Why it's fun to be a Pirate

All of my friends are pirates. I found this out while hanging out at a party the other night.

Of all my friends, I have exactly two that don't steal (aka pirate) music in one way or the other.

I still don't know how I feel about pirating music, but I do know that it's a big part of how the band makes money so we can keep making music. Interestingly enough, not a single one of my friends have pirated Watching Judas' music, or the music of any indie band they've seen in concert.

So how about you? Do you burn copies of CD's for your friends? If you do, why do you do it? No judgments here- just would love to understand : )

Random facts you didn't know about (and don't care about either)

1. Christian is responsible for stringing several thousand yards of lights and greenery in downtown St. Charles each christmas. He does it during our christmas break each year.

2. Paul would love to pursue a career in music therapy someday.

3. Dustin Shapiro isn't Italian like most people assume- he's Jewish.

4. Eric has released 2 solo piano christmas albums before he was 17.

Make it a Small

It took me forever to figure out that people almost never remember the biggest things in their lives. I know I don't.

The big deals never seem to impact us proportionally. I guess it's because we're rarely able to connect emotionally to large events in our lives. I can't attach emotionally to hearing about cancer research, but I can when I hear my father has prostate cancer.

Maybe that's why I tend to write about the small things in life; the specifics. They symbolize bigger, more intangible emotions that are too vague to describe in a paragraph.

My hope is that next time you do the mundane, you take time look at the small things as significant.

If you want something over-simplified, you have to do it yourself.

At least, that's the motto of this website. I think I could have skipped philosphy class if I'd just read this:

http://www.btinternet.com/~glynhughes/squashed/

Sea Chanties and Stage Dives

I just was given a concertina. It looks a like this:

It's a fascinating little instrument. Somewhere between a harmonica and an accordion. I fell like it's already a fiesty little brother, just begging to be played with. Somehow, I can almost feel the sea breeze streaming through my hair when I pump its bellows.

Here's someone that actually knows what they're doing with one:

Ironic

One word- ironic.

Lyrics to Mood Ring

Here's the lyrics to Mood Ring

Mood Ring

If I was funny

If you were charming

If we lacked nothing but youth and beauty

We're still frail and fleeting

As morning dew

We fell so hard, so don't blame me

I'm just trying to change the color of your mood ring

The summer of 67'

A smokey drag, a voice from heaven

Made me think, that you and me

be alright

Now you protest

my snoring habit

And you swear that the day we got cable was one of your happiest

When your mother calls

You lie and say your just fine

The father, Son, and Holy folks,

The Beatles took their message to their graves

Suburbia takes, Suburbia kills, its name be praised

And I feel so stuck here

When you said that

You'd sold your records

I knew now for sure we had nothing to keep us together

I sat alone

On the basement steps

and cried

With the windows down

And the radio on

The Oldies station's cranking out a stagnant song

The wind keeps rushing through the darkness

as I go numb.

The wind keeps rushing through the blackness

as I go numb.

We fell so hard, so don't blame me

I'm just trying to change the color of your mood ring

Lyrics to We Are Astro-Nots

Several people have wanted the lyrics to the two new tracks on our latest CD- here they are:

We Are Astro-nots

We are the Astro-nots

High up in the sky

Look at our spaceship

Look how high it flies

We know we may crash and die

But that's all right

We are the Astro-nots

Oh look and see

We can fly higher

Than a man on a trapeze

Watch us fall to the earth with the stars

Oh Astro-nots

We've come so far

FIRE!

I would pay to see someone actually do this.

The Edge and Beyond

I don't think I could ever have a house by the ocean. I'd spend the rest of my life staring out to sea.

Something about the sea makes me restless. It makes me yearn for something I can't express. I just feel a longing to be swallowed up by it. The immensity of it impossible. It takes up too much space. My brain computes, overloads, and I am reduced to sitting for hours, straining to find the edge of its dark endlessness.

Perhaps the reason I write music is because I can't find a way to express what I feel here, and until I do I'm going to keep trying. I feel like a child throwing stones into the water, hoping to fill up the ocean. Like a foolish child, I'm going to continue.

Darth Vader's Shrine

An ancient shrine to Darth Vader from the 1600's. They weren't kidding when they say a long time ago . . .

Acoustic CD

We're so incredibly pumped about this new CD! Here's some fun tid-bits about some of the songs on the album:

• More Than a Little Scared was written about a really bad date Eric went on, as part of a drama exercise for a play.

