from our mistakes, and move on from there. It’s not fun. But hey, that’s the risk you take. Alli: Yeah, especially being so close to campus and all. My last question is, what’s your favorite part about living in the Skatehouse? Connor: I love everybody in there. It’s great. It’s so much fun. I...we’re not a frat! We’re not! I don’t know, it’s just fun. I wake up in the morning, I go to class, and then I come home and there’s always something to do. Everyone’s so much fun. I’m in there with my best friend Eddie, which is great, because he’s always there too. Everyone I moved in with that I didn’t know prior, they’re incredible. They’re all great. They’ve all helped so much. I do all the technical stuff online, but that’s mostly just because I like to make sure that everything’s set. Brandon’s helped me with crowd control, and making sure things are staying safe. Pretty much everyone has helped the place stay clean. Eddie has helped make the posters. He sets up the blackboard, if you see it, he always makes the best designs. Ben and Matt redesign the living room every couple of days before a show just to see what they can switch up. Koby and Danny sweep up the entire driveway to make a path, which is awesome. Yeah, no, everybody has been contributing pretty equally, and have just been making it a lot of fun. It’s great, I love everybody there! Alli: Yeah, and I’ve seen it in your expressions at the shows, and on your Instagram and the Skatehouse Instagram, you seem very passionate about the music scene here and I really appreciate that. I come from Staten Island, and there’s some scenes, some people, but you really have to dig down if you want to find it. Connor: Yeah, I genuinely love it. ~~~ The Skatehouse may be on a little bit of a hiatus, but the music scene here at New Paltz is alive as ever. With venues all across the town, there are so many places to go and so many people to see. Some of these venues may be a little far for people without cars, but carpooling and Ubers are a thing in this day and age! Don’t let the Skatehouse shutting down steer you away from the scene as a whole. There are many other great places that you can support to keep the scene alive. I’m hoping that one day in the future the Skatehouse makes a return, because I had some of the best nights of my first semester of college in that basement. Seeing classmates and friends, making new ones, discovering new bands, and just seeing everyone happy and enjoying themselves were all great things to do there. So, to answer my question of this being the end of Skatehouse...it’s not a definite no. After talking to Connor and getting a better understanding of the lore of the Skatehouse, I don’t think that this is the end of the road. It’s just a minor setback. Stay posted on what the Skatehouse does next by following their Instagram! Follow Connor on Instagram! Listen to Mono Neko on Soundcloud! My first semester at SUNY New Paltz has been a very enlightening experience when it comes to music. Not only have I met people that have the same exact tastes as me, but I've come across so many new bands and artists. I've also discovered that the best part about going to a smaller (and artsier) college is the connections you have. Songwriters can be anywhere, like the classmate that sits next to you in your psych class or your friend's friend that's sitting at your usual spot at the dining hall one day. One up-and-coming artist I've had the pleasure of befriending this semester is Anika Leetmaa, also known as 3crulee. In the few songs she has released, she shows her skills as a bedroom pop artist and also as a linguist. In the comfort of Bouton Hall on a crisp but chilly fall afternoon, I talked to Anika about her history as a songwriter and her career, one that's just taking off now. Alli: Alright, my first question for you is, what is your earliest memory of making music? Anika: It was probably my sophomore year, well, that was writing my own music. I've been playing piano, guitar, and viola since I was probably 6 years old. That was just sheet music and covers, but sophomore year is when I started messing around on guitar trying to make my own chord progressions. For the longest time I was having trouble coming up with lyrics and stuff. I'm not really a poet, and at that point I wasn't very experienced in love or anything, so I had no idea what to write about. Junior year I had a little relationship that didn't go too well *laughs* so I finally had that content. That's when I wrote my first song, probably the spring of junior year. Alli: I know you're very excited about this question, where does the name 3crulee come from? Anika: This is my favorite part! It all starts with Twitter. I wanted to make an indie parody account that poked