Where the Wild Things Are

"Stay, don’t go. I’ll eat you up, I love you so.”

Quite a memorable line from Where Wild Things Are, so memorable it resonates. Resonates especially with Trenton Woodley, lead singer of Hands Like Houses.

In the song "The Definition of Not Leaving", Woodley quotes this particular line. And explains his connection in a recent interview with Sights of Sounds Magazine:

"I liked...the idea of the innocence of childhood which can be extended to anything. We are just human beings and while we learn different behaviors we’re still the same like, conscious soul. So I think I love the idea that this kid is just exploring what’s in front of him and he still wants to belong, he wants to rule, he wants to run, he wants to just experience everything. That idea of 'stay, don’t go, I’ll eat you up, I love you so' is just kind of reflective of not necessarily a negative side of humanity, but a side of us that is self-driven. You know we see the world through our own eyes and feel the world through our own senses? That’s kind of what it is. 'I’ll eat you up, I love you so,' is just me being who I am in my life. It means that it may have negative effects but I still want to love and be loved."

With this view on life, soon after signing with Rise Records, Woodley and the rest of Hands Like Houses approached a broader horizon of opportunity than just the city of Canberra, or even Australia. The horizon extended to America.

Jump starting themselves, they already had a fan base. Yet, credit goes to the 2012 American Warped Tour for solidifying the American fans. Not only is it a great place to launch a new album, according to Woodley, the lessons learned, the friendships gained and the fans interaction are the most rewarding part.

"It is a great way to interact and we like being out there and enjoying it on our own terms."

Rhythm guitarist, Alex Pearson adds:

"[This] was the first tour where we really got a chance to have “meet and greets” [air quotes]. Anyone can come up and talk to us but it just gave us the possibility for people to line up and just have some time to talk...We try to be as approachable as possible, and it’s the hardest thing to convey to people...When someone meets like either of us and they just sit there and don’t know what to say, but we are actually normal people."

After solidifying a fan base across the ocean, and a summer spent in our "foreign country", Hands Like Houses returned home. Capitalizing on their Australian Warped Tour, more fans recognized Hands Like Houses.

In 2015 the band hopes to return to the American Warped Tour. But who says you have to wait another year and a half to see them live?

No one!

Hands Like Houses were given the opportunity to headline an American Tour that begins May 6th.

And this is the song that hooked me...

This Is War

My eyes are opened.

Distrust, corruption, destruction are all under the radar. We turn a blind eye. Fixation is not in the equation, until Jared Leto took the courageous step to unveil the interworking of Record Labels.

After watching Artifact a documentary of 30 Seconds to Mars law suit for 30 million dollars with EMI’s record company, the corruption finally comes into view.  Not to say there have not been other law suits for artist being undermined—I could name numerous others, some even being with EMI—but Leto, the lead singer of 30 Seconds to Mars, documented the process.

It began with Leto, his brother Shannon, percussionist, and guitarist Tomo Miličević, deciding to break away from EMI. The original deal made in 1998 consisted of creation of five records. In California, though, even if the deal has not been satisfied, but has extended over seven years, which it had, the band has every right to breakaway. 30 Seconds to Mars knew this.

EMI on the other hand refused to accept their loss. Suing for 30 million, the band would still be in 2.7 million dollars of debt after paying.

With this in mind, Leto wanted to take this to court. In front of a jury, who would side with a musician opposed to a record label who obviously holds all the cards? Any label holds the cards. They have control of the money, even if they don’t exactly know how their industry fully works—the reason it is crumbling, and it has been since rock bands started in the 50’s and 60’s. In essence, the labels have been taking advantage of their musicians. For those who don’t care about the money and more about the music, and for new musicians who don’t necessarily know how the music industry works, this is a visual:

Credit to: Artifact Documentary Produced by Bartholomew Cubbins

The record label gives $250,000 as an advance to the artists, who then make the album. Say the album sells 500,000 copies at ten dollars. That’s five million dollars in revenue. But the record label takes 85% cut, removes the $250,000 advance, and all the money that has been given throughout the process of making the album—producing, marketing and touring. Leaving the artist $425,000 in debt, this carries from one album to the next.

This is not every case, though. The music industry has begun to fall as teenagers and others scam the internet for “free” music; therefore, record labels have created a new deal called 360. Instead of allowing the money from merchandising directly support the band, record labels are capable to collect money from every facet in which money is given.

