Tag: monday motivation

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Monday Motivation: Shovels & Rope

If you’re anything like me, you probably started the day by recognizing that the start of a new work week had indeed arrived and then immediately began shaking your fists at the sky in anger. Monday is rarely anyone’s favorite day, and from what I have seen firsthand it feels safe to say it’s the one day of the week some people outright hate. I guess to them the arrival of the work week symbolizes the end of their quote/unquote freedom, and as a result they head into the office/factory/restaurant/store with a negative outlook already on their mind. This leads to bad attitudes, which only makes the experience of being at work worse, and for some reason it also seems to make time slow to a crawl. We’re not about that life, and we hope this post can do the same you that the song contained within it did for us.

I think the biggest fear anyone working in music has, aside from the knowledge that the industry is in a constant state of disarray where no one is really sure what will happen next, is the idea they may one day wake up to find they no longer feel as passionate about music as they once did. And make no mistake – passion is an absolute necessity in order to make it in this business. Passion is the fuel that keeps the hunger in your stomach at bay when you spend whatever meager living you’re able to earn while working for free to get your foot in the door of the industry on things related to your pursuit of a career in music. Passion is the energy that allows you to work from dawn until long after the sun has gone down in order to pen the perfect business plan, form the best release strategy, write your best album review, and so on. Passion is what makes finding any form of success in music possible, and without it you are as good as dead from a professional standpoint. If you cannot find excitement for your work and the artists you support how can you expect anyone else to?

While I am sure there are people who will tell you they have never once questioned the passion that initially lead them to pursue the music business I will confess to having feared for my future and my passion to chase after it on more than one occasion. This business is a grind, and when you begin to make any kind of progress you realize just how much more work must be done in order to have a meaningful impact on the industry as a whole. You could toil away your entire life working to promote artists who never make it big, just like you could write 10,000 blog posts no one ever reads. There is a chance of failure in everything anyone attempts in this business, and before you can begin to find lasting success you have to accept that failure will eventually find you. It may be a big setback or it may be small, but in those moments when things are not going as planned you will feel that flame within start to fade. This might scare you, but you need to know that we all feel that way from time to time, and the only solution is to find a way to reignite that flame so it inspire you to fight for the industry you want to see once more.

My most recent battle with self-doubt and the fear of never achieving the goals I have set for myself began earlier this year. After almost a decade spent working on a music blog with all my closest friends we came to the realization that not one of us had the time needed to keep the site going. Around the same time a record label I had started with another friend went under due largely to the same reasons. I still had one job in music, and that is the job that allows me to write this blog you are reading now, but for the first time in many years I had no projects that I could honestly call my own. That feeling lead me to question whether I was doing what I really wanted to or just what was easiest, and from there I spiraled into a dark place where I had to ask myself if there were still artists that made me feel the way I felt when I first decided to pursue a career in music. My love of alternative music has gotten me pretty far in life, but many of the artists that initially inspired me have either broken up or gone on hiatus, and those who remain are working far less often than they did when I first began down this path.

I cannot tell you how I came to discover Shovels & Rope, but I can tell you that the first time I heard their music was shortly after I began to question my passion. The American folk duo from Charleston, South Carolina composed of husband and wife Michael Trent and Cary Ann Hearst initially entered my life through a song called “Birmingham,” which I have embedded below to help those unfamiliar with their music know what it is that I am talking about:

While I have no idea how this song will sound to you or impact your life I can say that something in this song struck a chord deep inside my soul that has only be played a few times in my existence. Before that first stream was over I already had another internet tab open in order to find and consume everything the duo had ever released. It was as if “Birmingham” was the free hit of a substance a drug dealer gave me in order to ensure I would get hooked, and by the time it was over you could have labeled me a full-blown addict. I bought all the group’s albums that same week, on vinyl, and I also purchased tickets to see them in concert months later. All this because of one song that just so happened to enter my life at precisely the time I needed to hear it.

In the days and weeks after that first encounter I found myself feeling a renewed passion for the ever-turbulent world of music business. Knowing that a band like Shovels & Rope were traveling the world to spread a sound and message that connect with me on such a deeply personal level inspired me to chase after my goals in music once more. For the first time in what may have been years I felt the way I did the first time I discovered Blink-182 as an 11-year-old tween whose plans for the future had been undecided before that band entered his life. The fire that propelled me into music was not only lit, but burning like a five-alarm blaze that threatened to engulf all the doubt and uncertainty I had regarding my chosen profession, and i welcomed the flames with open arms. I became consumed by that fire, and I continue to feel that way today.

James Shotwell is the Digital Marketing Manager for Haulix. He is also a professional entertainment critic, covering both film and music, as well as the co-founder of Antique Records (RIP). Feel free to tell him you love or hate the article above by connecting with him on Twitter. Bonus points if you introduce yourself by sharing your favorite Simpsons character.

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Monday Motivation: Sum 41

If you’re anything like me, you probably started the day by recognizing that the start of a new work week had indeed arrived and then immediately began shaking your fists at the sky in anger. Monday is rarely anyone’s favorite day, and from what I have seen firsthand it feels safe to say it’s the one day of the week some people outright hate. I guess to them the arrival of the work week symbolizes the end of their quote/unquote freedom, and as a result they head into the office/factory/restaurant/store with a negative outlook already on their mind. This leads to bad attitudes, which only makes the experience of being at work worse, and for some reason it also seems to make time slow to a crawl. We’re not about that life, and we hope this post can do the same you that the song contained within it did for us.

The likelihood of encountering a catch-22 in your development as a professional in any facet of the entertainment industry is so high it might as well be considered a given. To live is to grow, and to grow is to develop interests and tastes that may not fit into the mold of the person you once were. This is true for almost everyone on Earth, but only a small percentage of those walking among us are tasked with creating something from nothing using only their imagination and musical prowess that is packaged and sold to the masses as some form of entertainment. For those people change can be harder than because accepting that you are no longer who you once were means you might not ever create the same way again, and if that is true then there is a good chance the people who once supported you without a second thought may soon reconsider their allegiance to your creative output.

