Systems Officer

It is Friday and you know what that means!!? Actually, I am not really sure what that means, but I am sure you readers do? Friday could mean a bunch of things, so I am not going to try and guess what you people are thinking, geese! That was a joke, people. Enough romance, last post I had talked about discovering Montalban Quintet at a Systems Officer concert. Well, now it is time to actually talk about my experience with Systems Officer! This band is a solo project of Armistead Burwell Smith IV aka Zach Smith, who also is in a few great San Diego based bands, like Pinback and Three Mile Pilot. Systems Officer has the same feel as Pinback, but I would say it feels more emotional. Upon seeing Zach play live, it was obvious that these songs are played with real emotion. Not that his other bands are not played like that; I am sure they are. The reason it is probably a little different because this is all Zach, not just Zach and the rest of Pinback or Three Mile Pilot. It is very focused and has that classic Zach Smith sound to it. All I could think about during the show was, "man, this guy is one of the most talented musicians I have ever seen live." This guys takes the bass guitar and takes it to a whole other level. When you listen to Systems Officer, you are thinking that most of the sounds came from an electric guitar when actually it was mostly done with just bass. Zach's bass playing changes my whole view on how songs can be arranged; however, I am not here to talk about song structure, so I will just leave that one alone. Not only is Zach an excellent bass player, he is also one of the coolest, most down to earth people I have had the pleasure to meet. I came up to him before the show and talked about how I have seen his other band, Pinback a bunch of times. Seriously, I probably have seen Pinback ten times within the past 5 years. He did not seem annoyed or bored when I talked to him, which was a great feeling. He said that he was excited to finally get the band (Systems Officer) on tour for the first time, and that he looks forward to keep moving on with both Pinback and Systems Officer. Towards the end of our conversation he stated that he really appreciates having such a loyal fan base, and as long as people are willing to come out and see him, then he will continue to make music. It is obvious Zach Smith is still loves playing music. When he is on stage, you can tell he is passionate about the music. Enough romance, Systems Officer has an EP, a full length album, Underslept, and he is currently writing a new album due out next summer. Go out and get Systems Officer, it is one of the few good bands out there!

You can purchase Systems Officer music at  http://temporaryresidence.com/

Get relaxed with some Montalban Quintet

While looking through the merch table at a Systems Officer show -I will no doubt have a post about Systems Officer in the near future- there was an album laid out that I had not seen or heard of before. The album said, "From the founders of Systems officer present: Montalban Quintet." The band consists of drummer (Chris Prescott) and the guitar/bass player (Kenseth Thibideau.) Immediately, I thought it would be a no-brainer to buy this album. The album's horn arrangements, combined with the cello and percussion, create an album that is great to listen to, especially on headphones. Overall, there is a nice relaxing tone that overlaps through each song. It is definitely different than Systems Officer, but that is not in any way a bad thing. I guess you can categorize this band as "experimental jazz," but I would try not to define it that way. People should not try to define a band by their genre because so many bands out there have a sound that is so unique that classifying them under something like "Rock" or "Pop" just does not do them justice. I think I went on a weird thing there for a bit, sorry. Enough romance, Montalban Quintet's music is really good listening, so go out there and buy it!

You can buy their music at http://www.montalbanquintet.com/

Mc Chris is the biz!

Last month I was lucky enough to go see an Mc chris show, and boy was that night awesome. Very few musicians can get my arms moving but at the mc chris show, I just could not help it. This guy knows how to get the crowd moving. From batman to every star wars character ever, Mc chris sure knows how to make  nerdcore rap songs fun. Now you do not have to be labeled as a "nerd" to like his music. The beats are crisp and the lyrics are so catchy that literally ANYONE can get up and sing along! Give this guy a chance!!! Enough romance, Mc chris' new album Race Wars came out last month and it's super catchy (especially Popcorn Frog.) Go buy it!

Race Wars is available to purchase at www.mcchris.com

Rob Crow's He Thinks He's People

Christmas came early today because I got my copy of Rob Crow's new album, He Thinks He's People. If you did not already know, Rob Crow is half of the hard-core, easy listening band, Pinback. He's also a member of a million other bands out there: Heavy Vegetable, Goblin Cock, Thingy, Fashion Valley, The Devfits, and many others. Seriously, it would take me about an hour to list all of his past and present projects. Enough romance, the album came in the mail today, and I must say that it is exactly what I expected. I mean this in a sincere, positive way. The album is definitely more eclectic than his last release, Living Well; however, it does not take away from that classic Rob Crow sound. Do not take my thoughts on the album too seriously because this entry is NOT intended to be a deep review. Believe me, this album speaks for itself. I encourage people to not only listen to this album, but all of Rob's other albums as well. Too many people jump from band to band, only liking two songs, then moving on to some other new thing. Bands -Rob Crow is an excellent example- should be shown more respect for the work they do. Show respect by listening to the whole album, not just a couple of songs. Enjoy!


