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firesfelt · 3 years

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afternoon, all ! finally getting my last ( for now... i already have Temptations ) intro up, and hopefully without a rushed ending because i suddenly have to do something lmao. while i’m not Wild about my intro graphics in general ( why does this one lowkey look stretched, for a start... ) but the fact that that ‘o’ is perfectly circling amanda’s eye ? an absolutely accident but *chef’s kiss* nonetheless. i’m writing this up while saving rp icons, so let’s see if i can multitask !!

( amanda seyfried, 30, cis woman, she/her ) AISLING O’CONNOR was seen listening to HAPPY BY LEONA LEWIS on their way to DIETICIAN. AISLING is known to be OPEN-MINDED & UNFORIGVING.

➜ so first thing’s first, aisling is pronounced ‘ash-ling’ ( or ash-lin depending on your accent/whether you drop your ‘g’s or not ) and although it would make my life so much easier when it comes to typing if she did, she really doesn’t take well to anybody calling her ‘ash’ ( i’m up for the challenge though ! give me someone in her life who can finally get away with shortening her name !! she doesn’t tolerate nicknames at all but can we change her ? let’s see ! )

➜ and with a name like aisling o’connor, i’m sure y’all really don’t need three guesses as to where she’s from. she was born in belfast, and is the oldest of six sisters -- all of them blonde, and all of them beautiful ( would it be obnoxious to submit wc’s for all of them ? possibly... will i do it anyway ? perhaps... ) she comes from a very family orientated family, so when her parents wanted to move the family out of ireland due to the conflict at the time, it wasn’t surprising that aisling’s aunt, uncle, and cousins came too, as well as her darling nanna.

➜ aisling landed in huntsville at the age of six, but you best believe her accent is still just as prominent now as it was while running around belfast. as the oldest sister, she took on a lot of responsibility within the household, helping to raise the little ones with a roll of her eyes a each request, but also while being easily ignored. her parents were in no way neglectful, but with five smaller children to look after, their focus simply wasn’t on aisling.

➜ this meant that aisling fell through the cracks a little, and issues that began to surface as a teenager went unnoticed. while she never actually had a problem with her weight, teenagers can be wildly cruel and the societal pressures of looking a certain way can lead to young minds being warped, so aisling was very aware that she looked different to her peers. she was more... thicc/curvy/buxom, as a way to put it.

➜ attention might not have been drawn to her body as much if her interests were different. aisling spent her childhood and teenage years in dance classes, drama workshops, and singing lessons, all with the goal of training in musical theatre and going on to become an actress. there was a certain body type that surrounded her, and it wasn’t one she possessed, herself.

➜ it never became a problem, though, until she did go to college for musical theatre. her parents wanted all six of their girls to go to university, and they promised they’d pay what they could towards it as long as they went. they’d support any course, any major, just please go to university. however, aisling dropped out after two years. teachers, professors, agents, casting teams, they all had something to say, something to critique, something to jab at, and it lead to aisling’s self-image crumbling to the point of severe unhappiness, and developing an unhealthy relationship with food. constantly being told to drop ten pounds, as one can imagine, had a pretty gnarly effect on her.

➜ while she knew it would be possible to make it anyway, to prove the industry wrong, to make change, to represent different body types so young girls in the future don’t have to doubt themselves like she did, aisling decided her own mental health was both too fragile to do that, and more valuable than doing that.

➜ i feel like i’m going on about this a bit too much lmao, so i’m gonna wrap it up a bit: she was able to recover from the disorded eating that formed as a result, and discovered a newfound passion about nutrition, and was able to care about it without obsessing. she really wanted to form new habits around food and body image, and realised that her perspective and beliefs actually went way back to childhood, and it then extended into wanting to help other people. eventually, aisling went back to school and studied to become a dietician, which she now is. she has a special interest in helping young woman recover from disorded eating patterns and develop a healthy relationship with food and their body, and stomping all over diet culture, but she sees all kinds of clients in general.

➜ so life has obviously taken a very different turn for her, but she’s really kind of,,, okay with that at this point ? it is what it is, and that pathway really didn’t suit her. she didn’t have the skin for the industry --- or maybe the industry shouldn’t require her to have such thick skin, but it’s in the past now.

➜ also, p.s, i really don’t want it to come off like i think that there’s no place for women in theatre that don’t have sutton foster’s body, y’know ? that ain’t it !!!! it’s more,,, the absolutely ridiculousness of the pressure actresses have to look a certain way, esp. in theatre where if you’re not really slim, but you’re not big enough for roles like madame thernadier/tracy turnblad/nadia mcconell/martha dunstock/etc, there’s no place for you ? or people act like there’s no place. also don’t want it to come off bad in that,,, obviously at the end of the day, aisling is a thin woman that’s a bit,,, curvy ? like oh poor thin white woman ? that ain’t it, that isn’t what i’m trying to do jshsbss. d’you get me ? tryin to comment on how the industry can be a bit Shit, without making it out like little white cis women are the ones discriminated against. hopefully y’all get me sjhnbssbs

➜ also, when i was Creating aisling, i was originally going to make her older, and was gonna use keri russell, which is a Fun Time. i absolutely love keri though so don’t be surprise if i pop up with a keri fc later on down the line, lmao.

➜ in terms of personality, i feel like the two traits i picked for her app are a little, like, contradictory in a way ? but i love characters with conflicting personality traits. she’s very open-minded, easy to talk to, very accepting, etc ( she’s kinda like a therapist in that when you talk to her, she’ll just kind of nod and not show any kind of,, Reaction either way, she’s just Observing until it’s her turn to speak. she’s just taking everything in and Receiving without judgement for the most part ) but when she’s personally hurt, in a way that directly impacts her ( usually related to her family, tbh ) there is,,, no forgiving. she’ll hear you out, and maybe be able to move on from it, but forgiveness for the big, big things is r a r e.

➜ like how gwen is always sort of,, Faking happiness, i feel like aisling is always sort of chasing happiness ? she always wants to do what’s best for herself, and loves and respects herself deeply, so she’s always making the choices that are more likely to lead to long-term happiness, even if it bloody well hurts in the meantime ---- like giving up acting.

➜ i feel like while emika is just a loner in general who can’t handle more than fwb situations and one night stands, and gwen doesn’t have the time to form proper relationships with people due to her shift work, aisling is just really, really unlucky in love. like, for whatever reason, things just don’t work out, or turn sour, or just... fall apart. there’s a long line of exes and flings, people she took home to her parents and people she thought it best not to, all of which ending in tears.

➜ at least she has her bunny rabbits, though. they’ll never let her down. their names are sondheim & shwartz, and they are her pride and joy.

➜ her family play a massive role in her life, and she doesn’t know any differently and wouldn’t want to. her nanna is, as you can imagine, really quite old at this point, and deteriorating health-wise, but the whole family band together to keep her well and try and keep her mind active.

➜ in terms of connections and plotting, again, i’m really open. i’m willing to give absolutely anything a go and try and work stuff out. i’m also always open to hearing ideas for plots people really want and seeing if any of my characters fit. but for loose ideas for now: failed relationships & exes ( there’s lots of room there ), clients ( definitely don’t have to have issues with food necessarily ! she also sees people for things like dietary restrictions due to allergy or recently diagnosed illness like diabetes or pcos or w/e, pregnancy, folks who just want to create a meal plan that makes their body feel its best, picky eating in kids, etc ! ) people she went to school with, other theatre-y folks to bond with, honestly absolutely anything.

