Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone doing this wonderful Wednesday? Things here are okay. My writing is still only coming in spurts, but I’m reading a lot and trying to do other things besides stupid games. But I should be writing. I know. Anyway, I’ve been trying to figure out what to blog about today, but nothing is coming to mind. Ugh. So, since it’s getting late, I’m just going to share some songs that have been rotating through my head. I don’t know why. I just get obsessive sometimes and have to listen to certain songs. It’s weird.
1. I’m So Tired by the Beatles. One day, I thought “I’m so tired” and was going to tell the dog, but I ended up singing it at her instead and now it’s been stuck in my head for days.
2. Shut Up And Dance by Walk the Moon. I have no idea why I even know this song, but I’ve been listening to it far too much lately.
3. Labyrinth by Oomph. I go through cycles where I either listen to this one obsessively or forget it exists. Spotify only has the English version, so it’s not as fun as this one, but it’s still good.
4. Moonlight Escape by Buck-Tick. Sakurai Atsushi still makes me swoon. This one has subs if you turn on the closed captioning, so you can see how morbid it actually is.
5. Adam’s Song by Blink 182. This one randomly gets stuck in my head. It’s one of those times.
Surprisingly, I haven’t been stuck on Blue October lately. But yeah. These are most of the songs currently taking up space in my mind. The rest of the songs are basically some dudes screaming “fuck everything” because it’s super cathartic since I can’t do the whole primal scream thing myself. What’s currently stuck in your head? As always, feel free to leave your thoughts or questions or whatever here or on my social media pages!
Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone doing this lovely Wednesday? Things are fine here. Lazy. I’m ahead on reading and keeping up with slushing duties, though. But I’m tired all of the time. Until it’s time to sleep. Then, I’m wide awake for hours. It’s annoying really. And I’ve tried so many things to make it easier to sleep, but nothing really helps. I know all the tips about caffeine and screens and all of that, but I’m not that desperate. There are things I do to keep myself occupied while laying in the dark. Not that, you perv. And they usually help. I’m rarely awake until dawn anymore. I’m usually asleep by 4:30 at the latest (and considering I’m in bed between 2:00 and 2:30, that’s only 2ish hours). I do wake up 3 or 4 times after that, but I’m usually back asleep within half an hour. Anyway, I thought I’d ramble about my sleep tricks.
1. Story telling. If I’m at that point where I’m thinking about everything that’s going wrong in the world or fixating on bad memories, I try to tell myself stories. I can usually find a story to focus on just enough to interrupt my fixations. But lately, I’ve been having trouble even finding an idea that holds my attention for more than one night. I used to be able to slip back into the same story and either retell it or build on it for weeks (if not months). Nothing good or worth writing down. Just stupid self-insertion type stories. But entertaining enough to lull me to sleep eventually.
2. Multiplication tables. Do kids even learn these anymore or did that new math do away with them? If I’m slightly drowsy, but still getting distracted by negative thoughts, I’ll do these. Sometimes, it’s just 1s-10s, but I go all the way up to 25s occasionally. I’ve only made it all the way to 25×25 twice without falling asleep first. Usually, I make it into the 16s. But yeah, math makes me sleepy apparently.
3. The alphabet game thingie. That game from when we were kids where you would pick a topic (names, foods, whatever) and go around in a circle like “A… apple” and the next kid would do “B… banana” and whoever couldn’t think of something got mocked for the rest of the day? I do that by myself, but with band names. And I pick a song by the band to listen to before I move on to the next letter. For A, I’ve been flipping between Adele and Apocalyptica. But I at least try to mix up the songs a bit. The farthest I’ve gotten before falling asleep is S. But it’s fun and doesn’t require much attention, so I do it when my brain is especially bouncy.
So, now you know what I do in bed. It’s not especially exciting, is it? What about you? Do you have any tricks that help you fall asleep? As always, feel free to leave your questions or thoughts or comments here or on my social media pages! Hopefully, next week will be more exciting. Doubtfully, but we can hope.
