Inspiration comes in myriad forms.  The many facets of life during one’s personal pursuit of happiness have more than enough fuel for the inner fire.  That makes for a medley of possibilities that may spur a guy like me to write a song or play a guitar part.  Besides the strictly musical, here are a few things that spark my flame.

Amplifier volume knobs
Speaking in volumes, when done in a manner not detrimental to your ears’ physical health, can be like straight visceral moonshine.  Guitar tones gain nuance, transparency and immediacy with each ascending number of the volume knob.  My guitar becomes the tool, my amp the channel, as whatever is inside me at that moment gets spewed forth unceremoniously from the speaker cone and into the ears and, hopefully, hearts of the listener.  If all goes well, I can pass on my inspiration (and maybe a little attitude) to you.  I don’t care if the neighbors complain.

Extended road trips
Despite their tendency to expel greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, I often feel one with the universe in my car with the windows down, music blaring, sunshine warming my face, barreling through the wilderness at speeds I can’t reach with my body alone.  Prolong this experience, add some ever-changing scenery for a constantly fresh perspective, maybe include a few riding mates, and soak in the pleasures of life.  This is the inspiration of the road trip, often exemplified by a rock band’s shoestring tour.

Dented bottle caps
It may not be the caps themselves so much.  But the image of a delicately bent bottle cap so often accompanies a conversation to challenge the mind’s exploratory capacities.  The gentle hum of a jukebox tune hovering over the warm scent of Irish pub food.  Inquisitive minds scattered in a circular pattern as one smile gives way to another, camaraderie uniting them if only for a moment’s time.  The cool, crisp flavor of hops and malted barley lubricating both the taste buds and the social curiosity.  Maybe a half-empty bottle of Jameson showing that nobody is concerned with how sharply this memory will be retained.  This is inspiration in the truth of the now.

What inspires you?

Remember those “25 Things You Might Not Know About Me” things on Facebook awhile back?

Well, I missed the boat on those.  So…No time like the present.

25 THINGS YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW ABOUT CAM

1.  I have seen the movie Scream 40+ times.

2.  Flip flops are quite possibly my favorite thing ever.  I would be happy wearing them every day for the rest of my life.

3.  I played trumpet for 5 years before switching to drums.  Oh lord, was I terrible.

4.  What music I listen to is in direct correlation to the weather.  For example, I listen to country music, but only between the sunny months of April and September.

5.  No one makes me laugh like Charlie from It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia.

6.  I have an abnormally long torso and surprisingly short legs.  Therefore, the bottoms of my jeans will always be ripped and my belly button will forever be exposed.

7.  I eat chicken at least 2 meals a day and sometimes even that’s not enough.

8.  I am able to completely compartmentalize my levels of criticism when it comes to movies and music.  I can get just as much enjoyment out of a crappy horror movie as I can from an oscar winning film, both for completely different reasons.

9.  Every time the Medic dies in Saving Private Ryan, I cry uncontrollably.  It’s a problem, really.

10.  I wore glasses for exactly 1 year when I was a kid, but apparently every single picture of me as a child was taken within that particular year.

11.  I have an ongoing fascination with boats and water, even though I’m borderline terrified of swimming in anything other than a pool.

12.  I played soccer my entire life up until I was a junior in high school when I quit to focus on music.  I was a goalie and I miss it.

13.  In college, I played so much Tetris, I considered competing professionally.

14.  I have based a large part of my personality off of what Michelangelo from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles taught me, which probably explains a lot.

15.  My hands are small, yet I use enormous drum sticks.

16.  I have an unhealthy obsession with Jason Voorhees.  Hanging on the walls of my room are framed posters of every Friday the 13th film.

17.  I learned how to tie a tie 3 weeks ago.

18.  I make really stupid faces when I’m drumming.  If you’ve ever been to a show, you know exactly what I’m talking about.

19.  My two most feminine tendencies are my affinity for scented candles and Cyndi Lauper.

20.  Mexican food is the best food.  This is not opinion.  It is fact.

21.  At night I sleep with a mouthguard, a wrist brace, and sometimes a sleeping mask.  Yes, a sleeping mask.

22.  Sometimes I miss my hometown of Seattle.  Though I’m pretty sure I miss the idea of Seattle more than the actual city.  Kinda like Ferngully.