#sero.intro #intro ➜ aisling.#about ➜ aisling.#body image tw #eating disorder tw

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gotatext · 5 years

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claws my way out of the dirt like the goblin i am ..... hello thots, its nora, once again bringing you a revamped version of a muse i played yonks ago n some of u may have even written against... here is her pinterest.....

this is margaret greta, she’s a whole can of trauma spaghetti plastered over with a toothy grin and a lot of dad jokes. the only reason she’s in gifford really is bcos shes been put there as part of a witness protection program cos lots of police r monitoring livingstone so its deemed relatively safe.... haha... anyway she changes major all the time. she started off doing fine art but since then she’s done modules in architecture, film, bio-chemistry and is now dabbling in medicine.

CIS-FEMALE — ever hear people say GRETA O’DRISCOLL looks a lot like DIANA SILVERS? I think SHE is about 21, so it doesn’t really work. The MEDICINE major is a SOPHOMORE that is from DEADWOOD, SOUTH DAKOTA. They can be +CHARMING, but they can also be -EVASIVE. I think GEE might be SHEEP. They are living in YATES. ( nora. 23. gmt. she/her )

this bitch is the most restless creature u ever seen. before she came to livingstone, she’d lived in 8 different cities in 3 years.

was adopted as an infant. had two foster moms and two older sisters so always surrounded by women. lived in a boarding house, very much like the one in 20th century women, with lodgers coming in and out all the time, mostly artsy young women because her gay moms were both high school teachers trying to set up their own arts collective. one of her moms left when she was 4, n she doesn’t really remember her.

while living with entirely women made her super into catlin moran and the guilty feminist, as a teenager she often let boys walk all over her bc she just craved male attention jst bcos she’d never really experienced it. saw it as something aspirational, like sitting in the back of chad’s second-hand truck while he drove you to macdonalds and offered you and his five friends with identical haircuts weed was the height of being cool to greta, she wanted to be their dream girl, even if it meant compromising her beliefs

bubbly bitch but also massive snake. metaphorically and literally, always shedding her skin. loyal to few, ruled by none, out for herself, babey!! every place she goes, she becomes a new character, someone who’s a figment of her imagination, as if each city is repertory theatre and she’s a character actress, so as a result som ppl think she’s called rita, some ppl know her as margot, she just flicks through identities like nobodies business.

goes through phases of being intensely feminist and tweeting “men are trash i don’t need them” before flipping into being lonely and needy n wanting male attention again. tends to gravitate towards men who are just pieces of shit tbh like her friends are always like hun.... pick a nice boy..... but no.... she’ll go for the boxer with several arrest records for gbh or the small-town drug dealer just trying to hook her onto pills for a little extra cash, or the reformed sinner who thinks he’s being protective by reading all her texts and always knowing where she is..... n she always finds a way to spin it so that they Just Care About Her and aren’t a p.o.s

left school at 18 n didn’t go to uni, moved in w her boyfriend of the time instead, but soon got bored, n then went backpacking around the states making money in the casinos by being a shot girl (yeehaw) and trying to make it as a mysterious 1920s widow with a smoky voice, a dark secret n a heart of gold, looking for love in the big city. all she found was producers and acting agents who’d promise her stardom n actually just fuck her in a motel n then ignore her calls.

TW domestic violence, TW gun, her watershed moment came when she met luke in sioux falls while she was playing bass for a country n blues band. he was a few years older and had a car, and they kind of went from seeing each other to being that super intense couple who are just necking all the time.

they got engaged like 3 months after they met n rented a flat together, much to her family’s annoyance but she was 19 so there wasn’t much they could do. their relationship was super super intense though, often really heightened and when they fought it could become quite violent, but she’d pass it off as just him being really passionate.

one of their fights got really heated and greta threatened him with the gun he kept in the glove box of his vauxhall corsa, but the safety was off and she accidentally shot him. she pleaded self defence in the trial n cos of the amount of times she’d been hospitalised for various concussions n things like ‘fallling down the stairs’ the police were like yea... pretty watertight evidence that he was a bastard who [chicago voice] had it coming..... also this happened in 2017, he was mixed race and greta is white so naturally the police totally took her side. she’s now under witness protection, rehoused in livingstone as a sports-scholarship student, due to the amount of police involvement in the area, it would mean should one of luke’s family members try to track her down, she’d be relatively safe

massive sports fanatic. plays tennis. on the cheer team. was a track superstar in her high school. honestly just that sporty bitch, you’ll see her doing lines at a party at half four and then on your way to your 9am lecture you see her running across the park like a fresh fucking daisy who is this bitch

pretty easy to get along with (provided you don’t anger, provoke or question her too much) because she WANTS your character to be enthralled by her and will do whatever it takes to win them over. she wants everyone to love her

is That Girl who always knows where the parties are, and is always there, on the sofa, talking about institutionalised racism and trying to coerce you into a game of beer pong that she’ll definitely win. doesn’t really have one solid group of friends, just kind of on good terms with everyone and social butterflies about

has changed her major so many times. decision? who is she. currently studying medicine, but doesn’t rlly enjoy it. she’s very unmotivated and lazy and probably wouldn’t ahve bothered going to uni if she hadn’t been placed in one by a witness protection program. will probably change on to history or gender studies soon n just make up the extra credits by volunteering

massive feminist. low key quite scared of powerful men bcos of her ex. wants to start a female only lesbian commune bc she misses her childhood in a south dakota boarding house and has endless support for women. honestly annoyed that she is attracted to men, would so be 100% gay if it was a choice. cuffs her jeans and can’t drive. is That bisexual. skateboards. wears backwards caps. i hate her

plays bass guitar, has a teal green fender and it is her BABY. it’s covered in stickers about saving the planet and ending fracking and going vegan. she’s in an all-female punk band w agnes (n mayb jade i think) n they play gigs every now n then in grotty club basements full of druggy sweaty college kids

PERSONALITY: easy-going, sociable, observant, blunt, amiable, nihilistic, self-serving, laid back, independent, unmotivated, charming, lazy, impulsive, alluring. ESTP and a leo

LIKES: art, music, john wayne movies, black mirror, philosophy, cowboy chic culture, DC comics, arcade games, candyfloss, deep red lipstick, marijuana, dogs, karaoke, Kate Moss, late-night strolls, zip-lining, chemistry, suspenders, cigarettes, herbal tea, gallows humour, cold coffee, long showers, brown eyes, tchaikovsky, dr. seuss, boiler house DJ sets, magnolias, decorative lamps, worn-out furniture, twangy electric guitars.

