Sinéad O'Connor

  Sinéad O'Connor is an Irish singer-songwriter, that rose to fame in the 1980's after her album, Lion and the Cobra. When O'Connor was only eight years old, her parents split up and she went to go live her mom. O'Connor says that while living with her mom, she encountered physical abuse. Later, O'Connor wrote the song, Fire on Babylon which is about the effects of her own child abuse.
  At the age of fifteen, O'Connor was truant and stealing so she was sent to a Magdalene Asylum where she worked on a lot of her songs and music. There she was singing Evergreen by Barbra Streisand and was discovered by the drummer for In Tua Nua. O'Connor ended up recording a song with In Tua Nua called, Take my Hand but she wasn't able to join the band because they felt she was too young.
  On October 3, 1992, O'Connor presented as a music guest on Saturday Night Live and did an a cappella version of Bob Marley's song, War, but she changed the word, racism to child abuse. While singing the song, when she said the word, evil, she took out a picture of the pope, ripped it in half and said, "Fight the real enemy!" while throwing the pieces of the photo at the camera, all because of the Sunday Independent Catholic sex abuse scandal. A lot of people were really mad at O'Connor for what she did, but at the same time, other people did the same exact thing as she did except with a picture of someone else other than the pope.

  In later interviews, O'Connor was asked if she regretted anything she did that night and her reply was, "Hell no!" and now O'Connor is a priest.

Limp Bizkit

  Limp Bizkit is a Nu Metal or Rap Metal band, although they have like an alternative sound to them. In Limp Bizkit is Fred Durst with vocals, Wes Borland on guitar, Sam Rivers on bass, John Otto on drums, and DJ Lethal with turntables, samples and keyboard. In 2001 Borland left the band was replaced by Mike Smith and in 2003 Borland came back to record The Unquestionable Truth, Part 1 in 2005.
  Limp Bizkit started in 1994 and have released six different albums. The first album was a debut album called, Three Dollar Bill, Yall$ which was released in the mid 1990's. The next two albums were only released within a years difference, Significant Other in 1999 and Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water in 2000. Both albums made to #1 on many international charts including Billboard 200. With just those three albums, Limp Bizkit sold over 35 million records, world wide. Results May Vary was released in 2003 and then Borland rejoined and recorded The Unquestionable Truth, Part 1 in 2005 which was recorded with Sammy Siegler, who replaced Otto.
  In 2009, the original line up of Limp Bizkit went on tour and recorded their most recent album, Gold Cobra in 2011. Limp Bizkit then signed with Cash Money Records to come out with a new single, Ready To Go, a full length album, Stampede of the Disco Elephants, and an EP, The Unquestionable Truth, Part 2. Later DJ Lethal left the band because of problems with drugs and alcohol but came back on October 11, after apologizing.
  In September Fred Durst leaked their new song, Lightz (City of Angles) on Youtube and is currently recording their newest album, Stampede of the Disco Elephants.

Embers From the Altar

  Embers From the Altar is a melodic death-core band from Virginia. In Embers From the Altar is James Knopp on drums, on bass in Carson Stokes, Vocalists are Khris Payne and Tank Shurtleff, and guitarists are Ian Scot, Jackie Gray, and Justin Hall. I've listened to their song, I see (Said the Blind Man to the Deaf Mute) and it's an amazing song. Kind of towards the end of the song, in my opinion, there is this part that sounds like Avenged Sevenfold from their CD Waking theFallen and I thought it was really cool because they've been my favorite band for the longest time. They have a lot going on in I See, but the way they put it together is amazing. A lot of people have tried pulling it off but it doesn't work. I don't know how to explain what they did, it sounds like a keyboard, but i'm not sure. All I know is you have to have a lot of talent when it comes down to what they did.
  After listening to their song, The Camel's Back, I realized their drummer is a beast! They've been together since 2008, but they sound like they've been together and practicing way longer because they don't look old, at all but the talent they have is ridiculous!
  They just released a new album called, Mirrors and if you like metal, I suggest buying it. I like Metal and I like what I have heard from them so far, so I'm buying it. You can check them out on facebook at http://www.facebook.com/embersfromthealtarband?fref=ts

