I have not unloaded my emotional crap on this journal in a while, so here it goes...may get long. (This journal entry is not addressed to anyone so please do not give me hell)

1)Band - I will spare you the long essay again. I have just come to realize that some people really like marching band strictly to march and they really do get off on making a straight line and blowing their brains out. That is fine and dandy. I have hobbies and passions that most people feel are a complete waste of time. What bothers me the most about the whole ruckus that my email created, is that some people are willing to bend over and have authority do whatever they want to do. I agree that some things are for the common good i.e. wearing spats, wearing band shirt, assigning penalty drill for late people etc. but...I really feel that if the leadership says something, people will mindlessly obey. We, as humans, have the gift of thought.
I have a difficult time figuring out how the marching band yelling "tarheels suck" is classless amongst beer-drinking, cussing 20 and 30 somethings. The people with kids have beers in their hand and bring their kids to see the band. The people handing down these mandates need to reexamine the term "classless". I have so much I want to say, but in order to not piss off the majority of the world and have to hear about it later, I will write it in my written journal under my bed.

2)Classes-suck. Perhaps the reason I want to get into higher education. Maybe I can be the professor that makes college students think and learn rather than babble for 50 minutes and dismiss. Too much emphasis is placed on grades, tests, and statistics. Seriously 98% of college students would not be here if they could get the same job with their high school diploma.

3)Mainstream Music - what has happened!!!!!! I can not turn on the radio to a Clear Channel Station with out being offended to a degree that makes me actually start yelling at the radio. Although that Fighter song by Christina gets stuck in my head constantly. Even good ole 89.7 is starting to go mainstream classical. I know most of you are thinking: "Thomas, mainstream classical? Have you gone mad". By mainstream, I mean all they play are the 5 classical pieces that are used in commercials. I guess they have to make the buck as well.

4)President Bush....#3 on my list of people who should be Charles Manson's cellmate for the remainder of their Earthly life. For more information on why I loathe this man...stay tuned for my discourse on President Dubya.



OK thats about it
Closing thoughts
1)Our defense still sucks
2)Vote Democrat
3)The Powersound of the South needs a new name...suggestions?

DISCLAIMER: IF YOU TAKE MARCHING BAND SERIOUSLY AND/OR DO NOT WANT TO READ NEGATIVE THINGS ABOUT THE MARCHING BAND, DO NOT READ FURTHER. THOMAS IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANYONE BEING OFFENDED BY THIS ENTRY (SO DONT BITCH TO HIM)

The NC State marching band can be summed up in three categories:
1)marching
2)playing
3)leadership

1)I do not care if 8 steps equals 5 yards. I do not care if the hashes are off. I do not care if the diagonal looks curved or the curve looks straight. Most importantly, the fans could care less as well. The only thing they care about is when we play the fight song and to entertain their three olds by making shapes on the field. There are maybe three people in the band who truly can march. I am not one of them. It seems so funny to me that some of the worst marchers in the history of the Christian Era are the ones that are always yelling at people.
2)We can not play as a band. AT ALL. There are no "good things happening". We can not swing, play scales, play in time or in tune. I heard the pep band on TV and laughed. We sound horrible with a few of our upperclassmen playing. Add rookies and other vets and it sounds worse.
3)Leadership can be divided into two categories:
a)Fuller-I would love to play music jeopardy with this man. He makes the same comments on the same songs every single time. If he would fix it instead of just playing it twice, maybe something would get done. He should be placed behind a desk, given the title of music dept. chair and continue to suck up to AD Fowler and schedule classes/trips. Get him away from football fields, the classrooms and musical scores.
b)Garcia-Man knows his stuff. He belongs in a director position for a drum corps. However, NC State isnt a drum corps. We will never be a drum corps. We suck. Lets all get together, have some fun and play the fight song for drunk fans.

No matter how many 8x5s we do, we will never march well.
No matter how many sectionals we have, we wont be able to play the star spangled banner.
No matter how many music checks we have, the band as a whole will not know their music.
No matter what we do, as long as fuller is here....we will be a middle school version of Ohio State.

I will continue to learn my music, go to my sectionals and play the games. I like going to the games. I am just merely stating that we suck and always will suck. Lets take it a little less serious and have some fun.