fun at the more pretentious users on there who really like to analyze music, poems, all of that stuff. I needed a username for this account, so I was thinking, "What goes into an indie Twitter handle?" I looked into it and I saw that colors were a big thing, but I could really only think of "blue" and "yellow," which were kind of boring. I went onto Wikipedia, and I scrolled through the list of colors until I found one which was kind of cool, and I saw "ecru," which, I think, translates from French into "raw." It's a beige-ish color, and I'm a big fan of the color beige, so I was like, "Okay, this is gonna work." I needed a second part, and I noticed that sometimes indie usernames will be a keyboard-smash, which is just random letters, so I thought it would be kind of funny to add a keysmash at the end, like "ecru_keysmash." The Twitter account never actually took off, but I was making a Neopets account with my sister last summer, and I thought that username would be weird for Neopets. I needed something a little more simple. My last name is Leetmaa, and I didn't want to use my full last name. My mom uses the "lee" from our name for things, so I just took that. It looks really pretty together! Eventually the Neopets username moved on to Soundcloud. Alli: Wow, I guess Neopets really started your career. My next question is what are some of your biggest musical influences? Anika: That is a very hard question! I grew up listening to a lot of indie music, and my family always listened to alternative stuff. I think I did go through a very big bedroom pop phase. I try to distance myself from it now, but I do have a lot of respect for bedroom pop artists, because a lot of the time they make their own stuff, and a lot of higher name artists can't do that. When someone can make their own music, I have a lot of respect for that. I can't really name anybody specifically. I listen to so much music that it would be hard to just pick one, so I guess just alternative in general. Alli: I know that your music sometimes has elements from different languages in the titles and the lyrics, so why does language fascinate you so much? Anika: Oh! This is such a good question! Alli: I know, I was excited about this one. Anika: Probably the biggest part of it starts with my name in general. My grandparents are from Estonia, so that culture is very much alive in my family. My name, Anika Leetmaa, obviously is not the most American name, so it's very recognizable. I've had a lot of people ask me "What's your nationality?" when they hear my name, so I constantly found myself saying "I'm Estonian." The more I said that, the more I started to identify with that nationality. So I include stuff kind of as a flex, but also because it sounds pretty. Alli: What is your songwriting process like? Anika: It's very interesting. Like I said, I'm not the best writer, so I tried writing off of my life experiences, but I just didn't like it. I didn't really like the style of it, because it wasn't very beautiful to me; It was just me saying my thoughts. It wasn't anything special. When I was writing my first EP, I was under a bit of a time crunch, so I was like "I cannot think of these bad lyrics in time." So, I went to this little thing called GoogleTranslateGate, where you go onto Google and type random gibberish into the Somalian section and produce the english translation. It's very cool. Sometimes, like, serious prophecies come up. There's a lot of articles about it. They did some updates and now you actually can't do English words as much to produce these things, but I found that if I break up Estonian words, it was a lot easier. So breaking up Estonian words and putting them into Somali will produce very English results in Google Translate, so I did that for a couple songs. I only used the lyrics that I actually liked, because some weird results came up also. My favorite line that I got was "I have a tattoo," probably. For one of my songs, I only used the word Mustikakissell, which means blueberry soup in Estonian, and one of my favorite Estonian foods. Alli: That's really cool. I love that. How are you enjoying the New Paltz music scene so far? Anika: It's very fun! I haven't met a crazy amount of musicians, but more than I expected. I was lucky enough to get to talk to some of them and see their stuff. Some of them are more...um...they come in different tiers, um, of quality. Some people do just download beats off of Youtube and rap over it, but some of them actually do use real instruments, and maybe they'll use digital beats, which is similar to me. Like yeah, I'm not gonna buy a whole drum set. So yeah, I have different levels of respect, but for all of them, hey, you're making something. I've been to some music shows, and those have been awesome. I'm always so impressed by all of the effect pedals. I still don't know how to use those. I wanna get some. Just playing guitar gets boring after a while. More psychedelic influences is where I'd like to go in the future, I think. Alli: What are your favorite instruments/effects to use in your songs? Anika: Let's see...I use a lot of synth sounds. This is just me messing around, but you can download synth plugins online. Also, Garageband already comes with a bunch. I want to invest in a better digital audio workshop in the future, but right now, I do not have any money, so...