Interview with Alex Levine, Bassist for the Gaslight Anthem

Interview with Alex Levine, Bassist for the Gaslight Anthem
This was an interview I got to do with Alex Levine, Bassist for the Gaslight Anthem before his stop in Denver. Wish the article would have run.

Me : How did the European Tour go?

Alex: It went great. We sold out every show, which is unbelievable. We played all of the academy ones which I guess are pretty much the biggest venues you can play, without I guess jumping to the big arenas and what not. We played to a sold out crowd every night and they were insane. Every night was just unbelievable, it was blowing our minds every single day. To date it was our best tour so far.

Me: Where there any surprises when you were on the road over there? You said it blew your mind.

Alex: You know just the reception that our new record has been getting and just the way people are reacting to it. Actually just so excited to see us once again, it has been about a year since we have been over there. People were just losing their minds, it was awesome.

Me: I know you guys have played Denver a number of times, what do you think of Denver? Do you notice any intricacies about playing here?

Alex: Denver…that is why I wanted to do this interview. Denver is one of my personal favorite cities in the world. I have really close friends, one of my best friends moved over there. It is just one of my favorite cities to walk around and just hang out in, go to bars there and play. People are unbelievable there. Since day one, we have had almost like a cultish following from the beginning over there, where all of the sudden people started popping up in Denver. We would play in front of 200 people in Denver and then we play in front of 10 people in Salt Lake City. That is kind of how it went. Denver from the beginning was a great place for us.

Me: Before you go on the stage are there any superstitions or rituals that you go through before you get ready to play?

Alex: Yeah there are a couple, there is one thing my drummer Benny (Horowitz) and me always say, “you can never get too warm” meaning like stretching and all of that. You get really tense before so we try stretching a lot, we take a lot of pisses that’s for sure, you know have a couple of drinks, um do a couple of push ups, you know just normal things to get loose. We do a fist pound and get ready to go.

Me: Nice. I assume things mellow out once you have been out there on the stage a little bit?

Alex: Yeah, I mean but that’s the thing. The beauty of it is that everyday once 8:30 kicks around, you get the same feeling in your stomach, the same butterflies in your stomach. I feel like that will never go away and if it does go away then I am going to pack up my bags and go home because there is really no reason for doing this then.

Me: With American Slang being out, how does it feel to have 3 albums out there?

Alex: Unbelievable because from the point of view of being a kid 10-15 years ago going into record stores and seeing certain bands, seeing some of my from favorite bands having inserts, whoever you know, the Clash. You have 4 or 5 records in there a b-side in there and now to think that we are one of those bands that has a slot in every single record store around the country or even around the world now, it’s awesome. I never thought it would get to that point.

Me: If you had to pick one song off American Slang that is your favorite song to play which one would you choose?

Alex: To play, Queen of Lower Chelsea, by far. That was a fun song for me to record. I got to really explore my personal influences on that track and that was a track that has kind of always been worked out in my head. The way that song came out, I am really proud of it.

Black Keys Review

Latest review for the Denver Post. Black Keys "Brothers. Enjoy

http://blogs.denverpost.com/reverb/2010/06/02/cd-reviews-jack-johnson-the-black-keys/

That's Shocking!

So I went to a dinner party last night. A small affair, one of those where you only know the hosts. Suprisingly, the conversation flowed very well, with few awkward pauses and moments of silence. You know those moments where there is nothing to say so you blurt out something like, “boy it has been hot lately.”

Anyway, we are eatting dinner and somehow the topic of the shocker came up. If you do know what that is, I am not explaining it here as I do my best to keep away the weirdos. If only I could remember how the shocker came up in common table conversation, undoubtedly this would be another great story. I am sitting next to this woman and she begins sharing about how she was traumatized after a trip to New Orleans for Mardi Gras. As she was walking down Bourbon Street she looked up just in time to catch a woman give herself the shocker to the raucous crowd below. Let’s just say this little story was enough to silence the table.

After a couple of moments of silent aw, the majority of the table was amazed, not in a negative way, that she had seen this. It was like someone had announced that they had seen a 4 leaf clover, it is a once in a life time kind of thing. I could not help but laugh as that was the only conversation of the entire evening that brought everyone together and engaged.

