Show Experience: Anberlin, Scarlett, and Action Madison

All photo credit goes to Sara Garcia
About a week ago, I got the awesome chance to see Anberlin. They played a few minutes north of my house at this venue called Chubby Rain. The openers, Scarlett and Action Madison were both local bands and I have to say Action Madison, you are definitely growing on me like mold on bread.

Anberlin opened up with Godspeed and holy crap, their set was so amazing. They had this awesome light show going and you really just had to be there to appreciate everything. Really, the winning point was when they covered "True Faith" by New Order. Come on, guys, 80's music, win

If you're from the Northern Illinois area, definitely check out Chubby Rain. Thrice is playing there next Tuesday and if you can, get tickets, ASAP. From what I've heard, they're going fast, if they haven't sold out yet. Also, The Academy Is... will be there next Thursday and yours truly will be working. This is a small hint of what's to come. ;)

Interview: Naomi from Rockstar Diaries!

As a blogger myself, I have a stockpile of bookmarked blogs. Some of them I visit once a month to just quickly look over the pictures and remind myself why I had it bookmarked, and some of them I check back and read every single day. Or at least look every day and hope that maybe my favorite bloggers have updated. One of those blogs that I check on a daily basis is Rockstar Diaries. This blog chronicles the life and marriage of Naomi and her husband Josh. Not only is it super adorable how Naomi blogs about the love she has for her husband, but she also includes tons of great vintage-looking photographs, links to some amazing Etsy shops, and I think she managed to brighten everyone's day with her Here's to Happiness lists that included things that were making her happy, as well as readers of the blog. It's always a blog that I recommend to anyone looking for some internet reading, and I was honored when Naomi agreed to do a short interview with us! Please read, smile, and then check out her lovely blog.

What made you decide to start blogging about your life with your husband?
I've always been a big fan of journals. I love writing and documenting and keeping track of what I'm up to or how I'm feeling... It's always nice to look back too and reminisce or see how much you've grown or how far you come! A few months after Josh and I were married I started the blog as a new way of journaling.... I loved that with the blog, I could post and keep track of our photos. And I found blogs to be a great avenue for keeping up to date with our family and friends lives as well.

How does life in Washington DC compare to life in New York City?
We've found the cities really hard to compare. They both have a lot of offer, but in their own ways. When we first got to DC, we found ourselves saying "I miss this or I miss that" about NYC and we decided we needed to just get out and make new favorite spots and places in DC. I think you can make any city your dream city if you really get out and explore it with an open mind... it's funny, because now we'll go back to NYC for the weekend and be like, "ah, I want to go home! (to DC.)" Both cities definitely have made a special place in our hearts.

You always seem to be in such a positive mood, what do you do to pull yourself out of a bad mood whenever you fall into one?
I can actually get pretty moody... which is why I try really hard to look at the positive stuff. At the end of the day, I'm healthy, I'm happy, we have jobs and great friends and family and loved ones, a home, a warm bed.... I think it's up to us to focus on the good rather than the bad. And if we don't like our current situation, it's up to us to change it! I think just stepping away from the situation and figuring out how to improve it makes all the difference.

How would you describe your style, and where are your favorite places to shop?
Hmmm. l love color. If I'm not in some bright tights or a bright dress I'll put on bright lipstick. I love mixing vintage stuff into everything. I like thrifting along Bedford Avenue in Brooklyn. I love Monk....and a few etsy shops too-- like Thrush and Dear Golden.

To date, which has been your favorite flavor of cupcake and which bakery makes it the best?
I am loving the Key Lime cupcake at Sweet Tooth Fairy Bake Shop in Provo, Utah. Currently, they are my favorite.

Do you ever feel like you're over-exposing yourself and your married life on the blog? Or have you made certain guidelines to make sure that doesn't happen?
When we first started getting comments or emails from people we didn't know through the blog, we worried about it. Actually, we debate taking it private all the time. But honestly, I think it's been good for us. I find I gather a lot of inspiration and creativity from many bloggers out there and hope that our blog gives back just a little bit of that inspiration to someone else. Especially since we focus a lot on our marriage and often in todays world, you don't see young marriage in a positive light.