*laughs.* But yeah, mostly, I use so many synths, but I don't know how to do bass. That is something to work on, so none of my songs really have bass. One synth I use a lot, I'm not really a huge fan of it, but it is free and it comes with a bunch of presets, is called Helm, and you can download that. You will not get a virus. It's very useful. I've made a lot with it, but nothing that I have released yet. ~~ You can listen to Anika's music on Soundcloud. You can also go through her liked tracks if you want to find some cool Estonian rap. I hope you all support her in some way, because she has such a unique sound and she's just getting started. This is the first article of a new series I've started called "New Scene, New Paltz." I'm planning to interview musicians and people heavily involved in the scene here and, hopefully, have a new interview every week! I would appreciate feedback, and, if you are or know of any New Paltz musicians that would be interested, send a message to our "Contact' section. I hope you all are as excited for this as I am! College, as I've learned so far, is one helluva trip. I've met so many new friends as well as interesting characters, taken (and cried over) so many new classes, felt extremely excluded on campus for not knowing how to skateboard, and found so, so, so much more music. One think I love about the quaint and cultured little town of New Paltz is the band scene, and the cool people involved that I've made bonds with already. I've heard praise about it even before I moved up here, and was looking forward to delve deeper. It barely took a week, because as soon as I came across the "Music Collective Club," a group with the objective of booking and hosting bands on campus, it was a crazy explosion of discovery from there.
The Looked-Over Legends of Mid-Noughties Indie: Los Campesinos! and Architecture in Helsinki7/30/2019 Picture this: It's 2009. Vampire Weekend and Phoenix are killing the scene with the releases of two genre-defining albums, VW's self-titled, and Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, just taking place shortly before. Everything in the alternative world seems to be happy, joyful, and rightfully experimental in those two moods. MGMT follows this trend, with their hits "Kids" and "Electric Feel" carrying a similar energy. All of this seems to be a huge change from all the post-punk gloom that rough rock acts such as The Killers, Interpol, and Arctic Monkeys brought in the early 2000s. Below all of this, there lays two bands in the bedrock that are looked over constantly when thinking about this positivity wave. Both are mega-collectives with more than 5 members, one being a sexually-cynical Welsh outfit, and the other being a quirky Australian group with a specialty in weird, funny voices. I've always been a tiny fan of Los Campesinos!, exclamation point and all, but truly started exploring their discography very recently. They came together in 2006, but their first full album Hold On Now, Youngster dropped in 2008, smack dab in the middle of this peppy indie gold rush. They managed to reach the mainstream with this release, with the 7 minute-long track "You! Me! Dancing!" achieving commercial success in an advertisement for Budweiser. It's painfully obvious that this colossal anthem is their most well-known, since it has over 4 million more plays than their second most streamed song on Spotify. The lack of a radio edit for this tune reflects LC!'s unique and unapologetic approach to their music; The only version is the one that preserves all of its glory, with nothing missing. The video that accompanies it (below) is pretty iconic, too, with its quirky animation and the flashy, colorful lights that cover up the overall semi-depressing message. It has over 7 million views on YouTube to it's name. Staten Island can be defined as a lot of things: The forgotten borough, the home of Wu-Tang and Pete Davidson, and even where half of the cast of Jersey Shore is from. I'll be the first to admit, as I've done multiple times on this blog, that we don't have the cleanest reputation, but these stereotypes completely erase the musical culture that is brewing underneath the surface of drug busts and mafia drama.
