Parties (Team Us vs. Team Them)

What would the beginning of summer be without parties? Not quite the same of course. After the fantastic kick-off at a friends house (note the previous entry), it could really only get better. A few days later I had some friends over to celebrate my very-belated birthday. Due to unforeseen circumstances of outrageous busyness, it was impossible to have a party in the same month as my birthday. But that doesn't mean we are not gonna party!!! So I chose a random day and was all like "you guys should be here on this day" and actually a lot of people came! We started off by hanging out for a bit while put on some tunes and amused myself with the Xbox (its complicated). Once we got everyone mostly in the same place, mom busted out the game of Things. The game of Things is a pretty hella tight game in which a card is chosen with a "Thing" on it, and everybody writes their response down on a small strip of paper. Theses "Things" can range from "Things you shouldn't doodle on" to "Things to do in a blackout". Whatever the card, responses are hilarious and memorable. Of course we then had some food. And what would a party be without Ultimate Sport Disk? NOTHING! Because Ultimate Sport Disk is the bomb!!! One of the most fun parts of playing the game is getting to the field, in this case by cramming into the party bus for the short trip to Robertson. Once the second Ian arrived, we naturally split up into teams and started running around, ultimating it up, and having a great time. Initially, Team Us was doing very well against Team Them with our power players John, Ian, and Claire, and in fact everyone was doing quite excellently under the scheming direction of Coach Zanie. But, tragically, both teams lost some of their players and after some negotiation we were forced to give up the massively tall Ian to Team Them. Although the new Team Us was still an excellent group, Team Them won over in the second half despite valiant efforts by Kevin and Claire to score and inspired attempts by John and myself to overcome Ian's tallness. Finally, Team Us made an agreement with Team Them to unify into one team and get in the party bus to return home and play Rock Band. All of you should know that there are few wins more epic than playing Rock Band. I would say that the most significant sign of progress that day was how we moved out of playing the original Rock Band in to Rock Band 2. This brought a whole new realm of fun that occupied the remaining party goers much longer than I expected. But whatever, it was a wonderful time and quite a success.

The Killers

This is getting ridiculous. I'm going to be doing tons of crazy awesome stuff and nobody will know about it but me. So lets get caught up, shall we?
I went to a couple awesome concerts this month that I really need to talk about.
The first was on my birthday. That's right. The Killers came to Cleveland on my freaking birthday!! It was the best thing ever. We got there just on time to be early and had a fancy birthday dinner of pizza, chicken tenders and french fries from one of the concession stands at the Time Warner Cable Amphitheater. My friend Jay tried to get as far up front as he could (before people started getting severely angry). Jayme and I had no choice but to chase him, and we ended up dead center and about 10 yards from the stage. Hooray for us! First we waited for a little while, then watched the opening act, Chairlift. They were very different and had an interesting sound, even though they only had three people and the drummer had to keep switching to bass. Next was the super exciting part!!!! We stood and waited for hours. Like a really long time. Fast forward to when they finally got on stage and the rain stopped. Brandon Flowers and his crew had a commanding stage presence and got the whole crowd into it almost immediately. The lights were incredible, and the sound was almost overpowering at certain parts. In fact most of their stuff either lit up or was reflective, including the monitors and the amps. When they stared shooting sparks that was really cool too. Of course, they played some of the best songs that had been recorded in recent history. Certainly the best concert I've been to so far. But I'll be going back to the Time Warner Cable Amphitheatre to see Jason Mraz this summer!!!

Friday Night

I went out to dinner with my dad Friday night. It seemed like It'd be just a usual trip to the local Mexican restaurant. But considering it was on the nicest day Meadville had seen all year, and the College students were partying in full force, I should have known that normal wouldn't exactly be on the agenda. After we had easily taken care of a chicken fajita, and I was part way through my fried ice cream, I saw Jayme, Justin, Erin, and Megan walking by the window. Who would have thunk? I decided to finish up my fried ice cream, leave my father to his own devices and roam the 'Ville with my people. We went and picked up videos and candy, then walked back up the hill. This was where all the crazy college students were partying. Apparently a few had previously asked Jayme and Megan to come join them, but were embarrassed to discover how young they were. Fortunately, the students left us alone on the way back, because otherwise Erin probably would have smacked some suckas. The road to Erin's house was infested with college students and beer. They were in big clumps that were randomly dispersed up and down the roads. And there was easily much more noise than I would ever expect to hear coming from any part of Meadville. It seemed like a hilarious idea to present "The Sutter & Erin Show" for the party goers. I was trying to think of really good ways to screw with them (and in fact there were some people who heard us this time!). My big line was "Attention! This is god!". But of course since I randomly had I'm on a boat stuck in my head, I added some of the song on to the end of that. It was quite amusing. Then I walked briskly home. Since neither my sister or mom were there at the time, I got to practice drums even after 9:30. It was tight!!! Peace Y'all. Party on.

