It's This Passionate Blaze Of An Ember Which I Refuse To Let Be Snuffed Out Idly
Not so much a tale of self-discover, but one of a journey, to be true, I suppose. Not so much a story written for me or you, but a story written for someone in particular. Not so much a hobby as an idea and an ideal. Not so much as a career choice, but a youthful vigour. Not so much thought out as improvised. Not so much.
Spring Break was glorious in the way that it wasn't actually as glorious as I feign. It was a relief to not have to deal with duties for a week, though. To start, I did half of some minor homework, to get it out of the way. I would have hung out with folks, but most everyone was voyaging to Disney World. Instead, I found myself confronted with a different sort of duty. On Voilà!, around this time last year, it was the season of South by Southwest; it was also my first year to be taking on any sort of music journalism endeavour at all very seriously. But on my blog, I decided to feature a ton of wonderful bands. Normally, once per week, I would feature one long article on a neat band; SXSW week, I featured seven.
Well, I suppose you'd call these sorts of things traditions. So I realized I had to do the same thing again for Voilà! this year as well, lest I lose my assumed credibility. I spent nearly two days straight writing music articles - and we're talking articles with lots of substance - like seitan - folks. It was HARD! I felt almost physically nauseous from all the inspecting, and researching, and music listening, and reviewing, and analyzing, and all the frivolously repetitious adjectives. Fortunately, the hard work payed off, for by Monday, I had divested all of my responsibility for the week. Gramercy! I intended to languor for the remainder of my week. Though, my poor ability to plan and my fickle attitude had other plans.
Wednesday marked the beginning of South by Southwest. And on a spur of the moment, I decided I would be attending this year. I never had, and always wanted to; now I can fittingly say that I participated, and know from experience. I had no wristband - gospel in Austin, that week - and thus couldn't attend many shows. I scheduled the free shows throughout the capitol of my favourite artists, and set forth! Thursday, I arrived after the shorter-than-expected drive. I was worried about finding parking, but stumbled across a nearly empty parking lot in five minutes. Two miles of walking away was the Red House Pizzeria, whom held free shows all day; on this day, mostly bands from the UK were being featured. As I chomped through a delicious, fresh pizza, I accidentally got to see Slow Club - they were wonderful - the new Mates of State. My intention was to witness the wonders of Fanfarlo though, before they returned to the UK themselves for an unknown period. Lo and behold, walking through the bar of the pizzeria are all the members of Fanfarlo themselves! They were hot - clearly - but giddy with the polluted American air (of course), and sat down to have a pizzas and salads (half of them our vegetarian too! neat!) together while regarding Slow Club. Cathy and Simon smiled at me when they heard me telling the waiter about them; I returned it bashfully. Their set came along, but unfortunately, the sound tech was hopeless at orchestrating all of Fanfarlo's mics/violin/trumpet/drum/melodica/mandolin/bass at the same time (admittedly, Fanfarlo is quite the needy band (what else can you expect from a free show, I suppose)). Lamentably, their performance was incredibly delayed as they attempted to sort through the muck of cords and technical difficulties, and the performance itself marred by sound problems until their last song - "Harold T. Wilkins" - which was performed without a single hitch, and was beyond amazing. Despite the problems, they played quite well. I was very glad to see them, especially since it's anybody else's guess when they shall return to our shores next. They stood around me for several minutes as they waited for a taxi/van. I wish I properly introduced myself. :[ Curse my shyness.
More unfortunate news: due to the long delay, I missed all the other shows I had set out to peruse while in Austin that Thursday: including Bang! Bang! Eche!, whom I reviewed, and would have liked to see before they returned to New Zealand, among others. Fanfarlo mentioned a second show that day, but I could not find the venue, and could not extend my sojourn in Austin longer. I hopped in the car and left.