Ever since I scored an internship with a local radio station, a lot of artists that dabble in all types of genres creating music in the underground scene have become known to me. It inspired me to do some research and explore for more bands that I would be interested in, practically right in my backyard. After asking my peers for recommendations and clicking around on Instagram for a little bit, I found Urban Disaster: a five-piece alternative rock group that, taken from their Spotify bio, is "blending influences from 70s punk, modern pop punk, emo, and post hardcore." The band consists of Anthony Cuzzocrea and Kiefer Regan on guitar, Dominic Carnival on bass, Alex Livings on vocals, and Pierce Sparni with drums and back-up vocals. The are fairly new to the scene, with one single out, appropriately titled "Urban Disaster." They have an upcoming single on the way titled "February" that will be released Wednesday, July 17th. I got the chance to speak with three of the members about their music, and our common roots on the Island and as high school students. It's the morning of Friday, May 31st. I wake up at around 6:30AM, and immediately scurry to my phone. I was up until 2AM the night before, trying to figure out how I was going to get to the Manhattan-based ferry that would take me to Randall's Island for every Staten Island teen's dream: a musical rite of passage known as Governor's Ball. I quickly learned my first lesson of festival life: transparency is key. Know your plans. The lucky-strike I received of a last minute ride with my friend, Mike, a mere HOURS before the fest starts may not always work in your favor. But once you have your things together, the energy transformation of those pellets of anxiety into pure excitement is to die for. In the car, I secured the bracelet that was playfully advertised as being basically indestructible onto my wrist, and it felt like some sort of a pact. This thing was going to be stuck to me for the next two days, and fumbling and playing with it during the more time-consuming parts of the weekend would become an important staple for me. I also had to stick the ferry pass around my arm, so I could actually get on the thing. I had to remember a lot of pieces of jewelry for this event, and I'm glad I actually managed to. Based on stories I've heard and festival stereotypes that are universally known, I was kind of scared for the ferry experience. I was in total mob-mode, preparing to fight my way through the security and bag check just to get a decent seat. To my, and I'm sure literally everyone else's surprise and extreme relief, it was actually very well done. The boats were scheduled to arrive in 15 minutes intervals, so, even though we missed the one that dipped as soon as we got through a rather breezy bag check, we didn't have to wait too long to get another one. Also, the security and etc. employees were very nice, something that also shocked me, but in a pleasant way. We had a detailed conversation about the dock lady about Wendy's. It's the little things you remember the most vividly. After a pretty smooth ride, we finally got to the hidden kingdom, the lost paradise, the long-awaited Randall's Island. A little indie act by the name of Still Woozy was playing at the American Eagle stage, a medium sized tent right across from where the ferry docked. Since it was noon and most of the festival-goers were just arriving like us, there were no pits and the crowd was far from crazy. It also helped that SW is a pretty chill-sounding band that I enjoyed enough to go home and start listening to them for real. We were pretty far back since we just stopped by for a casual listen, so a lot of my focus was on the people around us. Glitter, fanny packs (that complimented my own), and a lot of weed, Juuls, and various other vaping equipment that I'm too straight-edge to know the names of managed to set the scene for the next 2 days. The thing I learned about Gov pretty quickly is, that when one act ends, the next one almost always automatically begins. Injury Reserve, a rap group I've always brushed off as just "being another BROCKHAMPTON," was setting up at the Honda Stage, right across from where Still Woozy just rocked it. I never heard a single song from them, but I decided, "Screw it. This is the reason I'm here. To jam out to music I know, and to discover more of it." It began to be something of a mantra for me. I'm grateful because of that mantra, because without the realization of it, my preconceived notions of this talented, creatively ambiguous, and attention-grabbing group would have remained the same. I came because of how impressed I was that they were making so much positive noise