Amendment One

This past week marked a milestone for the nation. The President of the United States came out saying that he thinks "same sex couples should be able to get married." But what does that mean? 

First of all, it should be stated that this was said from a personal point of view. This was in an informal interview where the President seemed comfortable. It wasn't at a podium infront of a gaggle of microphones and cameras. At the same time, this is the President. Any time he opens his mouth, whatever comes out enters the political battlefield.  It's like a weapon firing in the dark, it still does damage. While he might not have had any political agenda behind his statement, it will have an impact on his career. 

I mean, come on, he is the President. What he says has great power. This statement made headline news, like much of what he says, but this was different. The one problem with the President's statement is it's timing. The truth is that while the President might personally endorse same sex marriage, the majority of North Carolina voters do not. In hindsight, did the President realize that if he would have made this known publicly sooner, he could have influenced North Carolina voters?

I think that it was the backlash of the nation after Amendment One passed that prompted the President to make his statement. Not backlash against the President, but backlash against the fact that it did not pass. There was a lot of support that did not lead to suppressing Amendment One. Now that the President has come out in support of same sex marriage, the next time a similar amendment makes it to a vote, a larger portion of voters will hit the ballots. The question is how will they vote? Do they agree with the President, or do they agree with 61% of those who voted during Tuesdays ballot.

Over 2 million people hit the ballot booths and made their voices heard. Over 800,000 voted against Amendment One, the Amendment to ban same sex marriage. 1,300,000 voters felt that same sex marriage was not a good idea. 

But doesn't this harken to the foundation of our nation. Remember when each state had it's own currency? It made trading and traveling between states difficult and therefore the nation went to a standard currency. States are allowed to make their own laws and govern their citizens as they wish. Democracy is still alive, as made apparent by Tuesdays vote. 

What choice do same sex couples have? Here's a map of states who feel the same way as North Carolina: 

Notice the dark blue states like New York. Those are the states where same sex marriage is legal. Then look at states like Texas. Those state's constitutions ban same sex marriages and some or all forms of civil unions.

The President said in his statement that he thought "civil unions would be sufficient."  New Jersey is one of the few states that allow civil unions and within the last 6 months, their Governor Chris Christie vetoed the bill that would have made same sex marriage legal. There was a lot of outrage towards Governor Christie, but at the same time, he was elected into his position and the citizens trusted him to make the best decision for them. Perhaps that's why North Carolina's same sex marriage amendment was put to a statewide vote, so that no one person would be responsible for it's downfall. It turns out that they'd have to sway about 13% of the voting population of that state to have suppressed the amendment. 

What I feel might be lost among all this is the fact that over 800,000 North Carolinians came out to support their beliefs that same sex marriage should be legal. It might not be hard for the 1.3 million of voters to come out against it, but I can bet you it was hard being on the other side of that line, especially below the Mason-Dixon one. 

The Tooth and Nail Silver Lining(Kickstarter pt 2)

If you're a fan of bands like Emery, Underoath and The Almost, you might know that these bands are currently signed to Tooth and Nail Records. If you were unaware, now you know. But Tooth and Nail has been home to many great artists over the last nearly 20 years. Some of the acts that made their way through Tooth and Nail are MxPx, The Juliana Theory, Further Seems Forever and Anberlin. A select few artists have been signed to major labels after parting with Tooth and Nail, and I'd like to take the time and see how those bands faired. I will also look at how bands are managing their independence after leaving the label, self releasing albums through funds raised on Kickstarter.

One unique case is that of Project 86. Originally signed to BEC Recordings, a sister label of Tooth and Nail, Project 86 released two albums on that label, before being signed to Atlantic Records. Atlantic Records released their third studio album Truthless Heroes in 2002, but shortly thereafter, they were dropped from the label. They released "Songs to Burn Your Bridges By" independently before signing with Tooth and Nail again and re-releasing that album. It wasn't the same exact album, as it featured new artwork and three songs produced by Aaron Sprinkle. Project 86 would go on to release three more studio albums on Tooth and Nail before parting ways again in late 2011. By the second week of January 2012, they funded their next album using Kickstarter, exceeding their initial goal of $15,000 by over $23,000. The real test is how far this upcoming album will take Project 86, and will they follow it up with a second Kickstarter funded album like former label mates Showbread.

