Mike Torti

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 19:48:13 GMT

i'm tired of everything. my friend matt is playing bass now for comeback kid, it was fucking awesome to see him on wednesday. we talked about the brewers, since were both avid fans, and that ruled. next few months are going to be crazy, its going to be awesome to see where we end up. fuck, why am i so tired.

Fri, 25 Jan 2008 22:08:31 GMT

HELLO 2008! its almost 1/12th of the way through the year and I have yet to make my annual entry! Here's an update!

-Natalie and I are wonderfully great, things are awesome. She's in her last semester of school, she starts student teaching in 2 weeks I think and its been real stressful between class, work and the complete fuck-ups her university seems to be getting more frequent with.. but there is light at the end of that tunnel now! Its a matter of counting down the months, then weeks, then days until she's done with that wretched university.

-the band is pretty much back to normal, other than we really never play shows. Chris, Becki and Seth are all planning on moving down here to Pittsburgh this summer, so until then I really don't mind not playing or practicing much. It just gets too hectic sometimes trying to juggle 15 different things and not let anything fall through the cracks and this is one thing I can just set down and let sit for a few more months until they move down here as they plan too.

-work has been awesome. yeah, seems like I work a lot, but its really starting to pay off. I was in NYC for a conference a few weeks ago staying with my brother and anni, and it was really great. Besides the great connections from the conference, just getting to hangout with matt and anni was nice. We went downtown a few times, but I think the most fun was just sitting around not doing anything. Oh, and their dog is awesome.

-still book way too many shows between erie and pittsburgh, and sometimes I wonder why I still do it, but I have no real reason to stop since my job is so flexible and most of my shows have been during weekdays so my weekends have been pretty free in a sense. Some pretty incredible shows are coming up too, like the Chuck Ragan show on monday. I'm pretty amped for that one.

Well who knows when i'll update this again... hell the only reason I even remembered this even existed was because Natalie showed me something on hers... again, she rules. I'm going to go now, peace.

26

Mon, 09 Apr 2007 18:38:38 GMT

im into my 2nd quarter of life. good 'ol 26. it was a good weekend, drank beer, ate pizza, saw family and friends, I had fun. not much really happened though, just hungout. I guess the night before was some raging party and seth was pretty wild, so everyone just kept it tame on saturday. I had a good time though. I bought new shoes and some records with some cash i got for my birthday. but yeah, im 26, i feel old.

Thu, 05 Apr 2007 16:39:11 GMT

in 5 weeks I am going to be in Naples, Florida visiting my brother/annelis/their dog who i will call shitstorm the entire time with Natalie. I can't fucking wait. a.) hanging out with my brother, b.) gulf of mexico, c.) croc and gators, d.) booze. last night I hungout with I Adapt at this dude Jeremys house. It was awesome. They had this liqour called Opal from Iceland with them, I had a sip.. it tasted like a smooth chocolate mouthwash, 27% alcohol mouthwash. They were chugging it. I couldnt believe it, haha. It was definitely a fun night, I got another Mike Budai poster from last nights show, his stuff is AWESOME. all in all I really like pittsburgh way more than edinboro/erie. hooray!

back to work time.

ramblings

Tue, 27 Mar 2007 17:46:15 GMT

So for the first time in 3 years I listened to Brand New's "Your Favorite Weapon", and it brought back a lot of memories from my time at Slippery Rock. My trips to Cleveland, Buffalo, Pittsburgh to see Brand New and Taking Back Sunday with Jason and Melissa and Dana, it was a great time. So many memories were remembered this morning on my walk to work. Speaking of walking to work, this weather is so great. Its perfect out, not too hot, not too cold. I can walk to work without a hoodie, but its still cool enough where drinking hot coffee in the morning isn't gross. So on Friday I found out my grandma passed away. 2 years ago my grandpa passed away and I wasn't able to go to his funeral because of fucking college midterms. Its weird, so many of my friends have really strong relationships and memories with their grandparents and I really don't. I mean, we are all very close, my family is very important to me, but I never really got to have that many memories with any of them. My dad's parents lived in Milwaukee, a good 9 hours away, and my mothers mom lives in Germany, which i've only been to twice, back when i was 4 and 6. So my memories with my grandpa and grandma on my dad's side are limited to holiday visits and the summer vacations we used to take out there in the summer time back in elementary and middle school. I feel like I missed out on something, and it didnt really hit me until sunday night. The funeral for her is not going to be until this summer, she asked in her will to be cremated and to have a summer funeral. So this summer the immediate family is going to get together in Milwaukee to bury her with grandpa. The last few years were pretty tough for her, after grandpa died she moved to northern wisconsin to be with my aunt sue and her family, to be looked after. She always worried a lot over things, and around this same time my dad was going through the whole cancer thing, and then last year with the whole seizure/brain surgery thing, my dad and aunt decided that those were things that she did not need to know about, things she didn't need to worry about. I often wonder what would have happened had she known that my dad went through all those things, how much of a toll it really would have taken on her mentally and inturn physically. We went up to antigo for christmas, my dad pretty much told us that we had too, we had no choice, and while my brother and I were kinda bored in the evenings when our cousins left, I know we are both glad we went. When my grandpa died in March 2 years ago the entire family got together in Milwaukee for Thanksgiving, and while it was boring in the evenings when everyone left, we both were glad we were there because that was the last time we saw him. The same goes for christmas, that was the last time we saw her, and she looked so happy, and thinking back, it almost looked like she knew that was the last time we were going to see each other, and when we left my dad was really sad because he knew it too. I know that this is a rambling, but besides natalie and my brother I have not talked to a single person about this, and even them very little. Im never going to forget her, aunt Dorthy and dad making home-made ravioli's in the kitchen at their home in milwaukee, or the playing cards with her and grandpa and my brother in middle school and always trying to cheat and sneak cards off the table, or that distinct laugh that she always had followed by "oh stop" everytime someone made a joke. I miss my grandparents.

the ramblings of a madman...

