2024: Club Risk, The Year Of Taking Chances
Everything is unlikely without risk
My top 10 favorite moments of 2024
1. Writing for 303 Magazine and interviewing Tycho while he was driving to Burning Man to play his annual set (surreal). Thanks to 303 for helping make this happen.
2. Playing Santa Fe (New Mexico) Portalsfest / releasing my latest album "Rated R Vacations" and being interviewed / having the album premiere in full on an NPR affiliate in NM, the night before the festival.
3. Taking the clipper from Seattle to Victoria, BC, partying there, and running a half marathon back in Seattle the next day w one of my best friends. Absolutely amazing time
4. Antigua, Guatemala, the date night was far from normal, but it had its moments that made it so surreal in certain ways, especially being in a country I've never been to before..
5. Watching Vampire Weekend perform 3x this year, particularly the set at Red Rocks CO. All 3 times I was on the guest list w a +1 and brought friends which made it that much better.
Continued at the end of this blog.
JANUARY
1.1.24 New Year's day, I woke up on a couch in a co-working space in Denver, other people were still asleep on couches and chairs after a party that was hosted there the night before. I bounced back and forth from that and Weird Touch dark disco dance party for NYE. I saw an ex colleague awake and we decided to go to Rocky Mountain (National Park) to start the year with with a scenic hike. Although, I was at the RMNPS for my birthday which was less than a month earlier, I never grow tired of this place. Easily one of my favorite places to be in the world, since my first time there back when I moved to Denver in 2016. It was no surprise the hike (Bierstadt Lake) was incredible and very fulfilling.Later in the evening, of day 1 of 2024, Weird Touch were doing a DJ set at ESP-HiFi and it was so dreamy. I can't emphasize enough how incredible of a time this was for everyone there. Party things and mescal were on tab while being surrounded by the best people and the greatest DJ set imaginable. It brought me so much joy to begin my new year with this group of people.
The next morning, my friend Jesse drove me to DIA to fly back to Baltimore. I had just spent the past 3 months living in Denver (again) and my time had come to an end. Unfortunately, this was slightly out of my control due to living a strange studio setup, in the nicest neighborhood in Denver, rented out by a shady reality company. Although, the experiences I had being back in Denver this time were life changing in the greatest ways possible. In my heart, I knew I had to start planning out my next return to the Mile High.
The day I got back to Baltimore, I checked my mail and had lots of it from being MIA the past few months. I opened a letter that had a check written to me for a decent amount of money for a poem I wrote that was being published in a book (more on that later). I deposited it the bank and while walking back home along the promenade, I ran into Stavvy Baby. This was kinda funny because I used to perform open mic comedy nights, that he regularly hosted at The Crown. We talked for a solid 10 minutes, it was good to catch up, he remembered me which felt nice. His new Netflix special "Fat Rascal" is hilarious, go check it out.
This concluded the first couple of days to the beginning of a good start to the year.
Highlights:
I interviewed the former lead writer of MrBeast, Jake Weddle. The episode originally premiered on 97.3FM WRIR radio, as does every interview on my podcast. Within the interview we chat about how he got started with working with MrBeast, what Jimmy (MrBeast is like irl), his comedy career, etc.
303 Magazine hired me in December of 2023 and I started my training with the lead writer and began to draft my first article with the publication this month. Side note - I truly can't EMPHASIZE enough how often I've gotten emails sent to my 303 email throughout this entire year. This ranged from artists requesting me to review their music, agents wanting me to interview a touring artist they represent, and promoters informing me I'm already on the guest list for shows I haven't even put in a request for. It's honestly so flattering and I'm very grateful to all the people that have connected with me this year. Thank you so very much!
1.17.24 - my contract with CBS television network expired. After 10 years, I am now eligible to win prizes on The Price Is Right again (my winning video). I do plan on going back to win and relive a similar experience to when I was first on the show when I was 23 years old.
I started dating a scientist based in Baltimore, but is originally from Spain. L and I had a funny yet sweet connection for a few months. Lots of local adventures of exploring places in the city and romantic times together.
As I do every year, I fasted for 36 hours the first week of the New Year. It's an annual tradition to exile all of the toxins in my body from the year before. It feels good and I highly recommend it.
A few miscellaneous, fun, little notes -
I ran into Mayor Brandon Scott on the promenade a block from my apartment and he said "Hey, you're the Pete Davidson guy. I remember you, how's it going?". Baltimore City's mayor is a hipster and be assure everything on the news or trending in his city, he'll know about it.
I started doing digital marketing for Joe Koehler for his Baltimore City Councilman campaign, it was a very cool experience.
The National Aquarium is the greatest aquarium in America and I went to it and loved it.
My ex fiance called me, interested in coming to Baltimore to visit and try to connect and catchup with each other. This inspired me to record "Fake Engagement", the first single from my new EP which would be released later this year.
My friend Eric and I went magnet fishing and afterwards the founder of Mr. Trash Wheel, took us on his boat on a chilly night, driving around the water in Baltimore's harbor, while a guy was snapping photos of us. This was truly a unique experience.
FEBRUARY
Arts Club of Washington, DC is a beautiful, historic theater that hosted Day Eight publishing for a book release event. The book is titled Mid Atlantic Review, my poem "Verbal Escalation" is featured in that book. I was asked to recite the poem in front of a sold out audience in the theater, so I did.
L and I took the train to DC from Baltimore, we were dressed up quite nice in formal attire. We arrived early to explore the theater and the floors above it, which were stunning and had an old charm. Both of us were given books, as we were ushered to our seats. A speaker said some words, the books were presented, and I spoke the words of "Verbal Escalation" in front of the crowd. It really hit me in a way that's kinda hard to describe, yet felt meaningful to me. I wrote that poem with a lot of drive and feeling behind it. Lyrically, it's about when I moved back to Denver in summer 2019, my adoptive mom Lisa had just passed away, and shortly after that, I started dating a pixie cut girl that I connected with on a relatively deep level. Clearly, this poem means something to me and I think people can hear the emotion that I designed for it to convey. Throughout the event, L and I were given free drinks, snacks, etc. and after my performance, people came up to me praising my work, it was cool.
To celebrate, I released a new poem via audio, titled "Fake Engagement". This track will become the first single from my upcoming album, out later this year. Stay tuned, it follows a consistent narrative of clever word play and emotionally curious storytelling.
L and I continued to date throughout the month. We spent Valentine's Day at Topside on the top floor of a fancy restaurant and did many cutesy date things throughout the month together. February 29th, Leap Day, was a big moment for us, we ran down the Jones Falls trail to end the month. This also completed my goal to run the most miles I'd ever ran in one month, totaling at 113.5 miles for the month. Afterwards, she made me a special dish, famous in her home country of Spain, it was sweet. We were connected.
Highlights:
Got paid for a focus group and made $170 and did a case study for Cards Against Humanity piloting an upcoming deck of theirs for another focus group type of thing for an additional $100. Low key, I'm kind of a hustler on the DL, if you didn't know.
I rarely connect w people that I went to high school with, but an old peer reached out and asked if I wanted to go to a flea market wrestling show. I couldn't resist such an event, so we went. It was hilarious and kinda awesome, the promotion is called Eastern Wrestling Alliance. It made me really reflect on the town I grew up in and the culture that's there aka wraslin'.
I binge watched Fishtank season 1. I absolutely, l o v e this show. Sam Hyde is one of my favorite comedians of all time. I also ran into Stavvy Baby again, this time at the Safeway a block from my apartment. I discovered we're neighbors, I love his comedy too. Ps Stavvy's old podcast invited Sam Hyde as a guest and clearly they're friends irl.
Speaking of pop culture, an article of Kayne and Dov Charney came out which was absolutely insane. I personally find it fascinating and respect how much both of them revolutionized the industries they are in. Probably worth noting, this month I started reading The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene. RG was on the board of directors of AA, Dov's former company. A little side note - The 48 Laws is quoted as the most shoplifted book of all time and banded from U.S Federal Prisons. It was a good read over the next couple of months. I did have to stop reading it sometimes because it truly was too intense in certain parts of the book, but I enjoyed what I learned from it.
M U S I C things.
