Laila the intern checks in

When I was a high schooler, I was a Goth. It's true. I wore black clothes with lots of rips and fishnets, blacker eyeliner that dripped down my face like tears (Yeah, I copied Amy Lee. So what?) and always had a scowl on my face. Well, most of the time. South Park made me giggle.

In this little era of my life, I became obsessed with metal. Pantera, Otep, Alice in Chains, Slipknot--and then, a whole lot of depressing male vocalists like ummm *coughnickelbackcough* Marilyn Manson, The Rasmus, Nirvana, Nine Inch Nails and Staind, just to name a few. I was a badass, through and through.

If you look at me now, you would never guess. I still LOVE Otep and The Rasmus and all those other guys, but they're more of my nostalgic moment music. Now, I listen to upbeat music. Pop punk. Usually with a female vocalist. Because, well, I like hearing about how Cupid's wings should be ripped out for hurting girls by giving them evil boys (a cookie to whoever guesses the song that references).

If I met the 16 year old me on a street dressed like I do now and listening to the music I do now, she would glare at me then call me a poseur and a ditz and probably trip me. But the 16-year-old me hasn't had the chance to listen to Myspace Records Volume 1. (Shut up. You know you did too.)

When I first started college, I was thrust into a world of New Jersey WASPs with Northface jackets and Donna Karan bags and Uggs. I go to a Catholic college because (I'm not going to lie) they gave me a shit ton of financial aid. I grew up overseas, so I'm pretty sure they mistook me for an international student and wanted some diversity. They did get diversity, but the kind they want to shield from children's eyes. At least that's what my first year roommates hinted.

In a matter of months, the suffocating flashes of pink and nasally New Jersey accents got to me and I had conformed, in a way. Sad, but true. I went from this:



to this:



This was taken this weekend after a heavy, wild, intoxicating night of... Go Fish.

With that, I discovered New Years Day. If you don't know who they are, shame on you. Shame. If you do and don't like them, I took kickboxing classes for 2 years. Be warned. Much to my chagrin, I turned HAPPY. I liked punk pop. I loved it. I still do. I started going to H&M and Express instead of Hot Topic and ridiculously expensive vintage lace stores. Now this might have been bound to happen anyway because all teenagers go through phases. It's true. We all have the notebook of teenage angst. (Or, in today's world, a Livejournal. I STILL have one. And I'm turning 22 on my next birthday. EEK.)

I guess what I like most about NYD and bands I found out about after them is the fact that they can be bitchy in lyrics without being depressing about it. Even bands with guy singers! I love the contrast. (Srsly, listen to this and this. You'd never guess they're about wishing death on someone and jealous jerk friends with the way they're sung.)

In conclusion, I don't really have a point. I just like to ramble. But hey, if you liked that second set of lyrics, check out my article in this month's issue of AP about Breathe Carolina. The Craig Owens/Anthony Green issue. Page 64. Please? I'll play truth or dare on the blog comments with you if you do! Yes you.

Okay! Goodbye!

Hardcore fish fest (by James Dewees)

I'm not sure what the rest of the worlds fish rights are,but in new york they get all kinds of rights. i was recently discussing this with my friend over a sweet piece of swordfish. he was vegetarian so it was my swordfish and his disgust was hanging out. (true friends will sit with you through whatever you are doing.) i have slowly been learning about fishing since i moved to long island from brooklyn. my neighbors t.j. and bobby are teaching me about the do's and don'ts of fishing. there are so many rules about when, where, and what you can catch its amazing that people can catch a fish at all. they come back a lot with nothing because the fish they caught didnt meet the requirements of the state. basically the fish's rights protected it from being caught.

im not bitching about this because i think its great fish have rights, they also have the right to get caught ya know so to me that works out great. there are some hardline fishermen (thats an amazing phrase, hardline fishermen), these people feel that the fish have too many rights and they go in front of the parks dept boards and complain about this topic. it seems that they never win because the fish rights list gets bigger every year. go team fish rights. its amazing.

i know that there is a lot more to the rights. basically preserving all the species because the humans will catch every last one and sell it to pay for the gas on their s.u.v. that they use to haul their boat around. it was just the simple thought of fish having a ton of rights that made me laugh, because the fisherman seem to all respect the rights of fish. we cant even respect the rights of our fellow human beings but we honor the fish code for some reason. hopefully the fish never develop the power to speak and reason. their rights will be thrown back to the sea from that moment on. sooooooo wierd.

a side blog: teenagers will never learn how to spell correctly. they abbreviate everything. how this will affect the next generation we will have to wait and see, but i bet it will be a generation of peeps who splel lik this and omg tht wod rul. lazy kids stop texting and talk for a change.

