life in the turn lane

writing music, working, shows, beer, FIRST GIG, more shows, black lights, tango, HIIT, deadlifting, LA

good tymes

this is what i know.

one of these days, i'm going to write a post that details the last months shens, but until then, saturday morning breakfast cereal:



life is almost too busy sometimes. almost.

i'm in the middle of trying to figure out 25 things to say on one of those facebook dealies. it's interesting. been awhile since i tried to solidify my opinions about this and that. not really sure i want to finish it.

so i suppose i've made a few. i wasn't really planning on it, but the new year came about, the ideas of resolutions popped into mind, and all of a sudden...there they were.

in general: think it, and then do it.

i've spent the last year considering a multitude of possibilities. just considering. i guess i sort of made that a goal at the beginning of the year: stop trying to get somewhere and become what i am right now. well, that year has passed, and i guess now i feel like becoming what i what i want to be.

what's funny, is the first resolution that came to mind: fewer rockstars.

beyond that: pursuance of what i believe in. my beliefs have certainly changed a great deal in the last year, and i am ready to actually live those beliefs.

now is the time of our lives when we can do anything. it's mind boggling. i could easily move anywhere i wanted to merely live there. i can do what i'm doing right now in any city i'd like fairly easily. i am not tied down to any career at the moment, and it is incredibly freeing to consider that. however, i am tied down (in a very good way) by friendships and potential musical opportunities that are right here in my lap. it's a very good feeling. and though i would love to live elsewhere at some point, this: right here and right now, is working SO well.

blah blah blah, i'm tired, a bit tipsy, and completely stoked for what's to come.

so i had this huge post written up awhile back, saving the draft until i had time to finish it up.

it pretty much summed up my ability to do anything i want, my tendency to merely dabble, and my desire to find a passion, only in many many more words.

well, i guess it's reached a breaking point, it's time for change, and something must give. i suppose this may have something to do with going to LA for new years. LA was quite literally, the best new years of my life. everything went perfectly. i experienced an amazing amount of things in a very short time and never felt rushed at all. in fact, for the most part, i felt like i was moseying, at most. it was a fantastic trip, and i couldn't have asked for anything more. perhaps someday soon i will write about it with some tastefully placed pictures to help describe the experience. or maybe i can just hope that my shit-eating grin along with some facebook picture-surfing will be enough.

i guess the one thing i can take from it all is: life is too short. one can accomplish a many splendid thing in only a very short time, and while i do feel my life has changed drastically over the past year, the one thing holding me back was my job.

so...away it goes.

do i have a plan? vaguely, but not really. mostly i've solidified a good number of desires/goals for the coming year that i hope to seek. and i'll go from there.

life is amazing in its own right, so why not exercise a natural catalyst for change (the new year?)?

i'm ready for the next big thing. fucking bring it on.

i just gave my boss a 7 1/2 week notice and the first thing he says is, "well it would have been nice to know that when i hired you. i don't hire people for a year."

i just had a 3 hour phone convo with my dad. longest phone conversation of my life.

oh man, i love clubbing.

jason got back into town a couple days ago. i was definitely looking forward to him and his techno-junkie self. he's definitely a really cool guy, and it's really cool to see him with janelle again. they're really good together.

so we get everyone together, do our normal cram-a-lotta-peeps-in-one-car thing for the ride, along with alcoholic drinks, and shoot down there.

i had listened to dubfire briefly whislt searching youtube a couple times, but never in depth. he's of the actual 'techno' genre, so i didn't quite know what to expect. after the fact, i can see why that was a 'techno' show now, and not a house/trance show. i think a couple months ago, i would have had no idea. good fun.

i ended up dancing with sterling for a long time at the show, which was pretty fun. a little bit of a goal of mine too, subconsciously, i think. mostly because she's always like "i just wanna dance; i can't dance with anyone else.' and otherwise because kyle always wanted to haha. i showed them both :) whatever the reason may be, i had an utter blast. my back is sore, my lips chapped, i'm still relatively dehydrated, there's a pretty thick layer of dried sweat i still need to shower off, and i canNOT wait for tiesto on saturday. this was sort of my pregame in my mind. david guetta three weeks ago was the last show, probably some of the most fun i've had at a show actually, but since then i've felt like something was lacking. i admit i probably needed the break. i've regained some focus, i've had time to jam (TOO MUCH FUN), and i've spent more time with activities of a less crazy nature, like tango. it's nice to be back though.

one lame thing: i dropped my debit card at some point at the club. i was hoping i just left it at the counter, but i woke up this morning, and i find a couple $1 charges from various gas stations in denver. fucking bullshit.

awesome jams tonight. epic jams tonight. they were great. beyond fun. wooooooooooooo

as a man named colin once said (earlier today): "that was like...four hours of awesome."

yes. yes, it was.

life has been entertaining. i have felt a bit spread thin at times, but for the most part, in a good way.

thursday was the most ridiculously productive day of my life.
it's nice to be driving around a frickin awesome (albeit a tad oil-leak-prone) audi.