What is your current top ten list of things that is making you happy?
Hmmmm.
01. Heated seats in the car.
02. Autumns colorful leaves.
03. Cough drops.
04. Thin point sharpie markers.
05. Scarves and hats.
06. Acorn squash.
07. Baby clothes.
08. San Pellegrino sparkling water.
09. Photographs of pretty beaches.
10. 8 hours of sleep.

What do you do to stay involved with the world of dance? Was attending Juilliard as strenuous as it seems?
Oh, the world of dance! I'm actually teaching dance here in DC, and occasionally I'll go get involved with a little freelance dance project. But I'm really happy with my decision to not dance professionally right now. It's been very healthy for me to step away from that world and reevaluate my passion for it. It's a strenuous world and it's not for everyone.

I loved my experience at Juilliard. Yes, it's intense and crazy and there were days I thought I'd die, but it definitely helped shape me as a person outside of the studio too. What I loved most about my 4 years there was getting to rub shoulders with all the talented musicians or actors or dancers. I felt so inadequate everyday around them (still do)... but I'm thankful I got to meet and build friendships with such a great artists. I think that is Juilliard's biggest strength; bringing artists together from all over the world to collaborate and create and explore together. I loved that about the school. I miss that daily interaction-- all the jam and improv sessions. I really miss that.

Who are your favorite musical artists, currently?
I don't know if it's a good thing but I am loving Pete Yorn and Scarlett Johansson's new collaboration. I love their sound together (hated her first solo album though. This one is so much better!) I 'm listening a lot to St. Vincent, DeVotchKa, Ra Ra Riot and some stuff by Castledoor. Besides that, I listen to Regina Spektor every single day. I will never get sick of her. I love her.

Anything else you'd like to include?
Nope! Thanks for thinking of me!

Be sure to check out more updates from Naomi at the Rockstar Diaries!

Band recommendation: Lightning Love

*photo credit: Matt Robertson*

Clearly, I am a lover of music, but for the longest time I could not find a band that really reached out to me. I actually would find myself jealous of people who could, with a snap of my fingers, tell me the name of the album that they related to the most, and which parts of it correlated with their own lives. I never had that life defining album (except maybe in seventh grade when I thought Simple Plan's "No Pads, No Helmets, Just Balls" was musical brilliance...). There is little romance in my life to relate to heart ache and blessed love affairs. I don't hate my dad, so I can't relate to THOSE types. My life is anything but jaded, and I don't have many jealousy issues. It wasn't until the beginning of September that I was introduced to LIGHTNING LOVE and their album 'November Birthday.'

Never before had I heard a band that perfectly embodies who I am as a person. Fun, slightly cynical on love, sarcastic, and basically has the same outlook on things that I do. Such as their song 'Everyone I Know' in which the words "Everybody knows, I've got a job but I never wanna go, rather stay at home, lay in bed, watch TV, and drink alone. And you're just the same, you think being grown up's some kind of game, and I've gotta say, all your interests and goals are pretty lame." are sung. Each song on this 11-track album is loaded with snarky and sarcastic lyrics, and I think just about everything is covered. From being the girl who is always rejected for someone 'who's so damn ugly,' the inability for either sex to be correct in most situations, pissing and puking in elevators after a night of too much fun, and of course, just having a good time. There is also the great combination of female/male vocals, along with poppy and electronic beats that make each song fun to bop your head to.

This 3-piece from Michigan has definitely written the soundtrack for my current life, and I love them for it. 'November Birthday' is up there on my favorites list, and it should be up there on yours. Take this recommendation to heart, especially if you're a sarcastic chick who's down on love and likes to party.

