This morning when I woke up the last two things I wanted to do was exercise and work.
You know what I did today, in addition to the dozens of small tasks that consumed my time?
I worked and I went to the gym.
It wasn’t fun. In fact, I struggled frequently in both endeavors. But I still did what I needed to do.
Why?
Because I give a damn.
This may sound dumb to you, but it makes all the difference in the world when it comes to success in any form. You have to give a damn, plan and simple. It is the foundation of every bit of progress we make. It is an absolute essential.
You have been told this in various ways throughout your life, but any successful adult will tell you most people never listen. They want things, they might even have talent at them, but they never really give a damn. They expect passion to be enough, but it’s not.
Don’t get me wrong. Passion is important. It is the second building block of success immediately following giving a damn, but without a foundation it is still not enough.
There are thousands of people who want any position in life you seek to hold professionally, possibly millions, but when you get down to it there are a few hundred – at most – who are truly qualified for that position. If you are fortunate enough to be one of those capable of doing the job well you still have to stand out as a leader, and that begins with giving a damn.
Giving a damn may sound easy, but it is a daily struggle everyone faces. There are a million excuses we tell ourselves to get over the fact we aren’t doing the things we want to be doing, and the only way to make that stop is by making a conscious decision daily to live in a different manner. To do the things you don’t feel like doing because it is what needs to be done. To going the extra mile when others would rather go home. To make sacrifices, within reason, in pursuit of a better life for yourself and those around you.
If you have struggled with this before now, don’t fret. Everyone struggles every day. It is how we respond to that struggle that defines our path in life.
Life won’t wait for you or anyone else. Start today.
James Shotwell is the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. He is also the host of the Inside Music podcast.
“Climb these hills / I’m reaching for the heights”
Have you seen La La Land yet? The modern musical and critical darling from Whiplash director Damien Chazelle recently gained a wealth of attention for tying the record James Cameron’s Titanic set in the 1990s for the most Oscar nominations. Whether or not the film wins those awards doesn’t matter now because I am not here to discuss The Academy or the film’s worthiness of such adoration. Instead, I want to focus on something more personal. Something deep that La La Land manages to touch upon in its opening moments and leverage in order to win our adoration.
“Another Day of Sun” is the name of La La Land’s opening number, and it is one of the few numbers in the film to not feature stars Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone in lead vocal roles. In fact, the song is sang before audiences even meet Sebastian (Gosling) and Mia (Stone). If you have yet to hear the track or simply want to experience it once more you can do so below:
La La Land is billed as a movie for dreamers, and it wastes no time appealing to that crowd with this song and its accompanying performance. Set on a crowded Los Angeles freeway, dozens of singers and dancers emerge from their vehicles for an elaborate performance that touches on the many things people do to express themselves. There is singing and dancing of course, but also extreme sports, hula hooping, and a wide variety of other talents on display as well. Most, if not all, of the people seen in this sequence are never seen again, but it doesn’t matter because they are nothing more than the movie’s version of us, the audience, who it believes to be dreamers.
The opening verse, delivered by a female vocalist, details the adventures of an aspiring actress who flees her lover and hometown in order to try her shot at fame. The reason for this, simply enough, is the movies. She has spent her whole life watching the way her existence could be projected onto a gigantic silver screen and now wants to see if she too can become someone that moves people from inside those darkened auditoriums.
“Summer: Sunday nights / We’d sink into our seats / Right as they dimmed out all the lights / A Technicolor world made out of music and machine / It called me to be on that screen / And live inside each scene”
The second verse, delivered by a make vocalist, doubles down on this concept and builds on it. The perspective changes from film to music, but the struggles and inspiration remain the same:
“The ballads in the barrooms / Left by those who came before / They say “you gotta want it more” / So I bang on ev’ry door”
“Another day of Sun” recognizes that wanting something is still not enough to succeed. True success only comes to those who accept these facts and push forward, but it’s still no guaranteed. As the second part of the second verse explains:
“And even when the answer’s "no” / Or when my money’s running low / The dusty mic and neon glow / Are all I need”
The beauty of “Another Day of Sun,” much like the beauty of La La Land itself, is the always present understanding that the stereotypical idea success may never come. You can be the best at what you do, but that does not mean the world at large will recognize it, nor does it mean they have to in order for your talent to be real. You are talented and unique regardless of whether or not you become a celebrity.
