Friday, May 15, 2015

More Adventures in Dating, Beehive Kicking, and the Dreamy's Bestie Button Down Black Shirt Drama

Ok.. First, I know I missed last week and I suck and I'm sorry for depriving you of your weekly MSG2L fix. If it makes you feel any better, the topic of this week's post will at least give you some indication as to why. It's been a bit hectic the past couple weeks what with dealing with the backlash of my last post Miss Slik's Review of Dance Gavin Dance at Empire aka Mr. Dreamy's Big Metal Band Show and then of course last weekend was busy because the Christian Grey of my life came to visit... which was nothing short of lovely and epic. So let me go ahead and get you caught up. I actually need to vent this shit out anyway because it's been next level extra.

Well, I'm happy to report that my insane months long dry spell finally came to an end.. not last weekend as I had originally planned... but actually the night of the Mr. Dreamy Band Show because I ended up bringing home a little souvenir. There was a certain person who attended the show that Mr. Dreamy had mentioned to me in passing a several weeks prior was his new bestie... Let's call him Dustin. Well when I saw him at the show, I thought he was cute and within about 5 minutes of meeting him I found out he thought I was too when he asked me what my backstage pass was and then checked out my ass. Ding ding. Game fucking on.. Especially after what happened later that evening.

After I finished interviewing the bands, I was super pissed because Mr. Dreamy didn't even bother showing up to the interview with his band. He claimed he was busy dealing with a situation because a couple of his friends were getting arrested outside.. They did not get arrested. They got citations for weed possession. Cindy told me she actually saw him standing by the bar outside the lounge for most of the interview and didn't even bother to come in. Then when I came out he was still standing there so I bitched him out for missing the interview. He was whatever about it and didn't even apologize or seem to care how uncool it was at all.. So in that moment I finally hit my breaking point on the Dreamy Drama.

This was when I made a very calculated move and decided to go find Dreamy's bestie. We'd been flirting a bit all night so I figured why not exact some basic bitch revenge? I went back in the lounge and found him sitting in a chair all bummed out because during my last band interview he'd walked by with tray full of drinks he was getting for friends and spilled them on the floor. This was the second tray he'd actually dropped and his bad waitressing skills were wreaking havoc on his bar tab. He looked all sad so I cheered him up, took his hand, and said, "Come on sweety, let's go get you some alcohol." 

We went to the bar in the main room to get drinks and he decided we should do shots and, even though I had offered to buy him a drink and told the bartender to put what he wanted on my tab, he pulled a sneaky move and paid for everything. This impressed me. So we're running around and talking and flirting and whatnot and somewhere in there he mentions that he's bisexual, which I'm cool with cause that means he still likes chicks and actually wasn't surprised by considering he was slightly effeminate and had a bit of an androgynous vibe about him. I actually thought he was gay which I think I asked and may have been what prompted him to disclose his sexual orientation.. And then he drops the bomb on me... Wait for it... that Mr. Dreamy is bisexual too... and.. Oh it gets better... that they've been getting intimate on a somewhat regular basis... and even better... including that morning.

So remember way back weeks ago in my post Miss Slik's Guide to Dating: The 3 Date Rule when I said how Mr. Dreamy had said all that anti-monogamy stuff? Well turns out I was all wrong about his reasoning for having said that. I thought he just wanted to bang a bunch of chicks... He actually meant he just wanted to bang a bunch of everybody.. and a certain somebody in particular... His new bestie who'd now just become my new favorite person. What's really funny is that both Mr. Dreamy and his bestie had recently gotten out of long term relationships with women so they could be unfettered and sexually free.. and I guess at that point neither of their ex-girlfriends knew about it and were actually trying to reconcile and get back together not knowing they were still being lied to about the actual reasons for the breakups.

Anyway, Dreamy's bestie and I proceeded to make out everywhere.. and I mean EVERYWHERE... Outside while we smoked cigarettes right in front of Mr. Dreamy, in the hallways, in the middle of the crowd, by the bar, and even in the ladies room. Meanwhile I'm learning more about his involvement with Mr. Dreamy and kept having to reiterate the fact that I've never fucked Mr. Dreamy because his bestie couldn't wrap his brain around why I hadn't given the size and beauty of Mr. Dreamy's endowment.. which I was well aware of, hence my prior offers of sex and burritos after having shot him down on our 1st date. Dreamy's bestie also informed me that he happens to share a similar interest with me and the Christian Grey of my life as he is also into certain BDSM activities... and when I expressed interest in participating in interesting things of that nature with him, he said he would be interested in participating as well.. Ding ding.

Well the show ended and Dreamy's bestie asked if I wanted to come back to Mr. Dreamy's place for a little after party. I was not very interested in going out there and neither were Cindy and William. Since Cindy was spending the night at my apartment I explained that I needed to go with them, which meant we were going home. So this is when Dreamy's bestie decides he wants to come with us back to my place instead of going home with Mr. Dreamy... which I was hesitant about.. But he was pretty persistent.

We all then went outside and apparently while I was off taking pics of our Most Photogenic special award winner, Dreamy's bestie told Mr. Dreamy that he was going with me and asked Mr. Dreamy to pick him up from my place later. Cindy said Mr. Dreamy's eyes got big as saucers and he turned and looked over at me in disbelief like "WHAAAAATTT?! How the fuck did this happen?!?" I wish I could've seen his face because that would've been awesome.

Dreamy's bestie grabs his stuff and I see Mr. Dreamy say something to him like he's trying to talk him out of it. I later found out from Dreamy's bestie that what Mr. Dreamy was whispering to him is that he had apparently sorted out a little sexual rendezvous with some girl that I guess he'd planned on the 2 of them sharing.. But Dreamy's bestie said he'd rather have a night on his own. This thrilled me to no end because not only had I stolen Mr. Dreamy's little plaything but I ruined his night by making his ménage à trois a much less interesting ménage á deux.

So we left and headed back to my apartment. Cindy decided that since we'd gotten out earlier than she thought we would she'd go ahead and drive home and give Dreamy's bestie and I some alone time... I was sitting there like "Uh Oh" cause I knew I was in trouble. Between me being drunk and him being all respectful and shit and saying we didn't have to have sex and that he's not the hit it and quit it type, the last of my resolve to hold off disappeared and somehow this dude found the key to my imaginary chastity belt... 

Plus dude eats pussy like a champ. Honestly, I could really give a flying fuck whose dick he sucked that morning. If he put the spit shine on Mr. Dreamy the way he did on me, it's no wonder dude drives all over 3 states and Hell's half acre for him. Lemmetellyasomething, that boy worked me the fuck out and vice versa. I ended that damn dry spell a few times that night... and then again the next morning. *Brushes pimp dust off shoulders*. In the meantime though, we had some real talk bonding moments and compared Dreamy notes, which was both very weird and insightful, while we cuddled and he played my guitar naked and shit... which I really wish dudes would stop doing post coitus without asking me first.

And then somewhere in there, things took a weird turn and he got all sad and for some reason I can't remember, he said, "Someone like you would never date someone like me." I'm sitting there thinking 'Ah hell, this dude looks like he is about to cry all over my bed. I can't tell him that he's right.' So instead I'm like, "There there.. Of course I would date someone like you." 

You're damn right I lied straight through my fucking teeth because there was no way in hell I was telling this dude the truth, especially not in that moment cause honesty does not work with drunk, sad, slightly belligerent, naked people. It was the wrong time for unfortunate truths.. I just wanted to have fun so I placated him for the sake of not ruining my entertainment. 

We ended up passing out though around 3:00am and the cherry on the sundae of my revenge fucking was that while we were asleep, Mr. Dreamy actually showed up knocking on my door at like 5:00am trying to pick his bestie up and I didn't realize what was going on. Felicity was flipping out but I was not awake. Then I got a call from Mr. Dreamy but I didn't know the 2 things were related so I ignored his call. He then had to drive all the way back to my place a few hours later in rush hour traffic to pick his bestie up before I left for work. 

Before Dreamy's bestie left though he was trying to get his stuff together and couldn't figure out what he'd done with his black button down dress shirt and his tie he had been wearing. I honestly couldn't remember if he was wearing it when he left so I was no help. But later when I was cleaning up from the combo sex tornado and usual dog destruction I found his shirt hiding in one of my dining chairs. So I texted him to let him know I had it. I still have no clue what happened to his tie.