Wed, 17 Jan 2007 17:00:35 GMT

the database is down... hence my free time to update this....

so its mid january and im sick. if you're ever around little sick kids, make sure thy don't cough in your face for hours, it'll fuck you up. thanks nat, thanks a lot. :) so my holiday's were pretty awesome. I went to Antigo, Wisconsin to see my dad's side of the family for christmas. ya know, a good solid 14 hour drive there and back within 4 days, its good for everyone. the last time I saw all of them was thanksgiving in milwaukee when we all got together 2 1/2 years ago with grandpa before he passed away. My cousin mora has two kids now, my cousin megan has one in the oven, and molly, well, she's got enough on her plate. so we get home and i spent pretty much the following week with natalie. on new years we had a party at my new place in pittsburgh with a bunch of people from edinboro and west virginia. It ruled. the following day we went down to WV to watch the WVU Bowl game at natalie's family's house, it sucked the first half, but the second half was just unreal. a few days later we left for a short little tour with the tradition from cincy. might have only been 3 days, but it ruled so much. st. louis was such a good show, every band was awesome. we played across the street from the anhauser-busch plant. next time were there, beer plant tour. we played cleveland the next day and im not sure what happened, but beer bottles were being smashed, a christmas tree was completey destroyed and just so much random shit was being thrown. most. insane. show. ever. we played pittsburgh on sunday, first time we've played roboto project to more than the bands and a handful of kids! surprisingly it went really well, we sold a bunch of shirts and records on the weekend tour, it ruled. natalie was still in pittsburgh and basically stayed here until monday, so while i was working during last week she was sleeping and randomly making food/cleaning the apartment. Last weekend, thursday - sunday, chris, seth, dave, micah, catie and nat were at our place. yet again, another weekend of drunken debauchery. it ruled. that is where i got this sickness from, from nat, catie's 2 1/2 year old boy. maybe he's 3, maybe he's 2 1/2, but he sure is a whole lot of awesome. minus the sickness and coughing in my face. but he's young, he'll learn, hopefully, haha. so for everyone else I know, minus jed and catie and seth, they started college yesterday. I still am not used to the whole college graduate thing, it took me 7 years to get a bachelors in marketing, granted that involved 2 college's, changing from a music ed major to a communications major to finally marketing, but who is really counting, right? my job is alright, i mean, i like what i do, but I don't feel like I get paid enough for the hours i work. natalie always tells me to get another job, but i want to at least stick this out till the summer (or until it becomes to big of a financial burden to work here), to get the sales experience. having that one year (or more) of experience will do wonders for whenever I decide to move on. This is definitely not a career job in my eyes, its definitely an experience job, because prior to this, my resume basically read pretty quick. I like who i work with, robin is a handful, pretty interesting dude, he used to be a minor league baseball player and tried out for the phillies. that alone, if its true which i assume it is, is awesome. baseball = greatest sport ever. matt is awesome too, he is in a sweet band called Endless Mike and the Beagles Club. If you like Folky stuff like this bike is a pipe bomb and defiance:ohio, this is your kinda stuff. but yeah, back to baseball! the brewers look like they'll be in good shape this next season. they don't play in pittsburgh until fucking june... im so pissed.. BUT, i might drive out to milwaukee to see a game sometime! my friend matt from wisconsin told me to call him if I ever think about coming out, so I plan on it, and plan on fucking raging there with him. maybe natalie will want to take a road trip with me sometime? maybe april? may? who knowwwssss! but im super excited for the brewers this season, by far the most ive been excited since the early 90's when paul molitor played with them. I have to admit, i lost interest when he was traded to toronto and i followed them instead, because he is by far my favorite baseball player of all time. someone tried to argue with me about why he shouldnt be in the hall of fame.. blew my mind. but whatevvvvv, those people like the pirates, who SUCK. so hank jones will be touring in march with bearathon... shit will melt your mind. just a quick 6 day thing, 8 of us crammed in a van with absolutely no room for anything but us and gear. its a good thing we sorta like each other. the plan issss... edinboro, richmond, atlanta, birmingham, chattanooga, nashville and then MAYBE columbus? Not sure, but we'll see how it works out. tlyer moved to atlanta with his girlfriend so we got a place to stay there, and we got a place to crash in b-ham and nashville too. looks like it'll be a good time! so yeah, this was my update. if you made it this far... im sorry. im sick, a little bored and sleepy.

Happy New Years!

