Archive for March, 2007

Anberlin, Bayside, Meg & Dia, Jonezetta… purely amazing…

Saturday, March 24th, 2007

Well last night was the Anberlin, Bayside, Meg & Dia, and Jonezetta concert. Overall it was an amazing evening. We left here around 3:00 and headed to Dallas. We went a bit early [doors opened at 7] to hit up the Apple Store over at the North Park mall. I am so in love with the MacBook Pro. Simply put… it is pure elegance. With a $2,500 price tag… it might be a while but I am totally convinced to switch to a Mac. Microsoft has done too much copying of Apple… minus well just go to the source I say.

Well the concert was at The Door Dallas… a club in downtown Dallas. From the looks of their website they are a Christian-ish club that doesn’t serve alcohol or support risque[?] behaviors. They are geared for the modern crowd that wants to have fun without being submersed into the trash that our world has become. The room was actually kinda small but had a great atmosphere. Probably held around 400 people… all standing. If I ever go again I will definitely go earlier and hit up the second floor balcony… would be much more comfortable up there and a way better view.

Jonezetta opened the show and they were quite good. I had listened to all of the bands before the show and was quite impressed with them all. I actually liked Jonezetta more than Bayside based on the quality of the albums. Jonezetta did a great job opening up and I will definitely be keeping an eye on them because they have some great tallent.

Meg & Dia was up next and like Jonezetta, I liked them a lot. Now realize this, I am not a fan for music where ladies are the lead singers. For some reason it just bugs me. I think it is that usually the voices are too high pitched. But Meg & Dia are outside of the norm. They had great vocals that were great and incredible music. I probably would have gotten their CD but they weren’t up with all the other bands merch stuff… I think they were on the other side of the room… and I kinda forgot to go hit them up.

Bayside was absolutely incredible. Definitely way better live… the CD doesn’t have that great of a mix and the mastering could have been a bit better as well. I met up with Brandon Opiela [for those of you who don't know him... good buddy who used to be the Junior High Pastor back in Seattle/Bremerton] between Meg & Dia and Bayside. It was a bit hard to talk since it was quite noisy and our hearing was suffering a bit from the volume. It was good seeing him since the last time I saw him was when I drove down to Texas this past summer with my Dad. Opi told me that Bayside rocked so I decided that I would give them an open mind and boy am I glad I did. It was hard to understand the vocals but the music was absolutely majestical. I wish that they could put out a live recording… that would be great. They will definitely go far in the future.

And last but definitely not least was Anberlin. All I can say is wow. They started off a bit rough as Stephen’s vocals were a bit weird but by the second or third song, he had hit is spot and was absolutely incredible. If you have never heard his voice be sure to check out their new album ‘Cities’. Stephen’s voice is so pure and unique… absolutely amazing. Anberlin definitely put on a good show. They too need to put out a live album because they do it so well.
Overall, again, it was an incredible night. My only problem was that it was a bit loud for my tastes. I had to be around 110-120db if not more. And to make it all the more louder… there were a few people around me that were singing way too loud. You know that when your ears start to hurt that something isn’t right. But hey, I am not really complaining because the overall experience was astonishing.

On the way home the Audi started to make loud humming noises. Mostly between the speeds of 55-80. Considering the speed limit was 65… this wasn’t all that great. I ended up doing about 85 all the way back to avoid the noise as much as possible. Luckily there wasn’t that much traffic out at 1AM on the 20. I just got back inside from taking a look at the car and it turns out that the connection in the pipe after the catalytic converter lost two of the three bolts and the metal washer had come about 1/2 way out, pivoting on that single bolt. I just got the washer back in place and took some measurements for the bolts. After church tonight I will hit up Lowes and get some new shiny bolts for it.

Well it is time for church now so peace out. -E

Hello world…

Thursday, March 15th, 2007

Well I think it is about time I post again.  Spring break officially started on Friday at about noon.  Haven’t done a whole lot really.  I am working a bit this week but nothing major.  Only like 15 hrs total.  So far break has consisted of sleep, bbq, loud music, lots of tv shows and some more sleep.

I was able to take over a room across the hall (thanks to Tim Storm) to use for my computer.  That way Joel and myself won’t drive eachother crazy with music and tv shows and such.  Tim went on a missions trip to Mexico so he is gone till Sunday.  Worked out nice I must say.  So thanks again to Tim.

Something must be really wrong with me.  My mom will love this I am sure… but I have decided to read yet another book this year… and yes that is willingly.  This one is Donald Miller’s first work entitled ‘Through Painted Deserts’.  It is a great book about his adventure from Houston to Portland and the adventures and realizations that came with the trip.  The book has the same style of meaningful yet funny and catchy language that for some reason has me hooked.  While I still prefer his book ‘Blue Like Jazz’ much more, this book is definitely interesting.

Hmm… what else to say.  Nothing that I can really think of.  Only 4 days left of spring break… argh.  Then back to the madness of school.  At some point I really need to get started on my Exegesis paper that is due here in two weeks or so.

Just thought of another thing… I finally got a haircut today.  It was about time… probably been 6 weeks at least and it was starting to get way too long.  Now it is too short.  Ohh well.  The lady that cut it didn’t seem all too with it.  Her hair style was definitely from the 80’s including the pony tail up top and the brush off to the side.  I said I wanted the top short so she said she would use a #4 (1/2 in) up top.  Most people cut the top with scissors to finger length… guess I should have said that.  Ohh well… it will grow back.

Well that is all for now… it is 12:20 and I think it is time for bed.  I got up way too early today [11AM].  Poor me.

