Bandcamp!

Campin' tonight!

Been a lonngggggass while since I updated on here! Well that's mostly because everyone has been close in my life and things have been going GREAT! Well, that hasn't changed, but I am quite excited about going camping tonight. Lotta people may be coming. I'm not entirely sure who's staying the night, but I can assure you that someone will not return alive in the morning. I've purposely released starving bears into the forest without telling any of my friends and if they were loyal enough to check my blog every day for updates, they'd see the warning signs right here!!!!

What else? Got two papers to write by Wednesday, so that never changes when I'm writing blogs. One is my introduction page on a 7-8-page paper on why kids should be educated about same-sex unions so they don't grow up being queers. The other is on the development of music during the middle ages. Wanna know about music in the middle ages? 'Kay. Started as religious chants. They were in free-verse, meaning they could basically sing whatever rhythm they felt like. There weren't really pitches written in stone, either. It was kinda just like words people said together at approximately the same time. Then they came up with something called polyphony, which is where there were more than one melodies at once (harmonies, duh). And uhh...most of the monks who wrote the music didn't put their names on it, so we don't know who wrote most of the songs. Also, there were troubadours who were secular and played music on the streets. Now, I have to make everything I just told you into a three-page paper. Hm. Maybe I should change my topic.

I learned this wicked awesome drum fill today. It goes (hi-hat and bass) snare snare snare low tom low tom hi-hat bass, snare snare hi-hat hi-hat hi-hat hi-hat snare snare bass bass high tom snare bass bass snare snare high tom low tom bass bass low tom snare bass (bass and crash). In other words...


And I'm doing track. That's my life as of now.

love,
Kyle

CONFIDENCE: The speech.

In a society where impressions make all the difference in what you can achieve and where risks need to be taken, confidence is vital. I’m here to stress to you just how vital it is. But before we get into all of that, there are three things I’m going to establish. First, you will understand confidence. Second, you will learn how to obtain confidence. And lastly, I will explain how to use your confidence.

1. Understanding

So what is confidence, you might ask? Well, confidence is getting hired. Confidence is jumping from an airplane. Confidence is performing in front of thousands of people. Confidence is talking to that girl you think is hot. Confidence is taking risks. Confidence is confronting people you have an issue with. Confidence is being comfortable with who you are. Confidence is tearing up your note cards while giving a speech. Confidence can get you further in the world because no one wants to hire or be around someone who is uncertain of his capabilities. No one wants to hire a guy who is afraid to talk to customers. No one wants to date a guy who apologizes for being himself. Confident people stand out. Confident people aren’t shy and they aren’t ashamed of who they are and what they have to offer (Kanter).

Anyone can be confident, too. There are no excuses. As some anonymous person once said, “To wish you were someone else is to waste the person you are.” If Christopher Walken or Willem Dafoe (the Green Goblin from Spider-Man) can become famous with faces like that, then you surely can get through whatever you’re trying to accomplish in life. How about Danny Davito? How about Michael Moore? Drew Carry? Rick Moranis? John Heder from Napoleon Dynamite? Steven Tyler of Aerosmith? If someone as nerdy as Bill Gates can be…Bill Gates, then you have no excuse. Confidence is not who you are, it’s how you envision who you are and how you use your credentials.

On a side note, confidence can also make you seem funny. One method to this, as commonly used by comedian Dane Cook, is to yell everything you say. He simply goes on stage and yells about every day happenings. An example might be, “This morning I put on A BUTTON-UP SHIRT AND BLUE JEANS WITH THE HOLES IN THE KNEES! You know what I like about holes in the knees? I like to think about the POOR LITTLE ASIAN KIDS WHO ARE SITTING IN THE FACTORIES PUTTING HOLES INTO JEANS! AHHHH!!! And then I HAD SOME BREAKFAST!”

2. Obtaining

This is truly the trickiest part of the art of confidence. First, you need to analyze yourself. What are you good at? What are your good qualities? What are your bad qualities? What do you look like? How much money do you have? Not that any of those things matter when you have confidence, but you need to analyze them before you can properly use it. You do not want to show any vulnerability but instead, you want to work with your bad qualities and make them be in your favor. If you’re 5’9 and weigh 350 pounds and you are joking about being a short guy, it’s not going to cut it. It’s a deflection of insecurity about your weight and everyone can see right through it. If you, instead, joke about how you camp out at the bakery, everyone is laughing with you and you’ve just built up your confidence. Maybe you can even get some tattoos of ice cream cones and popcorn to show everyone that you’re okay with who you are.

But I realize not everyone is a 5’9 350 lb man, and there are other situations to be addressed. One way people work on their confidence is through practice and experience. If you have a fear of something, work through it. If you’re afraid of crowds, expose yourself to them more often and your fear will eventually pass. Keep in mind that it’s not the end of the world if you make yourself look stupid and try again. Confidence comes much more naturally to some people than others, but once again, claiming a handicap is not excusable. Work with what you have, emphasize your strong points, play along with your weak points, and don’t fall victim to irrational fear.

3. Using

Now that you have your confidence, you need to learn where and how to use it. As singer/songwriter for the Lawrence Arms, Brendan Kelly, pointed out in his blog, confidence is the driving force behind every advancement made in human history. It’s risk-taking. Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier in a jet plane because of confidence. Abraham Lincoln ended slavery because of confidence. The US Constitution wouldn’t have been written if it were not for confidence. Music would have never evolved if people weren’t confident enough to try something new. Shaun White would have never gotten his snowboard off the ground without confidence. No one would ever get laid if they weren’t confident enough to approach the person they want to sleep with and say, “Hey! I’d love to have sex with you!” And without that, none of us would even exist (Kelly) (Raduga).

Indiana Jones would not have gotten across that invisible bridge in the Last Crusade and gotten the Holy Grail if it wasn’t for confidence! In The Pursuit of Happyness, Will Smith’s character, Chris, went to an interview with a shirt covered in paint on and with his confidence, he got the job. The interviewer asked him, “What would you say if a guy walked into an interview without a shirt on and I hired him?” To that, Will Smith replied, “He must’ve had on some really nice pants.” That is confidence at work.

Another thing that Brendan Kelly frequently preaches is that the only thing women find attractive in men is confidence. One might argue that women are attracted to money. No, women are attracted to the confidence that comes with having money. One might argue that women are into guys with good looks. Wrong again. Women are attracted to the confidence that comes with having good looks. Take Nick George as an example as to why good looks isn’t the only important factor. Confidence is missing. So in order to get that girl you want, you must have confidence in yourself. Do not point out when you feel awkward. Don’t bring up things from the past. Don’t ask if you’re doing alright. Instead, know that you’re doing alright. Know that you can get with this girl and make her happy. And really, same thing goes with girls trying to get with guys (though confidence isn’t all guys look for, to be honest) (Kelly).

All of these things boil down to risk-taking. Take risks. Do things that no one has done before. Do things that you have never done before. What doesn’t kill you will make you stronger and only one thing in each person’s life will kill them but chances are, taking one risk to move up in the world isn’t going to be that one thing. Be spontaneous. Be reckless if that’s what the situation calls for. If your boss is telling you to work overtime, shoot out his headlights. When he asks if you did it, look him right in the eye and say, “Yes, sir. And if you don’t quit giving me hours after 10, I’m taking a crowbar to your windows.” Chances are you won’t be getting any more late night shifts from that guy.

