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Sunday, January 29, 2006

Road Signs and Rock Songs

My first Tabulatas entry and I have yet to set this thing up yet. Not to say that I don't believe this service is great. It most certainly is one of the best designed free blogging sites out there (I was not paid to say that =P). Anyway, the reason why I'm using this is we because my other blog is down T_T. Since my thoughts need to be conveyed immediately, and it is about a particularly good topic, I've decided to make this my first Tabulatas entry as well. So, fair enough right?

*The following are most of the performances in the concert and primarily the ones I actually liked and cared to take pictures of. I used to have them all with captions, but something happened and I got lazy to do it over, so yeah sorry no caps for now (or maybe ever--at least for this post), but they're more or less in order of appearance.

Now for my entry. Last night we went to see the Pi Kappa Phi and CSC Battle of the Bands. ALL proceeds went to PUSH America. Special guest performers were Kris and John of the Ataris and boy was it an awesome set indeed. There were five bands battling total with about two intermissions between each set. Each band played about 5 songs. The battle started at 7pm and ended at 11:30pm. Shortly after the awarding ceremony here came Kris and John of the Ataris and played about eight songs or so. Needless to say Eric was extatic and keeping his cool chocking back the invisible tears while hearing and seeing his mentor Kris Roe playing a few feet away with his accoustic gutar angsty and emo as ever.

First to play was Free Rob G, fellow bruins. They were good, but still amateurish. They need more range and distortion and energy to keep me from falling asleep. Hey I'm all for Bruin pride and all, but I would have to say they were my least favorite. They weren't bad, they just lacked "oomph". That was followed shortly by performances by the spring sing champ of 2005 Willie (I'll check the name later, sorry I forgot!). He looks bascally like your typical/stereotypical math/southcampus, engineering nerd with blonde hair, white collard button down shirt, glasses and khaki pants. Not that there's anything wrong with that. BUT he's not exactly the spitting image of your every day rocker god. However, this guy can freaking sing and play a helluva good guitar. Quite amusing to see. It's kind of like "whoa where did that come from?" kind of thing once he plays. So his performace was refreshing. That was followed by a Rapper someone who sang about "Mary Jane" and getting high and using up all his money on "mary Jane" and wouldn't mind doing it again even though it screwed him over...ANYWAY. I think they only thing that kept people from booing him off stage was their amusement and disbelief that this guy was actually here performing and singing before their eyes. Maybe they were amused by the insightful and thoughtful lyrics of the song? Whatever it was, your guess is as good as mine. Too bad I don't have a clip or picture of the performance. He's on the dating pedophile promoting MySpace, so you can find out about the guy there.

The next performer was Papermodels. They were alot better the Free Rob G. Reminded me a bit of Coheed and Cambria. Maybe cause of the front man's voice. He had a normal voice talking and then all of a sudden had that repressed high pitched scream/squeal we all are familiar with from Coheed. Acts that followed were Mikey G & Dan fron Danville (er I think they followed but I could be wrong, but I'll check my camera to make sure). dang those guys are freaking awesome. I'll definitely come watch when they play around LA. hehe and it helps that both Mikey and Dan are cute :o Then all of a sudden there was the ACA Hip-hop crew that I didn't bother to watch cause their performance was in the middle of the Ackerman Grand Ballroom and we were up near the stage. As the people fled to the center, the hardcore and dedicated fans (including us) took that as our cue to move forward nearer to the Ataris. Each dispersing group gave way to an increasing chance of getting that great accousitc intimate rock vibe we all crave for. We made it to the 15-20ft mark from the stage. And in a school filled with about 35% Asians, you'd be surprised how many white people suddenly decided to pop up in the front with their backs happily stairing me into the face blocking every short person behing them. All of a sudden the crowed in front of me grew a foot. Luckily we weren't at Pepperdine where most of the students were 7ft surfer freaks.

One thing I was pretty amusing was how mellow the crowed was. Sheryl commented that this was the most well behaved concert she's ever been in. Take note that we're at UCLA. People actually study here and don't want to risk getting kicked out of school or getting hurt to miss an early morning class the next day. Despite it being a Wednesday though, there was a good turnout. You could tell who had class the next day though. Some people reluctantly left at around 11:30 and some even prior to that, most likely because of classes. *sigh* such dilligent students they are. Pity we lacked energy due to up comming midterns (2nd week of Feb). Above is the Acapella groups of UCLA. Now that was an fun group. They were composed of abou 15 men and women. They sang about 3 or 4 songs. The last being a rendition of Like a Prayer tribute to Madonna for their finale. The girls really got into it ^^.

