This is going to be a story about how I got my first guitar pick. Now, this was a very important moment of my life because it was when I become a savage.
It was November of 2014, and my mom and I decided to go see Pop Evil in Fayetteville. They were having a free show, and it was almost my mom’s birthday, so we decided to go out and celebrate. The show was in the parking lot of a strip club, so you should know that this is going to be a good story when we’re jamming out in the strip club’s parking lot. Anyway, my mom and I were hanging out, chit-chatting with other people at the show. I got asked if I was going to go to the after party that would take place inside the strip club… I was shook. I literally wasn’t even 16 yet.
Pop Evil was my favorite band around this time and when they came on, I was jamming! I knew every word to every song that they had, and the bassist and vocalist shot me the goat (the rock symbol). Typically, at the end of a show, the band would throw things into the crowd (drum sticks, water bottles, set lists, towels, and guitar picks, etc.), the bass player looked dead at me AND THREW HIS PICK AT ME. I don’t have the best hand-eye coordination… so I didn’t catch the pick. BUT I did see where it landed, and I was determined to get that pick. Well homegirl in front of me saw the guitar pick too, and she decided she was going to bend down and pick it up. Not today! I ran towards the pick, saw a beer can on the pavement, kicked the beer can at her when she was bending down, and I dove head first for the pick (maybe a bit too dramatic, but come on… The Saw doesn’t half-ass anything). When I came back up, I came back victorious with the guitar pick in my hand. My mom saw the entire thing… and most parents would frown upon it, but not my mom. When I made eye contact with her, she had a huge smile on her face and her arms were wide open (que the song With Arms Wide Open by Creed) ready to embrace me in a hug. She yelled “MY BABY!!!” when I came up with the pick. She was proud of me for being a straight savage. If you ask her what her proudest moment of me is, she will tell you this story.
From that point on I have been a savage at shows, so watch out. I ain’t afraid to use a beer can if I have to.
Marissa Jerden and Nick Weaver bring you another edition of “Eye on the Triangle,” live every Tuesday at 6 p.m. on WKNC 88.1 FM/HD1 Raleigh, wknc.org/listen, and available as a downloadable podcast.
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# Artist Record Label 1 ALISON WONDERLAND Awake Astralwerks 2 DJ TAYE Still Trippin Hyperdub 3 NHOAH 120 Red Skies [EP] R.O.T 4 KONGSTEAD, TEMMPO “Boomerang” [Single] universal 5 PEGGY GOU Once [EP] Ninja Tune 6 TESHA Dreams Vol. 1 Self-Released 7 WHAT SO NOT Not All The Beautiful Things Counter 8 DRUGZZ “Someone Other Than Me” [Single] Super Serious 9 CUSTARD SQUARE “We Live They Sleep” [Single] Self-Released 10 TELEPORT X In Dreams [EP] Polyptych
# Artist Record Label 1 NATALIE PRASS The Future And The Past ATO 2 SNAIL MAIL Lush Matador 3 KEVIN KRAUTER Toss Up Bayonet 4 TT LoveLaws Love Leaks/Caroline 5 SOFT KILL Savior Profound Lore 6 FRANKIE COSMOS Vessel Sub Pop 7 ICEAGE Beyondless Matador 8 BEACH HOUSE Seven (7) Sub Pop 9 OCEAN HOPE Rolling Days Hush Hush 10 HATCHIE Suger & Spice [EP] Double Double Whammy 11 CUT WORMS Hollow Ground Jagjaguwar 12 NIHILIST CHEERLEADER Riot, Right? Perfect Attendance 13 KING TUFF The Other Sub Pop 14 A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS Pinned Dead Oceans 15 FORTH WANDERERS Forth Wanderers Sub Pop 16 ORA COGAN Crickets Hand Drawn Dracula 17 COURTNEY BARNETT Tell Me How You Really Feel Mom + Pop 18 FATHER JOHN MISTY God’s Favorite Customer