You can buy Rob Crow's He Thinks He's People at   http://temporaryresidence.com/

The weekend ends...with some MEW!

Sitting here on a Sunday night makes me wish that it was next weekend already. The idea of infinite combinations of things to do with friends is way more appealing than going through the regular "work" week. Whether it consists of watching a good movie, going to a party, or driving around town with some friends while listening to good music, the weekend always seems more interesting than all those other weekdays. Oh well, guess you cannot fight Mondays. Enough romance, I was listening to music on my computer when an interesting song came on that made me interested spreading the word.

Hailing from Denmark, the band Mew consists of Jonas Bjerre, Bo Madsen, and Silas Utke Graae Jørgensen. These viking composers met in junior high school and have been writing music ever since. Since they are all now in their thirties, I would say that is a very big accomplishment to still be making music together after all those years. Describing Mew would be like opening up a dictionary and looking up every adjective you have ever heard because that is exactly what they sound like. Their dreamy, melancholy, massive, powerful, beautifully cohesive music can put you in both the darkest and brightest places of your imagination. Every song has it's own unique characteristics to it, yet they all somehow come together when listening to each album as a whole. It is as if each album takes you on a roller coaster of emotions, and the end result always leaves you wanting more. This band has some true talent and should be more well-known. Yes, they are more recognized in Denmark and parts of Europe, but they have still had trouble breaking out into the North American music community. In addition to having an astonishing sound when you hear them on CD, it only intensifies a hundred times more when you hear them live. Their sound is so big and rich that it fills you up with adrenaline, the strobe lights probably help too, and physically makes you get up and move. Not only do they play unbelievable music live, they also set up animations to go with the music. It is as if they take you into their own little Mew world, a place I would gladly visit every day if I could. I cannot express how different, in a positive way, this band is. For first time listeners, I would suggest listening to And The Glass Handed Kites. It is an album that is meant to hear in it's entirety, so listen to it as a whole the first time around. After that, be sure to listen to all their other albums too because they are just as rich and just as good! It's a shame it takes these guys four years to make a new album; however, four years for a really good album is much better than two mundane albums within that same time frame. Enjoy!


Mew And The Glass Handed Kites

www.mewsite.com

Arrested Development...AGAIN!

Great news came this week via twitter. Will Arnett and Jason Bateman both confirmed, via tweets, that Arrested Development, not the band, will come back to television in the near future. The seriously underrated show involves Michael Bluth (Bateman) taking over the family business after his father is imprisoned. Michael must try and revive the family company, while trying to keep his dysfunctional family together. This description does not do the show justice at all, no description will. I cannot tell you how excited I am about this show. It is literally the funniest show I have seen. Arrested Development has some of the most clever and funny writing ever! The cast and crew will make 10 episodes, which will all lead up to the movie that has also been confirmed. It is so great having this show finally get the shot it deserves. Many people I know watched the show after it got cancelled, and many have expressed how frustrated they were with Fox cancelling the show. Apparently, according to Jason Bateman's twitter, that they will hopefully film both the movie and television episodes during summer 2012, which could mean that we may get some new episodes in early 2013. I don't know about you, but I think this is great news. If you have not seen this show, please go and watch it now. It is available on Netflix instant and DVD.

First post!

Welcome to the first post in "This guy's mix of stuff." In this blog, I will write about anything that comes to my mind. It will mostly involve something like some cool music, movie, or concert. I like to write about whatever I like, so don't think you have to like what is in this blog. By the way, I'm the best. That part was just a joke to soften you people up. Enough romance, time for some stuff!!


The first thing that came on shuffle on my itunes is En Gång I År Kom Det En Tår by Dungen. Pretty good stuff to listen to if you're in the mood to listen to something where you have no idea what is being said. I like the piano in the song. This song is off their album Tio Bitar.

Pretty cool artwork, huh? They're Swedish, so you know it's good.