(50) Sundays of Music: #6

#6: Pierce the Veil - A Flair for the Dramatic

"Like a rush shot through you..."

Those are the opening words to this release from the San Diego band who are slowly working their way up the ladder of their respective screamo/post-core/whatever identifier you want to call it scene. And years later after its release, I still get a rush when listening to it.

Here is my disclaimer: I realize as we get to the top of this countdown that more people will recognize the ones selected. However, I don't expect many to know this band (even I stumbled upon them by chance). Unless you listen to the Warped Tour scene deeply you may not have heard of them and I personally feel in due time they will be mentioned at the top. But with that said, my goal is to give you a few minutes of entertainment with a story. So here we go.

I was visiting my family one summer in California when my brothers said they wanted to go to a show headlined by a band out of Sacramento called Dance Gavin Dance. I was getting into DGD because they had slid me some music and while I usually do not gravitate toward the screaming/singing type, I did like it.

As we packed into the small club in Stockton, some of the opening acts took the stage. One contained a band with a ton of energy, featuring this skinny lead singer who looked like he would flinch at a fly but when the music started he turned into a beast. His high-pitched (at times whiny) voice was the type where you either loved or hated it, there was no in between. And I was immediately hooked. That opening band was Pierce the Veil.

I got their cd a few days later at the local Hot Topic and listened to it that entire summer. When I got back to Bama, I saw PTV was opening for Emery in Atlanta. I dragged a friend and once again, they stole the show. They did exactly what an opening band was supposed to do - impress you enough where you ask questions and take a chance on the cd.

What I remember about that show was wanting to take a picture with them and they couldn't have been any nicer about it. They were behind their merch table and I was standing in front of it and they said "hey, come around here" and they posed with me. The moment that grainy cell phone pic was snapped, they instantly were thrust into one of my favorite bands.

I would see them two more times at two different Warped Tour stops. Both times they did autograph signings and both times I got to chat with them for a second.

So as much as that may be a nice story about the band, what about the cd landed it at #6 beside memories of shows? Well, that was one reason. The tracks bring me back to those memorable live experiences (such as sliding in covers of pop songs - see below for an example). But the other is that it's a damn good cd.

The tracks are labeled "Act 1" and so forth before the song title. As previously stated, I love when bands put effort into their music like that. A Flair for the Dramatic is one of the few cds where I have pressed play and read the lyrics while the music played for the entire album.

If I ever can figure out how to go about it, the song "Currents Convulsive" contains a line that I would like to get tattooed at some point: "So I'll toast every beat of my heart like a miracle."

The music may not be for everybody, but I wish there were more bands like this. Bands that put effort into the overall package of the music and genuinely care about their fans.

And here is that pic:

Cover of NeYo's Closer before going into one of their songs:

30 Days of Me: Favorite Quote

This one is hard. But once again, I'm going to have to give a few answers.

One that resembles my movie lines:

"It's only after you've lost everything that you're free to do anything. It's only after disaster that you can be resurrected."

One that displays my nerdness:

"With great power comes great responsibility."

And of course, my favorite lyrics:

1) "So I'll toast every beat of my heart like a miracle"

2) "And no I'm not afraid, at least not to die, I'm afraid to live and not remember why"

Good News for Those Who Like Music News

Man, I'm on a blogging rampage this week. Hope you guys don't mind.

First off, I FINALLY have release dates for two of my favorite bands. Envy On The Coast's new cd, Lowcountry, comes out March 30 and Minus the Bear's new cd, OMNI, comes out May 4. Consider these dates marked on my calendar.

But on to the news worthy story: Fearless Records will release another "Punk Goes..." on April 27.

I have been a fan of this series for a while, with them releasing such stuff as Punk Goes (Pop, '90s, Crunk) which are all cover songs. (They also released two versions of Punk Goes Acoustic, but that doesn't really apply here).

Anyways, the one they will release in April will be called "Punk Goes Classic Rock," which means some of your favorite tracks are going to be butchered. But same may be given justice.

In these releases, they are always hit or miss. I have some huge favorites such as Halifax's cover of Paula Abdul's "Straight Up" and Alesana's cover of Justin Timberlake's "What Goes Around." There is plenty more, but I would just be rambling. Some songs just straight up suck. And I can already tell from the following list, some of these are going to as well. But I think there are going to be some gems in there.

The following is the track list for the release. I'm sure some are already out as I have seen one of them in a past post by jeanette at Cooler Ranch or Nacho Cheese? But the ones in bold are the ones I am looking forward to. The ones in italics are the ones I am curious about because the original is one of my favorites. The rest I guess we will just have to wait and see.

