headin' to chi-town for a few days in august as a part of a little college tour of the midwest that'll finalize with dci finals in indy. can't wait.

ahh, seattle.

"we wouldn't last two days without her"

those endless afternoons on carpeted colina living room floors. that was my childhood.

"...there is no embarrassment in setting the bar impossibly high then failing to clear it. What matters is that we strived mightily to do so - and we did strive mightily. The main legacy left by the shuttle program is that of a magnificent failure"

bon iver, bon iver

it's unusual. (i don't really want to write a review, but i'll just blurb a bit about it.) i've only listened through it twice, but it's different.

what stood out to me was well, what didn't stand out. i didn't discover a favorite song in the album. but i think that was the beautiful part with this record and with justin vernon's music in general. it's a testament to his ability to create a symphony as if he were mahler or bach, something longer than the four and a half minutes a pop music-minded teen today can barely handle with all the verses interfering in the way of a thirty second catchy hook.

it's incredible though, because it's as if i'm listening to a ten movement, half hour opus where each piece is so distinctly unique but the album still holds a certain air of harmony and homogeneity that brings each song together into one gorgeous work. no chorus is given higher emphasis than verse or bridge, and no line is given more or less raw emotion than another.

i haven't looked into the lyrics too much, but what i've found so far is vernon's characteristically simple yet enigmatic and esoteric lines that are so intriguing. it's going to be hard for me to consistently love this album as i usually don't have half an hour to sit down and just appreciate it, but there will be those moments (most likely on a bus) where i'll keep falling harder and harder. and you can't compare it to for emma, forever ago because that's not what you're supposed to do with music.

socal moments

got my braces off today, and it was a little sad. there's a certain sense of attachment i had with them after everything i went through with those metal brackets in five and a half years time. it's nice to be free - just odd to comprehend what five and a half years have done to me.

jerry's famous deli with danny and sam was nice, damn that was a good meal.

and bon iver's new album, bon iver. importing it right now. so excited.

happy fourth.

rolling in the deep (cover) - john legend

dci

saw two shows in the last two days, corps at the crest oceanside then corps at the crest walnut. damn, i love it.

super cool to watch pali folk perform with gold and pc. and i absolutely love both of their shows. in addition to like, almost (almost.) every show there.

i loved both encores both nights. phantom with their new world symphony/show excerpt/ave maria on the first night then pc with an encore of their show/ave maria. and i love both of their drum majors so much. want to be just like them.

there were just so many memorable musical and visual moments from both nights but i'm never going to forget seeing phantom regiment for the first time. listened to them warmup in the lot with canon both nights and my god. started tearing up at oceanside. and their show is so powerful. in the ballad when they started playing the romeo and juliet theme and there's the exchange between "romeo", a horn player, and "juliet", a colorguard member. it's just such amazing theatrics and acting and it's so coy and simple but so poignant and the occasional caesura with the beating heart was just unbearable. and of course, the closing with elsa's procession - my heart was stolen.

pacific crest's drum major camp (inaugural)

learned so much. like, more than i would have learned in a full season's worth of experience. and i'm so grateful. now to put idea into action.

also, there was just so much wisdom that i'll probably sporadically overwhelm my blog in the future with once i start reviewing my notes from all the seminars. it's just all too good. advice for what's beyond drum majoring and band and music - life.

being with the corps was unbelievably fun. loved hanging with alex and chauncey and all the other assorted pc folk. everyone's so nice and friendly.

conducting the corps was the scariest but then quickly the most memorable experiences ever. my god, that was incredible. absolutely incredible.

reminded that it's lonely at the top (at least, on top of a podium - but only if you let it be)

this post can't sum up everything about those three days. as much as i hate to dwell on the past, there's so much more to come.