Youth Inspiration: Analyssa Benedict

*photo credit: KrisKidd*
Name: Analyssa Benedict
Age: 20
Location: Long Beach

What exactly is World Class Youth and how did you get the idea for it?:
WORLD CLASS YOUTH is an organization in which aims to expose up and coming talent within the fashion production, entertainment and art industry giving the young and youthful of Los Angeles an open door to their dreams and success. WORLD CLASS YOUTH throughout each season hosts fundraising/community service events based around the fashion production, entertainment and arts industry ( i.e. art shows, photoshoots and l.a. fashion week ) not only to reach out and spread the movement but for personal growth in job skills and team building of each member. This is a revolution and as a collective team, WORLD CLASS YOUTH hopes to be an inspiration to the youth of todays society and show them that they too can make a difference all while achieving their goals.

i have been working in the industry since i was fifteen years old and i thought it would be a wonderful idea to give people who have huge dreams in that field the same opportunities i had.

Before this past summer, were you attending school?:
yes i earned my career certificates in fashion merchandising and retail marketing now i am majoring in business management

If so, was it difficult to balance school and your business endeavors?:
Most definitely, but it helps that my major focuses on what im taking part in that way I can apply it everyday, it also takes a lot of motivation and ambition!

Do you believe that adults have a skewed vision of today's youth? How do you think we can go about changing that?:
I believe that there are a lot of "older" people out there who believe in the youth of todays society but a majority of them look down on the talents and skills we put on the table being that we haven't had "as many years experience" as them, which is a huge factor but that doesn't mean we cant present the same quality.

Has there ever been a time when you weren't taken seriously because of your age?:
There has been a few times where i had to really push for the recognition for example i have a good story when i started as an intern at the California Apparel Mart when i was fifteen, the showroom assistant had me clean out the stock closet ( not so much dirty work but i would have rather been working in the office speaking directly to clients/buyers ), the showroom owner came in that afternoon to pick up some paperwork and was absolutely amazed on how well organized and clean the closet looked, the remainder of my time as an intern i was placed in the office doing administrative work and filing which was such a huge deal to me and a great advantage to my growing experience in the field.

What's next for you?:
First thing is im going to finish college so thats exciting, second thing is expand WORLD CLASS YOUTH to the east coast and third continue my life staying true to myself and inspiring others which is one of the biggest blessings to me.

What advice do you have for a young adult looking to step into the business world?:
GO TO SCHOOL! get your diploma go to college and take some classes, anything is possible for anyone who is motivated and ambitious to live their dreams, im a prime example because im living mine right now. Always seek happiness, be nice to everyone you meet and stay passionate for what you do.


Follow Analyssa on Twitter @ twitter.com/theanalyssa and/or contact her at analyssa@worldclassyouth.com. Also, to see more about what WORLD CLASS YOUTH is about, visit WORLDCLASSYOUTH.COM

Spit the Dark

Don't know if you guys have ever noticed, but we're fairly large supporters of Empires. Not only do they hail from my favorite city and new home (Chicago), but they have also been cranking out music and making it pretty far independently. They recently released their video for 'Spit the Dark' off their first album 'HOWL.' Check it out, and if you haven't done so already, give them a nice listen. You can also download their album for free at http://weareempires.com, so take full advantage. We all know that you can't get much for free these days.

Where the Wild Things Are

I'm always weary when childhood favorites become readapted and turned into movies. Each book comes with some sort of fond memory, and if the movie doesn't follow the book just as you want it to or there are crucial points missing - it becomes something horrible. When I heard that Where the Wild Things Are was being turned into a movie, I had a slight flash of panic. But when I heard that Spike Jonze was in control of directing it, and that Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs had the responsibilities of creating the soundtrack, any and all panic dissolved. I've been a Spike Jonze fan for a little while now and it can't be denied that his movies contain some of the most beautiful cinematography in the film world. And I'll refrain from going into a large gush-session about Karen O, but it needs not be said that she is also brilliant when it comes to music and her talents.

My friends and I were sure to buy advanced tickets, and it's a good thing we did. The movie theater was packed, and they managed to fill up two screening rooms for the mostly college-aged audience. We all waited anxiously through the previews, and when the opening credits finally started to roll, we broke out into an excited applause.

