Opinion Post

          *Strictly opinion, don’t read if you don’t care for it*

          Nirvana has always been a favorite band of mine. I really enjoy all the emotion and rawness to their music. Unfortunately most people that say they like Nirvana do not actually listen to the band and they may have heard Smells Like Teen Spirit, About a Girl, or Heart-Shaped Box once or twice. Also, most people that showcase their ‘enjoyment’ of Nirvana through band merchandise only wear the shirts because they look cool or to look cool. I have been accused of this when I got my first Nirvana shirt in my junior year of high school. I was screamed at by someone who claimed that I didn’t even listen to the band and that Kurt would hate me for wearing it (She was convinced that she had spoken to him on many occasions, but he was dead when she was born). I understand the grief of people wearing band merch and saying that they like a band in order to be relevant, but before jumping someone people need to check their facts. I hate it just as much as everyone else when people wear band shirts that they only bought because it looks cool or to make people think they listen to those bands, but unless you know for a fact that they don’t then don’t confront them on it because you don’t know. Please don’t wear band merch if you don’t truly like the band. THIS GOES FOR ALL BANDS!

          This was sort of a rant, but I couldn’t add it to the actual Nirvana blog as it is for a grade. 

Nirvana

         Nirvana is a band that was formed in 1987 and was alternative-rock and grunge. The band was actively producing music up until 1994. The band was formed by lead singer and guitarist, Kurt Cobain, and bassist Krist Novoselic in ’87. Throughout the first three years the band went through multiple drummers before Dave Grohl became the bands longest lasting drummer who stayed until the band eventually broke up. The circumstances of the break-up were not ordinary as Kurt Cobain was going through drug abuse and eventually went to rehab after his wife found him unresponsive in his hotel room on March 4, 1994.  His heroin addiction had come back into play and after an intervention from his loved ones he was convinced to go to rehab. He eventually escaped from the rehabilitation center and went back to Seattle (where the band resided). Cobain was found dead a week later with a possibly self-inflicted gun-shot wound to his head. There is speculation that Cobain took his own life, but there are also speculations that his wife, Courtney Love, shot him (I am not saying either is true, it is all speculation!)

         In the early years of the band, they went through many different names ranging from “Skid Row”, “Bliss”, and “Ted Ed Fred”. The band released their first single and album in 1988 and it was a big success. Their first national tour soon followed. As the band toured and became more popular, the decided to start writing songs for their second album. In an interview before the second release Cobain informed fans about their music’s change. "The early songs [from Bleach] were really angry ... But as time goes on the songs are getting poppier and poppier as I get happier and happier. The songs are now about conflicts in relationships, emotional things with other human beings" Of course the music that Nirvana released over the years would never be classified as pop.

         Dave Grohl soon took his place as the bands drummer and they released their second album, Nevermind, in 1990. The band has produced many albums such as Extended Plays Blew (1989) and Hormoaning (1992), albums Bleach, Nevermind, In Utero, Incesticide, and Icon amongst other compilation albums. They have also released live albums such as MTV Unplugged in New York, From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah, and Live at Reading.

          Nirvana’s three studio albums as well as their EP’s were released before Cobain’s untimely death, but only the MTV Unplugged in New York was released prior in regards to live albums.
*This blog was supposed to be much longer, but I didn't want to add my opinion as they are pretty controversial*

Go check out my next blog post here: Opinion Post for more on Nirvana 

All Time Low

All Time Low is an American (Even though Alex is technically British and Jack is Lebanese) pop-punk band that formed while they were in high school. The band consists of Jack Barakat on guitar, Zack Merrick on vocals and bass guitar, Rian Dawson on drums, and last but certainly not least especially in my heart Alex Gaskarth on lead vocals and guitar. In 2003 the four teens from a suburb of Baltimore, Maryland started to cover famous pop-punk bands. In 2004, the band was signed to their first record deal and made their first EP (Extended Play), The Three Words to Remember in Dealing with the End, which had four songs.

Their first studio album, The Party Scene, came out in July 2005. The following year the band graduated from high school after landing a different record deal with Hopeless Records. In July of 2006 the band released their second EP, Put Up or Shut Up, which the guys had a tour for before starting their second album. So Wrong, It’s Right was released after All Time Low went on Vans Warped Tour and opened for the Plain White T’s in the UK. The album debuted at number 62. After the release the band was off on tour again. Throughout 2008 the band hit up their own headlining tours as well as support tours such as The Manwhores and Open Sores Tour (Headliner), AP Tour (Co-headliner), The Shortest Tour Ever (Headliner), The Compromising of Integrity, Morality & Principles in Exchange for Money Tour (Headliner), Vans Warped Tour (Support), and they also played the Give It A Name Festival.

