#matthew thiessen | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

lowtide-atserotoninbay · 2 years

Text

Canton's Relient K reflects on fame: 'The story got crazier and crazier'

4/13/22 by Ed Balint

Matt Thiessen's voice filled with energy as he recalled the rise of Relient K from a band playing small gigs in his hometown to slots with major music festivals and appearances on late night television shows.

"Growing up in Ohio, it's such a special place," said the 41-year-old frontman of the pop punk band. "When we were starting out, there wasn't a ton of bands, but there was about five or six really cool bands full of buddies, and we could all play shows together, and those are some of the best times you could remember."

More than a decade has passed since timing and circumstances converged to launch Relient K from obscurity to mainstream chart success, a spot on the Vans Warped Tour and impressive record sales, all while transcending the Christian music scene where the band started.

"And it just created a momentum that we just got to ride, and then, yeah, the story got crazier and crazier," Thiessen added.

"The Alive Festival ... playing things like that, and for the first time, someone wants your autograph, and (I thought), 'What is my autograph?' and that sort of thing. And yeah, we think about that stuff all the time, and it's pretty crazy how it changed our lives."

Thiessen took time to chat by phone a few days prior to Relient K's concert at the House of Blues in Cleveland late last month. Stark County native and co-founding band member Matthew Hoopes chimed in via email on Monday.

Thiessen spoke with the insight and maturity of a musician who knows thousands of bands don't make it, and even many who do fade out without the ability to consistently tour or make music.

Hoopes, 41, said the band and its fans have aged together.

"We had so much fun playing together," he said of the recently concluded tour. "It’s been about five years since our last show, and honestly, I wasn’t sure if we would ever get back to this. I think there is a certain sense of gratitude and joy that is present now in our live shows. I think a lot of our fans weren’t sure if we would ever tour again, either, so I think it’s part of the reason for the excitement and overall good vibes."

Asked how long he thinks Relient K will last, Thiessen didn't flinch: "Matt and I always said the band will always exist as long as we're having fun."

Reflecting on the tour, he sounded at ease: "It's not too hard to have fun."

Rounding out the band during the tour were Jonathan Schneck, guitar and vocals; Ethan Luck, bass and vocals; and Dave Douglas, drums and vocals.

Relient K released its last studio album in 2016, "Air for Free." A live album came out in 2020.

Thiessen lives in Nashville and Hoopes calls Florida home.

"We do have ... a goal of making another album someday," said Thiessen, who co-produced Owl City's No. 1 song "Fireflies" in 2009 and still writes new music regularly. "Logistics in this band have become a little difficult. ... It's just about getting together, and it's about figuring out where and what and when and how, but it will happen — I have faith that it will."

Touring re-energized the band, Hoopes observed.

"I’m excited about what we can make ... and how we can make music that feels important to us after all these years," the guitarist wrote. "I don’t really think about hanging it up at a certain point. I think that Relient K will always kind of change into whatever form it needs to be for us, and that’s a pretty cool place to be.

"I don’t think we are too concerned with retiring or doing a farewell tour, but hey, you never know. The future is undetermined, but that’s what makes it exciting."

Edited for brevity and clarity, the rest of the conversation and email exchange follow.

Making it in the music business

"I'm sure a lot of bands think their story is special and miraculous, but that's the way we look at ours, too," said Thiessen, a 1998 Tusky Valley High School graduate. "There's just so many little factors of, 'If this hadn't happened, nothing would have happened,' this sort of thing.

"We were so fortunate to have Mark Lee Townsend produce our albums, and he lived in Canton, and he had connections. He played in this band DC Talk, and if we wouldn't have met him at 16 years old, we would have never made a demo, and TobyMac would have never heard this demo and signed us, and if we never got signed, then we wouldn't have ever been able to go on a tour.

"I was like putting gas to the floor trying to write a new record, and that's when 'Sadie Hawkins Dance' got created. ... And it's kind of like just that butterfly effect."

Playing the popular songs, "Be My Escape" and "Sadie Hawkins Dance" so many years later

"That song ('Be My Escape') has existed for a long time for us, so I can play it with my eyes closed sort of thing," said Thiessen. "That's half the fun ... that I can just play it and ... kind of look at everyone singing along and just kind of vibe off of that.

"The goose bump moments actually come in less expected places, and it changes from night to night – certain crowds react differently to different songs, and that makes it really fun. After the show, we can all sit around and talk about it, (and how) I can't believe they were singing along so loud to a song called 'Empty House' or something, and the (opening act Semler) back stage saying it gave her chills, and that's cool.