When Cities Sleep & Plantation

  Recently there has been a lot of bands writing me asking me to check them out. Two of the bands that stood out to me the most are When Cities Sleep and Plantation. They stood out most because they both have really good music and I believe they could go really far.
 When Cities Sleep is a newer post hardcore band from Maryland. In When Cities Sleep, is Mike Garrow with Vocals, Justin Hein with lead guitar, Alex Gonzales with bass guitar, Austin Jordan on drums and Ricky Dean on Keys. They're currently working on a new EP, but I listened to some of their older music and it's really good, they have a lot of potential. When Cities Sleep have lots of influences, but some of them are Motionless in White, Confide, Of Mice&Men, The Devil Wears Prada, August Burns Red and many more. When Cities Sleep is one of those bands where you first listen to them, and you fall in love with them immediately. Mike Garrow has a voice that's hypnotizing and sounds amazing. Ricky Dean is amazing at keys, I've always thought playing keyboard and piano was so cool. Austin Jordan's drum playing is extraordinary you can tell he likes what he does, and he's not bored with it, which is really good. Justin Hein's guitar playing is awesome and so is Alex Gonzales' bass guitar playing. It takes real talent to play every instrument and everyone in When Cities Sleep shows that they all can play really good and come up with amazing songs. You can check them out on facebook at http://www.facebook.com/WhenCitiesSleep .

  Plantation is a grunge band. They're trying to bring back grunge, which is awesome! For grunge to come back would be pretty hard, but I think they can do it. Plantation is a 4 piece rock band that started up in 2011 from New Jersey. Plantation is Patrick Fiore on guitar, Dusty Trullender on vocals, Matt Williams on bass and Ben Torpey on drums. Their influences are Blues Grooves from the 1970's and the Grunge movement from the 1990's. Plantation could be compared to Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Tool, and Black Sabbath. In their song Painted Dessert I can hear the relation to Soundgarden especially in the guitar in the beginning. I think they can grow their fan base by a lot because a lot of people of all ages really like grunge and rock. Black Sabbath, Soundgarden and Alice in Chains are all still really famous, so since they have comparisons to them, I'm sure they'll succeed like no tomorrow. The whole band is really good. When listening to their songs, you just can't help but want to listen to more. You can check them out of facebook: http://www.facebook.com/PlantationBand/app_2405167945

Suicide Silence: Mitch Lucker

  Suicide Silence is a metal band that has been around for years and were very loved. Just last year all the members of Suicide Silence, Chris Garza, Mark Heylmun, Alex Lopez, Dan Kenny and Mitch Lucker all went and bought hundreds of dollars worth of toys, went to a charity and donated all of it. Even though they were a metal band and everyone thought different of them, they were all very nice people.
  November 1st this year Mitch Lucker was riding somewhere on his motorcycle when he was hit by a drunk driver and died the next morning. It was very disappointing to many. He was one of the nicest people you could meet; so full of life. Mitch had a wife, Jolie and a little 5 year old daughter, Kenadee. Mitch and Kenadee had the best father-daughter relationship ever. Every chance he got, Mitch was spending time with Kenadee, teaching her things, singing to her, playing with her.
                                   

Mitch and Kenadee

                                               
  On the night Mitch passed away, there was a candle light vigil for him. hundreds of fans and friends showed up. It was really sweet that so many people showed up on such short notice, all though when you're loved by many like Mitch was, people would drop everything they were doing to go show their love for him.
  People are still in shock and disbelief that Mitch passed away. His daughter, Kenadee still doesn't understand he is gone forever. She still asks her mom if she can go get her dad to sing to her. It's heart breaking.
  Mitch was buried November 8. It's still hard to think about or to even look at pictures of him. He was a legend and legends never die.

