Jul

2010

Pawning Off Pieces of My Heart

My birthday countdown is on (and has been for some time, truth be told), and it gets harder each year to do something that will top the previous year’s celebrations. Amidst the vacations, spa days, and luncheons I had last year, I hosted a Levi Weaver listening party to share the first single from his year-long subscription-based album, The Letters of Dr. Kurt Gödel. The song (“We’re Tornadoes When We Dance”) was well-received and my friends who were there got to hear Levi play the song live when he stopped through Lynchburg on tour last fall.

Since then, Levi has been steadily working on the album, releasing it one song at a time to album subscribers – of which I was happy to be one of the first! Eleven months later, my iPod holds 11 new songs, 11 live versions of old songs, and 11 videos from that live show. There are two more months of songs yet to come, and all of this comes with a $10 subscription over at www.leviweaver.com.

In case you’re wondering what all of this has to do with my birthday, I am getting around to that. I try to fill my birthday with all of my favorite things, and there are few things I love more than music. And on the list of music that I love, the top spot goes to Levi Weaver. After a long dry spell, he is the artist who made me fall in love with music again, and five years later, his lyrics still slay me and his ability to craft a song amazes me. On top of all of this, he’s a great friend and an inspiring human being.

I approached Levi about buying some extra subscriptions to his album for the purpose of giving them away for my birthday. I wanted to buy five and see if he’d match me, allowing me to give away ten subscriptions. He exceeded my expectations (though I shouldn’t be surprised by that anymore) and offered to give me all ten for free!

So, here’s the deal. In celebration of my birthday, I am hosting a contest to give away 10 free subscriptions to Levi Weaver’s “The Letters of Dr. Kurt Gödel,” which also includes the songs and videos from his project, “Live at The Prophet Bar.”

Entering is easy:

1. Head over to www.leviweaver.com/music, where you can listen to all the tracks from Levi’s first EP, “Civil War Between My Heart and Mind,” the full-length “You Are Never Close to Home, You Are Never Far From Home,” and even six tracks from “The Letters of Dr. Kurt Gödel.”

2. Choose a song that connects with you. (If you have a soul, this will not be a problem.)

3. Proceed to www.leviweaver.com/forum and register to post. (Registration requires only a username and email address. You will get an email confirming your registration and providing your password, and that is the only email you will ever receive unless you sign up for the mailing list separately.)

4. Find the thread called “Amanda’s Birthday Giveaway” and post the song (or songs!) you chose and give the reason why you like that song. It doesn’t matter if you love the chord progression or one of the instruments or one line of the song, or if listening to that song radically changed your life. Just share what it is that you like about the song.

5. Do all of this by Friday, August 13th.

To remain impartial, I am going to let the other established forum members (who are already subscribed) vote privately on their favorite entries. Each vote will equal one entry, and on Tuesday, August 17th (that’s my birthday, folks), I will draw names and announce the ten winners on the forum and on this blog. I will also give three bonus entries to the first person to identify the Levi Weaver song that contains the phrase: “pawning off pieces of my heart.”

The ten winners will have their choice of either:

1. A code to get the $10 subscription for free.

2. A code for $10.00 off any subscription level above $10, or 10% off levels of $250 or more. (You can check out the perks of each level at www.leviweaver.com/merch)

Any winners who use the $10.00 off to subscribe at a level of $25 or higher will be entered into another drawing to have all of your physical CDs signed, as well as an autographed poster (from the “Civil War Between My Heart and Mind” era), and Levi will send you a postcard from the road while he is on tour.

I decided to do this for my birthday because I love sharing music, and introducing people to new music they haven’t heard before, but it is also very important to me that Levi continues to make music. He doesn’t have a major label (or even a minor label), he’s not independently wealthy, and he has a wife and a son to support. The music industry is not an easy field, and he doesn’t get a steady paycheck every other Friday, so his ability to keep making music depends upon the support of his fans. It would mean the world to me if you would use this opportunity to support Levi and his music. I cannot think of a better birthday gift.

Tags: birthday, free music, Levi Weaver, The Letters of Dr. Kurt Gödel, The Prophet Bar
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Jun

2010

The String Section’s Screaming Like Horses in a Barn Burning Up

My favorite thing about summer is the concert season. I’ll put up with the heat if it means I get to see a lot of great bands in return. In fact, I kicked off concert season back in April when I saw Matthew Perryman Jones and Wakey!Wakey! in New York, and then followed it up by catching MPJ again a few days later when he came through Charlottesville, and then heading to Richmond a few days after that to see The National for the first time. One week, four concerts. Two weeks later, I hopped a train to Philly to catch the first show on Josh Ritter’s U.S. tour for “So Runs the World Away.”

After that, I had nearly a month of no concerts at all before reaching June 3rd, which kicked off another music-filled week with the first of three concerts.

Kelli was my partner-in-crime for June 3rd’s show. We closed our office a little early and hit the road to Richmond to see Patty Griffin at the Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens. We weren’t thirty minutes from home when storms treated us to torrential downpours that carried us all the way to Richmond. We could barely see where we were going, and cars on the interstate were driving with their emergency lights flashing. All this, and we were on our way to an outdoor concert.

Ten minutes before we reached our destination, however, the clouds parted and we drove out into a beautiful day. We thought we were home free, but as we stood in line with our chairs and blankets to enter the garden, dark clouds were gathering in the sky once again. We went in, got some food (as we hadn’t had time to stop for dinner), and claimed a nice spot on the lawn. We had just commenced our picnicking when a staff person came around to tell everyone to go inside because a storm was coming and there was lightning just a few miles away. We packed up everything and went inside the building to eat. By this time, the concert was supposed to be beginning, and I worried that they were going to call it off. Half an hour later, the storm still hadn’t come, and we decided to go back outside and walk around. The sky to the west of us was yellow, and we could see that it was raining hard just over the ridge in the distance. They opened the larger building and we went back inside again, hoping for a reprieve.

By that time, the concert was running an hour and a half behind, and there still hadn’t been more than the threat of a storm. I was getting antsy, so I went outside to walk around and take some pictures. We were at the botanical gardens, after all.

As I was walking around, Kelli called to alert me that everyone was making a mass exodus from the building back down onto the lawn. We followed along and found new places on the lawn. Of course, by then it had just started to rain. Luckily, Kelli brought her umbrella!

Seems like nobody gave up and left while we were waiting out the non-storm. The lawn was full!

With the end of the rain came a beautiful double rainbow, making a half-circle around the stage just in time for the show to begin!

The opener moved quickly because the show had been delayed, and it wasn’t long before Buddy Miller graced the stage. He is legendary. He only did one song solo before he invited Patty Griffin out on the stage, and she backed him on a few more of his songs.

They all left the stage and Patty re-emerged alone, but quickly brought Buddy Miller and the band back out and they rocked the house as the sky darkened.

I was a little too far from the stage to get any good video footage, but I did record a clip of “Death’s Got a Warrant” as I marveled at Patty’s vocal strength. The video certainly doesn’t do her justice, but you can get the general idea:

For the last 30 minutes of Patty’s set, we also had a lightning show to our west, and we knew another storm was on the way. The show was cut a little short because of it, but it still felt like a full show, so we weren’t disappointed. And we had just gotten back to the car when the rain started again, and as soon as we hit the main road, it was storming again just in time for our drive home. At least it didn’t storm out our show!

Tuesday, June 8th was the Wakey!Wakey! show in Charlottesville, so Kelli and I attended that show as well. This time, we were joined by three others to give us a van full. My friends (and fellow One Tree Hill fans), Amanda and Katie, joined us for the show, and Kelli’s friend Carrie tagged along as well. She hasn’t discovered One Tree Hill, but she had heard of Wakey!Wakey! and liked their music enough to attend. It was a blast to do an all-girls road trip to Charlottesville for the show.

Once we had arrived on the downtown mall and parked, we set out on foot to find some dinner. Mike Grubbs (lead singer of Wakey!Wakey! and Grubbs of One Tree Hill) was standing outside the venue talking to some fans. The Grubbs-sighting certainly turned up the excitement a bit!

The first restaurant we went to had a longer list of what they didn’t have than what they did have from their menu, so we gave up on that and instead walked over to a pizza place where I got dinner for $2.25. Not bad!

We were lined up outside The Southern before the doors had even opened, and even after they opened the doors to the café side, we waited for what seemed like eternity for doors to open to enter the venue. As we stood a few feet back from the door (so as not to be in the way), some clueless guy barged in front of us, spread his arms in front of the door and proclaimed, “Nobody better try to steal my spot in line!” I was sorely tempted to say, “You mean like you just stole ours?” but I just rolled my eyes and let it go.

As we were waiting, I spotted Patrick and Tanya setting up the merch table. Wakey!Wakey! has flown up the charts fairly quickly, but most of the band (aside from Mike Grubbs) can still fly under the radar without being spotted by fans. However, I had already fallen in musical love with Patrick’s violin playing when I saw them in New York, so I was quick to recognize him. He hung around and chatted with us for a while and was really delightful. I adore talented musicians that also have a charming personality.

Finally, the doors opened and, despite the jerk-y line-cutter guy, we still ended up with a great spot inside to watch the show. None of us had heard of the opening act, The Spring Standards, but they put on a great show and we all really enjoyed them.

And just to make sure none of us ever forgot them, they hammed it up covering “Kiss From a Rose” and delighted the crowd. I filmed a clip of it, but someone else at the show actually caught the whole thing, so I’m going to post their video instead, as it’s far superior to my own:

The Spring Standards called Mike Grubbs out on stage for their last song, and it was apparent that these two groups have really enjoyed touring together. Then, with a thrilling opening set completed, it was time for Wakey!Wakey!

I watched most of the show from right next to the stage on the side where Grubbs was seated at his keyboard. Everyone in the crowd was having a great time, and we were all in it together, making it easy to move around to take pictures on either side of the stage. The show was all-ages and Mike’s mother was in the audience (for her first time seeing them perform) so he made sure to edit out all the questionable words. This caused him to stumble over a line when he nearly missed his edit, at which point he chuckled and yelled “I love you, Mom!” before continuing with the song.

Their sound is a little too “big” to get along with the little bitty speaker on my camera for video, but Grubbs played a few songs without the band, including this little number, which he said he had just written that day, was sure it would be a hit, and he was still a little nervous about playing it in front of people. You will see why that got quite a few giggles from the audience.

I also shot this very back and forth video of “Twenty-Two” from Patrick’s side of the stage. I wanted to capture when he put down his violin and took to whistling for this song:

After the show, all the members of Wakey!Wakey! were on hand to sign our “Brooklyn” posters and pose for some pictures. I got Patrick to smile for me:

And here’s a group shot of the whole gang with a very happy Katie:

We got home very late (or early the next day, depending on your perspective), but it was well worth it for a great night out with the girls…and of course Wakey!Wakey!

On Thursday (June 10th), Jessica, Thai and I took the day off and set out for a day in Richmond, to be capped off with a Josh Ritter concert that night. We started the day by having breakfast at Cracker Barrel (gotta feed the child bacon and eggs or she doesn’t function) and then we hit the road, playlist at the ready, for our great adventure. When we got to Richmond, our first stop was Ray’s for some delicious custard to give us something cold before braving the heat of the day. From there, we drove on to Maymont Park, a beautiful and expansive park which was donated to the City of Richmond following the death of its owners, James and Sallie Dooley.

Maymont is a Victorian estate of the Gilded Age, and the Dooleys’ home is an extravagant display of the wealth James Dooley made rebuilding Richmond and much of the South following the Civil War. The beautiful gardens on the estate were kept to Mrs. Dooley’s exact specifications, and she walked the grounds daily to make sure everything was kept up to her liking.

Photography is not allowed inside the house for security reasons, but you should definitely stop by for a tour if you are ever in the Richmond area. On the day of our tour, they were focusing on the many Tiffany pieces the Dooleys owned and/or commissioned for their home. My favorite aspect of the Maymont Mansion is the large stained glass window above the stairwell. It was (and still is) quite unusual for a private home to feature stained glass.

We did take several pictures of the Maymont grounds, and toured both the Italian and Japanese gardens. I’ve thrown several of Jessica’s pictures in with my own here:

We all crossed over the stepping stones at the koi pond, and Thai pointed out all the fish to us.

Thai got very adventurous with the waterfall in the Japanese gardens. I got very… terrified, and was happy when she came down. The child has no fear.

Of course, we were outside in the hottest part of the day (on a very hot day), so we were all overheated and ready to get back to the car. On the way back up the looong stairwell from the bottom of the waterfall, we got more than we bargained for when we ran into a snake!

He was directly in our path, leaving me to say “What do we do now?” and Jessica to reply “We resign ourselves to living here, that’s what” and both of us to yell “THAI! GET AWAY FROM THE SNAKE!” as she kept inching closer to him as if drawn in by force.

She eventually stepped over the snake and went up the stairs, putting the snake between us and the young’un. Jessica has a greater fear of snakes than even I do – and I am pretty well terrified of them myself, so we had to wait for the snake to crawl away (and luckily not in the direction of us or Thai) before we could continue our climb up the stairs.

Needless to say, we were all quite happy to get back to the car and the A/C, where there were no unwanted wildlife.