"... It's actually come full circle," he said of performing "Sadie Hawkins Dance." "There was probably a time in our career when it felt a little foolish to be playing that song. We're out on tour with Good Charlotte and Simple Plan, and I just wanted to play what I thought were our cool songs, and every night we still have to play 'Sadie Hawkins,' and it still goes over well.

"And now I think back and I say that song was alright, and it's just fun and silly, and that person who wrote that song is still inside of me somewhere, and it's great to harness that inner child or inner 20-year-old and enjoy it every night."

Would you like to play the Alive Festival again?

"We'd love to, absolutely," Thiessen said. "I remember attending it before the band even existed. A funny story was always that there was three of us. Our old bass player Brian Pittman still lives in Canton. And it was Matt Hoopes, Brian Pittman and I, and we all went to an Alive Festival ... and we all got to see this ska band called (The O.C. Supertones), and after seeing it, Matt and Brian were convinced Relient K should be a ska band.

"We were very early in writing stuff, but I was set on being a pop punk band, and I think for a moment I got kicked out of Relient K, but I was also the songwriter, so they, without even telling me, I was brought back into Relient K.

"And then we got to start playing the Alive Festival, and yes, of course, we would love to come back and do it if they would want us to come."

Still Ohio proud

"It's definitely the people," Thiessen said. "You know, Ohioans are unlike anybody else. I miss the vibe. I still get back to Ohio all the time. My sister ... lives down in Columbus, Sunbury, Ohio, and my mom ended up moving down to Apple Valley, which is kind of in between Canton and Columbus. I'm always there, and it's a very similar vibe to where we grew up, and I don't know, I feel more relaxed, I feel kind of more at home when I visit Ohio more than anywhere else.

"But ... it was always a thing in pop punk culture to kind of diss your hometown and be like, 'I got to get out of here, I need to go on the road and see the world.' We were joking about that the other day, and you go on the road and you end up seeing the back alley behind the same venue in every city ... and that's where you hang out – it's funny."

Hoopes said Ohio helped shape the band.

"I think we’ve always held on to a little bit of a blue-collar/DIY approach that feels uniquely (Northeast) Ohio. I notice that kind of, I don’t know, gritty approach in myself in other things, too, like running my guitar pedal business — 1981 Inventions. I think so many pop punk bands that came out in the early 2000s were from the coasts (California, New Jersey, etc.) We weren’t quite cool enough to be lumped in as Midwest emo. Part of it is wearing our roots proudly on our sleeves, and part is explaining where we are coming from and why we are the way we are."

Watching the Cleveland Cavaliers win the NBA championship in 2016

"So one really cool thing about living in Nashville is there's a lot of people from Ohio, and a lot of close friends that have moved down there, not just for music, but it's because Nashville's a cool place to be, too," Thiessen said. "So I ended up buying a real long cable for my TV and putting it out, and we all watched the Cavs win in the swimming pool.

"So that was good, and yeah, we had a couple of guys who broke down in tears and stuff. It was pretty cool; it was a special moment. I was happy. I didn't quite get there and cry."

Visiting Stark County

"It always feels smaller when I come home, closer together than I remember," said Hoopes, a 1999 McKinley High School graduate. It "feels safe and simple, but in a nice way. It does feel slow paced in comparison to other places, but not in a bad way. I do love coming home to my parents' house and going back to our favorite places like Milk and Honey or even Swensons."

The joys of touring

"One of my favorite things about this tour is Semler, the opener," Thiessen said. "She's just really great, and she's just got this cool stage presence, and I don't know, (but) she makes me feel good every day when I get to see her perform. Honestly, I think she makes me cry a little bit when I watch her set because it's so emotional and what not. I don't know why she agreed to do this tour, but we're just really glad she did."

The Relient K experience

"I think that the more time passes, I feel grateful for the opportunity to experience the things we have experienced," said Hoopes, who got married about five years ago and now has young children. "It’s crazy to get to see other countries like Japan or New Zealand, or get to play (the) Warped Tour or The Tonight Show. It’s surreal, honestly. I think in hindsight I’m able to have a more balanced view of it.

"I don’t think we necessarily deserved those opportunities, but we did work hard and continued to show up, and Matt continued to write great songs. I think what I’m trying to say at this point in my life is that, I feel more gratitude for everything, but I can also more clearly see some of the costs along the way.

"Ultimately, I feel that there is always room for gratitude no matter how things happened, and there are so many things about my life now that I wouldn’t change for the world. Relient K has given each of us a unique experience to say the least, and it’s a fun story to be a part of."