Fri, 12 Jan 2007 17:06:02 GMT

Well, belated new years at least, right? Im only 12 days late with it, thats not too bad!

Sat, 25 Nov 2006 22:43:11 GMT

i love my edinboro friends no matter how frustrated i get sometimes, i'll give a good update on my holiday on monday! Gotta go see my nat tomorrow when she gets back from NYC and gets her allergy shot (hinthint) :)

Wed, 15 Nov 2006 17:28:49 GMT

edinboro was a lot of fun on saturday. 2 Kegs, 3 bands, 1 house, a bunch of friends. So much fun. We played, it went really well considering the drunkeness + the fact we have not played as a whole band in a month. It was a lot of fun! I think were gunna party again after thanksgiving, thats when we'll all be in town, so that'll be sweet im sure! Chris and Seth are coming to pittsburgh that weekend as well, Chris has a car now so they can go places. Really fast like.

Jed bought Guitar Hero II and last night he and I sat down and beat the entire game on Hard mode. God were so lame, but that game is so much fun! Iggy and the Stooges song was sweet and the suicidal tendencies song was fucking hard! I think im gunna play YYZ and the Alman Brothers over and over and over like I did with a few songs on the first one.

Oh, hank jones is doing a 5 day tour with The Tradition, Huntington WV, Nashville TN, St Louis MO, Chicago IL and then Pittsburgh PA. I'll be sweet, two bands crammed in one sweet van with a trailer! Good times lay ahead for that!

I'll probably update more often now on. Maybe. I'll leave you with this picture from saturday.

erggoigho

Thu, 09 Nov 2006 21:44:02 GMT

yeah, chuck ragan was incredible last night. pretty much the best thing ive seen all year. Doesnt say much, I cant really think of any shows besides the few bane shows we played that were anything great.

Were going on tour in January for a few days, that'll be a nice change of pace, seeing as how we've played 3 shows in.... 6 months now, hahaha. I think were hitting up the midwest, huntington, nashville, st louis, chicago, those area's. it might change, but for now thats kinda the plan.

My brother just got home on the 1st from Prague, he's currently sitting at my house, we went to the show last night and tonight im not sure what were doing, but natalie will be here, so im sure the 3 of us will go somewhere and have fun doing something.

This weekend is Micah's "offical" 21st birthday, even though it was really on monday. My parents are going to be out of town (REBEL Home ALONE!!!!!) this weekend, and my brother will be in Kent visiting friends and Anni, so saturday will be fun im sure.

Im about to leave work and go eat some sweet noodles in oakland. time for a fun weeekend!

Thu, 12 Oct 2006 17:25:11 GMT

yo seriously, i am the avalanche is so awesome and so much fun. their album fucking rules and i cannot wait for the new one to come out next year! thats a band i could see every day for months on end and never get bored.

Fri, 06 Oct 2006 20:12:40 GMT

things seem to be going pretty well. my brother was just here for almost a week, it was a pretty darn good time if I may say so myself. work is goin, im diggin it. natalie rules still. um, thats really it.

oh yeah, and this is a show im doing in pittsburgh. come to it! see you there?

yesss

Tue, 12 Sep 2006 01:29:47 GMT

I start work. Know what rules about my job? I get to take home a G4 iBook. Where do I work you ask? I work for Ixtlan Artists! Its funny, ive been booking shows and recently tours for the last 7 years and when i decided to move to pittsburgh earlier this year I was ready to get an office job, work for some company i'd probably hate and just not look forward to waking up the next morning.. well guess what? This job is sooo not that! I get to spend all day booking tours and not for punk/hardcore bands! Ixtlan works with diverse artists, as in Folk groups, Celtic groups, Indian dance groups, African Jazz groups, Jewish groups, etc. When i went to college at slippery rock for 3 years I actually got the chance to see groups like these perform and im pretty stoked to be apart of them! I dunno, it rules. You can check some mp3's out at www.ixtlanartists.com if you have no idea what im talking about.

Oh, and the green bay packers are going to be really good this year... the bears are just incredible... but trust me, GB will bounce back!

Also, how about those ravens?! man, two HUGE shutouts! Crazy!

Oh, and im pretty sure you can expect me to pretty much really pull back from booking shows. Lost too much money on the last few, im tired of it. But I still plan to help out my friends on tour if they need it.

jesus fucking christ

Wed, 06 Sep 2006 22:55:34 GMT

the new hop con record fucking RULES. contention for one of the best of 06!

my mood

Wed, 30 Aug 2006 07:18:12 GMT

went home today for the first time since my mom and I brought my brother back home from brooklyn. ya know, its not easy. its defintely going to take some time, the person closest to me and my best friend is going through something that I would never wish upon anyone ever. we hope that its just a matter of time for things to just work out, but I feel like that is just kidding ourselves, this is something that will impact him and our family for years. I took my harddrive up with me tonight and put season 6 of the sopranos and both seasons of the office on his computer so he has something to do (for those that dont know my family lives in the country with dial up internet and 5 tv channels) because its boring as fuck at times at home. He seemed glad to have something to do but it just wasnt him. I know its the medication he's on, I know thats what is making him seem so out of it, its just so wierd. So when Jed and I were going back to pittsburgh I of course listened to hot water music because they're the best band ever. Well the album no division was playing and this song really struck a chord in me. check it. im going to go read in bed and then go to sleep. The song is On Our Way.