Our greatest disappointment of the day came when we arrived at The Cheesecake Factory and discovered that they were closed due to “technical difficulties” which actually translated to “plumbing catastrophe.” We were broken-hearted, but we were also on a schedule, so we had our late lunch at Baker’s Crust instead. By the time we finished eating, The Cheesecake Factory had reopened, so we stopped in to get a cheesecake to go (Jessica had brought a cooler for that very purpose).

From there, it was on to the Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens for the show. (They have weekly concerts through the summer and had played host to Patty Griffin just the week before.) We took a few more pictures of the lovely gardens (and we had a better day to do it than Kelli and I had the week before):

As we walked down to the lawn for the show, we saw this adorable hippie family walking in with their little girls in sundresses and flowers in their hair. The littlest girl kept calling out for her “Daddy’s” attention and then she would gleefully say “Josh Wittuh!” as if to make sure that was really who he was taking her to see. So. Cute.

Jessica really enjoyed the opening act, Sahara Smith, who told us (to our great surprise) that it was her first show on her first-ever tour:

Thai was very helpful in counting down the number of songs the other opening act had remaining before Josh Ritter was going to take the stage. She didn’t even know Josh Ritter, but she was sharing in my excitement, which I always appreciate. Having impeccable music taste for an 8-year-old, however, she was a fan by the end of the night, making sure she could listen to his music on Jessica’s iPod, and making sure we got a good picture of him playing. Jessica’s camera was much better for this task, and she snagged a few great shots for me (and Thai). The first picture is about the best my camera could do in this setting.

I learned something new at this show. Josh’s bass player (among many other stringed and brass instruments) Zack Hickman actually hails from our very own Lynchburg, VA. He is an incredibly talented musician and a delight to watch on stage.

Having secured a spot up front, center stage for the show in Philly, I was content to hang back and enjoy this performance from the comfort of my camping chair. And aside from their propensity for getting in my way, I enjoyed watching the crowd gravitate to the stage song by song. He certainly knows how to engage the audience and he is a powerful performer as well as a prolific songwriter.

I didn’t have the presence of mind (or the unobstructed view) to take any video at the show, but here’s a performance of “To the Dogs or Whoever” from David Letterman after “Historical Conquests” came out (the album before this one). So, Letterman and I present:

Josh Ritter and the Royal City Band

I will be happy to see him time and time again. In fact, you’d be hard pressed to keep me away.

I have no more concerts on the schedule until The Avett Brothers at Myrtle Beach the weekend after my birthday, although I have been compulsively checking Lucero’s tour dates, hoping they come near me. Is there anything else I shouldn’t miss?

Tags: Buddy Miller, Josh Ritter, Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens, Maymont Park, Patty Griffin, The Royal City Band, The Southern, Wakey!Wakey!
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Jun

2010

It’s a Long Way to Heaven, It’s Closer to Harrisburg

It’s now been a month since I got back from Philadelphia, and I am just getting around to the post-trip wrap-up blog. It’s pitiful, I know, but I’m going to plead “better late than never” on this one.

My best friend and oft-travel-buddy Jessica had expressed interest in doing a Philly trip a while back, so when Josh Ritter’s original tour dates were released, I eyed the Philly date and asked if she wanted to coordinate travel dates. She agreed, and we booked train tickets to Philly at the same time that we booked our flights to New York.

Doing two trips less than a month apart was a whirlwind endeavor, but it was worth it. I left the Philly itinerary to Jessica, so she could plan our stops at the many historical must-sees in the “Birthplace of America.” I joked with her before the trip that she could look at the SITES, and I would look at the SIGHTS. That little wordplay described our approaches very nicely. We’d walk up to an old building with a plaque on the side, and Jessica would rattle off three paragraphs of pertinent historical data, and I’d smile, hoist my camera, and say “Oooooh, pretty.”

As you’ll see in some of the pictures below, I tinkered around with them a bit to capitalize on that old-world look of Philly’s historic district. I had fun with them, so hopefully you’ll have fun looking at them.

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As always, I was less than thrilled with having to wake up at the crack of dawn to catch our train, but that is a necessary evil on travel days. This was also my first bona fide train ride (not counting the trains that circle Busch Gardens in Williamsburg). I was a bit tentative about having to sit in one place and just ride for 6+ hours, but I managed to occupy myself fairly well with my laptop and the lunches that Jessica so nicely packed for us. Thai, meanwhile, watched Supernatural on her portable DVD player:

We arrived in Philly just after noon, so once we got to our hotel and settled in a bit, we had time to get a jump start on our itinerary. Jessica hadn’t scheduled any official stops for our arrival Thursday afternoon other than a walk down to the water, but we decided to seize the day and go ahead and cross a few places off of our list. Our first stop was barely a block from our hotel – the Christ Church Burial Ground, most famously known as the final resting place of Philadelphia hero Benjamin Franklin.

We then proceeded to Christ Church, which was founded in 1695 and birthed the American Episcopal Church. Its regular congregation included 15 signers of the Declaration of Independence and numerous Revolutionary War leaders, including George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and Betsy Ross (who was no longer welcome at the Quaker Meeting House following her marriage to John Ross). When the steeple was added in 1754, Christ Church became the tallest building in North America for a time.

George Washington’s family pew is pictured here:

Several individuals are buried inside the church, with grave markers in the floor. This was a mark of great honor.

The oldest item at Christ Church is this baptismal font, gifted to the church in 1697 by a church in London. This is the font in which William Penn was baptized, and it is still in use today. The tour guide told us not to be deceived by its age – it is by no means fragile. When they use it for baptisms, it takes 4 men to lift the lid.

After spending some time admiring the inside and outside of the church, we proceeded towards the water, going out to the river via Penn’s Landing.

We stopped for dinner on our way back, and we were all wiped out from our travels, so we were happy to retire early back at the hotel. We went to bed early to rest up for a long day of sight(site)-seeing on Friday, but at 1:00am, I awoke with a clear explanation for my unshakeable headache and complete exhaustion the day before – I was sick. Luckily, I brought medicine with me, so I just had to make it to the ice machine (about 10 feet from our hotel room door) so I could take some pills without waking the entire room. I found my key and wandered out into the hallway in my pajamas and slippers, and walked, and walked, and walked. Eventually I came to a dead end, considered sitting down on the floor to cry, but turned around and finally found my way to the ice machine and back to our room…just around the corner from the ice machine. I took the medicine, crawled back in bed, and munched on the ice to dispel the nausea. Thankfully, I managed to fall asleep, and awoke the next morning feeling much better.

At that point, I was thankful that we had jump-started our itinerary on Thursday, so we could take a more leisurely pace on Friday. We started out with breakfast at a diner, which was tasty and cheap. From there, we proceeded along our way, taking pictures of pretty buildings along the way.

We came to the “ghost house” of Benjamin Franklin, so named because no one knows exactly what it looked like, so all that stands are white frames showing the dimensions and basic style of the house.

Franklin Court is also home to the still-operating B. Free Franklin Post Office, the Printing Office and Bindery, and the restored office of the newspaper published by Franklin’s grandson. Below the court, there is an underground museum filled with artifacts from Benjamin Franklin’s life.

Subsequently, we visited the U.S. Mint, which did not allow photographs, but we did see a half-dollar replica on the wall regarding the issuance of the charter in 1786 for the founding of our own little Lynchburg, VA! And in true form, we saw nobody working!

Our next stop was possibly Philadelphia’s most recognized symbol – the Liberty Bell. I expected a tediously long line there, but was pleasantly surprised to discover that we merely had to go through a quick security check and then roam the museum at our leisure. To be perfectly honest, I expected the Liberty Bell to be quite a bit bigger, and Jessica was more than a little amused when I admitted to thinking it was a replica from afar.

Leaving the Liberty Bell, we were headed back to the hotel for a little bit of rest prior to our scheduled tour at Constitution Hall. On our way, however, we crossed paths with this delightfully purple horse and carriage combo, and decided to use our extra time to take that tour, highlighting some of the sites, and taking us through the aptly-named Society Hill.

One highlight was riding past this balcony, where George Washington delivered his 2^nd inaugural address:

Our carriage dropped us off at our hotel, where we still had time to freshen up before going to Constitution Hall, where we were treated to a rather moving presentation on the U.S. Constitution and perused the exhibits upstairs before proceeding to Signers’ Hall, where Thai posed with a statue of James Madison – the President for whom she was named.

We were also able to add our own signature to the Constitution, and Jessica signed us up to get certificates to commemorate the occasion. I haven’t received mine yet, but we’ll see!

Constitution Hall also displayed flags from all 50 states, hanging in the order in which they joined the Union.

We made a point to look for Virginia’s flag, hanging tenth in line. (Delaware was first in 1787, and Pennsylvania, second; Alaska and Hawaii were last to join, in January and August of 1959, respectively.)

Leaving the Constitution Center, we walked to Franklin Square (not to be confused with Franklin Court from earlier), where we stopped to enjoy a snack of French fries and ice cream by the fountain.

And we all rode the carousel, too. Jessica had to act like an adult and ride the bench on the carousel, but Thai and I both loaded up on animals (they weren’t all horses), and enjoyed the ride.

Following our little afternoon stint at the park, we walked to Elfreth’s Alley, “our nation’s oldest residential street,” which has been home to more than 3,000 people since 1702.

Just a few blocks from Elfreth’s Alley sits the home of Betsy Ross, which is unmistakable upon approach:

No photography was allowed inside her home, either, but we enjoyed the brief tour just before the house closed for the day. On our way back to the hotel, I spied this collection of artwork lining the street:

(I’ll save you the headache – it says “You will be least appreciated by those for whom you do the most.”)

The place we tried to go for dinner had closed down permanently, apparently, so we just popped into the nearest sandwich shop we could find (which is not nearly as easy as it sounds) before heading back to the hotel.

We had separate plans for the evening. Friday night was my Josh Ritter concert, and Jessica and Thai had decided to take in the Phillies-Braves game. They had to leave before me, so I got a little time to rest before heading downtown, where I knew I’d be standing up for several hours (and standing in one place is not my best event).

Here are some pics Jessica took at the ball field, where they had a blast:

When it was time for me to go down to South Street, I hailed a cab and mere minutes later, I was seemingly in another world. South Street felt like a cross between SoHo and Nashville’s Honky Tonk District. There were bright lights and colors and people everywhere taking it all in.

I should have given myself a little more time to explore, but I wanted to go ahead and claim a spot at the front of the stage. The show was at the Theater of Living Arts, which was a beautiful venue. This marquee made me so happy!

Dawn Landes (who happens to be married to Josh Ritter) opened the show with her band. She played probably a 45-minute set to kick things off.

After the stage change, it was time for Josh Ritter, and I was so thrilled to be there. The only person more excited than me, I think, was Josh Ritter himself, because he bounded onstage like a kid who’d waited his whole life for the chance to be on stage and finally got it! It was the first night of his tour (in the U.S.), so I thought that might have played a part in his enthusiasm, but after talking to a friend who’s seen him multiple times, I learned that he always comes armed with plenty of gusto!

I was very close to the stage, affording me the chance to snap some pretty decent pictures. One of these days, I am going to get a camera that is actually made to do these sorts of things. In the meantime, it’s just me and my point and shoot.

The set included almost every tune from the newest album, as well as some old favorites, and each song was fantastic. It was cool to hear the crowd singing along, too, especially when the instruments quieted down and you could just hear Josh’s voice over a chorus of hundreds of people. I love being at a show where everyone is invested – they didn’t just drop by with a vague inclination to hear some live music – they came with passion and they knew every word.

Appropriately, when Josh sang “In the Dark,” he had them bring down the stage lights as well as the house lights – all but a few dainty chandeliers, and we all sang quietly together.

The serenity of the soft moments was matched by the fervor of the loud, driving songs, and everyone was into it.

The encore began with a beautiful rendition of “Moon River” before immediately kicking up several notches for “Snow is Gone,” and ended with a sing-along edition of “Wait for Love,” prompting Dawn Landes and her band to join him on-stage to sing along with the audience on the final song.

By the time I made it back to the hotel and showered, it was about 2am. Jessica and Thai were fast asleep and I was still wired with adrenaline. Somehow, I still managed to be the first one awake the next day. Since we were all a bit slow on the upswing Saturday, we ordered room service for breakfast instead of rushing around to get ready and shuffle off to a diner.

Our first stop Saturday was a scheduled tour at Independence Hall. In addition to being a prime historical location, it’s also among the most photogenic of Philadelphia’s buildings.

Our tour was extremely informative, and inspired a bit of wonder even in me, considering the events that took place within those walls.

Jessica was even more star struck, as you can see in her expression here:

Next door to Independence Hall is City Hall:

Having finished our tour there, we set out to see several other places on our list, walking some beautiful grounds along our way.

One such stop was at Carpenter’s Hall, where the men who worked on the Declaration of Independence held secret meetings, dressed as carpenters, so that if the British came around, they would have a logical reason for being together at night. Later, this same spot became home to the Carpenters’ Company, who were, as best I can tell, a bunch of snobs who refused to grant Thomas Jefferson admission into their stupid club.

