#my sister lives like 40 min away from the venue

[larrysblooming]

how tf am i supposed to go to sleep now when i’m high off adrenaline, horny, and jealous af of fucking ohio?!?!!?

[n0resistance]

Wall St

     I remember the summer of 2010 being fun and productive. We were on a hunt for an apartment , I was living at home for the summer working at a pizza place, watching sex and the city (everyday), and missing New York. We wanted specific things about the apartment. Close to school, an affordable price, and something for all of us. 

      We looked in Bed-stuy but it was too far from school, we couldn’t imagine commuting on a train for 30 mins. The landlord also didn’t feel good about us being so young. 

     Landlords give college students, especially ones who never lived on their own before, a difficult time. We looked around union square and saw our dream loft. The girl who showed us the apartment had a red Moped and heals on. She was very Manhattan and the place was very expensive. 

     It was fun to imagine our lives in many different places. One day after apartment hunting in the city, my new roommate and I went out to celebrate finding something we liked! We decided to go sake bombing and sushi. I had the car that I drove into the city. We were in the east village and I had work in New Jersey at the pizza place in the morning. I got so drunk off the sake and got sick. Could never handle my alcohol at 19 and my friend drove me to Long Island  because that’s where she lived (and thankfully would not let me drive ). 

    I woke up on Long Island and was so hung over, had to drive to New Jersey at 8 AM to make my 10 AM shift. It was horrible and I was young and dumb. We got approved for the apartment the next day! 

     We found an apartment on Wall Street walking distance from Pace and it was out of our budget but we took it! It was a one bed room we were able to convert to 2 bedroom, with a make shift wall. Which is a fake wall because you can hear everything in the kitchen. Since I shared a room we paid less than our roommate who had her own room. To share a room on Wall Street in a luxury building is $950 per person per month. It’s not cheap. It’s kind of a dream come true to have your first apartment in Manhattan. It became an identity. 

     The girl I shared a room with and I had shared the dorm together the year before. So we already knew what it was like to live with each other in the same room. We all shared a huge walk in closet where we had to go in our third roommate’s room to get our stuff. So nobody had privacy; but we had a gym, a doorman, rooftop access, and the roof was beautiful. You could “rent out the space for parties”, and the best part of this apartment was we got to have my dog Scrappy, who was left at home during freshmen year. 

    The semester started and I was broker than ever. I walked through the back of the apartment building and discovered this old Dutch looking street with cobble stones. It was empty but I noticed that each spot had a restaurant. I had pizza place experience on my resume. However, nowhere in New York wants to hire you unless you have New York experience. I was on a hunt. I applied everywhere and wasn’t getting anything, mainly because of the no New York experience. My resume had High school, Hollister, and Stefanos Pizzeria on it. I wasn’t that desirable. While I was walking my dog Scrappy on Stone Street I was looking at the restaurants and a guy started talking to me about Scrappy. We had a small conversation and when he was going inside I asked if he was hiring. He said, for what? I said anything. He said sure, you can have a job, come by this evening and we’ll start training. I was so excited! Even though I had no idea what my job would be.

     2010 was surreal! My first apartment on Wall Street and first job as a New York  hostess at a Mexican Cantina. It was owned by three white men who lived in New Jersey. They all were married with kids, and were not Mexican what so ever. The third floor was their office. Second floor had a bunch of seats and a Guacamole Bar. The main floor had high top chairs, a bar, and then there was outdoor seating (benches, picnic tables, on cobblestone). Which was the part of stone street that reminds everyone of October fest. We had a manager who was really cool, most of the servers were actresses, and the hostesses handled things like seating people and any take out orders. It was a lot of people, and we were booked everyday. The basement was where the kitchen was. We had amazing guacamole and margaritas that cost $12 each. 

    If I had to do it over, I would lie and say I was server and hopefully get a serving job. I just settled for the hostess job that paid $12 per hour because I was desperate without experience. I worked a lot for a student. This job lasted me 3 years while I was in school, on and off. On holidays like Cinco de Mayo or October fest, some people would wait for an hour for a table. Sometimes celebrities would be spotted there like Finch from American Pie or Michael Keaton, they loved the Burritos and probably had a luxury apartment there.

   I remember my first week the owner found out I was 19, going to school at Pace, having my first apartment with roommates. He said, “so your life must be so fun, am I right?” I mean everything was new and exciting, I felt like I was a mini adult living in the financial district. I was broke all the time, my dog barked and peed in the house (my neighbors got upset), oh and I still did not know what I wanted to do with my life! 

    I joined a sorority that semester. Made a lot of mistakes during my pledging process but it was so fun. One time I spent the money I was supposed to use for rent at a bar called Gaslight in the Meatpacking district. I bought everyone tequila shots and it was definitely $250 and I used my rent money partially. That night I lost my phone, my keys, my wallet, and my dignity. I don’t know how I got home but I needed to get bailed out from my mistake. I would make a lot of resolutions when this would happen. Get good grades, save money, be a good human, volunteer, and go home more often. In school I never missed a class  because of these resolutions. My passion was hanging out with people from school and finding a new place that would take our fake IDs. I always used real people’s IDs. It really just needed to go through the ID machine. However, the club got caught with under age drinking and got stricter. They would get taken away by security guards and then I’d be on the hunt again for a new one. 

    My pledge name was L0ko like Fourl0ko because I got caught 4x drinking when we were a dry process. I would get caught in neighborhood hangouts like the McDonalds near McGuire’s from an older sorority sister or worse my pledge mom. We got in trouble for getting our nose pierced during purity week on St. Marks. I had to write a paper on alcoholism. Luckily my roommate was in the sorority and I made friends through her fast. I was invested in Greek life. The partying was at apartments, bars, rooftops, venues, you name it. The city was our oyster and we met so many people to drink with and socialize with.

    They all mainly studied business and it was nice to feel like we were actually in college. We even went to West Chester to see the Homecoming game. New York took away from the college experience. 