Saturday marked my second return to Austin! This one was more diligently planned than the first. Rather, it was better orchestrated, in regards to time. The shows I intended to see were more spaced out throughout the day, which gave me time to traverse the rough, sweltering streets of Austin by foot to the events and venues that were far too displaced from 6th Street. I tried to sneak into Fanfarlo's show for Q Magazine, foreknowing it was invitation only, when I first returned to the capitol. The lanky door-guy skillfully bested my attempt with a cunning use of fact; I walked north. After a mile, I approached my future destination, Waterloo Park. As I approached the fenced public space, I heard a curiously familar tune and lyrics I know. As soon as I enter the park, I realize I've stumbled across Cursive! Talk about indie bands of note! They were mid-way through playing an entire set of The Ugly Organ, and I watched amazed at my luck. Eventually, Cursive was through, and the crowd dispersed, allowing me to get right next to the stage for my intended show: Thao with The Get Down Stay Down! Thao came on soon after, and was as gorgeous in her aviators and cowboy boots as ever. She wooed the crowd with an invigorating set, and I was thoroughly impressed; she's so immensely humble! Along with her blokes, though they didn't talk much. I stayed in Waterloo after Thao's set to see some unimpressive girl-punk band. I almost regretted my stay, until they invited random crowd members onto the stage, causing the show to erupt into confusing dance-party?! Their music was sub-par, but that was really entertaining to watch.
Back south to 6th. I went to a minuscule pizzeria (a different one, mind you), which served one of the biggest, tastiest cheese pizzas I've ever had. DELICIOUS! I got two! Note that I survived on a diet strictly of pizza on both days of South by Southwest; there are not many vegetable options offered in the busy streets, surprising, especially considering the hipster population in attendance; Fanfarlo concurs with my thoughts, actually, in an interview. Following was a long two mile walk across the river to Auditorium Shores - a grassy knoll with a large stage on the river - to see Explosions In The Sky in their hometown. The place was a much bigger event than I anticipated, and attracted a completely different crowd than I expected; not one of hipsters and critics, but parents/children and drunkards. Many were musically devoid, it seemed, and much preferred smoking weed and get pissed rather than having any coherency to what was going on. A horrible rap group; their set-up time took an hour and a half, and they played almost the exact same beat for another hour and a half, cutting into Explosions' show exponentially. It was annoying. Apparently, some diva/rap superstar named Erykah Badu (who now that I can actually read the name of, apparently is illiterate with her own name) was running two hours late to her own show. Right when her set was due to be finished, she finally showed up, and demanded that she be able to play. The officials let her play five songs, none of which were particularly good, nor did she deserve.
Finally, though, Explosions came on. That was the good news... the bad news is, the bad luck sound problems from Fanfarlo's show had migrated here. While the entire festival was flawless up until their set, at random intervals, Explosions would lose the signal coming out of one of any of the three guys guitars. This of course, kind of screwed up quite a number of their songs. But I love them enough not to mind. They played a great set, and ended with my favourite song of all time - "Memorial" - which ended with a firework show! Wicked, eh? Everyone hung around for almost fifteen minutes as the firework lit up the Austin cityscape, begging for an encore, which sadly didn't happen (though Explosions hardly ever plays an encore). I booked it back across the two miles in 25 minutes attempting to catch Mount Righteous. They were supposed to be playing somewhere on 6th Street. Unfortunately, I walked the entire length of it as a hasty pace, and saw no such performance. I tried to find the Oh No! Oh My! show, but couldn't locate the venue. Instead, I bought some more pizza, wandered around for a little bit, and left Austin. All in all, it was a great experience. And with a bit more planning, I know it could have been insurmountable in all expectations. I hope to return next year.
