Music

Socially distant dance party

Caroline — Thu, 26 Mar 2020 09:14:37 +0000

I am the self-appointed queen of playlists (Formerly known as mix CDs. Formerly known as mix-tapes.) I put so much effort into curating the music I listen to based on mood, memories, and feelings. There are two particular stories that come to mind that are incredibly embarrassing regarding my ridiculous obsession with sharing my feelings through music. Here for your entertainment, I am going to share them. They really weren’t funny at the time, but if you know how freakin’ dramatic I am, you’ll likely find them amusing.

The first was after a cruise my family took for my 16th birthday. One of my oldest friends in the world came with me. At the time, I was straightedge, or sXe for those of you who learned how to code on MySpace. Literally nobody else on the trip was and if you’ve ever been on a cruise you know that they’re basically teens gone wild. I was really annoyed and rather than, you know, tell her, I waited until I got home and MADE HER A BREAKUP CD. AND THEN CALLED HER. TO READ THE SONGS OVER THE PHONE. After a couple hours of crying, we resumed our forever friendship. We were in each other’s weddings. But when I tell you I’m dramatic af…

The second time I used a playlist for evil rather than good was my first semester of college. I was horribly homesick for the first three months, and there was also a weird string of unrelated deaths on my campus. I was fully planning on using my spring break to look at other schools to transfer to before meeting my boyfriend, joining a sorority, and finding my place at Rider. Because I was so homesick, I decided that I was in love with my best guy friend from home and did the logical thing of burning him a CD, printing out the song lyrics, highlighting the especially relevant lyrics, and mailing this whole mess to him at college. Again, thankfully, we are still friends. I was in his wedding. His wife was in mine. He never brings it up, but apparently one of his friends saw the lyrics printout and asked him, “what did you do to this girl!?” The answer is nothing and I’m a basket case. The end.

Socially Distant Dance Party

I’ve decided to use my skills for something more productive and made a playlist of songs to keep you company while we’re socially distancing. It’s very Caroline-lot’s of pop punk with a focus on lyrics. There’s some kind of funny stuff mixed in there. I just hope it makes you smile, reflect, and maybe dance around your house a little bit. I’d love to know what music you’re listening to on lock down! Are you feeling more introspective or are you keeping it upbeat?

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Getting Warped one last time

Caroline — Wed, 01 Aug 2018 10:00:59 +0000

You probably saw on my stories, but this past Sunday, Kendall and I attended the very last Vans Warped Tour stop at Merriweather Post Pavilion. Maybe I shouldn’t say that as there are rumors that the tour will come back in a truncated fashion, but this was the last full tour. I have so many thoughts, memories, feelings- this post feels like a bit of a ramble but I’m going to try and hit the most important things.

I’ve been going to Warped Tour since I was 15, and every year has been a different experience. I got spoiled the last time I went. I had a backstage pass (thanks to Jess & Dana!) and got to be on stage with some of my favorite bands. This year was a little wonky because the layout of the festival at Merriweather was totally different than what I was used to, so I went in expecting to be a pro and was super turned around. I couldn’t quite get this straight from what other people were saying, but either Merriweather had been under construction in previous years or is under construction now so it just seemed like everything was right on top of each other.

This was Kendall’s fist time attending, and my last, so we wanted to make the day extra special. We decided to create our own VIP experience. My favorite drummer, Jess Bowen (previously of The Summer Set– currently touring with 3OH!3), was doing drum lessons, and we hopped on that opportunity ASAP. Turns out, she really is such a sweetie in real life AND it also turns out I’m a decent drum student for not playing any instrument ever.

I was also tickled because I was wearing a tank top that was my own design with her old band’s lyrics on it and she said she’d wished they’d had me designing merch for them. The biggest compliment ever- although Kendall won the award for coolest top that day and kept getting stopped about his Amazon find.

After that, we met up with one of Kendall’s groomsmen and his girlfriend to head to the pavilion itself to sit in the shade and then rock out to Simple Plan and We The Kings. We also entered a free raffle through FEND (Full Energy No Drugs- and awesome cause, check them out!) to attend private acoustic set with We The Kings. We The Kings is a band that means so much to Kendall and I, and I cannot believe we got to see them TWICE in one day. (Thrice if you count the signing at their tent.) They are a really sweet group of guys and I don’t even know how many times I’ve seen them at this point.

It was especially bittersweet because Jess, Dana, and I met at Warped Tour. Now they’re like family to me and they helped my husband propose. And when I’ve said Warped Tour has shaped my life and who I am now I totally believe that.

It was my absolute goal to be on the tour as a videographer when I was in college. I’m sure my professors, fellow students, and everyone else got tired of me talking about it. It’s just an amazing experience. HOW-EV-ER… I’m not sure I could have handled it physically. It’s known to be the most grueling tour, and I could tell that everyone involved was just exhausted as they neared the end of a 20 day run with no breaks.

The founder, Kevin Lyman, doesn’t just sit in a fancy tour bus. He works like a dog making sure everything is running as smooth as possible. He even got on stage to make an announcement that he had some lost kids looking for their adults. One year, he was managing the line as I was going into the festival. The logistics that go into a tour that travels the country all summer are mind-boggling. There were so many bands we would have liked to also have seen, but the timing makes it so you almost expect to just see half of everything you want. Music all day.

