Baby Free Vacation

We have just returned from my friend Ty's wedding in Las Vegas. While it was probably a big deal for Ty to participate in holy matrimony and all, but the real story was that we had our first baby-free vacation.

Paige spent the weeknd with the Pearsons. Traci was in tears before we even made it to the freeway, but we continued on. It was weird to not have her around; everytime I looked behind me I expected to see her in the baby seat.

We had a good trip. We saw the Ansel Adams exhibit at the Bellagio. We slept in and took naps. I ate potato products at every meal. What more could we have asked for? Oh yeah, and we went shopping, but everything Traci bought ended up being for the baby.

On the drive home, we were both gettting pretty excited to see Junior. We were a little worried that she would be mad at us when we picked her up, (Paige: Horrible parents, ditching me while they go on vacation.) but she gave us an enormous smile when we walked in. We'll see how she does tomorrow when Traci takes her back over to the Pearson's while she goes to work.

The Summer Obsession

Johnny Tightlips Rocks Provo
Conscious Subconscious, Teens, and Provo-Style Parking Enforcement

October 27, 2006 -- The band recently made its Provo debut, opening up for The Summer Obsession.  I was extremely excited because it would give me a chance to play a show with my old bandmate Chris Wilson.

Chris and I started playing in a band together when I was in the 9th grade.  What started out as a basically a Nirvana cover band lead to us creating a grunge band called The Twelfth of Never.  By the time I was a senior in high school, we had both discovered punk rock (thanks to local heroes Homesick) and been bitten by the ska bug, so we added horns and became Left Foot Forward. 

I was a year older than all of my Left Foot Forward comrades, so when I left for college, the band disintegrated.  Chris started playing with some dudes in a band called ECO and made some industry contacts, including the famous studio (and A Perfect Circle) drummer Josh Freese. 

A few months after my mission, Chris got called up to the big leagues.  When Good Charlotte needed a drummer mid-Warped Tour, Chris jumped onboard and played with the band for almost three years.  He’s now playing in a band called The Summer Obsession that just released its debut album on Virgin. 

I only talked to Chris once or twice during the Good Charlotte era, but he regularly haunted my dreams.  At the time, I was sporadically working on the Hover Low EP, but not actually playing any live music at all. I kept dreaming that I, too, was in a big rock band, only to wake up and still be working at Cyprus Credit Union or at SLCC.  (What a drag.) 

For me, the best thing about Johnny Tightlips is that when we started playing together, those dreams stopped immediately.  I don’t really have a waking need to be a rock star, but obviously making music is very important to the wellness of my subconscious. 

The point of all of this is that I thought playing a show with Chris Wilson would kind of be the final step in getting all of those needs out of my system.

The show came and went, but with regards to my mental health, it wasn’t really that big of a deal.  It was cool to hang out with Chris before the show, but mostly because I have always liked Chris and he’s fun to hang out with.  We didn’t have any superstar reunion where we played our Twelfth of Never hits or anything like that (however, if Rhett would have been around, I would have liked to and I think that actually would have been really nostalgic or cathartic or whatever), which was fine as well.

But from a rock and roll perspective, it was a great show.  We were able to play to our target audience – teens (especially teen girls) and lots of ‘em.  According to lead singer Luke, The Summer Obsession shows average a girl to boy ratio of 3:1.  They’re frickin’ heartthrobs.  All anorexic and tattooed with their emo haircuts, the girls simply can’t resist The Summer Obsession.  We play music in the same cosmic realm at TSO, which also means all those teens didn't immediately hate us. 

It was a bit different to actual play to a lot of people.  There were a bunch of girls pressed right up against the front of the stage.  I am not used to performing to people whose eye level is at my feet.  I think at one point I was sweating and I was singing at the front of the stage and said sweat landed on some front row standers.  How gross for them. Gross. Gross.

After our set we loaded up all the equipment back into our cars, which were parked in the lot behind the club.  When that chore was completed, I stood out in front of the club and called to check in with Traci.  I was in the middle of the conversation when Danny yells, “Spencer, come quick!  They’re towing your car!”