Whenever I receive invites to dinner parties, I always imagine a bunch of individuals sitting around a table drinking wine and actively discussing art or movies or politics or some other high brow subject. Dinner parties almost never work out this way. Last night, I was sitting around a picnic table, drinking beer and discussing the shocker. It was one of the better dinner parties I have attended.

Send out the Clown

I read an article today about a group that is trying to pressure McDonald’s into retiring Ronald McDonald. Do people not have better things to do with their time and money? Just for the record I am a total hater. Their food is garbage and I do not know how anyone who works in corporate can sleep at night knowing their cost cutting is killing people. Opinions aside, when do we stop blaming cartoon characters, celebrities and athletes for issues involving personal responsibility.

The issue is not Ronald McDonald it is that we are overweight and do not have the willpower to say no. We as Americans feel entitled to literally have our cake and eat it too. I am tired of these stories about how fast food has made us fat; we have made ourselves fat. It is as easy as saying, “no, I am not going to eat that because I deserve better.” Fast food exists because we buy it, in gobs.

Instead of wasting money on getting rid of a clown why not do something to make produce more affordable and available in the communities that need it. Get rid of the food desserts and make natural fruits and vegetables something that can be enjoyed by everyone, not simply the top 10 percent. The only real way out of this obesity epidemic is for people to decide they want to make a change. That to me is the saddest thing; we are dying at an alarming rate due to what we eat and fast food restaurant continue to thrive because we do not feel that we deserve better.

Assignment

So I recently started doing some freelance writing for the major newspaper in town. Nothing big just album and show reviews. Still, I am really stoked about it and it is an awesome opportunity. It is kind of funny though because when I wrote for different music sites people did not seem to make as much of a stink. What really caught me off guard was my dad sent me a copy of a cd of one of his friend's band's. He had told the friend that I did reviews and the guy wanted me to check it out. This is a total trap. Before listening to the album I knew that this was trouble.

I listened to the album for the first time today and I could not make it through song six. I do not think I made it through a full track. The song writing was cliched to the point where I found myself singing the next word well before the lead singer did. Well now I am trapped. My biggest hope is that I am not asked what I thought. It is not very good but I still do not want to be rude to a family friend. One of my friend's suggested publishing a really scathing review, just to send a message. I am not going to do that but the musical snob side of me agrees. If I were to write a good review for this album, I could basically guarantee that I would not be allowed to review even the local childrens choir (who I am sure is quite good).

Instead I will not give a truthful opinion, I will deflect. There will be a time and place for me to tell the truth about my thoughts on the album but now is not it. I should be able to buy myself a little time. My dad does not live in the same city as me and is easily distracted by sports talk. Now my job is to think of natural transitions from music to sports. Baseball is coming and should provide me plenty of ammunition.

The Gaslight Anthem - American Slang

Looks like the release date for the new the Gaslight Anthem’s album American Slang is June 15th. They have also put a track list and the first single American Slang on their Myspace page. Check it out. These guys are fantastic.

Gaslight Anthem Myspace

Industrialize This

I have been reading the book "The Omnivores Dilemma." It did not hit me over the head how much that book had changed my point of view until I was in Target last night. No wonder our society is so unhealthy, soda, chips and other snacks have entire aisles dedicated to them. Try and find some fruits or vegetables and you are dealing with an area that is barely the size of a quarter of an isle. I am really sick of hearing the talking heads (not the band) go on and on about the poor food choices people are making. You go into a standard grocery store and make some reasonable choices. Since food companies are allowed to use additives that have no nutritional value when processing food, it should be no surprise that people are not getting proper nutrition.

I do not let individuals off the hook here. It is everyone's responsibility to make good choices. What do you do if you live below the poverty line and it is cheaper to buy low grade meat and additive laced snacks than it is to buy fruits and vegetables? I simply wish large food corporations would hold themselves to a higher standard. There is absolutely no reason why higher quality food cannot be produced.

