The anticipation is killing me

Well, this is the longest week ever (next to the birth of Sloan) for me. I am at five days and counting until going to the ACL Festival in Austin. I haven’t been excited about something like this in a long time. I get a little excited when baseball season starts up (for the fact I feel every year is the Mets year), and college football, but this is an excitement of a kid.

I get to see two of my most favorite bands/artists of all time in one day, almost back to back. Of course Pearl Jam will be playing that night, but I also have a small love affair with Ben Harper after he blew me away in 1998 on the main stage at Horde Fest. After being excited and shocked to see the Smashing Pumpkins take the stage and then witnessing their break up on stage after four songs into their set, the organizers moved a musician from Claremont, CA onto the main stage to satisfy the angry crowd. I had no idea what I was in store for, but after his set, I was never blown away by someone until then. From 1998 on, I have never missed an album release by Ben Harper, also converting some of my friends along the way to fans of Ben. I get to reunite with him since the last time I saw him live (1999 in Dallas). I am very eager to see him play with his new band Relentless 7.

The one thing I am most excited about is seeing new bands that day. I know that Ben and PJ will rock my socks off; it’s seeing new things that also excite me. I love going to sporting events and concerts. The best are outdoor concerts, if I had to pick I would see concerts outdoors rather than in an arena. It’s the sights, sounds, and smells that just add to everything. As you can tell, I am very excited to get to Austin, and now wish I could have afforded to take the weekend and see all three days, but that hopefully will happen next year, with Sloan and Kristen.

So I have a list of bands that I want to see during the day, and hopefully find some new bands that day as well. I am also bringing a camera so don’t worry I will have some pics to show everyone next week. Plus some good stories to write about as well. So I haven’t got any new music for you guys this week, but here is my list of bands I want to see on Sunday. Have a good week.

Here is my ACL Schedule (also my wish list for Friday and Saturday):
http://2009.aclfestival.com/14961/schedule/2009/10/04

12:20- Mike Posner (awesome college kid from Duke, listen to him here)

12:30ish- The Dodos (a band I am interested in, listen to them here)

1:15- Here We Go Magic and David Garza (both interested in, listen to HWGM here and
DG here)

2:00- The B-52s and Clutch (you have to catch a little of the B-52s and Clutch I have
Heard is very good, Listen to B-52s here and Clutch here)

3:00- White Lies (a band I am excited to see, listen to the here.)

3:00 & 3:30- State Radio and Heartless Bastards (going to try and see both, might get
stuck with White Lies though. Listen to State Radio here and Heartless
Bastards here.)

4:00- Arctic Monkeys (I can’t wait to see them, they might (probably will) trump seeing
the Toadies. Listen to AM here and Toadies here.)

4:45-Brett Dennen (Love this kid, saw him open up for John Mayer, Listen to Brett here.)
5:00-Passion Pit (Love this band, can’t wait to see them, Listen to the Pit here.)

5:00ish- Dirty Projectors (I hear a lot about them, so I am going to try and check them
out, listen to them here.)

6:00- Ben Harper and Relentless 7 (I can’t wait, busting to see Ben blow the place up.
Listen to Ben here, and here.)

6:00ish- The Dead Weather (I am going to try and see Jack White and his new band play.
Listen to them here. I really want to see them; it will be hard to leave Ben’s set)

7:00- Girl Talk, Dan Auerbach, and Michael Franti (here is where it will get tough for
me, I really want to see GT, and I can’t miss Dan Auerbach, I love the Black Keys
and his solo album is unbelievable, and I am interested in seeing Franti play a
little. Listen to GT here, Auerbach here, and Franti here.)

8:00- PEARL JAM (enough said, greatest band, listen to PJ here, here, and here if you
have lived under a rock and have never heard them.)

Why Pearl Jam Dad?

Well, as an unofficial music writer and a huge fan of Pearl Jam my long awaited album of the summer finally came out this past Sunday. After a night of adult beverages I rolled out of bed, made plans with Sloan while she was at Kristen’s parents house, and ate a quick breakfast and drove to Target (yes it was about the time they opened their doors at 9 a.m., and yes Kristen knows that I am a dork). So, acting like a little kid, I grabbed my copy and proceeded to check out. Hoping none of the Target employees saw the huge smile on my face, to confirm I am a music geek in his 30’s.

