Made for me.

A Story : Last year, my dearest friend in the world (Amanda Rogers, a musician from upstate New York) was on tour for her most recent record, and was coming through Los Angeles on the West Coast leg. (It may help to note : Amanda and her boyfriend, Mike, lived with me for a few months while she was recording said album the previous year. While here, they met my closest friends, who naturally welcomed the two into our group with open arms. How could they not? Amanda and Mike are the cat's pajamas, and the absolute sweetest vegan, tree-loving hippies you could ever meet. ) It goes without saying that we all went to every show she played while in the city. For a group of people with a lot of issues (we're like family - love and hate, all ecompassing), we can surprisingly pull our shit together when it comes to supporting one of each other.

AN ASIDE : It's a funny story how Amanda and I know each other, actually. Ready for it? We have the same ex-boyfriend. Yep. Of course, he's long gone, but the best gift he ever gave me was introducing me to her. Amanda is probably the closest thing I'll ever have to a soulmate. She gets me, I get her, we're different and yet, I think we're exactly the same. We don't get to see each other often considering that we live on opposite coasts. So far, we've somehow worked it out to visiting about twice a year. We don't talk on the phone (we both abhor it) and we don't get the chance to email much, either. (Though lately, she's been way better about it than I have.) When we do catch each other, we mostly just fill each other in on the what-nots of the past week, month, whatever. But, when we get the chance to see each other it's like no time has passed. Some relationships I like to think of as a favorite sweater. It's comfy, it makes you feel good in and out, it fits you just right and you wouldn't trade it for the world. Amanda is my fuzzy red cardigan.: ASIDE END.

Back to where I was intending to go with this : During one of Amanda's shows in Los Angeles, she played a song that I had never heard before, but instantly seemed to recognize. After the show was over, she came up to me and said that she should have warned me, but that song was about me. It's interesting, because it's not really a happy song, but it's not really a sad song, either. But it definitely is a song that reminds me of how well she knows me and I couldn't ask for anything more.

I wasn't recording that night, so I don't have my own video to show. However, our friend Ryan managed to capture it live at a show a few days after they left Los Angeles to head back east.

Amanda Rogers, The Taming of the Lonely One :

Viva the wolf.

Je suis amoureux absolument de cette bande.

What's that quote about squandering time, again?

Tonight I designed my book cover, if I ever write a book. Note : I probably won't write a book.

Natural endowment or ability of a superior quality.

Last year, I briefly met an artist who, in passing, mentioned that he did artwork for a NorCal band named Tera Melos. With fairly limited knowledge of the Sacramento music scene, not only had I not heard them, I hadn't ever heard of them. I began scouring around the internet to get a glimpse of the artwork, which in turn led to me to discovering the band's music (that just so happened to be on the stellar indie music label Sargent House.) Let me assure you, no matter your taste in music, it's absolutely impossible to deny the talent that lies within Tera Melos. (Watch their cover of Hey Sandy here.)

Recently, one of the members of Tera Melos, Nick Reinhart (one of the yummiest creatures I've ever laid eyes on) paired up with Zach Hill (of Hella and The Ladies) to form their side project, Bygones. (Fun fact : Bygones' 2009 'By-' album features Amber Coffman from Dirty Projectors on the cover.) Anyone with any interest in the math rock scene, and even those with no interest, would do themselves a disservice by not immediately dipping their feet into Bygones.

My personal fave of their recent album release : Click on That (Smash the Plastic Death): LISTEN HERE

Between Zach Hill's mind-numbing rhythms and Nick "the bod" Reinhart's insane start-then-stop-then-start guitar riffs, I honestly can't believe my eyes when I watch these two play. (Besides, I'm a total sucker for a hardcore talent-crush.)

What's even better? The art doesn't stop there. Apparently, a group of Reinhart's friends pulled together recently to write, produce, shoot and star in a movie entitled Snakeville. From IMDB.com, "Snakeville is a town in the middle of wherever you are and wherever it is you are going. Its denizens are odd, their hopes and dreams are small and big. This is a day in their lives." A look into the ridiculous minds of it's creators, Snakeville leaves me feeling that I'm not the only one who's enamoured with all things wonderfully strange.

-C.

Watch Snakeville now :

Reactions towards stimuli from internal chemical reactions or external environmental factors.

I'll never understand why anyone would want to do anything the way it's already been done before.
The second that my heart starts to violently pound in my chest, that's the instant that I know I'm doing something right.