    One time we had a party and at first not many people showed up. I think it was a holiday party or something. Before you knew it, everyone was there. People we didn’t even know. This one girl was interning on Wall St brought her boss. He must’ve been in the age group 35-40 and hit on our friend who was 19 years old. She said no and he hit her or choked her. A bunch of Staten Island guys who were friends with us at the time dragged him out of the apartment and beat him up in the elevator. The creepy man was getting married and had a broken nose. Another guy got angry with my friend for not liking him and I think she ignored him. He came to our party with an orange spray tan, and bragged about his money, and because everyone ignored him, he threw a Grey Goose bottle at the chandelier in our hallway to the elevator.  It shattered everywhere. How crazy is that?  It was just an out of control in our one bedroom converted two bedroom,  apartment. I can’t believe how out of hand kids can get. It was actually scary because the liability was on us if anybody gets hurt. 

    The party turned into a shit show and I never want to have anything like that again. After stuff like getting in the sorority, starting my first job, my third obstacle was my dog and his bad behavior. Our neighbor was a doctor and complained about us constantly. Scrappy barked. I even got a barking collar that sprayed citrus in his face. He liked the citrus so much that he would taste the orange spray and would continue barking. To control the barking I found that leaving music on helped his anxiety. Taking a Jersey dog to the city really freaks them out. The noise and the city walking. The city also helped him because he had skin allergies and was allergic to grass, so the concrete was nice. 

    We had some set backs and then we had the summer and Junior year was approaching. I got into a study abroad program the next year in Italy. So that summer to prepare for it as well as my hostess job I also worked at a bar called Thunder Jackson's and there would be no hourly pay nor benefits. I was still only 19 turning 20 and never worked at a bar. Sometimes I made $500 on a Friday or Saturday night and sometimes on an afternoon, I would make nothing. So I saved what I could. I spent the summer hanging out with sorority girls and guys from the Fraternity. One I was dating.

    He just got out of a relationship and knew I was leaving for Rome so we just took it slow. We would go out, eat, drink and sleep til 4 every day. Before I left, he tried to take me to Jersey Dives to experience Sky diving. There were too many clouds that day that we couldn’t go. We spent the whole day waiting because I was leaving for Italy that Monday. I’m glad that happened because he wasn’t the person I was supposed to do that with. I’m terribly afraid of heights. Italy was approaching and it was time to say goodbye to Wall Street.

    I wasn’t going to really have a say in the new apartment, they found it when I was on my way to London. It was in the Upper East Side and I was going to live with the same girls. I took the money I saved for the summer and gave it to my dad to give to me incrementally over the semester so I could use it abroad. I got someone to sublet my spot and was ready to go. Everything felt good except that situation-ship, he was slowly but surely ghosting me. He meant something to me because at that time he was the third person I dated, in my whole life. Everything was perfect but leaving him was not going smooth. I didn’t know when to call it quits, so I decided to write him about every experience I was having abroad and then just like that from Wall Street to Rome. Well, at that point it was Wall street, to London, to Florence to Rome.

At the end of that semester my counselor said I needed to decide on a major. She asked me “ What do you want to get out of college?” I said, “A JOB”. She said “Go into hotels, you’ll always have a job.” My junior year I was a business major with a concentration in Hotel Management. 1 out of 30 students in the hotel management department. It felt right. 

[jem-sie-blog]

A London Architect at Birmingham

london architectsWell here's my comparison of my Cultural Life at Birmingham, following London, which though not extensive, is based on my personal experiences, but I have supplied links for each institution for additional info.

Performance Venues of London

Obviously in London, we're spoilt for choice in regards to our functionality choices. For our classical tastes you can frequently visit the famous Royal Opera House, to visit the world renowned Royal Opera Company or The Royal Ballet, with occasional trips to the Sadlers Wells Theatre for Ballet Rambert. Our desire for modern dance could be farther quelled from the local and improving Place theater, at Euston, whereas our multi-cultural thirsts were quenched from the Kathak and Bharatnatyam reveals in The Bhavan at West Kensington and The Nehru Centre at Mayfair.

Our enthusiasm for live theater was satiated from the romantic Pit theater, in the Barbican, that has supplied the RSC with among greatest places, they had, although the numerous guises of The Almeida Theatre were in easy accessibility when residing in North London. However The South Bank had been a consistent supply of amusement in our period in London, using its National Theatre, Royal Festival Hall and its intimate acquaintances, The Purcell Room and Queen Elizabeth Hall, all supplying venues for a number of performances which range from South Asian Dance to British Youth Opera productions in addition to the more customary renditions of the Classics.

Down the street out there, The Globe Theatre, given the summertime outdoor option, which though can be sometimes harshly criticised for its productions of Shakespeare's History plays or Tragedies, is unquestionably among the finest arenas to encounter his comedies. These summertime would frequently have observed us head for the open air excursions at Holland Park Opera, the Proms in Kenwood House and Regents Park Theatre consistently equipped with all our obligatory pre-performance picnics (even in the downpour in Marble Hill House Concert, the series went on!)

Art Galleries / Museums of London

The autumnal / winter months will be spent in our favorite art Institutions, The Royal Academy, The V&A, The National Gallery, The British Museum and Tate Britain. Because most of people were members on'friends schemes' for all these institutions we would venture to many, if not , the displays which were available at these significant venues. With this kind of enormous collections you could not get tired because you're spoilt for choice, though I could say in my own time in London I had was able to stop by each gallery / area of most the aforementioned associations.

London's Contemporary Art Scene However London would also, obviously, offer innumerable opportunities to sample smaller modern displays, rather than simply at the famed Tate Modern but also many smaller places. Inside our North London place we would have easy access to The Victoria Miro Gallery, The Estorick, The Lisson as well as The Camden Arts Centre whilst a Fast tube ride could get us into The White Cube in Hoxton or Whitechapel Gallery. Our excursions to the center were usually restricted into The Serpentine, The Hayward and also the ICA (that we also united ), although we would rarely venture south to get any other modern gallery aside from the notorious Tate Modern.

