"Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything. " Plato
I’ve been told my entire life, if you are from Wisconsin you will always be a Packer fan. When I was younger, bless my ignorant soul, I didn’t know what the big deal was when I was 7. I remember when my mom threw a Super Bowl Party in 1997… yeah that day, all I cared about was the food. Seriously.
Later in life,call me shallow, but my man reason for watching football was the tight pants . I know I’m such a girl. But then I started to love the game more and more every year. Now, I wish I could play football and I freak out if I miss a Packer game.
Fun facts about the Packers:
Did you know they sell the most merchandise out of any team in the world
Did you know every country has a “Packer” themed bar
Did you know I’m on the list for season tickets, and my grandchildren’s grandchildren will be the next one to get the tickets… really?!
Did you know Packers are Wisconsin owned, not owned by one single person like most teams
Did you know they are one of the “smallest” team in the NFL, but they have a world wide fan base.
Seriously I thought people didn’t know where Wisconsin was… Until I was wearing a Packer shirt in Australia, and someone said to me ” Eh, didn’t you just win the Super Bowl?” That’s when I fell in love with the land down under.
I’m writing this blog about the Packers because I went to the game this past Sunday , October 28th,with one of my best friends. That was the second game I’ve ever been too. And of course, it was amazing. I had an awesome time. Believe me when I say this, it is one of those experiences you want to do before you die. The energy at Lambeau is unbelievable. Packer players are there to play and to win . It’s as if everyone is going there for one reason, to watch the Packers win.
My advice: Go to Green Bay, WI, and watch the Packers play at Lambeau field.
“The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will. ” Vince Lombardi
I love concerts, I’ll do whatever I can do to go to a concert that I’m like freaking out about … … which is why I went to the Eric Church concert. He is one of my favorite artists of all time, I HAD to go. I’ve been listening to him since my senior year of high school, I wasn’t going to miss him coming to town again. So I forked up a pretty penny to see him. OK so it wasn’t that much, but for a recent graduate that has three jobs, it was a pretty penny for me.
Overall the concert was great. It was on time, and the crowd was really into it. Here is the breakdown of each artists.
Kip Moore:
Kip Moore was the opener, I was very excited to see him because I love his album ” Up All Night”. He only played for 30 minutes but that is expected for the opening act. The really cool thing I loved about him, he didn’t play any cover songs. He played all of his songs. Too me, that is a big deal, especially since he’s not ” big” in the country scene just yet and he doesn’t have many songs. For someone opening for Eric Church, I’d say he did a pretty damn good job. He and his band were in tune, the crowd was really into it and most importantly Moore was excited to be on stage even if it was for 30 minutes.
Justin Moore:
To be completely honest, I like Justin Moore music, and I wanted to see him perform, but at the same time, I wasn’t thinking ” Oh my god, I have to see him”. But I love being proved wrong, because he is definitely worth going to see. Like Kip Moore, Justin Moore played all of his songs but the one thing I noticed about him. He was so humbled to be on stage, he did a sort of “Tebow” pose for about a minute or two but he was just literally on stage listening to people screaming and you could tell he was blown away by the crowd’s reaction. He also got the entire crowd to pull out their cell phones and light the whole arena which was really cool. Below is a picture to show you what I mean.
It was extremely bright in there and it was pretty cool to see everyone listen to him and his music. Overall, he was probably the best entertainer when it came to the three and he put on a good show. I would go see him again.
The man of the night : Eric Church:
I’ve never heard 30,000 people scream so loud in my entire life when Eric Church came on. When he came on the stage, it was as if the world stopped and everyone forgot their problems. I loved his part of the show very much. He had multiple backdrops for different songs, he had pyro, it was pretty cool to see it all put together on stage. I loved how he played his older songs from his previous albums, but the coolest thing about his show, he played almost every song on his newest album ” Chief”. I thought that was so awesome, nowadays, most performers just play all of their hits. I loved that he played “Country Music Jesus” and ” Jack Daniels”. I seriously thought it was so cool that his concert was literally based around his new album and that he actually played his songs of f of his album. Seriously, you have no idea how excited I am about this. Because there are a lot of good songs that are on albums, not just Church’s, but other artists in general, but you never hear those songs live because it’s not a “hit”. I like “hit” songs, but it’s nice listening to the music you never hear. Seriously , I can’t get over it! What was even cooler, you could hear the crowd sing every word of every song.