Start to finish, the movie was perfection. Child actor Max Records plays the role of Max, a young and slightly "out of control" boy who runs away from home after getting into a fight with his mother. He treks through the woods, finds a boat, and sails his way across a large body of water to, obviously, where the wild things are (wherever that may be..). After a scary first run-in with the wild things, he lies and says he is a king from a far away land, and has been a king to others, too. They adopt him into their group, and the wild rumpus starts. Max becomes like a family member, and at the same time a ruler, to the wild things in attempt to bring them happiness. I don't want to go into much more detail and give anything away, but I found it amazing how each of the wild things represented a part of himself or someone in his life.

As expected, the soundtrack was one of the best I have heard in a movie in a long time. Karen O took on the group name of Karen O and the Kids to produce a folky audio pairing that accompanied each part perfectly. Each piece was able to accurately fit in with exactly how I was feeling at each given part of the film, and made the experience that much more better.

If you haven't seen it yet, go see it. I promise you won't be disappointed. And if you have seen it already...thoughts?

Rating: ***** (five out of five stars, duh.)

Show Experience: From First To Last, Color of Violence, Miss May I, & The Color Morale

Sunday, I made my way down to The House Café in Dekalb, IL for yet again, another awesome show. I was pretty hesitant at first considering From First to Last was one of those bands that I listened to in high school and the crowd that usually listened to them consisted of 14 year old fan girls who thought Sonny Moore was the best thing since sliced bread. Regardless of that stereotype being the only one I could think of that would attend such a show, I went… mostly for The Color Morale and The Color of Violence.

The show started off with The Color of Violence playing first and I was beyond blown away by their performance. I knew this was a side project of Travis Richter and Derek Bloom’s (From First to Last) creation, but what I didn’t know was that I would be so awestruck in the contrast of the music made by both bands. Travis Richter had such an intense energy around him and going on and to be honest, I felt like I was the only one who was totally in to that. During their set, they invited Joel Coan to come up and play drums for one of their songs since he had recorded drums for one of songs off of Youthanize. Again, I was completely mindblown and I’m still trying to find missing pieces of my jaw from that night.

Next up: The Color Morale. This band has been in Rockford, IL for quite a while and this was the first show to kick off their tour with the signing of Rise Records and their new album, We All Have Demons. I’m pretty sure that at least half of the crowd was there for The Color Morale. They put such an intense show on and I was front and center for the whole thing. Now, if you’re front and center for a show at The House, you’re going to get mauled. My legs are so destroyed because I was constantly being pushed up against the stage. Regardless, it was still an AMAZING set. The liveliness of the crowd was so intense, it was like this was a huge family gathering because everyone seemed to know each other.

Miss May I is a band from Ohio and again, an incredibly insane band to watch. Their stage presence was great, the music was awesome and the guys were so friendly. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get any photos of the guys, but I think the other photos make up for it. At least, I hope they do!

Lastly, From First to Last. I was yet again, blown away by their AMAZING performance. These guys do such a great job putting on a show. The last time I had seen them was at Warped Tour several years ago and I can tell you right now, I knew this set was going to be better than that times ten and oh, it was. They played a new song and Travis Richter said to me back in February via Twitter that From First to Last was going to come back and blow everyone’s minds. He was dead on. Their new material, set to be released in February of 2010, is so great, I can hardly wait for it to come out.

Be sure to check out the bands if they’re coming to a city near you!
http://www.myspace.com/thecolormorale
http://www.myspace.com/missmayi
http://www.myspace.com/thecolorofviolence
http://www.myspace.com/fftl

The Sometimes Store

THE SOMETIMES STORE - THE GOTH SALE from oh really on Vimeo.

