Some Cool OST Sketches

I saw my friend Abbey the other day and she handed me some sketches she drew at the last Original Sound Trash show.

I was impressed. Most people just take bad cell phone pictures at rock shows. I still don't know how she managed to draw so many details in the dark.

When Life Gives You A Folk Concert, Pull Out Your Keytar And Shred

The show on Sunday night was brilliant.

I was so nervous. It was our first performance since August. I did not realize this until we were at the venue, but somehow, we got booked alongside several folk artists. We are not even remotely related to folk music. Ryan's got a Marshall amp that's as big as Rhode Island and I play the freaking keytar. So naturally, that made the experience even more nerve-wracking.

It turned out to be alright though. A lot of people came out to support us. I love seeing people I know at the shows (although often times it makes me even more nervous). When the fourth folk ensemble ended and it was our time to play, I muttered the words, "And now for something completely different" into the microphone. The rest is history. We did our thing and, strangely enough, people were really into it.

I had almost let myself forget how much I absolutely love performing. That's what happens when you go on hiatus for eight months, I guess. There's really nothing as crazy and wonderful as being onstage. It's hard to explain. I know it might sound cliche, but when I'm up there, shredding on my keytar and sharing my music with a receptive audience, I feel like this is what I was meant to do. And though I spent half the show feeling like I was potentially going to pee my pants, it also felt totally natural for me to be up there next to Ryan, belting out song lyrics about icebergs and the apocalypse and hearing the crowd cheer.

Anyway, the show was a blast. And the keytar was a hit! We finished the set, loaded our stuff off the stage, and were immediately approached by the guy who organized the show.

"Hey, wow, you guys were great, I like it!" he says. "It was weird, something different, but cool."

"Thanks!" we reply enthusiastly, still high off the music and adreneline rush.

"So uh...I was back there talking to the bartenders and uh...we realized that no one carded you. You ARE at least 21, right???"

Ryan and I look at each other. We're well aware that we both look as young as 17 at times (not to mention our music often appeals to a younger, rowdier crowd), but we just got done providing everyone in the venue (and probably some people on the street) with quality trash rock. Was he really going to card us?

"We're 22!" I proclaim. He looks at us skeptically, then hands us our earnings for the night.

We pocket the money and go outside to load our equipment into my mother's SUV (I have to borrow it whenever we have a show considering it's the only vehicle that will fit all of our stuff - nothing says ROCK AND ROLL like a Honda CRV!). Then we go back inside to listen to last band. We're greeted like minor celebrities.

"I love that keytar work!"
"What was your band's name? Original Sound Track?"
"How long have you guys played together? That was great!"
"Way to shred that keytar!"
"Come do a show for us in Washington!"
"ZOMG KEYTAR!"

Eventually we left the venue and found a pub a few blocks away. Ryan and Steve both had to get up really early for work the next day, but we could not deny our need to celebrate Original Sound Trash's return to the stage.

There's the after party crowd in all of it's fuzzy phone picture glory. Steve the Cute Camera Operator (yes, the show was recorded - expect video posts later), Post-Rock-Show Lauren (fortunately the fuzziness of this picture hides the melty eyeliner), Felix (the man, not the cat), and Post-Rock-Show Ryan (reminding you that Pluto is not a planet anymore). Great way to end the night.

Original Sound Trash is baaaaaaack. :D

Mildly Freaked Out

I shouldn't be awake right now. My phone might ring at 6am, and if it does, I should answer it and go tackle whatever subbing job is thrown at me. I need the money. It will enhance the quality of my rock tour experience. Also, I can't live at my parents house forever. Money is a good thing to be acquiring right now.

But I'm watching all my friends get sucked into the relentless world of work and I have no desire to join them.

Ryan is in that world now. I can tell he doesn't enjoy that much, especially on the days where I strut into his garage wearing his girl pants and talk about how I spent the whole day writing blogs and eating nachos. But he's making more money than I will make for awhile, so I guess it's good for him.

Since I've had a lot of free time lately, I've started up a new blog - a musical advice column of sorts. It's an idea I've had bouncing around my brain for several months but have never had the time to put into starting it up. You can check it out here. I've been having a lot of fun with it so far. Weirdly enough, it's been getting tons of hits.

In other news, the infamous Someday Lounge show is in four days. I'm honestly nervous. Our ticket sales aren't what they need to be yet. I'm also feeling like we need to practice more. I'm even skipping out on the Amanda Palmer show to work on perfecting our sound. It's lame, but the great AFP will come through town again. If I sound awful on Sunday, I won't forgive myself easily.

I should end this post and go to bed before I completely descend into the land of neurosis.

Ack. We need sell 10 more tickets. Or something like that.

Being onstage at a rock show is one of my favourite things ever, but it always stresses me out. I need to get a grip on that if I'm really going to do this for a living. Or at least for a summer. I have no idea what I'm doing for a living. Maybe I'll come live under your bed and write musical advice for you whenever you're having a bad day? I'll be like a little leprechan, but not very little and a lot less Irish.

Okay. Must be bed time.

Peace and trash rock, amigos.

I Should Probably Weigh 500 Pounds

I think the only reason I ever make cookies is so I can eat the dough while I'm waiting for the oven to preheat.

In other news, Someday Lounge tickets are now available online (the Portland show I talked about in this post). Comment/message me for the link! :)

Can't Sleep. Clowns Will Eat Me.

I should be asleep right now but sleep is overrated.
I was dancing around my kitchen eating Cheez-Its a little bit ago. I need to stop having so much energy in the middle of the night.
Ryan and I now have a show booked for May 23rd. It's at the Someday Lounge in Portland and I am completely stoked. It's been way too long since we've done any live performances.
If you want to buy tickets to the show, let me know. They are on sale in advance for $8. I would really love to see YOU there.
Of course, if you live in a completely part of the country and cannot make it to the Portland show, fear not. We might be coming to your town this summer.
The official route is still in the works. Bits and pieces of it are coming together. Tonight, Ryan informed me that all systems are go for Las Vegas. We're gonna stay with his old roommate (we're couchsurfing as much as possible) and hopefully play a few shows down there. Not exactly sure where we're headed to after that, but eventually we'll be on the east coast. I'm trying to surf around the Internet and figure out what cities would be good for us. Someone told me there is a big indie music scene in Michigan. Random.
Do you guys know any great places we should investigate?
Would love your input. :)

And now, I shall sleep. Maybe. Yes.