aaron schwab

regardless of your “summertime” song of choice, the summer of 2008 is dangerously close to ending, and — barring the year off i took between high school and college — this will be my first September without a back-to-school fiasco since 1991. it feels a little weird to not be surrounded by course selection forms and “welcome back” pamphlets to ignore, but it’s kind of relieving, too. instead of worrying about which classes i’m going to nap through, i can spend my fall saving up hardcore towards one of those “car” things everyone’s been raving about lately; i’ve come to the conclusion that i desperately, desperately need one for my wacky adventures and misadventures alike.

sorry to not delve into greater detail with this post — i’ve got a lawn to mow and a friend who’s in living arrangement transition to visit! and possibly a new band practice space to move into — more on that later.

today was my second day of work this week at Joe’s place, out in the countryside of New Hamburg. even though today was only my second time at his house, i feel i’ve already learned a lot, including how badly my allergies flare up when i’m plucked from the comforting smog blanket of the city and plopped into somewhat fresh air, through which the likes of pollen is free to drift. i popped a brand-nameless allergy pill this morning and even though my sinuses were behaving, it seemed to do nothing to prevent my urge to claw my eyes out of my head. fortunately, Mary was packing a different kind of discount allergy pill which seemed to work better for me, along with the eyedrops i had for that much-needed eyeball lubrication. one more (half) day of makeshift grad session shooting at Joe’s farm before the long weekend, which i still need to plan some sort of adventure for!

it’s been another couple of days, hasn’t it?

well, Paramore exceeded the expectations i had for them in a few different ways when Cagney, Gwyneth and i went to see them at the Kool Haus on Saturday. first of all, i’ve never stood in a lineup for a concert like i did on Saturday. the Kool Haus isn’t gigantic, but the line wrapped completely around the building (like an “o”) and the continued past it down the street (so more like a “q” than an “o.”) at 22, i was probably in the oldest 10% of the lineup, which i found not only entertaining, but relieving; a feeling that was affirmed when i flashed my ID so i could hang out in the relatively sparsely-populated bar area as opposed to trying to find a spot in the sardine can that was the all ages floor.

secondly, i’ve never seen concert venue staff treat concertgoers how the Kool Haus staff treated everyone on Saturday. upon entering the place, i noticed that everyone on the floor was seated. seriously, just sitting there, as if awaiting a story and naptime from their kindergarten teacher — an analogy that really hammered home how young most of the crowd was. i asked a security guard what the deal was with that, and she told me that some kids had been in line for 12 hours or something like that, so they didn’t want any of them to pass out from exhaustion. as commendable as this is, i had to shake my head a little with a slightly open jaw; when i was a wee lad, passing out from heat and exhaustion at concerts was par for the course! pussies. but i digress; when 90% of one’s patrons are the better part of a decade away from Canada’s drinking age, i can see the motivation to minimalize issues of liability.

the show itself was awesome. the openers — Paper Route, Phantom Planet and Jack’s Mannequin — i didn’t really care for, but they were all good bands in their own right. notable is how Phantom Planet closed their set with the theme song to everyone’s favourite post-90210 teen drama — the likes of which i’m guilty of enjoying — which i learned they actually composed (which explains why it sounded so spot-on.)

Paramore was great and they did what they do best the whole time they were on, and that’s play really catchy, girly pop songs. Hayley sounds incredible live, and i was stoked to learn that the girl can actually sing. and Jeremy actually managed to dart backwards across the stage and execute a legit backflip in the middle of playing bass, which was rather entertaining (and probably took a lot of practice.) they closed their set with Hallelujah and encored with Misery Business, so no surprises there.

today was my first day of actual work for the week; yesterday involved Joe and i grabbing a couple lounge seats at Matter of Taste to discuss paperwork and long-term planning, including issues involving my scheduling and payment, the resolutions of which i’m extremely pleased with. today, however, Joe and i set up shop in his very own living room of all places with a practice backdrop and lighting setup. tomorrow’s day will probably involve Mary (our newest family member) and i going over the draft-edition shooting handbook i’ve put together and getting some practice pops in before we put our noses to the proverbial grindstone when we start shooting engineering grads at the U of W again on the 15th.

oh, and my new health card came:

scope the shadow behind my left eyelet. man, i look like a tool, but it’s all good — that’s what photo ID is supposed to do!

only two blogs written this week! this is a low point for me, in terms of keeping this thing up to date every second day, if not every day.