That last one doesn't count

Yeah, I got a "formspring" account thing because it seems interesting. Basically people ask you stuff and you answer them and you have no idea who's asking. Like anyone can ask. It's weird. They've just asked me weird shit so far...

Two-hour delay tomorrow AND Alex's birthday! Happy B-day, bitch!

Talked to my dad about college today...and by "talked to my dad about," I mean "got preached to about," of course. So I wanna go to Potomac State because I'm too much of a puss to run off into the world and go to college at this point and my dad hates that college...so! He tried to tell me how much he hated it...but I didn't really care. And I want a car because I need one for jazz band and track and other things...and I'm not sure I'm getting one right now!

I've been stressing about college and stuff since then, though. My mom isn't stressing it on me too much. My sister is pregnant. My brother may be coming back to public schools. I'm graduating. Life is just full of changes!

love,
Kyle

formspring.me

Ask me anything http://formspring.me/kylewagoner

How about THIS one?

So tomorrow is a huge test day for seniors. FUCK! We are testing first, second, and fourth block. That is a total of...4 and a half hours. TESTING! Imagine missing tomorrow and having to find time to make that up! But at least we don't have Miss Dean, eh?

I've really been thinking about things...well, sorta. But anyway, I really don't know what I'm going to do with my life. I really wanna get I Forget up on its feet and out into the world at least a little bit. First step seriously is to get these songs learned (and written) so we can run in and record them and make an album. Marc Phillips has been hashing out (I'm around Mr. Leonard too much...erg) our album cover. The album has been renamed for the third time and is now to be Flannelcore. I'm excited. You don't understand the half of it!

So more news on that coming later. Anddd...I'm sick of dog and cat piss. Anddd...I haven't rewritten my paper yet. Anddd...the new Alkaline Trio album came out today and I need to go buy it!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100223/music_nm/us_pickle That made Yahoo! News. Maybe that means there's enough people out there who know Nickelback are terrible to make an impact.

And there are some Against Me! videos of them playing new songs live out there on Youtube, so if you're liking Against Me!, check those out. And...uhh...yeah, that's about all I have for today. Insightful, huh? Alex is having a birthday this Friday. Happy birthday! I'm uhh...still gonna do stuff with your sister.

love,
Kyle

I wrote a paper!

So I wrote this paper for College English. It was due over three weeks ago and I wrote it last night. Umm...and I'm gonna have to like completely revise it. Because I use too much of my own opinion! Anyway! Our assignment was to compare two essays and determine which had a stronger claim. So this was how I translated it, which I later found was not entirely correct to do. It's about Facebook.


FACEBOOK ESSAYS: WHY THEY SUCK…
Kyle Wagoner
Kyle Wagoner is a student in a College English class who owns a Facebook page.

Ever since the invention of the internet, people all over the world who previously had no voice have finally found a platform where they can complain about everything and criticize everything that displeases them, pleases them, or even things they could care less about one way or another. Now you don’t have to be an expert on a subject for the world to hear what you think about it. A Youtube comments section is all the further you need to go for proof of this. But I digress…my real point here is that the internet may connect people, but at the same time, it creates a lot of division. And what a better nonsensical debate is there to talk about than the one between networking sites being good, bad, or ugly?

It kind of upset me when I saw that this argument had made it as far as a college textbook when I was assigned to read some pages in my College English class earlier this semester. Here we have a world filled with hate, greed, genocide, war, starvation, tragedy, and countless other environmental and social issues and we’re being assigned to read about two people’s opinions on the subject of Facebook. The sides of the argument are cliché at best. Kurt Soller’s “Facebook: Why I Love It” says he likes connecting with his friends. Sarah Kliff’s “Facebook: Why I Hate It” says Facebook consumes her life. Having a Facebook of my own, I see both of those arguments at least a dozen times a day. I read statuses like, “Should be studying. On Facebook instead.” Or I see where an older friend of mine will meet up with someone they haven’t spoken to in x number of days/months/years and be thrilled to have found them again.

So why do I think both arguments are bad? Well, quite simply, both arguments are pointless. They’re strictly personal opinions. My opinion about Facebook wasn’t shaken an inch while reading either essay. Maybe I’m a little biased since I have one myself and have already been able to develop a personal opinion, but even those who don’t have their own Facebook page probably know the basic concept of it. You sign up, you meet up with your friends, you share what you’re doing or thinking with each other.

Anyway, let’s dig into some examples here. Soller is a staff writer for Newsweek, the essay says. I don’t see why that’s important. How does that make him any more credible than anyone else who owns a Facebook page? Is he or Kliff, who is also a staff writer for Newsweek, a “Facebook opinion expert”? Even if they both were “Facebook opinion experts” due to working at Newsweek, they would still both be equally as credible.

Now, we can look at these essays in a different way: how objective are they? Well Soller thinks that God sent Facebook from to earth as a savior for those who missed the Jesus bandwagon as he says that joining Facebook was one of the three highlights of his senior year in high school right next to graduating and being accepted to college. Kliff, on the other hand, thinks that Facebook is one of Satan’s tools to keep us from living a fulfilling life. I mean, I know I’m kind of exaggerating, but the point here is that there is no grey line. One thinks Facebook is great and cannot be swayed to believe otherwise and won’t consider the other possibility and the one who belongs to the other possibility thinks just the opposite. Soller tries to fight the arguments against Facebook with the history of most inventions initially being looked at with frowns and Kliff fights the arguments against Facebook being good with her opinion of it being filled with pointlessness and mentioning all of her fake friends and meaningless Facebook groups that her friends join.

If I had to make a conclusion from all I just mentioned, I’d say that both writers come out at about being equally as stupid-looking except that Soller pulls from history some examples. That doesn’t cover the fact that he’s flogging a dead horse and arguing that he feels…exactly like half of the people that own a Facebook page. If Newsweek thought this was a good topic to have two of their writers to cover, then I really think that the country does need some new hobbies. Or maybe Newsweek just needs to hire some new writers…or some new directors of telling people what to write about or whatever that position is called. I believe neither essay serves a purpose, but the historical references would make Soller come out on top if you really wanted to make a worthwhile debate out of the two.

love,
Kyle

I deserve a Grammy...or something

So I Forget played at Tabitha Shoemaker's birthday party last night. Now first off, loading up equipment (all of it, for that matter, including PA and shit) is a pain in the ass when you have to shovel 2 feet of snow across en entire yard to get a clear path from the practice space to a vehicle. It is. No way around that. Secondly, we were kinda like...not prepared to play both practice-wise and equipment-wise. Like our normal guitar has a broken string that Brittney uses and I had no real drum sticks...only Rock Band sticks. I will get to that later.

Okay, so we also didn't have enough cars to take all of our stuff, SO I had to call (and by "call," I mean text) Kylie and say, "Yeah, we need your mom to help us take shit." So Jenise comes and parks in the neighbor's driveway, Brittney and I start walking across the fuckin' shittily shoveled snow-covered yard with tons of equipment. Maybe not "tons," but a lot. Maybe a thousand pounds...probably not that much. Anyway! We carried a quarter of a ton of equipment across the yard and I already had blisters before I left from shoveling. So we get to the venue like an hour later as always and we have to jump through hoops to get the stuff in the door because there's three foot of snow surrounding the sides of the building. Then we set up, I ride with Nick to his house to get another pair of Rock Band drumsticks because I knew mine wouldn't last en entire show. I'll get to that later.