we've seen some real hard times and i hope the hardest are behind
but there will be times when it will seem like we are caught
someplace in between the ocean and the storm without a shore
we'll find our own way home and sing out every song we know no one can keep us down
and who gives a fuck what anybody says we'll live and love until we're dead holding on to what we've come to know
and on and on and on and on and every time you hear this song be sure
you are not alone

Mon, 28 Aug 2006 04:08:37 GMT

01. Your name plus a Y?
mikey

02. Two feelings at the moment?
happy happy

03. What are you listening to right now?
The Draft

04. A part of a song lyric that's in your mind?
its time to party

05. Last person you hugged?
natalie

06. The highlight of your week?
getting a job!!

07. What are you craving to have right now?
candy

08. Any unforgettable childhood memories?
playng in the sandbox in our backyard and finding worms in it!

09. A not-so-good childhood memory?
the nightmares of quicksand coming out of toliets and eating my house

10. What are your nicknames?
bitch

11. Your plans for tomorrow?
sleep, clean, some show work

12. Your plans for today?
lay in bed with natalie

13. Are you thinking of someone right now?
yar

14. Do You Think Someone is thinking of you?
yar

15. Do You Have A Job?
YAR!

16. Are you single?
NAR!

17. Say something to the person who posted this before?
MITCH!

18. What do you want?
HEALTHY FAMILY

19. are you happy?
yes

20. Do you like anyone?
YAR!

21. Do you miss anyone right now?
nope

22. Describe where you are right now?
a room, with a tv, a long flight of steps i fall down on every day, a computer

23. What do you like about the night?
how its not hot

24. If you were on a farm what would you want to see?
COWS!

25. When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
baseball player!!!!!!!

26. Last gift received?
BED!

27. Did you like it?
yeahhhh!

29. Do you play an instrument?
trumpet!

30. The stand?
duh?

----WHAT----

31. Your good luck charm?
none

32. Person you hate most?
a few people

33. Who makes you laugh the most?
natalie?

34. What makes you smile?
PIZZA!

FACTS

Hometown: edinboro, PA
Height: 5'9"
Hair color: brown!
Hair length: short!
Eye color: brown!
Mood now: good!
Sex: yes!
School: NONE!
Friends: rule!

Finish the sentence:

1. My ex is...out of my life!

2. I am listening to....
THE DRAFT!!!

3. Maybe I should...
EAT A PIZZA!

4. I love...
MUSIC!

5. My best friend..
is in my room right now

6. I don't understand...
why mitch is not on tour!

7. I lost...
my keys earlier. found them near the fridge! FOOD!

8. People say...
lots of things

9. The meaning of my screen name is...
some stupid shaving cream.

10. Love is...
gross

11. Somewhere, someone is...
taking a shit

12. I will always...
be somewhat bitter

13. Forever seems..
FURTHER!

14. I never ever want to...
grow up

15. My cell phone...
will be here tomorrow!

16. When I wake up in the morning...
i want coffee

17. I get annoyed when.....
i cant eat pizza

18. Parties are...
BEER!!!!!!

19. My pet(s) is...
DEAD

20. Kisses are the best when...
deserved?

21. Today I...
DRANK BEEEEEEER!

22. Tomorrow I will...
DRINK BEEEEEEEER! (GET MY NEW PHONE!)

23. I really want..
My brother to be better!

I should be sleeping right now...

Tue, 22 Aug 2006 07:44:34 GMT

I feel that i need to be more outspoken. At our show on friday in erie I was so angry. Two local bands, one releasing a record on a national label, and no one was there. 90 kids. Some kid asked me why no one was at the show and i told him my reasoning why that was so, because they dont worship god with their band. he seemed to balk and take offense. but thats the sad truth. War of Ages played at the end of july, ZERO flyers ever made, 300 kids. why? because jesus is awesome, thats why. jesus told them all to go in their prayers and sleep. the represent record release show had about 1000 flyers printed and handed out at the war of ages show, the jesus wept show, and stapled ALL OVER erie PA. 90 kids paid. what the fuck!? oh, yeah, thats right. no god was involved. next time they go to release a record they should slip god a fifty and ask him to plug their show for them. garunteed 200 kids. yes, im bitter. I dont really give a fuck anymore. Im tired of trying to make a change in a city that has never given way over the years. if youre not on victory/trustkill or dont have god promoting your band you're fucked in this city, especially with a venue costing almost 800 bucks.

also add to the list that my brother is going through a really rough time right now and he needs to be home. my mother flew out this morning to see him and to help speed up the process of him moving home. im not going into the details on here like I did with my dad's situation because its not necessary for you to know. needless to say his "friends" in brooklyn really seem like shitbags to me right now and i honestly hope I never see them. ever. im driving out to brooklyn most likely on wednesday to help pack his stuff up and bring him home. not exactly sure what the game plan is from there, all I know is that he is moving home and thats all that matters. he needs to be with family and thats what is going to happen.

so many good things are happening right now that I do not want to associate them with this entry so im sure i'll add another new one soon.

you need to go listen to chuck ragan. hot water music helped me through some really low times in high school for me, rumbleseat helped me through college and his solo project is helping me through these times. something about him is just beyond words to me.

