Personal Blog

Inspiration strikes!

This year my suitemate Jon got a TiVo for his birthday. We used it a lot and I realized that there are a handful of shows each week that I don’t want to miss. The Daily Show, Scrubs, 24, Viva La Bam, and a few other gems. The thing is, I won’t be living with Jon next year so I will no longer have access to the wonderful little TV-bot known as TiVo. This desparation for a proper DVR has inspired me to have a very clever idea. I don’t have the money to buy a TiVo box and the expensive subscription fee – I’m workin’ for a living here.
Instead of buying a Tivo and paying monthly fees, I have decided to use my ridiculously out of control mental genius to… build my own TiVo! All I need is an older PC with a decent hard drive, and a TV capture PCI card. I wondered for days what PC I could use – an old one from the computer lab I work in that we don’t really use anymore? Should I buy one on craigslist? Should I build one? After a few days, I realized… “Hey, why not just use Molly’s mom’s old PC that I gutted and built her a new one from?” So I went over to her apartment and took the old box (and she was very happy to see it go). It has almost everything I need. An ok but sort of small-ish hard drive, a Pentium III, decent motherboard, etc. Now all I need is the TV tuner card. I’ve done a bunch of research, talked to my boss who has a TV tuner card, and I’ve picked the Hauppage WinTV 150. It’s very midrange in price, it’s pretty good quality, and it doesn’t have lots of extra features – it’s what I need for this, no more no less. I talked to Molly and she is very excited to have this homemade TiVo, or as I call it, “GhetTiVo” at our fingertips next year. Since the PC we’re using is an ugly HP biege box, I decided we should paint it or cover it with stickers or something. After some brainstorming, Molly and I decided that she would paint some Homestar Runner characters on it (she’s a great artist). We’re still not sure exactly which characters, but probably Homestar and Homsar. We’ll see. No matter what we paint on the sides, this GhetTiVo is going to rock. It’s far less expensive and far more flexible than a normal TiVo, and I can always take out any part and upgrade it in the future… assuming I win the lottery or something.

If any generous soul out there wants to help me get any parts, especially the TV tuner card, please check out my wishlist. Thanks Gees! I’ll have a post with the drive home from school very soon, with pictures from the road!

Listening to: Bottom Line – Follow Me

Wow, what a week. Lots and lots of big news. First of all, the 22nd was my birthday and it was a lot of fun. I rounded up about 20 of my friends and we all went down to 16th Street Mall and had a party at ESPNZone. I realized that I have a bunch of different groups of friends who don’t know each other, so I invited them all to come meet together and play. It was a lot of fun. I’ve never really drank before, so it was a big event in terms of that – everyone came to watch the lightweight get tipsy. The party was a blast – we had a big dinner and then played a bunch of arcade games and what not. During dinner, Matty and Drew were in charge of ordering me drinks. Based on my taste and alcohol content criteria, they got me a Sex on the Beach and a Strawberry Daquiri… and somehow a shot of Raspberry Vodka got slipped in there. I drank all three in about an hour, and didn’t feel a thing. I swear. I was a tiny bit lightheaded, but besides that I felt completely normal. I wasn’t stumbling around saying stupid things, or slurring, or anything. They tried to order me more but I said I was done. I didn’t really like any of the drinks, I just did it to make everybody happy. It was a really fun night, but I don’t plan on drinking more – it’s just not my thing. Whatever.
For the last few weeks I have been setting up getting To The Rescue to perform in May Daze, a big on-campus music festival with DU and Denver bands. I got us scheduled to play this Wednesday, called Jinji the bassist 3 times to make sure he was free to play it, and I was all ready to start passing out flyerson campus asking people to come. I went to talk to Jonny and Jon about when we needed to practice on Saturday to get ready, and Jonny told me that he didn’t want to play the show at all. This was pretty surprising to me since we just spent a bunch of time and money recording a new demo, and now he didn’t even want to play a little show on campus. I asked why he seemed so unenthusiastic about band stuff and he told me that he no longer had any motivation to continue doing any To The Rescue music. He said he’s sick of the genre and wants to maybe get into indie/emo type stuff, and that I don’t have the experience or skillset to expand our style. He said he’s happy teaching music lessons as a career and really doesn’t care about making a career out of writing music. Also, he and Pat said that they wouldn’t play May Daze (which was scheduled about 5 days after we had this talk) and that we’d have to back out… even after all the work I did to get us into the concert. Jonny said he didn’t want to tell me about not wanting to continue with To The Rescue because he didn’t want to let me down. Jon and Pat agreed with him. So, there you have it, folks. My bandmates are bored of the music we’re making and so they’re done. I am definitely not finished with this, and now I’m on a quest to find kids who are actually dedicated to making great music. I can’t wait. I’m already in the process of teaming up with a professional instrumental pop writer to write lyrics and do demos for big pop artists and make some serious money. Details as they happen.
Finally, Molly and I went to see Zebrahead last night, and they rocked the house. They have a new lead singer, Matty, and he was really cool. We got to the show early and sold the tickets I had bought a few weeks ago before I was put on the guest list. We talked to Matty for a while and he was a really nice guy, very eager to get up on stage and prove himself to the Zebrahead fans. I’ve seen Zebrahead 5 times, emailed back and forth with almost everyone in the band, and talked to each of them at length whenever I saw them. I didn’t even have to approach them to get a “Hey Peet, what’s up man? How you been?” from each member of the group. I’m also buddies with Jeff the merch guy and he hooked Molly and I up with a half-price discount on tshirts, and gave Molly a free tanktop. The show rocked and we chatted with all 5 Zebrahead members afterwards. I got some great pictures, rocked out in the mosh pit a little, and did a stagedive during the last song of the encore. Rock.

