“Tonight has been a wonderful experiment in human contact, a symbiotic relationship between man and machine. And you, the people of Orlando. The human brain is capable of many mental connections; each one, a memory, a relationship. Tonight will be remembered not by one, but by thousands of these relationships. As you leave here tonight, close youreyes and travel back to here. To now. And always remember that for this one moment, you were not alone, and you felt something that thousands of others had felt. And it was: LOVE.”

-AVA

…so anyway, if you get the chance to see Angels & Airwaves, go do it.

Full review below:

May 15th, 2010. Hard Rock Live.

So, about the show. I know Tom gets a lot of crap about his voice, but he was SPOT ON. About half way through the show, he decided he would just start showing off. The whole band is ridiculously good. Atom is a machine behind the drums, plus David and Matthew both were doing double duty on guitar/bass, respectively, and synth/keys. The light show was beyond spectacular, and the whole band has awesome stage presence. Watching Atom play the drums is particularly entertaining.

Tom’s guitar work really showed up in Young London and The War, and there were a few moments that gave me goosebumps. One of these was the chorus of ‘Secret Crowds”, when Tom just turned his mic around and let the crowd scream the lyrics. Atom stepped out from behind the drums for ‘The Moon-Atomic’ and a teaser segment of ‘Clever Love’ to play a massive stand-up kit, while Matt and David both played a huge AVA bass drum in parts of both songs.

The highlights of the show for me were the speech posted above, and the last two minutes of the song ‘The War’. Hearing the whole crowd chant the outro was one of my favorite concert moments ever.

So basically, go see AVA.

Again, For The Win:

A,FTW is their own brand of piano-driven Texas rock, and you can get their EP for free here. In their own words,

AFTW likes to play loud, fast, slow, soft, and dreamy-like. A,FTW! digs everyone as long as they have good spirits.
We have been playing together since May 16th 2009. We enjoy life. You should too.

The Happy Ending:

The Happy Ending is a 6-piece pop-punk rock band who just released their debut album “Where Words Leave Off…”, produced by Sean O’Keefe (Fall Out Boy, Motion City Soundtrack, Plain White T’s, Hawthorne Heights), is available on iTunes here, or get a physical copy here. The whole album is incredibly catchy, and will be in your CD player for a while.

Orange Avenue:

Orange Avenue is a five piece rock band from Daytona, Florida. Their debut album, affectionately called the ‘orange album’ by fans,  and their recent EP ‘Reset’ are available on iTunes here. Both are filled with hard hitting songs and creative lyrics.

I’m just curious about one thing. Is there anything fun to do anywhere outside of Florida? Seriously, people. You don’t have to invade Central Florida every spring. And if you’re gonna be here, at least learn to drive. But anyway, that’s enough of my ranting. I’m here to tell you (some of) the songs that are in my beach playlist. So here’s the list!

Day Time:

1. California-Hawk Nelson
2. When It’s Over-Sugar Ray
3. Down Down Down-The Expendables
4. Soul To Squeeze-Red Hot Chili Peppers
5. All Mixed Up-311
6. Alligator Pie-Dave Matthews Band
7. Heels Over Head-Boys Like Girls
8. The Next One-Chris McCarty
9. Swing, Swing-All American Rejects
10. The King-Passafire
11. Better Off This Way-Before You Exit
12. Good Times Bad Times-Led Zeppelin
13. Young London-Angels & Airwaves
14. Wishing Well-The Airborne Toxic Event
15. American Patriot-Band Marino
16. The Middle-Jimmy Eat World
17. Never Let You Go-Third Eye Blind
18. Summer’s End-Foo Fighters

Night Time:

1. Love Song-311
2. The Wind Cries Mary-Jimi Hendrix
3. That’s The Way(My Love Is)-Smashing Pumpkins
4. Autumn-The Happy Ending
5. Dive In-Dave Matthews Band
6. Changed My Mind-Iration
7. Motorcycle Drive By-Third Eye Blind
8. Amber-311
9. The End Is Where I Begin-The Script
10. Release-Pearl Jam

So there ya go! Download away, kids!

Chris McCarty:

Having opened for several national acts including Dave Matthews Band and Sugar Ray, Chris McCarty and his backing band are taking over the Orlando scene. His music is a blend of reggae and pop-rock, and his hooks will be stuck in your head for weeks. If you have the chance, check out Chris McCarty live, because he puts on an awesome show.