Hello, hello! How’s everything going? Hard to believe we’re already this far into March. It actually feels like a super busy month and I don’t really know why. Maybe it’s because it’s the Jailbird’s (my oldest sister) birthday, so I had to do a couple of extra things for her instead of forgetting she exists like I usually do (yes, I’m a horrible sister, but I’m okay with that). Going to pick up new glasses today. But otherwise, it’s just my usual schedule. I don’t know why I feel overwhelmed. All I want to do is escape into a fantasy world. So, since I have nothing else to ramble about, let’s talk about methods of escape!
This! This is why everything is overwhelming right now.
1. Music. I went from barely listening during the day for months to blasting it just about every time I’m in the house alone. I’ve been on a Beatles, Kansas, Queen, and Buck-Tick kick lately. It’s weird because I only like two Kansas songs and a handful of Queen songs (gasp! Blasphemy, I know. Sorry Freddie). Oh, and like everyone else my age and younger, I’ve been obsessive about the Encanto soundtrack. It helps that I usually play mindless games while listening to music as loud as it will go. I can just listen and sing along and not think about anything in particular. It’s nice.
2. Reading. I actually found another series to be obsessed with already (but Simon and Baz are still my current favorite boys). The Folk of the Air series by Holly Black. I’ve had book one (The Cruel Prince) sitting in my TBR pile for like two years now, so I decided to give it a try. I figured I’d read it and move on to something else I owned, but no. I had to buy the next two books in the series and binge them. I’m currently halfway through book two (The Wicked King) and not regretting my choice to spend money at all, which is weird. And apparently there are at least two other books that are connected to the series that I will eventually talk myself into buying. Reading is an expensive habit.
3. Beta reading. It’s technically reading, but I get to be useful (I hope). What’s beta reading? It’s when you read a friend’s (or however you’re related) manuscript and offer feedback. So, not only do I get to read an awesome story, I get to offer encouragement and advice on how to make the story stronger. It’s a really helpful thing for me because 1) I get to feel like I’m actually useful to someone (you know who you are) and 2) it gets me into a revision mindset, so it’s easier to come at my own work with the editor scissors. But mostly, I get to escape into a cool story.
4. Staring into space. I basically just tell myself stories when this happens. Or I relive stupid moments that I’d rather not think about. My brain is an asshole sometimes. This usually happens while I’m trying to fall asleep or if I’m watching TV and can’t get into the show. I find it happening more often lately, but I try to shake it off. Meh.
Definitely the fourth one.
Anyhoo, how’s it going by you? How are you coping with the state of the world? As always, feel free to share your thoughts or comments or questions or whatever here or on my social media pages!
Howdy, howdy! On Sunday, I turned 34. It was a nice, quiet day. Dad took me out for Thai food, which was super yummy. It’s a place we used to go to pretty often called Tukta Thai over on the corner of Walnut Hill and Plano Road. We still have no idea why we stopped going other than it being a bit of a drive. I’ll have to review the place next time we go (if I can remember to make Dad take pictures). Anyway, since I have nothing new to ramble about, I thought I would make a list of 34 random facts about me that you may or may not already know.
1. In case you haven’t guessed by the January 12th birthday, I’m a Capricorn.
2. Just about every morning, I call my dog random names to see what she’s answering to in that particular 5 minutes, because she refuses to learn her name. Or any name.
3. I love garlic. What’s the point of eating something if there’s no garlic in it?
5. If I have to choose between vanilla and chocolate ice cream, I’ll usually choose vanilla. Unless it’s Ghirardelli or Talenti, then chocolate please. Or just give me coffee ice cream. Now, I want ice cream.
6. I watched The Witcher and never got the song stuck in my head. I can’t even remember the tune. Does that make me a psychopath?
7. I think Madonna is overrated.
8. I haven’t watched a single episode of Game of Thrones, nor have I read any of the books.
9. I like fake grape flavor.
10. Sailor Saturn is the best Sailor Senshi and nothing you say will change my mind.
11. Anime taught me that main characters don’t have to be likeable for the story to be good. Yeah. I’m looking at you, Shinji and Eren.
12. I love bats and octopuses. And snakes. And wombats. Animals. I like them.
13. Mermaids, sirens, and selkies are among my favorite mythical creatures.
14. I’m so bad at remembering to write letters that one of my friends routinely sends me stationery type stuff to remind me to write to her. I currently have one of the blank cards she sent me for my birthday sitting in front of me waiting to be filled out. It’s been there since Friday. I’m a horrible friend.
