Graveshadow: Bang Your Head, Everybody.

It was a hot, steamy night about 2 years ago the first time I saw Graveshadow. Nestled in with fellow metal heads up against the Blue Lamp’s bar, I kicked back with my beer in hand as the lights dimmed on the stage. The scream of a guitar and the crash of a cymbal and they were off, assaulting the mesmerized crowd with a wall of intricately crafted, soaring, and brutal metal that I have yet to have heard equaled here in Sacramento. Their crushing rhythms rumbled under their bright and gorgeous keyboard sound. The guitar work was dynamic and exciting, only further underscored by their gorgeous brunette lead singer, singing and screaming to each and every one of us.

I have never pulled out my phone to like a band Facebook page that fast in my entire life.

            From there, Graveshadow has grown into a prominent name among metal bands and other fellow musicians here in Sacramento. They have gotten to play in San Francisco, L.A., and have even gone on tour with legendary metal band Anvil across the West Coast and Southwest in 2016. They also won a Sammie Award for “Best Metal Band” in 2016, and have had continued local success ever since then.

             And they show no sign of stopping.

 Changing gears to the present, it’s a chilly December day, and I am pulling up to the house of one of their guitar players, Will Walker, where they regularly practice. I waltz into their living room, where I am greeted by the bass player, Ben Armstrong, and the drummer, Roman Anderson. They are comfortably splayed out on the couch in the living room. As we settle down to chat the lead singer, Heather Michele, joins us, followed a little bit later by guitar player Aaron Robitsch. We all settle in and start talking about the band and their music.

Coming together from an amalgamation of Craigslist ads, Graveshadow took its original shape back in 2012, and has evolved to their current lineup with the addition of Robitsch on lead guitar and key/symphonic sample work. In getting the timeline straight, I am able to get the precise sub-genre for their sound: Symphonic Gothic Metal.

Now, for those of you that are surely curious what that sounds like, they have a music video here for your viewing and listening pleasure.

Walker adds that their main influences can be drawn from genres like power metal, melodic death metal, doom metal, and black metal. Anderson remarks that he, personally, is more into black metal stuff himself. Walker kind of shakes his head a little, to which Anderson smiles a little bit, gesturing his direction,

“I also got Will more into that genre, too.”

“As long as it has good production. If it doesn’t have good production, I don’t care.”

“He can’t do the true black metal,” adds Anderson, with a sly smile.

To which Walker replies,

“You can call it true all you want, but using Fisher Price microphones and Squier Bullet guitars isn’t the way to go!”

“Then it’s wrong!,” Anderson protests playfully. “Wrong!”

Walker sighs, adding,

“It’s got a have good production.”

We all had a good laugh at that one.

Giggling aside, I refocus to Michele, and ask her how she feels about her role as the sole female in the band and as their lead singer.

“I feel very included in this band,” she says cheerfully with a smile.

“Yeah,” interject Anderson, “She’s like one of the guys, in this band, honestly.”

 I also asked her if she caught any crap from crowd, as women can often catch a lot of it in the male-dominated genre that is metal.

“Not really, but when someone yells ‘Show me your tits!’, or something, all the guys take their shirts off.”

She goes on to add,

“Mostly though, I haven’t gotten a lot of that, though. I have mostly gotten a lot of respect from our crowds, honestly.”

And that is to be expected for a front woman who can growl and sing with the caliber that Michele brings to every performance. One shows worth of her screaming, and you won’t want to mess with this girl. 

At least I wouldn’t, that’s for sure.

            As our chat continues, we start to talk about the Sacramento scene, as conversations of this manner tend to do. Anderson lends his words by saying,

            “There’s been a really good response from our community. We have people that try to make it to every local show, and we have also become friends with some of them. The Boardwalk [in Orangevale, CA], we’ve played there so many times, it’s always a big thing when we play there. Starlite [Lounge, in Sacramento, CA] is another big place for us [to play] too…”

            Walker also adds,

            “I’d definitely say Sacramento has been good to us. We got the write up in Submerge [Magazine] when our album [Nocturnal Resurrection] came out, and that was great. When we opened for Apocalyptica and Children of Bodom, the reaction we got [from the crowd] was definitely humbling to me…We have been fortunate to get the following and the fan base that we have.”

