We Keep On Going..

I Hate To Give Up

2010-06-25T16:59:00.000-07:00

On another blog but alas..

All the stuff i used to ramble about on this blog is now being rambled about here:
www.UntilTheAM.tumblr.com

I'll probably still post on here from time to time but nowhere near as often as i used to.

In May

2010-05-31T19:28:00.000-07:00

I joined Take Courage

Alaska were main support for Throats in CT

I saw: Fireworks, This Time Next Year, The Wonder Years, All Or Nothing (3 times), The Swellers (4 times), The Dangerous Summer, Sunny Day Real Estate & Biffy Clyro live

I spent hours at the skatepark in the sun

& 2 of my bands were asked to play Hevy festival..

Top that, June..

'BOUT TO GET FRUIT PUNCHED, HOMIE!

2010-05-27T18:37:00.000-07:00

Hours from now i get to see The Wonder Years, This Time Next Year and Fireworks at the Purple Turtle.. Fully gutted i didn't go to the last minute SYG show at The Fighting Cocks as it turns out New Found Glory played a short set but at least i'm going to this!

Also, Alaska & Take Courage are both playing the 'Local Heroes' stage at this year's Hevy Festival; that one with Glassjaw, Gallows, Rolo Tomassi, Dead Swans and a shit ton of other good bands.. stokens.

http://festival.hevy.co.uk/

Sorry For The Mess..

2010-05-21T15:52:00.000-07:00

(by that i mean the mess of words i'm about to try to get out)

It's been a while since i've done a proper update, i feel like i said that last time too..
A lot has been happening lately that i just couldn't sum up into words so i didn't even attempt to.

The First 8 days of this month were pretty crazy.

I got a call from my friend Alex saying that the drummer of his band (Take Courage) had quit and it was for good this time.

(If anyone remembers me talking about it, i had a similar phonecall from Alex in January saying it looked like Scott was going to leave the band and they had asked me to step in so they would still be able to play their tour dates, but he changed his mind a couple of days later before i had even really started to learn the songs so i let them get on with it.)

I said i was 100% up for it and was stoked to be the first person they thought to ask for the 2nd time.
I spent the weekend learning the old EP and the new tracks Alex sent me, then we practiced on the Tuesday and it was rad. Didn't take very long for everything to come together at all.

Here's a video from our second practice last night, a new song and an old song:

On the 6th of this month i saw The Dangerous Summer & The Swellers in London, then on the 7th & 8th i saw The Swellers again in Tunbridge Wells and Kingston.

The Swellers have had such a big impact on me it really is hard to find the words to sum it up. I've got a lot of respect for that band to have been doing what they've been doing for the past 8 years, sticking to their morals and not becoming another sellout pop-punk band.. and just now being able to tour the UK, i'm glad i was at least some small part of it by going to as many shows as i could have and they really showed true gratitude towards us.

The Dangerous Summer are another band that showed so much gratitude towards the crowd. "You have no idea how awesome it is for us to have come all this way to play some shows and seeing kids singing all the words back to us"

Their drummer was just as amazing live as on record, everybody needs to check out Reach For The Sun if you haven't already..

Since first hearing that album i've been trying to improve my playing.
Thinking outside the box is the only fun way to play drums.

Best Week In A Long Time

2010-05-09T09:54:00.000-07:00

Cant even find the words to sum it up..

Mayday Mayday.

2010-05-02T17:15:00.000-07:00

2 days in to this month and i'm already physically fucked.

We were main support for Throats and the response we got was incredible. I gave it 110% last night, the last thing i wanted to do when my alarm woke me up this morning after 4 hours sleep was to go to work.. Today was a complete comedown.

I honestly think i could die when we go on tour but it'll be so worth it just to get the chance to play shows like that every night.

ALASKA / TAKE COURAGE EURO TOUR, AUGUST 2010
(Loads more posts about that tour when i know more about it. Also, an awesome update regarding Take Courage should be coming in the next couple of weeks)

XXX

Welcome Back Riders

2010-04-29T13:16:00.000-07:00

I'm pretty stoked for this coming month, hell of a lot going on in terms of shows.

01/05 - Alaska / Throats @ Chantry Social Club, CT

06/05 - The Swellers / The Dangerous Summer @ Kings College, London

07/05 - The Swellers / All Or Nothing @ Tunbridge Wells Forum

08/05 - The Swellers @ Banquet Records (Acoustic In-store)
08/05 - The Swellers / All Or Nothing @ Kingston Peel

19/05 - Defeater / Dead Swans / More Than Life @ Underworld (if i can afford it)

28/05 - The Wonder Years / Fireworks @ Purple Turtle

31/05 - Sunny Day Real Estate @ HMV Forum, London

I'm in two minds as to wether i should get a refund for my Sunny Day ticket as i'm gonna be so broke by the end of the month..
but on the other hand, it's freakin' Sunny Day Real Estate, ya know?

You might have noticed that there's a load of Swellers shows up there. That's because this is the first time these dudes are coming to the UK.
I've been waiting about 5 years to get to see them live so i wanted to get to as many shows as i could whilst they're over here.

Also, The Swellers' 7" i've been waiting on from Banquet Records came through today and that place just became my favourite record store.
Free badges, stickers and 2 tickets to The Swellers' acoustic in-store before their show at the Peel. Awesome.

I'm going to try and get one of the tickets signed or something to add to my collection of signed Swellers merch so far.

Famous Stars And Straps T-Shirt Trade

2010-04-23T18:36:00.000-07:00

This was a cool little event that Famous knocked up in aid of Earth Day.
Take in 3 of your old but still wearable shirts to The Fast Life store and get a brand new limited FSAS shirt for free.

Skateboardanimation

2010-04-07T17:38:00.000-07:00

This is insane, unbelievably well made.

Skateboardanimation from Tilles Singer on Vimeo.

Alaska's Release Show Footage

2010-04-04T12:45:00.000-07:00

Here's the first 2 tracks of our set from last night. Departures and Feed The Rhino also played amazing sets but i didn't manage to get any of it on film!

Sinking Fast

2010-03-31T20:14:00.000-07:00

3/4

2010-03-30T15:38:00.000-07:00

Saturday is ALASKA's EP release show and I managed to help DEPARTURES get on it too!

