Oreo

Fuck...so it's been nearly three months since I've updated this blog. Things have been stellar and not so stellar during that time. The band I play in, Weight of the World has been very active. Active, but strained at times. Our guitarist has recently decided that it makes more sense to shove his straight edge ideologue down our throats, rather than respecting our personal decisions to drink. Actually, Conor is still straight edge, but has become so disillusioned with Nick, that he no longer claims it. Nick's attitude with his straight edge lifestyle has become border line militant, if not violent at times. It's really not fair. I respect his and Conor's decision to not drink, so why can't Nick respect my decision to drink?

I think Nick's shitty attitude, is a culmination of a few things; his family life, his lack of mental health resources and possibly someone who has influenced him. When I say his family life has had an impact, I'm saying there has been a history of alcoholism. I don't want to get into any details, but from the stories he's shared with me, it seems that when he sees anybody drinking he believes there actions will produce similar outcomes, like the ones in his family. I think that's pretty arrogant and presumptuous, but it makes a lot of sense. When I say lack of mental health resources, I mean that Nick has some serious mental disabilities. He has a very reactionary personality and one that can be vengeful when prompted. Mostly when there is a situation that upsets Nick, he reacts strongly while citing pasts mistakes of the accused. If you respond to him with a factual and sane response, he may escalate his temperament by using highly offensive words towards your friends. The words "slut," "bitch" or "cunt" are all possibilities. Obviously Nick has some issues and his lack of health insurance or free services in his area don't give him the security and help he needs (or our government's complete disregard for social programs that benefit society). When I say someone else has influenced Nick, I say that someone with similar beliefs and disdain for substance consumption is playing role. I'm not going to name any names, but there definitely is someone. All of this, has created a new asshole out of Nick and the only thing that's keeping this band together is that he lives an hour and a half away and we don't see him on a daily basis.

So a midst all this chaos and inner turmoil, we are embarking on a two-week east coast tour in August with Change of Ideas from Kissimmee, Florida. This tour started to come together when Change of Ideas mentioned we should play together after adding us on myspace. It's as simple as that. No outlandish stories or random coincidences. From there it went even further when they asked us to do a split 7" with them. Needless to say, I was stoked. So we just finished recording two songs for that B-Side and they're our best sounding tracks so far. This is probably because we actually spent a decent amount of time mixing the songs and actually did a real master job this time. The tour in August, will take us all the way down to Florida and then up to Michigan. I'm so stoked to be playing in nearly 15 different states. So to deal with the "Nick Issue," we're bring one of our newest and coolest friends in Burlington, Yesha. He has come to several shows with us already and has helped us load and unload the van, meaning we have a roadie (and a merch dude). So hopefully having him on tour, will help alleviate the pain of interacting Nick. Plus, we'll be on the road with Change of Ideas and they seem to be the most legit and down to earth dudes ever. Or maybe this is all going to be a horrible mistake...

Change of Ideas is going to be putting the split 7" out on their own label called In My Heart Records. I'm not sure how many copies are going to be made, but there will definitely be color vinyl. I've also begun to seriously increase the amount of vinyl I own. After long hours of serious contemplation and sleepless nights, I realized that buying CDs is pointless when I can just own an iPod and then spend more money on buying cool vinyl. So I'm convinced that's the way of the future for the music industry. Everything will be available on vinyl and digital download. Many records I've been buying lately from bands and labels have been including a download coupon with the physical release. Basically the coupon has a code that can be used to access the songs somewhere online. I think this is the perfect business move for any band or label. You can still get your music out there easily, while simultaneously holding onto the aesthetic value that comes along with owning a physical album; i.e artwork, lyrics, credits and sometimes photos of the band. These are all very important components to music and can be included with a vinyl record, which is way cooler than a CD and a lot of them come in crazy cool colors. Also CDs are dumb. They're basically just a physical copy of a digital download. They're a waste of money. And yes, I know what you're going to say..."I don't have a record player..." blah blah blah. Go buy one! You have to go back in time these days to be up to date. Basically, I'm only going to buy a CD from a band if it's the only available format and mostly so I can support them while they're on tour.

I've started to realize that I basically have no game period in my "love life." Quotable, because it doesn't really exist. In the past three months, I have had three more failed opportunities, two of them ending up going for a close friend of mine instead, after I was the one to invite them over. I'm getting fed up. I can't remember the last time a girl pursued me or even seemed slightly interested. It's pathetic. It's probably because I'm not a macho, tough guy asshole with a cool beard and tattoos. I hate to make assumptions, but the more and more I look, I realize girls like assholes or maybe just someone with muscles and tattoos. Or maybe just someone older looking. Someone witty and eclectic. Slightly off color, but not too far off. Someone who has good connections and lots of confidence. I used to have confidence, but now it's wearing thin. I don't have any of that other stuff. I don't want tattoos, I don't want a bear (can't grow one anyway), don't look my age (fuck I'm 23 now!), and am the most down to earth person you'll ever meet. I will do anything for you. I will put you up at my place for the night and feed you if you need it. I will even give you free guitar lessons if you're interested. But no, none of that stuff matters to the girls I keep meeting. I guess it's time to stop being myself! I mean I even tried buying some pants and shirts that fit me better.....and they look good on me! Someone please say something! I haven't been with a girl since 2007. I need some action soon!

In case anybody was wondering, I no longer work for Vermont Freedom to Marry. Marriage equality has finally come to Vermont! And most recently Maine and New Hampshire as well! We've basically almost got the whole New England block (with the exception of Rhode Island...but does that place even count anyways?). I now work with the Samara Foundation of Vermont, which raises money and assists the LGBT community through the form of scholarships, grants and other technical assistance. I help recruit gay-friendly businesses for the Vermont Gay Guide, which is an online directory of gay-friendly and gay-owned businesses and other resources. Check it out for yourself: The Vermont Gay Guide. It doesn't pay well at all, but it's extremely flexible with my personal life and I have so much more time now to relax and work on music (and party too!). Maybe working with all these gay organizations is not helping my heterosexual love life. That might be true, but I'm an ally of the gay community and I think it's extremely important for me to stick up for a minority that has been historically oppressed. So fuck off! Haha.

That's it for now. This blog has been rather long...