http://www.myspace.com/chuckragan

update time

Sun, 09 Jul 2006 20:09:02 GMT

I feel that i have not really written anything of substance in here in a while, and since im home, maybe its time for a little update.

so tour was awesome. we left early june and came home after texas. 25 hours straight. chris drove 730 miles of it from dallas to somewhere in kentucky. then i took over. then jed. oh, we toured in a buick lesabre with a uhaul trailer. sick, huh? we played some awesome shows, met some awesome people and drank some awesome beer with said awesome people. Probably one of the best times i had on tour was when we got to pensacola Florida at 6 am... we just ran to the beach, stripped down to our boxers and just jumped right in. it was like taking a bath... in salt water!! it was so warm! that entire day we spent in the ocean and then went and played at this venue called Sluggo's with Outclassed from sharon (it was awesome they hopped on the show!!) and this band from Oregon that RULED! I forget their name, they were so good though! Like a hot water music/dillinger four kind of band with a girl singer. man... after we got some beer, went back to the hotel, got drunk and swam in the pool!

But through almost the entire tour I had other, more important matters, running through my mind. on the fourth day of tour when we were in brooklyn my mother called at 3 am to let me know that my father had had more siezures and that he was being taken to hamot. the first thing I said was "do you want me to come home now?" and she said "no, lets wait to see what is going on first, there is no rush at the moment because if you came home there is nothing you can do." So when i hung up the phone that night, i knew things were going to be a little on edge for me for however long we were going to remain on tour. I was unsure how far we would get, the last date we were going to play was in dallas texas, 2 weeks away, and i didnt know if we'd make it. We played philly and punxy the next few days and i told my mother that if I needed to come home that im only a few hours away and it would be no problem. She still insisted we remain on tour, and so we did.

In the following weeks my father went through hell and back. He was put in an induced coma to monitor his brain activity, to slowly bring him out to make sure that the bleeding that occured on his brain was not continuing. A few days later he was out of the coma, but by then clots had formed in his legs, and would need a blood thinner to remove them. But the doctors were hesitant to use the thinners because they were worried about the bleeding on the brain would return with out some measures taken. That next day, 9 am, my dad went down for brain surgery to remove the popped blood vessle. It took 2 days and two operations to finally get it all and 22 staples later he was back in his room in hamot. By this time we were down south in tennessee and my mother continued to insist that I should stay out until texas and then come home then, so we did. And it was tough. It was tough to stay on the road, but the last 8 shows we played were the most passionate, heart-felt and cathartic shows ive ever played in the 3 years this band has been together. So we played a few shows with Kids Like Us and Terror in florida and alabama, and then played in texas with the Knockout Kings and Balls Out. We left dallas texas at 12:05 am monday morning and returned home at 1 am wednesday morning. 25 hours straight driving, and to home I finally returned.

The following two weeks that we were home between tours I spent every day at the hospital and rehab center with my dad, bringing him food, his mail, whatever he needed. My mother was about to enter one of the busiest weeks of the summer for real estate, so I did my best to take some of the stress off her shoulders. Not sure if it worked, haha, but i did my best to help out.

Natalie came up for a week after she got home from NYC and we went to the rehab center where my dad was and went out to eat with my mother once or twice, and went to the beach to relax one day. It was great having her there. I had my band to talk too if I needed too on tour, but I never did. I probably should have, because a few times I just snapped at seth or jed or chris when I was pissed and I think they were pretty patient with me. But with Natalie here I was able to just spill it all. All my feelings, what was going through my mind, just everything. It was so relieving to do that. I love her more than anything and I dont know if i really ever told her how much I appreciate her in my life before that, but I really do and i told her. So when she left, it was just mom, dad and I, dad still being in re-hab, and mom trying to do whatever she could to get him out as fast as possible. If there is a hell, that place was it. I won't get into it.

So dad was scheduled to come home the following weekend (the 7th). I was leaving for tour that day, and my mom called me a few days prior and we talked about it and I decided that it was not fair for me to just leave again just as dad was coming home, so i cancelled the following tour minus a few shows. It really wasnt up for discussion when it came to telling the other guys, I just wasnt leaving. Its something we could make up later this summer and they knew that, so no one was bummed. We were sitll playing the detroit and erie shows with bane and outbreak, and the wheeling show this saturday (the 15th, you should go! hah), and the rest of the time I was going to do what I could to help out.

So we played detroit on friday, and it was unfuckingbelievable. We played there 3 years ago, the 4th show hank jones ever played was a house show in detroit called the Radnor House. Problem Solver Revolver, Coalition, Hank Jones and some local band. It sucked. bands ruled, no one was there. So after the show we went and hung out at this bar/bowling alley/pizza place/venue called Magic Sticks. It. Was. Amazing. I said "it would be insane to play here, but I know it'll never happen, werenot a band that would play here". Fast forward to this weekend. the bane show was moved from Alvins due to some shit that happened to the Magic Sticks!!!! FUCK YES!!!! The kids there seemed to dig us, we sold 20 records, 230692762 shirts and just had such a great time with all the bands! It was a blast. Jay from the Suicide Machines came out to the show for our set (which ruled!!!) and Outbreak's set, and said he was really glad to see that "true hardcore bands still exist and are getting this kind of a response". So that was really heartwarming to hear him say that about our bands. I cannot wait to go back to detroit!!!!

