Must.Have.More.Rockstar!

It is not confirmed yet whether or not CBS is bringing back RockStar this summer.

We can’t let that happen! We got a great band back with RockStar:INXS, as well as JD, Marty, Suzie… We got to discover many great artists with RockStar:Supernova… Lukas, Toby and Juke Kartel, Magni, Dilana, Storm and her balls, Ryan, Josh… (and let’s not forget Dirty Phil and our MiZtreZZ Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!)

And most notably with both seasons, we discovered the talented musicians of the House Band… Jim, Paul, Nate, Rafa and Sasha. Those guys rocked our TV for both summers, and we love them for it! Without the TV show, most of us would have never heard of them or of their music.

The vast majority of us would have never heard of those all those talented people if it was not for RockStar!!! We need a third season! We need this great show on our tv this summer again!

If you want to help bring back one of the best reality tv show to CBS… Please write them a note and post it at the following address:

**UPDATED**

Ghen Maynard
Executive Vice President
CBS Paramount Network Television Entertainment Group
7800 Beverly Boulevard
Los Angeles , CA 90036

Or to email them, go visit the following link and fill out their form: CBS

Please please please please please!!! Do this once or twice a day for a month or so… CBS won’t be able to ignore all the mail and emails they’ll receive!!!

Another great idea is to send them one LETTER (not email) per day for 30 days. You can send emails in addition, but how much more of an impact will it have on them if they get MANY letters in the mail each day, asking for RockStar to be back on the air this summer?

For more information on the Letter Writing Campaign, check out this thread at Rockband.com

With everyone helping, we just might get another season of RockStar!

Also, spread the word! Copy and paste this into your blogs & bulletins and let all of your Blog & MySpace friends know that we need their help!

On a personal note, do it for me! I must have more ROCKSTAR…more, more, more!

Elisa/ems

NEW! Photoland…

Ok, so I have decided to create a blog dedicated soley to the pictures I have taken over the course of years…

Right now, I have begun to really enjoy taking photos during concerts, but have always enjoyed taking pictures of my friends and family, not to mention pictures while on vacations.

Now, I am very much just an amatuer, but I like to click the button that makes pictures! Anyway, check out my Photo page…I will be loading much more here as time permits…

So far I have just loaded a couple of the slideshows from recent rock concerts…but the sky is the limit!

Ems

San Diego: BIGfoot or bust!

So, yeah…you are looking at the title and thinking…wha?!?!?!?

Let me explain…(WARNING, mcwordy words start here…)

So one of my friends is very much…uhmmm, specific in that a certain contestant from this year’s Rockstar Supernova, has uhmmm, BIG feet. And you all know what that fact leads many to conclude………………………………

Consequently, post show, a small few of us have been referring to this Artist come rocker as BIGfoot. It is our fun little nickname as it were…both highly amusing and provocative. We are easily amused, clearly.

Anyway, this muscian, is none other than Mr. Ryan Star. I had been following his progress since he left the show. I was a bit perturbed that I was able to make a taping literally the only week he was absent, as he had been eliminated the week prior, and came back for encore the week following…the Sunday I was there, was seriously the only Ryan-less taping ALL freakin’ summer… Not fair, lol 😉 Sheesh, what do I have to do to see this guy on stage? Well, it just gets funnier (though I might have lacked amusement along the way!). It is announced that he will be hitting some west coast cities before returning for his big ‘welcome home’ in NYC. I was excited because this meant I would not have to miss him, nor contemplate traversing the continent for yet another rocker… Sounds good, yes?

Yes, well… Once the dates were announced…I was like, ooh, a Seattle date! Yay, home….errr…oh no! it is during the time while I am in CALIFORNIA…grrrrrr!!!! What the hell. Seriously?!?!?! BIGfoot is trying to escape me. So my mind starts churning…what to do…do I see if somehow I can switch weeks with my sister (we are helping my mom out)? No, that is not cool, I had already committed to being in Fresno for a very specific time. What else could I do. I looked at all the dates available, and note that there is a stop in San Diego the Friday that I was due to arrive in CA. Well, I immediately contact my So Cal buddies and am like…hey do you all want to get together in SD and see Ryan aka BIGfoot? Answer: yes! BIGfoot was on the itinerary. The planning commenced.