-James Dewees, Reggie And The Full Effect

An Intern's View Of Alternative Press

Hi! I'm Laila. I'm the summer editorial intern here at Alternative Press. That means I get to be in close contact with all the editors (Scott, Rachel, Tim, Jason and Jennifer, the new copy editor). Be jealous. Be very jealous. They're kind of a big deal. I know I sometimes get jealous at myself and laugh like Dr. Evil...yeah when you're at a corner desk in the darkest ethers of the AP office, you tend to begin thinking of ways to entertain yourself.

Today, I decided to give all two of you who may be reading this (Hi, Mom and Dad! Can you send me some money? And cookies?) an intern's view of AP via pictures and futile attempts at humor. I also will eventually need this masterpiece for my portfolio that I'll turn into get credit for college. Cool, huh? I get to say to my friends and random people I meet in the gym and on the street who give me strange looks that I pretend to be on the inside circle of all things AP-related... AND count it as a class. This blog might even give me an extra point or two. Score.

So, without further rambling from me since pictures are more fun...

AN INTERN'S VIEW OF ALTERNATIVE PRESS:


This was the first thing I saw when I started here. A whole big wall of all AP's magazine covers! I wanted to take them all right then and put them on MY wall. I'm slowly doing it. Don't tell anyone.


Around the office, there are clear plastic walls with lots of autographs. This is one of them. It is awesome.


This is the kitchen, and the general communal area. So it pretends to be. I like it because there's free red bull (guide your eyes to the cooler next to the water). At least I assume it's free.




This is that dark corner I was telling you about. It makes me want to make gremlin noises. Teehee.




This is what I spend a lot of my time doing. I'm an archiving freak, so I decided to re-alphabetize all the press photos in the vault (okay, the 7 cardboard boxes in the back room). Little did I know that there would be 700 bands whose names began with the letter S. Word of advice? Don't ever start your band name with the letter S. You will suck. Trust me. I pretend to know things about the music business because I intern at AP.




This is something I really like. Stickers on desks. Stickers on trash cans. Stickers on everything. It was a moment of happiness for me. I never thought they could go anywhere except my laptop and car. Now I have a road of endless possibilities ahead of me. Watch out, light switch.




I don't know how this works, but it looks like something I'd be awesome at. BTW those totally might be Craig Owens' legs. Or Geoff Rickley's. Or Sherri Dupree's. You never know. Because I'll never tell. Muahaha.




The art department keeps it real.




You know when you order back issues? Yeah, this is where they come from. It's a scary place. I trip a lot. I think it's the gods telling me not to try to live there.

So that's a little snippet of what I like to notice here at Alternative Press. If you're interested in becoming an intern, I would give you this advice:

Be prepared to be shoved in a dark corner.

Bring a duffel bag and take all the cds the editors try to get rid of because they think the band sucks. They probably do, but the cd still have that brag-to about them.

Avoid this guy at all costs. He'll either try to hump you or growl and give you the evil eye:

Get a part time job. You will not get paid at AP. And that's fine, cause it's worth it. But you'll go broke pretty fast. Now, I'm not one to talk because it took me until the beginning of July to get one. But hey, I'm advising here. Shush.

Ask lots of questions and for advice. Tim Karan sat down with me yesterday for a good hour after looking at some old articles I had written for my college newspaper and gave me some AWESOME advice. I'm serious. This is free aid to be a music writer. Take it.

Have fun! I know I do =). Everyone is incredibly nice and laid back. The stuff I have to do is meaningful and makes me feel like I'm important. Aside from the photos, which I took upon myself anyway, I post a lot of the articles that you see in the back issues on the web, I do some research and I've even gotten to write a few articles that are going to be published. That's always a rad feeling.

Front Row Center: The Hold Steady

7/17/08 - The Hold Steady/The Loved Ones @ Beachland Ballroom, Cleveland, OH

Photos and video by Scott Heisel/Colors Of Insomnia

The Loved Ones - Louisiana (w/Tad Kubler)


The Hold Steady - Magazines

Front Row Center: Hot Water Music

7/12/08 - Hot Water Music/Thursday/Paint It Black @ Terminal 5, New York, NY

Photos and text by Jason Bergman

At about 7:20 p.m. on Saturday, July 12, I found myself in a room backstage with Geoff Rickly of Thursday and Dan Yemin of Paint it Black/Lifetime/Kid Dynamite while they did a shot of Jameson together. It was kind of a surreal moment and certainly the kind of experience that my 9th grade self would have killed for back in the day. The actual show, featuring reunited Floridians Hot Water Music, Jersey's favorite sons Thursday and Paint It Black seemed like the kind of dream-team show that you always heard about when you were younger, but were never able to get to due to lack of transportation or lame friends. However, the 2,000-plus people at Terminal 5 in New York City knew they were in for something special and made the most of it, despite the gigantic size of the venue, beefy security guards and huge barricade.

