Traveling to Oxnard for tasting #2. Finding the place was easy thanks to google maps, but there’s no proper exit going west bound on the 101, so we had to find our way onto the other side of the freeway by some magical mystery route.

We ended up on time and at A Gift of Taste. First impressions of the place was “wow, this is kinda ghetto”. But the cakes tasted way better than our first adventure, granted they didn’t have the pomp and frills of the last time.

So we had the Chocolate w/Mocha Chocolate mousse, Marble w/fresh strawberries, and a white cake w/raspberry-chiffon custard. All of these were pretty sick, despite the fact that they looked like something I could have made in 5 seconds, but it got the job done as far as tasting goes.

The fresh strawberry one was my favorite, but we’re also thinking about our location and time of year we’re going to be having the wedding. We’re also unsure that everyone would like strawberries, so a strawberry-chiffon custard option would most likely be our best bet.

Ultimately I felt like we weren’t getting the proper attention at their small cramped table on the side of the wall. We were more like a side-show to their plethora of decorations they had on display in their crowded store (reminded me more of Hallmark than a bakery). They forgot forks at first, the cake fell over and went everywhere after one person would attempt to cut with the side of the fork, and we were told we would be one of four wedding cakes that day. Yah, wedding cakes.

We have two other places in mind to check out, so we’re hoping to feel comfortable with the people and the taste of the cake and be done with our decision. This hasn’t been the easiest decision making process like I anticipated, but perhaps we’re making up for everything else which came together so smoothly.

Hey everyone.

We will be recording drums tomorrow, April 19th at 5:00P EDT (2:00P Pacific) for our upcoming record due out later this year. We’re live streaming everything we record to you via ustream.

You will be able to check out our new songs in the making and watch what we do behind the scenes to bring this record to you online. There is also a chatroom available for you to type type type with us and others. We’ll be bbq’ing, having some drinks, recording, and rocking it.

Go to lastfalling.tv to watch us stream live or check out the clips we’ve recorded. Come hang with us tomorrow!

Interactive Music: Personality 2 Person

I can’t tell you how important I think new digital media is to upcoming bands and musicians. In a world where we have everything at our fingertips and where we are just a router away from any virtual entertainment, we are quite literally raising the bar for the game to be played online. Music is not about the sound anymore, it’s not entirely about the message or words pushed into predetermined melodies. It’s all about the style at which personalities are broadcast to you, the person.

People want it real. They don’t want a polished turd from a pretentious band that’s quietly and patiently holding a price behind their backs as they throw their bait, waiting for you to get hooked onto their line. People are getting smarter, more selective, more refined and compiling diverse musical tastes. The downfall of record stores and the mental inferiority of record labels has left self-discretion at it’s peak in a virtually untouched indie atmosphere; the internet. It will be a few years until main stream media infiltrates the new and exciting creativity of online music and attempts to monetize the extent at which that creativity is governed (there’s some guy and a major corporation working on that right now, I guaranfuggintee you).

People have the desire to know what is behind the music. In addition to finding you genuinely interesting and real, they want to be virtually immersed in the life of you. They want that reality show they can’t get on television, they want to know what your dreams are, what video games you play, what images you think are funny, what news articles you read. They don’t want to wait for your ‘Behind the Music’ in 15 years, they want photos and blogs and videos and documentaries to discover for free, banners to display on their personal web page to express themselves and so they can tell their friends and feel important, exciting ways to keep up with you other than a mass email. They want to interact with you in their underwear at a computer whenever they want. They want it different. If they like what you’re creating and (more importantly) like you and your personality; congratulations, you’re winning loyal fans.

Your street team is your online army.

The street attack is getting old, and it’s a baseless form of gaining any social reputation with good economical sense. You can play gig after gig and reach a few people that you can converse with, maybe get them interested in kicking around the idea of buying your shit so you can get that gas money you need to get home. When it’s all said and done though, and you’re left to packing up your gear and taking off to the next venue, where do you leave your brand new fans? At the last club listening to the horrible band after you? With a hand shake and an overpriced cd or t-shirt? No. Give them a card with your main web site hub address where they can access your personal social networks and links to explore your interactive streams, photos, videos, and merchandise. Draw a heart around your band name, buy them a beer, tell them a story they will remember for the rest of the night and into the next morning, and spend time with them off and online. It’s a moral imperative.

[Photo courtesy of p2p-weblog.com]

Maybe it’s because there’s a pile of work in front of me, maybe it’s because I have no access to my 360, or maybe it’s because I JUST LOVE BEING A BLUE SQUARE.

The simplicity of it all makes for a riveting basic experience that can leave you wanting to conquer each challenge, kick your computer screen in, or rip out your sound card because of the annoying music.

I managed to get to level 7 before I had to say eff it. I died a lot.

The World’s Hardest Game