hello!

I love me a good mash-up. Especially 'All Time Kings or We The Low', born out of Tourzilla last year (one of my biggest 'cry' moments because I was supposed to go but I didn't). Sure, the sounds of We The Kings and All Time Low isn't as impressive of a jump as Linkin Park to Jay-Z, but still. How could you not love this:


Gaskarth and Clark need to go The Scene Aesthetic on all our asses and release a sicknasty acoustic side project. All sorts of bouncy pop beats and adorable one liners would come out of their mouths and from their guitars, solely for the purpose of making our hearts flutter as we squeal and say "Awwwwe!"


Not that they have time to, considering they've been all over the place since that first tour. Plus they are going on highly anticipated tours themselves this fall. (ATL: Compromising of Integrity, Morality, and Principles in Exchange for Money and WTK: Bill & Trav's Bogus Journey, both of which I will be in attendance. ATL in Ventura and WTK in LA and Anaheim.) In the second video, Trav says "This is the last time I'll ever do this", but I bet if we kept asking, they'd try to make it happen somehow. They love us that much, right?

It couldn't hurt to throw a word in if you run into either of these guys this Fall.
I think I'll make myself an All Time Kings/We the Low t-shirt to wear. Rofl.


OH! I have a good question for you.
What mash up would make you happy in the pants? Who would you want to see do a mash up, acoustic or not? What would you name them?


Enlighten me.

As I was talking to my friend Heather about how much I can't wait for We the Kings in October, I thought about other things in my little music world that I can't wait for this season. So ladies and gentlemen, my 5 most anticipated events for this Fall.

• Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist (10/3)
  
• This movie is going to appeal to the scenies everywhere. It's a fantastic story, and the fact that Michael Cera is starring in it makes my anticipation that much better. Plus that girl from 40 Year Old Virgin is in it, and I think she's pretty funny (and was awesome in Charlie Bartlett). I know this is also probably going to be one of those movies that makes me despise my own life, but I'll have fun wishing that something like this happened to me.
• Bill & Trav's Bogus Journey Tour (10/15, 10/18)
  
• I can't get enough of We the Kings (finally caught them my first time at Carson Warped) and I'll never argue with some TAI. I fell in love with this combination since Fury in Philly and I can't wait to watch them share the stage. Look for me in LA and Anaheim. =) Click for dates!
• Disco Balls & Blow Up Dolls Tour (11/28)
  
• It's been quite awhile since I last saw my boys Metro Station. I'm intrigued to see how things have changed since December. I've also heard good things about Tyga and Shwayze although I haven't heard for myself. You'll see me at Club Nokia on November 28th. Where you at?
• The Return - Folie a Deux (11/4)
  
• I, like most other online scenesters, hurled myself down P. Wentz's CFOB rabbit hole, and this is where it took me. Fall Out Boy's new album drops on November 4th and you can bet I'm anticipating it. Don't pretend like you aren't waiting for it too. (Even if its just to raise an uproar with the Fall Out Boardiez by telling them the newest album isn't the coolest thing since sliced bread)
• Untitled AAR Album (11/??)
  
• The All-American Rejects will always hold a special place in my heart. I'm going on 5 years as an AAR Toastie and I always love seeing them play live. They played two new tracks, Mona Lisa and I Wanna Touch You, at Bamboozle Left when I saw them and I have never laughed harder at a show. You better believe I'm super stoked for this album release. =)

I guess nothing that exciting for me is going on in September??? Hahahaha.

What are you looking forward to this Fall?

Even though it's AM radio, they still sound beautifulll. I'm kinda sad that I didn't tune in, or call in. I coulda had a full on conversation with them. I know a lot of the Radio Disney kids would have been like WTK? WTF? I bet the guys were hilarious. <3