We also traipsed through some beautiful gardens along our route, and I believe this one is in the English style:

It was around this area that we also encountered this adorable dog, shown here resting while his owner chatted on his cell phone. I wanted to take him with me!

We walked past a few other historical homes, several of which we could not enter, and made our way to Washington Square, which houses the Tomb of the Unknown Revolutionary Soldier. Many unidentified soldiers were buried within the park’s grounds.

The heat was really wearing on us by this time, even though it was barely afternoon. We pressed on to our last two stops: the Declaration Graff House and Edgar Allan Poe’s house, and we found both to be mysteriously closed in the middle of the day on a Saturday. We still haven’t solved that mystery, but we chalked it up to bad luck and instead retired to the hotel for a break from the heat and a little rest before heading out again.

Since we had really blazed a trail through our itinerary, we didn’t feel guilty about laying down for an afternoon nap on Saturday. I think it was refreshing for all of us. I still wasn’t feeling quite up to par, and the heat plus lots of walking is a recipe for exhaustion. Vacation, after all, should include a little rest.

Saturday night, Jessica treated us to dinner at the famous City Tavern, where, among many other historical figures, John Adams liked to go to enjoy “a feast of reason and a flow of soul.” The staff at the Tavern were in period dress, and the menu featured some of Martha Washington’s own best recipes. The table was beautifully set, as well.

Thai made friends with a gentleman who was working the room, keeping in character and entertaining diners with his interaction.

After a hearty dinner (and dessert!), we had tickets to go on a Ghost Tour (Thai’s idea, for sure), so we walked toward the Signer’s Garden to wait for our spooky tour to begin. Of course, we saw some picture-worthy buildings on the way.

Our tour amounted to walking from one place to the next as our guide would lead us, and then she’d stop and tell us about ghostly encounters that had taken place in that particular building or on those grounds. There seems to be a great need for Ghostbusters in Philadelphia.

No one was more enthused by the tour than Thai. She stuck close to the tour guide’s side and hung on her every word.

After our tour, we grabbed some snacks and dragged ourselves back to the hotel once again. We got showered and packed up and got in a good night’s sleep before our travel day on Sunday.

Sunday morning, we had time to go down to the Reading Market Terminal (essentially the community market), where we had breakfast and walked around to find some things to pack up for our “picnic” on the train ride home. Then, we went back to the hotel to collect our bags and head to the train station, homeward bound following a great trip!

Tags: Josh Ritter, Philadelphia
Posted in Music, Travel | No Comments »

May

2010

The Keys to the Kingdom Got Locked Inside the Kingdom

Much has been said of late regarding Facebook’s blatant disregard for the privacy of its users. It’s actually more a blatant disregard of users in general, but we should not be utterly surprised. Big corporations (of which Facebook is one) have grown increasingly complacent regarding customer service, and they are only out for themselves and how much money they can make. And hey – this is America – if you can make money, more power to you, but you can only shaft customers for so long before the well dries up. Right now, despite terrible policies and terrible press, Facebook still has a leg up, because it’s a hub of communication and it’s a little impractical not to participate.

Amidst the buzz about Facebook’s privacy changes, I recognized it as a money-grab and actually kind of evil, but it didn’t raise great personal concern. I am involved in and enjoy social networking, and while Facebook has been an afterthought to me for a while, I would never have put any of my information online in the first place if I was not OK with that information being public. Therefore, all my Facebook settings allowed “Everyone” to see my page – as much of it as they desired. I presume that most of the population could not care less about my hobbies or pictures of my last vacation. However, if someone found my page through a friend or a web search and found it interesting enough to waste time viewing, then I wasn’t going to stop them.

I don’t play Farmville or Mafia Wars (and I don’t understand why anyone WOULD, but obviously they DO), so I was not concerned about third party applications accessing my information. Anytime I see a stupid quiz on my feed or get an invitation to any other such nonsense, I block the applications anyway. And I’ve been pretty selective with the things that I “like” and the groups that I join.

I use Facebook to contact people I do not otherwise interact with, to post the seldom status update (which I guarantee you I merely copied to Facebook from my Twitter), and occasionally to plan an event or post some pictures. Of course, the last few times I tried to post any pictures, that feature was broken, so I haven’t even been able to use that. (I guess that feature doesn’t make Facebook any money, so they’re in no hurry to fix it.) Oh, and my blog does update to Facebook via RSS, for the few people who read it there instead of on the actual website or on a Google Reader, etc.

I generally only go to Facebook in the first place if I get an email notification that someone has messaged me, written on my wall, etc., or to wish someone a “Happy Birthday.” But in these visits over the last several days, I’ve noticed an annoying box popping up, imploring me to officially “Like” all the things that I’ve mentioned in my interests in my profile. I ignored it the first few times (as I make it my policy to ignore all stupid boxes on websites that randomly pop up in my face when I am trying to look at something else), but this morning, I clicked on it just to make it stop getting in my way.

As I suspected, this box wanted me to officially “Like” 57 pages worth of musicians, books, movies, etc. that I had mentioned in my profile. Of course, they also wanted me to “like” things that didn’t even exist, because they were phrases from sentences I had used when talking about the musicians and books and movies that I like. (Is the population so dumbed down that they can’t even read complete sentences in a Facebook profile? If it’s not a clickable link, the general public no longer comprehends it?)

Naturally, I had no desire to turn my Facebook page into one huge advertisement, and I rather enjoy complete sentences, so I wanted to leave my profile as it was. There was no option to do that, however – that would have been much too user-friendly and convenient. So, instead, I went and manually un-checked all 57 boxes, so they wouldn’t turn into links on my profile (a link that would then, therefore, have access to all of my information).

Once I had done that, Facebook quickly prompted me that if I went through with that, I would be deleting all of the information from my profile. So, basically: “Hey, Facebook user – do this our way, swear your allegiance to all of these pages, help us make some advertising dollars, or we’re going to wipe out your thoughtfully crafted profile data.” Well, I certainly wasn’t going to succumb, so I let them wipe it all out. So, my Facebook profile, which is supposed to be a little snapshot of my life, no longer functions as that. There are a few pages linked of some of my favorite musicians, but it’s no longer a complete list. My hobbies, books, etc. are all gone. If you want to know those things about me, I guess you’ll now have to ask me in person. Or get Twitter.

So, I have a message for Facebook, which I have edited for content and language, and now simply reads:

Up yours, you corporate harpies.

I also have a message for MySpace. You were once the hub of social networking, and for my part, I always found your user interface much more enjoyable, and your service to independent musicians was laudable. However, you went down the slippery slope and let the scum of the earth take up residence on your site. Then, you went further down that slope when you felt pressure to keep up with Facebook, and in so doing, adopted all of their most revolting characteristics – namely, those insufferable applications. So, here’s your big moment. If you want to redeem yourself and stop being the butt of jokes, seize upon the moment of Facebook’s arrogant stupidity and do something revolutionary like catering to the consumer. Get rid of the apps, swear to never EVER allow Farmville on your site, get rid of the junk mail and the spammers, and show us you care about little things like user privacy, and we’ll all come flocking back to you, reveling in your music player and the ability to design our own html. Here’s your big chance and you better take it quick.

And then, since MySpace undoubtedly will not listen to me, I have something else to pass along to you, dear readers. The Consumerist (which, as you might have guessed, looks out for the consumers) has been reporting on Facebook’s shenanigans for quite some time. Today, they posted about a new social networking software, set to debut at the end of the summer. Diaspora, as it’s called, is being designed by four programmers at NYU, with the promise of making sure that you own your own data, and you can even host it on your own server (or use theirs, in a similar manner to Wordpress). Before you dismiss it out of hand, it might interest you to know that, as of the time of this posting, they’ve already raised over $100,000 in support of their cause via Kickstarter, more than ten times their goal.

So, go ahead, programmers. Do us proud and stick it to the man. We’re ready and waiting and will support you. Just make sure you stay true to your original oath to your customers, instead of getting all power-hungry and greedy like the whore-mongers of Facebook.

[/rant]

Tags: Corporate Harpies, customer service, Diaspora, Facebook, MySpace, Privacy
Posted in Editorial | No Comments »

May

2010

All That You Can’t Leave Behind

As I write this, there is only one episode remaining in Season 7 of One Tree Hill. However, as the credits rolled following last night’s show, it was quite clear that there are still more stories to tell than can possibly be finished in one solitary episode. And yet, we’re all in a holding pattern, wondering if we’ll see these stories come to fruition, or if, after being faithful to this great show for seven years, its completion will be left to our imaginations.

As I’ve already covered in my last two posts, there are a million reasons to love One Tree Hill, and I don’t think it’s presumptuous in the least to say that The CW Network owes us a season 8 and a proper conclusion befitting the legacy of our show. So far, they’ve avoided giving any clear answers, either afraid of the fallout if they deny our request, or they are enjoying the game a little too much. It disappoints me, but I don’t want to dwell on it here.

As promised, this third and final blog in my “We Are One” series, is to discuss the stories yet untold – the things I would like to see happen in Tree Hill before the show’s ultimate coda. I’d like to hear your ideas as well. So, let’s tell our stories.

“When archaeologists uncover lost civilizations and they unearth their worlds that have long been since been destroyed, you know what they find most often? They find stories, ancient languages, words, inscriptions from people who have been gone for thousands of years, because chances are, like you, they wanted to know, “What’s the point?” And they wanted us to know that they were here, you know? They told their stories, and they tried to make sense of their lives and their worlds and their tragedies. So that’s what we are gonna do.”

Mark Schwahn and the rest of the One Tree Hill writers have given us a lot of stories in seven years. We’ve certainly been dealt some twists and turns along the way – shocking moments we never saw coming, heartwarming scenes that got us a little choked up, and hilarious one-liners that we’ve done our best to work into everyday conversation as often as possible.

But even after seven years, the well hasn’t run dry. One Tree Hill is still telling great stories, and there are many more that haven’t even been touched yet. I have every confidence that, given an appropriate amount of time, the writers and producers of the show will not let us down. We just need a little more time to get to that “happily ever after” conclusion that we deserve. For me, that includes a number of things:

• Dan. I know some people have said that season 4 had a storybook ending. Others point to the finale of season 6 and say it offered the picturesque conclusion we needed. I disagree. Those two seasons didn’t have any splashy cliff-hangers, but that doesn’t mean they were sufficiently wrapped up, either. (Hence why the show has continued!) My reasoning all points back to Dan. While not generally named with the original “Core Five” of the cast, I tend to think that One Tree Hill began with at least SIX key players. Without Dan Scott, there would be no One Tree Hill. And further, without Dan Scott, there can’t be a proper ending. We have seen Dan do a lot of evil, unspeakable things. We have even seen him be kind and vulnerable in unexpected ways. Ultimately, we have seen him reach for redemption and forgiveness, but despite valiant efforts, he’s never grasped it. I do understand that some characters (and some viewers) will never excuse him, no matter what he does. For my part, I would like to see at least two things happen before the show ends. First, before One Tree Hill goes off the air, Dan should finally breathe his last. Bear in mind that I love Dan, so I envision this happening about one episode prior to the series finale. That is the only true closure Dan can have. We know he’s not going to turn into the model of perfection, and he can’t just go back to being evil at this point. But, he can still die in peace. I’d rather like to see him die a hero. And not alone. Nathan has said time and time again that he will never forgive his father, no matter what he does, and despite some pretty spectacular displays of love and support from Dan, Nathan has only barely tolerated him, and even then, it was only in service of Jamie. But as Jamie told Nathan at the beginning of season 7, “I think you’re good enough to forgive him.” I think Dan can accept being ostracized from everyone else’s life, but the rift between him and the son that he raised has tormented him for years. And Nathan, as the veritable hero of the show, has the capacity to heal that breach, even if only so his father can die in peace.

• Brooke. When all the original characters finished pairing up, Brooke got the shaft. Regardless of whether you’re pro-Brucas or pro-Leyton, I hope we can all agree that Brooke certainly deserves to find some happiness. She loved Lucas, but he chose her best friend – a scenario which Brooke (eventually) was able to handle with class and dignity. After that initial heartbreak, what followed was a litany of failed attempts: Felix, Chase, all the Nicks (not the Knicks) of New York City, Owen, to be capped off with a rather tumultuous, on-again, off-again relationship with Julian. I may be in the minority here, but I am not convinced that their love can (or should) stand the test of time. In addition to romantic turmoil, we’ve seen Brooke dream of motherhood since she returned to Tree Hill at the on-set of season five. She took care of Baby Angie long enough to get attached just before having to send her home to her parents. Then, she bravely stepped up and took in Sam – passing up an opportunity to adopt an infant – only for Sam to leave her as well. Now, her dreams have been utterly crushed by the news that she’s infertile, and after so many disappointments, the spark in her eyes has all but died. Now, we know Mark Schwahn to be a sucker for a happy ending, so I have to believe there is one in the cards for Brooke – as long as he has time to tell the story. Now, as I said, I’m not a big advocate of Brulian, and believe Brooke met her soulmate in season five. Remember the sweet and adorable Dr. Ethan Copeland? The one who operated on Baby Angie? Yep. Him. There were sparks flying between Brooke and the good doctor, but every time they had a nice moment together, along came Lucas to mess it up. So, if Brooke could run into him on the street somewhere, I have a feeling they would finally hit it off, and chances are, he either knows a few fertility specialists through his work, or he’d be more than happy to adopt a lot of Baby Angies with Brooke.