Hype.

2010-03-28T18:05:00.000-07:00

Tonight I created a Zine for my solo stuff.

I did in 1 night on photoshop what previously took me 3 months to achieve by hand.

It doesn't have a DIY feel to it at all anymore but I don't really mind, I'm one step closer to getting this stuff out there..

More to come on this over the next month.

Noise From Upstairs

2010-03-27T17:53:00.000-07:00

Man Overboard have a new 5 track acoustic EP out today.

I'm only a couple of listens into it but this band have done no wrong so far so it's definitely worth checking out.

FFO: Brand New, Taking Back Sunday, Dashboard, Transit.. Listen to Man Overboard on Myspace

Mike Giant

2010-03-16T19:04:00.000-07:00

Doing what he does best, hitting up a wall in SF.

MIKE GIANT on Jessie Street from Sean Desmond on Vimeo.

INITIATION

2010-03-16T06:58:00.000-07:00

Brand new Alaska track going up on the myspace tonight.

Taken from our MMX EP which is released through Fist In The Air Records later this month.

Pre-orders will be up soon.

REBEL 8 SPRING 2010 IS HERE!

2010-03-09T17:51:00.000-08:00

They just keep getting better..

^ Collab with Mishka, NYC.

^ The 'Street Wars' shirt was Designed by Sean Taggart
He has created fliers, posters and album art for bands including Agnostic Front, Cro-Mags, Crumbsuckers, and Carnivore.

This sticker pack is just insane..

CLICK FOR THE REBEL 8 STORE

Fuck 'The Man'.

2010-03-08T16:43:00.000-08:00

I've just started watching this but so far it's been really good.
It's still only on the first series, search for it online or something.

THE GAP YEAR

2010-03-06T17:02:00.000-08:00

So we started up this band towards the end of last year, wrote a couple of songs and went in to record a demo.

One of the reasons we wanted to record is that we still haven't got a vocalist so we figured it would be easier to find someone once people can hear the kind of stuff we play.

Saying that, we've written a third song since this demo and it's a lot faster, a lot louder and a lot more fun to play than the 2 songs we recorded so hopefully that's a sign of even better things to come..

Have a listen to us on myspace and add us if you're into it!
Click for The Gap Year myspace page.

The Wild Ones Comic!

2010-03-05T13:39:00.000-08:00

"Straight from the new TFL Books that were just unleashed at Magic this week. Come by the store this week to grab a copy, or place an order on TFL.com and get one free with your order"
This looks so rad!

On a similar note, this dude is wearing an unreleased FMS shirt but i'm really hoping they release it some time soon because it looks killer!

We See Life Through Different Eyes

2010-03-04T05:09:00.000-08:00

Full length skateboarding video by Jon Casey.
Skaters with full parts to named soon.

Featured in this video:
Ian Preut (Skating the pool)
Josh Sierra (Big Flip)
Russel George (Bs 360 kf)
Max Barrera (Hauling ass in the beginning)
Daniel Wade (One wheel to one wheel manny)
Stian Bakke (sw hardflip)
Adam Hakeem (Nollie noseslide)
Akeem Haynes (Ollie over rail)
Willy Correa (Tabletop to tabletop)
Danny Gonzalez (sw nosemanual 180)
Billy Roper (tre flip line)
Aaron Steward (manual back lip)
Mike Garza (sw noseslide)
Sleep (halfcab nose 270)
RJ (nosemanny la library)

Cold March.

2010-03-03T13:20:00.000-08:00

February flew past..

The first CDH! show didn't go too badly, although i stand by the fact that i hate playing to a click track in a live setting.

The Pay No Respect / This Is Colour all dayer was alright, a lot of people weren't into it though for some reason.
I cut my hand open on my bass, blood all over it by the end of the set.
UP THE PUNX.

The day after that show, Alaska went into the studio with Jason Frye from Santa Karla to record 4 new songs.
Which means that March has this new release in store..

Get stoked.

CT Alldayer

2010-02-24T13:26:00.000-08:00

Don't know how reliable these set times are but we'll see on Sunday..
Couple of bands on the flyer have pulled out.

Pay No Respect
http://www.myspace.com/paynorespect - 9:40 - 10:25

This Is Colour
http://www.myspace.com/thisiscolour - 8:45 - 9:25

8Control (FRA)
http://www.myspace.com/8control - 8:00 - 8:30

Brutality Will Prevail
http://www.myspace.com/brutalitywillprevail - 7:15 - 7:45

Heart Of A Coward
http://www.myspace.com/heartofacoward - 6:35 - 7:00

BREAK - 6:10

One Step Down
http://www.myspace.com/osdbsehc - 5:45 - 6:10

Broken Teeth
http://www.myspace.com/brokenteethhc - 5:05 - 5:30

Almost Home
http://www.myspace.com/hcalmosthome - 4:25 - 4:50

Alaska
http://www.myspace.com/thealaskankings - 3:45 - 4:10

Headcase
http://www.myspace.com/frostypunk - 3:05 - 3:30

Dying In Deep Water
http://www.myspace.com/didwuk - 2:30 - 2:50

Midnight Nation

2010-02-19T19:11:00.000-08:00

I came about this in the strangest way possible..

In La Dispute's song Eight from 'Here, Hear. II' the vocalist is telling a story in which he says "midnight nation."

It was the first time i'd ever heard that phrase so i wanted to delve deeper into the meaning, after looking through Google for a while i came across a link to a comic book series, "Midnight Nation" by J. Michael Straczynski.

I've never been into comics before, they just never appealed to me. This one for some reason drew me in though, i read a review in which the reader described it as one of the top 5 comics you need to read before you die. I don't know what it was about it but i was completely taken in by this story so i searched ebay and baught the 12 issue series.

Tonight i listened to the La Dispute song again but something stood out that i didn't notice the first time round.. The last line:

"- J. Michael Straczynski, Shermanoaks California, July 21st 2002."

Essentially what i've learnt tonight is this,
Last night i baught a 12 issue series of a comic book, the first comic i have ever baught.
A comic book that i never would have even heard of, had i not heard this one La Dispute song and searched for the meaning of the phrase that struck a chord with me.. and it turns out that the song was about the comic all along, written by the author himself.