But this is what I'm really here to talk about. Travis edited the post the next day:

hey everyone this is Travis, I just wanted to clear things up with everybody...ever since i was a kid i've watched Nickelodeon, Disney TV, and have seen every Disney movie that has come out...(also we live in Bradenton Florida about 1 1/2 hours away from Orlando and Disney World)  I thought it would be a really cool opportunity to do this radio takeover so people could hear us talk and people could call in... No, we are not turning into the Jonas Brothers or Miley Cyrus haha they're way more famous then we will ever be ;) If we didn't do this radio takeover show we would have been driving home spending our time in the bus playing video games (which means no one would have heard from us yesterday) this way we got to hang out with some of you through the radio airwaves!!  I hope no one is truly offended by what we did, but it was truly our choice to do this.  Hunter and I had an amazing time and we met some really great people.  I'm sure in the future we'll be able to host shows that you may think are much cooler but for us we look up to Radio Disney :)  we love you all and we care very much about our fans, those of you who have met us should know exactly what i'm talking about.  Thank you for all the support, and we can't wait to see you this fall, you mean the world to us!

love,
Travis

Now I'll admit that when I first heard about the takeover, I was personally disappointed because I love The Jonas Brothers just as much as the 9 year olds do, and I love Trav and Hunt, so naturally my first instinct is that the same 9 year olds who love JB will fall in love with We the Kings as well (as I have). I figure if I like them both, what's stopping them from liking both as well, besides the fact that I know about WTK and they don't? I was simply planning on crossing my fingers and hoping that they weren't attracted to redheads. Rofl.

I just can't believe that people bitched about it to the point that Travis had to provide an explanation for it. He shouldn't have had to do that. The fans should love them regardless of what they do. =/

I think I can understand, I first heard about We the Kings when they toured with Metro Station last year for PureVolume. (Though I didn't get hardcore into them since they did the East Coast leg, whilst I met the dance party sounds of FTSK on the PureVolume tour. It's funny to me how all those bands are now suddenly blowing up. So is Danger Radio next? I think yes.) I know that we're all just afraid that they will get too big and then we'll have to share with the masses. Then we won't be able to get those prized sweaty hugs and easy photo ops. I know that I love that easily accessible face time, the fact that they are just people and not celebrities is what I like about going to a show and hanging out at the merch booth. Isn't that what the scene is all about? It seems as if that's why we go to the small shows and support the starving artists in the broken down vans. We bet on that one in a million chance that they'll make it, gain celebrity, and the venues will get larger and start selling out. Once that happens we want that feeling of self-righteousness, to get the opportunity to be able to say that we knew about them first. We want to snob the "teenies" and criticize the band we once "loved" until they "sold out". What we should do is love them, support them and hope that they remember the early fans and can figure out some way to pay them back one day, instead of jumping ship once it gets a little overcrowded.

I provide this lip service knowing full well that I'm a hypocrit. I love the feeling of being on that barricade and making eye contact with that lead singer just as much as you do. Like I've said, I feel this way about Metro Station and I'm working on adjusting. On the other hand, I feel as if I'm in a sort of limbo. While I wasn't there for Metro's coffee shop shows circa 2006, I take some pride in the fact that I got to them before MTV did. So, I get criticized by the early early fans and I get annoyed at the MTV kids. I'm okay with that. I've realized that if a band is really good you can't expect them to stay a secret for very long, you know? And not everyone can find out about them in the beginning. (Don't we call that overnight success? Isn't there a social stigma for that too?)

What makes us think that we deserve to listen to them and love them more than the next person?

Let's all just enjoy the music, yeah?
So now it's your turn, I wanna know what you think. Discuss.

Sometimes betterment just means more refined mayhem. Sometimes we want to sit in the audience and watch you on the stage. We don't necessarily think music should be free. But we also don't think earning it or deserving it always means money. Thank you for proving to us that people care enough to follow mazes and clues or even create them on their own. You definitely earned this one...

So, okay P. Wentz. This time, your testicles stay intact on my account. The mixtape was definitely worth the madness, and I had fun following your insane trail of bread crumbs for the last week. I didn't even think I really cared about you and your dirty mind tricks, but you are clever and you sucked me in. Damn you.

I've always had mad respect for that sonuvabitch. He's gonna take over the world. I must say I thoroughly enjoyed the mixtape. It made me laugh. It got me hyped. Lots of ear candy in one place. I appreciated it. The new Fall Out Boy demos are highly promising. It's definitely a return back to classic FOB, with a good bit of the hip hop influence left in.