Sum 41 burst onto the international music scene with the release of their single “Fat Lip” in 2001. The song, which arrived just as bands like Blink-182 and Green Day were pushing pop-punk into the mainstream, was an instant smash at MTV and top 40 radio. I was fourteen at the time, and as such I –  not to mention everyone in my graduating class – was the target market for the song. We sang the track together on field trips and in the back of class before the first bell of the day would ring. We also sang along on our bikes as we explored our town, and in the back of our parents’ cars (until they had enough and shut off the radio). For a few months it seemed like the world would never be without “Fat Lip” again, but eventually a day came when our culture’s obsession with the track began to subside. Fortunately for the band, they had additional singles (like “In Too Deep”) ready to go.

The singles that followed “Fat Lip,” as well as the album that followed the record that contained “Fat Lip,” were both considered successful in the eyes of the music industry. The rap-punk mix of “Fat Lip” was never outright recreated, but the band had a knack for pop-laden punk hooks that could not be denied. They never saw the same fame that came their way when they first were introduced, but for a few years they were considered one of the biggest punk bands in the world.

When a band achieves the kind of global status Sum 41 reached with the success of “Fat Lip” they find themselves with an untold number of new fans who likely them specifically for a single sound found on a single recording that is just one of many found on that group’s latest album. People are curious to hear more, as anyone who finds themselves enjoying anything typically is, but to be more specific they are curious as to whether or not the band can harness a similar sound and find success once more. If the band choose to try something different, or if they abandoned the sound that catapulted them into the public eye to begin with altogether, those same fans who rushed to support the group initially may begin to seek out other entertainers.

This is where things get tricky. On the one hand, creative people have to be willing to risk losing their audience in their pursuit of authentic self-expression, but at the same time they need to continue selling records and concert tickets in order to fund their creative endeavors. When a band like Sum 41 finds themselves evolving beyond the sound that launched their career the backlash from the general public can be downright mean, and for many the idea of losing the affection of the masses can be too much to bare. So much so, in fact, that many artists from all over the globe will restrict themselves from pursuing new ideas in order to maintain the status quo. This is why some bands will release what is dubbed as an ‘experimental’ album before releasing one that sounds like everything they have ever done in the past (with the exception of the experimental release). They fear being disliked, so instead of growing they just keep revisiting the same themes and ideas over and over until they have accumulated enough money to take a few years off. That might mean years of regurgitating old ideas, or in some cases even decades.

The reason I chose Sum 41 for today’s Monday Motivation post is because they have never compromised their artistic integrity in an effort to pander to the masses. The band knows they do not have the following they did when “Fat Lip” was the biggest song in the world, but whenever you see them or hear them you get the feeling they could care less about this fact. For them, the music is the ultimate accomplishment. Fans are nice, and they certainly help make further creative expression possible, but Sum 41 has always placed a lot of importance on keeping themselves happy with their output that is rarely found in musicians today. Could they do what they did before all over again? Sure. Do they want to? No.

This week, Sum 41 will release their new album 13 Voices through Hopeless Records. The album is the result of the band coming together in support of vocalist Deryck Whibley, who made headlines last year for his struggles with addiction. Music was always a way through the band times for Whibley, and together with his bandmates he has crafted a record that entertains while also providing a platform to vent frustrations and confront demons. To hear the album is to understand the struggles the band has undergone over the last two decades, which has now culminated in an album that ties together themes from previous records without revisiting the ideas that made those recordings unique. This album is everything the band has been working toward, and to know they are still playing the game by their own rules inspires me to do the same every single day.

James Shotwell is the Digital Marketing Manager for Haulix. He is also a professional entertainment critic, covering both film and music, as well as the co-founder of Antique Records (RIP). Feel free to tell him you love or hate the article above by connecting with him on Twitter. Bonus points if you introduce yourself by sharing your favorite Simpsons character.

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Monday Motivation: Yellowcard

If you’re anything like me, you probably started the day by recognizing that the start of a new work week had indeed arrived and then immediately began shaking your fists at the sky in anger. Monday is rarely anyone’s favorite day, and from what I have seen firsthand it feels safe to say it’s the one day of the week some people outright hate. I guess to them the arrival of the work week symbolizes the end of their quote/unquote freedom, and as a result they head into the office/factory/restaurant/store with a negative outlook already on their mind. This leads to bad attitudes, which only makes the experience of being at work worse, and for some reason it also seems to make time slow to a crawl. We’re not about that life, and we hope this post can do the same you that the song contained within it did for us.

If there was ever a perfect time for a band to make an impression on me it had to be the summer when Yellowcard’s now timeless pop-punk anthem “Ocean Avenue” was first released. I had heard rumblings about the band in the then loosely populated alternative music forums I frequented online, but as a citizen of a rural farming community in a time before social media there wasn’t much in terms of hype on the streets. Heck, there were barely even cars on the streets, let alone buzz about a new film or artist. That’s just not how life worked where I came from, but as soon as I heard those opening chords I knew something special had been created. What I didn’t know, and what I still struggle to define all these years later, is how obsessing over those chords and the people who created them would change my life.

When “Ocean Avenue” first made its way into the new music arena there was not a soul in my hometown who knew it existed. Everyone I knew only listened to what was big at radio, and until “Ocean Avenue” was playing on every Top 40 station within reach (3-4 total depending on the weather) the name Yellowcard meant nothing to anyone in a ten mile radius of my parents’ house except me. Even then, I didn’t really know what Yellowcard meant, or what they would go on to mean for me in the years to come. All I knew was that “Ocean Avenue” was (and is) incredibly catchy, and that was more than enough to convince me to convince my parents they should buy me a copy of the record.

