So since I'm still wide awake thanks to the free Red Bull I got at the Launch Festival, let me give you a brief rundown of how tonight's trek down to Lancaster all came to fruition.
About two months ago I decided to start a Twitter account just for kicks. I was always one of those big believers in the fact that the majority of the world probably doesn't give a hoot about what you're doing or what you have to say. Then I remembered that I write this blog and some actually read it, so why not compress thoughts into tweets to go along better with the short attention span that society has adopted. Anyways, after a little while I started getting some followers here and there. I've had a handful of bands start following me because I assume that's a good way for them to promote themselves. Needless to say, one of the bands that randomly began following me one day was Darling Parade. Since I'm a fan of music, I always check out the bands that follow me to see if it's worth purchasing some new tunes off iTunes. After listening to "
Bells Are Ringing" and "
Never Fall Down" I was sold. I think I really gravitated towards the song "Never Fall Down" because of the line, "You can't get up if you never fall down." It was a nice reminder to embed into my brain because frustration has been brewing closer to the surface the past couple weeks due to my unsuccessful attempts of trying to become gainfully employed as an exercise physiologist in order to put my Master's degree to good use, instead of it collecting dust on a shelf. I think I forgot the importance of fighting for my dreams after being relatively successful for the first 23.5 years of my life (albeit a few bumps in the road). But these past couple of months have really stripped me down to the core, making the months that led up to my 24th birthday rather strenuous, which is all the more reason why I think I needed to hear "Never Fall Down. I seemed to have forgotten that it is through our trials that we are molded. Funny how I needed a song to remind me of this even though I know full well that this is exactly the point that is made in
Romans 5:3-5.
Now let's fast forward to this past week. On Monday, I saw that Darling Parade was going to be playing in Lehighton on Wednesday, so I figured why not go. I was in need of escape from the monotony of my life that usually involves working part time as a secondary office assistant, searching and applying to jobs, moving my possessions back to my parents, and caring for the stampeding cats. Before hopping in my car, though, I decided to tweet that I was going to watch Darling Parade. Funny thing, on my drive to Lehighton, I was contemplating whether many people would even be there because the show was in Lehighton, and lets be honest, there's really nothing there. There should just be a "Welcome to Lehighton" sign about 500 yards before a "You Are Now Leaving Lehighton" sign. When I finally found the venue, which I'll admit I missed on my first drive through town, I knew my thoughts were confirmed. I was one of maybe five people that showed up, but some of the bands were still going to play, such as Auburn, Carousel Kings, and Major League. Unfortunately for them, considering the venue had graffiti on the walls inside and there was a pitbull behind the counter, the sound system wasn't that great and all of the lyrics were drowned out by the instruments. All of the bands gave a valiant effort, but it just wasn't meant to be, much like my seeing Darling Parade in concert because they weren't actually there. I was a little bummed, but I was still happy to have had a distraction for a couple hours.
Fast forward to Thursday afternoon and I realize that Darling Parade has actually responded to one of my tweets. I was actually surprised and intrigued by this. As it turns out, it was an apology for not being in Lehighton to play. I was stunned by this, but maybe that's because I've become slightly cynical from living in the fast paced Northeast where nobody seems to give you the time of day, let alone take the time to apologize. I of course expressed the fact that it wasn't a problem because they probably needed the rest to get healthy since I was aware that a few band members were sick. This got another response mentioning that their last show was going to be on Friday in Lancaster as a part of the Launch Music Festival. Again, I was sold because I happen to be off on Friday's and Lancaster is only a two hour drive from the Burg. To some this might seem far, but for someone who recently drove 8 hours to Michigan for Easter and has done a cross country roadtrip, two hours is a piece of cake.
On my drive down, I actually got a call from a coordinator at a hospital in Indiana who wanted to ask me some pre-screening questions to determine if my application should be considered for an interview. For some, this may not seem like much, but for me, this is the closest one of my online applications has gotten to being considered. This put me in a great mood, which was just the start of a fantastic night. Once I arrived at the Lancaster Convention Center, I loitered briefly in the lobby to get my bearings. To my surprise, some of the members of Auburn remembered me from Wednesday and came over to say hi. I guess neon orange shoes are memorable, but it was nice to not just be thought of as another face in the crowd because I feel like I go through enough of life being just that. I then got my ticket for Darling Parade and ventured into Freedom Hall A where they happened to be setting up. I got introduced to all of the members, who were all incredibly gracious and surprised that I would drive down two hours to a show. Their show was definitely worth the drive, along with all of the other bands that played. I was thankful that I got another chance to see Major League and Carousel Kings because they are extremely talented bands that unfortunately suffered an injustice in Lehighton due to a less-than-stellar sound system. Another memorable band from the evening, which happens to be from Lancaster, was Darry Miller and The Veil. Amid the performances, I chatted a bit with the members of Darling Parade about the tour, weather, my Harley Jacket, and exercise. They all seem down to earth and genuine, which you don't always find in the music business. I took the time to also buy their newest EP, along with a bracelet to add to my ever-growing collection on my wrists. I also got an EP by Major League to add some new music to my library. After four hours of music, I determined it was best to venture back home, so I said my goodbyes and trekked the two hours back to the Burg. Needless to say, I'm definitely glad I escaped my monotonous bubble of life in order to experience the Launch Music Festival.