I interviewed William Goldsmith (Sunny Day Real Estate / ex Foo Fighters drummer). Heavy Seas was the episodes sponsor, I was sent a few cases of flavors to promote on my podcast. The interview is great and the beer is great too. So yeah, William used to be in Foo Fighters and he actually called me a few days after the interview and asked me to cut all the parts out about Dave Grohl, which I did. He told me it's been difficult even till this day about exiting the band and all the issues that came with it, it was a super interesting conversation. We chatted for over an hour and it was a real honor especially being I was obsessed with his band SDRE when I was in my teens, like mega into them haha.
I wrote my first article for 303 Magazine (article) - it's a piece on Valentine's Day, check it out.
New Orleans Jazz Fest offered me press passes for the weekend of the festival. I sadly had to decline due to lots of other travel already planned. Maybe, I'll go back next year? They were very interested in having me, that was transparent when I was contacted a couple of times and complimented on my previous journalistic work.
I DM'd Dave of Dirty Projects about coming on my show. He expressed interest, but told me I had to set it up with his agent due to contractual obligations. We did briefly chat anyway and that was nice being I'm a huge fan of his band's 5 EPs album (l i s t e n to "My Possession"). I interviewed other members of his band previously, Felisha and Mia individually. Stay tuned for my connection w his brother later this year.
I continued to do marketing for Joe Koehler campaign. After a meeting one night, I connected with Walter of Rival Schools (and Quicksand) about covering their show at Soundstage. He put me on the guest list and I got to see them and one of my favorite band's when I was in high school, Thursday. They were so, so good, like what is it with bands that have been around for 20+ years still slaying live?
MARCH
DENVER -
I crashed on my friend Tally's couch in DC the night before, had a nice dinner together, and talked about life goals and mantras. The next day I flew back to Denver. Immediately when I got off the plane, I rushed to a seminar that I was invited to attend, I was given free beer, pizza, and was paid $200 for my time, yes this is real and it actually happened. I ended that night by hanging out with my 3 Denver original friends James, Hunter, and Amos. The next night, I was on the guest list to Real Estate at The Gothic Theater (article). I took my gal pal L w me as my +1 and I wrote a review about it.
During this trip, I saw Shannon Von Kelly (Dirty Little Secret - Denver) DJ at The Crypt w my friend, very epic set. Hiked Red Rocks and Cherry Creek Reservoir, went to my favorite spot in the city, FM boutique, and attended my friend Hunter's band Gila Teen's show and all of this was as good as you can imagine.
M U S I C -
3 out of 4 bands on a compilation I created called The Hive Pt 2 were featured on a lineup at Ottobar. I was invited to sell tapes of the compilation at the show to continue our mission of donating proceeds to Living Classrooms Foundation, which I did. Later that night, I ended up staying the night with a cute yet kinda crazy, former viral meme creator, it was a wild time and...I guess interesting to say the least lol, enough on that. Strawberry Sleepover, a band that played that show, which I happen to be particularly good friends with some of the band members. A friend from that band, and another friend, and I went trespassing in a house that was being completely remodeled. We went to the fourth floor of what I imagine will soon become a balcony and had beers on it and watched the sunset. Good times with the boys!
I wrote an article w 303 magazine about open mics and its value to the creative community. (article).
FAMILY -
My grandmother moved out of the house I grew up in this month. She invited me to stop by to see it one last time with her which was an emotional moment for me to be in there because that's where most of my memories are of being with my adoptive's mom, Lisa. I found so many documents of my foster home records, letters my Dad wrote to my biological mom, and old photographs of my deceased family. It was intense, but also really interesting at the same time.
Later in the month, I spent Easter with my Dad. That was very meaningful to me because I remember spending Easter with my Mom every year till her passing. I showed my Dad the letters he wrote my mom in the 90s. He didn't realize those letters still existed and he seemed like he was starting to go into some type of deep thought about it. I honestly felt like that was such a pinnacle in both of our lives. Him and I drove around a little bit afterwards and he played "Shower The People" by James Taylor which was so awesome and I'll always hold a fond memory of that day we spent together. Anyway...
Crazy story alert - 2017 in 2024.
April 2017, my longterm ex girlfriend K and I went on a trip to Napa Valley to visit her brother. We spent our last day in San Francisco and stayed with a friend of her's she knew originally from her hometown. That experience was so unique and very memorable to me. I vividly remember that night was super cool, the conversations we had were very interesting, and overall the vibe embodied the things I aspired to be. That next morning, K and I flew back home and I never saw that guy again, but this is where it gets interesting. One month shy of 7 years later from that experience, I would go on a date with a girl. I found her extraordinarily beautiful, very interesting, and pretty funny too. I would say we hit it off, but then I randomly mentioned the story I just shared about SF to her and staying in this guy's spare room. Well, that spare room used to belong to her and her bf at that time. She had just left a couple of weeks before and we had just missed each other, that's why the room was available for K and I to sleep in. I think both of us were in complete shock, it was very coincidental, small world type of thing. She took a selfie of us and sent it to the guy I hadn't seen or spoken with since 2017. It felt like I was mirroring my past while maybe looking towards the possibility of some type of future. The date continued, we talked about music, travel, etc. Both of us were going on trips out of country this month and fairly booked up. It was kind of unfortunate timing because we both seemed curious, but it just wouldn't work, yet.
L and I were coming to an end in our few month old relationship. She was going out of country for a little while and so was I. It was a good run, we saw each other a couple more times, but it was a mutual and friendly parting of ways w a moon I met from Spain. Met another gal shortly afterwards, DC based, did something for the White House. It was a fun, little thing, life is so random and full of adventures.
S E A T T L E -
My Denver buddy Joey and his wife moved to Washington state for work and I went out to visit him. As soon as I arrived, we went back to their house outside of Tacoma, and had cocktails. We played Fortnite with hotdog avatars and it was so funny and reminiscent to our old antics together from when we first met in 2020. The next morning, we went for a run around Brown's Point Park in Dash Point, WA. We tried to run along the water, but instead got in a really sticky situation. We scaled across waterfront homes and even had to sneak through a patio of someones big backyard to get to the other side and man, that was such a thrill. We made it back, a little wet from the water, but overall did very well making it out on a random little, trespassing, adventure. Later that night, we went to an indoor soccer league and got to join the team as guest players, such a fun, fun, fun time. For the record, we did pretty great for newbz.
Here a short livestream video riding The Clipper from Seattle to British Columbia. I truly was having the time of my life here.
APRIL
I purchased tickets to Cairo, Egypt this month...
You read right. I very literally purchased tickets to Egypt with someone I had just started dating. Love at first sight or two people that are crazy af in lust? You decide. H, the girl I mentioned from last month and I reconnected after our trips. We did the JHU hiking trail and some personal favorite spots for drinks while spending many hours connecting over early internet, festival and music stories, and my ringtone of many years, which is the AOL dialup internet sound lol. We both had a ridiculous sense of humor and the connection felt right. We went back to her spot and wow, oh wow, we had a night of tarot card madness on the couch. The interior of the house felt rare and different. It looked as if, I was in a pristine 1970's lounge that was the secret destination of fancy cocktails and blow for people that hadn't phased out that part of their life yet. It was wild and if you're curious what this looks like, it's my latest album's cover art. And, yes, I did get permission to use this photo as my album cover.
But wait, there's more... My friend Eric and I went to Porchfest in Washington, DC, being I had played the festival previous years, I wanted to go to just enjoy it this year with friends. I was wearing my Bullets shirt, which I got lots of compliments on. We got free drinks and food at some of the stages too, big time block party vibes. My friend Sean's band Lowland Tropic's were playing, so we went to go support them. At that stage, there was a big party in the backyard and people that went through part of the attic of the house to get to the rooftop. We did that and had beers on the top of this historic yet very tall house and watched them from below, it was really cool. The party was fun, my friend's band played a great show, everything was good. However, H randomly text me screenshots of my personal information including my social security number and basically my entire life history / data. She did an illegal background check on me with no context, it felt very intrusive and strange. Eric asked if I was okay? I showed him what happened. He definitely didn't approve at all, nor did my friends in the band. It was weird.
Her and I planned to meetup the next evening and talk about it. I ran a half marathon to destress, I honestly needed the miles to get closer to my goal anyway. I came over to her house and the idea was proposed to go traveling together out of country? It was strange, but I am a person that in part lives for adventure and spontaneity so I went along with it. We made dinner and cocktails, and talked about the pyramids in Egypt. I stayed over as per usual, hung out with her and her dog, was given what felt like a very special kiss in the a.m goodbye. Later the following day, we sat in The Pendry Hotel and booked tickets to Cairo, Egypt. It was crazy and she even made a Microsoft Word doc of all the things we were going to do there. I took a step back and realized I never got an explanation for the background check. So instead of taking a 10+ hour flight to Egypt (7 hours north by car to Gaza), I proposed somewhere closer, so we refunded our tickets to Cairo and went to Guatemala the next month instead.This ends the month of April, stay tuned for the trip.