“Ocean Avenue” wasn’t even the best song on the album of the same name from which it hails. In fact, I would argue it’s the third, fourth, or maybe even fifth best song on that record. Still, it’s the song that made people, including myself, give a damn about Yellowcard, and that is more than enough to earn the track a place in the pop-punk hall of fame.  It could be argued the band never again had a song as successful as “Ocean Avenue,” but to say they never wrote another song as good as “Ocean Avenue” would be an outright lie. Every Yellowcard album has songs that are better than “Ocean Avenue,” and some of those songs were even released as singles with proper videos and promotional campaigns. Mainstream audiences may not have embraced those songs as much as the band’s first hit, but that is hardly an experience limited to the members of Yellowcard. The same thing could be said about Blink-182 after “What’s My Age Again” or Sum 41 after “Fat Lip.”

The truth of the matter is the nothing beats the feeling of young love, and that idea applies as much to the art we encounter as it does the people we meet. Your first kiss is more memorable than you hundredth kiss primarily because it was the first, just like your love for a band is typically strongest after you first fall for a particular song or album than it is when you’re still listening to the same group two or six albums later. The trick for artists is to remember that every song and/or album may be someone’s first encounter with their art, and because of this every new creation could be the thing that defines your artistic output for that person moving forward. You can play the hits that gave you a platform to reach people for as long as you’re able to perform, but in order to progress you have to continue creating new experiences for people to encounter whenever they discover your music.

And really, that is exactly what Yellowcard did. In the years and albums that followed “Ocean Avenue” the band progressed in ways both thrilling and unpredictable. They experimented harder and softer sounds, wrote songs about growing older as well as clinging to the whatever fleeting feeling of youth may be left, and they always made sure to leave their all on stage. Fans came and fans went, but the band made sure to stay true to themselves in every move they made. They never attempted to repeat what they did on their breakout, but they also were now shy about recognizing how that material had enabled them to be more active in the world of music. The band always knew they were lucky to have had a moment like the one “Ocean Avenue” provided, and unlike many before (and after) them they did not fall into the trap of believing such moments were going to happen again and again throughout their careers. They hoped they would, sure, but deep down they knew the likelihood of having a hit as big as “Ocean Avenue” was as rare as being eaten by a shark while simultaneously being struck by lightning.

When I learned of Yellowcard’s plans to breakup earlier this year there was a part of me that felt as if I understood the reasoning for the group’s exit even before reading their open letter to fans. After twenty years it’s easy to understand why anyone in any career would feel as if they had explored all the possibilities that interested them and said all they had to say. Retirement on one’s own terms is kind of a beautiful thing. It says to the fans that the artistic expression they once admired has been conveyed in full, and that the artist realizes any future contributions may not live up to the high standards they themselves set through previous works. It’s as admirable an exit as anyone in entertainment can make, and it’s one that probably should happen more often than it does.

Having now heard the band’s final album, which <em>I think</em> I am able to discuss now, I have to say that Yellowcard have once again left everything they have on the recording. Anyone saddened by the loss of the band will have this collection of material to comfort them, and those who may have been happy about the group’s exit may find themselves catching feelings of regret should they ever encounter the material that fills this recording. There is an element of honesty to everything Yellowcard does that speaks to the truth they have experienced in their long and undeniably unique adventure through the world of music, and anything listeners may have felt went unsaid in the past is laid bare on this album. This is the kind of final bow we all hope to make when our time in our current fields comes to a close, and I, for one, am happy Yellowcard put in the work needed to make sure it was just right.

This week, I want to urge you to spend time with Yellowcard’s discography. Whether you’re a diehard fan or someone who only knows the hits, dig into each record and lose yourself in the band’s own journey through life. Experience their highs and lows right alongside them and then, when Friday rolls around, set aside time to enjoy their final recordings in full. Pay attention to their attention to detail, and use the feelings of joy their music gives to begin plotting your next creative endeavor. As far as I am concerned, hearing what this incredible band has to say on an album they know is their last is the best motivation you’re going to find this week. If you can top it, please let me know.

James Shotwell is the Digital Marketing Manager for Haulix. He is also a professional entertainment critic, covering both film and music, as well as the co-founder of Antique Records (RIP). Feel free to tell him you love or hate the article above by connecting with him on Twitter. Bonus points if you introduce yourself by sharing your favorite Simpsons character.

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Monday Motivation: Taking Back Sunday

If you’re anything like me, you probably started the day by recognizing that the start of a new work week had indeed arrived and then immediately began shaking your fists at the sky in anger. Monday is rarely anyone’s favorite day, and from what I have seen firsthand it feels safe to say it’s the one day of the week some people outright hate. I guess to them the arrival of the work week symbolizes the end of their quote/unquote freedom, and as a result they head into the office/factory/restaurant/store with a negative outlook already on their mind. This leads to bad attitudes, which only makes the experience of being at work worse, and for some reason it also seems to make time slow to a crawl. We’re not about that life, and we hope this post can do the same you that the song contained within it did for us.

Steinbeck’s The Catcher in the Rye is a timeless piece of American literature that has no doubt influenced generations of people. To this day there are schools all over the country assigning students to read the story of Holden Caufield, and in places where it is not considered required reading it is still being discovered by people searching for something that understands feelings of teenage angst and alienation. It would be easy for most to spend hours debating the best passages from the book, but as I was listening to Tidal Wave, the latest album from Long Island based rock band Taking Back Sunday, one quote in particular came to mind:

“The mark of the immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mark of the mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one.”

Thinking back to the band’s landmark debut album, Tell All Your Friends, it’s hard to believe how far Taking Back Sunday have come. That record, which was lyrically born from heartache, angst, alienation, and the feeling of never being quite good enough, introduced Taking Back Sunday to the world as a group of passionate young men unsure of their place in the world. The use of violent imagery and brash honesty helped to emphasize their willingness to do anything in their power to find somewhere they could call home, despite the fact they seemingly had no idea what such a place would look like.

