twenty twelve, the end.

this year went by ridiculously fast. it's insane!

these are some of my best times from this year...

saw one of my favorite bands, new empire.

road tripped it to vegas for spring break.

recorded my own album.

got a puppy.

went to lake powell for the first time.

campaigned for mitt in vegas.

went to san fran for fall break.

went to my first real fancy dress up party.

 i also learned to slalum ski, did lots of boating (starting in april... freeeezing), threw some pretty great parties, went to some more great concerts, and performed a few times at my school.
cheers to 2012.

high school days

 

Megan, Erica, me (2010)

We were the best of friends back in the high school days. 

We even had a band, TeliFone Pole.

This was our first real show. 

There's so much wrong with this picture. 

What were we, especially me, thinking? I actually do remember what i was thinking.  I just wanted to wear all sorts of weird stuff, because I thought it was cool. 

We played this show at a venue called The Circuit.

Megan's friend, Nate, or Oreo as we called him hooked us up and we opened for his band. We sold roughly 30 tickets and made a little cash. I had a crush on Oreo, because he was a really fine black man (half white, half black). When his band was on, I stood right in front of him, below the stage, and stared at his face. I would have married him, but when him and his friend asked Megan and me on a date, we couldn't go because of EFY. After EFY we rarely spoke, me and Oreo. It was just so sad. I often think back and wonder what that date would have been like. Except for I really don't.

Anyways, 

We played at my high school battle of the bands. Yeah, we didn't win, but we did make the school paper because no one expected girls to be... good.

They were like, 'Psh... a bunch of girls think they can rock?'

And we were like,

Then we played a song and they were like, 

We went on to play lots of house shows and open mics with friends.

Always ending with Denny's.

That is why I liked high school.

perform

on wednesday, i performed for a lots of peoples. my friend, kelsie, was setting up a little concert/dance party for her friend, chase, who was running for some student office on campus. she asked me to play, so i opened up the show with a few of my originals, and the song 'you don't see me' by safetysuit. it's a really nice song. my roommates came, which was so nice of them. i have the best roommates. my sister katie, my old roommate katie, aleisha, and lizzie also came.

i got up to the stage and did my thang. my thang includes one foot shaking tremendously in spouts. it also includes my voice being quite shaky and not hitting notes how i should hit them. it's very annoying, especially cause once i'm up there, i'm really not nervous. it's my subconscious. it wants me to fail. after the first two songs i started relaxing a bit and getting notes right. and by the last song i was doin pretty good. of course, i forgot the words to my own song. but i guess that gives it some character.

on friday i got a call from mr. chase. he's throwing another party to thank everyone who helped him win (cause, btw, he won). he asked me if i would play. i said but of course! i asked if the other 4 bands were playing. he said, 'no, just you. i think people enjoyed you the most.'

what?!

i guess i'm not that bad, sometimes.

the maine

One day, when I was like a senior in high school, The Maine played a show at Avalon Theater with Family Force Five. I had found The Maine a while earlier while browsing Purevolume, and seeing them featured on the main page. I saw the picture of them that looked much like this:

John is in the front and I kind of fell in love with him when I saw this picture. So what did I do? Looked them up and loved their music! My best friend, Megan, started loving them too. So when they decided to visit Salt Lake we were quite pleased.

We went to the Avalon excited as ever. When we got in we waited. Then we waited. Then the opening band came on. Then we waited. The the peeps started setting up for The Maine. And behold, I saw John sticking his head out through a window above the stage. That's when Megan and I started freaking out. It was John! From The Maine!

Can you blame me for being in love with this man? If you can, then you've got terrible style in men. Which, I guess is okay.
So they came on in all their glory and daaang it was good. They didn't swear, they played well.


This is the moment when I noticed Kennedy, the guitarist...

I could have dare said there weren't many men more attractive than this one. There he was, playing his guitar and looking fine.

