the day music died (a little)

this blog is not for the faint at heart. what you are about to experience here is not a recreation. this image may be considered graphic in nature.

this is the definition of grief:



that's my first born. his name is ichabod.
ichabod the ipod, if you will, and you do.

he was rounding his fifth year of life until tragically, his spin wheel stopped spinning. he's been around the block. he's definitely a rough-neck, having traveled more than the average american. taking road trips for 40 hours plus, and making sure that i never missed a tune. well, sometimes, he would be temperamental, locking up and playing whatever songs he wished to play, rather than what i told him to play.



but, like any child, they will revolt every now and again.
and, just like most children, they give their parents a good scare every now and again.

ichabod was in a mini-coma for roughly a week and a half.
music died (a little) for that week and a half. luckily, in the midst of starting this blog, i revived him. don't ask me how. but, that picture above was when he was comatose.

i felt the sense of victory.



you could say that i was miracle doctor.

regardless, he's alive and kicking, and just took me on a two-hour trip with no problems whatsoever. so, what i'm getting at with all of this is what would you do if you lost music?

to people (like me), who count on it to get them through the day, to get them through a rough patch, to get them through a substantial amount of homework...what would you do if you were subjected to solely listening to the fm radio in your car?



even worse, what would you do if you had to rely on the mtv generation to give you your daily dose? after all, video killed the radio star.

maybe i'm spoiled. maybe i need to burn 47 cds and have them at my disposal when i'm driving around making soundtracks to traffic on i-75.

but, regardless, being without music when i needed it, drove me a little more crazy than i would have liked.



maybe what i need is for someone to make me the best mixtape that i could ever have.

that's butch walker. he's a musical genius. really.
he's from the cartersville area, and used to live in atlanta, so when he comes back to the city, his shows are always something to catch. he understands the power of music. he understands lyricism and vocals.

nonetheless, he understands.

take the time to share. share something with someone.
give them a mixtape. give them a musical shout-out.



or, better yet... remind someone of that song that completes you.

we have a new section up on audioholic media.
it's geared towards this idea of sharing the songs that mean the most to you.



go ahead, click it. i won't tell.

it's like a confessional booth you don't have to feel guilty about...



unless... anyway. you get my drift.

so, here is my moment of truth. here is my mini-confessional.
forgive me father, for i have sinned:



this clip is from empire records. one of my favorite all-time movies. one that you should be acquainted with if you're not already.

well, this song is by the flying lizards. the song was before my time, but when it was released in that movie (which should have been before my time), i remember it vividly.

it was 1995. i was...young. nine....i was nine.
i watched that movie for the first time at a family friend's house. we all sat in the living room while one of the older kids was watching this movie.

music can be associated with any memory and when i make my bi-annual cross country trip to las vegas, this song always seems appropriate when crossing the nevada border.

so, enjoy...and send your confessions our way.

until next time
-nick

i don't advise a back bend that could sever your spinal column. instead, i recommend this:

do you have those friends? you know, the ones that you play musical exchange with...

well, i have that friend. and that's what we do. we keep each other sane (at times) and we keep each other well educated with fine tunes (that keep us sane...at times).

there's a fine line between sanity when it comes to artistic people.



i'm not pointing fingers. i'm just saying.

anyway. musically speaking, i can remember certain artists that i've recommended to certain people. i can remember that there are certain artists that people have recommended to me. and i can also tell you that the basis of some friendships can spark from a common interest in something to do with music.



it's what brings the world together.

when those kind of bonds are formed, you can always remember what certain song they introduced you to. if a good friend introduces you to something, they usually take a special "nerd" moment to put something together for you. they'll take their time. they might burn you 10-15 cds of perfect songs.

now, with the internet being at our fingertips, video streaming seems to be a very quick fix if you want to introduce someone to something. and even that, at times, can take a while to find that perfect song that will make your friend sold on that certain artist you want them to be acquainted with.



this. was my moment of being sold on something.
if you don't watch any other video that i post on this blog from beginning to (never)ending,



then at least take the time to watch this one.

