The Android Frenzy

Over the past few weeks, I have come across some way awesome apps for my Android phone.  I have the LG Optimus S from Sprint, and I really love this phone.  I kind of wish that I'd gone with the Evo--mainly because of its humongous screen--but this phone does everything that I want and more.  I debated for a while whether or not it was worth it to change data plans just for an Android, but all of my doubts were blown away the second I got to play with it.

The first app that really changed my Android experience was Teamviewer, an app designed for remote desktop capabilities.  My uncle was visiting from Oregon about two months ago, and was using one of our computers to send off some important emails.  He was kicking himself because he didn't have some files from his computer that he really needed to refer to, and he asked me if there was any way to get into his computer from Utah.  I told him no as a short answer...at least not without someone on the other end setting it up, and without going through the hassle of setting up Windows Remote Desktop, which is a huge pain and has been known to be insecure at times.

I got to thinking about that answer, however, and decided to research different ways to remote control my computers, because I knew that it would be very convenient to be able to access my computer from school, or even to take over my dad's computer to help him solve a computer issue without having to physically be sitting at his machine.

What shocked me is that Teamviewer--which is a free program, by the way--has a mobile app for both Android and iPhone that allows you to access you computer(s) from your phone, using the touch screen to control the mouse.

It's crazy that you can actually do anything on your computer through your phone or the Web that you normally could do, including surfing the Internet, restarting your computer, or even playing games and watching movies.  It even has a file transfer mode that lets you transfer files from your computer at home to the one you're using.  For example, if I were to forget my homework on my personal computer, I could log in from a school computer, transfer the file, and print it out.

One thing I really love about Sprint is their cooperation with Google to provide a bunch of sweet features.  Sprint just barely integrated with Google Voice, which has been super convenient for me.  Now, my voicemail is completely controlled through Google Voice, which means that I can set up different voicemail greetings, depending on who's calling me (i.e. I can a different message play for when work calls me, and a completely different message for when a venue calls wanting to book my band for a gig).  It also transcribes all of my voicemails into text, so if I can't listen to my message immediately because I'm somewhere loud or only have time to quickly glance at my phone, I can read when the message is about.  It also uploads all of the messages to Google, so I can read and/or play them from my computer.  It is a super time-saver.

Google has some really cool apps that I am impressed with besides Google Voice.  A brand new app that was just released as a beta is called Google Music.  This app has two aspects.  The first is a music player that is very similar to an iPod, with the ability to listen to the music on your phone by artist, album, playlist, etc.  I only have three albums on my phone at the moment, but I love cranking the tunes when I'm out feeding the dog or taking the car after misplacing my iPod, since I am very anti-radio when I can help it (why listen to commercials and songs you don't want to hear if you don't have to).

The even cooler aspect of Google Music is the "cloud" feature, which is currently by invitation only.  It lets you upload music from your computer, like from iTunes for example, and listen to it anywhere.  This means that I could pull out my phone and listen to any of the music on my computer, without actually having to download the song onto my phone or store it on my SD card.  I have an 8GB SD card for my phone, but I still don't want to overload it with music.  The three albums I have on my phone are two Coheed and Cambria albums that I listen to all the time, and my recently disbanded rock band Formerly So, in case I want to show it off to somebody.  I really hope I get invited to participate in the cloud beta, because I'd love to have more music on my phone, especially because it has a headphone jack and a powerful speaker.

The last app that I found was actually made known to me tonight at work by my friend and coworker Jared.  He busted out his phone while we were about to leave (which is also an Android phone), and I saw that his texting app was way cooler than the original Android Messaging app.  It had a sweet grunge-like theme and had the threads animated with color-coded word bubbles, apparently like the iPhone.

The app is called Handcent, and--like all of the other apps that I've mentioned--is completely free.  I chose to set up mine with the same grunge theme that Jared had, called Metal (shown above), but there were tons to choose from.  I also like how the pictures for each contact are much bigger, which helps me to quickly recognize who I'm talking to.

I love how the Android phones are so easily customized.  After installing these apps, and designing my own Coheed and Cambria wallpaper for my phone, I feel like it's completely different from the phone I bought a few months ago.  Even though I'm anxiously waiting for my upgrade period to arrive so I can move up to the Evo or Nexus S, or whatever cool new phone is out when the time comes, this phone has been perfect for me and has really lived up to its name.