So acting like an adult I made sure to be patient and take my time running errands, and getting home in time to have my first listen before Sloan got home from church. I got my first listen under my belt for the day, and took Sloan to the movies to see Cloudy with a chance of meatballs in 3D. (On a quick side note, if you have not seen a movie in 3D yet, go see one, it was the coolest thing I have seen in a while. Not the cheap red and blue 3D we had as a kid.) So we get back from the movies and start getting ready to go swimming at the indoor pool, and I put on PJ to listen to while we get ready. I also grabbed the iPod to listen to it in the car on the way to the pool.

I always make a point to make sure to include Sloan in any music listening I am doing. So while we are driving I am asking her opinion of what she is listening too, and of course after telling her no Matt and Kim today, it’s time to listen to my favorite band. Then she brought up a rather good question, “Dad, why is Pearl Jam your favorite band?” This made me think about that question for the past few days. Those of you that don’t have kids, they will ask rather great questions often, I feel deep down they know we don’t know the answers and therefore ask the question to mess with us.

So the past few days I thought about Sloan’s question, which should be an easy answer, but I came up with why. Not only why Pearl Jam is my favorite band, but why I hold music in general so personal. I can scroll through my iPod and can almost re-live and remember the specific time I first listened to a song or album, or for that matter the feelings of that time. Be it a break up, a loss, a party, a hilarious memory, and the first time I met Kristen. I guess just like places and things, music helps me remember times and places I have been. But onto the big question, why Pearl Jam. For me Pearl Jam has grown up with me, Ten was released my freshman year of high school, then came Vs. my senior year, and it feels that along my way to adulthood Eddie and company has been there. PJ broke my dependence to listening to what my friends did in high school, which was mostly hip-hop. They showed me there was more out there than where I was at in a small town in Oklahoma. To this day, anytime I hear “In My Tree” it puts a smile on my face, just hearing Matt Cameron playing the drums on that song, it just puts me in a good mood. I guess I understand my parents love for the Beatles, Pearl Jam to me are my Beatles. To me they changed music for me and opened me up to new things. Everyone has their one band that no matter what they love them, for Kristen its Dave Matthews (yes we are very opposite), and I know Sloan will find hers.

Of course I have branched out and I listen to a million other bands and styles of music, but my one constant that I know I will always love is Pearl Jam, and I will always have a soft spot in my heart for hip-hop (N.W.A was the first album I bought, still don’t know how I got that past my mom.). Now I just have to somehow break this answer down to a six year old. I need to figure out an analogy with Hannah Montana in it and she will understand.

This week’s music:
Well, I am sure everyone will know that one of the albums is Backspacer, but I have a few that have either been out or just came out to add to this week’s list. So after my gushing blog about Pearl Jam, let’s get it started.

Monsters of Folk- Monsters of Folk
I guess this is the mega folk band (if you can use that about folk music) started playing together in 2004. The members are M. Ward, Jim James, Conor Oberst, and Mike Mogis, all in their own right are great folk-rock musicians. I am a huge fan of My Morning Jacket and M. Ward, plus Conor Oberst isn’t too shabby. I haven’t listened to much of Bright Eyes which is where Mike Mogis and Conor Oberst worked together. I was eager to listen to this album and got my pre-order last night and listened to it before I went to bed. After my first listen I was very pleased, I feel they got the name right for the band. These guys are some great song writers and it shows in this album. Right now my favorite songs are Tezmacal and Whole Lotta Losin’.

Blitzen Trapper- Furr
This was their 2008 release from the Portland based band. I came across them listening to Xm radio and the song Black River Killer came on. I decided to give Furr a chance seeing it was critically acclaimed last year. They have an American classic rock band feel with a touch of Spacehog in it. This is really a great album, and I would recommend getting this when you get a chance. Check out the songs Black River Killer and War on Machines.

BLK JKS- After Robots
I have been hearing a lot about this band from Johannesburg, South Africa. They decided to move to America to record their first full album. This is becoming one of my favorite albums of 2009. They have incorporated South African music and chants into some great alternative rock. They remind me of a South African TV on the Radio. I have probably listened to this album atleast once a day for the past few weeks. Check out the songs Lakeside and Cursor.

Pearl Jam-Backspacer
Well, I am going to try and do this some justice. Being a fan will be hard to give an honest opinion of this album. For one, they still know how to rock and from what I have read that is all they want to do. I would put this album in my top five, I have listened to it atleast twice a day since Sunday. They still have it, not that they didn’t before this album. Listening to this album just gets me more excited to see them live in 12 days (man, I can’t wait!). It has the classic PJ feel to the album, just enough up tempo songs and just enough slow songs to really hear Eddie Vedder sing. As of right now my favorite songs are, Got Some, Just Breathe, Amongst Waves, and Unthought Known. For the time being, this will probably change by Friday.