Er I dont remember who performed next in terms of entertainment. Forgive me for this pathetic patchy update. I'll fix it soon enough when I get home. I was partly tired of standing for 5 hrs, hungry and worried about driving for 2 hrs home.. I believe it was a duet guitar accoustic act. They didn't leave much of an impression, unfortunately, but you can check my old entry to see the line-up of performers (Sorry no pictures. Anyway the next band was Hopefield...one of my favorites. They are an awesome band. And, although the lead singer doesn't have the look for it (personally speaking) he has a good voice. Great energy. They must get signed. Check out their website via that whore induced MySpace. I would have bought their album after the show, but dude it was late, I was tired, and I needed to get home. No worries, if they play again, I'll get em ^^. Notice I have quite a few pictures here. :D

Next band to perform was my favorite, although they are closely tied to Hopefield. Unfortunately I have mostly video and no decent shots uploaded, but I'll get to posting at least one eventually. Faulter...great energy and some dancing up in front (by the fans). Would have bought their album if I had the time and energy. They're from OC and not exactly very flashy in terms of on stage performance (lead vocalist needs to shape up and wear something that doesn't wash him out and make him blend in the bg). Musically, they sounded really great. Very professional. I hope they get signed by a good label soon.

Next band was Aviatic. They were older, kind of professional. The guys liked them more than faulter, I thought their music made me sleepy and the lead singer looked like Jerry Sienfeld esp with his stock broker getup. You're not belibening to me? You wats!

Anyway Faulter won after the decibel meter proved that girls can indeed scream higher =P. Okay so I'm kind of scattered and long winded and lost my train of thought there, but you try standing for over five hours and then driving home on the PCH at 1am. In the end, after a bit of a detour (case of the munchies), we got home a little before 2. Great times, ran out of battery for my camera (first time that ever happened to my Canon Power Shot SD500), but I still have some good footage. Too bad I didn't catch all of Kris and John (ataris) accoustic shots. But man, it was an awesome show. Over eight songs and they played till 12mn and stayed with their fans thereafter. Awesome indeed. I'll definitely catch them the second time around. As a closing thought "San Dimas High School Football rules!" they definitely do. :)

Okay now before the dessert, I can't remeber when they played, but my personal favorite entertainment act (and the one I was waiting for) was that of Mikey G and Dan from Danville. They are, but of course UCLA natives and they play a mean set. I couldn't see Mikey G (Michael Garner) very well, so I have mostlyshots of Dan (Daniel Chen). Both play really good guitar and have equally good voices. Their songs are refreshing. Nothing too new, but certainly a change from the music scene we hear in the main stream. I can't wait till they finally release their album. I want that logo on my shirt!

Next performer was uh I think that one ucla basketball dude. Don't be fooled by my description of "basketball dude" this guy has amazing skills and probably too much time on his hands. He's not part of the UCLA basketball team, but man he's a one-man show Asian Globe trotter to the umpth power. I think I have some pictures. But most likely video clips. I'll upload them probably for your viewing pleasure. Hopefully the audio isn't all noisy. Since I don't have that clip ready for upload, here's the act most everyone was waiting for.

Yes it is the Ataris, or at least two of them. Singer, writer, rhythm guitar himself Kristopher Roe and good friend and Back-up singer, writer, guitar John Collura. After some tinkering with the audio and settings on stage, they did their magic and no one was disappointed. They did an awesom live act, very intimate. The set was composed with about eight to ten songs total along with a few songs from their new up comming album Welcome the Night due late March early April (possibly later than earlier...Sony/Columbia is being an ass). In the end, we left in a satisfied daze and numb legs. Got home at almost 2am, but it was totally worth it.

Wednesday, January 25, 2006

Concert's today. Wonder if we'll have time to eat before the show starts o.o. I feel like Mediterranean food :D Anyway, heard they'll be giving out some stuff. Hopefully we won't get stuck in traffic and have to wait in line with the hoards of rock crazy people. Weee I'm taking a lot of pictures and video. I hope I don't run of memory card. I have 1.5 Gigs. I hope that's enough ^^. I ran out during the JEW concert T_T.

See y'all in Westwood...

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

The most wonderful time of the year

Yes it's that time of the year again. Well the deadline is April 15, but once Jan 1st hits, all is fair game. Got your W2s? I don't have mine yet actually, but I already started preparing my ferderal and state income tax returns. I don't particularly like tax season, but I do like getting the refunds, and since I have zero claim, I get back a good amount of moolah ^_^.

Aside from e-filing, I also found that if you go to the IRS website, the federal government has links to approved agencies that offer free file yes you read right free. So, if your AGI is less than $50k, then you qualify. I'm testing it out. For my pennies, I take any free whatever decent service they've got (=_=). I have Turbo Tax at home and I had no problems with it for my tax returns anyway, but dude, you have to upgrade every year and deal with installing and crap. I used to file with paper, but e-filing allows my refunds to get here faster =P. Plus I don't like using their pay per use online thing. It's so not worth it. Since I don't make much anyway, I'm testing this online free filing. I shouldn't have much trouble with it. We'll see how fast my refund goes through. I know it's available for federal. I don't know if that applies to state tax. Anyways, those of you who make pennies like me, take advantage of it. Let me know how it goes ^_^

Sunday, January 22, 2006

Give Me Space

After finishing this post I've decided to put a bit of a briefing. I will remind you that you came here on your own. These are my private thoughts and whatever you read are my feelings at the time, pure and unadulterated. If you take offense I'm sorry as it was not my intent. If you think I'm directing this to you, then that's up to you to decide. I will never tell you if you ask. I never asked you to read this. Regardless, this is how I feel, so if you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen.