15. I told Dad I was going to crochet a bag of dicks for him if he didn’t stop being one, so he brought out the “dick warmer” he got as a gift a long time ago. Needless to say, I now have an old crocheted penis on display in my room.
16. My CD collection has been sitting on my desk for over a year since my old stereo died. I keep forgetting to transfer them to my computer.
17. I have been in every state straight up from Texas and to the east. Now, we just have to conquer the west.
18. When people ask if I’ve been out of the country, it takes me a minute to remember that Canada counts and I have been there.
19. I used to cross-stitch before my hands decided to be stupid. Which is probably why I enjoy crocheting. It’s a completely different experience, but I get to buy pretty yarn, which is basically the same as buying pretty thread.
20. As much as I miss video games, I’m kind of glad I stopped being able to play before you had to start buying in-game upgrades and subscriptions and all that crap. I’m poor enough as it is.
21. I could never be a vegan because cheese. Meat too, but mostly cheese.
22. I like Pepsi better than Coke. Unless it’s Mexican, then Coke is better.
23. My acquaintances post these “picky eater” test things on Facebook and I really have no idea how some of them survive. Like, what do you eat? You can’t survive on air and cookies.
24. I’ll taste just about anything once. I’m not picky. Even if I know I don’t like it, but haven’t tasted it in years, I’ll try it again.
25. I don’t like sweet pickles. Doesn’t matter how many times I taste them. Blargh. But I love dill pickles.
26. My favorite season is summer. I like heat, though I admit as I get older, 85-90 is warm enough.
27. Anything besides cheese pizza (and maybe sausage or pepperoni) is an open-face sandwich. You’ll never convince me otherwise.
28. I’ve had to read “Hills like White Elephants” by Hemingway so many times I’ve lost count. The last teacher who assigned it actually looked supremely disappointed when he asked what it was really about and I automatically answered abortion. He was kind of a dick anyway, so I didn’t mind bursting his smug bubble when he just knew no one would know what it was about.
29. I love boxes and baskets. I have no use for them, but I love them.
My bat’leth and other things.
30. I collect blades and whips.
31. In one of my fiction writing classes at SMU, no one knew what an asshat was. I understood the teacher not knowing, but none of my classmates had heard it either. I fixed that.
32. Aside from weapons, my room also contains an eclectic mix of stuffed animals, skulls, Barbie dolls, and signed posters among other things.
33. I like Panera’s frozen coffees, but find their hot (read that as lukewarm) drinks extremely disappointing.
34. It took me a ridiculously long time to write this because I suck at talking about myself.
There you go. Thirty-four random things about me. Feel free to share your thoughts or comments or lists about yourself here or on my social media pages!
Hello, hello! How is everyone doing this bright and beautiful July day? I’m still finding motivation and focus hard to achieve, which means most of my writing goals have failed miserably. Slumps suck, but I’ll get out of it. Anyway, I don’t really have anything writerly or exciting to post about, so I thought I would reintroduce you to my writing area. I know I posted about it before, but writing areas aren’t entirely about writing. They’re also about the writer (in this instance, me), so I wanted to introduce you to some of the non-writerly things that I keep nearby.
An old picture. Things have changed, like a new stereo and different pictures, but still a good representation of my work space.
1. Yarn. I decided to teach myself how to crochet, so I have a slowly disappearing skein of yarn and an 85% finished project sitting on my computer. I just have to make a few more rows, then figure out how to sew it into a hat. As usual with my creative endeavors, I’m finding it difficult to work up the motivation to finish. Mostly because the next project I want to undertake scares me. It’s supposedly fairly easy, but it looks so complicated! And kind of big, so I don’t know if I’ll be able to handle it physically. But I’m enjoying the new hobby even though it scares me. That’s about all it has in common with writing. Well, that and shitty first attempts being acceptable.
2. Tequila. I actually have two bottles of tequila on my desk. One is an anejo from Republic Tequila in a bottle shaped like Texas. It hasn’t been opened yet, even though I’ve had it for years. I also have a Kah reposado in a sugar skull bottle. I’ve only had a couple of shots of it, so it’s mostly full. I’m not a lush. I swear.
This one is similar to my bottle, but the designs are always a little different because each one is hand painted.