                                                                   

Next to Nothing

  Next to Nothing is a new band from Maryland that just got together during the summer of 2012. They started off just wanting to make music and doing covers but now they want to extend their fan base and become an actual band. Next to Nothing is Keller Nigh on vocals and lead guitar, Connor Brown on drums, Sean Scott on bass and back up vocals, and Andrew Lewis on rythm guitar. They came up with the name by picking one out of a whole bunch of names and Next to Nothing sounded coolest to them.
  Keller and Sean write the songs and they take it very seriously and are very picky on what they write. They said, "So once we get the song done, and we know it's written exactly how we want it, it's an amazing feeling to be able to share with all our fans." They also said they try to relate their songs to what people go through and try to connect to their fans that are going through any difficult times.
  Before they play a show, they all go crazy during the other bands sets and get their adrenaline going which makes for a better performance.
  Like any other band, Next to Nothing had inspiration. They were inspired by many bands including Mayday Parade, Boys like Girls, The Cab and We are the in Crowd, but their biggest inspiration was All Time Low.
  Their favorite part of being in a band is meeting awesome new people but what they don't like about being in a band is having to spend a lot of money on gas, equipment, merchandise and more. I think they have the potential of becoming famous so I think once they get there, spending money on equipment, merchandise and other things won't be as much as a problem for them as some other stuff.
  During their free time Connor plays soccer, Keller writes new music, Sean is a fire fighter and also writes new music and Andrew works at some local stores. They try and hang out with each other and other friends as much as possible.
  If you haven't checked out Next to Nothing yet, I think you should. They're really good, have amazing songs and play amazing. You can check them out on facebook, http://www.facebook.com/Next2Noth?fref=ts or follow them on twitter, https://twitter.com/Next_ToNothing

Korn

  Korn was formed in 1993 in Bakersfield, California. They've sold over 30 million albums and earned six grammy nominations. The name Korn was just suppose to be temporary but since everyone liked it, they kept it. When Johnathan Davis was writing out the name he wrote it with a crayon and imitated a little kid, using a 'K' instead of a 'C' and a backwards 'R'.

  In the 1990's it was hard for Korn to get signed because of the rock scene and they tried several times to try and get signed but it wasn't working. Then one night, at a night club, Paul Pontius heard them and decided to sign them right then and there and then they started working on their self-titled album. Korn's second album, Life is Peachy and it sold 106,000 copies in the first week and got #3 on the billboard 200.

  In 1998, Korn came out with their third album, Follow the Leader, which had their most famous songs, "Freak on a Leash" and "Got the Life". Both songs got Korn a wider audience including mainstream fans. Freak on a Leash, won a grammy for best music video, short form and got a nomination for Best Hard Rock Performance. 

  In 2006, Korn's drummer, David Silveria was leaving the band for good. Soon afterwards on December 9, Korn played at MTV studios in time square for the MTV unplugged series. Since David left, Korn has had a few other famous drummers fill in for him during concerts like, Terry Bozzio, Brooks Wackerman from Bad Religion, and Joey Jordison from Slipknot. 

  Korn is still together today and still plays shows. They've been famous from the beginning and still has thousands of fans. I'm sure Korn will be one of those bands that are famous forever and that everyone will remember.

Seether ft. Sick Puppies concert.

  I went to a Seether concert featuring Sick Puppies and it was amazing. All the bands were so good and it was one of those concerts where you never want it to end and you can feel every beat through your body. I was right up front and got spit on, water poured on me, drum stick and picks thrown at me, it was awesome!

  The first band was Young Guns. They're from London, England and had amazing accents and this was their first American tour and they seemed so stoked about it. During every song, the lead singer would look down at me and my friend and sing to us. I loved it. Plus, he was really cute so that made it 10x better. Actually, all of them were really cute. I didn't know any of their songs at first but the ones they played were so good. They just made everyone want to get up and punch everyone in the face, which I almost did.. They interacted with the crowd the most and to me, that's awesome. They were so good and the lead singers voice was amazing and everyone in that band was so good they seemed really passionate about it.

  The second band was Kyng and they just jumped up on stage and started doing songs so I wasn't sure who was playing at first until towards the end of them playing. The lead singer was funny though, he took a picture of the crowd and said, "Let me see what my fans look like.. So many beautiful faces and a bunch of ugly a*s dudes out there!!" Then the whole crowd just started cheering and laughing. They were a really good band and did lots of head banging. Awesome. They were so good and were amazing musicians. No doubt about it. I could watch them play forever, I actually didn't want them to leave the stage I really liked them.
  This is when I almost punched some girl in the face, because she kept dropping her cups on the ground and they were full of alcohol and it was getting my shoes sticky so I started kicking then behind me and she was getting so mad and kept kicking them forward and said, "Do it again b*tch!" So I said, "I will!" and kept doing it and then she told me she was going to kick me a*s and so I was about to pick up one of those cups and smash it on her face, but then she left.

