Happy Halloween

I am just sitting here gorging myself on bratwursts and brownies and thinking at some point I really need to start exercising again.  Oh well.  I do feel a sense of accomplishment, though.  I have just finished my last article for our Winter Issue.  I’m debating if I want to write another one yet…so many bands to cover.  I still have time.

So what is new with me?  Well, about four weeks ago I hurt my back.  It was lower back pain, sitting was painful, and bending was near impossible.  How did I do it?  Well…let’s just say it involved my wife and the bedroom.  I finally realized the pain wasn’t going to go away, so I saw my chiropractor earlier this week.  He put me back together, and I feel almost 100% percent better.  It is truly is amazing…I don’t know of any other health professional that can make you feel instantly better and it only takes them 10-15 minutes.  The interesting moment came when he asked HOW I hurt my back.  When I responded, he held up my profile, stared at it, and stated, “You are married, right?  How the heck does that still happen?  Let me know your secret.”

Moving on to music….two weekends ago I decided to listen to the new Lovelorn Dolls CD, “Japanese Robot Invasion” that was just released.  I have been a fan, I own their first album, and I was interested to hear how their sound has progressed.  I’m telling you right now, the CD blew me away.  It is seriously one of the best albums I have heard front to back in a very long time.  Within two days I wrote a review of “Japanese Robot Invasion” for our Winter Issue (sudden addition to our content), and briefly talked to the band via Twitter about an interview for our Spring Issue.  Yeah, it is that good.  Here is their first single off of the new CD title “The Thrill.”

Oh wait, I’m not done yet…I still have more to share about Lovelorn Dolls.  I know, I should just make a separate post about the band.  Unfortunately, they fell into the trap of me writing so much about them for the magazine, I don’t feel like repeating myself on here.  Ok, it’s not unfortunately.  Carpe Nocturne Magazine has roughly 32,000 more readers than my blog.  Anywho, maybe my favorite song off of “Japanese Robot Invasion” is actually a cover.  I truly can’t believe it.  Lovelorn Dolls remade “Just Like a Dream” by the Cure, and did it phenomenally.  They changed it up enough to make it their own, but it is still completely recognizable as the Cure’s song.  You have to listen, and if you haven’t heard the new CD, notice how this song and the previous one I shared differ dramatically from each other and from Lovelorn Dolls’ first CD “House of Wonders.”  Bravo!!

Emails Emails Emails

Coffee…my best friend.  It’s like Night of the Living Dead in my head until I’ve had at least two cups.  Seriously, I’m brainless.  I walk into walls.  Fortunately, I just poured my third cup, so I’m good.

So, the magazine…a lot is happening, and I’m extremely excited.  With it comes a lot of new responsibilities.  Mostly, it entails sending and receiving emails.  It seems it is all I do.  I have been given a bunch of new responsibilities, no real direction except my experience, and an outdated list of staff writers to complete it.  Therefore, I have been uber-busy trying to piece together a staff and make sure we have good content going into the Winter Issue.  I think I have succeeded.

The staff that remains at Carpe Nocturne are the ones I would have hand picked to stay anyways.  So that is good.  I would rather have a smaller group of quality writers, than a multitude of mediocre ones.  Also, there is a new addition, Asylum Attendant, and one former writer who I was able to bring back, Krystalle Voecks.  I am not the type of person to just take anyone, and I feel confidant about my choices.

One of the difficult things about my current position is this…at Carpe Nocturne, we cover a broad range of cultures.  Industrial, Goth, Punk, Steampunk, I can go on.  I need to make sure each is represented in every issue.  I mean, I don’t technically have to, but I will.  It’s a little bit of a juggling act at times.

Ok, now I have to go make a cake.  Yes, I can bake too.  It’s going to be a peanut butter pound cake with chocolate chips and a peanut butter glaze.  Afterwards, I’ll probably send and reply to some emails.  I also have to touch up the interview I just conducted with Chibi of The Birthday Massacre, do a CD review of Stoneburner, and write an article on a benefit concert being performed for a woman who was attacked and nearly killed in her home.  This is to say I will do this unless I end up sending and replying to emails instead, Lol.

Here is a band I discovered last night, and am totally digging…LIGHTS

Flyleaf

So I just spent the last twenty minutes sitting here debating what picture to use as my header.  Should I use Flyleaf 2010 or 2014?  If you are a fan, you know why.  I decided on 2014 because it is the current lineup, but I have loved the band for so long, it just takes some time getting use to.  If you have no clue what I’m talking about, you will by the end of this post.