So, with that London was supplying us exactly what could Birmingham provide us following the re-location?

Performance Venues of Birmingham

After moving into Birmingham city center to install Lotus Architects, I found myself working and living only metres from The Hippodrome, Birmingham's most important place for many different top attractions which range from West End Musicals, touring productions of the Welsh National Opera and being the house of the relocated Birmingham Royal Ballet. They, like myself, abandoned their North London home to'live' in Birmingham, albeit a couple of decades before myself.

Having terminated my Royal Academy, Tate and ICA memberships my very first enrolments came in the fantastic Birmingham Hippodrome and the excellent Birmingham Royal Ballet which won the closing South Bank Show Award for its dance department. The Hippodrome also houses the Dance Xchange that offers a intricate programme of artistic aid, performances, which with its own Patrick Centre place provides an assortment of classic and modern dance from Jazz & Hip Hop to Tap Dancing and Capoeira too including Kathak, Bharatnatyam and Bollywood in its own listings.

A additional 10 minute walk provides us access the Birmingham Repertory Theatre, currently approaching its Centenary, it had continued to become among the nation's top theatre companies generating not only classics, but continuing contemporary productions, even on a global in addition to a neighborhood level. Its neighbor, The Symphony Hall, is thought to be, not just the UK's greatest concert hall, but also among the finest on earth', providing the ideal place for the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra's repertoire of classic symphonies in addition to recitals of this not-so-famous pieces.

Its sister place, again only minutes away, is the glorious classical Town Hall, recently restored to give an alternative more romantic place. Its programs, however, does not just confine itself to classical recitals, but ventures outside to encircle an eclectic selection of performances from World Music into Comedy, to Rock/Pop to Folk. But some of popular exhibits, ranging from Dance to Comedy are also being staged at chief Symphony Hall itself to cater to the big crowds.

Nearby we also have the choice of walking into The CBSO Centre, residence and rehearsal area, of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, which offers another comfy place for recitals, but also houses the BCMG (Birmingham Contemporary Music Group) that is now established among the nation's leading exponents of fresh and modern music.

So while you can see you personally 6 big performance venues around within 10 minutes walking distance away from where I live, none of which have failed to impress me. However I Can't go without mentioning St Philip's Cathedral, supplying me with complimentary Friday lunchtime classical recitals in Addition to The Birmingham Oratory and St Pauls Church from the Jewellery Quarter. The previous twonot only offer typical recitals but additionally provide outlets to determine normal performances of Birmingham's own Ex Cathedra Choir.

Though The Covent Garden Opera House could scarcely be matched concerning quality, however since the current reviews of the Birmingham Opera Company, shown that, in regards to invention and inventiveness, Birmingham's own opera company is in a category of its own. A exceptional business that doesn't possess a permanent venue but rather offers identifying productions in unconventional and unusual places, such as vacant warehouse or derelict factories, apparently magically altered to supply completely viable settings for en-promenade productions of Mozart's King Idonomeneo and Verdi's Otello.

Outdoor lovers are well catered for in the local Birmingham Botanical Gardens which yearly phases open air productions. The offerings vary in the bewitching Shakespearean dreams and comedies to conventional fairytale plays, in addition to branching from the classics. All of that may be appreciated, together with the relaxation of your picnic hamper, one of the gorgeous tranquil settings of those 15 acres of gardens.

Eventually there's a multipurpose venue that's presently being enlarged and because of re-open after this summer and that's The Midland Arts Centre. The expansion will produce a new purpose created gallery for both international and national visual artists and craft manufacturers, whilst the present performance theater and studio equally being renovated to cater to all kinds of theater and dance. The MAC also comprises SAMPAD, the Birmingham based development agency for South Asian artwork. In addition to supplying performances by professional musicians for our viewing enjoyment it's also learning resources center to the youth and neighborhood community.

Fine Art Galleries and Museums of Birmingham

Again in 10mins walk is Birmingham biggest museum, Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, which I joined as a buddy member. It's also the largest Local Authority Museum at the Country.

It's now 125 years old and houses some 40 permanent galleries in addition to two temporary spaces. The museum not only houses fine art paintings from normal chronological shows but also includes a massive variety of antiquities, coins & medals but includes extensive applied art, social history and archaeological & ethnographical collections, which makes it Birmingham's response to the V&A, British Museum and National Gallery.

Some accomplishment but I have nonetheless mention its key attraction, thanks it that the town's Pre-Raphaelite heritage. This has caused amassing the biggest ever and most comprehensive group of Pre-Raphaelite artwork functions (some 3000), many that are often loaned into national and global institutes across the planet, making this among the main museums in the nation.

Additionally it's a further seven satellite arenas, which though not all of walkable, array in the 17th Century buildings of Aston Hall and Blakesley Hall into the enormous 1.5 hectare site of this enormous Museums Collection Centre, holding hundreds of thousands of items from steam engines to cars and sculptures. It's also has affiliations with Sarehole Mill, a part of the Birmingham's Tolkien Trail, in addition to Soho House, home of the entrepreneur and industrialist, Matthew Boulton who also launched the Lunar Society here.

However it's with its neighboring Museum of the Jewellery Quarter which was recently given the accolade, by TripAdvisor, as Europe's 3rd greatest free tourist attraction, behind the Pantheon at Rome and the National Gallery at London.

A couple of minutes drive, Situated inside the University of Birmingham is the marvellous Barber Institute of Fine Arts. A real gem of a magician within one of the Best Art Deco Buildings from the Midland (listed Grade II). The group and the adventure has been described as a combination of the Dulwich Picture Galleryand also The Courthauld Institute in Somerset House, London. Not only does this include a fantastic assortment of renaissance and 17th to 19th C paintings however, additionally, it has an ever expanding collection of functions on paper.