Wrestlemania cosplay, night 1 and 2.
Earlier this month, I went to Philly to go see Wrestlemania. I hit up my lady friend P, stayed with her and she joined me for this crazy weekend. South Street had a wrestling ring in the middle of the street, as wrestlers fought in the center of it. The energy was electric and it was jam packed with fans. VICE's film crew was there, filming parts for Dark Side of the Ring, we met a couple of the cameramen and watched the cosplay wrestlers go at it.
We had drinks, ate, and biked down to the NFL's Eagles stadium where the event was held. Although, we never went in because tickets were outrageously expensive. We had such a fun time watching the fans dressed up, wrestler q&a panels outside, and we could see the screen of the matches as they took place. Lots partying, cheering, and goofiness of fans just being fans. That night, P and I went clubbing till 4am and crashed hard when we got home, but the experience was so worth it. We woke up, made breakfast together, and planned for Wrestlemania night 2. Explored the city, thrifted, all the random stuff before the show, then we started partying again. P decided to cosplay by wearing a purple wig to match Rhea Ripley and I attempted to style my hair and wear sunglasses like Ric Flair. We drank beers while riding our bikes down to the stadium, then I got a tip to go to the original ECW arena. We made our way over and sure enough, the people in there were excitedly watching the show on a huge projector wall. Everyone was loud and the atmosphere was over the top, but in the best way. After a couple of hours of joining in on the chaos, we made our way back to her spot, and had a really incredible time. The day after, I biked around town and spent time at my favorite spots in the city Pennsport Beer Boutique and Dickson Square Park. Both places, I frequented often when I lived in Philly in 2022.
Highlights:
The Shaky Experience (band) has played a show together every year since 2010. Thom and I continued that tradition by playing Mobtown Ballroom. The crowd were so into our set and vibes were very much on. Afterwards, we did a Food Porno at The Dive. The Food Pornos are a livestream series I started in 2020 to market our last album "More Famous Than Food". The series would drawl a few hundred to a thousand people per stream, so occasionally we still do it for the joke.
I interviewed Nouvelle Vague on my podcast. They are possibly the most famous covers band of all time and their self titled debut album has been reviewed in every major publication you can think of.
My all time favorite Baltimore band is called WEEKENDS. One of two of the band members hosted a gallery show featuring his artwork in Current Space. It was really cool catching up with him and the band has released a handful of new songs this year that are really, really good.
I found $200 on the side of a street while on a run. This was an absurd moment, but indeed very real. I immediately ran to the bank, deposited it, and continued my run. I saw a blind man trying to cross the street and helped him as a show of good faith. Karma is real y'all !
Joe Koehler hosted a walk in our district to promote safety and his run for city council. ABC2 Local News was there and they interviewed him and I about his campaign, it was a cool experience. A couple of days later, former Mayor Shelia Dixon hosted a speech for her re-election at a winery that Joe and I attended. We spoke with her and addressed questions to her specifically towards her campaign and ours.
Connected w grandmother for my mom's birthday, to honor her and her passing. We looked at old family photos, it was sweet.
I curated a spring playlist (article) and wrote blurbs about the artist selections for 303 Magazine.
MAY
My friend Zack invited me to a party at a barn in Virginia. I took the train down to DC, we drove to VA, met his friends, partied, hung out with some goats, chickens, and other farm animals. The next day, I took the train back to Baltimore, packed, and met up with H again. Something definitely felt up and the vibe was clearly strange when we linked up. We actually got into a little bit of an argument and I wasn't sure what to do or think. We ended up making up, had drinks, danced a bunch in my apartment, and had a really cool time hanging out before our flight the following morning. We stayed at my apartment that night, but last minute we went back to her place very much later that night to grab a few extra things. We made our way to our flight the next day, but, before we did I actually ran into an old friend from the past named Renato. We had met from when he was a videographer for a media company and selected me to star in a commercial he was shooting, back in 2018 (and more on this between him and I will actually come into play, later in this blog). A year later, my mom passed and I stayed with him in Los Angeles for a weekend as part of a trail race I signed up for, we had an amazing time together, but lost contact. It felt sorta symbolic seeing him after a 5 year absent. Anyway, H and I caught our flight and had a layover in Houston, got drinks at an airport, had kind of a passionate kiss at the gates which felt oddly noticeable, idk it was sorta strange. Got on a plane to Guatemala, joking and teased around with each other, and just like that we made it to another country together.
Ubered to our hotel Tequila Sunrise in Guatemala, City. Unpacked, explored, stood on top of glass that was over the top of an escalator, it was a vibe. The next day we ventured around the downtown market, had one of the best vegan meals of my life at Moonrise Comida Vegan. Went to Arco De Santa Catalina, biked on a tour around downtown by Palacio Nacional, and went to Fish Skate in GC and met a cool girl that let me ride a board on a half pipe in the shop. That night, we had planned to do karaoke, but again the vibes were so off. It was obvious that something was up, I asked and got nothing back. whatever. We moved on and made our way to Antigua by catching a bus from Guatemala City. It was a scenic ride, we did byob, and were a little bit buzzed bantering back and forth. It was funny and definitely a good time.
Central Plaza water fountain, thrifting at Nana, Siena Luz bookshop, and much more was part of our days. We actually spent most of our time at El Ilegal which is a hipster bar where the owner was super cool and gave us free shots (highly recommend anyone to go to this place). The next couple of days we kept on having very strange, unnecessary falling outs. It was honestly some of the most absurd things, I truthfully have ever heard in my life and it didn't make any sense. I tried to deescalate every time, but I was left with so much confusion of what was going on and what the argument was even about. So I tried my best to enjoy the trip anyway. One night, we decided to plan a trip to hike the Acatenango Volcano Trek / Tour from Antigua which was one of the craziest adventures of my entire life. We woke up early, caught a shuttle to a shop where we were supplied winter clothes and packed food in tupperware containers for a very long hike and camping trip. We took a ride to the starting point of the mountain with a group led by a native 13 year old boy that said his name was Michael. Sweat, exhaustion, and drastic changes in weather for what was a 12 hour hike to the top of a volcano is an idea of what the journey was actually like. A chubby, little English guy started hitting on H and considering her and I weren't particularly on good terms, it made things a little more uneasy. She wasn't resistant and in fact he knew her and I were traveling together. After a couple of hours of this dude making not so ambiguous comments, it started to annoy me. Another person on the tour, very literally said to me "you better step in, before he steals your girl mate". I confronted her, she ignored me, then teased about it, and this is where things got a little more interesting because it seemed like a fight was being instigated which was so dumb and pointless and frankly immature.
 |
| We would later hike to the top of this volcano |
I made it clear to the guy this was a problem and I didn't want to take action, but I would if needed. He stopped, but he did make some snarky comment about enjoying creating chaos because he found it amusing, it was so ridiculous a little chubby man was combatting at this. As we continued making our trek through the mountain throughout the many hours, dogs began to follow us up. We stopped at the peak with some of the dogs still with us, all of us stood around and watched a volcano erupt, and it was incredibly wild. Our sleeping space which was a metal shack filled with bunkbeds was beside the peak and a spot for campfires was next to that. Things were still weird between her and I, but we were offered to hike to the biggest summit in the area, and we definitely didn't pass it up. This segment included falling down parts of the cliffs, getting bruised and scrapes on our bodies, while using headlamps to see through the night. And yeah, this was some real deal crazy shit we were doing, but it definitely gave a dopamine hit that put an exclamation mark on this trip. We made our way to the top and watched a volcano erupt multiple times with lava that was about 100ft away from our feet. The stars had a nice glow on us yet things felt very erratic from silhouettes of people running around the summit and yelling in a foreign language while molten hot lava was practically in walking distance to us. H and I held hands at the top as all of this was going on, for what is was worth, it was sweet I guess. The rest of the night was going back to our spot for campfire, food, and hydration. Next morning, we hiked down, made our way to the town and got back to our hotel.
This is the section where the name of my latest album "Rated R Vacations" comes from.
We were briefly in a hostage situation.