It is difficult for me to remember when exactly I discovered Flyleaf.  I believe it was right around the release of “Momento Mori,” in 2009.  Somewhere between the songs “All Around Me,” “Fully Alive,” and “Again” I fell in love with this band.  They were rock, but with some subtle dark undertones.  I later realized they were a Christian rock band, but I’ll get back to that in a minute.  I loved Flyleaf’s sound, especially the vocals, and for me it was a discovery of great song after great song.  I downloaded both CD’s without thinking twice.

Their self-titled debut album “Flyleaf,” is incredible from beginning to end.  I love this CD.  It’s edgy, but catchy.  “Momento Mori,” I feel, wasn’t quite as good, but it definitely had some amazing tracks on it.  It was worth the money for sure.  At the time after it’s release, I was certain Flyleaf was destined to become one of my favorite bands of all time.  The Christian lyrics…to be honest, words are the last thing I notice in a song.  I played bass for a long time (don’t anymore), so it’s natural for me to focus on the percussion and bass first.  Next I notice the vocals, but not necessarily the words being sung.  Weird?  Afterwards, I focus on everything else.  As for the lyrics, I’m Catholic, send my kids to Catholic School, but not sure if I want to hear religion in my music.  With Flyleaf, it’s never in your face, usually stated subtly, but there is almost always a positive theme to their songs.  I’m ok with that.

2010 was my favorite year for Flyleaf music.  The band released the EP “Remember to Live,” and it is my favorite piece of work they have put together to date.  The songs “Justice and Mercy (Violent Love Version)”, “Okay”, and “Believe in Dreams” are among my most played Flyleaf songs.  They inspire me.  Also that year, they released a live version of the song “How He Loves,” which they use to close their shows.  What a great song, and I don’t even care if the lyrics are very religious.

Not everything a band does can always be incredible.  In 2012 I was so damn excited for Flyleaf’s new CD “New Horizons” to be released.  I downloaded the entire album the moment it was available to the public.  I listened to it, and…I figured it would grow on me.  It didn’t.  I know music is completely subjective, and I’m sure there are plenty of people who like it, but it wasn’t Flyleaf to me.  In my mind, the CD sounded more like what I would hear on the radio, and I don’t like much that is played on the radio.  To make matters worse, late in 2012, long time front woman Lacey Sturm abruptly announced she was leaving the band.  I was crushed, and ready to write Flyleaf off as one of those good bands of the past.  Lacey’s voice was so unique, and always my favorite part of what made Flyleaf great.

Before I continue, I just want to say….Lacey, we still love you.  You have an amazing talent, and I only hope I can hear you perform again one day.  Until then, I will just have to share one of my favorite videos of all time.  The song is amazing, but the simplicity and visuals of this video makes me want to watch it over and over again, and I have.  “All Around Me” by Flyleaf is easily a top 5 video for me.

I’ll be honest. after Lacey Sturm left. I didn’t pay much attention to Flyleaf.  I heard they had found a replacement, but after the last CD, I didn’t have high expectations.  You can lose a member of a band, but it is extremely difficult to replace your singer and continue to be successful.  In walks Kristen May.  It just may have been the change the band needed.  I like their new album, “Between the Stars”.  They have definitely stepped back towards rock again, and kinda sound a bit more like Paramore before Paramore turned more Pop.  I can honestly say I am still a fan of Flyleaf, and I look forward to seeing what else this lineup can do.  Here is their first released song off of their new album, “Set Me on Fire”.

Mood Music

So today is day three of my return to blogging, and my fourth post.  Don’t worry, I’m not gonna blog myself out, and I won’t always post this often.  It’s just…I have a lot to say right now.  Besides, I have a whole list of bands and topics I want to cover, and that list is growing.  There is just something on my mind today and I figured I’d write about it.

So the band tag and The Veronicas post got me to thinking about mood music…the romantic (or not so romantic) kind.  I guess it was that whole name three crushes followed by my explanation of the sultry song “Untouched.”  Anyways, I figured I would share something personal…the songs that put me in the “mood.”  Here we go…

Paula Cole is an artist I absolutely love.  She sings with so much feeling, every song seems so incredibly personal, she completely hooks me, and I can spend hours just listening to her.  Her song “Pearl” is the sexiest song I have ever heard.  It’s filled with so much vulnerability, so much hope, so much realness…the beat is hypnotic, the vocals amazing.  It’s the perfect romantic song in my mind.  I listen to it, and I can immediately see it being played during the most romantic scene in a movie.  When I have time, I would love to create a video for this song, but for now you’ll have to settle with what I can find on YouTube (and there aren’t very many choices).  Here it is, my number one sexy/romantic song…

There is another kind of “mood” music, and that is purely sexual.  You know what I’m talking about.  Everyone has their favorites.  These songs are meant to directly provoke certain responses in the brain.  Mine is by another artist I have loved for a very long time.  Sophie B. Hawkins.  I was hooked the moment I heard, “Damn, I Wish I Was Your Lover,” but that’s not the song.  Not even close.  This particular song touches parts within my psyche that few songs can.  It’s beyond erotic for me.  It’s called “Listen.”