Recommended listening: The Next One

Leggett & LeBoeuf

Playing shows all over Central Florida, acoustic duo Leggett & LeBoeuf blend thought-provoking lyrics with acoustic guitar and banjo. These guys are definitely worth checking out, and make great, relaxing songs. They mix a little humor into their shows, sometimes playing an acoustic cover of the Captain Planet theme song to end their concerts.

Recommended listening: Waterfall

Evan Taylor Jones and the Martian Flood Band:

Backed by the all-star talents of the Martian Flood Band, Evan Taylor Jones has been playing shows around Orlando and plans to release an EP and tour in the near future. He classifies their music as acoustic and soul, and there’s also a bit of reggae influence in their sound. Check out Evan Taylor Jones and the Martian Flood Band for some uplifting sounds!

Recommended listening: Nobody Feels Like I Do

Recently, a lot of stuff has been happening in 3eb-land, and a lot of things have come out about several members. In short, Tony, the former lead guitarist, is no longer in the band. In most bands, this wouldn’t be a big deal..it’s just one member right? No, not quite. Third Eye Blind is was my favorite band, and Tony is the reason a lot of us 3eb fans put up with the loads of crap we have been put through.

A lot of people on Assembly, 3eb’s online community, are confused as to why a lot of us are so upset about Tony’s departure, and I understand why. However, I can’t imagine seeing the band any other way. Here’s my story about T and why I’m gonna miss him being in the band:

A few months after I started getting heavy into 3eb, they played a show at the House of Blues in Orlando. I begged my mom to let me go alone and on a school night, and it was a sick show. Afterward, my mom went to the wrong side of Downtown Disney to pick me up (this was before I could drive), so I started the long walk. I was pretty mad about having to walk pretty far…but I spotted Tony walking about 20 feet in front of me with one of the HOB security guards, so I shouted his name and he turned around. He seemed tired but happy to talk to me and he thought it was hilarious that a 15 year old kid was at his show on a Wednesday night, so he asked the security guy to take a picture of us (which turned out uber blurry..) and then we talked for about 10 minutes. I asked him what wah he uses, and he told me not to worry what wah I have as long as it’s in the right place in my effects chain, it will sound good. I told him his huge furry purple boots were awesome and that he rocked, and he told me to feel his boots cause they felt awesome too. He reached in his pockets for a pick but didn’t have any, and then the security dude said he had to go. Turns out his cab was waiting for him right by where my mom was parked, so he kept talking to me while we walked. He asked what I thought of the new stuff, and I told him how much I like A Sharp Knife and Bonfire. After another minute of walking he said bye and got in his cab..I just thought it was so cool that he wanted to keep talking to me, and gave me some awesome tone advice. Out of all the band/musicians I’ve been lucky enough to meet, I’ll always remember Tony and look back on that night.

RIP 3eb. Thanks for the awesome year of music.

Those were my favorite of the opening bands, but Less than Jake was awesome.
The circle pit was massive and they sounded great. They played their entire “Losing Streak” album from start to finish, which was great.

To learn more about Greenwaves and what they do, check out ucfsu.com!

UCF Less Than Jake Memory Mall from Knight News on Vimeo.

There’s one moment of joy this pointless day has given me. This news clip from Mobile, Alabama.

There. That was the only good thing St. Patrick’s day has ever made happen.
The worst part of St. Patrick’s day is the pinching. I refuse to wear green on this day. Mainly because our school uniforms only have green polo shirts. I refuse to wear a polo unless I must. And because of this, I deserve to get pinched 5,237 times? Awesome. So St. Patrick’s day is a waste of 24 hours, in my book. And yes, my book matters.

New rule: I get my own holiday. St. Adam’s Day. If you’re not wearing two pairs of pants and a clown mask, I get to punch you in the face. Sounds like a plan.

A couple years ago, I was at my our school’s orientation. A few cheerleaders were at a table trying to find kids willing to sign up to be a mascot. Nobody had put their name on the list, and I felt kinda bad. So I signed up. I’m still not sure if that was the right decision.

Every home game of football and basketball season, I’m a mascot for my high school. I look a bit like this:

Actually, I look exactly like that. It’s warm in there. And there isn’t much of a window to look through. There isn’t much air. But, it’s pretty fun. I get to run around and scare people. I get to shoot people with a water gun. I get to talk to cheerleaders for a couple hours..and I get paid for it. Worth it? Yes.