What if you didn't make it in rock and roll?

"I went to Kent Stark, and I was just going to get some gen eds," Thiessen recalled. " ... But (entertainment writing) is really fun. I would have loved to get into journalism. I love the radio. I love like marketing, but creative marketing. ... Whoever gets to make those Geico commercials ... I always thought I would gravitate towards that type of thing. (But) I haven't had to do it yet."

Hoopes, meanwhile, runs a successful guitar pedal business, calling 1981 Inventions his "main job," while noting he used his DRV pedal on tour.

"So I guess Relient K is an odd side hustle if you will," he wrote. "I always guessed it would be the other way around. I started my company in 2018, in a season when I was legitimately trying to figure out what to do with my life. I hoped that building guitar pedals would be a bit of a weekend project sort of thing, where I could make pedals for myself and my friends. But since my first release, it became clear that I would need to work really hard to try to keep up with demand.https://0674e81c281a55fea9b19534f73e1e5c.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.html

"I think the band really helped me start out doing pedals, as most people who follow us are at least mildly aware that I am obsessed with guitar gear and pedals, especially. I honestly just love it. But it’s been an incredible experience to see the pedal stand on its own. I’d guess that most people who follow 1981 Inventions are not aware (of) Relient K, and that’s kind of cool in a way."

Source

#relient k #matt thiessen #matthew thiessen #matt hoopes #matthew hoopes #jon schneck #ethan luck #dave douglas

2 notes · View notes

primal-slayer · 3 months

Text

Spelling asks Tiffani Thiessen to join ''Charmed''

Did you hear the one about Aaron Spelling recruiting Shannen Doherty’s ”Beverly Hills, 90210” replacement, Tiffani Thiessen, to step in for the exiting Doherty next season on ”Charmed”? Turns out that’s no joke. ”Tiffani was our first choice to take over for Shannen — even before we asked Jennifer [Love Hewitt],” Spelling tells EW. ”But Tiffani told us she wants to do a half-hour comedy.” (Alas, NBC didn’t pick up her sitcom pilot.)

Since Spelling’s big-name choices have taken a pass — Hewitt likely wants to focus on films — the Überproducer says the show is leaning toward a fresh face to play a younger witch in the Halliwell household. ”She’s going to be the long-lost little sister Alyssa [Milano] and Holly [Marie Combs] never knew they had. And wait until you see what we came up with to explain why she’s been lost: Nobody ever knew she even existed.” Spelling says producers are recutting last month’s season finale to explain the sudden disappearance of Doherty’s Prue. Our guess: She’s locked away in a behavioral-therapy clinic with Brenda Walsh. https://ew.com/article/2001/06/12/spelling-asked-tiffani-thiessen-join-charmed/

#Charmed #Charmed season 3 #charmed season 4 #shannen doherty #tiffani amber thiessen #holly marie combs #alyssa milano #rose mcgowan #prue halliwell #piper halliwell #phoebe halliwell #paige matthews

10 notes · View notes

damailbox · 11 months

Photo

Disney Adventures, November 1998

#Matthew Perry #Rosie O'Donnell #Ben Savage #Tiffani Amber Thiessen #Red Hot Chili Peppers #George Clooney #David Duchovny #Mariah Carey #sports #celebrities #1990s #1998 #magazine #ESPN #Disney Adventures

6 notes · View notes

kyliemilne · 1 year

Text

Acting Scenes that Give Me Fucking Chills Man Part 3

Nina loses control

youtube

Valerie raped+ Tiffani and Brian's acting in Beverly Hills 90210

youtube

Wooderson's speech

youtube

Chris breaks down + talks with Gordie

youtube

Shawn's story

youtube

This scene in Teen Wolf

youtube

Void Stiles

youtube

Lola realizes Kyle is married (I only watched when Lola was on cause my mom watches the show and she would watch it while I did homework in grade twelve haha!)

youtube

5 notes · View notes

creacherkeeper · 1 year

Note

1-5 🦛🦛🦛🦛🦛

future days - troy baker / the last of us 2

2. wayfaring stranger - johnny cash

3. lost river - murder by death

4. wild dogs - colter wall

5. one - johnny cash

#these are from my sleeping playlist lol <333 #my not sleeping playlist number one was man of stone by matthew thiessen #oopsie #thank you!! <33

3 notes · View notes

ncfcatalyst · 1 year

Text

Inside the “hostile takeover”: an autopsy of the Jan. 31 Board of Trustees meeting