            Their reputation precedes says a bit more than that, having also played places locally like Blue Lamp, The Colony, and Café Colonial. In addition to their Sammie they won this year, they were also nominated in the “Artist of the Year” and “Release of the Year” category, in addition to their 2015 “Best Metal Band" nominee for the same award.

            Changing gears slightly, I turn my attention to Robitsch, since he is the newest member of the band. He fills me in that he is from Redwood City, CA, and came to know the band as a whole when they wound up crashing at his place before venturing to Southern California.

            The rest, as they say, is history.

            He also fills me in as we talk,

            “I’m a music major, right now, and I have been studying a lot of classical styles…and arranging for string quartets, violins, violas, cellos, and brass as well…It’s [arranging samples and keys] a matter of isolating the different approaches and resolution to those notes, from a whole orchestra, for example, and arranging in a way that fits our style.”

             This, coupled with his experience on keyboards and other MIDI run things of that like, helps him fill out his role as both guitar and keyboard player, without having to grow a third arm.

             That would be pretty metal, though.

             Mutations aside, I asked them about their tour this last year opening for Anvil and Unleash the Archers. It turns out, as Walker tells me, that Jeff Keller, of the Artery Foundation, is their manager. Well, he got Mausoleum Records to sign them to a deal, and guess who else is Unleash the Archers and Anvil’s manager?

             Jeff Keller

             So, Graveshadow got to open on their West Coast shows, and 4 or 5 shows after that. Walker adds, with a grin,

             “We even got to camp with them at the Grand Canyon on our day off, which was pretty cool…They’re really awesome guys…”

             Armstrong pipes up on this one with an additional experience he got to have with anvil’s drummer, Robb Reiner.

                “We were setting up for our Las Vegas show Counts Vamp’d [Rock Bar and Grill], which was this amazing place that was designed and built by a metal fan and had memorabilia and stuff all over it…and there were TVs showing classic music videos and stuff. So, Robb and I were watching Metallica. And I said, ‘Hey do you ever listen to these guys and be like ‘I remember writing that riff he’s playing back in 1980whatever’’. He looks at me dead in the eye and just says, ‘Yes.’ [laughs] It was obviously a touchy subject…He was so stoned-faced about it…”

             “I learned a lot from those guys, and I am excited to do it again…” adds Walker.

              Starting in March 2017, they will be joining Night Demon and Anvil on tour yet again, as an opening special guest. This time, though, this tour will take them to spots on the East Coast and The South in place they haven’t gotten to play before.

              I’d be excited too.

              As our conversation winds its way down, we venture back a bit to our previous discussion on the local music scene, yet again, only this time, the discussion has mutated a bit, and the subject of all ages venues and presales come up. Walker remarks,

             “The Café Colonial and The Colony are great venues for those all ages bands, those younger bands to go in cut their teeth on, but it would be really great to see, say what you will about how it was run, another Club Retro. It would be really great to see another Underground, or another Junta…because its really valuable to get the pre-sale experience, because that’s just an element of the industry that’s not going to go away, and you can complain about it all you want, but through that it teaches you how to market yourself and how to market your band. Also it gets you out and gets you meeting people…”

             Armstrong also adds,

            “Those [venues] would be great, but, in building off what Will said, we also need those kids to come out and see bands, and support local music. Because a lot of these younger kids will download music from bands that are only in, like, Iceland, who are never going to tour anywhere close to here…You got to have an audience that’s willing to give local bands a shot…”

            Walker underscores this by adding,

            “We have a lot of our younger fans who can’t go to our shows because they [shows] are 21+ …I think it’s a disservice to the bands because they aren’t getting a chance to play to their entire fan base, like Ben said and building off that, I think it’s an absolute disservice to the younger people in this city because they don’t have anywhere they can go to enjoy music…”

             And, ultimately, ideas like these getting thrown out into the ether is how, sometimes, change can be brought about for the better. It is all a part of the broader conversation on music that bands like Graveshadow and countless others continue to have here in Sacramento, and abroad. There is always room for fresh ideas and new initiative, and Graveshadow is a band with that in spades.

Through their ironclad combination of determination, talent, and sheer love of their art form, Graveshadow continues to be a pillar of the local metal scene and the music scene as a whole. As I make my way to my car after saying goodbye, I am excited.

Some would say rejuvenated, even.

Talking with a group of people who mesh so well together, even in such a casual setting, has given me a good bit of warmth for these cold winter months. I, for one, look forward to what Graveshadow will bring to the table in the future.