Welcome Back Riders

2010-02-14T17:02:00.000-08:00

This show is going to be awesome, i've been waiting for the swellers to come over to the uk since i first heard their ep in 2006.
Since then they've only got better too.
Ups And Downsizing was easily the best album i baught in 2009, the entire album is still at the top of my iTunes play count now.

I wish The Gap Year could have been a bit more organised as opposed to the sporadic practices we've managed to arrange over the last few months, it would have been amazing to have been able to play on a show that i've been waiting so long to see!

www.myspace.com/theswellers

We Keep On Going.

2010-02-12T17:55:00.000-08:00

Just a quick post to say that even though I've been pretty quiet this month, I haven't given up this blog.. There's just a lot of stuff going on at the moment.

I've got the first ever CDH! show coming up this Thursday night (18th) at the student union bar in Canterbury, we've only had 1 practice as the full band so it's safe to say i'm shitting it.

My pop punk band The Gap Year have just finished recording some instrumental demo's, so hopefully we can start a decent search for a vocalist now that we have something to show people.

I've just got through selling most of my belongings on eBay so I've finally managed to get some new drum shit. Couldn't have come at a better time as it looks like the new band with Me & Sam from Atlantic Hearts and Sketch & Andy from Black & Blue is finally starting up!

I think that's it for now.. Listen to New Found Glory!

Head Above Water This Year, Boys..

2010-02-03T16:52:00.000-08:00

The Wonder Years' new album 'The Upsides' has been on repeat for a week straight.

Hell, any band who'd move in together to write an album in their basement is a band i'd look up to.

More than anything else, The Upsides is a record about fighting back.

I felt like the past year left me and all of my friends defeated. Our early-twenties had beaten us down. We listened to sad songs and we watched sad movies and we talked about sad shit. It was like everyone looked at the rest of their lives and decided that now was the time to start being miserable.

A lot of the lyrics for this record were written on my bike while I avoided traffic and bad parts of the city. Before we actually started writing songs, I had compiled a notebook full of the lines that I pulled from the fog my breath produced on all of my freezing, snowy morning bike rides.
I had given up, and this was going to be a record about just that, and then, one day, I was riding my bike down 19th Street on the way to work and from the top of Callowhill, I could see that the fountain at Logan Circle had been turned on. Something clicked in my head and I guess it was because this meant it was Spring, or maybe it was just because it reminded me of happier times, but I decided then that it wasn't okay to be this defeated at twenty-three.
A few months later the band moved into the house I was living in South Philly with my girlfriend and roommate. They slept on the floor of our living room and every day we would wake up and walk down into the 15-square foot basement to write songs.
We spent a very long, very hot month between May and June surviving on freezie-pops and Dunkin' Donuts iced coffee alone. Everyone, literally and figuratively poured themselves into this record as we must have lost a collective ten pounds from sweat alone. My basement still smells terrible to this day.
There were a few times when we walked upstairs after an argument and I didn't think we'd ever come back down because every song was that important to every one of us.

The result is a record that we're all very proud of and that I think carries a very real message. The whole world wants you to be miserable. It wants you to put your head down, sigh to yourself and give up on being happy, and I know just as well as anyone that sometimes, giving up seems like the only option, but if you take one thing from this record, I hope it's this: Don't give those mother-fuckers an inch. Stand your ground every chance you get because everybody deserves a chance to be happy.

- The Upsides

SDRE

2010-01-27T17:06:00.000-08:00

April 22nd, London Forum.
I'm praying I get online in time to get tickets!

The South Is Rising..

2010-01-26T17:58:00.000-08:00

THIS SUNDAY.

Expectations

2010-01-24T11:19:00.000-08:00

Are rarely surpassed & sadly last night was no exception.

Arena's suck. It felt like I was seeing a concert on TV as opposed to actually being there.

Daisy and Noro are two of the best tracks on the new album and they didn't play either, the tracks they did play just didn't work as well live as they do on the album.

Limousine was pretty special, Jesse played the most part of it solo without a tempo in sight so there was no chance of anyone singing along until the "'cause i can dish it out but I can't take it" part towards the end.

Glassjaw played El Mark, that was all I really wanted to hear from them because I've never been a huge fan so that was cool.

I won't say anymore than that because I'm not a reviewer and I doubt anyone cares anyway.

I just hope that wasn't the last show Brand New plan on playing over here..

Welcome To Bangkok
Sink
Degausser
You Won't Know
Okay I Believe You, But My Tommy Gun Don't
Sic Transit Gloria... Glory Fades
The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows
Limousine
Vices
Gasoline
Sowing Season
You Stole
The Archers Bows Have Broken
Jesus
Jude Law And A Semester Abroad
Seventy Times 7
At The Bottom
Play Crack The Sky

The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me

2010-01-19T18:06:00.000-08:00

I go to a lot of shows, music is my biggest passtime, hobby, and passion.
Every so often come those shows that before they're even over, I know I'll never forget.

AlexisOnFire / The Ghost Of A Thousand / Dead Swans @ Camden Barfly 17.8.08. was a stupidly good show for example. My first time seeing Alexis and it was infront of around 250 other people, the last time they had played London was headlining Brixton academy. It was pretty special to say the least..

Have Heart / Rise & Fall / Shipwreck / More Than Life @ The Talking Heads Southampton 19.7.09. Have Heart were and always will be the single most influencial band in hardcore to me personally. Without them I don't know that I'd be listening to a lot of the music I'm listening to now.

They announced during the world tour they were doing that they were calling it a day and this would be the last chance to see them.. I was fucking gutted, but so glad I was still getting to see them before they split.

They opened with Pave Paradise and for a brief second, I got on the mic with Pat looking at me shouting the words he wrote back to him.
1 Life goal = complete.

This all brings me to the point of this post, the first ever show that blew my mind, Brand New & MeWithoutYou @ Hammersmith Apollo 13.2.07.
Everything was perfect, beginning to end, fucking perfect.
I can't even find the words to sum it up and beleive me I'm trying..