But while housing a diverse selection of sculptures & decorative arts dating from the 14th C up into the 20th C, it's its coin collection that will captures the headlines. The institute boasts one of the best Byzantine Collection of Coins in Europe totalling 15,000, which sadly can not all be displayed simultaneously. This was not sufficient to create my membership worthwhile it also provides half price tickets for its own musical events. The identical building conceals a little yet glorious concert hall, which will be host to the yearly Birmingham Early Music Festival, Birmingham Summer Festival and its Summer Festival Opera. Along with this it provides continuing lunchtime and evening recitals ranging from chamber music and choir to jazz

Contemporary Art Scene of Birmingham

At the center in the event the town center, we've got the globally acclaimed Ikon Gallery, now in its 40th season, located inside the Victorian Neo Gothic former Oozels St School. The construction contains its most important galleries in addition to its own Learning / Education section, although its off-site strand boosts the dynamic connection of art inside its outside surroundings. In the past few years it's expanded to a second satellite construction to the east of town center, a region named Eastside, thus giving the title of Ikon Eastside.

Eastside has quickly been the creative quarter of town, not only supplying a house for media experts Vivid, a top source for filmmakers & networking artists with it gear hire centers but also a supplier of invaluable technical / consultancy information. Additionally it permanent gallery continues to present advanced displays and events, offering internships and residencies and multi-disciplinary collaborative opportunities.

The area has turned into a hot-bed for artistic existence because the conversion of the prior Custard Factory to a venture for smaller arts and media ventures, but also comprising gallery spaces like studio4gallery & Vaad Gallery. The job was a springboard for little up and coming art associations in the region, with Grand marriage, The Lombard Method and The Endless Supply just a small number of the current institutions that have setup here.

CONCLUSION

Well at first glance would have believed the Second City would battle really with it cultural and artistic heritage compared to London and to tell the truth quite few second cities, even in almost any countries can claim to fit it capital town in regards to these terms. But whilst it might struggle when it comes to the amount of places it provides, as you've read it could easily accommodate London with number of offerings also has managed to maintain a fervent culture vulture like content. In a 15 minute walking radius there's a multitude and prosperity of cultural choices and should you prepared to jump on a bus or settle for a brief drive then you've greater choices, so much so you almost forgets what London utilize to provide us. Its comes as no real surprise for me to listen to this Birmingham is a finalist (1 of 4 cities) bidding to be the UK's City of Culture for 2013. Read more info click London architects

[justafastfoodknight]

I guess I should write about what’s been going on? because there’s a shitload and i kind of hate myself for not keeping up with it!!!?ok

so last week was our trip to San Fransisco. mind u i had posted that we had no place to stay and would most likely cancel the trip... well we found a place. On the first night we met up with M’s co-workers and got a hotel/motel. Juliette had texted me saying she really wanted to meet up so we made a plan to in the next couple of hours. I was so nervous cause I have never had a friend understand things like she understands me and this is legit all from memes and tidbits we’d message on IG in the past years. she said she was gonna pick me up and take me to eat with her friend. So i got the i’m outside text and there she was! it was legit surreal. So met her friend who was super tall but super chill. let me say i’m fat af and that we had to walk every fucking where. holy shit. so we walked and talked about living in SF and me in the Valley. We made it to the underground station, they call it Bart. and we started really talking... like how anxiety and depression has fucked with our mentality and how it effects our academics. she asked me what I wanted to do and i was like since HS it’s been the same thing: movies. but i have so many idea and i have resources but i don’t have friends who want to and i have a shell i can’t break out of to socialize and network to do anything... and i was like i feel like such a failure because i have such a burning passion and i’ve had time but nothing has come of it. and i swear it was so nice to have someone else who had this outlook like: tbh i’m not even worried. and it wasn’t even like she had a set plan so she wasn’t worried but more of: “why do i have to have a career at 30? i realized i can’t do school so i’m taking simple easy classes on things i like and i’ll see where that leads.. i’m trying to not let societies pressure tell me i need to be at a certain place by a certain age.” and then i had this epiphany right there with her and told her about how David lynch started painting and doing sculptures as a teen and how that actually landed him a scholarship to a film school where he fucking made Eraserhead. and i said that he even now, being 70 something has creative control of his work which is FUCKING rare but he legit stuck to his aesthetics no matter how long it took him and he’s still getting praised. 

so yeah, then we got off the bart and walked a ton to this pizza place. trust i was tired af wanting to die from walking so much, and this line to get pizza was fucking insane. i was like are u sure we can even wait to eat cause i’m already tired. but we stuck it out and I HAVE NEVER EATEN PIZZA THAT FUCKING GREAT BEFORE IN MY ENTIRE LIFE I FUCKING SWEAR!! so we started talking about how everyone in our class has babies and is engaged and married or have careers and shit and then we got into it about TA. Mind you, no one but maybe 2 people know what i think about him regardless if we hang out or talking or whatever. so then i was saying how crazy baby fever is and then she said “yeah i had a serious case back in HS when I dated TA, i swear i would have had his child and married him right then and there no questions asked i loved him that much.” bitch my insides shattered. i mean yeah he has a gf, and yea i’d known that they dated, but i never knew it was that serious. and here’s a girl who’s friendship i really fucking value telling me she was IN LOVE LOVE LOVE with some dude I tell myself i’m going to marry or be with. it sounds fucking crazy and i sound like a fucking idiot because this is all theoretical but omg i was like girl-code says u can’t date a friends ex. i took it with a grain of salt and reminded myself of the past things that had happened (which i will get into) and was kind of like ok, chill the fuck out.