We continued texting a bit throughout the week, which was hectic to say the least between working on the Quadruple Post Extravaganza and preparing for my DJ gig. I was still pissed at Mr. Dreamy for having missed the interview but Cindy pointed out that he may not have come because I'd embarrassed him over the Dreamy Drama on the blog which all of his bandmates were now aware of. In light of this, I enlisted Dreamy's bestie's help to persuade Mr. Dreamy to do the interview so I could add in his responses.

Fortunately, my little helper was successful and Mr. Dreamy called me and did the interview. He even texted me after we got off the phone to apologize for being a little short with me in the beginning of our conversation. I hit up Dreamy's bestie to thank him for helping with that. Then we chatted for a bit and I got on him about not having accepted my Facebook friend request yet. This is when he tells me that Mr. Dreamy actually gave him some weird ominous warning about me and told him I wanted monogamy and a serious relationship.

This apparently made Dreamy's bestie apprehensive to friend me on Facebook because he was concerned I would post all kinds of stuff to his wall. Since he was still friends with his ex-girlfriend and hanging out with her all the time, he didn't want her knowing he was being "slutty". I told him that I don't really post a lot of things to people's walls in general, especially dudes with whom I'm just casually involved, because I don't want to blow up my own spot. I already knew about the shit with his ex though because he told me the night we met. I'd also told him about the Christian Grey of my life and how he was coming to visit and whatnot. So for the time being, I had zero interest getting seriously involved with anyone because that would hinder my plans.

I also then made it very clear that Mr. Dreamy was incorrect as far as what my intentions were with his bestie and explained that based on his current situation and sexual proclivities, I wasn't interested in dating him... which was awkward as fuck for me considering his little breakdown on my bed and my subsequent lie to placate him. Mr. Dreamy didn't know that had happened so I don't think he understood why putting me in the position to have to explain that was so uncool. 

Meanwhile I'm sitting there like "Holy fuck. I'm gonna kill that motherfucker." For real, who the hell does Mr. Dreamy think he is anyway having any kind of relationship discussion about what I want with the dudes I fuck?!? That shit is highly inappropriate. He may have warned him because he thought he was looking out for his friend but I doubt it. I think he did it either because he was jealous and wanted me out of that picture or possibly because he knew it would fuck with me.. If the latter is the case then touché Mr. Dreamy. Touché.

But I did bail myself out by telling him that I thought he'd make a great "special friend with whom I have interesting and intelligent conversations" and that the only relationship I was interested in having with him was a light sadomasochistic one.. That was actually true. This pleased him so he responded saying that he was down and that I was to refer to him as "Sir" in all future communications. I laughed because I thought it was cute that he thought I was going to be his slave.

It was amusing to me because, for someone who'd claimed he is the dominant one who never gives up control, he'd damn sure relinquished way too much of it to me and was never getting it back. I'd even pointed that fact out that night after I'd taken control from him when I did some things to him off a certain page of the Cheesecake Factory menu that most men don't usually let me do but I figured he'd love based on his... how should I say this?... predispositions regarding his sexual orientation. Dreamy's bestie responded to his loss of control by saying he didn't know how that happened and he just went with it and that I'm "Too much of a spitfire to ever be a typical sub." 

This is very true. I'm not a typical sub and would never be anyone's slave. Even the Christian Grey of my life knows better than to ever refer to me as such because he knows that in my case I only play a submissive role for my own fun and pleasure. I guess with the whole 50 Shades of Grey craze being such a big thing right now more people, particularly the ladies, will feel me on this.. But a lot of those toys and devices and shit are super fun good times. Also, there is nothing hotter than being tied up whIle somebody has their way with you.. which is why 50 Shades of Grey appeals to so many women. 

Personally though ladies, it's also super fun to be the one doing the tying and way having yourself. It gives you an opportunity to put in work and demonstrate that you are the pornstar sex goddess of the universe and also give a dude a blow job without him constantly trying to push your head down and shit.. Cause for real fellas, we hate that.. Plus, as I've mentioned in prior posts, if a dude can't pull my hair, smack my ass, and hit it from the back properly then, I'm sorry but this will just never work out. But that's not a submissive thing.. It's just a good sex thing... There is a difference. 

However, if you want to get into legit BDSM terms, I would actually be what's called a "Switch" because I like to switch it up and be both dominant and submissive. Generally I tend to be both with the same people.. But all of it usually depends on the person and my mood.. and if I'm drunk. Kinda figured based on Dreamy's bestie's spitfire comment though, that he knew all that. I did refer to him occasionally as Sir after he asked me to... But only when I was trying to be cute because I thought it was funny or when I wanted something from him.

Anyway, after I posted up my Dreamy Band Show quadruple post extravaganza, Dreamy's bestie got all mad. He called it a bad tabloid article that promoted drama and not information and said that he found the narrative dry, the questions weak, that I talked too much about myself, and that the whole thing displeased him. He didn't like the format or the things I'd said about Mr. Dreamy's band. I'd never really had anyone give me negative feedback like that before. I knew the day would come though so I tried to put my sensitivity about my work aside and treat his criticism as a constructive learning opportunity to improve my blog.

A couple days later, I got a Facebook invite from Mr. Dreamy for his band's cover show at a bar near where I live. I texted him and asked if he was sure if he wanted me to come out because I wasn't trying to get ambushed and shanked by his bandmates. He got all short and said "Feel free not to come." I got pissed and was like, "If you don't want me to come then why did you include me on the damn invite?!?" He also asked when he could come pick up his bestie's shirt because Dreamy's bestie has asked Mr. Dreamy to get it from me. I told him not to come over though because I just couldn't fucking deal with him in person.

I then hit up Dreamy's bestie and asked him why he wanted Mr. Dreamy to come pick up his shirt when we had already agreed that he would come over to get his shirt himself when we both had some time to play after my upcoming weekend with Christian Grey. He said he'd see Mr. Dreamy before he would see me so I called him "Sir" and told him Mr. Dreamy had been rude and pissed me off but that I would possibly come to the show since Christian Grey said he was down to go and bring him his shirt since he would be there. I also said I'd consider giving the band a redo and would possibly write a more favorable post if their show merited it.. all of which he said pleased him. *Makes Leslie Chow jacking off dice rolling hand gestures*

I was on the fence about actually going though because I didn't want to make one of my 2 precious nights with the Christian Grey of my life about drama and bullshit.. especially after I finally ended up hearing back from one of the other guys in the band who actually wasn't mad about the article. He just wanted to ask me about some things that Mr. Dreamy had said so he could work things out with his friend and bandmate.. which I thought was very awesome and mature of him to do. Seems at least one person took my post in the spirit in which it was intended. 

But he told me that when he tried to talk to Mr. Dreamy about the situation, Mr. Dreamy told him the stuff I wrote was "a creative interpretation and complete lie" which dude didn't believe because he didn't understand why someone would say untrue things knowing the whole band would read them... which is correct.. Actually I wouldn't because that would be libel and I could get sued. But when I read the message I was like WHAT THE FUCK?!?! First the inappropriate, ominous warning and now this... I was super pissed. Mr. Dreamy had seriously become Mr. Worst Fucking Nightmare. 

Meanwhile I'm texting with Dreamy's bestie about whatever and said if I came to the show he'd have to protect me from possible shanking. Then after I read the message from dude I asked him if Mr. Dreamy had told him I lied in my article as well because that would definitely explain why Dreamy's bestie had thrown the word "slander" at me. He responded and said he couldn't be more disinterested in this kind of drama and whatever... and that was when I reached my breaking point with him and told him he needed to watch it because I'd already had enough of Mr. Dreamy being all short with me and didn't need it from him too. 

He apologized and said he was neutral like Switzerland.. which is bullshit because I could tell the only reason he'd gotten on my case about that article in the first place was because Mr. Dreamy was probably pissed. I then asked him why he was so sour over the post when I'd actually said favorable things about him it.. which was clearly lost on him. I then proceeded to defend myself and my work because I put a lot of time and energy into writing that piece. I didn't create any of the drama in it. All I did was air it out and give my honest opinion and really wasn't even that harsh. I told him the reality of the situation was that if I'd been from a straight up music pub or a bigger site and didn't know any of the guys personally then I'd have either slammed them harder or dropped the story.

He took awhile to respond so I said in a smart ass way, "Guess I've now displeased you even more Sir." Then he texted me back finally and said I actually hadn't and that he appreciated my defense and points I made and he understood where I was coming from. So at least that finally deaded the damn tyranny over my blog post because the whole situation between him taking out Mr. Dreamy's unhappiness on me and anxiously anticipating why other band dude wanted to discuss the post had me beyond stressed the fuck out all week. After that though, things calmed down and we actually had nice little scandalous conversations that were more fun.