On Saturday night I'll be seeing Brand New for the second time only this time it's at Wembley Arena. The way i see it this could go one of two ways, either the venue is way too big compared to where I last saw them and adding that many people kinda ruins the vibe of show OR the larger venue just adds to the atmosphere and hearing their songs in such a setting will render me speechless for the next week.
I'll let you know on sunday!

FMS Spring Collection 2010

2010-01-17T01:58:00.000-08:00

FamousSAS have been posting a few shots lately as to what to look out for in the new line..

I've got to say I really lost interest in famous between 2007/'08 because it felt as though their design ideas were running dry but over the last year they've shown that they have what it takes to stay on top of the game.

I'm really stoked to see those high-tops..

The Gap Year

2010-01-14T12:19:00.000-08:00

This is the pop-punk band i'm in.

It's still early days yet, we've only just decided on the name for the band and we're still looking for a vocalist.
We're recording 2 demo tracks in the next month so people can properly hear what we've written so far.

Band Practice 101: Have Fun.

Sleepless Nights & Snowball Fights

2010-01-03T17:22:00.000-08:00

"Is it bad that all I want to do right now is arrange a snowball fight? At 1AM..."

"I don't think it is at all. Infact if you can find enough people, I think I'd be well up for it. We shall be the blue team. Long live the blue team! Do it!"

Yeah, i've got the right kind of friends.. :)

The view from my window, 04.01.10 @ 12:55am..

While I've got your attention, go listen to Motion City Soundtrack. New album out on the 19th so give Commit This To Memory a spin and remember how good they are.

FMS SK8 VID

2010-01-03T14:08:00.000-08:00

As well as the new Transplants and Blink 182 song's coming out on Travis Barker's solo/remix album this year, we have this to look forward to.
Oh yes, it's gonna be a good year.

SET YOUR GOALS

2010-01-01T09:12:00.001-08:00

"10 for 2010" 1 & 2:

2009 was an awesome year in terms of some of the new people I met. When I took a second to think about it, I realised most of those people came about through playing in Atlantic Hearts.
From promoters to people running labels to people who are just into your music, meeting new people who share your interests is always a cool thing.
In 2009 almost every show I played was with Atlantic Hearts, in 2010 I'm going to be playing more shows with Alaska, starting up my pop punk band properly from early March hopefully, playing some shows with CDH! and starting the new Hearts band on top of all that.. I'm hoping each band brings some more new friends my way.

3:

I got into records fairly recently I guess, compared to most of my friends anyway.
I started collecting all of the Gallows' singles from the Orchestra Of Wolves album which led to me buying their 2005 demo and the NCF split on both colourways, from there I was hooked.
For the last year or so It's kind of been an aim to have a record released for one of my bands, it nearly happened with Hearts but everything was looking too expensive so we just gave up on the idea in the end.
Hopefully Alaska will have our EP released on vinyl through Fist In The Air Records though so this could be one goal checked off the list sometime soon!

4:

Some of these goals will be fucking expensive to achieve, I need money for everything.

5:

I wanted to have done this by now but i need to get my hands on PhotoShop again.
Basically, for about a year now I've wanted to print some of my own T-shirt designs that are set to a small run of each design so my friends and whoever else could get one. But i also want to make sure they aren't extortionately priced. Fuck that Honour Over Glory stuff, £8 for a 1 colour, 1 screen shirt design on a Guildan shirt and £30 for a 'limited' hoodie.. Mental.

6:

Going to The Fast Life would be like taking a trip to the center of the streetwear universe for me.
Famous Stars And Straps, The Wild Ones, Rebel 8, Rogue Status and DTA all under one roof.
This would also mean a holiday in LA, what more reason could I need to make sure this goal gets checked off?

7:

This video should explain this one..

Viva LOVE.

8 & 9:

I guess this one's kind of a 2fer.
I feel like I need to take photos so i'll always be able to have something there to look back on.
A lot happened in 2009 and for the most part I've got the photographs to back up that statement. With the amount of stuff I've got in the works right now, 2010 has even more potential so I'm going to try and make sure my camera comes everywhere with me.
Most of my photos from 2009 were from skateboarding this past summer, swalecliffe and some other places. I tend to get lazy with skating in the Winter and hold off til the Summer comes round again. This kinda leads me to the whole point of this entire list.. in 2009, there were a lot of occasions where I was just fucking lazy. This year instead of sleeping in I'm going to get up, get out and actually do something.
One life, one chance.

10:

I've wanted to since.. actually I can't even place it in a time-frame..
I started playing guitar when I was 11 and drums from the age of 15 but even before that, I always wanted to be a musician.
Touring and recording is the only thing I've ever actually wanted to do with my life.
Who doesn't want to go on tour?!

2009 built the groundwork for a lot of these goals, 2010 should be a good year.

*I just noticed I made this whole list without even thinking to put 'Pass my driving test' in there, WOW, talk about priorities.

01.01.2010

2009-12-30T19:42:00.000-08:00

10 GOALS FOR 2010..

COMING TOMORROW.

Skateboarding

2009-12-25T13:45:00.000-08:00

First off, buy this book.

It includes pretty much everything you could think of.
From the San Fran skate scene at it's peak to Blabac's time working with Mad Circle, Girl & Chocolate.
Then on to his years at DC throughout the LOVE Park era & Danny Way's mega ramp / Great Wall stunts.

Skate is Love, Love is Skate.

Also, today my brother and his girlfriend got me one of the coolest christmas present's i think i've ever received.

*probably need to click the picture to be able to read it.

I got some Vans TNT's from my parents too,
Can anyone say epic skate holiday?
Barca 2010.

"This Song's called Steady Eddy..

2009-12-20T19:02:00.000-08:00

What a fucking cunt!"

Video from the last ever Atlantic Hearts show, this was the full set, it's just cut out in a few places.

There's videos of most of the other bands that played (Still Dreaming, Alaska & Take Courage) on my youtube page.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
I'm going to be updating in the next week or so with a list of goals i'm setting myself for 2010. So far i think most of it is looking possible but i guess the main point of it is going to be;
You won't achieve anything if you never try in the first place..

Incase i don't post again before Friday, have a good christmas.