we then walked to the amoeba record store and talked about movies and music and she’s so talkative and funny bish i was so happy to be around her. she’s enigmatic and pure i loved that she always had shit to say. so we bought stuff and made our way back. on the train she said that she noticed i had a little crab symbolizing Cancer and she said that that’s why we understood each other so well because she is also one! I had no idea but i was like UR AN EMO WRECK LIKE ME!!! it makes a lot of sense actually. from how we act around people and how we think it’s pt fucking cool. so walking back to my hotel she said she was sorry for not offering to host us but she was in a super tiny space that she would even hate for her sisters to come and stay with her because it was just her big ass bed and almost no other space but she said she was moving in the next year so she said i’d have to come down more often and stay with her!! it sounds super gay, trust me i know! but i have not made friends in fucking years!! so getting back i go up and like i fucking said we walked for hours and Mel and her friends had plans to go to a gay club which i was all for earlier but now that i had blisters on my feet and had makeup running down my face i was like pjs on lay in bed, watch the proposal and fall the fuck asleep. her friends were really cool too though. like one is this super femme gay dude who is circling around the idea of doing drag so his makeup is BOMB AF!! and the other girls were a lesbian couple who spoke so softly but were the cutest thing ever. so they kept drinking and being loud but i tbh did not mind, and they got on their last coats and left. the next thing i remember it was 4 am and M was on top of me saying some crap about the club and sorry for being so loud. then i heard them say that the coke was working so well and that they had so much energy. M kept saying she wanted to run around the block and at thjis point i was so fucking tire di wouldn’t even get up to check up on her, plus i had cramps and it was honestly 40 degress in that room cause they left the air on. so we all knocked out and we woke up to 23498234092834092384 alarms and the snooze buttons like a million times omg it was so funny after. got breakfast, went down to the golden gate bridge, which is impossible to even comprehend, went bowling, got burritos, drove to lombard st. and then got dropped off at our hostel. there was a mix up and we ended up in different rooms. we met up outside and decided to walk to the venue to see how far it was... bitch it was 20 mins walking and another 10mins trying to find the entrance... but the second we turned the corner.. THE FUCKING MARQUEE SAID BRAND NEW SEPT. 11!!! BITCH I WAS SCREAMING AND PUSHING M BECAUSE HOLY SHIT!!!  we both got so excited!!!!! so we headed back and I said “i’m not taking chances i’mma wake up at 6 and be there by seven! i did not go through a fucking heart attack of a time to get here to NOT be front row.” so she said she was gonna meet up with a friend to get breakfast and that she would show up later. well I got there at 7 am and i was the first one for like 2 hours. honestly i have no idea how i do it, to pass the time i mean. like the show wasn’t until 9 and we spent all day outside just watching shit go by. but the people around us were super cool and raging BN fans which made me heart swell!! plus Jesse FUCKING LACEY walked right by us and was in an art supply store for hours!! i’m not even exaggerating but i heard he was on his phone the whole time and yeah. I didn’t wanna be that fan girl like before so i dropped it and just accepted it. so time came around to go in and right as i get into the part to scan my ticket it isn’t scanning.... i was like no!!!! hurry up i was being an asshole to the dude but he just let me go and my ass ran!!! i left M behind because i was deadset gonna save our spots and yeah we fucking made it center front row. let’s just say the show was a bit of a letdown. first: there was this huge screen in front which from far away looks incredible but from up front it’s just covering and outlining the band.. so that didn’t go up until half way and then came down again which was so fucking annoying!! plus!! they left off on an not so good song to end off on... i mean ur supposed to play an acoustic of best song last but no they did a hardcore one that left EVERYONE confused!! idk everyone after was like wtf tho!! but such a heartwarming part was singing Soco Amm with everyone in the crowd and knowing every word it was so fucking PURE!! During the wait outside before the show i decided to read up on the lyrics and facts which is my afvorite thing to do! i’m that bitch lol. but i was realling listening to the lyrics and Can’t Get it Out came on and i got so fucking teary-eyed holy shit i was shaking. the song about depression and feeling like a failure because nothing has been done although u love creating was so heartbreaking to hear. I decided it was my next tattoo so when this song came on and they played it my ass was crying and screaming at the top of my lungs. it was so good though cause i love love love the feeling of the crowd pushing me against the barricade cause it’s so reminiscent of my youth and shit i rarely ever do anymore. so the show ended and we left looking wrecked and flew back home.

now listening to Science Fiction i already have nostalgia and a fucking deeper love for Brand New i can’t stress it enough my heart will break the day they say it’s finally over ;~;

so work updates? um the shift at Urbane finally fucking left, it’s been months since he’s said he’d leave because things were “so fucked up there” but it was legit all rooted to him. so the manager and the dm sat down with him after multiple attempts to help him and told him he’d been demoted to kitchen cook. he got mad, and then later ranted that he wasn’t going to show up the next day... and he didn’t. legit everyone there is so much happier and less stressed out!! we all commented on the same thing it’s so nice!!

[vileart]

Dramaturgy Awakes: Miranda Colmans @ Edfringe 2017

New solo show reveals the struggles and darker side of insomnia at this year’s Fringe

Miranda Colmans / Free Festival

Awake

It's the middle of the night and I'm awake. "I'm Awake"... are you?

A brand-new show by experienced performer and novice writer Miranda Colmans, Awake is about five women around the world who are all awake in the middle of the night.  Their narratives are interwoven to reveal their joint story, exploring the harrowing effects Insomnia can have on the lives of those that suffer from it

Performing dates 3rd-27th August 2017

Performance time 18:45

Venue Basement @ The Cuckoo’s Nest, 69 Home Street, Edinburgh, Venue 106

Ticket Price Free / unticketed

Performance length Approx 40 mins

Performer Miranda Colmans

What was the inspiration for this performance?

"Awake" is not autobiographical but it is inspired by my personal experiences with insomnia. I’ve suffered on and off with insomnia since I was about 12 and one night, lying awake again it came to me that this would be a good thing to write about.  30% of British people suffer with short periods of insomnia, women being twice as likely to do so, therefore the topic is something that many people can identify with. 