La La Land and “Another Day of Sun” tell us that if we look to the world at large for praise and adoration you may be left waiting forever. Happiness in your work must come from within, and no amount of external praise will change the way you feel about yourself when looking in the mirror. If you believe in you then that is all that matters. In fact, the end of the second verse highlights something that may be even more rewarding than short term monetary success:
“And someday as I sing my song / A small-town kid’ll come along / That’ll be the thing to push him on and go go”
You may not be the next Chris Pratt, Carly Rae Jepson, or Harry Dean Stanton, but you may be able to influence someone’s life in a similar way if you stay true to yourself. Live by example, and by doing so you will lead others to believe it is perfectly okay to chase their wildest dreams. Who knows? Your work may inspire the next chart-topping artist or big screen starlet to try their luck at the world of entertainment. Hard work and quality breeds more of the same. Do the best you can do and take satisfaction in that. Everything else is secondary.
James Shotwell is the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. He is also the Film Editor for Substream Magazine, host of the Inside Music podcast, and ten-year music writing veteran. For more stories and nonsense, follow James on Twitter.
This Monday feels like the first real Monday in 2017. Yesterday was not a major holiday, nor was the weekend filled with global celebrations. Yesterday was just another Sunday and today is just another Monday. There will be 50 more of them this year.
For many of you, this week will be the first proper week you live in the new year. Some are just returning to school and/or work, while others who have already returned to everyday life can expect a steady uptick in business as everyone else gets back into the swing of things.
As your schedule fills you are going to be tempted to continue living life the same way you have for as long as you can remember, but just doing the same thing over and over is never going to get you any closer to achieving your goals.
All paths to success begin with a single decision: Today will be different.
Today is the day you break from your old routine and begin working toward new, healthier and more productive daily habits that will help you reach the goals you’ve set for yourself.
Start simple. If you make just one change today that you can repeat tomorrow and every day thereafter then you have already taken a major step toward achieving your goals. A few examples:
Go to bed at a better time
Eat a healthy meal
Spend thirty minutes working on that project you keep telling yourself will soon be finished
Disconnect from screens and technology
Start something new
Read
Exercise
If you come up with something more suited to your individual goals, go for it. Just be careful to not overwhelm yourself. You cannot change your behavior all at once.
Once you can commit to doing just one thing differently on a regular basis you can set towards changing more aspects of your life. If you go too fast and demand too much from yourself there is a chance you will lose interest in trying to change altogether. Stay focused and take your time.
Never underestimate how easy it is to settle back into old habits.
James Shotwell is the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. He is also the Film Editor for Substream Magazine, host of the Inside Music Podcast, and a 10-year music writing veteran. If you enjoy this article and want more stuff like it – or if you hated it so much you have to say something – follow James on Twitter.
A new year is upon us. If the late night I spent celebrating the end of the preceding year was not proof enough of this being true then the line I spotted outside my local gym at the crack of dawn today certainly did the trick.
A lot of people resolve to get in shape every year, but the number of people who actually accomplish that goal is incredibly small. Achieving physical fitness of any kind is a long road that requires focus, dedication, and hard work in order to reach your desired results.
Most people who resolve to make a change in their life never take a single step towards reaching that goal. They hope and wish and dream, but when push comes to shove they choose not to act. This is failure.
Failure is giving up before you start. Failure is recognizing the fact there is work to be done and choosing to remain idle instead. Failure is understanding your potential for greatness and ignoring it. Failure is never going after the things you want most.
Any study of New Year’s resolutions will tell you that most people never achieve their goals, but what they fail to detail are the people who try. Far more people say they will change than the number of people who actually take even a single step toward change. Most people are lazy. Most people never try.