I walked to the front desk to rsvp another night, but the hotel was completely booked the next few nights, I contemplated on taking a bus to El Salvador and changing my flight out of another country. Instead, the front desk lady convinced me to stay, she used translator and told me she was watching us during the times we were there, and had a feeling what was going on. It seemed she favored me a lot, she put me in an unmarked room with 4 beds laying on the floor. The whole city was having an all day till night parade that made it hard to do anything other than watch and try to enjoy it. It was beautiful, it felt like a massive fiesta throughout the town. Within the next few days, I hiked up Cerro De La Cruz and went back to Guatemala City and unintentionally was put in the same room that we had previously stayed in at Tequila Sunrise because the other private rooms were already occupied, absolutely crazy moment. I was brutally sick from drinking the water, but I did still enjoy myself exploring the city and meeting new people. I recorded a livestream video recapping my experience and it made things feel good again connecting out to my world. I flew back a couple of days later, had a layover in Miami, and finally after a crazy trip of hiking up a volcano, an instigated fight, yet an incredibly beautiful last night of laughter and smiles, my time was up.
Highlights:
I interviewed Vicky Farewell about her collaborations w Mac DeMarco and Anderson Paak. Brew Dr. Kombocha sponsored this episode and sent me a bunch of their beverages in the mail.
I did a Q&A via 303 Magazine with my friend Fancy Matthew, the owner of FM Boutique and DJ of Weird Touch.
I did a Q&A via 303 Magazine with the owner of RocketSpace Denver.
I signed up with Helium Mobile, a crypto based phone company where I earn crypto just by using their services.
I finished reading The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene. Laws 47, 44, 32, 27, 24, 19 (has a big Denver reference), 17 ( chess story is phenomenal), 13, and 1 were most interesting to me. This is what I was listening to in my headphones most of this month.
I ran with Riot Squad, as per usual. This month someone asked if I was the "Pete Davidson guy?". That never gets old.
Had a crazy experience biking around the city at night w a traveling through aspiring actress, very memorable night.
I hosted a Couch Surfer from Switzerland, very good time showing them around and having them stay at my place. We liked a lot of the same music, it was fun.
Helped Joe Koehler with his run for city council, particularly with early voting. His opponent Liam Davis and us teamed up and wished for rank choice voting so Mark Parker wasn't selected.
My friend Jeff took me to a GI appointment for health things I needed to resolve and surprised me with framed BNotes (a physical currency he founded, but I led for many years)
Thom and I went magnet fishing in Fells Point which was a ton of fun and I really admire the guy Evan that leads the gathering. I think he has a show on the Discovery channel or something?
Listened to my all time favorite Baltimore band, WEEKENDS' new single "I (Eye)" dozens of times. An absolute banger!
JUNE
The next day, I drove to Annapolis because I was on the press list for Let's Go Fest and got to see We Are Scientists for like 100th time. Our Lady Of Peace which was nostalgic to my early teenage years, Chris Daughtry's set was hilarious (I literally couldn't stop laughing at how bro-y he was. Thursday were phenomenal live and damn the crowd absolutely loved them, and Bush blew my expectations away, they are very, very good and I will stand by that statement. I actually enticed my friend Jaime the come out for Bush's set, we enjoyed it together, and got drinks afterwards. She's the best and the fest was a blast.
Throughout this month, a big group of my friends went to WTMD First Thursday, The group included Randy, Chris, Brendan, Eric, Nick, and my gal pal P that drove down from Philly to hangout. We all went out to the concert on a beautiful waterfront by my apartment and ended the night with karaoke and dancing. P stayed over and we all had the best time ever. Another friends gathering this month, I hosted a potluck at my apartment where I made a bunch of food for my pals, we played Uno: Dare and watched the Trump - Biden debate which was kinda awful, but also sorta funny. The trend continued of good times with my friends Johnny, Nick, and I spending an entire day at Tindeco's pool in Canton. It was a day of lounging, listening to music, having drinks, and tossing a football. Lastly, I briefly helped a dude move out of his apt because he was moving to Spain. This was a cool pizza and wine day hang. This month treated me so well and I'm grateful for all of those experiences I had.
M U S I C -
I curated / played a show at Old Major - it featured Luke Boardman band (featuring Ari of Ari and The Buffalo Kings on bass), Outside Smoke, Krime Slugs, and The Shaky Experience. A lot of people came out and the show was so epic, everyone was so good!! Several of my closest friends were there and it felt so fulfilling.
I secretly performed at Mobtown Ballroom on North Ave with James O'Keefe providing ambient samples to an exclusive sneak peak of "Rated R Vacations" in its entirely before its release months later. This was super cool and the crowd was extra receptive to the poems I was delivering to them.
I interviewed Work Drugs about their famous remix of a Bon Iver track, having another track of theirs being featured in an Urban Outfitters commercial, sharing lineups with bigger bands, and more. Drink Weird was the sponsor for this episode and sent me tons of their beverages in the mail. I applied to several of major music publications this month, got the idea after so many fun interviews with these artists.
I interviewed 311 (singer) with 303 Magazine (article), ummm crazy, right?
I started a new series w 303 Magazine called New Colorado Music You Should Know: July Edition.
Highlights:
I received a phone call from my GI doctor. He told me I was fully healed and I wouldn't need to see him anymore, I started crying tears of joy after the call ended. I was deathly ill in the year 2017 from the GI issues I was having. It brought me so much pain, exhaustion, and uncertainty, but after trial and error with a handful of elimination diets I tried over the years, I finally found the culprit that was destroying my body, gluten. Now, I'm free.
Chris Schafer Clothier, a local suit store (that used to accept BNotes when I led the currency) hosted a variety show. I attended, it was incredible, and this is easily one of Baltimore's best kept secrets. It is a beautiful suit shop, with skate decks on the wall, a rotating art gallery, free beer and food, and live music and comedy being performed, a guy dressed as a tiger walking around. Absolutely incredible.
A quick side family thing - my Dad and I hung out this month, catching up. Anytime I get to see him, it's very special to me because we only started developing a relationship a few years ago. He drove me back to my apartment and I showed him old pictures my grandmother gave me of him and my mom, this also had a note my mom wrote about them on the back of the photo. That was truly an amazing moment and something I'll be grateful to have had seen him read it.
JULY
Back to Denver! I had a few hour layover in Cleveland and decided to explore the downtown. I caught the bus to the Rock N Roll hall of fame and wondered around the exhibits and gift shops. I walked around the city, got dinner, and made my way back to the airport to catch my flight to Denver.
The UMS festival review w 303 Magazine (article)
Ps I stayed in Denver this time for exactly one month and everyday was magic.
Highlights:
July 2nd, 2019 my adoptive mother Lisa passed away, this was easily the worst day of my life. I truthfully didn't think I would survive after her passing, but this month marked 5 years later and I miss her everyday, but am glad to be alive and honor her spirit. I sometimes feel like she's next to me while I'm having all these adventures and I love it.
I received an email from Doordash, confirming an order in NYC by my ex Leah. Unfortunately, this happened last year and I thought it was resolved. I had to email her which was annoying, but reflective of my times in Manhattan when we lived together in Washington Heights. There were lots of crazy adventures, but damn I am so glad to have grown out of that time period of my life.
One day, I caught the ferry from Canton Waterfront Park to Locust Point and biked to Baltimore Peninsula to a new cafe that had just opened. As I was sitting in the cafe, I got the confirmation email that The Shaky Experience had been accepted to play Santa Fe Portalsfest in August 2024. This was the greatest feeling in the world to me, I love Santa Fe and any excuse to go there is easily a reason to go. However, this isn't an excuse, this was an invitation to perform an amazing festival in an amazing city. I kinda couldn't believe it, but knew I had to make it special so I started to record Rated R Vacations to prepare to release it the day of the fest. A dumb little side note, when I got back to my neighborhood I found $11 on the ground, cool?
P was moving out of Philly to pursue new aspirations. I visited her one last time. We went to the Golden Monkey bar, and went clubbing to an early 2000's dance night, and shot pool at Tattooed mom's, and I stayed for the whole weekend. It was such an amazing time and I absolutely loved it, we made breakfast, and I said farewell after a magical time. So many good memories and good vibes with that girl. On my way back to Baltimore I listened to the two part series of Rick Rubin interviewing Ezra of Vampire Weekend and that interview is one of the best interviews I've ever heard. Both of these guys are absolute geniuses.