Is performance still a good space for the public discussion of ideas? 

Absolutely.  Performance is a great way to have a debate - writers can explore an argument through their characters by pitting them against each other.  

The writer may or may not come up with a definitive answer.  

I love leaving the theatre and having a good chew over what I've just seen and I like the idea that that thought and influence can have life beyond the

theatre's walls.  Theatre can of course also tell stories which may not have been heard by a wider audience before and I think that is vital - to society at large and to the people whose stories they are.

How did you become interested in making performance?

I remember taking part in school Nativity plays and even from that early age, I knew that this was something I enjoyed.  I always loved to play dressing up games and the idea of pretending to be someone else.  

As a child, along with my sister and our friends, we would often make up shows for our long-suffering parents to watch and I seem to have just carried this habit forward into adulthood!  Before I went to drama school, I did a BA Hons in Drama and Theatre Studies at Chester.  

Our course was very practical and we spent three years devising our own work.  It was a brilliant degree and gave me a lot of confidence to create work and to see the endless possibilities of performance.

Is there any particular approach to the making of the show?

Trial and error!  This is the first play that I've written for one performer with multiple characters, so I've been feeling my way through it, writing, re-writing and creating characters to see what will best work to deliver the story.

Does the show fit with your usual productions?

As a professional actress, I don't think that I have a "usual" production as I've done a bit of everything.  I've always wanted to write and to do a one-woman show so I am really excited to be making this happen.

What do you hope that the audience will experience?

I would like audiences to come away having been told a good story.  I hope that they will invest in and enjoy listening to the different characters

What strategies did you consider towards shaping this audience experience?

My staging is quite simple as I would like the audience to listen to the story, rather than be distracted by set and props.  Awake is designed in that respect for an intimate space and for the audience to hopefully feel as if they are being told this tale one on one.

It's the middle of the night.  The air is still, the moon is up, foxes are skulking under lampposts. Many people are deeply, blissfully asleep, unaware of the tortured souls around them who are struggling to sleep.  But there is a place where they can meet, a place to find comfort and solace..."I'm Awake"... are you?

Speaking on the inspiration behind Awake, playwright Miranda Colmans said “I’ve suffered on and off with insomnia since I was about 12 and one night, lying awake again it came to me that this would be a good thing to write about.  30% of British people suffer with short periods of insomnia, women being twice as likely to do so, therefore the topic is something that many people can identify with.”

from the vileblog http://ift.tt/2ttJ5dJ

[matthewwilliamcharles]

Tour Journal 1/31 -2/7/2017

Hey all, here is the tour journal from my last tour.  Overall the tour was great, saw lot’s of old friends and met some new ones.  Most people I met at the shows had a positive attitude, always a couple bad apples but no major rock star ego’s. Mainly groups of artists enthusiastic about playing and supporting DIY music!!  

Tuesday January 31st / Driving day from Philadelphia, PA to Richmond, VA.  I packed up and left for tour Tuesday evening. No shows that night, I had four shows in North Carolina starting the next day. Richmond was an easy half way point for the first drive. My long time friend and ex band-mate Lewis let me crash at his place.  I got in around 10-10:30 pm. and we proceeded to drink beers and catch up through most of the night, although both of us were exhausted and cut ourselves off before heading into the wee hours.