When it was first announced on January 6 that Gov. Ron DeSantis had appointed six new members to New College’s Board of Trustees (BOT), various media outlets began calling this move a “hostile takeover”—with a seventh new member joining them on Jan. 26. There was little information through any official channels to indicate what a takeover might involve, although one of the new appointments,…

View On WordPress

#bill galvano #board of trustees #bot meeting #bradley thiessen #christopher rufo #debra jenks #eddie spier #Mary Ruiz #matthew spalding #meeting minutes #ooie #patricia okker #president #richard corcoran

1 note · View note

annieqattheperipheral · 6 months

Text

tw: death, funeral

Beautiful article on Adam Johnson's Celebration of Life, includes those from the hockey world who attended and their shared words:

- - -

HIBBING, Minn. — In a small, hard-working town of 16,000 in Minnesota’s Iron Range, where there are streets named after Bob Dylan and there’s a sense of pride at having also produced MLB legend Roger Maris and Basketball Hall of Famer Kevin McHale, there is — and was — only one “Adam.”

“If you said the name ‘Adam’ in Hibbing, everybody knew that meant Adam Johnson,” said Scott Pionk, the father of Winnipeg Jets defenseman Neal Pionk and Wild draft pick and University of Minnesota-Duluth freshman Aaron Pionk. “Like LeBron, he needed only one name: Adam.”

Jim Perunovich, the father of St. Louis Blues defenseman Scott Perunovich, agreed: “Cher. Bono. Everyone knows who Adam is.”

That’s why on a chilly, wet Monday afternoon, some 3,000 people filled the Hibbing Memorial Arena, which was originally built during the Great Depression and stands three blocks from Adam’s old high school, to pay their respects and offer an outpouring of love and support to the friends and family who are reeling right now. Nine days earlier, Hibbing’s “Adam” died at 29 years old playing the sport he loved, cut by a skate blade across the neck while playing professionally in England.

The Nottingham Panthers on Saturday conducted their own memorial, at Motorpoint Arena, where assistant coach Kevin Moore said Panthers fans had immediately taken to Adam — “our best player” – and will “wear his No. 47 in their hearts forever.”

Then on Sunday, Nottingham Forest football player and Panthers fanatic Orel Johnson Mangala scored in the 47th minute of a Premier League victory over Aston Villa — while fans were paying tribute to Adam with a one-minute ovation. Hours later, Matthew Thiessen, the goalie for Adam’s alma mater, University of Minnesota-Duluth, made a career-best 47 saves in a 3-3 tie with cross-state rival University of Minnesota.

On Monday in Hibbing, scores of people walked into the lobby of the arena and were greeted by a picture of Adam flashing his joyful and infectious smile.

There was a condolence book and there were pictures of him as a baby and young boy running around or skating with his older brother, Ryan. There were pictures of Adam excelling with a hockey stick and tennis racket in his hand. There were pictures of him playing with his young nephew and niece and kissing his fiancée, Ryan Wolfe, a St. Francis native who he fell in love with instantly and planned to buy a farm or coffee shop with.

Seeing so many pictures of a happy Adam and hearing the memories of him was a great reminder that Adam is not just a name, not just a stranger causing so many other strangers to argue on social media about how and why he died. And the term “neck guard” wasn’t uttered once Monday, even though Adam’s death may end up causing a lot of good in the game as college and professional hockey players are starting, one by one, to seek out neck protection.

We were reminded that Adam was a son, a brother, a grandson, a nephew, a cousin and everybody’s best friend.

“Adam truly is and always will be our hometown hero,” said former Hibbing/Chisholm Bluejackets teammate Jake Doherty, one of nearly two dozen speakers to pay homage.

The nearly two-hour service was often funny and more often profoundly sad. And fittingly, it took place on the sheet of ice where Adam used to electrify, in the building he used to fill.

Hockey runs deep in Hibbing, and Adam’s death brought this community together.

Longtime P.A. announcer Dan Marich boisterously welcomed folks into the arena intentionally because that’s the way Adam would have heard it on the ice when he was in the starting lineup. And he ended the ceremony by announcing Adam’s name like he had just scored a goal to draw a thunderous ovation from the crowd as a band did a rendition of AC/DC’s “You Shook Me All Night Long” – a song Adam learned to play on a guitar he saved up to buy when he was a teenager.

This was not long after the same band caused waterworks by playing one of Adam’s favorite campfire songs, the song he used to love to sing with his best friend, Neal Pionk: the Eagles’ “Peaceful Easy Feeling.”