3. Assorted treats. I keep a jar of chocolates on my desk, plus various candies and Pocky that I pick up or that people give me. I still have chocolate from Christmas and Easter, plus candy and Pocky that are at least a couple of years old. I keep forgetting they exist. It’s weird, I know. But my sweet tooth only activates at random times and I usually go for the chocolate instead of the rest.
4. Random creepy creatures. Well, they aren’t really creepy. I have a little rubber rat finger puppet that a neighbor gave me one Halloween. His name is Yuki (it means snow) even though he’s black. I just really like Fruits Basket. And he cheers me on from my computer or right next to it. I also have a tiny glass octopus named Tako that a friend sent me during one of her visits to Italy. He watches me from one of my shelves. And I have a bunch of other random figurines I’ve collected over the years.
Sohma Yuki, year of the rat.
5. A pile of CDs. My new stereo doesn’t have a multi-CD function, so I have 60+ CDs sitting around in plain sight (many more hidden in my cabinets), waiting to be ripped to my computer. But I’m lazy and keep forgetting about them.
So, that’s some of the non-writerly things I have in my writing space. If it tells you something about the kind of person I am, feel free to share. What are some of the things you keep in your work space that have nothing to do with your work? Feel free to leave your comments, thoughts, or questions here or on my social media pages!
Howdy, howdy! It’s December again (didn’t we just do this?). Happy holidays and all that jazz! I don’t really have anything to talk about this week and I’ve been super slacking on the writing front (and at life in general), so I thought I would take a minute to make my goals for the month known. This way, you can heckle me until I succeed. I know these posts are pretty boring, so I try not to do them a lot. Apologies in advance. But here are my goals in no particular order!
Cute pictures are fun.
December Goals:
1. Submit stuff 10 times (2 every Monday). I’ve consistently submitted two stories a week all year long. Granted, it wasn’t always on Mondays, but it got done even when I really didn’t feel like it. I’m super proud of that. Now, I just have to keep it up the rest of this month and do it all over again next year.
2. Revise more of LR. Revising has been beyond slow and I have no one and nothing to blame but myself. I love the story and I’m excited about it, but I can’t get into a good rhythm with the revisions. I get into it a few days then can’t bring myself to open the files for a while. It’s weird.
3. Read 2 books. Actually, I need to finish two books (at least) this month. I started them both last month. When I got the okay on The Razor, I stopped in the middle of European Travel for the Monstrous Gentlewoman. There was just no way for me to finish both last month. And I decided to start this month’s review book before I finish European Travel. I somehow clumped too many long books together and it’s thrown my whole reading schedule off, but I’m past my goal for the year, so it’s okay.
The lazy voices in my head often enable me by telling the productive ones to shut up.
4. Make time for people. It’s just really hard to talk to people when I like being a recluse so much. Luckily, around the holidays, I randomly text people to wish them well and usually end up chatting with a few of them. It’s the only time of year I’m not a completely shitty friend!
5. Decide on a couple of days to go through my files and tidy everything up. I seriously need to do this. I used to know exactly where every song, picture, and file was on my computer. Now, I can’t find half the stuff I go looking for. It’s a mess.
6. Start ripping old CDs to my computer. A few months ago, I got a new radio because my 60 disc player stopped working. Do you know how hard it is to find a new 60+ disc player that is it’s own stereo, not a component to a make-your-own stereo system? Impossible. In other words, I have a bunch of CDs that I need to transfer to my computer so I can play my old favorites and annoy the crap out of Dad.
Okay, I have that one on my computer, but this made my smile.
7. Attack the slush pile. I’ve been sporadic with my first reader duties over at Pseudopod. I need to buckle down and help get through this period’s submissions. It’s always a fun experience.
Those are my goals. What about you? Do you have any stuff you want to focus on this month? Feel free to share your thoughts or comments here or on my social media pages!
Howdy, howdy! It’s been kind of rainy and dreary here the last couple of days, which always makes me feel sleepy and blah. Productivity is the last thing I want to achieve. So, even though I’ve been adulting and all that good stuff, I’ve also been super lazy. That’s not going to change today! Instead of coming up with some random topic related to writing and rambling about that, I thought I would just give you a list of my five favorite ways to relax on rainy days. It’s all stuff you’ve seen before if you follow my blog regularly. Otherwise, enjoy reading about my laziness.