So we're all set up and there's like 20 people there. We start playing with the typical "Get a Clue," "for.the.$$," and "That One Song." One stick snapped halfway through "Get a Clue," another broke in the middle of "for.the.$$" and the last two broke a few seconds into "That One Song." So I had to play an entire show with pieces of drumsticks. I broke a broken drumstick for the first time in my life. It was interesting. I deserve a reward for it. Needless to say, it was a kind of sloppy show. Not many people seemed to care that we were even there...but oh well. We got $50 from it, we got to play basketball, we got to rap, and we got to go have Denny's afterward. A nice Friday evening in spite of everything.

Don't play a show with Rock Band drumsticks. Trust me. Buy Vic Firths or Pro-Mark or something.

love,
Kyle

Revolution! Blah blah blah!

Wow! I have NO idea what the Japanese thing said in my last comment section other than the blatantly obvious "SEX" written there. Maybe that was the point. Moving on.

So! Tomorrow we return to school after being off for two weeks. I've had a paper due for almost 3 weeks but we haven't had the class to turn it in for that long, SO I continue procrastinating. That is the story of my life, as those of you who follow me on here probably have realized. Hence posting something two or three times a month instead of like...27 times. None of that is either here nor there! Moving on again!

New I Forget album. It's gonna kick nuts. That is a promise. It's been over a year since we last recorded, I think. MAN! It's been almost two years since we put out our last album. THAT kinda sucks. But oh well! This one is gonna be worth it. More information on that to come.

So I've been spending a lot of time at Alex (my fellow blogger) and Kylie's house (Kylie being his younger sister). AND my mom is finally catching on to the fact that I'm not going over just to see Alex, when in fact, he's often not home at all when I go over. She instead has realized that I have been going to visit Kylie. Why is that significant! Well! I'm 18, she's 15, I could get in trouble with the law. So Alex! If anything happens between your sister and I, please don't turn me in. Unless, of course, I do something way out of line, then I fully expect to face the legal consequences, but that's not in my nature. Anyway! That chat with my mom was GREAT.

Also my mom told me that she cannot take Zane anymore and she has had her last straw in trying to teach him at home. SO! Zane Wagoner will be returning to public schools in the near future. Zane, I wish you luck.

New Alkaline Trio album comes out in a few days. It's amazing. I'm gonna buy it. Have I covered that? It's great. I'm getting sick of people saying, "They aren't even trying anymore." I don't even know what that means! Seriously, though. It's worth picking up.

And umm...political stuff.

love,
Kyle

There's a lot of snow out there...

I got stuck at Alex and Kylie's house with them, Ryan, Echo, and Jade for like...three days. And now I'm stuck with my mom, Zane, and whatever shitty music Zane puts on. Also there are a billion animals here I'm stuck with that I must help care for. The power went out for a day at where I stayed but it apparently lasted for longer here at my mom's and at Brittney's house. I present this as if the people who read my blog don't know what's happening in my life...which is a big reason in why I don't write anymore. I feel like I'm reiterating what the people that read this have lived through with me.

I've had a paper that was due a week ago that I still haven't written because we haven't had that class to turn it in. That's kind of awesome, but it also feeds into my procrastination. I should have been one of those people who didn't realize we had a delay on that Monday morning a week ago and wrote it that night. But I was keeping up with the news and knew we didn't have school. So here I am. Wait, it's actually Tuesday, so it was even longer than a week ago it was due. I assume I'll write it sometime soon because I'm going to get very bored. I watched Forrest Gump last night in lack of things to do. That's actually an awesome movie. I guess I'm kinda late to that party, but I really enjoyed it. Makes me feel like I shouldn't ever waste the time I get in my life.

I really wish there was something in life bothering me so I'd have something good to write about! Damn! How about complacency? I could talk about that. Okay. Complacency. That's when you're satisfied with how your life is going and you quit trying for more. It sucks. Well, it's kind of cool, but it sucks in the big picture. One day you get to a point where you look back and say, "Well shit! I could have been striving for this goal this long ago and instead I just sat there and stared at myself naked!" Or what have you, ya know? I might get complacent and not try in college or something and then one day my circumstances will change and I'll be fucked! It's entirely possible. I'm complacent and sit online all day when I could be out like...improving my physical health or something. Or! I could be doing my homework! Or my senior project or a research paper or something.

Tim says our research paper for British Literature has to be on something in Medieval times. I'd do it on the like..progression of music in that time, but I don't even understand what those terms mean. So maybe that could work to my advantage and I could just make up shit to fill four pages and Mrs. Dean would just think I knew what I was talking about and give me a good grade. I really should get on the ball since by the time we get back in school, it'll be about time to turn all of this shit in. Pffffffffffffffffffffffffffff......

Listen to Refused. They kinda changed my perception on music.

love,
Kyle

I been thinkin' 'bout the future....did I already use this?

So I need a car. Basically. My mom is getting tired of me driving her car everywhere and like going to Alex's house after school and taking Kylie home and all of that shit. So the solution is to get my own car so I can do whatever the hell I want in it. That includes building Lego castles, table tennis, tweeting about my ingrown toenails, and squirrel-watching. That's a lot of freedom to obtain at one time, but I think I'm mature enough for it being 18 and all.

Anyway, I'm supposed to talk to my dad about getting a new car sometime this weekend. I'm not picky...I just want something that runs, won't break down, and doesn't cost millions of dollars to drive around. My whole thing here is that I'm dirt poor. Did I ever tell you about my new dog, Gretta? There might just be one "t". Anyway, she just came in my room. She's a Westie. That means she's adorable. Wanna see a picture of a Westie? Look it up yourself; I don't feel like posting images.

New Alkaline Trio album leaked. Did I take advantage of that? You bet every nerve of your ass I did. And what do I think of it? I think it's truly excellent. Not much like anything else they've done, really. It's leaps and bounds less overproduced from Agony & Irony. Not that I hated that album, but it really was my least favorite. I kind of worry about getting to that point as a band...where we just kind of lose touch of what is simply great and throw a billion unnecessary loops and sounds and guitars on top of a perfectly good song. So yeah, this new album, This Addiction, is much more simplistic and easier to enjoy. That and the songs are fucking great. One sounds like El Hefe plays trumpet on it and Fat Mike wrote it. That's pretty unique for the ol' Alkaline Trio. Anyway, next topic of talk.

New semester of school is here. I got the college classes first block still. Second block, I have guitar, third I have Algebra III, and fourth I have Civics. Now let me go over how simple the last three classes are for me. First off, I've played guitar for 5 years. I know all of the parts to a guitar. I can read music. That class is just a bunch of stuff I already know. Algebra III, it's a bunch of stuff I did in 8th, 9th, and 10th grade. Bunch of stuff I already know. We started Civics with a blank map of the US and we were to fill in the names of all of the states. The only one I didn't get was Iowa because I couldn't think of its name. So far, a bunch of stuff I already know. That and Mr. Cowgill is a really good teacher, so for everything I don't know, I will quickly understand. However easy this semester looks, I must do my senior project, a research paper for British Literature, and fill out some college forms...like the FAFSA. Did I mention that I'm planning on going to school at Pot State for free and not leaving this place for a while? Yeah, this is the same Kyle talking that was on here a year ago...things change.

