Hey guys. How was your week? Any birthdays?
Nice.
This week, we thought it would be fun to share a little bit of our ritual before a show. Generally before any show we have some time to get our game faces on and warm-up the fingers and vocal chords. A lot of people think that warming up is just for jazzers or classical musicians, but rock demands a lot of physicality and control… so warming up the chords is essential. I put together a little video so you guys get an idea of what I’m talking about. The first place is in the green room of St. Rocke in Hermosa beach.  The second is at Embry Riddle College in Arizona. Also, you get a sneak preview of one of our new songs “Sick Day.”

I should be writing this blog post but I’m staring at facebook.

I’m supposed to be working but I’d rather write a blog post.

I could be writing music, but it’s easier to tend to my work.

I’ve been thinking about making lunch, but I’d rather play guitar.

I could work on self-improvement, but eating a sandwich is an easier goal.

I should see a doctor about my chronic vertigo, but I can’t stop thinking about my ex.

Blahhh… I don’t think I have ADD, so why is it so damned difficult to focus on things that require my attention?  Why do I make excuses and illogical compromises to feed these unproductive thought patterns? I guess I’ve just been bored with all things non-Shaimus lately.

Those who know me know that I love to think and reason.  Unfortunately, thinking and reasoning isn’t the same as planning and executing.  I’ll take philosophy over action any day, and as a result I’ve become a master of “thinking” myself out of “doing”.  These days, in order for me to “do” something and give it the attention it deserves, the task needs to be fully immersing and inspiring – playing a show, mixing a song, writing music, solving a challenging problem, nurturing a deep connection with a fellow human.

But lately I haven’t necessarily been using my powers for good.  My over-thinking tendencies have led me to discount uninspiring ideas as undeserving of my attention.  It’s even made me ignore other people at times, which is downright judgmental.  I’m starting to realize that I’m making myself miss out on life.

Perhaps the extreme ups and downs of being in an unbelievable rock band take their toll on my psyche (play an amazing show one day, sit in my crappy apartment the next, wondering when the next amazing show will be).  The higher you fly, the further you fall, that kind of thing.

When it comes down to it though, life is actually quite simple.  It doesn’t take that much for a person to be happy.  Just don’t be lazy about it, and it’ll come.  If I turn my back on the little things, they won’t come chase me down – they’re too little for me to notice unless I make an effort to notice them first.

With that in mind, it’s time to eat an apple, and enjoy the shit out of it.

This kid is just psyched to be chillin’ on the lawn. Nothing more, nothing less.

When I used to read stories of the glory years of rock ‘n’ roll, I couldn’t help but lament the lack of a “scene” there seems to be these days.  When Eric Clapton would come tour America, he’d hang out with Hendrix in New York City, where they’d roam around with their guitars strapped to their backs and pop into smokey clubs just to jam with whoever happened to be around.  Back in England, the bars he frequented were populated by the likes of Pete Townshend and Mick Jagger well before any of them were household names.  When Motley Crue played at the Whiskey A Go Go in the early ’80s, the Sunset Strip was a community party.  The whole LA music scene seemed like a big leather pants-wearing, blow-snorting family.

This isn’t to say I wish that Shaimus shows were knee-deep in cocaine.  I don’t.  (I don’t want leather pants, either.)  But the fact is, I have long felt that there has been a lack of fellowship among bands lately.  The days of bands that stuck it out together in their town, offering support and companionship as they all worked toward that common goal of musical euphoria have seemingly begun dying out as technology has slowly moved the majority of band members’ time from the streets and into cyberspace.  It’s not that there is no fellowship at all, but there is a lot less of it–we’ve noticed this as we try to build relationships with like-minded, talented bands that will stick this brutal industry out with us.

As I mentioned, part of this lack of conviviality is due to the Internet.  Whoring yourself out on the web is a prerequisite for any band’s success these days (ourselves included), and while it can be great to reach so many more fans that you never could before, it can be so easy to get lost in the mix.  It’s not hard to drown in a sea of faceless bands with MySpace pages.

But as I sat around complaining about something I couldn’t change, I soon realized something: this vast, uncontrollable deluge of musicians doing whatever they feel like–this complete and utter worldwide anarchy that has been unfolding before our very eyes–is the very essence of rock ‘n’ roll in modern times.

Artists are doing everything they can to stick it to the man and do things their way.  Bands are doing more on their own without the help of the suits than anyone could have imagined even ten years ago.  Major labels are literally crumbling around us as bands are finding the empowerment and personal resourcefulness not only to get their music heard by the masses, but to personally play a hand in the downfall of the very corporate entities that have tried to control rock music for decades.  Bands aren’t looking for record deals as much anymore.  Instead they are doing their craft on their own terms without being at the whim of the labels.  Rock music’s essential spirit has been one of rebellion, of taking on the people who were so uptight as to think that a backbeat was going to cause kids to go crazy and destroy the moral world.  (And what a “moral” world it is in the first place!)

Major labels are just becoming another casualty in the battle to keep rock and roll in line.  That’s always going to be a losing fight in the long run.  And it’s not even as though I wouldn’t want to sign a contract with a major label.  Under the right circumstances, I certainly would.  The point I’m trying to make here is that there is a scene, even if it’s not quite the same as it was before.  Things are always going to change and evolve, and will continue to do so.  Remember when TV networks didn’t want to show Elvis from the waist down so that kids wouldn’t be corrupted by his sexual, gyrating hips?  The anarchy of music on the Internet is today’s Elvis hips.

Yep, the music scene just isn’t what it used to be.  And it’s a scene that I’m proud to be a part of.