You may never become the version of yourself that appears when you close your eyes, but that is no reason to remain complacent with where or who you are right now. A meaningful life results from taking risks. You have to risk failure in order to grow, develop, and achieve virtually anything.
Do not fear risk. Do not fear failure. The only thing you should fear is letting the fear you feel get the best of you. Fear wants you to be so afraid of failure that you never try in the first place. Do not let fear dictate your actions.
Make this year a time when you recognize what you want out of life and pursue it with every fiber of your being. Failures will arise, but so will a lot of success as well. The key is overcoming the doubt and fear that makes you feel as if there is no point in trying at all. You are better and more intelligent than you know. Trust in yourself and everything else will fall into place.
James Shotwell is the Marketing Director for Haulix. You can find his every thought and opinion on Twitter. If you want to hear him speak, we recommend subscribing to the Inside Music podcast.
I would hesitate before ever claiming there was too much music in the world, but sometimes I do worry over the state of the unknown talent. There was a brief window in time not all that long ago where a catchy song and a working knowledge of social media would be enough to at least land you a few blog mentions, but today’s competition is so fierce the most artists need more than that to even be considered for coverage. Most artists either need to know a music writer, know an artist music writers like to cover, or somehow create a viral smash hit that becomes so popular music writers have no choice other than to shut up and pay attention to what you’re doing. All of three of those options are harder than they seem, but they do work if you work them.
Every year a few artists manage to emerge from the underground in a way that makes everyone turn their heads. You might not ‘get it’ or enjoy what is being created, but the level of notoriety they are able to reach in an incredibly short amount of time is so immediate and overwhelming that you cannot avoid their presence. Fetty Wap did this incredibly in 2015 well while making the most of “Trap Queen”. The song’s viral success lead into a string of chart-topping singles that dominated radio and rap blogs for the majority of the year.
Remember how much you loved(then eventually hated) this song last year?
In 2016, few new artists have been as divisive upon entering the global music conversation as Canadian solo artist Lil Yachty. Some might call him a rapper, but to do so would be to set unfair expectations for his music. Yachty is not a rapper just like Adele is not necessarily a pop artist. Both Yachty and Adele are capable of being those things, and sometimes they are nothing other than that, but the extent of their artistic talent and expression has the ability to transcend those genre classifications. Like most major artists today, Yachty fall in between everything that is popular today, and in by doing so has enabled himself to do just about whatever he wants from song to song. Maybe he raps the whole time, or maybe he sings with a heavily slathering of autotune on his vocals. Anything is possible and that plays a big role in his continued success.
It’s safe to safe say Yachty has some buzzworthy friends.
Yachty recently told The New York Times, a publication he mentioned in his 2015 single “Minnesota”:
“I’m not a rapper, I’m an artist. And I’m more than an artist. I’m a brand.”
Hip-hop notables were among the first to recognize what Yachty was doing with his music. By the time Yachty’s now frequent ‘best of 2016 nominee′ mixtape release Lil Boat was the talk of the internet he had already booked a number of guest verses, including D.R.A.M.’s “Broccoli” and Charlie XCX’s woefully underrated “After Party”.
It is nearly impossible to walk away from an encounter with Yachty’s music without having an opinion. It’s intentionally polarizing. Yachty wants you to decide how you feel up front and act on it. He knows If you connect with his vibe and pursuit of endless happiness through sing-song hooks with deeply personal, yet deceptively amateur lyrics that you’ll subscribe to his social media accounts and eagerly anticipate more of his material. If you don’t then you will likely will do none of those things, but you may be so turned off that you decide to talk about Yachty on social media or some corner of the rap digital universe.
Yachy’s music is cleverly constructed to both entertain and inspire immediate reaction, which in turn creates a currently unstoppable wave of opinion, news, and conversation in a digital space that demands new content 24/7. This is no doubt a nightmare for those who are immediately turned off by his free-wheeling musical spirit , but for those who ride his wave it is a pleasant disruption in a time when music – and perhaps the world – needs more original thought and perspective than ever.