with only three people, and stayed because of the crazy performance, which included one of the guys leaving the stage for one song and then coming back with his shirt entirely off. I still wonder what happened to it. After seeing them, I highly believe that they are critically underrated, so you should go and listen to them. I wasn't just excited about the music aspect of Gov. There's a whole culture involved underneath the festival, featuring things such as free stuff, activities, and food. Lots and lots of food. Bopping my head around to the tune of songs I didn't know at all got me pretty hungry, and luckily there was a whole ROW of different options right next to the stage. Many different ethnicities, fried, grilled or sweetened, but all of it was Instagram-able, obviously the most important aspect of a trendy event such as this one. I eventually settled with a timeless favorite, a vegetarian burrito. As I was destroying it along with a bottle of CORE™ water, I watched as another band who's name slipped away from me begin their set on the AE stage. I had yet another realization...this was the life. This was the goal aesthetic for Gov right here, and I was killing it. Shorty after that, we returned to the AE tent once again to see Hippo Campus. This was my fourth time seeing them, I am very honored to admit. And, I must say, out of all of the performances, this may have been the best one. The fact that it was outside and during the day might have factored into it; They have the perfect sound to compliment the feeling of the sun coming down from around the tent and the wind hitting your face in rounds. Also, the crowd was great. For the past two Hippo shows I have been around some crazy fans, but the people at this show looked like they were just here for the chill experience, which I totally respected and resonated with. Like I said earlier, this band just makes me happy, and walking away, feeling completely satisfied from their performance (chock-filled with Bambi-era tunes combined with some older stuff), was a feeling I wish I could bottle up and sell as some sort of legal drug. After a few hours of eating more junk, chugging water, walking, walking, walking, and taking the perfect Insta pics with the pretty murals, it was time for the absolute highlight of Friday: BROCKHAMPTON. Now, I have to admit, I was petrified. It was just around 6PM, the sun was positioned directly above the main stage, and the endless sea of trendy teens was piling up behind me. I had my water, I had my portable charger, some sunblock applied, and I had my internal pep talk going in my head that if I WERE to faint I have caring people with me that would without a doubt carry me to the medical tent. I was kind of looking forward to mosh to some of their songs, but as soon as Bearface came out, perched on a levitating floating platform 20 feet above us, I realized that it was going to be impossible. "SUMMER" is a pretty chill concert-opening song by them, but I already felt the tension building in the dense, sweaty air as Ciarán was belting his heart out. And then, "BOOGIE" started up. Words cannot accurately describe the various ways I got thrown around for a good portion of the set. I felt so bad for the dude in front of me, because I was propping myself on top of him the entire time. I could feel how greasy and disgusting my hair was getting, and thanked the Lord we decided to take pics before this event started. It was a similar sensation to drowning, I feel, except instead of empty blue nothingness around you, I was surrounded by indie kids. Disregarding the obvious displays of struggle I was put through, the actual set was absolutely amazing. The boys started out enclosed in a gold plane, which they emerged from once "SUMMER" was done. The plane was propped up by two gigantic blue hands, which I guessed symbolized all of the blue face getup peppered throughout the SATURATION trilogy. I wish the videos and pictures I managed to take in the short, sweet moments I felt safe enough to hold my phone up in the air were better, but it was the experience of getting whacked like some mashed potatoes in a great big kitchen bowl I'll remember the most. The reason this set was so meaningful was not just because BROCKHAMPTON has been one of my favorite bands since last March. Mike and I's friendship started out as texting each other about BH when iridescence dropped last year. We always discussed the far-fetched possibility of what would happen if we ever witnessed "BOOGIE" live together, but it actually happening was still insane for me as I was preventing myself from becoming a stowaway in that hellish mosh. The biggest highlight of the weekend was definitely witnessing this friendship come full-circle in the form of 8 