Those Moments

2009-12-11T19:01:00.000-08:00

Where it hits you exactly how much music means to you and why you love it so much..
A lot of the time it's completely out of the blue too.

Like now,
It's just gone 3AM, I've been listening to Alkaline Trio for a couple of hours so I put on Home Grown - Kings of Pop for a change.

Maybe in the back of my mind somewhere I remembered the lyrics to that first song and that's why I put it on, or maybe it was just a pure coincidence but the first song on that album pretty much sums up what I feel like I'm going through a lot of the time.
Like when I think about what I want to do with my life, and what it is I need to do to reach that point.

It's three A.M,
and it feels like these four walls are caving in,
please tell me I'm not alone...
'Cause I'm tired of sleeping in.
Maybe I'll wake up tomorrow,
and figure out where to begin,
maybe I wont feel so hollow,
but I'm pretty sure that I'll be sleeping in.

& This song was always just fucking awesome.
Bring back the P-Rock Channel.

OH SHIT!

2009-12-08T17:29:00.000-08:00

I wish I was in LA tonight.

"IF YOU DON'T KNOW, YOU WON'T KNOW."

*I definitely want that Rogue Status new era for christmas.

Believe in The Wild Ones

2009-12-06T18:03:00.000-08:00

'Take an inside look at the rapidly emerging brand, The Wild Ones, as they tear through the streets of LA.
'Sex Sells' Limited to only 300 copies, this DVD was given out at MAGIC 09 accompanied by the The Wild Ones Catalog by the same name.'

Who Loves Orange Soda?

2009-11-28T19:16:00.000-08:00

Where else but Los Angeles..

Soda Pop Stop online.

*Jon, you had best believe we're gonna find this place..

THE ALASKAN KINGS

2009-11-26T10:27:00.000-08:00

So that new band I'm in that I mentioned a few posts back..

I've been asked to play bass in Alaska, first practice is next Tuesday and if it all goes well my first show with them will be December 12th @ The Cantry Social Club, CT. (behind blockbuster)

Definitely looking forward to this.
ALASKA On Myspace.

oh and thanks to Soto my bass is looking sweet with that Rebel8 sticker..

David Soto

2009-11-25T09:28:00.001-08:00

You are one rad mother fucker!

I baught a FSAS CNP dip dye TEST PRINT along with a Famous Delirious shirt from him and he hooked me up with like 50+ stickers..

Thanks dude.

FOR SALE..

2009-11-23T18:53:00.000-08:00

Rogue Status Gunshow Hoodie, size Small.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180436694701

Rebel8 Winter 09/10 Look Book

2009-11-21T18:41:00.000-08:00

REBEL8 have released their very first lookbook for their Winter 2009-2010 collection. Photographed by Dylan Maddux, the models were Benny Gold, Lowcard Rob, Henry Lewis and John Trippe. The collection has a strong American Workwear influence which include pieces like flannel shirt and varsity jacket. All pieces are now available in REBEL8’s stocklist and at REBEL8.com in the very near future.

Nolan Lee

2009-11-19T16:33:00.000-08:00

This dude is one to watch.
Sponsored by Osiris shoes and Flow for Zoo York.
Straight out of Manhattan.

Check out his YouTube Channel.

Drugs are wack

2009-11-16T15:12:00.000-08:00

R.I.P. DJ AM billboard up at The Fast Life.

FSAS @ Texas Make-A-Wish Skate Jam

2009-11-12T20:18:00.000-08:00

The Famous Skate team made a trip to Houston, Texas to show support for the Make-A-Wish Skate Jam at the Soutside Skatepark

WeKeepOnGoing

2009-11-12T16:31:00.000-08:00

Recently i've started to change the way i think about my job.
I used to hate the fact that they'd only put me on 3 shifts a week because they were clearly over staffed. The reason for that being, it seems to be a family run place (even though it shouldn't be) and the manager clearly isn't going to be sacking any of her kids any time soon..

Now i'm coming at it from the aspect of, 3 shifts a week = 4 days completely free to be doing things that could actually lead to me making something of my life.

As it stands just now, i'm playing drums for my friend Kyle's live show with his Electro project 'CDH!' (click the names for myspace links)

Atlantic Hearts are finally starting up again and writing the kind of songs we really want to play at last.

I've finished recording for my solo project Heavy Hearts and i'm just putting together the zine's to go along with the demo cd once it's mixed.

After a short chat on the way up to see Dance Gavin Dance last night, Tom and I decided it's only right that Acting Like Apes (that's right, we're really called that) should get back together to record the demo that we never finished.

& Finally, I've started up a pop punk band with my friends Tom and Kyle who were also in Apes, early days yet so we haven't got a myspace but there some videos up on youtube of a couple of our songs, which leads me to the channel..

http://www.youtube.com/user/WeKeepOnGoing

I set up this YouTube channel with hopes of documenting pretty much everything i get up to in all of the bands mentioned.
I thought it'd be a good idea for 2 reasons really, first it'll be a good thing to be able to look back on a while from now. And second, if anyone else shows any interest in any of the bands, they can check out what's going on with us all in one place.

As long as i'm making enough money from work to pay rent to my parents and cover the costs of practices, that's pretty much all i need for now..

There's also 1 more band in the works at the moment and one Huge project that i could be taking a fairly big risk on, but i'll tell you more about those when they're more certain.

Here's a new Atlantic Hearts song, the first one we've written since starting over with the new line-up.

Subscribe to my Channel to see what I'm up to.

http://www.youtube.com/user/WeKeepOnGoing

Hell Has Frozen Over

2009-11-09T13:30:00.000-08:00

Fuck me this is a good album.

A lot of people are comparing Last Witness to The Break In after hearing this album.
One clear difference between the two for me is that it took me a fair few listens to get in to The Break In(believe it or not) whereas this album is a full on kick to the face from the get-go. Heavy-as-fuck riffs throughout but it's also far more melodic than you'd ever expect in a couple of places and Theo's vocals deliver exactly what's needed to top these tracks off.

