War Studies Pub Quiz Night

Dear Kitty,

Sorry for not writing yesterday, but life has been hectic as usual. Last night was an interesting experience to say the least. I went to the Stamford Arms (aka Stammy Arms), the local pub by my apartment, where everyone hates you. I have been there three times and every time I am all too aware that I am not welcome. I was a little anxious to return to Stammy after they kicked us out last time for not being regulars. It was scary. But how could I say no to all my War Studies comrades when they requested my presence at Quiz Night. I mean who wouldn't want to drink and get rambunctious while answering nerdy war questions??? The night started out well with the bartender making fun of the way I talk when I ordered my Fosters. He said, "Where'd you learn to say FAH-sters???" I replied with, "America douchebag." A bar fight quickly ensued and I ended up in the hospital with glass shards in my hand. Just kidding mom. But the guy really made fun of me which is cool because I can dish it and take it right? The real crime is that Stammy Arms charges 3 pounds for a freakin pint! Whatever. I'm over it. So upstairs things were getting intense. The questions were extremely difficult, but this made me feel extremely smart when I knew them. Here are some questions I got right:

What war and year was Bunker Hill? American Revolution in 1776. Boom! Oh wait it was actually 1775 but the girl marked us right! Score.

What German line opposed the Maginot Line? Siegfried Line duh. That one I actually got right.

Sam Houston was the first president of what republic? Texas. Remember the Alamo boi.

Okay so that amounts to my contribution to the team. You're welcome guys. I don't pretend to know a lot about European History, especially super old European History. I mean they talk funny over hear and I'm an Am Civ major so what's the point?

And that concludes the boring set up to the most interesting part of Quiz Night...

Being an American is sort of a novelty here. Not gonna lie sometimes it's nice to be the only American around. It's a good way to immerse yourself in the culture. At Quiz Night there were approximately three Americans. Me. My boy Will Mackey and ROTC dude. I don't actually know his name which is good because I don't want to embarrass him publicly. I knew I wasn't fond of this dude as soon as he turned to my group, butted into our convo and started arguing with Will about the way President Carter handled the Iranian Revolution. Frankly this is what nerdy people do when they're drunk. It happens all the time at Georgetown which is why I know that the best way to handle such arguments is to say, "Whatever," and then have fun. So when ROTC guy felt he had won the argument he turned back to his group. Praise Allah. The questions continued and I continued to know none of the answers. As it got later and later things started to heat up. I heard background arguing but paid no attention to it at first. ROTC was debating a British girl from my class. Nbd. More questions, more drinks, then the debate grew from a murmur to just under yelling. "Waterboarding is not torture, I would know!" he said. "Blahblahblah," she replied (I didn't hear what she actually said). And then CAPOW! ROTC slammed both fists on the table and in a fit of raw emotion exclaimed, "I AM SICK OF DEFENDING MY COUNTRY EVERYWHERE I GO!" Woah dude. The room was silent. He was extremely upset and his Brit friend tried to calm him down. It was super awkward. Thankfully the Brit convinced him to go outside. Meanwhile all the Brits in the room were saying, "Did you hear that American?" and being the appropriate person I am I walked up to them and said, "Do you have a problem with America???? You LOBSTERBACKS!" They looked at me aghast and I said, "Just kidding. That guy's crazy!"

THE END

-bretzel the first

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Something I wrote for WGTB two years ago but nobody read because nobody looks at WGTB's website or listens to WGTB for that matter.

WGTB's Brett Davis' Interview with the Honorary Title!

“The city’s summer smells like perfume…”

So there I was, driving down I-75 South when I started to get butterflies. It felt like the pre-race jitters I used to experience weekly at high school cross-country meets. This would be my first band interview, well, ever. My friend Matt and I drove across a bridge spanning the murky Ohio River into Kentucky. We pulled off at the first exit in Covington. I could feel myself sinking into debauchery as countless liquor stores and strip clubs seemed to appear out of nowhere. Mr. Smoker’s Tobacco and Liquor and Club Venus are two that caught my eye, but I was on a mission. Matt directed me to the Mad Hatter with the Google Map directions I printed off earlier. As a side note, the Mad Hatter is by far the best concert venue I’ve ever been to. In 2005 I saw the Twilight Army Tour (Keating, Portugal the Man, The Receiving End of Sirens, and Circa Survive) at the Mad Hatter and it was pure magic. It used to be a strip club and still retains it’s gaudy 80’s neon lights and opaque class tiling. The stage is small and intimate with no barriers between the band and the crowd. In my opinion the Mad Hatter is the perfect venue for an Indie concert; sorry you Hardcore people there’s just not enough room for moshing.