Peace

Dave Fans, I am stunned and saddened by your undying love for one David Matthews. The Dave Matthews Band is nothing more than the black hole of popular culture. They were put here by Satan to lower IQ's of college students and to increase the amount of frat boy guitarists who like to get women's attention. His band and himself, personally serve no purpose in music. I will now, only out of great sadness for your musical tastes, inform you of my opinion.
1)Dave Matthews - I will analyze him with the cold hard truth. He has not done anything on guitar that has not been done better before. Those stupid little 2 note chords with the D string left open as a drone... The 2 notes only form a major triad and the D just keeps going!!! Genius you say! HELL NO...Robert Johnson did the same thing, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, David Crosby...damn even Bill Monroe did it and he played mandolin. I know what you are thinking...the man has this "drum inside his guitar" thing going on. umm, yeah....This is going to come as a huge shock to everyone around here who reads my journal but Mr. Matthews would rank somewhere in the lower 20% of percussive guitar players. Basic syncopation that is taught to middle school tuba players and time signatures that are nothing more than fancy ways to say add an extra beat to 4/4 are not anything rhymically stimulating. "Then why does Dave have so many fans and hit songs" Answer: The US is not fairly keen on musical quality. The Backstreet Boys, Hanson, non-existant bands like the monkees and milli vanilli have all sold tons of records. Whats your point? Finally, Dave's songwriting... Oh wow! I am just floored by his progressions. Q:You mean modulations and diatonic chords are not genius ideas thought up by the one and the only Dave Matthews?
A:HAHAHAHAHA... not even going to touch this one
Another Q:You mean to tell me than Dave is not a genius that writes the best lyrics since Dylan?
A:ummm....If you ever say Dylan and Dave in the same sentence I will be forced to kill you. "10 fingers counting, we have each" counting is good...
"9 planets around the son repaet" Something tells me he paid attention in 3rd grade when they were talking about uranus.
ok done with dave...If you have anymore questions as to why Dave is a tonedeaf drunkard's musical equal then feel free to respond
2)carter beauford - yeah, hes good. He has practiced many a hour. Has he done anything new...naaaa. He do anything that you couldn't learn by listening to Dennis Chambers and Stewart Copeland? nope...so why endure bad music to listen to musical copycat like beauford.
3)Boyd Tinsley - HAHAHAHA perhaps the most untalented violin player since my cousin decided she was a Godsent violin player. Mr. Tinsley would get his ass handed to him by most every fiddler in nashville. His worn out pentatonic licks are annoying and tiring at best. But Mr. Thomas, he plays it like a guitar sometimes.
Oh yeah about that....Its a technique called pizzicato, every elementary school violin player does it. Its tuned the same as mandolin and when he plays it like one, it looks more like Uncle Hank trying to figure out that "gee major cherd".
4)Leroi Moore - I really like Leroi. I really do. He has style and spunk. Unluckily for him, God made it destiny for him to be a mediocre sax and wind player. The bio on that horrible website I was told to worship said he was an accomplished jazz player. Yeah right! He navigates a ii-V-I7 vamp about as well as my high school band director when he was 5. I wont bore you with the theory as to why he sucks, but just do yourself a favor and listen to Coltrane, Parker, Rollins, Chris Potts, Cannonball and then try to remember Leroi's name. If you do remember, you didnt listen to Giant Steps well enough.
5)Stefan Lessard - He entered the band when he was 16. WOW! he must be a prodigy. He must really be the glue that holds those songs together. Carter and Him are really the best rhythm section in the land. Stefan maybe the worlds greatest bass player but we will never know. He is given nothing but cliched progressions and the only chordal instrument in the band to play off of is Dave and we know how great Dave is. All I hear when Stefan plays is Root Notes into argpeggios. Thats Bass 101 at most music schools.

Folks, there is going to come a day when you are going to realize that Dave is a throwaway artist. Then you will walk down to Schoolkids and hand them your Dave cds and they will give you a credit. You will purchase a miles davis album, a dylan album and a beatles album and you will have an epiphany. Good music does exist! It really does!!!
ok that is all
-Thomas

I watched the democrat presidential candiate debate tonight. First off, I love black people. They yell at the candiates and allow us to see what kind of personality the candiate had. My analysis:
Howard Dean is THAT liberal
Graham is THAT dumb
John Edwards is THAT slick
John Kerry and Joe Lieberman are THAT ugly

I would love to see a Dean/Edwards ticket but everyone knows that this country is doomed to more republician b***s***. Thats ok though...I love bad education, no civil liberties and hundreds of americans being shot overseas.

whewwwwwww....

