Citadel...

i'm back home from my own personal writing retreat. i spent the past two days at my grandma's sisters house. it was a dark and scary place to sleep at night, but that eventually went away and i felt good. me and her (i call her my aunt) talked that first night until three in the morning. i learned of old stories and events in her life as well as those in my family who have sadly passed on. it was fascinating to listen to these old times gone by. i now have a greater understanding of just how hard life was for those in my family back then, but despite all of that, they all had positive outlooks on life and lived it as best as they could.



i don't usually post pics of myself on my blog because i don't care to show people, and besides, who cares about what i look like anyway??? yeah, so for a treat above here is a self portrait i made a few years back in college. i think it's a good representation of how i looked at the time as well as overall attitude. see the thick black hair??? yep, i had it!!! oh, and take notice of the dark shadows around my eyes there. i could not and still don't sleep well. i think i made the pic during one of those late-night blocks of pure unpleasantness... sleep does the body good. that's for sure!!!

today on my way home, i was thinking of who i wanted to post on for the music portion. it came pretty quick since this band happened to be spotted on my long list of artists on my ipod. they came and went with a flash, but i at least got to see them here in oklahoma one lonely night back in 2005. they were called, Scatter the Ashes and hailed from nashville, tennessee.



this is one band i first heard on a sampler cd from epitaph. they shook me awake at just how amazing they sounded amongst all the emo and punk on the labels usual routine. i went out one day and search all over to find their album. it was glorious!!! they sounded just like i hoped they would, an emo sort of band with a huge post-punk influence. i heard Joy Division and other acts like The Chameleons, The Sound, and The Cure. this was a great mix of old and new. i instantly fell in love and waited for my moment to come when i would get to see them. just as i thought, these guys stood out like a sore thumb amongst all the emo screamo music at the time and it seemed they didn't tour often. i remember having a chance come one summer day back in 2004. they were to play a show at the green door, (my old stomping ground) but when i showed up it was canceled. they came back though in spring 2005 and i finally got to see them. it was me and about five or so people plus the other bands watching them. that was it, nobody else.

it's a shame that such talent goes unnoticed by the masses, but then i guess that's what makes it so special. some people got the chance, and i am one of them. that show was special and after their set i purchased a shirt and left the venue. i only came for them, and that was all i needed. for all of you out there, i highly suggest you check this band out. they only released one album, and broke up just as they were to finish a second. the album in question is called, Devout/The Modern Hymn. it's a great piece of work and i can't reccomend it enough. please give it a listen and hear it for yourself. (oh, and sorry for having to use rapidshare...)


http://rapidshare.com/files/99498599/Scatter_The_Ashes__Devout_-_The_Modern_Hymn__2004_.rar.html

a new fall forest...