1. Hit The Lights "More Than A Feeling" (originally recorded by Boston)
2. VersaEmerge "Paint It Black" (originally recorded by The Rolling Stones)
3. The Almost "Free Fallin'" (originally recorded by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers)
4. Mayday Parade "We Are The Champions" (originally recorded by Queen)
5. The Summer Set "Rock 'n Roll All Nite" (originally recorded by KISS)
6. We The Kings "Caught Up In You" (originally recorded by .38 Special)
7. A Skylit Drive "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)" (originally recorded by Journey)
8. I See Stars "Your Love" (originally recorded by The Outfield)
9. Pierce The Veil "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" (originally recorded by Blue Oyster Cult)
10. Forever The Sickest Kids "Crazy Train" (originally recorded by Ozzy Osbourne)
11. The Maine "Pour Some Sugar On Me" (originally recorded by Def Leppard)
12. Envy On The Coast "All Along The Watchtower" (originally recorded by Bob Dylan)
13. Every Avenue "Take Me Home Tonight" (originally recorded by Eddie Money)
14. Never Shout Never "Bohemian Rhapsody" (originally recorded by Queen)
15. blessthefall "Dream On" (originally recorded by Aerosmith)

Music Sunday: Opening Bands

It's pretty obvious that one of the greatest things about going to concerts is seeing your favorite band perform live. The added bonus though is the show's opener, sometimes hand-picked by the headliners themselves or they are on the same label and trying to get some promotion. This post is going to be about opening bands I have seen that have made the show even more enjoyable, and I have enjoyed far after the night was over.

Honorable mention: Carolina Liar, Armor For Sleep, Underoath, Anberlin, Envy On The Coast

These were great opening bands that I was lucky enough to catch for three different Taking Back Sunday shows. However, I knew of the bands before hand and this post is focusing on bands that I saw for the first time, or was just beginning to get into.

The first two bands were names that I heard in magazines and such and knew maybe one song, but after seeing them live, started getting into them heavily.

Manchester Orchestra (opened for Say Anything)


Shake It Out

Manchester Orchestra | MySpace Music Videos


Wolves At Night

Manchester Orchestra | MySpace Video

The Sounds (opened for No Doubt)





The next two are the bands that opened up for Paramore, The Swellers and Paper Route. I dug both bands, and was hooked up with their music by jeanette afterward. However, I'm all about different opinions and one person who definitely didn't like Paper Route was Smart Ass Sara. But here are some songs from those two

The Swellers





Paper Route





And last, this is the band that kind of inspired this post, Pierce The Veil. This is a true example of my story of opening bands. I went to a small show in Stockton, California with my brothers where a band called Dance Gavin Dance was playing. Pierce The Veil were the second band to play and I have never heard these guys names or anything before. But after I few songs, I was hooked. I bought their cd a few weeks later and instantly added it to my top ten list. I think what keeps me coming back (I have since seen them two more times, once when they opened for Emery and again at Warped Tour 08) is thier live performances and dedication to thier fans. They truly put on a show, fading tracks, keeping tracks going, getting the crowd involved. They are writing for a new record and they have said that they are going to include some tracks that will get the crowd involved. They have a line that if I ever get a tattoo, I would consider getting this lyric "So I'll toast every beat of my heart like a miracle." His voice is something you are either going to love or hate, but the band keeps it going. The added bonus is that they are really cool, really approachable guys.

Pierce The Veil



This is the song with line mentioned above


This is the same song from above, but live, with a bonus song added in. They often do these tricks at shows.


And one of the most awesome covers I have ever heard

These words pour out when I open my mouth

I feel like all my posts in recent weeks have either been Wordless Wednesdays or links to songs and all that stuff and I KNOW you guys are going "But Mr O, what's been going on with your life?" Even though I just made that up (I don't know what you guys think) here is an actual "post" that the description of my blog talks about.

The other day, I had all these events and thoughts that I was going to put into this but I have forgotten them. So this post is going to be freestyled. Not even I know how it's going to end.