Within the course of the entire week as a whole, I did whatever relaxing I could. Yet, somehow, I ended up doing more "work." Who knows how. I did finish an outline for a new novel I'm beginning (right... the last thing I need is ANOTHER novel in the works). But this is a special project for me, because the book is for another, not for myself, nor my career as an author. A strange gift of sorts. The novel will be an off-kilter fairy tale. I really love the concept I've outlined; I can't wait to start riding. I'm realizing that I may need to outline my previous stories as well... as much as I'm for this whole "working with inspired vigour and imagination to achieve the plot I'm dreaming of," the fact that it would be so much easier to write knowing exactly (or even remotely) what was going to happen, in writing, is something I can no longer ignore. Alas, spontaneity, you simply are not immune to the longevity of novel writing.
I feel another odd change in the at work in me, somewhere between my soul and that silly mind of mine. The scars of events that have etched and chiseled new curves in me are taking hold of my actions. What lies before me? Hell if I know. But I'm certainly not going to hesitate; hesitation is the bane of my existence, and thus far, it has only led me to idle pondering, which has not helped me at all. I need to focus on my coursework more diligently. I need to take action now, in certain matters. I need to figure out what in the world is going on in that head of yours! I need to figure out if I can coax something into coaxing. I need to finish this novel, soon, because I know the rewards - internal, only - will be worth it.
I've been riding my bike much more. I have some sort of "rule" about biking. My "rule" is, if I plan on going somewhere, I need to figure out how far away the place is. If the destination is two miles away or less, I have to ride. The only exception is if I have to drive someone somewhere, or I would be forced to ride my bike after-dark; thank you, Daylight Savings Time, for extended my venturing opportunities!
I've gone through four bottles of wine since my eighteenth birthday. By myself, no less! Hahaha. And have two more begging to be uncorked. But I have yet to abuse the substance; in fact, I became truly inebriated for the first time; how people drink much more than their limit is beyond me, because I was incredibly sick. I see my maturity, in that I know that it's not worth drinking more than I can hold (physically, mentally, and probably karmically). This is a good learning experience, and I understand how others who do not have so much self-control feel.
In other news, I'm spending too much money on aforementioned wine. Not that it's expensive, or anything, but... I've bought quite a bit... hahaha. I seem to be unable to rid myself of poor spending habits (damn you, consumerist upbringing!). My future goal, though, is to not let my budget dip below $300, except for emergencies. I think this is prudent. On the flip-side, I'm thinking of getting a mandolin with my next paycheck. Until such time...
Spring Break was glorious in the way that it wasn't actually as glorious as I feign. It was a relief to not have to deal with duties for a week, though. To start, I did half of some minor homework, to get it out of the way. I would have hung out with folks, but most everyone was voyaging to Disney World. Instead, I found myself confronted with a different sort of duty. On Voilà!, around this time last year, it was the season of South by Southwest; it was also my first year to be taking on any sort of music journalism endeavour at all very seriously. But on my blog, I decided to feature a ton of wonderful bands. Normally, once per week, I would feature one long article on a neat band; SXSW week, I featured seven.
Well, I suppose you'd call these sorts of things traditions. So I realized I had to do the same thing again for Voilà! this year as well, lest I lose my assumed credibility. I spent nearly two days straight writing music articles - and we're talking articles with lots of substance - like seitan - folks. It was HARD! I felt almost physically nauseous from all the inspecting, and researching, and music listening, and reviewing, and analyzing, and all the frivolously repetitious adjectives. Fortunately, the hard work payed off, for by Monday, I had divested all of my responsibility for the week. Gramercy! I intended to languor for the remainder of my week. Though, my poor ability to plan and my fickle attitude had other plans.