At least preparing for the arrival of the Christian Grey of my life made me happy. He had actually complimented my article and tried to help calm me down during the backlash. If it hadn't been for him I'd have seriously flipped my shit. He's so great... But while I was out grocery shopping last Friday and getting things ready for my super sexy guest, I got a text from Dreamy's bestie asking if we could talk. He had been considering getting back together with his ex and wanted my advice "separate of our Master/Slave arrangement as a woman" on whether or not I thought that was a good idea. I made Leslie Chow jacking off dice rolling hand gestures at that Master/Slave shit and about fell over in shock that he even wanted my opinion.

So first, we got into this whole debacle because he asked me to bear in mind that he is a sociopath devoid of "normal" human emotions. I'm like "Dude, you're not a fucking sociopath. My dad was a psych prof. I've taken psych classes. My first word was 'Freud'. Trust me, you don't fit the textbook definition." He tried to argue me on this. He's not a fucking sociopath though because if he was he wouldn't care if he hurt anybody. True sociopaths would have just kept lying while they were still in the relationship without concern or remorse as to the consequences. 

But I heard that word thrown around more times in that little group of people than I cared to even bother to count and that annoyed me on principle. People need to stop trying to label themselves with incorrect psychological diagnoses just to excuse their own fucked up, rude, selfish behavior. Even a correct diagnosis doesn't excuse it because the point of knowing you have a certain mental health disorder is to learn how to manage it so you don't act like a psycho toolbag. I have ADHD and mild Asperger's Syndrome. It affects my dealings with people in some pretty adverse ways at times, and while it justifies how I act, I don't ever expect anyone to treat my behavior like it's acceptable based on it. I believe that even people with mental and psychological impairments should still be held accountable for things they do to some extent.

What Dreamy's bestie fits the textbook definition for whether he believes it or not is actually a classic codependent. I know because I've been in my own Adult Children/Codependents Anonymous recovery for the past like 4 years now and I still attract other codependent people like honey badgers to a beehive. It's a subconscious thing that the book calls "My Shadow". But based on what dude told me about who his father is and whatnot, he fits the bill. Codependents don't process or express typical emotions and feelings in "normal" way and we're really good at bottling and suppressing our feelings because it's how we cope with shit. I actually had to get professional help just to learn how to express simple feelings like being happy or angry in a genuine and healthy way. True story.

Anyway, I asked some info seeking questions so I could give him good advice, starting with if she knew he was bisexual. He said "She does now." So I asked how she took the news and he said she was surprised, but overall it went well, aside from her insecurities and trust issues that he hangs out and goes on tour with attractive men all the time. The fact that she was surprised by his revelation was astounding to me though. There is a reason I lovingly refer to this dude as "My little fembot". Like I said, I had to ask about his sexual orientation when I met him because I thought he might be gay.. Usually I go for more super dudish dude types but something about his androgynous vibe appealed to me. Still I wouldn't be shocked if he ever did wake up one morning and just legit come out of the closet. I really have no clue how she didn't pick up on any of it.

He also told me she wanted monogamy and wasn't OK with participating in any guy on guy on her situations nor with him continuing his sexual lifestyle separately of her... That did not surprise me. Considering his desire to be bisexually free without hurting her or having to lie about it anymore, I told him I thought it was best to just do both himself and her a favor by cutting her loose. She might be upset but she'd get over it. I explained that this is what I meant when I'd told him before about the whole sexual proclivities thing. Most heterosexual women are not OK with the thought of their boyfriends or husbands having sex with another man under any circumstances at any time. Period. 

Personally, I don't really care what somebody does if we're in a casual situation and I said I'd watch him bang dudes all day. But if we were in a relationship, I'm not so sure I could hang with that either. Some people are of a mind that bisexual people are just being greedy. That may be true. But I think bisexual people.. and I mean truly bisexual people, not the drunk chicks who make out with each other in clubs for attention from dudes and maybe have that one scandalous threeway one night because they wanted to be wild.. I mean bisexual people, especially men, who actively and regularly pursue and have intimate relations with people of the same sex are really just trying to make up their minds because something is holding them back. I've known a lot of people like this who've gone back and forth and then finally woke up one morning like "Yeah, I'm gay." And that's great and totally something I can accept and support in a friend or family member... But not really from my significant other cause as shitty as it might sound I'm not really trying to set myself up to get left for another dude. Another chick is something I've successfully dealt with.. But another dude.. Yeah, I can't win that.

Based on what I know of him though, since he'd said she couldn't satisfy all of his needs in that department I had no doubt he'd get to a point where he'd probably end up cheating on her with a dude or something and hurt her even more. He should just be himself and do what he wants and find somebody else who is more open and shares similar views on sexual freedom and whatnot. There are people out there who are just like him so he should find one who makes him happy that accepts him completely for who he is... like maybe Mr. Dreamy perhaps.

Well I don't know what response he actually expected of me.. like maybe he thought I would call him Sir and beg him not to go back, which was NEVER going to happen.. But he said he was disinclined to take my advice because he considered it biased. I'm like whoa there.. My response was, "Not really.. I actually tried to be as objective and honest as possible based on what I know of you and also because I've been in a similar position. I kinda saw the possibility of this coming anyway. It seems like all the dudes I'm intimately involved with at the moment have all recently gotten out of serious relationships.. But of the 2 guys I guess I'm the closest to right now, you're actually not the one I'd give the biased advice to.. It's (Christian Grey). If he was considering getting back together with his ex I'd honestly say anything to change his mind because I've been in love with him for years." 

Sorry dude. Christian Grey even knows exactly how I feel because I make no secret of it and never have. Doesn't mean it has any real bearing on the situation between us and never really has. Things are what they are exactly the way they are for a multitude of reasons that we both understand and accept. Regardless of that though, I don't want to lose him again now that he's back in my life. He's one of the few people I actually feel close enough to that I can be myself completely around and drop my guard without fear because I trust him with my life. I've needed him some days more than I needed air and I've felt kind of lost the past year or so without him. I figured Dreamy's bestie got that because we talked about it when he brought up his whole situation with his ex and I said I didn't care for that reason. I also told him during that awkward warning conversation that part of why I didn't want to date him was because we were both a little too hung up on other people for it to work. Didn't mean we couldn't still have fun. 

But I guess that displeased him too because then he told me he'd just received disheartening news that he got passed on for a project and saw it as a sign he should cease our "arrangement". Whoa there again.. Between the "Master/Slave arrangement" comment, dismissing my advice because he considered it biased, and then blaming his bad news on me when I had nothing to do with it, I finally had to put this dude in check and tell him that while I was sorry he hadn't gotten the news he wanted, it was not my fault in any way so he needed to look elsewhere on the bad juju front. 

Furthermore, I told him that we have no arrangement. I'm still not even quite sure where he got that from and clearly we are not viewing this situation even close to the same way at all. An arrangement denotes a regularly recurring thing which, to me, one night and a few texts do not make. We may have had an understanding.. But not an arrangement. This dude is a one-nighter I stole from someone else just to piss them off and make them jealous as retribution for their douchey behavior. I even referred to Dreamy's bestie mostly as "Mr. Dreamy's Little Plaything".. and was actually trying to stop doing that because I felt bad. But all I want to know is where the fuck was my warning Mr. Dreamy? Seems maybe it was given to the wrong person.

I was trying to make a conscious effort to separate him out from how we met and why we came to be where we were and stop looking at him as being affiliated with Mr. Dreamy because I was trying to treat him like a real person.. But he fucked that all up once he called basically called me some biased slave. We even mostly texted with about platonic shit anyway rather than sexting and/or anything really BDSM related. He didn't even pick up on that fact that I only called "Sir" every so often as a manipulation tactic because I know he got his jollies off on it.

But all that shit seriously annoyed the absolute fuck out of me and pissed me off. That's some serious codependent bullshit and I won't tolerate it. I've worked way too hard to purge that shit from my life.. all of which I told him. It really doesn't matter how much I like anybody because I have to treat everybody as expendable on some level. It makes it easier to cut ties if the relationship turns toxic. My personal boundaries I set are absolute. If you violate them then I will tell you. It's on you to then make amends and make an effort to respect that boundary going forward. Then should I ever cross your lines, I will reciprocate and we'll be better friends and people and grow and shit. According to my recovery stuff, that's how healthy relationships of any form, be them romantic or platonic, should work. But if you can't do that then you can get the fuck out of my life.