i've got a ticket to Giant Maximus in LA on NYE. i am incredibly stoked. like ridiculously pumped. beyond belief. it's keeping me going right now. which is nice. it's given me something to look forward to, something to get ready for, something that will go down in the history books of my life. i am utterly jazzed.

thanksgiving's stuff-fest, kyle's leaving, and my realization of what's going on next semester (i.e. not much) has really put a damper on my mood as of late, but the shenanigans last thursday at home, the two shows coming up this week, my newfound love for the tango, christmas, NYE, etc etc, has allowed me some renewed faith in the coming times.

coworker, gino, won tix to see mercury rev at the fox tonight. i said i might be up for it a couple days ago, not sure what my plan was tonight... today rolled around; i was up for it. i needed a show. i needed lights in my face. i needed energy.

and it certainly helped. they put on a great show. i knew ZERO of their songs. i listened to one of them on youtube and a couple on myspace at work today. the myspace ones were forgettable, the youtube was not, but it was, in my mind, one of the weakest from the set tonight.

basically, my thoughts on the show were this: their soundscapes were great. each of the band members played their part. the light show was the best i'd seen at the fox.

sometimes i really like going to shows where i have no clue what the music like, and i have that rare chance to see those select few in the front row, raising their arms to the skies, dressed slightly strangely, maybe even carrying a bouquet of flowers (seriously) - the truly hardcore fans, completely overcome by the music that speaks to them. this is a phenomenon not often seen at larger shows, but rather one that only seems fit for a show with a scant few audience members, when the weather is only a few degrees above zero, when you know the band probably does not break even based on attendance. but what truly makes this remarkable is when the band acknowledges those true fans, and they give a performance as if they were playing ten thousand people. it is those times that i smile at the joy that emanates both from the stage and floor alike.

having never heard them before, never going to download an album anytime soon, i can say i would go see mercury rev live again.

on another note, i am exponentially (a low exponential, however) slipping further and further into a tango addiction.

so i draw this eye and a hand grows out of the tear duct the eye gets scared it grows frightened the hand starts turning the iris around the pupil but it's looking at me the entire time did i do this or is it just a dream is it my fault

who is she

she plays she plays for someone but it isn't me

her hair flows like a rainbow

i weep for its beauty

busy busy busy busy busy pass out busy busy

having recently watched 28 days later and finished up season one of true blood, twilight fails in almost every aspect. a decent soundtrack and a cool effect when vamps are in the light are not nearly enough to make up for most of the other parts of the movie. i was still entertained, however, even though there were about 16 too many shots of characters staring longingly into each others' eyeballs.

Wed, Deadmau5:



Thu, David Guetta:



time to sleep.

and i left it hanging there on a thread. but what about part 2? auughhghh

part 2 is simple enough. and a world of complexity. if you've seen me since then, i've probably told you some of my thoughts on the matter, and i fear i would mostly be regurgitating it for the most part here. this is just unnecessary in my mind. the experience was mine. it's something i will treasure, but even more so, what i take back to my everyday life is what's important.

life is incredible. it never ceases to keep me coming back for more. it is so incredibly dynamic. and not just 'life' per se, but each and everyone's place in life. it's fascinating. and there's so fucking much of it. there are six billion people on this planet each living their own lives, getting their own joy (or lack thereof) out of it, sharing their life with others, trying new things, reminiscing of their good times...truly experiencing life, in all its wonder.

i don't get really emotional very often, but when i consider the sheer possibilities in this world and the pure wonder that is life, it chokes me up. i am so overcome with bliss. this world, this life, this experience, each and every thing in this world is incredible.

life is beautiful.

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

josh and i jammed with colin last thursday. it was awesome.
kyle and i and pals raged the bars that night. it too was awesome.
janelle left for amsterdam yesterday afternoon. preeeetty awesome.
flip cup, dance party, and maybe a few too many whiskey diets last night. way awesome.
dirty dancing tonight. s[way]ze awesome.
more jams tomorrow. omg too much awesome.
deadmau5 wednesday, david guetta thursday. like, whoa-awesome.

my stoke factor for life is off the charts at the moment.

BGM
new deadmau5 single - ghosts n stuff (not awesome)


(just kidding)

*explodes*

damn. life is fucking great.

and obama won too. rock and roll, baby. i'm excited to say the least.

sooo last week was ridicuously ridiculous.

( part 1: everything up to my adventure this past sunday )
[to be continued]

kyle and i as daft punk...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbC5Zfy-nuk

the icey/vission @ beta after party shenanigans...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEqHftCW5qs

~-BGM at the mo-~
eddie vedder - into the wild soundtrack
kaskade - 4am
deadmau5 - i remember
markus schulz - perfect

i'm wide awake.

it's morning.

daaaaamn. i am almost partied out. almost.

tuesday morning i noticed at work on facebook that pete won free tickets to mstrkrft. no one else (i.e. kyle or janelle) could go, so 2 hours before the show he calls and asks if i'm interested. we book it down to the ogden, and we proceed to rock out the rest of the night. i ran into will and a huge crew of people on drugs, so i mostly danced around them for the night in my cracked out caffeine state of mind. their set was alright, but i didn't think it was as awesome as so many people think mstrkrft are. it was definitely a hipster crowd more than a techno crowd i'd say. completely different vibes.

all ready to tango the next day, the hour rolls around, and i just couldn't do it. i danced myself out the night before.