Wednesday marked the beginning of South by Southwest. And on a spur of the moment, I decided I would be attending this year. I never had, and always wanted to; now I can fittingly say that I participated, and know from experience. I had no wristband - gospel in Austin, that week - and thus couldn't attend many shows. I scheduled the free shows throughout the capitol of my favourite artists, and set forth! Thursday, I arrived after the shorter-than-expected drive. I was worried about finding parking, but stumbled across a nearly empty parking lot in five minutes. Two miles of walking away was the Red House Pizzeria, whom held free shows all day; on this day, mostly bands from the UK were being featured. As I chomped through a delicious, fresh pizza, I accidentally got to see Slow Club - they were wonderful - the new Mates of State. My intention was to witness the wonders of Fanfarlo though, before they returned to the UK themselves for an unknown period. Lo and behold, walking through the bar of the pizzeria are all the members of Fanfarlo themselves! They were hot - clearly - but giddy with the polluted American air (of course), and sat down to have a pizzas and salads (half of them our vegetarian too! neat!) together while regarding Slow Club. Cathy and Simon smiled at me when they heard me telling the waiter about them; I returned it bashfully. Their set came along, but unfortunately, the sound tech was hopeless at orchestrating all of Fanfarlo's mics/violin/trumpet/drum/melodica/mandolin/bass at the same time (admittedly, Fanfarlo is quite the needy band (what else can you expect from a free show, I suppose)). Lamentably, their performance was incredibly delayed as they attempted to sort through the muck of cords and technical difficulties, and the performance itself marred by sound problems until their last song - "Harold T. Wilkins" - which was performed without a single hitch, and was beyond amazing. Despite the problems, they played quite well. I was very glad to see them, especially since it's anybody else's guess when they shall return to our shores next. They stood around me for several minutes as they waited for a taxi/van. I wish I properly introduced myself. :[ Curse my shyness.
More unfortunate news: due to the long delay, I missed all the other shows I had set out to peruse while in Austin that Thursday: including Bang! Bang! Eche!, whom I reviewed, and would have liked to see before they returned to New Zealand, among others. Fanfarlo mentioned a second show that day, but I could not find the venue, and could not extend my sojourn in Austin longer. I hopped in the car and left.
Saturday marked my second return to Austin! This one was more diligently planned than the first. Rather, it was better orchestrated, in regards to time. The shows I intended to see were more spaced out throughout the day, which gave me time to traverse the rough, sweltering streets of Austin by foot to the events and venues that were far too displaced from 6th Street. I tried to sneak into Fanfarlo's show for Q Magazine, foreknowing it was invitation only, when I first returned to the capitol. The lanky door-guy skillfully bested my attempt with a cunning use of fact; I walked north. After a mile, I approached my future destination, Waterloo Park. As I approached the fenced public space, I heard a curiously familar tune and lyrics I know. As soon as I enter the park, I realize I've stumbled across Cursive! Talk about indie bands of note! They were mid-way through playing an entire set of The Ugly Organ, and I watched amazed at my luck. Eventually, Cursive was through, and the crowd dispersed, allowing me to get right next to the stage for my intended show: Thao with The Get Down Stay Down! Thao came on soon after, and was as gorgeous in her aviators and cowboy boots as ever. She wooed the crowd with an invigorating set, and I was thoroughly impressed; she's so immensely humble! Along with her blokes, though they didn't talk much. I stayed in Waterloo after Thao's set to see some unimpressive girl-punk band. I almost regretted my stay, until they invited random crowd members onto the stage, causing the show to erupt into confusing dance-party?! Their music was sub-par, but that was really entertaining to watch.
Back south to 6th. I went to a minuscule pizzeria (a different one, mind you), which served one of the biggest, tastiest cheese pizzas I've ever had. DELICIOUS! I got two! Note that I survived on a diet strictly of pizza on both days of South by Southwest; there are not many vegetable options offered in the busy streets, surprising, especially considering the hipster population in attendance; Fanfarlo concurs with my thoughts, actually, in an interview. Following was a long two mile walk across the river to Auditorium Shores - a grassy knoll with a large stage on the river - to see Explosions In The Sky in their hometown. The place was a much bigger event than I anticipated, and attracted a completely different crowd than I expected; not one of hipsters and critics, but parents/children and drunkards. Many were musically devoid, it seemed, and much preferred smoking weed and get pissed rather than having any coherency to what was going on. A horrible rap group; their set-up time took an hour and a half, and they played almost the exact same beat for another hour and a half, cutting into Explosions' show exponentially. It was annoying. Apparently, some diva/rap superstar named Erykah Badu (who now that I can actually read the name of, apparently is illiterate with her own name) was running two hours late to her own show. Right when her set was due to be finished, she finally showed up, and demanded that she be able to play. The officials let her play five songs, none of which were particularly good, nor did she deserve.