I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Lyman as I was pitching my documentary idea years ago. He actually stopped to listen and get my information from a scrappy little nobody wearing a trucker hat and #ReptarBackpack, and I’m not sure he’d be able to understand how much that meant to me. He didn’t tell me at the time, but essentially my documentary was already being made by my favorite director. Check out No Room For Rockstars if you want to get a real look at the tour, and definitely if you were a fan of Dogtown and Z-Boys.

To Kevin, all the bands, all the crew, and everyone ever involved in making Warped Tour great, I tip my trucker hat to you on these last few days. There’s no way I could say everything I want to in one post. It’s the end of an era, and I’m so glad I got to be a part of it.

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Jimmy Eat World- The Middle

Caroline — Thu, 07 Jun 2018 10:00:04 +0000

You know those songs that just stay relevant forever? You might not hear it for a few years but when you do you still know every word and somehow it still makes as much sense to you as it did the first time you heard it.

I was in middle (hehe) school when I first heard “The Middle” by Jimmy Eat World. My class used to all go to Olney 9 Cinemas every Friday to see whatever was opening. Usually we were joined by kids from St. Peters, Rosa Parks, and Farquhar. I’m positive that we were all pains in the ass to normal folks just trying to catch a movie.

ANWAY- Katie Noethe (who is getting married this weekend!) was sitting in front of me one of those Fridays and I saw her *hold hands* with Trevor Stuart which was Earth shattering because I liked Trevor. I ran out of the theater in a blind rage and into the bathroom. My bestie Joanne (who is having a baby next month!) followed me and talked me down from my tears and “The Middle” came on in the bathroom over the PA system and Joanne held my hands and said something like “Listen to this song. It’s like about us.”

“The Middle” came back to me when I started listening to We The Kings. It’s apparently the song that made Travis want to start a band. They play it at, almost, if not, all, of their shows and Kendall doesn’t remember but it was the last song they played before they called us on stage for him to propose.

I’ve recently started thinking about “The Middle” again as I’m trying to figure out my real place in the world. I’m so blessed with a marriage to someone I love, an amazing family, and beautiful friends, inside and out. But I still feel like I lack a clear vision of where I want to be when I grow up. And I’m almost 30… shouldn’t I know this by now?

Last weekend, at my friend Brittany’s wedding, her mom Kathy, who I’ve known since I was 18, came up to me to tell me she read all of my blog posts and was so proud of me for putting myself out there. She acknowledged that it’s HARD and kind of scary to be honest and write from the heart and we stood there crying and hugging for a few minutes. Kathy was right. It is hard and I DO put myself out there. And I’m just getting started.

I think I treat my blog more like a diary than a lot of the women in my circle. And that’s OK. I have a passion for writing and connecting with people and I’m going to keep doing it and see where it takes me. Would I love to be a community manager for a cool company? Yea! Would I love to one day write a book? Or see my Etsy shop turn into its own apparel line? You betcha. The world is my oyster and, really, I’m more in “The Middle” right now than I was at 13.

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#NPNHJBtour

Caroline — Thu, 30 Mar 2017 10:00:27 +0000

You’ve seen by now, from my Yellowcard post and my We The Kings proposal that music truly means the world to me. Before We The Kings there was Yellowcard, before Yellowcard, there was Simple Plan. Simple Plan came into my life from the same friend who brought me Yellowcard. Joanne and I used to rollerblade around her unfinished basement blasting the pseudo-angsty pop punk because Simple Plan just got us. We just wanted to listen to music and hang out with each other and get boys to like us. I remember sitting in the freshman hallway, listening to Addicted, and hoping that one day NAME(S) REDACTED would notice me. Then I’d finish my breakfast (Coca-cola though a straw?), get on Andy Dawson’s skateboard, and my CD player would usually be confiscated by Mr. Brown, only to be retrieved at break time a few hours later. Such a little rebel, huh? That album has now turned 15 and of course I had to celebrate with one of my favorite bands!

From the Simple Plan official site

Simple Plan was actually one of the few things Candace and I both liked at the time she died. She played basketball, I danced. Her celebrity crush was Nelly, mine was Aaron Carter. She was super tiny, athletic, and popular. I was the chubby, artsy, socially awkward big sister. But if Addicted came on, my mom discovered that separately from each other that we both bobbed our head in an identical way. One other thing we both loved was Degrassi, and during commercials, the channel it was on usually played music videos too. Perfect was a favorite, and even though she laughed about how absurd their lead singer looked in his baggy pants and I thought he was kind of cute, it’s something that I’ll always remember as us enjoying together.

Kendall and I saw Simple Plan with Seaway and Set It Off Sunday night at Baltimore Soundstage. Although we’re getting a little tired of the hour+ drive, it’s a great little venue! Very friendly staff and a good size. I decided to splurge and get us Club Seats, which mean we had table service and we were practically on the stage! So worth it. The opening acts were fantastic hype-bands, and Simple Plan kept the energy up all through their set. I got to hold Pierre’s hand at one point, and you’d think I wouldn’t fangirl anymore- but I totally fangirled.

It was like coming home for be to be there, hearing them play their first album in full. I hadn’t listened to it probably in years, but I still knew every word. Having a fiance who will be there there and hold my hand when I get emotional and be tickled when I’m bouncing around like a cocker spaniel when I’m excited- it’s just so cool that music is something that we can share on such a deep level!

You can check out little snips of my night from my insta stories below!

What was your favorite band in high school? And are they still touring?