Dusk And Autumn
The first time I talked to Chris Carrabba, I think I was still the office manager at Alternative Press. Most of my days were spent sorting mail, cleaning up after our gastrointestinally challenged cat Ogre and dreaming of writing pieces for the magazine that were more than 50 words. It must’ve been late 2001 or early 2002, and the whole editorial staff was prepping for AP’s “100 Bands You Need To Know” issue. I had been trumpeting Dashboard Confessional‘s awesomeness for months and I’m pretty positive that I got the assignment mostly because Jason Pettigrew was tired of me nagging him everyday. Hypothetical-yet-completely-possible conversational reinactment: Me: “Hey, Jason! I’ve seen the future of music and…
Enough Rope
Okay, it’s official. I’m the biggest slacker since Troy Effing Dyer. I honestly have no excuses except I’ve been trapped under something heavy—and by “something heavy,” I mean “shit-tons of work.” It’s true. Please forgive! I’ve never stopped thinking about you. Swears!! First things first, it’s about time that I announced the winner of my third Les Simes booktastic prize pack. If ya’ll remember, I asked you all to put your literary thinking caps on and tell me if you could have any author—alive or dead—write the story of your life, who would it be and why? Your answers were all completely brilliant but there can only be one winner. That said, I have to…
Drumroll Please…
An infinite amount of kudos go out to those who submitted answers to my second Twitter contest. I tip my imaginary hat to your creative awesomeness. Seriously, it really warms my cold, black heart that you all applied your iTunes imagination to this challenge and came up with some seriously amazing song titles. Howev, there can only be one winner and the lucky recipient of a Les Simes booktastic prize pack is… “If Only Duct Tape Could Fix Everything” by The Movielife off The Movielife Have A Gambling Problem EP, which was submitted by the lovely Cand. Congrats, Cand! Not only do you have super-fantastic taste in music (and books!!) but I love that you’re…
CRIBS!!
While I was distracting myself with a lil’ telly (so that I could avoid transcribing the final two Paramore interviews), I happened to turn on MTV and see The All-American Rejects hosting an episode of Cribs. Immediately, I was struck with two thoughts: 1. I had no idea they still made Cribs. 2. Doth my eyes deceive me or is that my literary awesomeness I see on the screen??? Okay, technically speaking, it’s a snipe of the first AAR cover for Alternative Press but I wrote it so, by the transitive property, I WAS TOTALLY ON CRIBS TODAY!! See for yourself… Back in my old Cleveland apartment, I even had the same poster displayed in…
Oklahoma, Okay!
When I was contacted by Dave at Oklahoma Lefty about doing an interview for him and his bitchin’ blog, I was stoked beyond words. Two of my dearest bros are from the lovely city of Edmond, so I feel like I’m kind of an Okie by association. I think the Q&A turned out awesome, especially because I heart being called “ultra-hilarious.” Score! I’m feverishly trying to do a million-and-a-half different things before I get on a jetplane tomorrow and fly to St. Louis, where I’ll be meeting up with Paramore on Wednesday. Eek!! I feel like I’m really breaking out of the retirement home for this piece because I haven’t written anything like it in…
Wish Upon A Shooting Star
The radtastic Miss Lauren Becker over at Shooting Stars Magazine did a lil’ Q&A with lil’ ol’ me. The online zine is super kick-ass and there are some amazing author interviews on there. You should most def take some time and check it out—if for nothing more than to read my deep and eloquent thoughts on Gilmore Girls and Angels & Kings!! I’m talking about ground-breaking revelations, people. Also, if you aren’t already following me on Twitter, GET WITH THE PROGRAM!! You can find me at http://www.twitter.com/redpatterndress. I’m leaving next week to spend some QT with this really small, unknown band. You prolly haven’t heard of them. They’re called Paramore and I think they’re gonna…
Jealous?
I spent most of yesterday doing something super-awesome and super-stealth! Hmmm… I wonder what that could be…