Finally, though, Explosions came on. That was the good news... the bad news is, the bad luck sound problems from Fanfarlo's show had migrated here. While the entire festival was flawless up until their set, at random intervals, Explosions would lose the signal coming out of one of any of the three guys guitars. This of course, kind of screwed up quite a number of their songs. But I love them enough not to mind. They played a great set, and ended with my favourite song of all time - "Memorial" - which ended with a firework show! Wicked, eh? Everyone hung around for almost fifteen minutes as the firework lit up the Austin cityscape, begging for an encore, which sadly didn't happen (though Explosions hardly ever plays an encore). I booked it back across the two miles in 25 minutes attempting to catch Mount Righteous. They were supposed to be playing somewhere on 6th Street. Unfortunately, I walked the entire length of it as a hasty pace, and saw no such performance. I tried to find the Oh No! Oh My! show, but couldn't locate the venue. Instead, I bought some more pizza, wandered around for a little bit, and left Austin. All in all, it was a great experience. And with a bit more planning, I know it could have been insurmountable in all expectations. I hope to return next year.
Within the course of the entire week as a whole, I did whatever relaxing I could. Yet, somehow, I ended up doing more "work." Who knows how. I did finish an outline for a new novel I'm beginning (right... the last thing I need is ANOTHER novel in the works). But this is a special project for me, because the book is for another, not for myself, nor my career as an author. A strange gift of sorts. The novel will be an off-kilter fairy tale. I really love the concept I've outlined; I can't wait to start riding. I'm realizing that I may need to outline my previous stories as well... as much as I'm for this whole "working with inspired vigour and imagination to achieve the plot I'm dreaming of," the fact that it would be so much easier to write knowing exactly (or even remotely) what was going to happen, in writing, is something I can no longer ignore. Alas, spontaneity, you simply are not immune to the longevity of novel writing.
I feel another odd change in the at work in me, somewhere between my soul and that silly mind of mine. The scars of events that have etched and chiseled new curves in me are taking hold of my actions. What lies before me? Hell if I know. But I'm certainly not going to hesitate; hesitation is the bane of my existence, and thus far, it has only led me to idle pondering, which has not helped me at all. I need to focus on my coursework more diligently. I need to take action now, in certain matters. I need to figure out what in the world is going on in that head of yours! I need to figure out if I can coax something into coaxing. I need to finish this novel, soon, because I know the rewards - internal, only - will be worth it.
I've been riding my bike much more. I have some sort of "rule" about biking. My "rule" is, if I plan on going somewhere, I need to figure out how far away the place is. If the destination is two miles away or less, I have to ride. The only exception is if I have to drive someone somewhere, or I would be forced to ride my bike after-dark; thank you, Daylight Savings Time, for extended my venturing opportunities!
I've gone through four bottles of wine since my eighteenth birthday. By myself, no less! Hahaha. And have two more begging to be uncorked. But I have yet to abuse the substance; in fact, I became truly inebriated for the first time; how people drink much more than their limit is beyond me, because I was incredibly sick. I see my maturity, in that I know that it's not worth drinking more than I can hold (physically, mentally, and probably karmically). This is a good learning experience, and I understand how others who do not have so much self-control feel.
In other news, I'm spending too much money on aforementioned wine. Not that it's expensive, or anything, but... I've bought quite a bit... hahaha. I seem to be unable to rid myself of poor spending habits (damn you, consumerist upbringing!). My future goal, though, is to not let my budget dip below $300, except for emergencies. I think this is prudent. On the flip-side, I'm thinking of getting a mandolin with my next paycheck. Until such time...