  The third band, Sick Puppies, was the best! They talked so much crap and were so involved with the crowd and they made people jump and got everyone so pumped up! He also sang to my friend and I, and he was super cute too. Every single song they played, the whole crowd sang a long. Most of the time he didn't even have to sing he'd walk away and hold the mic over the crowd. He played new songs and older songs. It was just freaking awesome I never wanted to leave. His voice was so amazing and it sounded just like he does on their cd's. Their whole performance was ridiculously crazy and they made people jump and scream and some people ended up starting a circle pit. 

  Seether was the last band. So by that time the whole crowd had moved forward trying to get to the very front so everyone who was already in front, was squished against the gate. It kind of sucked, but it was worth it. I took out a piece of paper and got a pen and on the paper I wrote, "Give me your pick!!" and the bassist of Seether read it and threw me one, but he threw it too far so it went over me and some other girl picked it up. I was so mad! Then I waited a while longer and showed him the sign again and he laughed threw me another one and it bounced off of my finger, then off my friends arm and landed on the ground, so I had to crawl on the ground using my phone light trying to find it. When I finally found it, I dove over to it, knocked over some guy, grabbed the pick, jumped up and yelled, "I GOT IT!!" and everyone clapped and said, "Woo!" I was so determined to get that pick. Even though Seether was the main band, they weren't very exciting, but they had awesome props. The only person who really put on a show was their bassist and the drummer did too when he got a drum solo. They were still cool to watch and they also had the whole crowd singing along with them. It was tons of fun.
  While Seether was playing Broken, the girl next to me was trying to get people to stop yelling and all I could think was, "Are you retarded?" First of all, no one could really hear her, and second, even if they could, no one would listen to her. So every time she would say, "Be quiet" or "Shh!" I'd scream at the top of my lungs just to make her mad.

  At the end of the concert I bought a limited edition halloween Seether shirt. I also got to meet Young Guns who were passing out cards and they were so nice, I got about 2 pictures with all of them and I think they really enjoyed getting attention and knowing that people liked their songs because they're sort of new, especially in America. I just wanted to sit there and talk to them the whole night because they're accents were amazing, I could never get tired of them. I also got autographs from Sick puppies. They signed my paper that said, "Give me your pick!!" and I got to shake their hands, and talk to them like they were my friends. It was so cool. Then I found the lead singer of Kyng. I just ran up to him and said, "You guys were amazing!" and he said, "Thanks, we'll be playing again December 7th! Hope to see you there." and then he poked me in the stomach. I was trying not to laugh so I got a picture with him and called it good. I didn't want it to end, but everything has to come to an end. I had so much fun that if your planning on going to a concert even for bands you never heard of, you should go, it's always a wonderful experience.
  This was definitely my favorite concert. Not just because I got to make people mad, but because it kept me wanting more. Every singe song, you could feel the beat of the drums go right through you and it felt like your heart was racing so fast. All the bands were so awesome and gave it their all and everyone was so awesome and nice. I can't wait for my next concert.

This is the paper that said, "Give me your pick!!" and that Sick Puppies signed. <3

Social Distortion: Mike Ness

  Mike Ness, from Social Distortion was born in 1962 and is the only original member of the band remaining.  He was kicked out of his father's house at 15 and joined the band Easter. In 1978 Ness founded Social Distortion and released the album "Mommy's Little Monster in 1983 and five years later in 1988 the album Prison Bound  was released while Ness was recovering from drug addiction.
  In 1999 Ness started his solor career and released his first solo album called Cheating at Solitaire which expressed his country influences. Another album he released that was country influenced was Under the Influences in 1992.
  Social Distortion recorded a live dvd in 2003 called, Live in Orange County, released in 2004 along with Sex, Love and Rock 'n' Roll. These were the first recordings with the line up of Mike Ness with lead guitar and vocals, Jonny Wickersham who replaced Dennis Danell on guitar, and Charlie Quintana on drums.
  In 2009 Ness said that Social Distortion would go back in the recording studio in late 2009 or the beginning of 2010 while in an interview with Tarkany! Bad TV. In May of 2009 Mike Ness and Social Distortion played a benefit concert called Rock to Recovery at the House of Blues in Anaheim, California. Before playing Ball and Chain, Mike Ness' son joined him on stage.
  Mike Ness has a wife, Christine Marie and they have two son's Jullian who's now 20 and Johhny who's 15.