A Soggy adventure with Dad

Well this past weekend I finally felt Sloan was old enough to take her to her first Oklahoma game. For me this was almost a rite of passage as a kid growing up in Oklahoma. Some people might think I am crazy or think this is weird, but there are only a few college football experiences and I feel this is one of them. I have been to a million college football games, but I have always remembered my first time I went to an OU game as a kid. As one friend told me this past week, that is how traditions stay going. (He is from Oklahoma and understands)

So I am very excited, knowing this is my only trip to an OU game this year (due to the fact that I am at every Baylor game and there are very few times I get a free weekend). Not to mention I am taking Sloan to the game to let her know what it is like to see 80,000 people in one stadium. So at the first of the week, everything is shaping up for a good time. We are staying at the farm that weekend, which both of us love to do, and we will be eating Nana’s cooking as well. Plus, Sloan gets to pick watermelons and see Nana and Pawpaw.

Well, closer and closer to us leaving the forecast for weather isn’t getting better. Sloan is pumped because she is going to a game with me, and she might get to wear a poncho. (Plus she gets to see OU’s cheerleaders and the horses that pull the schooner.) Well needless to say we get to Oklahoma and it’s basically a 90% chance of rain the whole time. Of course we still go to the game; rain is not going to scare us off. Not to mention this is an OU football game. I can remember me and my Dad braving the elements of snow and sleet one year to watch OU play Nebraska.

We all get to Norman, and of course my Mom and Sloan need to go shopping for game day t-shirts for everyone. So we put on our ponchos and walk to campus corner to do a little shopping at the Nike store. Our first struggle is now happening; once we get to the store Sloan decides she likes my poncho better than hers. So being a good Dad I trade her ponchos, in the middle of a packed OU Nike Store. While I am looking at t-shirts for myself and Kristen, Sloan decides she does not like my poncho and wants hers back. So we trade again. We find the perfect OU shirt for Sloan (of course in hot pink), and decide on what Mom’s will be and mine and head back to the car to, of course, change into Sloan’s perfect shirt.

We then start our walk to the stadium and one of our stopping points my dad’s alumni meal before the game. So we get our fill of hot dogs, chicken, fruit, and cheesecake. Sloan at this point is doing better (long walks are not her strong point), and she is patiently waiting for the cheerleaders to show up. They finally do, and her and my mom gets a closer look and she is glued to them, watching their every move. At this point I knew she was getting hooked (at first she thought OU was playing Baylor, and didn’t want to go. She is a Baylor fan first of course, and hates when OU wins.)

After this, I can no longer contain her excitement, so we put back on our ponchos and head to Owen Memorial Stadium (I refuse to call it by any other name). Once we walk up the ramp into the rain filled stadium all I could hear and see was Sloan look at me and go “whoa, cool”. At that point I did my job as a responsible parent from Oklahoma and got her hooked. We said bye to Nana and Pawpaw and got to our seats, to my surprise, two rows from the field. Sloan was a trooper, and loved seeing the players that close (so did I), plus it helped that the mascots were close by too. She also got to see the real horses up close on our way to the seats. (If you were wondering, yes I still get choked up when the team runs onto the field.) Sloan with stood the elements, and enjoyed the game. I knew it was a losing cause once she started telling me she was hungry and thirsty close to halftime. Once OU went up 41-0 before halftime and the rain started pouring down, it was time to go.

All in all, it was a fun weekend. I got to spend time with my parents and spend some quality time with Sloan. It gets harder and harder once everything starts up to do that with Sloan. We have two more outings on the calendar and that is to go to our last two Rangers games of the year. I don’t have the heart to tell her the Rangers folded again this year. Maybe Baylor being good in football this year will distract her from that talk. Of course, Mom gets to take her to the Baylor game this weekend with Mimi and Poppy. I hope they have plenty of water, hot dogs, and popcorn for her.

Music for this week:
Well, I am still waiting for music to come out . My boy Q-tip releases his new album this week, and so far I like it. But who can’t like anything from the boys from A Tribe Called Quest. Well Here are the new albums I have for this week, it’s a hip-hop week.

Jay-Z- The Blueprint3
Ok, I am a huge fan of Jay-Z, seeing I have everything he has released. I have to say BP3 is one of his best albums. I have listened to this one off and on everyday since I bought it last Thursday (gotta love iTunes pre-orders). Right now my favorite songs are On to the Next One, and Run this Town.