crazy men jumping around and rapping and yelling strange things in a gigantic aircraft. And then, just ask abrupt as it started, BH ended their set. I really did not know how to feel at ALL. My brain was mush, my arms were tired, and I just wanted to make sure everyone in our group was alright. I couldn't really reflect on anything else for now, though, because like I've been saying, Gov moves fast. We had to get ready for Tyler, The Creator in an hour and a half. We got some sinfully delicious mozzarella sticks, found a nice spot on a hill, and watched Lil Wayne's absolutely atrocious set going on across from us at the Bacardí stage. Listen, I really tried to give him the benefit of the doubt, but his voice was just not there. Half of the songs he played didn't even have him in it! I could have sworn I heard "SICKO MODE" blasting over there. After 20 minutes of helplessly cringing, it was back to the main stage we went. This time, thank God, the sun was finally down. Maybe it was the sudden temperature change, or just that the people surrounding us the the crowd this time were a little bit older, because once the first note in "IGOR'S THEME" was played, I immediately noticed a difference in the lack of pushiness. Thanks to the calmed-down crowd, I was able to fully appreciate the theatrics and the creative intellect of Tyler's performance, because there was a lot to look at. He came out in his newly-signature blonde wig, and his shimmering sky-blue suit. And don't even get me started on his amazingly choreographed dance moves...actually, I'm not even sure if they were choreographed or not. I think that was just natural Tyler goin' at it. The setlist was balanced and generous, with mostly songs from Igor mixed in with some of the classics, sprinkled with surprise appearances from Wolf tunes such as "Tamale" and "IFHY." Along with this, I am happy to announce that after failing to during BROCKHAMPTON because of my lack of mobility, I finally got the chance to mosh during "NEW MAGIC WAND." It was like fate; There was a pit that opened up right in front of Mike and I. I felt it call. It was beckoning me, practically asking me when I'd get this chance again. So I jumped right in. I got pushed around a little, but I pushed right back. It was like a sweaty whirlpool. Honestly, I enjoyed it, but only for a certain window of time. When the chance came around to mosh again during "Who Dat Boy," I stood on the sidelines, choosing to laugh and record Mike getting sucked inside it instead. After screaming along to "EARFQUAKE," discovering I still knew all the words to "Boredom," and finishing up with a soulful rendition of "See You Again," it was over. The entire DAY was over. Even though there was still Saturday, I still felt a little sad as we trudged through the mud left by the surprisingly large Lil Wayne crowd. As we were riding the ferry back to Manhattan, I felt like what was just the greatest day of my life was slipping away from me. Or....maybe that was my voice. ***** On Saturday morning, I woke up at the bright and early time of 10AM, and quickly realized that when I opened my mouth, nothing came out. That's right, after a whole day of screaming along to BROCKHAMPTON, Tyler, and the one song I knew by Still Woozy, my throat was killing me and I was almost completely mute. I'm soooo thankful for that almost though, because the vociebox genies blessed me so that when I actually COULD speak, I sounded like a 13 year old boy going through his first crash course of puberty. Of course, as soon as I picked up Mike, and as soon as we met up with my other friend, Lisa, they immediately ridiculed me for it.
Despite my lack of speech, there was no stopping me from taking on GovBall Day 2. Our first stop was to get some absolutely smashing ramen burgers up on the hill near the entrance. They. Were. Heavenly. I really do miss them, and I need to find out where they sell them so I could experience the euphoria all over again. As I was going HAM on this ham, we watched the Bacardí stage as this very prominently-British lady Suzi Wu preformed. (She was good; I actually saved some of her songs later!) After that, I somehow acquired a cowboy hat, and before I knew it, Lisa and I were being dragged by Mike to go see Denzel Curry, a rapper whose existence was only through memes for me. The sun was beating down on us once again, the ground near the Honda stage was muddy, and the crowd of mostly-lacrosse boys from Connecticut (No, really! We talked to some and they were from there!) was overwhelming. I wasn't sure if I wanted to mosh again under these circumstances, and plus, I had to protect Lisa, because her anxiety levels were much higher than mine. As soon as the man himself walked out and the crowd dispersed like