1. Netflix/TV binge-watching. This can be done solo or with Dad, depending on his level of productivity on a rainy day. Sometimes, we catch up on all the stuff we’ve recorded. Other times, we pick random movies or whatever on Netflix and watch them. If I’m on my own, I watch stuff Dad would have no interest in or I rewatch old shows (still usually stuff he has no interest in). The only bad part about binge-watching is that by the time it’s 11 at night, it feels like you’ve done nothing all day. Which you haven’t, but still. Where’d the day go?
2. Mindless games. Yes, I still play mindless games. They’re a decent way to waste time, but I do get bored after a while. It’s like I start playing and by the time I run out of lives, I’m sure it’s almost time for bed, but it’s only been like ten minutes. I guess I should start playing some new games that I’m not bored with yet. The only problem with that is that I don’t want to fall down the “new game” rabbit hole and get lost. Maybe I’m just super lazy, even too lazy for games.
Pretty accurate.
3. Reading. I’ve been reading a lot for the book group and to review on here, but I haven’t really read anything lately just because. Because I want to. Because it’s fun. Because I thought the cover was pretty and bought it. Rainy days remind me that I have books I wanted to read before I started reading everything I was told I should read. They’re the kind of days that remind there are things I want to re-read. And it’s totally okay to read or re-read things for fun. I need to remember that on normal days as well.
4. Music videos/eye candy. I haven’t sat around watching random music videos in a really long time (like so long I forgot certain bands existed). It’s one of those things I always say I’m going to do, but life gets in the way. Rainy days are a good chance to catch up on old bands’ newer music and looks (because visual kei is awesome, or it used to be. I don’t really know anymore). I should make time for that.
One of the last pictures I have of D and I don’t even know what song/album it goes with.
5. Anime/manga. No, it’s not the same as Netflix and reading. It’s its own thing and I’ve been slacking on it. I haven’t read any manga in about a year. And I don’t watch anime as much as I want because I always save it for after I’m productive, then I don’t have time for it. Rainy days when Dad is doing his own thing are the perfect time to catch up on anime at least.
What are your favorite things to do on rainy days? Are you a napper or do you like to catch up on fun things? Perhaps you’re more productive on gray days. Feel free to share your own list, comments, or questions here or on my social media pages!
Howdy, howdy! Welcome to another guest post. This time, we have my friend and fellow Stonecoast alum, JosephCarro. He’s got some super helpful tips for working around writer’s block, which I struggle with a lot. So, read on!
Joe and I at the HarraseeketInn. Pretty sure that was January ’15.
On Writer’s Block
By Joseph Carro
Writing can be an extremely frustrating and hopelessly solitary artistic endeavor, and as writers we know and understand this when we choose it as our lifestyle. Yet it doesn’t make it any easier when we’re holed up in the basement, writing the next big thing on our minds. Whether you’re trying to write a blog post, a poem, a screenplay, or a novel – Writer’s Block afflicts us all. I know that personally, real life usually gets in the way and saps my creative juices with its constant demands, but to keep writing I have acquired several techniques which I use in order to get my brain jumpstarted again. My hope is to share a couple of my own techniques with you. I know that many of you have your own techniques, but as a writer – I usually appreciate any new ways in which I can defeat this annoying affliction. Feel free to chime in with your own methods below in the comments section.
WALK OR DRIVE: Walking, to me, is a lost pastime. And I’m not the only oneto think so. If you’re stuck on a certain spot in your manuscript or post or what have you, get OUT of that space for a little while. If you don’t like walking, then just sit outside or maybe take a drive. Anything to get yourself out of your stagnant state. Maybe you’ll see or experience something that will ignite that spark. You just have to step outside your comfort zone for a bit. Fresh air does wonders for the mind and the thought process needed for writing.
READ SOMETHING: As Stephen King once said; “If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.” Writing is a skill in which you absorb technique and inspiration from reading other writers. To do so, you need to actually read. Sometimes, reading someone else’s work is the perfect way to jumpstart your own. In my case, I will sometimes put aside my writing for one day and try to finish the book I was already reading or start another one. By the time I’m through a few chapters, I’m usually chomping at the bit to get back into my writing project. Obviously, it’s “dangerous” to put aside the writing to do something else (because you can get too much into the habit of doing that), but in moderation I think it works. Just really pay attention to what the authors are doing; their prose, the construction of the novel or short story or poem or whatever, and the way in which the strongest parts of it make you feel as a reader. Try to infuse your writing with some of that magic, without trying to ape their style. Be you.