I also love how freakishly talented he is. He plays guitar, banjo and piano. I love a guy that can play piano. And of course he saved the best song for last ” Springsteen”, my summer song of 2012. I swear when he played piano and sang ” Springsteen” I got the chills. I could listen to him play it live every day of my life. Actually ,I had chills the entire concert that’s how good he was. Honestly, if you didn’t see him in Milwaukee or while he is on tour, you are missing out because he is one heck of a musician.
It gets really annoying when you are told constantly by many people, ” Are you so and so’s sister?” ” Do you have a cousin name… you look just like them?” ” Are you related to …?” It gets freakishly annoying because let’s face it, I get those comments at least once a day…. Greattttt. But the one person that I’m told I look like that I never get tired of hearing I look like her: Miranda Lambert.
Miranda Lambert is one of my idols for many reasons:
1. She’s hardcore, let’s face it, she’s more manly than I am in many ways ( and if you know me, I love my trucks and my fishing). She will kick your butt any day if you get in her way.
2. She knew she was different from the start and she continued down that road, when many people would have been afraid of something different in life.
3. When she was picked up by Sony, she said she wanted to write her own songs, and even though it was a big risk, it was one of the best she ever took.
Miranda grew up in Texas, where she would play in small pubs and concerts. Obviously no one really cared about a blonde hair girl singing country because let’s face it, everyone and their grandma was doing in the same thing. However, she was lucky enough to get in a singing competition where she was recognized for her talent and eventually picked up by Sony.
Now, most people think, ” Really, another country artist”. But she is different, from many of the other female artists. For example, she was critized by PETA for hunting, however, she is one of the biggest animal lovers you will ever meet ( I’ve never met her, I just did my reasearch). Now most people would say that is hypocritical, and maybe it is in some ways. But according to Lambert, ” she likes to hunt”. And there are a lot of people out there that hunt and have animals… just look at all the people in Wisconsin. So she sticks to her beliefs and goes with it, no matter what anyone says.
I think one reason why I love her music so much because it is no where close to being “pop country”. If you listen to her songs like “Airstream”, it’s very twangy and almost sounds like older Dolly Parton songs. It’s a good mixture between Brantley Gilbert rock/country and her husband Blake Shelton Twang with a twist of feminine Faith Hill touch to it. She’s a good mixture of what female country artists are/should be about. Most importantly, her music is all about her life , her experiences, her dreams, her thoughts and they all come from her.
In this day in age for a woman, being in the spotlight or just a regular girl like me, it’s very easy to change to society norms and make it so it’s easy on everyone. Because know offense to the men out there, but they are still afraid of strong, powerful women that can stand their own ground. In a way, I’m like Lambert. I stick to my thoughts and my beliefs, and I also stick to being myself and never changing for anyone.
Lately, I’ve been obessed with this song. Making Plans- by Miranda Lambert
I’ve been thinking a lot… I’m always thinking actually. It’s really bugging me out lately. I can’t turn off my brain. Anyway, I was thinking about how music over time has affected my life in good or bad ways. So if I were to write a letter to me at different ages of my life, I think this is how it would goooo.
Dear 4 -year-old me:
You are nothing but a trouble maker. You make your mother’s life a living hell. You can’t sit still and you are the biggest brat ever. Seriously though, you are really cute ( as a kid) and can get away with a lot but stop with the temper freak outs! However, while your dad sits and plays the piano every night, you can’t seem to sit still long enough to actually want to learn anything about the piano… because let’s face it, you were causing trouble like a menace. Eventually though, you are intrigued enough to learn a couple of songs like “Ode to Joy ” but that’s about it.