So I bought tickets, literally the day BEFORE they went on a 2fer. So typical! Then I finally schedule my open jaw flight…literally the day AFTER the prices go up like a $100…Gee, I am just full of luck, eh? Whatever…nothing is getting in my way…BIGfoot will NOT escape again! Logistically we even had some rearrangements to tackle last minute…including waiting until the day before to book hotel, where ONLY one room is left. We were getting to San Diego, but is was NOT easy, people! Good news towards our arrival in this lovely Southern California city…one of our other concert buddies was in So Cal, and would also be joining us! Yay! We were SOOOOOO going to be having a good time. These peeps are my FAVORITE people to hang out with and see a show. Pure fun we have. Pure fun we would have. Heck, BIGfoot could bomb(he would not), and we would still have a raging good time. That is our way. Good times or bust!

So we arrive in San Diego…nice room! Yay. Things are going well. We all get ready and head to the House of Blues. We plan to have dinner there, so we get first in privileges. All is as planned. We arrive, and as we are waiting to be seated, first sighting, as the BIGfoot-mobile rolls up behind us, waiting at the light to go around the block to the entrance to the showroom. Yeah, BIGfoot is too cool for school, slipping his shades on…I am sure the fabulousness of all that was 5th Avenue was overwhelming, lol;) My friend, who is the one that is very much responsible for all of these feet references, SQUEE’s—‘that’s Ryan!’ LMAO. Yes, we are sooooooo going to have a good time. We just have to sit down, order some food, and have a drink! Ooh, I had a mojito…yum! So we eat, we amuse ourselves…

Eventually, the rests of our crew shows up. We then head out to find our early entrance line. Well, this gets a little comical. We literally were led 2-3times back and forth through the restaurant and back, being directed different places where we were supposed to be….errr! What the…. Anyway, we finally found the ‘line’ we were supposed to be in, first we were…shocking. Here’s a picture of us (or our feet, lol) as we wait…

So finally, we get to go in, and most of us head right up front, as that is what we had all done this for. We are front row wenches, we were not to be distracted! But wouldn’t you know it…a few were…the merchandise table held a few rapt for a bit…but they soon realized their distraction and glided over to the stage along side us and some other cool fans. Many of the folks there were for reasons OTHER than BIGfoot. That is cool. We made friends with them, told them they could scoot right up front after Ryan…Always make friends with those around you! Rule one of successful Front Row experiences (we should write a book gals! Eh?)

So we are there, about an hour before BIGfoot is scheduled to grace us with his dark presence. What to do? Well, we should probably get drinks. So we send a couple of our peeps up stairs to the bar. They, so nicely volunteer to get us drinks. Well funny, they are ceremoniously told, after they order like 5 or 7 drinks between the two of them, that they were not allowed to bring them back…and they had already been made so…what to do…well, they courageously knocked them ALL back. What seemed like an eternity later, they come back to us, making their way through the fan friends we had made…and told us this sad tale. Needless to say, they were feeling GRAND! Shocking, I know.

Pre-show we got to see the very Zen one that is referred to as Elephant Eye…Stoney, some will call him. He recognized some of the others from previous shows, and I make sure and point out to the others that the Zen one is in the house. He seems very cool. I am glad Ryan looks to have some very cool people in his circle. Also, once our imbibed gals rejoin us, I decide to go ‘powder my nose’ and check out the merch table. I decide I should support them, and I guess I will get a tshirt, since I already have both CD’s. So I proceed to have the gal working the table (who I would later figure out is the one oft referred to as CakeorDeath) to pull out at least 4 differernt sizes of shirt. Needless to say, I decide on the last shirt extacted. So I head back over to the stage…Soon, the show would commence.
So, finally…the shadow of the TALL dark one enters the stage…Squee! Behind the keys he first sits. My friend that KNOWS feet, nudges me, ‘he is good looking, yes?’ Yes, lol. He is. Shocking, not!