But for real, I have I Forget and for now, Dogjaw. This is like finally my break. We've been setting shows up on our own and people have been attending. We have people that come to every show and the number increases with each show. Dogjaw is another band that we can play with that we fit in with well and we get along with well and they're just a good band with great songs! I truly believe we can get people interested in music again around here. The weird part about it is that I think my band is going to be a strong leader in it. I want to be the Ramones of West Virginia. Or the Youth Brigade of Fort Ashby. Just leadin' the way for getting music out there to the kids. Now I hope to get some outside bands to start playing in Fort Ashby, too. That would REALLY help get kids into a range of good music. I wish we could get big bands, but one step at a time...

So music, music, music! School, school, school! Ryan's party tonight! I was up to 5 AM last night. Fuuuuck, right? Well maybe I'll be able to stay up tonight for the party, which is a sleep over. Or MAYBE I'll still be fuckin' tired. Hrmm! I could use some good eatin', so I'm anticipating some for tonight.

I ran from my house to Alex's on Wednesday and my legs still hurt. That's four miles. Thanks to Alex and Kylie for taking care of me when I got there. I might not be here to write this if they hadn't been. Running is brutal. Especially when you don't stretch before or after...which is my own damn fault. I'm ranting now. That was just written for record's sake.

love,
Kyle

Maybe I should just give up

This decade...fuckin' amazing so far. I've played two shows, the first of which was kind of disastrous sound and performance-wise but a huge success show-wise, I've had a birthday party, I've had some goodass food, I've seen some badass movies, I've spent a whole lot of time with friends, I'm 18 now, I didn't have to go to church this morning. These things, to me, make it a superb couple of weeks. I want to say that January 8-15 was the best week of my life, because it very well may have been.

I also just read that one of the guitarists from the Canadian hardcore band, Fucked Up, starred in the movie Camp Rock II with the Jonas Brothers. Now tell me that's not fucked up! Ha! Get it?!

Show at the high school was a huge success, I think. We played quite well. Dogjaw played quite well. I think the locals are starting to dig the music, which is awesome. I played two shows with the jazz band on Thursday...one at the capital building of West Virginia for a bunch of politicians and the second at Embassy Suits for a bunch of politicians. The show at the Embassy Suits was like a...meeting of some sort to "discuss" Mineral County and try to help it. I said to Nick, "I Forget and Dogjaw are helping Mineral County far more than anyone here can ever do." It kind of made me want to puke. Bullshit politicians.

Speaking of which, I'm a registered voter now. I'm Independent. Woo!

I really have nothing insightful to say. Nothing is bothering me. Nothing to rant about. I'm quite sorry...

love,
Kyle

It's Christmas time again

Yeah, it's Christmas, I'm up at 2:30 AM and no one is up to keep me company. No one but my very faithful blog! Always there for me and never complains when I vent to it! Well blog, I'm sorry, but nothing in particular is bothering me in life! Remember last year at this time? I was writing to you about the only person that I now am not cool with and that is Katie Mullan. Well, I guess I'm not cool with her boyfriend or Ginger Berry, either, but I never did give much of a shit for either of them. That being said, a lot of change has happened in the past year, huh? This is like a landmark for my blog...this whole month of December. I get to December and it's like a checkpoint. If I fuck up now, I can revert to December! That is not true or I'd have done it in February of this year! Trust me, there are so many times I'd have jumped off the stage to go back to the checkpoint of December but that isn't actually how life works.

Anyway, it's Christmas 2009! Why am I talking about 2008?! That year has sailed! Fuck, 2009 has basically sailed! All of the pregnant mothers that want their babies to board the 2009 ship are pushing them out and throwing them onto the deck as it sails away! That is a good image! So did I think 2009 was a good year overall? I honestly could have done without a good chunk of it, but overall, yes. I have matured as a young man! I now have a thick coat of hair on my chest and back. That is not true, thankfully. And I am much happier with the catalogue of bands I've seen this year. I need to work on my catalogue of bands I've shared a stage with, but that will hopefully come in this next year as I graduate high school and move on to adulthood...which technically comes in ten days when I become eighteen. First thing I'm doin' is going to school, but when I get the chance, I'm buying spray paint and going to a strip club. Spray paint them titties!

Christmas, though! It's here! Like it or not! Didn't have a tree at my mom's for the first time ever. Big fuckin' snowstorm kinda ruined that. I may never go to church again. At least not the church here in LaVale. Now that I'm almost 18, I have the option. But there might be one more Sunday with my mom by the time I turn 18. Damn. Almost in the clear! When I'm 18, I'll really do a "Kyle's Life in Review" segment of this blog. I'll review the number of cars and jobs I've had. Those are some big numbers we're talkin'. But though I'm headin' for that adult crash, I know I'm still a minor at heart. And after all, I'm gonna stay young 'till I die. Is that enough '80s hardcore references for you?

I will tell yall 'bout the gifts I receive after I receive them. Thus far, I've gotten $70, a free movie ticket, a hemp long-sleeved shirt, and some other miscellaneous goodies from my aunt Cris. If I'd go to sleep, the rest of my stuff will arrive much sooner. We may be getting up at 4 AM to open presents due to an oncoming freezing rain storm we wish to miss. In that case, I'd get an hour and 14 minutes sleep if I fell asleep this very second. I'll try that.

love,
Kyle

Top 10, Part I

This is going to take a while and I'm gonna have to come up with more categories and top things, so I'm gonna split it all up into a few posts that will last a couple of days. First and foremost, top 10 albums, I guess. This is going to be difficult.

1. Propagandhi - Supporting Caste
2. Dead to Me - African Elephants
3. American Steel - Dear Friends and Gentle Hearts
4. Banner Pillot - Collapser
5. Teenage Bottlerocket - They Came From the Shadows
6. Cobra Skulls - American Rubicon
7. Anti-Flag - The People or the Gun
8. Big D and the Kids Table - Fluent in Stroll
9. The Lawrence Arms - Buttsweat and Tears
10. Paint It Black - Amensia and Surrender

Some of those could be switched, but that's a good list of new albums I dug this year. Here's a list of other albums I really dig that I've recently found and that aren't new (at least, I don't think any of them are) OR new albums that didn't make my top 10 simply because I didn't think of them and stuff:

• The Creepshow - Sell Your Soul
• Billy Talent - Billy Talent II
• The Draft - In a Million Pieces
• Empire! Empire! (I Was a Lonely Estate) - What It Takes to Move Forward
• The Dwarves - The Dwarves Must Die
• Dear Landlord - Dream Homes
• The Flatliners - Cynics
• Weezer - Raditude
• Frenzal Rhomb - Forever Malcolm Young
• The Get Up Kids - Guilt Show
• Smoking Popes - Stay Down
• The Living End - Modern Artillery
• Millencolin - Kingwood
• The Menzingers - Hold On Dodge and A Lesson in the Abuse of Information Technology
• One Man Army - Rumors and Headlines
• Only Crime - Virulence
• Paint It Black - everything they've made
• Refused - The Shape of Punk to Come
• The Adolescents - The Adolescents
• 7 Seconds - Take It Back, Take It On, Take It Over!

