A Brief History of My Bands

I don't know if any of you care, but I wanted to write about this. I mean, I'm starting to work on a project about a band, so I think I'm just trying to jog my memory about playing in bands, writing songs, and all that.

So here you go.

My first band, of course, was Autumn Poetry. I started playing guitar (I didn't own one, so I borrowed my friends' guitars...all of our equipment was borrowed, and we ran into some bumpiness in our friendships because of it). I didn't sing at first. First, we got our friend Aaron, who turned out to suck at singing, and who turned out to not be as serious as we wanted him to be (At our first show, he showed up hours late, right before the show started, and it wasn't long after that show in the front room of our house, that we kicked him out (or he quit, or something)). I have pictures of him in the band, but I'll have to find them.

We wrote songs vigorously. Our older friend, the reason we wanted to start bands and the reason we realized we could, told us we wrote songs too fast, told us to not be so serious about our music. But we couldn't help it. We loved it!

Originally, we were called just Autumn, but there are so many bands with that name, so we put Poetis (I think) on the end of it, 'cause it was foreign, and there's a Sunny Day Real Estate song, where Enigk sings in Greek...I think it's Greek. Maybe not. Whatever, this is like 13 years ago. Anyway, that was stupid, so we changed our name to Autumn Poetry. (And as a joke, on one flyer, our friends wrote Autumn Burritos, which pissed us off so much. We were furious and ended up not talking to them for a while). We didn't realize how BAD Autumn Poetry was. Though, years went by and we never changed it. Why? I don't know. We were afraid that people wouldn't remember us. That was stupid, because we were so tiny. Our biggest fan base with in Fresno, or So. Cal. and we were trying to make it in Seattle. But whatever, we never changed our name, not till we broke up, and changed it to We are the Parade. But it was a lost cause. Two big indies and one major wasn't interested in our song. I think our songs were good, but a lot of the lyrics were so bad that we just couldn't sink it. I'll admit, I wrote the lyrics, and even when I wanted to change them, no one else thought it was a good idea. We wanted to ride out what we had going. I'm still proud of those songs, I just wish we would've bitten the bullet and revises most of our lyrics. Of course, there are those classics that we wouldn't've changed, but nonetheless, a majority of the lyrics would've been completely different.

I started playing drums after our original drummer, Bennett Park (great drummer, great man), moved to Berkeley to go to school (still going), and every replacement we got, sucked. So, I let Caleb sing, put the guitar down, and started playing. I remember the first show I played drums. We were going to play a show in Tacoma and our drummer quit, right before the show (we had one drummer who quit on the way to the show, but still played it. It was pretty awful). So, I took the drums, set it up, and played. I basically, just kept time, and let Caleb make most of the noise. Considering, it turned out OK. I started practicing all the time, and eventually, we wrote our Autumn songs to be fairly simple, but with cool patterns, so that I could beat the shit out of the drums, and we could rock when we played.

First line up: Aaron (vocals), Travis (bass/guitar), Bennett (drums), Caleb (guitar, yells, feedback), Joshua (vocals/guitar/bass)

Second line up: Travis, Bennett Caleb, Joshua (same)

Second.five line up: Numerous drummers.

Third line up: Travis, Jeremy (Drums), Caleb, Joshua

Fourth line up: Joshua and Caleb (Jeremy played drums on half our record/Greg, from Kilmer, played bass)

Fifth line up: Joshua (drums), Caleb, Kevin (bass) (who we were playing with in a band called the Hopeful) Carrie (Rhodes Piano)

Sixth line up: Joshua, Caleb, Kevin, Lacey (Rhodes keyboard...she joined us on a Winter tour, after Carrie quit mid-tour...we were all fighting a lot. Carrie called Lacey a bitch, Kevin, who was pissed at Carrie, told Lacey and Caleb. Caleb choked me in front of the Castle in Disneyland. That night the band broke up. The next day, Carrie flew home. Then the band finished the tour, thanks to Lacey learning all the parts, while Kevin and I were in Santa Rosa drinking with the Polar Bears at a New Years Eve party)

Seventh line up: Joshua, Caleb, Kevin, Lacey, Chad (guitar) (I had started booking for Chad's band Never Again. He started playing on a couple songs, and eventually, he became permanant, much to Kevin's un-happiness).