well, Wednesday night was the first night this week that i slept in my own bed, which — as backwards as it sounds — was a little weird for me. i awoke yesterday to a plugged-up nose that i actually caught a bit of a preview on Wednesday morning, but i got worse as the day went on; throughout the day, i went from feeling a little sniffly to being an outright snot fountain. i ended up doing two photoshoots yesterday and, as much as i enjoyed taking pictures, i wasn’t too keen on the fact that my sinuses felt like they were going to implode. fortunately, i powered through the day and ended up downing some allergy medication, the likes of which, over yesterday and today, seem to have improved my condition to just the occasional sniffle.

i feel the photoshoots from yesterday turned out quite well, regardless, and i’m rather proud of how a few of them are lit, considering i only had one flash and a stretchy cable to light with. check out promotional photos of Andreas here (andreasbernard.com launches September 1) and another set of promotional photos for Set Anchors can be seen here! both shoots were very different in my creative approach to them but both were tons of fun, and i’m stoked on the results.

off to bed i go now; i need some zzz’s if i want to be lucid for tomorrow’s trip to Toronto for Paramore with Cagney and Gwynneth!

i can’t believe i haven’t written here since last Friday after the Radiohead concert. suffice to say a lot’s happened since then.

the morning after Radiohead, i went out for breakfast with Jeff and Sara — Cagney thought it would be nice if i’d take them out in Waterloo a little because she works Saturday mornings, and i had to agree. Jeff and Sara are righteous people, as is anyone who’d go with me to Radiohead. after heading to Benny’s for breakfast and then to Sweet Dreams for bubble tea and a scathing round of 90’s-edition Trivial Pursuit (which had “Earthworm Jim,” “Newt Gingrich” and “Yahoo!” as answers on more than one occasion, strangely enough.)

i crashed at Cagney’s place on Saturday night and found out, upon waking up on Sunday morning, that Sunday’s band practice had to be cancelled or postponed, which left the afternoon to Cagney and i. after a repeat visit (on my part) to Benny’s for breakfast, we walked up to Conestoga Mall, where i was convinced to buy yet another pair of shoes — not that i’m complaining, mind you, and then to Chapters to peruse the tattoo magazines and stacks of books we both want to read but are far too lazy most of the time — at least that’s my issue.

i crashed at Cagney’s place Monday night as well, and yet again last night. i swear, i rarely see my own bed nowadays; it’s a good thing Cagney makes for pleasant company! she also likes making me bagels with herb and garlic cream cheese in the morning, so i consider myself pretty lucky. Monday night in particular saw a bit of a funny moment; there was a point in the evening where Cagney was reclined on her futon with a book and i was doing puzzles out of a crossword book atop her legs, which were stretched out across my lap. i pointed out our activities to Cagney, who had a laugh over the fact that it ties in so well with the fact that we’re both 85 years old.

yesterday during the day, though, i got bored and hopped onto my bike as i tend to do when i experience one of my small bursts of wanderlust. i biked down to Matter of Taste where i tried their berry iced tea (which is amazing, by the way) before deciding on the spot to head north up King Street towards Waterloo and continue along King until i got tired — which didn’t happen until the other side of St. Jacobs. i’ve known people to make longer bike treks (my friend Laura making it from Guelph to downtown Kitchener rings a bell), but i surprised myself in doing this particular distance out of sheer boredom — and it only took and hour each way! i even bought a jar of strawberry jam from an old mennonite lady who was selling various jams and jellies on her front lawn, partially to prove to myself that i actually made that bike trip and partially because i really, really like strawberry jam.

after getting back home and feeling my knees turn into said jam, i showered, cleaned up a little, ate and headed back to Cagney’s for a haircut when she got home from work. she had some new ideas for my uncontrollably fried mop and we’re both pretty stoked on the end results! i love being able to tell people that one of the side effects of dating a hairstylist is how i can sit there and exert no effort and still end up with dope haircuts (not to mention the fact that i now have a fashion consultant when i go shopping for clothes.)

Cagney had to work at eleven this morning, so i two-feet-and-a-heartbeat’d it home after walking her to work, which only took me about an hour and a quarter (which is almost exactly as long as Google Maps says it’ll take.) now, i’m sitting here, freshly showered again and getting ready to do some work on the company handbook for work next week while drinking a 900mL bottle of carrot-apple-peach juice.

oh, and in case you’re wondering about the title of this blog, i found a used copy of Failure’s Fantastic Planet at The Beat Goes On in Waterloo on my way to St. Jacob’s yesterday. The Nurse Who Loved Me is such a good song, and A Perfect Circle’s cover of it is the reason i know about Failure — just one more thing to love about APC, i suppose.

it’s late and i’m tired and have a breakfast date with Sara and Jeff tomorrow, so i’ll be brief; Radiohead was phenominal tonight.