From the band's myspace:
"This album was recorded during March / April 2008. Although we had intended to release it immediately, we encountered numerous problems along the way and in the end the album never saw the light of day. In September 2009, after over a year of dormancy and the unmixed tracks remaining on various studios' hard drives - we decided to finish mixing and release the album."

Download the Last Witness album for free (uploaded by the band)
FFO: The Break In, Hang The Bastard, Brutality Will Prevail
Download Links;

http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?mwzmzhovtzy
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?wmz3ngi3nyq
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=N69UG74K

Last Witness Myspace Page

Remember my snare?

2009-11-04T15:51:00.000-08:00

Well this is what it looked like back in August

Then, with the intention of stripping it completely and giving it a rad wood stain finish, i did this..

Fast forward a few months to today and it was still looking like that, as i don't really have the extra money lying around to do what i first set out to do with it, i figured i'd customise it another way instead..

Stickers, what else.

It actually looks pretty cool, i wanted to cover the whole thing but those lug holes were a pain to work around!

HEARTS 2.0

2009-10-27T21:23:00.000-07:00

3 instruments down, just vocals to go..

HEARTS

2009-10-22T14:35:00.000-07:00

Atlantic Hearts practiced tonight for the first time with our new line-up.
We've got Ryan John & Sketchy Adam from Black & Blue, rad.

We haven't written anything new yet so we just jammed through this American Nightmare song a few times.

Things are looking up.

Departures / Atlantic Hearts Split EP Review

2009-10-12T12:41:00.000-07:00

From A Short Fanzine About Rocking:

DEPARTURES/ATLANTIC HEARTS – ‘Split’ (Fist In The Air)

Fist In The Air is putting out some quality releases by excellent up-and-coming UK bands right now (see Take Courage, Santa Karla etc.), and this split adds to that run, delivering four songs each by two new(ish) bands – one, Atlantic Hearts, hailing from London, and the other, Departures, coming from North of the border.
It’s the latter band who get this split underway, with a sound that’s loaded with anger but also a fair degree of tunefulness and expansiveness, with ‘Disappointment’ and ‘The View From Above’ displaying a particular melodic edge and offering driving riffs rather than thrashing brute force. Not unlike The Legacy or Verse, it’s intelligent, powerful stuff.
Atlantic Hearts are equally powerful, albeit in a far blunter, rip-yer-face-off-and-stamp-on-it kind of way. Their half of the split is characterised by hate-filled lyrics delivering in a super-vitriolic style, while musically they’re not a million miles away from early Your Demise or Outbreak. Hurtling by in a cacophony of misanthropic anger, their four tracks are short, sharp and impressively straight to the nasty point.
Two noticeably different takes on the hardcore genre then, from two new bands who are both impressive in their own distinctive way, and both well worth checking out.

So there it is, my band got a good review at last.
Jamie's got boxes full of these cd's in his room so help him shift a copy!
Fist In The Air's Bigcartel.

Drum Tracking

2009-10-09T12:24:00.000-07:00

Recording 'Truth Of My Youth'
(Not a New Found Glory cover..)

Coming Soon..

2009-10-08T17:59:00.000-07:00

At Last.

Heavy Hearts
there's a demo up there at the moment, 3 new recordings hopefully done by november.

HEAVY HEARTS ZINE

2009-09-30T16:13:00.000-07:00

For those who don't know; I started this in MAY, 2 months after recording the 3 songs i had written for my solo project under the same name.

I finally sat down and finished it tonight, almost 5 months after I started..
It's my first ever attempt at a zine, and you can tell.
(and yeah i stole a strip from Pictures For Sad Children to use in there..)

Now i just need to get those songs finished..

Can't Die Happy Until I've Seen..

2009-09-30T12:01:00.001-07:00

Sunny Day Real Estate live..

Ups And Downsizing

2009-09-28T10:45:00.000-07:00

The Swellers have a new album coming out tomorrow.

The Swellers on Myspace
I won't lie, I downloaded this before i pre-ordered it because i was anxious to see if their sound had changed at all. Luckily, it hasn't.

They're doing exactly what they want to do because they're into it, they're not trying to go mainstream and be the next All Time Low and that's fucking rad.

There are a couple of slower tracks on the album but they fit perfectly. Lyrically the songs come across much clearer and more honest than on their past releases too.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Taken from AbsolutePunk.net: Link.

"Dirt: The furthest place you can go to get away from the stars is the dirt. This song is about what I want done with my body when I'm gone. It's about how I want my friends to try to deal with it. Morbid, but I'd figure I'd get my will out of the way now. Now everyone can have a copy. Goodbyes don't matter. It's the memories. "Just hold onto a memory of me inside of your heart always."

Track 11. Dirt
This is for all my friends and family.
Something I need you to understand.
The accident, the overdose, the suicide whatever it was.
Malpractice, the homicide, etcetera.
Something took me sooner than we planned.
Now take these steps for me.
It might not be what you wanted, but it's what I need.
No funeral. There's not a goddamn dime you need to spend.
I won't be there to thank you in the end.
Put me in the ground to decompose and inside of your heart always.
This is for all my friends.
Who are these motherfuckers?
Behind my eyes, they never knew me in life.
No, no casket please. I'll rot out with the leaves.
No clothes for me to wear. The dirt won't care.
Don’t scatter any ashes.
Scatter all my things to the deserving ones who really need.
No production here, so assholes walk around and try to get your sympathy and say, "I'm glad it wasn't me."
And with that said, don't say a prayer for me today.
God and I, we never really spoke anyway.
I tried sometimes, but he never wrote back.
And I know there's no headstone where I'm lying.
So where do you go when you're crying?
Just hold on to a memory of me inside of your heart always.

If You Play Guitar

2009-09-24T16:34:00.000-07:00

And you're into American Nightmare, The Suicide File & Dead Swans..

My band is starting over with a new vocalist soon and we need a new guitarist too.

With the exception of 'Steady Eddie', we're dropping our whole set and starting from scratch in a more hardcore, less thrash direction to how our newer material was sounding.

message us here if you're interested:
www.myspace.com/atlantichearts

Thanks.

Departures / Atlantic Hearts split ep

2009-09-19T15:35:00.000-07:00

On Monday Fist In The Air Records are releasing what feels like my bands first real CD.

