Truths in Words and Rhymes and Notes and All The Things I Wish I Wrote

"It's just a shame you missed out on rock and roll. It's over"
"It's over?"
"It's over. You got here just in time for the death rattle. Last gasp. Last grope."
"At least I'm here for that."

Yeah, I know, count on the emo kid to quote Almost Famous. What might be more cliche than quoting that movie for a music fan might be starting a music blog. It seems nowadays everyone has found a way to utilize their passion for music, be it starting a band, shooting show photography, sound engineering, club DJing, tight pants wearing, you know, the usual. So what does a 21-year-old girl from Arizona who grew up on punk rock, has no songwriting ability whatsoever and who dances like your grandmother do to live vicariously through music? Well considering I'm entering my fourth year of so called higher education, parading as a journalist and own my very own copy of the AP style book, I figured I'd take what I've learned and throw it towards trashy tabloid music journalism. I've spent the last three years writing hypothetical press kits on pretend clients, faux feature stories on house fires and other forms of journalism with actual substance, but really, I just want to write about this weeks releases and last night's show. Take that, Walter Cronkite, I want to talk rock-n-roll, thank you very much.

Not only am I "the enemy" (as Almost Famous called rock journalists) but somehow, somewhere between drawing anarchy symbols on my binder and voluntarily listening to ska music, I became "the man". On the surface I am everything that is wrong with music. I am a radio DJ, making you listen to music I choose. I plan concerts, again making you listen and watch music I choose. I've dabbled in band management, producing a rock doc(umentary) and yes, I own more than one Dashboard Confessional CD. The icing on the cake is that I currently hold a business card as an employee of a major family of record labels. Yup, I'm THAT girl. I own a copy of "This Business of Music", subscribe to trade magazines and keep a close watch on release dates and tour announcements. I have a messenger bag full of stickers and postcards and sampler CDs just waiting for the consumers to consume at any opportunity. Like I said, on the surface, it seems like I'm everything I used to feel was wrong about the music industry. But maybe, I'm doing everything right.

Thats what brings me here. I'm not going to pretend that my experience and swoopy emo bangs somehow warrant me the right to come here on my soapbox and tell you what you want to hear about music. That's what my jobs are for. I'm here to dissect what it is that I've learned and try to figure out how to make the wrong the right. Don't get me wrong, I love my jobs, my bosses, the artists I've worked for and everything involved, but I know there has to be more to what I'm doing than stickers and tape. I made it my goal when I was 16 years old that I wanted to tell the world why I love music, so here I am. Since 16, I've moved on to not only telling people why I love music, but why they should love music and how to make music and make it work. I feel like I owe the bands I've worked with that much. I owe myself that much to take what I've learned and try to change things, and I guess the first step is recognizing them. I'm not going to go in great detail on everything that goes on, but just enough to keep you educated as well as myself on what works and what doesn't and what I feel makes great music. Because after all, that's what it all comes down to: Great music and the great people who make it.

Cheers.

Song of the Moment: "On a Freezing Chicago Street" by Margot and the Nuclear So and So's
www.myspace.com/margotandthenuclearsoandsos