23.   Once I’ve heard a song 2-3 times, I will remember the song form forever.

24.  I am very close to my Mother.  This does not make me a sissy.  And that was an over share.

25.  I remember the weekend I feel in love with music.  When I was in 6th grade, I went to Costco with my parents and bought the Star Wars Soundtrack, No Doubt’s Tragic Kingdom, and The Wallflowers Bringing Down The Horse.  Somehow that magical concoction made all of this possible.

K, thanks.

It’s been about 2 hours since I wrote the first three words to the first verse of this new song. It’s been 2 full hours and I’m sitting in the same chair, at the same piano, with the very same question playing on loop in my head:
How the hell do I write a song?

The sun is lower in the sky. Somewhere in a green park lined with oak trees a man is showing his 3-yr-old son how to put your fingers over the seams of a baseball. A runner is on mile 25 of her first marathon and has never been closer to knowing the limitations of the human body. Somewhere in the Amazon Rainforest, a scientist stumbles over the botanical solution to cancer.
In Vancouver, Apolo Ohno just tied Bonnie Blair for the American with the most medals for winter olympics. A mile above Tennessee, a couple is having quiet, awkward sex in the lavatory just to join the club. Next door, my neighbor is getting high and watching a poker tournament. In my fridge, food is getting and staying cold.
And In my room, I’m sitting in the same chair, at the same piano, with the very same question playing on loop in my head:
How the hell do I write a song?
…

…

…Oh well… I’ll just write something stupid.

Click on the play button below to hear it:

BumBumBum

Hello everyone!  Do you like fast food?  We certainly do…not to say we’re all obese.  Quite the contrary, we’re all obesely sexy, but I digress.  Recently we took a survey within the band to find out who likes what fast food joints in order from best to worst.  The choices were (in no particular order): McDonalds, Wendy’s, Burger King, Taco Bell, KFC, Jack In The Box, In-N-Out, Popeyes, Del Taco, Carl’s Jr., White Castle, and Arby’s.  The results were staggering, so we decided to turn this into a small Shaimus pet project of epic, multi-faceted proportions.  Stay tuned to see how heroes will rise and fall in the world of Shaimus as this monumental debate unfolds.

After playing with Shaimus for over 4 years, the music naturally starts to feel different. I am no longer fretting [pun intended] about which note comes next, trying not to forget chords, or estimating where to place my next note so it will gracefully line up with Cam. In songs like “Left To Dry” and “All Of This”, these elements have long ago been committed to muscle memory and are at this point so ingrained that they have actually become a part of my persona.

I love playing this music. In fact, with years of repetition comes a level of confidence and comfort that has literally changed and developed me from “that guy that plays jazz piano but is okay on bass” to “the bass player in Shaimus”. On some level I always wanted to be a “rock star” but I was never sure how to accomplish that as a studio engineer or jazz keyboard player. Coincidentally, Shaimus took me on this crazy ride.

I don’t have tattoos, shoot heroin, drive motorcycles down hotel hallways or sleep with hundreds of women, as the “traditional” rock star label would suggest. I do, however, refuse to accept the realities that most 27-year olds take comfort in, or have at least made peace with by now: Financial stability, health insurance, 401Ks, raises, promotions, building their careers, etc. In short, performing with gusto in the “grind” or “rat race” in the hopes at the end of the corporate rainbow lies a pot of gold that will free us of the shackles of the day job and allow our spirits to truly soar. (Read: retire rich and play golf all day)

And what’s not to love? It’s comforting to be comfortable, so I gave this alternate reality an honest shot: For 2 years I worked full-time in a fairly creative and challenging position. The company builds websites for clients wishing to sell goods or services on the internet. This has always been a hobby of mine so I learned more than I can imagine about the technology, and at times it was very interesting and even exciting. My co-workers were wonderful, my superiors were respectable and inspiring, my salary was decent, the opportunities for growth were plentiful.

Then I quit. (For reference, this was a little over a year ago.)

I had started to see myself in 10-15 years sitting at a similar desk, driving a much nicer car and perhaps owning a house, but the thought of submitting to this reality was absolutely terrifying. Whether this qualifies me as a “rock star” or just a disillusioned moron is not for me to decide. But I do believe that the path of Shaimus, however murky and hidden it can seem at times, is most certainly a more interesting way for me to live my life. And what can we do besides keep ourselves interested? Isn’t that what it’s all about?

