first entry

partially inspired by the several interesting music/arts related blogs that friends of mine have started in recent months, and or years, and considering that i am doing an independent study on music journalism this semester, i figured i needed a place to spill my brain out other than the livejournal i've had since high school, music-wise.

here you will find: album reviews, concert reviews, general gossip/shit-talking about music news, trashing pitchforkmedia as much as possible, and much much more, hopefully.


so, about me: i am currently the head music director at WQFS Greensboro, the radio station at Guilford College in the fine town of Greensboro, North Carolina. i was born in San Antonio, Texas on September 23rd, 1986, and shortly thereafter moved with my family to the massively sprawled out and ever-extending suburb of Silver Spring, Maryland, right outside of Washington D.C. After a warm and delightful childhood filled with several losing seasons of little league baseball, soccer, and basketball, I started playing guitar the summer before my 7th grade year. Around this same time I bought my first band t-shirt: a thick, black Nirvana t-shirt purchased at a CD store in the mall, the kind where they only sell extra large t-shirts. This one in particular went all the way down to my knees, but knowing no better, I wore it anyway, day in and day out. I wish i still had it, I honestly have no clue where it is now.

After a pre-teen-angst phase where I listened to The Doors and Nirvana basically non-stop for over a year, I slowly became interested in the storied local music scene of Washington D.C. My sophomore year of high school, after several failed attempts to start anything resembling a decent band, my friend Daniel asked me to play bass in a band he was starting. The result was a band we called Spoont. We played about 30 shows over two years, all in D.C. or the surrounding areas, writing and performing songs about girls that didn't like us, and in one storied show performing not one but TWO Saves The Day covers. Can it get any better than that? More than three years after we played our last show, which was on June 12th, 2004 at the Electric Maid in Takoma Park, MD, with Still Strong, Period 4, Alliaecous, and The Noelles(none of whome are together anymore), our career culminated when we were briefly mentioned in a recent New York Magazine article written about Livejournal and Myspace (you know, how every media organization feels the need to inform the public that they have discovered the "new" fad of online blogging/networking etc.). Honestly, the story has nothing to do with us, we just happened to be referenced, as one of my friends from high school was interviewed for the story.

Anyway, I also played guitar in the band Bear And The Butterfly for about two years. We played over fifty shows, went on a brief east coast tour, self-released a full length CD and a split-tape with our friends The Author, and played with bands such as Q and Not U, Circle Takes The Square, Mass Movement Of The Moth, Stop It!!, and others.

Anyway, since, i've played in various sideprojects that were started and ended in a matter of weeks, and existed only for the purpose of playing particular shows. This is my favorite way to do bands, and most of these bands has been with my dear friend Jacob Mazer.

I am in my senior year at Guilford, where I study Sociology, Gender Studies, and East Asian Studies in one form or another. A couple years ago I spent three and a half months studying in Beijing, China. That was a trip....literally. Now I live in a cute little house with a dog and two fine ladies in the Glenwood neighborhood in Greensboro. Will anyone read this? I don't know, and it probably won't matter anyway.

Check back soon for:

-a preview of the new album from Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, entitled "Magic," out on October 3rd!
-a review of the new album from the everybody fields, entitled "Nothing Is Okay," in stores now!
-snip-it reviews of the various albums i've had to review for WQFS.
-playlist and commentary on my radio show that will happen TOMORROW on WQFS 90.9 FM at 2 PM EST.
-other random shit.

i hope this does not get too annoying. any and all comments can be e-mailed to andywqfs@gmail.com!

-andy-