Neverender: SSTB

Last night I had the awesome chance to see my favorite band, Coheed and Cambria, play a live show at In The Venue in Salt Lake City.  This was a show unlike any other, because the band had no opening bands and played a full hour by themselves.  In fact, the show was referred to as An Evening with Coheed and Cambria.

This show was also an encore of the Neverender concert series that they did a few years ago, during which they performed their full albums straight through.  This was the Second Stage Turbine Blade session, meaning that they performed their first album in its entirety.

I went tot he show with Brayden and my friend--who is also Brayden's cousin--Andrew.  We hit Salt Lake City early so we could avoid rush hour traffic, which meant we were able to cruise the Gateway and grab some dinner at a really good Mexican restaurant...that I still can't pronounce.  It was also just great to sit down and chat with my good friends.

I had been reading articles about this concert series, and Claudio (Coheed's vocalist and guitarist) mentioned that they prided themselves in their large merch table at shows, so I couldn't enter the venue without immediately jumping in line to buy myself a t-shirt and other knick knacks.

When the show began, Coheed came out and played a full acoustic set.  I knew they were going to play some stuff from Claudio's solo project, Prize Fighter Inferno, but for some reason I didn't realize they'd also be playing some of my favorite songs like Mother Superior, Always and Never, and even Here We Are, Juggernaut.  They even played a brand new song entitled Iron Fist.  It was awesome.

Claudio was hilarious.  He walked out with some thick, white-framed glasses and when someone yelled out a comment about them, he laughed and said, "Well, they were 50% off on clearance at Lenscrafters."  Man, he's such a cool guy.  Even Travis, the lead guitarist, was way funny and happy, and performed a Bob Dylan song in which he performed lead vocals.  And of course, I was blown away by bassist Mic Todd.

After the acoustic set, they walked off stage while the techs rearranged the stage for the electric sets.  Then, after about twenty minutes, they came back out on stage and performed the entire album Second Stage Turbine Blade.  It was a great performance.  When their hit song Devil in Jersey City began, the whole place was jumpin'.  My copy of this album was always pretty bad quality, and so I never really listened to it before I had a ticket to the show, after which I decided it was time to get a playable copy so I could get the most out of the concert.  It has now become an album that I listen to all the time, regardless of the concert.

As stated in a previous blog, I also began reading the comic books The Amory Wars, that inspired Coheed's albums, which made it that much better to watch them perform living, understanding what each song signified.

After performing the hidden track on the album, entitled IRO-bot, which was amazing, they retreated from the stage once again.  After the crowd cheered them back, they returned to play ANOTHER set with songs from all of their albums.  They played a lot of my favorites, including Welcome Home, Ten Speed, and No World for Tomorrow.

And if that wasn't enough, after playing that set of songs, they returned to the stage one final time to perform an acoustic rendition of the additional track Elf Tower New Mexico from their second album, In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3.  They said their farewells, and thus concluded the best show I've ever attended in my whole life.

It was such a fun night, and I spent it with some of my best friends, which made it even that much cooler.  Not to mention that Brayden is the biggest Coheed and Cambria fan I've ever met, besides myself, so it was perfect to rock out next to him...even though we did get lost from each other in the mosh pit since he's about a foot taller than me.

I was so glad I was able to hit that show, and really hope Coheed comes back soon.  It was an unbelievable show in every aspect.

Coheed & Comic Books

I can honestly say that I have never been into comic books...until now, that is.  I got my first taste when I started listening more to the band Coheed and Cambria, a progressive rock, concept band who base their albums around segments of their comic book series called the Amory Wars.

I have always been a fan of Coheed and Cambria, and they have been in my list of Top 3 favorite bands for at least the past year.  However, I really started listening more to them around the same time the issues concerning my band arose.  I found that it was really easy to get lost inside the music with these concept albums, as opposed to other genres of music, where every drum beat and bassline would remind me of my band and of the stress its issues were thrusting upon me.

Not only that, but the music is just...good, very simply put.  The guitar riffs are intricately composed, the basslines are genius, and the vocals have a range and force that is unheard of.  It's music that I can listen to for hours on end without growing tired of it...and frankly I have, as I've listened to almost nothing but Coheed for the past few weeks.