Anyway, The Honorary Title kicked off its summer headlining tour with The New Frontiers, Mansions, and Paper Rival on July 28th in Covington, Kentucky to support its sophomore album, Scream and Light Up The Sky. The album was released on Doghouse Records, a division of Warner Music Group on August 28th, 2007. The first time I listened to Scream and Light Up The Sky I was blown away. I had heard “Stuck at Sea” by itself long ago, but never thought about it again until a friend bought Scream and Light Up The Sky. It’s one of those rare albums that is extraordinary from start to finish. Every song is good, but the album as a whole is great. I haven’t felt so strongly for an album since Brand New released Deja Entendu in 2003. For all those Brand New people out there, you know what I mean. Needless to say, I was extremely excited for the opportunity to interview the band. When I arrived at the Mad Hatter, Jarrod Gorbel, lead singer and founding member of the band, met me outside with a bag of Lee’s Chicken in hand. We went inside to an area that must at one time been a dish station and started the interview…

Jarrod: Commence!

Brett: All right, so you’re from Brooklyn?

Jarrod: Originally from Long Island, but I’ve lived in Brooklyn for a long time now, so it’s kind of become…technically Brooklyn’s a part of Long Island. Brooklyn, Queens, Long Island, Manhattan, that whole area.

Brett: Okay. How has growing up in New York influenced your music, your lyrics and all that stuff?

Jarrod: Uh I don’t know if geography…um I guess geography a little bit has affected the song writing because you have… if I grew up on the West Coast, maybe in California, they don’t experience as much seasonal change. So I always feel with dramatic, sappy, emotional, bullshit songs that I write… they’re not bullshit, they’re serious. But you know like weather change definitely inspires a lot of that and having the seasons. You know what I mean? You know what I’m saying? Oh I reference the subway a lot. That’s kind of New York, Brooklyn. Definitely thought up a lot of things on the subway.

Brett: I read on your website that one of your songs is about relocating to the suburbs?

Jarrod: Yeah, that was about my family, but more about my parents before I was really there. Their story. Because they’re from the Bronx and Queens and they moved out to Long Island. So that’s what I was referring to.

Brett: Okay. Is there any meaning behind “The Honorary Title” or is it just a cool name for a band?

Jarrod: It’s not just a cool name. Haha. Not only is it just an amazing name…. no it’s an okay name. It’s an okay name and it was just a phrase from a song that I wrote years ago and put on some early demos. And it was… the line was like, “Guess my honorary title was stolen when left unguarded and in appreciation turn my head and was bombarded. Or something about losing the love of a girl, the championship belt of her vagina.

Brett: Haha

Jarrod: It’s more than vagina.

Brett: Okay.

Jarrod: It’s heart.

Brett: Do you have any crazy stories about being on tour? Obviously this is your first stop on this tour, but any horror stories or crazy things that happen?

Jarrod: (Sigh) Our tours are usually one giant horror, horror. I don’t know how to pronounce it. Everyone pronounces it different. Horrorchhhhhhkkk. Horrific experience. I like horrific, it’s easier for me to say. Umm yeah you know we’ve had band members leave in the middle of the night, waste and debauchery the all standard, vans breaking down, getting to the show last second, running with stuff, running directly from the parking lot to the stage, you know weird fan stalkers…haha.

Brett: Like me?

Jarrod: No haha. They’re usually scarier. No. I got no specific tremendous amazing stories. Definitely our whole experience is very spinal tap. Like everything that can go wrong, goes wrong typically.

Brett: Is there anything that you take on the road with you, any food items that you…?

Jarrod: (Holds up can of Skyline Chili)

Brett: Skyline Chili?

Jarrod: Skyline Chili. I suddenly meandered toward Skyline Chili. Haha umm I don’t ever bring food. You know a lot of vegan people and friends do because it’s hard but…..

