Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Back To Our Regularly Scheduled Programming

NeuroticGirl began its life as a prospective band name. Of course, I don't write music, and while I may be a karaoke goddess, I've never been in a band, but that never stopped me from visualizing a life of fame and really cool stage outfits. I was particularly fond of coming up with ideas for album covers. My eponymous debut was going to be a picture of the mini-fridge in my college dorm room with "NeuroticGirl" spelled out on it in crooked, colorful alphabet magnets. And before (of all freakin' people) Fountains Of Wayne stole the idea, my follow-up was going to be called "Utopia Parkway," and the cover would have been a shot of the actual Utopia Parkway exit sign with "NeuroticGirl" spray-painted across it. Genius, right?

As a word person as well, I also spent a lot of time coming up with catchy, cryptic-sounding song titles, like "The Devil You Know" and "If Not Now." These "songs" had no lyrics or melodies, and I had no idea what they might even be about, but they kept me amused. Or delusional, however you choose to see it.

My sister, however, is in a band, and she's kind of my hero for that. She writes lyrics and sings and she just looks like a rock star. Their sound is kind of ska-punk-pop, and they kick ass. I'm not just saying that either — after seeing them play for the first time, my brother confessed to me, "You know, I just came to this show thinking, ok, it's my sister, this is just some thing she's doing, I'll be nice, but they're actually good!"

They've gone through a lot of personnel changes since their inception. Originally, they included 3 Johns; now there are 2 Mikes. And there was more than a little confusion at the start on the issue of a name. They went through a few incarnations, but someone always thought it didn't feel right. This is when inspiration struck — for me, that is. Scrolling back through my mental list of phantom song titles, I made a suggestion, and they hit upon a solution.

Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce to you: All Out Riot.

Knowing I've contributed in some small way to their existence makes me feel a little less sheepish about living vicariously through their experiences. I sing along to every song out in the crowd, and like any proud and fame(-by-proxy)-craving sibling, I love shouting "That's my little sister!" when she's up there onstage.

My new imaginary band name is "Very Small Monster." Thank you, Cleveland!

6 comments:

  1. Not bad at all!
    Your sister is quite good, let me tell you..., and some of the songs are great.

    Loose the trumpet... :(

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  2. Now I get where you empathy with Neil comes from...

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  3. Thanks for checking them out! I'll pass along your review. :)

    There is no trumpet, tho -- you mean the saxophone? I love the saxophone! :( Plus, I work with the saxophonist. He actually got me the job here, so I won't be passing that part along...

    And I don't completely empathize with Neil because I would TOTALLY name-drop to get laid. >:)

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  4. yeah...the sExophone... trumpet.... whatever.
    It does not sound rock enough to me :)
    I like saxo on other genres of music.
    But you owe your (blow?) job to him so...saxo stays :)

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  5. Nonononono, not with this guy! Trust me. Read the end of my "Age Of Aquarius" post, about my co-worker Mikey -- that's him. >:) Plus, he already has a girlfriend, so there's a very solid line there.

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  6. LMAO!!!

    I felt some nervousness here....

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