-End Rant-

Meant to Be

My entire life I have been preached to about the importance of finding what it is I am meant to do. Truth be told, I turn 29 in a week and I am undecided. I would rather take take the physical challenge than try to answer this question. There are a lot of things I am passionate about, education, nutrition, gardening, music but passion and meaning are to completely different things. Take for example education. I am passionate about every kid having an equal opportunity for the best educational experience availible but I am not meant to be a teacher. My wife is a teacher. I love her school stories but there is no way that I could deal with kids all day.

Right now, I am on the track of rather than finding what I am meant to do, finding something I am good at that I is satisfying enough. Many have told me it sounds like I am happy settling. This is not true, settling would be working in a job you hate for your entire career and never attempting to make a change. I just stating that it is okay to find something that you somewhat enjoy to do. It does not have to be the perfect gig but if it gets you by then why not. I am confident that one day I will be in my meant to be job. I simply wish teachers would not make it sound like you are falling behind if you do not have everything figured out right away.

Lesson Learned

The older I get the more I am humbled by how truly little I know. I do not mean this as a negative connotation. It simply amazes me how much I learn about myself on a given day. Think about it. How well do you honestly know yourself? Most would say they know themselves pretty well. Still, I bet there are times when you surprise yourself for better and worse.

Before I go further with this, I want to say that my wife and I do not fight very often. I know I write about it from time to time and if you read my posts you might assume we fight all the time. We do not, I just tend to write about the cloudy days rather than the sunny ones. The sunny ones are not as easy to write about because they are perfect so there is so little need to say anything.

Lately, I have been dealing with some internal conflict, it has spilled over a bit to my outside relationships. My struggle stems from things in the past that continue to haunt me. Everyone has things from their past that they are not proud to admit. I cannot seem to put these things behind me. It as if I enjoy tormenting myself. I used to be able to move forward and for the past few months I am stuck on the same ghosts. They keep me up at night. I cannot completely shake them from my thoughts. I was looking over some old stuff I wrote and I came accross a list of life lessons. One of them were lyrics from the Pearl Jam song Present Tense. The lyrics say something to point of that you can spend your life alone revaluating past regrets or you can forgive yourself move forward and live in the present tense. I have been living too much in the past and trying to fix my old mistakes. Nothing I say or do can change what I did in the past. The only way I can make things right is to learn from my past mistakes and move on. I am writing this post because I am finally ready to release my demons and have come to terms with them. They do me no good cooped up inside my head. It feels good to be back.

I am greatful to have such an understanding wife.

Learning to Keep My Mouth Shut

When will it stop? My mouth always finds a way to get me into trouble. It is my double-edged sword. It makes me charismatic but also gets me into heap loads of trouble by the way it says the worst things possible with impeccable timing. Does anyone else have to deal with this? I am just ready to grow up and grow out of saying foolish things. Sorry if this reads like a pity party. I do not deserve any pity for I am in control of my mouth. What I really deserve is a good whack to my coconut.

I just wish I had a better understanding of why I say the things I do. My too biggest issues are that I like to talk quite a bit and I over-analyze everything. The sad thing is I mean everything. If I could just put my head on auto pilot sometimes I think things would go better. The horoscopes and my friends keep saying this is going to be my year. I do not need this to be my year. As long as I can keep my mouth in check, I am satisfied.

Any advice?

Slow Down

I spent sometime away this weekend. To be completely truthful, I was in the Bahamas for a wedding. It was really good to be away. The best part was that since I was out of the country my cell phone did not work. It gave me the opportunity to truly disconnect and slow down and focus a bit on the things that have been running around my head. This was also a fantastic weekend because I learned a lot. For my time away with my wife and her family I am very grateful. It is in those moments when everything slows down that I seem to find myself again. I am not sure if that makes sense but when I have a lot going on, I tend to focus on quantity rather that quality. I spend my time completing many things but not taking the time to complete them well.

Has it ever happened to you when you go and go and go for what it seems like to be a month and then things slow down and you think where the hell have I been the past month? I get that and need to find a better way to balance. I do not have the cash to travel out of the country every time I get overwhelmed. It is weird. I feel like the past couple of years have been like this. A lot has changed and I have had some huge things going on and now I wonder where the hell did the past 2 years go. I realize that my upcoming 29th birthday has me being pensive but I look around at my friends from 4 years ago and it seems like everything has changed. My social circle has shrunk and changed. I know that this is apart of life, it is just strange.