My impression of Mr. Star, on stage is that he is VERY much INTO his music. Completely drowning in it. He is a one man show here, this night, and yet, he does fill the stage, and his concentration and sheer intensity is palpable and very cool. I believe he could have been up there, with none of us there, and the same energy, and intensity would have happened. I see a true artist on stage. Once he steps out from behind the keys and the Zen one hands him a guitar…he comes up front of stage, and we really get to view and feel, the intensity a bit closer.

That said, the aforementioned friend, nudges me again…’see feet?!?!’ Uhmmm, yes, of course, and yes, they are, in fact, BIG. Confirmed.

BIGfoot lives!

So, throughout this night, amidst the intense and emotional performance, there is much squeeing along side me…much, errmm, mentions of foot size, and some conver

sa

tion of his eternal hotness. We are rather obvious in our observations, no? Yeah, uhmmm. Friend next to me calls other friend that is home far far away, as she is ALSO a BIGfoot admirer, to let her listen in to the show. In addition to basically allowing said remote friend to enjoy the show audio-ly, she also gets to hear our squees, etc, and references to foot size. I am sure, even remotely, we are highly amusing, or not, lol;) Hey, we amuse ourselves! At one point during the night, early on I think….BIGfoot is close to front of stage, right in front of us, playing his guitar, he is starting, what I think is a somewhat serious number…and I think some of the squeeing from my friends along side me, penetrated his concentration, lol…I believe we got ‘shushed’! bwah! I think it was half in jest, or not, errr…my friends that were most excitable though, failed to even take this in…they were having too good a time…Sorry Ryan, we are in our own little world. Oh well, clearly we were all enjoying ourselves. Soon enough, BIGfoot, errr, Ryan, drowns once again back into his performance…all squee’s aside, the night’s performance is quite good, interesting, and intense.

At the end of the show, Ryan, grabs his backpack(yes I said BACKPACK) and hops off stage…this is too funny…shifted from that guy on stage, intense and dark, to a normal guy, off to his next destination (just a few feet away, but still! lol)

Following the BIGfoot show, we retreat, handing our front row spots to the Cheyenne fans behind us..they were very excited. Fans working together, very cool.

We make our way over to the merch table, to where the de-packed Ryan has set up shop. Folks there to see him , are lined up to buy more merch, have stuff signed, get pictures w/him, etc. Our group is a jumbled one, chatting and wandering off at intervals as we await our turn. Honestly, I already had my cd’s, and had already bought my shirt, so I really had nothing to do. So just hung out w/the girls…chatting and waiting. My friends all picked up one of the CD’s. Most got them signed. I believe my one friend introduced herself to CakeorDeath and identified herself as the one that most often referred to the Dark one as the one with BIG feet…CorD amusingly retorted, that they were very thankful, bwah! I am dying. Some more amusing interactions followed, and then we were done for a bit…the Dark one aka BIGfoot, continued for a long while to do his job, signing and posing…His fans might have not been vast here, but they were very dedicated. He is much loved. After the show, we saw some of the Cheyenne(the headliner) fans exit w/some of Ryan’s CD’s, etc…yay! New fans. Always a good thing.

So after we dispersed, we briefly went back to our hotel…I opened a an event thread on Rockband.com including the set list…thoughts of decoding the extended scribblings?!?!?! I will leave that to your imagination…

…I left the Zen one a comment about how cool he was on his myspace…then we went back to the HOB to have a few cocktails as the main show, and set breakdown finished up…

Once it was all over, we all hung out at another club for a bit…as per our typical beverage of choice while in San Diego especially, Cosmos were flowing. Yum. This club, no idea what it was, I was just a sheep this night, and followed my friends, opened my wallet for what I thought was a steep cover, $20…but hey, it did look pretty trendy…so out came my hard earned cash…we all got stamped w/the invisible stamp…how classy (sarcasm). We go in, ‘My Humps’ is playing, our eyes roll, lol;) Overall though, good mix of music, for all ages, lol…good mix of people…including BIGfoot, the Zen one, etc who we eventually ran into. I think they thought we were quite odd, as we liked to take pictures of our feet and what not…LMAO. Seriously, do we have a problem????? Don’t answer this. We all live with our own illusions;)

…I believe this is SOH’s, the Zen one, and my feet…the Zen one is apparently giving either our feet or us the bird! lmao…

And then Stoney show’s us his famous pose…

After we had our fill of cosmos, took pictures (of our feet, etc) we eventually leave to go for yet, another meal, just my small group of friends…some of us decided we deserved another meal, and one had missed dinner earlier, so…of courses, 1-2oclock is a normal time to have another meal, right? So what do you call a meal between Dinner and Breakfast? LMAO, well I had breakfast, and I think the others had either items off of the lunch or breakfast menu…then we all toddle back to our hotel, to crash for about 4hours, before we must break back to our real lives.