• Wig Wam Hotel was written after seeing a documentary about the Wig Wam Motel in Holbrook, AZ.

• Worlds All Your Own is about a real coffeehouse in downtown St. Charles, and an experience Eric had with a few random patrons.

• Jane Fights Back is about a brilliant piano student of Eric's that struggled with severe paranoid schizophrenia.

• The new song Mood Ring was inspired by a really cheesy rap song, heard while randomly tuning through the radio stations on a roadtrip.

• We Are Astro-Nots is the only song Watching Judas has ever written together as a band. Christian is the author of the lyrics, which he came up with in less than 3 minutes.

Please support the band, and buy a copy today at our online merch store.

Interview with Edward Cullen

Warning: if you're an Edward Cullen fan, this will fictional interview will probably offend you.

Eric: Can I get you something to drink before we get started?

Edward: Non-fat organic blood of a pig.

Eric: Do you think that being a vampire has affected your relationships?

Edward: Undoubtedly. But when you're incredibly hot and over-paid . . . (nudge, nudge) Eh? Eh?

Eric: (Adjusts in chair to out of reach of Edward) I see. So what do you have to do for fun?

Edward: Sparkle. And look cool on my motorcycles.

Eric: Any advice to aspiring vampires?

Edward: Sparkle.

Eric: Who would you call your closest friends?

Edward: Me.

Eric: How do you fix your hair if you can't see yourself in a mirror?

Edward: I . . . we . . . hmmm.

Eric: Before we go, could you smile so we can see those pointy teeth of yours?

Edward: Can't. My contract says it.

Stepford Life

If you ever want to watch a really bizarre movie, watch the 1975 version of Stepford Wives is top of my list. There's just something creepy about blending suburban lifestyles and androids.

The thing I was thinking while watching last time was, if someone turned you into an android, would anyone notice? Sadly, I think many people's android counter-parts might fair just as well as they did in their mindless jobs.

Flying

Sometimes I have to fly. It's been awhile since I've had occasion to take to the skies. Sounds silly, but I miss it.

I still think that it's silly that they make you take your shoes off. Don't you think that a terrorist isn't going to be stupid to put a bomb in his shoe? Maybe I just don't understand ballistics.

I wonder what would happen if in relationships, you had to be as open as you are at the airport with your baggage. You had to show what you were carrying. Out there in the bright sting of florescent lighting. I think their might be fewer people making heart-wrenching mistakes. At least, you'd at least know if their was a block of C-4 buried that you'd forgotten about.

One of the most ironic things I've read in awhile.

Finding Creativity

Sometimes a great blog make my mind go think about the world in a way that I haven't before. Several of the blogs I've been following for years have truly changed my life. Here's my three favorite blogs of all time:

http://paintedsouldreams.blogspot.com/

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/'

www.forestpark365.com

You never know- one click might change your life.

Slyvia Lyrics

Working on this new song- it'll be interesting to see what you think of it.

Sylvia

She never had a name

She never once let her hair hang down

She never once did anything

Sylvia

She wore a long grey dress

Slept in a very very long grey bed

She never once did anything

Sunday after church she's out working the yard

Monday, it's back to the work, and the loop, and the kids and the grind she says

Ch.

I wish I could break this down somehow

Shake this whole routine

The grind can make you crazy

and tick away your youth and dreams

I wish I could take this down somehow

blow my mind and just escape from this scene

I know that I'm not crazy, don't need someone to save or set me free

I just want to be free

Sylvia

She sold her mother's ring

She bought a ticket on a big grey plane

She went to 20,000 feet and jumped

Sylvia

As she was crashing down

She saw the lights of her small grey town

She couldn't help but think "what a waste."

Sylvia

The future flashed across her cold green eyes

Day after day of the same grey life

And suddenly parachutes weren't on her mind

Slyvia

She wore a long grey dress

They laid her out on her long grey bed

And

Crayons

I always wanted a good set of crayons when I grew up. I was stuck with those hand-me-down bits of colored wax left over from others children's childhoods.

Not that I'm complaining. It's probably part of why I'm an musician today instead of an artist. I chose to paint with sound.

Next time you see a kid that doesn't have a good set of crayolas, go out and buy him the best you can find. Or a cheap guitar. You might start something.

When there's a way . . .

There's someone's will hanging around somewhere. I wish all musicians were this creative.