i lost track of time at one point, but they played for what must’ve been over two hours, including seven extra songs spread over two full encores. i could hardly believe it. even though we could barely see from the lawn of the amphitheatre — with the exception of Cagney, who was treated to shoulder-side seating for the first song of the first encore, care of Jeff and myself — we could hear everything perfectly. the band finished their regular set with Bodysnatchers, the first encore with Street Spirit (which was the highlight of the show for me) and the second encore with Everything In Its Right Place (which came very close to being the highlight of the night for me, as did No Surprises, Pyramid Song, Optimistic, House of Cards and Talk Show Host.)

that said, tonight’s performance definitely has a place in the top five concerts i’ve ever been to — alongside Silverchair, Tool, Thrice and Dredg — and the light show paralleled the laser show Tool put on last year.

booting around Toronto beforehand to shop a little and get lunch at a Jack Astor’s that’s significantly nicer than the one we have in Kitchener was fun, too. i found a place in my dwindling budget for a new shirt at H&M (they’re dirt cheap there for graphic tees, i couldn’t not!) and treated myself to a few chains — like, eleven — of Fizz candy and a flavour of Jones i’d never had before at a candy shop, the name of which escapes me.

i’m definitely looking forward to next week’s Toronto trip (which will make my fourth in a month) with Cagney and Gwyneth for Paramore, the likes of which is on a Saturday night, which probably means we’ll be able to take our time coming home, as no one has to work the following Sunday.

as an avid cyclist (who pays no attention to the formal aspects of the sport but simply uses a bicycle to get damn near everywhere that’s not so far as to merit driving), i have a few grievances to air regarding certain individuals on the roads and sidewalks in Kitchener-Waterloo, who somehow feel their method of locomotion is superior to mine.

motorists who do nothing to get out of my way when i’m riding on the road. really, now — check your left blind spot and nudge your wheel just enough so that i don’t have to feel the wake of your side mirror.

pedestrians who do nothing to get out of my way when i’m riding on the sidewalk. i realize it’s technically illegal to ride my bike on the sidewalks in town, but sometimes i don’t feel confident in the drivers on a particular road to do the right thing and try to not hit me (King Street in Kitchener and Waterloo come to mind, as do roads with a speed limit of 70 or 80 klicks), so i feel safer riding on the sidewalks. if i’m on the sidewalk and coming towards you, i’ll do my best to occupy less than half of the sidewalk; i invite the assholes who plod down the middle of the sidewalk to do the same.

drivers who turn right on red lights without noticing me coming from their right side, even though i’m cycling in the very direction they’re turning. envision a compass rose; i’m biking due north on a green light, and some asshat is turning from the west on a red light. they roll up to their stop line, stop (sometimes), look left for oncoming traffic and then gun it. except they didn’t bother to first check in the very direction they’re turning, so they start their turn without seeing me. a swerve and a “HEY!” on my part usually does the trick. i know i’m partially at fault, as this situation occurs when i’m riding on the sidewalk, but i wouldn’t feel prompted to do so if less drivers sucked at watching out for me when i’m on the road.

pedestrians who deliberately strike me when i’m riding on the sidewalk. okay, this is an isolated incident from today but i feel it bears mention.

i was cruising up Frederick Street’s sidewalk in Kitchener today and i noticed a man walking towards me. he was an older-looking fellow, probably in his sixties. i did what i always do when approaching a pedestrian; scoot far to one side of the sidewalk, slow down and attempt to make eye contact with the approaching pedestrian for an affirmative nod or smile. i’m a fairly good-natured person, i think, and i like letting pedestrians know that i’m taking deliberate steps to avoid causing them any hassle.

this particular man, however, decided it would be wise to reach out and punch me in the arm as i passed him. it didn’t hurt terribly much or cause me any damage by any means, but really — who fucking reaches out and punches someone? at first, i didn’t say or do anything, because that sort of thing just doesn’t happen. but, hey — it happened. i turned around and shouted “excuse me!” the man, clearly uninterested in friendly conversation, grunted and kepy walking.

i decided to follow him and ask why he hit me as i passed him, to which he responded that i had in fact hit him first. i knew this to be bullshit, but i apologized if in fact i did graze him and i asked him where he’d been hit, to which he responded by pointing to his arm (this was all taking place with me walking beside this man as he continuously attempted to sluff me off, by the way.) i then asked him why he decided to hit me, and he said he didn’t. by now, i knew he was lying; if i had indeed hit this man as i biked past him, there’s no way in hell he would’ve had the time to respond by punching me in the arm.