"I'm coming back down," Yemin proclaimed as he jumped off the 6-foot-high stage into the crowd during Paint It Black's opening set and then let loose on the front row with his patented Yemin yell. Despite a room that was slowly filling up during their set, PIB played as if they were in a friend's basement: Loud, fast, and full of energy. Dr. Dan spent most of his time up with the crowd while members of the crowd surfed their way up front to try to get closer. Although the venue is absolutely not suited for a typical Paint It Black show, the group know how to make any room feel intimate with their brand of passionate, pissed off and political hardcore punk.

Despite not having played a show in NYC for over two years, Thursday certainly felt like they were right at home. With the opener "For The Workforce, Drowning," Geoff Rickly dove into the crowd and screamed at the audience as they gave it right back at him. The group played a solid mix from their newest album, but also threw in a brand new song off their upcoming split with Envy, that had them channeling Mogwai for an extended, instrumental jam. Before the show, Rickly was wondering how the crowd would react, since it's been a while since they've played in the area, but once the band finished, there was no doubt that everyone was just happy to have Thursday back and playing.

As the stage lights came on and Hot Water Music played the opening chords of "Remedy," the cavernous venue resonated with the sound of people collectively losing their minds while yelling out, "I need a remedy of diesel and dust/Something I can taste with a fix I can trust." Over the course of an 18-song set, the group crossed the gamut of their catalog, from "Trusty Chords" to "Turnstile" and "Moonpies for Misfits" while clearly enjoying the simple act of playing together again. I was lucky enough to catch the reunion show in New Jersey back in January and the initial sheer enjoyment of seeing the group play together has not worn off one bit. They may have taken a few years off, but HWM prove that even if they just play their back catalog, that's enough for everyone from the casual to the diehard fan.

Cinematic Sunrise tour diary, part 3 (by Bryan Beeler)

The amazingly awesome adventures of Cinematic Sunrise through the eyes of Bryan Beeler with adjectives by someone who knows how to use "Big Words" -- Part III

The rest of the day in New York City. Our tour manager, Katie, somehow "misplaced" her bra and needed to go buy one. I volunteered to go with her for two reasons; Number one, I ripped my jeans the night before (from rocking too hard) and needed to buy new ones. Before the fat jokes start, they ripped in the knee. Number two, I wanted to make Katie feel as awkward as possible. When we got back to the bus, we learned that My American Heart's van window had been smashed. Luckily nothing was taken. The show as always was a great time. During our set somebody went into our dressing room and took Dave's drivers license and credit card. The joke's on them because Dave's credit card only works at places that sell ice cream. But just to be safe, Dave canceled his credit card.


Do you want to know what's fun? Driving from New York City to San Antonio, TX. That's how we spent the next day. Finally around 7pm we stopped at a "mall" in Mississippi. There wasn't much to do there and to make things worse, it closed at 9 PM. The only positive thing about the mall was its sporting goods store. You all know what that means. I got my basketball sleeve!


I'd like to take this time to let the good people of Under Armour know how much I enjoy their product; so if you want, feel free to send a box of free stuff to me... After the mall closed we went back to the bus and had a dance party until 3 AM.


San Antonio. This place is hot. Like really, really hot. How can you people live here? I don't know how hot it was outside, but in the bus it got up to 96 degrees. Brad, Marcus and I went a really good Greek restaurant for lunch. The rest of the day was spent trying to stay cool. We played the show and I debuted the basketball sleeve. I looked really cute.


Houston. I woke up with a craving. I wanted, no, I needed Taco Bell. Marcus and I went on a two-mile journey. To be honest, it wasn't that great. Maybe they had new workers there? Or maybe they thought they were making Marcus' food when they made mine. His did look a lot better.


The show in Houston was crazy! Eight bands played and we had a great time. Did I mention the venue was next to a swinger's club called "The Mystery Zone?" Afterwards, Brad, Vic, and I went to a bar. It was kind of like the bar in Roadhouse. They had karaoke there. After an hour of begging Vic (and a couple drinks) Vic sang "Beat It." For those of you who don't know how amazing Vic is at singing that song, check it out at myspace.com/piercetheveil.