In an age where the smartest way to navigate the music business is by developing a unique sound you own without the backing of a questionable contract no one has done it better this year than the young man born Miles Parks McCollum in August of 1997*. To deny his intelligence because you do not connect with his sound is just foolish. Instead of judging or hating Yachty’s critics would be wise to learn from his moves. He’s younger than 99% of the so-called industry professionals, myself included, and he’s done more to change the way we believe artist development works in the last twelve months than anyone. He took a risk and it paid off. Whether it not he can harness it again in 2017 doesn’t really matter because his rise has made it possible for another new thinker to rise through the ranks.
The lesson here is simple: With a new year on the horizon there has never been a better time to embrace the person you always wanted to be, both as a professional and in your daily life. Be weird, and realize your idea of weird is often just a lack of familiarity. Take risks. Be bold. Commit to being yourself more than ever before, and find a way to express yourself through your creativity.
* = As someone who will be 30 in 2017 this is both inspiring and heartbreaking. A tidal wave of emotions, if you will.
James Shotwell is the Digital Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. He is also the Film Editor for Substream Magazine and the host of the Inside Music podcast. You should consider following him on Twitter.
They say that growing up means watching your heroes turn human in front of you, and I have to say that in my experience that has largely been true. There may be no more defining moment in the transition from childhood innocence to adult comprehension than when you realize your parents, just like Hulk Hogan and Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, are just people. They are important people to you, but they are still skin and bone, just like everyone else. You’re just like them, too, and you always will be.
But what about the people who are not your heroes? What does growing up say about the way you view people you may have overlooked or forgotten about altogether? Does their continued existence teach you something about the bigger picture? I think the jury is still out, or at the very least waiting for a quotable comment from someone with authority that is even half as catchy as that line about heroes turning human, but I’m here to say that sometime growing up means learning to appreciate the struggle of those you doubted.
The odds were stacked against the band known as I Set My Friends on Fire from the very beginning. A product of the Myspace era, otherwise known as first wave social media, the Florida based screamo outfit rose to viral popularity with a cover of Soulja Boy’s equally viral breakout hit, “Crank That (Soulja Boy).” The song, which you can stream below, gave the scene kids of the internet a hip-hop cover they could call their own:
“Crank That” quickly became a viral hit upon its initial release, and the strength of support the band received with their newfound fame was enough to catch the attention of Epitaph Records at a time when that label had next to nothing to do with the screamo movement or the quote/unquote ‘emo movement’ that sparked its most recent incarnation. The band signed and within a year released their first of two records for the label, You Can’t Spell Slaughter without Laughter. Critics panned the record, myself included, with many alluding to or outright hypothesizing that the band’s only reason for popularity was a fluke of the internet age not unlike that which birthed the incredibly mediocre and entirely overhyped movie Snakes on a Plane a few years prior.
These early detractors were not enough to stop I Set My Friends on Fire, and just three years later they released their second album for Epitaph, Astral Rejection. The band’s notoriety had taken several blows in the time between releases, so the album received far less critical response than its predecessor. Some claimed the record was a step in the right direction, while other said it was more of the same and that the group would soon go the way of the buffalo. Fans still didn’t seem to care however, because every night all over the planet there were a group of kids ready to watch I Set My Friends on Fire perform.
It is now 2016 and five full years have passed since I Set My Friends On Fire released an album. The group has remained active throughout this time, releasing no less than a half dozen digital singles, and they still show no signs of slowing anytime soon. In fact, just last week the band became the latest addition to the Tragic Hero Records roster, and with that announcement came the release of a new song taken from the group’s upcoming third full-length record. Check it out:
As someone who initially hated on this band for no real reason other than the fact they made something I didn’t care for, I will be the first to say that I now inspired almost daily by the continued existence of I Set My Friends On Fire. Putting aside the fact I still do not care for the majority of their material, there is no way anyone can deny the fact that this group has tapped into something the resides in the souls of countless music fans around the world. They may not play the biggest rooms or even have a place to stay while on the road, but this band can, has, and will go anywhere in the world and still find people who want to hear what they have to say. More importantly, the members of I Set My Friends On Fire have found a way to harness that support in a way that allows them to continue their careers with relatively no creative barriers whatsoever. As long as they stay true to themselves their will be an audience to support it, and even if that audience never rivals that of Bruce Springsteen or The Rolling Stones it is more than strong enough to support the band (which, really, is all that matters).