Listening to: Zebrahead – Photographs (new demo)

Lots of news! First of all, I’m going to give all you lucky Gees a sneak peek at the new tracks from To The Rescue!
We recorded all day last Saturday and Sunday. Saturday was at studio #1 and we all played together, but did tracking on the drums and bass. Drums was done at the first studio because they sound much better there than at the second studio, and bass because Jinji couldn’t come on Sunday. So the next day we layed down the guitars and one track of vocals. I was the last person to go and it was getting late at night and we couldn’t stay forever so I didn’t have time to do doubled vocals, or harmonies, or layering, or anything. The vocals are pretty thin right now, and we haven’t really mixed (set volumes of different instruments at different parts of each song) so it’s all a rough draft until we go back into the studio and mix and master.

You can check out the new stuff here: To The Rescue on Purevolume

Last night I went to see New Found Glory at the Gothic Theater. They of course kicked major ass, and played a really long set… almost 2 hours. I’ve got a ton of pictures, but I’ve got to sort through them and pick out a few good ones (most are blurry due to the amount of rocking out going on) and I’ll post them.

On a much more important note… FRIDAY IS MY BIRTHDAY!! Hell yeah… the big 21. I’m assembling a big group of friends and we’re going to ESPNZone for dinner and general chaos. It’s gonna be a blast, and I should come home with a lot of pictures.

If you want to get me something from my wishlist or donate money, I won’t be mad at you… I promise. Birthday post coming soon!

Listening to: Bottom Line – Nevertheless

Hey folks, great to be here… I just came in from Sin City and boy are my eyes tired.

The action-drenched, over the top, film-noir-on-steroids story jumps off the screen and holds your eyes open so you don’t miss a moment of it’s stunning visual effects. We’ve all seen the previews – the highly stylized, dark alley feel of the movie is used to reel you in. Once you’ve gotten used to that (which you can’t, it’s just too damn cool), you start to realize what an overall great film this is. I don’t have time to write a whole long review about all three storylines and each actor’s performance and everything because I’m going to bed, but I can tell you this.

Bruce Willis could not have been a better pick for his role. The honest cop with the heart of gold who opens and closes the story was a great hero and had you rooting for him from the opening sequence.
Clive Owen delivered his ridiculously cheesey but undeniably cool lines without flinching, all the while keeping a stone cold face with just a hint of desparate romantic hidden underneath.
Mickey Rourke kicked an absolutely ridiculous amount of ass. This dude was regulating left and right. An absolutely brilliant hero/anti-hero played to perfection by a very talented actor. He had the best one-liners of anyone in the film.
Finally, Elijah Wood is a crazy ninja rapist cannibal. Can you possibly ask for more?

