Influenced

When I was 17 the first band I ever interviewed for my 'zine the Spit was Hemlock. They were a Las Vegas metal band that had been around for a while. I believe they were one of the first metal bands I actually liked and owned a cd of.
I got to see them play a few times at the Huntridge Theater before I interviewed them at the skate park by my house.
I wasn't very prepared and the camera I had borrowed from the year book class at my school didn't work.
A year later for Halloween I saw them play at the Huntridge again. My friend Scott and I got kicked out halfway through their set for throwing smoke bombs into the crowd.

For years I heard that they were still playing and touring all the time. Whenever they came through Sacramento we were never asked to do the show or we had other things going on.

When we moved to Vegas I knew one of my goals was the play a show with them.

Fifteen years after that first interview, four years after moving to Vegas and introducing my band to the scene, I finally got to play a show with Hemlock.

I was super excited about the show ever since we booked it but I had heard from a few sources that the guys in Hemlock weren't very nice. With this presentiment I was reluctant to strike up a conversation with them.  But that was not the case at all.
The singer/guitar player Chad (sort of) remembered me from my zine and had heard good things about the band over the last few years.

They watched our whole set and complimented us a lot, also traded numbers to do future shows together.

Their set was amazing! They have a great sound, a great stage presence and were so awesome to play with. GO check them out https://www.facebook.com/hemlockworld

The Vacation Post

On August 16th we headed up to Portland, OR and Washington to visit our family for 5 days.
It was a beautiful trip and for once I took A LOT of pictures.

My sister-in-law Erin is a Yoga teacher. Her back yard is so serene and beautiful. This first picture is of the trees visible from her back patio.
The puppy face is Dexter their adorable snuggle bug who laid with me early in the morning.
We went to the river to go swimming with Brian's brother and his family. It was beautiful and very cold. Hayden was fearless and jumped right in. We saw fish, tadpoles, and some awesome birds. Being surrounded by the trees and breathing in such pure air was so exhilarating.

On Saturday while Brian got more of his tattoo done by his brother Jason (an amazing tattoo artist)  Erin's husband Shawn took the kids and I to the Portland Saturday Market.  Hayden was being Mr. Poopy Pants (which is what I call him when he's whiny and grumpy) but we made the best of it and had a great day. The market was full of awesome crafts and foods. It was much larger than Vegas' First Friday event.  I bought a few things and treated Hayden to a creamsicle  italian soda which he said was "Horrible and good at the same time, like Soda Ice Cream."
The next day Brian and I got to drive around Portland while Hayden stayed with his cousins. We went to the International Test Rose Gardens. I can't describe in words how wonderful it was there. I am a lover of roses and was in total awe of all the amazing colors, scents, and the beautiful music from a harpist that day.

There was a small little corner garden on the grounds called the Shakespeare Garden. It was lovely and peaceful. Brian had a great time too and found a Royal Rosarian statue to hang with.

We try to go to visit Brian's family at least once a year. For me it's a nice break from our big city in the desert, for Hayden its a great time with his only cousins and getting to play outside, for Brian it's much needed time with his parents and siblings.

We had an awesome time and hope to return soon.

Back but busy

We returned from a great vacation visiting Brian's family in Washington state. I have been swamped with work, shows, and visiting my own mom who is here in town for work.

I will post about our awesome adventures soon.

Direct is my favorite approach

When I was in high school I used a pseudonymn and an underground zine to express my emotions and angst.    I was taught to be seen not heard and my opinions or emotions didn't matter.
As an adult I became much more direct with expressing myself. In music, writing, here on my blog, and in normal conversation I am direct. I'm honest and I do my best to follow through with my word. I know what I want, I know how to get what I want and I speak my mind.
Sometimes this comes across as mean, blunt, or abrasive. But my intentions are not to be mean. Just because I'm direct doesn't mean I'm not emotional. I get hurt, I get sad, I get fearful of the reactions of others and I get melancholy just like every one else.
But I've found the best way to get somewhere is head first. It worked for me when I was unhappy with my job a year and a half ago. I spoke with my boss and told her that the position I had been shuffled into wasn't my bag and that I wanted more. When a better position opened up she recommended me for it and now in that position I again spoke with my boss about what I wanted and how I could better the department by doing it and now I have what I asked for.
I don't beat around the bush mostly cause I don't want anyone to be confused with what I'm expressing.

I came across this post Always Be Direct (with love). Which has been (partially) my manifesto for years.
Sometimes the "LOVE" part is difficult. Even though I feel the good intentions doesn't mean my mouth or my body language express that. Poor Brian has been the brunt of these occasions.
Good friends will sometimes ask me for advice because of my head-first-ness but sometimes the best advice is the advice you don't want to hear. And I don't claim that my advice is the best but you know, you asked for it.