Rebel Radio: Update! Oh yeah!

3 years ago, I was walking up to the front of Shady Coffee and Tea to meet up and talk with a strange man in the dark.

Wait, it’s not what it sounds like, I swear.

That man was one Tim Williamson, lead singer and guitarist of Roseville punk 3-piece Rebel Radio. Backed up by Jason Sensation on bass and Jerred Parkerson on drums, they have continuously carved out their stake in the Sacramento music scene. We met up on that fateful night to talk about his band, music, and whatever else came up. What became of that interview was shaped into my first published article for the Press Tribune, here in Roseville. It ignited a passion inside me for the written word I didn’t know was there in the first place. It was an experiment that paid off for both of us in the long run. 

Fast forward to today, and things have certainly changed quite a bit. I am meeting up with Tim at the same coffee shop, but this time on their sunny, warm patio surrounded by coffee drinking patrons and some of their wandering, babbling toddlers.

Tim and I plop down at our own table, and get to chatting over out caffeinated beverages. I notice he is wearing a Dodgers hat as we begin, but I let it slide, this time. We start chatting about upcoming shows they have on the horizon, and he fills me in on their current stats by saying,

                “We [the band] came to a decision that we weren’t going to do any of the ticket selling nonsense…We’ve stayed away from places like Ace of Spades and The Boardwalk. We’ve been playing places more like Blue Lamp, Café Colonial, TheColony, and stuff like that.”

                He also goes on to add that Jerred had just had a baby, so that was making scheduling a tad difficult, which is understandable.  Despite the recent challenges, they have been able to release their newest album, “Self-Titled”, which was recorded at Earth Tone studios in Sacramento. When it was released, Tim described the ensuing craziness after it release by explaining,

                “We got the album out, then we had this marathon week where we had out album release show that Sunday, we did the Buck-O-Nine show on a Thursday, then we played First Festival the next Sunday. And after that we were just kinda burnt out (laughs).”

                This relentless drive and love for playing is what has made Rebel Radio a band that people not only routinely come out to watch, but a band to respect in our local music scene. Tim has also done a lot since our first interview to contribute even more to the punk scene in Sacramento. When The Colony opened, Tim was immediately drawn in because it reminded him of a time in his past, which elaborated on by saying,

“Back when I was first getting into playing music, back in high school, a lot of shows were really DIY and under the radar, kinda illegal…there’d be a cooler full of beer, nobody checking ID’s, stuff like that…Venues like that and punk music were always really joined together. That feeling we got the first time we played there [The Colony] we were like ‘This is what it used to be like!’…it was like this little weird, unmarked door you would go to, and there’d be no sign there, and there would be 60 smelly kids packed in there to see some bands.”

The next year, the same guys who ran The Colony opened Café Colonial, also near downtown Sacramento. Guess who was there? Tim and Rebel Radio. He also mentioned that he used to run open mics at Café Colonial, but now he serves as more of a co-host with Marty Taters when they have the open mics once a month.

In terms of future shows, though, Tim tells me,

“The only thing we have booked right now is Nov. 19 with Voice of Addiction at the Café Colonial. Other than that we have just been taking our time, taking it easy, for now.”

Personally speaking, a lot of things have also changed in Tim’s day to day world. He works for a before and after school program with Star Education out in Granite Bay, which caters to younger child education. They recently have begun to expand into Roseville area schools, as well.

Another aspect of Tim’s life that has changed since our first talk, and it’s one concerning sobriety. According to Tim,

 “I’ve battled drug and alcohol abuse for pretty much my whole life. I’d say a good 20 years. About a year ago, I just got to a point where I saw that it was holding me back creatively, physically, mentally, and emotionally, you know. I just made the decision to try out sobriety, and I’ve been sober 11 months now.” Through a strong combination of Alcoholics Anonymous, and good old-fashioned willpower, Tim has cultivated his sobriety into a tool to help him become a better performer. He goes on to elaborate,

“Being a musician and performing it was all a part of it…I have social anxiety as it is so I just needed something to take the edge off. Which led to getting hammered and playing shows, and sounding terrible (laughs).” Performing and playing shows themselves proved to be their own set of challenges sometimes, too. Tim explains,

“The hardest times are when you get there to load in for your show, and then you’re sitting there just like, ‘What am I gonna do here?’…I got all this nervous energy and I have to do something with it! (laughs).”

