It's a Vicious Cycle

First things first. I've been rather lousy in posting birthday wishes for the last, well, month or so. Not that I haven't wished the wishes in person or over the phone or email or whatever, but hey. These things deserve notation. So, happy birthday to my May and June lovelies:

Peter J, Em, Mom (yeah, mentioned it already, but she's worthy of two), Lish, Elizabeth, Jason. And early birthday wishes to Michelle.

XOXOXOXOs to you.

Over the last couple of days, names from the past - my musical past, that is - have been popping up with a surprisingly increasing frequency.

Nearly four years after the fact, I thought to a September Saturday spent in the same building I'm in right now.

September 29, 2001 -

...and another day at the building tomorrow, during which i will be sitting there with the realization that paddy casey is playing just a few streets away at the waterfront...and my luck they'll have all the windows closed so i won't even be able to hear. ALL I WANT IS TO HEAR RAINWATER!!!!

I discovered yesterday (YESTERDAY!) that it was in fact Patti Casey, Vermont-based bluegrass and gospel musician. Whom I saw a couple of weekends ago. Not Paddy Casey, Irish singer songwriter who created such amazing songs as "Rainwater" and "Fear."

Oops.

January 29, 2001 -

so yeah. david gray is performing in burlington on april 26.
david gray is performing down the street from me on april 26.
i have been waiting for david gray tourdates forever already.
i am willing to go anywhere to see david gray.
david gray will be in burlington on the 26th.
i start competition for ACTF on april 25.
i will be in washington d.c. on april 26.
david gray will be in burlington on april 26.
WHAT THE FUCK!?!?!?!
this is my life.
*sigh*
but i might get to see him in virginia. a david gray concert will happen for me during this tour.
but come on. burlington???? too cruel.

I'm going to see Coldplay in Montreal on August 3. I'll follow that up with Ben Lee/Rufus/Ben Folds on August 5.

David Gray is playing Avalon on August 4.

*whimper*
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***The following is going to be composed of mostly dorky, Internet- and music-related content.***

I rarely post on message boards anymore, as they've been run over either with cliques or fanatical "teenies"*. I stop by the boards, I occasionally post something, but for the most part? I have a hard time wading through posts about Jason Mraz's girlfriend, what products Howie Day uses in his hair and whatnot.

Which is why I missed the first few posts about Averi on Mraz's board. K, one of the great people I've befriended from "the boards", laughed about it the other day when we met up for drinks, wryly remarking that she "was wondering when the hell you'd see the Averi thread and defend them." She'd seen that I'd found and commented on the subject that day.

I tried warning about this kind of thing on the Averi message board before - as I still cringe thinking of the reaction to an Averi thread I found on the HDTB awhile back - and I know that the big fans who posted on it were well-intentioned. But it prompted me to think about more tricks of the trade when it comes to promoting "your" band:

- Title your thread with something either straightforward or stupid. "____ rocks your brains out" or simply "______" (insert band name accordingly). While it's great for a band and its fans that the band has won awards/polls/recongition, it comes across as pompous to anyone who isn't familiar with the band. "Fine, if your band's so great, how come I never heard of 'em, huh?"
- Do not post in a message board's "Other Artists Discussion" if you've never posted on the board. Even if you just post something in a newbie section introducing yourself or saying hi, do whatever you must to ensure your name doesn't have "Posts: 1" next to it when you suggest a new band. Your band suggestion will likely be overlooked - or worse, labeled "spam" - because you haven't demonstrated any affiliation or interest in the artist to whom the message board is dedicated.
- Make what you write in the post sound off-the-cuff, not rehearsed. Using Averi as an example, I'd probably write something like the following on the Mraz board.
Hey, thought you guys might get a kick out of Averi. Five piece out of Boston, rock/pop sound with a saxophone (think back to the days of Aaron playing with Jason and the gang) to mix things up a bit. They just released their second album, "Drawn To Revolving Doors," in February and have been making their way around New England and the mid-Atlantic this year.
They've shared the bill with a bunch of artists I know people on here have discussed quite a bit - Gavin, Michael Tolcher, Guster, et al. - as well as MB20, the Goo Goo Dolls, BNK and the like. Even Sting.
Studio albums are good, but these guys rock live. Their website, www.averimusic.com, has all the touring details, so try to make it to a show! Five really cool guys who put on a great show. Check 'em out and let me know what you think.
- Check to be sure there isn't already a thread on the band on the board. This is what happened with theHDTB. People kept creating new threads to the point that the regulars said they were ignoring anything that had Averi's name in the title. It got ugly.
- Be prepared for people to bash your band. It happens. Perhaps someone was at an off show, perhaps it's not what fits into someone's musical perferences. I personally don't recommend trying to get people to change their minds. You've stated your opinion, they've stated theirs. Let the rest of the populance rule in.
- B&Ps of live shows work wonders...
[/soapbox rant]

*I don't care how old someone is, they can still qualify as a teenie. What precisely is this breed of fan? If you spend more of your time talking about how hot a musician is than how good the music is, you're a teenie. If you scream for, hypothetically speaking, "The Remedy" during a rarely-performed rendition of "Halfway Home," you're a teenie who is pissing off the non-teenies. If you're more concerned about trying to hook up with a member of the band than listening to the music, you're a slutty teenie. If you're more concerned about getting a photo with the musician(s) than saying hello to the musician(s), you're a teenie. If you post on message boards that you "totally luv _____, who is just the hotttest thing ever," you're most certainly a teenie.