AUGUST
August 2nd. Kept the 90's vibes alive by going to Rocky Mtn Pro Wrestling the next night w Lynz, Amos, and. Hunter. Yes, we watched live pro wrestling aka men and women doing theatrics in a wrestling ring and it was hilarious / awesome. The attendees were yelling absurd comments during the matches, the wild moves the wrestlers were doing to each other, it was a fun time w the group.
August 3rd. I was on the press list covering Foo Fighters and The Pretenders at the Broncos stadium. It was cool seeing The Pretenders because I remember Lisa singing some of their songs to me when I was a kid which felt sweet and again it felt like she was right next to me while those songs were being played. Foo Fighters were fine, the hits were cool to see live I guess. I feel Dave Grohl is a McDonald's franchise, exact same thing at every location, it felt too staged. Although, don't get me wrong, it was cool seeing the hits being played and the jam sessions of the punk tracks from the early days, but other than that it was just okay. This could also be because on my podcast I had the chance to talk with the original drummer of Foo Fighters, William earlier this year and it felt like I got a better idea of Dave irl. Anyway, I went to my favorite restaurant in Denver earlier that day, City O' City and ended my night at my favorite bar in Denver, Pon Pon. The bartender, Andy was there, him and I have a big history of being friends and he even covered my full bar tab on my birthday in like 2017. He's an absolute saint and he was the singer of one of my all time favorite bands, Gauntlet Hair (l o o k them up!). Shannon Von Kelly was doing a DJ set as Dirty Little Secret there too and I absolutely love his work and am pretty tight with him as well. We talked about one of his best friends and I doing an interview together, this friend would be Thieves Like Us which is one of my other all time favorite bands as well, I seriously l o v e that band. Needles to say, it was a very good night.
Foo Fighters concert review w 303 Magazine
After a few crazy days, the next week was chilling out on a bench to watch the sunset over the northern lake where the paddle boats and stringed lights are in Wash Park. I ran 10 miles with Fleet Feet (fka Boulder Running Company run group) which was cool being they were my first ever running club back in 2016. Amos and I worked on the beats for Rated R Vacations at his house and had a night of Old Fashions while doing it.
SANTA FE -
Santa Fe Portalsfest...
I forgot to mention, a few days before our trip, I did an interview with 101.1FM KSFR radio an NPR affiliate in Santa Fe, NM (you can listen to the archive in the hyperlink of the station). The interviewer Trate was amazing and he very much covered everything about my artist history and experiences coming from Baltimore to Denver to Santa Fe to play this festival. They premiered my new album Rated R Vacations in full at the end of our interview which was the greatest feeling in the world to me. We listened into the broadcast and all the songs premiered live on-air, while we were drinking cocktails at El Rey Court the night before we played the festival. Life couldn't get any better than this. This was it, this was the moment I'd been waiting for, this was my moment of pure joy and happiness.
The next day, we stopped at Iconik Coffee, a few super cool thrift stores (one having a Egyptian statue), Burrito spot for lunch, and we finally started our drive back. We stopped in Raton, NM for food later, a vintage store in Trinidad and Mutiny Book Store to look around, and made it back home after one of the best weekends of my life.
BACK TO DENVER -
The rest of my time in Denver included the gang going out for karaoke again w a large group of friends, hanging out at 700k with the crew some more, ran tons of miles, biked all the over the city and the Cherry Creek Trail. However, my time was coming up and I got guest list with a +1 to Santigold at Mission Ballroom, I brought Amos and we had one more truly amazing outing together. I said my goodbyes and caught the bus to the train, but unfortunately the train was out of service that left several of people stranded. I saw a pilot and offered to pay to catch an Uber with him, he insisted on me not paying, and I made it to the airport to make my way back home to Baltimore. Ps Santigold was really good live, my second time seeing her and she absolutely slayed. Her hits are awesome and hearing "Desperate Youth" irl is always incredible.
I curated a summer playlist w 303 Magazine
Highlights:
I interviewed Tycho and I can't believe I'm even typing this. An artist I've loved since first discovering his music back in 2011 while driving around with James Merrill to crazy warehouse parties and incredible scenic hikes together. Tycho's music has been with me while I was walking around SF, camping in Badlands, South Dakota, road tripping from New Orleans to St. Pete, Florida and so much more. I can't emphasize how much of a big deal it was for me to talk with him. The interview got cut out via the Zoom call because he was driving through the mountains to get to Burning Man for his annual DJ set at the event, while we were doing the interview. So he called me from his phone and we continued the interview for almost an hour, we laughed, had in depth serious parts, and just all around it was such an amazing interview and experience. This was the moment of the year 2024 for me especially knowing I was seeing Tycho next month which I had to fly back to Denver to get to Mission Ballroom and the show was everything in the world to me because it reflected how far I came.
I want to remind you, that I didn't think I was going to make it when my adoptive mom Lisa passed away in July 2019, so I needed to escape my present life. I moved to Denver a couple of weeks later, I was suppose to move into a house in Cap Hill, but it fell through. I ended up crashing on a friend's couch in the Santa Fe Art District for a few weeks till I found my own place and this was massive a game changer to my present life. Those few weeks were some of the best days of any time I have ever had and so much growth and development came from that. Why do I mention this here? Because one day when I was interning for KUVO radio (local) which is an NPR affiliate, I was guest listed to Tycho during one of those nights at the exact same venue I was seeing him perform at this month (August 2024), but it was 5 years later from the original set I was at. I remember watching him perform this time and thinking / feeling - who I was presently, compared to my old self, that at the time, it felt certain my end was coming near. Needless to say, I'm glad I survived, I miss Lisa, but am so grateful for all the experiences I presently have including those two shows 5 years apart and the interview we did this month, this meant so much to me.
The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart announced their reunion tour which will start in February 2025. I DM'd Kip (the singer) to express excitement and happiness about one of my other all time favorites reuniting. We chatted for a bit and I'll probably interview him for our third time, next year to hype up the reunion.
Hiked North Point State Park, went to the Sea Horse Inn, and ended the evening at a speak easy in Dundalk founded by my friend Chris called Chris' Bar haha.
New Colorado Music: August Edition w 303 Magazine
Stickermule had a great deal on holographic stickers so I put in an order for "I Read Craigslist: Missed Connections @TheShakyExperience" and have posted them up all over Baltimore, Denver, and Santa Fe this month.
Finally, my friend Randy and I went to Harpers Ferry, my friend Brandt runs the hostel there (which I used to co-manage in 2018). He let us stay for free and the 3 of us partied all weekend.
SEPTEMBER
September 1st, Randy and I work up in Harpers Ferry after a night of partying with Brandt. We got breakfast, hung out, and then we went tubing down the Potomac River. We ended our day at Elder Pine Brewing, this place is absolutely beautiful. It's a brewery deeply rooted in the woods, surrounded by trees, all good vibes there.
I went to the Orioles game w Nick and Randy, they defeated the White Sox which got my O's one step closer to a postseason clinch. The second time I went to the Orioles game this month, I was gifted a free ticket through a FB group. While I was there, some older women were hitting on me and I saw WBAL news anchor Jayne Miller a couple of rows in front of us, so I pointed her out as a decoy and made a run for it while these drunk, older ladies were distracted by someone "famous".
The nomadic girl from DC stayed with me in Baltimore for a night, we drank lots of tea being Fraser Tea sent me a ton of their product in the mail lol. We took the Charm City water taxi along the water in Baltimore, it was great, really fun time.
Dov Charney's official IG looked through my stories a few time which was very unusual, but fascinating.
WTMD First Thursdays happened and we had a big group of friends. Eric, Brandt (from Harpers Ferry) and a few others went to Mt Royal Tavern. We explored the building HI Baltimore used to be in afterwards which was quite sneaky, but cool. I joined for the Return Peace Corp Volunteer happy hour meetup this month. Funny enough, I met the group's leader because they asked if they could host an event at the hostel when I managed HI Baltimore several of years earlier.
My last day in Baltimore, I went for a run and saw the Ukrainian fair was happening by my apartment, I stopped by. It was particularly cool because I got to go inside St. Michael the Archangel Ukrainian Catholic Church which is a very prominent building in the city of Baltimore, it was very designed on the inside and outside.
