Knocks Knocks!

Who's there?

From the Underground!

Hahahaha.

So... my life has been taken over. My apologies to From KY to NY, but a new blog has entered my life and is way more demanding. Knocks from the Underground, an online music magazine focusing on local, "underground" music, is actually happening.

For those of you who don't know the story, about two years ago, Will Bryant and Dave Buivid put together a compilation of rock songs by Boston musicians and entitled it, "Knocks from the Underground: The Best of Underplayed Boston." They also hosted a huge show in the Middle East downstairs and it was a ton of fun. I actually wrote one of my first published articles for that concert, a show preview published in The Phoenix online. But the point is, the CD was a big hit and everyone was happy.

Then about a year later, Will contacted me regarding helping him with an online music mag (going by the same name) that would cover local, emerging artists. He lived in San Francisco at the time, so I was going to head up the New York site, he was going to head up the San Fran site and others friends would focus on L.A. and Boston. We actually wrote reviews and sent them to each other to revise, and then Will found a company willing to create the site! We designed a logo (see below) and a layout of the web page, and then got involved in other endeavors and awaited the news from the company.

My other endeavors involved The Deli, as many of you know. I was writing regularly for the blog and the printed edition, but in two of my blog entries I noticed changes the editor added in that were actually grammatically incorrect (by little ways, i.e. missing punctuation marks, etc). I didn't comment on them because they were small and online, but then a printed edition came out with a feature article I wrote about a band named "Semi-Precious Weapons." I spent two hours interviewing them and almost ten hours slaving away on this article, only to have the editor leave out a byline (meaning nowhere on the article did it say, "By: Becky Firesheets") and make multiple changes that were either incorrect or just flat out cheesy. He made two changes that had wrong punctuation or an incorrect tense, and made three changes using punctuation that is technically correct but is typically reserved for informal speaking. He also added in three incredibly cheesy lines, taking out my original ending and adding in a quote I already used later on in the article.

Needless to say, I was quite upset. The editor is a VERY cool guy -- really chill and creative and in general good people. His heart is for sure in the right place, and he's a musician who just wants to support local music. But as an editor, he doesn't pay close attention to details and therefore misses quite a few mistakes in his own edits and in his writers' work that make the publication look second rate (and English is his second language). He's very overworked and generally follows a different ethic than I would take as a journalist and editor. So after multiple email exchanges, we kind of settled on a realization that he does things differently than I would but that he wanted me to keep writing for him and would try to be "more sensitive to my needs."

This is when I realized I am very capable of running my own online magazine and really, really want to.

I contacted Will and it turns out that as a result of the current economic crisis, the company that was creating our site had to delay the project in order to focus on a more important client because they lost some big job and needed money. Will and I decided to take this into our own hands and make it happen at the pace we wanted.

And this is when Knocks took over my life. Since this conversation about a month ago, we have both been working hardcore on making this happen. Meanwhile, Will was also moving from San Francisco to New York, so he kinda had to focus on that. But now he's here and we're hitting the New York site with gusto. I posted an ad on craigslist for writers and received twenty responses, we have a photography team, we have a fundraising show scheduled for January 3rd, and we've already created the blog version which will be ready to launch in about two weeks. The actual site will launch in 5-6 months, and we are working hard to organize everything and get it all ready. Obviously I'll keep you updated.

Just to be clear, here is the main mission of our mag:

We want to cover the "underground," focusing solely on up-and-coming and independent artists, or basically anyone who hasn't yet hit the mainstream. We don't want to cover music news regarding bands like Modest Mouse, but rather review acts like Akudama or Teedo or The Woes. It is a bit of a sliding scale and highly subjective, but a good rule of thumb would be to ask, would any other site be reviewing this show or album?

We are also trying to fill a gap on a local level. This is not to say our writers will be limited to reviewing local acts only, but they will limit themselves to reviewing acts who are playing in local, small venues and being supported by local artists. The goal of the site is to act as a resource for New Yorkers to learn of new, up-and-coming bands. We want to help the local bands who we think are amazing but are only playing to 50-150 people a show.

The site will consist of all types of articles, including band briefs, full album reviews, full live reviews, features (with interviews!) and venue blurbs. I think it will be totally cool and will actually appeal to people because nothing like it exists. I mean, The Deli also covers local music but I don't see it as competition but rather as they are covering the local scenes in their way and us in our way, and hopefully we can collaborate somehow. Then there are publications like Pitchfork, but that's on a much wider, broader scale. I think this has serious potential!

I am completely excited.

If you want to write or contribute in any other way, please email me. In the meantime, stay tuned.