They played my six favorite songs from their album The Way We Talk, because, that was their only album. And there was only six songs on that album.A fter their rather intriguing performance they slowly trickled out into the crowd while Family Force Five set up. Pat came out first and Megan went up to him and said, "Pat!" and he gave her a hug. We both talked to him, took a picture with him, and got his autograph. Then came Kennedy. When I asked for a picture with him, we posed and he rubbed my back. It was so exciting!

Megan got a hug from Patrick and I got a back rub from Kennedy!

Then we talked to Jared, and best of all, John. Oh John. He was gorgeous. And tall.

Kennedy, Megan, John, me

We couldn't find Garrett, the bassist, and we need him to complete our autographed cd's and get a picture. John said he'd text him, and it worked! He wasn't as friendly as the others, but after seeing John and Kennedy, I didn't really care.

Upon our completion of meeting every member of The Maine we walked outside while the lady at the front told us, "No reentry". And we said, "Heck if we care!" (Back then, I didn't know Family Force Five or I would have stayed).

We were just so excited about meeting The Maine that we ran out to my car, got in, and started screaming and laughing and squealing for about 5 minutes. We were FREAKING out. It was hilarious and a bit weird. Basically, it was the best concert ever. And it's really held that Top 1 for a while now, even though I don't like them very much anymore. It was really just the most exciting concert I've ever been to. Until recently, New Empire stole the prize. It only took that long because it takes a lot for me to giggle and squeal like a little girl who just found out the cute boy in the class has a crush on her.

Yep. I loved The Maine. But they broke my heart by adding gross words to their songs and shows. They started swearing up the wazoo and it really cheesed me off. Their fame got to them, and their music went a little bit shizzy. I am so sad.

Anyways, I think I might do some more reminiscing of my high school and early collegehood days. Because it's fun. And I was so different then. But also kind of the same. In ways.

the best

night ever.
i shall tell you what it entailed.

we drove down to slc from logan in 1 hr 15 min because aleisha drives with the wind. waited in aleisha's car when all of a sudden, two fine lads park, get their guitars out, and walk in to the building while i freak out. and by freak out i mean squeal and scream like a little girl. walked to maverick to pee. went into a bar where i have to have id for my first time evs. sat down in the bar waiting for jeremy and kyle to go on stage. watched them set up and got all excited again. sat in front of everyone, and had the best view of the two men. recorded every song they played on my ipod and had a private concert on the way home. met jeremy afterwards.

who are these fine lads?
jeremy and kyle. from new empire. indeed, they are quite the band.
they're from australia and i've waited almost 3 years for them to come play in the united states. they finally did. and somehow i happened to find out. thank heavens.

i wish last night could come again. it can, but only on my ipod. which isn't as good.
but, my memories will stand the test of time. and so will the videos above and below.


if you check them out, 'staircase', 'tightrope', and 'one heart million voices' are my favorites.
also, funnily enough, my friend bethany totes saw my pictures and she checked them out of their hotel! crazy!

mr kingston

Also known as Sean.

He is a black majesty.

I would know. I saw him Friday night free of charge at my school. Well, unless you count the thousands spent on tuition. If you do, then this was the most expensive concert I've ever been to.

The action started at 3:00 with locals bands playing till 8:00. The Fictionist and Allred were the highlights of that portion.





Another highlight was a gay cross dresser dancing seductively. His name was Peter. And still is.
Well, I was dared to ask to get a picture with Peter. And in return I would receive $4.50. So I went up to him and said, "Can I get a picture with you? You dance so majestically." And in as gay of a voice as he could muster, he said, "Sure."



Oh, and everyone stared as we posed.

At 8 o'clock it was time for Black Majesty to perform. But his DJ decided to take the spotlight for like 20 minutes before Sean came out.
Finally the moment came. But his performance was kind of lame cause he just sang along to his recorded songs. This is why rock concerts are so much better.

Three best things about Sean:

1. How incredibly big he is.
2. That he actually wore bling. (Huge diamond necklace and a diamond watch).
3. His Jamaican accent.