Well, he didn't do that amends shit. I guess he took my boundary setting as me writing him off. I at least did try to attempt to let him know that wasn't the case the other day. I checked in on him because I saw this sad, passive aggressive Facebook status about things ending sloppily and that he was about to lose his shit. It concerned me because I do care and can't have my little fembot slitting his wrists or doing anything similarly drastic. Turns out he did follow my advice and said he'd ended things permanently with his ex because she's managed to harm him to the point he wasn't even willing to be friends anymore. I asked what she did but he didn't tell me.

For real though it's kind of irrelevant. My guess is whatever she did was probably something he pushed her to do anyway because he wanted to change the progression of the situation and put her in his debt. Codependent people who want change in a relationship will do whatever they can to drive the other person away to the point that person does something that the codependent can then place the blame on them for that they claim is bad enough to terminate the relationship. It's a control tactic to get that person to come back and apologize so the codependent can hold whatever over them. But it can backfire if the other person in the situation is not a codependent. No doubt some of you out there are having an Aha moment cause you've been in that situation before.

I'm guessing it worked though because I saw something on my Facebook feed that he was now in a relationship. Guessing that means my little Les Liasons Dangereuses wager with Christian Grey is off. Oh well... C'est la vie. Que sera sera and all that. I do like Dreamy's bestie as a person and a friend. I also appreciate the fact that he unlocked a part of me with regard to indulging my own sexual freedom that I had suppressed and buried for years in a mound of shame and bullshit that I actually need to find a balance on so it will stop manifesting itself as more destructive binging. But since I had put it in the same hole with my other codependent behaviors it let the rest of the shit out with it. 

One of the many things I love about the Christian Grey of my life is he has a very calming effect on me. Whenever I go off the chain and get all hyper, he knows exactly what to say to bring me back down and level me out. Maybe this is because he's like the dude version of me and understands me so well. While he was around I did start to chill out a bit which helped me to start seeing the forest for the trees and I realized that Dreamy's bestie was hitting my triggers. But Christian Grey even laughed at me and the whole situation and told me I thrive on this kind of drama and eat it up.. That I love to kick the beehive and then watch all the bees flip out.. then kick it again and stir shit up and again and again.. until I get bored of it. Then I'm out like "Good luck with all that." As bad as it sounds, he's totally right. I fucking love it. Hell, I'm kicking the shit out the beehive right now.

I will say though that I think Dreamy's bestie helped facilitate strengthening my bond a little more with the Christian Grey of my life because we've actually been even more honest and open with each other lately than we were before. I told him about what happened with Dreamy's bestie because I can't lie to him and he was fine with it. He even wanted details. Actually of all the people in this weird Dreamy triangle, it would seem that I'm the only one who doesn't have to lie to the person they legit care about just to go bang other people.  I find that extremely ironic.

Meanwhile, I'm still stuck with this damn shirt that I've been trying to get Mr. Dreamy's bestie and now even Mr. Dreamy, because I can't deal with his bestie in person at the moment, to come get for like 3 weeks. I even brought the shirt out to the Dreamy Band Bar Cover Show to return last weekend but he didn't end up even coming out to it like he'd been saying he would. I'm tired of having it hanging over my head cause this thing has become the bane of my fucking existence. Christian Grey told me to throw it away. He said whenever chicks leave shit at his house it goes right in the trash. Well I feel like that's a bit of a waste. So I've decided to keep it as a little souvenir of my little souvenir and memento of our one magical evening we shared. Why?

Well it actually fits me quite nicely and looks dope on me...



It looks dope on Kirby the Koala Bear too and he could do with a new shirt cause he's been wearing the same one for 3 decades now. Though on him it looks more like a Harry Potter robe...



It also has multiple everyday household uses like...

A dish rag....



A regular rag...


A potholder cause you can never have enough of those...



A pirate flag for the loft to let all ye know Miss Slik be the scourge of all the Fair Lakes...



It also makes a lovely cape on Felicity...



And an awesome super hero cape on me... 


.

I call myself The Douchenator.. Dealing karmic justice to those who deserve it... Able to leap assholes in a single bound... Making the world a less douchey place one blog post at a time. Get at me Stan Lee!



There's me flying with my trusty sidekick Pouncer Pooch enemy of crotches everywhere....



The list goes on and on...

The moral of the story is folks, be yourself and do what makes you happy.. which is something I keep stressing in a lot of my posts. But stop lying to the people you care about just to do what you want. It's selfish and immature and ultimately will probably come back to bite you in the ass. If the people who say they care really do then they aren't going anywhere.. and if they do, it's probably just temporary so they can process and they'll most likely be back.. But if they can't accept you and don't come back then you just have to learn to let them go because they weren't in it for the long haul anyway. Either way, you can't let their reactions paralyze you because life is just too damn short to spend even 5 minutes of it unhappy.

And finally, let this be a lesson to anyone who leaves their shit in my apartment from henceforth and does not come back to get it in a timely manner cause I'm serious. I'm really keeping that shirt. It's still hanging from the loft knee wall with the Jolly Roger taped to it as we speak.

So until next time, stay tuned and stay up.

Saturday, May 2, 2015

Miss Slik's Review of Dance Gavin Dance at Empire aka Mr. Dreamy's Big Metal Band Show

Grab a snack and settle in folks.. This is gonna be a long one.. I mean George R.R. Martin Song of Ice and Fire long because I have a lot to get into and a lot of thoughts about it... Ready? OK... And... GO!

So there is a great movie called "Almost Famous" that if you've never seen I would suggest you watch, especially if you're a musician or a journalist. It's about this 15 year old kid named William Miller who is an aspiring music mag writer that, through a series of events, ends up on tour with an up and coming band called Stillwater to write a feature article about them for Rolling Stone magazine.

I love this movie and have probably seen it at least 100 times. Since I started this blog and especially in the past few weeks once I got my official press credentials, I've continuously referred to myself as "The Enemy" which is actually a reference to this movie. It's a very tough and spiritually draining position to be in because a lot of people forget to watch what they say around journalists and don't realize that there is really no such thing ever as "off the record." 

Let me repeat that for benefit and edification of every musician who ever reads this... WHEN YOU ARE SPEAKING TO A JOURNALIST, THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS "OFF THE RECORD" EVER. Everything you say to a member of the press can and probably will get printed unless you yourself tell that journalist that what you're saying is "off the record"... But even then you still run the risk of them printing it if it's juicy enough because some journalists don't abide by a strict ethical code.

"The Enemy" tends to be privy to a great deal of random information that people let slip during conversations when they aren't on their guard and then find themselves torn between printing the truth even though it will probably piss off the people it's about and keeping it out of the press to protect them because you feel bad about painting whomever the subject of your article is in a less than ideal light once you've gotten to know them and even like them. But journalistic integrity is of paramount importance because that's what builds your reputation. People may not always like hearing the truth about themselves. But you can't let that hold you back from telling it like it is.

William finds himself in this position while he's trying to write the Stillwater piece because he knows the band will probably hate him if he tells the whole truth. So he seeks guidance from William Seymour Hoffman's character, his mentor Lester Bangs, in this scene which is the most memorable of the entire movie for me...



In writing this article, I encountered a similar situation... To print or not to print? That is the question. I've decided to go with the former option because, for me, MSG2L has always been about brutal, constructive honesty and I think by now ya'll know me well enough to tell if I'm watering anything down. I never hold back.. so to start now as I really begin to build this blog would be a disservice to myself, my publication, and my readers. But, you also know by now that nothing I ever say in my reviews is typically all bad. It's usually a mixture of slamming and praising because, to me, constructive criticism should be about telling people what they're doing right and what they need to work on to get better.

That being said... Let's get into the review of the show...

Which overall was awesomely kick ass good times! Shit was sold the fuck out and packed...





 If you'll recall from last Friday's post Warmup to Mr. Dreamy's Show & Miss Slik and Cindy's Battle of the Bands Beauty Pageant, my friends Cindy and William and I were gearing up for the big show at Empire held this past Sunday, 4/26/15, with Dance Gavin DanceHail the SunPolyphiaStolasBurn the BallroomLouder Than Quiet, and Inquiry. But I found out that Polyphia didn't actually play because their van broke down... which sucks.. Sorry Polyphia.

Due to all the shit with Mr. Dreamy, I made a joke about Cindy and I conducting a pageant during the show where we would score all the bands and crown a winner of our favorite band. We weren't actually going to do it, but the guys from Burn the Ballroom and Louder Than Quiet really wanted to be scored. I was informed by Alan Gant, lead singer and guitarist of BTB, that they were displeased with their talent score in the preliminary round and also by Anthony Alexander, drummer for LTQ, that they were gearing up for the swimsuit competition because they wanted to be the prettiest.