Eric

Midterm Grades

Monday, March 5th, 2007

Well for some reason my mid-term grades took a few extra days to show up.  Can’t quite explain that one.  So here goes… Microeconomics – D [yeah... I know this is bad], Accounting II – A [as expected], Discrete Math – C [as expected], Speech – B [as expected], Biblical Foundations – C [this will go up a bit soon], Fitness – C [should have been a B according to our online grades].  So not too bad overall.  Only one I am not happy with is Microeconomics.  That class is just brutal… not the most exciting topic either.  If I get brave soon I will post my mid-term exam for the class to prove how obscure the questions are.

Well that is all for now.  Bed time.

Faust, Midas and Myself

Saturday, March 3rd, 2007

Well I went to bed around 12:30 to 1 last night. Since I didn’t have Microeconomics in the morning, I decided to sleep in and go to Accounting at 9:20. Well my alarm went off at 8:30 like it should have and like always, I got up, hit snooze, and got back in bed to be awoken in 7 more minutes. Well for some reason, that second awakening never came. I heard Joel get up around what I figured was 9 because he had class as well. For some reason though I still stayed in bed. I finally awoke, looked at the clock and it was 11AM. Oops. Talking to Joel later in the afternoon he said that he didn’t hear his alarm and actually got up at 9:30, missing his class as well.

Well I eventually got out of bed and went over to the laundrymat to get my nice clean clothes. After that I went and started popping some pills… Sudafed, Advil, Claritin, Calcium and a packet of Emergen-C it was about 11:10. At this point I realized that I was in no way going to make it to class at 11:20 (Math this time) and so I took my own time getting ready. While sorting out my clothes I happened to have Switchfoot’s newest CD, ‘Oh! Gravity’ cranked up nice and loud. The song titled ‘Faust, Midas and Myself’ came on and I was amazed. The lyrics are nice and simple accompanied by a light melodic background. What really struck me though was the imagery that the lyrics provided. Check them out [sorry.. kinda long]

———-
This one’s about a dream I had last night
How an old man tracked me home and stepped inside
Put his foot inside the door and gave a crooked smile
Something in his eyes, something in his laugh
Something in his voice that made my skin crawl off
He said I’ve seen you here before, I know your name
Yeah, you could have your pick, of pretty things
You could have it all, everything at once
Everything you’ve seen, everything you’ll need
Everything you’ve ever had in fantasies

You have one life, you have one life left to leave

I woke up from my dream as a golden man
With a girl I’ve never seen with golden skin
I jumped up to my feet and she asked me what was wrong
And I began to scream, I don’t think this is me
Is this just a dream or really happening

You have one life, you have one life left to leave

What direction, I’m splitting up
This is my personal disaffection
What direction, what direction now

I looked outside the glass at golden shores
Golden ships and masts with golden cords
As my reflection passed I hated what I saw
My golden eyes were dead and a thought passed through my head
A heart that’s made of gold can’t really beat at all
I wanted to wake up again without a touch of gold

What direction, death or action
Life begins at the intersection
What direction, what direction now

I woke up as before but the gold was gone
My wife was at the door with her night robe on
My heart beat once or twice and life flooded my veins
Everything had changed my lungs had found their voice
And what was once routine was now the perfect joy

You have one life, you have one life left to lead
———-

So after my nice relaxing morning, I had an exam in Speech which went fairly well. I just pulled up my grades and I got a 80%. Not too bad, I can live with that. I worked from 2:30-10:15 tonight. A long night I must say. The event went perfectly and we got lots of compliments. My only messup was accidentally grabing the knob for the camera feed instead of my headphones and turning it completely off for 5ish seconds. Luckily the cameraman was also including a ambient mic so everything should be fine on that. While it was totally my fault (and I am probably the only one that cares or will ever notice it) I will also say that this was the first time I have run Behringer board before. While it was quite nice and pretty they do a few things that are just a bit odd. To name a few, the console is flat (instead of sloped like most Mackies), only 1/4″ outs and no XLR, the meter doesn’t accurately show the sound output, etc. Some nice stuff though was the fact that the Aux Sends (labeled Monitors on this board) were controllable via a fader versus a POT which is the way they are on every other board I have ever mixed with.

Alright enough of that, I think it is time to go to bed. Having been sick the past 5ish days, I am just worn out after today. I will probably end up sleeping till 1 or 2 tomorrow. Should be grand. Well more to come eventually. I defintely recommend checking out the newest Switchfoot album Oh! Gravity because it is just sweet.

Nite

Exam… grades…

Thursday, March 1st, 2007

So I got back some grades on Exams… Accounting Ex 2 Part 2 29/50 so 71.5/100 total… not too bad. Microeconomics 56/100… ouch. Biblical Foundations Ex 2 still waiting, Ex 3 83/100. Speech exam tomorrow… should be easy if I study for a bit.

So I have been a bit lazy lately… not much to really report on though. Tomorrow is a big dinner for Dr. Austin and I am running sound for the event. Should be fun and we get some really good food. Definitely looking forward to that due to the fact that ‘SAGA’ (dining hall) food is usually horrid on Fridays. Just to prove it… let me check the schedule… ehh well they haven’t posted the next schedule yet.

Well again, I shall give a shout out to Anberlin for their newest album… ‘Cities’. It is truly a masterpiece. I will be going to see them in Dallas on March 23rd. They are playing at ‘The Door’. We have seven peeps from LU going and Opi and some friends of his are going as well. Should be blast. The Sunday after that… on March 25th, Switchfoot will be in Dallas… I am thinking about going to that as well… lot of money though.

Well I guess that is all for now. Just for kicks another Happy Birthday to Dad.

-Peace