an earthquake, Mike disappeared into one of the many pits happening and it was up to me to protect the Mosh Virgin of our little family. I didn't know any of the songs that he played for the first part, and failed to remember any that would stand out among me trying to fight for my life. When he started up "Ultimate," though, the meme favorite, it was all over. I held onto Lisa, Lisa held onto me. I closed my eyes and cringed as the lyrics came pulsating out of the speakers... "I AM THE ONE DON'T WEIGH A TON BLAHBALHBLAHBLAHYAHYAHYAH" I almost fell down. My sunglasses got lost several times. The cowboy hat was flying all over the place. Needless to say once the set ended and we managed to crawl out of the remains of the crowd, Lisa and I declined Mike's next request, Playboi Carti. We decided to head over to the Main Stage for a much-needed Girl's Set, and who better to host it than the newest rising yeehaw queen, Kacey Musgraves? Don't get me wrong, I do not see the appeal of country music at all, but there was something about how positive Kacey was on that stage, along with her songs that blend poppy alternative beats along with banjos and other country sounds that just made me happy. The crowd was calm, and we were surrounded by couples of all sexualities and drunk 20-somethings in our little section. Honestly, that might have been the best crowd all festival. Lisa and I both left that set glowing, living our best lives, and ready to come back in a little while for the 1975. From what Mike reported, Carti was wild as expected. "Picture Denzel, but 100 times worse," he told us. So, needless to say, we dodged a bullet on that one. It was time to immediately report back to the main stage for The 1975! I saw them before at Madison Square Garden years ago, but I was interested to see how they were going to rock an outside stage. A lot of the Kacey crowd stayed in their same spots and waited for them. I guess their fanbases intertwine in some strange Venn Diagram. In my last article about them, I took notes about Matty Healy sitting down and lighting a cig while seated at the edge of the MSG stage. He did the same thing again, this time, with some sort of liquor in the other hand. I don't really know a lot of songs from their newest album, but when they played older songs such as "Sex" and "Robbers," I truly thrived. Side note, don't make the same mistake as me and talk about how much you love the first song I mentioned loudly. It sounds wrong. The rest of the show was great, and we were the only ones around us going crazy and singing all the words because we were surrounded by shy teen girls and unenthusiastic dads. I have to say, I preferred the other show to this one, but just because I feel the sound (no pun intended) that they have is more fitting for a stadium. Despite this, we got fairly close, and it truly was an unforgettable gig because of how fun it was singing along to all the classics. Walking away from the stage and back into the general public of Gov was scary at this time of night. A DJ named ZHU just took the Bacardí stage and the crowd was unbelievably large, so we had to take a long muddy backroad way to get back near the Honda stage. We haven't seen an EDM set yet, and Mike was claiming that those were usually the best shows at a festival. Major Lazer was taking the stage in about an hour and a half, so we decided to eat even MORE burritos, this time with a side of way-too-cheesy cheesy fries. We also made the mistake of going BACK to the Bacardí stage, which was currently a certified Rave Zone, to try to get some shirts at the merch booth. We bumped into so many people, and somehow Lisa managed to almost strangle a passer-by with the portable phone charger that was hanging out of her bag. The lines were long, people kept on cutting us, and by the time we got up there they ran out of the original pink Igor shirt I wanted. Even though I liked the white one I got instead, it still sort of annoyed me. By the time we finally got what we wanted, it was completely dark, and the only thing that we could see was the pulsating lights from the ZHU set. Without any hesitation, Mike grabbed Lisa and I by the hand and started ripping through the crowd of drunk dancers. Thinking back, we were also dancing and laughing like crazy, so we might have blended in perfectly. By the time we made it out of the rave from Hell, it was time to start queuing for Major Lazer, so we stood in the crowd for about 45 minutes as it started to build up allll the way back. The only significant thing I remember about waiting is this guy and a girl getting into a chicken fight at the front, for some odd reason. Besides BROCKHAMPTON, of course, this was probably the most claustrophobic set for me. There were a lot