South by Southwest Day 2

Not much is going to be written for this post because I didn't actually see any shows today, but Vicci graciously let me film her interviews with several bands today for Rock Edition!  Plus it was a good experience and great learning to finally experiment with my filming skills.

The first interview of the day took place at Whole Foods with Austin-based Speak.  I had heard of them through Vicci cause she saw them play a show awhile back, so I was looking forward to meeting them!  They seemed like a a serious and reserved cohesive group, but they look like they'd be a good time to see!  They play tomorrow (Friday March 16th 2012) at Maggie Mae's Gibson Room at midnight, so if you're around, check them out!  I think I might!  Maybe!

Next up was Black Taxi at the Loft Cafe!  These guys were a little more exciting and lively to talk to.  They weren't afraid to share personal experiences - no matter how embarrassing - and I learned a bit about their music.  I believe they had a show tonight at Hotel Vegas, but unfortunately I was not able to go!  Follow them on Twitter to keep track of their upcoming shows!

I remember Vicci showing me a Charlie Simpson video, and I enjoyed it!  From overseas Charlie Simpson played one acoustic song, "Sundown" (below), and answered questions in an interview.  "Sundown" was probably the closest thing to an actual performance, and it was really good.  His voice is raspy and crisp at the same time, and with the other members accompanying him, they make beautiful harmonies.  It was beautiful, and it even gained them a new fan not including me.  He plays on Saturday (March 17th 2012) at the Hotel Cafe at midnight, so be sure to check him out if you can!




Day three is Vicci's day off, so more adventures await us!  Can't wait!

South by Southwest 2012 Day 1

Hello blogosphere!  It is SXSW 2012!  My apologies for not posting yesterday!  It has been an awesome two days here in Austin, and more awaits us!  For the first official day of the music festival, I saw Tribes, Foxy Shazam, Light Up the Darkness, and Rocky Loves Emily.

Photography by: Vicci Patneaude

The first performance of the day was Tribes at Waterloo Records!  Since this is SXSW, it's perfectly normal to discover new bands, and that's exactly what happened here.  These guys from London have a pretty good sound - got me head bopping a little bit.  They're worth checking out, but to be honest, the next band made these guys a bit forgettable.

Photography by: Vicci Patneaude

Back in October, I saw Foxy Shazam open for Panic! At the Disco.  I remember them being entertaining, but what's amazing is that their performance became even more entertaining simply from standing closer to the stage.  You know what I mean?  It's as if I was seeing them for the first time for real just because I could see them up close.  A phrase that would describe their performance perfectly is "marvelous ruckus."  The music sounds like ruckus, yet it sounds marvelous.  These guys have an immense amount of energy, and they literally go crazy on stage when playing their music.  They look like they're just banging their instruments without caring what it sounds like when in reality it still sounds awesome.

Photography by: Vicci Patneaude

The lead singer in particular is famous for smoking multiple cigarettes on stage in the middle of their set, but - I don't know if he does this on a regular basis - he actually ate all the cigarettes.  That's insane!  And Skye, the keyboard player (pictured right) hopped onto his piano and began stomping on it like a mad man!  Sometimes he'd even spin one leg around it too, which I think is pretty cool.  Ladies and gentlemen, Foxy Shazam is the ultimate epitome of performance. If you ever get a chance to see them, don't miss out!

After Waterloo Records, Vicci and I ventured to 311 Club to see some familiar faces from Rocky Loves Emily.  After greeting them outside the venue, we went inside to catch the last few songs from Light Up the Darkness.  One of the most interesting aspects about them is that the women in this band dominate the vocals, both singing and screaming.  It was cool to hear - it felt as if the women were empowering!

Photography by: Vicci Patneaude

It's almost been a year since I've seen the fellas in Rocky Loves Emily, and I'm excited that they're playing SXSW again!  They mainly played new songs, which were really good, with a couple of old songs too.  The performance was a lot of fun - lots of dancing, jumping, clapping, and singing!  Brandon, the lead singer, really knows how to relate to the audience and get them pumped up and moving, and it's entertaining to watch everyone else play their instruments!  My favorite song of the set was "Guilty, Guilty" which will be on their new record coming out April 24th 2012 so be sure to mark that on your calendars!  They just released a new music video for the latest single, "Secrets Don't Make Friends," so check that out too (below)!



Hope everyone at SXSW had a great first day cause I know I did!  Day two didn't include going to any shows, but it was just as fun!  Read the next post to find out!

Demi Lovato "Stay Strong" Documentary

I woke up this morning for class when I checked my email and saw that my morning class was cancelled.  Instead of going back to sleep, I watched Demi Lovato's recent documentary "Stay Strong" that premiered on MTV this week, and it was well worth my time.

"Stay Strong" is a documentary following Demi's life after her stay in rehab for her illness.  It follows her when she embarks on her Unbroken tour, and she opens herself up to the cameras all around her sharing personal thoughts, feelings, emotions honsetly, and it's very touching.  Check out the trailer below to get a glimpse of what the rest of the documentary entails.

Music News

When I first saw/heard of Demi, I'm not gonna lie, I wasn't crazy about her. It wasn't until Camp Rock when I realized how incredibly talented she was, and that's when her career took off.  In the documentary she reveals how her career really impacted her self-image and how it led her to bad habits.  Tears were on the verge of falling when Demi talked about how much she struggled with her illness because although no one is going to showcase to the world how, as she says, "messed up" she is, it's heartbreaking to realize that behind all the smiles she had, she was torn up inside.