• Whitey. I love Whitey. He added so much heart to the first four seasons of One Tree Hill, being essentially the father that Lucas and Nathan never had, and offering his sage wisdom (and crotchety attitude) to any and everyone that needed a little bit of guidance. I squealed with joy when he appeared for the flashback episode in season five, and again at the end of season six, wherein I cried like a baby to see him offer encouragement and a loving embrace to perhaps his most bitter enemy. We have not seen anything of Whitey this season, but I would dearly like to see him again before the show ends. In my mind, he certainly must visit Nathan, Haley, and Jamie from time to time. I can’t imagine he made such a tremendous impact on Nathan’s life (and career) only to disappear into oblivion and not keep in touch. The scene at the end of season 6 supports my theory, and I would be over the moon to see Whitey show up for at least one family dinner at the Scott House. Can you imagine the epic cuteness of a scene between Whitey and Jamie? I must see that. And I would not be even remotely opposed to seeing more of Whitey and Dan. Perhaps Whitey could help with that Dan/Nathan reconciliation I mentioned earlier.

• Nathan and Haley. Aside from one or two *slightly* cheesy lines in the course of seven years, I have zero complaints regarding the way my favorite couple has been written. I was hooked on them from the very beginning, and their stories have never disappointed me. There is no other couple in TV, movies, or literature that I enjoy more. (Darcy and Elizabeth are a distant second.) All that being said, I obviously think they should stay together all the way to the end (and it would be preposterous if they didn’t, so I don’t really have any worries there). But the one thing my Naley-loving heart desires is another baby. They got their son, so taking what Nathan said to Haley in “The Desperate Kingdom of Love,” they’re still due “a little girl, just like you [Haley].” And I want to see it happen! They can even throw in some cheesy lines (“Now I know why they call it true love”) and I swear, I won’t even wince. Plus, given the present state of season 7, One Tree Hill simply cannot end with Haley in the midst of (or even beginning to recover from) a very dark and serious depression. It’s a great storyline, but it’s not the stuff of “happily ever after.”

• Lucas and Peyton. Now, I know what you’re going to say, because I’m usually the one saying it: they’re not coming back. And hey – you know what – I can accept that. But if One Tree Hill got (at least) one more season, I figure that only increases the odds that they might be willing to make a guest appearance in the eventual series finale, which would be a nice nod to the fans that have been around since day one. (And the Leyton fans would be ecstatic, obviously.)

• Chris Keller. I had a fierce hatred for Chris Keller for obvious reasons, but darn if he wasn’t just so funny that he grew on me after all. Plus, Tyler Hilton is fantastic. And – it just so happens that when last I saw him, he said he’d love to come back to One Tree Hill for a series finale. So, there must be a way to let this fellow drop by Tree Hill. He and Nathan were almost kinda sorta friends the last time we saw Chris in season 4, so I see no potential problems there. And wouldn’t it be hilarious and awesome if Chris Keller returned to town on the arm of the love of his life, and let’s say her name is Taylor James. Oh, that’s what you call a win-win, folks.

• Levi Weaver. Now, I suppose none of you remember that character. Which makes sense, since there never was any such character in Tree Hill. Rather, Levi Weaver is a musician – a darn good one, whose songs would go so nicely with the always-fantastic One Tree Hill soundtrack, and come to think of it, the man himself would probably look pretty well at home on the set of Red Bedroom Records. One Tree Hill has done some great things for independent artists and acts that deserve a second look. The integration of Mike Grubbs in season 7 to launch the extremely noteworthy music of Wakey!Wakey! is only one example. One Tree Hill has changed the lives of a lot of musicians by giving them an avenue to get their music out there to the public. Radio simply doesn’t do that anymore – it’s TV’s arena, and One Tree Hill does it best. And for an independent musician like Levi Weaver, a song placement in a TV show with two million plus viewers can make a huge difference in a career – and in whether he can afford to keep making brilliant music. I am constantly awed by the song placements on One Tree Hill (Lindsay Wolfington is a genius, by the way), so I don’t suggest this lightly. I hear Levi Weaver’s “We’re Tornadoes When We Dance,” and I think of Nathan and Haley. “Drink, Drink, Drink” is reminiscent of Dan Scott – did I mention I love Dan Scott? And “You Are Home” – well, that kind of fits the show as a whole, doesn’t it? “Oh, you are home. And no matter where I go, you’re in my bones. And no matter where I sleep, I never rest outside the place I keep my soul.” So, yes. This is my wish list, and it absolutely includes hearing a song by my all-time favorite artist playing through the coda of my all-time favorite show.

I could go on and name a million different storylines, but then this blog would never end. And I’ll leave the writing to Mark Schwahn, since the last 7 years of stories have come from him, and I haven’t been disappointed yet. Still, I’d like to hear your ideas in the comments. What stories are important to you? And what do you need to see before you’ll feel like One Tree Hill is complete? Here’s hoping that we get to see all those stories play out on our TV screens, and we get all the things we wished for.

To The CW, I’d like to reiterate another relevant One Tree Hill quote:

“Regret comes in all shapes and sizes. Some are small, like when we do a bad thing for a good reason. Some are bigger, like when we let down a friend. Some of us escape the pains of regret by making the right choice. Some of us have little time for regret, because we’re looking forward to the future. Sometimes we have to fight to come to terms with the past. And sometimes we bury our regret, by promising to change our ways. But our biggest regrets are not for the things we did… but the things we didn’t do.”

Don’t let canceling One Tree Hill be your biggest regret. And don’t let it be ours, either.

Tags: Levi Weaver, Mark Schwahn, One Tree Hill, The CW, Tyler Hilton, We Are One
Posted in Editorial, Music | 2 Comments »

May

2010

You’re Gonna Need Someone On Your Side

“You know, it’s been said that we just don’t recognize the significant moments of our lives while they are happening. We grow complacent with ideas or things or people and we take them for granted. And it’s usually not until that thing is about to be taken away from you that you realize how wrong you’ve been – that you realize how much you need it, how much you love it. God, I love this game.”

I love this show. I assume you do, too, and that’s why you’re here. I must say that I was humbled and honored by the outpouring of support from One Tree Hill fans regarding my last blog, pleading with the CW to give us a season 8. In fact, your support has compelled me to be a little more forthright about my motives for saving this show in the first place.

There are not a lot of things I’m willing to campaign for, but when I find something I’m passionate about, it’s impossible for me not to share that. If I find a good thing, I want others to find it, too. Usually, I’ll dispense music suggestions to anyone who will listen, but I have thrown myself into promoting One Tree Hill with a similar tenacity.

Of course, music and One Tree Hill go hand in hand quite nicely, which may explain why I’ve been able to relate to it so strongly. The writing is truly fantastic. The stories are compelling. But there is something about One Tree Hill that can’t be put into words, and something that can only be grasped by watching it – One Tree Hill has heart.

The truth is, I’ve only been watching One Tree Hill for about two years. I have no TV reception in my apartment – not a single, solitary channel – and no internet, either (I am typing this from my office after everyone else is long gone). But, I do have Netflix and a DVD player. So, when I wanted a show to watch, I remembered hearing how great One Tree Hill was, and I knew that Bethany Joy Lenz (now Galeotti) was in it. I was familiar with her prior work and thought she was amazing, so armed with that information and little else, I slipped the first disc of season one into my DVD player.

By episode 3 (“Are You True?”), I was completely hooked. When I finished season one – and after picking my jaw up off of the floor – I remember saying aloud, “And that was only the FIRST SEASON!” While watching season 2, Netflix accidently sent my discs out of order. I had a good system going, where every day I put a disc in the mail, and every day I got a new one. So, when I logged in to my account and saw that I was getting disc 5 before disc 4, I freaked and called customer service. That poor guy who answered the phone – I had to wonder how many people called him daily saying things like, “But you don’t UNDERSTAND! What am I supposed to do tonight?” My co-worker, Kelli, who has since started watching One Tree Hill as well, took pity on me and found somewhere online where I could watch the disc 4 episodes with Japanese subtitles, and sound that didn’t match up with the picture. Still, I was elated and stayed at work until past 10:00 watching them online. Then, I went home and watched disc 5 that was in my mailbox. The next day, I ordered all the seasons online.

Beyond sheer enjoyment of the show, there was something else at work. I was really struggling, personally – not in any way that I could explain even if I wanted to, but there were nights that I was so racked with anxiety that I couldn’t even fall asleep. But I discovered that if I visited Tree Hill for a while, I could ease the tension, calm down, and fall asleep. That method still works on a bad day, or even on a good day when I just want to relax. In sharing that, I know I am telling many other stories besides my own. I have heard a lot of fans attest that One Tree Hill has seen them through some difficult times, and I dare say there are not many (if any) other shows that can do that. So to Mark Schwahn, show creator, Lindsay Wolfington, music supervisor, and every single producer, director, writer, actor, and crew member involved in making this show, allow me to say: “Your art matters. It’s what got me here.”

OTH Cast – “Feeling a Moment”

“Most of our lives are a series of images; they pass us by like towns on a highway. But sometimes, a moment stuns us as it happens and we know that this instant is more than a fleeting image. We know that this moment, every part of it, will live on forever.”

There is plenty to love about One Tree Hill, and I’m sure every fan has his or her own set of favorites. I am hoping you will all share your own in the comments below. For my part, nothing beats Nathan and Haley. “Always and forever.”

Fictional characters on TV and in movies sure spend a lot of time talking about “always” and “forever,” but very few of them actually follow through with it. And while I am a little too cynical about love in general, it’s really only because I want it to be great, and I see too many people settling for less. I, meanwhile, have always been a sucker for a fairy tale: Ariel and Eric, Darcy and Elizabeth, Nathan and Haley. But the thing I love about Nathan and Haley is how imperfect they are. Most of the time, we go to a movie or read a book and see a couple struggling through their dating relationship, and they finally make it to the altar just before the credits roll with music that leaves us with that “happily ever after” feeling. With Nathan and Haley, however, we saw them as the unlikely pair that fell in love, and then they were married by the end of season one – at the ripe old age of sixteen, no less. So the six seasons since have shown them making huge mistakes and hurting each other, but deciding through everything that their marriage comes first, and the more problems they face, the more love they need to have to get through it. “And, that’s what true love really is. It’s not this fairytale life that never knows pain, but it’s two souls facing it together and diminishing it with unconditional love.”

Nathan and Haley – “Brand New Day”

Coming in at number two on my “Why I love One Tree Hill” list is Dan Scott. I love him and I hate him and that is what makes compelling drama. He is also the master of one-liners that make me chuckle like a supervillain. Dan Scott is, after all, the most lovable villain in entertainment history. TV.com recently did an interview with James Lafferty, wherein he confessed Dan Scott to be his favorite One Tree Hill character:

Dan Scott, hands down….Paul Johansson has just masterfully performed [the role of Dan]. When he comes on the screen, I’m glued because of the way he plays that character. There are so many different colors of Dan Scott. And [he's] written so well, first of all. That’s where it starts. Then you’ve got somebody like Paul Johansson who can execute it so well. Not everybody can play such a villain and, at the same time, get the audience to care for them. To emotionally invest in them. It blows my mind. I love Paul as an actor and a director and a friend, and I love the way he plays that role.

I completely agree with that assessment, and I am definitely “emotionally invested” in Dan Scott. At the very beginning, he was just so overwhelmingly cold-hearted and mean that it was hard to see anything else. But I remember the moment when that changed. In the season one episode titled “The Living Years,” Nathan goes to the beach house to tell Dan that he isn’t sure that he wants to play basketball anymore, and wonders if the problems in his family all center around him – if, in fact, Dan should have chosen Lucas instead of him. Then, with Ryan Adams’ “The Shadowlands” playing in the background, Dan gets teary-eyed and says, “Nathan, you have to know, whatever you do, whatever you decide, you’re my son, and I am proud of you. I love you.” And, oh boy, did I cry. I mean, if the devil himself says “I love you” and means it, that’s a moment when it is OK to cry. And since then, anytime Dan is the least bit earnest or kind – and heaven help me if he is sad – I am ready to climb in my TV, give him a hug, and tell him it’s all going to be OK. Not bad for a murderer. And don’t even get me started on “Grandpa Dan.”

We’d be here all day and into next week if I tried to list every single thing I love about this show, so this will not be an exhaustive list. But I would be remiss if I didn’t mention how much I enjoy the relationships on One Tree Hill. And by relationships – I don’t necessarily mean romantic ones. In fact, other than Nathan and Haley, I have never gotten extremely invested in any Tree Hill romance. Sure, I like some more than others, but I prefer the family relationships: the volatile connection between Dan, Nathan, and Lucas; the loving connection between Karen, Keith and Lucas; and certainly the father/son bond that Nathan shares with Jamie, in spite of his own messy childhood.

Then there are a whole host of friendships – “Real friends…the kind of friendships we used to believe in” – that have always carried the characters through the toughest of times: Lucas and Haley, Haley and Brooke, Brooke and Peyton, Peyton and Nathan, Nathan and Clay, the James sisters, and the list goes on and on.