Eighth line up: Joshua, Caleb, Chad (bass) , Lacey. (Kevin had quit as were were finishing up our full-length. Chad slid right into playing bass).

We broke up in the Horseshoe cafe, discussing our options. Tooth & Nail seemed interested, but then decided not to pursue us. Militia Group really liked our record, but thought that we weren't pop-punk enough to sign at the moment. He said, "We just signed the Appleseed Cast. They don't sell like pop-punk. So, sorry. We signed the only non-pop-punk band we can sign right now." OK. He didn't say this verbatim. But our contact relayed this to us. And finally, a friend tried to get this to his manager and major label, but it turned out to go nowhere. So that was it. Our last show was a house show in our friends' house, with our friends' bands, and we played three songs, before the cops shut us down. That, and we played someone's wedding as a favor. It was weird watching a bride and groom sing along to our tunes.

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THE HOPEFUL - Was a band for Caleb's songs. Brian from Kilmer played lead guitar, Kevin played bass, I played drums (this is around the time, I started playing in Autumn. I think these practices helped me become a better drummer for AP). We practiced in Brian's garage once a week and played only one show, at the Woodinville YMCA Youth Center, which is actually two blocks from where I live now. I jogged by in and though t about that show. I wore a red scarf as I played. Caleb just recorded a handful of song, many of them from the Hopeful days. The record is almost done. It's really good. Sometimes, the songs get stuck in my head. Sometimes, I hate that.

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Oh, Paper Airplanes. A girl broke my heart and I wrote songs about it. Truth is, a lot of the songs were already written, so I just pretended they were about a girl. I thought it was a poetic thing to do. Now, I guess it just makes me look like an idiot. In the background, is Matt. He played keyboards and programmed my beats. I tried to keep him in the band, but his rhythm and timing were awful. His beats were cool, though, and on our first record, we used his as the skeletons for the ones we finalized. He came and sang on the record with me (background yells), but he had left/I had asked him not to play anymore. I was a little mean to him. That picture is of me looking back at him and saying, "Stop playing," because he was way off and it was messing me up. I still apologize to him about that moment. Next time I see him, I'll apologize. He was a great band mate and a good friend, regardless of his political views. Haha. I have two records I recorded with this band. I released neither. Once again, lyrics kinda suck (but some are better than AP), but the songs are pretty good. I might go back to the well, when I make another record. Re-vitalize them, change them, rewrite many of the words. This is the band where I decided you didn't need a bridge to make a decent song. Just a verse and a chorus and a louder chorus at the end. I played my last show opening for Mount Eerie and the 1am Radio at the VU at Western. I sang a song about that girl who broke my heart, and I'm told, when she heard the song, she started crying and ran out. Awesome. But not really.

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This picture is in Seattle, outside the new Paradox in Ballard. We hadn't even recorded anything yet. We were still just an idea, just pieces of sections (oh yeah, we called songs, sections, because we would only write small pieces/sections of songs, and most of our sets were ad-lib/improv).

I remember the first time we jammed. It was before an Never Again practice. We just started playing shit. It was cool. I said, "We should do this." Chad said, "Yeah, this is cool." Or something like that.

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I was gonna start an Explosions in the Sky type band with this guy, and we jammed in his room a couple times, but nothing ever came of it. Too bad. It would've been a blast, especially if he kept that mustache. Sexy and so hip.

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Wendelin joined The Braille Tapes, 'cause we love his drumming. He was in In Praise of Folly and Members Of. We recruited him to play on a couple tracks on F-Bomb, but those couple tracks, became more. On our first tour with him, he played only half the set, and he was supposed to do that for the entirety of his tenure in the band, but when we started writing Robot Meat is Murder, it just made more sense for him to play drums and Chad to play bass, because I was showing everyone the songs I wrote.