Dear 8-year-old me:
You are still a little brat. Seriously, grow up already. You seriously have a case of “only child syndrome” , you will find out very soon the world does not revolve around you. While you seriously have a case of hyperness, you begin many sports teams and this is when you truly fall in love with softball. At the same time, you also discover that your uncle plays in the band on Saturday Night Live. He plays the bari saxophone, and you think that is the coolest thing in the world. However, the music education at school won’t let you start playing until middle school, so you start private lessons. At the same time, your dad wants you to play piano so badly. So he tries giving you lessons… epic fail. You are so stubborn you won’t listen to him. But your mom and dad want you to play piano so badly. Eventually you do…
Dear 10-year-old me:
You are naturally talented at playing the saxophone. You just are, so practice until you get really good, because natural talent can get you so far. At the same time, this is when you start taking piano lessons. You struggle a little bit at first, but you are such a go getter, you excel very quickly and you also have a natural talent for piano. You can thank both of your parents for that, they are both musically gifted.
Dear 16-year-old me:
You are finally in high school… doesn’t it suck. You are extremely busy playing on 4 different sports teams, your clubs and activities and of course band and choir and everything with music. Again, you are an over achiever, you need to chill out. But you are super busy because now you have your first paycheck job and your first “real” boyfriend. You will date him for 2 and a half years… probably a year too long if you ask me. But because you are so busy, music and practice seems to be in the back burner. However, this is also the same year you went to state for playing piano. I guess you can juggle it all. Don’t burn yourself out.
Dear 18-year-old me:
You are about to graduate, you stop taking piano lessons because of problems at home. You are about to go to Lawrence University for softball and pre-med… music isn’t really on your mind. Maybe a minor in composition but that’s it. You still like to play piano and saxophone, and you will soon pick up playing guitar, but however, you lose a lot of motivation after being completely burnt out from school, sports and music. For some reason, you always choose sports over music, I don’t know if that is a good or bad thing, even too this day. Your high school band teacher who you deeply appreciate to this day forward is an amazing role model and will tell you that hard work will get you places.
Dear 21-year-old me:
While you try to understand things about life, you take an amazing adventure to Australia, and at this moment in life, music surrounds you and you understand more and more about music and this crazy world. Because at this point, you have transferred to Marquette University and you have amazing professors in the music department that push you . For the first time ever, music fits perfectly into your world.
As of now that is my letter to myself, I don’t know what else to say at this point, but I think these moments in my life have a huge factor as to how music affects me.
If you know me well, you know I get excited over the smallest things. Like seeing an awesome band . Or just meeting new people, or talking to people that are wiser than me. I love things like that in life because I grow and understand more about the world around me. I’m all about growing in life and that’s why I love music so much. Because I feel music is a non-stop process of growing and developing new sounds/vibrations , overall culture and bringing people together.
This past weekend, down in the third ward , the second annual Yellow Phone Conference was taken place. What’s so cool about this music conference are the panels and the undiscovered music. It’s basically a conference where everyone in every part of the industry come to Milwaukee to talk about music, their experience in music and why people just love music. So if you are a music freak like me, and you missed this conference, that’s your loss, because it was awesome and I learned so much and met some pretty amazing people.
What I took from this conference is this: perseverance , patience and practice is key in this industry. Without that, you will probably not succeed. So I’m hoping I can take this idea and run with it. Because like I said, I’m young and dumb and I have a lot to learn, and I’ll take any advice I can get.
There was plenty of good bands at Yellow Phone: But I really like these two bands
I’m so bad keeping up with this blog . I’m sorry about the delay, I can’t keep up due to the fact my job keeps me running around anywhere from 30-50 hours a week… happy labor day to me…
So the new gig I have coming up is Rock the Green.