OTH Cast – “You Found Me”

“This all means nothing if you can’t knock down the shot.”

My favorite friendship, though, is the one that developed between Nathan and Lucas, as they built a bond as brothers that will last forever. After all, One Tree Hill was originally a story about these two brothers who were at best, strangers, and at worst, bitter enemies. And yet, through their mutual passion for basketball and their love of the same woman (albeit not the same kind of love), they learned to be brothers and best friends. They also had their ups and downs along the way, but I believe their relationship was cemented in the finale of season four. That is not to say that they wouldn’t face any struggles (as obviously they have since then), but that no matter what happened, they would remain brothers first and foremost.

When that chapter of One Tree Hill came to a close at the end of high school, there seemed to be few options: either cancel the show or concoct ridiculous storylines to send all the principal characters to the same college, and present “One Tree Hill: The College Years.” Everybody knows that the college years never pan out for “teen dramas,” and it would have been such a shame to walk away from a good thing. So, once again, One Tree Hill reinvented the wheel and stepped forward in time, skipping college altogether and reuniting its now-adult characters back in Tree Hill four years, six months, and two days later. It was a bold and risky move, but it paid off by revitalizing the show and giving each character new obstacles to face and new people to meet.

With the end of season six, we saw another chapter come to a close with the exit of original characters Lucas and Peyton (Chad Michael Murray and Hilarie Burton), which was met with some opposition from longtime fans of the show. Now, I do not want the comments section on this blog to break out into a brawl, Brooke-and-Peyton-Prom-Night-at-Hater-High-style. However, I would like to explain why I am OK with those departures, and still see a bright future for One Tree Hill. Namely, Lucas and Peyton got their “happily ever after” story and literally rode off into the sunset. I don’t have any trouble believing or understanding that they would want to go and sail the world with Karen, Andy, and Lily. Yes, I am sure that Peyton misses Brooke, and Lucas misses Haley and Nathan and Jamie, but no more than Lucas had surely been missing his mother during the years they had spent apart, or being able to watch Lily grow up. Characters aside, sometimes actors move on and do other things, and sometimes a story ends and the writers see fit to wrap it up and move on. Whatever combination of those things (or maybe something else entirely) that happened in this case, we have no further control over it.

However, we may still have some control over whether the current One Tree Hill gets to have an 8th season. I can only imagine how disappointed I would be if Nathan and Haley were the ones gone instead of Lucas and Peyton, but I would like to believe that I’d still support the show that gave me those characters and so many other storylines that moved me through the years. Some “Leyton” fans haven’t been watching season 7, and I’d say they’ve missed out on a lot of great new characters and storylines featuring the old and the new. However, because One Tree Hill is such a compelling show, many of you who name Lucas and Peyton as your favorite characters have stuck with season 7 and been rewarded by a lot of excellent storylines.

Season Seven – “I and Love and You”

OTH Cast – “All the Right Moves”

My favorite season 7 moment so far (aside from Nathan Scott putting Jake Ryan to shame) came when Bess Armstrong reprised her role as Haley’s Mom, Lydia James. It was a quiet, bittersweet exchange between Nathan and an ailing Lydia, wherein we saw the bond that had obviously developed between them during Nathan and Haley’s almost nine years of marriage:

Lydia: You’re taking good care of my daughter. I remember the day you came to ask our permission to marry her. You were so nervous. But I looked into your eyes and I just knew.
Nathan: What did you know?
Lydia: That you were gonna change my daughter’s life. And I was right.
Nathan: You are responsible for raising the woman who changed my entire world. I’ll never forget that, Lydia. Thank you for saying yes.

So, no matter your favorite character or couple or your stance on this season, we are all fans of One Tree Hill. And if I could impart a little wisdom from Nathan Scott, “I wear that uniform just like they do, so it doesn’t matter if I’m playing or not, it’s still my team. We win as a team and we lose as a team.” So, whether are not your favorite couple is on the proverbial court this season, One Tree Hill is still your show, and you’re still a part of it. So I think we should focus on the ways in which we share a similar passion for this show, and consider how we want One Tree Hill to be remembered – not as a show that was cut off mid-story, but one with a lasting legacy that we can all share. With that in mind, please share your favorite moments, quotes, actors, directors, characters, or songs from One Tree Hill in the comments below. And don’t forget to tune in tonight!

“There is a tide in the affairs of men, which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune. Omitted, all the voyage of their life is bound up in sorrows and in miseries. On such a full sea are we now afloat, and we must take the current when it serves or lose our ventures.”

On the next blog, I’ll throw out some ideas on things I’d like to see happen before One Tree Hill goes off the air for good, whether that’s at the end of season 8 or the end of season 18. (The end of season 7 is simply not an option.)

In the meantime, I’d like to send out special thanks to the folks over at One Tree Hill Blog, who posted several of the videos shown here to help us get through the hiatus. (I would also like someone to explain to me how you do it! I think I could manage to compile the video, as I’ve done some of the photo slideshows with music for weddings and the like, but where do you get all those clips?)

Here are a few other videos that I didn’t embed in the post above, but that I thought you might enjoy seeing:

Tik Tok (OTH Cast)

Things I’ll Never Say (Brucas)

The Best Years of Our Lives (Leyton)

The Freshmen (OTH Cast)

One Last Chance (Naley)

Missing You (Naley circa Season 2)

P.S. – The rudimentary Photoshop art came from me, so be gentle.

Tags: One Tree Hill, OTH, The CW, We Are One
Posted in Editorial | 9 Comments »

Apr

2010

The Show Must Go On

After two months on hiatus without even reruns to keep us company, One Tree Hill has returned to The CW to air its final four episodes of season 7, and fans are left wondering if those will also be the final four episodes of the series.

One Tree Hill began in 2003 as a “teen drama” focused on the lives of five teenagers, but more specifically on the relationship – or the lack thereof – between half-brothers Nathan and Lucas Scott.

Despite the stigma surrounding “teen shows,” One Tree Hill has always managed to appeal to a broader audience by incorporating strong and intriguing adult characters, and spending time on family dynamics instead of trying to produce endless scandals to satiate the teen set.

One Tree Hill has always been a show with a lot of heart, explaining why its fans are among the most loyal in all of television. Show creator Mark Schwahn and the other writers deserve credit for the compelling drama, managing to offer storylines that haven’t been done (and redone!) before. The writing on One Tree Hill has been enhanced by the use of classic literary voiceovers and a quality soundtrack unparalleled in television.

But even though One Tree Hill has enjoyed seven years of success, and the actors, cast, and crew are already signed on and enthusiastic about making an eighth season, The CW has yet to issue an official renewal for one of their most successful shows.

The obvious question is “Why?” and the obvious answer is money. After all, seven years of success equals a hefty production cost, and comes with a price tag that The CW doesn’t seem to want to pay. However, you get what you pay for, and the CW gets a great return on its investment in One Tree Hill.

Quality programming is disappearing from the airwaves at an unprecedented rate thanks to reality TV, which happens to be the cheapest medium to produce (along with game shows). Scripted dramas cost more money, because they feature actors and writers who must be paid for their contributions.

In the same vein, younger shows with inexperienced casts (like The CW’s 90210, for example) come cheap because the actors are in first-time roles and haven’t earned the salary of a seven-year veteran actress like One Tree Hill’s Sophia Bush.

This might serve to illuminate The CW’s decision to grant renewals to shows like America’s Next Top Model, 90210, and Gossip Girl, while leaving One Tree Hill in limbo.

However, when you look at the numbers, there is still a disconnect in that logic. Cheaper production costs is one thing, but ratings still matter, right? When advertisers see big numbers tuning into a show, they’re more willing to shell out money to air commercials during that show, or pay for product placements to be used within the show.

Gossip Girl is The CW’s darling because critics took an initial interest in the show and everybody was talking about it. The CW has promoted Gossip Girl relentlessly in every possible avenue. They even incorporated mentions of Gossip Girl into episodes of One Tree Hill! Why would they do that? Because One Tree Hill, without the articles and the interviews and the attention of Gossip Girl, still managed to pull in significantly higher ratings. In fact, One Tree Hill’s LOWEST rated seasons match Gossip Girl’s HIGHEST rated seasons. Something seems a little backwards there, right?

Then, consider The CW’s remake of 90210. Its series high ratings were from early in the first season – 5.14 million viewers. People who loved the original 90210 tuned in to see if the new one would match the original. Unfortunately for The CW, those ratings quickly went into a freefall and settled in to around two million, with one episode as low as 1.48 million. Still, 90210 got an early renewal from The CW, because even though their ratings are in the tank, it still costs very little to produce and has struck the interest of the teen set.

The only CW shows yet to see renewal are One Tree Hill and the freshman drama, Life Unexpected. I have heard that it’s a good show – something with a little more substance than 90210 or Gossip Girl, at least. In order to create an audience for the show, The CW put it on the air initially right after One Tree Hill and marketed the new drama to One Tree Hill’s loyal fans. Then, they sent One Tree Hill on hiatus for two months and put Life Unexpected in its time slot, so that viewers used to tuning in on Mondays at 8pm would naturally watch Life Unexpected instead. I might not have minded the bait and switch quite as much were it not for the fact that The CW left these two shows hanging, in seeming competition for the sole remaining time slot on their fall docket. Did they think that One Tree Hill fans would just forget about their show of 7 years and accept a premature cancellation in exchange for a new show that’s only aired for half a season?

After The CW renewed all their shows but One Tree Hill and Life Unexpected (besides the obviously-over Melrose Place), polls started popping up online asking fans to decide which show should be saved. I can’t imagine the results surprised anyone: fans wanted BOTH shows to stay, but having to choose only one, One Tree Hill was the obvious winner.

Oops. I guess The CW should have weighed its options a little better before offering up early renewals for shows with dwindling audiences before considering that it might be in their best interest to keep both One Tree Hill and Life Unexpected around for another full season. (Life Unexpected, by the way, is pulling in higher ratings than 90210 or Gossip Girl, but still about half a million viewers lower than One Tree Hill.)

Further proof regarding One Tree Hill’s viability came in the form of E!Online’s Save One Show Campaign, wherein fans vote to save one “bubble show,” and the winner gets a big push in the press. Nineteen shows were in the running this year, but it came down to a top five including: One Tree Hill, Life Unexpected, Chuck, Better off Ted, and Parenthood. Twitter support brought Heroes back into the running for the final vote, as well. During the campaign, E!News decided to champion Chuck and lend that show some extra support to drum up votes. The Daily 10, meanwhile, threw their support behind Life Unexpected. The rest of the shows were on their own. Still, when the votes were tallied on the official poll and on Twitter, the results broke down like so:

Official Poll:

Chuck – 52% of the vote
One Tree Hill – 20% of the vote
Life Unexpected – 11% of the vote
Heroes – 8% of the vote
Better off Ted – 5% of the vote
Parenthood – 4% of the vote

Twitter Mentions:

Heroes – 36%
One Tree Hill – 32%
Chuck – 28%
Life Unexpected – 2%
Parenthood – 1%
Better off Ted – 1%

Combining the two lists, the obvious top three are: Chuck, One Tree Hill, and Heroes. You’ll notice that One Tree Hill came in second place for votes as well as Twitter mentions. What may not jump out at you right away, though, is that both Chuck and Heroes air on NBC – one of the “Big Three” networks. And while The CW is now considered a network (and is owned by CBS), they do not bring in ratings comparable to the big three. So, Chuck has 6.5 million viewers, and Heroes, once a ratings powerhouse, now brings in about 4 million viewers. Conversely, One Tree Hill’s success in the poll came from its 2.5 million viewers – 4 million less than winner, Chuck. Also of note: One Tree Hill was on hiatus (and had been on hiatus for over a month) when this campaign began. So, One Tree Hill had significantly less viewers, and was effectively “out of sight, out of mind,” but STILL managed to come in second place in both polls.

If I were a CW executive, I would take those numbers straight to my advertisers and point out that while One Tree Hill has a smaller audience by comparison, the fans are obviously devoted to the show, passionate, and involved in social networking – in other words, a marketing dream for advertisers hoping to push products on viewers. (Raise your hand if you watch One Tree Hill and you’ve ever bought Sunkist!)

In case The CW needed any more proof that One Tree Hill fans are a force to be reckoned with, the fans have been busy campaigning for Season 8. Christy-Anne, over at One Tree Hill Bugs, accepted fan donations to mail out uniform postcards on behalf of each fan who wanted to express their support to the network:

Meanwhile, fans took it upon themselves to start their own show-specific mailing campaign by sending thousands of basketballs to The CW, like Ali’s below:

The bottom line is this. One Tree Hill has devoted fans who have stuck with this show for 7 years, through a major network change (from the WB to the CW between seasons three and four), numerous schedule changes, a four and a half year time jump, and even the loss of two original cast members after season six. Any one of these things can cripple or end a show, but One Tree Hill has continued moving forward seamlessly, rewriting the playbook at every turn.

These fans, along with the creator, cast, and crew of One Tree Hill, deserve to see their show get its “happily ever after” ending – not to be dropped in the middle of developing storylines. When it is time for One Tree Hill to end, fans should know about it before the last season even begins, so that the writers have time to give it the sendoff we have all earned.