Music Legends

  We all know that there are many music legends. Some of the most famous ones are Kurt Cobain, Jimi Hendrix, Brad Nowell, Sid Vicious, and many more.
  A lot of the deaths were from over dosing, except Kurt Cobain from Nirvana who shot himself in the head on April 5, 1994. Some people still don't believe that he killed himself even though it's been 18 years. I personally think he shot himself. He was doing heroin and had many stomach problems, probably from the drugs, and had so much things going on in his head, he couldn't handle it. I think if he didn't kill himself and was still alive today, Nirvana would be one of the greatest rock bands, but instead Dave Grohl, the drummer and Krist Novoselic, the bassist, carried on with their music careers. Dave is now the lead vocalist for the Foo Fighter, and Krist has formed Sweet 75 and Eyes adrift.
  Jimi Hendrix was an amazing guitarist. He lived from November 7, 1942 until September 18, 1970 and just recently was the 42 anniversary of his death. His death isn't really confirmed yet, but he was found in his hotel room in London, with alcohol and sleeping pills. Some say his cause of death was overdose and inhalation on vomit. He was part of the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Band of Gypsy's, and Jimmy James and the Blue Flames. Before his music career, he got caught stealing cars and had the choice to go to jail or the army and he chose the army and served for a year in 1961. Not long after that his music career started and ended up getting signed because of his rendition on Hey Joe.
  Brad Nowell was the lead singer of Sublime. He lived from February 22, 1968 through May 25, 1996. Sublime wasn't as famous as they are now, back in the 80's. Brad tried to get Sublime famous in more places but ended up dying of a heroin overdose. He passed right before the self titled album came out and now Sublime is very famous. I'd say Nowell still accomplished getting Sublime famous even if he never got a chance to see how famous they are today.
  Sid Vicious was from the band, Sex Pistols. He lived from May 10, 1957 through February 2, 1979. Vicious was the bassist for the Sex Pistols after replacing the former bassist, Glen Matlock. Vicious wasn't a very good bass player, people said he didn't actually know how to play at all. Vicious was also pretty messed up on drugs. One night in 1978, him and his girlfriend, Nancy, were together and they were doing drugs afterwards Sid was accused of stabbing Nancy to death. Sid doesn't remember doing it but ended up going to prison for two months for assault. In 1979 Vicious ended up overdosing on heroin and dying.
  All of these music legends died really young, before they were thirty and if they were still alive today they'd still be great musicians. 
  

Concerts

  I recently went to a concert and I didn't know any of the bands that were playing there, I just went because some of the money went to charity. There were five bands, Elsewhere Road, 3 Way Ricochet, Signal Ahead, Dime Store Novelist, and Stay Wild.
  The opening act was Elsewhere Road and they were a lead vocalist and a pianist. Their songs were very good and her voice was amazing. She did a cover of My Immortal by Evanescence and she did it absolutely perfect, because she sounded a lot like Amy Lee, vocalist for Evanescence. She also sang this song dedicated to her friend who was a firefighter and had passed away, and it was an amazing song and very sad.
  3 Way Ricochet was the second band and also my favorite performance. They're a psycho/rockabilly band and they were made up of an upright bass, guitar and drums. Tommy, the guitarist was amazing at singing and at playing guitar. also, his guitar, was absolutely stunning. At the begging, Tommy stood on Demonica's, the bassists, bass while she was playing it, laid on it's side and he played his guitar, it was awesome. Towards the end, the drummer, Jimmy, and Demonica were playing the bass together, but Jimmy was playing it with his drum sticks, it was really awesome. My favorite song from them was called Strange Condition and before they played it, Tommy said it was for anyone who's ever dated a psychopath, the lyrics and how he sang them went together just perfectly.
  Signal Ahead was more of a laid back band, made up of a lead vocalist/guitarist, drummer and bassist. I really liked their songs, they were very catchy. My favorite lyric from one of there songs was, "Don't let your guard down, she'll rip your heart out." What I got from that is, it's about girls who date guys for certain things other than because they actually like them, and then afterwards, she brakes his heart.
  Dime Store Novelist, the fourth band, won a contest for Rolling Stone magazine, and after watching them perform, I could see why. They were phenominal. The lead vocalist/guitarist, Charles, also played the harmonica! They put on such a good performance. My favorite lyric from them was, "That's a nice badge there officer, but I got things to do." Everyone in The Dime Store Novelist were completely amazing, no doubt about it. After there last song, they threw out bracelets and shirts, it was so cool!
  The final performance of the night was, Stay wild, and they really were wild! They seemed like more of a peace group like, Rise Against. The first song they played was about girls who have gotten raped and the lead vocalist/bassist, Jahiah said he has actually heard women say, "I remember the first time I got raped." and Jihiah said there should never be a first time, and you could tell from the very begging that the whole band was very serious about it, and I thought that was amazing because you don't see a lot of people speak up about things like that everyday. Out of all the bands, they were the wildest and craziest, which is awsome! I loved all there songs. Their drummer, Robby, was amazing. Honestly, he reminded me of Travis Barker, the drummer for Blink-182. He moved his arms so fast and looked so concentrated, I was blown away. If I could get drum lessons from him, I totally would. The guitarist, Nick, was a really great guitar player, and his guitar was beautiful.
  Everyone from all the bands were really nice, I got to meet most of them and get pictures and it was awesome. I diffinetly recommend seeing all of them in concert if you ever get the chance.