Rock the Green is an environmentally friendly concert/festival held at Veteran’s Park in Milwaukee, WI. This will be the second Rock the Green, so it is pretty new to the music scene! What makes it so cool and interesting, they turn anything and everything to have less of an impact on the environment. Take for example, Goodwill; Goodwill is one of the sponsors for Rock the Green. They contribute by donating gently used t-shirts and making them into ” Rock the Green” concert t-shirts. So if you have donated an old t-shirt to Goodwill recently, you’ll probably find it at Rock the Green. Another cool thing Rock the Green is doing, this year, it is completely paperless tickets. I don’t have all the details on that, but this is the first concert series I’ve worked/been too that is trying to do it all paperless. Rock the Green is not only eco-friendly, but also locally friendly. Whole foods and other Milwaukee native restaurants will be there to sell local food and beverages.So who’s pumped for great music and saving mother nature! This girl! 🙂
As a concert goer, I went to it last year. It rained and it was 40 degrees outside. But I still had fun, because well I love music. But if you know me, I’m all for a good cause, and I believe that Rock the Green is for the good cause.
This year the following bands will be performing on the main stage:
I’m super excited because I haven’t seen many of these bands live, so it should be an awesome concert. There will also be a side stage for the following bands performing:
As you can see, it’s a pretty good lineup, so I think you should go. If you are interested in going but what to help out,contact me to volunteer at Rock the Green!If you have any other questions, go to www.rockthegreen.com
It’s no surprise that everyone dreams of being an Olympian when they are younger, well let’s face it, I did. I wanted to be part of the ” fab 5″ and be apart of the gymnastics team. That’s great and all.. but I quit gymnastics when I was … six. So I knew my dream was crushed because of that and they got rid of softball and I’m not good enough to compete in any other sport. But what amazes me the most, how some Olympians win ohhh I don’t know 22 medals and become the most decorative Olympian ever. Holy cow!
Michael Phelps is now known as one of the greatest Olympians alive, and he has every right to be and he always has a ton of bragging rights as well. However, the media likes oh I don’t know, make someone look really bad. Take for example I found online:
“In November 2004, at the age of 19, Phelps was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol in Salisbury, Maryland.[198] He pleaded guilty to driving while impaired the following month and was granted probation before judgment and ordered to serve 18 months’ probation, fined $250, obligated to speak to high school students about drinking and driving and had to attend a Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) meeting.[199] Questioned about the incident later that month by Matt Lauer on the Today Show, Phelps said it was an “isolated incident” and that he had “definitely let myself down and my family down … I think I let a lot of people in the country down.”[7]
In February 2009, publication of a photograph of Phelps using a water pipe, a device used for smoking tobacco or marijuana, resulted in the loss of Kellogg as a sponsor, as well as a three-month suspension from USA Swimming. Phelps admitted that the photo, taken at a student party at the University of South Carolina, was authentic. Phelps publicly apologized and said his behavior was “inappropriate” ”
Yes, to say the least he made some mistakes, but at the same time, do we have to hold everyone to a perfect standard? Sure, he should be a role model and maybe should be more careful, I’m not disagree or agreeing with this actions, but give the guy a break, he won 22 Olympian MEDALS! … you try doing that
So if there is one thing I will say: my hat goes off to you MP, you did an amazing job representing our country and you worked your butt off, and you got to where you want to be. That’s something everyone should work towards: being the best.
Alrighty, so I think I’m back on track with my blogs, but knowing me, I’ll lose track again or something will come up in my life. Anyways, a long time ago ( 5 months ago), I had a radio show called ” TheinRadio” … I know, original right? My idea behind this radio show was to create a show that was full of entertainment and education. As much as I love listening to the radio, the industry is required to play certain songs during certain times during the day. Which I understand it’s a business, but my show was to break the idea of “normal” radio. My show was based around not playing single hits. I’m a firm believer that every artist puts songs on their albums for a reason, and they should all be heard. That’s what I was trying to do with my show, was to educate people that music is more than the single or hits. My show didn’t necessarily turn out that way, because I had people give me request and they would be the “hits”. But let’s face it, I was extremely busy and I didn’t have a lot of time to put some of my shows together. But my shows were always based around playing songs that most people have never heard before. Along with not playing singles, I wanted to hit every genre of music, and that didn’t work out either. I didn’t get to jazz or classical music… oops. My main reason for not playing those genres, because people wouldn’t listen to my show, and I wanted people to listen.