“No matter where you go, or who you become, this place will always be with you. There is only one Tree Hill. And it’s your home.” – Karen Roe, “The Games That Play Us.”

Along with emailing The CW and voting in the various online polls, I’ve decided to lend my voice to the show I love via this blog. So, if you’re a regular reader who doesn’t watch One Tree Hill, then I would first suggest adding season 1 to your Netflix queue post-haste, and second, bear with me as I have two more installments on the way. I first wanted to address why The CW should keep One Tree Hill from a business standpoint. In Part II, we can reminisce about why we love this show in the first place, and in Part III, discuss what we’d like to see happen before One Tree Hill eventually leaves the air.

Tags: One Tree Hill, The CW, We Are One Campaign
Posted in Editorial | 33 Comments »

Apr

2010

Farewell to the City and the Love of My Life

Seven years ago, I made my first trip to New York City when I was invited by some friends to attend the As the World Turns fan club luncheon with them. I wasn’t much of a traveler back then, but these gals bought me a ticket and begged me to join them, so I threw caution to the wind and headed north.

Since then, I have been to New York almost fifteen different times, and every time, I seem to love it just a little bit more, and find myself feeling more and more at home. This past weekend, I attended the final As the World Turns luncheon, saying “goodbye” to a show I’ve watched for a quarter of a century before it leaves the airwaves in September. (I bid a similar adieu to Guiding Light last October.) That made this trip feel like a farewell in many ways. For starters, these fan events have been the catalyst for my regular NYC trips for seven years, leaving me to wonder when I’ll visit the Big Apple again. In the larger sense, though, this trip carried the weight of the realization that I would be saying goodbye to some people that I may actually never see again, which is as appalling as it sounds.

Still, even with a bittersweet tinge marking this trip, I had a glorious time sharing the experience with dear friends.

My best friend, Jessica, along with her 8-year-old daughter, Thai, accompanied me on this trip. They had been planning one of their own, and we decided to lump our trips together in the interest of finances and fun. We set out for NYC on Friday morning, by way of a JetBlue flight from RIC to JFK. We made it into midtown Manhattan just after noon, dropped our bags off in the room, and set out on our first adventure to the Statue of Liberty.

First, we stopped by a street vendor for some hot dogs. I tend not to eat hot dogs, and I REALLY tend not to eat food that: was cooked outside, is currently outside, or is sold in a building where you can also buy motor oil. That being said, I hadn’t eaten since lunch the day before, so I actually took a bite of one of Thai’s hot dogs – a New York City first for me. Jessica even had to ask for clarification, because she thought she was seeing things. (Later in the weekend, I took THREE bites of a pretzel from a food cart. I’m a wild woman, I tell you!)

Eating on the run like true New Yorkers, we headed for the Subway station to ride downtown. Thai enjoyed the experience immensely; first, for all the germ-laden surfaces she could touch immediately before adjusting the gum in her mouth; second, for trying to stand up while the subway was moving. Luckily, she stayed within catching distance.

Possibly due to the foggy skies or chilly weather, the ferry line for the Statue of Liberty was very short. We breezed right through security and braved the wind atop the boat for optimum views en route to Liberty Island.

This was my first time actually going over to Liberty Island. Previously, I have opted to ride the (free!) Staten Island Ferry to simply get a good view of the statue, but it is a nice experience to actually go over to the statue at least once.

When we returned to Battery Park, we hopped back on the subway and rode up to visit one of my favorite locations, Old St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Little Italy. I’ve been to Riverside Church on the Upper West Side and to Trinity at Wall Street, and while I suppose those are larger and more celebrated, they still do not outdo this place in my mind.

After leaving the cathedral, we proceeded to another hallowed location: Pinkberry.

I got a mix of plain and pomegranate yogurt and topped it off with strawberries, kiwi, and blackberries, pictured here in all its glory. Jessica and Thai both got chocolate yogurt with strawberries and fruity pebbles, and while they were enamored with the taste, it was the nastiest looking cup of stuff I have ever seen, so I will not be sharing those pictures.

When we left Pinkberry, we proceeded to walk through Little Italy and head down to Chinatown. Thai has a reading assignment coming up at school about Chinatown, so her teacher suggested taking her down there so she could report back to the class about what she saw. She was not overly excited about the prospect of doing something school-related on our trip, and she seemed even less interested in walking the necessary blocks. In fact, having seen enough of Chinatown to satisfy Thai’s teacher, we discovered Thai’s favorite New York City attraction – the taxi cab.

We took the cab to a place called S’Mac, which serves only macaroni and cheese – in other words, my mecca. The menu featured many different varieties, or you could build your own, and I didn’t even recognize all the cheeses listed. While my mind boggled at the possibilities, Jessica ordered a regular mac and cheese for Thai and cheeseburger macaroni for herself (pictured). I settled on the Four Cheese with Bacon.

That’s when things got interesting. We were seated at a table near the kitchen, and Jessica and Thai’s order came up first. The delay seemed longer than necessary between the arrival of their orders and mine, but I attributed that to my overwhelming hunger at that point. When my piping hot skillet arrived, I quickly grabbed a fork and dug in, but while I was still blowing on the first bite to cool it down, an older lady seated by the window got up, crossed the restaurant, and stole my skillet of mac and cheese right from under my nose (and my dangling fork that still held a bite full). I was in shock, and the waitress came over and explained that I had gotten that lady’s food and she got mine. She then asked if I wanted the skillet she was holding (which had come from the other lady’s table, as evidenced by the blanket of pepper on top and the gaping hole in the side where she had taken her first bite). I declined that generous offer and said I would wait for a new skillet. In the meantime, I finally ate the bite that was on my fork, which is probably the best bite of macaroni and cheese I have ever tasted. Only a few moments passed before the waitress returned and offered me a “new” skillet – still oddly covered with pepper and caved in on one side. This time, Jessica flagged the waitress down and pointed out that this skillet didn’t have bacon in it, which I had overlooked due to sheer astonishment and disbelief. What I really wanted to do was go punch that other lady in the face and take my skillet back with the magically delicious mac and cheese. I couldn’t do that, anyway, because after STEALING my food from me, she took one bite and then brought it back up to the counter and told them it was cold and she needed another. Unbelievable. I did eventually get my order, two bites into which, Thai asked if we were ready to leave. *blink*

After our candid camera experience in fine dining, we proceeded uptown to The Metropolitan Museum of Art, aka “The Met.” Jessica loves all things historical, and Thai seems to have picked up on the gene, so while they ooh’d and ahh’d over various old pieces of pottery and stone busts of various old dead people, I simply looked around for pretty stuff to photograph:

Given our early morning wake up time and our long day of travel, we were ready to head back to the hotel fairly early (by New York standards). We did linger around Times Square and let Thai take in all of the lights before passing out in the hotel.

On Saturday, our itineraries went two separate ways. Jessica and Thai went off on their own to take in the Empire State Building, the Museum of Natural History, and the Hayden Planetarium. They also did a little napping and a little shopping, which were NOT on the itinerary. Bloody insurrectionists.

Meanwhile, my friend Christina came in from Staten Island, and Terri flew in from South Carolina, and together, we went down to the ballroom (in our hotel) for the As the World Turns luncheon.

Having procured a script from the final episode of Guiding Light at the luncheon in October, I entered the raffle for an As the World Turns script as well. (The final episode hasn’t been filmed yet, so that script obviously wasn’t available.) I did end up winning one of the scripts, which will be quite welcome in my collection. After lunch, we were off to the meet and greet lines, and while I made the rounds, I figured I’d just post a few highlights.

First, this fellow from France, whose name I have already forgotten, was in NYC with his parents, who had flown him over for his birthday so he could attend the luncheon for the first time. As the World Turns, he said, is his favorite show. Here he is sporting an autograph from Eric Sheffer Stevens.

Since this was the final luncheon, several actors returned to see the fans even if they hadn’t been on the show in years. One of my old favorites, Peter Parros, was on hand and told me about his company, Ten Talents Productions, which produces comic books and a cartoon aimed at ministering to children. Another familiar face back to visit was Jon Prescott (pictured), who was only on ATWT for a short time, but made such a great impression on me years ago that I had to go and say hello to him again.

On the list of the most talented people I have ever had the pleasure to meet is Tom Pelphrey, and he was also on hand to greet the fans, even though he wrapped filming on ATWT months ago. His line was one of the most popular at the luncheon, and certainly with me. I cannot say enough good things about his acting (the man can make a simple play reading riveting) and he has one of those infectious personalities that is a joy to be around. The incredible success that he has had during his very short career so far tells me that the whole world will know his name one day.

On the topic of talented youngsters, let’s go even younger (I’m a cougar now, apparently) and mention Mick Hazen, who seemed like such a little boy just a few years ago, and suddenly he turned 17 and shot up to six feet, three inches tall! More importantly, he’s a wonderful actor, and I think we’ll be seeing a lot more of him after college. No matter how tall he gets, he’ll always be sweet little Parker Munson Snyder to me. I resisted the urge to pinch his cheeks like an old lady.

After the luncheon, I walked over to Latitude Bar & Grill to participate in another grand tradition: Martinis With Henry. I was fortunate enough to be present when this tradition was born, and it has grown to a much bigger group over the years. Trent Dawson (the “Henry” of Martinis with Henry) has always and will always hold a very special place in my heart. I hope my next trip to NYC will be to see him tearing it up on Broadway.

After reuniting our group at the hotel, we headed out once again to visit the Top of the Rock. Great view and that light room is fantastic.

Afterward, we walked across the street to Rockefeller Center so Thai could check out the ice skating rink.

By then, it was time for me to part ways again so that I could head down to the Lower East Side to see Matthew Perryman Jones play at Rockwood Music Hall. I was a little tentative about hopping on a subway alone and going to a part of New York I was entirely unfamiliar with at 10:00 at night, but the inducement was strong enough, and partly I just wanted to prove to myself that I could do it.

When I made it down to 2^nd Avenue, and walked up the stairs out of the subway station toward the street lights and graffiti, I almost ran smack into Jon Prescott. We laughed at the coincidence – New York City is such a big place in a very small world. He remembered from our earlier conversation that I was headed to the show, so he pointed me in the right direction. I found the line of people waiting to go inside the Rockwood and waited with them for a few minutes. The act before was finishing up, and when he did, enough people exited the hall to allow those of us on the street to get inside. I found a seat at a table against the wall (I don’t like standing in the midst of a big crowd), and shortly my table was filled with strangers, all there for the same reason as me. The guy next to me initiated conversation, and it took only minutes for us to discover that we had a lot of common musical interests. Then, no one could shut us up! We talked in detail about Derek Webb and Caedmon’s Call (whose drummer, Todd Bragg, is touring with Matthew Perryman Jones) and we even tossed some music suggestions back and forth.

Watching Matthew Perryman Jones perform (and he is fantastic, by the way), the whole essence of the evening struck me. I was in New York City, having come downtown alone, sitting next to a fellow Caedmon’s Call buff, listening to one of my favorite artists perform just a few feet from me. It is hard to explain the emotion of a moment like that, but it was beautiful.

I was in such great spirits that I forgot I was taking a different train back, so I hopped off one stop too early and, weighing my options, decided to just enjoy the 14 blocks back to Times Square on foot.

Even though I was the last one in bed Saturday night, I still managed to wake up first on Sunday morning. (Anybody who knows me also knows how ridiculous that is.) With a chorus of snoring around me, I contemplated slipping out on my own again, but as I started to move around, I saw some signs of life, so I waited for Jess and Thai to get moving so we could head down to Central Park.

Thai was eager to ride a horse-drawn carriage, so we took the 45-minute tour of the park with a guide named Kevin and a horse named Beethoven.

When our ride was finished, we still had about an hour before we were supposed to meet Terri and Christina for lunch, so we decided to go to the Conservatory Gardens in Central Park, since we didn’t have time on Friday. I am glad we were able to fit that in, because the gardens were absolutely gorgeous, and this wasn’t even peak season!

Our group gathered together again to chow down on some delicious (and cheap!) pizza before heading to our matinee of Mamma Mia at the Winter Garden Theater. David Andrew MacDonald – once the evil villain, Edmund, on Guiding Light – was playing the much more affable role of Harry for Mamma Mia, so we were excited to see him on stage. The show itself was fantastic, and we all found ourselves singing and dancing along. Of course, there was plenty cause for laughter, too. Broadway is the only place on earth where platform boots and spandex can add up to a good time!

After the show, we waited at the stage door in the hopes of saying hello to David. He was the first one out the door and as charming as ever. We talked to him and he signed our playbills and posed for a picture.

Thai was more excited by that than we originally anticipated, and she wanted to hang around and see who else might come out from the show. We were happy to oblige her, and she got more pictures and signatures from Mamma Mia’s “Tanya” and “Sophie.”

From there, we had to say goodbye to Christina, because she had to get back home to return to work the next day. She headed down to Battery Park to catch the ferry home, and the rest of us were Brooklyn-bound.

We made it to the Brooklyn Heights Promenade just as the sun was setting, and were able to enjoy the view (and take some photos) as the sky got darker and the lights got brighter.