There were so many poignant moments during the ceremony. Like when Adam’s fiancée, Ryan, read a letter she wrote for him, telling him how much she’d miss her favorite napping partner and sous chef. And when Ryan’s sister, Kylie, read a poem then talked about how her sister sneaked out of a cabin to meet Adam that first night, the same night they apparently burned down a sauna. There were Adam’s nephew, Grant, and niece, Britta, constantly running over to Adam’s fiancée and sitting on her lap because, in their eyes, she is their “auntie.”

Maybe the most gripping moment came when Adam’s old high school coach, Mark DeCenzo, choked up and struggled to even start his speech. Adam’s mourning father, former UMD captain Davey Johnson, stood up, walked down the black carpet and joined DeCenzo, putting his arm around him and helping him get through his touching words.

- - -

Friends came from far and wide.

Winnipeg Jets ownership, led by Mark Chipman, arranged for a charter to fly Neal Pionk, Alex Iafallo, Dominic Toninato and Dylan Samberg to Hibbing for Sunday’s funeral mass and Monday’s celebration. St. Louis Blues defenseman Scott Perunovich also attended both and then hitched a ride with the Jets players back to St. Louis for Tuesday’s Jets-Blues game.

Also there Sunday were Wild president and general manager Bill Guerin, who signed Adam to the Penguins in 2017; Adam’s agent, Pete Rutili; former NHLer and current player agent Neil Sheehy; and Minnesota State coach Luke Strand and Detroit Red Wings assistant coach Jay Varady, who both coached Adam for USHL Sioux City.

University of Minnesota-Duluth coach Scott Sandelin spoke at Monday’s event and brought his entire team and staff. St. Cloud State coach Brett Larson was also there, as was Hibbing High’s hockey team.

Other players seen Monday included Henderson Silver Knights captain Jake Bischoff; the Colorado Eagles’ Riley Tufte; the Bridgeport Islanders’ Karson Kuhlman; the San Diego Gulls’ Nick Wolff and his girlfriend, Sydney Brodt, who in September was drafted by the new PWHL team in Minnesota; Bruins scout Parker MacKay; and former Minnesota Mr. Hockey Avery Peterson.

“Definitely had to be here. All of us,” said Tufte, who rushed back to Colorado on Monday night for a game Tuesday. “Can’t miss this. Not for this guy. We all loved him.”

On Friday night against Ontario, one of Adam’s former teams, Tufte recorded his first professional hat trick.

“The first thing I thought about was Johns,” Tufte said. “Even the way the third one went in: off the goalie, off a defenseman’s shin and in. I know Adam pushed it in. It was insane. Something pretty special.”

Neal Pionk first became friends with Adam playing in the Minnesota high school Elite League, then at Sioux City, where they lit it up on the power play. They lived together while at UMD. Pionk said during the celebration that you knew Adam really loved you if he was unrelenting with his insults.

Pionk demonstrated their bond by repeating one of their last text messages after the Jets lost three of their first four games this season: “You’re off to an abysmal start. Pick it up.”

Said Pionk, “I’ll miss those texts every day.”

Neal’s dad, Scott, whose wife helped plan the Celebration of Life with other family friends, said his son is crushed.

“This is the first time as a young guy that he’s lost somebody that he’s really close to,” Scott said. “He’s shocked. He’s devastated.”

Scott, a close friend of Adam’s dad, first got to know Adam in ninth grade. Davey would every now and then ask Pionk to call his son to encourage him when things weren’t going well hockey-wise. Adam worked at Pionk’s hockey camps and helped him one summer at his landscaping company, so they had a bond.

“He was quiet. He liked to be alone a fair amount. And he liked to do things his own way,” Pionk said of Johnson. “He was a free spirit. I’ll put it this way: He was playfully grumpy. Because whatever you decided, he’d be like, ‘I don’t want to go there tonight.’ And then five minutes later, you’d get him in the car and he was laughing and the life of the party. So he played that role. Guys loved it.”

Adam was a terrific hockey player. He was a beautiful skater, taking after his uncle and fellow UMD alum Gary DeGrio, and ultra-skilled, especially in high school. Guerin recruited him for two years, hoping to sign him in Pittsburgh.

During development camp with the Penguins after his sophomore year of college, Adam met with Guerin and Penguins development coach Mark Recchi. They told him they loved him but to go back to school, have a great junior year and they’d be waiting to sign him after that season.

Guerin then returned to the stands. Hall of Famer and Penguins owner Mario Lemieux walked up to Guerin and asked, “Who’s that kid?”