So I wasn’t giving music theory lessons or teaching history of music, but I wanted to give people a different perspective of music like many people have given me a different perspectives of my life.Enough babbling, my friends from around the world have truly inspired me in many different ways. Which is why I had two shows based around ” international music”. Now a lot of this music may/ could be mainstream but who would know, because they don’t play their kind of music here.One of my American friends actually told me about this band, and I’ve been hooked ever since. As far as I’m concerned, the First Aid Kit is not “mainstream” here in America, but I’m sure they are picking up speed with fans here for many reasons.
First Aid Kit was a featured band for Vogue Magazine in 2011. According to Vogue, ” Filled with wistful acoustic ballads, it paints a picture of laid-back pastoral whimsy and has the two most important hallmarks of any jaunt into seventies-inspired folk: nimble finger-picking and watertight harmonies. Not to mention the kind of delivery that gives every lyric a Southern twang and trademark Joan Baez–vocal quiver.” I copied and pasted this comment because this is their music in a nutshell. It’s folky-country with a dark side. Their music is very laid back, not very upbeat, but their musical melodies and their lyrics correspond so well together, in a weird way, it makes sense. It’s the Beatles meet Grateful Dead. Maybe I’m wrong, but it’s a different style, different melody, different musical taste, that I’ve come to love very much.
First Aid Kit is a sister duo from Sweden I think will be the next Mumford and Sons. And while I don’t know much about this band, any time I get the chance to, I tell everyone about this band. It’s something that I think a lot of people can listen to, not based on genre of music, but for the love of music.
This is one of their main hits and I actually did play this song on my radio show. But who wouldn’t like this song? I hope you do!
The last day of anything is always bitter sweet. You want something to be over, but once it’s over, it’s almost as if you never had it before. For example, I love my experience in Australia. But the last week of finals, I was extremely homesick. And all I wanted to do was go home. But as soon as I stepped on the airplane, I balled my eyes out because I never wanted to leave in the first place. Literally, I was on the plane just crying and crying. I didn’t stop until about three hours until I reached the airport in LA. I cried more about leaving Australia then I ever did for a guy. Seriously, that is how much I miss that place every day.
Now I wouldn’t say that was my reaction to Country Thunder this year, because let’s face it, if I’m in the state, let alone the country, I will probably go to Country Thunder next year. End of story. However, whenever I’m having a good time, I never want it to end. My last day was to accomplish as many things as possible since I wasn’t successful the first couple of days but, I failed again. I somewhat know one of the bands because I worked with them at Summerfest, so I helped them out instead. But here are my reviews from Country Thunder day 4.
Hunter Hayes: He is very young, which is not an excuse for any musician but I think as time goes on he will get better. He played at Summerfest, and I didn’t see his concert then, but I did see his crowd. It was sure packed, and of course he is the Justin Bieber heartthrob of country music, so go figure it was a packed crowd. From what I saw, he put on a good show. Nothing special, nothing bad just a good show.
Neal McCoy: I actually ran into him backstage… and I didn’t realize it was him! Big Oops… I didn’t say anything bad, but I was talking to him like I would any other person. After he went on stage, I was pretty distracted by everything else… go figure. But from what I heard, he played a lot of cover songs. Nothing against cover songs, they get the crowd going. But over half of his concert was cover songs, I personally think for as long as he has been around, he should play more of his songs.
