Why I Endorse Josh Ross

“A big endorsement deal would be awesome.”~ Matt Emmons

First off, I’ve realized that its been five years since I’ve known LISAFAYECHARDONNAY from YouTube. Wow, how time flies. Happy five years.

But I’ve been thinking about this for a while. But this is the first time (and only time) that I am going to bring this up in the public forum.

I’ve been doing a lot of talking with regards to the local band, BLACK HEART SAINTS. They truly are one of these kinds of bands that you don’t want to miss. You don’t want to come towards the end of your life and be full of regret knowing that you could have seen them play live in concert or listened to one of their songs.

However I do that with a lot of bands that I strongly believe in. So what’s the difference and why now?

The past few weeks, I’ve had the opportunity to watch lead singer Josh Ross perform in a couple of his solo acoustic sets around town. I never really knew that he could play guitar. I kind of thought it would make sense to know that he did, but during BLACK HEART SAINTS shows, he’s performing as the singer, not the guitar player.

I have heard plenty of fans of BLACK HEART SAINTS simply say that they are a fan, because of two reasons: They rock. And because Josh is hot. (Physical attraction speaking.)

But all of that sexual tension from females set aside. I choose to take back the layers one by one and figure out just what it is that is making this band tick. I am eager to search out what it is that Josh is doing or not doing that is making their audiences go absolutely bat shit crazy.

So I asked around. I asked female friends and I asked male friends. And as you can expect, the female friends were more willing to discuss the matter than the male friends were. And none of the answers that I received sufficed.

I had known about the acoustic sets but had firmly believed that I could ever attend them. Working all night and into the day, I didn’t think that I would have the strength to even bother considering it. Until recently…..

I think I pretty much shocked Josh when I went for the first time. Although he was very thankful and appreciative.

Then it all happened. He was doing his own thing with his guitar and he opened his mouth. Clear as day, this man’s vocal talents were like I had never heard before. His range, his vibrato, his breath, and his control.

I never heard him strain. I never heard him stretch. All I could do was sit there and applaud at the end of every stinking song that he chose to play. Coupled with whoopin’ it up…… a lot!!

Now that I have had a chance to speak to him personally, it is clear that Josh Ross has his eye on the prize. And its been fixed there for a long, long time. I took it upon myself to give him a list of questions as an interview. I will be publishing the Q&A on the Review page very soon.

Josh has kept his focus purely on his music and craft. So far, nothing has stood in his way for him to come closer to reaching his dreams in the music industry.

He as a musician has always been so appreciative of his fans. He talks to as many as he can after his set. He’s willing to stand there for several minutes just taking photographs or give an autograph or listen to you talk about your grandmother’s surgery.

Back to his voice however, after this evening’s set, I found myself just wanting more and more. I didn’t want him to stop singing.

No matter what he is singing, this man has the courage and the pure talent to take a song and truly make it his own. And then turn it all into gold. It is amazing to watch him sitting there, with nothing but a microphone and a guitar and turn it all into audible miracles.

Josh Ross deserves that shot to make his career explode to bright lights and Hollywood smiles. World tours and platinum selling albums.

There’s only so much a person can do. And I as a person, can do so little. I just hope that Josh Ross crosses paths with someone that’s from the big time and gives him one chance.

Sex appeal? Well of course. But its just the outside coating to a definite gem that has yet to be discovered yet.

14 March 2015: Metal Monsters Of Texas- Fear Control/SXSW 2015 @ Dirty Dog Bar: Austin, TX

“To fans in a festival setting it’s like a picnic. You want to have a good time with your friends in that crowd. And in the background you hear the band play, ‘Oh, that’s my favorite song!’ everyone is there to enjoy the afternoon and that’s about it.”~ Tom Araya

Oh my… it is that time of year again for SXSW Festival.

More than a week of “celebrities” and musicians of all kinds showcasing their new album or new film or whatever they need to do in order to get their infamy.

Hell, even Grumpy Cat was back this year!! Last year, I got to sit next to the cat and pet it while idiot photo journalists went wild with their cameras once the feline let out a meow. They acted as if they never saw or heard a cat make a noise. But I digress. That was last year. 

But before the so-called “official” part of the festival devoted to the music, there’s been an influx of people and bands that have been playing all along Historic Sixth Street for free. No wristbands, no cover. Just an ID to show you are or are not 21+ and you’re in.

Let’s jump into this now. Metal Monsters of Texas. This full day of music featured ten heavy metal bands from Texas. Not all of them were from Austin. But all of them from the state of Texas.

Naturally, I got myself down there because of two reasons: FEAR CONTROL & CASKET OF CASSANDRA. The two biggest bands that made the largest impression on me from SXSW Festival of LAST year. And I’ve been following them ever since.

FEAR CONTROL went on stage first and it worked to the venue’s advantage that their music was heard outside and it drew people inside. I hadn’t seen FEAR CONTROL play since the big birthday weekend I celebrated last January.

The band is currently working out a schedule for them to be in the studio to record. So far as I know, they have finished two tracks. And now they are playing them live on stage. 

And they are both awesome!!!

FEAR CONTROL actually never disappoints when performing live on stage. The newer material that they are playing now is catchy in a sense that it grabs you and throws you against the wall a few times before slamming you back down on the ground and into the pit. I think the band is getting harder, heavier, and producing a lot more of an edgy sound. And it is actually thrilling. It definitely sets a tone and a mood. And I think that is what I like about music that I listen to.