he then went on to tell me, loudly and with a thick German accent, that it’s illegal for me to ride my bike on the sidewalk and that i belong on the road. i told him that i was well aware of this fact, but until motorists on busy streets learn to safely drive around bicycles, i’ll take my chances on sidewalks. i then pointed out that i make every accomodation i can to be safe on the sidewalks; i hug the edge of the sidewalk in the presence of pedestrians, even going onto boulevards and medians should the need arise. i’ve even gotten off my bike and walked or stopped until people have passed in the interest of being safe, all while making sure to acknowledge my considerations with pedestrians.

i was then told of an article in the newspaper last week, explaining how bicycles are an increasing threat to pedestrians and when i told the man that i’d read the article and outlined it to him, he shrugged me off with a “yeah, yeah, yeah.” i’m sorry sir, but just because i’m young doesn’t mean i’m stupid. shortly thereafter, i was told i had an ugly monkey face — quite the non sequitur — to which i explained that my parents can be blamed for that, but that doesn’t explain why the man hit me in the first place. i was then told that i’d be punched on the nose if i didn’t stop bothering the man (you know, because threats make a nice supplement to assault.)

after trying to explain my position and demanding an explanation one final time, i was told to fuck off. knowing very well by that point in the conversation that my attempts at reason were lost on the man, i said “fuck you, old man” and very cordially explained that the problem isn’t with youth today; it’s with ignorant old bastards such as himself.

now, the fact that this man hit me doesn’t really bother me, nor does the fact that he had beef with me riding my bike on the sidewalk. what grinds my gears more than most things, however, is when people are unwilling — not unable to understand, but blatantly unwilling — to listen to reason. as angry as this man was, i would’ve been happier than a pig in shit if he would’ve only taken the time to listen to me fairly, as i would’ve been more than happy to do for him. i find it extremely socially counterproductive to quash contradictory viewpoints without entertaining them; to do so implies that one thinks the only right way is their own, which is seldom true. everyone can always benefit from listening to everyone else, and few things bother me about others than willful ignorance and a refusal to give others a chance to speak.

i think i’ve slept in my own bed once this week, and i’ve stayed elsewhere more than at home in the past few days (once at Chris’ place in Guelph after last Saturday’s house show and the rest at Cagney’s; not that i’m complaining, mind you.) i’ve also only blogged once this week (that most of you know of) mostly due to a lack of exciting happenings, but i finally managed to edit and upload the photos i took at Rock the Mill and Jay and Sam’s house show last weekend. Lifestory’s Rock the Mill set can be seen here and photos of Farewell to Freeway, The Artist Life and Lifestory can be found here, here and here, respectively. it was a surprise to be able to shoot Lifestory twice in one day and it was a blast as always.

extra special congratulations to The Artist Life as well for their spot in this month’s Alternative Press in the AP&R Unsigned Bands of the Month section! it was a nice surprise to see them in there when i got this issue in the mail, two days after shooting them at someone’s house.

the rest of the week is shaping up to be quite a rollercoaster ride: Tim and i need to schedule a meeting with Matt posthaste to discuss the rental of a jamhall near downtown, the offer of which literally fell into my lap. i won’t divulge many details until things are solidified, but suffice to say this is an opportunity that we can’t afford to pass up for the sake of the band’s welfare.

Friday, as i’ve probably mentioned a few times, will have Cagney, Sara, Jeff and i on a Greyhound to Toronto for Radiohead, the likes of which i’ll gladly get soaked on the lawn section of the amphitheatre for if this rain we’ve been having keeps up and follows us to Toronto. stay tuned, as i’m sure i’ll be twice as giddy over this by tomorrow!

i’m currently sitting on Chris’ laptop in his room in Guelph, where i’ll be crashing for the night. i’ve been awake for 22 hours, and i have to be awake again in six. today has felt so long and so many things have happened that i feel as though i owe this blog a week’s worth of entries.

first off, i ate seven times today. seven. and somehow, i’m still hungry. more on this later.

this morning, i woke up at Cagney’s place again, bright and early; she had to work at nine, so our alarms went off just after six (i have no idea how i’ve made it this far through the day without having napped.) while she was getting ready for work, i ran out to grab a chocolate milk for her and a bagel and tea for myself (#1.) then, during and after finding a way home, i began to plan my day around securing transportation to and from Rock the Mill in Cambridge. 27 bands across two stages, and i had a photo pass waiting for me with one of the event coordinators — all i had to do was find a way there and back, the likes of which Chris ended up being able to take care of for me after he got off work earlier than expected. the forecast had been calling for rain throughout the day, so, after having a bowl of cereal for my second breakfast (#2), i packed up some plastic garbage bags and a windbreaker alongside my camera bag and lunch bag full of sandwiches, and we were off.