Express yourself

  I recently painted my room and thought it would be a good idea to hang up all of my album covers on my wall, because I love music and my room is one place I get to express myself the most. A really good thing about music is you can use it to express yourself, no matter what. If you're having a bad day you can listen to a sad song or any song that describes how you're feeling at the moment. There's all kinds of different songs to listen to that will fit your mood.
  When you go to a party, you'll hear music that makes you want to dance, because I doubt anyone wants to go to a party that has depressing songs playing the whole time, unless that's your thing, then that's cool, but usually people want music you can dance to. When it's the end of the day and you just feel like crap, you might want to listen to some songs that kind of have a sad tone to them like, I Don't Love You by My Chemical Romance, or It's Been a While by Staind. Sometimes listening to your favorite song, gets you through the toughest of days.
  Another way to express yourself with music is band shirts. Most bands design their band shirts differently, for example, Black Veil Brides has a lot of shirts with a picture of the band members on it. Sublime has shirts with their album covers, 3oh!3 has their logo, and Bring Me the Horizon usually has art they did themselves on their shirts. It just depends on the band.
  A lot of people wear band shirts to show off who they listen to, while other people wear band shirts because the art looks cool. In my honest opinion, I think people should wear band shirts if they've listened to the band and like their style and music, but I guess either way the band is getting publicity, so it's not too bad.
  If you want to express yourself with music, or anything, you should be able to, all the time, in every way without letting anything get in the way.

Music Genres

   There are many types of music genres and they're very easy to get mixed up. A lot of genres are similar while others are completely different, but learning how to tell the difference between them all is quite simple. Each genre has something specific about them that separates them from the other genres. Even then, each genre has a sub-genre which just has a tiny difference from the actual genre. It's still pretty basic to tell which sub-genre goes with which genre.
   Everyone has there own kind of music they like to listen to, whether it's country, rap or anything in between. Personally, I like most genres of music, I'll listen to anything. One genre I'm not a huge fan of is country. Most likely because I grew up listening to it, and I eventually grew out of it, but I'll still listen to it occasionally.
   One thing that really makes me mad is when someone says that "Screamo" is a genre, when it's not. There are some genres where screams are involved in the music and one genre would be metal. Some genres are similar to metal like, punk rock, except there is more yelling and shouting rather than screaming, and has more of an emphasis on a specific meaning instead of telling a story. While a lot of songs do focus on just one main point, other songs tell a story. For example, Three Days Grace just came out with a song called, Chalk Outline and it's about a bad breakup, that Adam Gontier, lead vocalist, or someone else in the band had recently or a while ago. Also, Avenged Sevenfold came out with their album Nightmare and every song on that CD is about the death of there drummer, The Rev. All songs in every genre have a point or story, you just have to find out what it is.