So getting reviewed is quite a wild thing.
It is emotional and personal and painful and helpful.
The first Zip-Tie review ever was posted on The Noise (underground music zine in Boston area) this week. What a review indeed....
To begin with, the dude reviewed our first record, weedpunkNtea instead of Heavy Love Child which we were told would be in this month's issue(the chick reviewing HLC apparently didn't finish in time to make the deadline...it will be in next month's edition). Anywho, at first read it's a little harsh. He bashes it a bit for being cliche but also being a brocilage at the sametime(which I actually have grown to love). Sidenote, the fact that I had to look up a few of the words that this guy used to review our music is annoying and hilarious. It's an in your face punk record for God's sake! Ha, whatever...The first couple reads of the review disappointed me and made me self conscious for about 15 minutes. But that's it. It didn't take long to realize that a review like this is actually better than a sweet review saying that it was incredible! It pushes us to prove this guy wrong and also pushes us to piss more people off. I mean the man says at the end of the review, "I’m tempted to say from what I did hear that this mostly sounds like how fire ants eating my face must feel. (Francis DiMenno)"
THAT'S AWESOME!! I want to make him feel that face eatingness all the time! It didn't help that the CD he received couldn't play the last three tracks, so we had that working against us...DIY discs rule!
Basically, a written criticism of work that you've produced and poured yourself into provides a wonderful feeling that encompasses a lot of different emotions that will only help you keep working hard at making awesome material and making other people say weird shit about it.
Check out the review and let me know your thoughts!
http://www.thenoise-boston.com/content/view/330/10 (have to scroll halfway down or so)
Friday, June 4, 2010
Monday, May 3, 2010
Really....how do we get there?
Life in the the day to day seems to get bogged down or shall I say
bogs people down.
Not all the time, but there sure is something to be said about getting too consumed with the go-go bustle of typical work days.
The way that many cope with this is through their dreams.
The future they see for themselves that makes them smile.
These dreams are what we feel is important.
When I think of my future, I see things relatively clearly.
I want to write and perform music.
That is my base, my foundation, my rock.
There is much more to it than that but it all stems from this
root.
Personally I need to perform in a summer festival tour of some sort
before my days are numbered. That is the ultimate! That is where I will be
the freest, happiest, Zenest me I can be! Those moments that I have playing in my head so vividly, of being on stage in front of thousands of people singing along to our music and jumping and running around in pure bliss. A community. A rock show is a community. When a great band interacts with the crowd through their music, a bond is formed and a community is born. Through each lyric sung together the band and audience become one living thing of absoluteness. Nothing but energy, happiness and sweat!!
Once I reach these goals with my music, I do see myself hunkering down and trying to build or help a community through the arts.
I envision a space that we would call our home. A place that can hold all of our ideas at once! A place where the people I want to be around will BE around most of the time! I want everyone to feel welcome. This place will be comfortable. It will be lively and fresh. It will be bubbling with creativity. I want to see painting happening while guests and friends are eating healthy meals or sipping tea and coffee, while a musician is serenading us with lovely tunes. I see a warehouse amount of space that has art studios, music studios, yoga studios etc. I see classes happening. Lots of things. Gardens. Growing. Making for a better life.
Creating a peaceful and sustainable life through our work is what I see and want. Make life better as we move forward toward the dreams we have.
What can we do to get to this fabulous place?
Welp... The final vision is pretty grandiose, so it all comes down to preperation.
The steps we can take, I can take, are basic.
I need to teach guitar lessons. Starting small by having one or two students for now, but this is part of the community I envision...having art and music available for all who want to be a part of it. So if I start teaching my art to others now, I am already better preparing for our future endeavors that will without a doubt involve teaching to those willing to learn.
I also need to keep getting further involved in the community that already exists at New Alliance. This is where Zip-Tie practices along with soo many other great bands. This is also where we and countless others have recorded albums and had them mastered. So many interesting people pass in and out of this place and I am lucky enough to be around it a few times a week. This is the perfect place to understand the way different artistic minds weave together to form a great community. It may even be a good place to showcase our talents or test our ideas....