Nothing Personal, All Time Low’s third album was released in July of ’09, five months after the albums first single, Weightless. Nothing Personal debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 and sold 63,000 copies worldwide. Rolling off the success of the third album, All Time Low was off on tour once more. Between 2009 and 2010 they supported Fall Out Boy on their Belivers Never Die Part Duex Tour, headlined Vans Warped Tour, Voodoo Experience 2009, The Glamour Kills Tour 2009, Kerrang! Relentless Tour 2010, The Bamboozle Roadshow 2010, and The My Small Package Tour. Between that time they also toured Japan, the United Kingdom, Japan, Australia, and America. During a New York tour date they recorded the concert and released Straight to DVD in May of 2010. Amidst the many tours and festivals the band signed another record label under Interscope records, and also recorded a song for the 2009 Jennifer’s Body called Toxic Valentine as well as a song for the 2010 Alice in Wonderland called Painting Flowers.

After the leak of demos for their first album they announced that they were in fact releasing Dirty Work, their fourth album, in June 2011.  Before the album’s release the band toured for the album. They also took part in The Gimme Summer Ya Love Tour, The Rise and Fall of My Pants Tour, and a Canadian tour with Marianas Trench and These Kids Wear Crowns.

After a UK tour, All Time Low parted ways with Interscope and released The Reckless and the Brave in May of 2012. The band later admitted to signing back with Hopeless Records. They soon released their fifth studio album, Don’t Panic, which was re-released later with lost B-sides called Don’t Panic: It’s Longer Now! Another round of tours commenced and they were a part of Vans Warped Tour, Rockshow at the End of the World, and also tours in the UK, Europe and Australia.

Today All Time Low is touring Australia for Soundwave. They just recently finished the UK leg of their Future Hearts Tour and are going to continue the tour after their return to the states. Their sixth album, Future Hearts, is set to release on April 7, 2015. Their first single off the album is Something’s Gotta Give which was released in their newest music video.

All Time Low is one of my FAVORITE bands! I love all their music and I could honestly listen to them all day and never get tired of them. I am SOOO excited to be going to see them in 82 days and I hope that I can somehow meet them after because it would mean the world to me! I would recommend listening to this band because I think they are really amazing musicians. I would also like to say a huge congratulations to Alex and his new fiancée, Lisa Ruocco, I hope that you two live happily ever after! *cries internally* 

Fall Out Boy

        Fall Out Boy is an American pop-punk band that formed in 2001, originating from Illinois. The band is also classified as pop-rock and alternative-rock. Fall Out Boy was formed by original members Pete Wentz and Joe Trohman as a pop-punk side project for the two. Patrick Stump was originally going to join as the drummer, but was urged to bring his acoustic guitar instead. Not long after the band played their first performance at DePaul University and after heavy debate over what the band would be called the name Fall Out Boy finally took its rightful place.

The band has gained and lost many members such as T.J. Kunasch who played guitar between 2001 and 2002, Brandon Hamm who played guitar for a short time in 2002, Ben Rose who was the original drummer in 2001, and Mike Pareskuwicz who took over for Rose until 2003. Today the band consists of Drummer Andy Hurley who took over in 2003, guitarist Joe Trohman, bassist Pete Wentz, and lead vocalist, pianist, and guitarist Patrick Stump.

         In 2003, Fall Out Boy released their first album titled Take This To Your Grave. The band did well with their debut album and built a quite a following. In mid-2005 the band released their seconds album titled, From Under The Cork Tree, which debuted at number nine on the Billboard 200. Later in 2007 the band released their third album, Infinity on High, which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. The next year prior to the release of their fourth studio album, Folie à Deux, the band released a live album titled, Live in Phoenix, which they recorded on one of their June dates of the Honda Civic Tour in Phoenix.

         Folie à Deux debuted on the Billboard 200 at number eight, shortly followed by their Believers Never Die Tour Part Deux. The tour concluded at Madison Square Garden in October 2009, which began Fall Out Boy’s three-year hiatus. The time apart helped the band greatly in finding themselves and even gave them the chance to pursue music in different ways. The band did NOT break-up, they simply took a break away from each other the do other things (Both musical and non-musical).

         Pete and Patrick got together for the first time in years for a writing session in 2012. Both members had been going through a rough patch and both needed a creative outlet. "I know what you need – you need your band," Pete said to Patrick and thus the mingling of the band members came together once more. "I think it's kind of weird that we haven't really seen each other this year. We paid for each other's houses and you don't know my kid," Wentz remarked.

         After pounding out two or three songs that they didn’t like the two decided that the band needed to make a comeback. "We didn't want to come back just to bask in the glory days and, like, and collect a few checks and pretend ... and do our best 2003 impersonation," Patrick informed. This is why after reconvening with the band in late 2012 they made the album, Save Rock and Roll, which was released in February, 2013. The band wanted to reinvent themselves and change their sound completely which now focuses more on pop. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. The new album, like most others, but unlike most albums with a few singles and corresponding music videos, the band took a completely new approach and made the Young Blood Chronicles (Click here to watch the full chronicles). All eleven songs from the SRAR album was made into a music video which showcased the band members saving music from evil. Once all the music videos are put together they come out to be an hour long between the eleven songs.

The band followed their comeback album with the Save Rock and Roll Tour and the band released the single Centuries for their latest album. American Beauty/American Psycho was released in January 2015 and debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. Fall Out Boy continues to write music and are preparing for their The Boys of Zummer Tour which will be going around the states in June and August.

