Browsing at the Coffin Shop

There's nothing quite like spending a night in a basement with 60 other people in dim lighting, surrounded by bizarre pictures. Not exactly a place you think you'd see a live show, is it? Well, it all started on Facebook actually. (What doesn't?) I was carousing around, wishing I had something to do that weekend. Then, thanks to Megan, I noticed an event I knew I'd have to attend. It was a live show downtown at a place called The Coffin Shop. Already I'm interested because the name sounds awesome. Plus, there were already two bands I'd seen before (and loved): the Problem Preachers and the Eggs. The other band, Untouch, I had never seen live but I knew I wouldn't be disappointed.

After a full week of waiting, Saturday night finally arrived. So, a friend of mine and I ran to my car (in the rain) and made our way downtown for the night. It was really interesting trying to find the place; there were some  people that were just as bewildered as we were when we asked where the place was. Luckily for us, we eventually found the entrance in the form of a tiny dark doorway and a small courtyard wedged into the wall. When we walked into it, however, we were greeted by the friendliest people. They marked us in and we went into the main room where the first thing you see is lights. Little Christmas lights, all tacked up on the ceiling. There was pink and red crepe paper hanging from the ceiling; leftovers from Valentine's Day, I supposed. People were standing around, chatting in the dim light of the basement, awaiting the next band to do their sound check. I felt like I was in a movie; I had never been to a place like this. From then on, I spent the night in musical bliss.

Like this one

On all of the walls, there were spectacular pieces of artwork, all of which was contributed by local artists. This particular one was my favorite. I'm a sucker for satire and prints, so this painting held my eye the entire night.








This band, the Eggs, was the headliner. They were last to play, but definitely worth waiting for.







Here is a shot of the drummer and the back up guitarist.








Now, just the drummer.







Needless to say, this was a night to remember. Despite the cold and rain, I was able to enjoy an actual music show with people I had never seen before. I honestly can't wait for the next one.

Dabbling in radio....

Now that the first (nearly) full week of school has concluded, I finally feel like I’m gaining some kind of momentum towards this school year. January is almost over with, if anyone can believe it, but it certainly doesn’t feel that way with the bipolar Texas weather doing what it does best. Of course, this means we’ll all be turning our attention to Spring Break, but I’m guessing we’ll all need a chance to digest our new classes before we jump to all that. I know I will.

Never before today have I ever considered a career in radio. Today in Multimedia Production, we began working with soundboards and audio editing software. Saying I was excited is an understatement; I wanted to stay in the sound room for hours figuring out how to work the pots (sliding levers) and (noise) leveling knobs. The microphones were so cool. I totally wanted to practice my radio voice (but alone so I don’t look and sound like a crazy person.) It’s funny because my major is News/Editorial writing, but I’ve always been fascinated by radio. I mean, how cool would it be to spend a few hours on the air every day, playing music and talking with wide varieties of people? Maybe that’s where I start everything off. I could always indulge this guilty pleasure of radio.