In all this, they forgot about our dark horse, Inquiry, who really were just happy to be playing and that I was doing an article about them. I encouraged them to put on a good show and said they could surprise everyone and actually win. Since they were the only band in the mix with a female member, drummer Bri Jackson, I told the guys from BTB and LTQ they just might get rocked in that swimsuit portion because she is very cute.

Anyway, since the majority of band members did want the scoring and as this was Miss Slik and Cindy's Battle of the Bands Beauty Pageant, ask and you shall receive as Miss Slik always aims to please.. So let's break it down in a big way....

Cindy and I actually did tabulate all the scores from both the Preliminary and Final Rounds in an Excel spreadsheet with percentages, weighted averages, and Pythagorean Theorum-esque formulas. The Preliminary scores were based on an average of Cindy's and my individual scores we gave for each of the 3 areas: Swimsuit/Eveningwear, Talent, and Private Interview. The composite scores were an average of Cindy's and my average scores. The overall scores were calculated using the averages weighted out of 100. 

The composite scores made a difference for the averaging of averages in the Final Round. However, it was the combined overall scores from both rounds which determined the winner. I told you some serious math went into this shit and we spent A LOT of time on the scoring system and did actually take it very seriously. We work in Accounting so our spreadsheets are dope and, in the words of Yo Gotti and Lil Wayne, "Women lie. Men lie. Numbers don't lie."

The final results were a bit shocking.. Seems one of the bands did actually pull an upset and our initial 2nd place winner we thought we'd decided turned out to be incorrect because we had misjudged the weighting. It would seem being pretty and bribing the judges does make the difference. I will also add that I was the Paula Abdul of this mofo and I was very generous all around. Cindy was harsh in some areas and generous in others. All in all though we did do our best to be fair.

The Preliminary Round

Inquiry

At the end of the preliminary round, Inquiry was in 3rd with an overall score of 70.75 and an average score of 7 out of 10. They really were sweet and actually did the best in the private interview with an average score of 8.5. This band presented the most unified image of togetherness that I've ever seen in a group of musicians. Though they are a young band that hasn't been together long, not one bit of that shows.

However, it was their lack of significant web presence that hurt their scores in the other 2 areas, particularly the talent portion, as there were no videos on YouTube and only a couple things on their website. I made this suggestion for improvement to the band as I think this is one thing that would help them get more notice.

Burn the Ballroom 

Burn the Ballroom was in second place coming out of the prelims with an overall score of 75.25 and an average score of 7.67 out of 10.. which was actually the highest average score out of all 3 bands by .17. They did the best in the Swimsuit/Eveningwear portion with an average score of 9 because they're so just so damn pretty. However, they actually took a hit on the private interview score with a 6.5 because the image presented to me was one of drama and dissension.

Sterling Pearson, their guitarist said their bassist, Jackson Harar, was "replaceable" and "could die in a fire".. which is awful because Jackson is actually one of the original members of the band and was very nice and sweet in person. There is also apparently some disagreement over the music the band should be putting out. Their drummer, Jack Ivins aka Ginger Jack, told me he's in the minority in his stance that if the band makes trendy music then when the trend is over, so is the band. But if you make quality music that is your sound then it's more sustainable because the fans that like you always will regardless of trends.. This is a point with which I personally wholeheartedly agree and I will get into that more later during my final thoughts and takeaways.

But, all of this dissension was actually part of what prompted my Almost Famous debate over what to print. As individuals on a personal level, the guys of BTB are all super nice, funny, and fun to hang out with.. But as a collective band they come off as a bit of a hot mess.. a very talented hot mess.. But a hot mess nonetheless.

I did make the point to Ginger Jack that it's important to be careful of what you say to journalists. Though his comments weren't that bad, it's still never a good idea to air out your band's disagreements over anything to any members of the press because, as I said earlier, they're looking for dirt to print. If someone interviews you separately or with your bandmates this one consistent message should ALWAYS be portrayed.. Love my band. Love my bandmates. Love the music. Love the fans.. And remember to thank God because people eat it up and it makes you sound more humble.

Louder Than Quiet

Louder Than Quiet was in the lead by a difference of 1.25 over BTB with an overall score of 76.5 but had an average score of 7.5. They did extremely well on the talent portion with an average score of 8.5, which is rather subjective just because Cindy and I are massive hardcore metal fans. LTQ also did very well in the private interview as they portrayed an image of being down to earth guys with positive mindsets that are all about their music.

The one thing I will add for them is a note on how to improve on their aesthetic web presentation. The guys of Louder Than Quiet are all good looking dudes. But the pictures we found of the band don't do them significant justice. Anthony informed me that they've been scheming on doing a photo shoot in bathing suits, which is why they were cool with actually doing the swimsuit competition for real to win the pageant. I think they should strip down and show off their skivvies.. especially Dominic because he's got pecs that just don't quit.

The Final Round

The big day finally arrived and I scrambled to get ready. Surprisingly enough we actually left pretty close to on time and made it to Empire before the doors opened. There was a big ass long as shit line that wound around and through the parking lot. Well you know your girl ain't waiting in no fucking long ass line cause I'm way to bougey to stand amongst the common folk when I'm perma M.I.P. status.. So Cindy, William, and I jumped the line and went straight to the front. After the people with lanyards went in first and the guy said the doors were now open, nobody moved so we just went right in.

There is us....



There is Cindy and William.. See that long ass line?


That's only the one side.. 


It curves to the left and wraps all the way around


Fuck that.. Sorry kids.



Here is a pic Cindy took once we got inside when I got to meet Danny Seay from Louder Than Quiet (left) and Justin Piaoan from Inquiry (right)




Before I even got there I was getting texts from one of the members of LTQ that they had just met the guys from BTB and were asking them questions. I was told the BTB guys were just bragging about their accomplishments and came off like primadonnas. I said "Word.. Kinda.. Think they also may be over compensating because they know you guys are in the lead after the preliminary round." I was told, "To be honest, I'm kinda turned off by all the glamour and shit. Reminds me of Falling in Reverse/Papa Roach. I'll still have to hear them live to have an actual opinion but that's my first impression."

I later found out a similar sentiment was also shared by members of InquiryThis seriously pissed me off. I talked the BTB guys up to the kids from these other bands and I definitely know that members of Inquiry mentioned they looked up to BTB and consider them an influence. To hear that these 2 bands were treated less than ideal by some of the BTB members makes not only them look bad for how they acted, but also makes me look bad for having talked them up. 

Just so ya'll know, I talked up each of these 3 bands to each other, not just to fuel the fire of the competition, but to get them listening to each other's music and hopefully to potentially build mutually beneficial business relationships between them. Connections between local musicians tend to generate more bookings for everyone involved because they reciprocate support for each other by throwing out recommendations to promoters looking for additional bands to play at shows. Then when the promoters see how many kids the recommended bands bring out they'll tend to book them for all kinds of future events over and over again.. It also has the potential to lead to dope tours and even crucial music collaborations. All of which forwards the scene.

Anyway, though I did not like hearing that these bands were sharing a less than PLURry vibe with each other, I will say that some of this could be attributed to the pageant. As I mentioned, the guys from BTB and LTQ were really fired up and they're some seriously competitive dudes. So it's possible a lot of what happened was trash talk similar to how boxers go at it before a big fight. I'd like to assume that is the case. When I met the individual members of BTB they were all very nice to me... a little showy perhaps.. But nice and welcoming nonetheless so I'd like to give them the benefit of the doubt.

I also later found out that Ginger Jack actually helped LTQ offload their gear and complimented them on their set.. which warms my little heart right up as it is very PLUR (for all my non raver readers, that stands for Peace, Love, Unity, and Respect just fyi btw). These are good dudes so I'm hoping maybe knowing how they were perceived will help to make them more cognisant of how important it is to make a good impression on your peers. The same thing can be said of Dance Gavin Dance because they bogarted the Green Room for themselves and didn't allow any of the other bands playing in the show to come in and utilize the room... which I think is super shitty.

If you're playing in a show then you have just as much right to be in that Green Room as anybody else regardless of how big or small your band is. You still brought people out and contributed to ticket sales. You also have to zen yourself before a show just like the other performers and need a space in which to do that. The guys from the other bands were actually way cooler about it though than I would have been. As a musician, if someone had told me I wasn't allowed in the Green Room at a show I was playing at then I'd have pitched a bitch and said "Excuse me, do you know who the fuck I am? Who the fuck do they think they are?"