So now before I close my laptop and go see what my wife is ummm…doing, I’l throw out a couple of random thoughts that are floating around in my brain.  First, do the Japanese have the market cornered on Lolita fashion?  If so, why?  It’s obviously a cultural thing, but how does that translate to fashion?  Next, I need a good app to make videos for iOS.  I use one called Cute Cut, and it’s decent, but there is so much more I want to do than it allows.  I create videos to accompany my short stories, and at some point I will share them with you.  The thing is, I write the stories around the social games I play, or I should say did play, and there is a lot of explaining that goes along with that.

The Veronicas

I can still remember the day I first heard the song “Untouched.”  I was in the car with my daughter, she was four at the time, and this song came on the radio.  I had stopped at a gas station, but remained in the car just to hear this song.  This was pre-smart phone pre-Sound Hound for me, and I remember thinking…who is this?  The song was dark and sultry electro-rock, and it blew me away.  I would spend a lot of time listening to the radio until I finally discovered the band was Australian twins Lisa and Jessica Origliasso, better known as The Veronicas.

“Untouched,” to me, remains one of the all time great songs.  I mean, who else could make the lyrics, “You-ou-ou, ah-ah, la-la-la-la-, la-la-la-la,” sound so damn sexy?  At the time, I was certain The Veronicas were poised to take America by storm, but then…as quickly as they came, they disappeared from American radio.  Luckily, I have never been one to rely on the radio to discover new music.  YouTube and iTunes are my main sources to find great bands.  I have used both to follow the career of The Veronicas.  There hasn’t been a lot to talk about until now.

“Untouched,” as I eventually discovered, was off of the twins’ second album “Hook Me Up.”  The CD in itself is great.  The song, “Revenge is Sweeter (then you ever were)” further solidified my belief that The Veronicas were no one hit wonders.  They had talent, but just didn’t get the play in America they deserved.  As a full body of work, I love The Veronicas, and I have been tracking them for a long time.  Now, backed by the power of the Sony record label, they are back, and as good as ever.

The first single off of the twins’ upcoming self-titled third album took me by surprise.  I was expecting something upbeat.  Instead, The Veronicas released “You Ruin Me.”  The song is a depressing ballad, and simply amazing.  It debuted at #1 on the Australian charts last week, and remained on top for the second week in a row.  It is much deserved.  The only thing I am truly disappointed about is I learned the song “Cross My Heart,” will not be released on the upcoming CD.  I posted the video last October (2013) if you feel like scrolling back.  This song is one of the most beautiful tracks I have ever heard, but unfortunately, you can not buy it.  Believe me, I’ve tried.  I guess as long as I have YouTube I can still listen to it.

So here we go….2008 Veronicas and 2014 Veronicas.  Listen, enjoy, love.  I only hope the US has enough sense to play “You Ruin Me” on the airwaves.  If not, once again we will miss out on some great music.

Band Tag

I would like to thank Asylum Attendant for tagging everyone because he was too lazy.  Luckily, I fall under the everyone category.  Here goes nothing….Band Tag: questions based solely on bands and not individual artists.

1.) Top 3 favorite bands?

This one is relatively easy for me.  The Birthday Massacre, Ego Likeness, and Mankind is Obsolete.  I’ve been completely obsessed with MKIO for the past four months.  The other two have been staples on my playlists for a very long time.  Next question…

2.) Top 3 band member crushes?

I try really really hard to respect artists for their talent and overlook their unmistakable beauty.  Alas, I’m only human.  Here we go…

Jinxy from Santa Hates You.  For me, it really does not get much better than her.

Number two, Noemi Aurora from Helalyn Flowers.  I mean seriously, how the heck does this happen?  Her parents had super genes?

You know, as much as I may think I do not have a certain “type,” the first two women I posted are dark haired Italians.  Maybe not so coincidentally, so is my wife.  Hmmm….  The third is actually Scottish.  Lauren Mayberry of CHVRCHES.  Pure natural beauty.