Wednesday February 1st / Got up that morning and headed out to get coffee.  Lewis was going to run errands and meet back up with me.  It was only about 4 hours to Fayettville, NC were my first show was, and I didn’t need to be there until 7-8pm, so I wasn’t in a hurry.  I broke out my laptop in the cafe to catch up with emails.  To my dismay I got the early morning notification from the club, The Rock Shop, that the show had been cancelled.  The message was sent to my Facebook “Band Page” and stated “ What's up man? Are you good for playing Art Attack next week on the 8th. We have to close this week. Thanks”.  For those of you who don’t know, this is not how tours work. I had booked this tour months in advance, and had this show booked back in November.  I knew that having all my dates booked solid was too good to be true.  My first reply back to the club was, “ No, I'm on tour right now, I will not be anywhere close to Fayettville, NC on the 8th....I've been sending messages the last two weeks to get details, why am I only getting a message now?”  I didn’t receive a reply to this message.  When Lew met back up with me at the coffee shop I told him what happened.  He said, “Well I guess that means you don’t have to play tonight”.  But no, I had to look for another show, I take this time off to play music.  Granted a day lounging with my friends around Richmond sounds great, but there would be no way to ease my frustration than to search, and hopefully find another show.  I started researching online, first Richmond to see if there was anything I could likely hop on, but no luck.  I checked out surrounding areas, then in North Carolina.  It looked like there could be something I could squeeze on in Carborro, NC, possibly Chapel Hill.  I sent out some messages, we grabbed lunch and then I headed down to North Carolina.  First place I stopped was Carborro, NC, which for a small town it was extremely difficult to park on a Wednesday evening.  The venue 2nd Wind had a music showcase, but when I talked to the bartender it seemed like chances were slim and that the night was booked solid.  I went back to my car to regroup, I found a pop punk show in Chapel Hill.  I sped over there, basically the same town, and stopped at what I think was club 506.  I told the door guy my situation, and he was very sympathetic, having played music and been in the same situation before.  But the event was handled all by an outside promoter, and they had no pull.  I bounced around town for another hour or so and ended up a couple blocks down the street at The Cave.  I had heard about the Cave for years, and by the sight of the place, (dark dank punk rock dive) I thought my odds might be pretty good.  The bartender, who was a young punk kid, was super helpful with suggestions, but told me there was nothing he could do, if he had the authority to throw me on the show he would.  He was in charge of door and sound, no promoter in house, basically told me I was SOL.  I left and tried his suggestions, but nobody had any openings.  I returned to the Cave, basically having no where to else to go, hoping that maybe the situation in the Cave had somehow changed.  Same result, although he gave me some more ideas. I had found an open mic in Raleigh (45 min away) and he told me to try and hit up their sister bar Slim’s.  So I was off again, making my way to Slim’s, as that sounded like the best option.  I walked in the bar and struck up a conversation with the bartender..  I told him my situation, but there was nothing going on that night, but told me there was a show down the street at Kings.  Immediately though a patron that was sitting beside me heard my story and offered me a beer.  He said, “You lost your show, I know the road is tough, least I can do is buy you a beer”.  So I prolonged my attempt at trying to hit up Kings down the street and enjoyed a beer with my new friend.  After I took down the beer I walked a couple blocks to Kings, which for one had a $12 cover. I could also hear metal/hardcore bands playing in the distance, this was not a show I was going to be able to hop on.  I raised the white flag, and retreated to Slim’s.  I decided I would drink a couple more beers.  Money was tight this trip, and not having a show on the first day with no opportunity to sell my stuff or get some tips was a back breaker.  Granted I could have busked, I could have played my cards differently but this is what happened.  I moved on to my next game, which is known as “find a couch or floor for the night”.  I was in a bar with what seemed to be a friendly group, and I figured if I could start some conversation, make some friends that could offer me some hospitality.  I made some idle conversation with some folks, for the most part people were friendly but I could quickly tell this was going nowhere.  After beer number two I decided to find the nearest truck stop outside the city and set up there for the night.  After arriving at the truck stop and “settling in”, I started feeling frustrated about day number one of tour.  I decided to write the owner of the club one more time and make sure I let him know how much of an asshole he was.  Usually I don’t resort to this, not the first time it has happened to me, but usually I end up finding something!  Failing made me angry so I wrote,” Hey man, I have spent months organizing and putting this tour together. I spend hours everyday trying to piece this together, and have worked extra hours to finance this whole thing myself. To have a show cancelled the day of, without apology or any sense of regret is the shittiest thing you can do to a touring musician. I understand things happen, and that running a business, especially a bar/music venue is not easy and not always profitable. But to do this to me, without any time to throw something else together, and not even show sympathy is absolutely garbage. I discovered this message after driving hours towards Fayetville, exited to have the opportunity to play in front of some new people.  At the very least I deserved an apology or a legit explanation.”  Long story short he told me he had a death in the family and that’s why they closed, and then he somehow blamed me for cancelling the follow up gig.  He did apologize, and I apologized for giving him shit and showed sympathy for his loss, but said if he had just told me in the first place I would have never reacted the way that I did.

Thursday February 2nd / After waking up at a Raleigh truck stop I made my way into the city.  I had pretty much all day to kill and my next show was in Raleigh.  I didn’t do much, except walk around a lot, finding cheap things to eat.  Thought about busking, but didn’t want to move my car from the free parking spot that I had found, and didn’t want to lug my heavy guitar case across town to the prime busking spots (which it’s illegal to busk in Raleigh without a permit, not sure how strict the enforcement is). I was glad to see musicians at the venue early, ready to load in.  I met Mikka and the Nevernauts, my internet friends of the past year, finally meeting up with them in person.  The door guy for the venue was upbeat and positive, respectful to the bands, telling jokes and keeping things lively.  All the bands were on time, and no bullshit when we talked about the lineup.  Deep South the Bar was the name of the place, and I would definitely play there again.  The bands had promoted the show, certainly wasn’t packed, but there were people there. In other words it blew the previous nights experience out of the water.  Raw Dog played first, and then they all stuck around for the rest of the show, standing up front for all of the bands.  I played second, a little rusty and out of sorts. I hadn’t played since Monday and it showed. Still felt great to play and I got my shit together by the end of the set.  Born Again Heathens played next, awesome Celtic punk, bagpipes and all.  Then Nevernauts headlined and those guys are awesome.  We all took a group picture at the end of the night, it was a solid experience.  I made some gas money, I had a couple opportunity's for places to stay from people I met at the show, but most likely would have been subjected to an all night party, and I wanted to be able to wake up and drive the next morning.  So I headed back on the highway and hit the next rest stop on the way to Asheville and crashed there for the night.

Friday February 3rd / I woke up from a truck stop on route 40 just outside of Raleigh for the second night in a row.  Got an early start so I could visit my cousins in Hickory, NC on the way.  Left Hickory around 3-4 pm, arrived in Asheville and met up with my friends Tom and Lauren around 6 pm.  Pretty much took it easy and relaxed until I headed to the Burger Bar a couple hours later.  The Burger Bar is a super tight space, and by tight I mean comfortably cramped, especially when you have musicians setting up their gear next to the bar.  The guys from Skunk Ruckus were extremely hospitable and offered any help I needed.  Burger Bar is basically do your own show, no sound guy, basically set things up the way you want to.  Lilli Jean opened up, she had a sax player for accompaniment and the drummer from Skunk Ruckus sat in on their set on a last minute offer.  The whole set sounded surprisingly good, the drummer knew just what to do.  He offered to do the same for my set, which I was honestly tempted but I decided to go ahead with my regular setup.  It was a good set, and some folks in the audience tipped me in “burger shots”, which is a shot of bloody Mary mix, followed by a shot of whisky, followed by a pickle back.  Skunk Ruckus, which I could only describe as a mix between mountain music and psychobilly, started playing and brought tons of energy to the small little Asheville Bar.  There set was a lot of fun, old folks, hippies and punks were all dancing together.  I had a $25 bar tab, and a friend who offered to drive me back to his house if I got too drunk.  Either way I took full advantage of both offers and the remainder of my night was a bit hazy.  