Q-Tip- Kamaal The Abstract
This is something different for anyone that has listened to A Tribe Called Quest or any of Q-Tip’s solo stuff. It is going to take me a few listens to know if I like this or not. It has a nice jazz feel to a few of the songs. Just got it this week, so haven’t picked any favorite songs just yet.

Mike Posner and the Brain Trust- A Matter of Time
Mike Posner struck an interest with me when he was added to the ACL Festival a few weeks ago. After digging and finally finding his album, I found out he is still a student at Duke University and from what I read, the next big thing. I have to say after a first listen to his album, I really like him. Check out the songs Drug Dealer Girl and Still Not Over You.

And the song remains the same

Well, most of you know by now that I am a huge sports fan. Not to mention I am a huge fan of a certain team that lives above Texass that happens to wear Crimson and Cream on their uniforms. (Seeing I am employed by Baylor in the Big 12, I try to keep my love for this team to a certain level, which is matched by the same love I have to my employer.) I am also a die hard New York Mets fan. I have theories on how both teams can determine the outcome of each team’s season. The Mets won the World Series in 1986; same time Oklahoma won the National Championship. The Mets made it to the World Series in 2000, the last time the Sooners won the National Championship. You see the pattern, if the Mets do well, the other team does well.

Well, as you can tell the past three to five years both teams have been in a slump. One team has made it to the playoffs once, and the other keeps getting pummeled in bowl games. It has been tough for this fan to sit by and watch this, but I have deep roots for both teams, and I have also made a vow to myself of never becoming a band wagon fan. (Like most of the fans for the team that lives above Texas) I have sat through the 1990’s with the Mets and never wavered in my allegiance to them (and they were very bad). I have also sat with my other team through the late 80’s and 90’s and when it was fashionable to take to another team (Florida State, Miami, Nebraska). While in high school, my roots were planted firm, no matter how much crap I got from people (which are now all of a sudden “die hard” fans of Oklahoma). I mean I was at the game when the schooner fell over and I still kept my faith.

Well, as I listen to “Whiskey River” by Willie Nelson, I can help but think that some how my oddball theory is right. That one team does determine the outcome of the other. My poor Mets have limped into the final death throws of a horrible season with a roster of minor league guys and half of the roster on the disabled list. This came to light this past week when the #1 Tight End hurt his knee, then the nightmare of a heisman winning quarterback getting hurt and watching as Oklahoma got upset. Call me crazy, but I feel my Metropolitans tried to tell me this outcome back in June when their season started to unravel. I am praying that this does not rub off on Baylor; we don’t need this bad mojo that is getting tossed around. Baylor has to have a good year to right the ship for me. They are the team I am keeping my faith in to help me out of my slump!

You maybe asking yourself “Does Kristen have to listen to this craziness?” yes, yes she does have to listen to my weird theories during the sports year. (There may be a theory of her and my sports teams as well, but that is another blog all together.) I have started Sloan on this love of sports teams, poor thing thinks the Rangers have always been good, and not to mention the Rangers set her up by winning every time we go and see them play. She has no idea what she is in store for when she gets older. Honestly, the love/hate relationship I have for my sports teams are why I do what I do. I am very lucky to be working in sports, I am glad my Mom and Dad encouraged me to follow my dreams. I just feel sorry for Kristen this year; it’s going to be a long sports year for her.

Music for this week:

Well, as everyone that knows me well, I have been waiting for Jay-Z’s new album to come out. I am a huge fan of Jay-Z. I did get to get a sneak peak listen to his whole album last week, and it is really really good. I would put it up there with the Black Album. I am also waiting like a good little boy for Pearl Jam’s new album to come out. I am ready to bust just to get my hands on it. I really don’t have any new albums to recommend to anyone this week. So in rare form I am going to put down (this is hard), 25 of my favorite albums, at this time. This is not a “all-time” list, that is just too hard for me to put down albums in that category. Here we go…………

