George & Jaime's Rock N' Roll Road Trip!

The Birthday Massacre





Mindless Self Indulgence








Well, me and Jaime's Rock N' Roll Extravaganza road trip has come to an end. It was almost two weeks of non-stop rock n’ roll fun. We saw The Birthday Massacre and Mindless Self Indulgence rock our world. I was pushed, crushed, and bent in various positions against the barricade by insane Mindless Self Indulgence fans whom were going nuts. I was drenched in Coke-A-Cola by Jimmy Urine who had thrown a glass of the drink right in front of my face. It was insane. It was beautiful. I meet some interesting people in that show. Reckless, wild, and free people who did what they pleased. Something I aspired to do during this trip.

Chester Bennington




I got to meet Chester of Linkin Park for a bit. He signed my special edition copy of “Minutes to Midnight” and my brother Jaime got the booklet of “Hybrid Theory” signed, and on top of that he gave us two mini posters that he also signed. After that, me, Jaime, and my cousin Fernie hung out at our friend’s apartment where we indulged in Nintendo Wii by playing Wii Sports and Super Smash Bros. Brawl. I also managed to catch a live webcast that The Offspring were doing in California. They premiered a new song called, “You’re Gunna Go Far, Kid” which is so awesome! Their latest album, “Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace” is shaping up to be one of the best albums in long while. I can’t wait for it. I’ve turned into such a fan boy.

Radiohead




On Sunday, we saw what is considered the “most anticipated” concert of the year. Radio-fucking-head. The Bob Dylan of this generation, if you will. These tickets were so in-demand that they went as far as 500 dollars just for one ticket in the pit section. Every time my older cousins would come over and they found out I had gotten tickets (that weren’t “lawn“, by the way) they’d freak and become jealous. One time on of my cousins and his girlfriend both took camera photos of my tickets. These puppies sold out fast, so I knew what I had.

Anyway, the show was fantastic! I had to be honest, I was skeptical at first especially since my friend Valarie went to the Houston show the night before my show in Dallas. (She’s a huge Radiohead fan. Hell, she was the one who made me like them back in my Freshman year.) She loved it, but was disappointed that they didn’t play “Paranoid Android” (her favorite song) and “Exit Music (For a Film)”. So needless to say, I was nervous. But boy did that fade away! Radiohead played a very electic mix of their stuff. Forget singles, forget what you knew.. This is Radiohead, if their music is any indication of what they’re about, then you’d know that they don’t follow the rules. Throw them out the window, cause that’s what these mother fuckers did on this show. They played, “Wolf at the Door” (the last track off “Hail to the Thief”) which is a god damn masterpiece of song! They did an amazing version of “The National Anthem” (complete with eye popping lights!) and the ever beautiful, always amazing, “Fake Plastic Trees”. Boy that song totally touched everybody. You could feel it in the air. So beautiful. Not only that but they surprised me by not only playing “Exit Music” but they closed their 2 hour set with the ever popular, always fantastic; “Paranoid Android”. Truly a sight to behold.

Much love to Radiohead for an amazing night. I couldn’t have asked for more. (Oh, by the way.. the reason they're isn't many photos of them was cause Jaime mostly took video. Expect some clips on YouTube soon.)

During the week we hung in San Antonio staying with my friends Tony and Gina. We drank almost every night (even when Gina had a test that she’d wind up failing. Rofl.) We played the Wii. I saw Indiana Jones 4 for free all on accident. I saw Iron Man for the fourth time. Then I saw Indiana Jones again at the midnight showing in one of the many different movie theaters. So much fun. So much of everything.

Eisley






Finally, the last concert that closed our amazing vacation was Eisley playing in San Antonio at the White Rabbit. This was my first time seeing them in concert. The thing about Eisley is that I had been a fan of them before they ever even released a first album. Eisley are a soft rock band from Tyler, Texas who consist of 3 sisters, brother, and cousin. I kept up, and visited their website where their father Boyd Dupree would update the small fan base on what was going on with the band. At the time when I became a fan, two if not three of the members weren’t even old enough to drink. They were young and had put out two EPs. They were signed to Warner Bros. Records whom provided them with the resources to finally made a debut album. They struggled and it was all documented. I was never in the studio with them, but it felt as if I was. Boyd would update everyday, sometimes twice, to even, three times a day. He’d post little videos, and clips of songs and what they were working on. I was even around when the band had Xanga’s and Livejournals. I saw the girls become frustrated. I saw them question why they got into music in the first place. I saw them write a song and finish it. They gave me a first person look at what it’s like for a young, up-and-coming band to get signed and make music they believe in, even in a world that only wants to use them for money. I saw them release their debut. I even pre-ordered it and got it a few days before they went on sale.

Years later, I saw them release their second album, “Combinations” which came out last year. So now, it was finally time to see them live and I have to say, they have come a long way.

Sherri and Stacy are now more confident, and it showed. They were in charge this time. Like Radiohead, this is a band that sticks to their guns. They know what they want and they will not compromise. They didn’t play “Telescope Eyes” (their popular song that they all hate), they played four songs that aren’t even on either album. One was a song that they released back when I first got into them that never made it into their first album. They did an amazing job. I saw a more rockier version of them. Sherri looks so pretty in person and the way she sang, it was able to touch everybody in the audience on such an emotional level. Their rendition of “A Sight To Behold” was monstrous! It was utterly fantastic. So epic, so theatrical, that it sent shivers down my spine.

Lastly, they closed with their slowest and most beautiful song to date.. “If You’re Wondering”. I got super emo. It just touched me. It reminded me of that one person I lost.. : /

Vedera

But all in all, it was great. I became such a huge fan of Vedera (they opened up for Eisley) and I got to meet them after the show and got my copy of their CD signed and took a picture. Honestly, Vedera was close enough to steal the show. She had such an amazing voice. They are totally going to go far one day.

In the end, I loved this experience. I loved being away and doing what I wanted. When I first set this up a few months ago, I set out to do one thing.. to take control of my life. While I enjoyed 2007, in retrospect it opened my eyes at how truly impossible for me to be who I wanted to be was. My life spun out of control and it seemed as if every god damn action was questioned.

Doctor’s told me I couldn’t do things I wanted to do. I am too fragile they said. My heart doctor doesn’t want me to exceed my blood pressure which means I can’t be doing a lot. My eye doctor says one hit to the head could knock my vision to complete blindness. I can’t lift weights. I can’t drink. I can’t smoke. It became more of, “..what can I do?” But, I wasn’t buying it. I didn’t care. I ran the shots this time. I said what I was going to do and how I wanted to do it so me and Jaime made it happen.

..and even though there were a few bumps on the road it was fun. A lot of fun. There was nobody to answer too. This was me doing what I wanted to do without anybody telling me I couldn’t do it.

In the Offspring’s upcoming album there is a song called “Half-Truism”.

The chorus goes; “..if we don’t make it alive, it’s a hell of a good day to die.”

I couldn’t agree more.

For all 247 photos of the entire trip head on over to my MySpace Account. They'll be uploaded to Facebook soon.