Tomorrow's Band Meeting

You Should See the Other Guy - He Got Shot

We were in a car and we hit a deer. It went at least ten feet in the air and flew two lanes over. The cops shot it when they got there. It was sad.
Thank goodness for full coverage auto insurance! Ha cha!

Conflicting Roles

We are all several different people.
There's a lot of philosophical ways to delve into this, such as, are we the same person we were before because we have those past experiences or are we a different person who has the same experiences and more? Alas, this is a blog, not my 11:00 AM Monday-Wednesday class. So we'll be discussing this in a more practical manner.

I am a musician. I am a student. I am an employee. I am a friend. I am a boyfriend. I am a son. I am a brother. I am a grandson, nephew, cousin, classmate, acquaintance, rival, enemy, stranger, depending on who I'm interacting with, where I'm interacting, and what I'm doing. We're all like this. We're still "us," but we aren't the same "us" sitting in class as we are sitting at the family dinner table. We're different when we're at work than we are in our lover's arms, it's just how it works.

We all at least sort of understand and accept this, but sometimes it's not that easy. Sometimes these things are at odds, and then things get a little more complicated.

On my first day of PSY 252 this year, my band had the opportunity to play a show for a band that was touring the country. It's important to be there for the first day of school, especially for a higher level class, and especially especially for a higher level class that only meets once a week, but then again, I can open up for a really good band at a well-known venue.
So what did I do?
I sent my professor an email telling her, "Sorry, but my band is opening up for this pretty big band, I'll see you next week."

In this situation, my professor responded with a very kind, "This sounds like a great opportunity, good luck!" However, that's not always the case, and it's beside the point.

The point is that I was given a situation where I had to choose who I was. Was I a musician or was I a student?

For me it was easy. Music has always been more than a hobby to me; I couldn't stop if I wanted to. Something in me makes me feel like making music is the only option I have.

But how long can that go on? How long can I put dreams in front of practical life decisions? How long can I put crazy road trips, all-nighters, and extravagant romantic getaways in front of my obligation to be a functional member of society?

And that's a scary thing to think about. It always feels like it's only a matter of time until I'll be like everything I didn't want to be; until I'm waking up to work a nine to five I don't give two shits about to raise a family and be safe and cautious and a productive member of society for no other reason than because I'm supposed to; until I spend every second of my life preparing for the next second, when I'll prepare for the next, when I'll prepare for the next, and so on and so forth until the next second is death.

So fuck that. No longer am I a musician or a student. No longer am I your classmate, your friend, your acquaintance. From now on I am your Jordan Berry. I play music, I attend a university, I share a class with you, I support you and confide in you, I recognize you, but I am no longer anything but myself.

And not in the lame, cliche way either. This isn't about "being yourself." This is about being. Just being. We're told from the second we're squeezed out of a womb who we are supposed to be, what we are supposed to do, and we're never told that the most important thing to be is us, the most important thing to do is to do.

I love learning, I love writing, and I love the idea of being a teacher, but the moments in my life when I am truly happy are the moments spent having late night conversations in diners with my best friends, swimming in lakes in the middle of the night, staying up all night drinking coffee, playing music and seeing music, cuddling that certain someone and forgetting everything else, watching movies, going on adventures, and helping others feel as good as I do when I feel like that.

And that's what's important to be. Fuck being a student, fuck being a musician, fuck being an employee. Be a fucking human being.

New DEMO - Caribbean Night at the Jew Frat

This is a brand new demo of a new song (you may have to right click the 'play' button for it to start). Remember, though, it's only a demo, so be a little easy on the judgment. This demo features yours truly, Jordan Berry, playing every instrument, so it's not nearly as good as it would be if we were playing it as a band, and it's also recorded on really low quality equipment. But it's a good demo for what it is, so I figured I'd share it. The lyrics are below, follow along! Let me know what you think of the lyrics, the song, etc.