The erie show was a great time as well! I was super stressed because it was the first time Bane had played erie in 5 years, so I didnt know if kids would come out. It was our release show, and I dont think playing with any other bands would have been more fitting. This Is Hell did a movielife cover, which i was STOKED about, but couldnt sing along because I was stuck at the door... and Van Damage (whose new record you NEED to get) sounded like the Nerve Agents! Loved it. All. 210 kids came out, it was perfect. Paid all the bands, had a great time, and saw kids smiling and singing a long to all the bands. Nothing could have topped lastnight's show. Best show i've ever booked and been apart of.

So now im home. Hanging out with my dad, making sure he's okay (which he is), and doing the work i'd probably never gotten around to doing because i'd be in the back seat of the Buick LeSabre on my way to chicago. This was really a much needed entry in this journal, as its relieved some much needed venting that I think im done with. If you read this all, i applaud you, but I really dont expect that many to as the attention span of people today is about 10 lines of reading on here.

So in closing, value the family you have because you never know when they're going to leave you.

p.s.
go buy outbreaks new record, its the 2nd best record in 2006. Maybe i'll update more often, but I really doubt it.

Wed, 05 Jul 2006 21:09:35 GMT

this last month has been sweet.

ride high into the sky

Fri, 03 Mar 2006 02:11:37 GMT

in the last week ive been on this huge power metal kick thanks to micah's reminder to me of how incredible manowar is. This has led me to listening to dragonforce and hammerfall nonstop for the last 3 days. Yeah, im pretty awesome, i know. lets go slay dragons!

Next week is natalie's birthday and it just so happens I booked none more black on a show that one band dropped off! She's pretty happy about that, as am I, seeing how its one of our favorite bands! She's coming up tomorrow till wednesday for her birthday! Chris, Becki, Natalie and I are going to a Japanese restraunt tomorrow and then bowling on saturday! God, last weekend at bowling I got drunk and it seriously was awesome. Hopefully the people who come dont actually want to bowl for real and just wanna have fun, because I know after one of those giant mugs of beer again thats all i will want!

Ive watched a bunch of sweet movies thanks to Netflix. Go get Dark Days, Fog of War or Hotel Rhwanda. Man, those movies were actually really powerful! I have a ton of really good movies lined up that ive either never heard of or heard of but could never find. I never got the chance to see The Pianist and thats the movie natalie and I will watch sometime this weekend. I heard a lot of great things about it so im looking forward to it.

yeah, well, im off to go eat some food with steve and dan at perkins and catch up! For not having barely any classes this semester I feel like im REALLY busy. its too bad im really not and I probably waste a lot of my time... TIME FOR A CHANGE!

hello 2006

Fri, 13 Jan 2006 08:34:47 GMT

guess what? I sold out and apparently people are "disapointed" in me and think im "weak". dont really care at all because its really not their business or anything they should worry about. those people have never cared about whats going on in my life, never asked how I was doing, never called to hangout or anything. All they cared about to talk to me about was/is whats the heaviest hardcore band no ones ever heard of and stupid bands shit or some sick mosh part, so why would I care about what some random hardcore kid in erie thinks of me? me drinking beer does nothing to make me weak, you dont even know me. but thats that, im still awesome, im still me, I just now drink beer.

2006 is awesome. I was in NYC with natalie and got to see my brother and go get pizza and beer with him and see dead bodies and hold a human brain. it was awesome. such a great time! I got to see This is Hell and hangout with them again, that was great as well! I saw a play that Ted Kazinski wrote in prison. it was 10 minutes long. If I were going to be in jail as long as him I think i'd be able to write a play longer than 10 minutes and be more indepth. but whatever, the actors were not that great either. I ate a TON of thai and asian food. and pizza. god, i ate johns pizza tonight with natalie and seriously its the best pizza ever. We went to the museum of natural history and planetarium and tom hanks told us about the stars. I love space! They had this really cool ramp model around the planetarium that used the sphere as a scale to show you how big things were, and it was pretty crazy at how large the sun is compared to earth. you can put 1 million earths inside the sun! thats nuts!!! Oh, we watched the steelers play football on sunday with my brother and natalie's sister and her boyfriend at their apartment. that was a great time too! hanging out with my brother and staci and jerred was a great time! and of course, being with natalie the whole time was even better! OH! and! We were on the D train? Or maybe the R? and i was reading my book and natalie fell asleep on my shoulder and suddenly we were in HARLEM! haha, we got off and this black dude yelled at us (or our general direction, were not sure) "WHAT?! IM NOT BLACK ENOUGH TO BE WHITE?!" over and over again following us! oh and we walked a little less than half of central park too!

So yeah, ive had a great year so far and I know its just going to continue to get better! I feel so great about life right now its awesome, and i think starting to drink was a great choice on my part.

Thu, 10 Nov 2005 07:54:50 GMT

Update again!