DISLIKES: bananas, coffee, Woody Allen, mental mathematics, children, Trump, institutionalised misogyny, the imaginary future, french literature, Wes Anderson films, spoken word poetry, the general mentality of cheerleading squads (despite being on one)

aesthetics:

a bubble of pink gum on chapped lips, mom jeans, a beaten up pair of adidas, denim jackets, strawberry laces, knee-highs, chapped lips, peeling sticky plasters, split knuckles, bruises you try to cover with concealer, stick and poke tattoos, hot coffee, sleep caught in your eyes on a lazy afternoon, kissing girls, cigarette smoke shrouding you like a veil, alien conspiracy theories and sci-fi paperbacks, doc martens with fraying laces, the red string of a thong peaking out purposely from jeans, leonine arch of your back and that stellar smile that says ‘you have no idea who you’re dealing with’, a rucksack permanently packed for the move, a streak of red across your lips, roller blades, cut knees, not eating your greens, smiling with a mouthful of blood, and piercing your own ears with a safety pin when your mom wouldn’t take you, kate moss posters lining the walls of a teenage bedroom, his name scrawled in rage across the pages of a diary, thumb holes poked through the cuffs of your sleeves, a tennis racket you punched through in a fit of temper, feet pounding the earth until your soles bleed crimson, sleeping in a cherry lip balm and scrunchies to keep the wild locks from your eyes.

wanted plots: since greta literally can’t differentiate between romantic and platonic love, she’s got off with so many of her mates, so i want awkward friendships where they nearly dated, or exes that have now just turned into weird friendships, and girls from the cheer team who she’s like, weirdly intimate with like the shower together but its not a Thing cos the other girls straight, and I want like, fellow medicine students who are like?? how is this bitch still passing?? i swear she goes out every night?? she works part time at a fast food restaurant, i want a mate that just goes and sits in there talking to her until her manager gets angry. ppl she did a few modules with before changing course and somehow sort of remaining in touch with, like she did a few art modules, a bit of film, n some architecture before switching to medicine, though she’ll probs switch course again soon. ppl who she runs track with. someone she’s trying to make a zine with. here’s a list of plots on her old blog if u want any of them w her.

would love plots of any type, throw them all at me please, i cnt wait to interact w all of u. like this if u want me to message you about connections / plots! xo

full biography if u can be bothered

trigger warnings: drugs, domestic abuse, gun.

you never meant for it to happen. you’d heard the stories, of girls who let their man walk all over them, and thought to yourself “i’ll never be one of those girls…” the kind that eat low-fat yoghurt and drink slim fast to shred a few extra pounds because he said she was getting round in the tummy, or the ones who spent their evenings tied to a kitchen sink drinking wine while him and the boys played poker, wishing god, if only I could get out of here. not you, not you raised by strong women, four bright shining beacons. single mother with her hard-as-nails attitude and her stony glares, elder sisters (twins) one ginger, one blonde, one doctor, one lawyer, both determined to take a bullet to the brain and a hammer to the patriarchy before they let a man touch them without asking. you were always so inferior, so insecure and small, like a bird (like a sparrow) with blonde plaits down your back sucking tropicana whilst your busom buds sucked dick, their lips permanently ripe with stories of their sexual exploits, fake tan and glittered nails whilst you sat in the unbroken egg of virginity wondering what it was like to be loved. one day you found out.

lily milligan’s parents gone and a free house for the night, bottles of ouzo and tequila swiped from your mother’s liquor cabinet thinking she wouldn’t know (she always knew) your legs, hardened from pep squad, slut dropping on a kitchen table because the boys thought it would be fun to get the quiet girl drunk. you’d never had a sip before that night. band t-shirts, denim shorts and the split soles of rotten converse that you refuse to let go of, you still clutched with both hands to your youth, but in a tube top now (borrowed from alice carmichael who had a sister in college) and a short tennis skirt, your feet not in trainers but in thigh-high boots. uncomfy as hell but lily said you needed to look sexy. you didn’t know if you wanted to be sexy. you didn’t know what kind of girl you were, if you were even a girl at all. but robbie looked at you like he knew exactly who you were, like he knew you better than you knew yourself, and his lips had the pink cupid’s bow of a movie star, and his hair was dark locks, curling like a mane. his hands were soft, and suddenly on your waist, and after three more shots his lips were on yours and his name was the only sound in your head and on your lips as you lost it in lily’s college sister’s bedroom beneath the glare of a T-Pain poster. you bled for what seemed like hours, his hand still in yours, kissing on the sofa as truth tellers and dare devils continued to spin a bottle of unprecedented youth. you thought it was love. robbie was the one. he loved you, you knew it, how else could someone be so soft? but soon he grew bored, scrunched up your paper heart and set it alight. then came the tears, the hatred, the ‘fuck robbie, in fact, fuck all boys.’ and that you did.

you were known for being easy. any boy could be yours for a night, as long as he promised to love you for those few short breaths and pants before you cried yourself to sleep. you felt poisoned, but poisonous as well, as if by ensnaring these young boys you were gaining power over them, and not the other way around. soon it started to work. they’d want more, but you’d deny them it, sick of sucking off silly schoolboys, they’d call you a tease, a vixen. maybe you were, but you couldn’t help but want older men. you got the history teacher first time, him bending you over his desk to sneak a hand up your tennis skirt as the after-school clubs carried on next door, unawares. love didn’t exist, not for you. it was nothing but a game for pretty young girls to play, bubble gum in their canines and a hand tugging at the hem of their cheer skirt.

there was so much anger inside of your small body, ‘beware of boys and their hook-like words’. hockey helped. there was something formidable about the feeling of a stick like a weapon in your hands and the thwack it made against thighs in the heat of a scrum - “slipped, sorry!” - you’d utter with a snakeskin smile, millicent quinn knowing that you’d hit her on purpose because she shagged robbie at that party last week. she couldn’t prove it, cobbled acne on her forehead turning green with disgust. ben came into your life like a car crash. two years your senior, with a baseball jacket and shoulders like a god. he became your personal hero. on the pitch, he was lethal. together, you could bring anyone to their ruin. each day after last period he’d be waiting in his car. you’d leap into his arms like a girl-half starved, love me, love me, love me, your heated kisses the envy of every junior girl. he was yours for three blissful years, utterly yours, and you were his, his star-spangled girl, and he was your knight - you were both the same, playing games, always difficult to predict. it was a shock to all when he proposed, high-school sweethearts find love in south dakota.

the engagement was a bittersweet affair; three months – you barely out of your gingham print skirts and into a graduation gown, him, a surly quarterback towering above your sisters, cigarette at his lips and a scowl like a fart in a lift. they hated him. so did you. but you were eighteen and in love, and he fitted the cookie cutter mould. everyone wanted him, and you had him. you had him and you were happy, happy, happy, and he loved you. he said he’d give you the world, anything you wanted hand-picked and given to you. instead, he gave you a jack russell terrier and a flat you couldn’t swing a cat in, wallpaper peeling like the rotten bits inside of you, the bits that only he knew. and you got tireder and tireder of the sad excuse of a life he’d picked out for you, him out doing god knows what to pay the bills, and you dancing on tables to pave your way to stardom, and this was love, this was real, until the shine wore off and your fresh-faced, dimple-cheeked cheerleader facade faded and the ugliness started to reveal itself, the whining, the petulance, the sharp-tempered cruelty, the mind games, the need to always win, win, win. he was dull, he was boring, he was nothing like the boy the girls had said he was and no chiselled six pack could hide his lack of anything remotely interesting, your patience wearing thin until it snapped like rubber, a rucksack on your back, running shoes on your feet and the joint bank account emptied into your eighth grade birthday wallet.