This is, in part, in preparation for this coming Tuesday, May 3rd.  Brayden (Formerly So vocalist and my good friend) and I, along with Andrew Alder (another good friend and former rhythm guitarist of Formerly So), Brayden's sister Sadie, and a few others, all have tickets to see Coheed and Cambria live at In The Venue in Salt Lake City.  It's going to be a show like none other.  It is an encore to their Neverender concert series, and they will be the only band performing that night.  They will begin by playing their album Second Stage Turbine Blade in its entirety, followed by an acoustic set and most likely a set/encore of other songs in their arsenal.

I've never been so excited to see a live show, and I really cannot wait until Tuesday.  Needless to say, I am preparing myself nonstop to get the most out of this show, including reading Amory Wars, listening to and studying the albums (especially SSTB), and learning the biographies of the band's members.  I'm sure I'll remember this show for a long time, and I'm glad I've got some great friends who will be able to share the experience with me.

/myuˈzɪʃən/

Definitions aren't just a part of the dictionary.  I believe that everyone has their own definition.  This may sound pretty cheesy, like something that would be the plot of some high school-themed movie about jocks, nerds, and drama geeks, but it's true.

Not only do definitions apply to everyone, but for the most part people define themselves.  It may be a subconscious thing, or it may be physical.  But needless to say, it happens.  To know how your life is defined, you just have to think what it would say next to your name if you were to look yourself up in the "dictionary of life."

I mention all of this because I have come to recognize that I have come to recognize the definition that I've given of myself, especially in the past three years, if not longer.  In reality, I'd have to say it's been for about the past six.  And, essentially, I have defined myself as a musician.

I have always been, for the most part, a shy guy.  Although I like sports, I've never been a super jock and haven't played on any high school teams.  I'm not the guy that can effortlessly walk up to a cute girl that I see in the hallway and get her number, and although I think I'm a pretty approachable, interesting guy, I'm not the attention-seeker in a class that shouts out funny comments to get laughs.

But all of that is different when I have a guitar in my hands.  When I am performing in front of people, I know no fear.  I have no problem running and jumping all over the stage, being crazy and acting like a rock star.  It's like second nature to me.  I have always said that music is my "out," a way for me to come out of my shell and to show a different side of me.

I love every aspect of music.  I can easily spend hours sitting down with my bass, my acoustic guitar, or on the piano, meticulously plucking away at notes trying to come up with something cool, or trying to learn how to play my favorite songs or tweak them to my liking.  I love how lyrics can be seamlessly intertwined with music to create a work of art as well.  In fact, even while I was on my mission in Brazil, I spent my down time on preparation days sitting down with a notepad and a pen, scribbling down lyrics that one day I hoped to blend with some music.

I have also really thrived at playing the part of the "musician," playing in shows, practicing with a band comprised of my best friends, writing music, performing covers, recording albums, and self-promoting with every chance I got.  I loved the feeling of arriving at a venue with my gear, setting up, and walking on stage to play music that I had a part in writing to fans who paid money to see me play.  It is a pretty remarkable feeling.

Although music always took the primary spot on the importance scale in the musician's world for me, I really enjoyed being able to inform people of my music.  It was nice to let people know that I played in a rock band, and to let them listen to my music.  I enjoyed mingling with other bands and venue owners to talk music, and to plan events.  I adored hitting the social media outlets to let our followers know of new music being written, upcoming shows, and let them share in the life that I had.

Unfortunately, much of what I have said was in the past-tense.  Over a course of the past few weeks and months, much of this life took a brutal hit, and shook my entire life.  For the first time in three years, I had to ask myself the question, "where do I go from here?"  My band, as well as my way of life, began to dissolve around me, and it forced me to take a step back and attempt to perceive how exactly my life was defined.

I have spent the last three years knowing that band practice and shows, like paying taxes, was a surety and would be a regular occurrence.  Even with living the life of a rock musician, I had a very structured life.  However, suddenly the walls have come crashing down and I feel like I am standing in the middle of a whole, wide world with many directions to take.

I suppose that in many ways this is a good thing.  It helped me understand that I do have options in my life, and it helped me to realize what it is that I truly want to accomplish in my life, and that I have the power to make my own decisions.  But at the same time, it frightened me to take a look at my life and ask, "who am I when you take away the music?"