I was fourteen when Tell All Your Friends was released, and like countless youth across the globe I found myself feeling a connection to the band’s longing for peace and stability in this often turbulent world. I did not completely grasp all the stories of heartache or how they had unfolded, but I (thought I) knew the feeling of being brokenhearted enough to appreciate the sentiment of their lyricism. So much so, in fact, that I could often by found scribbling my favorite over-emotional lyrics onto notebook covers during class or referencing various song titles with a customized screen name on the once popular social networking site known as MySpace. For myself and others like me there had never been enough band that had so completely and uniquely captured the feeling of youthful discomfort as Taking Back Sunday, and as a result we became devoted followers of their message who would flock to shows far and wide to sing-a-long with our newfound heroes.

Time passed, and with each new album Taking Back Sunday continued to evolve without fully abandoning the concepts and sound that initially launched their career. The band documented new struggles with the same one of a kind perspective that had helped set their adolescent problems apart, but the wildfire of hype for each new creation was nothing like the first wave of praise the band had received. Some would claim Taking Back Sunday had a problem developing their sound in a way that was continually interesting, while others felt the decision to focus on problems beyond angst and bad relationships caused the band to lose some intangible edge. I never agreed with these critiques myself, but I did feel the band struggled to maintain the forward momentum of their first two records as the third, fourth, and fifth were shared with the world.

Then came Tidal Wave, which I was fortunate enough to hear for the first time about a month ago. It only took about three songs off the new record for me to realize that Taking Back Sunday had finally reached whatever creative pinnacle they had been striving towards since the release of ‘Tell All Your Friends.’ The boys who were willing to die as long as they could first prove themselves as gentleman have grown into the men who have willingly sacrificed their freedom for a life spent connecting with people all over the globe through their art. What they were once willing to die for has become the reason they continue living, and everyone – from the band to their fans – is better off as a result.

The thing no one ever tells you about growing up is how the loss of naivety through experience will impact the way you view every aspect of your life. The big things that once felt so important often take a backseat to simpler concepts like family and self-acceptance when one finally has a clear grasp of the finality of death. Whether realized through your own skirmishes or the struggles of those around you, most people do not fully appreciate the futility of life until they’ve felt the loss of one. Even then, finding how to push forward when you know full well you too will one day expire takes an immeasurable amount of strength that billions around the globe struggle to find on a daily basis. It’s a tough truth, but one that must be accepted in order to move forward, and you must move forward. If not, you are as good as dead.

This, and other ideas related to the constant passing of time and our inability to stop or slow it are what makes Tidal Wave something truly spectacular. Taking Back Sunday has created an album that can and will stand alongside Tom Petty’s Wildflowers and Bruce Springsteen’s Born in the USA as albums that perfectly capture the relentless enthusiasm of the human spirit. It’s the realization of what the group has been working toward for the better part of two decades, and it marks an ever-so-slight pivot in sound that should help the band to engage a larger share of the modern rock audience than their previous albums. 

I believe Tidal Wave is the album Taking Back Sunday was put on this Earth to make, and hearing it gives me the strength to keep working towards my own goals. I might not know where I am headed, but I know I am doing what my soul tells me I need to be doing, and that’s good enough for now.

James Shotwell is the Digital Marketing Manager for Haulix. He is also a professional entertainment critic, covering both film and music, as well as the co-founder of Antique Records (RIP). Feel free to tell him you love or hate the article above by connecting with him on Twitter. Bonus points if you introduce yourself by sharing your favorite Simpsons character.

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Monday Motivation: Bayside

If you’re anything like me, you probably started the day by recognizing that the start of a new work week had indeed arrived and then immediately began shaking your fists at the sky in anger. Monday is rarely anyone’s favorite day, and from what I have seen firsthand it feels safe to say it’s the one day of the week some people outright hate. I guess to them the arrival of the work week symbolizes the end of their quote/unquote freedom, and as a result they head into the office/factory/restaurant/store with a negative outlook already on their mind. This leads to bad attitudes, which only makes the experience of being at work worse, and for some reason it also seems to make time slow to a crawl. We’re not about that life, and we hope this post can do the same you that the song contained within it did for us.

Being predictable doesn’t have to be a bad thing. Take for example, Bayside. The New York based rock band has been creating a unique take on modern punk rock for the better part of two decades at this point, and in that time they have carved a niche for themselves within the industry. Fans flock to Bayside’s every album and tour not because they continually reinvent the wheel, but rather because they tend to do the same thing the always have as well as they ever have with each new move. What people expect from Bayside, and what they have come to be known for within the entertainment industry, is quality. You know what you’re getting quality wise with Bayside, and that belief in their ability to always be good allows the band to do whatever they please because they already have your trust. They know being themselves is exactly what you expect, and they do their best to continue giving a piece of themselves to listening – through thick and thin – as honestly as possible.

On ‘Vacancy,’ the band’s sixth studio album, Bayside further their self-expression with a collection of stories and reflections built in the wake of vocalist Anthony Raneri’s marriage falling apart. Raneri gave up his lifelong home of New York to move to Tennessee with his wife and newborn daughter with plans of building a new reality for his family. Life had other plans however, and some time later Raneri found himself living out of an empty apartment surrounded by boxes filled with possessions he couldn’t bring himself to unpack. After all, he didn’t consider this new setting a home, nor did he have any desire to be there any longer than was necessary. To deal with the chaos of his life, Raneri began pouring himself into his art, and the result of those efforts is what you hear on this new record. It’s a perspective on life torn asunder and the search for new beginnings that few have ever dared to share, and it just might be the most personal album in the band’s notoriously honest catalog.

While the often heartbreaking honesty of Bayside’s latest release is sure to be a selling point for many, what sets the band apart – and what has always served as something of a signature silver lining for the group – is their ability to find a way through their darkest personal moments and through doing so inspire others to do the same. Some will learn the story behind ‘Vacancy’ and believe it to be a meditation in love gone awry, but in reality it’s a far more introspective recording. This is an album not about the faults of others, but the role we each play in what goes right or wrong in our individual lives. It’s about not allowing yourself to think bad and good things simply happen, but understanding that you have power over your fate. Don’t fool yourself into believing some things just don’t work out because that is rarely true. There is a reason for everything, and you might need to take responsibility for the part you play in the events of your life in order to truly appreciate that.