Brett: Don’t let the vegans eat the Skyline.

Jarrod: Yeah. Oh god. They would suffer internal bleeding. Probably project vomit for three months straight. Eyeballs roll out of their heads. “Can I have some rice chips to dip in my chili?” haha. No umm I don’t bring food. Uh we bring like red bulls and moist towelettes. Red bull, moist towelettes and emergencies, those powdery things you put in drinks. Those are the only things because I’ve tried to bring food and the shit just ends up being forgotten. And caught under an amp in the trailer and sometime later there’s a smell and you think it’s a dead body, but it’s actually the food you dropped. You know what I mean? But fans always bring us cookies and stuff.

Brett: Alright now for some good questions. If I press shuffle on your iPod, if you have one, what three songs would come up first?

Jarrod: There’s so much shit on my iPod that when I hit shuffle I’m always like, “Who the hell is this?”. That’s how I rediscover or learn about stuff because you know you pick up… you whore around your iPod and you’re like, “I’ve never heard that, let me try that.” Next thing you know your iPod’s racked up so many points. You know what I mean? Your iPod’s got STDs from all over the world, basically. And then it crashes and then you know what…but uh iPods do tend to favor shit though. It’s weird right? I just got a new one. What does it favor? I haven’t even shuffled on it yet. It’s so new, such a new experience. You know we’re still in that initial stage where we’re cuddly and we haven’t shown the bad side to each other. Haven’t really given him the All-American Rejects yet. Something tasteful. But what do I have a lot of? Umm. It would probably play an Elliot Smith song and then an Endor, Bright Eyes song and then it would play GZA from the Wu Tang Clan. And then it would go to Sam Cook and then it might play…uh… a Motley Crue song. That covers the spectrum of what’s on my iPod.

Brett: Alright this next question kind of ties into this. Do you have a guilty pleasure song that you’d like to share with everyone?

Jarrod: I, yeah, I like all guilty pleasure shitty songs and I’m not afraid to admit it.

Brett: What about Brittney Spears’ “Toxic”?

Jarrod: Oh that’s a good one. Totally. I actually don’t usually like her stuff… haha like I’m supposed to. But that song is a good production, definitely. She has all top producers, you know. So yeah “Toxic” is cool. “Iris” by Goo Goo Dolls, always liked that. Did I mention All-American Rejects? Oh wait here’s my guilty pleasure of the summer! That fucking band…they’re so All-American Rejecty. It’s “The Soundtrack to My Summer” is the name of the song (The actual song title is “Thunder”). Girls Vs. Boys, Girls Against…

Brett: Boys Like Girls?

Jarrod: Yes haha. It’s like a song you heard…it’s been done a million times, you know what I mean? It’s like Dashboard Confessional, but quadruple rate, you know what I mean? Because he’s actually the real deal, sort of. So it’s just like…but when I hear it I’m like, “Hmmm what’s that?” you know? I can’t resist it. It’s like…it’s like this chili. It probably tastes really good, but you feel like shit afterwards.

Brett: Haha.

Jarrod: It’s not like that. You don’t feel like shit after you hear the song, but you would probably get sick of that song really fast.

Brett: Gotcha. Alright…last question. What does the future hold for The Honorary Title?

Jarrod: Umm more of the same obvious shit: recording albums and touring. Umm I don’t even know. I really have no idea what’s in the future of The Honorary Title. I’ve been trying to figure that out myself. But as soon as I find out I’ll let you know.

Brett: All right thanks. You’re just gonna play it by ear?

Jarrod: Yeah. I don’t know. Things just happen. We’ll see.

Brett: Well thanks for talking with me.

Jarrod: No problem, thanks for having me.

what i miss

Everything.

Nothing.

You.

; )

"I just can't get you out of my head..."

Back It Up by Colette Carr:

18 y/o girl from Malibu bustin dudes' mouths like gushers. This video is creepy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cNziOlVs6U&feature=PlayList&p=0908850827941310&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=3



Suddenly by BT

My fall obsession with dance music doesn't seem to have faded. BT's These Hopeful Machines is a solid album.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDPx9micphM


Super OK by Zolof the Rock & Roll Destroyer

I never even paid attention to Zolof after the Anthony Green era. "Plays Pretty For Baby" is one of my favorite songs of all time and "Super OK" is the reincarnation of said song after Anthony left the band. The video is of some Spanish woman and her dog?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuPt_dxi4nk

Noise. Disco. Fashion.