I, like the rest of the scene, will be anticipating November 4th, but the hype scares me. Folie a Deux, ftw
...however the hell you pronounce it. =]

I hope whatever else is planned with this project does improve the industry. Give the music back to the fans! Lol. I'm still lobbying for Decaydance to go completely independent and breakaway from Island/Def Jam. Release the CD on Limewire! hahaha. Or charge us only like 3 bucks for it. I hope they prove to me that its not about the money.

Janaye and I need to make our "CFOB '08" T-shirts. Lols.

I went with (pictured below) my brother Francis (the funny guy with the headband) and my cousin Bill (the young'n, his first major music event ever). Quite exciting.

    We arrived and got into the gates at 11:30 ish. To my surprise, we were welcomed in by the sounds of The Academy Is... I didn't expect them to be playing so early. Now, I'm not a huge TAI fan, but of course I couldn't resist snapping a quick shot of The Beckett before checking the schedule board. That boy is bee-ee-ay-yoo-ti-full. Didn't stick around though, I had bigger fish to fry.

    A quick glance at the board told me that We The Kings was playing, and soon!! So without a second thought, I bolted off to find the Hurley stage without checking anything else. I wanted to be on that barricade, and I wasn't going to take my chances on missing out on them again. [It's a long story. You can ask me on your own time if you want.] Found the stage and hurled myself into the Pierce the Veil crowd. It wasn't terribly hard to wiggle to the front. They finished their set, (I have to give them a good listen, I wasn't really paying attention but I liked what I heard) and I actually picked up a guitar pick. I met my new friend Julia, who squished up next to me to wait for WTK and we had some good conversation about some bands we had in common. We exchanged numbers and texted all day. Now we plan on being myspace bffls and meeting up for Cobra Starship/Forever the Sickest Kids in the Fall. We entertained eachother and soon enough, Travis, Hunter, Drew and Danny hopped up on stage. I could talk all day about how amazing they were, but you can just see for yourself. Check my videos! Oh and I have to brag about getting a piece of the redhead's arm when he reached out to us in the crowd. I even got a picture.

    After We the Kings, I wanted to explore the merch tent area and get myself oriented with the layout. I saw fellow Buzzsters Jac Vanek and Jeffree Star in the flesh, I must say I was really weirded out seeing them in person. Francis and I bought some sweet new pairs of shades ($5 each! Loves it!), and Bill got his compilation cd. We tried to go to the MySpace tent for an FTSK acoustic set but there were too many people so we walked away. Instead, Francis wanted to check the board for the rest of the bands we wanted to watch, so we paused at the Ernie Ball Stage. He went off and Bill and I stuck around and watched the band that was playing, Transit Studio. They weren't bad, but I'm not really compelled to explore them further.

    We jogged around the tents some more, and then posted up by the Highway 1 Stage sound tent to sit down and get a comfortable viewing spot for Story of the Year. (Sadly, we had missed Cobra Starship.) While waiting we heard a little bit of Norma Jean from the Route 66 Stage. Story of the Year started and I decided I really like them. Hahaha. Got a little video, watched a couple songs, but then we lost interest and went back to the tent area so I could buy my We The Kings tee.

    The next band on our list was Forever the Sickest Kids but they weren't for another few hours. So we walked around, scored some free stuff, and checked out some of the causes that were on the tour. We popped a squat in a shady area until the sounds of Oreskaband drew us over to the Hurley.com stage. Those girls are cute, yet badass at the same time (at least as BA as you can get while playing ska). I didn't even care that I couldn't understand their Japanese, their stuff was fun to jump and dance around to.

    Bill got thirsty so we went to get him a Sprite. On our way to the food area, I stopped at the Sk8 Ramp stage because The Randies drew me over there. It's 4 chicks rocking out, how do I not stop and watch? I like them. Listened to a song, took a picture and kept walking. After we got out drinks we got stopped by some boys of a band called Farwell. Jason, Jordan and Andrew. They persuaded us to listen to a track off their CD and we liked it. They told us that they had lost 2 members while on the tour, and spent all their money on fixing their van when it broke down. They're from Michigan and they weren't sure how they were gonna get home. So we bought their CD and a sweet pair of shorts (modeled by Jordan below) for $20. Even though it was my last twenty, I knew it was going to a good cause. They have to get home, for crying out loud. We rattled up some shenanigans with them, and Francis took a pretty good video. I'm glad we made some friends. I should text Andrew and see if they figured out a way home. Oh yeah, and while we were talking to them Motion City Soundtrack was playing in the background. You can hear on the video. Ha.