The band and I have talked about even selling sandwiches in the building because we know bands want to eat. So that is another thing that could easily happen in the short term and would give us some small experience with some business venture of sorts..
thoughts. thoughts....
oh the thoughts.
the sun is not done yet.
but may be soon.
bogs people down.
Not all the time, but there sure is something to be said about getting too consumed with the go-go bustle of typical work days.
The way that many cope with this is through their dreams.
The future they see for themselves that makes them smile.
These dreams are what we feel is important.
When I think of my future, I see things relatively clearly.
I want to write and perform music.
That is my base, my foundation, my rock.
There is much more to it than that but it all stems from this
root.
Personally I need to perform in a summer festival tour of some sort
before my days are numbered. That is the ultimate! That is where I will be
the freest, happiest, Zenest me I can be! Those moments that I have playing in my head so vividly, of being on stage in front of thousands of people singing along to our music and jumping and running around in pure bliss. A community. A rock show is a community. When a great band interacts with the crowd through their music, a bond is formed and a community is born. Through each lyric sung together the band and audience become one living thing of absoluteness. Nothing but energy, happiness and sweat!!
Once I reach these goals with my music, I do see myself hunkering down and trying to build or help a community through the arts.
I envision a space that we would call our home. A place that can hold all of our ideas at once! A place where the people I want to be around will BE around most of the time! I want everyone to feel welcome. This place will be comfortable. It will be lively and fresh. It will be bubbling with creativity. I want to see painting happening while guests and friends are eating healthy meals or sipping tea and coffee, while a musician is serenading us with lovely tunes. I see a warehouse amount of space that has art studios, music studios, yoga studios etc. I see classes happening. Lots of things. Gardens. Growing. Making for a better life.
Creating a peaceful and sustainable life through our work is what I see and want. Make life better as we move forward toward the dreams we have.
What can we do to get to this fabulous place?
Welp... The final vision is pretty grandiose, so it all comes down to preperation.
The steps we can take, I can take, are basic.
I need to teach guitar lessons. Starting small by having one or two students for now, but this is part of the community I envision...having art and music available for all who want to be a part of it. So if I start teaching my art to others now, I am already better preparing for our future endeavors that will without a doubt involve teaching to those willing to learn.
I also need to keep getting further involved in the community that already exists at New Alliance. This is where Zip-Tie practices along with soo many other great bands. This is also where we and countless others have recorded albums and had them mastered. So many interesting people pass in and out of this place and I am lucky enough to be around it a few times a week. This is the perfect place to understand the way different artistic minds weave together to form a great community. It may even be a good place to showcase our talents or test our ideas....
The band and I have talked about even selling sandwiches in the building because we know bands want to eat. So that is another thing that could easily happen in the short term and would give us some small experience with some business venture of sorts..
thoughts. thoughts....
oh the thoughts.
the sun is not done yet.
but may be soon.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Thursday, February 4, 2010
The Heaviest Love Child
It has been done.
The Heaviest thing I have ever been associated with.
The best thing I have been a part of.
The new album....
ROOOCKKSSS!!!
We are all sooo proud of it and honestly giddy!
The excitement that this project has created
can't be truly explained.
The whole process....
Everyone involved...
From the brilliance of Alec's engineering,
to Paul the intern for being there and loving it all as much as us
and keeping morale going during the tough hours...to Panetta and Tyshawn for
documenting some of the madness during its inception...to Simes for cooking us
the most magnificently delicous meals for us out of the goodness of his heart
and for the goodness of rock!
To The Proselyte for orchestrating the HEAVIEST and most TERRIFYINGLY awesome
moment on the record.
Max and I kept looking at each other through out this three day journey and saying, "This is the best thing I've ever done. This is becoming better than I could have ever hoped and dreamed of..."
The creative process and the finality of putting that creativity to a solid medium
is the most sacred and gratifying activity.