Of course you want to listen to the Sutter & Erin show! Do we give you a choice?

So I was hanging out at my friend Erin's house the other day and we were just chillaxing and thinking of stuff to do. Her room in on the top floor and has a very nice view of the surrounding area through a large open window. Coming down from that window is a conveniently placed ladder, the climbing of which is very difficult to resist. But anyways, we were discussing the various ways a person could be entertained while looking out this window (other than climbing out of it). I ask her, "do you ever feel the need to randomly yell at passerby? Because this would be a perfect place to do it from!" I mean there are people we know, people driving cars, drunk college students, a whole array of potential targets. It would be even better if we had a megaphone. Not long after, I noticed a bass amplifier in the corner of her room. I asked if by any chance she had a microphone. She did. I plugged it in. I propped up the amp right by the window. It was loud. It was good. We started yelling stuff, telling jokes, reporting on the few and not very exiting things that happened within our realm of vision. Oh, but we made them sound so very exciting. We eventually progressed to this very unorthodox setup that allowed both of us to broadcast music using this amp. Although it was really just my Zune turned up to 20 connected to Erin's large pair of headphones which we put up close to the microphone, I still felt like a DJ. Talked like one too. We don't know for sure if anybody was listening, or if anybody was enjoying it (besides the woodpecker), but that didn't make the Sutter & Erin show any less entertaining. This is one of those cases when the audience was not important. But feel free to call in and make a request next time!!! We hope you will enjoy the Sutter & Erin show!! PEACE!

District Jazz heck yea!

Me and my friend Jake should be appointed to the official council of things that the band should get. On Thursday after school we left for Titusville to attend the PMEA district 2 jazz festival. The high school in hepatitusville (I didn't just say that)was surprisingly nice, and quite large, which I learned the hard way. Plus, the band director is a drummer, so they must be pretty good. Anyways, we went off to our respective bands and began rehearsing Thursday night. I was of course merely the auxiliary percussionist, so my parts were not to complicated, but getting it all together was one heck of a task!! First I moved the set of vibes that had wheels, which was fine until the motor nearly fell off. Then I grabbed the congas, which have the most outrageously broken stand so that it takes two people to carry the darn thing ten yards. Then I grabbed the only music stand available, which was clearly not meant to be used due to the fact that it was broken.
Thursday was a mere introduction for the jazz bands, Friday was a crazy day-long rehearsal extravaganza. This is when I learned firsthand how big the Titusville high school really is. I mean I was hauling equipment back and forth between the band room, auditorium, and board room, all of which were as far apart as physically possible while still being in the same state. If I haven't mentioned it yet, the auxiliary percussionists get the honor of being in two bands. So we practiced for thirteen hours straight and got real good for Saturday's show.
The best part was that I got to play a solo. An honest-to-god vibraphone solo!!! How do I do it?
The show on Saturday went quite well. Me and my congas don't always seem like the most exciting thing, but the vibes solo made it all worthwhile. Especially since it was on one of my favorite songs, by one of the greatest vibraphone players the world has ever known, Milt Jackson. And my friend Jake up in band 1 (yea, he is pretty good) was not only rocking the trumpet parts, but also the flugel horn. THE FULGEL HORN!! That was pretty freaking cool I would say. I'll get the recording soon, very excited to hear how it turned out.
So where was I? Something about the official council of things the band needs to get. Oh I remember now. Our band director is very good about getting things that she thinks the band needs, but sometimes it can be tricky trying to get her to think just the right thing. That is where me and Jake come in. We play something, and if its good, she most certainly should get it for the band!! Things recently added to the list....
1) Vibraphone
2) Flugel Horn

SNOWTF!? Pt.4 - Sledding edition!