I ran to the back of the club to see my car already on the back of a tow truck.  After loading up the stuff, I had moved my car from Velour’s lot literally 10 feet over to the next store’s lot – which was completely vacant because the store had been closed for hours.  That didn’t matter.  No parking is no parking and I forgot that everyone in Provo doubles as an afterhours parking enforcer.  Meathead tow truck guy didn’t care if the store was closed, or that I had only been parked there for 15 minutes.  Pay the $60 to drop the car, or pay the $120 to pick it up from the impound lot, said Meathead.  Don’t worry, towing companies now take credit cards.  I forget why people hate Provo. 

In spite of the parking fiasco, it was still a great night, probably the best evening for Johnny Tightlips to date. 

Snoop Dogg Keepin' it Old School

Snoop, he's classy. He doesn't get busted for trying to sneak a gun, or even a knife, onto an airplane. Snoop, he rolls with a collapsible baton - security guard style. He had to keep it in his laptop case in case someone tries to mess with him while he's checking his MySpace account.

From MSN:

IRVINE, Calif. - Prosecutors are considering charges against Snoop Dogg after authorities discovered a 21-inch collapsible baton in his bags as he boarded a New York-bound flight, authorities said Monday.

The rapper, whose real name is Calvin Broadus, had the baton in his laptop case as he went through a security checkpoint at John Wayne International Airport on Sept. 27, sheriff’s spokesman Jim Amormino said.

Snoop Dogg, 35, told sheriff’s deputies that the baton was a prop for a movie he was filming in New York, Amormino said.

Read the Manifesto, WEAR the Manifesto

I've finally got my garage screenprinting shop up and running. That means my Manifesto line of clothing is able for purchase. So if you love the Manifesto, you can show that love by buying and wearing a handprinted Manifesto or Johnny Tightlips shirt. Sa-weet!

Check out the current line here.

New JTL Download

A-ron and I sat on my front porch the other day and recorded an acoustic version of "Overdramatic Me" as people walked by and looked at us funny. Feel free to download and/or distribute as you please. Oh, and come to our show at Kilby Court on Friday, November 3 and sing along.

October Consumption

Music

Samiam - Whatever's Got You Down
The Decemberists - The Crane Wife
Guster - Ganging Up on The Sun
The Draft - In a Million Pieces
Matt Pond PA - Several Arrows Later
Spoon - Soft Effects EP

Spencer for Hire

Who wouldn't hire this guy?

I had a job interview today. What's worse than a job interview, really? I interviewed for a job with Select Health, the insurance arm of Intermountain Healthcare. (Formerly known as IHC. The company changed its name when everyone decided they hated IHC.)

I am sure that they were impressed by my gray shirt. Now that I am seeing it in picture form, it kind of looks like a Jiffy Lube uniform. I am sure they totally would have offered me the job if I was wearing my classy belt from the WE in Amsterdam, but I couldn't find it anywhere this morning. Hopefully they didn't notice my ghetto Ethnies belt.

Bosses' Boss: So how was the interview?
Boss: The kid was okay, but I think he came straight here from his job at Jiffy Lube.
Bosses' Boss: Jiffy Lube? I hate that place.
Boss: Yeah, I hate that kid, too. Let's not hire him.

Taco Tuesday

I drove by Dell Taco the other night on my way to Wendy's. The marquee said: Taco Tuesday. 3 tacos for 99 cents after 3 p.m. 33 cents per taco?! That's amazing. Unfortunately, I'm not really a taco guy so I continued on to the Wendy's.

Oh, You Better Bring It!

Not since “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” has there been such an impressive third installation to a trilogy. Okay, I’m being a bit overdramatic, but continuing on with my reviews of teenage girl movies [see “Stick It” and “She’s the Man”], here’s my thought on “Bring It On: All or Nothing.”

The first “Bring It On” equals best movie ever. Because “Bring It On Again,” the straight-to-DVD-not-really-a-sequel-just-a-way-to-make-money sequel was almost unwatchable (almost – I didn’t only watch it, I own it. But only because I got it as a gift combined with the original. Best. Birthday Present. Ever.) I didn’t have high hopes for part three. I was happily mistaken.