To The Rescue is recording our new EP all weekend, so I should have 3 new streaming songs for all you Gees to feast your ears upon sometime on Sunday night. Stay tuned…

Listening to: To The Rescue – Bottle Rocket acoustic (I’m writing harmonies with Molly)

today in telecommunications class my teacher moved his hand back a bit to far and banged it on the printer behind him, and immediately turned to the printer and said “excuse me.” like he got in it’s way.

no one laughed but me.

Lots of band news! We played a big headlining show at the Oriental Theatre last Saturdya, and we played ten times better than our first show. We rocked the place, and everyone loved it… especially me. We’ve rewritten all of the guitar parts for every song, and changed a lot of vocals too. Everything is waaaay better than how it started, and I couldn’t be happier! So that’s that, but I have two much more important pieces of To The Rescue information. We’re playing a Battle of the Bands at the Aztlan Theater on March 12. I actually had to move my flight home(for spring break) from the 12th to the 13th so I could play the show, and the ticket switch is costing me $140 – so donations to the g27 fund would be greatly appreciated right now. Anyway, we can’t wait to play that, because we could win 10 hours of free recording tme and that means a new EP should soon be ready! It would be insanely cool to record for free, as usually recording is very expensive.
Speaking of recording EPs, if we don’t win the free studio time, we’re going to be recording in a studio with a friend of our friend Paul’s who is named Bill Douglass and has coproduced and recorded with Smashing Pumpkins, Incubus, Lit, R. Kelly, Static X, NSYNC, the list goes on. He had a big studio in LA but moved away because he hated the scene, and built a nice studio in Colorado Springs. He said we could record with him for $30/hour, which is an insanely low price for his services. Either way, we’re going to have a kick ass EP soon. I think I might title it “Play Grounded”. I’d appreciate your comments on what comes to mind when you hear that in context of a punk album.

Listening to: Graham Colton Band – Morning Light

Found hound!

Molly and I went to Cherry Creek Mall to walk around a bit, and on our way home we saw a little dog running around under a bus stop bench and in the busy street right next to our dorm. Molly dropped me off at the dorm and I ran back to go see if the puppy was ok. There was no owner around, and the dog was freezing cold, shaking, and covered with mud. I got her to come near me and I called the owner’s number on her collar – no answer… I left a message. I took her inside and kept her warm at the Towers front desk until the owner finally called back and told me she was on her way to get her. Riley the Beagle and I played at the desk for about half an hour until her owner came. Whenever I moved away a little to answer my phone she’d climb up on me! The owner was very thankful and happy to have her pup back. I on the other hand, am covered with dog hair and mud.
Oh yeah, that picture up there is awful because it was taken on my phone, so .

Listening to: My homemade “5 State Drive” by Less Than Jake ringtone from the owner calling me

Last week I went to see my friend MacKenzie’s band play at this sick club downtown. She plays viola in a rap group – they’re pretty cool. First on the stage was this awesome funk/rock/hip hop band called Bop Skizzum. They rocked! I was waaaay impressed and they got the dance floor movin’ like crazy. I was right up front groovin’ with MacKenzie and Marcella, and between songs the lead singer would tell everyone that I was his new favorite dancer because I was breakin’ it down. I mean, what can I say… I had a good time. They were really good and I wanted the CD but had no cash. I’ll get it from Kenz soon. Her group was really good too, and the rappers were very clever and funny. They did a song about Super Mario to the melodies in the games. An excellent time was had by all. Yay for Bop Skizzum and yay for The Flobots!
On Friday we had an amazing band practice. Jinji our bassist was there and we reworked almost all of our songs and changed up the guitars, wrote new parts, and changed the vocals a little bit in the new one. We’re working on a song I wrote called “I Don’t Miss You (And I Mean That In A Good Way)” – it’s the first song I’ve written that’s angry. I scream on it, and it sounds pretty badass. I can’t wait to record it, and all the other new songs we’re working on. We’re so much better than we were when we recorded the demo!
Speaking of band news, I have plenty. We’re playing a headlining show at the Oriental Theatre on the 19th of this month, and we have just been invited and confirmed to play in the Battle of the Bands on March 12th at the Aztlan Theatre!! The band with the most fan votes gets $500 and gets to play in the final battle this summer for a chance at $3000. Also, there will be judges on the 12th who pick the overall most talented band, and they win free studio time. I don’t know how many people we’ll be able to get there, because that’s the first day of our spring break. My flight home was originally home, but I had to switch it to the 13th so I can play the Battle, and moving the ticket cost me $140. I’m not happy about that, but I guess it’s worth it to get our name out there.
More good news! My internet radio show, Peety’s Playhouse, will most likely be coming back very soon. The KVDU station was down for a while but it’s currently being rebuilt and a new server is being put in place. Stay tuned!