So its starting to set in that this is it. Im done with college this semester. Ive been in college for 6 1/2 years now. Ive been in school for 18 1/2 years of my life. The same format every year, school september through may, june through august off. That all changes in a little over a month, and its something thats really starting to hit me this last week. Im going to be entering into the job market soon and I really have no clue as of what I would like to do. Its kind of scary, and kind of exciting at the same time. Im going to actually begin to make money and actually begin to be able to sustain myself and stop living by the tips of my teeth. Ive always had the freedom to do as I please, thats not going to change, but the fact that i'll soon be able to afford to do what I would like too, thats more exciting to me right now. But money isnt everything, im trying to not worry about that, but it'll be so nice to stop being so fucking broke all the time.

I realized that I better write more up here because I just finished my top 10 list and thought that no one will read all that and then read on below it, hahaha! So this weekend Natalie is coming up and were going to watch a lot of war stuff. She bought the box set of Brothers In Arm, that 10 part mini-series about WWII and the paratroopers. We watched the first two and they were REALLY good, so im looking forward to seeing more! Then sometime this weekend we are going to go see Jarhead, that movie about the Persian Gulf War that is directed by the guy who did American Beauty. It looks pretty good, I just hope its not just another war movie though, I hope there's more to it than a bunch of guys out hunting down the bad guys. But I really doubt it will be, I think Natalie said it was more about the mental effects of war on the soliders. Then on sunday were going to go see Sick Of It All for FREEEEEEEEEEE in cleveland and were meetnig up with Joe Klug who is one of my favortite people ever. So this weekend is going to be great!

Okay, now time to read my top 10.

My last entry I talked about the new elliott release. It defintely is quiet possibly one of the best records of 2005. I went through my cd's that came out this year that I really loved and compiled my top 10 of 2005.

10.) Ringworm - Justice Replaced by Revenge
Ive always liked ringworm live, just something about them just made me like them, but I never could place it. Prior to this record I never listened to them recorded, but ive seen them so many times live, its just hard to keep track. So they played my show on sunday with Converge in erie and I got their disc, and its REALLY good. I defintely dig it and they defintely deserve way more credit. I mean, they're on Victory and are being promoted as "having members of Terror", when if it wasnt for Ringworm there would never have been a terror, a buried alive, a hatebreed, or any of the other "hardcore" bands that crossed over with some metal. But they're old and ugly, so all the fashion kids really couldnt give a fuck... no one wants to look like they do, not when you can look sweet like As I Lay Crying...

9.) Bayside - S/T
Bayside's first record was incredible, really catchy and poppy and fun to sing along too, so when I finally got around to picking this CD up this summer, I wasnt sure if they were going to be able to keep up the momentum. Boy was I wrong. The first song just kicks off the record fast and in your face, and I defintely dug it. So as I listened on it kept many of the same aspects, the hooks and sing alongs that they were so good with on their last record, so it is the only pop punk record that came out in 2005 that made my top 10.

8.) The Suicide Machines - War Profitering is Killing Us All
One of the best punk/Ska bands in the last decade, the Suicide Machines have come out with yet another great record. This one is definetly a little more agressive, it seems like they were adding more of a punk/hardcore feel to this record, but then out of nowhere comes their traditional ska sound that everyone remembers and loves about them. Im actually VERY excited that I was able to get another date with them in erie later this fall. Its actually one of the only shows this fall that im looking forward just because they're such an incredible band and such great guys. I really recommend picking this CD up.

7.) This Is Hell - S/T
So its kinda funny about this band, I did a show last summer at my friend Cassie's house with this Long Island band called The Backup Plan. The one guitarist and I had been working for years to get them here, and finally after dates never working out we got one to fit. When they were here he gave me a demo of his new band called This Is Hell. I checked it out, thought "yeah, this isnt bad, but the backup plan is better" and put it on the back burner. So earlier this year we are doing a weekend out to St Louis with Outbreak and Joe calls me up and says "hey, we are playing in st louis with you guys lets do a couple dates togheter". So we did, and seeing This Is Hell live was just incredible. So the first show was in erie and they stayed at the Hank Jones house and we listened to an unmastered verision of the full length. It was incredible. Needless to say that after hanging out with the band that weekend and listening to the demo more, I was defintely hooked and when the EP finally came out and I got my grubby hands on one, it floored us all and became an instant favorite for everyone in hank jones. Such a great record!

6.) Bane - The Note
Bane has been one of those bands that could take 10 years off, play scattered shows, and then come back and record a new record and just floor everyone. This is what they did, but instead of 10 years, make it 4. So I hadnt heard a song off this record prior to getting it on tour in Florida at a best buy. The first few listens I felt kind of disapointed for most of the tracks minus the last one. But it grew on me, and there was a point that I think I listened to that CD 5 times in a row on some stupid long drive that we had. It defintely grew on me and has become a favorite record. When I saw them in Charleroi this summer with Verse and Cursed, the new songs just ruled and helped me solidify the fact that this record really is good.

5.) Rumbleseat - Discography
I dont know about you, but its about fucking time this fucking record came out. I think it was supposed to come out in 2002 or 2003, but due to complications, it didnt come out till 2005. I dont know if you know, but Rumbleseat is the bluegrass/country/accoustic band with Chuck and Chris from Hot Water Music and one of their ex-wifes. Ive had mp3's and 7"s of some of the songs, but finally getting to have this on CD just kicks ass because I no longer have a record player and some of the songs that are on here I dont have or are only on vinyl, so the chance to listen to them again rules! I dont know if you know, but I love hot water music. So this was instantly in my top 5.

