Journal Day...take one

I'm doing two posts in one day - starting off with a bang! I've been reading some bloggers for a while, hiding in the corner of the internet without saying anything, so I am going to steal some of their ideas/features to get things rolling.

This post is in response to Danielle's Journal Day prompt. Essentially she gives a prompt and you write about it like it were your journal! I figured this would be a good way to transition from livejournal/tumblr blogging to "real" blogging. The prompt she provided this was: "We all have songs that really mean something to us. Often just hearing it can take us right back to that place and we are able to re-experience the memory associated with the song. Sometimes good, sometimes bad, but either way music has the ability to really draw things out of us and evoke deep emotion. Choose a song that has a particular meaning to you. Tell the story of the memory associated with the song, sharing as much detail as you can. Take us there; let us experience it with you."

There are just so, so many songs that I connect to. Music has been such a part of my life since I was young. I took piano lessons starting in kindergarten and then switched to voice lessons in 8th grade. Although I'm convinced I am a terrible singer. Music for me is an outlet, a way to work through whatever emotion I an feeling - sometimes it's a way for me to release the sadness I am holding in, or sometimes it's driving with my window down, enjoying the fresh air singing along to good tunes. It's funny because for me I go to the same songs, regardless of my mood. I also tend to listen to music the most in my car. This may have something to do with the amount of time I spend in my car driving to/from work (which is a-okay with me, I like to drive!). No matter what I'm going through or how I'm feeling, my go-to music is the band Make Do and Mend. I first heard about them through John as we prepared to see them open for the Bouncing Souls. This was shortly after John and I had started dating - thinking back, it was right around a year together. The Bouncing Souls had announced that they were doing a tour where they were going to play their entire discography in a four-night series in various cities. They happen to be one of John's favorite/meaningful bands, and they happened to be playing in Boston. So, for something ridiculously cheap like $75 each, I got us both passes to all four nights of their shows in Cambridge at the Middle East. We ended up staying at my aunt's house, about 30 minutes outside of Boston, and driving to the T and riding into the city every day. I think back on this with such fond memories! It's hard to believe that it was almost 3 years ago. Make Do and Mend were one of the opening bands, I think they were on the first or second night. I remember driving my little green Ford Escort (ugh I do not miss that car) from my aunt's house to the T station and John playing Make Do and Mend. The first song I think I heard of theirs was "TL". I remember standing in the Middle East, to the left of the stage by the bar, leaning against the rail in the dark pre-show venue, probably sipping a beer and waiting for the show to begin. There were a crowd of guys behind us dressed all in black and really dapper looking (or at least that's how I remember it). I remember John turning around and asking "Hey! Are you guys playing "TL" tonight?" and they said yes. I didn't even realize that they were the band! As soon as they went on stage and began playing I knew that I liked them. The other moment that sticks out in my mind from that night was Mike O'Toole (guitarist for the band) on stage, hanging toward the back doing his own thing. I can still remember what song was playing at that moment. One guitar riff always stays with me from that night - in fact John and I have jokingly bickered about what song it was because he thought it was something else. Make Do and Mend, three years later, remains one of my all-time favorite bands. The latest memory I have of them is from just a couple of weeks ago. I was at work and got the call from my mom that my grandmother was not doing well, that it was only a matter of time before she passed away, that I should come and say my "goodbyes". I knew it was coming, but I felt an overall sense of shock at that news. After wrapping things up for the day I got in my car and headed home. I immediately grabbed my iPod and put on "St. Anne" from Make Do and Mend's album Everything You've Ever Loved. I cycled through them and Polar Bear Club the entire drive home - singing along as I cried on and off. They have been, and I suspect will remain to be, a band that has a huge impact on me.