4 tracks from us and 4 tracks from Glasgow's Departures.

It still feels a bit surreal that this is happening at all to be honest.

I first found out about Departures at T In The Park last year, I was walking past the T-Break stage and got handed a small card just saying 'Departures, Playing T-Break Stage @ ... For fans of Glassjaw & Gallows"

Needless to say they were amazing, regardless of how often their vocalist was apologising for losing his voice, they were still awesome.
I walked away from their set wanting to start a band like that..
& For the record, they sounded fuck all like Glassjaw..

It's weird to think that that just over a year later I'm in a band that's releasing a split CD with them. Just a shame we haven't managed to play any shows together yet..

I'm actually pretty proud of this release and I'm happy that I got to be a part of it.
The Departures tracks are incredible and I think our tracks are a huge improvement from our demo too.

It's only £4, grab a copy online from the link here or get one from us at a show..
Order The Split From Fist In The Air Records.

THE WILD LIFE

2009-09-16T17:22:00.001-07:00

Something to check out if you don't follow it already..

(click the picture for the link)

Also, The Hope Conspiracy are playing a one-off UK show at the Camden Barfly in January, Attack! Vipers! are supporting too. Pretty stoked about that!

but yeah, make sure you check out The Wild Life. Theo & Ben post a lot of similar stuff to me so if you like this blog, it'll be worth a look.

Skateboarding

2009-09-10T15:48:00.000-07:00

This week my life has fully revolved around skateboarding.
I had the whole week booked off from work and it feels like i've seen the last week of summer slowly fade away at the skatepark every morning. It's been pretty rad.

In an odd coincidence, StrikeGently posted the film Kids last week which I hadn't seen in years. After watching it again I remembered another similar film I'd seen a couple of years ago which tonight I remembered the name of.

Wassup Rockers, which i'm watching again right now is every bit as good as Kids, Larry Clark's work is incredible and after this i'm going to be watching Ken Park for the first time too as it's yet another one of Larry Clark's films based around a group of skaters' home lives.

I baught Document and The Skateboarding Mag when I was in town today and after sifting through all the P-Rod Nike SB adverts (they are very nice shoes though so I didn't mind..) I came across an article about this book..

It looks like it'll be pretty interesting and I'm about to buy it from amazon as soon as I finish this post.

Click here to read an interview with Mike Blabac about the book, @ The Transworld Skateboarding site.

Show This Sunday, 13/09/09

2009-09-09T16:33:00.000-07:00

@ Tap'n'Tin Chatham, all dayer so get down early to catch Alaska! Their demo is one of the best that I own and the new material sounds doom-as-fuck.

Really looking forward to seeing Lightbringer as this will be my first time seeing them and their recordings alone sound incredible.

Santa Karla and Never Again are also playing although not on the flyer.

Never Again are releasing their second cassette, 'Repulsed' at the show along with some new Judge inspired shirts.

You can order the tape online from Carry The Weight Records, or grab both of their tapes from Hit Time Records if you still haven't got their first demo yet.

This is also going to be my first time seeing Breaking Point and i'm stoked. Really looking forward to seeing them at last, especially after hearing how nuts the reaction to them was at the Dead Swans record release show, I think this is only their 2nd Kent show (could be wrong) so it should be insane..

Brutality Will Prevail and Hang The Bastard are returning to Chatham again for this show too, 2 sets which will keep people moving to say the very least.

Pay No Respect are playing a bit high up in my opinion considering some of the bands playing but I guess they are the most local band and it's not my show so it really doesn't matter what i think...

I'm guessing I don't really need to say anything about Death Before Dishonor as most people's minds will be made up about them by this point.
Personally, i'm not into them.. But i guess that could change after seeing them play.

Studio Video

2009-09-05T13:48:00.000-07:00

Sam finally got some time in his ..busy schedule? to edit together the video from our day with Jason Frye @ Sun of Son studios.
Nobody will ever find this as funny as any of us do, but i hope it's at least worth watching!

Daisy

2009-09-04T01:33:00.001-07:00

January 23rd 2010 will be the 2nd time I get to see this band, one of my favourites, live.
I really don't need to say much in this blog, i'm just pretty stoked that i can finally get to see them again as i've missed them the last few times they have been over..

The new album is incredible and they literally blew me away when i saw them at the Apollo in 2007, i've never been so impressed by a bands transition from recordings to a live setting before.

Skate & Create 2009

2009-08-26T11:07:00.000-07:00

This past spring Transworld Skateboarding Magazine joined forces with four skate companies in a 4500 square foot warehouse and let the team skaters get to business, filming for 9 days straight.

In a nutshell, the contest consisted of four teams (Last years winners DVS, Etnies, C1RCA and DC) of four pros, one am, a photographer, a videographer and an art director.
Each team is locked in a warehouse for nine days with a ton of ramps, rails, banks, and boxes.

The team that can come up with the most creative set concept, skate obstacles, photography, skateboarding and video wins.

C1rca - Broken Dreams

DVS - Wood

DC - In The City (PHL/NY/SF/LA) The Love Park section is rad.

This year, Etnies came through with the winning video with The Legend Of Boxton Square.

Free Maths Show, Canterbury

2009-08-19T12:30:00.000-07:00

We don't seem to have the best of luck when it comes to clashes with other shows..

Our next Canterbury show after this will be our last show with Dan on vocals, it's on September 13th, the same day as that show in Chatham.

Anyway, if you aren't going to the Bane/DTN/Gold Kids show in London, head to this instead.
Maths will blow your mind and Great Ancestors are not to be missed too.
2 weeks today.

The Decked Project

2009-08-17T16:58:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd post something about this as it'll hopefully get some more people interested in going and checking it out who might not have heard about it before.
(Kyle, this is what I was talking about when I mentioned Danny Kitch's art a couple weeks ago..)

There's going to be an art show in Brick Lane from the 25th - 30th August, Featuring artwork on skateboard decks put together by a LOAD of rad artists.

www.TheDeckedProject.blogspot.com

I've taken this from their blog:
"The Decked Project is a fine and dandy collection of artists / illustrators / designers / tattoo artists and generally ink-stained fellows, with a show 25th-30th August at Stolenspace gallery, London."