LISTEN TO MUSIC: This one is very divisive within the writing community. In one camp, you have people who absolutely cannot listen to music while writing. Or, they at least must listen to very quiet, ambient music rather than anything heady with lyrics. That’s okay, this technique may not be for you either. However – when I’m trying to write a certain scene or a certain tone to my short story or screenplay, I sometimes pick an appropriate piece of music. For a tone, I will generally choose a playlist I’ve created on Spotify or find a playlist on YouTube – for example, if I’m looking for a melancholy tone I will choose a playlist that’s labeled as “sad songs” or “bittersweet songs”. Generally, the mood conveyed through these songs, and the emotions they bring out enhance my writing. It’s all about knowing your tolerance for this kind of distraction while you’re trying to write. This also works if you just need to listen to a song or two BEFORE you write, rather than listening to entire tracks during your actual writing. Just make sure to fire up another song here and there to renew your creative juices and emotions, because sometimes sitting in a chair and writing prose does not automatically generate emotions until you really get into the meat of the story. Writing is both a technical skill and an art, and art comes from emotion. Sometimes, we wade too far into the technical aspects and lose the emotional momentum.
USE WRITING EXERCISES AND PROMPTS: This method is actually my favorite, and thanks to the internet, there are countless online sources for finding writing ideas. These aren’t necessarily meant to replace the project you’re working on, but are more for trying to write something in general when you’re stuck. However, if you need some distance from your novel, it’s okay to take a brief respite and write something else. A few of my favorite sources for writing prompts are from books I’ve found or have been given. My wife gifted me a sort of “activity book” called 400 Writing Prompts by PiccadillyInc and that one has given me quite a few ideas. A couple of other books I’ve found to be pretty useful are The Writer’s Book of Matches: 1,001 Prompts To Ignite Your Fiction from Writer’s Digest Books, What If?: Writing Exercises for Fiction Writers by Anne Bernays and Pamela Painter, and The Pocket Muse: Ideas & Inspirations for Writing by Monica Wood. There are also lots of online sources out there as I mentioned above, and some of my favorites are Writer’sDigest, Poets & Writers, tumblr, and even reddit. Various bloggers like myself also dedicate entire sections of their blog to writing prompts. My own blog, Away With Words, has just such a section that you can find HERE. I try to do at least one weekly prompt, but sometimes I do more.
These are just some tools for trying to get back into the swing of things, and my hope is that by using these techniques and resources, you can dig yourself out of whatever funk you’re in and get back to writing. Remember – try not to be too hard on yourself. Writing is hard work, it’s thirsty work, and your brain can quickly become parched when it’s dealing with the same tedious task over and over. Give it some variety and keep yourself from getting mired. Good luck!
—
My name is Joseph Carro, and I am a Maine-based freelance writer and editor trying to make it in the big world of letters and semi-colons. I work currently as a barista to (barely) pay the bills, and in the meantime, I’m working on a YA novel, currently untitled, as well as various other works like screenplays, comic scripts, short stories, and flash fiction. Heck, you may as well toss in some comic books with that, too.
I live in Portland, here in Maine – with my beautiful wife and our five-pound chihuahua, Brewtus.
Hello, hello! I have nothing writerly to talk about this week, so I thought I would share the (boring) story behind one of my weirder decorations. Hanging above my door, alongside my collection of drumsticks and guitar picks, is a crumpled up plastic water bottle. Whenever I’m hurting and need to lay back in the chair to shift my weight (or I get stuck on something while writing and just need a break), I usually end up staring at that bottle for a few minutes. It has this weird ability to make me smile, despite being a piece of junk to everyone else. I guess it’s because I get to think about that December night back 2011 when I got it.