He was pointing at Adam.

Guerin said, “That’s Adam Johnson. Beautiful skater, isn’t he? We’re going to send him back to UMD and sign him after the year.”

Lemieux said, “Well, you probably shouldn’t let him leave the building.”

Guerin responded, “Are you serious?”

Lemieux said, “Yeah, we need to sign guys like that.”

Guerin and Recchi went back downstairs, grabbed Adam when he left the ice and told him, “We understand we just told you we’re sending you back, but things have changed. Mind coming upstairs and meeting with a small group of us?”

Adam showered, changed and walked into a room. That “small group” was Guerin, Recchi, coach Mike Sullivan, CEO David Morehouse, general manager Jim Rutherford and none other than Mario Lemieux.

When Super Mario tells you he wants to sign you, you sign.

“Hey look, this kid was as hot a free agent as you could get,” Guerin said. “We just loved the way he could move, the way he skated, the way he frankly smiled. Like his teammates loved him. He fit everything we wanted. There was no B.S. to him. He was just a well-rounded, well-grounded, really good kid.”

Guerin’s voice began to crack.

“This is just such a sad story,” Guerin said. “Just so sad. Gone way too soon. He had his whole life ahead of him.”

- - -

The testimonials Monday were beautiful.

Johnson’s old Hibbing assistant coach and good friend Grant Clafton called him a “joyful grump” and said he had to be loving seeing Clafton look and feel so uncomfortable and nervous talking in front of a packed arena.

As funny as that was, he made everybody sob when talking about his broken heart that Adam and the love of his life, Ryan, wouldn’t get to create the life together they so deserved.

Sandelin always told Adam he wanted him to have the puck on his stick 90 percent of the time. He remembered his sly grin, his humility, his care for his teammates.

Moore talked about watching all of Adam’s assists this season for Nottingham and being so warmed by the selfless look and joy he had when his teammates scored.

Ebony Johnson, Adam’s sister-in-law — “not by choice,” Adam would joke — talked beautifully but also got everybody laughing when she admitted that their friendship actually began as rivals when they were each up for a third-grade fitness award.

As she remembered it, she could do more pushups than Adam.

Every speaker’s address touched on a similar theme: This was a tremendous person who also happened to be a tremendous hockey player.

As his cousin and former Hibbing teammate Michael Pechnovnik said, “Heaven’s hockey team gained a heckuva player.”

- - -

Four thousand miles away in Nottingham, Adam’s devastated and shaken Panthers teammates watched the live stream Monday.

It was proof of community, one that Nottingham’s Westin Michaud knows well.

He hails from Cloquet, Minn. — 70 miles away from Hibbing — and played with and against Adam in youth, high school, college and pro hockey.

Michaud was an eyewitness to the incident that injured and ultimately killed his friend and was at Adam’s side until the very end.

Michaud said this has been a tremendously challenging time for him and his teammates but the outpouring of love of support has been heartwarming and there’s no doubt watching Monday’s sense of community helped.

“It’s truly amazing how much hockey has impacted not only my life but also the lives of others who play the game, regardless of their skill level,” Michaud said via text. “It’s a community filled with people who genuinely care for and support each other.

“Hockey is more than just a game; it brings people together, ignites passions and provides a profound sense of purpose. Additionally, it unites communities and validates individuals as part of something greater, nurturing both a sense of belonging and purpose in life.”

Still, Monday was hard. “We’re all cried out. We’re hurting. We’re hurting really bad up here right now,” said Jim Perunovich, who was so broken up after Sunday’s mass, Adam’s mom, Sue, had to console him. “Nobody can understand it, but I guess God needed Adam more than we did.”

But what made Monday beautiful was the laughter, the celebration of Adam’s life with humor and memories, as well as music and P.A. announcements.

“That’s the way we roll up here,” Perunovich said.

There’s something special about the Iron Range, where hockey runs deep. Adam cared so much about the people here. He was proud to be from here and took a piece of Hibbing and brought it with him to the UK.

Tufte, for one, was not surprised at Hibbing’s perfectly executed celebration.

“Good ol’ Hibbing hockey community,” said Tufte, who went to high school three hours south at Blaine but attended UMD. “Can’t beat it.”

The celebration of life was live-streamed.

13 notes · View notes

greenticklerdreams · 4 months

Note

9, 10, 31!

9. That's a really hard one. ...... it's mundane, but I think getting myself moved out to Colorado, where I wanted to be, is probably my greatest accomplishment so far. And the fact that I'm not in any sort of debt right now (still renting my place, of course, but). It's lame, but... the fact that I'm actually doing pretty well right now feels like a big accomplishment.