When you find time to listen to ‘Vacancy,’ which I hope is sooner rather than later, try to think of your initial encounter as an opportunity for personal growth. Raneri never predicted his life would play out the way it has, and chance are you never knew you would be wherever it is that you find yourself in life right now either. Let ‘Vacancy’ inspire you to reflect on the path that brought you here, as well as inspire you to seek out the future you want for yourself and those around you. This album can and should empower you to work towards making the world reflect the desire of your heart. Not everything will go the way you want, but every turn in the road is an opportunity for growth that will help you make better and smarter decisions down the line. Life is not about destinations, but rather the path taken to get to them, and ‘Vacancy’ is the perfect companion to the journey through existence for those over twenty-five.

James Shotwell is the Digital Marketing Manager for Haulix. He is also a professional entertainment critic, covering both film and music, as well as the co-founder of Antique Records (RIP). Feel free to tell him you love or hate the article above by connecting with him on Twitter. Bonus points if you introduce yourself by sharing your favorite Simpsons character.

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Monday Motivation: Skillet

If you’re anything like me, you probably started the day by recognizing that the start of a new work week had indeed arrived and then immediately began shaking your fists at the sky in anger. Monday is rarely anyone’s favorite day, and from what I have seen firsthand it feels safe to say it’s the one day of the week some people outright hate. I guess to them the arrival of the work week symbolizes the end of their quote/unquote freedom, and as a result they head into the office/factory/restaurant/store with a negative outlook already on their mind. This leads to bad attitudes, which only makes the experience of being at work worse, and for some reason it also seems to make time slow to a crawl. We’re not about that life, and we hope this post can do the same you that the song contained within it did for us.

When I was growing up in the midwest during the 90s and early 2000s there was a clear division between contemporary Christian music and mainstream pop/rock music. The Christian music industry was an entity all its own, with artists and charts specifically catering to those who chose their entertainment based on their religious affiliation. Those things still exist today, but the niche market of contemporary Christian music is not at all like it was in the past. Bands trying to make it in that corner of the industry today need to thematically meet certain standards while musically pandering to a much larger and for more general audience. The need to have some level of crossover appeal has never been higher in terms of ensuring longterm monetary success, and as a result fewer and fewer bands are able to establish a notable presence in both secular and religious arenas. Many tenured acts are struggling to keep afloat as well, but one band has endure the turbulent trends of the industry while continuously raising their profile world wide, and they just so happen to have one of the silliest names in music.

Skillet is a band I first encountered in my young teens when every piece of audio my parents allowed in our home was undeniably labeled Christian. The band built throngs of fans around the globe with a uniquely edgy take on modern praise and worship music that was kept grounded thanks to hard-hitting originals with creative themes that spoke to the feeling of being outside mainstream society in a way few artists could achieve. Skillet wrote music for outcast youth that told them there was a place for them within Christianity that they could feel safe calling home. I cannot speak for other teens of the time, but for a boy like me from a small town where he was bullied for being different than everyone else those songs felt like the answer I had been seeking throughout my young life. I took solace in the music of Skillet, and because their originals rocked so hard I had the confidence to tell my non-religious friends about their music (something that is typically difficult for me and many other young people to do).

As I grew older my continued interest in music lead me to bands and ideas well outside the world of contemporary Christian music, which in turn caused me to care less about bands I had previously clung to, but my love for Skillet never wavered. I could hypothesize why this was for several hundred words, but in short it’s due to the fact no other band to my knowledge was ever as forward-thinking as Skillet. With each release the band would push themselves to be something entirely different than whatever they were when recording their previous record. Sometimes they were obsessed with how they saw those with faith as being akin aliens, but other times they were tackling the monsters inside themselves. The only constants in their music was quality, creativity, and an unflinching desire to share their beliefs and faith without being so on the nose that they were written off as too preachy. I believe the band has achieved these goals with each album, and their latest is no exception.

Hitting stores this Friday, Unleashed is Skillet’s ninth studio album in a career that dates back to 1996. It’s a remarkably infectious release that builds on the sonic foundation of the band’s previous records without repeating any key themes. When I play the record, and in the last month I’ve probably logged at least three complete plays a week, I find the strength to fight through whatever stands between me and the things I wish to accomplish. While I will admit the band still caters to my belief in the unknown, I don’t think anyone needs to share their beliefs in order to be inspired by their music. Skillet are not trying to convert you as much as they are trying to encourage you to fight for what matters to you. They want you to find the success and empowerment that comes from recognizing you have the power to be whatever you want to be. That may sound corny written here, but it’s true, and their latest single(s) are proof of this:

Regardless of your religious affiliation, you could stand to learn a thing or two from Skillet. Don’t sleep on Unleashed.

James Shotwell is the Digital Marketing Manager for Haulix. He is also a professional entertainment critic, covering both film and music, as well as the co-founder of Antique Records (RIP). Feel free to tell him you love or hate the article above by connecting with him on Twitter. Bonus points if you introduce yourself by sharing your favorite Simpsons character.

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Monday Motivation: Billy Talent

If you’re anything like me, you probably started the day by recognizing that the start of a new work week had indeed arrived and then immediately began shaking your fists at the sky in anger. Monday is rarely anyone’s favorite day, and from what I have seen firsthand it feels safe to say it’s the one day of the week some people outright hate. I guess to them the arrival of the work week symbolizes the end of their quote/unquote freedom, and as a result they head into the office/factory/restaurant/store with a negative outlook already on their mind. This leads to bad attitudes, which only makes the experience of being at work worse, and for some reason it also seems to make time slow to a crawl. We’re not about that life, and we hope this post can do the same you that the song contained within it did for us.