When you hear the name Matty Collins what comes to mind? I apologize in advance for those of you who haven’t had the privilege and honor to be graced by Matty Collins’ presence. For me Matty Collins represents the best of Noise, Disco and Fashion. Just the mere mention of the name invokes images of super tight jeans, the Voice, crusty moustaches and all that is hipster in this world. When he said he wanted to sleep on my floor I was shocked. I was amazed that he would even think to write on my Facebook wall. “Really??? Matty Collins wants to sleep on MY floor???” I exclaimed out loud in my tiny, sad excuse for a room. And that wasn’t even the best news: Saturday was Matty Collins’ birthday and he wanted to spend it with me!!!! This weekend was sure to be…EPIC. And epic it was.

Matty Collins arrived in London early on Friday February 12, 2010 and was greeted by none other than fellow WGTB DJ, Matty McKillip. Now Matty McKillip is a nice guy. However I can’t help but feel as though we were divorced parents competing over the love of our only child (Matty Collins). After all, before we left for London he attacked me with an umbrella. Can you say domestic violence? And. And! He didn’t even come to my birthday! I don’t want to make a big deal about it but I was hurt. So Matty Collins spent Friday night with Matty McKillip much to my chagrin. Matt McKillip go ahead and act like the cool dad. Matty Collins might’ve wanted to see you first, but I’m the loving and supporting mother who will always be there for our son, even if he doesn’t realize it now. He will once he’s older. I know he will. But anyway, the two Matties spent Friday doing touristy stuff and then went to a club for Matty C’s bday. I’m sure it was reeeaaally fun. Matty M got a bunch of people to wish Matty C happy bday and they had a good time. Matty Collins told me about it the next day. But apparently Matty C was unable to get a student discount because he said (I’m paraphrasing this), “I left my student id in Matt McKillip’s room because my jeans were too tight and my wallet wouldn’t fit.” That made my weekend.

Matty Collins arrived at my apartment Saturday morning because Matt M wanted to spend time with his new gf. I’m not going to act jealous or anything. I choose to be single because it would be selfish of me to date someone and it most def wouldn’t be fair to Matty C. After he dropped off his hipster satchel we took off to see Borough Market, Tower Bridge, St. Paul’s, Millennium Bridge and the Tate Modern. We walked a lot, laughed a lot and had deep discussions about art. We even walked into the giant black box at Tate Modern and it was awesome. On the way back home we stopped at Sainbury’s to buy alcohol for Matty C’s big bday celebration. I invited a bunch of my friends and we were going to pregame at my place and hit up the clubs. We purchased Sainbury’s Vodka, some Stella, I got some White Ice, Matty C got some Jacques and most importantly we picked up some Digestives. It was sure to be an awesome night.

Back at the flat, or as I call it Club 38, I busted out our newly purchased goodies but Matty C decided he needed to talk to his family. Lame sauce. The Olympics were on so I watched some ski jumping. After what seemed like fifty hours Matty C came into the kitchen and the bday festivities began. He double fisted the Jacques and Stella while I stuck to the Sainbury’s Triple Distilled Vodka. And boy, let me tell you Matty Collins was having a good time. Somebody sent him a happy birthday email that had a dancing 21 and he was just enthralled. I don’t know if he’s a lightweight or if only eating a pasty the whole day screwed him over, but he was drunk after barely drinking anything. Looks like he better retake Alcohol Edu.

My friends then arrived and we planned to hit up Leicester Square. Fabric was too far and too many Tube transfers away. Everyone was jazzed up and we took off into the night. However something wasn’t quite right. I felt uneasy and I soon found out why. Call it a mother’s intuition. Right as I was about to pass through the Tube turnstile, Matty Collins stopped me and said, “Brett, I am soo tired. Can I just have your keys and go to bed?” WHAT? Matty NOOOOOOOOO! “But it’s your birthday!!!!” I shouted. “I know but I’ve been traveling and walking and I’m beat,” he replied. My heart shattered. It didn’t break, it shattered! “How can he do this to me?” I thought. My one and only Matty Collins is going to leave me on his bday? We’re going out for him! I fought back the tears and handed him the keys, “Just go…” It was the worst moment of my life. That tube ride lasted an eternity. Why Matthew? Why? I was a mess but I pressed on. I endured and danced away the sadness. Somehow I was able to salvage the night and have fun. We ended up going to Zoo Bar and they played TWO Killers songs in a row! Mr. Brightside and then Somebody Told Me. And you better believe I sang every line to both of those songs. Meanwhile Matty Collins went back to my flat, played one game of Rummy with my flatmate Dave and went to bed.