Sub Pop 19 LITTLE JUNIOR Hi Grand Jury 20 SAM EVIAN You, Forever Saddle Creek 21 SHACKS, THE Haze Big Crown 22 DRINKS Hippo Lite Drag City 23 CURRENT JOYS A Different Age Danger Collective 24 MOANING Moaning Sub Pop 25 NO THANK YOU All It Takes To Ruin It All Lame-O 26 HABIBI Cardamom Garden [EP] Modern Sky Entertainment 27 SHOPPING The Official Body Fat-Cat 28 NO AGE Snares Like a Haircut Drag City 29 PETAL Magic Gone Run For Cover 30 US GIRLS In A Poem Unlimited 4AD
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1 NATALIE PRASS The Future And The Past ATO 2 ICEAGE Beyondless Matador 3 SOFT KILL Savio rProfound Lore 4 TT LoveLaws Love Leaks/Caroline 5 OCEAN HOPE Rolling Days Hush Hush 6 US GIRLS In A Poem Unlimited 4AD 7 A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS Pinned Dead Oceans 8 AMEN DUNES Freedom Sacred Bones 9 HOP ALONG Bark Your Head Off, Dog Saddle Creek 10 HALEY BLAIS Let Yourself Go [EP] Self-Released 11 CURRENT JOYS A Different Age Danger Collective 12 NO THANK YOU All It Takes To Ruin It All Lame-O 1 3SHOPPING The Official Body Fat-Cat 14 GOBBINJR ocala wick Topshelf 15 DR DOG Critical Equation We Buy Gold/Thirty Tigers 16 PREOCCUPATIONS New Material Jagjaguwar 17 EZRA FURMAN Transangelic Exodus Bella Union/PIAS 18 SALINE You Did It To Yourself Perfect Attendance 19 FRANKIE COSMOS Vessel Sub Pop 20 VOWWS Under The World Anti-Language 21 SCREAMING FEMALES All At Once Don Giovanni 22 HABIBI Cardamom Garden [EP] Modern Sky Entertainment 23 POST ANIMAL When I Think Of You In A Castle Polyvinyl 24 COURTNEY BARNETT Tell Me How You Really Feel Mom + Pop 25 KISSISSIPPI Sunset Blush Bug Crusher 26 SHACKS, THE Haze Big Crown 27 UNKNOWN MORTAL ORCHESTRA Sex & Food Jagjaguwar 28 LAS ROSAS Shadow By Your Side Greenway 29 FATHER JOHN MISTY God’s Favorite Customer Sub Pop 30 LA LUZ Floating Features Hardly Art
I was so excited for this show because one of my favorite bands, Upon A Burning Body, was playing! I am also really good friends with Joe from Upon A Burning Body and Myke from Volumes. So, I was looking forward to catching up with my friends!
The last time I saw Upon A Burning Body was at the Blind Tiger in Greensboro, NC.
At that show, I met the entire band and Danny Leal (the lead singer) gave me a hug and dedicated Texas Blood Money to me. Danny is a big fan of golfing, and I work in Pinehurst, NC which is one of the biggest and most popular golf locations in the United States. I promised him that the next time I see him, I would bring him some Pinehurst gear. So that is exactly what I did! I met up with him when I got to the venue and he was so excited and happy to see me. He was also really surprised when I gave him two golf shirts and a hat.
After hanging out with Danny, I met up with their bass player, Joe, and we also caught up. They were all really excited that I showed up to the show and kept asking me if I would be in the front again singing all of their songs. Is that even a question? OF COURSE I’m going to be in the front jamming out.
I bought a VIP ticket to meet Volumes and I got to hang out with the entire band. They were all really nice guys, and they were so excited to meet some of their fans. One of my friends is in the military and he was getting deployed that day. So, I asked Volumes if they could sign something for him and they did! Gus ended up sending him a video saying what’s up and Myke Facetimed him while my friend was on the way to the airport.
Volumes
Myke Terry (Lead Singer) for Volumes
After the meet and greet, Myke went with me and some friends to Zaxbys. Shoutout to Myke for paying for my food, you are the real MVP. Once we got back to the venue, I got in the front and was ready to jam out!