When I look through my address book in my phone or email it is as if I see ghosts. I still have a lot of people's contact information but know nothing anything else about them as we have not spoken in years. It is funny how these things sneak up on you. I wonder what my social circle will look like in another 4 years.

Cashed

I have finally hit my wall, so tired. This is what I get for burning the wick at both ends these past couple of weeks. For the past 2 months I have been getting up at 5:30 AM to run before work. Initially, it gave me an energy boost for the work day but now it makes me feel sleepy. I wonder if I need to up the distance and time I am running. My body feels as though it has adjusted to my new found workouts.

The problem with getting up so early is that I refuse to adjust my nighttime schedule. This leads to me feeling burned out and having erratic sleep behaviors. It also leads me to writers block where I am forced to pass off my tiredness and complaints as a legitimate blog entry. Sorry for this. I am out of town for a few days, hopefully I can get some sleep. Peace

Working Morals

Sorry for the delay with this post. I had family in this past weekend. Here is what I have been thinking about all weekend. I work for a large corporation. It works for now. It is a job that pays me a living wage. I have a job so I really should not be complaining. PS I hate that expression. Anyways, I can tolerate my job because I can compartmentalize it. When I leave, I completely check out. No more thinking about work until another 15 hours have elapsed.

I hustle and lie for my company. I am told it is okay because there are different rules. This got me thinking. I wonder what I would think of my job if I had kids. How would I feel telling my kids that they should always tell the truth and look out for others knowing that I did not practice what I preached. I wonder if I would truly hate myself. Are there different rules in the workplace? It got me thinking further about how some people in the world live with themselves. I know I know, they have piles of money so what does it matter. Seriously though, how do the heads of some of the evilest corporations get up everyday and go to work. It is just something that is difficult for me to wrap my head around.

Nothin'

I got nothin'. I have been carrying around this great blog entry to write but I always forget when I am home. Now I am at work and it is not something that is 100% work appropriate. You ever get that when you have a great idea to write something but you are somewhere where you cannot do it? Like when you are signing someone's yearbook it is never appropriate to write, "who are you again." Then when you have free time you forget and end up shopping for miniatures on Ebay? Maybe that is just me. Well, have a good one. Hopefully I will have some time this weekend to write. Thanks for stopping by.

Avatar: A Blockbusters Take on History

I saw Avatar on the IMAX last night. I will spare you a description of the movie. If you do not know the plot and storyline yet, you are out of luck. I am not going to go into that here. As for the visuals, they are incredible. I cannot say enough about the visual elements.

What I find to be the biggest disappointment is that the Oscar selection committee let me down. Avatar is nowhere near picture of the year good. The storyline is hackneyed and the acting leaves a little more to be desired. I also find it troubling that James Cameron has essentially tried to undue the wrongs that were done to the Native Americans by producing a blockbuster. It is silly to think that rooting for a group of blue savages can change history. Let me guess, does the sequel involve the US using brut-force to impose its will upon the blue people but then lets them open casinos and names its sports teams after them to show that everything is all good. I do not blame Cameron for making this film. I blame the Oscars for putting it on a pedestal.

Love

What is love? Love is boundless. Love is kind. Love is believing in the person you share your bed with more than anything else in the world. Love is amazing and strange at the same time. Love is coming home from a long day and having your best friend excited to see you. Love has tails and feathers and is not simply reserved for the human race. Love is going to see that same romantic comedy with a different title once a month. Love is not all about you. Love is about faith. Love is about believing in nothing at all. Love is a way for some people to make it through. Love is not always planned. Love is knowing that no one can live forever. Love is a place to find hope and redemption. Love is a lot of different things. Love is such a simple word to spell but nearly impossible to describe. Love is too big for a blog post.