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Then Drew joined, played a few shows with us and Wendelin (also of In Praise of Folly and Members Of). We thought, he would become a staple, but that sort of fizzled out when his new band with Wendelin, Rooftops, started getting attention. Wendelin stuck it out with us. And we were glad, 'cause he's probably the best drummer I ever played with. He makes me look bad.

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Then, while writing Robot Meat, my brother joined the band. He's always had a knack for writing coolest secondary/lead parts that don't sound like a guitarist wanking away, but accompany the music. It was pretty cool having him in the band. Though, he couldn't understand my distaste for touring, my distaste for long recording session. I guess, looking back, I was just burnt out. I miss playing. I miss writing songs and showing them to bands. I miss playing shows. I miss those drives to Seattle for shows. I miss standing in the back of a club after a set, steaming, talking about the set, making jokes, looking at my band-mates, and thinking, "These guys are amazing." It's weird thinking about ever playing music with anyone else. I learned how to play music with these guys, I learned how to write a good song, how to sing, how to make a melody, how to record a record.

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There are bands I didn't write about. All of them short-lived: Ian (me caleb and some ass-hole. We played two awful shows.) Oden (I played drums, Travis and some other dude. Butt-rock, but not cool. They started doing drugs, a lot. Plus the music sucked) Magician's Newphew (Me, Matt, and Travis. We wrote one song. It sucked. We just stuck with Autumn) Southern Gospel Revival (I wasn't in this band, but I wanted to be. Caleb, Jeremy Vincent-our pastors song, and Travis on drum. They sounded like a bad version of 764-Hero and Blenderhead. Though, they had their moments. I really wanted to be in this band. And was crushed when they wouldn't let me. Jeremy was the lead singer of Wink and Silas, both local bands who almost signed with Tooth & Nail) I think I was in a band with Kevin that didn't go anywhere.

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Right now, I'm writing songs for that big project I wrote about the other post. THE MISSION TAPES. It's weird. I'm going to write the songs, then tear them apart and place them in a decade. I'll have to research (listen to bands of the time and learn HOW they played drums, guitars, keyboards, bass, etc. How they made melodies). I have to learn about how they recorded, and tell our producer. But it's fun writing for someone again. Truth is, I'll probably just recruit The Braille Tapes for the band. But we'll see.

Still submitting

I just finished another draft of The Story Thief and sent it to an agent.

I've sent out a ton (I told Ian close to 100) query letters: Presses, agents, etc. I've gotten a ton of rejections and a ton of no responses. On a random search on a website I will not mention due to the fact that I just went through a fucked up editorial experience with them, I found a link to this agent. So, I made another query letter and sent it out...I didn't expect anything, but one day later she responded. "Yes, I would love to review your manuscript." Thank you, Kate Trueblood, for teaching me how to write a decent query letter. So, yeah, it's not an acceptance or anything, but it's still a response. I'm stoked.

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Anyway, I'm gonna blog on our other blog sometime today.

Later,

Joshua

NOVEMBER NOVEMBER NOVEMEBER

I love this photo! This was The Braille Tapes last bar show. This line up is pretty close the the final line up in Autumn Poetry. Minus Wendelin and plus Lacey. Only I drummed and Lacey played keyboards. I'm not sure if Autumn Poetry ever played in this bar. In fact, we barely played in Bellingham. We played very few bar shows, a handful of WWU shows, and a ton of house shows. While BT played anywhere and everywhere, but mostly bars. That guitar I'm strumming isn't mine. It's Chad's (his first guitar, got it when he played git-tar in the jazz band at Snohomish HS), and he would never part with it. If I buy another guitar (currently, all I have is Emily's) it will be that guitar. I mean not that exact guitar, but the same model and everything. OH, I miss it. You know what else I miss? Playing drums. It's been 17 months since I've played drums. I wonder if I still got it...

I've been itch to get behind the kit, and also, to plug in. I've been writing songs for this fiction band called Mission. The songs kind of sound Braille Tape-ish, but my plan is to Baroque them up a bit. Throw some Piano and Harpsichord in there, everything in a back-beat, but sloppy. I want these songs to sound "ahead of their time" but from the late 70s. I've been enlisting people in this project. So far, I have filmmakers, photographers, musicians, me (doing a big chuck), some possible poets, and I may be asking some of my friends (hint, hint) to contribute. Sorry, it's vague right now, but it's still in the germination stage, and it won't be years till I really start buckling down on making this happen. All I know is that there will be fiction, faux-reviews, a faux-documentary, poems, photos, album artwork, fiction (maybe different accounts), and a record or two). Of my friends, I've already figured out who I'm gonna ask to do what...

