So, last Friday we were playing at this Battle of the Bands and from out of the general lonliness of the crowd comes a "Matt Hopper sucks"...at first I thought it was my imagination, but there it was again. I'd been through this sort of thing before, so I simply bit my lip and kept my wits...only to find myself face to face with some Nazi skinhead in midset. He came up to the mic and yelled something I couldn't quite understand, something like "emo rules"...regardless, I thought he was just enjoying the music, even through he was in my personal space. As we continued to play, Rohloff, the KRUA staff on duty at the time approched said skinhead and put the pressure on for him to back off, which incited a small riot. Next thing we know the band is watching five or six friends take out this monster right in front of us. It was hilarious. This female security guard had whipped out her handcuffs which led to some scuffle and next thing I know the dude was 86ed from the joint. I dedicated a song to him and the show went on. We took 2nd place that evening.
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I am very excited about how things are going with my band. We have been having some great shows so far and plan to do some recording this summer which I'm pretty excited about. I have also been listening to Mike Gorder's new band, Greg, and their demo for the past 2 hours. It's really good stuff. Glad to hear Mike rocking out without an acoustic guitar.
Well, school is pretty much out for me except finals in two weeks. I will be happily launching into summer soon and hope to find a good job that will help me pay my debts off so I can start investing in the band.
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So, the last band I was in, The Roman Candles, have reformed, only this time with a new drummer and the addition of an incredible lead guitarist and a girl who plays keyboards, trumpet, bells, and the xylaphone! How's that for sweet!? In the two sessions we've had - it is safe to assume that this will be the most rocking incarnation of the Roman Candles ever. Our first gig will be broadacast live over the web and also on local channel 42 - details will be posted at our website: the roman candles official website
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I've been enjoying my most recent find on Napster, the band Pinback. Check out Loro or Tripoli.
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My birthday was yesterday. I am now 22 years old. My parents and brother and sister went out to eat at Simon and Seaforts, and then later we went to a party at Emerson | Matt R. | Skye | Sarah's house. It was a "Dress to the Nines" party so we all were sporting our lovliest suits.
editors note: Will post party shots somewhere on the site as soon as we get some film developed or someone e-mails me some digital shots.
It felt like we were going to prom cause we were taking shots with the girls against the wall and doing all the weird pre-party routines...blasting the music, pimpin the hair up (or down in my case), the girls straitening our ties...glad to say it was an eventful evening. But nothing I wish to share with the rest of the world.
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My internet harrassers are back again. Yay. This time its the Fake Matador Message Board. It's quite funny they spend so much time impersonating me. go there and see the mayhem.
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Hey. It's 3 a.m. and that there is a Silver Scooter song. I just had tons of shows this past couple of weeks and have more lined up, thanks to everyone who has been showing up, I'm really glad I get so much support from the local music scene up here. Opening for Todd Snider was a blast, I'll admit, I was a bit nervous playing on that big stage again, but I think I kicked out the jams ok. Of course, its always a challenge to pretend you're actually decent on guitar and singing when you're playing with/next to Annalisa Woodlee. She was amazing as usual. As for Mr. Snider, he was high as a kite and drunk as a skunk, and gave a rip roaring performance that had us rolling in our seats. He gave me a CD and told me to send along some of my stuff to him and to his label...he said he liked how I went really high in my songs and that it sounded really good. I wouldn't have believed him, but he was back there watching us from the side, I couldn't miss his enourmous presence.
Had my first Stats test today. Yuck. That's all I'll say. I'm going to bed.
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Just got home from seeing the Murder City Devils and the Born Losers. I must say the Born Losers sounded better than ever from the Koots stage, where they actually have a soundman and some good equipment. The Devils were kicking out the jams...nothing too fancy, but a good, solid show.
As fer myself, this weekend is homework time. Since my friend Justin left to go back to CT I've realized that I'm 2 weeks behind in all my classes, which, in case you're wondering, are:
Organizational Theory
Marking Presentations
Statistics
Principles of Financial Accounting
and the Environment of Business
None of these classes are at all interesting me in the least. The worst is my Statistics teacher, a Koren man by the name of Ken Hung (yes, it sounds like a porno name to me too). Mr. Hung is very difficult to understand in the first place, but to make matters worse he brings a portable P.A. system to class and hooks it up with a lapel mic. When he speaks it sounds like he is at the end of a very long tunnel or perhaps in a giant stadium. The reverbation is enough to drive one mad, but Hung likes to walk in front of the PA as well, creating some lovely humming feedback which is just insane. And then there's the subject, Stats, which is also completely foreign to me. Yikes. I hope I can teach myself this stuff before its too late.
As for real news: I wrote a new song today. It's tentativly called "Valentine" and its going to go on a Valentine's Day CD EP I'm putting out with Mike Gorder. We're not gonna sell any, just give them away to close friends. If you really want one, e-mail me and I'll see what I can do.
Don't forget about next weeks shows! I can't wait to play with Annalisa. Our practices have gone very well so far and I think you will all like what the final product is sounding like.
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I know my music files aren't up and working and I apologize. There are a few places you can go to listen to some of my tunes, as well as some music by the Roman Candles.
While you're at it, check this out: Introducing the Denver Gentlemen. This is the first CD put out by the record label I'm working with, Absalom Recordings.
Hey, if you haven't heard from me in awhile (personally) it's because I'm so busy. But if you write to me, I WILL write you back, so please, send me some news from your side of the fence.
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Oh my. Time is flying by much too quickly these days. I've had a friend up visiting from Conneticut for a week now and we've been doing "Alaskan" things like going to Seward and sledding at Hatcher Pass' 16 mile run, where we all either sprained a wrist, ankle, or just have a really sore ass.
I was messing around on the web tonight and stumbled upon some pictures from the show I described below. I really liked this one:
that cool guitar cable came from Erik from Jeb, a really cool new Alaskan band that sounds like, well, they'll admit that Nirvana was the reason they picked up guitars if you asked them (I think).
I was also surfing this really cool site called 327.com and discovered this. I was honored and thrilled to be included on the same page as those other bands. Wow. Looks like I better get some recording done. Anyway, till next time, thanks for visiting this site and come to a show!
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