To Be Continued…

bretzel

Uitgang Our Country

I’d like to start by apologizing for the delay in posts. It warms my heart to know that people actually read this thing. Sigh. You want to hear about Amsterdam right???? Hookers and weed, hookers and weed! Well to tell the story you first have to know the cast: Ryan (Gtown goes to UCL), Evan (Gtown goes to UCL), John (UNH goes to Regent’s?) and me (Gtown goes to KCL). Four broskis just looking for adventure because let’s be honest London’s boring right? I mean that’s why I had to ‘henge it up a couple weeks ago. Jk. I’m never leaving London ever again and here is why….

So I was invited to Amsterdam by Ryan because the guys needed a fourth person and I was convenient. I didn’t know what to expect. I was excited about taking a ferry boat to Amsterdam, but I wasn’t quite sure why. After all what’s in Amsterdam? I asked myself this questions many a time and hookers, weed and Anne Frank is all that came to mind. Oh and it’s the setting for Ocean’s 12, which is a terrible movie btw and disgraces the Ocean’s series. I even Wikipedia’d “Amsterdam” and found out there was a Van Gogh Museum. Cool. So I took off with my three compatriots with a vague idea of what we were going to do. The boat itself was like a floating hotel, but I found nasty clump of hair on my pillow so that put a damper on my experience. We arrived in Holland early Saturday morning and the place was foggy as s**t. The train to Amsterdam consisted of me trying to sleep, but remaining awake because a group of British guys who looked like they could’ve been cast members of The Jersey Shore were talking extremely loud about how awesome it was going to be to smoke weed and go to the Red Light District. They also talked about they’re friend who always gets drunk and beats the crap out of people. However they got their comeuppance for they were rejected access back into the UK presumably for trying to smuggle weed into the country. Boom.

So back to Amsterdam. Once we arrived we were instantly blasted with gusts of freezing cold wind. The weather was pretty miserable not gonna lie and it was so foggy that we couldn’t see any of the beautiful buildings. We decided to get some food and find the Anne Frank House. The first mistake we made was buying a Dutch map. The streets are already extremely difficult to navigate, but I personally don’t know Dutch and have no desire to learn it so I had no idea where we were going half of the time. Things worked out though and to be fair Amsterdam is a beautiful city. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the canals and old buildings. If the weather was warmer and the people were a smidge nicer I think I might’ve had a positive experience. However what sticks with me now is one of two Dutch words I actually learned: “uitgang” which means “exit”. The whole time I was in Amsterdam I got the feeling that most Dutch people hated me and wanted me to leave their country; hence the title of this entry. To give you a picture of what Amsterdam is like, here is a review of each place I saw.

Rembrandt House

Positives- We saw a guy make paint and a guy make a print from an etching. It was pretty cool. The best part was seeing the beds that people slept in. They’re basically in a closet and are half the size of our beds because back in the day Dutch people slept sitting up for fear of blood rushing to their heads and killing them in their sleep.

Negatives- Wtf. There are no Rembrandt paintings in Rembrandt House! Ok so it’s where the famous artist lived and it had some of his etchings, but I definitely want my 6 Euros back.

Rating- Don’t go unless you really like Rembrandt.

Rijksmuseum

Positives- It was a very cool collection of Dutch artifacts and paintings, including Rembrandt’s famous Night Watch. I walked right into the gallery without giving a ticket or taking off my backpack. This sounds like it’s nbd, but the other guys can back me up when I say that Dutch people are obsessed with not allowing you to have backpacks near they’re stuff. I mean they don’t have much to begin with so they have to protect it. Also the coat check lady was the nicest person we met in the Netherlands.