We hopped on the subway again, but this time Terri and I left Jessica and Thai behind as we transferred trains to go back downtown to the Rockwood Music Hall again. They have recently built a new space next door to the original hall, and refer to it as “Stage 2.” In a brilliant stroke of luck, Wakey!Wakey! was playing there Sunday night! Terri opted to come along, although she had never heard any of their music before. We weren’t sure how our music tastes would line up, but I appreciated the company all the same, and just hoped that she’d enjoy the show.

When we walked in the door, the first person I saw was Mike Grubbs, lead singer of Wakey!Wakey! (and bonus: Bartender “Grubbsy” from One Tree Hill). I am pretty sure the combination of those two things made me a little too giddy, but he obliged me with a photo and we talked a bit. I related how I’d fallen in love with their music upon hearing “War Sweater,” and then when he popped up in a recurring role on One Tree Hill, that was the icing on the cake for me.

We settled in for the show – again, mere feet from the stage. Two songs in, I looked back at Terri to gauge if she was enjoying herself and she nodded yes. Meanwhile, I was over the moon! It is disappointing when you love an artist and then you go to a show and realize that what you really loved was the miracle-working producer who put the album together. In this case, though, it was quite the opposite. I’ve been a fan of the music for quite a while, but seeing them live was – wow – spectacular!

The whole band played most of the show, and Grubbs did a few songs on his own as well. Rosi Golan even joined him onstage for a rendition of “Blame You.” When the whole band was playing, I was quite taken with the violinist, Patrick. Amazing!!

Somewhere around the middle of the show – and I don’t even remember what song was playing – Terri tapped me on the shoulder. When I turned around, she was grinning and giving me a big thumbs up! Needless to say, Wakey!Wakey! has a new fan, and since Terri asked me, “Man, what did I miss last night?!” – she’s probably home looking up Matthew Perryman Jones as well. We both talked to Mike Grubbs again after the show, and then I got to meet the band’s manager, Wesley, which was a delight after having corresponded sporadically on Twitter.

Monday morning, we all slept in, but still woke up exhausted. There wasn’t much on Monday’s schedule for that very reason. Terri was meeting another friend for breakfast, so Jessica, Thai, and I walked around Times Square some more, hitting the Hershey store and the M&M store, much to Thai’s delight.

We had lunch at Junior’s (and packed our cheesecake in our purses to go), met Terri at the hotel for the goodbyes, and jumped in a cab back to the airport.

The cheesecake never made it out of the city, since we ate that while we waited at our gate, but before long, we were on a plane headed back to Virginia.

Thai certainly seemed to enjoy her first-ever trip to New York City, and I can only hope that, like me, she finds something new to love about it every time she goes from now on. For my part, I am sure I will find another reason to go back to the Big City soon enough – you can bet I’ll be keeping a keen eye on the schedule down at Rockwood Music Hall!

Tags: As the World Turns, Mamma Mia, Martinis with Henry, Matthew Perryman Jones, New York City, One Tree Hill, Wakey!Wakey!
Posted in Music, Travel | 1 Comment »

Mar

2010

I Ain’t Standing Up for Nothing

“Every day when I wake up, I see folks trading in their crowns for all these ‘paper or plastic?’ lives – an opiate for the masses’ hounds.”

If common sense keeps getting scarcer and scarcer, we are going to have to find a new name for it. It continues to boggle my mind how often simple reason seems to elude the average person. This is true for the self-entitled teenagers I encounter on a daily basis, on through the business world and up to the height of stupidity, otherwise known as the U.S. government. That is too broad a range to cover, though, so I am going to focus on the one we can all relate to: customer service.

Now, I understand that it takes all kinds to make a world, and not everyone is going to be a genius. Some people can sleep through class and get an A, while others struggle furiously just to come out with a C. But it’s called “common sense” because it’s supposed to be even across the board. You don’t have to be book-smart and you certainly don’t need a doctorate to be successful. My grandfather quit school after 5th grade to go work on the farm, and he’s one of the smartest men I’ve ever known. He had common sense. My brother can do complicated math problems in his head in seconds, where most people would require a couple sheets of notebook paper and probably a calculator. His “smart-ness” can be tested and measured, but his common sense remains at the forefront, so he’s a great problem-solver with a head for business.

Unfortunately, I think the world has come to value resumes over people, and policies over principles. The result is a lot of painfully dumb people in prestigious positions because their degrees said they should be capable of doing the job, whether they could put it into practice or not.

My friend Brandon has been putting in job applications lately. He has a heavy background in construction, but was recently asked how he could expect to do construction work if he didn’t speak “Mexican.” I am serious. That happened. So, not finding work in his field, he hit the streets to apply in other areas, like food service and retail. On his retail application, he was asked questions like, “Do you enjoy talking to angry customers?” and had to choose a number from 1 (I hate it) to 5 (I love it). After honestly answering the barrage of questions and submitting his application, he learned that anyone who answered 2, 3, or 4 for any of those questions had their applications immediately thrown out. I took a second to let that soak in (and to make sure I heard him correctly), and then said, “So, they want to hire… liars?” Common sense would have said to throw out all the ones and the fives for being, at worst, liars, or at best, completely inept at any job that would require interacting with other people. But, instead of using common sense, this company had a handy policy manual.

Never underestimate the power of a stupid policy in the hands of a stupid person.

My favorite example is still the Hickory Farms manager who would not let me fill up my own cup as part of my combo meal because if I didn’t use one of their cups, it would cut into their profits. If you missed that one the first time, it is worth a read: HERE.

Or, there’s the time my Daddy went to Subway and ordered a 6-inch sub on whole wheat bread – easy, right? But he received a foot-long sub, and when he pointed out the error, was told, “But you said WHOLE wheat.”

This has all been on my mind since I attempted to run a simple errand yesterday at lunch. I try to avoid stores as often as I can (probably for this very reason), but I make an exception for craft stores, which are my kryptonite. Still, I try not to indulge too often, because when I get near scrapbooking supplies, I start throwing money around like a lobbyist on Capitol Hill. I had to go yesterday, though, because I received two identical Cricut cartridges as a gift and I wanted to exchange the duplicate for one I didn’t already have. I didn’t want to return it for money or for a store credit or anything like that. Just a simple exchange – I’ll give you this one, you give me that one. I went first to Michael’s, where I’ve spent thousands of dollars in the past, and they turned me away for my lack of receipt. (Maybe I stumbled over the word “gift” or “even exchange.”) I didn’t fight the fight, because there’s another crafting giant just across the street.

So, onward to A.C. Moore. When I arrived, there was only one person at the register (another arrived a few minutes later), so I stood back and waited until all the paying customers had been helped (including the ones who arrived in line well after me) and then I explained my situation. Namely, that I had received a duplicate cartridge as a gift, it was unopened, they carried the same one (I could see it from where I stood), and I simply wanted to exchange the cartridge in my hand for another of equal value. It couldn’t really get much simpler than that.

The lady asked if I had the receipt. “No, it was a gift. But I don’t want to do a return. I just want to exchange it for another cartridge of equal value.” She explained that she needed to call her manager. I often think this is just a tactic to create an imaginary person who will back up the original story. I heard her tell the “manager” that there was a lady who wanted to RETURN a Cricut cartridge without the receipt. (Which is not what I said – TWICE! – but whatever.) She hung up the phone and said that she could give me a store credit for $29.99, but that was all. Bear in mind, right next to us was a wall display with the very same cartridge priced at $89.99. Again, I reiterated that I did not want to return the cartridge – I wanted to exchange it for one of equal value.

Now, let me pause my tale for a moment and paint you a picture. There I stand, in a retail store whose niche is crafting. I am holding a $90 cartridge, which fits a $300 cutting machine. So, I’m not just dropping by because I needed a little project to stave off boredom on a rainy day. I am obviously a serious crafter with several hundred dollars – if not thousands – invested in this hobby that is their very reason for existing. So, in common sense terms, I am exactly the kind of customer they want to keep around and keep happy.

Now, back to the salesperson, who is trying to explain to me why the cartridge in my hand was not worth the same amount as the identical cartridges hanging on the nearby wall…

“You see,” she says, “you can go online and buy those cartridges – or anything in this store, really – for MUCH cheaper than you can buy it here.”

The implication in her mind was that I could have bought my cartridge for $5 online, and I was trying to trade it in for a $90 cartridge in the store. Which, even if I had, when I gave them the cartridge to re-sell, its value would become the $90 that they were selling it for, regardless of whether I paid $5 or $5000 for it.

The implication in MY mind, which I voiced to her, was, “So, basically, you’re saying that I should do all my craft shopping online?” She was too far gone on the crazy train to object, and could only shrug and nod half-heartedly, while the other salesperson looked like a deer caught in the headlights. She saw where the conversation had gone terribly wrong, but did not interject.

I turned and left the store, shaking my head in sheer disbelief. I wonder if we had recorded that whole conversation and played it back to her an hour later, would she have realized her lapse in judgment? And is she really the one to blame for being dense, or is it because “company policy” has been hammered into her brain until she no longer felt able to think for herself?

I immediately sent a tweet to share my crazy story, and this morning I was greeted by an @ reply from A.C. Moore’s official Twitter. I am happy to say that they solved the problem with common sense and level-headedness, and when I returned to my local store over lunch today, I was in and out with no problem at all. Plus, the two friends accompanying me (so we could have lunch afterwards) shopped while I was exchanging my cartridge and both turned up at the checkout with a handful of items. Thanks to a tiny bit of customer service and common sense, A.C. Moore kept one customer and gained two more.

That would make a happy ending for this blog, but I’m afraid I have yet another tale of woe to report from lunch! We proceeded to one of our favorite spots, Ledo’s Pizza, to grab a quick bite and get back to work. Their pizza is delicious and they have the best house salad dressing I’ve ever tasted. All three of us are frequent customers.

We took our seats and waited a while for the waitress to come over. No big deal. When she did come over, her rundown of the “specials” left us all scratching our heads, and when we asked for clarification about the salad special, she was so flustered that her response made no sense at all. Again, no big deal. We went on with our order, Kelli getting a salad, and Jessica and I sharing a pizza and splitting a side salad. I ordered for both of us, saying, “We are going to share a medium pizza. We’d like pepperoni on the WHOLE pizza and mushrooms on HALF.” While I was talking, I even made the hand motions to show the whole pizza vs. the half pizza and made eye contact, which is my usual practice. I made sure to be very clear and specific, because the first time we ordered by saying a “pepperoni pizza with mushrooms on half,” we’d gotten a pizza that was half pepperoni and half mushroom. That time, I didn’t even mention anything about it, because I felt like I hadn’t been clear enough, and I usually go with the flow at restaurants as much as possible.

The food arrived, and Kelli’s salad still had onions on it, when she had ordered it without, and Jessica and I received a pizza with pepperoni and mushrooms covering the whole thing. So, basically, half of the pizza was still right, but the other half was wrong. The waitress took the pizza away and said another one would be out soon, and I hate to think even now about how that pizza was chucked in the trash can while we sat waiting for our food. Kelli was finished eating by the time our second pizza arrived – this time, with pepperoni on half, and mushrooms on half – again, half right, half wrong. The waitress reached to take that pizza away as well and I stopped her. Not wanting to wait for another pizza to cook, I suggested that she just bring me some pepperoni which I could add to my half. I sloooooowly nibbled through two pieces of mushrooms-only pizza, waiting for the arrival of the accompanying pepperoni. When she brought it, the pepperoni was burnt, which explained why it took so long. So, I sat eating mushroom pizza with burnt pepperoni and practically begging for drink refills. Also of note, I had to tell her what I was drinking every time she came to the table. Never mind that she had put a lemon wedge on top of my cup to differentiate my Diet Pepsi from Jessica’s regular drink. (Kelli had water.)

Making sure not to check back with us, our waitress dropped three checks on the table and quickly disappeared. I picked it up, hoping (rather than believing) that she had given us any sort of special consideration. She hadn’t. I probably would have just let it go, but after the ordeal the day before, and the unbelievably shabby way we had been treated, I had to speak up. Even so, I was careful to be polite, hoping that a little diplomacy would go a long way to making sure that we left happy and she didn’t go cry in the back of the store for the rest of her shift. She seemed shocked that we didn’t want to pay full price, and her offer of amends was to not charge us for one of the toppings on one-half of the pizza. So, basically, two wrong pizzas, inedible pepperoni, time wasted, and her solution was to deduct 75 cents from the check – or, actually, to deduct 75 cents between our two checks. I remained calm, and reminded her that our pizza had come out wrong twice, and then added that my pepperoni had come out burnt even then. This prompted her to make the oh-so-generous gesture to not charge for EITHER of the toppings on the pizza. (Wow. A whole dollar.) She was genuinely too clueless to realize how insulting that was to us, or how unacceptable that would be, so we had no recourse but to accept her measly offer, pay the checks, and leave. I did not even have it in me to slight her on the tip – possibly because I felt so sorry for her since she didn’t have a brain. I’ve yet to check back with Ledo’s to see if perhaps a manager could do something to right the situation, but it was the second time in as many days that I felt slighted and unappreciated in two establishments to which I’ve been very loyal.

Maybe it’s just me, but in a time when all I hear about is the economic downturn, I’d think that businesses would be doing everything possible to retain their loyal customers. Maybe they’ve all forgotten how that’s done? Or maybe they just don’t care?