10. I have literally chewed the scenery on stage and broke a tooth while doing it.

31. You WOULD pick this one! Uhhh... Matthew Thiessen from Relient K, Justin Pierre from Motion City Soundtrack, and Isaac Slade from The Fray. I find most of their songs to be pretty comfortable in my range and I'm something of a former okay still current emo boy. Sure, let's go with that answer for now.

#answered

3 notes · View notes

forthesanityofsome · 5 months

Text

SONGS

Tagged by @vacantgodling 😁 Thanks for the tag!

rules: put 5 songs you actually listen to, then tag 10 people.

(I doubt I'll actually tag 10 people but okay here we go)

Tagging: @gummybugg @tryingtimi @queerlilchinchin @mysticstarlightduck @jacquessayshello @sleepyowlwrites @adie-dee @anulithots (and open tag to make up the difference)

I'm also gonna just use my top listened to tracks on Spotify...and I'll try to weed out the ones that I know are there specifically because of writing, lol

Forest - Matthew Thiessen & The Earthquakes

I'm Still Here - John Rzeznik

Bones - Sail North (@bloodlessheirbyjacques I have seriously been listening to this like every other day since your post about a musical and I Can't. Stop. Seeing/hear/thinking. About. It.)

Look for the Light - Meryl Streep, Ashley Park (Only Murderers In the Building but I love it So So Much)

The Witches Are Back - Bette Midler, Saraha Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy

#Tag games #tho I will say at least three of these are also on various character playlists #but whatever #lol

6 notes · View notes

sleepyowlwrites · 1 year

Note

Ooh! Is it too late to ask for a music rec from The Great Sleepy!?

it's literally never to late. I run all my ask games continually (you can access the list from my pinned post) so if you ever want to play one of my ask games in the future, just go ahead. and giving out music recs is a minor love language of mine, so if you ever need some, PLEASE go ahead and ask. I will be tremendously pleased.

I was thinking your nickname could be Clarity. and now, the songs! what vibes would be good for you just now?

Forest by Matthew Thiessen & The Earthquakes

Vagabond by WILD

The Moon and the Stars by John Mark Nelson

Nightlife by Old Daisy

City Lights by Linus from the Stars

Finch in the Pantry by The Arcadian Wild

Human Touch by Olen

STOP by DAY6

Can You Keep Up by Blue Kid

Like the Night by Moonbeau

thanks for playing!

#sleepy answers #rec asks

6 notes · View notes

matthewthiessen · 1 year

Text

Matt selfie. 6/2/2022. Via Matt’s Instagram.

#matt thiessen #matthew arnold thiessen #matthew thiessen #relient k

14 notes · View notes

wishing4nuclearwinter · 9 months

Note

HAPPY BIRTHDAYYY

Agustin for the character aesthetics immediately pls

((Also I hope ur birthday is incredible n you get to do all the stuff you enjoy ^^))

THANK YOUUU. It’s going pretty well so far 😌

[character aesthetics meme]

AGUSTIN HENRY GRAVES

A short playlist [in vague chronological order]:

Wolf, First Aid Kit

Man of Stone, Matthew Thiessen & the Earthquakes

Adolescence, Brown Bird

Call to Arms, The Huntress and Holder of Hands

Spite, Vandaveer

A picture aesthetic moodboard:

A ‘steal their look’ outfit:

A small collection of quotes:

A list of things that are their aesthetic:

Old books stashed in hidden places

Lone mongrel howling in the night

Long empty highways

Early morning before the sunrises

Handmade quilts

The smell of campfires and ash

Blood crusted beneath fingernails

#thank you for the ask as well! this was a lot of fun despite tumblrs app making me fight for my life trying to format it #agustin tag #wishing4asks

3 notes · View notes

luxpenumbra · 9 months

Text

thx @squidbroom for the tag, here's my top ten repeats (spotify, adjusted for songs it keeps pushing on me)

Opaline - Novo Amor

Rock with You - Seventeen

I AM - IVE

Sky! Sky! - Mamamoo

INVU - Taeyeon

Evergreen - Yebba

Riga Girls - The Weepies

Fruitless - Bridal Party

Rising - TripleS

Telepath - Conan Gray

Tagging @bees-are-gay @sarcasticsargassum @astercaelestis @the-dot @agape-emo-eros & whoever else wants to :)

(obscurify ver.)