Now, “All or Nothing” has nothing on the Kirsten Dunst version, (because there was no Kirsten Dunst) but it did have some good stuff. The movie stars Hayden Panettiere [Britney] – the little girl from “Remember the Titans” and Solange Knowles [Camille] – Beyonce’s not attractive little sister.

Britney’s rich dad loses his job, so she and her family have to move to the ghetto high school, and thus giving up her position as cheerleading captain. Once at the new school, she meets tough black girl Camille and mayhem ensues. I don’t want to spoil it for you, but here’s some of the intense dialogue:

Britney: I didn't know you were a cheerleader.
[laughs] Camille: I'm the cheerleader. I'm captain.
Britney: So? I was captain at my old school.
Camille: And now you go to my school. So I guess that makes you... nothing.

Oh, snap!!! Sounds like y’all gotta movie you best rent this weekend.

October Raves: She's the Man, Hard-Boiled Wonderland, Alternative Press

Movies

Traci and I have only been to one movie in the past year (and that was sub-par Nacho Libre), so we're not really the ones to ask for box office suggestions. However, we do watch a lot of DVDs. We finally got around to watching "She's the Man," starring Amanda Bynes. 

The movie is about Bynes pretending to be a boy so she can play on the men's soccer team to prove to her ex-boyfriend that she's a better soccer player than he is. Of course it's dumb, but Amanda Bynes is hot and David Cross, aka Tobias Funke, plays the high school principal. What more could you ask for? Traci won't admit that she liked it, but I think she secretly did.

Books

Part-time rockstar and full-time librarian Danny Hansen often has book recommendations for me. After reading two crap graphical novels by Daniel Clowes, I was about to refuse Danny's future book tips. However, he really came through with "Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World" by Haruki Murakami. Staged in a surreal, pseudo futuristic world, this is not my usual read. However, it turned out to be a book I couldn't put down. Much more intellectually challenging than, let's see, the book about the "hip-hop cop" I'm currently reading, I had to spend a good deal of time thinking about the book after I finished it. One thing that did stand out as odd about the book was the translation. Originally written in Japanese, in the English version the main character, who lives in Japan, eats and Denny's and listens to Duran Duran. Now that's surreal.

Magazines

The first time I read Alternative Press I felt like I was reading a magazine produced by seventh graders. However, thanks mostly to MySpace and YouTube, I too have the brain of a seventh grader. Now that I subscribe to the magazine (thanks to my friend RB and BigMags.com) I've come to really enjoy it. What makes it good is that it is written for seventh graders - the writers seem to be just a psyched about the music they're writing about as the kids that are reading it. It always includes tips for kids in bands - what equipment to use, how to tour effectively, how to record an album. Each issues educates as well, giving histories of influential bands in hopes of helping kids understand that My Chemical Romance did not invent rock and roll eyeliner. AP also knows how to avoid editorializing, and thankfully, just sticks writing about music.

The drawbacks are isn't emo esthetic - every issue has at least one band spread with blood seeping from band member's mouths - and it's reviewing scale. Everything, I mean everything, is a rave. If your band only gets 3 out of 5 stars in AP, man, you must really suck. If you want to know what's going on in the niches of emo, screamo, punk, hardcore, or in other words, if you want to read about the bands whose faces you see on lunchboxes at Hot Topic, this magazines is where it's at.

Now 50% Less Wise!

Would you pay a guy $50 to punch you repeatedly in the jaw? Well, I did. I spent two hours on Friday having my face pulverized by Mark Arroyo, DDS. By the time Traci rescued me from my mugging, half of my face was swollen and I had blood all over my chin. Oh, but having two of wisdom teeth pulled out wasn't all bad.

Dr. Arroyo's office has TVs on the ceiling so you have something to distract you from the strangers who have their hands in your mouth. I watched six Taking Back Sunday videos on Fuse (who knew TBS even had six videos?), a preview of the weekend's matchups on the NFL network, and about 30 seconds of "Paris Hilton's 50 Most Outrageous Moments" on VH1. So other than teeth being stolen from my mouth, it wasn't a bad way to spend a few hours. I also got to suck down enough nitrous oxide to feel like my body was spinning inside out, which was alright as well.

