The last month has taught me quite a bit about myself, and more importantly, my surroundings. When I was in college, I mused about how great it would be to get laid off from a job so that I could collect unemployment, smoke pot all day and play video games ... wow, how times have changed ... as a 29-year-old, I've come to realize that getting laid off and the ability to collect unemployment are nothing like the dream I once had ... I now understand that I actually crave structure, and enjoy having something to occupy my mind for 40 to 50 hours a week ... I don't smoke weed or play video games anymore, and drinking all day, every day, just doesn't make sense, unless you are the person who designed this website ... perhaps, I've just been trained ... brainwashed into believing that I need the security of a cubicle to maintain my sanity ... regardless, I don't miss my old job and am rather looking forward to starting my new one, as a very promising lead has arisen ... in case you haven't realized this, we at REAX aren't doing this for money ... we are doing it because we love music and care a great deal about our local scene ... most us have outside careers in order to get by ...

Since I have returned home to Tampa, quite a bit has happened ... I nearly lost my mind ... pushed someone I cared about away ... had a fascinating conversation with John Allen from Light Yourself On Fire (look for it in the next REAX) ... more importantly, I've seen some amazing shows at Crowbar and New World ... two of my favorite local bands have made some big changes in their sounds recently ... Win Win Winter has a new guitar player, and they continue to blow me away with their versatility ... every time I see them, I leave fulfilled ... Auto!Automatic!! has also changed up their sound quite a bit over the past year or so ... they've gotten a lot heavier, and a lot more interesting than I ever thought they could be quite honestly ... what they have done is very impressive, and seems a lot more complex ... 

The night is always darkest just before the dawn ... I firmly believe this to be true ... it's difficult to see the light sometimes though, and sometimes you are just deceived, a feeling that I have become all too familiar with of late ... but I've learned that no matter how bad things get, the importance of being earnest and kind can never be understated ... it costs nothing to be honest, loyal and true ... the peace that embracing this knowledge affords your soul is immeasurable ... I'm ready to move forward with my life now ... alone, comfortable, and excited ...

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The time has come yet again for what I hope will become an annual pilgrimage to the windy city for me. Last year's Lollapalooza  Music Festival was one of the greatest experiences of my young life. I've been anticipating a return visit ever since I returned home last August. Thankfully, I will be attending and providing in-depth coverage for REAX again this summer...My flight leaves in about five hours, and having recently left my full-time place of employment for greener pastures, all my energy, focus, and devotion is concentrated unto this endeavor. This year, I've also managed to procure a couple extra days to spend in Chi-town, which I am also extremely excited about...I hope to have a Ferris Bueller type Monday on August 4th, and if you are lucky, I may just report on those dealings as well...So please check back here over the next four days or so to see what's happening at one of this country's most important music festivals...If you aren't that stoked about it, check out what's going up there this weekend...

http://www.lollapalooza.com/default.asp?fd=1

And, if you still aren't that excited about it, well then fuck you...J/K!...(but not really) 

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Oh wow, it's late and I'm drunk...Please mind the grammatical errors...

OK, I've been thinking about this A LOT lately....

You can basically define the general direction a decade will take musically by the influence of one band...It seems like every ten years a band comes along that revolutionizes the culture with some ground breaking amalgamation of sound that captivates the general populous and steers the general music loving community in a certain direction...It happens at the end of these ten year periods, if you read on you'll see what i mean...My exhausted mind will try and spell this trend out for you in the simplest means necessary....

1960's....I don't know shit about this...From what I've gathered, the Beatles would go on to influence every rock band in the 70's and beyond...All I know, is that my parents liked the Beatles, therefor, I never got into them...But It's impossible to discount their importance, even an idiot like me can realize that...At least I'm honest...

 1970's....I was alive for a total of six months in this decade, and I can assure you that I remember absolutely none of it...What I do know is the bands that I loved from the 80's and 90's would go onto revere and mimic the Ramones in some aspect or another...I'm not saying they created "Punk" music, but the attitude, spirit and ingenuity behind their music and performance would inspire bands I still love to this day...Nit too mention they fucking kick ass, and I still listen to them regularly...This was one of the first bands I ever saw play live in Tampa (at the Ritz in '94 I believe)...i don't give a shit about their musical talent, I know they really didn't have much...It just goes to show you that ideas are fucking powerful, and the right one at the right moment can change the landscape of society in some aspect or another...

1980's....I don't care what everyone else thinks, the Pixies are more important than Nirvana...Those who know me understand that I bring this point up regularly in social situations...The Pixies are the Beatles of my generation, there I said it...Everythin that happened in the 90's musically (in the Rock genre) was directly affected by the emergence of these brilliant individuals...Frank Black is a mad genius and Joey Santiago is VASTLY underrated...Their talents as musicians aside, it is impoosible to say that the Pixies (not Nirvana) steered all relevant relevant music in the 90's....Nirvana was a good band...They sold a ton of records and affected thousands of aspiring musicians...they would never have madeany music if it wasn't for the Pixies...

 1990's....Where have you gone At the Drive-In...I remember beginning college in 1998 and being insanely bored with the current state of punk rock...Until I heard the post-punk legends from El Paso, Texas that would go on to redefine yet another decade of rock music...This was a transformation that I was actaully able to witness as an adult, ATDI made me love music with the same fervor and passion I felt at my first show as teenager...much like the the pixies, their flame burned out far too soon...That being said they left us with one the greatest albums of our generation before they parted ways...Relationship of Command has inspired countless acts in the genre over the last ten years or so...Many have faltered, and it can be argued that ATDI spawned all the bullshit radio screamo that we have had to endour over the last few years...But during the era of Nu-Metal bullshit, the bacon they lit would lead an uninspired generation through the darkness and helped re-invent countless others who were ready to give up...

So, as we move towards the end of yet another decade, I ask, which of today's acts will go onto be remembered as the stalwarts of the past ten years in the rock genre?...I understand that music is changing rapidly, and questions such as these don't often apply...But, who do you feel has defined the 00's?....I think the question remains valid...My drunk ass doesn't have the answer...You tell me... 

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