Telepath - Conan Gray

Dear Arkansas Daughter - Lady Lamb

Good Evening - SHINEE

Mother's Triumph - Matthew Thiessen & the Earthquakes

Be My Honeypie - The Weepies

Jolene - The Weepies

レイン - SID

Fruitless - Bridal Party

Do it Like That - TXT, Jonas Brothers

8282 - DAVICHI

2 notes · View notes

foreverlogical · 1 year

Text

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The newly-installed conservative board of trustees at New College of Florida ousted its current president in favor of former state education commissioner Richard Corcoran Tuesday, launching the initial move in reshaping the campus under the vision of Gov. Ron DeSantis.

The decision came at the first board meeting since DeSantis appointed six new trustees with the idea of overhauling the liberal arts college in Sarasota into a more conservative-leaning institution. That track was accelerated Tuesday when the board paved the way for new leadership as students and parents protested the major changes that appear bound for New College.

“Some have said these recent appointments amount to a partisan takeover of the college. This is not correct,” said trustee Matthew Spalding, a constitutional government professor and vice president at Hillsdale College’s D.C. campus who was appointed by DeSantis. “It’s not a takeover — it’s a renewal.”

A leadership switch from President Patricia Okker to Corcoran as interim leader is one of several moves made Tuesday by the board, which also signaled its intent to abolish diversity, equity and inclusion programs on campus — all policies pushed by DeSantis. The changes are major developments at the school spurred by the new appointees, including Christopher Rufo, a conservative activist who has advised DeSantis on critical race theory, and Eddie Speir, the co-founder of Inspiration Academy, a Christian charter school in Bradenton, Fla.

Tuesday’s meeting was met with apprehension from dozens of students and parents who protested what they called a “hostile takeover” at New College. They urged Okker to stay on as president and push back against the new mandates from the DeSantis administration to model the school as a “Hillsdale of the South” in reference to the private conservative religious “classical“ college in Michigan.

Okker in an emotional address told the board — and the campus — that she couldn’t continue to serve as president amid accusations that the students are being inundated with liberal indoctrination.

“The reality is, and it’s a hard reality and it’s a sad reality, but the vision that we created together is not the vision I have been given as a mandate here,” Okker said.

In remaking the board at New College, the DeSantis administration said the school was “completely captured by a political ideology that puts trendy, truth-relative concepts above learning” and in need of change following downward enrollment trends. To move on from Okker, trustees agreed to a “generous” exit package that includes at least 12 months of paid professional development leave and benefits. Corcoran is unable to begin serving until March, leaving Okker’s chief of staff Bradley Thiessen in charge until then.

“New leadership is the expectation and I think it makes sense,” Rufo said at the meeting. “I don’t think it’s a condemnation of Dr. Okker, scholarship or skills or character.”

DeSantis’ changes at New College follow other efforts to reshape higher education in Florida. Earlier Tuesday, the GOP governor proposed several changes to Florida’s university system, including pressing the GOP-led Legislature to cut all funding for diversity, equity and inclusion programs and to allow university leaders to launch tenure review of professors. Last year, DeSantis and state Republicans placed GOP allies in top university posts and pushed legislation that could limit how professors teach race.

New College is also now set to review its Office of Outreach & Inclusive Excellence at the request of Rufo as part of the state’s stance against diversity, equity and inclusion programs in schools. Rufo originally pushed to abolish the office outright, including four positions, and take other actions tied to diversity and equity, but decided to request further details on the program for a discussion in February.

Tuesday’s meeting was tense at times, with audience members frequently shouting over and at the new trustees as they spoke. Several parents and students addressed the board before they huddled, often criticizing their plans to retool the university and asking them to leave the college alone.

Some faculty said students felt “hopeless” about what could happen at the school, which is a unique college of under 700 undergraduates where students craft personalized education plans and don’t receive letter grades.

“Many students came here to feel safe and access the education that is their right as Floridians,” Diego Villada, Assistant Professor of Theater and Performance Studies, told the board. “And the impulse to make this a place where race, intersectionality and DEI are banned indicates to them that you want everyone to be the same – to be like you.”

Trustees, though, made it clear that the New College overhaul is fully underway, a message that came the same day DeSantis pledged to invest millions of dollars into recruiting faculty to the school.

“The campus needs a deep culture change. You sat up here, you called us racists, sexists, bigots, outsiders,” said trustee Mark Bauerlein, professor emeritus of English at Emory University who was appointed by DeSantis. “We are now in a position of authority in the college. And the accusations are telling us that something is wrong here.”

4 notes · View notes