Now back to your regularly scheduled program...

Ah sometimes I don't know why some people just don't want to leave me alone! Left and right I feel like people are just bugging the hell out of me. I just want to lock myself up and cut off all forms of contact. I need my peace, I need my space and I need my time to myself! Some people need to be around others all the time. Some need to be in close proximity with others all the time. In my case, I can only be with one person at a time and feel comfortable. One person that I am close to. I can give my full attention and I don't have to worry about anything else. I like working on on a more personal level. Quality over quantity I always say.

Spoken like a complete social recluse, I really do hate crowds. I mean concerts are okay, because we share the same taste in music, so we have something in common. In generalm however, I find them troublesome, suffocating and uncomfortable. I need my personal space--four feet at least. When I begin to feel like there are too many people vying for my attention, my initial response is to break away and close myself off.

I like people. I really do. I guess that's why psychology appealed so much to me. Focusing on the individual and accepting that people, despite general similarities, have many unique traits and experiences that affect who they are. I'm always surprised to find those who are incapable of understanding this, or those who hear about it find the idea more astonishing than intuitive.

I don't know why I feel so suffocated around people, especially those who are attention needy. It really gets on my nerves. What makes it even worse is that there are some who don't really get it no matter how many times you tell them (or show them) you want to be left alone. Ah I don't know...Maybe it wouldn't be this way if I really liked them. That's what my mom told me anyway. Who knows. She might be right. I do like my friends though. They're really awesome people. Maybe I don't like them enough? I hope that's not it. But that fact of the matter is my phone rang several times today and each time it did I didn't like it. I cringe each time I hear my phone ring. It seems to welcome uncomfortable situations and I've associated it as such. That is not to say that all my phone conversations have been bad. Most have been quite nice. I just don't like unnecessary talk on the phone. It ties you down and makes you unproductive and you can't do anything else while you're on. Then there are people who seem to be the completely dense and can't pick up on your subtle hints that you are tired and want to hang up. Talking on the phone isn't my only beef. Everytime any one of my friends wishes to see me or meet up, I end up cringing and thinking to myself how much of a hassle it will be. I end up dreading the whole experience up to the point of actually engaging in whatever activity we have planned. Usually I enjoy myself, but it's usually at a cost in one way or another. There's always a catch to happiness. That may be the reason why it's so easy for me to just avoid it all together. I'm such a bad person aren't I? I wonder if this is how I've always been?

Tomorrow I'll have my release working with the kids. I'll be part of a team and I won't have to worry too much about all the unwanted attention for a few hours. Honestly, it feels as if I have no safe haven anymore. No place is sacred. It's not that I don't like being around others. In fact I like attention as well, but I think in moderation and the right kind. I think it's more like I can't be around people where I can't be myself without question, without pretense and without apologies. I realize that in almost every case, we change according to who we're with ever so slightly, but I think I'm most "myself" when I'm at home. Home is right and it makes me feel comfortable. Maybe that's why I prefer to be home versus going out and "having fun". There's no one to watch over, no one to impress, no one to be conscious of. It's just you and the people you've known since you were born. They know your bad habits, your flaws, your peeves. They don't question or make fun of the things that matter...

And all this rambling has come about due to a bunch of calls and emails...

Friday, January 6, 2006

Vivienne Westwood, 35 Years in Fashion

For all you fashionistas and art enthusiasts out there who plan on going to Tokyo in the next few days, there will be an exibition of the very talented designer Ms. Vivienne Westwood at the Mori Arts Center Gallery till Jan 15th.

I think this is a must see since there will be some exhibits of her private collection. Anyone who knows fashion knows this extreme fasion giant. It should not be missed. Those of you unfamiliar with Ms. Westwoods eccentric and very boundary pushing style may be familiar with the Famous manga NANA by Ai Yazawa (Paradise Kiss) which showcase and reference to many Vivienne Westwood styles and creations.

For more information about the event, click here.

Pi Kappa Phi: Battle of the Bands Fund Raiser with The Ataris

Jan 25 at the Ackerman Grandballroom, Pi Kappa Phi fraternity, in cooperation with CSC (Community Service Comission) is having a Battle of the Bands to benefit Push America (raises money and awareness for those with disabilities).

Show your Bruinpride, rocker status, Ataris fandom and or philanthrophic side and checkout the show! Tickets are now available via CTO for UCLA students and Ticketmaster for the rest of ya folks. Presale is $12 and $15 ATD.

Good people, great music, great show for a wonderful cause. Come and watch!

Special Guest performers Kris Roe and John Collura of The Ataris will be performing an accoustic set XD.

Bands competing: