Bands You Should Know…..Kill Hannah

This weeks Bands You Should Know takes us back to Chicago once again for another local band that I am a fan of, Kill Hannah.  Some of you may already know Kill Hannah because of their 2006 track, Lips Like Morphine.  The song hit 37 on the US Modern Rock Chart.  The other song they are known for is “Kennedy” which was featured in the show Jack & Bobby.  Sadly though, that has been the only single they had that did chart, which I think is a shame because I think they have a rather unique sound.
They also prove that sometimes a break up is a good thing.  Devine had been dating a woman named Hannah while in the band In a Jar UK.  Eventually Hannah and Mat split.  Mat decided to print up some stickers with “Kill Hannah” on them to put on the band’s 7” records.  Eventually in 1993 Kill Hannah was born.
Kill Hannah has had songs in movies, tv shows, toured the world and even opened for acts such as Papa Roach, AFI, Jane’s Addiction and 30 Seconds to Mars.  Hell, they even appeared on Last Call with Carson Daly (ok, granted nobody watched that show but still).  So it’s a bit strange to me that they’re still stuck on the runway and haven’t quite taken off.  They even hold the record for most sellouts at The Metro in Chicago.  The band currently consists of Mat Devine, Dan Wiese, Greg Corner, Elias Mallin and Michael Maddox.
Kill Hannah’s music is classic 90’s rock with a bit of industrial and electronica thrown in, there’s a hint of Stabbing Westward that comes through, though Kill Hannah isn’t quite as heavy.  The band looks like an emo act, super tight clothes and pretty hair, but thats all they share with that genre, the music is far better than almost all of those acts.  In fact, if I had to guess, I would think some of those bands looked at Kill Hannah and ripped off their style.  The guitar work is great and there are some nice electronic sounds here and there also.  The drums are pretty solid and Devine’s vocals are rather unique.

The band has released  8 studio albums, some self released and hard to find, so far and plan on recording a 9th in 2012.  The band also toured the UK in March of 2012 and is playing Wicker Park Fest in Chicago this July 28th.  If you’re going to be in Chicago, check them out, if not check out one of the 6 albums below.

The Beauty in Sinking Ships (1996)

Ah, the first album, sadly I no longer can find my copy, and can’t find a copy anywhere.  In fact, to be honest, it was self released and I have no idea how he got it.  it seems to be extremely rare and hard to find.  So all I can tell you is from memories of the day, I had been out of highschool for about a year and a buddy of mine, Bill knew I was a fan of Stabbing Westward and thought I would like Kill Hannah also.  He was right, like I said above the style was similar, Stabbing was harder rock to me then Hannah, but I thought Kill Hannah’s vocals and lyrics were slightly better.  Of course back then I never bought the album, I just copied his onto cassette tape, which I have since lost or thrown out because, well, I haven’t played a cassette tape in about 15 years.  If I ever find it or find a copy, I’ll revise this section.

Here Are the Young Moderns (1998)

This is basically the exact story as above, Bill played this one for me as well, but I have no idea where my cassette copy of his is.  I was able to find 2 of them, both used, on Amazon…for 129.99, which to me is a bit much since most of the tracks are available on two other albums. Hyperactive, Get Famous and Nerve Gas can be found on American Jet Set, the next album.  Stunt Pilots, Hummingbirds The Size of Bullets, Love Sick, Sleeping Like Electric Eels and Kill Hannah can be found on The Curse of Kill Hannah.

American Jet Set (1999)

This is the first Album I bought.  It’s a great album and I’ve listened to it many times.  In fact, you can actually still find this one, but its out of print and pretty rare.  You may be able to get it digitally on itunes or Amazon, but I haven’t checked.  I also love the cover, reminds me Throughout the album you can hear great vocals, great guitars and drums and a great use of keyboards.  Yup I said keyboards, and they’re used properly.  Like I said in the section above, 3 of the tracks are from the last album.  Most of the tracks are pretty solid, but I will admit that the song Get Famous, is a bit, well cheesy maybe, well lyrically anyway, although it still sounds pretty good.  My favorite tracks off of this album are All That He Wants (American Jet Set), Nerve Gas, Sick Boy, Los Angeles and A New Medicine.

For Never & Ever (2003)

For Never & Ever is the first major label debut for Kill Hannah.  Released under Atlantic Records and Produced by Sean Beavan, it’s the album that spawned the single “Kennedy” which was featured in the TV show Jack & Bobby.  It has a more refined and clean sound, but it still has the same power and sound that the other albums all had.  It’s kind of like waxing a Ferrari, the car looks good anyway, but it looks better with some shine.  The guitar work and drumming is as good if not better then previous efforts and the vocals are still solid.  The lyrics are deeper and more meaningful, which usually happens with age and experience. My favorite tracks off of this album are Kennedy, 10 More Minutes, New Heart for Christmas, From Now On,  Raining All The Time, Unwanted and Is Anyone Here Alive?

The Curse of Kill Hannah (2004)

In 2004 The Curse of Kill Hannah was released.  Curse is pretty much a best of, from 96-98.  Not really sure why it was put out, but 4 of the tracks were from Here are the Young Moderns and 1 from The Beauty in Sinking Ships.  I don’t have the album so I really can’t say much about it other then it seems to be rare also, as is most of their early stuff.  You can find it on Amazon, ranging in price from 13 to 30 dollars.

Until There’s Nothing Left of Us (2006)

3 years after mild success with For Never and Ever, Kill Hannah released Until There’s Nothing Left of Us.  It was the 2nd major label release, again on Atlantic and Roadrunner in the UK.  Unlike the last album, recorded in LA, Kill Hannah came home to Chicago to record this album.  Recorded at Groovemaster Studios and Produced by Johnny K and Sean Ray Molino it spawned the song Lips Like Morphine, which hit 37 on the US Modern Rock Chart.  The album itself reached 8th on the Top Heatseekers chart, but only 178th on the Billboard 200.  Once again the album was polished and sounded more atmospheric than the others and also a bit more glam rock and some tracks are a bit poppy, but it still sounds great.  Even with the minor changes when you hear it, it’s still easily recognizable as Kill Hannah.  In fact even though its a slight departure (extremely slight) from the other albums, It’s one of my favorites.  My favorite tracks?  You know I’m just going to say the whole album, not because I’m lazy, but because I think its that good.

Wake Up The Sleepers (2009)

Wake Up The Sleepers is the latest release from Kill Hannah and was released in 2009.  It was also the album that marked the return to a independent label, leaving Atlantic for Original sound.  While they “left” for an independent, Original Sound is still an affiliate of Universal.  The album itself builds on what they started with Until There’s Nothing Left Of Us and expands that sound a bit more.  The production is top notch and as good as anything out there.
Too me, most of the tracks are a bit on the mellow side but still sound good.  There is a bit more of an 80’s new wave and electronic vibe to some of the tracks on the album.  The lyrics are a bit deeper and there are a few guest artists (Benji Madden, Amanda Palmer, Chibi and Matt Skiba)  Personally I think Amanda Palmer was well worth it, but Madden was kind of a throw away for me.  All he did was some harmonies, he wasn’t really featured much.
A lot of the other reviews I have read for this album praise and say it’s the best Kill Hannah album ever, I disagree, I Like it and think it’s very solid, but not the best.  For me, I guess the best is a tie between Until There’s Nothing Left Of Us and American Jet Set.  As for the best tracks on this album, well here they are.  Radio, New York City Speed, Living in Misery, Tokyo (Dance In The Dust), Mouth To Mouth, Vultures (Be There For Me), Acid Rain and Laika.

Conclusion

Since the mid 90’s when I first heard Kill Hannah they have continued to evolve but kept their sound.  I think they have gotten better with age and with a new album supposedly coming out in 2012/2013 the future looks bright.  So if you’re looking for something new that you’ve never heard check out Kill Hannah, and thanks for reading!

-JP

 

Bands You Should Know….The Fold

The Fold from left to right, Matt Pittman, Dan Castady, Mark Rhoades and George Castady

In a world where fabricated autotuned pop has become the norm, this week’s Band You Should Know defies that.  This week we finds us in my hometown, Chicago, to talk about a local band, The Fold.  This Power Pop Rock foursome and on very rare occasions fivesome was founded by brothers Dan and George Castady  back in 2005.  It was shortly after Dan’s stint in another local Chicago act, Showoff, where he was the drummer.

Dan left Showoff and pulled a Dave Grohl, becoming a guitar player and vocalist, and did a damn fine job at it.  The current line up of the band consists of Dan Castady on lead vocals and guitar, George Castady also on guitar, Drummer Mark Rhoades, Matt Pittman on bass and at times during some rare live shows, Joe Martin on guitar, although usually he’s working the merch table.  Together they form one of the best Power Pop Rock (I say Pop Punk but what do I know) bands that most people haven’t heard of.  They also happen to be one of the best group of guys you’ll ever meet (yes I have actually met them)
They released their two earlier albums, This Too Shall Pass and Secrets Keep You Sick,  on the Indie label Tooth & Nail, but decided to go their own way for their third full length studio album, Dear Future Come Get Me.  We’ll start with the first release, This Too Shall Pass….

This Too Shall Pass 2006

This Too was released in 2006, a mere year after their formation.  Even in this, their first label release, the lyrics are excellent, the vocals sound great and the guitar riffs and drumming is top notch, and this is only the first release.  The style is similar to maybe Jimmy Eat World or Fall Out Boy, well without the pretentiousness of Fall Out Boy.  Their lyrics are easy for the average person to connect with and show that they are just like us, the everyday person.  They like hanging out with friends, have loved and lost and have been through life events like the rest of us.  Its just a great, solid, enjoyable first effort that you can listen to straight through.  Since I always pick some favorite tracks, here they are….Gravity, New City, Going For My Lungs, Evermore, Stay, We’ve Been at This, Surrounded and I Believe You.

Secrets Keep You Sick 2007

Coming hot on the heels of their last well received album, Secrets, shows them grow and mature both lyrically and musically. Just like their last album, The sing what they know, and those things are what most of us can relate too.  The lyrics are more complex as is the music itself, but it still has the sound that I love from the first album.  Its a good all around second effort and won’t disappoint.  It’s upbeat and listening to it always makes me feel that no matter what happens, others have been through it and everything will work out.  As with the first album it’s very easy to listen to the whole album all the way through…..multiple times.  My favorite tracks are….. Medicine,  Your Secrets Keep You Sick,  New Skeptic, Closer, Down In Doubt and Living, Hey Rebekah, Castrophe!, and Revisited.

Dear Future, Come Get Me 2011

Well, it was 4 long years (give or take an ep or Christmas song) before The Fold released their 3rd Album, Dear Future, Come Get Me.  It was well worth the wait, because quite frankly it might be the best album they have put out to date.  It not only showed more growth lyrically and musically, but also showed how much they had matured as not only artists but as people as well.  I guess you could say The Fold grew up, then again I’ve seen and heard of some of their antics so I won’t go that far.  If you get the album from their website, you get 2 bonus tracks.  They’re parody tracks, one is Every Band in the USA, a Miley Cyrus parody which is really well done and fires shots at the autotuned bands that are so popular these days (Yeah, I’m that old that I’ll use a phrase like these days) and manufactured pop music.  And you know what? It’s great because finally someone stands up and calls them out.  The other is Can’t Stop Twitterin’, a Weezer parody and a great track about the Twitter craze and the people that twit about every little thing.  Oh and there are also a bunch of other great tracks, such as….File Under Ground (Take Me In),  Hold on,  Red Wine, Dear Future, Seventy Five Outgoing Calls, Sink or Swim, I Know Where I’m Going and Neverender.
Dear Future wasn’t just an album title, but a statement by the band.  For this release they left their label and are making the music they want on their terms and doing a damn fine job of it.  The album is also a look towards the future and the future looks bright so far.

Conclusion

The future indeed looks bright, in the last year they’ve done the theme for the 2012 Denver Broncos, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Carolina Panthers along with the tv show LEGO Ninjago.  Oh and probably most importantly, they also wrote the theme song for the Chicago Cubs that is used at the opening of every WGN radio broadcast, it’s the most important because they’re huge Cubs fans.  They also have a new EP on the way this summer.  Did I mention they also have some great videos on their youtube channel www.youtube.com/user/TheFoldMusic also make sure to check them out at www.thefoldrock.com.  So if you like non synthesized real, genuine fun punk pop rock please check them out and enjoy!

-John

 

Vegas baby! Day 3

Vegas baby day 3

How did it end?  Well not bad….overall.  We checked out at 11 then decided to grab lunch.  We decided to go to the Paris buffet.  So we got there and saw one hell of a line.  Now I’ve eaten there before and thought it was good, just not 30 minute wait good.  So we walked a bit further to the little “outdoor” cafe.  We checked out the menu, but decided tobstill go somewhere else.  My only requirement was tht it wasnt Bill’s again.  So as we walked back towards Ballys we so a gourmet burger place, Le Burger Brasserie. Now I had heard the place was pretty good so we decided to check it out.  Of course the waitresses dresed in a red corset kind of top and black hot pants may have influenced the decision also.  My buddy oredered the kobe burger, I ordered the Italian burger, medium of course. 

The burger was awesome, it had mozzerella, pancetta, oruguella, red onion and tomato.  It had a choice of buns also, we both picked the parmasean roll, which made the Italian even more awesome.  My buddy got the kobe burger, which he said was pretty good also.  If you’re in Vegas and want a unique and good burger (and dont mind spending 16 bucks for the combo) you should try it.

After lunch we went back to the Wheel of Fortune machine.  My buddy started playing, I decided that since I was up, I wasn’t going to play at all.  So we had about 3 hours till we needed to head for the airport, and based off the day before, my buddy thought his last 25 bucks would last the 3 hours.  He was wrong.  So after maybe an hour tops we headed for the airport…..nows when things would get interesting.

So we headed for the US Airways check in, only to find there was no record of us or the flight…because it was serviced by United Airlines.  Those of you that know me, know my luck with United, 3 flights and problems with all 3.  I figured what woukd the odds be that it would be 4, besides we didn’t have a choice anyway.

So we went to the self checkout, which went fine.  It even asked us if we wanted to look for an earlier flight, since we were so early, we fugured why not.  So we went through the whole proces, only to get an error and confirmation code.

So went and talked to a nice lady at the counter that said it would be 75 bucks.  We dnidnt remember reading that, but we probably just didnt pay attention.  So we declined and with our flight, she was nice enough to put us in economy plus for no extra charge though, which was awesome. 

So we got to the gate and hung out for awhile.  We were way early so we walked around the D concourse at McCarren,which I thought was very nice.  I even found and bought a shirt I liked.  We went back to the gate and saw that the flight was on time and that boarding would start at 6:03pm Vegas time, putting us into O’Hare at around midnight Chicago time.  So we ran over to the California Pizza Kitchen.

When we got back to the gate, I noticed that it had been pushed back till 7:30pm….4 times I’ve flown United, 4 problems, I know its not really their fault, I just have bad luck with them..and will now pay the little extra for American, since I’ve never had problems with them.  Oh, and remember, our US Airways flight Saturday was delayed also, what are the odds twice in one weekend with two different airlines!? 

So after a few more minutes it was pushed to 8:00pm.  Which puts us into O’Hare at 1ish.  I was a bit irritated but what can you do?  Then came the announcment that the plane would come in about 735 and that if we weren’t boarded with the door closed by 8:15pm the pilots would illegal and we couldn’t leave….until God knows when tomorrow! 

So, again I was irritated but holding it together.  I will give the crew a ton of credit, they pulled it off.  They deplaned a 757 and boarded us before 8:15.  In fact, we got asked if we wanted the emergency aisle seats, which have awesome leg room.  Also, its funny how much more forgiving you are when the first class flight attendant gives you a free mini bottle of Bicardi Superior to go with your Coke.  She along with the rest of the crew, grounf crew and gate agents did a great job of getting us airborn.

That being said, I still doubt I’ll fly United again,  I’ve only flown US Airways twice and got delayed once, so I’ll probably give them another shot.  Because of the delay I am typing this in the air and when I finally get home at like 2am I’ll turn on my wifi and post it…..if I don’t pass out first…..still though…..Vegas baby!

Stay posted for a recap of the trip in the next day or two, hope you enjoyed reading.  If you did, please share the link, oh and as usual, thanks for reading!

John

Oh and in case you didn’t realize, I did in fact fall asleep at 2am before posting.

What did we learn this week? week 3

Well, its Friday, so it’s another edition of what did we learn this week? Well first off…..

Incest might not be best…..but it might be the only choice in Iceland!  Apparently its hard to find someone to date….in Iceland.  The population is so small, roughly the size of Pittsburgh, that people will sometimes start dating someone only to find that they are a long lost relative!  So to help this problem some very nice people have started a searchable database…for the link to the full story please visit my good friend, anacristina79’a blog at http://anacristina79.wordpress.com/2012/02/11/icelanders-avoid-inbreeding-through-online-incest-database/

I now pronounce you sausage and green peppers.  If you and your significant other are really into pizza and have 10k you now can have Pizza Hut take care of that pesky ring for you with their engagement package.   Yup you heard right.  Want to know more? Once again anacristina79 can be thanked for this one!  http://anacristina79.wordpress.com/2012/02/13/pizza-huts-10000-engagement-party-package-includes-a-ring-fireworks-and-pizza/

From the “you can never have enough bacon” department.  Well I love bacon, but I even think this goes a bit far.  Apparently Jack in the Box now is offering an extremely limited time bacon shake….yup you read that right.  They didn’t say how limited, so if you’re a bacon fan and want one you might want to visit the Jack in the Box website to find out where to get your fix!

Whitney Houston died? What should we do? Well if your the same company I bitched at last week for not offering a UMD game exchange program in the US (yeah I’m talking about you Sony!) you raise the prices on her CD’s, well at least until you get caught!  Sony put the prices back then apologized but seriously Sony wise up will ya?  The link can be found here at my friend anomic office drones blog, if you want the full story http://anomicofficedrone.com/2012/02/13/you-stay-classy-sony/

For all of you Grateful Dead fans with….cough….cough…. Glaucoma…The US is close to legalizing medical marijuana everywhere as long as it abides by the Washington DC rules….I would tell you more about it, but to be honest typing this is making me hungry so head over to http://anacristina79.wordpress.com/2012/02/14/congress-oks-medical-marijuana-everywhere-with-dc-rules-attorney/ for the link to the full story!

D’oh! Guess who got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame?  That’s right Chelsea Handler…..er no….wait….I mean Matt Groening!  Yup the creator of The Simpsons and Futurama has finally been awarded his very own star on the walk of fame.  I may not be a huge fan of the last few seasons, but I love the older ones and think this star was a long time coming and well deserved, kudos Matt!   For more check out http://anomicofficedrone.com/2012/02/14/matt-groening-just-got-a-star-on-the-hollywood-walk-of-fame/

The Godfather part 4, What do you do if you’re a Sicillian drug dealer on the run from the Sicilian mafia…..er…..government?  Well if you’re an idiot like Michele Grasso, you run to London then post pictures of your escapades showing famous places….oh did I mention he even labeled a photo album Christmas in London?  Yup pure genius and now you can guess who’s being extradited back to Sicily.  The full article is over here at my other good friend Danny Carbons blog http://dannycarbon.com/2012/02/15/sicilian-fugitive-deported-after-london-whereabouts-revealed-on-facebook/

They do exist! Well according to Timothy Good anyway.  The best part? He says that Eisenhower had 3 secret meetings with them! Yup, he appeared on a BBC2 program discussing it.  The article also has some other info, how true it is I don’t know but its a good read! So check it out over at Ray Alex’s http://reinep.wordpress.com/2012/02/15/former-us-president-eisenhower-had-three-secret-meetings-with-extra-terrestrials/ and enjoy!

Put them in the Iron Maiden! Yup you Bill and Ted fans know that statement, and also you know I ain’t talking about the torture device either!  Iron Maiden announced their Maiden England World Tour! Yup so look to see if they’re coming to a city near you!

Be honest, you didn’t really buy the electric car to save the world….did you?  Because if you did guess what?  You may be making it worse!  Yup, a study that focused 34 Chinese showed that the amount of fine particle emissions produced to make the electricity for the electric cars was worse then from regular cars.  If you want the full story the link can be found here http://anacristina79.wordpress.com/2012/02/15/study-shows-impact-of-electric-cars-is-worse-than-petrol-powered-vehicles/

Thanks to the good folks over at http://larryfire.wordpress.com/2012/02/15/did-you-know-that-it-costs-2-4-cents-to-make-one-penny/ I now know that it takes 2.4 cents to make a penny!!! what the F#$%? why are we still making them!? they can be found on any street in the union! pay the homeless and unemployed to pick them up and return them! I mean we actually lose money making the things, no wonder we’re broke, any way head over to the above link for the full story!

So I find its funny that everyone seems to focus on movie and music piracy hurting the respective industries, but why is no one talking about technology knock offs?  Well my friends at the Ramblings of a Techie blog discuss this very topic, http://theatretechgeek.wordpress.com/2012/02/17/chinese-rips-off-damaging-the-industry/  enjoy!

And on the lighter side….er darker side?  Forbes magazine put together a list of where exactly the Galactic Empire and Emperor Palpatine went wrong! So enjoy!

Oh, and the last thing I learned this week is that when UPS says 2 days guaranteed means “we’ll get it there when we damn well please”  I find it funny that a company that loves logistics they don’t know what the f they are doing.  See, my package shipped on the 15th, 2nd day air.  I live near Chicago so imagine my surprise when I saw it landed in Des Moines Iowa, instead of at Ohare airport, then hopped on a truck to go from Des Moines, back to….Des Moines! yup it departed then a half hour later arrived there again! then departed like 10 hours later to come to Chicago by truck! WTF happened to the air part of the 2nd day air?!  So once again, UPS is late getting me a package, and before you jump on me, the original date that THEY said it would be delivered was the 17th.  So UPS gets the middle finger award for the week!

Enjoy your weekend!

John

What did we learn this week?

So I decided to finish the weeks off by trying to briefly go over a few things I learned this week, both on line and in real life.

Bamboo can make a cellphone

Well, to be fair, bamboo and a creative UK student can make a pretty slick looking prototype phone, hopefully it becomes a reality!  Here’s a link to a CNET article so you can learn more!

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-57370680-1/adzero-brings-students-bamboo-phone-concept-to-life/

The Edmonton Oilers (its a hockey team) have apparently perfected time travel.

So even though I am a self proclaimed geek and nerd, I still like some mouth breather things, like hockey.  I’m a huge Blackhawks fan and when I see them allow 17 goals in 2 games against the Edmonton Oilers, I assume its because Edmonton has perfected time travel, went back to 1985 and brought Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier forward in time and gave them Gagner jerseys to wear.

It’s the end of an era, McDonalds discontinues the use of “Pink Slime” as a filler.