                All in all, I can’t help but be amazed in two different ways after chatting about all this with Tim. One is the amazement at the fact that, despite the challenges that have popped up in front of him, Tim and the boys of Rebel Radio are not going to stop, no matter what gets in their way. With Tim at their helm, they will continuously charge forward and succeed regardless. To me, it serves as a great inspiration to never give up what you do even when the path is rocky and uncertain.

                The second realization I come to occurs to me after our delightful conversation has ended and I am walking to my car. I owe Tim, Jason, and Jerred a lot. If those three never got together to make a band, I would not be doing what I am doing right now. I feel like I wouldn’t have been given the confidence to put my words out there, or been given a resource to practice the written word with like this.   

                Thanks, guys. See you in the pit. 

Roseville: Sacramento Music's Minor Leagues, of sorts

            I am a huge baseball fan.

San Francisco Giants specifically.

Now, for those of you who aren’t as familiar with baseball as I am, there are the major leagues, and there are the minor leagues. The minors have three leagues in themselves: Single-A, AA, and AAA leagues, respectively, all feeding into a single major league team. Sacramento plays host to the Sacramento Rivercats, which is the AAA team that feeds into the San Francisco Giants.

Basically, I’m in a smaller version baseball heaven living here.

Now, believe it or not, I have found my own weird comparison to the local music scene in the Sacramento area. That’s right, a musician’s minor leagues.

Bear with me here for a second.

Roseville has been home to a recent resurgence of quality music teaching services. It used to be, for a good chunk of time, that you could get most of your musical education through school, with classes like band, guitar, and choir. While those are good resources to use, it can often be difficult to get individual help in a class of 20+ students all at once. And even then, if you chose to pursue it into college, you would continue to run into a similar situation, albeit with higher standards and greater difficulties. Unless you started your own band, of course.

Both are extremely rewarding, don't get me wrong, but have some serious potential in the discouragement department.

Some of the first places to offer this kind of education were: McLaughlinStudios in Loomis, The Music Store in Rocklin, and Skip’s Music in Sacramento. While they did offer the kind of personalized attention that students wanted, they were very spread out. Also, while they were excellent at serving and teaching their students, they still were limited to their local areas, and could only have so many students at one time. This left fertile ground here in Roseville, for a good chunk of time.

Over the last 10 years, or so, several stellar music instruction places have popped up right in the heart of downtown Roseville.

Imagine Music Instruction (IMI) is one of these places. Located in the same parking lot in two separate buildings off of Galilee Road in Roseville, they offer a huge range of instruction. They have classes in piano, guitar, bass, violin, voice and brass, and are staffed with a strong cast of musicians and teachers. They also give their kids the opportunity to play live in the form of recitals, put on at local venues by the teachers themselves. They always manage to jam pack the place, and the kids all walk away with huge smiles on their faces. They also play host to Rock Band classes, where they get students together and work on covers of rock songs. It’s things like this that give IMI a reputation as a place that fosters excitement around their music instruction tactics.   

Another place that often can be seen teaming up with IMI at their many events is One Eleven Music Studios. This place, located right in Old Town Roseville, has 2 buildings to optimize its effectiveness as an organization. On one side you have the instruction rooms, which house room for teaching of piano, bass, guitar, piano, and drums. On the other side, there is a recording studio where they also teach drums out of. In addition to this, founder and teacher Kevin Prince uses the studio to record his online lessons at Drummer101.com, where he further extends his reach as a teacher online. Kevin also plays host to musical day camps out of his studio as well, that are excellent ways for kids to not only interact with other fellow musicians around their age, but it also provides excellent, detailed instruction in a fun environment.

A third place here in Roseville, located near the corner of Vernon and Cirby, is CB Music Studios. They offer a wider list of instruction, including lessons in clarinet, sax, flute, cello, trumpet, ukulele and mandolin. In addition to this, they also have partnered with local charter schools to become their local vendor for their music programs. This, coupled with a fairly intensive theory-based education style, makes them a solid producer of both sides of the music instruction game.