Suddenly, my life felt pretty empty.  A spell of depression hit as I realized that music is a very large chunk of my life.  Without music, I am a guy working at a low-paying job while I finish up my Bachelor of Science degree in Information Technology.  I am a guy with no girlfriend, on no sports team, and with a large pool of acquaintances but a small circle of friends.  I am a guy with a lot of free time, with no easy solution as to how to fill it.

But at the same time, looking closely at my life, it helps me to see exactly what I do have as well.  I am a guy who is only semesters away from having a 4-year college degree.  I am a returned LDS missionary who speaks fluent Portuguese, and who is true to his faith.  I am a certified computing expert who is very skilled technologically.  I am a kind, humble, funny, personable guy who enjoys people and is fun to be around.   And, of course, I am a musician, being musically talented.

In essence, when I look back, music is a very large part of my life, but it is not the only thing in my life.  Perhaps it was the perfect time for me to discover that.  I still enjoy music, and believe that I will always be able to consider myself a musician.  Whether I continue with the same group of musicians, find a new one, or continue to improve my musical abilities on my own, I will always have the passion for music that I always have, and will always let the power of music enrich my life.

Brain Poision

There are three specific times in my life--that I can remember--that I have experienced the harmful and devastating effects of alcohol on people that I care about.  Two of these occurred in Brazil, the third being more recent.

While serving my mission in  São Paulo, I lived in an interior city called São José dos Campos, in a neighborhood called Jardim Morumbi.  My companion and I, Elder Santana, were holding a baptismal service in the church, when a drunk man wandered in asking to hear more about this Mormon church.  After the program, we took him into the chapel and sat down with him, teaching him about the church, giving him the standard "first lesson."  He was interested in hearing more, so we began meeting with him regularly, after making him promise to be sober so we wouldn't be wasting our time teaching a man who was unable to coherently understand it.  He agreed.

With each lesson, he proudly announced to us that he had stopped drinking and was really excited to have a life outside of alcohol.  He was later baptized, and actively participated in the church.

Unfortunately, several weeks after Elder Santana was transferred, we received the sad news that Brother Sales, our convert, had suffered a relapse.  We went to his humble apartment and found him lying on his bed, drunk into a stupor.  I was very upset that he had returned to drinking, as I had been so impressed with the change in his life when he finally relinquished the bottle.  I asked him about it, and in a slurred voice he replied that he had been offered a drink by a friend and had been too afraid to deny, and after taking his first drink since sobering up, he fell down the slippery slope and was overcome by the temptation.

I just remember how sad it was to see him so overpowered by a drink, and how it had completely taken over his life.  He told me while lying on his bed that night that it was so hard to quit the first time that he didn't think he could ever do it again.  Despite our urging and helping him to return to sobriety, it was no use and he returned to the streets, going from bar to bar.  Throughout my remaining time in that area, when I would occasionally see him stumbling down the street, bottle in hand, it would also bring sad memories to the front of my mind.

The second experience I had on my mission involved a young man in his early twenties named Adriano, who lived in a neighborhood called Vila Galvão in Guarulhos, near the international airport.  He was divorced with a beautiful little girl.  He told us that he used to drink, and that vice had destroyed his marriage.

He readily accepted the Gospel and embraced the teachings, being baptized soon after beginning visits with me and my companion, along with his mother.  He thrived in the Gospel, making many new friends and really enjoying each week at church.  He even hit a bunch of single adult activities including dances and other activities.

However, he took a job that was extremely stressful, and one fateful night when the stress was smothering him, he made the mistake of turning to the bottle.  I never saw Adriano drunk like I did Sales, but the fact that he had returned to alcohol after it had sabotaged his family made him so upset with himself that he sent himself into a tailspin.  He no longer felt comfortable attending church, feeling inadequate for having relapsed that night, and I was transferred out of the area before I could see him turn around.

Those two examples were during my mission, but I had a more devastating experience the other night, and it was mostly due to the fact that the one brought to his knees by the alcohol was one of my best friends and mentors who I have looked up to for several years now.  I saw him so loaded that he was stumbling all over the place and literally had a very hard time stringing two words together.

It was surprisingly very hard to me to watch somebody that I had always taken advice from be brought down to the intelligence level of a small child.  Unfortunately, I lost a ton of respect for him that night, and I expect that it will be hard for me to take any advice from him in the future.  I hope this will change with time, but only time will tell.