..
after fixing my costume thursday morning, lifting hard for the first time in months, and coming back to boulder, duncan, sloane, becky, alex, and i were off to junkie xl at the church, which i've not been to since my first techno show, infected mushroom.

and we danced, blah blah blah.

it was a great show. the crowd was really thin, and less people were dressed up than last saturday, annnd they didn't give away any prizes like they said they would, but junkie was great. he threw it down a bit harder at global, but he was great.

and oh yes, becky and sloane wore body paint, going as two of the mummies from the mummy movies. i helped them paint a bit. that takes some balls i have to say. but they pulled it off, and some. at one point they both got up on the gogo dancer stand and started dancing with each other. fucking awesome, but they were kicked off pretty quickly. i danced with both of them, and now my entire daft punk costume is covered in gold glittery stuff. whoops. :)

kyle also met us after driving down from fort collins, and he brought a couple other people. we were pregaming a bit in the car after parking, and janelle is like pointing to the car like 50 feet in front of us "no way, is that kyle?"

and the night wore down...

damn i love these kids.

i woke up thursday morning at my dad's, started working on my costume by 11. 24 man-hours + errands + the help from my mom and dad + only 7 hrs of sleep over two nights + waaay too much caffeine later, i have completed possibly the awesomest costume EVER, along with kyle.

saturday night was incredible. i don't even know how to describe it. but i'm gonna try, like always.

our entrance was simple enough. no lights until we're ready. we get set up at the back of the place, hit up the bathroom, buy a couple drinks, a couple waters, shmooze some bartenders, and decide we're ready after some prodding from said bartenders. we pop the lights on. immediately people start looking and flocking. remaining calm, we talked mostly in hand gestures: rock horns and the international hand symbol for daft punk pretty much in between handshakes and high fives.

we were there way earlier than any show we'd ever been too, and the dance floor was pretty much empty.

we decided to start it up. we strutted out into the middle of the floor and took it over. there were all kinds of shouts and whistles...it was hilarious. people were lovin it. and so was i. the attention was invigorating and intoxicating...

it was like all us. daft punk was the show. i can't even believe how amazing the whole experience was. kyle and i rocked the house. richard vission and dj icey were pretty good too ;) i still have "cryyyyy little sister, thoouu shalll nooot fallll" stuck in my head. that song tore the place up for the last 5 minutes of the night. i remember kyle just looking over at me as the bass cuts out, the washes fall over the audience and those words start screaming out of the speakers, the entire audience just singing their hearts out, and he says, "lost boys, dude." fuck, i love that movie.

i had my picture taken with like 40 different groups of people maybe? plus professional shots for something or other. plus two gorgeous bartenders 'dressed' as beowulf's mom.

we all danced our asses off, in the center of the dance floor, the entire night. we completely owned the place. it was easy going, not a super packed crowd. it was nice to party in an atmosphere where about 2/3 of the people know exactly what you are...there were the other 1/3 who were like "omg tron is SO cool." tron IS cool, but we still had to beat them up.

i can't thank everyone enough: kyle, becky, sloane, sterling, duncan, jenny, janelle, alex, and ryan...man, you guys rock. and everyone looked incredible. of course kyle and i were soaking in all the glory because of our tits EL wire, but really, everyone looked amazing!

then we partied and danced and smiled and laughed back at sloane's with no cares in the world until the sun rose. the word 'epic' does not even begin to encompass the crazy awesome amazing ridiculousness of the night's festivities.

damn.

i hope to get a video of us partially in the show and mostly afterpartying up on youtube post haste.

i recently discovered barnaby ward. he's a fantastic artist, tells stories the way i like, and has a really cool name. his book sixteen miles to merricks and other works is wonderfully written, beautifully presented...worth checking out, if the slight bit interested.

i also just started gravity's rainbow last night, briefly. i may be in over my head, but i'm sure it will be a fun ride nonetheless.
.
my computer is hopelessly infected with trojans and viri and whatnot at the moment.
..
i simply cannot wait to head home wednesday night to start work on daft punk. so stoked.
...
on saturday night i got wrangled into going to a "fictional character drag party." whilst becoming inebriated more than usual due to lame party-itis, we put on sarah palin's snl appearance. seriously, what the fuck. clearly, this was a publicity stunt. but also clearly, it was a bad one. i like to think that most people who watch snl, and probably most of the ones who fucking perform on snl are not conservative. this was mind boggling. i'm still unsure of what to think of this, except that she's only reinforcing the popularity contest that is the general election in contemporary usa. wake the fuck up, america.
....