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.