Which is why I believe 30 Seconds to Mars should have stayed independent. They would be funding themselves, which they did during this law suit—creating a recording studio in the basement of a Hollywood Hills house, buying their own producers & technicians, marketing themselves. I have to have an omnimax view, though.  Leto brought it into perspective with one, simple, but not so simple statement. “Name one band that is independently labeled that has continued worldwide success.” Miličević could not answer.

Not to say people have not made it big over the internet because it has happened. But those people are sought out by the record labels. They’ve established themselves, and rarely turn down the deal. They are well aware of the opportunities that are available to them by taking the deal. Sadly, though, not everyone knows of the corruptness of the music industry.

If there is anything I wish I could’ve seen 30 Seconds to Mars create would be a new business. If they had taken advantage of their opportunity when EMI began to regroup by firing 2,000 employees, 30 Seconds to Mars had an opportunity to hire and create their own business. Their goal was to change music business, they did. But if they created their own record company with employees who had experience and be a welcoming, non-blinded business who clearly taught their artist and musicians of the interworking, eventually others would have to follow suit. There would be trust—no blackmailing, no suing, no undermining.

But 30 Seconds to Mars did a tremendous job in standing up for themselves. The long journey, stress-to-the-brim days, and sleepless nights paid off. After 211 days of disputing lawsuit a new contract was signed to terms written by 30 Seconds to Mars and accepted by EMI.

Although, 30 Seconds to Mars was never paid for their first two albums, their third album This Is War, inspired by the lawsuit sold over 2 million copies.

  

Trending?

My Chemical Romance. . . . . . saving lives since 2001

All time Low. . . . . . . . . . . . . . saving lives since 2003

Bring Me the Horizon. . . . . . . saving lives since 2004

Mayday Parade. . . . . . . . . . . . saving lives since 2005

Pierce the Veil. . . . . . . . . . . . . saving lives since 2007

You and Me at Six. . . . . . . . . . saving lives since 2008

Asking Alexandria. . . . . . . . . . saving lives since 2008

Of Mice and Men. . . . . . . . . . . saving lives since 2009

Sleeping with Sirens. . . . . . . . . saving lives since 2009

Obviously "Saving Lives" has been a trend throughout the years. And my guess is that all of us have either said it aloud or at least thought that a song, a band has saved our lives. I know I have.

But Chris Motionless of Motionless in White sheds a new light to this trend in his blog post. The "inspirational messages" bands and companies promote is overrated, according to Motionless. It's lost sincerity as the people promoting are well aware of marketing and how to sell product.

As an artist Motionless writes for himself, and himself only. His goal is neither to inspire or  discourage people. He has quit those onstage rants and everything else that could potentially tie into inspirational messages.

Motionless believes that YOU saved yourself--not the music, not the artist, not the band. YOU decided not to cut yourself and throw yourself over the ledge of despair. We as people, though, don't want to say we saved ourselves, we want to attribute our belief in life, our saving moment to someone else.

For a fact, I know it's difficult to give ourselves credit for saving our own lives. But not in this particular aspect.

When we are asked to describe ourselves, we downgrade or fall short of who we are. Instead of looking at ourselves and defining our uniqueness, we want to find other peoples "flaws" and "perfect characteristics"--raising our self-esteem or becoming overwhelmed with jealousy. We have always had little self-reflection. Therefore, the natural reaction to saving yourself is to give the credit to someone else

But the most annoying part for Motionless is to see the disingenuous people; only saying "Your music saved my life," to grab the attention. The façade is easy to see through.

In my opinion, not only does being disingenuous hurt the artist, but if you are not being truthful, to whom are you being truthful with?

No one. Not even yourself.

On the flip side, if you truly connect with the lyrics of a song, that is not bad or wrong. The intention, however, for Motionless is not written for the listener.

I find meaning in a plethora of songs and countless inspiring stories behind the artist. Yet, I also understand Motionless' view upon the subject.

So, I'm not sure where I'm standing.

But after reading Recess is Over, what are your thoughts on the matter?

It Arrived.

After two and a half months, it arrived! My personally signed Baptized lyric booklet.

 

I received Daughtry's CD as a Christmas gift from my sister. I was beyond stoked. I owned their previous three albums and loved their style. Either way, if I didn't receive Baptized, I would've bought it with Christmas money because Daughtry is one of those bands whoes music can be plagued on repeat without becoming annoying.

But more than their music, I look up to founder Chris Daughtry for seizing the opportunity to audition for American Idol.