Overweight at 24? Wanna Lose Up to 20 lbs in 20 days?

I freaking hate all these advertisements for lame diets. "Crash diet for brides! Lose five pounds right before the big day!" With a photograph of a beautiful, slender, tall blonde woman wearing a white dress, grimacing at her stomach while she squeezes it. What the hell?

This is not new...for decades our society has been focused on twig thin models and telling young women they're fat if they're not 100 lbs or less. Eating disorders are rampant for a variety of reasons, but it's true that a lot of young girls in the States think they're fat when they actually are not. These ads not only encourage this line of thought but also take money from healthy people because if you have a centimeter of fat around your stomach, you are ugly and worthless and need to spend money for this ridiculous diet that translates into starvation. With photographs of rock hard abs only hours of personal training a day will provide, or skinny girls surrounded by attractive men, of course young women will get tricked!

The most infuriating part for me is where these ads are located: myspace and facebook. Both websites encourage young people to create a profile (isn't the limit for facebook only 13?) and help them connect to one another. Both sites brag about all the good they do for certain causes and for people in general, yet every goddamn page is lined with ads picturing beautiful young women pulling skin from their arm, claiming it to be fat, and expressing how some diet will help them lose this fat. WE ALL ARE SUPPOSED TO HAVE FAT ON OUR BODIES! How can these sites claim to do so much good for young people, to be great resources and social utilities, when they constantly harass these young, impressionable kids for being normal and beautiful, tell them lies and encourage them to spend their money on unhealthy diets? If facebook is so socially conscious, why don't they only have ads about politics, environmental causes, ways to volunteer, or even just some dumb ad for Delia's or Old Navy? Don't tell me facebook doesn't have enough money to function without all these diet ads.

It's just bullshit. I wish companies and corporations, particularly those geared toward young people and those that claim to be positive for young people, would actually live up to what they claim. How is it right for them to say they do such good work for our society when they're constantly spreading lies about what is healthy and what is beautiful? Any man you ask will say some pale, bony, weak, skinny girl is not nearly as attractive as an energetic, strong, curvy girl, yet all these images attack us every day.

If facebook and myspace truly cared, they would not allow these ads on their sites. Turns out they're just two more shitty businesses that crave power and money, rather than real and honest companies that truly support young people.

Please don't let these ridiculous ads trick you. But to be honest, it's not you I'm worried about, as most people reading my blog are older, smart individuals who can see straight through bullshit. It's the self-conscious, confused, angsty 15-year-olds who use facebook everyday, want to be beautiful and don't know the first thing about healthy eating. These ads are actually powerful in the lives of teenagers and it's truly a fucking shame.

Examples:
I opened facebook, entered my name and password and was taken to my homepage (there are no ads at all on the homepages). I then clicked the "Friends" tab. A page appeared where all my friends were listed, and running along the side were these two ads:

The Supermodel Diet?

Read how supermodels and celebrities alike get thin! I'm no supermodel, but it worked for me!

Hottest New Diet

Try the hottest new diet all the celebs are raving about!

I then clicked the photo of my first friend in the list and was taken to her profile. Running along the side was the same ad as above (the supermodel diet) and another ad for a salon. I'm not complaining about the salon ad, just using this brief time on facebook as an example of my complaint.

So what do we do? Do we write letters? Form events on these sites regarding the advertisements? Boycott?

Let me know your suggestions. And in the meantime, please educate any young person you know about healthy eating and a healthy lifestyle. Letting them know the truth will hopefully go further than false advertising. And enjoy some milk and cookies, would ya?

Ghouls and Candidates, Parties and Elections

First off, YAY FOR OBAMA! He is not my ideal candidate, I do not obsessively love him like lots of other people, but I do like him and think he's an excellent step in the right direction. Obama will not only lead us in a different way than the Bush administration, but just by being young and black, he sends messages of embracing change and diversity to our own citizens and to other countries. I hope he fulfills half of his promises; that will be infinitely more than what Bush fulfilled. As a friend's mom said, "Well we at least know Obama's not a moron so that's a step." Also, they're getting a puppy!! I love the idea of a little doggie shitting on the polished floor of the white house. Those girls are gonna love it.

It must be so surreal. The whole thing is so much like the Kennedy's...young, beautiful, stylish, excited, strong. Michelle Obama is a great first lady, but what a burden to take on as a young mother and lawyer! She has her own work, which she went to Harvard Law School for, and now is seen by all as the wife of Barack and mother of his children rather than a successful lawyer. And raising kids as the first African-American family in the white house! I hope she doesn't have an anxiety disorder or the next four years will destroy her nerve-endings.

