Flogging Molly?! Yeah. I think so.

Okay.

Yesterday started off with me feeling so anxious. It was raining. I had woken up later than I had planned. My day wasn't going the way I wanted to...

Then our PR event finally kicked off. Things were going pretty well.. Then all of a sudden people started coming in (expect pictures in the near future). The whole event was a super-smash! Thanks to everyone that helped out including all of the various organizations and performers. And Foxes and Lions seriously killed it! I've never seen them so stripped down before. It was very welcome deviation from their normal line-up. From what I saw everyone seemed to love the guys. The day was so good we even ended up raising over $200! Thank you so much everyone.

I then had to face that-which-I-was-dreading: Driving from Montclair down to House of Blues in AC before we had to open for Flogging Molly and Big D. Somehow I made the trip from MSU to Toms River in 45 minutes. I can NOT believe I did that (and didn't get pulled over in the process). Ended up getting to the HOB just after they had opened the doors and finally found my band. Dare I say it, I almost broke down and cried. It felt so good to finally be where I had been wanting to be the entire day.

Let me just say this of our set... I simply couldn't stop smiling. Looking out at that crowd make me feel near death from the levels of joy I was feeling. And then after: Oh. My. God. I had decided I'd go hang out in the crowd during Big D's and Flogging Molly's sets. I've never been recognized by so many people I didn't know in my whole life. I kept hearing, "WOW! THAT'S THE KEYBOARDIST FROM THE BAND THAT JUST PLAYED! GREAT JOB MAN. YOU GUYS WERE AMAZING!!!!" and other such variations. I have never tried ecstasy (nor do I ever think I will) but I'm guessing it feels something along the lines of how I felt last night.

The two bands were honestly amazing. Even from listening to them from our merch table, I couldn't fight from dancing along to the rhythms of their lives. Such a joyous night.

I even met the guitarist from one of my (all-time) favorite bands and HE told ME he loved my band. I almost ran away and cried. And even better... I get to hang out with him later on today and he's showing me their new demo's because he wants to hear the 'opinion of someone that knows their stuff'. This band is Suburban Legends and the guitarist is Brian Klemm (he's playing with Big D now too). Those guys were the first real band that I met and felt like "Hey, I could do this." I don't think I'll be telling Brian that later today. But seriously. I'm flying on Cloud 9 right now.

My body is sore. My heart is soaring.

As I finish writing this I am about to go get ready to play with Big D and Flogging Molly again at the Starland Ballroom. This time, I plan on enjoying the whole day anxiety-free.

Best,
Patrick O'Brien
River City Extension


(Oh and a very wholehearted congratulations to Sam Tacon who signed her first body part last night. It was a night of firsts for all of us.)

Hipsters and Hip Worlds

Wow... I never write these things. What's wrong with me?! Either that or I start one in the morning, then leave it until to finish at the end of the day and then I'm just so lost in my exhaustion and caught up in the moment I forget about going back to what I had written. I think I've started about 5 different drafts just to write this one post...

So the other day, right after I left class, I drove straight to my apartment and cleaned the whole place. I wanted my place to be so spick-and-span that I even cleaned up my roommates 'junk' (by junk I mean his TRASH). Anywaysssss, as soon as I got the 'okay' from my friend to leave, I began my fun-filled trek to Brooklyn. Let me tell you.... I HATE Rt 1-9. So much rage on that highway. Whatever happened to those peaceful forested winding roads I loved to drive on so much. I guess moving up here has made me leave all of them behind. But I digress, I prefer the driving through Holland Tunnel as opposed to 1-9. I won't even get started on driving through Manhattan (apparently traffic lights don't have any say in who's allowed to drive and who isn't).

Be that as it may, Brooklyn's a pretty fun place. Once I crossed the Manhattan Bridge the traffic all seemed to just disappear. It was like I had gone through the magic wardrobe and ended up in a whole new world. Actually, I did just that. While trying to find Pratt I was doing a bit of people watching... I have never, and I will say that again: never, seen so many hipsters in one area. They were literally everywhere. This really threw me off. I now truly come to terms with the idea of me being a 'hipster'. Growing up in the areas that I have, one gets used to being an oddball; being the 'weird' one. I never imagined how uncomfortable it would make me feel when I was no longer weird and became the norm. Don't get me wrong... Pratt was a very fun time. It's just... I've come to like being different. No matter what group of friends I had growing up, I was always the outsider. Being in Brooklyn, being an insider just didn't feel right for me. Who knew that I loved being that which I did not enjoy?

But to continue my story, not all of these hipsters were at Pratt for the purpose of attending school. That weekend was particularly special. The Annual Pratt Drawathon. (Apparently) people came from all over just to partake in this festival of sorts where numerous models (both nude and clothed) and artists (both scholastic and professional) all came together in one building and just spent the night drawing and painting and so on and so forth. As to the surprise of everyone around me, I was not at all affected by the level of nudity that existed at this event; with me being a musician and not used to these sorts of occasions. I guess I'm just more comfortable with the human body than most people of my generation.

All in all, that trip was quite the swell adventure. I honestly can't wait to go back again and visit. I've already started making some new friends. I seem to do this everywhere I go as a matter of fact. I just love meeting people. Tomorrow, I'm going to write about the amazing weekend that I ended up having.

For now, I shall simply state that my passed weekend consisted of illustrious, exciting, and eye-opening escapades with my newfound family. But that is tomorrow. It is now 2:50 a.m. I need to sleep.

I bid you, adieu.

Wow.

It's been a real long time since been on here. SO much has happened in the passed month or so. You can expect a slew of recap posts. Just need a mo' to gather my thoughts. Not to mention, there are even bigger and better events (in some cases) coming up right around the corner. Now that I have you on the edge of your seat....

These two videos have been on repeat on my computer for the passed week or so:



And in response to that:



Pomplamoose has finally blown up with their most recent cover album. I'm so happy for them. And there's something about a little asian boy crying because he can't be a 'single lady' that really hits home with me... Oh maybe thats because I'm an early-20's asian guy that ALSO can't ever be a 'single lady'.

:'(

-P