As a musician who has been in my own scene for 15 years I always try to be very aware about how I come off to younger DJ's who haven't been in the game as long as I have. Regardless of what kind of music you play, the kids in your scene look to you for guidance, support, and encouragement... and you should know that because at one point you were that kid who went to someone in that same way looking for that same stuff.

Those moments are crucial because they are indelible, lasting memories that shape your music career. You either got what you needed because the bigger musicians you looked up to were awesome to you and validated why they belong on the pedestals of honor on which you placed them or you got crushed because the people you looked up to turned out to be douchey fucktards in real life. 

As more established veteran musicians it's your responsibility to pay that forward in a positive way by giving these new kids the benefit of your wisdom and experience to help move them along. It's not like these kids can, will, or are even trying to knock you off your spot.. They're just trying to find their own spot to hold down for themselves. It actually propels you further because they'll share their experiences of meeting you and how awesome you were to them for years to come.. maybe even long after you've dropped out. 

I definitely know that years ago when I met one of the veteran musicians I put up on my honor pedestals, a DJ named Sheila Storms, it had a huge impact on me. She played booty house at all these raves I went to back in the day and she was one of the few female DJ's on the scene doing the damn thing in a big way. I was 16 and she was so awesome and super nice to me... even though I was having a fangirl moment that no doubt was probably obnoxious as shit. The things she said to me during the conversation we had definitely gave me everything I could have asked for that I needed to propel me forward. She still remains to this day one of my biggest heroes and influences whom I attribute to helping shape me into the kick ass female DJ I am today. So thanks Sheila! Big ups to you cause you still rock!

Anyway... Bygones.. Back to the pageant...

Now for the Final Round, the composite score counted for 10%. The Swimsuit/Eveningwear, Live Talent, and Live Interview portions were equally weighted at 30% each. This is fair because as a musician at a show how you look, how you sound and perform, and how you come off to the people who interview you are all of equal importance. You could sound great but if you don't look the part or you act shitty then you kill the illusion of awesomeness.

Inquiry - 2nd Runner Up














So going into the Final Round, Inquiry had a composite score of 6.835. They were up first on stage to perform and they were great. My favorite song of theirs was either their 2nd or 3rd song of the set. Unfortunately I don't know the name of it. It had a hardcore vibe and what I liked best was that it demonstrated the strength of their guitarists. This band actually has not one, but 2 very talented guitarists Kyle Richards and Patrick Van Story aka Patty V., who were trading off doing some super sick riffs that were highly impressive. Patrick Allen, their bassist, held his own too.

Lead Singer, Justin Piaoan, started off a little shakey at first. But once he got into the zone he really showed that he's a strong front man with a powerful voice that is made more surprising by his sweet, somewhat soft-spoken demeanor offstage. He's very congenial and let the audience know that they were welcome to come talk to the band after the show because they really are all about making new friends. What really added to their performance though is their drummer Bri. She bangs it out like nobody's business and has qualities that remind me of Cindy Blackman.

I mentioned the shakiness during the interview with Inquiry and they told me they all had mad butterflies because they were playing in front of Dance Gavin Dance who is one of their biggest influences. This actually made me even more unhappy about the diva move DGD pulled with the Green Room situation because I think DGD seriously shorted themselves by missing out on a private opportunity to rap with these kids like I did, which I must say was an extreme pleasure.

This band seriously does present the most consistent image of themselves. All of the things on their website and Facebook page and things they've verbally said about wanting to make friends and be friends and make memories... I buy every last bit of it and eat it up with a spoon. They want to save their dying scene and the puppies and do it all by sticking together. Meet them, hear them, feel them and you'll believe it all too.

To read my full interview with Inquiry and also my one-on-one with drummer, Bri Jackson, check out Part One of this 4 part post Miss Slik & Cindy's Battle of the Bands Beauty Pageant - Q&A with Inquiry.

These kids earned a final round score of 75.835 which put them in 2nd by a hair for the live portions of the pageant prior to additional points being awarded for various bribes and special favors. Unfortunately, it was just not enough to bring it home for their combined overall score. They came in 3rd with 73.293. We thought they had won but when we totaled up the scores we actually found that Burn the Ballroom had beat them out. Sorry guys. I still ♡ you and Cindy does too!

Louder Than Quiet - Winner of Miss Slik and Cindy's Battle of the Bands Beauty Pageant!
















Special shout out to LTQ's stuff holder. Like I told her, it really is an important job.



This band was in the lead with an overall score of 76.5 but at a slight disadvantage with a composite score of 7.5. No matter... LTQ was in it to win it. These dudes brought their A++++ game and pulled out all the stops.

All I can say about their live performance is holy damn....



Mind fucking blown. Louder Than Quiet went straight up Project 7000 on Empire and Tsar Bomba-ed the fuck out of that place! The singing in perfect harmony with Ali Rezghi and Danny Seay's soulful voices made it beautiful. Their resident screamer, Urico Schuler, made it live. The music was hard and hyped. They got the crowd involved during one of their songs with everyone clapping and singing back "Don't take her away! DON'T TAKE HER AWAY!" It's been stuck in my head all week.

Hold up.. Part 1...



That's me... In the background... Being all loud but trying not to move too much...

And Part 2...



That's me... still in the background... Still being all loud and shit but trying not to move too much...

They even did my favorite song of theirs, "Red Gemini", to close out their set and it was in-fucking-sane! Actually that feels like an understatement...



Again.. Still me... In the background... Going apeshit and being super loud but still trying not to move too much while I was in amazement with my jaw on the floor because that was BANANAS... B-A-N-A-N-A-S.

But did you see that?!?! Their bassist, Dominic Buie, fucking crowd surfed while he was fucking playing! I still can't believe I caught this magic on camera. Apparently he had never done that before.. But this is what I mean by pulling out all the stops. Daring to be dope and crazy is what put them over the top. Let me put it this way.. This was one of the best live performances I have ever seen.. EVER... and I've seen David Bowie live.. which was epic cause it's fucking David Bowie.. This was still better. 

Here are the LTQ guys checking out the Red Gemini video I made...




If that wasn't enough, when I sat down with these guys they drove home exactly why they're worth supporting as people and musicians. These guys fought against their religious families who told them they were playing the Devil's music. They fought against their friends who asked them why they play that "white boy shit". They've even had to battle against the stereotypes laid on them that black musicians shouldn't play double kick. All these guys want to do is be who they are and play the music they love despite these obstacles of prejudice and preconceived notions.

For more of my interview with LTQ check out Part 2 of this week's 4 part post Miss Slik & Cindy's Battle of the Bands Beauty Pageant - Q&A with Louder Than Quiet...

All of this.. Their sick live performance, their fun vibe, their words that are so inspirational earned them an average score of 8.875 and a final round score of 91.5. However, as this band was the only one that bought me a drink and offered to buy Cindy one, we'll go ahead and round that up to 100 because I was serious about the judges taking bribes (I still want my LTQ shirt I was promised too just FYI BTW). At their original score they earned an overall combined score to 84.. With the bonus alcohol rounding that brought them up to an 88.25.

Either way we have made them our official declared crowned winners of Miss Slik and Cindy's Battle of the Bands Beauty Pageant. So congratulations to them! Guys, your tiaras and sashes will be in the mail pending receipt of my LTQ shirt. 

If I was going to give this band any suggestions for improvement it would be to hurry up and make some new shit to release and also focus on writing a power metal ballad that puts Metallica to shame. I'd also like to see more songs featuring the harmonies that these guys do so well. They're already off to a great start, but I think these things will help take them even further by showcasing their strengths. Considering this was the collectively youngest band I interviewed (yes I averaged their ages), I can't wait to see how they grow and move forward. Get in on this now folks cause I'm betting it will be life changing.

Burn the Ballroom - 1st Runner Up


















These guys were only behind LTQ slightly going into the Final Round with an overall score of 75.25 but a higher composite score of 7.667. How does that work right? Well since the composite score was an average of averages and didn't take the weighting into account, it actually gave them a slight edge between their near perfect aesthetic score and their fairly high talent score which was helped by this video...



It really is all about the harpsichord and Alan singing. Plus we fucking love us some Britney Spears. Beyond that though, there is a beautifully stripped down, honest quality about it that just makes you stop and be like "Damn these guys are so good and so super cute."

They did very well in the live aesthetic portion because they are even cuter in person. Pretty sure Cindy was blushing the entire time she was talking to Alan about his hair. She definitely blushes every time his cuteness and hair have been discussed before and since the show. This band seriously had the highest swoon factor out of all the bands that performed. Sorry ladies, 3/5 of the band are in serious relationships so you can look, but you can't touch or you'll definitely get denied and maybe even shanked.