Things I learned while in a druggy haze:

1. I can still think in Dutch while under the influence of Nitrous Oxide. About an hour into the ordeal, I suddenly found it absolutely and instantly necessary to find out if I could still think in Dutch. I could. Gelukkig maar.

2. There is no way to communicate with a swollen tongue and not feel like an idiot.

3. When you are the last appointment of the day on a Friday afternoon, no one in the dentist's office feels obliged to wash the blood off your face or even tell you that you have blood all over your face.

4. My Chemical Romance (whose video I saw twice while I was there) - even under the influence of chemicals - is the epitome of everything that sucks about fashion, film and modern music.

After we came home, Traci made me lots of wonderful jello and mashed potatoes and chocolate milk. I have a good wife.

Chris Wilson vs. Good Charlotte: The Rebuttal

In the name of journalistic integrity, here's Good Charlotte's response to Chris Wilson's recent complaints about the band:

A lot of you have seen the postings this week by our former drummer Chris Wilson, and we wanted to let you know what our feelings are and what the truth really is. Chris is saying that we..ve cheated him out of money that he felt he deserved, but that..s not true. Chris was well-paid for drumming for us but he did not write the songs with us, so he..s not included in the songwriting royalties-this is something he knew all along. We do feel badly if he mismanaged the money he made while playing with our band. He also posted that we tried to prevent the band Over It from being part of the Snakes On A Plane soundtrack. This makes no sense, as we have been friends with the guys in Over It for years now. Chris is also accusing us of withholding his gear, which is untrue. During the time Chris played with our band he was going through ..personal health problems.. and we insisted he go to rehab in the hope he would get better, so we made the arrangements and advanced him the money. We really don..t know what to make of this since we had a good conversation with Chris recently, even after he threatened to sue us earlier this summer. All of this really saddens us as we did our best to help him and to protect his reputation and privacy. --Benji, Billy, Paul and Joel

Raves: Traci's Book Recommendations

Everyone knows that I am pretty nerdy and really love books and that I work at the library.  But what everybody doesn’t know is that kids’ books are for grown-ups too!  So here are five kids books that I like that you can read no matter how old you are.

The City of Ember/ The People of Sparks by Jeanne DuPrau

I’m not really into futuristic fiction (think Brave New World), but I really liked these books.  The first one, The City of Ember is about a city lit entirely by light bulbs- no sun or moon.  But, the light bulb supply is starting to run out, and nobody really knows what to do.  Two 12-year-olds discover an old map and hope that it will lead them to a place where they can find more supplies.  The sequel, The People of Sparks, tells where the map leads them and what happens to the people of Ember after they arrive in the City of Sparks.  Sounds pretty nerdy, but they are really well written, and they kept my attention.  It’s a real thinker.

Dear Mrs. LaRue- Letters from Obedience School by Mark Teague 

This is a really funny picture book about a dog who writes all of these sad, sad letters to his owner, Mrs. LaRue, about how horrible obedience school is.  The thing is, as you are reading these letters, you can see that the school is actually really nice and the dogs are really living it up! At one point, the dogs are sitting in the hot tub being served drinks with little umbrellas in them.  I thought it was pretty funny.

To the Top: The Story of Everest by Stephen Venables

Anyone who knows me knows that I’m not really into nature and outdoors and stuff, so a book like this also usually wouldn’t interest me.  But, I had to read it, as it is nominated for a Beehive Book Award and I really thought it was interesting.  It is the history of people who have climbed Mount Everest, written by a guy who actually climbed Mount Everest himself.  And it has really cool photos of frostbitten toes and stuff.

Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison 

This isn’t really a kids’ book-more like a book for teens-but it is so funny! It’s like Bridget Jones, only in high school.  I think Bridget Jones is very funny, but if you don’t then you probably won’t think this is funny either.  There are now like four books in this series all about the main character, Georgia Nicholson, who lives in England.  England’s pretty funny, right? They talk funny, and use funny words.  If you’re counting, I think I’ve used the word funny like fived times. It’s funny. And it has the word “thongs” in the title--and “snogging.”