This week, take a step back from hero worship and trying to become your idols so that you may reflect on the people you doubted who found a way to succeed. They don’t have to be megastars to be someone you can learn from, they just need to showcase a drive, focus, or resiliency that you never expected them to possess. Study their ways and apply them to your own life because whether you choose to believe it or not there is probably someone on this planet right now who views you as someone who will never make it. Prove them wrong.
James Shotwell is the Digital Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. Follow him on Twitter.
I feel like musicals are one area of music that receives a great deal of hate and disrespect for no legitimate reason whatsoever. There are random hits every now and then, like Hamilton, but the vast majority of musicals are lucky if they receive one-tenth of the praise and recognition given to Lin Manuel Miranda’s hit Broadway show.
Why is this? I swear to you I have spent many sleepless nights pondering how so many can feels such a close connection to the world of musicals while so many more feel utter disdain when even the idea of such creative endeavors is mention and have come to no conclusions that feel worthy of mention here. It seems you’re either born into a world where musicals are viewed as legitimate works of art capable of conveying a great amount of story and detail through song or you’re brought up not thinking about them at all. There is very little middle ground, and if for some reason you feel you are one of those on the fence I hope this week you will give musicals, as well as musical theaters, another chance because it is probably the most incredible form of musical expression possible.
Last week I had the opportunity to attend an early press screening for Damien Chazelle’s latest film, La La Land. Set against a brilliantly imagined and ever-so-slightly different Los Angeles, the film follows two hopeless romantics (Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling) who meet just as they are both beginning to worry that their dreams will always be out of reach. The pair finds the strength to keep going in one another, but as they begin to find success in their individual endeavors their relationship is put to the ultimate test.
La La Land is a musical, but not in the classic sense. There are a handful of song and dance numbers, including an elaborate performance on a crowded freeway, but the majority of the musical moments don’t involve singing at all. Instead, the people on screen express themselves through movement, which can sometimes bend reality. It’s the kind of thing you either go with from the beginning or hate altogether and I, for one, went all in with a smile on my
The film asks two very important questions: If love is all we need to achieve our goals, then is giving up our goals in order to preserve our connection to love the smart choice? If achieving our goals means losing love, then what is the point of having those goals?
I could spend several hundred words discussing how the film does and does not answer these questions, but to do so would be to rob you of the incredibly unique experience of seeing it done firsthand without any idea what comes next. There is a feeling inherent in all musicals that anything could happen at any moment. Maybe people will stand up and sing in a diner, or maybe they will take a long hard look at their life while singing to themselves in front of a mirror. The presence of song isn’t always necessary, but it does allow for deep emotions and complex feelings to be put on display in a way that is fairly easy for most people to understand.
Expressing the human experience through song is a tradition as old as time itself. As long as we have had music there have been people working to relay their experiences on this planet to others through song, and musicals are simply the latest evolution of that experience. I would argue now is perhaps the best time to be a fan of musicals since the Golden Age of Hollywood came to an end in the early 1960s, and there is a chance it will be even better in the years to come. La La Land is just one great example of how the genre is still able to encapsulate the feeling of being human like no other medium, but there are many recent releases to choose from. Sing Street, which was released in mid-2016, accomplishes a similar feat while playing to those who have never lost their love of the 1980s. Check it out:
Looks pretty good, right? The movie is actually great, and again it’s just one of many recent musicals to be made available to audiences around the globe.