Listening to: Cut Chemist and Chali 2na – Comin Thru

Ah, crap!

My freaking cell phone’s hinge snapped off. I did some research and found out that Treo 300s are notorious for doing this and the warranty isn’t good anymore. I also can’t enroll in the Sprint Equipment Replacement program, because it’s too late! What the f? F you, you a-hes! S on a big d!

Crap. Well, I’ve gotta get a new cell phone, and minor donations would be greatly appreciated. Thanks guys. I’ll post soon.

Listening to: Chronophonic – Breakfast for Dinner

It feels great to be back in Denver after my long winter break. Break included a bit of work downtown in the Hancock tower, and a lot of mischief with my friends and chillin’ at home playing Tony Hawk and Prince of Persia. Hell yeah – it was a great break… I got to relax, make some money, see everyone, and play with my pup a lot. Huzzah. The drive back to Denver was long as boring as it always is, but I stocked up on standup comedy albums and America: The Book as mp3s so I had stuff to listen to almost all the way here.
I have yet to completely unpack all my stuff – I still have a duffel bag full of warm stuff in my closet that I haven’t opened yet. I need to go to Target and buy some hangers! But enough nonsense – I have a few little fun updates.
Drewbot and I went up to Keystone last weekend and I was a bit worried that my riding would be really rusty because I hadn’t been able to go since the middle of last season when the nose of my board clipped a rock as I was going off a jump and split my board the long way so I had to get it repaired. A very unfortunate incident. We got there right when it opened, hit the slopes, and everything was fine. I was toeside carving like a pro(ha! I suck.) and my board seemed extremely stable. We had a sick time and every time we hit even the smallest kicker, we’d go “Dude you got like 13 feet of air!”. Good times – plus I drove us up to the mountains for the first time I’ve ever been able to. It’s really cool – about half of it is totally downhill so we coasted going around 65mph for about 10 miles… and I don’t mean cruise control. My foot was off the gas and break the whole time. What a gas saver!
On a more fun note, Happy New Year to all you Gees who love this site, read it regularly, tell your friends, or contribute. You rock my face off. I hope you had a good New Year’s Eve – mine went from average to extraordinary. A bunch of us were hangin’ out in Molly and Kellie’s room, just talking and playing some SNES Mario. GOOD game. 5…4…3…2…1…HAPpy New Year! Yay… not that big of a deal. The night seemed kind of anticlimactic. We went up to the 10th floor (mine) and watched 3 different sets of fireworks in the city, but we couldn’t see them that well. Suddenly Kellie said “I have bottle rockets…” and EVERYONE turned to her at the same moment and we all DASHED down to her room and got them all…. and someone grabbed a huge pump-a-kin left over from Halloween. We all went out into the middle of the street and stuck the bottle rockets into the pumpkin and launched them out of it – like candles on top of a birthday cake. When we were all out of rockets, someone said “Let’s smash the pumpkin!” and everyone got excited until I said “Let’s NOT smash the pumpkin…. let’s… impale it onto that street sign!” And everybody started cheering and dancing around. We cut a long slit in the side of pumpy and picked up a kid on our shoulders… and whatdya know? It worked perfectly. It’s been 5 days and it’s still there, most likely frozen to the sign by now (it’s been about 10 degrees and snowing for the past few days).
Well, I hear Jonny playing the riff of a new song I’m writing, so I better go work on the melody for it.

Listening to: Hawk Nelson – 36 Days