Next on the bitch list...marching band
Dr. F needs to bow to Dr. G. Everything Dr. G says, F just agrees with like he knew it all along. Dr. F couldn't teach a lonely 14 year old male to masturbate much less teach music to college students.
I do not claim to be a great music educator but I knew more about music in 5th grade than F will know in a hundred lifetimes. Let F have a job behind a desk planning trips and leave the teaching to Dr. G.

(speaking of Dr. G, I love having a guy who I can talk junk to...makes your balls bigger)

I will not go into what I think about sectionals because I know you have all heard me bitch. I bitched my freshman year, I bitch again. Its a cycle. Marching Band is a one hour class. we do not have a major nor will we ever. We are in the bottom 3 marching bands in the acc and that will not change in my tenure here. No one has time to meet for an extra hour at night during the week.

Quick Story...Today I show up for my history seminar. Professor hands my paper back. I say "Oh my God!!!!!!!" as i look at the grade. Prof responds "It deserved a B but I gave you an A". I asked "Why?"
He responds "I was drunk....no really, I was drunk". ME: Wow! Why do I even try?

My final bitch. Can we please, for the love of God execute somebody in this state. Henry Lee Hunt has been convicted 4 times of a murder. His dumbass co-defendant confessed 19 years ago in a broken-english written statement. He only did this to save his friend as he died shortly there after. Hunt has been on death row for 20 years. It is too late. He killed 2 people. I also do not care if the state law says you can only use 2 chemicals to kill a man. Shoot him. Fry him. I dont care. Just execute him so my taxes do not go to his 4 star meals and cable tv anymore.

I swear, if I the guvna, far more people would meet their maker.

That is all...I feel better

Shalom

I drove to Mint Hill, NC (near Charlotte) and finished recording my parts for the Flojo album. After an hour and a half, we started mixing until I fell asleep on the floor. I then slept on a couch and woke up and mixed half the record. Following several hours, hunger began to battle my stomach. Luckily, the drummer works at Fuel Pizza in Davidson and he owes me money. Demanding to be fed, I ordered some wings(free) and watched the Nascar race. Ricky Rudd will be shot in front of a large, hostile crowd.
The rest of the night involves poker, video games, music and no pants. No details needed.

My thoughts for the weekend:
1)Wake Forest outplayed and outcoached us and made us look like bumpkins. I understand that no huddle is confusing but with the talent we have, we should be able to adjust after the first few series'.

2)People in Charlotte can not drive. They can not. They drive as well as my baby cousin sings.

3)Grad School. Many of you know that I am going to become a music professor. 50-80 thousand and state benefits. However, most of these schools require the piled higher and deeper degree. I made a shortlist of places I want to go
1)Princeton - great music history dept. and the teachers have cool beards.
2)Yale - because when you say Yale, people think you are smart
3)UNC - The enemy. They have a great musicology dept. and would give me a chance to convert. Think of it as a religious mission.
4)Duke - It's close. I can teach to pay for my degree. I look good in dark blue.
5)Cal-Berk - By the bay, I just may. 60-70 degree temps and lots of hippies
6)Tennessee-Knoxville - Good, Big school where I could recruit rednecks to fight for the wild dingo in Austrailia.
7)Indiana-Bloomington - amazing composition and incredible ensembles of unsuspecting freshman willing to play my compositions.
8)Florida State - Good school, too hot. Until they invent the personal bubble air conditioner, forget it.
9)Michigan - Good football and would give me a chance to research why allen is unique.
AND FINALLY
10)USC(southern cal) - John Williams is my hero

4)Pants are uncomfortable
5)Alarm Clocks are a lot like washing machines. They try hard but they ultimately do not do their job.
6)This cooler weather can just keep on coming. I will not miss sweating one bit.
7)Cindi is small
8)I used to have five imaginary friends...damn I am odd

I think that is all... and remember the two basic points to a good life
-vote democrat
-do not listen to dave matthews

Shalom