Certain bands set certain moods. FEAR CONTROL sets a mood to keep the night alive and well. It is nearly a party atmosphere.

The most surprising was the return of “Off With His Head” to the setlist. With the band jumping into a new recording session, they obviously are going to leave their older stuff behind. But they brought it back and I hadn’t heard it in so long that I don’t remember the last time. They all know its my favorite song of theirs.

Then my new friend, Lisa was standing behind me. She knows too. So as I was enjoying the crap out of it, she was patting me and rubbing my head and just making sure that I knew she was there and she knew. Such friends I have with this band.

FEAR CONTROL plays The Heart of Texas Fest (which is where I found them last year) on Wednesday, the so-called “official day” of music opening to SXSW Festival. You can find it on 7th & Neches Streets. And its free. Come by, say hello, and enjoy some balls-to-the-wall heavy metal music.

And this is the first of MANY blog posts of SXSW Festival 2015 that is soon to be come here. Hang on!!!

Dumbass Award For February 2014

“When I think over what I have said, I envy dumb people.”~ Lucius Annaeus Seneca

Wow. Well, I knew that this was coming soon. I could feel it in my bones. The problem was that I never thought it would hit on a local level. 

“You always hear about it happening. But you never thought it would happen to you.” Yeah that. EXACTLY that! 

So here I am on Friday evening, sweating the weekend. Knowing that this is not going to be fun. In fact the entire weekend is going to be nothing but not-fun-for-me full.

Instead of going into a panic, such as running out into the middle of the street, pulling what hairs I have left on my head from getting my head buzzed a few weeks ago, and ultimately getting hit by a bus or some idiot without a license, I went for the “next best thing” and asked the neighbors to take me out of this place for a while because it was going to be the only escape I would receive for the entire weekend. 

Sadly though this means that my suggestion to go out to eat comes with the fiscal responsibility of paying for the guy driving me there, and his wife. But I struck a deal with him that he was to know full and well that I would be reimbursed once he was paid next week. And any and all debts that were still outstanding with me would also be paid. 

He agreed and then we went to his wife to see what she thought about the idea. And she didn’t get what we were pitching at her. We had to walk her through it with baby steps. 

Finally, we were up and on our way to go out to eat at a restaurant of THEIR selection. $42 was the bill and I was told that $26 (plus tip) would be added to their current debt and be paid off next week. 

But I will say this before I go into the reasons why the nomination was so close to home. I was out of the house for nearly three hours, and the time just melted away. Everything that I had been poisoning my mind… I hadn’t even thought of. I am sooooo  thankful for that. 

So at the end of our evening, our waiter by the name of Jose came by and asked if we needed anything more. We declined but then the neighbor’s wife spoke up. 

Holy crap! What is she doing??

She was feeling absolutely rotten because neither she or her husband could participate or pitch in on at least the tip that was being left on the table. And it was really eating her up inside. 

What does she do?? One of the weirdest and dumbest things I have ever heard in my life!!!!! 

She asks Jose for his business card. And poor Jose!! English as a second language Jose. 

Between his faulty grasp of the English language, the babies that were screaming, crying, and carrying on. The multitudes of people talking all at the same time…. he just could not understand what she was asking for. 

So he brought over someone else who was actually busy trying to direct traffic of customers who were just coming in for their dining experience of the evening. And so the neighbor’s wife again explained the following scenario as I will write it below from her point of view: 

“My husband and I were invited here as a special treat to come eat here. And we don’t get paid until Tuesday of next week. So I was wondering if y’all could give me his card.”

Confusion set in on their faces again, just like Jose. 

“What I mean is write his first and last name on one of y’all’s cards so that the next time we come in here to eat, I can give him our half of his tip for tonight. We come in here regularly, and I just wanted to make sure that we gave him his tip.” 

WHISKEY TANGO FOXTROT, OVER???????

First of all, she lied. Neither she nor her husband frequent the place that much. Probably once every couple of months. That’s not “frequent” by any definition. It might be consistency, but that’s not high frequency. 

Secondly, who does that and can say that they are of sound mind?????? NOBODY! Who gives an I.O.U. for a tip?? I have never heard such ridiculousness in all of my life. 

Besides…. there was already a tip on the table that I left. It wasn’t a lot. Nor was it the “average” but I gave what I could. And this woman decides to go pull this stunt. Probably because she felt he deserved more. But when you are being treated to dinner, it is really not your responsibility. It becomes yours only if you decide to chip in. And she was wanting to but found out that she was unable to. And pulls a stunt like that. It only caused her to get strange looks and an explanation in return that there’s a privacy policy that needs to be in place to protect their employees and she was not going to get what she requested…. but thank you for coming in and come back again soon! 

I do not know what her husband thought or was thinking at the time. But we were trying to leave and she insisted that she was going to wait for that second person to come back with a card with Jose’s full name on it. We waited ten very long, boring, and grueling minutes before she saw that same person again and realized that she was going to receive nothing. 

We marched our way to the exit doors. Our stomachs full of disgusting buffet food that was probably not good for anyone to eat. And the wife again found the second person she talked to and asked for that card just one more time. By then it was just embarrassing. And I bolted out through the front door into the chilly night air as the sun had disappeared for the evening and I realized we had been gone for hours. 

This is the quality of people that I live around. NOW can I get some sympathy?????????