The Decked Project has also been featured in Design Week and Cooler magazine.

I'm hoping to get up there at some point to check it out. if anyone wants to check it out with me, let me know!

www.TheDeckedProject.blogspot.com
www.TheDeckedProject.blogspot.com

On My Own Against The Wolrd

2009-08-16T19:19:00.000-07:00

CARPATHIAN's 'Isolation' is one of the best albums i've ever heard both on CD and in a live setting, they proved that again tonight.

They gave a shout out to 50 Lions and Miles Away which was pretty rad.
"Support them when they're over here and we'll do the same when you come to us, that's how this family works, that's exactly what the hardcore family is about"

That gave me a stupid grin as I happened to be wearing my Miles Away shirt from when we supported them at Tap'n'Tin in June, couldn't help but think maybe someday i'll be out there..
WHO KNOWS, All i know is that it was a rad feeling thinking about it at the time!

CARPATHIAN's MYSPACE

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

RITUAL played an amazing set, with one major let down.. the 'crowd', or all 20/30 of them that were watching at least. Nobody moved, nobody else knew any of the songs.. I honestly felt pretty bad for them, it was the very last show of their 3 week tour which had gone through Europe and the UK and I can only imagine it was a huge let-down.

The frontman gave a pretty heartfelt speech half way through the set..
"You always hear bands on tour thank the other bands and all that shit saying they're rad dudes, but Carpathian really are.. we've become great friends through this tour and it pains me to know that this has come to an end and after this we go home.. back to our jobs."

As i said before, hearing that just gave everyone a sense that they deserved something more than the turn-out that was there tonight, a lot of people even stayed outside during their set as they only came for Brutality Will Prevail (who played a solid set, they keep getting better)

Hopefully more people will take notice of Ritual for when they next come over, they have written some really good material and they've got a good attitude. It's a shame to see people pass up the chance to see them when they're just standing right outside.

RITUAL's MYSPACE

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Ticket No.1, that's what happens when you pre-order a ticket to a hardcore show on a sunday night 2 months in advance.

Late Pass..

2009-08-15T18:41:00.001-07:00

I meant to post about these shows the first day i set up this blog but there were so many shows worth mentioning that i kept putting it off..

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

13/08/09
BOBS FIRST SHOW
Skare Tactic also jumped on the show as a last minute thing due to issues with their tour.

The show was awesome, Never Again smashed it, as did Cold Snap.
Broken Teeth were sick, loudest snare drum in the world.
Jamie came in his pants watching xSINK OR SWIMx, they played a solid set too, kept people moving.
I had to leave just before The Effort started though which i'm pretty gutted about, everything i've heard about them has been good. Hopefully Bob can make every show run as smooth as this one did. (minus the late start, but that was out of his control anyway)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Because of work I couldn't make the next 2 shows, it blows but I can't afford to pass up any more shifts right now because my band's tour is in about... 3 weeks and i have next to no money.

14/08/09
H2O + Kingdom @ Camden Underworld

15/08/09
DEAD SWANS RECORD RELEASE SHOW

I am more than fucking gutted about missing this..
if I hadn't have already baught my Carpathian ticket a couple of months ago then I definately would have taken the night off and gone to this instead..
as well as the fucking ridiculous line up there was a raffle for a Test Press of the new album, Sleepwalkers, & special release show covers limited to 30.

No doubt the show was insane.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

16/08/09
THE GET UP KIDS @ KINGSTON PEEL

This show clashes with Carpathian @ Underworld and i baught a ticket to that first, The Get Up Kids show also sold out just as quickly as you'd expect..
If you're going, have a blast.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

16/08/09
CARPATHIAN, RITUAL & BRUTALITY WILL PREVAIL @ CAMDEN UNDERWORLD

Carpathian are one of my favourite bands, I saw them for the first time last December at the same venue, supporting Have Heart and they blew me away.
The lyrics on their album 'Isolation' are fucking intense, they've got the whole pissed off at the world thing locked down.

I saw Ritual in Chatham earlier this year and they put on an awesome show, their ep Wolves was in heavy rotation for a fair while after that show, it'll be good to get to see them again too.

£95

2009-08-13T17:56:00.000-07:00

Now that i can just about handle.

White shirts with black print,
White shirts with purple print.
16 x Small
16 x Medium
7 x Large
1 x XXL (Just for Jacob)

£350

2009-08-12T11:36:00.001-07:00

Atlantic Hearts are DIY.
We recorded our demo at Dans house, our first set of Tshirts were printed by Jamie (FITA Records) using his first ever screen, on his mums ironing board in his bedroom, limited to 15 because we couldn't afford any more.
We burn the CD's for our demo ourself along with printing the artwork from our own printer. (sorry if you got a shitty one)

So you can imagine when we (I) finally pay out some money for a decent shirt design and find out it's gonna cost us £££ (about as much as i make in a good month) to get them printed, we're not exactly gonna be right on it.

Luckily for us, i think we've come up with a solution..

The "tour only" version of our shirt.

1 colour = 1 screen, 1 screen = Jamie back in his room with his mums ironing board!

Hopefully this all works out, pick one up from us on our tour with Departures next month!

Snare Project

2009-08-11T19:28:00.000-07:00

I've wanted to take the silver wrap off of my drums for a while now and finish them with some dark matte wood stain but i didn't want to go into it without a clue and end up wrecking my whole kit.

So instead, i'm starting on my spare snare drum.

So far i've taken off all of the lugs and peeled off the horrible wrap.
(the wrap came off a lot easier than i thought it would)

Now i've just got to sand it down a bit to make sure it's smooth for when i go to apply the stain.

Next step, Venting!

I'm going to try one vent though and leave it at that, if i go for 2 it just doubles the chance of me fucking everything up.

I'm fairly sure This Site is going to come in very handy.

Find A Purpose..

2009-08-11T18:50:00.000-07:00

I'm going to use this blog to post about:

Projects i'm working on,
My band's tour next month,
Other rad shows we're playing & rad shows in general.

+ whatever else i feel like posting about.
(because it seems everybody has grown used to hearing what everybody else is thinking about in 140 character or less statements these days)