Well to be fair, everyone said “slime” to me it looked like pink toothpaste but eh, still.  Apparently they were taking all the leftovers from processing meat and using some chemicals to make it “safe” to add to meat.  Granted I never heard of someone dyng from it, but still kind of gross.  If you want to read more check it out here…

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/mcdonald-confirms-no-longer-using-pink-slime-chemicals-171209662.html

Nicole likes farts….yup

So yeah, apparently Nicole over at http://soyouhaveagirlfriend.com/ likes farts! you don’t see that everyday from a woman.  Head over and check out this weeks episode!  If you haven’t heard about http://soyouhaveagirlfriend.com/ give it a try!

Felicia Day is a internet pioneer……and an awesome red head!

Yup those of you that know me already knew that i thought that, but what the hell I thought I’d give a short overview of her and why I think that.  You can get more info on my blog https://johnsbluebox.wordpress.com/2012/01/31/whos-that-girl-felicia-day/ or at… http://feliciaday.com/

Long wait for new sci-fi…..

If you’re a sci-fi fan, you may have to wait until mid year for your favorite show to come back, maybe even longer.  Check out my blog entry about it for more info.  https://johnsbluebox.wordpress.com/2012/01/30/what-the-wheres-my-sci-fi/

Achievements….for working in an IT department?

Yup, it was inevitable, eventually someone was going to combine their love of video games, IT and perhaps The IT Crowd into one awesome list of real life achievements to accomplish….  find it here!  http://evilrouters.net/achievement-unlocked/  See how many you can unlock!!

The Hunger Games are almost here!….and I feel fine…

So the long awaited Hunger Games are coming to the big screen and sadly I couldn’t really care so far.  I tried reading the books a couple of times and they just didn’t work for me.  The plot isn’t bad, I like the idea, just didn’t care for the books, maybe I’ll give them another chance in a bit.  Maybe I’ll like the movie though, I mean I didn’t like the LOTR books either, but the movies are some of my favorites….only time will tell…

You can punch a co-worker……if one’s  a douchbag and the company farms out its HR department…..

At a company a friend of mine works at, there are two sales guys.  One is a complete and utter ass.  I mean he makes horrible jokes to the customers and everything.  The other guy is a good guy and a good sales guy, he doesn’t bring in as much money as the jerk though.  Also, just an fyi, I’m not talking about like a store here, these are corporate accounts.  So the jerk was talking to an executive assitant and said, “I should have (other guys name here) file these papers!” and laughed.  Then guy number 2 said, “HEY! I’m standing right here!”  there was some other snide remark from the jerk off, then the nicer guy punched him in the back of the head!  Now all of us have had to deal with this jerk and the other guy did what we all wanted to do.  We thought he was going to get fired.  Now comes the fun part! The company doesn’t have a Human Resources department! It’s farmed out! So after two weeks or so of going through paper work, the HR company said that whatever happens to one guy has to happen to the other, so instead of reprimanding or firing anyone, they both walked away! so if your going to hit someone, make sure they insult you first, and that your HR department is off site so they don’t see it!

Want to break old printers and fax machines? I’ve got the soundtrack for you!

I know its old but no other soundtrack is better for destroying office equipment, well and office’s in general, then the Office Space soundtrack.  God its awesome to wreck stuff to that one, especially the Scarface track that’s on it.

Well that’s what I learned this week and I hope you learned it as well!  So stay tuned for more blogs and hey please check out my Beer Show over at my youtube channel….  http://youtu.be/QlHziuQCDNM  and if you’d like check out the rest of them also at http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLF257ED14691B4177

So once again thanks for reading!

Who’s that girl……..Felicia Day?

Some of you may know her from her TV work on shows such as, Monk, Lie to Me, House, Eureka, Dollhouse and most notably a little known show called Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  On the set of Buffy she met some guy named Joss Whedon.  Joss was also working on another little known (hope you guys are catching the sarcasm) show called Firefly (best sci-fi show ever! damn you fox!)  What makes me think you should know her?  Well, for one, I have never heard a bad thing about her, and every interview I have ever seen she is the nicest person you could imagine.  Two, in my opinion and in the opinion of many others, she is the pioneer when it comes to web shows or web series.  Third aside from being cute, she also is one of the few people that truly are a nerd do well story, and I mean that in a good thing.