that's tony lucca on the left.
on the right, is ernie halter.

both are talented musicians. very. very. very. talented.

i was lucky enough to be a part of this interview.

if you want to check it out, click that picture.

the world works in mysterious ways.
anyway, the point i was trying to make is that certain songs are attached to certain memories, and certain memories are attached to certain songs. everyone has one.

and sometimes, those certain songs can calm you down.

they can ward off that creepy feeling that you get at times. that ominous one. the one that's comparable to someone looking over your shoulder when no one is behind you.



or just any creepy feeling in general.

sometimes, music calms my crazy. it keeps me at an 8 out of 10 on my mental health scale.

so, watch that tony lucca & ernie halter video. remember your certain song.
and take the time to listen to it today...i know i did.

until next time
-nick

a few more important points that your mother never taught you

go, ahead. click it. i won't tell.

so, it's been about a week since the last update and there is totally a reason for that. i've been really busy with writing, in general, but i'm back.

in case you're just tuning in (you should really catch up) i had an interview with kevin devine about two weeks ago and just finished another interview with person l last week.



the quality isn't great, but it's doable. if anyone wants to play intern, they can come tape the shows i attend and then convert them and post them to the web.

i'll pay you in full.
my current currency is: nickels, dimes...



and resse's peanut butter cups.

it's extremely promising, i swear.

regardless, check out their website and listen to the music. i'm sure you'll enjoy. if not...get over it. that just means there is more to come.

if you've clicked the banner at the top of this posting it should have directed you: here.
"here" is comparable to: kittens, love, unicorns...



and even heaven.

it's pretty much a musical mecca.

so, if you've been visiting regularly, you'll notice that we've added a few changes.

1.



our handy dandy updates section, that you can find in the upper right part of the site.

2.



our new lead story, which features the interview i had two weeks ago with kevin devine.
if you're lazy, just click those two images. i'll guide your travels.

you should check out the site and redirect all your praise: here.
she works really hard to keep our child up and running, playing with other kids, and having a well balanced diet



and makes sure that my articles don't look like a third grader wrote them.

she is the ultimate mom.



plus, she made us these.

we have a limited number.
and by "limited," i mean: 4.

for right now.

the transcribing of the interview, like i said earlier, was tedious and a mildly painful experience.
but, it was an experience, nonetheless.

so, when i start transcribing the next one, i'll at least know what i'm getting myself into.

5 september 2006

was when i had the last interview. this is what you should do to prepare and this is how it went down:

1. you should always know where your rendezvous point is at



for example, know where the venue is. using gps can only get you so far. james bond would know where he was, why should someone expect anything less from you?

side note: if the person you are interviewing texts you the wrong address to a personal meeting, you are not held responsible. the mission on your end is still considered accomplished, they're the one who compromised the mission. the mature thing to do is to call them out on their mistake publicly.

2. carry all your stuff with you at all times



bags are not that expensive and you can put all of your other essentials in there: camera, pens, notebook, a wide variety of endangered species, recorder, cell phone...what have you.

when leaving the venue and deciding it might be a good idea to walk through crack-town u.s.a.

you may be inclined to putting valuables in your pockets. if a thug took my camera and recorder, i would have put up a fight...to the death.


3. know what your target (interviewee) looks like



this is not considered stalking, unless you do it incognito. put it this way, if the other party is not involved and a lens is, then you might be stalking.

had i slacked in this department, i could have easily missed him when i pulled into the venue. he was just chilling outside the building. when i approached him and told him who i was, we got started on the interview. had i not known what he looked like, i could have passed him by and getting a hold of him could have been really hard because of: point #4.