Certainly, common sense is no longer coming standard issue.

Tags: common sense, customer service
Posted in Editorial, General | No Comments »

Mar

2010

I Couldn’t Breathe Without Your Music In My Lungs

I marvel at those lists that boast the best songs or albums… of the year, of the decade, or of all time. I am equally fascinated every time someone posts a more personal list of their 10 favorite songs or their most influential albums. Just thinking about crafting a list of that sort is daunting enough to scare me away from it. I feel like my opinions on that change with every day, every mood, and every new album released. The only question I can answer with some certainty is “Who is your favorite artist?” and even then, it’s a three-way tie between Derek Webb, Ryan Adams, and Levi Weaver.

There are songs that I will always love for various reasons. I’d never scroll past a radio station playing “She’d Give Anything” (Boy Howdy) because it brings a surge of memories, and quite frankly, I still relate to it. But I also couldn’t really name one other song that group ever did – and I probably wouldn’t want to! On the other end of the musical spectrum, there are songs like “Paris is Burning” by St. Vincent, which – while I have no emotional attachment to it whatsoever – awes me every time I hear it. That song is a work of art – a masterpiece, actually. But it doesn’t hold a piece of my heart like that cheesy country song from 1994.

Then, there are songs that are my favorites for a day, a week, or a month, and then I move on. I get stuck on songs like “Daughters of the Soho Riots” (The National) or “I and Love and You” (The Avett Brothers) and listen to them on repeat until they are branded on my soul. But catch me one Friday afternoon in the summer on the open road with the windows down, and I just might be rocking out to Fall Out Boy. When I’m 90 and in the nursing home, I’m going to remember The National, but “Dance Dance”? Probably not.

I face this internal conflict about music. On the one hand, I savor music that is well-crafted, with atypical chord progressions and lyrics that slay me. On the other, I can and will rock out like a 12-year-old when I hear the New Kids on the Block, and I pity the fool standing between me and the dance floor if the DJ plays “You Shook Me All Night Long.” It’s like I have Multiple Musical Personality Disorder. And I make no apologies for it.

Thankfully, I have a lot of friends who are the same way, and we float recommendations back and forth to great effect. Word of mouth is the new way to discover music, since radio is on life-support and desperately waiting for someone to put it out of its misery. I’ve also discovered quite a few artists thanks to music supervisor Lindsay Wolfington and music-loving show creator Mark Schwahn over at One Tree Hill, who are responsible for introducing me to the likes of Trespassers William, Lucero, Wakey!Wakey! and others, as well as causing me to give a little more play to music legends like The Cure or Led Zeppelin.

So, despite my ever-changing, ever-growing musical catalogue, I decided to attempt to satiate the masses (heh.) by discussing some artists, albums, or songs that have either had a profound impact on me, or that represent an era in my life.

Let me begin by saying that I grew up on country music. And when I say “grew up on,” the truth is that I’m not sure I even knew that any other kind of music existed. When people talked about “the King,” I figured that must surely be George Strait. I don’t regret that upbringing by any means. Even though country music crashed into Shania Twain mountain long ago, some of it still holds a special place in my heart. For example, Clint Black was my first crush (not counting He-Man) in his tight jeans (why, Clint?), his blazer, his black cowboy hat, and that grin. I still think he is adorable to this day. My favorite artist growing up, though, was The Judds. They provided the soundtrack to my childhood, and I still love listening to them. I have every album they ever made, but back when all I had was two Judds’ cassettes (Love Can Build a Bridge and River of Time), my Mom had the Greatest Hits on vinyl. Anytime I was left home alone as a child, I’d slip down to the record-player and crank this album up while I sang along and danced around the living room. When I was 10, Naomi got sick and The Judds came down to just Wynonna. Her solo album was the first CD I ever owned, given to me on my birthday along with a “boom box” that still resides somewhere in the dark depths of my closet. And since not many pre-teens can afford to expand their record collections too much, this album is about all I listened to for years. I loved every beat of it. I still think Wynonna is one tough broad with an amazing voice. And lest I should ever be without a boots-clad, guitar-playing country boy to swoon over, I have Joe Nichols for that.

Then, about 15 years ago, my musical landscape changed forever. I related the story on my old blog of how I came to own the self-titled Caedmon’s Call cassette tape, which was my introduction to what would become my favorite band of all time. This album made me fall head over heels in love with music, and I have never looked back. That album followed into 40 Acres, which houses one of the contenders for my favorite song (“Somewhere North”) as well as the song responsible for my internet alter-ego, “Shifting Sand.” After the release of “Long Line of Leavers” in 2000, Caedmon’s Call lost a few of their key members – Aaron Tate and Derek Webb – to other projects. Unfortunately, Derek and Aaron were their chief songwriters, and without their well-crafted lyrics to drive the music, the band lost quite a bit of its luster in my eyes.

Three years later, I got the magic back when Derek Webb re-emerged with his first solo offering, “She Must and Shall Go Free.” To me, it packed a punch akin to Luther’s 95 Theses, and Derek has not stopped convicting and infuriating the Christian community since. No matter what anyone says about Derek Webb, though, he stands by his convictions and backs them up with the way he lives his life. So, even if I don’t always agree with him, I can always respect him. Luckily, we tend to agree. I had the great privilege of meeting Derek Webb several years back, and since then, I’ve scarcely missed a show within a reasonable driving distance, and I find that I enjoy hearing what he has to say as much as listening to his songs.

Of course, I listened to more in my teen and college years than just Derek Webb and Caedmon’s Call (though that certainly captured the majority of my attention). Alanis Morissette got me through the angst with “Jagged Little Pill,” which was certainly a departure from my usual musical style, but a great album is a great album and THAT was a great album. To carry on with my country background, I left the Dixie Chicks’ “Wide Open Spaces” in my CD player for probably a year, and even if I live to be 200 years old, I’ll probably still know that album from beginning to end. And like any good teenager of the 90s, I had to participate in the great debate: ‘NSYNC or BSB? I sided with the Backstreet Boys and collected EVERYTHING – carefully-clipped magazine articles, posters covering 90% of my bedroom walls, CDs shaped like their heads (which you probably didn’t know existed, did you?), and VHS tapes of concerts that I watched over and over again with my cousin, Tracey. She loved Brian and I loved AJ. I kind of still have an AJ poster on the wall in my office at home, but I swear, I’ve been thinking about taking it down. For some weightier subject matter, I had Jennifer Knapp’s Kansas, which remains a favorite album of mine to this day.

Over the course of college, I stopped hearing any new music that I liked, because the radio certainly wasn’t playing it, and I didn’t really know where to get it. I also had some trying times in college, where I listened to Alison Krauss non-stop in my car as if the engine wouldn’t run otherwise. At a certain point, I wasn’t listening to music much at all, because there was nothing to compel me or excite me or awaken that part of me anymore.

Then one day, something happened that changed my life as much if not more than that Caedmon’s Call cassette had ten years earlier….

I created a MySpace profile. I know what you’re thinking. MySpace is basically a joke now (although I am thinking of returning there post-haste if they can promise no Farmville or Mafia Wars), but there was a time when MySpace was the hub of the internet and, for all its faults, it created the opportunity for independent artists to network and connect with fans that would never hear their songs played on the radio or stumble into one of their shows. The down side was that anyone who thought they had talent could put their music out there to the masses, and it became tedious trying to separate the wheat from the chaff.

Before the random friend requests became overwhelming, though, and MySpace was still quite new to me, I got a request to become “friends” with an England-based musician by the name of Levi Weaver. I clicked over to his page out of curiosity and immediately connected to the music that I heard. The lyrics were brilliant – with depth and authenticity – and the sound drew me in completely. Beyond that, I gave the profile a once-over and the bio impressed me enough that I decided to message Mr. Weaver and let him know that he had a new fan in me.

To my surprise, I received a fast response from Levi, despite the fact that it was well past midnight in England at the time. I’m not sure I can trace the progression from there, but suffice it to say we have become friends over the years, and music or not, I feel blessed to know him. Luckily for all of us, he has continued to produce one amazing song after the other with no signs of slowing down. So, I am grateful to be along for the ride, and because I pity the people who have not been introduced to his music, I try to spread the word at any opportunity.

(To wit, you can actually go HERE and subscribe to the new album AND get your hands on the rest of his catalog for one very small lump sum. Support independent artists, people!)

Discovering Levi’s music was enough to reawaken my slumbering zeal for the arts, but it didn’t stop there, because Levi proceeded to turn me on to the third member of my musical trifecta – Ryan Adams.

While I have specific (heart-warming!) stories to relate about Derek Webb and Levi Weaver, I have no such anecdote for Ryan Adams. I’ve never met him, and can boast only having been within about 20 or 30 feet of him at concerts. All I know is that once I got a small taste of his music, I could not stop listening until I had heard it all. And hearing it “all” is no small feat when you’re talking about a musical genius the likes of Ryan Adams, who gained renown for cranking out music faster than his fans could listen to it. Since I arrived at the party about a decade late (when you count his earlier Whiskeytown recordings), I had a lot of catching up to do. I started with a few selected songs that spanned the years, and then rushed out to get his latest release at the time, “Easy Tiger.” I loved it and it sent me into a frenzy collecting the other albums – albums that even surpassed what I had already heard. “Heartbreaker” (possibly his most acclaimed album), “Cold Roses,” and “Love Is Hell,” to name a few, are filled with amazing melodies, lyrics, and emotions. Much of his music was never officially released through a label, and came through Adams himself as he released the music online directly to fans – and the songs are by no means second rate! My favorite studio album, though, is “Gold.” The title may imply that it is some kind of “best of” collection, but it’s not – it’s an original album that houses several of my favorite Ryan Adams’ songs, like “The Rescue Blues” and “New York, New York.” While a lot of his music tends toward the melancholy, the content of “Gold” seems a bit lighter when compared to some of his other fare. It also contains the widely-covered song, “When the Stars Go Blue,” which shines best through the voice of its author. (And I can only hope that Ryan Adams got a LOT of money from Tim McGraw’s cover version, because that has got to be the most tragic thing to happen to a song in my lifetime.)

As my friend and office-mate, Kelli, will tell you, there are some days that I just do not function on anything other than Ryan Adams. Luckily, she also has a great appreciation for his music, so she doesn’t mind, and I dare say she’s had a few of those “Ryan Adams Days” herself. Sadly, Ryan Adams is on an indefinite “break” from making music (though he has been producing books of prose with about as much regularly as he did his music), but I am banking on the notion that a consummate musician like him will not be able to help but make more music as time wears on. If not, I take comfort in knowing that I have a tremendous catalog of his music that I can and will listen to until the end of time.

This blog has run a bit lengthy, even by my verbose standards, so while I could probably go on forever discussing this topic, I will leave you off by rounding out my top five favorite artists for you. Coming in at number four is Josh Ritter, who honestly took a while to grow on me. That recommendation came through Levi, as well, and though I was immediately taken by some of Ritter’s lyrics, I wasn’t sold on the sound, and I was ready to throw in the towel. Levi challenged me to press on, and I did – thank goodness I did! Ritter’s voice grew on me, and his lyrics have kept me coming back for more. (Lyrics always get me.) Critics say that Josh Ritter gets better with each album, which I do not doubt and am eagerly looking forward to his next release in May after a LONG wait, but while I think both “The Animal Years” and “The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter” are epic albums, I stand by my favorite Josh Ritter album, “Hello Starling.” My favorite tunes on that album are “Kathleen” and “Snow is Gone.” Check it out.

My number 5 choice came through Levi in a way, though in this case he is the one that needs to see the light and embrace this artist. Through the marvel of the internet, and the mutual connection to Levi, I have gotten to know Mel, who is always ready to share her musical discoveries (and she has a keen ear for them). So, she is the one who introduced me to Patty Griffin, and oh, what a gift that has been. It is hard to single out one Patty Griffin album, because they are all filled with her rich, soulful style and there are plenty of songs to treasure. For the sake of this exercise, I am going to mention “Impossible Dream” because it contains my favorite Patty Griffin song (which also happens to be the one that most easily slays me), “Useless Desires.”

What are some of your favorite artists or songs or styles? I am interested to know. And if you want to talk even more about music, you know where to find me and I am always up to the task! If you’re just hearing about any of the acts I mentioned above, then you have some rewarding work ahead of you checking them all out!

Tags: Derek Webb, Jennifer Knapp, Josh Ritter, Levi Weaver, Lindsay Wolfington, Lucero, Mark Schwahn, One Tree Hill, Patty Griffin, Ryan Adams, The National, Wakey!Wakey!
Posted in Music | No Comments »

Pawning Off Pieces of My Heart

The String Section’s Screaming Like Horses in a Barn Burning Up

It’s a Long Way to Heaven, It’s Closer to Harrisburg

The Keys to the Kingdom Got Locked Inside the Kingdom

Up yours, you corporate harpies.

All That You Can’t Leave Behind

You’re Gonna Need Someone On Your Side

The Show Must Go On

Farewell to the City and the Love of My Life

I Ain’t Standing Up for Nothing

I Couldn’t Breathe Without Your Music In My Lungs

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