Despite all these differing ways these places teach their students, they do all have something in common: the high quality of their teachers. They play host to musicians who gig regularly and have immersed themselves into what it takes to be a working musician and what to bring to the table, in terms of live performance. IMI has local musicians like Matt Pinder, and his brother Mike Pinder all have years of gigging under their belt. As well, they have Paul Lucia, who has the benefit of both plenty of live performance experience, and a plethora of classical music training. Vocally speaking, they also have Pamela Shankar among their ranks, who has sung the national anthem for the Sacramento Kings multiple times, and sung regularly with her father’s band, the Amir Shankar Band, and the Serra College Jazz Choir.

Kevin Prince also is chocked full of performing experience not only from his Drummer101 videos, but his excursions in the local music scene with multiple bands over the years. Whether in the studio or on stage, he never fails to deliver the quality of drumming he teaches.

All 3 studios also, at one point in time or another, have had Humble Wolf members Jayson Angove, David Albertson, and Christian Winger among their teaching rosters. These three know how to convey their passion for playing perfectly, and have experience to back it up by playing with multiple other bands as well, across all genres. Even across to other instruments, some of which I didn’t even know existed or could be played in ways they play them.

Okay, back to my original point: Baseball.

One of the main reason players benefit from time in the minors is their coaching staff. Every minor league affiliate has former big-leaguers coaching these young, up and coming players. Not only providing them with the necessary skills to play the game at their peak, but how to conduct themselves as people in the process. You can’t have a player succeed if he is going to panic every time a ball comes screaming his way. Learning from people who have been in your spot for years, sometimes decades, helps shape you into an effective baseball player.

Sometimes that’s not always the case but, more often than not, that what can help you get to the majors. And even when you do get the call, you still have seasoned ball players as coaches and managers helping you further more in the majors.

This fostering mentality is exactly what students get with music education at every place I mentioned above. It helps shape them into focused, well-rounded musicians, as well as people. They get the benefit of learning from their seasoned teachers (or coaches, if you prefer) and can help shape their musical future for themselves with the high quality tools they have been provided.

Once these students get to the “Majors” in the local scene, they will be better for it, having received their music education from these places.

One last thing they have in common, too: both these things sound much better with the roar of an excited crowd behind them. 

Humble Wolf: A Day in the Studio

         This particular Saturday dawned warm and sunny, as I made my way down Roseville Road. Nestled in the middle of a collection of auto repair shops and other nondescript garage sits another nondescript door, only this one is surrounded by a variety of wagons and SUVs. Not everyone knows that this is the entrance to Fat Cat studios, where engineer Sean Stack is laying down new tracks for local band Humble Wolf on this particular day.

         Led by Jayson Angove on vocals & guitar, with Chris Winger on guitar, David Albertson on bass, and Jesse Sherwood on drums, Humble Wolf has carved out its place in Sacramento music through the solid one-two punch of solid live performances and professional quality recordings and videos. Sean has been behind an overwhelming majority of their recordings, even helping Jayson fine-tune his recording capabilities over time. 

         I wrench open the door to the darkened front room, which leads back past the AC-chilled live room, where the clanks and clunks of Jesse and David setting up fill the wood-floored, gear-filled space. Jesse's drum kit is surrounded by an array of painstakingly placed microphones, and flanked by a Fender Twin Reverb, resting on top of a 4x10 cabinet.

         With handshakes all around, Jesse and David lead me into the control room where Jayson, Chris, and Sean are sitting at the main desk, faces illuminated by their multiple screens, glowing recording interfaces, and other pieces of equipment I can only guess as to what they do. I receive of of Jayson's trademark rib-altering hugs and say hello to everyone else. 

         Behind the main desk, sits a long table, covered in coffee cups, a bag of jelly beans and other personal effect. This separates a row of 4 Lazy-Boy recliners along the back wall. Look a little further to the right, and there is a tiny table dwarfed by the dozen of guitar and guitar-shaped bags, along with a huge stack of amp heads closer to the main desk. 

         I look at this stack, and the inner gear nerd in me goes a little haywire. You have an Ampeg SVT head, on the ground, along with an Egnater head, on top of an Orange Rockerverb 50, on top of a Mesa Rectifier. All painstakingly arranged into a pile of sonic clarity. Jayson explains, when I ask about the pile,

         "Most of my tone comes from the Egnater, because I like the tone. Chris is gonna play his Blackstar most of the time on this album..."

         Soon enough, Jayson heads back to the computer to go over more aspects of the recording, when I notice a particularly out of place object among the pile of instruments in the corner. 