There has been a lot of new music I've been discovering in the past year, as you can tell. And those are just ones that really stuck out to me. I know I have to be forgetting stuff just when I make that. This was also the year that I saw some awesome bands. Truly. So here's a top ten of best performances I've seen:

1. Alkaline Trio - flawless performance, great spirits, best set list on earth. Best BAND on earth. AND they're totally the nicest guys ever.
   
2. Dillinger Four - for that Baby Batman joke and for being hilarious and fun as shit.
   
3. The A.K.A.s (Are Everywhere!) - for Mike Ski and Chachi. Mike Ski is funny as shit and has the most charisma I've ever seen in a singer. He also did some great jumps and Chachi is a fun drummer to watch. The whole band works great together.
   
4. Propagandhi - for being Propagandhi and being able to play those songs flawlessly. And also for Dan Yemin from Paint It Black singing "Fuck the Border." I will never forget that.
   
5. Paint It Black - for being the best hardcore band on earth and proving it on stage.
   
6. No Doubt - for a very well choreographed show and that awesome way of introducing the band members and for that solo the guitarist did on that classical guitar that just sat in the middle of the stage.
   
7. blink-182 - for coming back and kicking some ass and being as hilarious as on any album.
   
8. Rise Against - for playing a really great setlist regardless of the new songs and for having so much energy. Also for Tim taking me back to Paint It Black when he sang "State of the Union."
   
9. Billy Talent - this could be solely for "Red Flag" and "Fallen Leaves." Excellent band. Just as good live.
   
10. Saves the Day - totally blew me away with "What Went Wrong." Also, their black bassist was fun to watch, though he and their left-handed drummer very recently quit. Also a great band.
    

I'm a little biased for some of them, but that Alkaline Trio show blew my mind. Honorable mention goes to Paramore for that guy flipping over top of that other guy while they both had guitars on. Also, Weezer was great. I may have liked Weezer better if Pat Wilson would have drummed more.

And here's a list of my favorite I Forget moments of the year:

1. Playing the FYE show to 600 or so people.
2. Playing at a completely packed Warren a few weeks ago.
3. Trying to record the stutter in "Great Smile."
4. Bringing Brandon over to rehearse at Jason's.
5. Writing new songs with lead parts.
6. Playing at Tuscarora Ruritan and having people mosh to "You Suck."
7. Playing with The Sheckies and having Andy Social sing "The Monster Mash" with us.
8. Playing with Freaky J and the Bears and watching them progress.
9. Playing with The Vankills and laughing and singing "Leave It Alone" with them.
10. Denny's.

I hope you enjoyed reading this. I'll talk about some movies I enjoyed and shit later. Maybe some all-time favorite moments of the year. Who knows?! If you want to comment, I'll take suggestions!

love,
Kyle

SHIT SHIT SHIT

Show's canceled. Topic of the day. Postponed, but whatever. It still kinda sucks. It really sucks. Pros-cons list! GO! Starting with cons.

Cons:
-I have been working my ass off trying to make sure this goes smoothly since it was first brought up and now I'm gonna have to work it off some more to make sure it still goes smoothly.
-Joey, our sound guy, will be going back to college after this break and will not be able to supply us with sound when we reschedule it.
-Along with Joey, a lot of people that were going to come see us were going to be home for the holidays from college and will not be able to come out when we reschedule it.

Pros:
-Brittney will be able to get an entire day off and be able to see the whole show. Also, she will have a ride, since her car is snowed in in South Cumberland right now.
-I'll have access to my Christmas presents which will enhance the sound and performance of the show potentially.
-Anyone snowed it will be able to come when it's rescheduled.
-We can possibly get ahold of some more speakers and hopefully find an ample power source for them.
-Both bands will get some more time to rehearse.

So it mostly sucks, but we'll be better prepared. I'd rather have just gone out tomorrow and played raw and unprepared. Those shows are sometimes the best. Anyway, I'm gonna try to go to Alex's later. And I don't have to do that homework yet. And I will have more time to make shirts. Those are good things.

Maybe next time, kids. Christmas in a few days.

love,
Kyle

Christmas has never felt colder

The year in review is coming up soon. Everyone's doing it. That means album reviews, life choices reviews, all of that other stuff. I'll compare how I feel about myself now to how I felt about myself last year at this time. I've had this blog for like a year now, so I can start doing stuff like that.

This show at the high school is going to be huge. Biggest show the school's ever seen, I promise you. This isn't no fuckin' Apollo/terrible Christian band show. This is fuckin' I Forget/Dogjaw. That's class A. We got security hired, we got a sound guy, we'll have like 6 speakers, giant bass subs, an I Forget banner, merch, micked amps, and lights! Fuckin' lights! We have NEVER had lights! We also are going to have hundreds of people coming to see US. Not coming to get Twilight! Not coming to do some other shit. Hundreds to see US and DOGJAW! That is fucking awesome. I am super stoked. The only thing that could ruin this would be if it snowed. Well, a lot of things could ruin it. Someone could get sick, someone could die, whatever. But I'm worried about snow the worst at this point.

My mom went to LaVale and I opted to stay here instead of getting stuck out there in the snow. I'd much rather get stuck at home. Here I can walk around naked, turn my music up, stay up late, eat whenever I'm hungry, and just all-around do what I want and not worry about Zane being fucking annoying! Tomorrow, I plan on getting stuck feeding all of the animals and not being able to go anywhere. This shit's gonna keep on falling.

Anyway, I'm gonna leave now and reflect on my life up to this point. I've got no real news to present other than I'm stoked for this show and not so stoked for this snow.

love,
Kyle

In other news

My great grandma, Grandma Warnick, died earlier this week. She was 93. All of her friends had died. She lived at home alone for a long time. She was put in a funeral about a week before she died. She was ready to leave this earth. Who knows where she is now? We will or will not find out one day.

Today was the last day of College English. That meant I had to turn in my final portfolio or else I'd fail the class quite miserably. Grandma Warnick's funeral was today. I missed it to turn in my final portfolio. There is something wrong with the school system. But...that's life. All I did in school today was turn in that portfolio. The teachers are all getting that Christmas-is-almost-here syndrome. I have a hugeass AP Biology test on Monday and I'm going to do poorly on it as always. That's stressful to think about. I sleep in that class too much. Entirely too much. I cannot stay awake through notes, though. It's that room or something. And the tone of peoples' voices when they're trying to explain how things work...I can't stay awake. If people have the tone used in conversation or something, I canNOT sleep. Like if a TV show is on and even if it's something I hate, I usually keep my ears open too much to fall asleep. Anyway, that's neither here nor there.

My drums are still at the high school. If I Forget wants to rehearse, they're fucked. I'm fucked, rather. We have a hugeass show coming up. So rehearsal would probably be a good idea, eh? I even bought a ton of supplies for it and I'm ready to make more CDs and t-shirts. Alex even made me that wonderful design that everyone seems to hate. Maybe we should just make it our album cover and still call the album Everyone Sharts. That'd sail smoothly.

Tim said he wants to make a shirt with a huge dick hitting the Twin Towers that says, "We got fucked." THAT is class!