The one scene that made me tear up the most was when she visits Timberline Knolls, where she went to rehab, and she talked about how being there affected her to be more "vulnerable" and ultimately more depressed. She then talks to the people currently there telling them that they will get through what they're going through and that she so badly wants them to be free because "it is so worth it."  In an interview she did after the documentary aired, she explicitly says that she made this documentary to share her story in hopes of inspiring someone out in the world who bears the same struggles as she does and letting them know that it's going to be okay.  She wants to be a role model of someone who got passed her "inner demons" and happily lives in freedom, which is what she wants for anyone and everyone. 

I will never change what I think about Demi Lovato: she is a beautiful and strong person, and she will always be an inspiration.  I hope in the future that I can meet her and tell her this myself, and maybe one day share the stage with her singing our hearts out.  Recovery is a hard road to walk on, but I know that she will continue to be strong and get stronger everyday.  Even though I couldn't personally relate to the struggles she talks about in the documentary, I have no doubt that she reached out to someone out there, and that's a great thing.  Lovatic for life!

KONY 2012

I realize this isn't music related, but I feel it is of great importance and deserves to be spread around.  The name Kony has been circulating around via the internet and word of mouth, and it needs to continue to spread.  Don't know who Kony is?  Get informed and get involved.  Be a part of this cause and make a difference in the world.

Bon Qui Qui - "IM'A CUT YOU" Music Video

Many of you are probably familiar with Anjelah Johnson's fictional character Bon Qui Qui in her skit for MadTV.  You all know her famous punchlines and comedic taunts, but did you ever imagine that she'd make a music video out of it?  Well she did.  I'm not going to say much about the video - I just thought it was really funny that she actually made one.  Take a gander!

I See Stars - "Mystery Wall"

I See Stars released a third track from the highly anticipated Digital Renegade which drops one week from today!  This track is called "Mystery Wall," and I must say that I thoroughly enjoy it.  Be sure to check it out ASAP cause according to their Twitter, I think the guys are only streaming it for 24 hours!

The first thing that came to mind is that it sounds like it could be on their first album - I almost anticipate Devin to sing the lyrics, "Between you and me!" from "What This Means to Me."  It's less heavy than "Filth Friends Unite," but it doesn't completely neglect the heavy element similar to tracks from their previous album End of the World Party (for example: "Still Not Quite Enough").  The song itself sounds like an emotional song as opposed to the crazy heavy rock anthems they usually play, and I don't mean "emotional" as super hardcore emo.  When Jeff is screaming, I hear anger, which is contrasted/complimented with Devin's vocals sounding hurt. 

One thing that I'm intrigued by is Devin's vocal range in the song: he hits higher vocal registers in the chorus, maintains his middle range, and hits his lower (and sexy I might add) vocal registers in the bridge.  If I'm not mistaken, this is probably the highest I've heard Devin sing.  I think that's awesome, but at the same time I have to wonder...can he successfully reproduce these vocals live?  Usually I See Stars, and other bands nonetheless, lowers the keys of songs so the vocalist can perform well, and most of the time he doesn't even sing them into the mic - he holds it out to the audience for them to sing for/with him.  I guess I'll find out when I see them next week!

I definitely recommend taking a listen to the song cause it's better than "NZT48."  Don't forget to also check out Digital Renegade when it drops next week!  If you're going to be in the Austin area for SXSW, go see them, and if you're going to be in Houston on Sunday March 18th 2012, go see them perform with many other bands at the Verizon Wireless Theater!

Candy Hearts Acoustic Session with Rock Edition

[[EDIT: See the acoustic set and interview here!]]

Readers of the blogosphere!  I have survived my illness that is the common cold (and survived all my exams the past two weeks).  I have much to digress to you but have a mid-term paper due this week, so I shall leave you with this exciting story about accompanying Vicci, now with Rock Edition, to record an acoustic session and interview with Candy Hearts before their show in Austin Monday February 27th 2012.

First and foremost, one of the most exciting things about this acoustic session is that the band borrowed Lola, my beloved guitar, for a few tunes, and I also want to thank Vicci for inviting me to tag along (pictured below).  Prior to meeting up with Candy Hearts, I honestly had never heard of them before.  Coincidently they were featured in last month's Alternative Press with a few kind words from Chad Gilbert of New Found Glory, so I had a good feeling about them.

For the acoustic session, they played two songs "Ticklish" and "She's So Cool," which were two cute and catchy songs.  Upon hearing their music, it's as if you're hearing a girl's diary being sung to you.  Usually I like hearing lyrics that are deep and poetic and I try to write those kind of lyrics myself, but Candy Hearts' lyrics are concise, straight to the point, and honest.  My personal favorite is "Ticklish" just because it's cute and relatable, and it simply makes you smile.

After they performed a couple of tunes, I took over the camera while Vicci did her job of interviewing them asking them questions about their music, their tour, and random things, and I came to the  conclusion that Candy Hearts is a great group of outgoing and fun people who are enjoying every second of tour.  What was so interesting is that because they're from New York, it's almost as if they're from a completely different culture from us Texans even though we live in the same country.  We took them out to Schlotzky's for the first time, and needless to say, they quite enjoyed the food.  There was also some talk of opening up the first Waffle House in Brooklyn and how that would make them incredibly rich (cause apparently WH is a Texas thing...).

Unfortunately I could not attend their show afterwards due to illness nagging at me and my guilty need to study for my exam, so I was a party pooper.  Vicci, on the other hand, went to the show and said they did a good job.  I'm sure the coverage of Candy Hearts will be posted onto Rock Edition soon, so I will edit this post later with the link!