you built your small fortunes working the casinos of sioux falls, a crimson dress and an attitude to match. bookish archie with his little dipper freckles was fun for a month, before he became just as dull and dreary as the rest. a three hour bus and you were in minneapolis, bright eyed and bushy tailed, fresh meat ready for the pickings. a hostel here, a friendly co-worker’s sofa there as you made what you could by taking off your clothes and shaking your ass like you were back in pep squad, doing what you did best. you met your fair share of creeps, and soon it was back on the road to escape a wide-eyed stalker and a restless itch for more. milwaukee, chicago, you made the roads your own. log cabins and lodgings, and the occasional motel, a beaten up pick up truck purchased at a scrap merchants – you got a few miles out of it before it bit the dust, and when you finally set it alight after nights spent lounging across the driver’s seat, a parka tucked over you as a duvet, you were sad to see it go. you’re nomadic by fault, never attaching to place, people or things, creating a new personality in every place you go like a character actress; each town is a different repertory theatre, and you’re the star. a compulsive liar, you even fib about your own name, to some you’re ellen, nineteen, bookish, a law student who likes smoking and cosmos. to someone else you’re rita, you’re twenty five and look young for your age, like smoking, comics and fucking in public places.

in the bright lights of michigan, you found charlie, sweet charlie, too good for you, though you let him spoil you while he thought you were the small town girl of his dreams. next came abigail, who was fun until the jealously kicked in, and then luke, gorgeous luke, dangerous, exciting, who despite his temper, despite the fights, despite bruises down your spine and your teeth marks on his arms, loved you with the strength of a wild fire. there was destruction in your wishbones, a savageness from the field, from the pitch and now somehow in his arms, you were godly. he was cruel, he was careless, and he refused to fall at your feet like so many other boys had, which only you made you want him all the more. you were rage incarnate. you hated him so fiercely you thought you might kill him, so he played the only card you wouldn’t predict; proposed.

the house you shared was a backstreet flat in detroit, you making your name as a downtown singer while he footed the bill with pills. they had a drug for anything these days, to dull the senses, to pick them up, to drive you to insanity or pull you out of the madness hole. the two of you lived like criminals on the run (you never told him that you were, living out your days as the enigma he wanted you to be), you with your voice like caramel and fishnet legs. you were his and his alone until his hand was at your throat and the gun was in your hands screaming at him to stop, stop, stop, until a bullet stoppered his brain, crimson staining linoleum as you cast yourself out like lucifer. self defence was decreed the moment they saw your violet neck, black tears and headlight eyes and mind screaming red, red, red like the pom-poms you shook so willingly in school and the insides of his skull. you were gone, and “you” was born, renamed “greta”, boxed, shipped-out, and next-day delivered to livingstone where under witness protection you were a student, blank slate, fresh-faced in a place where no one knew your name, doing what you always did and starting again.

#livingintro #this is such a long boi....... waht the fuck.... u dont need to read the bio the summary notes are long enough fuking hell

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cover2covermom · 5 years

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Goodbye June & hello July!

I cannot believe we are officially in the second half of 2019! Where did the first half of the year go? I’m going to need time to slow down a bit because I am thoroughly enjoying my summer and am not ready for the craziness of the fall yet.

Let’s see what I read in June…

June was a decent reading month for me. I managed to finish 11 books, which sounds like a lot, but 3 of these books were shorter children’s chapter books I listened to via audiobook with my daughter… I also didn’t accomplish much on the blog front, but I did take 2 weeks off during my vacation & the aftermath of getting back to reality. I hope to get more accomplished both reading & blogging wise this month.

» Matilda by Roald Dahl

This was actually my first time reading Matilda and I loved every moment! I grew up watching the film adaptation, so I was familiar with the storyline. I can now really appreciate how well done the movie adaptation really is. Reading this definitely gave me all the nostalgia feels.

» My Father’s Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett

This book was listed in The Read-Aloud Handbook as a good book to read-aloud with younger children, so I gave it a go via audiobook with my 5-year-old. This was a cute story that was simple enough for younger children to understand. If your children enjoy picture books like The Gruffalo with lots of clever trickery by the main character, and want to attempt simple chapter books, this is a good place to start!

» With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo

I adored Elizabeth Acevedo’s debut novel, The Poet X, so I was very excited to read her next book. I listened to her first book via audiobook, and fell in love with the author’s narration. I chose to listen to Fire on High via audiobook as well. I loved this one just as much as her first! Elizabeth Acevedo has a beautiful way with words & I adore her characters & plotlines. I typically stray away from YA contemporary, but I’ll read anything Acevedo writes!

» Deconstructing Penguins: Parents, Kids, and and the Bond of Reading by Lawrence & Nancy Goldstone

*3.5 Stars*

This was a very interesting little book about a husband & wife team that run book clubs for parents & their children. The Goldstone team breaks down books into their elements: characters (protagonist vs antagonist), setting, themes, etc. to really dig into what the author was trying to convey with the books. The authors talk about a few of the books they frequently utilize in their bookclubs in detail, so if you do not want to be spoiled for these books, you might not want to pick this up.

» Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

I know this book has very mixed reviews due to its format, but I LOVED this book. Since Daisy Jones and the Six is told in interview format from many different characters, many people were turned off. Since I knew this was the format going into the book, this read like a classic rock band documentary playing out in my mind. This book was meant for TV or film adaptation.

» Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

Dark Matter blew my mind. I think Blake Crouch did a wonderful job taking such a complex theory and constructing a story accessible to all different kinds of readers. Dark Matter would appeal to a wide variety of readers: science fiction, thriller, romance etc. I read this book with one of my book clubs and it made for an excellent discussion.

» Amelia Bedelia (Audio Collection) by Peggy Parish

I listened to this audiobook collection with my 5-year-old daughter. We really enjoyed listening to this collection of stories about Amelia Bedelia. Actually, Amelia reminded me a bit of Anne from Anne of Green Gables. Since these stories were first published in the 60’s and 70’s, it was a bit dated, which made it a bit more challenging for my daughter to totally understand all of Amelia’s misunderstandings, but it was a great opportunity to talk to her about words & phrases with multiple meanings.

» The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo

*3.5 Stars*

I picked up The Night Tiger after discovering that it was set in Malaya in the 1930. I love historical fiction, especially one with a touch of magic realism. I think the author nailed the setting here, which was the best part of the book for me. It really felt authentic and I also liked that the author really showcased what it was like for a woman in Malaya in the 30s. I also enjoyed the magic realism elements and the Malayan folklore & superstitions. On the flip side, the length of the book was far too long and the pacing was too slow, particularly in the middle, so it took me a long time to trudge through this story. I also did not care for the romance… to be honest, it was off-putting. In my opinion, the book would have been much stronger without it.

» A Spark of Light by Jodi Picoult

A Spark of Light was classic Jodi Picoult. I respect that Jodi tackled such a hot button issue like abortion, despite the fact that it must have had an impact on her career. Is there a topic she won’t address? Unfortunately when you are dealing with the abortion debate, most people are firmly pro-life or pro-choice. There isn’t much of a gray area. I think Picoult did a wonderful job of showing the perspective of women that choose to have an abortion and that it isn’t typically an easy decision for most. Picoult addresses many issues in the abortion debate that are very relevant right now.

I had a hunch about one of the twists, but the other took me completely by surprise.

» The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin

This book will definitely be one of my top reads of 2019! What bookworm doesn’t love a story about books, bookstores, and the people that love books? The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry was heartwarming, funny, and emotional. I’d recommend this book to fans of quirky characters & fans of books like A Man Called Ove.