The most upsetting part is that he has already beaten alcohol once several years ago, and vowed never to return to it, as he recognized just how much it had negatively affected his life.  I'm just hoping and praying that he makes this same epiphany once again and comes to his senses.  Once again, only time will tell.

The Bona Blues

I didn't get a chance yet to talk about our last band practice at Bona Signs, even though it was really awesome.  And now that Adam posted some sweet pictures on Facebook that he took with his nice SLR camera, I figure it's about time that I show them off a bit.

Two weeks ago, we had our second practice at the Bona Signs warehouse in Springville.  It was about as long as the first one, and once again we got a lot done, working on new and old songs, as well as some sweet covers we're trying to hammer out for our next shows.  There was, however, one very big difference that set this practice apart: the lighting.

In the center of the warehouse was a large, LED message board, like what are used on huge electronic marquees on billboards and at shopping malls.  Just drive down the freeway for 20 minutes--or even down state street in Orem so you can get blinded by the Supersonic Car Wash sign--and you'll know what I'm talking about.  We actually took our band promo pictures in front of a similar message board back when we were preparing our album.

Anyway, halfway through the practice, Brian shut off the main lights as Blue turned on the message board, bathing the warehouse in an eerie blue light.  It really made it fun to practice, as it almost made it feel as if we were at a show with stage lighting.

It also made for good practice, because it really tests your skill when you have to play an instrument in the dark, as you can't see what frets your playing and really have to rely on memory and feel.  Back when I played in my old band 2 The Same, and when I first started with Formerly So, I used to practice to the songs in my basement with the lights off and only the computer monitors to give me light, so that I could get used to it.  But it even close to the same.

It was definitely a band practice to remember, and really got us excited to hit some future shows, and to finish up all of the new songs we have in the hopper that are super close to being completed.

36 Holes in Two Days

Last weekend was the long-awaited golf trip that my Dad, my brother Easton, and I had planned months in advance.  We spent three days down in Mesquite, NV, as well as southern Utah, hitting some major golf courses and just having an all-around good time.

Now, I'm not a huge golfer.  In fact, before this trip, the last time I had been golfing was before my mission, meaning it had been at least four years, if not five.  I had the same set of clubs since when I was about fifteen or sixteen, and they weren't the best.  But the night before the trip, my dad and I hit Big 5, where we found an amazing left-handed set by South Bay that included 12 clubs, for only $129.  I didn't buy them, but the next morning my dad spent awhile on the phone with the manager, and talked him down to selling them for $97, and of course I jumped on that.  And I must say, they were definitely worth the money.

So, on Thursday afternoon after picking Easton up from school, we made the journey down to Mesquite, where we stayed at the Virgin River Motel & Casino.  We always stay at the Virgin River because not only do they have great prices and nice rooms, but their prime rib in their cafe is to die for.  And it's only five bucks.

Friday afternoon was our first round of 18 holes, at the Palms golf course...the one that is always advertised on TV on the Casablanca Resort and Casino commercials.  It was a beautiful course, and was a ton of fun.  I was actually impressed with how well I did, and attribute a lot of it to the new clubs.  Beginner's Luck played it's part as well.

The course had just about everything, with a ton of water shots, shorter par 3's, and even a sweet hole where we had to hit off a cliff into a valley below.  It was amazing.  Our tee time was at 2:30pm, which is considered a twilight tee time, and there was a good chance that we wouldn't be able to get all 18 holes in before it got dark.  But, with the moon in the sky and the sun going down, we finished the last hole and still made it back to the motel before it was completely dark.

The next morning we got up at 5am (Nevada time), packed up, ate breakfast at the cafe, and headed to Apple Valley, UT, for the Kokopelli golf course.  For those of you who don't know (and neither did I), Apple Valley is just past Hurricane, UT, near St. George.  We were actually comped the golf game by a friend of my dad's named Mike, who works on the magazine Fairway Golf.  It was really cool of him to do that, especially because the course is well-known and very expensive.

It was extremely windy on the course for about the first 10 holes, but it was still amazing, with tons of cliff/valley/canyon shots, and a sweet par 3 hole where we hit from one hilltop to another, shooting over the cart path down below.  It was very cool.  And at the end of the 18 holes, we were even given chicken enchiladas for lunch.  Can't beat that.

So, this weekend turned out to be a much-needed, relaxing vacation for all three of us, and it reminded me why I used to love golf when I was a teen.