A couple of local bands played first, and they were pretty good! They were jamming out and trying to engage with the crowd, but like most shows, the crowd did not really get into the opening acts as much. Convictions was the first band from the tour lineup to play and they were really interactive with the crowd. There was some movement from the crowd and they did put on a great show! This band were Christian’s because the singer apologized to the fans if some people from that religion ever judged them. He also said that what those people do is not what they stand for. I thought that was pretty cool. The White Noise came on, and wow. They put on an amazing performance. The singer was a wild man! He got on some guy’s shoulders and was running around in the pit. He really got the crowd pumped up for the rest of the show.
Upon A Burning Body (UABB) was up next and you already know that I was hyped to see them! They came out playing Red Razor Wrist and the crowd exploded! Everyone was jamming out and there were people running around in the pit. UABB has amazing energy and I love seeing them live. Everyone in the band waved at me at some point during their set. They played my favorite song, Scars, and during that song, Danny was in front of me and he squatted down, ruffled my hair, and gave me a hug. There were two little kids in the front and Danny noticed them getting squished from the pit, so he pulled them on stage and let them watch the rest of the show from stage-side. They played all of their hits, such as You Don’t Own Me, Already Broken, Intermission, and Texas Blood Money. Danny dedicated their song, Sin City, to me. Joe gave me a guitar pick after their set and then it was time for Volumes!
Picture by: Rosario Gutierrez
Can you spot me in this picture??
Volumes came out playing Left for Dead and the entire place was rocking! They also have great energy on stage and Myke has some sick dance moves. Everyone was singing and dancing to their songs. They played my favorite songs back to back. They played Finite, Feels Good, The Mixture, and Waves Control. After Waves Control, I went to UABB’s merch booth and hung out with Danny and Joe for the rest of the show. The guitarist for Volumes was walking around the venue while playing. He was at the bar and taking shots with fans, and he would go up behind people while playing. He was just hanging out having a great time. It was one of the funniest things I have ever seen. Volumes came out and did an encore and played Vahle and Intake.
All of the bands put on a great show and I was really impressed with the turnout! The venue really surprised me, it turned out to be a really cool place! I got to meet new people, hang out with some bands, and to top it all off, Danny said that I am UABB’s favorite fan! This show was worth the 4 hour drive!
1 TT LoveLaws Love Leaks/Caroline 2 ICEAGE Beyondless Matador 3 CUT WORMS Hollow Ground Jagjaguwar 4 BUZZY LEE Facepaint [EP] Future Classic 5 FORTH WANDERERS Forth Wanderers Sub Pop 6 SOFT KIL LSavior Profound Lore 7 NO AGE Snares Like a Haircut Drag City 8 OCEAN HOPE Rolling Days Hush Hush 9 CAMP COPE How To Socialise & Make Friends Run For Cover 10 FRANKIE COSMOS Vessel Sub Pop 11 MOANING Moaning Sub Pop 12 NIHILIST CHEERLEADER Riot, Right? Perfect Attendance 13 CURRENT JOYS A Different Age Danger Collective 14 HOP ALONG Bark Your Head Off, Dog Saddle Creek 15 EZRA FURMAN Transangelic Exodus Bella Union/PIAS 16 AMEN DUNES Freedom Sacred Bones 17 SHOPPING The Official Body Fat-Cat 18 BEACH HOUSE Seven (7) Sub Pop 19 LADY LEGS Holy Heatwave Communicating Vessels 20 SHACKS, THE Haze Big Crown 21 DRINKS Hippo Lite Drag City 22 DURAND JONES AND THE INDICATIONS Durand Jones & The Indications Dead Oceans/Colemine 23 SOCCER MOMMY Clean Fat Possum 24 ED SCHRADER’S MUSIC BEAT Riddles Carpark 25 GENGAHR Where Wildness Grows Kobalt 26 ANNA BURCH Quit the Curse Polyvinyl 27 CORNIGLIA Corniglia Self-Released 28 LEBANON HANOVER Let Them Be Aliens Optika 29 DR DOG Critical Equation We Buy Gold/Thirty Tigers 30 GUM The Underdog Spinning Top