3.) Favorite song?

Hey, when did this questionnaire switch to just single responses???  I want my top 3, dammit.  Seriously, WTF.  I’m going to stop dwelling on this, and go with my obvious response…”To Die For” by The Birthday Massacre.

4.) Song that makes you sad?

Ummmm…..plenty, and they are usually my favorite songs to listen to, especially when I’m in the right mood.  I’ll go with “More Than What I Am” by Mankind is Obsolete.

5.) Favorite song lyric?

“Without your soul, what would you sell?”  — from Devil’s in the Chemicals by Ego Likeness

6.) Band member I dislike?

I respectfully decline answering this question.  Considering what I do, best to leave this answer blank.

Ok, I don’t think I really have anyone to tag, but I had fun doing this.  Bonus, it killed a whole hour at work 😉

Wait, You Mean to Tell Me I Have a Blog???

What’s this button over here do?  Ok, this looks somewhat familiar.  How about this one over here….

Greetings, everyone!!  It’s been almost exactly a year since I have posted anything.  You can boo, just don’t throw anything (unless it’s peanut butter based and covered in chocolate).  A lot has happened, and yet, it seems like not a lot has either.  It’s just called life.  Two children active in sports, been working overtime, having an actual social life, the magazine (more on that later), and whatever else comes my way.  Free time is a luxury I do not have a lot of.  Writing, mostly I have been concentrating on short stories.  It’s what I love to do.  One day, I still have hope I can get my novel published.  The outlook is a little brighter in that area.

Now, let’s step back in time to where I left off a year ago.  I was debating between attending Emilie Autumn’s book reading and the meet and great with The Birthday Massacre.  It was a tough decision, but in the end, my wife and I are completely certain we made the right the choice.  I’ll show you…

That’s me, the slightly overweight grey haired guy in the center.  Really wish I could inspire myself to get back into yoga.  If you can’t figure out whom my beautiful wife is, I’ll give you a hint…she is the one who is not Chibi.  I saw a lot of amazing bands in concert last year, and TBM blew them all away.  P!nk was definitely second.  Ego Likeness takes honorable mention.

So now we will step back into current day.  The Sonifly gig never really panned out for me, but….Carpe Nocturne Magazine is another story altogether.  Recently, our Publisher/Owner Bob Donovan decided to finally step down after many years of running the magazine.  He sold Carpe Nocturne to a publishing company.  They are called Visual Adjectives and are based out of Florida.  Visual Adjectives handles a lot of first time authors.  Hmmm….but I’m not getting ahead of myself.  Duty calls.  The magazine comes first.

Under the leadership of Bob Donovan, I was the feature editor of the feature music section.  Basically, this meant I was the nag, and the person who would upload everyone’s stories to the server.  It wasn’t exciting at all.  Bob retained control over the scene reporters and the CD reviewers.  He also sent out the assignment lists for the music feature writers (my department).  So what am I building towards?  I am proud to say I have now been given full creative and editorial control over the entire music section of the magazine.  This includes the aforementioned scene reporters and CD reviewers as well as the feature writers.  Pretty pretty cool.  Now, let the work begin…

So what is next for ‘ol Michael Jack?  Well, I am currently interviewing The Birthday Massacre for our winter issue.  I don’t get paid, but this job definitely has perks.  I tried to make it a live face to face interview when they visit Philly on Nov. 13th, but alas…looks like it’s gonna be an email interview.  Still, I’m super excited, and can’t wait for their new CD “Superstition” to be released on Nov. 11th.

I think I’m gonna try to make a go of this blog again.  It’s amazing how in a year you can find so many new bands to talk about.  I think the blog also needs a facelift, it’s just…I’m not very creative and artistic in that manner.  I’ll play with it when I have time and see what I like.  Knowing me, it’ll stay exactly the same.

Speaking of blogs, I want to give a quick shout out to my buddy Jonathan.  I see you are still neurotic as ever.  If you ever feel like expanding your writing, I can always use good writers at the magazine.  We cover Synth-Pop, and hell…a touch of pastel never hurt anyone.  Consider it an open invitation.

Now, I’ll leave you with a video.  I am not a big fan of modern metal, but every now and then a band comes along and grabs you by the ?#!@*.  I am now a huge fan of In This Moment, will be seeing them in concert on November 23rd (my poor wife), and will be writing a scene report about the show for our Spring Issue.  Here is the song that made me fall in love with them.