* MY FIFTH TIME BACK IN DENVER THIS YEAR *
As soon as I arrived, Amos picked me up from the airport, and we stopped for a delicious dinner at Illegal Pete's that was comped for us by an old friend. Later that night, we went to Incubus and Coheed & Cambria, I was on the press list with a +1. Both their sets were way better than I expected. It was kind of just a thing to do to catch up and have a show in the background, while I was also sorta working by taking notes. Coheed opened and I honestly wasn't even interested in being there for the start of their set, I always felt their music was too nerdy for me. However, Amos convinced me otherwise, so I bought a bag of popcorn for us to share and we went to our seats being it was in the Pepsi Center where the venue is primarily seated and watched the show. They played the hits I remember from high school and I thought to myself this isn't bad, then they shredded on guitar and I'm feeling like this is kinda fun. I would never say they are anywhere close to a favorite, but for a one time show I enjoyed it.
Incubus concert review w 303 Magazine
Incubus came out next. They played their album Morning View in full as part of the 20 year anniversary of its release and it was pretty good tbh. People were going crazy for "Nice To Know You" and "I Wish You Were Here", my inner teenage self was excited to hear "Are You In?". Anyway, they put on a good show and I felt Brendan (the singer) looked good for his age. The encore was all the hits not on this album and that was fun too. The next night, James, Amos, and I watched the debate followed by a Chinese film titled Wolf Warrior which was pitched to me as a Chinese version of James Bond, that was hilarious and the debate was pretty entertaining too I guess. The day after, I ran 10 miles and during my run I stopped at Cook Park Rec Center, oddly enough I used to be a volunteer coach for the youth there in 2017. A person at the center actually recognized me and brought it up, it reflected on good memories from a long time ago of a person that used to be called Coach Lane. Anyway, that night I got Amos and I on the list to see Sum 41 at Red Rocks. They were way better than I could've ever imagined. What is it with these bands that are a few decades into playing, sounding more polished and interesting than younger bands? Maybe, I'm just getting older haha. The band played all their hits and songs from apparently a new album I guess they have? It was a very solid show and great stage presence as well. Another night of live shows to go, we saw Fred Again... at Pepsi Center, I wasn't into it. I got us on the list because I knew Amos liked his music and really wanted to go, but the crowd was so wook, it was gross and dumb. The music and visual presence was cool, but personally not my thing. I'm glad my friend enjoyed it though.
The Greenway Foundation invited me to a gala they were hosting in Confluence Park. I invited Amos as my +1. We got unlimited free food by Casa Bonita and some other gourmet caterer as well, unlimited drinks (lots of old fashions that night haha), and good vibes all around. The theme was silent disco, everyone was wearing headphones, flicking between stations, while we were mingling around while still enjoying the music with everyone else. We connected with a couple of gals, danced and the experience was so awesome. This was truly one of the highlights of this year for me. We got wasted and did a livestream promoting our upcoming show. Before we left, we nailed a couple more drinks, enjoyed some Casa Bonita desert, and ran into Councilman Jolon Clark (I previously interviewed him on a college radio station years ago). Good catching up, we were all drunk including him, funny and fun time all around.
The show I just mentioned btw was at St. Paul Tavern in Denver, the lineup was J. Carmone, Lanx Borealis, Equine, and The Shaky Experience. Amos on drums and ambient beats (for the spoken word stuff) and me on guitar / vocals / comedy antics was absolutely 110% on that night. We delivered a banger of a show and people couldn't get enough of our set. We played a mini encore and the experience was so fun and fulfilling for both of us. We played almost all of the new songs on Rated R Vacations and people were definitely vibing to us.
New Colorado Music: September Edition
Tycho concert review w 303 Magazine
I interviewed Dogjoy (band) - we talked about their music being featured in 711 commercial, a Monster commercial, sharing the same lineup together on Santa Fe Portalsfest, and how much we both love their songs "Get To You" and "Soda Pop Nasty". Great interview. Fraser Tea was this episodes sponsor.
Psychic Mirrors DM'd me, thanking me for including them in the 303 summer playlist. PM's music is gothic, disco, funk and it is amazing! Check out their songs "Draw Me Your Favorite Funk" and "Midnight Special".
A few other little side notes from this trip are -
I did a long bike ride that was over 10+ miles to go to Little Man Ice Cream (best ice cream in Denver, well worth it). I spent a sunset to dark for quite a few hours reflecting on the Cherry Creek Trail which felt super special and cool to sit by a waterfall and enjoy the moon and stars. My friend Jesse invited me to a drum circle in Littleton at Lightning Horse Healing Grounds. I've never done anything like that, but experiencing that with such a good friend was so wild yet cool. I played a race car game with a steering wheel and pedals on Amos' desktop, that was a lot of fun to do with a beer or eating dinner. I treated Amos and I to City O' City and afterwards we hiked part of Lookout Mountain which is always scenic and beautiful to stare out from. I performed a small fill in set at High Plaines Comedy Festival which is Colorado's biggest comedy festival every year. My banter was mainly focused on early internet and I honestly got a decent amount of laughs. Maybe I just lucked out with a good crowd? My adoptive mom Lisa's birthday was this month, Amos and I went to Wash Park just to watch the sunset in remembrance of her life. However, very coincidentally there was a lantern parade that night in the park for all the people that lost someone to cancer. It was surreal, but such a good feeling to celebrate my #1 birthday, to whom I lost to cancer with hundreds of other people that night. My friend / owner Fancy Matthew hosted a party at his store FM Boutique with unlimited free beer, snacks, in store DJs, and much more. FM Boutique is the coolest thing in the state of Colorado and I will stand by that forever, I love that guy. Later that day, Amos and I went in this super utopian, post industry, now "high end, luxury" apartment area just to randomly explore. It was wild man, that area is so strange tbh, but we actually found this standalone house that absolutely beautiful at one point, but the windows were busted out, the door taken off, graffiti everywhere, beer bottles everywhere. The strange part was how new the home looked, it was if it was built in the last few years, but destroyed within such a short period of time. It also is directly behind One River North Denver (Google that), it was very strange and left us suspicious as we look around inside both buildings. I had a very, very wild night with two ladies in Cap Hill and that's the most I'm going to say about that. I spent my last big friends gathering in Denver with James, Amos, Colin, Kevin, and a few others at Thin Man bar, I absolutely love that place, easily one of the best bars in the city.
September 30th - The day I made it back to Baltimore, I took a train to DC to link up with my friend Zack. I got us on the guest list to Cults/Vampire Weekend night 1 at The Anthem in DC. We were put up in a VIP area and got to watch the show from a risen up area, above parts of the crowd. The show was so epic, they played all of their best songs and seeing "Connect" performed live again felt amazing. Zack and I had many drinks, danced the night away, and jammed out to an unforgettable set by Vampire Weekend. Cults opened for them and were very good too, love "Always Forever".
OCTOBER
Ps my 18 year anniversary of being vegetarian was the first of this month too.
I won a portrait shoot at a farmer's market by guessing a number game while in Denver last week. The owner called me to schedule my prize, but I was already back east. She's allowing me to reschedule when I'm back in town, but her and I had a funny conversation because she asked how I was so precise in guessing the number that is was? I told her because I'm a multi-time ex game show contestant. I.e The Price Is Right, Mtv's Silent Library, PBS' - Laughs, etc. The next night, I went back to DC to see Chromeo at The Anthem. I took my friend Randy as my +1 and we got right in the middle of the crowd and danced the night away to the funk. They played all their hits, it was nostalgic and fun.
New Colorado Music: October Edition w 303 Magazine
A few other little side notes from this month -
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| Rated R Vacations album review |
October 2023, while I was trying to get to Vegas for a friends wedding, my flight got rescheduled to the next day. Fortunately, I was suppose to arrive a couple of days before their wedding so I didn't miss anything. However, for the inconvenience I received a $500 voucher from the airline for the error, but the voucher expired a year to the date. I couldn't find a flight in any destination that matched the value or came close to it tbh, so I waited a year to the day and used it the night before it expired to book a trip to San Juan, Puerto Rico on New Year's Eve.
Remember earlier when I mentioned Renato, right before I left for Guatemala? He randomly text me and we chatted about a documentary he'd been working on the last few years that premiered at MD Film Festival earlier this year. It was awesome catching up and shortly after we did I got an email from Diamond Hook for an interview for a position with the company. It was surreal, but super cool and the founder vaguely remembered me which was a nice touch.
I reviewed Deth Rali's latest album. I remember meeting their frontman at a DIY house show space called Posh House in Denver in 2017 and connecting on coming from underdog cities. Anyway, 7 years later I would interview them.