This made for an excellent book club discussion with the moral dilemmas in the story.

» Beezus and Ramona (Ramona #1) by Beverly Cleary

I remember a teacher reading us this series as a kid, so I decided to give the audiobook a go with my daughter. Despite the fact that this was originally published in 1955, I was surprised how timeless it felt. Sure, there were definitely some parts that dated it, but overall it still felt relevant. Beezus and Ramona captures the complexities of sibling relationships perfectly, especially siblings with a significant age gap.

Goodreads Challenge Update:

#YARC2019 Update: 13 books!

Year of Asian Reading Challenge TBR + Progress Tracker #YARC2019

I read 1 book in June for #YARC2019, bringing my total up to 13 books for the year. This month I read The Night Tiger.

2019 Goals Update:

» 80% NetGalley feedback ratio = 15 backlist ARCs ⇒ 7/15 ARCs

So technically I did “read” one NetGalley ARC in June. I ended up DNFing it at 30%, but it totally counts because I wrote my review on NetGalley explaining why I wasn’t going to finish it. My NetGalley feedback ratio is now up to 68%.

» 30 physical TBR books ⇒ 13/30 books

I read 2 books off my physical TBR in June. I read Dark Matter & A Spark of Light.

» No buying new books ⇒ Fail!

Yeah I bought a few books… BUT only 9… ((facepalm))

» Read long books I’ve been putting off ⇒ 0/3

Still no progress on this goal HOWEVER one of these books is actually on my July TBR, so that is progress right?

May 2019 Reading & Blogging Wrap-Up

June 2019 TBR

Most Anticipated Books of 2019 (July – December)

My Iron Tome-A-Thon TBR #IronTomeAThon

Mini Book Reviews: June 2019 (Part 1)

» Normal People by Sally Rooney

At school Connell and Marianne pretend not to know each other. He’s popular and well-adjusted, star of the school soccer team while she is lonely, proud, and intensely private. But when Connell comes to pick his mother up from her housekeeping job at Marianne’s house, a strange and indelible connection grows between the two teenagers—one they are determined to conceal.

A year later, they’re both studying at Trinity College in Dublin. Marianne has found her feet in a new social world while Connell hangs at the sidelines, shy and uncertain. Throughout their years in college, Marianne and Connell circle one another, straying toward other people and possibilities but always magnetically, irresistibly drawn back together. Then, as she veers into self-destruction and he begins to search for meaning elsewhere, each must confront how far they are willing to go to save the other.

Sally Rooney brings her brilliant psychological acuity and perfectly spare prose to a story that explores the subtleties of class, the electricity of first love, and the complex entanglements of family and friendship.

» Keeper of the Lost Cities Collection (#1-5) by Shannon Messenger

Twelve-year-old Sophie Foster has a secret. She’s a Telepath—someone who hears the thoughts of everyone around her. It’s a talent she’s never known how to explain.

Everything changes the day she meets Fitz, a mysterious boy who appears out of nowhere and also reads minds. She discovers there’s a place she does belong, and that staying with her family will place her in grave danger. In the blink of an eye, Sophie is forced to leave behind everything and start a new life in a place that is vastly different from anything she has ever known.

Sophie has new rules to learn and new skills to master, and not everyone is thrilled that she has come “home.” There are secrets buried deep in Sophie’s memory—secrets about who she really is and why she was hidden among humans—that other people desperately want. Would even kill for.

In this page-turning debut, Shannon Messenger creates a riveting story where one girl must figure out why she is the key to her brand-new world, before the wrong person finds the answer first.

» Educated by Tara Westover

Tara Westover was 17 the first time she set foot in a classroom. Born to survivalists in the mountains of Idaho, she prepared for the end of the world by stockpiling home-canned peaches and sleeping with her “head-for-the-hills bag”. In the summer she stewed herbs for her mother, a midwife and healer, and in the winter she salvaged in her father’s junkyard.

Her father forbade hospitals, so Tara never saw a doctor or nurse. Gashes and concussions, even burns from explosions, were all treated at home with herbalism. The family was so isolated from mainstream society that there was no one to ensure the children received an education and no one to intervene when one of Tara’s older brothers became violent.

Then, lacking any formal education, Tara began to educate herself. She taught herself enough mathematics and grammar to be admitted to Brigham Young University, where she studied history, learning for the first time about important world events like the Holocaust and the civil rights movement. Her quest for knowledge transformed her, taking her over oceans and across continents, to Harvard and to Cambridge. Only then would she wonder if she’d traveled too far, if there was still a way home.

Educated is an account of the struggle for self-invention. It is a tale of fierce family loyalty and of the grief that comes with severing the closest of ties. With the acute insight that distinguishes all great writers, Westover has crafted a universal coming-of-age story that gets to the heart of what an education is and what it offers: the perspective to see one’s life through new eyes and the will to change it.

» The Read-Aloud Handbook (7th Edition) by Jim Trelease

Recommended by “Dear Abby”, The New York Times and The Washington Post, for three decades, millions of parents and educators have turned to Jim Trelease’s beloved classic to help countless children become avid readers through awakening their imaginations and improving their language skills. Now this new edition of The Read-Aloud Handbook imparts the benefits, rewards, and importance of reading aloud to children of a new generation. Supported by delightful anecdotes as well as the latest research, The Read-Aloud Handbook offers proven techniques and strategies—and the reasoning behind them—for helping children discover the pleasures of reading and setting them on the road to becoming lifelong readers.

» Creating Room to Read by John Wood

The inspirational story of a former Microsoft executive’s quest to build libraries around the world and share the love of books

What’s happened since John Wood left Microsoft to change the world? Just ask six million kids in the poorest regions of Asia and Africa. In 1999, at the age of thirty-five, Wood quit a lucrative career to found the nonprofit Room to Read. Described by the San Francisco Chronicle as “the Andrew Carnegie of the developing world,” he strived to bring the lessons of the corporate world to the nonprofit sector—and succeeded spectacularly.

In his acclaimed first book, Leaving Microsoft to Change the World, Wood explained his vision and the story of his start-up. Now, he tackles the organization’s next steps and its latest challenges—from managing expansion to raising money in a collapsing economy to publishing books for children who literally have no books in their native language. At its heart, Creating Room to Read shares moving stories of the people Room to Read works to help: impoverished children whose schools and villages have been swept away by war or natural disaster and girls whose educations would otherwise be ignored.

People at the highest levels of finance, government, and philanthropy will embrace the opportunity to learn Wood’s inspiring business model and blueprint for doing good. And general readers will love Creating Room to Read for its spellbinding story of one man’s mission to put books within every child’s reach.

» Maybe He Just Likes You by Barbara Dee

*ARC sent for review – Available October 2019*

Barbara Dee explores the subject of #MeToo for the middle grade audience in this heart-wrenching—and ultimately uplifting—novel about experiencing harassment and unwanted attention from classmates.

For seventh grader Mila, it starts with an unwanted hug on the school blacktop.

The next day, it’s another hug. A smirk. Comments. It all feels…weird. According to her friend Zara, Mila is being immature, overreacting. Doesn’t she know what flirting looks like?

But it keeps happening, despite Mila’s protests. On the bus, in the halls. Even during band practice-the one time Mila could always escape to her “blue-sky” feeling. It seems like the boys are EVERYWHERE. And it doesn’t feel like flirting–so what is it?