I think I just made a mistake. I made a Coldplay B-side playlist to listen to right now and one of the tracks is piano heavy. So I guess I will start with the deep stuff first. Right now, there are two things dominating my mind. One is a family issue that may or may not happen so therefore won't get talked about right now and the other is next month. It's so crazy to me to think that August will be one year since my girlfriend of three years officially, after three or four semi-breakups, ended our relationship. We were actually still complicated for a while and I guess we didn't officially stop whatever the hell it is we were doing until late January early February. But still, a year since the final break up and my craziness that came afterward. I hate that I was “that guy.” Calling her every day and pleading for a chance to make things right. I hate it not only because of how stalkerish it felt but now I just feel embarrassed for myself. I tried to do everything and for what? It got me nowhere and in man terms just made me look (and feel) like a little bitch. Everytime that I pleaded for her to come and she did everything on her own time. Even now. Since last August, after a weak week attempt at trying school, she has been home ever since, missing what could have been her last year in undergraduate school. Next month, she comes back. Did I mention we started dating a few days before high school graduation and were steady the first three years of college? So I feel like this past year that she left me. Not only on a relationship level, but just being there – in my life. And now she is coming back. I don't know how to react because I have recently finally started to have a life without her. A life where I don't see a sappy movie and think of her. I just know my own emotions and I don't know how they are going to handle her living in the same town again. A few months ago she got into a new relationship so that may explain why there has been no contact. As far as I know, they are still together. For my sanity's sake, I hope they stay together so no temptations will creep in. I've warned all my friends that I may need them in the next month or two now more than ever.

Speaking of friends, I am getting to the point where I am starting to consider some of my blogger followers and people I follow “friends” as well. We may never actually see each other, but I have connected with some of you more than some people that call themselves my friend. With that said, I'm warning all you guys as well – I may need to come to you guys in the next month or two, haha. Even if it's just you clicking on a blog title.

And let's try to lighten this up a little. I am really appreciating all the nice comments whenever I do a music post like Under My Covers. Especially the ones who say they are hearing it for the first time, it just makes me smile because that is my mission. But I feel music is like Christmas – it's great to give and receive. I will never walk around like I know all music because that's impossible. So as much as I love to put music out there, I love to receive it even more. In the past week I have listened to cd's that I got by winning jeanette's blog contest and have found a few new gems, youtubed this nice acoustic version of "Let Go" after a couple of comments from the Garden State version of Under My Covers and stayed on Melissa's post for an hour clicking play repeatedly listening to jazz. And that's another thing. I am mostly an alternative rock kind of guy, but I really do listen to everything. “Make Her Say” by Kid Cudi, Kanye West and Common is one of my favorite tracks right now. And just planned – in October I will be going to my second drum and bass show. That combined with the Incubus show in August and a *possible* Blink-182 show in September and these next few months are looking nice.

Speaking of shows, I finally got confirmation and on Tuesday I will be sweating my ass off in Atlanta while attending Warped Tour. Last year, there were two bands I HAD to see – Pierce the Veil and Gym Class Heroes. I saw GCH twice, a regular set and then an acoustic set in the afternoon, and PTV stole the show. This year, I don't have that one single band I want to see but I will definitely be looking out for a few. And since I will probably be stoked coming from the show, I will talk more about the bands in a later post.

Movie wise the past two few days have been interesting. On Friday, I was hanging out with J Beezy when a friend of hers asked her to go see The Ugly Truth. She pretty much told me I was coming along to make the thing better and Hedman ended up coming with us. What was really crazy was that the point of going was to go with the friend of hers, but we didn't even sit with them. Hedman and I were complaining at the beginning (let me stop right there – I don't want to make it seem like I hate romantic comedies. They are actually a guilty pleasure. But this movie just did not look good to me) and we laughed pretty hard at the idea of walking out in the first 30 seconds. But we stayed – and laughed. Jeannette doesn't feel the same way, haha, but it was much better than I expected. I am still waiting for Katherine Heigl to come out and bash the movie now.

But then last night we FINALLY saw Ice Age 3 in 3D and it was pretty much awesome. Those little squirrels – they get me everytime. And I think after this and Up, I am starting to dig these 3D movies. But the best 3D movie of all hasn't even come out yet. But it will be here March 5, 2010. I think I have watched the trailer like five times already. If you haven't yet, it's in my very important date to the upper left of this post.

If you have read this far, you are awesome. But the other small thing that has been stressing me out is taking over and I feel like this is coming to a close because of it. I have class in the morning and we only have a week left. It's a photojournalism class, so it's not that hard but all the assignments finally got dates and they are all due in the next week. In the past few days I have gotten most of them done, but I tried to do one today that didn't come out so well. I am hoping the teacher has got some advice for me or else i'm screwed. But off to sleep to be prepared for that.

Oh, and sorry that no house party happened this weekend. But hopefully your night is free tomorrow. I'm making waffles :)

Random lyric of the day:

Mmmm whatcha say,
Mmm that you only meant well?
well of course you did
Mmmm whatcha say,
Mmmm that it's all for the best?
of course it is
Mmmm whatcha say?
Mmmm that it's just what we need
you decided this
whatcha say?