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| You know what time it is |
A friend text me a code and I got comped to run the Baltimore Running Festival half marathon race. I finished 13.1 with the time of 1:40:04. I co-organized the LetsBMore meet and greet at the Village Learning Center this month, we had a lot of attendees. If you're unfamiliar with our organization, it's a nonprofit time bank that promotes skill sharing and community development without the use of money. I went on a date and did something unique that I hadn't done before which was take a ferry from the park by my house to Under Armour's HQ - beautiful waterfront area in Locust Point and do a byob, picnic, music hang. It was awesome and on the ride back, there was a huge full moon that made the experience worth mentioning in this blog. I've been emailing back and forth with Jake (Dave of Dirty Projector's brother) about coming on my show for an interview to talk about growing up, music/art inspirations, being a part of a creative family, etc. Went out to a big annual festival in Baltimore called Fells Point Fest, specifically we were at Cat's Eye Pub and just had such big group of friends hanging out till 3am, it was nice and my friend illegally changed the sign of digital construction board lol. My friend Eric and I went to Lancaster, PA to pick up food to distribute at Food Not Bombs. While we were up there, we hiked Chickies Rock County Park, very nice hiking spot and I highly recommend checking it. We also went to Turkey Hill Ice Cream factory which is very touristy, but in a fun, silly way. I joined Tycho's open source platform for the video premiere of "Devices". We chatted and I reminded him to make a new post on ISO50 blog which he promised to do. That felt special because the blog hasn't been updated in a few years and any time I get the chance to speak with him, it's awesome. I started taking finasteride and minoxidil, I'm at the age finally, so wish me luck. I signed up for X premium and Grok is amazing, the benefit features are pretty fun. Lastly, I went to Swann House for Halloween, this was probably one of the most boring nights of my month. It was great hanging out with my friends and meeting new people, but the venue was not up to speed with making it feel special. However, the rest of this month was so amazing and I'm grateful for everything that came with it.
NOVEMBER
I interviewed Cults and just like every other interview I do, it premiered on 97.3FM WRIR radio. Within the interview we talk about their current tour with Vampire Weekend, J. Cole sampling one of their songs, playing 13 shows in 3 days at SXSW, and more. This show's sponsor was Clean Cause, they sent me a bunch of beverages too and they were delicious. I'm very grateful for the interview and the sponsor.
I was guest listed with a +1 to The Go! Team at The Black Cat in DC. I brought my friend Eric and the show was so awesome! They sound like marching band, parade that has gone wild. I interviewed the person that created the band back, our interview was in 2021, but I kinda never thought I would get the chance to see them being they never come to the US. So, this was a real treat to see a band I've enjoyed for many years and used to have their song "Huddle Formation" as my ringtone in high school.
I curated a fall playlist w 303 Magazine
NCM November Edition w 303 Magazine bb!
A few other little side notes from this month -
I went to Chris Schafer Clothier for Election Night, met up with a girl from New Delhi. We had drinks there, watched live music, vibed, spent the rest of the night together. It was fun and made the noteworthy night less stressful for both of us.
Thom and I spent a day hanging out by going to IKEA, thrifting, having beers with my grandmother which was very funny and ridiculous. We ended the night dancing at Lithuanian Hall which brought back so many good memories of the 10 years we hung regularly as a band, good vibes!
Sides notes - I spent Thanksgiving w my Dad and his sister which was awesome, considering I only see my dad a couple of times a years. My long time friend Mike moved back to Baltimore and him and I have been connecting which has been awesome. I saw Brendan (WEEKENDS band) solo performance at Fadensonnen's and he absolutely slayed live. Moby's agent reached out to me and it seems an interview very well may be in the works of being setup.
DECEMBER
12/05/2024 - my 35th birthday.
Sides notes -
I emailed AEW press to get Mike and I on the list for their show in DC. We went, they hooked us up with really good seats and my friend Zack joined us too, it was such a fun time! Also, I interviewed one of AEW's top talents Orange Cassidy, that was cool too.
Got paid $100 for a focus group that was less in 45 minutes of providing my opinions. The hustle is real y'all !
Took my new bike to Velocipede Bike Shop, worked on it for a few hours w the mechanic. That was a super fun learning experience, I'm truly grateful they exist.
My friend Randy hosted a bonfire, holiday party. All of our friends were there, it was truly a beautiful night of good times and good vibes. I brought a pinata and was given an excessive amount of condoms recently, like close to 100 condoms to be exact. So, I filled the pinata with condoms and we knocked it around till it exploded. This was incredibly funny and one more highlight was snapping Christmas photos with our main friends.
Christmas eve/Christmas morning I spent it at my Uncle's house (my Dad's brother), that was awesome and again I've never had a close relationship with them, so it was really cool to be included. Christmas night, I spent it eating Ethiopian food and getting drunk wandering around with a girl I've been seeing K. Spent the night, good times, great Christmas.
This year, I ran the most miles of my life - finishing at 1013 miles in 150 runs.
I wrote a NCM: December edition for 303 Magazine
One final note -
My year would have been very different hadn't I taken risk. Flying back and forth from Baltimore - Denver, Couchsurfing, emailing agents to review shows, traveling with strangers, reaching out to companies as potential sponsors for my podcasts, being remote with very limited wifi. This is a stretch for a part time employed digital nomad. The secret to saying yes is realizing you are going to die, so live like it. Most things don't actually matter, but having the courage to do things you love does. Be the person you hope people would describe you as to others. Take risk, be urgent, say yes and do it now.
My 10 favorite moments of 2024 (continued)
6. Both of Tycho's sets at Mission Ballroom in Denver and Union Transfer in Philly during the Infinite Health tour and being on the guest list for both of those too with a +1 and bringing friends.
7. Covering The Underground Music Showcase as press for the annual 3 day weekend and partying with a few of the artists backstage was nuts. This included Beach Fossils, Mareux, and 1tbsp, this was truly fucking awesome.
8. Weird Touch night, hiked Rocky Mountain NPS, Weird Touch afternoon dance party the next day on January 1st was so mind blowing -ly magnificent, best day ever.
9. Gala After Dark Silent Disco - unlimited free drinks, catering, dancing, all good vibes on the guest list as always.
10. Having my poem published in a book and reciting it in a historic theater in Washington, DC was pretty epic. Going with someone I was dating and that I cared about, made it feel a little extra special too.
My Life Tips -
Like yourself, love yourself, be your biggest supporter, not your biggest critic. Feel sorry for others immaturities and insecurities.
Club Risk - it's unlikely without risk. Take risk, fuck it. Don't think, just do, learn from it if you fail, be glad if you succeed. Do it anyway, no thought, just do.
End goal in mind - focusing in on it, think what's the purpose of this moment? Why am I here? What am I doing right now? What's the reason? How do I get to here or there? Etc. This tip has made significant impact on my life this year.
Think your way into others mind - you'll connect with people quicker and understand peoples thoughts and emotions better. Think what their mind thinks - likes, dislikes, thoughts, feelings, emotions
Be urgent - you are dying everyday, live like it. Rush around to every moment as if it could be your last and it will accelerate your lifestyle to new heights. Interactions, tasks, and goals will be prioritized in more efficient ways and have a higher abundance of meaning to them.
Catalog your life - it'll enhance the way you feel and think, I guarantee it. Once you start tracking who you are and what you're doing on a daily basis, you'll become more aware. I honestly feel most people are in autopilot and can't even tell their days, to months, to years apart. I want more than that, so I catalog my life with a daily gratitude list I've updated everyday for the past 5+ years.
Be grateful, even if you're not - you're lucky to be in almost all situations you're in, it could be so much worse than what it actually is most of the time. It could be more boring and meaningless, but when something or someone makes you feel emotions from happy or sad, you're at least relevant enough to make that experience about or with you in some way.
Mirror a mirror - a girl asked me earlier this year, how do I seduce? They told me with excitement how they do it, before I could even respond. They told me they mirror their target, make them comfortable, and give them the spotlight. It was super interesting and I hadn't put much thought into seduction being it's a taboo topic for many, but yeah that makes sense.
Life tasks - What's yours? Do you have one? If not, maybe make one and write it down those life tasks and goals and read them out loud everyday when you wake up, before you scroll a 5k through your social media. I bet it'll put more perspective on your values and the things of importance within your life.
Focus on small, not big - I read a book in my early twenties called "Trust Me, I'm Lying" by Ryan Holiday. This book had such a fundamental impact within my life. One of the biggest takeaways is how headlines are made and if you think small and work on the little things, that's how they transform into big. I couldn't agree more and I've always thought this was very fascinating especially in marketing and press. Although, this can be taboo I guess, it's still peaked my interest quite a bit.