Three worst things about Sean:

1. He's pretty cocky for a fat guy.
2. He doesn't care about his fans. He just likes his fame and moneyz.
3. His best songs are Duets, which he obviously couldn't do alone.

I didn't get any pictures of him because I didn't bring my camera. Dang. I was in the middle of the crowd where there is no room for cameras. There was hardly even room for me!

Well, I'm feeling like I'm letting go.
Peace.

The Howl

Basically, the Howl was awesome. Let me tell you about it.

So, we (Liz, her brother, Carl, Sarah, Crystal, Lizzie, Andrew, Matt, and I) went to the basketball game dressed in our costumes. We kicked trash by more than 50 points.

After the game we went back to our apartments to get Matt's rubix cube costume that he had earlier decided against bringing. We walked up the hill and when we reached the top, we found a line. A freaking long one. So we got in it and waited.

After waiting approximately 30 minutes, everyone started running to the front of the line. Lizzie and I, being smart, joined in, leaving the rest of our group behind. We got in and found Dallin, Christian, Steve, and Tanner. We did some dancing and chips and salsa eating with Christian because we lost the other three. A half hour passed and we found our lovely group. Good thing, or I would've been devastated.

We went right to the field house to see The Higher. They were pretty awesome, I'd say. After their set, Lizzie and I went to get a picture with Seth, the singer. It took three tries, because Hot Rod sucked at taking pictures.

Then We The Kings came on. I hate them live. But, it was really fun. And I'll tell you why. For the first two songs people were moshing and really close and I could barely breath and I hated it. Then Lizzie and I started moshing and that's where things turned around. We were moshing for the whole hour We The Kings was on. We made 2 mosh friends, too. One guy in a diaper and one guy in a nice suit jacketless suit. They followed us everywhere. When a slow song was on and we were waiving our hands, they copied. When we had our arms around eachother, they put theirs around us. It was really nice bonding with strangers. As for our group, they didn't really join in the moshing, except for Matt. I'm pretty sure. I got an elbow to my jaw and a heel in my ankle, which made it even better.

When they finally ended with Check Yes, Juliet, we were gross and sweaty. Then we walked home. And took some pictures.

Runner Runner

On Friday, my roommate, Lizzie, and I went to see Runner Runner at the Logan Arthouse. We were pretty much the only college kids there. There were plenty of high school and middle schoolers. And even some little elementary schoolers with their moms. That's awkward.
We were almost in the front, except for this annoying couple that had their arms around each other the whole time while trying to jump up and down. And a little 10 year old girl who probably had her life made by this concert.
The band is really good live. I was quite impressed. And I haven't heard a song of theirs that I don't like. We got some sweet pics with them after the show.
Ryan the singer

Nick the guitarist

James the drummer

Jon the bassist

They gave us free tickets to see their show the next day in Ogden. So that's what we did. It was even better than the first show! While they were setting up we were behind some girls who were in the front. There were some girls next to and behind us that were quite large and quite scary. So we decided we didn't like our spot. We squeezed in front of some short girl on the other side of the stage. She was really mad and said, "Excuse me!" all mean like. But, I didn't care. We were in the very front! At the end, the drummer threw his drumsticks and I caught one! Yusss.

Little Peter the guitarist/Proud owner of a fedora

3/5 of Runner Runner

Runner Runner: Round 2

Kilby Court

Is an excellent place. And that's where Erica and I went on Friday the 14th night to see The Continentals play their last show with Erik, the drummer.

Before they started, we walked down the street and found a soggy couch, a wall of graffiti, and some tires.

When they were setting up, we pushed our way to the front because we are short. They played an excellent show and almost broke some instruments.

Then some balding guy named Danburry played. He was pretty good. He had free cd's, so Erica and I both got 3.

During this evening we found out some funny information:

Ben and the ticket/concessions girl are secretly in love.
Logan likes to get in touch with his feminine side.

Jordan hates it when I take pictures of him.

Erica can float.

We're pretty cool.