Speaking of Showbread, after releasing Who Can Know It using funds raised on Kickstarter, Showbread is back to make Cancer, an audio and visual musical experience. I have to be honest and say that I was afraid this effort was not going to be funded. At the time funding had stopped, Showbread raised over $50,000 when their initial goal was $43,000. Much of this funding came in the last week, and it eased my worries when someone laid out $2000 to get them closer to that goal. Years ago, when I saw Showbread live in my town, I asked lead singer Josh Dies why Tooth and Nail had not released one of their albums as a CD/DVD Deluxe Edition. He told me that they had to sell a certain amount of records before the label would do that. Now that choice is completely up to Showbread, as long as their fans can fund it. Perhaps that's why this time around their goal was $43,000 instead of $13,000 like it was when they were trying to fund their last album. This fact that Cancer was fully funded shows that bands can have repeated success using the Kickstarter Model.

Some bands don't even have repeated success on major labels, like the aforementioned Project 86, or The Juliana Theory who signed to Epic after leaving Tooth and Nail. Tooth and Nail released two albums(1999/2000) by The Juliana Theory before the band left to find a record label that would better market and promote them. They found that at Epic, of which Sony is the parent label. On Epic, The Juliana Theory released Love in 2003 and then again found themselves parting with their label. Has there been a band to break the curse of limited success on a major label after leaving Tooth and Nail? There is, and they are called Anberlin.

Anberlin, the boys from The Sunshine State, were signed to Tooth and Nail in 2002 and released Blueprints for the Black Market. They would release two more albums on Tooth and Nail before being signed by Universal Republic. Since being signed they have released two albums, New Surrender and Dark is the Way, Light is a Place, with a third album is currently in the works. What makes Anberlin different from Project 86 and The Juliana Theory who both released only one album on a major record label? Anberlin were insanely popular while still being signed to Tooth and Nail. Their last album on that label, Cities, sold 34,000 copies in it's first week. It appeared on Billboard's Top 200, peaking at #16, and was on the chart for 6 weeks. New Surrender bested Cities on the chart, hitting #13 and staying on the chart for 7 weeks. Dark is the Way, Light is a Place did not chart at all, but that hasn't stopped Anberlin from continuing to make music.

Bands have passed through Tooth and Nail and found different levels of success on the other side. You have Showbread who have been able to fund two albums using Kickstarter and you have Anberlin who are on their way to three albums on a major label. This definitely solidifies Tooth and Nail as a good jumping point for many bands who, after amassing a large enough fan base, can either tackle a Kickstarter or have success on a major label.

Honorable Mentions:

Starflyer 59 just funded their first independent record after being signed to Tooth and Nail since 1993.

Spoken has launched a Kickstarter to fund their first album in nearly 5 years. The album is funded, but don't miss out on the many goodies they have available for pledging. 

The OC Supertones funded their upcoming album. The last album they released, The Revenge of The Supertones, came out EIGHT YEARS AGO!

Thousand Foot Krutch recently released The End is Where We Begin and reached #2 on iTunes US Top Ten Rock Albums. 

The Classic Crime started mixing their upcoming album with Elvis Baskette. Can't wait for the release of this album.

Squad Five-O released Late Breaking News on Capitol Records in 2004 after leaving Tooth and Nail.

Mae released Singularity on Capitol Records in 2007 after releasing two albums on Tooth and Nail. They returned to Tooth and Nail to help distribute their (M)orning, (A)fternoon, and (E)vening EPs. 

Second Act Success Stories(The Marrying of Matt Shelton and The Wedding)

The first time I heard of The Wedding was when former lead singer Kevin Kiehn appeared on Relient K's 2004 release MMHMM on the track "I So Hate Consequences." From there I went on to purchase The Wedding's debut self-titled album that came out in 2005. This album was released on Rambler Records, their first and last to do so. Their follow up "Polarity" was released on Brave New World, a record label owned by producer Mark Lee Townsend who is famous for producing most Relient K records.