Those girls probably have no idea what is actually going on. They are young, only seven and ten. This must feel like a dream to them. I hope they're able to enjoy their time in D.C. and live somewhat normal lives. I hate when the media exploits politicians' children, especially with these girls being so young! Let's hope the focus remains on Obama and what his administration will do... 'cause damn they have a lot of work. Did anyone else hear a bit of relief in McCain's voice during his speech?

Well, congratulations Obama and thank you for a wonderful speech accepting the presidency. I particularly loved the section about the 106 year old black woman. What an amazing and bizarre experience life must be for her right now! Also, congrats to everyone who voted and followed the election details, no matter who you voted for. And thank God this shit is over.

More importantly, HALLOWEEN PARTYYYYYY! Jess across the hall, Dave and I threw the biggest and best party I've ever helped host, ever. We spoke to the people in the other apartments before doing anything and got them all excited too, then invited 100 people and went nuts with decorating. There are four apartments in the building, two on the second floor and two on the third floor, a small foyer on the first floor and a roof, so we went all out... fake blood on the walls telling a story about the murdered Eliza, cobwebs and lights encircling the banisters and rails, a graveyard with bones and tombstones and eerie music along with caution tape and chalk-outlined bodies on the roof. The actual apartments had themes; mine was Wonderland and Jess's was Underworld. In my kitchen we hung garbage bags from the ceiling to the floor and put this weird doll we made out of a pumpkin sack stuffed with newspapers in front of the bags. I also hung up a small doll's head and hung the rest of her body in the doorway to the living room. I then made a dreamy/creepy sign welcoming all to Wonderland ("May all your dreams come true... be careful what you wish for") and we hung stars on the counters, lighting the room with Christmas lights, a dim lamp placed behind the hanging bags, and a Jack-o-Lantern. In the living room, we hung glittered stars from the ceiling along with bloody, decapitated dolls. We put various shades of red liquid in eight little jars we have, took apart a Barbie doll and placed her body parts in the different jars, then displayed them on a small shelf in the middle of the mantle. We had Christmas lights in there, too, along with more garbage bags and lots and lots of candy. Dave made an awesome playlist, full of funky and poppy and rockin' dance tunes, and we partied like it was 1999. Amazing. At least 75 people showed up, mostly in costume and amazed by our haunted house. It was so incredible.

Jess's apartment, Underworld, was full of cobwebs and bats. Her living room was beautiful, with rose vines, cobwebs and bats hanging from the ceiling. She draped all this cloth around the walls and hung creepy vampires and ghosts around the room. Between the kitchen and living room hung caution tape with bloody letters. And she looked so hot in her little hat, her long curly locks and a Victorian style lace-up dress.

I dressed as a peacock, with makeup on my eyes, feathers sticking up from a headband wrapped around my neck, and a tail sticking up from my ass. I wore a feather boa, a crazy shirt, black spandex pants, and wrapped green/gold ribbon around my waist. A couple hours into the night though, I shed my feather because they were annoying all the guests (whenever I walked anywhere, people were poked and tickled and complained). Friends from Beacon came, from college, from Boston and from D.C. We got them properly drunk... in my apartment we offered beer in the fridge and a homemade spiced wine. Jess's apartment offered loads of Jello-shots (including some made with Everclear) and Jungle Juice. Then on the roof was our Coors Light kegger. It was truly an amazing night!

If you wanna check out pictures, go here. This is one album Jess posted on facebook... she has another one if you search her profile. Enjoy!

Lastly, CMJ ended up not as fun as anticipated, but still a good time. I missed the Deli showcase with Semi-Precious Weapons because I was working late for this crazy Halloween dance we hosted at Beacon where the twelve-year-olds thought they could dry hump each other to some reggaeton. I did see Akudama at the National Underground, which was a pretty good show despite the horrible sound mix. I also saw The Gay Blades play an absolutely too drunk show at Spike Hill, which had its great points and its low points and mostly its very drunk points. The highlight from the week was Jay Reatard rockin' his soul out at Glasslands on Saturday night (which, actually, wasn't a CMJ show 'cause they rejected my badge). Women and Crystal Antlers opened, and I literally moshed and thrased and kicked like the little 15-year-old I once was with short pink hair in church basements at straight-edge punk/ska shows. It felt good until the next day when my neck and shoulders were painfully stiff and my toesies were throbbing from a very poor choice of shoes, but the night was way worth it.

In closing, Happy Belated Halloween and Happy Election and Happy The Election Is Over. We're considering hosting a New Year's Eve masquerade ball, so beware...