4. have your contact information at your fingertips



sometimes, mistakes happen. i'm not saying that someone was not doing their job. i'm saying that mistakes happen, and sometimes, you are mistakenly not put on the guest list.

so, what you do is: put the numbers of all tour managers and anyone who aided you in getting the interview, into your cellular device.

and make sure it's charged. the door man will never know who you are, and to redeem your dignity, you may or may not have to make a few calls to be slipped through security...i'm just saying, it's better than a cover-charge.

end of review.

i won't go into points from the previous blog. just know that when you ask questions, that they should be relevant. "what's your favorite food?" and "what's your favorite color?" should be left for sessions of girl talk.



so, hope that you check out the interview and enjoy the material. it wasn't easy work.
i'll be back with more soon. i'm driving across the country tomorrow, so i'll be back by sunday. and will post some more material as soon as i can. i know you're waiting, you're already addicted.


until next time
-nick

never panic. never.

if you were wondering, the interview on friday went exceptionally well.

i'm not one to brag. sure, my social awkwardness chimed in every now and again, but it never really stops, so i didn't let it hold me down.

interviews are usually a little more conventional than the one that was conducted last week.
don't take me wrong, i'm by no means implying that it wasn't professional.



it was.
it was just different.

instead of a one-on-one type of interview, this one was done downstairs at the venue on a huge couch with a number of people sitting in and being a part of it.

this didn't really hurt. it helped. it relaxed.
it broke tension and gave it a very laid back atmosphere that was needed.

as long as i stayed on track with the questions i had formulated, then i couldn't really go wrong.
or could i?

in the time of an emergency during an interview, never panic.

let me preface by saying that the word emergency should be used loosely.
no one bled. limbs were in tact. no immediate need for bayer aspirin.



hearts were pumping just fine.

things that might make an interview go awry:

1. forgetting your handy-dandy notebook



this did not happen, and i don't think it ever will.
it's like my mother always said: "would you go to war without your gun?"

2. getting into the interview process and realizing that some of your questions may be irrelevant because people (the interviewee) tend to ramble and sort of answer questions that you haven't had a chance to ask, leaving you with a little less material that you went into the game with.



which is why i come prepared. notes, upon notes of relevant information. you need backup for your backup at times.

3. vodka tonics



which is why you stay away from the bar during the shows. it can only lead you into a bumbling mess, making you feel like you've known the artist for your whole life. inclining you to be less professional and pour your deepest secrets and possibly shed a few tears.

it's not cute to be a groupie.

this will never happen to me. ever.

4. batteries in your recorder going dead

travel with spare voltage. aaa batteries are less expensive than lifelong regret.

5. not hitting "record" on your recorder



in case you were wondering, that is the look of despair.
yes. for the first question and a half, i hit "play" instead of hitting "record."

i bounced back and no one noticed. it was sly. sometimes, i'm stealthy and fresh.

do i know the answer to the question i missed? yes.
but, do i want to post it? no.

there is something about not having the direct quote that irks me.
so, i e-mailed the artist and am awaiting his response to the question in his own words.

i don't want him to read the interview when it's posted and be like: wow, someone slipped me a roofie. i don't remember saying that.

with all that aside, i think that the outcome is looking up. i started transcribing the interview a few nights ago. but, with five classes and a mediocre work schedule, it's a little more tedious than one would think.

if i could have any super-power, i don't think i would want superhuman strength.



i wouldn't want to scale buildings, or fly, or set things on fire with the glare of my eyes...
i would want something simple.

i would want the power to hit "play" and "rewind" on my recorder without having to use my hands.

it sounds completely lazy, but it's such a time consuming act when having to type down every word that you hear. not to mention the fact that it's gut wrenching to hear yourself on tape.

it makes you reevaluate your close friends.



why would someone let you sound like that?

it is also a very tedious task because of the fact that people are not aware of how they really speak. people tend to ramble at times. they don't answer questions completely. they make things up and random and try to make sense of what you're asking them by simply avoiding the question and making up their own.

it's all in good nature.

it's just that when you're transcribing, you need the text to read somewhat smooth.
it needs to be fluid, in a sense. it needs to be what they said, and it still needs to make sense when reading.

adding [informational brackets] that fill in the gaps of what someone meant to say, opposed to what they really said.

so. in case you missed the show...



it's like you were there all along.

"well, atlas had those shoulders..." -kevin devine

until next time
-nick