When Kevin Kiehn departed the band after the release of "Polarity", The Wedding was at a crossroad. Landon Ginnings, who has also played with Showbread, filled in on vocals until The Wedding found a permanent vocalist in Matt Shelton formerly of Letter Kills. Shelton's previous band was successful in the sense that they were signed to Island Records, a label that is home to many hit makers like Bon Jovi and Mariah Carey. Letter Kills was a part of the Nintendo Fusion Tour with Story of the Year and toured with acts like The Used and My Chemical Romance. 

"The Sound, The Steel EP(2008)" was the first recording Shelton can be heard on with the band. This was released through Brave New World and would be the last album put out by a record label to date. In the fall of 2010 The Wedding independently released "The Distance EP." During that summer they played songs off that EP including Heartbreak in Melody as they toured with Project 86.

Despite not having a record label to call home, The Wedding still plays music and headlines tours, like the upcoming(4/12-5/12) No Direction Tour with Wavorly, Pioneer and Satellite and Sirens. I look forward to what the future holds for Shelton and the rest of The Wedding. 

The Little Movie that Could(Blue Like Jazz)

I feel like every creative endeavor these days comes by way of Kickstarter. I know that's not the case, but just this last week, I backed 3 different projects. How does this relate to Blue Like Jazz, the movie directed by Steven Taylor? Blue Like Jazz, based on a book by Donald Miller, was set to be produced privately until funding ran out and production never started. That's when Steven Taylor and Donald Miller took to the internet and used Kickstarter to fund the production for this movie. Their intended goal of $125,000 was far surpassed and ended raising more than $345,000. All of this made it possible for me to view this movie in my not so local theatre. 

So, what's it about? Don Miller is a soon to be college student with his heart and mind set on a Christian college. His life is turned upside down and has a change of heart. He finds himself at Portland, Oregon's Reed College, where his father already had him enrolled before this change of heart. Over the course of the school year, he finds himself in new predicaments that never crossed his path back in Texas. In a hearty attempt to lose himself, Don eventually finds himself.

This movie is being called a Christian movie because of certain themes in the movie, but I'm going to try and disagree. If the creators of the movie meant for it to come across that way, my argument is null, but I think they created something greater than a Christian movie. This movie is more universal than relegating it to Christianity. What I got out of this movie is that we need to be who we are, no matter how unpopular it is. 

At Reed College, Don saw this place as godless and did his best to fit in. Throughout the school year his faith is tested and when he is given chances to pass or fail, he ends up making more mistakes than good decisions. But Don is a sympathetic character. I felt bad for him at times, and could understand why his faith had slipped.

With most movies, I tend to try and guess where the movie is going to go next. This happens especially in comedies, because to most comedic movies, there is a formula. This movie never let me guess what was going to happen next, and even if I could, I would have gotten it wrong. This movie took me for a ride in directions I didn't think it would go. There were times I found myself laughing, either alone, or louder than the rest of the people in the theatre. 

Marshall Allman plays Don well, eliciting emotion when necessary, whether it be sadness, anger, joy or frustration. The rest of the cast did just as well with no one standing out more than anyone else. What I liked about this movie was that at the point where a certain revelation occurs, there is no glowing white light from nowhere that tends to light the faces of characters when experiencing this notion. Sometimes, when someone's faith comes to light in a movie, it tends to get lit better magically. In this movie, it was part of the plot and in the cinematography, wasn't a point to highlight anymore than the rest of the story. 

One of the morals I took away from this movie is that on our path to hide who we really are, we might tend to alienate others along the way. There was a gut wrenching part of the movie where Don really makes himself seem unlikeable, and it's actually unbelievable how far he has moved from who he was before. Don's story is relatable and inspiring. Hopefully it encourages people to be more honest with themselves and others, 

Like it or Not? I liked it. I'd recommend it to anyone who would enjoy a PG-13 rated comedy. This movie is about a college freshman, so if you can relate to it, or would at least like to try, give this movie a chance. 

A Healthy Dose of Violence (The Hunger Games and The Raid:Redemption)

Within the last month two movies have come out with an incredible amount of violence, and I had the pleasure of seeing them both. The first is The Hunger Games, based on the novel by Suzanne Collins and the second is The Raid:Redemption, coming to us from Indonesia. 

Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games comes to the big screen directed by Gary Ross who most recently directed Seabiscuit. Jennifer Lawrence brings Katniss Everdeen to life with Josh Hutcherson playing Peeta Mellark. The rest of the characters are secondary to those, though Woody Harrelson's Haymitch Abernathy does his best to play the anti-hero. This is actually a cue that Katniss takes at first, but as Haymitch realizes his role as their mentor, she abandons the tough girl persona and plays to the crowd. 

If you have no idea what The Hunger Games is about, it's about a dystopian future where there are 12 districts and a capital. The capital is called Capitol and the outlying 12 districts are characterized by staggering levels of poverty. The closer the district is to the Capitol, the better off the citizens. The higher the numbered district, the worse the poverty. The districts rebelled at one time, and the Capitol decided for their failed rebellion, each district will select tributes, a male and female between 12-18, to fight to the death in The Hunger Games. It is regulated and broadcasted by the government. 

Twenty-four children enter this bio dome created by the government. Alliances are formed and eventually the twenty-four is whittled down. This is where all the violence ensues. It isn't incredibly graphic, but it is not something I thought I'd be seeing. District 1 and 2 breed their tributes so that the during the annual Hunger Games, they have an advantage. These four kids quickly dispatch with the weaker ones. I did turn away at times. 

I enjoyed this movie, and on a scale of "Like it or Not?" I'm going to say that I liked it. It kept my interest. The action was decent. There were moments in the movie that moved me emotionally and I give it credit for having a decent amount of drama and action. An interesting point about this movie is that the book came out less than four years ago in September of 2008. This is a pretty short time for a film to come to the theatres after the book was released. If you look back to Twilight, there was barely three years between the time the book was released and the first movie premiered. The interesting point here is that while these movies are jumping onto the the big screen as fast as they are, it took John Carter nearly 100 years to make that leap. That's right, 100 years. 

Just today I saw The Raid:Redemption directed by Gareth Evans. Even though Gareth Evans is Welsh, this movie comes to us from Indonesia. At first, this movie was going to be called The Raid, but upon release, it was renamed The Raid:Redemption. Based upon the trailer, you can tell this is going to be a violent movie. The truth is that I went into this movie looking to see some great martial arts and action sequences. I didn't know for sure that it was going to be subtitled, but when I went to see it, that is what I found.

But there was more to it than that. It started out with a rookie police officer leaving for work. He kisses his pregnant wife's belly and tells the baby not to come out until daddy gets home. Throughout the first half of the movie he shows what kind of person he is, first by questioning the reason for the mission, which is to raid this building in Jakarta and evict it's criminal landlord. We then see him fighting to bring a resident up to his sick wife when the second in command refuses to let him into the building. 

It's really evident that this movie does not take place in America when you see the criminals and how they are dressed. This perplexed me at first. I thought to myself, this guy is a crime boss, but dresses like poorest resident in the building. His two body guards we also dressed pretty haggardly. It did show the contrast between the police officers and the criminals though. The police officers were in black fatigues and bullet proof vests. What made this movie universal was that they didn't carry badges and no part of their uniform said "Police" in Indonesian. 

The choreography of the fight sequences was pretty flawless and one aspect I like is the hand to hand combat that incorporated firearms at the same time. It's something you rarely see. Mostly because martial artists are keep to a code of sorts and the police's code is simple: stay alive. One thing that makes this movie funny is that almost every resident in this 15 story building is a martial artist. They can all fight hand to hand against the police. There is one fight scene when three police enter a drug lab and everyone working there go task for task with the police officers.  That's the irony of this type of movie. I feel that if the police raided a Walmart, everyone in blue vests would all of a sudden know karate. This might be a litte far fetched, but consider it. 

"Like it or Not?"

I liked this movie. The violence was so over the top that I laughed out loud at times. I'm glad it came to theatres near me. I feared that I would only be able to see it on demand or on iTunes. I should mention that Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park was involved in the score of this movie when it was released in America. You could tell throughout the movie, it had a real dynamic sound track to accompany the choreography. I definitely recommend this movie to those who enjoy gratuitous violence and will not complain about it afterwards. It's important to know what you're going into before seeing this movie. That is why I will include this red-band trailer.