Brantley Gilbert: He started making it big about 5 years ago, and boy has he made it bigger than ever. Yes I’m a fan of his , but I still have to make my reviews. Which is this, he puts on the good show, the crowd loves him, a lot of people like his music. He is early in his career where he can do a couple of cover songsbut at the same time play a lot of his songs off his albums. Because he is so well liked and people want to see him play, I just wish he would play longer. He has two albums out and I feel like an hour isn’t enough time to play for him because he actually plays his own music. He writes his own music which is why I’m a fan, it’s not just music, it’s his life story.
Toby Keith: I’ve never seen Toby Keith in concert. I’ve always wanted to, I made it a priority to go to Country Thunder to watch him play. Well he didn’t let me down that’s for sure when it comes to the show. He had lights, pyro, he had the works to put on the show. Of course he has the money to put on a show like that, but, he does it because he knows it will put on a good show ( correction, his tour manager and manager probably decided the show details. Besides the point, whoever thought of it, was awesome, it gets the crowd pumped). Again, my biggest compliant is that he is extremely famous, talented, the works, he should play songs that people never hear besides ” red solo cup” . ( Rumor has it that he was a little intoxicated his show, but I didn’t notice). Yes, hits are important to the success of any musician , but that’s not what makes the story behind the musician, it’s the songs that nobody every listens to.
So there you have it, that’s what I thought about Country Thunder this year . Yes, I like country music, but music doesn’t discriminate, I love all types of music. So if you ever want to go to a concert with me, let’s go, I’m always up for an adventure!
Brantley Gilbert: My kind of Crazy
I love this song to death, because I hope one day, not today, but someday I’ll be someone’s kinda crazy.
So basically I missed a ton of concerts at Country Thunder on Thursday and Friday, and I wanted to make up for it on Saturday. So I did my business. I mingled and watched 5 concerts that day. It seems like a lot of work, but I love doing it. Being in the concert setting watching it or being backstage is just amazing to me. I love every minute of it.
The first guy I saw at 1:00pm was Matt Stillwell. I’ve never heard of him, I didn’t even know that name existed until I saw him at Country Thunder. To my surprise, he put a good show. It was very ” out in the sticks country” but he played all of his songs and he explained why he wrote each song. Even though he was playing to an audience of 50 people, he was still acting like he was the headlining act. Which to me says a lot about a musician, and with that being said, I would rather go see him than pay to see Big & Rich again. It wasn’t forced, it was natural, and it was good music. Not the best performance, but it was all instruments, a lot of heart and a lot of country.
Casey James came to Summerfest this year. I didn’t get to catch his concert at Summerfest which is why I made the effort to go see him. At first, I had very skeptical thoughts going to his concert. He was the runner up of American Idol and all that jazz, so I thought ” great, another one of these guys”. Boy was I wrong. This guy can WALLLLLLLLLE on his guitar. I was so impressed with his playing skills and the way he and his band played together. It was definitely not another “American Idol ” contestant. He is an artist, and a good one at that. I was very, very impressed.I would pay to see him again.
Aaron Lewis and Easton Corbin: I’m putting these two together because I have the same thoughts for both of them. They didn’t really put on a show. I actually sat down when both of them were playing… I started to fall asleep. Not because it was bad, but it was so mellow, it really wasn’t a concert. I think they both have talent singing and playing wise but as a show, not so much.
Now Blake Shelton knows how to put on a show. He is one talented dude. I first heard his music when I was 11 or 12… I can’t remember. I heard ” Ol’ Red” on the radio and I’ve been hooked ever since…and now so is my mom because she loves ” The Voice”. But I’ve heard from many people that he is awesome to work with, and it shows in his performance. I was back stage for his concert and the way he interacts with his band is awesome. He’s just a natural at it. My biggest compliant again ( and this is for most headliners), he has so many albums, why can’t he just play more of his songs that people don’t ever hear. Otherwise, if you ever get to see him in concert, please go see him, he’s awesome live.
Overall, I think Saturday I was really happy with how most of the shows went. None of them were “bad”, but everyone could work on something to improve themselves as an artist .Everyone, in any industry, including myself, could improve on something everyday. 🙂
The Thein Way to Live 