Mila starts to gain confidence when she enrolls in karate class. But her friends still don’t understand why Mila is making such a big deal about the boys’ attention. When Mila is finally pushed too far, she realizes she can’t battle this on her own–and finds help in some unexpected places.

From the author of STAR-CROSSED, HALFWAY NORMAL and EVERYTHING I KNOW ABOUT YOU comes this timely story of a middle school girl standing up and finding her voice.

Which books did you read in June?

Have you read any of the books I read or hauled this month? If so, what did you think?

Did you buy any books? If so, which ones?

Comment below & let me know 🙂

June 2019 #Reading & #Blogging Wrap-Up! How many #books did you #read in June? #BookBlogger #Bibliophile #AmReading #Reading #Bookworm #BookTalk Goodbye June & hello July! I cannot believe we are officially in the second half of 2019!

#Am Reading #Bibliophile #book blog #book blogger #Book Nerd #Book Talk #Book Worm #Bookish #Books #Bookworm #Reading #Wrap Up

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carlculationinfinityinterviews · 6 years

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RUBY THROATED INTERVIEW

Ruby Throated are an eclectic four piece based in Los Angeles who’s sound is plenty atypical, textural, progressive and fierce. Each song is an grand exhibition of the collective musical union and personality that each member brings to the creative table. Its refreshing to hear something that’s musically clever and solid at the same time. I’ve been listening to them since the release of Shortie Newbie and haven’t stopped wanting to find out about the internal processes of the band.

RUBY THROATED - SHORTIE NEWBIE

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First and foremost, how did the band form and what led you to wanting to work together as a collective of musicians and what drew you to each other? What were you looking for in relation to forming a band before you all met and how does Ruby Throated deliver that result?

Rodrigo Moreno: Ruby Throated formed under a much different pretence than what we are today. This was back in 2010 while Jocelyn and I were attending Saddleback College. A friend of ours had put together a group to play through some klezmer charts she had and really just sort of jam. Shortly after, Jocelyn began bringing in original music for us to play, and in my mind, that’s where ‘Ruby Throated’ really began. Being full-time music students, we spent an immense amount of time together and that led us to foster both a uniquely creative environment and supportive community throughout the department. Ruby Throated became the creative outlet for us to express our art honestly and true. Those core values are at the heart of the band and have remained intact throughout its evolution.

Hayley Bronwell: -The band originally started out with a completely different personnel and I joined because Rodrigo and I went to college together and he just asked me to play a gig with them one time. Then…we just kept playing and now it is what it is! I was just down to play.

Jocelyn Raulston: Rigo, Tony and I met in community college. Later, Rigo met Hayley at CSUN. I was just looking for people who were down to play my songs. And particularly ones who were interested in stuff that was a little bit out. I think for this music it was necessary to have individuals who are down to learn their parts/ write their parts in advance and outside of rehearsal. It’s not the kind of stuff that is easily taught in person.

Tony Dangond: The band had already been together for a while when they asked me to play at a house show. They sent me some rehearsal recordings and I was blown away by how unique and interesting the music sounded, and by how well they all played together. The party show was super fun and afterward they asked me to join for real.

( Photos by Amalia Sepulveda )

How does playing in Ruby Throated compare to other bands that you have played in? How do you feel that you are exploring music differently with this act?

RM: There is really no comparison, because this band is our art. Working professionally, I’m very fortunate to get to play in a lot of different musical contexts and configurations. It’s something I absolutely love, but often, at the end of the day, it’s as part of a specific job. I am hired to help create someone else’s vision. With Ruby Throated, I am able to create the music and fulfil the vision that is in my heart.

HB: Being a freelance musician, I am always playing other artists’ music so having Ruby Throated as my own creative project really brings out who I am as a persona and musician. I get to be my truest self because I’m a part of a creative process with some of my best friends. It’s a very different feeling than just showing up to play a gig.

JR: Ruby Throated is more personal because it is my voice and my words.

TD: It's a very rare situation to be in, being good friends with everyone in the band and gelling so well musically. You really feel like a team and a family when you're in a group with that magical combination. I think our music has a fast pace to it, not neccessarily in terms of tempo, but in how quickly the songs take rather sharp emotional turns, changing feels and sounds in kind of a drastic way. Over the course of a set, we go to a lot of different places in a short amount of time, so I think we've been exploring maintaining that kind of pace and intensity and still having the music feel cohesive.

What are each of your earliest musical memories and what was the point where you realised the music was starting to become an important factor in your life and how would you describe the need to want to express yourself and create music?

RM: My earliest musical memory is of my mom putting on records and dancing with me as she was preparing me for bed. This was while we still lived in Mexico so I must have been around 2 or 3 years of age. In fact she was a huge factor in developing my gravitation towards music. Through not musical herself, she just absolutely loved listening to music. I remember the radio always being on. K-RTH the golden oldies station was her, and in effect, my, absolute jam. I didn’t know it at the time, but it was through seeing her become so affected, being brought to such joy at the sound of her favourite songs, that I learned the power that music carries.

HB: -All I can remember is that I started playing drums at the age of seven and I just never stopped. Luckily, I had incredibly supportive parents that always gave me the opportunities to create things, explore and to pursue my passions. I just never ran out of drive to to make music and for me, it’s the clearest way I express myself.

JR: One of my earliest musical memories is from when I was about 5 at my first violin recital. I remember standing on stage with a group of tiny violinists and playing the open strings. It was the first time I heard a bunch of violins playing at the same time and it surprised me. I grew up being told that I was musical, so I always thought it was important. I would describe the need to express myself creatively as something that builds up in you and will start to make you sick if you don’t do it and get it out. That gets complicated when you find yourself at a time in life when it is difficult or impossible to write. The need doesn’t go away.

( Photos by Amalia Sepulveda )

What was the initial point where you decided that you wanted to become a musician, how did you feel, think and approach music back then in comparison to the music that you create now, what did you want to achieve as a musician back then in comparison to now?

RM: I wouldn’t necessarily say there was an initial point in which I decided to become a musician. By the time I acquired my first bass, to play punk by the way, the decision had already been made. But I didn’t think about it. I just cared about playing and so that’s what I did, as relentlessly as I could. I remember my friends and I would exchange albums on a daily basis, each of us eager to show the rest of us the gems discovered the night before.

This was in the early days of the, sort of, ‘Kazaa’/P2P sharing platform era. Not knowing any better, being teenagers on the internet for the first time, and being only able to buy so many cds, we spent a lot of the time scouring for all the deepest cuts we could find. I couldn’t tell you how many Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd bootlegs we had collectively. But that was just it.

Music was our lives. And through this brotherhood, during our formative years, of a shared experience, driven by what meant most to us, we were able to develop a powerfully raw yet meaningful and intimate relationship with music and each other and really just what it means to be a fucking human being and human family. That foundation would later help me develop my own voice and philosophy as I grew not only technically, on the axe, and spiritually, through my mind, but also logistically, having to figure out a sustainable economic model for making a living as a musician.

HB: As I kind of said in the above question, it was just something I never stopped doing. I never really had to face a question of “what should I do?”…it just was.

JR: I feel like I had almost no idea what I was getting into when I decided I wanted to be a musician. I was basically a child as I made those choices. I just kept following what I was interested in.

What was the first piece of music that you sought out buy with your own money, how would you describe that feeling of having to hear something and the experience of it connecting with you?