This week, take a break from your Spotify playlists and give a few cast recordings your time instead. I don’t care if you pick a serious show or something silly, just make time to lose yourself in a world of song that is similar, but ultimately far more free than our own. Your soul will thank you.
James Shotwell is the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. He is also the Film Editor for Substream Magazine and host of the Inside Music podcast. You should follow him on Twitter.
November 2016 will go down in history as a month that began by dividing our country in a way we haven’t seen in recent years. Regardless of where you stand with politics I think it is safe to say everyone is ready for an escape. We are all hoping for the best while simultaneously wishing we could disengage from it all and take five minutes to ourselves. We need it as much as we deserve, but as much as the current political climate has left many feeling their way of life has been threatened time continues to march on. Offices, stores, schools, restaurants, factories, and all other industries, services, agencies, etc are still operating more or less as usual. We have to think about the big picture while maintaining the minutia of day to day existence and it’s all we can do to not collapse from exhaustion or hide in our beds until we’re a bit closer to Thanksgiving.
You’ve read the title of this piece so I’m going to assume you know where this is all headed, but earlier this week iconic boy (now man?) band New Kids On The Block announced plans for a 2017 tour with support from popstar turned American Idol reality show personality Paula Abdul and 90s RnB sensations Boys II Men. Dubbed ‘The Total Package,’ this tour will find the five-piece pop group playing sold out and near-capacity arenas all over the country to a wide demographic of people and I’m here to urge you to not hesitate on buying tickets now to see them for yourself.
To be clear, this is not a paid advertisement. I have no ties to NKOTB or their team (even though I would LOVE to).
I was born in 1987 and, like many of you reading this now, spent the majority of my life knowing next to nothing about New Kids On The Block. They were a boy band for a generation before my time, and when I was in the target demo for that particular genre groups like Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC were the names everyone was talking about. This was a time back before social media when most young people had to hope their family could afford basic cable in order to catch Total Request Live with Carson Daly on MTV every day after school if they wanted to know anything about what was happening in music. I loved those groups and in many ways I still do, but I never had the chance to see them when they were in their prime. The world of pop music was something that existed solely on TV and radio, which was more than enough for me.
When I entered college and found myself dedicating more and more time to music journalism the boy band craze of the late 90s had long gone the way of the buffalo. One Direction had yet to spark the third wave of boy band domination, and to be honest my interest in music had largely turned to the world of alternative rock, metal, and punk. I attended hundreds of concerts every year throughout college, and through doing so I was able to see a wide array of artists multiple times at different points in their development as performers. Some of the shows were downright amazing, offering moments that will never happen again in any other place on Earth, but the vast majority were good to perfectly fine. Everyone performed their songs admirably and people went home feeling good about how they spent their money. This is what we all look for in live performances, and let me tell you – it’s easy to find.
In 2015, after nearly a decade of entertainment writing and countless concerts, I began purposely pursuing performances from artists I had never previously considered seeing. I realized I had made a living writing about a handful of very specific music communities, but had largely never thought to experience what life was like for people in other corners of music fandom. I had never been to a top 40 pop concert, nor had I seen a chart-topping country artist play an arena sized venue. I had also spent very little time in jazz clubs (which are sadly, but unsurprisingly hard to find today) or underground rap shows. I had missed a world of events and overlooked a variety of unique communities because I was too focused on seeing everything one specific sound had to offer, and to be completely honest I – not to mention my wife to be – was burned out.
That’s when we made a simple decision. We decided to spend the year experiencing music communities that were largely new to us. This meant we would miss many of our favorite artists when they were in town, but we had hoped it would be a worthwhile exchange and that ultimately proved to be true. There are many reasons why this came about, but one show in particular still comes up regularly in conversation: The night we bought last minute tickets to see New Kids On The Block play Boston’s TD Garden with direct support from TLC and an opening performance from Nelly. It was called ‘The Main Event,’ and that title was in no way misleading.
