Theme Park Experience

Nice little background on this week's edition with Jake Bannon from Converge. I had never interviewed him before, but one of my friends had. The word on Jake was, "He's intense." I didn't know what to expect, but when I called him a few weeks ago, he was one of the nicest guys I've ever interviewed. Obviously we talked about a lot of different stuff, but I'm happy it's stuff you don't normally see in an interview with him. Looks like all that time listening to the band's material and following MMA helped me.

I made a big hub-ub about getting a new bike, but I haven't really written anything about it since then. Well, the bike has served me incredibly well. So well that I clear an average between 20-45 miles a week. The key is to stay consistent and there is immense enjoyment in staying consistent. I've had to make some adjustments to the bike in order to handle everything I like to do: got new tires (the ones that the bike came with had large nubs, so it felt like I was peddling a tractor), new tubes (it's not fun to get ready for a ride and finding a flat tire), and new pedals (the plastic ones that came with the bike broke after a few long rides). Thus, I recognize all the employees at the bike shop I go to. Finding a safe route from my house to the White Rock Lake trail, I can clear 22 miles in two hours. That's two nine-mile laps around the lake as well as four total miles to get from my house and back. I get a strong feeling of happiness when I'm able to accomp...

I know I've written about going back to the Best Buy I worked at in college, but there were new thoughts that came into my head when I was in Houston last week. I don't miss working there, and the store layout that I remember is completely different now. Instead of drawing customers in with CDs and VHS tapes, the emphasis is (and has been for a few years) on cell phones and computers (especially their Geek Squad service). My area of expertise has been relegated to a pit stop before checking out. What was once a dozen aisles and shelves is now a couple of shelves and kiosks. And the CDs are shelved in alphabetical order with no room to break things up by music genre. It's Kanye West next to Wilco across from Jason Aldeen and As I Lay Dying. I'm not bitter or hurt; I simply reflect how I've moved on from there as a former employee and a regular customer. Working at the store between 1997 and 2000, I experienced the last hurrah of the music industry with CDs. I sto...

This week's edition is with Hormones, a local band. Turns out, we have a few close mutual friends, so there was no shortage of things to talk about. And it certainly helped that these three guys had been friends for a long time.

I don't think it's ever too late to try something, but there are matters that seem more apt when you're younger in order to fully experience. It's like a rite of passage; getting the sense of what it means to be an adult and (mostly) unafraid. Latest examples: riding a Ferris wheel and visiting a haunted house. Kind of like those John Hughes movies I wrote about a few weeks ago, you can experience those at any time, but there's more of a lasting impact when you're becoming an adult. In one 24-hour period on Saturday, Jenny and I went on the Texas Star for the first time and went to Screams, a haunted amusement park, for the first time. We had a ball with both, and neither of us came away frightened or scared to go do those things again. Riding the famed Texas Star, we (including my sister and one of her daughters) enjoyed an amazing view of the city and the rest of the State Fair. Motion-wise, it felt like we were in an elevator with a windy 360-degree view....

This week's edition is with Matt from Joyce Manor. If it seems rather short, well, it had to be done over e-mail since the band was on tour in Europe. Matt gave some good answers, and the brevity of the interview seems apt for how short their songs are.

For the past two nights, I was able to let go at two different shows. Absolutely let go without breaking the law or making a fool of myself. Just being able to do that has been difficult in recent memory, but it looks like the Afghan Whigs and Jealous Sound helped me get out of this box I've been in. Prior to Sunday night, I had never seen Greg Dulli perform live. Not with the Gutter Twins, the Twilight Singers, or the Afghan Whigs. Thankfully, I was able to see the reformed Whigs (assisted by players from the Twilight Singers) play a magnificent set at the Granada Theater. Playing all of the songs I love by them (especially from Gentlemen , Black Love , and 1966 ), I was quite a happy camper. I sang along without a care about who was around me. Dulli's lyrics and singing certainly convey an incredible vulnerability -- hence why people still love him. Even though he sings about a lot of broken relationships (and I've sung along to them while going through one in recent ...