ChatGPT - I use it for most things and it's great. A personal assistant everywhere I go and the feedback feels like having a friend beside you at all times. I use it for therapy too, type in anything and everything on my mind and the responses have been amazing.
My top 10 favorite songs released in 2024
1. Vampire Weekend - Connect.
- Lyrically, it's the perfect song. The lines "You're elegantly wasted" and the desperation in Ezra's voice for the final "I need it now" hits so hard. The song reminds me of a futuristic version of indie sleaze and I am so here for the rival of that era. It embodies a classy yet whimsical feeling that made me return to this track many times this year. I particularly think the playful piano throughout the song and the clever word play is what really hooked me on this tune. Earlier this year, I was starring out a window into the backyard patio, it was a grey and rainy day outside. I hadn't even turned on any lights, so the house felt like one big silhouette. I was listening to the song in the background and I looked behind me and briefly analyzed my surroundings. I felt like I was in the song, I know that sounds kinda random and maybe a little bit crazy, but that moment, those colors, and that decor was exactly what I imagined.
2. WEEKENDS - I (Eye)
- My all time favorite Baltimore band is back with a big time banger! They are a two piece, but make their sound feel so full and it's very compelling. I have a huge soft spot for two piece bands, I think the trust that goes into making the music sound good is meaningful and very underrated. I remember seeing WEEKENDS play warehouse shows (Copy Cat, Bell Foundry, Firth Dimension, The Compound, etc.) in the 2010s era and loved every minute of their sets. They also rotate on vocals and instruments throughout their shows which is the coolest thing in the world to me. Think to yourself, how many bands do you know that do that? I personally don't know of any and I work in music journalism. Anyway, this particular track has an early twenties, right after college feel to it for me. The lyrics are on the darker side, yet still feel optimistic and has a fun build to it with the I chants. The biggest takeaway from this track is the unity of the two guys singing in chant together is the best and what makes the song for me.
3. Tycho - Totem
- When I think of Tycho, I think of beige and tan colors which is often what Scott (Tycho) wears on IG and when performing live. It feels futuristic where everyone wears muted colors and are more focused on other things than how someone is dressed, i.e personality. I also think of The Bay Area and all the innovation and good that has come from it, as well as the calmness of being by the Pacific Ocean and having a relaxing feeling while there. Needless to say, Tycho's music speaks to me on different levels and allows me to channel to other places while listening to his music. That being said, I feel "Infinite Health" is the perfect title for his new album and makes it feel good when consuming these tunes into my ears. I specifically love "Totem" because it starts with people briefly chatting in the background, then has a optimistic beat playing, and continues to grow into introspection which is the icing on the cake that makes it so good.
4. Ye - Back To Me
- I never was a Kanye fan, his music just never connected with me for whatever reason. However, I gave his album "Vultures" a shot and damn, this LP has a distinct edge to it. I think the track "Back To Me" feels relatable and connective in ways of dating, hookup culture, and emotions throughout relationships. The song feels like it speaks fluidly to the levels of entitlement and sorta validates that people aren't in this alone, that this is even happening with big time celebrities as well. So, I like it and I think there's a lot of lines in there that feel witty and well thought out.
5. Black Pus - Ping Pong
- I am always going to love Brian's (Black Pus) art, music, and videos. He is a real life monster when he ties his mask to his face, it's scary, but very fascinating. However, when he takes it off, he's the sweetest, coolest, friendliest, artsy weirdo ever. I've been inspired by him for many years, one standout was when he uploaded a video titled "Is this enough to work with, Wayne?" which feels like a big shot directed at Wayne Coyne. Brian did a collaboration with The Flaming Lips with both of his projects Black Pus and Lightning Bolt. From what I've heard, Wayne cut out tons of their parts and each track only has bare minimum of his bands in the actual song. I can't stand it and I feel frustrated for him when I think about that. Regardless, Brian's artwork is next level wild, I love how over the top abstract it is and his music is the same. The song "Ping Pong" feels like it sings about his young kid, I think he had a few years ago which shares a silly side to the lyrics and I think it makes this track extra fun while still having the raw and chaotic energy BP is known for.
Shorter reviews -
6. The American Dawn - Her
- This has a lonesome feeling to it, but I envision while driving in the desert which makes this track so special. I originally heard this song in an El Rey Court ad and loved it immediately. This is the only song on the band's Spotify page and they have 2 million monthly listeners, that's pretty amazing. I think that may be enough reason to see what all the hype is about over one song.
7. Dr. Dog - White Dove
- Classic Dr. Dog song, great tune. The standout for me is the line "what a way live". I remember listening to this song while taking out my Denver roommate's dog this summer, walking around the park, and connecting deeply to that bit. I used to have a dog when I had a longterm girlfriend and first moved to Denver. That dog passed, but it just kinda reminded me of that and felt connective to me.
8. SGRNY - Pressin' Up
- Sexy, fun, and engaging track that has a funk element in an indie band's song from Wyoming. I met the band after their set at The UMS this year, we all hung out, and it was a great time. We talked about doing a mini tour together through Denver, Cheyenne, and SLC, tbd, maybe 2025? Anyway, solid track, I really dug their live performance too.
9. Dorion Concept - Hide (slow)
I heard this track on an episode of Fishtank. It has a utopian presence within this song, taking you on an ambient ride into a magical world of the known. I detect a lot of mystery and curiosity throughout this song. It's fun and takes the mind in a strange yet imaginative place.
10. Artemas - I Like The Way You Kiss Me
- I'm laughing while writing this, but I think Joey and I heard this song in the background of a Ladybug Bikini Espresso video on their IG. We tried going to the coffeeshop, but again it was closed when we got there which was a bummer, but it's just such a funny memory to me. The track is good and obviously sexy, good vibes haha.
Songs that didn't come out this year, but I played on repeat an absurd amount of times.
1. Tycho - Past Is Prologue
2. Vampire Weekend - Hold You Now
3. Clams Casino - I'm God
4. Dogjoy - Soda Pop Nasty
5, Institute - Come On Over
6. 1tbsp - No Nein
7. Work Drugs - Method Acting
8. Bush - Identity
9. The Drums - Kiss Me Again
10. Steve Lacy - Bad Habit (Sped Up)
My top 5 podcasts of 2024
Pardon My Take - Big Kat and PFT are hilarious. It feels like being at a bar while hanging out with your best friends when listening to them.
Huberman Lab - Andrew is awesome and wickedly intelligent. His fascination on improving lives is pretty much the best thing ever.
Diary of a CEO - The interview with Robert Greene was extremely good. Here's a question I started asking people - how do you seduce? The responses I've gotten have been quite interesting.
Rick Rubin's Tetragrammaton - interviews are great, particularly the two part interview with Ezra of Vampire Weekend. The ads he produces on the podcast are extremely, super, duper noticeable in the best way. I think RR found a way to make ads fun and interesting.
JRE - Joe is a natural and has the ability to interview anyone.
The Perfect Guy Life w Sam Hyde - I died laughing at the bit on Gary Vee, this show is ridiculously funny.
For anyone wondering - I am still very much am a mega fan of Ryan Holiday, but I've slightly fallen out of The Daily Stoic this year. I think it's because it feels like every episode is a repeat that has been done hundreds of times already. I do still tune in and was playing it in my headphones when hiking down the volcano in Guat. I am still very much into it, just didn't consume as much of it as I have previous years.
James, who did you interview this year on your podcast?
Jake Weddle (MrBeast) , William Goldsmith (Sunny Day Real Estate / ex Foo Fighters), Nouvelle Vague, Vicky Farewell, Work Drugs, Tycho, Dogjoy, Cults, Orange Cassidy (AEW).
All interviews premiered on 97.3FM WRIR radio.
Brew Dr Kombocha, Drink Weird, Clean Cause, Fraser Tea, Heavy Seas, and High Noon sent me tons of products in the mail to review on my podcast. Big thank you to all of them for doing that!
Where can I find the articles you wrote for 303 Magazine?
303 Magazine, Author: James Lane - Read here.
Music
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| My photo of the year: The tour guide in Guatemala running a kid down a volcano |
If you have any questions, feedback, or just want to say hi! Reach out to me:
Stop at nothing to achieve your goals. Take the risks to complete life tasks.
Thanks for reading.
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