of people. When the many DJs, men, and women dancers that make up Major Lazer's squadron came out on stage, it was a lot to take in. They played Reggaeton, other various Spanish songs, "Bam Bam" by Sister Nancy, "Sicko Mode," along with lots of other popular songs, for some even more odd reason. It was like one gigantic prom all over again. It sounds like I'm talking down on the set a little, but you couldn't any more wrong. I had such a good time dancing, moshing, and raving to all of this. It was different from the other sets because it wasn't just the band's original content, but it was better, in a way, because I didn't feel like a fake fan at all. Like, let's be honest; I really doubt there was anyone in that crowd who religiously listened to ML's discography the night before! Everyone was just here to have fun and to freak out to the beat drops, and with this understood, I finally started to realize why EDM sets were the best part of festivals. After a long hour and a half of non-stop jumping, witnessing someone lose their phone and being terrified for them, getting separated from my group by an emo couple, and completely losing it when one of the guys in the ML entourage asked the ENTIRE crowd to move to the right at the SAME TIME, it was finally starting to wind down. They finally played "Lean On" and "Light it Up," practically the only two songs anyone knows by them, which was an amazing thing to witness. Shortly after that, it was over. My complete time at GovBall was over. **** As I grabbed Mike and Lisa by the hands and started guiding them through the crowds to get to the long, winding ferry line, I got very upset. I was going to miss this way of life so much. I just started to get into the routine of waking up, going to the city, getting on the ferry, returning to the island, and seeing acts right away. I just started to feel at home. I couldn't go on Sunday, but I believed that was for the better in the end since it got absolutely rained out and the entire island had to be evacuated. That would have made for an even more interesting article, but a completely ruined experience for me. I'm glad I only had the absolutely perfect Friday and Saturday to look back on. For a first festival, GovBall was pretty amazing. Honestly, the only personal complaints I have were the very long lines for the free water and the merch, but there's really not much you can do about that. I had to spend three years in the shower the next morning and was sore everywhere, but it was a small price to pay when you consider the memories I made. It's so crazy to think that I was so scared of everything, from the moshes to the heat to the porta potties, when in reality, nothing was that bad. It was straight up fun, and a total overwhelming amount of euphoria from the amount of bands that I managed to see. I'm already looking into more festivals, because this cannot be the last time I have that great of a time. I'll admit that those "camp-out" festivals like Glastonbury don't seem that desirable to me, but there's so many other ones out there in the world that I can enjoy. If you are a festival virgin like I was at the beginning of the month, I highly suggest going to one as soon as you can. It truly was a life-changing experience, and completely morphed the way I see the act of a "concert" as a whole. You get to see so many different types of people in the crowds, and you discover bands you never would have known. It's a bustling creative hub for artists, musicians, and aspiring music journalists alike, and I will take the lessons and experiences I had at GovBall 2019 as I venture into my college career, and, into the rest of my life. Oh Lord. I knew this day was coming for a while, but it feels fake, typing this out right now. It is currently the night before my high school graduation, and all I can think of is the time that zoomed past me at Road-Runner speed. Even though I was already a sophomore when we started the blog, this really has been one of the most important building blocks of my four-year career.
I've been going back and glancing over early articles lately, to see how much the subjects I've wrote about have changed through the years. Obviously, they've developed a lot, as I've discovered more songs, went to more concerts, fell in love with more bands, and overall expanded my musical knowledge. The great range of my music taste may not be as noticeable to you as it is to me, so I thought, as a graduation gift to all of you, I'd spell it out, starting from freshman year and ending at this current era in time. I've had a playlist on my Spotify titled "songs that got me thru high school" for a while now, so this is basically going to be an explanation of most of it. You're welcome to listen along! |