I know Drake and Future spent the majority of the last year exclaiming, “what a time to be alive,” but the more I read into the problems plaguing our world today the more I am unsure what such a statement means. Is it a good thing to be alive right now, or is it a bad thing? If you’re Drake or Future it’s probably pretty great. Those guys are making tens of thousands, if not more, each passing week off the strength of their creativity. The vast majority of the rest of the Earth’s population is nowhere near that lucky however, and we are all struggling in our own ways as we fight to survive. I know I am nowhere near earning the title of being the worst off, but I do have concerns for what lies on the horizon. Between the impending election in the US, which seems to have provided no truly great candidate, and the various acts of terror taking place on a near-weekly basis all over the globe, 2016 seems pretty awful. It is unclear when or how things will get better, but something tells me no improvements will happen without hardships or tragedy coming first. In fact, I would argue some people have lost their faith in a better tomorrow altogether because every day the news and social media shines a lot on the numerous complicated problems plaguing us not just here at home, but all over the world.

With all this in mind, I wholeheartedly believe we need proactive music now more than ever in my lifetime. I have been walking this planet for almost twenty-nine years, but I have never witnessed the kind of global disenchantment that we are currently experiencing. People have lost their faith in religion and political leadership. They, or should I saw we are hungry for something more than just the hope things will improve. Time has taught us that simply hoping for things to get better rarely results in any change happening whatsoever. We know that change only comes as a result of action, but when we look to pop culture for leadership and positive influence we generally only find sugar-coated love songs, movies featuring people with superpowers, or EDM-fueled tracks about loving life that completely ignore the problems facing mankind.

Now, to be clear, these things are not bad. I love superhero movies and pop songs as much as the next person, but our world is in such a state of disarray that we need artists who are not afraid to speak out against all they see wrong. We need protest songs, and we need artists who encourage people to read up on what is happening around them. To use a colloquialism that the internet loves we need artist who are “woke AF,” and for my money there are few who seem to understand this quite like Canada’s hard rock kings, Billy Talent.

Yes, you read that right. The band we need now more than ever to urge us to take action is not even from America. Billy Talent have been making music that demands and influences action for over a decade at this point, and their new album Afraid Of Heights is no exception. Every song, from the riveting “Big Red Gun” to the closing reprise of “Afraid Of Heights,” speaks to the state of the world today. The band touches on our current fears, as well as the universal fear of the unknown. If we think things are bad now, then how much worse could they get? Billy Talent does not have the answer, but they do urge people to take action to prevent whatever unknown horrors may lie on the horizon from ever coming to fruition.

When you listen to Afraid Of Heights you cannot help feeling inspired and entertained simultaneously. The genius of Billy Talent’s sound has always been there way to raise awareness while also inducing mosh/circle pits with killer riffs and endlessly catchy hooks. Their latest work is as fun as it is important, and every ounce of me hopes you give it a chance to inspire you to make the world a better place when it arrives in stores this Friday, July 29.

James Shotwell is the Digital Marketing Manager for Haulix. He is also a professional entertainment critic, covering both film and music, as well as the co-founder of Antique Records. Feel free to tell him you love or hate the article above by connecting with him on Twitter. Bonus points if you introduce yourself by sharing your favorite Simpsons character.

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Monday Motivation: Vanna

If you’re anything like me, you probably started the day by recognizing that the start of a new work week had indeed arrived and then immediately began shaking your fists at the sky in anger. Monday is rarely anyone’s favorite day, and from what I have seen firsthand it feels safe to say it’s the one day of the week some people outright hate. I guess to them the arrival of the work week symbolizes the end of their quote/unquote freedom, and as a result they head into the office/factory/restaurant/store with a negative outlook already on their mind. This leads to bad attitudes, which only makes the experience of being at work worse, and for some reason it also seems to make time slow to a crawl. We’re not about that life, and we hope this post can do the same you that the song contained within it did for us.

We have been and still very much are so busy with the new version of Haulix that updating our blog has fallen a bit by the wayside. That said, we are still listening to as much new music as possible day to day, and recently we came across a release that immediately became a staple of our office playlist. Not just one song off the record, but all of them. Every single song.

Longtime readers of Haulix Daily already know our love of Boston punk/hardcore kings Vanna. Vocalist Davey Muise was even on our podcast once upon a time (and he’s scheduled to return soon – hint hint). The band’s new album, All Hell, builds on the ferocity and unabashed storytelling of their previous releases while still finding a way to catch listeners completely off guard. We expected the record to be heavy, but we never knew a band that is a staple of the Warped Tour scene could release a record as heavy as All Hell. Many albums have been promoted as bone-crushing or skull-rattling, but this album is on another level altogether. With the right sound system, All Hell could be considered music in weaponized form. If the lyrics don’t move you the music most certainly will, and we mean that in a very literal sense.

We didn’t choose All Hell for this week’s Monday Motivation just because of the way it sounds. This record, like every release in the Vanna catalog, demands something of the listeners that most albums do not. When you play All Hell, even just one song, you are forced to look within and see yourself as honestly as you are able. Muise and his bandmates make it clear that understanding yourself, including your dreams and shortcomings, is the only way to start working towards being the person you want to become. All Hell is a soundtrack to destroying the false narratives of your life so that a real, pure one can be built from their ashes, and having used their records to do that very thing we cannot recommend enough that others heed their advice. 

Some bands write life-changing songs. Vanna is a life-changing band.

James Shotwell is the Digital Marketing Manager for Haulix. He is also a professional entertainment critic, covering both film and music, as well as the co-founder of Antique Records. Feel free to tell him you love or hate the article above by connecting with him on Twitter. Bonus points if you introduce yourself by sharing your favorite Simpsons character.