I've mentioned my creative posse on here quite a few times. To explain, "creative posse" is the group of friends that we were encouraged to make during our orientation for Columbia College; a group of people who will inspire us and be there for us to bounce ideas off of each other and just be good friends. I've made some amazing friends here, ones who will already spend two or three hours in the Emergency Room with me over some stupid injury. Well, I have one of the best creative posse's around, and the above commercial is a burning example of the talent that runs in my group. My friend Caleb Dewitt is a freshman film major and an intern with The Sometimes Store. He created this commercial with the help of my friend Amanda for their GOTH SALE for Halloween. Love this commercial so much, he did an amazing job on it and I was clearly super impressed. This thing is scary as hell.

Have you guys been thinking about Halloween costumes? What're your ideas so far?

Want answers? Ask questions!

Coming up in November, my friend and future blog photographer Alice and I will have the opportunity to interview POS, innerpartysystem, Saosin, and Eye Alaska at the PacSun Tour! We've been doing our research and brainstorming questions, but we want to know if YOU have any questions for any of these artists? If so, zip us an e-mail at theoddnotes@gmail.com or leave a comment on this post with your questions! If we like them, we'll ask them!

Let me remind you guys that you don't need to be a blogspot member to leave us a comment! All you have to do is click on the little thing that says '0 Comments' at the bottom of the post. We'd love to hear your feedback :)

Current music: I Sing I Swim - Seabear

Brand New and Little Focker.

What a surreal past couple of days I have had.


On Saturday, I made the short trip out to the Aragon Ballroom with two friends for Brand New, Manchester Orchestra, and Sybris. I think the Aragon has to be one of the coolest venues I have ever been to (which isn't saying much since most of the shows I attend are in bars or smaller venues). Ornate walls and pillars, and a beautifully painted ceiling which was made to look like the night sky, complete with twinkling lights to look like stars.

The opening band, Sybris, is a local band from the Chicago area. It was kind of cute, actually, to see how stoked they were about playing for us. After every other song, their lead vocalist would shake her head and mention something about how amazing it was, and how much of a dream come true it was. Though I had never heard of them before Saturday, I would definitely listen to them again. Between the softer lighting and the lead's powerful vocals, it was the epitome of an ambient experience, and definitely worth another listen.

Manchester Orchestra was the first band, and I feel like I've expressed multiple times how much I love this band. There's nothing to not like about them. Beautiful lyrics. Vocals and melodies that fall into different musical families. I must admit, I was slightly disappointed that the only song they played off of (my favorite) Im Like A Virgin Losing A Child was 'Colly Strings,' but their set was amazing regardless. They started stirring up the crowd a little more than Sybris did, and got us worked up. Andy Hull was on point that night, a blur of curly hair, a plaid shirt, and his voice harshened by smoking too many cigarettes. I was easily able to forgive the fact that they didn't play any of my favorites.

I'm going to start off this next part by saying that Brand New has been one of my favorite bands since the sixth grade. I'll admit that I'm not the hugest fan of their newest album 'Daisy,' but the words that Jesse Lacey are able to put together are pure genius. The crowd grew even more and more anxious as they set up (and of course, they took the longest out of the other bands), and when they finally took the stage, it was like a giant balloon of energy had exploded and the people were alive. We jumped. We sang. We moshed. It was practically a religious experience (and no, I don't think I'm over exaggerating). There's something so exhilarating about being in a crowd that loves a band just as much as you do. That sings all of the words, and there wasn't a single pair of feet that stayed planted on the ground.

Amazing concert. One of the best I have ever been to.


Over the past few days, there had been rumors of a movie being filmed in the South Loop area (my neighborhood), and even better, it would be being filmed only three or four blocks away from my apartment. After hearing more information, we discovered that they are making Little Fockers, another movie to add to the Meet the Parents movies. To add to the excitement, people had been seeing Ben Stiller, Robert DeNeiro and Owen Wilson around. I was determined to find the source of the action. No doubt, this will be in theaters, and I wanted to be able to witness it. My friends and I didn't have to travel far. One block over and three blocks up at the Hilton hotel on Michigan Avenue was a film crew, extras, security, Ben Stiller, and an unexpected Jessica Alba. I was able to take a few pictures, however, they are obviously not great quality and I'm no photographer.







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Have a great week everyone!