It's a freshly tapped keg. Sitting in a red wagon. Surrounded by ice. David explains, 

         "I won this guy here in a raffle. Cost me $4 after taxes."

         After I pour myself an ice-cold IPA, I turn to see Sean playing scratch tracks, as Jesse gives them a brief listen. These are the scratch tracks for one of their new songs "No Way Out", which Jesse is miming the movements to himself already. With a tap of the space bar, Sean turns to Jesse,

         "You ready?"

         "Hell yeah, bro!"

         Jesse walks on into the live room and takes his seat behind the kit, where he will actually be behind for a good chunk of the day, so they can get the drum tacks laid down all at once. Headphones on and the tracks queued up, they start recording. The tracks, coupled with Jesse's hard, fast, and flailing drum style helps drive a sound into your head that is reminiscent of AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, and The Black Keys all rolled into one.
         You can't help but smile watching Jesse lay these down, with Jayson's guitar echoing in the background. Jayson and Sean are staring out into the live room, similar smirk on their faces. Jayson says with a smile,
         "Man, he's beating the crap of those drums!"
         With a final pop of the snare, Jesse's take is done. He gets up and comes into the control room, fanning himself.
         "Well, that deserves a beer," he muse to himself. David and I agree, and all three of us clink our plastic cups together.
         Jayson and Sean que up "Fiction for Liars", another new track, and Jesse settles back into his throne and, yet again, as the backing track plays, more of the same enthusiastic head bobbing happens from everyone listening in.
         "Look at him go! He's an animal!" Jayson says enthusiastically.
         After a couple takes on this track, Jayson, Jesse, and Sean crowd around the monitors and fine tune the track even more.
         Deciding to take a break, I joined David and Chris in the left corner of the control room and played a few games of GoldenEye on the studio's resident N64. Soon enough, after David makes us look like suckers, Jesse is getting ready to record another track. This one, titled "10-4" has a strange syncopation to it's tracks I can't really put my finger on. Come to find out, according to Jayson, the song is in 10/4 time, lending itself to a strange heavy handedness I haven't heard in a while.
         Once again, Jesse hops behind his kit and starts recording. The first thing I think of when hearing his drumming is how John Bonham-esque his fills have become in this song, and how they roil through the song's low end with the guitar tone. It reminds me of some of the newer, heavier tracks Rush has made in their recent years, along with a generous helping of Queens of the Stone Age. There are a few stops and restarts though, as Jayson and Sean work with Jesse to get the best possible drum track down.
         Once they do, everybody tops off their beer cups, and kicks back as Sean sets to fine-tuning the track before him and Jayson begins to prep for recording the new and improved guitar parts.
         All in a days work for one of the harder working bands in the local area.
         As cups begin to get emptier, the conversation grows more lighthearted, and you begin to realize what helps this band take shape and hold itself together.
         Friendship. And determination.
         These virtues, coupled with the diverse personalities of this band, make it very obvious where their success comes from.
         I make my way down the hall again as laughter and chatter emanate out from behind me, and follow me out into the blinding afternoon sun. The music of the day still ringing through my head.


         Be sure to give Humble Wolf a like on Facebook and a listen on Soundcloud, and stay tuned for their upcoming list of shows and releases.


         Be ready. I know I am.

Mission Statement

First and foremost, I am a writer.

Not a journalist, a writer. 

Over the course of the last few years, I have been writing for local publications in the Roseville (Roseville Press Tribune 1, 2, 3, 4, 5) and Sacramento (ThreatCon Nation 1, 2, 3) area, and have come across some recent challenges. The main one being that there are stories I want to tell that won't have a place in the publications I have come to be familiar with. Not that that is a bad thing, it's just I have something I want to get across, and this medium would be the most conducive for that. 

Back to that first statement, though. 

I believe the term journalist is reserved for people who write and talk about news, current events, and other issues on a level I simply do not do. Its not that I don't want to, I just don't feel like I would be any good at it. That's why I like writing about music, people, happenings, comings and goings, and stuff like that. I want to tell a story, convey feelings, and make whoever reads what I write feel and see from my perspective. I want to write about what I know, and these things are what I know about the best.

Does that make sense?

I hope it does, because this is going to be the place where I will convey these desires, ramblings, images, and sounds. I hope I can do that well, and I hope you enjoy figuring it all out with me.