Things that are truly worth doing take thousands of hours and years of hard work, but who knows, you might actually have fun while doing them! For whatever reason, I’ll take that over financial stability. Luckily, I don’t have children.

Photos: Mike Tabolsky and BlankLogo Photography, respectively.

2009 was some year.  Big negatives lead to huge positives.  For Shaimus, it was our most productive and successful year to date.  The entirety of ‘08 was spent recording, mixing, and producing our 2nd record, The Sad Thing Is, We Like It Here.  So by the time ‘09 rolled around, it was time to get out of the damn studio and back onstage.  We set some lofty goals for ourselves in Aught Nine and we somehow managed to surpass them all.  Here is a look at some of our top moments from last year.

(I know it’s way late for a TOP 5 OF ‘09 LIST, but hey, screw you.)

5.  WEST COAST TOUR

- Going on tour is pretty much the reason why people start bands.  That and getting laid.  Either way, we were lucky enough to get back on the road this year.  Though the trip wasn’t exactly long, it made life worth living.  San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, and San Diego are amazing spots to play.  We plan on doing much, much more of this in the near future.  Click HERE and HERE for some blogs and photos from our Fall tour.

4.  ALBUM RELEASE PARTY

- Though our album technically came out in ‘08, we threw an album release party at The Mint right here in LA.  It was a sold out show and I feel sorry for anyone who wasn’t there to witness such musical brilliance.  I wrote a blog about it awhile back which you can read HERE

3.  SHAIMUS HEADLINES THE TROUBADOUR

- A dream come to fruition.  This was also Lou’s first show with the band, that lucky little SOB.  Evan wrote about this boner inducing experience HERE

2.  THE ROOMMATE

- For those of you who haven’t heard, we shot a movie this year.  We not only have two songs placed in the film, but we’re actually in the damn thing, too.  This one put ‘09 over the top.  Such an amazingly random experience that none of us will ever forget.  We documented our time on set extensively and can be seen in these three videos:

DAY 1

DAY 2

DAY 3

1.  LOU JOINS THE BAND

- Last year, we faced out biggest obstacle to date.  When guitarist Dave Middleton decided to leave the band, we thought, well, that was fun.  Time to pack it in, boys.  Little did we know, the perfect replacement for his spot was someone who had been there all along.  To me, Lou was always just Phil’s younger brother, but now, he’s my brother, too.  I know the rest of the guys feel the same way, and we are so fortunate to have him as a true addition to the band.  He stepped up to the challenge of entering a fully functioning dysfunctional family and did it with smile on his face.  Lou is not a replacement, he is what makes Shaimus….Shaimus.

Get to know Lou better HERE and HERE.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

- “Like A Fool” music video.  We’re so proud of this thing.  If you haven’t seen THIS VIDEO yet, WTF, bro?

- Getting “Left To Dry” placed on an episode of One Tree Hill.  That was fun.

To all the fans out there, thank you for making 2009 our best year yet.  We owe it all to you.  So please, keep listening, keep commenting, and keep spreading the Gospel of Shaimus to everyone you see.

Cheers.

Yesterday was my birthday.  I decided to go on a nice long walk and a write a reflective passage.  Here it is:

January 12th, 2010.  I am 22 years old to the day, and fuck.  I have done some things, seen some things, learned some things.  I have shared love, taken love, given love, forgiven love, and threw away love…off to a good start I guess.  I’ve fallen in love with girls on the street, girls in dreams, girls in magazines, friends, lovers, bitches, sweethearts, and the most fun of them all: girls who are emotionally, spiritually, and logistically unavailable.  I have also fallen in love with music.  Fuck music…sometimes.  I imagine my life without music: I wouldn’t be me, which wouldn’t be such a bad thing sometimes.  But I suppose it’s not such a bad thing after all.  Music keeps me sane and insane, it’s never balancing.  That’s a job reserved for yours truly.  I’ve been doing ok so far, but recently a series of unpleasant realizations have reared their fugly, mocking heads at me.  I hope I can make peace with all of them in time.  I’m sure that I will someday.  Maybe in one year from now I’ll read this and laugh at what a sad bastard I was a year ago.  Happy Birthday.  Yours truly, Me