Negatives- I could tell the security people already hated us, but then Ryan had to miss the exit of the revolving door and go around again thus drawing attention to our small group and making us look like idiots. Thanks Ryan. Then when we went to pay it cost 12.50 Euros! I asked the guy if there was a student discount to which he responded, “No.” So I gave him a twenty and he said, “Do you have exact change?” to which I said, “No, sorry.” He did not seem pleased at all. Next up was John who handed the Dutchman 15 Euros. The Dutchman asked, “You do not have exact change? This is not possible???” He was irritated and it was awkward. Additionally most of the museum is undergoing renovations.

Rating- The price is steep, but it’s worth seeing.

Van Gogh Museum

Positives- I wouldn’t know because I didn’t go in.

Negative- It costs 14 Euros to get in.

Rating- If I didn’t make the mistake of going to Rembrandt House I would’ve gone. Van Gogh is the man and cypress trees are crazy to see in real life.

Anne Frank House

Positives- We joked about Anne Frank House the whole way to Amsterdam, but it ended up being one of my favorite things to see. The price was 8 Euro? I can’t remember. Definitely go though. We arrived right when it opened so the crowd was manageable. The actually hideaway is larger than you’d expect. However I didn’t have to live there in fear with seven other people for several years.

Negatives- We were forced to wear our backpacks front-ways and looked like tools.

Rating- It’s a must see if you’re in Amsterdam.

Coffee Shops

Positives- Coffee shops in Amsterdam sell weed legally.

Negatives- I don’t really smoke weed and I’m not just saying that because my parents read this blog. Sadly I learned the hard way that Amsterdam has little to offer outside of activities that are illegal in the U.S. I was accosted by a crazy woman outside of Mellow Yellow. She asked if we spoke English and I responded cleverly with, “Italiano”. Unfortunately I think she was Italian and she then accosted me again in Italian.

Rating- Amsterdam is a pothead’s paradise. Take that as you will.

Red Light District

Positives- Still trying to figure it out.

Negatives- It’s extremely awkward. We walked through on a Sunday afternoon and there was absolutely nobody on the street. The scantily clad hookers were reading magazines in their windows. Ryan asked, “Do they live there?” I don’t think they do haha. I tried to look without making eye contact. John was walking next to me saying, “This is so awkward, this is so awkward. One just made eye contact with me, this is so awkward.” Having a husky prostitute stare at you from three feet away is quite the experience. I felt like the one in the window. Alas I made it through STD free.

Rating- An experience you probably won’t forget for better or for worse.

FreeMart

Positives- Everything is free.

Negatives- I don’t think it exists. We were at McDonald’s and the guy taking my order didn’t speak English and I obvi don’t speak much Dutch so we were having what you could call a communication breakdown. His coworker came over, took my order and said, “Would you like ketchup and mayonnaise?” I didn’t even think about it. Of course I wanted ketchup and hey mayonnaise tastes pretty good on a burger so I responded with, “Yes”. He then proceeded to ring up my ketchup and mayonnaise packets. Who charges for ketchup packets??? There’s only enough in there for three fries anyway. It’s a sin and I was not happy. “You charge for ketchup?!?!” I exclaimed. “What do you think this is?” he paused, “FreeMart?” and pointed out the door. For a second I considered the possibility that there might actually be a store down the street called FreeMart. I mean I was in the weirdest country on the face of this earth. Unfortunately for the world, I don’t think FreeMart exists. I wish it did so I wouldn’t have had to pay for ketchup.

Rating- If you find a FreeMart let me know.

In conclusion, Amsterdam and the Netherlands as a whole are weird. Everyone rides bicycles. They offer beer in sizes Small, Medium and Large but don’t give you a selection because they just assume that everyone drinks Heineken. We ate at an Italian restaurant and I asked the waiter what beers they had. I heard him say, “Any kind.” He walked away and I was confused as to why he didn’t ask me what kind I wanted. Then it slowly sank in that he said, “Heineken,” and I felt like a fool. Overall I feel like going to Amsterdam is something you have to do just to say you did it. It’s like prom. No self respecting guy actually wants to go to prom, but you think it’s something you have to do at least once so you go. And that’s how I feel about Amsterdam. I’m glad I went. It was definitely an adventure. However I was glad to “uitgang” the ferryboat and return to English soil.

-bretzel