on the way, Chris told me about a panhandler he’d seen at an expressway ramp by my place as he was coming from work to pick me up, and how he felt inclined to go back and buy him Burger King for lunch if indeed he was still there as we headed to Cambridge. he was, and so Chris and i took him to BK for a quick bite (#3.) his name was Chad, and it turns out he’d recently been put out of work due to an on-the-job injury — he used to work in electroplating, and he managed to tear out his rotator cuff and dislodge several discs in his neck lifting a heavy piece of metal. his shoulder surgery isn’t slated to take place until next year, and, sadly enough, he’s had to resort to panhandling to make up for the (hopefully temporary) loss of his livelihood. now, anyone could point the finger and accuse Chad of blowing smoke about his panhandling backstory, but i have a hard time believing that someone would subject themselves to that level of embarrassment for the sake of easy income, if indeed panhandling is an easy cash grab.

after bidding Chad farewell and good luck, getting to the festival at Dickson Park and securing my media pass (which belonged to Taylor but was passed off to me by Marshall because Taylor was shooting a wedding today), i managed to shoot Lifestory:Monologue’s set before the rain set in enough to prompt me to leave my camera safe and dry in the car for the rest of the day. after packing my lenses and camera up, Chris and i made a mad and somewhat damp dash for the car, where we made makeshift ponchos out of the garbage bags i’d brought and dug into some of our sandwich supply (#4.) in hindsight, it’s a bummer that i only got to shoot one band; the rain was on and off so i’m sure i could’ve shot more, but it was on often enough to justify foregoing the opportunity to do so. after the first downpour of the afternoon, the RTM crew spent a good hour cleaning up and shutting down the second stage — which was the uncovered stage — during which time Chris and i took a stroll and found a Mr. Sub (#5.)

after getting back from that and realizing we’d locked the keys in the car, we gave a tow truck company a ring. it took the serviceman from the company over an hour to get to our location and almost 20 minutes to lodge his tools into the car and unlock the driver’s side door. during this period of waiting, it rained again, and by “rained again,” i mean “mother nature laughed, said ‘fuck you’ and destroyed us with curtains of frigid ice water”; enough to prompt the RTM officials to throw in the towel and can the rest of the festival. i didn’t care by this point, though, and i don’t think Chris did either; once we finally got into the car, all we could think about was getting back to my place to dry up — and lest we forget those last two sandwiches (#6.)

in light of Rock the Mill being ironically cancelled by the former half of “rain or shine,” Jay of Lifestory and Sam (formerly of Lifestory) decided to offer up their living room for a house show for some of the bands that had their parade rained upon, namely The Kathleen Turner Overdrive, Farewell to Freeway and The Artist Life, along with an encore set from Lifestory themselves (for which their drummer, Brett, was absent, and so Chris filled in for two songs, and Richie from Freeway played another two.) i’ve photographed Lifestory’s live sets many times, but this is the first time i’ve gotten the chance to shoot two separate LS:M sets on the same day! oh, Candice and i managed to run to Subway for dinner before the first band had started (#7.)

the show itself absolutely destroyed — there’s something about the environment at a house show that just makes the whole evening feel special; everyone seems like everyone else’s buddy and the music feels a lot more intimate, cringe at the term though i may. it was easily the best set i’ve seen Lifestory play (well, five sixths of Lifestory plus subs), and i got some of my best concert photos to date from the house show tonight. as usual, expect band photos to surface on Flickr within the next few days.

well, it’s four in the morning on what’s technically Sunday, and i have to be up in six hours and home in seven i order to make it to band practice by noon. hopefully i’ll be able to grab a nap if i need one between that and Candice’s birthday celebrations at Phil’s at night!

after a lengthy wait, our batch of seven-inch singles is pressed, lacquered, labelled and in our hands, courtesy the wonderful people at Samo Media!

they’ll be available for sale from myself, Matt or Tim for the low and very negotiable price of $2. and hey, they make dope souvenirs or wall decorations for people without record players. get on it!

in other news, i’ve been spending my week running (or trying to run) errands pertaining to next Friday’s trip to Toronto for Radiohead; namely getting Greyhound bus tickets to get us there. after a spot of confusion, four tickets for the bus for next Friday morning, along with four concert tickets, are tacked to my corkboard for safekeeping. so please, don’t let me forget they’re there! (that last line is more or less directed at Cagney, Sara and Jeff; if i were to forget the tickets at home — which i damn well won’t — those three would be the first to remind me by swiftly beating my ass.)