Anyway, I'm still excited about this show. It's gonna be the shits. Kayla and Tabitha are going to change the sign at the bottom of the hill announcing the concert and I Forget and Dogjaw playing. That's like our first marquee. Lots of people coming to this show, too. I knew it would be huge if we had it at the high school.

I can't think of anything else going on. I may be going to see a movie with Kylie tomorrow. And Brittney is busy all weekend, I think. I need to make a huge I Forget banner for the show. I have a lot of shit to do, I guess. I'm gonna get off of here and watch The Office that I missed last night. Oh yeah, I played with the jazz band last night. That was fun.

love,
Kyle

Now I know how Michael Burkett Feels

Just a forward....this is all taken from a MySpace bulletin I wrote. I have had quite the evening discussing the politics behind a t-shirt design Alex made for I Forget. I thought it was rather harmless and thought more people would understand the lightness I was giving to the subject. Also, the title is from a Kenny Chesney song. Michael Burkett is Fat Mike. I now know why he so often takes the time to explain what he meant by certain things, though I'm sure he, like me, probably meant NOTHING in what he said.

I have been catching a lot of shit for this t-shirt design.



Now the initial responses to this are either a good, hardy laugh, or a gasp and a long lecture about how disappointed they are in me and how inappropriate the shirt is. Why is this? Well, you see planes hitting a tower and you say, "No, I DON'T forget! You assholes!" Well, yeah. That's kind of a really offensive thing to imply. To be completely honest, the design was mostly just a dick thing to say in a sarcastic way. Of course we know it was tragic. No one is denying that. I'm not even implying that I believe it was an inside job, people died for no reason, or whatever. If ANYTHING, it's kind of making fun of ourselves. Okay? But maybe you are too easily offended and need the hidden meaning? Okay, well let's say this. You remember September 11th, 2001? What happened? Two planes hit the Twin Towers in New York City. I'm pretty sure we can all agree on at least that. Also, we can all agree that a lot of people died. Right? So forgetting about that would be kind of ignorant, eh? Okay, that's true. Now let's wonder for a second...what if we're not that heartless and there's something else? Does anyone remember what happened after the tragedy? Anyone? I'm not talking about going to war in the middle east for oil or what have you. I'm talking about that unity that this country found. How all of America came together as one. Didn't we FORGET about that? What happened? Now we're more divided than ever, I think. That is what I Forget.

Or on a lighter level, the design makes an I F in a shadow and if anyone hasn't noticed, that is the initials of I Forget. And I Forget is our band name. Pretty simple, I'd say. Who's gonna cast the first stone? Any suggestions as to how to make that more obvious? Am I un-American now for having a t-shirt design?

love,
Kyle

Little blue ethernet cable

Some folks don't enjoy the finer things in life. What do I mean by that? It just sounded good at the time. I'm sure I could make it mean something, but I don't REALLY feel like it. I just got word on the release date of the new Alkaline Trio album. "This Addiction" it is called. I'd put it in italics as it SHOULD be, but Blogger is not allowing me right now. Anyhow, February 23rd. That is the day of my salvation. That is when Matt Skiba comes down from heaven(s) (get it? that band he used to be in?) and gives me a wonderful Alkaline Trio album that I've been patiently awaiting for. And if I'm lucky, it will be solid the whole way through. We will keep our fingers crossed.

Christmas is a'comin. Nick's maybe getting himself a girl. How about that? Maybe Matt Skiba really IS coming back to save us all. Apocalypse much? I have lived. Also, it seems to me that most everyone in our little "guild" is succeeding with the women. Will things go wrong for Nick? You bet your ass I'll make sure it does.

In other news, we have a show coming up at the school? What kind of a show, you may ask? Well it involves three women and a rhinocerus. Ponder over that for a little while. After that's through, I Forget and Dogjaw MAY perform. That's a big if for the moment. I'll be there, though. I don't even know what's going to happen with the women. We're just putting them in a cage with a rhino and seeing where it goes.

Jazz band calls. Peace, yo.

love,
Kyle

The end.

It's finally over. Dude, we're finally landing! Does this really need an introduction? You'll figure this out.


Katie: Idk what the fuck your telling your friends, but I thought me and you were completely fine. You need to get your shit straight and im done with you. Your friendship obviously is pointless when your having nick say shit like that to me.

Kyle: What did Nick say to you?

Katie: "Why did you lead Kyle on like that? Are u aware that you're a bitch? Seriously, can u keep your legs closed long enough to have a meaningful relationship?"

"Or do you fuck any guy you're close to? You're a complete waste of time. You're worthless.”

I would like to know when I became a slut, especially since the whole time we were talking, we never even kissed. And fuck you if your telling him that I have been leading you on. You know I have a boyfriend!

Kyle: He went a little overboard didn’t he? I didn’t tell him to say any of that. He doesn’t really have any idea of what hes talking about. And you never even talk to me much less see me to lead me on.

Katie: Exactly. So tell your friends to go die or fuck off. And im done with you too, so bye.

Kyle: Just a little payback for the shit Ginger would send me and you wouldn’t take responsibility of. That and Im pretty sure you cheated on me and didn’t have the decency to break up with me. AND the countless times we made plans to meet and youd never show or even text me back.

Katie: Lol, go fuck yourself Kyle. You now deserved everything you got. Good luck finding someone. Bye (:

I Don't Deserve This.
by: Kyle Wagoner

"You now deserve everything you got,” she said.
Funny I don't remember getting much at all.
I remember getting a lot of nothing.

Maybe I should back up. It was almost a year ago today.
She came from nowhere. Figuratively and almost literally nowhere.
She was the one to fill the void. The one to make it all worth the wait.
I barely knew her for a month when she died and her past was reborn in her.
Partying every night, drifting from me, losing all contact.

Chance after chance, attempt after attempt.
Fight after resolution, resolution after fight.
I was trying to resurrect my own past in her but it was far from immortal.
I am that guy she liked when she lived here.
I am that smudge of a memory she overlooks.
I am a fun joke from time to time.

And as fast as she was gone, she was back.
Here is my friend again. Not as far away as I remembered.
Two tickets to her favorite concert. What’s the problem with that picture?
Picture myself alone at a Paramore concert. That’s the problem.
I’m not here for the music. I’m here for someone who “couldn’t” make it.
But it’d be such a waste to just not go.

It’s such a waste to keep trying.
I don’t realize it yet. I won’t realize it for another few months.
Until then we meet once. We foolishly start “dating.”
This is the interesting part.
First college. Stripper. College again. United States Navy.
Can someone please tell me I’m not insane?

And that bitch, for a lack of more accurate word, that she keeps so near.
Ginger. A true wretch. Another body full of wasted space.
“She obviously doesn’t want to talk to you,” the wretch reports.
“Kyle, I didn’t tell her to say any of that,” she says.
Chance again.

It lasts another few weeks and I’m “done.”
Sick.of.it.all.
She’s sorry it ended that way. I’m foolish enough to buy it.
She wants to be friends again. She’s got a new man.
He’s not as new as she’d like me to believe.

One last shot.
Plans are made.
I go to town.
She doesn’t answer.
She doesn’t show.
It’s typical and finally clear to me.