4.) Turbonegro - Party Animal
Scandinavian make up wearing rock n roll. I really dont know how to explain how this record is so good, but they have a chant that goes "CITY, CITY OF SATAN" and thats awesome. I dont know why I like this record so much, but its so fucking awesome. Its like 80's rock bands were time warped to 2005 and looked around and said "fuck this shitty music, lets bring what rock n roll is supposed to sound like back." They defintely did a good job at it! I'd go see them in a heart beat! I wonder how awesome their live show is... its probably pretty fucked up.

3.) Modern Life is War - Witness
Ive never listened to this band prior to when we played with them a couple times on tour this summer. Jesus christ are they good. They just play their music, its unique and different, yet not. Make any sense? I dunno, I think it does. They just do what they love and thats blow the roof off. One time we played with them at this VFW in cleveland which is about the size of my house. Well, they set up with two full stacks and just leveled everyone. One of the loudest bands ive seen, hahaha. But yeah, this record just has something magical about it, in the writing or something that I cant place my finger on, but it just makes me want to break something. And for me, thats kind of hard. I think the last record that came out that made me want to do that was The Promise's record Believer. Needless to say that I really support this band and will drive hours to see them and rage.

2.) Elliott - Photorecording
Elliott has been in my top 5 favorite bands since 1998. I remember hearing US Songs in high school and thinking "holy shit, this is incredible!" I didnt get a chance to see them live until KRazyfest 4 in louisville. Infact, the only times I ever saw them live was at Krazyfest 4 - 6 and the one time I booked them. That one time I booked them was the most incredible show i'd ever seen. Now, when they broke up they recorded the first 7 tracks on this CD live in a studio, and its an exact replica of what it was like to see them live in my opinion. They added some songs that didnt make records or alternate versions of them, and those were cool, but the first 7 tracks are what sold me on this being the 2nd best record of 2005. False Cathedrals is still my favorite elliott record, but this is a close 2nd to it.

1.) Paint It Black - Paradise
Dan Yemin may be my favorite front man currently in a band. First off, he looks like he could rip your head off, and on this record, he defintely has his moments where he's pissed off. This record is not like anything else released in 2005. No frills punk/hardcore. A little melody here and there, but for the most part its just intense, fast guitars and drums that just pound his pissed off thoughts in your face. Kid Dynamite and Lifetime are two of my favorite bands and you can defintely hear parts of them in this CD. More KD than Lifetime, but being that he was a big part in the writing for both bands, you can hear both bands in this record. I picked this record up over spring break in Philly at their CD release show at the Church and it was just insane. I dont think it sold out but I dont care, everyone there was there to see PIB and it was one of the best atmosphere's for a show ive been in in a very long time. So yeah, go pick this up. This is the BEST band in hardcore right now. No image, no breakdowns, just straight up pissed off hardcore the way it was in the 80's and 90's that a lot of bands seem to have forgotten about in 2000.

Thu, 20 Oct 2005 04:14:31 GMT

Hi, remember me? I havent updated this since august. Things are going really well right now, for the most part. School is rollin' right along, Natalie and I are kickin' ass, things with the band are being sweet, so yeah, those are some great things! Its awesome because im able to see natalie every weekend even though she lives a couple hours away and yet im not letting it get in the way of school, shows or anything else thats important! Im pretty happy with how things have been going and how things look to keep on going! Infact, im going to see Natalie this weekend and were going to be in pittsburgh friday night for Jed's birthday!! Man, this weekend is going to be a great time I think! Natalie, Black Bear, JED!!!, Football, so great!!

So there's a lot of shit going around Edinboro, lots of people think that they have the right to air other people's issues with out even bothering to consult either party on if thats cool. This also includes people who hear one side of a story and think thats the truth with never even bothering to talk to the other party about it, you know, to get their take on what happened. To make a fair and balanced judgement. It really pisses me off. I have done my best to stay out of this, to try to not know what was going on, but i was informed last night of the situation and I seriously have not been that angry and mad at so many people before. So this is basically a big fuck you to so many people in edinboro. This is between two people, dont air their shit to the fucking public or youre fucking dead to me.

Wow. So enough of that, on to better stuff. So Elliott released a new record. Im fucking stoked about it! I bought it the first day it came out on Revelation Records! Here's the cover art! Its a live studio recording and a DVD documentary on their last tour. Elliott is one of the best bands ever, so im so happy to finally see something like this come out! Here's the cover! Go buy it!

Yeah, so im done writing this. I love natalie! best girlfriend ever!

Thu, 25 Aug 2005 02:28:48 GMT

I saw lifetime on saturday. It was amazing.

I start my last semester of college on monday, im kind of anxious and nervous because the end is drawing near. My brother just graduated from Kent last week and he is living in brooklyn and already has a job. I really dont know what I want to do, guess we'll see how things play out in the next few months. This summer has ruled so fucking much. I am very happy right now, and it rules.

Sat, 23 Jul 2005 07:02:42 GMT

yeah, im super happy right now. i cant wait for thursday.