Having grown up in a world where Nelly and TLC were household names, the collective excitement my wife and I had for their sets was about as high as you’d expect. Both acts ran through their radio hits, and in between each song someone would make some remark about needing to raise the energy or “set it off” before the headliners hit the stage. There were dancers, bright lights, and all the bass anyone could handle. It was a strong start to a night we had no idea would only get better from there.
To be clear, when we walked into TD Garden that night my wife and I only really loved one song from New Kids On The Block, and we weren’t sure if it would make the setlist. The song in question is a more recent release from the group, and it continues to be one of our favorite songs to this day:
Pretty great, right? This song should have been the biggest single of the season when it was released, but I think radio still holds a prejudice against pop stars over the age of 30.
Back to the show — the moments right before NKOTB took the stage were all we needed to realize that something special was about to unfold. Video monitors played a parody of the hit TV show Blue Bloods, which stars member Donnie Wahlberg, where he chased a suspect played by Method Man onto the roof of a building. During their confrontation, Method Man’s character realized the cop chasing him was from NKOTB, and from there laughs were born. It was a simple setup, but it went a long way towards helping outsiders to the world of NKOTB realize what lied in store. The men of the group may be icons in the industry, but they still have a sense of humor about the fact they’re reaching middle age and are still making money by performing songs that sang as teenagers.
As soon as the clip ended the lights dropped in the arena and an announcer came on to introduce the group as if they were boxers entering an arena. One by one the members took the stage in boxing robes with hoods up, but once the first song kicked in they tore off their outfits to reveal completely different costumes that allowed for far greater mobility. The fans, ranging from children to men and women well into their 50s, went wild. The screams overtook the music for a few moments, then subsided to a slightly quieter roar that never really let up.
I had no idea what song was being performed while all this was happening, but it really didn’t matter. As soon as the lights came up and NKOTB were revealed in full a rush of energy filled the room and continued to build throughout the night. The setlist leaned heavily on the group’s biggest (aka oldest) hits, but there was still plenty of room for more recent recordings as well. Every three or four songs there were also costume changes, which were accompanied by pre-recorded skits that were shown on screens throughout the arena. One featured a ‘dressing room’ camera and found the guys dancing around while changing from street clothes to three-piece suits. It was silly and a little weird, but above all it was entertaining.
My wife and I had expected to give NKOTB a chance to amuse us before leaving, but by the time the first few songs were over we had already been converted into fans of the group. It didn’t matter that the 80s were almost three decades behind us because what was unfolding in front of our eyes – and the music that brought it to life – was absolutely incredible. If I have attended one-thousand concerts in my time on this planet I would still place this performance in the top 5 of all-time. To say otherwise would be to deny what I know in my heart to be true.
James Shotwell is the Digital Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. He is also the Film Editor for Substream Magazine and host of the Inside Music Podcast.
There comes a time in every twenty-something’s life when they must face the realization that the songs they relied on to get them through earlier years no longer possess the ability to cure modern stresses. The life of a young adult in America today is one that does not need gratuitous amounts of broken hearted anthems or songs about road trips you can no longer afford to take. What people need today is something far more personal and grounded in the reality of our times. That might not sound nearly as fun as the pure escapism the bands of our youth aimed to provide, but I would argue you the only reason you feel that might be true is because you have yet to spend time with a band that really knows how to touch on the things that keep you up at night. Such artists and groups do exist, and one of them by the name of You Blew It! (YBI) has a new album arriving in stores later this week.
Abendrot refers to the atmospheric phenomena accompanying the daily disappearance of the sun. It also happens to be the title of You Blew It!’s latest album, which finds the emo Florida natives growing right in time with their audience. The record rises and falls with themes of growing older, reflection, and that ever-present sense of longing every creatively inclined individual feels burning in the pit of their stomach. I am not a member of the band and have yet to speak with them about it, but when I hear the record I it perfectly encapsulates everything I have felt as I’ve slowly, but all too quickly transitioned into the latter half of my twenties. This isn’t an album about finding yourself as much as it accepting the person you discovered yourself to be and finding the strength to make changes where you feel they are needed.