Seriously though, watching them and hearing Alan sing will definitely get you weak in the knees and make you melt like butter. He's an excellent front man who commands the stage and the crowd from start to finish. There were also parts to their performance where these bits of purity and depth shined through. My favorite song of theirs was towards the end of their set called "Do I Look Like I Go To Your Youth Group?" I tried to get a video but my phone was being uncooperative.

I did however get a video of them doing Whisper which was dope...



I started out all stalkery behind the speakers and realized I needed a better vantage point so I had to gently move through a sea of people who saw what I was doing and were nice enough to let me through without even having to ask.

However, I will say that this was a rather mellow performance and lacked the level of ostentation that I was expecting based on their personalities. If you're going to act like divas and primadonnas then fine.. But you'd better fucking own that shit. Kanye West gets away with his antics because no matter how many feathers he ruffles or how many times he pulls a dick move on T-Swift at the Grammy Awards and you're just about ready to write him off cause he's slippin, he comes out with a new track the next day that's pure fire that he must pull out of his ass like a magician at a very weird birthday party and all is forgiven. It's just his personality and the man is a genius. Madonna calls him the black dude version of her.

I kinda feel the same way about Burn the Ballroom.. Be who you are. If the image you put out is that of a crew of primadonnas then go balls out with it. I was expecting WAY MORE lights and lasers and maybe even fireworks. Not sure if I could see the faux hawk triplets crowd surfing for fear the common folk might mess up their hair. But I could definitely picture them on wires or even taking a page out of Cher and Katy Perry's books and gliding over the crowd on platforms. 

I wanted craziness and pandemonium and I know these guys are capable. If I can build a 6 foot Lady Gaga egg that lights up for a dinky county karaoke championship then I see no reason why Alan can't fly on a platform with fireworks shooting out of his ass. Be that weird birthday party magician like it's your job.

Had they done this it definitely would've forgiven the lack of seriousness with which my interview questions were initially answered. Granted, they were the last band up for the interview portion and by then everyone was kinda drunk, including me. They also took an unfair hit on all the Mr. Dreamy Drama for which I accept responsibility. But still... I did expect more than rhinoceroses and pillow factories and colorful codpieces. 

I did ask Alan about this and his response was a little disheartening. He said, "Honestly, we have answered a lot of serious questions with serious answers and I find that most people don't care. Or listen." I think that sucks. But it also means they probably had shitty writers interviewing them who were boring.

I gave them a chance to revisit their interview questions and add on so the responses were not as disjointed compared to the other bands. Thank God they did because it actually put me in a better position to give a more well-rounded presentation of this band.

They do have issues and drama and don't always get along or always put out the best song.. But that could be said of a lot of bands.. even the biggest and best at the top of the game. However, at the end of the day based on what I've witnessed and been told, they do believe in what they do and they definitely believe in their front man.. and above all, they are collectively 5 extremely talented musicians. I just wish it wasn't obscured by feathers and horns and colorful codpieces.

For the full Q&A with BTB check out Part 3 of this week's quadruple post extravaganza Miss Slik & Cindy's Battle of the Bands Beauty Pageant - Q&A with Burn The Ballroom... 

The BTB guys earned themselves a Final Round score of 75.1667 and a cumulative score of 75.2083 with an average score of 7.54. However, I gave them 10 extra points on their final round score for special favors of supreme awesomeness. Ginger Jack took me crowd surfing for the first time ever in my life and it was the most epic 10 seconds that I'll remember forever because crowd surfing has been an item on my bucket list that can now be crossed off thanks to Ginger Jack.

I was always afraid to do it at shows I've been to in the past because the crowd used to always steal people's shoes and shit and throw them on stage or out into the sea of people where you will never find them again. But this crowd at Empire was actually pretty respectful of crowd surfers and I was drunk so I figured why not do the damn thing? It was a crazy feeling having so many people touch my butt and stuff. I almost wiped out twice but Ginger Jack kept me from dying. Since I have 2 ruptured discs in my neck, falling like that would have really sucked. But he had my back and made sure I was OK. Keeping the judges from eating floor is definitely worth 10 extra points in my book. 

The bonus brings their final round score up to 85.1667 and their overall score up to 80.208.. Which is respectable. My advice for improvement on that would be maybe look into stocking up on wire and fireworks so the next time the band playing before you crowd surfs you can show them just how divas really get down. Also, considering how buff Jackson is I'm sure if he'd have gone shirtless like Dom from LTQ then you'd have given them an even bigger run for their money.

Dance Gavin Dance - 3rd Runner Up




This band wasn't actually scored like the rest. However, since I did like their set and I got to crowd surf for the first time ever in life during their performance, I think that earns them a spot in 4th place out of the 7 bands. Though I do not agree with the whole Green Room situation, I will say that I did see several of DGD's band members out mingling with people and watching the other bands. So at least they weren't locked away in that room the whole time and made themselves somewhat accessible during and after the show.

I also got a video of them.. Got no clue what the name of the song is but here you go anyway...



Now I didn't get to interview these guys because they didn't respond to my message requesting advanced permission to sit down with them. But I did get the chance to meet vocalist Tilian Pearson (no relation to BTB's Sterling Pearson) and he was very nice to me. If we had actually scored them, Cindy said they would get extra points for the "man bun".

Here I am with Matt Mingus from DGD...



So drunk and high on bucket list crowd surfing I'm being all huggy.. And he looks like he's about to call security...



Sidenote: Dude totally looks like Caleb Followill from Kings of Leon.

Special Awards

Most Congenial

Justin from Inquiry won this for us. We can't get over how sweet and cute he is. He's super nice offstage but when he gets onstage he's like "I'LL KILL YOU! Come see us after the show and be friends." It's fucking super adorable and we just want to buy him a puppy. We won't. But we want to.




Most Photogenic

Hands down this award goes to Tuomas from Burn the Ballroom... and you're about to see why...

Hold up... Cue RuPaul...




You better work! Turn to the left...



Work it! Now turn to the right...


Wet your lips..



While making love to the camera!



Pour mes lecteurs français, je suis sûr que vous serez d'accord que cet homme est très chic et incroyablement jolie!

And finally the special award for...

Who Got Me The Drunkest

This award doesn't actually go to a person in any of the bands competing in this contest... It instead goes to Justin Heresy of Victory in Lights who not only bought me shots (I know.. Niki and shots are a bad combination) and also tried to get me an interview with a dude from Dance Gavin Dance. He was shocked as hell that I actually turned it down but the dude from DGD would only meet with me if I came right away and I had the guys from LTQ waiting. My response was tell him thanks but no thanks because the only diva's schedule I'm on is my own. Regardless though Justin is definitely awesome for trying to help. He's a total sweetie and my new favorite person. <3

Here is Justin Heresy with Ali Rezghi from Louder Than Quiet...





Final Thoughts and Takeaways



First, I'd like to say a gigantic THANK YOU and express my immense gratitude to the members of InquiryLouder Than Quiet, and Burn the Ballroom for taking the time to meet with me. I appreciate the fact that they missed bands they wanted to see just to sit down with me. I also want to say a special thank you to Mr. Dreamy for inviting me to the show.. I really enjoyed getting to meet everyone and see them play and think they're all very awesome people with so much incredible talent that it absolutely blows my mind. Though some of the criticism in this may not be exactly what they want to hear, please don't take it personally because it's really not meant to be. Opinions are like assholes. Everybody has them. Mine just get read more.

But if any of my harsher criticism does bother anyone then maybe it will help you if I explain why things like trendy music and band image presentation in the rock scene matter to me in a real way.. Bear with me because I'm about to go on a tangent. I swear it's all relevant and there is a point. 

One of the questions I asked all the bands was "How do you view of the present and future of your scene?" Their answers were all kind of similar... It's dying but it's trying to resurrect itself. It's finding itself. It's going through a period of adjustment. Not one of them said it's in a good or stable place or even mentioned any bands who were bringing it around... except maybe themselves.. which I believe could be actually be true if they hold to their desires to make their scene better.

All music scenes have their times when they go through downturns and revivals and I've been there to witness to these cyclical changes in 3 different scenes, the rock scene, the rave scene, and the hip hop scene. But of those 3, the rock scene was where I found a home first. I grew up on rock music.. classic, punk, alternative, ska, metal of all varieties including heavy, death, and 80's hair. I knew the words to every song. I ripped my jeans and wore plaid and begged my mom for black nail polish. 