About two months ago I decided to start a Twitter account just for kicks. I was always one of those big believers in the fact that the majority of the world probably doesn't give a hoot about what you're doing or what you have to say. Then I remembered that I write this blog and some actually read it, so why not compress thoughts into tweets to go along better with the short attention span that society has adopted. Anyways, after a little while I started getting some followers here and there. I've had a handful of bands start following me because I assume that's a good way for them to promote themselves. Needless to say, one of the bands that randomly began following me one day was Darling Parade. Since I'm a fan of music, I always check out the bands that follow me to see if it's worth purchasing some new tunes off iTunes. After listening to "Bells Are Ringing" and "Never Fall Down" I was sold. I think I really gravitated towards the song "Never Fall Down" because of the line, "You can't get up if you never fall down." It was a nice reminder to embed into my brain because frustration has been brewing closer to the surface the past couple weeks due to my unsuccessful attempts of trying to become gainfully employed as an exercise physiologist in order to put my Master's degree to good use, instead of it collecting dust on a shelf. I think I forgot the importance of fighting for my dreams after being relatively successful for the first 23.5 years of my life (albeit a few bumps in the road). But these past couple of months have really stripped me down to the core, making the months that led up to my 24th birthday rather strenuous, which is all the more reason why I think I needed to hear "Never Fall Down. I seemed to have forgotten that it is through our trials that we are molded. Funny how I needed a song to remind me of this even though I know full well that this is exactly the point that is made in Romans 5:3-5.
Now let's fast forward to this past week. On Monday, I saw that Darling Parade was going to be playing in Lehighton on Wednesday, so I figured why not go. I was in need of escape from the monotony of my life that usually involves working part time as a secondary office assistant, searching and applying to jobs, moving my possessions back to my parents, and caring for the stampeding cats. Before hopping in my car, though, I decided to tweet that I was going to watch Darling Parade. Funny thing, on my drive to Lehighton, I was contemplating whether many people would even be there because the show was in Lehighton, and lets be honest, there's really nothing there. There should just be a "Welcome to Lehighton" sign about 500 yards before a "You Are Now Leaving Lehighton" sign. When I finally found the venue, which I'll admit I missed on my first drive through town, I knew my thoughts were confirmed. I was one of maybe five people that showed up, but some of the bands were still going to play, such as Auburn, Carousel Kings, and Major League. Unfortunately for them, considering the venue had graffiti on the walls inside and there was a pitbull behind the counter, the sound system wasn't that great and all of the lyrics were drowned out by the instruments. All of the bands gave a valiant effort, but it just wasn't meant to be, much like my seeing Darling Parade in concert because they weren't actually there. I was a little bummed, but I was still happy to have had a distraction for a couple hours.
Fast forward to Thursday afternoon and I realize that Darling Parade has actually responded to one of my tweets. I was actually surprised and intrigued by this. As it turns out, it was an apology for not being in Lehighton to play. I was stunned by this, but maybe that's because I've become slightly cynical from living in the fast paced Northeast where nobody seems to give you the time of day, let alone take the time to apologize. I of course expressed the fact that it wasn't a problem because they probably needed the rest to get healthy since I was aware that a few band members were sick. This got another response mentioning that their last show was going to be on Friday in Lancaster as a part of the Launch Music Festival. Again, I was sold because I happen to be off on Friday's and Lancaster is only a two hour drive from the Burg. To some this might seem far, but for someone who recently drove 8 hours to Michigan for Easter and has done a cross country roadtrip, two hours is a piece of cake.
On my drive down, I actually got a call from a coordinator at a hospital in Indiana who wanted to ask me some pre-screening questions to determine if my application should be considered for an interview. For some, this may not seem like much, but for me, this is the closest one of my online applications has gotten to being considered. This put me in a great mood, which was just the start of a fantastic night. Once I arrived at the Lancaster Convention Center, I loitered briefly in the lobby to get my bearings. To my surprise, some of the members of Auburn remembered me from Wednesday and came over to say hi. I guess neon orange shoes are memorable, but it was nice to not just be thought of as another face in the crowd because I feel like I go through enough of life being just that. I then got my ticket for Darling Parade and ventured into Freedom Hall A where they happened to be setting up. I got introduced to all of the members, who were all incredibly gracious and surprised that I would drive down two hours to a show. Their show was definitely worth the drive, along with all of the other bands that played. I was thankful that I got another chance to see Major League and Carousel Kings because they are extremely talented bands that unfortunately suffered an injustice in Lehighton due to a less-than-stellar sound system. Another memorable band from the evening, which happens to be from Lancaster, was Darry Miller and The Veil. Amid the performances, I chatted a bit with the members of Darling Parade about the tour, weather, my Harley Jacket, and exercise. They all seem down to earth and genuine, which you don't always find in the music business. I took the time to also buy their newest EP, along with a bracelet to add to my ever-growing collection on my wrists. I also got an EP by Major League to add some new music to my library. After four hours of music, I determined it was best to venture back home, so I said my goodbyes and trekked the two hours back to the Burg. Needless to say, I'm definitely glad I escaped my monotonous bubble of life in order to experience the Launch Music Festival.
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