When you were young you probably heard one or many people say that you can be anything you want in life. While it is true that we are all capable of aspiring to heights we have not yet reached it is a bit misleading to pretend that everyone will ultimately become the people they see themselves being while they are still young. In some cases, this is a good thing – great even – because the people we become are better than the vision of ourselves we have carried with us. In other cases, the people we become may fall short of our personal expectations or goals. As much as we’re told to aim high we are given very few lessons on what to do or how to behave in the event things do not turn out the way we see them in our heads. The struggle between who we see ourselves as and who we really are kicks into high gear just as the music and experiences of our youth begins to change. We need new soundtracks because we are new people, and there are very few artists working today who are able to capture the eternal lightness of youth while also addressing the woes of the present quite like You Blew It!
James Shotwell is the Digital Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. He is also the Film Editor for Substream Magazine and the host of Inside Music Podcast. Follow him on Twitter for pop culture references and photos of his french bulldog.
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.
Every year we are blessed with one or two records that offer us a sign of where things may be headed in the best possible way. You know the kind of release I’m talking about and the types of bands capable of creating such releases. These are the artists who find a way to make a large number of people feel as if their life was somehow incomplete before their music came into existence, and they often encapsulate very specific periods in our life. They may manage to do it again and again with future releases, but none of that matters because this release is good in that way you wish everything were good, and I have a feeling you’ll be feeling this way about the new record from Waterparks when it arrives this Friday.
If I have learned anything about the difference between artists destined for stardom and those almost certain to fail it’s that those who eventually find success tend to have studied those who came before them. A lot of things change in this industry, but just as many stay the same. The key to making your mark as an artist or professional is to build on what has worked for others while simultaneously giving things your own personal spin. Waterparks borrow ideas and maybe one or two chord progressions from their pop-punk heroes to create an immediately infectious take on hopeless romantic rock songs that simply do not know how to quit. Just give their album opener a spin and see if you don’t understand what I am trying to express:
“I was bitter, but I’m fine now” might as well be the motto of the current generation of teens and twenty-somethings currently searching for their place in the world. We all like to think the world is out to get us, but even when we realize that is not true the path to happiness is one riddled with pitfalls that can catch anyone off guard. The only way to keep sane in this crazy thing called reality is to express yourself and align your journey with others you believe to share a similar perspective on life. Maybe your connection lasts a night or a lifetime, but regardless of its longevity at least you can experience the power of two passionate hearts coming together in hopes of finding a little peace amidst the chaos of day-to-day life. That is the kind of thing the music of Waterparks personifies, and it plays like a jolt of pure energy to your system when their work hits your ears.
Positive progression for a genre or business is rarely the work of one person. Progress is something that happens very slowly at first and then all at once, switching just as the numerous contributions from all the creative people working to better their own corner of the music go from being unique ideas to industry standards. I don’t know when the culture will shift so that the ideas and themes of Waterparks’ music become something every band in their genre attempts to emulate, but when you listen to the band’s new album you get the feeling that change is not far away. With a little luck and a lot of support from their dedicated followers, Waterparks could easily be the next big thing by the time next year, if not sooner.
With this in mind, I want to urge you to head into this week looking for an opportunity to make your mark on whatever it is you do to keep a roof over your head and food in your stomach. Even if your current career or job is not something you want for the rest of your life, find a way to change the day-to-day workflow for the better and set to sharing your solution with those around you. Some may think your crazy at first, and you may even feel a little push back from peers who are set in their ways, but if you can find a way to make people feel their lives are somehow better or easier because of your creativity you will see your professional life boom in the months ahead. All it takes is one idea. One simple, perhaps already obvious change could be your ticket to the career and success you know you were meant to achieve, and the only thing preventing you from getting their is yourself. Shake off your fears and try something new. If you fail, oh well, but if you succeed life may never be the same.
James Shotwell is the Digital Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. He is also the Film Editor for Substream Magazine and 10-year music writing veteran. You should follow him on Twitter.