“Tell her whatever you want,” I said.
“You’re a complete waste of time. You’re worthless,” Nick says to her.
(If only I’d have trusted his uneducated dose of words 8 months ago.)
“ Your friendship obviously is pointless…” she starts.
“Katie, I didn’t tell him to say any of that,” I say.
A smile in spite of a year of regret. Justice is beautiful.
“I’m done with you, too,” she says. (As if it matters now.)
She was never here anyway. There is no setting.
The only image our eyes share are the words of hate exchanged.

“…you cheated on me…you don’t take responsibility…we made plans to meet…you’d never show.”
No argument. No counterattack. No words of wisdom.
“Good luck finding someone,” she said, “Bye (:”

love,

Kyle

I should really stop this

I like...so many important things happen in my life between these posts. Like that show at The Warren with a record crowd, that girl Jeannine coming to the show, not talking to me, and then texting me and talking to me on MSN and telling me how much she thinks about me, and...I guess that's about it. I also went Black Friday shopping and Thanksgiving happened. So which of these things should I cover?

Abortions. Sounds good. Well I don't really like talking about abortions or anything like that. People just disagree. I don't even like talking politics. I can enjoy people so much better if I don't know their political stance. Like...oh, he's got really nice parents....but oh, they watch the O'Reily Factor every night. I'm going astray, though. Abortions. I'm going to talk about them. Keep in mind I'm not very politically educated anymore.

Why are abortions bad? Because everyone deserves a chance at life. Everyone. Even that baby that's going to be born without a skull. Can't argue with that. Next.

Why are abortions good? Well, not everyone wants to bring a baby without a skull into the world or they're not capable of giving birth or if they are capable of giving birth, they aren't economically capable of raising a kid. But they are un-American. Because first off, you should be working 3 or 4 jobs to support your family to be a true American. George W Bush said that about a woman once himself. So if you ignore that, well, I guess they are just irresponsible. I don't really think abortions are good. If the guy don't wrap it, that's your problem. Raped? I aint give a shit. Shouldn't have been so slutty. Shoulda carried a knife. There's no excuse for having an abortion. None. I don't want to hear your arguments. This is a freedom you shouldn't have. There should not be the choice to not raise a kid. FUCK ADOPTIONS! RAISE IT YOURSELF, YOU SLUT!

That's all.


Man, that felt good. I think I'm good at this. What else? Gay marriage?! Okay!

The Bible clearly states that queers are to be stoned to death. Allowing two men or two women to get married is completely against the Bible. That's why it should be against the United States federal law to let gays marry. You can't argue against that. Separation of Church and State, you say? I don't know what that is or means.

That's all.

You guys don't even know how much good I'm doing for the world right now. I am taking all of these controversial topics and giving unarguable solutions. This is going to give us so much more time to fight the war on drugs!!! YES!!!! Personal choices = bad!

Much like the guy who found those things about the Mormon religion in the ground in upstate New York (his name was Joseph Smith), I deserve a seat between God and Jesus. BETWEEN! I'll sit on Joseph Smith's lap. He and I both caused so much good to the human race that...well, we're more important than God or Jesus. What? You say you thought I was an Atheist? Well I was. 'Till I learned I was more important than God and Jesus. I can dig that. Also, I want thirty wives. At least. That way I can have unprotected sex, get bitches pregnant, and still not have to fuck a pregnant bitch! And none of them are allowed to get abortions! And who needs gay marriage when you can have thirty wives?! That's right! No one! QUEERS! Stone 'em to death!

I think you all agree.

love,
Kyle

Blah

It's been a while. I don't know what it is. I just don't feel the drive to get on here. I mean, I check my blogger every day, but I never do anything. I even read Brendan's blog every day. It's like...I don't know. I'm writing right now because no one else is online to talk to. I think I'm addicted to talking to people online. But at least I'm not weird and can't talk to the same people in person. I'm guessing you want a recap of my life lately? Well we have a show coming up on Sunday and I, with the help of friends, made over 100 flyers for the show and put them all over the school and handed them out. That was pretty cool. Most of them stayed up through the school all week long. Hopefully a good many people will attend and the room will be packed!

Last weekend we all went out rollerskating together. It was me, Jim, Tim, Nick, Caleb, Alex the boy, Alex the girl, Kayla, and Tabitha. Good group. Good time, too. When I got back, I had to tell Alex the girl about how depressed I get when I have a good time. I don't know if it's the crash after a high or if I just wish I'd have had a girl to enjoy my time with. I guess that's pathetic. But seriously, I haven't had an actual girlfriend in over two years. I don't think it's that much to ask! I'mma tryin'. Real hard.

Also...what else? We went to some mall in Baltimore yesterday for like 6 or 7 hours before seeing Medieval Times. I bought six CDs. I got the following:

ALL - Allroy's Revenge
ALL - Breaking Things
Alkaline Trio - Goddamnit
The Hives - Veni Vidi Vicious
Living End - Modern Artillery
Smoking Popes - 1991-1998

And for less than $40 I got all of that! I got a pretty good deal there. And I got a Vans hat for $10. I could have bought CDs for that, I'm just now realizing. However, it kept my shitty hair in hiding yesterday and kept my head warm tonight at the football game. And we also saw Paranormal Activity at the mall there. The theatres had 24 different cinemas. Fuckin' awesome, too. Like the one I went to in Myrtle Beach a few years back when I saw Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Fucked up movie, too. Don't really want to get into movie reviews.

Game tonight was a good'un. I really don't know what Katlin thinks of me. I also don't know what Karalee thinks of me. I'm not real sure what many of the freshmen think of me. I took a cowbell and a drumstick to the game, though. That was a lot of fun. I marched with the band and played the samba rhythm I wrote for the quads last year on my cowbell, though. That was fun as well.

I'm hoping to maybe rehearse with I Forget tomorrow and then go to Jim's where Kylie and Gracie may be coming. I don't have anything controversial to say, really. I've been working on this paper with Nick about how 9-11 was an inside job and that's where all my work in controversy goes. After that I just don't give a fuck. It's like...bring on the thoughtless thoughts. That's what I'm all about right now. I feel like I can't maintain all of my friends as I get more. It's like I talk to a certain amount and can't go over it. I don't know if I like that. I'm just being depressing now. Fun night, though. Future's lookin' fun. Show on Sunday. I hope Katlin comes. I hope everyone comes. Should be a good show...

love,
Kyle

Live from Computer Programming

I finished my test yesterday, so I'm sitting here with nothing to do today. I'd normally just sleep but I'm not tired because I slept first block and taking that AP Biology test woke me up. I do not think I did real well on it. Oh well, it's over. No going back.

So Katlin gave me her number. That's awesome, right? Well like every up in my life, it must be almost immediately followed by a down. So last night, I was informed that she got her phone taken away for texting another senior. Her mom apparently does not want her involved with senior boys. What does this mean for me? Perhaps jail if things get going. Perhaps nothing and things won't be able to get going. What have I got to lose, though? My perfect criminal record? I'll be 18 in two months. She'll be 14 in...like a couple of days. Monday, I believe. And my dad's birthday is tomorrow...and I want to rehearse at his house on that day. Maybe I should ask him tonight if we can rehearse and then get him something so I can give it to him while I'm over there. Everyone's getting older, but some people not fast enough, I suppose.