Yes, I’m one of those weird people who keep things like this
That year was a year for concerts. Miyavi came around in November (pretty sure one of the drumsticks is from that one), which was a no-brainer for me. I was definitely going to that show. Then, I found out that Dir engrey was coming through that December. I admit that I struggled a bit with the decision to go to that show. I knew Dad wasn’t a fan (screamy Japanese metal just isn’t his thing, though I knew he wouldn’t say no if I asked to go) and it was a little expensive, but I had never seen them live before. And you never really know if Japanese bands are going to come back through Texas, so it’s best to catch them when you can. Ultimately, I decided to go.
Dad, the Minion (yes, I call my friend a minion, except I think he still had the title of Puppet back then), and I piled in the van and headed down to Trees in DeepEllum. It’s one of my favorite venues down there, though we haven’t been in a while. The owners were super nice. I heard they’ve reopened two other venues since the last time I went to a concert out there, which is neat. But I digress.
The Minion! And yes, I wore a Mudvayne hat to a Dir en grey concert.
The concert was awesome. Sat by the stage, right in front of Toshiya, the bassist. At one point, Dad leaned over and said that he had just realized that that guy (Toshiya) was wearing a skirt. Given other bands I listen to, it wasn’t a surprise as much as an observation, but it was still funny. Then, when the concert was over and the band members were leaving the stage, Kyo (the singer) stopped and gave me his crumpled up water bottle. Still high on the live music buzz, it was the most awesome thing EVER! A little later, when asked what I planned on doing with his garbage, I vaguely remember a plan to harvest his DNA and clone him. That never came to fruition, but I did use it as a wall decoration.
Kyo!
And that’s how one man’s literal trash became my treasure. What’s something weird that you keep around? Do you have anything other people would look at and automatically think it’s trash? Share your story here or on my social media pages!
Hello, hello! On Monday, Dad surprised me with a trip out to Irving to see the Moody Blues. They’re a band that Dad and I both enjoy. I was raised on them. They played a lot of songs I knew and a few I didn’t. Of course, Dad sang along to all of them. We both had a lot of fun, though Dad couldn’t figure out how all the other fans had gotten so old while he stayed young. But I wanted to talk about the venue, the Toyota Music Factory, and our experience there.
Still love their music!
According to their FAQ section, “Toyota Music Factory is an experience – with 25 restaurants and entertainment concepts, an Alamo Drafthouse Theater, and the Pavilion – an 8,000 capacity indoor/outdoor, state-of-the-art concert venue, Toyota Music Factory is the new soul of the DFW Metroplex. From power lunches to happy hours, date nights to show time, it’s sure to satisfy any taste in food, music, movies, and more.” But is it really?
Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s a fabulous concept. Being able to arrive a couple of hours early and stop for dinner at one of the on-site restaurants is great, especially for people who don’t know the area well (like us). And since it’s not even a year old (it officially opened in September of 2017), minor problems are to be expected. Case in point, the security people on parking duty had absolutely no clue about handicap parking. Even the valet people seemed confused, but there was one cripple spot left up front, so they told us to go ahead and park there instead of in one of the garages. And that was once we were there. The signage to get to the place was absolutely horrible. But I don’t know if that’s a venue issue or a city of Irving issue.
Borrowed from TMF’s website.
The Pavilion (the music venue itself) was a nice place, but I wouldn’t call it state-of-the-art by any means. It was stark, all concrete and wood. It actually reminded me of some of the small venues I’ve been to, only ten times the size. There wasn’t an actual elevator. Instead, they have a “lift,” which is a base with a wall on either side, but the front and back are exposed to the concrete/doors of the shaft. So, while it’s moving, you better keep yourself away from the front and back. Then there was the seating. Handicap seating was fairly close (second section) with a barrier that didn’t obstruct the view. We were in the center. There was also some handicap seating up in the third section. But even though the floor seating was the same as the companion seats in the cripple sections, easily removed folding chairs (seemed kind of chintzy for “state-of-the-art”), there weren’t any handicap tickets available down there. It wasn’t a bad venue by any means, but it certainly wasn’t what they advertise it to be.
The lift was something like this, encased in concrete.
Overall, it’s a venue I wouldn’t mind going back to if a band worth seeing comes through. All of the staff were friendly and helpful, which goes a long way to balancing out the not-so-good aspects of the place. However, it’s definitely not going to be the “new soul” of DFW unless they make some significant improvements. Plus, it’s all the way over in Irving, so the bands will have to be really good to make me go back.
Shawna's Blog of Doom 