#7 is a special CD-R from my friend Byron Adams. Though over 3 million people live in Orange County, the DIY artistic and music community is relatively small. Art spaces and smaller venues disappear every few years and get replaced with new ones, so you tend to start seeing the same people running from place to place, trying to find solace and community. The city of Fullerton has always one of the "not so horrible" choices in Orange County, especially since they try to provide a platform for the arts more than most cities. Through monthly artwalks, coffee shop art showings, dive bar gigs, and the occasional warehouse show that happens once and then all of the kids who ran it disappeared, I met those few and strong who were trying to make the best of what Orange County had dealt us. One of those people was Byron. I saw Byron at almost every local I went to for a while, and I even started using his attendance as a parameter of the show was going to be worthwhile or not, even though I had only spoken a word or two to him before. In a post-high school world, Byron was one of the cool kids in the blueprint my mind had created. I got to see his old band Palm Reader many times, and they were always different from most of the music around. It shared similarities with some of the bands I was in or other locals, but they always had some interesting ideas that only they would do. It was a breath of fresh air to not see just another garage rock band or another hardcore band; they were weird, and it was catchy as hell.
Byron is by far one of the kindest people I had ever met. Even if I was being a bit awkward in our conversation, he always could make you feel welcomed in his presence, and what you were saying was actually being listened to. Any social gathering was always better accompanied by his laugh and wit. He's one of those people who made it easy to believe that he couldn't have a bad day. Those who suffer from melancholy have to become good at hiding our scars, our wounds, the affected parts of our hearts and minds. I have to deal with this on a pretty regular basis, and I know Byron has to go through it as well. This current world everyone has to occupy is growing stranger and stranger, and this American sphere is all the stranger. We must find our way through it that makes sense, and we must try to stand and represent the change we want to be brought about; we also need those times to reflect and look in though, to work through the challenges in our hearts. Music can help us through both sides of the aisle, and Byron explains in his own words how this works for him as well:
"When first presented with the idea of making a mix tape, I feel like my mind had jumped to potential places I could go. Sharing a story of growth, meaningful music with memories I had with friends, music that was loud, angry, disturbing, danceable music. Instead what happened was this. These songs represent deep and private stories from my experience, each one represents a different shift in my life that altered my surroundings. The transitions from influences of my environment, I call them my 'hidden songs', because I’ve listened to them without knowing other people in my life who my have also been into these artist. There is a common theme within this mix tape which are the feelings of being separate, isolated, alone and having a sense of longing. These feelings are things I consistently find myself in and these songs are ones that have frequented these episodes throughout my life from my early youth, to the present."
As always, the tracks below are for the non-Spotify-ers. Two of the songs are not on Spotify, so I have included them below and marked them with "*".
1. The Books - A Little Longing Goes Away
2. Josephine Foster - Little Life
3. Essential Logic - Martian Man
4. Aphid Ant Constructions - The Window Watch*
5. Avey Tare & Kria Brekkan - Sasong
6. Deerhoof - Chatterboxes
7. Watercolor Painting - Telephone Wires*
8. Mr. Twin Sister - Daniel
9. Polar Goldie Cats - Mrs. Owl
10. Former Ghost - Unfolding
11. Black Marble - Limitations
12. Blood Orange - Champagne Coast
13. French Kicks - Sex Tourists
14. Grouper - Alien Observer
15. Hugh - I Can’t Figure You Out
16. The Flamingos - I Only Have Eyes For You
17. Mount Eerie, Julie Doiron - O My Heart
18. His Clancyness - Misinterpret My Words
19. Helado Negro - Invisible Heartbeat
20. Nearly Oratorio - Veracity
21. Broadcast - Come on Let’s Go
You can listen to Palm Reader's tape "Unlucky" by clicking on this here link.
Though we need need some moments alone to work through internal struggles, don't ever let the ones you love feel alone. I just needed to say that.