RM: Honestly, I don’t remember the first piece of music I ever bought. I remember being a little kid and going to garage sales with my mom and just looking through cassettes picking things out based on artists or songs I recognised. At that early age, I just didn’t think about it on a trivial sense. My attraction and curiosity just produced a sublime connection to music on a material sense. I couldn’t tell you how I got access to a record or piece of music but if I liked it, boy did I play the hell out of it.

JR: The first album I can remember buying with my own money was Millenium by the Backstreet Boys. I was seven.

Do you get the same feeling from listening you music now? How do you think the way that you have listened to music has changed?

RM: I’m obviously able and have to listen to music on a much broader scale, but fundamentally, the feeling/connection to music is and just always has been a fact of my existence.

JR: The way I listen to music always changes. I think about it differently in relation to whatever I’m currently practicing and writing and I go through phases. When I’m sad I listen to a lot less music. But in general listening continues to feel better and better for me.

TD: I think one thing I sort of had to un-learn after studying music in college and always thinking so analytically about it was how to just *listen* and not get distracted by wanting to figure out what those cool sounds were that I heard. But once in that place of non-judgemental listening, it's really about just letting the song take me on an emotional journey- whatever emotions those may be- and then later come back to the things that made me feel something strongly and figure out what quality created that kind of experience.

( Photos by Amalia Sepulveda )

Is there anything you miss now as a musician that you did when you were younger/novice musician? What do you think your younger self would have to say about yourself as an artist if you were to sit down and have conversation now?

RM: Well, between the crushing weight of adult responsibilities and the dismal infrastructure of the music business, I just miss being able to jam endlessly or put on record after record without a care in the world.

JR: The older I get the less afraid I am to sing and to perform. Every bit of my relationship with music continues to improve and deepen, so I prefer things now to when I was younger. Now I get to do a lot more of what I want with music. My younger self would be surprised to see me tolerating the stage because I was a very shy kid.

TD: No, my experience with music- listening and playing- has really only improved with time. I understand/appreciate more music, and I've got a much more open mind now when it comes to checking out music that I don't normally listen to.

HB: I don’t know if I necessarily miss anything, everything that happened then and that is happening now is appropriate for its time. I do like looking back at memories I have of learning something for the very first time and how excited I was to be learning. I try to keep that same mentality about everything now; enthusiasm to absorb and information and more music.

How did you develop your skills and stylistic approach that you take with your instrument? Was it through musical tuition or just from listening to albums, what artists/musicians/bands or any other forms make up the artistic ingredients of your musical identity?

( Photos by Amalia Sepulveda )

RM: When I first started playing, I would spent countless hours just learning my favourite bass lines. Back then I was immersed in the world of classic rock and punk. Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Jimi Hendrix, Yes, The Misfits, The Ramones, Dead Kennedys. Although I had picked up some educational material to help learn scales, chords, etc., I spent a majority of the time just jamming out trying my best to pick through my favourite songs or riffs. It didn’t take long for my friends and me to form a band.

We were actually very fortunate, one of our guitar player’s dad had been a rock musician for long time in his heyday, and he really helped guide and support us as we learned the fundamentals of our artistic vision. It almost seems cliché, but it was in the garage that I really learned how to just jam and communicate with other musicians on a deeper level.

I couldn’t say we knew what we were doing but that sure didn’t stop us from playing and improvising around the same riff for hours at a time. Once I got to college, that’s when things got serious.

I was lucky enough to be accepted into the jazz program but having no previous formal training, I had a lot of catching up to do. Alongside learning a completely new idiom on a new instrument, the upright bass, I also had to learning how to read and write musical notation. It was tough work and it took me a long time but every obstacle helped define who I was and what life and music meant to me. Both my time at Saddleback College and Cal State Northridge were cornerstone to my development and are experiences I’ll treasure for the rest of my life.

HB: I definitely wouldn’t be anywhere I am now if it weren’t for the teachers that invested in me at a young age. I did most of my learning from being a part of performing groups at a young age, taking lessons and being in band at school. It wasn’t until college that I really started finding my particular voice by listening to some of my favourite bands- Local Natives, Grizzly Bear, MuteMath, Hiatus Kaiyote. And of course, being immersed in an intense Jazz program at Cal State Northridge.

JR: I studied classical violin from age 4-20. I started singing in college just out of necessity and shortly after that I began actually taking voice lessons. My stylistic approach is probably mostly a result of all the music I have listened to and obsessed over throughout the years. It varies so widely. Indie music was my first true love but my dad had a pretty hefty CD collection when I was growing up, and I think his taste was a huge influence on me at a young age.

TD: The most crucial tool I gained from studying music through lessons and in school (aside from the technical aspects) was how to listen and think critically about music, and the rest really comes from exploring the sounds that I like in other music. After listening to something long enough, the sounds and styles start seep into my own playing, so I might accidentally discover something and recognise it as something from a song I really like, and then just try to further explore that idea until I can make it my own.

( Photos by Amalia Sepulveda )

How do you implement these influences in your playing style and in Ruby Throated and how do you maintain your musical proficiency to ensure that you are always moving forward? Is there a specific skill or goal that you are working towards?

RM: What’s really cool about Ruby Throated is that, since I’ve been doing this band for so long, it has always been an accurate representation of who I am. With this band being my foremost means of artistic expression, I get to voice myself as honestly as I can.

At this point, with my philosophy being largely defined, music isn’t about maintaining proficiency. That part is sort of just inherent. There is no ‘end’ to the journey so I’m always going to practice my scales, I’m always going to seek out new music to listen to or play, etc.

Now all that operates on a higher level, allowing me to be more fluid in my continued growth and evolution. Also, ultimately, a large portion of my mind and energy have to be direct towards building an economic model that works for doing what I do. Just like progressing on the axe, you have to progress in terms of the industry.

HB: -I just play what feels good to me and what serves the music that usually, Jocelyn, brings to our rehearsals. I’m not sure I have one specific goal I’m trying to reach but I definitely put time into practicing and listening to a lot of music. Luckily, I play a lot in other projects as a working musician so it challenges me to learn quickly and to serve any time of music, no matter the situation.

JR: I maintain my proficiency through regular playing and writing. Having shows is a good motivation to write and learn new material. I also teach music now, so I have to be able to demonstrate all the things I am teaching. I am always working toward being more comfortable performing in front of people.

What has been the greatest musical advice and experience that has helped you progress as a musician and when was the last time that you experienced or listened to something that changed your perspective on what you thought was possible with music or creativity?

RM: That’s a tough question for sure. Along every step of the way in my development I was fortunate to have incredible mentors and colleagues, each adding an immeasurable amount of inspiration in their own way. Sure some may have hit harder than others, but music just isn’t a competition for me. I can’t rank my experiences in any way. They are all really more of ‘one’ grander experience. Everything being connected, though separated by time and space.

HB: Honestly, the best hands on advice that I have received has really just been seeing all my friends doing bad ass shit; making amazing music, pushing me to make music and ya, just seeing THEM do it. It’s the coolest thing to watch and really has shaped me to be the musician I am right now. If it weren’t for that kind of support and example….IDK!

JR: Playing with this group has challenged me in really positive ways. It keeps demanding that I get out in front of people and express my music. And it is a constant reason to be working on new material.