25. Beastie Boys- Liscense to Ill
24. Beck- Midnite Vultures
23. Green Day-Dookie
22. Violent Femmes- Violent Femmes
21. Willie Nelson and Family- Live
20. Outkast-Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik
19. The National- Boxer
18. Ben Harper- Live From Mars
17. Lenny Kravitz- Mamma Said
16. Phoenix- Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
15. The Roots- The Roots Come Alive
14. Rage Against the Machine-Rage Against the Machine
13. The Black Keys- Attack and Release
12. The Jimi Hendrix Experience- Axis: Bold as Love
11. Sublime- 40 oz. to Freedom
10. Jay-Z- The Black Album
9. Bob Dylan- Blood on the Tracks
8. Kings of Leon- Because of the Times
7. Morphine- Bootleg: Detroit (live)
6. Red Hot Chili Peppers- Blood, Sex, Sugar, Magik
5. Weezer- the Blue Album
4. (tie) A Tribe Called Quest- Midnight Marauders
Black Crowes-Amorica
3. Jack Johnson-Brushfire Fairytales (Kristen and I listened to this constantly when
we first met)
2. Radiohead-Ok Computer
1. Pearl Jam- No Code (one of my top two albums of all time from them, Ten being
the other.)

And now we all get way too busy

Well it’s now the busy time of the year for all of us. Sloan has just started 1st grade, and I still can’t believe that she is now that old. Not to mention today was her first day of Girl Scouts. She is getting real big and way too fast for the old man, but I just need to stay young with her. I did catch her on Saturday singing some Metric in the car, which totally surprised me. It could be through osmosis seeing she falls asleep with her radio on (but I doubt Metric is a big hit in the HUGE town of Waco). Over the course of the summer she has lost four teeth, and now wears a size 1 in shoes. Not to mention she is now begging me for her to play coach pitch next year for baseball. It’s not the pitching part that scares me, but it’s the catching on the line drives and having the ball thrown to her that does. Something to work on over the winter. She also is ready to play her second season of basketball, which I feel she is going to be great at. Plus she loves to swim, so I am getting an active kid coming out of the summer, which is awesome.

Kristen is now in her last semester of Nursing School, which I feel all three of us are ready to get her to ourselves. She is doing awesome, and her getting through with school while raising a family is just awesome as well. She has the stomach for that stuff; I would tap out as soon as I saw the blood. I tell myself from time to time that my job is not a life and death job and if I mess up no one will die. I feel that is a good way to look at it anyway. I know she is ready to get it over with, she has been working very hard and all of us are proud of her.

As for yours truly, well another cycle begins. It seems sports is a constant with me, of course seeing that’s what I do it shouldn’t amaze me when all the crazy begins. I basically start in September and get everything over with in May. From September to May that spans four sports out of 16 sports that I personally are in charge of the marketing. So when friends tell me I work all the time, I laugh and say at least I somewhat have the summer to relax. My summer still isn’t over until I get to see Eddie Vedder walk on to the stage in Austin and hopefully sing one of my million favorite songs by Pearl Jam. Plus I really can’t wait to see the Artic Monkeys; I am really excited to see them. (FYI, just 33 days until I go) Plus, I always try to make it up to Oklahoma to watch at least one football game a season in Norman. This year, I get to take Sloan to the game and expose her to what still gives me the chills every time I watch them. There aren’t too many things that still do that, and watching them take the field does it to me every time. I think it goes back to my dad taking me to the games, it was our thing we did every Saturday together as long as I can remember. If I wasn’t at the game we were watching them on the TV, ups and downs, and two national championships for me. (It bugs Kristen, but at halftime like clock work we call each other to hash out the first half). Not to mention my boys down in Waco are going to make some noise this season, so watch out for the Baylor Bears.

All in all, it was a great summer, Sloan and I still have two Rangers games to go to before baseball is over. I got to see some family in Oklahoma, not to mention some friends from college. So a good summer, hopefully that will roll into a great rest of the year.

Music for this week:
Well, it’s getting down to the albums that I have been waiting for all summer. The Arctic Monkeys came out with their album last week, this week was the Black Crowes, and next week is Jay-Z. Plus at the end of the month is Pearl Jam. So a good month for me, plus I was just surprised by my boy Q-Tip releasing his album. I can’t wait.

Arctic Monkeys- Humbug
Another great album from AM. This one is really good, I don’t recommend a whole album very often, but this one is worth getting. Check out the song Cornerstone.

The Black Crowes- Before the Frost…Until the Freeze
First listen of this album (I got it early by pre-ordering it on iTunes), and I really like this one. Warpaint was good, but I think this one is getting back to their roots. Amorica is still my all time favorite from them. Check out the song I Am Hiding.

Gomez- A New Tide
A new band for me, but not a new band in the world of music. I love this dynamic they have, they basically have two lead singers that alternate singing different songs on their albums. I got Kristen hooked on them, and that is saying a lot. She doesn’t listen to music I like very often. Another album you should get. Check out the songs Little Pieces and Natural Reaction.