So lets skip the TV acting stuff and go straight to the reason I think she is someone you should know.  If you’re reading this blog you probably have an interest in computers, games, comics, sci-fi basically general nerd/geek stuff like me (or you’re one of my friends just trying to humor me)  As a youth and to this day she also had some if not all of those interests.  One day back in the mid 2000’s (not sure exactly when, I would ask, but I’m pretty sure I probably wouldn’t get an interview to find out things like this) She started playing WoW (World of Warcraft for you norms)  Through her time playing she started to have an idea for a show about people that play MMORPG’s (Massive…..oh you know what, if you want to know what it stands for look it up) Thus The Guild was born.  The Guild focuses on the online and real life adventures (sometimes misadventures) of a group of  6 MMORPG players.  She started writing the script for TV but eventually started to film episodes herself with the help of Jeff Lewis, Sandeep Parikh, Jane Selle Morgan and Kim Evey.  The rest of the cast Vincent Caso, Amy Okuda, Robin Thorsen, were found through auditions.  After 3 episodes they ran short on cash and she asked for donations through Paypal.  Eventually enough money came in to finish the first season of The Guild.  She was so dedicated that she even handed out fliers at comic conventions promoting the show, it found an audience and now has over 69 million views, 5 awards and 7 nominations.  I think that part of the success is due to how much they seem to squeeze into and episode that is less then 10 minutes long.  The amount of character development shows to me that she really cares about her creation and is in it for more then just money, she wants the fans to enjoy it also.  This shows even more then you would think, when casting for extras for I believe season 2, they invited fans off of their forums to be the extras, that’s pretty kick ass.  The Guild has since expanded into the comic book realm also and has been called the inspiration for “Doctor Horrible’s Sing Along Blog” by Joss Whedon.  She is doing what everyone of us nerds would like to, make a living on something we like to do.

It doesn’t stop there though.  She also did some voice over work for video games.  Then it came out that she was a big Dragon Age fan.  She then wrote and starred in the Dragon Age:Redemption webseries, Bioware liked the series script enough that they even gave her Elven assasin Talis her own DLC for the game.  Felicia was not only the voice over for the character but it was also modeled after her.

She also seems to be genuinely nice to her fans.  My wife and 2 of our friends went to Wizard World Chicago in 2011.  We stopped in at the Rock Jocks (its a movie that Felicia is currently working on) panel.  She was very sweet and pretty gracious to everyone that asked her questions and even talked a little bit about the guild and Buffy.  Either she is the greatest Thespian ever, or she really is the person you see in all the interviews.  She was shy, funny and even at times somewhat awkward, but always she seemed completely honest.  Outside of the convention center we almost met her.  Except that all four of us were too chicken shit to go say hi.  we saw her, Jeff Lewis, and I believe two other people walking out and right past us, within like 20ft (I later found that they were going across the street to Gibsons for dinner) but none of said anything, we just all kind of stared with awkward smiles!

So anyway, if you are a nerd, geek, wanna be producer, director, actor, writer or anything else related, you should take her example.  I believe I heard her say once (I think on The Nerdist Podcast) that you should just keep putting content that you want to make out there, don’t try to please anyone else, and eventually something will stick.  She is one of the reasons (along with a few others like the boys over at Nerdist, Chris Hardwick, Jonah Ray and Matt Mira) that I started blogging again and started my own webseries about beer (http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLF257ED14691B4177) come on, I have to plug myself!  I have two other ones in the works, just need the time and some cast members.  So I highly recommend watching some of her interviews, listening to some podcasts with her, follow her on twitter (she does answer) and if you like games, give The Guild a try along with The Jeff Lewis 5 minute comedy hour (she guest stars on one)  So thanks for reading!

P.S. Felicia Day if you happen to read this, I would love to be able to do like an email or chat interview with you!