TD: The idea of creating music and not caring whether it's "good" or "bad", but rather just staying true to your tastes and letting what wants to come out come out, has been a very liberating piece of advice, that's still sometimes hard to follow. The real stuff always ends up sounding more authentic than trying to play cool shit.

( Photos by Amalia Sepulveda )

How are the songs in Ruby Throated written please describe the process from A to B? Does each of you have a specific process that works best for you individually or a way that you prefer to write and have to had to think of any new methods or approaches with writing in Ruby Throated?

RM: I’d say that our tunes are built around the lyrical/melodic content, which are written by Jocelyn. Often she will send out a demo for us to learn the song and then we explore it together in rehearsal. We have a habit of recording our rehearsals so that we can also work on material individually and that helps us continually further the evolution of our tunes. We definitely like to consistently be working on new material and arrangement ideas.

HB: Jocelyn is mainly the mastermind behind the skeletons of the songs. A lot of the time she’ll have a full song she brings in and Rigo, Tony and I will take that, sit with it and come up with our own parts and really shape the song. Although, in this past year or so I have rhythmic ideas that I will record on my phone, send to Jocelyn and she’ll straight write a melodic/lyrical idea over them and sends me back a demo. In which I then cry because it’s always SO SICK. I think we might share a brain…

JR: I usually write at the piano or in my car, because I drive a lot and it’s an easy place to work out lyrics. Then I make a rough recording of the lyrics and the initial piano part. Everyone basically memorises it before they get to rehearsal and then we work out the specific parts. If anything, we have had to get more and more detailed with our writing. More specific about sounds as well.

Sometimes Hayley will send me a cell phone recording of a drum part and I will listen to it 30-40 times while I’m driving around and sing to it. After that I sit at the piano and maybe work out some parts there. Other times, I start with a piano riff and write to that. Very rarely do I just hear words first without any other music. Melodic or rhythmic material usually inspires me to hear words.

I like to handwrite as I am coming up with words so that I can get a lot of ideas onto paper quickly and then organise them later. My phone is full of voice memos of lyrics and ideas. Most of my songs are from personal experiences, but they do stretch into more imaginary territory to make the song work sometimes.

TD: Joss will usually bring in a song (often written at the piano), and then we'll jam on it as a group to find ways to further arrange and orchestrate the song. We often discover something new during that process, and we're all willing to just explore those ideas and see where they go until we find what feels right.

How does this differ between what you want the listener to feel/hear in a live setting and listening to your recorded material? How do you feel about being honest with each of these displays of music?

RM: I’d like to think that honesty in our music is one of the things we all hold most dear. I mean, otherwise what’s the point? You can’t have an honest voice, as an artist, if you are letting it be dictated by something other than your heart and soul.

JR: I just want the listener to feel what I felt when I heard the words the first time. Obviously that will be a different experience in every setting and to every person. The words I hear are always accompanied by some sort of feeling or tone that I work to define during the writing process, using words or images. That helps a lot in finishing a song.

I think my approach to being honest with the songs comes from writing lyrics from a place of listening more than trying. I try to get into the feeling space of a song and just be quiet and hear what my brain makes up, rather than try to force an idea.

( Photos by Amalia Sepulveda )

What do you want the listener to take away or experience when listening to Ruby Throated?

RM: One of the biggest reasons I play music is simply for the fact that I want others to experience music. I know how greatly if affects me, and by creating music myself, I can hopefully help someone else achieve that same sort of feeling and experience. Ideally you want someone to like your music and be positively impacted by it, but you can’t really control that. So without ego attached, I really just want everyone to have their own honest reaction or experience when listening to our songs.

JR: I hope they feel that sort of emotion that wells up inside you and surprises you and kind of leaks out. Whether it is joy or sadness.

HB: “This isn’t mainstream music but this is sick and I can connect to it.” That’s literally what I want people to say/understand haha. Not everything has to fit in a box ya know?

TD: I want them to think "fuck yeah".

What is in your rig and what are the preferences within your setup?

RM: My main axe is a Fender American P Bass I bought back in 2015. I swapped out the stock pickups for EMG’s Geezer Butler signature set. I go through a Genz-Benz Streamliner head into a Markbass 1 15 cab. I spent a lot of time researching those components and I couldn’t be happier. It’s just super versatile. Small enough to easily lug all over town but also with enough headroom to carry even the loudest gigs. It also works well on upright, which is a must. On most gigs I carry a small pedalboard consisting of

3Leaf Audio Octabvre, Wayhuge Porkloin, and Tech21 SansAmp bass driver. With Ruby

Throated, both live and on recordings, I take more liberties with the bass tone and layers. I’m a big fan of using phase and reverb to create textures as well as hugely distorted tones accompanied by a clean channel to maintain the integrity of the bass’s role in supporting the harmony and melody.

HB: -So, currently I am playing TRX cymbals, I usually play a lot of dark, thin cymbals- I like a lot of wash. I have a baby Gretsch Catalina Jazz kit, 18” bass drum, 14” floor tom and usually a 14” or 15” snare depending on what I want that day. I also use a lot of percussion toys like, baby tambo’s, rattlers and usually an 8” splash on my snare drum. Also, I add in some electronic sounds/samples at times with a Roland SPD-SX.

JR: Right now I’m using the voice live touch 2 for vocal harmonies and for doubling. It has so many options but my favourite is just having parallel 4ths or 5ths with my melody. I also use the octave down a lot.

TD: I used a Nord Stage 2, with a lot of combining keyboard and synth sounds, as well as various built-in effects, to design the sounds used in this band. The sound-layering and keyboard-splitting allow me to combine a multitude of different sounds and be able to play a lot of it live.

Finally what artists are you listening to and what can we expect from Ruby Throated in 2018?

RM: I’m really always jumping around to what I am listening to. Having to constantly learn new music for gigs, whether originals or covers, I frequent a wide spectrum of artists and genres. In a contemporary sense, the artists I’m often listening to are: Kendrick Lamar, Hiatus Kaiyote, Grizzly Bear, Anderson .Paak, just to name a few. It’s kind of crazy because with the internet you get thrown into this realm of having access to so much information that it can be hard to focus as a listener. The shear breadth really affects thedepth a listener can absorb. I am and have always been an album listener. I’ll find something and put that sucker on repeat until I know every piece of it.

I wonder how much that still goes on in today’s general listening public.You can expect a number of releases from Ruby Throated this year. Both tunesand videos, we have a consistent schedule to be on the look for.

HB: OH MAN, this is the year for new music for me! Right now, I am listening to Hundred Waters, Hippo Campus, Half Waif, Kehlani, Billie Marten, St. Vincent, Polica, Allie X, Sylvan Esso, Moses Sumney, Purity Ring…man, there’s so much more, though!

JR: Right now I’m listening to Hundred Waters, Xenia Rubinos, Juana Molina, Jesca Hoop, Adult Jazz, and a lot of pop music. You can expect a few music videos and 2 EPs of music that we are happy to be wrapping up.

You can follow Ruby Throated at the following links below:

https://www.facebook.com/RubyThroated/

https://soundcloud.com/rubythroatedmusic/shortie-newbie-2

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrwcGphAxMTxfj9OpEjf5Tw

http://www.rubythroatedmusic.com/

https://www.instagram.com/rubythroatedmusic/

https://open.spotify.com/artist/7E0AjvC20Uka142Sh3N6L5

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