Dallas. Finally, a venue with a shower that wouldn't give me STD's! We all took showers and smelled really good. Marcus didn't have a towel. He used paper towel. I think he under estimated how good of a job the paper towel would do. Before the show we went to a 7-11 to find Cheese Whiz. They didn't have any. We then had an hour long debate over whether or not they still made Cheese Whiz... they do.


Off day in Albuquerque, NM. So, my mom isn't on tour with me. That means that I need to wash my clothes. What? Don't all 24 year olds have their parents do their laundry?


Unfortunately, today was Memorial Day. Every laundromat was closed. I walked over 4 miles looking for a place. Once I got back to the bus, I went on my computer and a found a hotel only 1.28 miles away that I could do my laundry at. Marcus and I decided to get a room for a couple of hours to shower and do laundry. I don't want to brag, but I did a really good job!


Once we got back to the bus, our driver "Radar" asked if I wanted to drive the bus. For the past couple of days I was telling him I wanted to really bad…


*WARNING my management and the bus company do not support me driving the bus. At all times I had a professional next to me. I was driving from 3 AM to 6 AM with minimal traffic. Do not attempt to drive a tour bus yourself*


Anyway, I did drive the bus and it was AMAZING! I liked it so much that I drove from Albuquerque to the Arizona state line.


Tempe, AZ. After driving all night I was really tired and slept until 1 PM. Right next to the venue was a sports bar. They had some of the best wings I've ever had in my life. The show, as always, was fun. After the show, I spent three hours looking for my wallet. I was kind of freaking out. In my wallet is my ID. My ID gets me into bars. Do the math. I found it under a seat on the bus. I have not ruled out foul play (Brad).


San Diego. The day started off with Vic picking everybody up in his RV for a BBQ at his house. His dad made the best Carne Asada burritos I've ever had. After that, we went to the beach. San Diego is so beautiful. We then headed to the show. Apparently, Vic hadn't emptied to toilet in the RV for a couple of months. The smell was horrific. At the show we were joined by Emily (Brad's wife), Kara (Vic's girlfriend), Mike (Vic's brother), & Sal (kick ass guy). They would stay with us for the remainder of the tour.


Anaheim. I woke up to Marcus and his girlfriend climbing in my bunk. It was time to start the day. And how did we start our day? By each drinking a pitcher of Sangria. This was proceeded by a two-hour nap. The show that night was at Chain Reaction. Chain Reaction is where the first ever Cinematic Sunrise show was played. We played there in August 2006 for about twenty kids. Tonight, kids at the show were crazy! People were jumping on stage and singing their hearts out. After the show all the bands hung out, it was great time. Did I mention how cool all the guys on this tour are? Marcus' girlfriend fell asleep on the bus, she had to work the next morning. She woke up to the bus moving and on its way to Bakersfield. Luckily, we didn't get too far. We dropped her off at a gas station and gave her money for a cab.


The next day was Bakersfield. What can I say about Bakersfield? They have a Jack In The Box that serves breakfast all day long. But besides that, there really isn't much to do there. The kids there are great!


West Hollywood. The day started off just like every other day on this tour: I woke and went looking for food. Vic, Kara, Brittany, Mike, and I went out of lunch. We found a little Mexican restaurant. I was really confused on how to order. I'm accustomed to Taco Bell's menu when it comes to a Mexican restaurant. They didn't have a #6 there, so I didn't get anything. Once I got back to the bus I decided to give lunch another shot. Marcus, Katie, and I headed off to find some place to eat. This time I found a place that had a menu that I could understand.


For the final show of the tour, I decided to take it to the next level. Every show I give 110%, but this show I gave 115%. I really think the crowd noticed the extra effort. After the show was a tearful goodbye. Vic and Dave stayed in California. The rest of us are riding the bus back to Michigan.


I'd like to thank everybody who came out to the shows and had fun with us. This really was the best time of my life. I love ALL the guys in the band and I love ALL of you for supporting us. I hope we have the chance to play for you all soon. Be sure to check us out on the Warped dates we're playing. Come up to me and say hello!

NASCAR-tel (by Nic Hudson of Cartel)

We are still drunk, hungover, or a combination of both. I think Kevin said
it best at about 330AM Monday morning "this fuckin rules" before he passed
out in the back of our buddy Dons Explorer. The funny part is he wanted to
stay at the party longer. Some how we ended up at Denny Hamlins mansion
house on Lake Norman. That was just the end of the NASCAR weekend in
Charlotte brought to us by our boy (who worked for Lava Records and tried to
sign our band and now works in racing).