Saturday February 4th / As I said before the remainder of the night was hazy, but I had awoke to see that I was able to make it upstairs and take advantage of one of the beds that was offered to me (I wisely choose the bottom bunk).  My friends made me breakfast, and we spent most the day watching Rocky III and trying to recover from what I had perceived as a mild hangover.  Eventually Tom gave me a ride back to my car, at which point I started to realize, from the uneasiness in my stomach, that I was going to have more trouble functioning than I thought.  Once I got to my car, I decided to get supplies for my drive to Wilmington; gas, coffee and snacks.  I almost decided I needed a bloody mary, but thought better of it and got a V8 instead.  Leaving the town of Asheville turned out to be a challenge, the driving was making me nauseous and I was trying to mentally overcome it.  I made it back to route 40, slammed the rest of my V8 and pulled over at the next exit I could.  My body was turning itself off, I just wanted to stay awake long enough to make it to the truck stop.  I parked, turned off the car, reclined the drivers seat and took a much needed power nap.  I woke up an hour later, feeling revived, thankfully without any vomiting.  Now I could drive, and I made the 5 hour trek to Wilmington, NC.  The show that night was at The Zoo, a house show venue.  I had never played there but stayed at the house the last time I came through.  My buddy Dirt from Poking Holes set up the show.   Sidney Dively opened up, playing originals on guitar and Uke, reminding me at times of Mazzy Star and The Smiths.  Poking Holes played next, old timey folk/punk.  It was the first show as a two piece, adding a washboard player.  I played next, this was probably my favorite show of the whole tour, not the biggest turnout but everyone at the show came for the show, not just to party!  Rumble Tramp from Boone, NC closed the show out, really cool set, reminds me of bands like Rosa and other Planet X bands of the era.  

Sunday February 5th / I got some much needed rest and headed out to Richmond, VA the next morning.  I arrived around 3 pm and I met up with my friends at the GWAR bar around to corner from the show, which was at Condemned Island (house venue).  My buddy Matt through this show together. After we originally agreed to set the show up earlier that month lot’s of road blocks arose, so we knew it was not going to be the most ideal situation. This was just one of those shows. It was on Super Bowl Sunday, and apparently you can’t compete with that.  At one point I had asked,”Wasn’t Jim Ramirez supposed to play this show”, and I heard somebody reply, “Oh yeah, I think I was supposed to pick him up”.  My buddy Mike Jones played, who goes by Aged Out.  He was awesome as usual.  I was told I would go after the next act, which it was over an hour later before they went on and a couple of my friends had left by that point.  I played for a few people, one of my drunken friends successfully alienated what remained of the crowd by screaming at me about fellatio and other un-music related topics during my set.  My set turned into a jam session with me and Mike, trying to remember how to play various cover songs and songs from our old band.  At one point I believe we were told we had to sober up and leave. Granted we knew the show had to be over early because Matt’s band had to play a show downtown.  Either way leaving was difficult, but we managed to succeed, not without my drunken friend taking a leak in front of their house and getting yelled at (Yeah, you were “that guy”).  I’ll go ahead now and skip to the end.  We all ended up at Mike and Kensey’s house.  After people either got a cab home or went to bed, I tried to sleep while Mitch and Kensey stayed up listening to country music until 4:30 am.

Monday February 6th / Mike took me out to breakfast at 821 Cafe, then brought me back to pick up my car.  I had managed to get enough rest, so the 6 house drive to Charleston, WV wasn’t too bad.  The show was at the Empty Glass, a venue that has been around for a long time.  It was actually an open mic night and I was the featured act, getting to play a full set at whatever the prime time of the night would be.  This was a great open mic, people were super friendly and energetic.  People danced for all the acts, I got tipped out well and people bought me more drinks than I was able to drink (my stomach was starting to rebel against me at that point).  I got offered a place to crash no too far from the venue.  I had to decline the whisky and beer nightcap and I passed out easily on a recliner chair in their living room.

Tuesday February 7th / I woke up in a sweat, not because I was sick but because it was 70 degrees outside, extremely warm for Charlseton, WV in February.  They had turned off the heat at some point during the night, but I was still sleeping in my sleeping bag.  It was almost 10 am., and I had a lot of driving ahead of me so I got my stuff together quickly, said my goodbyes and was off.  Fairly uneventful drive, other than I didn’t have any service on my phone until I exited West Virginia.  I’m proud to say that unlike many humans nowadays, I am able to read a map and do not require a GPS system to tell me where to go!  The show was in Ashland, PA at The Drunken Monkey.  My buddy Tyler from Condition Oakland put this show on.  A pretty great line up, Ace & The Kings played first, a mix of originals and classic punk covers. Churches & Trains, another one man band act, who I will hopefully do a weekender with at some point, played next.  He does a similar stuff to me, but much more towards a folk/country end of the spectrum. I played next, and was followed by Tedd Hazzard who has an extensive collection of catchy, screamy folk punk songs.  Tyler - Condition Oakland played last. Me and Tyler had played together a lot recently, and he gave me the ok to take off early, which I was happy to do, although I did catch some of his set.  I’ll just say that all of these guys are worth a listen, all have albums (save Ace & The Kings) that you can stream/buy on bandcamp.  This was the 3rd time in three months I have played this area of Pennsylvania, I believe Wyoming Valley is what they call the region?  Either way I am starting to feel like a local, so this kind of served as my homecoming show, only a couple hours from Philadelphia.  At this point all parts of my body and mind had gained some tour tolerance and the 2 hour drive at nighttime back to my house in Philadelphia was a piece of cake.  I managed to get to bed by 2:30am, although waking up the next day proved to be rough. 

That’s the tour journal, no out of this world crazy stories.  I don’t typically attract that kind of mess.  For me it’s all about playing music and making connections with people.  Things don’t happen for me when I stay in one place, it’s not how I work and not how I like to live. 

I feel bad, so many past tour journals I have slacked on and never posted. I feel I should go back and pick through them and post them up too.  Time is always the issue, I’m always involved with several things at once, and it’s always a struggle for me to get everything I want to get done, done...Anyways stay posted and thanks for reading!