Talent show is in less than a week now. I'm playing "Time to Waste" and Dogjaw is playing "Calling All Skeletons." Why, you might ask? Because Alkaline Trio are just talent show-worthy. I'm capoing at the second fret for it so the guitar will be tuned to F#. That way when I play the lead part, that F# can sometimes be used as a root note. Also because it allows me to play the piano part on the guitar with ease. So you come out and watch me and see how I pull this off. Winner of the talent show gets to open for Charlie Kenney, who is some local country singer. I would have so much fun with that. I think the winner should open for I Forget, though. I'd be a good opener.

I don't think we're gonna play this powder puff game. I was told that the Fort Ashby Colts are playing. They're like 7 or 8 years old or some shit. That's ridick. I Forget would be so much better. In fact, a lot of people were going to come just to see I Forget. Then again, probably a lot of people are going to go just to see the Colts. Grrr. I've been looking for Miss Morrison all week but haven't even seen her. Then Alex McDonald was supposed to send me her number last night but that never happened, so I don't know what's going on there.

We'll play here at the high school in January, though. That'll be a great show. I'm gonna try to get Freak Scene up here for that one. We're the power trio. The alkaline trio, if you will. I Forget/Dogjaw/Freaky J. Oh, and Unheard Silence just tops it off. I miss those guys.

Have I mentioned recently that I don't know what to do about college? I don't know if I want to leave what I've worked for in the past 5 years behind. I mean, I Forget really is getting to be a decent-sounding band with decent songs. Like seriously, I might listen to them on my own even if I didn't drum for them. I couldn't used to say that. I wouldn't have listened to our first album if another band wrote it. Well, I don't even listen to it now. I think it's mediocre. Many agree with me. At least my bandmates do, except for Brandon. Anyway, so yeah, I might stick around and do something mediocre in college and stay with I Forget. I mean, who cares? I want to tour. If we can start like playing big cities and stuff then who cares where I live or what my day job is? That's an amazing thing. Even if we just play on the weekends, who cares? So we'll see.

Here's a list of some things that keep me sane. Drumming. My friends. The Office. My cats. This blog. Computer games. Now how many of those things would I have to give up when I went to college? I mean seriously, can I not have drums wherever I move to? That sucks. I want my band. Not just any band. My band who I write for and where Brittney and Shane and Brandon play in and we don't have to sit down and show each other every note that needs to be played because they just get it. Music is easy with I Forget. We could get booked as a cover band and never have played any songs togethere before, get up on stage, take requests, and play an entire show just like that. That's how easy music is. I can work with these people. I couldn't ask for more, so why should I leave it behind? I think I'm successful. I mean, I should probably get a job and some income, but I am a very happy person. Honestly, the biggest stress in my life is school work. I mean, mabe like millions of other kids try this logic but seriously, they don't play in pop punk bands from West Virginia. That is a very exclusive thing, I think.

So anyone in local bands out there, let's make a scene again. I'm up for it. It'll give me something to do. If I can play shows enough, I won't even need a job. Seriously. People do it. Sure, it's rough and tough to do, but people do it. It'd at least help, ya know? We'll see. I may just move far away.

I've still got an hour of this class left. I really don't have an hour's worth of stuff to type. I've realized that I don't pay a lot of attention to details in the visual world. At least I don't think I do. I pay attention in music. I decided that when I sing a song in my head, it's a lot more vivid than it is in most people's heads. There are drumfills and bass drum patterns and shit in my head. There are cymbal crashes on beat two in certain songs going on. I'm not just singing words and making guitar noises in my head. So when I see people draw these things that I'd never think of thinking about, I feel a little less bad about it. And when I see people do better in school than me, I know I can write a better song than them. I know I've said that sometime before. I'm very happy with the way I am. At least for now. I mean, I'll have to move out and get a life one day but...eh. I dunno. I'm supposed to try to get a job with my sister at Walmart sometime. I'll see where that goes.

I'd narrate what's going on in here but it's kinda bland. Zack and Matt aren't supposed to be talking because they're taking a test. So that being the condition, there isn't much to laugh at or anything. They're talking about the game tonight, which I fully intend to attend. It shall be cold but I aint curr! I'll dress in ten layers! Michael's talking about how undangerous swine flu is. It's really a normal day in here except instead of me starting at some letters and numbers that don't make much sense, I'm making my own sense. I guess I should maybe go. I can try to get 50 minutes of sleep. They say it's supposed to be 39 degrees at 7 and then drop a degree each hour tonight. I'm ready for it. I need some gloves.

love,
Kyle

Weezer's Raditude: my thoughts.

As you may have heard, Raditude is the seventh studio album by the band Weezer. Weezer formed in 1992 and was soon widely known for their hit songs such as "Buddy Holly" (a song about looking like the singer Buddy Holly) and "Undone - The Sweater Song" (a song singing about pulling a loose string of a sweater until it comes undone). Their premier and self-titled album, sometimes known as The Blue Album was widely well-received and is a certified triple platinum album. It has become known as one of the highlight albums of the 1990s. Okay. Now that that's established, they've now released a new album 17 years in the future. Somewhere along the lines, Weezer sold out, it would appear. Instead of writing lyrics that are not "lame" such as "you take your car to work; I'll take my board. And when you're out of fuel, I'm still afloat," Weezer are writing about girls, partying, and being a father. Way to be mature, guys. Come on. Who the fuck writes about girls? Are you AC/DC or some shit? No one likes them. No one. Especially the people who give these reviews. God, Rivers. Grow a dick and write about a photograph, about being a rockstar. That's what we want to hear. Not this pussy bullshit.

God. I can't even believe this. The hooks might be some of the best Weezer's ever come up with. The album explores a lot of boundaries of their genre of "geek-rock" and then some. It's completely unheard of to change your sound from album to album or especially song to song. Weezer, hang it up. I give this album a 9/10 stars.

love,
Kyle

This was for school, too

This was the second part of my assignment. This part wasn't a blog post and I didn't write it just now. I wrote it like an hour ago. It's a letter to Satan. I think it's pretty good.

HC 86 BOX 17B
Springfield, WV 26763Mr. Lucifer “Satan” Beelzebub
Founder/Owner, Hell
666 The Underworld
Detriot, Michigan 48201

Dear Mr. Satan:

Last night you allowed me to make an ass of myself in front of all of my friends. You should know more than most that I am a huge and very devout fan of yours. I spend many days of my life preaching about how I don’t believe that Jesus ever existed and how life after death is a made up fictional fairytale to keep people doing good in the world. For just once, I wanted to show my friends how wonderful and mighty and graceful you are and how much of a fraud “God” is. And what did you do? You did nothing.

I hereby wish to break all ties with you. I am through attending your church. The pastor did a subpar job anyway. I am not going to send my children to your church, either. I am going to find my own church. I think I will call it the Reformed Church of Satan. Yes, I think that is a great idea. I am going to fund the church by setting up false charities because I know that works really well.

Also it was really cold last night. Satan, we can still be friends if you just come back to me. I needed somebody to keep me warm last night but all I had was Timmy. Timmy does not radiate the flames of hell. It just isn’t the same. Please write back. I have enclosed all my loving to you. Sorry this letter wasn’t as formal as I intended for it to be. My innermost feelings for you get the best of me sometimes.

Love,

Kyle Wagoner

P.S. Thanks again for the musical abilities. It means the world to me.