Sleeping With Sirens

Sleeping with Sirens is an American band that is in the genres post-hardcore, alternative rock, emo, and pop punk. The members currently reside in Grand Rapids, Michigan but are originally from Orlando, Florida. The band consists of lead singer Kellin Quinn, drummer Gabe Barham, bassist Justin Hills, lead guitarist Jack Fowler, and rhythm guitarist Nick Martin. The band is currently signed to Epitaph Records but were previously signed to Rise Records. 

The band was formed in 2009 when the members of For All We Know, Paddock Park and Broadway came together to form Sleeping With Sirens. The band is still going strong today as they prepare the release of their new album, Madness, despite the problems that they have faced in the past. Sleeping With Sirens has their fair share of skeletons in the closet as they have many former members. 

Former members include Brian Calzini (vocals), Dave Aguliar (rhythm guitar), Paul Russell (bass), Alex Kaladjian (drums), Brandon McMasters (lead guitar), Nicke Trombino(rhythm guitar), and Jesse Lawson(rhythm guitar). Brian Calzini left the band in 2009 as well as Dave Aguliar, Paul Russell, and Alex Kaladjian. With the need of a rhythm guitarist, bassist and drummer the band took on Nick Trambino, Justin Hills (current), and Gabe Barham (current). Shortly after in 2010 lead guitarist Brandon McMasters and rhythm guitarist Nick Trambino left the band and were replaced by Jack Fowler (current) and Jesse Lawson. Jesse Lawson remained in the band until 2013 when he left to spend time with his family who was then replaced by Nick Martin (current). 

Over the years the band has released three full-length albums as well as an acoustic EP. Their first album was With Ears to See and Eyes to Hear in March 2010. The album debuted at number 7 on Billboard’s Top Heatseekers chart, and at number 36 on Top Independent Albums. After the release of the first two singles in May 2011 the band released their second album, Let’s Cheers to This. Rolling off the success of their first two albums, the band released an acoustic EP called If You Were a Movie, This Would Be Your Soundtrack in October 2012.

         The bands success was taking notice of many people and they took a slot in Vans Warped Tour on Kia’s main stage in 2013 after the release of their third album, Feel. Later that year the band announced their first headlining tour, The Feel This Tour. Supporting acts consisted of Memphis May Fire, Breathe Carolina, Issues, and Our Last Night. 

         Sleeping With Sirens is currently on The World Tour with Pierce The Veil and the fans are awaiting the release of their new album, Madness, on May 17, 2015.  

         Sleeping With Sirens is hands down one of my favorite bands and I could listen to their discography all day every day and never get sick of them. Of course I don’t do that because I have too many favorite bands to listen to only one for my whole life. 

         I wish more than anything to see them in concert, but The World Tour came nowhere close to Buffalo, which pains me because I love Pierce The Veil too (another one of my favorite bands). I hope that SWS makes music for a long time because they are truly amazing musicians. Plus Kellin is Bae!

A Bit About Me

I love music and while I do enjoy almost all genres of music (excluding most rap and all country) I most specifically like songs with electric guitars, bass guitars, and killer drums. 

My favorite bands are All Time Low, Sleeping With Sirens, Fall Out Boy, Panic! At the Disco, Pierce the Veil, Aerosmith, 5 Seconds of Summer, and The 1975. This is a few of my FAVORITES. All these bands are my favorites because I have more than one. The rest of the bands I enjoy are simply bands I like. (Yes it is possible to have more than one favorite bands *cough* Dad *cough*)

I could spend the rest of my life listening to music without getting tired of it and I live for concerts. I am actually going to see All Time Low in 85 days and I'm SO excited to go see them for the first time! I’ve also had the honor of seeing Aerosmith/Motley Crue, 5 Seconds of Summer(3), Ed Sheeran, Nirvana, One Direction(3), and Boys Like Girls live in concert. The other concerts I’ve gone to are not particularly ones I went to willingly such as The Wanted, Big Time Rush, Cody Simpson, Jonas Brothers, Midnight Red, and 5^th Harmony (I was about to shoot myself, it was the worst experience of my life). 

It’s not like I’m opposed to pop music because I enjoy some artists that are more pop than anything else, but I don’t like how most pop music has no guitars or drums. One Direction for example have a lot of guitars and drums their backtracks and they also travel on tour with a concert band that plays their instruments live. 

I mostly like Rock, Punk, Grunge, Metal, and some Screamo. I would say that pop-punk is my favorite genre because it integrates the messages and instruments of punk music. Which is why I enjoy 5 Seconds of Summer, All Time Low, Fall Out Boy and Sleeping With Sirens (Some of their songs are pop-ish. 

That's just a bit about the music I enjoy and I hope that after reading my blog you discover new bands or you see some things from a different perspective if you have speculations about certain bands. Also, leave me suggestions of bands that you think that I might like!

This blog does include my opinion, it should no way effect your thoughts on any of the bands written about. I will try not to get too controversial with my opinions, but some bands are controversial.