    Since I was out of money, we sat down in our shady spot and waited for Forever the Sickest Kids. We planned on getting to their stage a little early, but we pit stopped at the port-a-potties. Got into the middle of the FTSK crowd shortly after Panima finished up. We were in a pretty nice spot, or so I thought. As soon as the band got onstage there was a MAD push for the front and yours truly got stuck smack dab in the middle. I was a few people back from the front, and right in the center, with no escape. All I had to say was "FTSK? F-U-C-K!" The crowd got hyped and everyone was jumping so I had no choice but to jump with them. Normally I have no problem with this and I love jumping up and down and dancing around, granted that everyone is jumping to the same beat. Yeah. The group to my left was jumping one way, and the group to my right was jumping a different beat. Stupid ass white people with no rhythm. I seriously do not remember the FTSK crowd being that bad last summer. I survived a good portion of the set, but by the time they played their last song, She's A Lady, I was seriously so annoyed that I wanted out. Wasn't worth it, I've seen FTSK twice before. I either had to wait out the madness or walk back through the madness. Neither option seemed appealing, so I asked the kind sir next to me if he would give me a boost so I could crowd surf out of the pit. Normally I think crowd surfers are idiots, but it was the last song and it seemed to be a good solution to my problem. But now I know why people do it because, holy balls, it's way fun. Haha.

    After that I was pretty exhausted so I bought a gatorade and headed to the back of the crowd for All Time Low to wait for Family Force 5. Didn't really pay attention, but I thought it was funny when ATL said "First of all, you all need to calm the fuck down. We're at a music festival, it's not like we're playing Pokemon here." Roflrofl. Family Force 5 was next. I love the song Drama Queen. They put on a really hype show and I wish I hadn't been to tired to jump into the crowd. That would've been way fun. Instead the three of us chilled by the sound tent for good viewing. Caught some video until my camera ran out of memory.

    Before the end of their set, we went to their merch tent and Francis bought a t shirt. Bill bought a Warped tee and then we stuck around for a little Relient K. We then decided as a group that there was no one else worth sticking around for, so we headed out for some dinner.

A Laundry List of Things That All Mean "I just don't like you that way."

Conversations
of you telling me we're just friends
They replay again and again
Why don't you tell me the whole truth
And not just lies you recite to convince you

That you don't want this, well
I guess you already did
I wanted to call out "That's bullshit"
But if that's the way you want it
Then that's the way it is

I'm not happy
With what you told me
But what can I do right now?
Except fake a smile, stick around for awhile
I'll have to deal with it all somehow

I keep telling
myself I'm over it
But the questions beg my mind
If I had done it a little differently
Would it have turned out right this time?

It's making me toss it's making me turn
I keep wondering and I yearn
Just to know what
it feels like
But to find out I'd have to fight

These feelings that I feel
I know they can't be real

I'm not happy
With what you told me
But what can I do right now?
Except fake a smile, stick around for awhile
I'll have to deal with it all somehow

You never let me get two words in
I'll be fine, just so you know, you win
It's not worth making bruises
Life's too short for people with excuses.

Kiss and Pretend

You came to me out of nowhere
Caught off guard, caught by surprise
Never thought that I would
Catch on to someone so quick
Just by honesty I saw in their eyes

So we started out with nothing
Hanging out and having fun
Could have guessed we'd turn
Nothing into something so
Suddenly a story had begun

Oh I don't know
Where we stand
But if you can make a move
Then I can take a chance

We can kiss and make everything alright
I'm not gonna lie, It's what I want you to do
Or we can pretend like this never happened
Let's be just friends and I'll pretend it's all true

Three weeks, everyone was talking
Wouldn't admit, we couldn't commit
Didn't know how you'd feel about it
So I waited around for your final verdict