Also, we'll be doing full-band, actually good recordings during the next few weeks, so reserve your judgment until then!

Caribbean Night at the Jew Frat

I don't smoke because if I did
I would smoke GBCs or Marlboro Reds
Because you'll die from any kind of cigarette
But I'd make sure I felt like it

I would smoke my lungs black
I'd smoke holes in my neck
I would smoke until my chest was filled with fire
I'd smoke my skin dry and cracked
Break at every bend and stretch
I would smoke until my body grew too tired

I don't drink because if I did
I would drink myself into oblivion
I would pickle my liver in gin
I would fall back down, never get up again

I would puke up my life
Flush it straight down the pipes
Out of sight, out of mind
I would marinate my organs
Filled up and drained again
I would be the epitome of a vessel poorly designed

I don't trust me with me
I don't trust me with anything
I'm a self-fulfilling prophecy on a road to self annihilation
Through public acts of humiliation for the sake of entertainment
I don't trust me with me
I don't trust me with anything

I don't fall in love because if I did
I don't think I could handle it
I have to try so hard when we kiss
Because I can feel myself slipping in
With every conversation, with every vacation
I'm slow-motion stumbling in
Against my better judgment, I'm starting to let go of it
I'm letting that if turn into a did

loljeremy

.GIF CREATED BY RACHEL VIOLA THE WHINER.

Punk/Folk Rock/Crunk

When in a band, one is often asked, "What kind of music do you play?"

For me, this question has always been a hard one. I usually reply, "Punk,  I guess," but I'm never really happy with that answer, and here's why:

Words work because of the connotation people ascribe to them. When people say that Barack Obama is Hitler, they do not actually mean that Obama is the Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945 that invaded Poland, started World War II, and was the mastermind of one the most successful acts of genocide in recorded history, they mean that, in their opinion, Obama is an evil human being comparable to one of the most undisputed villains of history. As a matter of definition, this doesn't really make sense; Obama is nothing like Hitler. However, due to the connotation the word 'Hitler' itself, it is an effective, albeit immature and hateful, means of expression.

"Now," you may ask because you don't understand how prose works, "How does this relate to what genre your band is?"

To the casual observer, punk is a fast, aggressive subgenre of rock and roll with anti-establishment themes and an iconic subculture, and when it first burst onto the scene in the 1970s, that observation was fairly accurate. However, punk then is not necessarily like punk now because of the fundamental difference between punk and other genres of music, the view of what the purpose of music is.

While other genres treat music as a sport, with the best and most accomplished and celebrated musicians being those who excel at their instrument and in the techniques and sounds favored in that particular genre, punk treats music as a tool for communicating an emotion, idea, or story. Because of this, punk is stripped down of all excess; if something isn't helping express the point of the song, it's unnecessary. Masturbatory displays of virtuosity are discouraged, and length is often sacrificed for the sake of clarity.

Because of this focus on expression rather than skill, an integral part of punk is that the emotion behind the music is real, that the lyrics are honest, and that the sentiments are heartfelt. Punk musicians are not making music to make money or to get laid (so don't even try it, buddy), or they wouldn't be playing punk.

And because of this earnestness behind the music, punk has a much stronger sense of community than any other genre of music. Punk is the only genre of music that has several bands who give away all of their music for free, who make merch by hand, who invite fans to play onstage with them, and so on, because they care about and understand their fans, who care about and understand them back.

And that is why I say my band is "punk, I guess." Because we use music as an expressive tool, write honest lyrics, and feel a strong sense of community with our fellow human beings. We do not sound like the Sex Pistols. We do not sound like Blink-182. Hell, we even have some midtempo songs. What makes us punk isn't that my voice is gruff and that we play aggressively sometimes, what makes us punk is something intangible, something beautiful in the rawness and reason behind what we do.

But actually what makes us punk is that I don't shower that often and have a girlfriend with a mohawk. That's it.