Finding Comfort in a Pair of Shoes

For a blog that has New Balance in the description line, I really do not do much talking about shoes. What is there to say, they are fantastic shoes, end of story. Truth be told, a week or so after I started this blog I realized that writing about a shoe brand and life would be tough. Since I was so stoked about the graphic for the logo and am a bit lazy, I left the tag line. I wear New Balance shoes all the time so really it is more of a statement about me rather than the shoe company. Anyway, here is a shoe story to satisfy my obligation. Enjoy

I was so pissed when I heard that New Balance was discontinuing the 574's. I know it is pathetic and they are just a pair of shoes but I have had a pair continuously for the past 5 years. It was as if a part of me was being discontinued. It got me thinking about my brand loyalty. As weird as it sounds, I have clung to these shoes because they have been through a lot with me. If I look for consistency in my life, the two things I can think of are my wife and these shoes. In the go-go times of the internet think about the consistencies in your life. Wasn't that hard? If you have kids and a dog your list may be a little longer.

When I needed a new pair of shoes 3 months ago, I hoped to send a message. I had tried other New Balance models and they were not the same so I purchased a pair of Saucony's. My initial thinking was that all quintessential retro running shoes were the same. I had heard good things about Saucony so I took a chance. They initially wore fairly similar. The smaller toe box I could get over. There is not as much cushion, okay. Where I have really noticed the difference is now. They do not have the same workmanship of my New Balance. I always considered my 574's as something that got better with age. Every pair I have owned has lasted at least a year. My Saucony's already have me thinking about new shoes. The padding has worn down, the materials feel cheap and they just do not feel sturdy anymore. I never realized I could miss a shoe so much. So here I sit, surfing the net, looking for a store that still sells 574's. I am hoping to recapture a little bit of my past.


PS - I realize I am mourning a pair of shoes and that it is a bit over the top. Still we all have our brands. I am a product of my environment.

Winter's Final Homestand

While the snow continues to fall outside, hope springs eternal with one of the greatest days less than two months away, opening day. First, I want to congratulate the city of New Orleans and its fans. Enjoy the moment in the sun, they never last long enough. Now to the business of baseball.

It no longer matters who won the World Series last season, the Yankees. A new season quickly approaches. It brings with it a chance for redemption. Opening day is the only day of the season when the playing field is truly level. Anyone can win. There is no insurmountable number of games to be made up on Opening Day. Everyone is even. It is a day where everyone can dream big. Hold your head's up high Royals and Pirates fans. This could be your year. Less than 2 months left of winter we are in the home stretch. Baseball is coming. Hope to see you there.

Dog Names

So my wife and I have been discussing getting a dog. I am hoping something changes in my schedule so that I can go home during lunch to walk the dog. The time thing is the only thing that is really holding us back. When I say us, it is more me than her. I just cannot help but feel guilty about leaving a dog at home for 8-10 hours alone. Not to say that my wife is okay with this but she gets caught up in the cuddly factor of dogs.

Anyways, I am such a nerd that I have already started compiling a list of dog names. I know I have to wait to see what the dog looks like before picking a name but I figured having a list helps. I do not want to end up with the misfortune of having a dog named Fluffy or Pumpkin. I am not much or a guys guy but there is nothing more emasculating than having to be at the park and yell out here Tinkerbell. That is why I am going to be prepared. Suggestions welcome?

PS - The Dog pic is from the Maxfund Animal Shelter

Welcome to Snoozeville the Grammy's are on

I don't know about you but I am going to be watching the best thing on TV tonight, the X-Games. I think I would rather stab myself in the hand than have to chose between the Pro Bowl and the Grammys. Both are a lame excuse for self congratulations.

My biggest qualm with the Grammys is that I do not listen to the style of music they reward. Truth be told, this is not the award show's fault. I simply think it is a major flaw that as an artist you have to be on a major label to be rewarded. To me, it is as if the Grammys are saying that if you are not on a major label than you do not matter. Case and point Death Cab for Cutie. They had put out 4 albums with Barsuk Records before signing with Atlantic. Included in those 4 is Transatlanticism which many consider their best. In their 4 fantastic albums with Barsuk, they received zero Grammy nominations. Now they are on Atlantic and have received nominations for the 2 lps and 1 ep they have released. What a joke! The Grammy formula seems to be let's take the most popular artists and see what they have released. Good or bad we will nominate them for Grammys. There is no creativity or surprises when it comes to the Grammys. Pick out the same 10 artists every year add one or two and nominate them.

Until the Grammys open up their judging process, I will do what I do every year. I will watch something more meaningful.