I just had a crushing rejection from a press (crushing because of the circumstances, and the fact that I had just bled over a revision, and it turns out they didn't want to publish my book, but something else, completely different...that and that apparently, they never understood my intentions. AT ALL. I'm actually really crushed. I've read their reason ten times now, and just a hour ago, I read it again and wrote responses. It feels like they just gave up, because they realized this wasn't the book they envisioned. Yeah, duh. It is my book. Not yours.) Anyway. I'm still bummed out and trying to recover by looking for press accepting submissions. It's not the same. I was so close, and the former head-editor of my project (before she left) had high hopes for this, but it seems once she left, the new editors gave and (they were over a month overdue from pitching to the executive board) when they contacted me with the rejection...oh, yeah, they never even pitched it to the board. How shitty does this make me feel? Uh...

Anyway, it's hard to be to bummed when your wife is Emily Fix and your son is wearing a Batman onesie, asleep in the swing.

Later guys,

Joooooooooooooooooooooooooooooossssssssssssssssssssssssssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

I'm trying to keep up...

but it's hard with Elliot and work and stuff (to read a bunch about him and us, please go here). Elliot is amazing! I'm sure you've seen pictures by now...cute! Anyway, I've just lost a bought some of his fussing and Em has rescued him from my arms. He's quite fussy today, and I think he's gassy or something, or he's tired. It's still adorable. Anyway,that's other blog...

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I'm in the revising and submitting phase of how I work. Basically if we were to chart my work it starts out with the idea process (which can be just random ideas and fragments, or the skeleton of a poem or story), then to first drafting (hand-written in notebooks...could be as little as one draft, as many as ten), second drafting (re-writing in another notebook), the third drafting (actually typing it out), fourth revision (final revision--before the "book revision"), then I start submitting. Usually, that's in the fall, but it can span the whole year. Actually, if I think about it, I am always in different states of different projects, so while I'm submitting the Story Thief, I'm organizing This is the Way to Rule, revising B'ham vs. Las Cruces, and drafting a short story. Anyway, I've been doodling mostly with new poems, and revising (in many stages) of my projects/poems.

This reminds me. Ian (And whoever might be interested, I'll try to put together a list of journals that have online subs, that are cool, that you might want to submit to...it may take while, but I'll finish it).

Speaking of ideas: I keep figuring out things for the second book of The Story Thief, which maybe should have another name. Book One will be The Story Thief. Book Two will be The Resistance or The Story Tellers (or something that isn't lame). Book Three would be ... But it's getting pretty HUGE in scope, and I'm looking forward to working on it...which will probably be this summer...if I'm being realistic.

Teaching has been going OK. I still don't have a key to my office, so I have to stand outside the door and knock till someone lets me in. They just won't give me a key. It's ridiculous. But other than that, I'm enjoying my job. Some days are easier than others, some days are great! Yesterday we were supposed to debate. But debates are stupid, and sometimes, bullies in the class use this as a chance to be assholes and yell (they think they're winning, but they're just acting like Fox News anchors), and other kids shit their pants at the idea. So, instead of doing a typical debate, I tried something progressive (or at least I think it is). We "walked through each team's debate. So, we'd start with the introduction, and move through points one by one, then I'd ask how they would close. Each point, we would rebut, discuss, and occasionally, take a sidebar to discuss what we were doing, and why something wasn't working. I tried to get them to look at the process of argument and rhetoric, to not think in terms of win or lose, but in terms of how it works, how it should go, and how it could go. It's tough. People get heated, and ignorance is a problem, but in the end, even the side who I vehemently opposed (for the Arizona Law) were making logical claims, I suggested they avoid the topic of "human rights/american rights" like they'd avoid an ex in a grocery store. But the other side, I suggested really going straight towards that slant of the issue. Both my classes had successful results, and almost everyone participated, probably better than they could've with a formal debate. What's great is that I tricked them to think that they had to debate, so they were prepared to, and were relieved when we would just walk through it instead. Anyway. Now, I have to read their rough drafts about the same issues. Fingers crossed.