We have always been fans of NASCAR, and really wanted to go and did we ever.
On Saturday we had these passes to go in the garage and pits. Its insane.
Its like a van and trailer on steroids. They have spare engines, parts, and
even a new car stored up above you. Not to mention, tons of food and shit,
plus a huge back lounge in the back of the trailer with TV's, computers, and
everything a team guy would need to DO WORK! We cruised from the garage
down to pit road where we got right in the mix. It was almost like if
someone was talking to us and taking pictures right before we went on stage.
It doesn't even phase these guys. We got to meet Kyle Busch who won later on
that night and Carl Edwards (who has the same lawyer as us and was just a
total bro). We watched a few laps from the pits and that shit is just so
fast and loud. The sound is almost painful. The journey then took us out in
the infield for a bit. These people have the most insane set ups ever.
Campers, tents, lights, TVs, grills, blowup things, pools, and tons of
booze. Its like they save the whole year for the race weekends and go all
out. The crazy thing, the drivers have a more VIP style set up of what the
fans do. They have these huge busses with like four slide outs and TVs on
the OUSTIDE of the thing so friends and family can sit and watch the race if
they are tired of the seats and pits. We got to kick it with Brian outside
his bus after the race Saturday night. Turns out Will has family who square
dances with his Brians family in Thomasville. Small world. He was rad. We
joked about how much cooler his bus was and how we all suck at Rock Band.
The kid has been racing since he was like 8 and gave up things like baseball
because of a few too many incidents to the nuts. Takes more balls to race a
car at 185mph if you ask us?

So that was all cool and we were stoked to get that close, but it doesn't
compare to the rest of the weekend that we spent in the Red Bull Energy
Station. We were kinda nervous because it was presented to us similar to
the Bubble thing we did for MTV and we all know how that went. "Here we go
again. A bubble looking thing sponsored by a carbonated beverage. This could
be a disaster" But hell- its Red Bull so it couldn't be that bad! It was
RIDICULOUS.

Yea sure the bubble had two floors and people could watch us sleep and
whatever and we drank Dr. Pepper for 20 days, but that was nothing compared
to this thing. Two floors, plus outside patio of leather couches, two bars,
food on glass plates, flat screens, some serious sound set up, lights, and
all the free booze/Red Bull you could handle served to you by some of the
hottest girls on the planet. They were just unreal hot and cool as hell.
Some were hired models and some were the Red Bull Wiings team girls. A few
of them knew our band so that was kinda cool. The best part is the view.
You’re closer to the track than anyone else and high enough up that you can
see almost everything. The place shakes when they go by and if you don't
cover your drink, its time for a new one. After the race's were over we
still partied our balls off til like 2am and waited for traffic to clear out
and then it was smooth sailin' to the pillow.

Sunday we pretty much did the same thing as Saturday. The Wiings Team took
us back into the Sprint Cup Garage and we hung out there for a bit and saw
some of the typical "stupid" NASCAR fans who almost shit themselves when a
driver walked by. Got to kick with "B Vick" again in the energy station
before he had to go race. Brian ended up having a tire fall off during the
race, go figure, and that ended his day after leading a bunch of laps. We
were stoked as hell..but it happens. We got too close to the track as well.
Don't think the cops liked that too much.

Don got us on the list to go to Denny Hamlins house for some big ass party,
as if we hadnt done enough of that yet! He drives the Fed Ex car. Anyways on
the way out, Kevin spotted some huge ass woman out of the sunroof of the car
ahead of us and was goin off on her and the skanky fat ass she had. The
State Troopers were in tears watching him. As were the rest of us. Leave it
to Kevin Tom to almost get us in trouble with the law. The house party was
insane. The kids crib is like MAMMOTH. Red Bull was in the house again,
sponsoring it. They had a "club" set up in the basement with full bar in
there and out by the pool...not to mention a few more out in the backyard.
Oh and by the way, his neighbor is Joe Gibbs, his car owner. Will had a
hard on the whole time because some big hoops dude from the Bobcats who
played with NC was there.

At 330 were pulled out and taken home. First in a limo from the house to a
parking lot where we parked. It was pimp.

Thanks to Red Bull- Brian Vickers, the Team (Morgan, Kyle, Jayme), the
Energy Station (Bob, JT, Jason, Autumn, Jess), Dollar General (Monty), Kyle
Busch, Denny Hamlin, Carl Edwards, Matty 'Cup, TJ the NASCAR Social
Director, and how could we forget Bud Light, Jack Daniels, Absolut, and
whatever else the hell we drank; but it was A LOT! Its NASCAR, gotta thank
the sponsors right?