Meanwhile, I'd enjoy your smile
You made me laugh, you made me love
I'm going crazy while you get more amazing
I can't help it I just can't get enough

I really cannot tell you
Everything I want to
If I let my guard down
I'll get hurt, I'm afraid because

I don't know
Where we stand
But if you make a move
Then I'll take a chance

We can kiss and make everything alright
I'm not gonna lie, it's what I want you to do
Or we can pretend that this never happened
Let's be just friends and I'll pretend it's all true

If you make a move, then I'll take a chance (x2)

Jack of Hearts

You sent your jackhammer
straight through their hearts
chiseled them apart
left them broken and lost.

Now you say you want me?
Well now I have to say
I've got news for you,
It doesn't work that way

They told me about you
You're a Jack of Hearts.
You're not hard to find.
Just look for the girls
and their tears trailing behind

You're a Jack of Hearts
but luck's run out this game
Cuz i'm folding this hand
I'm not going through pain

I closed my eyes,
I picked a card
That's when we met,
you came out of the deck.

I thought you were a King,
But you caught me by surprise
When you proved to me
you were a Joker in disguise.

Even more so now that I've seen them live and up close. I'm really satisfied with how today turned out, even though it started a bit rough. I'm on post-show adrenaline still so I'm awake enough to blog.

First of all, I can't thank Tyler enough for being so amazing and taking Janaye and I on such ridiculously short notice. Long story short, my brother bailed on me and Tyler responded to a last ditch attempt myspace bulletin that I posted. He gets muchos props for spending such a prolonged amount of time with The MxC Twins without wanting to shoot himself (and/or avoiding injury from our headbanging, ha. We're dangerous). He's a cool kid. It was chill getting to know him.

Tyler picked me up at about 3, then we picked up Janaye and off we went. Traffic was really weird for a Wednesday, but we made a pit stop at Grazelle's house to pick up my wallet and eat some good food. We thanked Auntie Sol and sped off to Costa Mesa.

We arrived during the last 2 or 3 songs of Paper Route's set, and Janaye thought their guitarist/back vocals guy was pretty cute. Other than that, I don't remember much about them. We spent the downtime after their set chit chatting, spotting cute scene girls for Tyler, shit-talking about ugly ones behind their backs (mostly Janaye and I did that), and the three of us devised a plot to kidnap Hayley. Lol. Good times.

Next up, Jack's Mannequin. The only Jack's songs I know are "Bruised" and that "Where Are You Now" song, but Janaye seemed to be pretty familiar with them. They put on a pretty good show. I mean, it's difficult playing the rock piano and being a charismatic lead singer, but oh man he pulls it off. Impressive, I'd say. Quite enjoyable, I have to listen to more of their stuff. Their bassist kept sipping his beer between songs and that was pretty amusing to Tyler and I. After the Jack's set there was more downtime, more plotting, more chatting. etc. etc. etc.

Oh I have to mention Tyler's idea of impersonating a roadie to get backstage:
"Just pick up an amp or something and start walking around like you know what you're doing."

...And then Paramore. I can't even describe it. Not that my mind was blown or anything, but there's just something about them. Every song makes you want to sing along and it's all fun to watch. Pure entertainment. And don't get me started on Hayley. I feel bad because it totally is "The Hayley Williams Band" but she's just so awesome you can't help but not care about anything else but her.

The ride home was very quiet. We saw some accident on the 405-N which was pretty intense, but other than that we just kinda chilled.

Oh, here's a funny moment. Since it was dark, I just pulled a CD to play out and stuck it in the CD player. Avenged Sevenfold got us most of the way home, but that CD finished when we pulled into Janaye's 'hood. So I grabbed another CD out of the dark and whaddaya know, it's the Countless Hours EP. Hahahaha. Be on the lookout for those kids, they'll be opening for Paramore soon. =D

So I signed up for Friends or Enemies in 2006, and I never used it. As a longtime Buzznet lurker, I tried to find my old FoE account, but that got lost in the abyss of the web world. So I've signed up again out of boredom. I'm in the process of uploading allllll my shit. So though it will bother me that this crap is out of chronological order, hopefully you will enjoy.