As we all awake about 7ish the next morning, we are chatting, and it comes up that NONE of us had told BIGfoot that he had a great show, or thanked him for the performance, etc…What the heck kind of fans are we?!?!? Oh, well, I hope our endless squee, and our obvious admiration were just that, obvious. It was our little ‘Oscar moment’ where we forgot the most obvious thing…to thank the artist. 20 lashes!

So the great adventure to see BIGfoot had wrapped up…myself and one other stay behind to have breakfast on the roof of the hotel, and we witness a serious downpour in usually sunny San Diego…nice, lol…

Soon, we leave, I pick up a car at the airport to drive up to Fresno…pop the Dark Horse CD in…6hrs later, I arrive here…Ryan’s voice was a perfect accompaniment for my journey. Never once changed the CD out. Nice.

Right now, I know BIGfoot is in Seattle, my hometown, and his most faithful there, are excitedly anticipating him taking the stage. They will not be disappointed.

I wish all of them the best, and Ryan a great show. My belated thanks to him and his…. I can’t wait to hear where the future next takes him in his career, his success, and his fans. BIGfoot, forever;)

www.rstar.net
Rockband.com forum on Ryan Star
www.myspace.com/rstar

Blue October v The Killers – Face Off

written the morning of Friday October 13th, 2006

So…I have seen 2 concerts in the last week here in Seattle. Last Friday, October 6th, I had the privilege of seeing Blue October at the Showbox. This Thursday the 12th, I got to attend The Killers show at the Paramount that was sold out. Both were relatively impressive. It was a different experience for me to date this year, concert wise though…as I was only a casual fan of each band, familiar with only a few songs lyrically, though a fan of their music generally.

Coming out of the shows I am definitely a more avid fan of one, but a continued fan of the other.

Here is how it all went down.

So last week, I went to the Showbox. Blue October came out after 2 openers (who were both impressive themselves – Test Your Reflex & Oslo). The venue, which was pretty laid back up to that point…well the crush in anticipation of the main act was evident in the pit/floor area after the final opener left and the stage was being prepped for the Blue. Then they came out, and wow, Blue fans are awesome, the crush towards the center of the pit was serious. And in no time the pit was bouncing…I could the floor vibrating from it under my feet. And how bout those boys on stage. Wow. This Justin character, the lead…he may not be the prettiest guy, but he is intense and effective. I was scared! I was most impressed with their musicality though. Blue rocks hard, but it isn’t just loud, it is eclectic, it is raw, it is cool, it is scary, it is really awesome to take in. They definitely have some synthesized sound combined with usage at point of an electric violin/fiddle(?)…tres cool. Their sound is just so full and rich and rocking hard.

I was familiar with 3 of their songs lyrically, most obviously Razorblade, as that was the song that got me hooked on them originally this summer when it was covered on the TV show Rockstar Supernova by Zayra Alvarez. Have to say, that is still my favorite of theirs, But, the other 2 songs I was somewhat familiar with: Hate Me, and Into the Ocean were also crowd favorites, and I think they are for me too! Overall though, even the songs I was ot familiar with, I totally dug. I already own their current CD, and might have to look into digging back into their catalogue…they really impressed me.

Blue, was an intense and true experience…Their music and lyrics have a visceral quality. They, I suspect, will be huge. Their fans, though not massive in this venue, were avid, and I now totally GET it. I am now a full on Blue October fan. Sign me up,

Now to The Killers. Ok, so folks are probably more familiar with this group. We all remember their first album, Hot Fuss…does anyone not know: Mr Brightside or Sombody Told Me? Yeah, me too! Love those songs. Well, The Killers just dropped their newest cd: Sam’s Town last week. I have to confess, I have not yet bought this one, so I am less familiar with the bulk of their set that is focused on their newest work. That is ok, I like what I hear. It is definitely more rock than their first effort in my opinion. Also notable, the group amuses me…visually…the band looks very 70’s, hair/attire, then there is Brandon Flowers…he is so preppy looking (kind of cute too) at lead. He is a good lead though. Like his vibe.

