Picture this: It's well over one hundred degrees outside, you're surrounded by thousands of sweaty human beings from age five to what could be visually presumed as twenty times that. You drove three hours to get here, through the long Texas countryside, and you've finally made it. You're ten feet from the stage, and Circa Survive frontman Anthony Green walks out onto the massive, elaborate platform. The crowd erupts, and once In Fear And Faith begins, his fluid movements drive you to question if it is really him, or some mystical non-mortal being up there. You're finally here, Warped Tour '07, San Antonio, Texas.
If this was you, you must have been one of the hundreds of people like myself waiting to become a part of the religious experience that is seeing Circa Survive live. The movement of the audience was more like being in an ocean current than a typical concert crowd, and the fact that this was probably one of the most excruciatingly high-temperatured days i've seen didn't bother me one bit. The combination of the echoes of sound from all different stages with one of my favorite bands on stage right infront of me shot a quick thought through my head, this is what I want to my life to consist of. I have to be a part of this, somehow, whether i'm on stage, behind it, infront of it, it doesn't matter. This one hour set seemed to last for an eternity, and this performance landed a top spot in my mental hall of fame.
I've always been interested in people's most memorable concerts, and what factors etched them into their brains so thoroughly. It could be for good reasons or for bad, but whenever I get asked what my favorite concert was, this one always comes to mind. So I suppose I was lucky enough to have a good experience be my most memorable. I'm not saying that I've never been to a bad concert, but that's a whole other story entirely.
2003. In my oppinion, this was the most heavily influential year for music. Modern-day alternative music(I'm not talking Nickelback here), that is, and all of the many genres and sub-genres that surround it. This is the year that Yellowcard's Ocean Avenue, Billy Talent's self-titled album, Brand New's Deja Entendu, The Used's Maybe Memories and many other albums that formed the musical taste of myself and the average alternative kid were released.
Given a little slack, 2002 and 2004 can be tied in with 2003's big bang of angsty alternative goodness. Releases by The Used, Hawthorne Heights, Taking Back Sunday, Jimmy Eat World, My Chemical Romance, and tons more that share the genre can be included in my list if these extra years are taken into account. 2003 was definitely the most concentrated year, but all together this three year span popped out every single one of my all time favorite albums. At the time, my older sister was around the age of 13. So, she was obviously at a very media influenced age. Her taste in music became my taste in music, even as a little eight year old girl just venturing into third grade. None of my friends ever had the same taste in music as I did, and I could never figure it out.
Now, looking back, I realize that the generation gap is to blame. Five years is all it takes. Popular music changes as fast as the way people wear their jeans, one year flaired and the next skin tight. And now it's cut-offs, but I digress. The alternative craze died out by the time that my teenage years came into play, but my love lives on. I still remain one of the few die-hard fans of Brand New in my generation, and the same goes for Taking Back Sunday, Yellowcard, Alkaline trio, too many to list. These bands shaped my musical taste, my outlook on life (probably not the best thing), pretty much most of who I have come to be today. These are the bands whose lyrics are burned into my brain and will be until my dying day. these are the years that shaped it all.
Here are some of singles and my favorites from the albums I mentioned earlier.
Popular belief: vegetarianism isn't ideal, it's unhealthy, it's too much work. Most non-vegetarians say that what's stopping them is the accessibility to vegetarian-friendly foods, but I find that to be an easy excuse out. I believe it's just a lack of inspiration. What's the point anyway?
I was lucky enough to be inspired into vegetarianism at a young age. I was nine years old, and in third grade. None of my friends were vegetarians, nor were any of my family members. The Korean half of my family ate lots of red meat, as did the strictly Texan side, so it was a bit of a stretch. I decided to be come a vegetarian because of my dominant role-models, the members of my favorite bands. My idols. Many of them had taken their personal time to speak out against animal testing, the meat industry, the dairy industry, and countless other issues that must be faced. Music is what led to my vegetarianism, and I am positive that it's led to many others in this urgent generation.
Jepharee Howard of The Used speaks out against the cruelty of animals for commercial purpose out of compassion for the defenseless animals hurt in the process. This is the same as countless other known musicians, such as Colin Frangicetto of Circa Survive, Andy Hurley of Fall Out Boy, Kathleen, J.D. and Johanna of Le Tigre, and even Members of Anti-Flag. Vegetarianism and animal awareness are spreading, thankfully. It's great that bands with such impressionable audiences have began to join the cause. For the younger crowds, it probably isn't the greatest idea to put PETA videos and cold hard statistics in their faces, because they won't take it as easily as older folks may. Seeing why these musicians were so passionate about their vegetarianism (the practice of following a diet without meat) and veganism (the practice of following a diet without any animal products, no milk, eggs, etc.) is what made me want to see what it was like. I'm hopeful that my generation and generations to come will see vegetarianism as I have, through the eyes of music and who I want to be. As I've grown older I've backed my beliefs with more and more facts from the horrors that go on behind the scenes of the animal industries. For instance, on many factory farms raising chickens for food, arsenic (a harsh chemical used in pesticide) is added to chicken feed to stimulate growth. This chemical stays with the chickens, and in result is taken into the bodies of the consumer. In the fur industry, animals are put in cages that don't even give them enough room to take a step to the left or the right. They spend their whole life burdened by stress, disease, and psychological hardships. “If you have to murder another creature to be cool, you're not very cool to start with.” Says Kathleen of Le Tigre. As said by Colin Frangicetto, guitarist of Circa Survive, “If you can save anything from suffering, it just makes sense.” Vegetarianism, cruelty free consumerism, it's all been a normal part of my life since I made the decision to switch six years ago. Its was the most worthwhile decision I've ever made, and it wasn't even hard. So go ahead and try-- It's what the cool kids are doing.
Here are some sites with nice tips on adapting to a vegetarian or vegan diet-
http://www.Peta2.com
http://www.Goveg.com
http://www.Veggieglobal.com
And here are some videos of popular musicians for Peta2.
