Rock In The Desert

So this past weekend I had the pleasure of attending the 2nd annual Sunset Sessions Rock! This time we were back in Cali but moved the party to Palm Springs (the desert). The scenery was unbelievably beautiful, here's the view from my balcony:

Mind blowing, right? Well, if you missed the recap from last year, Sunset Sessions Rock is a rock conference that brings up and coming artists, rock veterans, radio programmers, and all kinds of music professionals together for a weekend of discovering new artists and building the rock community. 

The first day started for me at 4am (1am Pacific time) when I left for RDU and flew out to Dallas to connect to Ontario, CA. I shared a rental with a few friends from last year so we piled in and made the 2 hour drive to the resort. The surroundings blew me away immediately because of how different it was from ENC. Mountains everywhere, wide open desert, and wind farms galore!

We arrived and wasted no time getting things going. The first day started with The "Real" Social Networking Panel, which was basically an organized meet & greet. It was a fun way to get to know some of my fellow rockers and talk music for a while. Then we had a little happy hour with Serj Tankian while we listened to his new album, Harakiri, and an interview with Serj and Matt Pinfield.

Each night there were 2 mini concerts: the Main Stage Shows and the Late Night Lounge. The first night Versus The World (Warped Tour punk), Black Oxygen (alt rock), The Parlotones (alternative), and Dead Sara (high energy female fronted rock) performed on the main stage and Slatr (very talented young teen rockers), Tanlines (power pop), Big B (rock hop), and Lit (90s rockers) rocked the lounge. Our good buddies Skratch 'n Sniff worked the turntables between bands in the lounge.

Day 2 was spent mostly in the pool. It started with a Creating Change panel that focused on going green and working with charities. That was followed by a pool party where we listened to Linkin Park's new album, Living Things. We hung around the pool until the SECOND pool party where we listened to Lostprophets' new album, Weapons. Here's the view from the pool:

That night the main stage hosted Killinger (80s metal), Cheating Daylight (teen rockers with a 10 year old bassist who stole the show), The Last Nova (rock), Courier (alt rock), and P.O.D. (90s rap rockers). The lounge was rocked by Beware of Darkness (Jack White meets early Nirvana), Hyro Da Hero (hip hop fronted hard rock), 7Lions (2 singer rock), and Oedipus (rock). That night also hosted a Super Duper Late Night Lounge with an acoustic performance by The Nowherenauts.

Day 3 I was too sunburned from Day 2 so I avoided the pool for the most part. The day kicked off with a very insightful Radio Panel followed by an acoustic performance by the legendary Richie Sambora! After that we sat down for a Q&A with Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins and then took turns doing one on one interviews with Billy. I had a great chat with him and was blown away by how articulate and friendly he turned out to be.

The last night of the main stage was closed out by The Royalty (indie female fronted rock), The Nowherenauts (alternative), Stellar Corpse (rockabilly punk), A Silent Film (brit alt), and Taproot (rock). The final late night lounge hosted Art of Dying (rock), Junior Giant (alt rock), and Everclear (90s alt rock). 

There was a lot of partying, I learned a lot, met some amazing people, and brought home several bands that absolutely blew me away! Can't wait to see what next year has in store...

The Dirty 30

So today is the big day, my 30th birthday. It's one of those events in life you don't really think about until it happens but strangely, it feels the same as yesterday.

Like most people, the closer 30 got, the scarier it seemed. I had moments where I would question myself and what I've done with the past 30 years but the more I thought about it, the better I felt. I've got a great family that's been there every minute of the past 30 years for anything I needed. I still have fond memories and great friends from my grade school and high school days.  I spent 5 years at ECU partying my ass off, making some of the best memories with some of the most awesome people ever. Then I stumbled into my dream job and have been living the dream every day since.

But the strange thing is, today has become less about what I've done and more about what's next. I've heard more than one person say "My 30s were where I had the most fun" which sounds like a challenge to me. My early years were great and my 20s were unbelievable so if the next 10 years have the chance to top that, I can't wait to see how!

And after that, who knows! What will I do in the next 30 years? Where will I go? Who will I meet? What adventures await? Guess we'll have to wait till 2042 and see...

The Death of Celebration

I was driving to work this morning and in the news heard that schools in Pitt County were cracking down on excessive cheering at their upcoming graduations. Really? We stress how important school is to kids for the first 18 years of their lives and they can't celebrate making it to the end? The people who are proud of them should be able to express that feeling, otherwise there's no damn point in having a graduation other than to take pictures with your principal in a cap and gown.

A student in Ohio had his diploma DENIED because his family cheered too loudly at his graduation. So let me get this straight, your family being proud of you is a bad thing? I always thought America was all about "family values" and all that crap but apparently it's not ok to be excited and celebrate your children's accomplishments. The worst part about this story is that the kid is now being forced to perform 20 hours of community service before he can get his diploma. He's being treated like a damn criminal because his family was proud of his accomplishment.

Another incident happened in Myrtle Beach when a girl's mother was ARRESTED for cheering when her daughter walked across the stage. ARRESTED! The school had posted that anyone cheering would be escorted out but arresting this woman is ridiculous. Honestly, I think it's insulting to "outlaw" cheering in the first place, but to arrest someone for showing their daughter how proud they were blows my mind. Again I ask, what is the point in having a graduation ceremony if you can't cheer for your friends and family?

If this is the way things are going to be done, why not just have someone film the damn ceremony in an empty auditorium and send the parents the DVD of their kid's graduation? Then they wouldn't have to worry about anyone making noise. Or do 2 ceremonies: one where they do all the speeches and tassel turning and any other "traditions" that is only open to immediate parents/guardians and then a second later in the day where the students actually get to "walk" that is open to friends and family where people can cheer, students can celebrate, and a day that should be happy and full of fun and excitement can actually have some fun and excitement. Hell, you could even make the 2nd part optional so the lameasses can go home.

I just don't see why a celebration needs so many rules and restrictions.