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Monday Motivation: Emarosa

If you’re anything like me, you probably started the day by recognizing that the start of a new work week had indeed arrived and then immediately began shaking your fists at the sky in anger. Monday is rarely anyone’s favorite day, and from what I have seen firsthand it feels safe to say it’s the one day of the week some people outright hate. I guess to them the arrival of the work week symbolizes the end of their quote/unquote freedom, and as a result they head into the office/factory/restaurant/store with a negative outlook already on their mind. This leads to bad attitudes, which only makes the experience of being at work worse, and for some reason it also seems to make time slow to a crawl. We’re not about that life, and we hope this post can do the same you that the song contained within it did for us.

Anyone reading this who has finished high school presumably knows the phrase, “the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry,” but how many of us actually apply that concept to our daily lives? In my experience, the answer is not nearly enough, and I’m including myself in that summation. I, like many, imagine myself to be a fairly easygoing person, but if something I had my hopes set on falls apart before coming to fruition I can transform into a bit of an emotional mess that is best compared to a child throwing a tantrum. Life should go the way we want it to, right?

Your answer to that question doesn’t really matter, and neither does mine, because life could not care less about your dreams and expectations. Life is a constantly changing thing that gives absolutely no thought or attention to the desires of individuals or groups. Sometimes things work out, but other times they do not, and there is only so much any of us can do to sway the outcome one way or another. What we can do however, is decide how we will respond to things falling apart. Will you let an unexpected turn destroy you or empower you? Will you give up, or will you see things through despite unexpected hurdles that may appear along the way?

Consider for a moment the turbulent existence of Emarosa, an American hard rock band with no place to call home and a list of former members that now more than doubles the amount of people currently in the group. Emarosa formed in 2006, but thanks to a number of vocalist changes over the years the band has more or less had to reboot their sound three times over. The latest incarnation, which features Bradley Walden on vocals, may be the best yet. Walden entered the group as they were preparing to hit the studio for their third studio album (2014’s Versus), and he quickly acclimated to the band’s approach to creativity. Now two years later, the band is about to release what is arguably their best record to date (131 – Out July 8), and Walden is still steering the ship with a knack for brutally honest lyricism that has propelled the band into the hearts of thousands around the globe. This isn’t to say Emarosa were not successful prior to Walden joining the group, as they most certainly were, but when listening through the group’s discography there is a clear change of course that occurs right around Walden’s entrance that undeniably sealed their fate to become what they are today. This band Walden as much as Walden needed the members of the band, and because both sides were willing to persevere through their careers until they encountered one another music fans throughout the world – as well as the band members themselves – are now benefiting from their combined talents.

We could get into the lives Walden and the members of Emarosa lead before they came together, but for the sake of time we’re going to ask those interested in the details to do some Googling on their own time. All you need to know now is littered throughout 131, which tackles the idea of accepting responsibility for one’s own fate as no other alternative rock album has done in years. Every song plays like an excerpt from a story of triumph, failure, and growth that you never want to end. No matter what struggles you face in your own journey, I promise there is an anthem on this record to help keep you motivated when times get tough. Trust me. No, i take that back. Trust music, especially the music of Emarosa.

James Shotwell is the Digital Marketing Manager for Haulix. He is also a professional entertainment critic, covering both film and music, as well as the co-founder of Antique Records. Feel free to tell him you love or hate the article above by connecting with him on Twitter. Bonus points if you introduce yourself by sharing your favorite Simpsons character.

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Monday Motivation: I See Stars

If you’re anything like me, you probably started the day by recognizing that the start of a new work week had indeed arrived and then immediately began shaking your fists at the sky in anger. Monday is rarely anyone’s favorite day, and from what I have seen firsthand it feels safe to say it’s the one day of the week some people outright hate. I guess to them the arrival of the work week symbolizes the end of their quote/unquote freedom, and as a result they head into the office/factory/restaurant/store with a negative outlook already on their mind. This leads to bad attitudes, which only makes the experience of being at work worse, and for some reason it also seems to make time slow to a crawl. We’re not about that life, and we hope this post can do the same you that the song contained within it did for us.

I’ve been thinking a lot about expectations over the last week. The media will tell you to define your life on your own terms, but that really isn’t the world we live in anymore. Everyone is connected to one another, and we all live vicariously through one another with each high and low our connections experience. If someone sets out to launch their own business, everyone they know is made aware of those plans before the business in question is more than a URL and some notes scribbled down on paper. If we want to start a family, our connections can quietly watch as we stumble our way through the dating world, experience our weddings through digital photo albums, and, hopefully, learn to be a parent. Unless you’re living a life completely disconnected from the digital world you know there are expectations for your life that you have no real say in, and even if you do manage to live untethered to the internet their are still expectations from family and close friends that linger in the back of your mind with every step you take. You may know what you want to be, and if so that’s great, but you also know what your family wants for you, what your friends expect from you, and what society says is acceptable.

Now that I’ve settled into the brief period between the ages of 25 and 30 I’ve begun to think of expectations in a manner far different than I did in my teen years and early 20s. Back then, my biggest concern in life was reaching the goals I had set for myself, regardless of how arbitrary or over-the-top they may have been. I think most of you reading this now would agree you found yourself in a similar position. Our childhoods were filled with pretty telling us to reach for the stars, be all we can be, and to always be looking on the horizon for our next big move, but anyone who has passionately chased their dream for a year or more will tell you there is nothing on that horizon except more work. There will always be another hill to climb, another plateau to reach, and countless number of peers who seem to remain miles ahead of you despite your best efforts to be number one. The idea of being the absolute best at anything related to careers or hobbies is a myth we tell ourselves is achievable because otherwise we might not even try in the first place.

