04.10.03 I just read "411", a new comic book by marvel with various writers. the introduction is actually done by gandhi's grandson. it covered various stories of non-violent revolution and the philosophy of non-violence as a lifestyle choice regardless of culture. it was interesting reading. ironically, i also read 'reload', another comic book, by acclaimed writer warren ellis. this story was about a hypotheical future assasination of an extremely conservative u.s. president. i can't lie, i grinned a little bit. both books pose great questions about the use of force in our society. when is it ok? is it ok? who should be allowed to use violent force? etc. i love comic books, don't get me wrong, but what does it say about our culture when comic books seem to be doing a better job of discussing the philosophy behind violence and fear than the president of the country? 02.21.03 in a sea of thousands of "emo" bands,(some now striving for mtv fame and demanding ridiculous money for basement shows) there was always one band that stood apart from the majority of superficial boy bands and simplistic song writers. there was one band who distinguished themselves as great musicians and honest people. that band was penfold. penfold will be playing there last show on march 22nd. i'm deeply saddened to see another excellent band come to an end, but some things are inevitable. there was a time in nj when penfold and the assistant played just about every show together. we toured together. we put records out on the same label. we shared birthday parties and backyard bbq's. the friendship we have all shared has shined through our differing ideals, showing that differing opinions can coexist. in the past year the guys from penfold have taken a break from music and we haven't gotten to keep in touch as much as we all would have liked, but i'm glad that there break has helped them find a decision for what they all want to do with the band and with there lives. we all wish steve the best of luck in grad school and we eagerly await the music that has yet to be written by mike, brian and rich. for some of us penfold was more than a band. for me personally, i'll always hold that moment in my mind when 40 kids crammed into a barn in todd's backyard and screamed "i would take you everywhere". we transcended music that night. life is made up of moments like that, moments that if they never ended they wouldn't seem as amazing; for it's that coming and going that makes you realize how important life, music and friends are. we'll miss you, penfold. 02.15.03 for some funny commentary on our nations great leaders check out http://www.mnftiu.cc/mnftiu.cc/war.html. i think you'll get a kick out of it. 11.25.02 this weekend has left me so tired, but so happy. it was great see rebecca, matt and tara, and of course all the guys from for all it's worth, among other friends from avenger of awry. todd and i went up to see twenty inch burial play on friday with for all it's worth in CT. when we got there we found out that comin' correct was playing as well. hmm. well, when the show was over the bands got paid and we came to find out that twenty inch burial had received $30. we thought this was a bit stingy considering they had flown to the US from portugal, but it was better than nothing, and they were just happy to be here. it didn't bother me that much until we found out that comin correct had gotten paid $200 (which was there 'garuntee'for driving up to play the show). we figured since comin' correct is a band that sings all about unity in the scene, that maybe they wouldn't mind giving some of that $200 (maybe like $20 or $30) to the band from portugal to show that hardcore is in fact about taking care of each other. so todd went up to the singer of comin' correct and explained our stance on the subject. the singer went through a bunch of reasons to defend why they required such a garuntee, especially when a band from portugal was playing. he said that we need to understand he's "been doin' this shit for 10 years" (i guess this was supposed to mean they were somehow entitled to such a large amount of money) and that "we're talkin' about finances here, not unity" (helping another band out with money to go toward plane tickets doesn't incorporate a sense of community?). i've never been a huge fan of comin' correct and this kind of solidified my disbelief in bands that talk about "unity in the scene (as long as we get our garuntee)". this also solidified my belief that if you need a garuntee to play a show then you must not be a hardcore band. after that we all went back to matt's house and stayed up until 4 in the morning. it was great. the show on saturday had a much better vibe, but we pretty much knew it would be a great show because of the lineup, the people doing the show, and our past experiences playing shows in CT. all the bands on saturday were incredible, and i know for a fact that not one of them had a garuntee. it was one of the better shows i had seen in a very long time. it was our first show with todd, and also our first show in 2 months. i had a blast. the show on sunday turned out to be excellent as well. new brunswick treated 20 inch burial with excellent hospitality and all the bands seemed to be at there peak. i hadn't seen cable car theory since the summer, they rocked it as a three piece. today, after work i met up with rebecca and the guys from 20 inch burial. we said our goodbyes and it was sad. in this DIY scene people meet, make the most out of there time, help each other out for a few days and in some case, we never see each other again. life is tricky like that sometimes. 11.07.02 if you haven't seen bowling for colunbine yet, you must go see it!! also check out Micheal Moore's website, it's a blast. if you live in the NJ area come see del celio on saturday at 44 sicard street. my reading list these days has been blowing my mind. check out the info section for my reading list and see if anything interests you. 11.02.02 i had a great time seeing benton falls play this week. the new cd is quite good and they played great at both shows. i don't really listen to bands on deep elm, but benton falls is a definate exception to the usual deep elm 'put me to sleep' type stuff. something about there lyrics, song arrangement and musicianship really puts them in high ranking with me and seperates them from the recent trend of alot of melodic hardcore/indie. alot of melodic hardcore/indie is saturated with what i like to call 'indie rock boy bands'. this new phenomina is like watching the backstreet boys play instruments or something. and for some reason all of these bands have really expensive equipment and really well groomed hair. bands in this genre can also be characterized with simple song structure, lots of songs about girls, and intentions of 'breaking through' or 'making it big'. don't get me wrong there are still some very good, very honest melodic hardcore/indie bands out there whom i love dearly. this is not a generalization, mearly an observation. anyway, being 24 feels no different than a few days ago when i was 23. i wonder why. probably because the numbers no longer come into play at this point. the four years from 24 to 28 will probably all seem the same because age becomes a grey area at that point. then comes 30. watch out. 10.26.02 Anyone looking for inspiration should definately pick up the western sky cd. it's overwhelming how good the music and lyrics are. further more, pick up the there were wires / moment split 7". it's quite good in the same respect. i think there were wires is one of the best bands in the world at this point. it's hard to find bands that i really like lately. the scene in nj is kind of lacking at this point. i'm sure there are some good bands out there, but i haven't been to many shows lately, and i guess the shows i've been to have been dissapointing in the sense that it seemed more like a party than a show. bands seemed to be the background music for a social event rather than the focal point of what was going on. I went to a show on wednesday to see leval blessing. they were incredible; death metal to the fullest. the show was only $3 but people were still giving jason (guy doing the door) a hard time and trying not to pay to help out the touring band. what is the scene coming to? i mean, $3 to see 6 bands is really not much at all. stuff like this really discourages me from doing shows. i've been reading rising stars by micheal j strancyski and it's blowing my mind. i also can't put down from hell by alan moore. i've once again let comic books become a huge part of my life and i can't say that i regret it. i just got done with a bunch of frank miller daredevil stuff and it was incredible. for older writings, click here.