I remember where I was when the world found out Kurt Cobain died and how we mourned him like we knew him. My first concert was the Foo Fighters and I'll never forget Pat Smear playing guitar 20 feet away from me on stage. Most people don't know this but in 8th grade I actually briefly fronted a little band with some boys from school when I lived in Rockville, MD for a year after we moved from Florida before coming to NoVa. I wanted to be Shirley Manson and the one chance I got to live my rock and roll dream was at the school talent show. I had such bad stage fright I fucked up and forgot the words to Hotel California. I was so mortified I ran offstage and cried. The thing that killed me most was letting them down. But they forgave me and picked me up. Moments like that made me a better musician.

I went to HFStival every year and remember standing in the rain watching Incubus. The sea of lighters in the dark while The Cure played. Going berzerk to the Violent Femmes, Lincoln Park, Sum 41, Green Day, 311, Staind, Sevendust, Godsmack, even Good Charlotte when they were still just a local band on the little stage.. The list goes on and on.. and of course as I said before, the shoes.. all those poor crowd surfers' stolen Vans and Airwalks that got thrown everywhere including on the stage and the bands making announcements about it and throwing the shoes back.

I also went to local band shows all over the DMV like it was my job. The guys from all the bands were so cool. They played music that wasn't popular and cared that we came out. They talked to us and thanked us for supporting them. It was awesome. But somewhere in there I peaced out because I became disenchanted and the rave scene started looking more appealing.

There was a lot of crossover between the rock and rave scenes. You can see it in the music with bands like Nine Inch Nails and The Prodigy and DJ's like the Chemical Brothers and Fatboy Slim. Every Friday night HFS had Trancemissions on which was all EDM and then they had the Trancemissions tent at HFStival run by the founders of Buzzlife, Scott Henry and John Tab, who would later become my bosses. Even though I left the scene I've still supported the music and sporadically gone out to shows. I just pick and choose who I support now. So if your band is on that short list then consider it a high compliment.

It seems the rock scene is in a downward spiraling hole it's been trying to dig itself out from for years. Inquiry blames Nickelback. But it started long before then. The fault really lies with Blink 182 because they kicked off the bubblegum punk trend. Blink 182 was legit but they spawned these awful copycat watered down cheesy bands like Fall Out Boy and Panic at the Disco who brought it down because they made it lame with their softcore drivel rubbish that took the depth out of the music. 

Much to the shigrin of many rock fans, their bubblegum bullshit prompted a trend that has saturated the scene for over a decade now. What's funny is these 2 bands have since adjusted their image and toned it down as they've matured. I think it's high time for the other bands who cheezed it up to fit in and fans who've had enough to put an end to this sickening fad.

Though I do like some of their music, especially Fall Out Boy because they put out some super catchy shit that gets stuck in your head, I think the image they presented of themselves when they came out was contrived and disingenuous. The outfits and attitudes that I guess they thought made them look all dark and creative and different like they don't care about what people think because they're expressing themselves didn't have that effect on anyone except people with that same mentality. To the rest of us they actually came off fake and cheesy and lame like they were just starved for attention and wanted to get it in the most obnoxious way possible. 

They reminded me of the DQ's from high school. These kids went out their way to get made fun of by doing stupid things for attention so they could be seen as rebels. Meanwhile, there were kids like me who tried like hell to fit in with the popular kids and be accepted but never really could because we were legitimately different individuals that stood out too much for shit we couldnt help.. Like not having the right brand labels on our clothes because our parents couldn't afford it. We had to get by on the kind of things that built character just to survive and for us music was our salvation.

We were the smart kids that studied who had to dumb it down for the popular crew.. The freethinking kids with real opinions who used too many big words.. The deeply talented art kids too stuck in our own heads and creative spaces.. The skaters, the hippies labeled as stoner rejects.. and the band kids whose parents sacrificed and saved for months just to buy us secondhand instruments. Our pocket money from after school jobs went to buying albums and going to shows because rock music made us feel like somebody out there who was popular actually understood us.

Music was our savior and concerts were like church. When we went to shows we felt like we belonged and got the acceptance denied us on a daily basis. There we were cool. There we could be ourselves without being judged. High school sucked and made us feel like ridiculed outcasts who lived on the wrong side of town that weren't "normal" or "trendy" enough... It is exactly this feeling that is the very foundation the house of rock was built on... And if you forgot that or lost touch with it then smack yourself for being stupid, watch VH1's History of Metal, and fucking think about what it felt like back in the day when nobody thought you were cool. Your songs you write today may be about it but if you've lost touch with the sad, solitary loser you used to be then your songs mean shit.

In case you haven't caught on yet.. Here is where the point comes in....

The most important things that keeps a scene going are the 2 legs on which it stands, the musicians and the fans. If you think it's those who make the music that are the more stable leg, then you are wrong. It's actually the kids that listen to the music and come to the shows who are the sturdiest because they aren't going anywhere. You might. But they won't. Even if you turn them off they'll still come back. They may take periodic vacations but they're still around. The music that moves them and the vibes that make them feel like they belong are what keep them steadfast and strong. They will evolve along with their scene in whatever direction it chooses to go. 

The bands just need to get over the fear that daring to take it somewhere different will result in them losing the kids. I promise you they will still be there. They also need to get over the fear that labels won't sign them and radios will never play their shit if it's not trendy. Rock music isn't going anywhere and stations will always play whatever music in that genre is deemed new, now, and indicative of what the kids want to hear. I agree with Ginger Jack because kids are fucking fickle. 

They get bored of trendy shit and once it's played out they move on to something else. But the bands who make the deep, real shit that's so different it's on another level are everlasting. Trends and popularity are the antithesis of true creative expression. Making shit that's trendy is not the same thing as making art. It's like making a copycat reproduction of some other genius' masterpiece. They made it to be different. You made it to be the same. 

It is the musicians who determine the direction that the sound goes in. They are responsible for forwarding it's Darwinistic evolutionary path. As such, it falls on them to guide their environment and culture for their genre. Bands are always caught between making the music they feel represents them and selling out and making trendy shit they think will serve them well for the sake of being rockstars. But the reality is real rockstars don't give a fuck. Giving a fuck is what brings you down.

In its infancy, the rock scene was nothing but bands that wanted to be loud and go crazy and wail and rebel against the status quo. They didn't give a fuck if they got famous as long as they got to do what they love. The pioneers of the rock scene made this scene because they wanted to play something different for people who wanted to hear it. Those musicians and those fans claimed spaces for themselves so they could belong somewhere and got pissed at the sellouts because they were convinced it brought down the integrity of their scene. But somewhere along the line the fans stopped holding the musicians accountable and that lack of control lead to the introduction of bubblegum cheesy mainstream bullshit.

I remember someone saying like maybe 8-10 years ago that the people who dared to call their music punk at that point were posers (that word used to really mean something back in the day and was considered a massive insult.. the worst thing you could call somebody because you were telling them they didn't belong which we've established is a big deal).. That real punk was about not giving a fuck about anything.. The kids and musicians didn't shop at the mall. They wore duct tape, thrift store clothes, leather, chains that got caught on everything and ripped out their piercings, and put safety pins through their cheeks. To me, that is real rock and roll. Fuck all this pre-packaged teenage angst you can pick up as a free gift with purchase when you buy your wannabe so dark and different ensembles from Hot Topic. 

My advice to the bands and also the fans is if you want to pull your scene back then start holding it to a standard again. If you want to play music that is reminiscent of a better time and take your scene back to the point before it started sucking and rebuild it back up in a better way and inspire kids of any race, color, background, etc. to feel comfortable enough to come out and start feeling like they belong then maybe this will help you in that endeavor because there are a lot of people like me who were part of the scene back in the day and watched that house of rock burn and turn to shit. 

The reason why I cared more about focusing on the local bands in this piece is because I like repping what I believe in and care about. There are things about the music these 3 bands make and how they perform it that made me remember what I loved about this scene and genre years ago. They brought back memories for me I haven't thought about in a long time and even made me feel like an excited, giddy, stupid 15 year old kid again.


Don't focus on what sells and what you think will make you famous. Kick the posers out. If they can't hang then tell them to stay the fuck out of the pit. Quit being a pussy and put a fucking safety pin through your cheek. Stop giving a fuck. Dare to be different. Dare to be yourselves. The rest doesn't matter. Just trust that "The Enemies" will always have people like me who will be on your side and support what you do as long as you're keeping it 100. People like me are not interested in making you trendy and popular... But we can help you get heard.

Anyway, go check out the Q&A's with the bands and go like their Facebook pages and shit. Show your support for them and make them feel heard. Give them the encouragement they need to do what they love and live their rock and roll dreams. In the meantime, stay tuned and stay up!