We're getting through THE WIRE season 4. It's good. Enough said.

My reading is lax lately, but I've been reading Carmen Gimenez Smith's Bring Down the Little Birds. Seriously. Read it! I'm writing a review for the Bellingham Review, and really I don't know what to say. The book is about motherhood and family and being an artist. I started reading it in the hospital, and it was just clicking. I put it down for a couple days just to gain some objective distance from it, but I know it'll pull me right back. Her voice and honesty is brutal and warm at the same time. She is open, and she knows that people judge (especially other parents), but it doesn't matter. She's going to write it. Anyway, enough of that. I got a review to write.

OK. I was gonna go longer, but fatherhood calls.

Later.

I'll be blogging again soon.

Joshua

Another Blog Post

OK. During my last post I did not mention. Stone Temple Pilots, who seemed to be roaming around in that Grunge-era. At the very least, they're overplayed on the End. And unlike many other bands that I might approve of hearing, I can't stand to hear STP. They're not bad, they're just OK. How they got so huge? I don't know. They're lyrics aren't bad, just OK. Song writer, OK. Sound of recordings, OK. Maybe it's Scott's craziness. I don't know. Fellas if you disagree, I understand. I mean, I do. I can see how people would like this band, and actually, for a while I did too. But as of late, I've really been dreading hearing the End play them, oh, and Sublime. Yuck...though, I like one song (and I don't care what you say): "What I Got."

But enough about music for the time being.

I've been on a submitting rampage. I've sent one through the mail, at least fifteen through the CLMP online submission manager, close to twenty through the Submishmash mananger (Submishmash is awesome! Unlike the Clmp thing, there's a base of "my submissions" that you view. So, it's kind of like Duotrope, but only for Submishmash), a couple though email, and like one through a submission form. I hate email subs, post subs, and sub-forms. You can't see what's going on. CLMP, even though you only know if they got it or rejected it, at least you know they have it. Anyway, now's the waiting game.

I just watched Brief Interviews with Hideous Men. Jim Halpert, I don't know what kind of film you were trying to make, but it wasn't very good. For one, as Emily put it, "It sounds like monologues," and "No one talks like this." For two, the way he shot and cut it, really disrupted what could've been fluid. I know that's probably his aim, but it got to be pretty convoluted, and the things that were good (a handful of the interviews, some awkward scenes between people, Christopher Meloni, and the way in which he would have scenes where people where explaining a scene, happen as they are explaining it, in the scene...does that make sense. Think Reservoir Dogs bathroom scene with Tim Roth and two cops.) But mostly it was a let down. And the way they talked to each other...just not good.

Did I tell you I'm re-reading American Gods. I'm still at it. I only read it in bed. Mad Sweeney just came and told Shadow he needs the coin back. But Shadow didn't have it.

I'm supposed to be writing a review for the B'ham review. I get the book next week. I'm stoked to read the book, and I expect to like it.

I've had trouble writing anything new lately. I got a poem out, after like four-hundred drafts that went no where. But I can't write new stuff. Everything is stuff within stuff that's already going. Like certain books of poems, or certain sequels to certain books I've just finished. It's hard, 'cause I have idea for stuff, but my brain just won't let me go for it. I think it knows how much I've already started. Like my little band book/script. I can maybe write a page before my brain shuts off. So, I've just been doodling when I can think of something. Eventually, I'll have to go through those "notes" and see what I have brewing.

I did, however, find the perfect first chapter for The Story Thief: Book Two.

It's a piece I wrote in New Mexico that started as a play/film in Bellingham. That just never seemed to pick up the steam I wanted it to. No one could believe that a guy who wanted to protect people would tie them up to protect them. And the stuff that led up to it, people didn't believe. So, I gutted that (though, mark my words something I write will have these scenes it it!!!! Cause they're awesome, I think) and made the scene turn into an extraction. Two guys come to a house to murder people for accidentally killing their wives, but when they get there they hear a baby crying, and one of them can't do it. They argue one storms off. And this is where the story will fork into Story Thief land. I just typed it out, the synopsis and realized the spoiler I just produced. I'm stoked about it, I'll say that.