In my life I have been fortunate enough to realize what I wanted to do at an early age and receive the support I needed from family to chase after that goal. I wanted to work in music, so I set out to do just that from the age of fifteen and poured everything I could into the pursuit of that dream. This meant going to college for a degree in music business, spending money I didn’t have on travels to events where no one new my name, and, perhaps most importantly, moving far away from the tiny farming community I called home. My parents were sad to see me go, but they knew I had to try and make my dreams a reality because they could sense the fire in my soul. They knew I loved them and music to such a great degree that demanding I choose one or the other would only result in stress and tensions that could be avoided, even if they wished they could somehow change my mind. It took me years to understand how this decision probably meant letting go of expectations they had set on me, as well as our relationship, but now that I’m a little older and have an understanding that can only be gained through experience I feel for the sacrifices they made. In order to let me be the person I felt I was meant to be my parents had to let go of some things they probably wanted for me since the day I was born, all in the hope I would one day return.

Anyone who chases a dream fervently for years will eventually find themselves in a place where they have to face the fact that seeking a sense of wholeness or contentment through hobbies or a career is an impossible task, but not everyone will be able to pinpoint when that moment happens. It’s the kind of realization that happens gradually over a long period of time, and for many it may be years or even decades before they find themselves in a place where their passion has become their career and they still feel a void in their soul that yearns to be filled. For me, that realization followed the death of my best friend, Justin, when I was 26. Justin had expectations for his time on this Earth, and his parents had their expectations for him as well, but despite his best efforts to live a long and successful his time was cut short due to an incredibly rare blood disease based on genetics that has no cure. Justin didn’t even know he had the potential to have this disease until it had already begun to attack his body, and that was nearly four years before he would ultimately pass. During that time I watched his aspirations for the future fade into distant memories and his desire for an understanding of who he was, as well as a closeness to friends and family grow. Tomorrow didn’t matter to Justin because he understood what it meant to say that the next day was never promised, so he only lived in the moment, and when he made that choice the expectation he had set for himself beyond loving and caring for those around him did not matter.

Watching Justin adjust to his changing circumstances and face each new twist with a heart endlessly full of hope gave me cause to pause and review my own expectations. I may have told myself I wanted to work in music, but that decision was based on an expectation from teachers, mentors, and the outside world that I would pursue something other than an understanding of self and the connection I shared with those around me. When he passed, I realized how all I really wanted in life was to find myself in a position to spend as much time as possible with those I loved while still doing whatever needed to be done to keep a roof over my head and food in my stomach. I wanted that task to be as fun and/or easy as possible, which is why I pursued entertainment as a career, but ultimately that path was only a means to an end that, hopefully, would allow me a greater understanding of who I am, why I exist, and what it is I am supposed to do with my time on this Earth.

I cannot speak to the experiences of others, but I do know what I can infer from the art they create. I See Stars are a rock band that has experienced the highs and lows of the entertainment industry while maintaining a bond of brotherhood that has only strengthened in time. I don’t know what expectations they set on themselves when they were forming, but I saw our culture place many expectations on them in the light of their debut album, 3D, hitting stores in 2009. At the time, the band was creating a hybrid of pop-rock with elements of post-hardcore and EDM that made for a decidedly intoxicating combination that critics either praise for its catchiness or slammed for its sugary sweetness. Some wrote the band off as being the last death wails of a dying neon-clad movement in alternative music, while others saw them as a sign of where music was headed. I was working in music and covering the band at the time, so I’m sure I added to this pile of ideas as well, but my thoughts should not have mattered to the band (even though I’m sure they did, as all creative people have an inmate desire to seek acceptance from the world around them).

As time carried on, I See Stars struggled to break free of the expectations thrust upon them by fans and critics. Most artists believe their earliest fans want to see them succeed by creating the same type of music they were writing when they were just starting out, which is fine for a time, but ultimately such efforts become problematic because – like everyone else – artists need to constantly progress in order to stay engaged in their own creation. The confines placed on I See Stars by the outside world caused a bit of stagnation in their music, which was painfully evident on 2011’s End Of The World Party and still lingering on 2012’s Digital Renegade. Listeners paying close attention could hear the band’s struggles to find their own path, but something about their output told you they still felt beholden to longtime subscribers and critics who believed their first work was their best work. It was almost as if the band was trying to recreate the lightning in a bottle moment that launched their career, and it took them several years (not to mention multiple releases) to understand such efforts will always be made in vein. That time was in the past, and trying to live in that moment continuously is never truly possible.

I See Stars found some footing with 2013’s New Demons, which would later prove to be the most popular release in their career. The band had shaken off the majority of their early work and focused on finding a new way to share their evolved world perspectives without completely abandoning the sounds and ideas that made them popular in the first place. The entire released carried an edge of “we don’t care what you think” that fans embraced with open arms. It was not a destination as much as it was a step in the right direction, and it gave the members the confidence needed to create what would be, at least in my opinion, the best work of their career.

This week, music fans around the world will be able to hear I See Stars’ fifth studio album, Treehouse, in full. The record blends together everything the band has done in the past with a very focused look towards the future that could very well be the genre-defining sound people suspected them of crafting over half a decade ago. It’s lush, yet refined, and bursting with a sense of honestly not found in many of the band’s genre peers. For the first time in their entire career I See Stars appear to have shaken off all expectations, including their own, and focused on what they felt was most important. They laid themselves bare on digital tape and found the results of those efforts were more pure than anything they had created in the past. They were also more diverse, as is apparent on the hip-hop influenced “All In” or the soft synth of “Walking On Gravestones.”

If you listen closely to I See Stars’ new record you can hear a band that understands their greatest strength resides in the connection they share as people. Their most powerful weapon is the love and respect they share for one another, as well as their fans, and tapping into those emotions have provided a wealth of new ideas that challenge expectations across the board. You might not like what they produce, but you have to respect the willingness to do what feels right instead of what is most commercially viable.

I cannot covert you to being an I See Stars fans, but I do believe you can find the strength to live life free of the constraints of expectations by experiencing their art. Do not miss Treehouse.

James Shotwell is the Digital Marketing Manager for Haulix. He is also a professional entertainment critic, covering both film and music, as well as the co-founder of Antique Records. Feel free to tell him you love or hate the article above by connecting with him on Twitter. Bonus points if you introduce yourself by sharing your favorite Simpsons character.

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