If you constantly candy coat stuff or beat around the bush no one will know what you want, expect or need. No one is a mind reader, well at least no one I know.

Weekend Redux: Recording

Saturday we headed back into the recording studio to track guitars. It's a long process and even longer when you're just a spectator of sorts.

Even though it can be kind of boring I really enjoy sitting back and listening to our music over and over again.  I mentally dissect the songs and bore them into my mind so my parts make sense. Then I browsed through facebook and connected photos with all my phone contacts.

We wrapped up the guitars and I was able to do vocals on one song before we were all too exhausted to move on.  I'll be heading back in a couple weeks to hopefully finish it up.

The rest of my weekend was mostly cleaning and shark week.

We're getting ready for a family vacation at the end of this week and we're all very excited.

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TILT &Fashion or Lack thereof: Like A Boss Wishlist

With my new promotion at work I will be required to leave my cubicle to meet with clients occasionally, and it's probably about time I start dressing the part.

I've mentioned my addiction to wishlists before and I have been BUILDING my wishlists with work clothes in mind lately. Here's a quick view of my Like a Boss work wishlist.

1. Qupid PlatForm Wedges 2. Bow Charm Necklace 3. Platform Booties 4.Button Back Blouse 5. Satin Trimmed Blazer 6. Art School Striped Tank 7. Cutout Back Shift Dress. 8. Sueded Shift Dress 9. Tiered Tank 10. Iron Fist Lacey Days Skull Handbag

For those of you who work in offices/executive settings what do you wear? 

Weekend Redux: Whew, it's been AWESOME

This past week has been pretty amazing. But I'm looking back and wondering why the hell I didn't take more pictures. Oh well. At least I can write about it.
Last week my coworker friend Kelly took me to lunch at the Golden Gate Casino which is one of the oldest  (if not the oldest) casino currently in business still in Las Vegas. They have on display some old school slot machines and this one with a thunderbird on it was the coolest of the bunch.

On Wednesday Brian and I got to see Rex Brown (formerly of Pantera) and his new band Kill Devil Hill. They were great and Brian was like a teenage boy trying to get guitar picks and talking to the band. While sitting at the bar this poor guy next to me was falling asleep so I figured I'd take a picture of him to show his friends.

Then on Friday we got to see Soulfly. It was our third time seeing them together and it was a blast.
One of the great thing about this show was that Max Cavalera's sons were in two of the opening bands. A definite family affair.

Our view front the side of the stage was great. I'm just not into being in the mosh pit anymore, the guys just smell like ass and B.O. especially when it's 100 degrees outside and like 115 inside with all the bodies.

The next day we were invited to our friend Kyle's parents house for an EPIC pool party. They have a waterpark style slide and even Hayden thought it was "AWESOME!!" all twenty times he went down.
I don't have pics, but it was unforgettable.

Yesterday I organized my closet, which might not sound fun but was VERY exciting. Especially since I was making room for new clothes and getting rid of the old stuff.  It was very satisfying and getting rid of clutter is always productive.

Hope you all had an amazing week! Here's to another great week full of awesome and hopefully more pictures.

I am self taught

I didn't go to college. No university, no community college, no online college.
I used to blame my parents. I had been accepted to five colleges by the time I graduated high school. Not one of my four parents seemed to care enough to take the time to help me forge a path to higher education. In high school, college was my ultimate goal. I worked hard, got good grades, took university prep classes. I got the big letters of acceptance, but unlike the teen movies no one watched over my shoulder with excitement, helped me rip open the letters and shouted in glee with me. I opened them up alone and wondered how I could fly to the campuses for tours and meetings and register if no one else cared..
One of the colleges offered me a half scholarship and sent me plane tickets to fly to California to meet with the admissions director as well as the choir professor. For weeks my dad said he would go with me. Then one day he said he wouldn't, he wouldn't take the time off work and he forbid me to go alone.
I was devastated. That was a catalyst for months of living hell with him and his wife (his ex-wife now) that eventually ended in violence and me being homeless at 18. While working and trying my damnedest to find a home, I applied for community college but couldn't afford the cost.

About seven months later I ended up at my grandmother's house in Northern California. I had planned to go to community college there as well, then ended up working at the newspaper. Within a few months I had a full time job as a graphic designer. I taught myself how to be a graphic designer. I learned all the programs hands on.
It's been 13 years, and even though I never got a college degree I have a career 13 years deep and an extensive portfolio. I also have NO student loans looming over my head. As far as the college parties, I replaced that life experience with the band, and it's still going.

The idea of college comes up all the time. At this point I don't know what I would want to study besides the obvious literature that I love. I truly believe this path wouldn't have led me here if anything else would have happened differently.