To hear what we have been working on for over a year in practice and live at shows in
the format that it has needed to be in...is remarkable.
I can't stop listening to it.
It's an addiction to its awesome.
It gives me chills, makes me smile, makes me tense and makes me scream.
It is our
Heavy Love Child.
The Heaviest thing I have ever been associated with.
The best thing I have been a part of.
The new album....
ROOOCKKSSS!!!
We are all sooo proud of it and honestly giddy!
The excitement that this project has created
can't be truly explained.
The whole process....
Everyone involved...
From the brilliance of Alec's engineering,
to Paul the intern for being there and loving it all as much as us
and keeping morale going during the tough hours...to Panetta and Tyshawn for
documenting some of the madness during its inception...to Simes for cooking us
the most magnificently delicous meals for us out of the goodness of his heart
and for the goodness of rock!
To The Proselyte for orchestrating the HEAVIEST and most TERRIFYINGLY awesome
moment on the record.
Max and I kept looking at each other through out this three day journey and saying, "This is the best thing I've ever done. This is becoming better than I could have ever hoped and dreamed of..."
The creative process and the finality of putting that creativity to a solid medium
is the most sacred and gratifying activity.
To hear what we have been working on for over a year in practice and live at shows in
the format that it has needed to be in...is remarkable.
I can't stop listening to it.
It's an addiction to its awesome.
It gives me chills, makes me smile, makes me tense and makes me scream.
It is our
Heavy Love Child.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
words I've drunk
so with birthday wishes
come scathing accusations
from the hand
of a precious little eleven year old.
Unbeknowingst to her, as she can help it not,
it is painful to read
the cute large lettered handwriting
that scuplts a message
as if molded
by the hands
of a mother.
A mother that has
tried to pull my strings
to guide me in a path she deems
right.
A mother's task is no picnic.
It's more like hell on earth i'm sure.
So much responsibility brought upon herself
to make my life a good one...
but this is unacceptable.
twisted
wrong
passive aggressively
a slap in the face.
come scathing accusations
from the hand
of a precious little eleven year old.
Unbeknowingst to her, as she can help it not,
it is painful to read
the cute large lettered handwriting
that scuplts a message
as if molded
by the hands
of a mother.
A mother that has
tried to pull my strings
to guide me in a path she deems
right.
A mother's task is no picnic.
It's more like hell on earth i'm sure.
So much responsibility brought upon herself
to make my life a good one...
but this is unacceptable.
twisted
wrong
passive aggressively
a slap in the face.
dwell i must not
and dwell i won't
but this cant go unoticed
for damage is done.
Monday, January 11, 2010
techmology
As my laptop decided
to end its short life
last night...
for the second time in
a couple months (little dramatic piece of machinery...i know),
i looked at the blank screen
and pondered.
Well err, fumed a bit and then sat down and pondered.
There needs to be a disconnect.
a stepping away from such untamed
reliance on these things.
These file storage facilities that shrink in size
by the nanosecond.
Spinning turbines of speed to
quench our undying thirst for
shite information...and ultimately..stupid gossip!
We need to strike a chord in something tangible
and organic.
Something that does not exist soley in the
cloud of the information highway
forever crippled and subject to
systematic FAILURE ERROR DEBUG AND DEAAATTTHHHH!!!
Bah! I hate computers AND technology most of the time.
to end its short life
last night...
for the second time in
a couple months (little dramatic piece of machinery...i know),
i looked at the blank screen
and pondered.
Well err, fumed a bit and then sat down and pondered.
There needs to be a disconnect.
a stepping away from such untamed
reliance on these things.
These file storage facilities that shrink in size
by the nanosecond.
Spinning turbines of speed to
quench our undying thirst for
shite information...and ultimately..stupid gossip!
We need to strike a chord in something tangible
and organic.
Something that does not exist soley in the
cloud of the information highway
forever crippled and subject to
systematic FAILURE ERROR DEBUG AND DEAAATTTHHHH!!!
Bah! I hate computers AND technology most of the time.
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