So normally I'm not a major fan of snow. Its wet and cold and can be quite annoying when it inevitably finds its way into your boots, up your sleeves and down your neck. But more recently I have had a new found appreciation for snow. Being now in possession of a fancy camera, I am able to photograph the snow and admire its beauty. And since I am not being forced to interact with it, I can choose if and when I ever even want to be in the snow. And last night I chose to go sledding.

Let me tell you how perfect it was for night sledding in Meadville yesterday. It stayed light after 10:30. We're not sure why but it probably had something to do with the moon. I came out to Robertson field (the hill at Allegheny's athletic complex) and met a bunch of friends, some of which were in college. But the point was that the normally annoying snow brought us epic sledding awesomeness. There where some crazed college kids there who made a human ramp out of two guys holding sleds next to each other. That caused serious fail at the beginning , but by the end they were getting impressive air as well. Our personal sledding successes involved making a chain, going face first, forgetting the sled (Caitlin!!) and SURFING!! Towards the end I started heading down the slopes snowboard style standing on the sled. I lost balance and would put my hand down, then end up falling onto the sled and ending up hitting the bottom in a tangle of my own limbs. Each time going down would get me a little bit further. By the last run, I stood up all the way to the bottom of the hill, then promptly flew off and landed on my face. That. Was. EPIC!!!

Another trip to NYC!!!

So I went to New York City (or "The City" as New Yorkers call it) with the music department. Which was pretty darn amazing I gotta say. We rode on this giant Anderson bus that had cushy seats and armrests and personal footrests and air conditioning. This was probably a good thing since the ride was nearly 10 hours. So there was lots of hanging around, listening to music, watching movies and just general merriment. And plenty of sleeping to go with it. Personally, I played about a bajillion games of Texas hold 'em on my Zune, which now features that and other addicting games. Another one is Hexic, which is also very fun online (although it features obnoxious noises that cannot be turned of and are currently interrupting Charlie Parker). But the point is, we eventually got there. Which as you all know is half the fun. Our first stop was Battery Park, where we spent a few seconds to meet up with a friend from camp who lives in the city and buy a knockoff purse or two. Dinner was at the movie equivalent of Hard Rock cafe, the fun was in and around times square, and the show was at radio city music hall. Really, the show was called "The Rockettes Christmas Spectacular". I really cannot think of a word to describe it. But afterwards one of the directors shouted some random street numbers as we left in all the hustle and bustle, and I managed to get to 51st and 6th (or whatever it was) with a group of friends that I happened to be with at the time. And what do you do once you get back to a hotel in New Jersey after a whole day of driving and watching musicals? HAVE A PIZZA PARTY!!! Indeed, in the city we truly rock and roll all night and party every day. Or maybe it was the other way around....

The next day was to full of doing stuff I cant even recall anything in a specific order. We had free breakfast. We went to 5th avenue. Shop windows on fifth avenue are like car shows of the fashion world, there is all sorts of nice expensive stuff that is fun to look at, but nobody is really going to buy or use it. Also, when its as cold as it was and you ever go to Starbucks, don't get a cold drink! The only thing i recognized on the menu was vanilla frappacinno. So I ordered one. I was chilled from the inside out, but it was totally worth it! We had hot dogs from a street vendor. HAIRSPRAY WAS AMAZING!!!! lots of excitement and energy there. And when we where outside the theatre after, Harvey Firestein (Edna) walked past our group. And I totally saw him in person (sans dress and fat suit)!! I speculated that if the extremely good-looking dude who played Link had just happened to leave the theatre at that time, half our group would have attacked and raped him. I mean they were swooning big time man! Anyways, I got a nice fedora, and ice cream later, and managed to get other people to donate some of their food. Unfortunately, I couldn't convince the guy in that one store to give me a tie for less than $25 (I only had $20!). I guess bartering is just for the creepy dudes outside. So it was very fun. And there was some fail. And food. And a really funny-smelling handbag. And lots of drunk people dressed as Santa. We truly can be amused by anything. After all, it is the music department.