I would have to say though, their biggest songs in the room, crowd wise, were the ones we all know off their last album, the aforementioned Somebody Told Me(I think it was 3rd on their set list) and Mr Brightside (closed the main set)—the latter, the crowd went crazy. It also, in my opinion, underscored what worked so well off their last album…I call it the chasing beats. They had managed to resurrect that dance rock vibe with these songs…and the crowds respond. They are musically the most well rounded pieces of the night in my opinion. I would say the masses agreed, though the last 2 closing songs of the encore definitely came off well (don’t ask me to name them though, I am with out strong knowledge of their song titles save the title track to their new CD(that opened the show) and the to already mentioned.

Another note. Yeah, this show was sold out. It was a 2-3thousand persosn venue, not sure that many actually showed up. But it was definitely full-ish for the main act. It was SRO on the main floor, pit area. The crowd/venue though more massive than the venue at the Showbox for Blue, was not quite as avid in the front area, by my estimation. Funny, while the Killers seem more popular, I would say, they are just that, more pop…but the fans of Blue…LOVE THEM. It was palpable.

My opinion of the music. Well, they both clearly rock. And The Killers have obviously attained a much earned level of success. Brandon and company are a really good act. I would go to their show again. That said, not sure I need to pick up the new CD, the music just did not speak to me. I prefer Hot Fuss. In contrast though, the folks I came with, the one, prefers the newer CD, so different strokes I guess!

Overall, loved Blue October…must have more! Really liked The Killers, good show.

And, as I sit now, wrapping this up, I am actually in the air, winging my way to San Diego to meet up with some friends. We are going to go to a show at the House of Blues to see a certain Mr. Ryan Star. This is the one guy that I really liked from this last season of Rockstar, that I have not seen live yet. I am very excited. Listening to his live CD, Dark Horse. Very good.

Vote for Ryan!!!

http://www.myspace.com/rstar

www.rockstar.msn.com vote starting 10pm Tuesdays…
PS, it does not matter what time it is, just that YOUR COMPUTER CLOCK says that it is after 10pm! Just sayin;)

Yeah, per my Rockstar Obsession, I ask YOU all…to VOTE for Ryan! You will not be sorry!

Selfishly, I really, really! want to see him make it at least one more week, to when I can see him live! As I am going down this weekend! Squee;)

ems…

Lennex!!!

Edit: read my blog about the LIVE show I saw the Lennex boys kick rock ass at! >>here<<

So I have just discovered this band, Lennex! They have just released their 3rd indie CD album. It is currently available on Itunes, and I just downloaded it. I also just purchased their latest release from 2003: For the Sake of Simpicity (FTSOS)… Anyway I discovered them because their lead singer, Phil Ritchie,was one of the 15 featured finalists on this years TV show, Rock Star: Supernova. He was just booted this last week, the ‘fourth to go’, admist some controversy by those Bad Boys of SN, aka Suave Porn(seriously, they need to rename themselves this, lol)… Anyway, by end of wk 2, I started digging Phil, and looked up his off show stuff, and discovered his band Lennex. I really dig their sound and live performance vid’s I’ve seen on youtube. I will post a link to thoses below, and a FULL review of their latest ALBUM in a subsequent blog entry.

Seriously, if you have a chance check them out. Search: Lennex on Itunes.

Check out their web sites:
Lennex.com
Lennex Myspace

I really am liking Three and Moment off their current self titled EP (2006 release), and a Lesser None & Unattracted off of FTSOS(2003 release), and Auto Zimatic & Real off of their first self titled (2000 release). Hard copy CD’s for FTSOS are available via CDBaby.com .

Full review of their 2006 release on a by track basis COMING SOON!! Check ’em out;)

Youtube – Misunderstood:

Youtube – Bleeding My Heart Out

Youtube – A Lesser None