Well, I got my blogging in today, and I don't expect to be able to blog for the next couple days, but keep checking back, you never know.

Later,

J

Grunge Rock/The End

So, being back in Seattle has many benefits, and though being in Chicago would be rad, home has been great to us. We have a cool apartment (I'll have pictures up soon, I promise), we are close to friends and family (those of you who will be visiting home this summer and winter, well...we'll be here), we have good food, grocercy, etc, etc--the list goes on and on. But what is really great is the music. I have KEXP when I want it, and I have the End. Growing up here, the End got old. I mean, how many fucking times can we hear a Red Hot Chili peppers song, or Sublime song, before we start loading our revolvers? They have a bad habit of shitty DJs (minus Harms, who is pretty legit) and playing shitty-ass songs over and over, or overplaying fantastic songs so that they become old. Let's face it, I'm fucking sick of Kings of Leon, I'm fucking sick of MGMT, I'm fucking sick of whoever else is overplayed. And in our young-days I would be sick of all the Pearl Jam, Nirvana, and Soundgarden. But before you say, "Hey Josh, they still overplay those bands," I will say, "They play those old songs, and there are so many of them that they are sick amongst the modern shit going on, or the overplayed stuff." Nothing's better than hearing Linkin Park end, and then "I fell on Black Days," by Soundgarden start. And don't fucking get me started on Mumford and Sons!!! WHO THE FUCK LIKES THIS BAND?! WHOOO! AND WHY IS THE END JOCKING THEM SO HARD. It's like the Djs have started dry-humping this band's leg. Why? They suck! They're horrible, they're not even good, and their bridges sound like the stuff Death Cab for Cutie throws away for sounding bland or easy (and considering their recent work, that's hard to do). So, what the F guys? Lyrics: "It was not your fault but mine, it was your heart on the line, I really fucked it up this time, didn't I my dear, didn't I my dear." Seriously? The rhymes are even lame and easy. The lyrics are weak and cliche, oh and just because you say "fuck" in a song doesn't make it cool or better. In fact, in this case, it sounds like they forced it in there jsut so their weak-ass song could have a bleep in it. These guys derserve to be in the realm of who-gives-a-fuck, but The End seems to love them. Please someone explain how anyone could love this band? Please. I don't understand.

Anyway, where was I? Oh, grunge.

Soundgarden is a band I barely enjoyed, but as of late, I've been stoked to hear them on the radio, and I even got myself Superunknown (is that the name of the record?)...the one with "Blackhole Sun" and all the other hits. I've also been getting really in Pearl Jam again. Like really in, like I want to go back, start at the beginning, and work my way through their stuff. I've seen them live three times, but never owned a record. I'm kind of regrettting that now. Nirvana. enough said. You can't overplay this band (at least you couldn't now, so many years after the fact). This band is brilliant. The list goes on, but those are the bands that have stuck with me as I started writing this blog here.

But this final band gets its own paragraph. TEMPLE OF THE DOG. You rememeber this supergroup. A tribue to Andrew Wood of Mother Love Bone. The song most of you Seattlites may know is "Hunger Strike."

I don't mind stealing bread

from the mouths of decadence

but I can't feed on the powerless

with my cup already overfilled

But it's on the table

The fire's cooking

And they're farming babies

While the slaves are working

The blood is on the table

And they mouths are choking

But I'm growing Hungry...

BOOM!

Em's been known to wake me up by playing this song in the morning. It's a great tune to wake up to. If you haven't tried it. Try it.

Oh, and I think Alice in Chains still suck. I don't care what you say. Here comes the rooster? Here comes another singer ending every phrase with "Er"

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OK. That's it for today. I feel good about what I said about the End and some of the bands.

Later,

Joshua

PS no baby yet. Keep your fingers crossed and your eyes peeled for news.