Now, if asked who my American Idol is, I could never give one answer. I have to name them all. And only two have actually claimed the title of The American Idol. Daughtry being one of the people not claiming the title but the title does not signify the best.

Daughtry performed on the fifth season placing fourth. He is one of the most recognized artist from American Idol. Watching the show, I was only 9 but his music stuck with me. Even if I didn't remember his name and the name of his first single, I could never forget his voice.

It was not by chance that I stumbled across the self-titled debut, and from there, I could never stop listening.

But when I found the lyrics booklet missing from Baptized, my sister didn't miss a beat in the explanation:

"If the booklet was sent to 2800 Olympic Boulevard in Santa Monica California by December 1st, Daughtry will personally sign the booklet."

Excitement bubbled inside of me. And that same feeling resurfaced today when finding the envelope in the mail.

All four CD. And the last with a personalized touch. I never thought I'd see it come.

Prime

High school is the prime time, the prime time to begin establishing a foreground in music. Just look around. Most alternative bands, or bands in general for that matter,  have a background in experimenting with music, with connections, with people.

It's something I've considered. With friends as my foundation, they have supported and stabilized me in realizing and achieving my dreams. Reminding me: even if it the first attempt crumbles, when the drive for music is prominent there will be no question in picking up the pieces.

But where does the notion come from that to form connections in the music industry you have to be on the end of creating music?

Nowhere.

It’s the unstated assumption.

Although my music education can trace back to learning the piano at the age of 7, I only began because of the backbone of my mother. It was at 14 where I took the weight upon myself to enjoy the hours of practicing. It was not just a learning experience anymore, but a stress reliever and a growing passion.

I found the classical route was not the intended path on my part. After years of borrowing, learning, playing classical music, I bought a few sheets of popular pieces including Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood. Endless amounts of time spent sitting in front of ivory keys to play these familiar tunes.

To this day I still have a passion for piano; however, I teach myself. No teacher, but on my own time.

From day one, music had only been a hobby. I never considered a career from music. It is not practical, not in today's world. But only recently a new door had been open.

Audio engineering. Or Acoustical engineering call by its formal name. It's attaining the knowledge behind electrics and physics of sound—live or produced.

 
It's my time to learn now, while I'm in high school. It's time to search the surface of what my future may hold.

Restoring Force

A sea shell is more than an artifact of the ocean. It connects us to the elemental aura of water—the power of emotions, of truth, of creativity. According to Mesa Creative Arts, sea shells are healers, messengers and tools of transformation.

Although for Austin Carlile, lead singer from Of Mice and Men did not outright say this about their upcoming album cover, it might as well be true. The reason for a dark cerith shell to be the image of choice is to have a direct link to their previous album The Flood.

“Restoring Force is more than just a collection of songs but fundamentally a return to equilibrium,” Carlile said in an article with Alternative Press.

This album composed of material to solidify the band’s status in the music industry. For this third album, Carlile could not help but seek new horizons.

“[We are] pushing ourselves to write the most meaningful material Of Mice & Men has ever released,” Carlile said. “This was by far the most in-depth writing and recording processes we've ever been through.”

It is all influenced by life, this process of writing. After receiving open heart surgery in 2010, recently after acquiring his dream of becoming a musician, Carlile finally grasped the true meaning of gratitude.

“[The surgery] changed my entire world,” Carlile said in a recent interview with Pure Volume. “My heart was out of my chest on ice for two hours—I was being pumped full of somebody else's blood. It just made me see how precious life is all over again because even though the technology today is good there was still a 30- or 40-percent chance that I wouldn't survive the surgery.”

Just one situation influenced life. A new outlook equals a new person.

I am excited to see a reflection in Of Mice and Men’s music. From their metal vibes, now converting to a hard in-your-face aggression of rock ‘n roll as Carlile likes to put it; the sound will definitely have an impact on their fans.

Whether that is positive or negative impact, I don’t know. But I can tell you, I rarely, if ever, listened to metalcore genre. The screams were not appealing. Never could I decipher the lyrics, the meaning, or the pieces that hold the connection. But there is always room for compromise.

With knowing background, my eyes open to a whole new world, a world I never knew. One that I merely brushed away. In less than two weeks new fans will arise, while particular past fans will tear apart from the Of Mice and Men Family. Those who stay show loyalty. And for the loss, will be from their decision to reach equilibrium in life.

Waves lapping at the shore leave hints of the hidden lives that are altering, with little reminders that life leaves a legacy for others to find, for the calmest of water have reached a balance between the world above and below.