12/20/23
Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me. Let’s listen to some music and chat about it shall we? I know I said I was going to maybe interview someone again, but frankly it is incredibly challenging for us to schedule this sort of thing so when we think we have opportunities we try to jump on them, but don’t always actually execute these plans when we initially attempt them. It seems that it takes a significant amount of pre-planning, or absolute dumb luck to catch any of our artists in town or doing something as a group that isn’t a show. One of these days I will actually get to sit down with someone, but for now, we will try some new things here and there to be a little less repetitive.
Being so close to Christmas and all, we haven’t actually got any shows happening until this upcoming weekend. Matt will be up in Big Bear at the good old BBB&G, or Big Bear Bar and Grill for the uninitiated, on Friday the 22nd featuring Twenty Dollar Prophets, Loose Affiliates, GHippy, Marty Calderon, and Johnny Carnage. It’s always a good time at BBB&G, especially with this lineup. Go check the show out, get some free hugs, and have a grand weekend. Big Bear is beautiful this time of year.
Nostalgia by Ian Seabolt– *Releasing 12/21/2023*
Names aren’t always my strong point, so when I heard the name I didn’t actually remember that I’d indeed heard this song before. I’ve only ever heard it performed acoustically. This song sounds like it comes from a very personal place. I haven’t had a chance to ask Ian anything about it, but I can tell that he put a great amount of emotion into this one. It’s melancholy and sorrowful and moving. The lyrics certainly paint a picture, and the pink skies in the cover photo he sent me…well. The addition of the violin on this track really filled it out nicely and added to the somber feeling of the song. The acoustic guitar was quiet and haunting by itself when we first heard it ages ago, but this version is truly hauntingly beautiful. I hope you folks give this one a listen and follow Ian if you like his style. He’s got a lot of projects in the works. I’m sure we will be hearing a lot more from him over the next year.
Festival Metal by MaDu – *Releasing 12/26/2023*
Wow, this song is a lot of fun. MaDu really let loose, mashing up metal and EDM in this monster mix. The song is bouncy, gritty, and full of surprises. I wouldn’t necessarily call myself a big fan of EDM or Metal, but MaDu always gets me dancing. I don’t even want to go into detail about it. You just need to listen to it. This song is definitely fit to play at your new years parties folks. In fact it will probably be a fun one to play for just about anything. I’ve listened to it at least 3-4 times already this afternoon and I think I will be turning it on again while I do my chores in a few minutes. Follow MaDu on Spotify now and get your yeets on folks.
Better Dayz (ft Chris Gonzales) by Johnny Carnage *Release date TBD*
While the Sad Truck album’s release date is still unknown, I’ve been given the privilege of previewing one of the songs in advance by Johnny Carnage himself. This song is another one that aims for your heartstrings and gives ‘em a good hard tug. It’s a relatable number about loss, loss of love, loss of family, loss of self…Grief is a process. I started listening to this song this morning before hearing that someone I cared about had passed away in the night. It hit differently on this last listen-through. I’m actually at a bit of a loss for words now. It’s a bop for being a down but hopeful number. I am excited to hear more of this album. Hopefully we can hear more of it soon. Thanks for hitting me in the feels today guys.
I would have liked to write significantly more about Carnage’s new song, but after the news I got an hour or so ago I don’t think I can focus much more today. My apologies folks. Tell your friends and family you love them and hold them close this holiday season. Thank you, as always, for taking a moment to read our blog. It’s still a work in progress and we enjoy sharing our journey with you all. Until next week loves…
blackhat 