The Velcro Pygmies — “Don’t Call It Love”
The Velcro Pygmies
Playlist Challenge, Day 18
Roll Tide!
The Velcro Pygmies — “Alabama Love”
Rock in Peace
I’ve been waiting to post about this, wanting the situation resolved before I said anything.
On March 2nd, the Velcro Pygmies announced that their bassist, Jacob “Sandman” Sanders, and his older brother, Jeremiah, had gone missing while fishing on the Tennessee River. After a grueling and suspenseful thirteen days, during which the entire Pyg family awaited news with bated breath, a body was found on the 15th..and soon identified as 24-year-old Jacob.
Still, as the band reminded all of those involved, it wasn’t going to be truly over until Jeremiah was found as well.
Today that moment has come.
I’m not even going to pretend to understand how their loved ones feel. I will simply say this: I met Jacob once in 2014 when I carried my parents to their first Pygmies show. He was sweet and obviously put his heart and soul into his craft. He chatted with my mom and me for a long time following their set, never acting as if there was something he’d rather be doing or as though he was bored, impatient, etc. He left quite an impression on both me and my mom. From what I’ve seen and read, that was just the kind of person he was. He touched lives, and the world feels much more empty without his presence — and Jeremiah’s, I know.
If you could, take a second out of your day to offer a prayer or positive vibes to those who are grieving over these losses.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Mom, Jacob, Me, and Chase
Things I Love [A Personal Blog]
Let me start off with this.
I love Jacob. So much. And these five…
I love the way Ryan Yunker [closest to the camera in the photo above] always likes my statuses on Facebook.
And the way we can talk about Avenged Sevenfold constantly.
I love the way Kevin Compton [third from the front in the same photo] told me I was one of his favorite people.
Speaking of the band, I love Almost Kings. That’s them with the broken down van. Ha!
I love this goofball.
I love Lynam. And Within Reason. And The Velcro Pygmies. And Rearview Ghost. And Shallow Side. And Super bob. And Avenged Sevenfold. And Alter Bridge. And Pink Floyd.
I love music, okay?
I love this girl.
And the fact that she sent me a text telling me to be careful and that she loved me one of the last times tornadoes came through Alabama.
I love riding in a car with her, windows down and music up!
I love Harry Potter.
I love books!
I love watching movies with my dad.
And cooking with my mom and my brother.
And hanging out with my best friend Tiffany and her husband and her adorable daughter.
And how cute my cat is when she cleans between her toes.
And dancing onstage.
And singing…
And Alabama football.
I love vegging out with my girls, eating junk food and mocking lame horror movies.
I love video games.
I could go on and on, but I’m going to stop here. Sometimes, I think it’s good to sit down and list the things you love and are thankful for, just to make sure they still outnumber the negatives in your life. Right now, I’d say I have a lot of reasons to be here. =)
Song of the Week: “Alabama Love”
There are two main reasons this is my choice for song of the week, besides the fact that I just love it and despite the fact that it’s four years old.
First, the Velcro Pygmies were mentioned on “College Gameday” two weeks ago, right before the Alabama/Mississippi State game.
Second, the Iron Bowl was this weekend. The Alabama Crimson Tide brought home the victory, and they are now on their way to the SEC Championship game and potentially, another national title shot. So I thought this track, which is dedicated to the Tide, would be perfect. ❤
Velcro Pygmies – “Alabama Love” (2010).
My Musings: Local Music
I wrote this a while back, inspired by some of the most wonderful nights of my life with Lynam, The Velcro Pygmies, Within Reason, Almost Kings, and Rearview Ghost. I wrote down all that occurred to me, then reworded it to make it sound better. (I’m a writer; it’s what we do.) This is the final product.
There is something undeniably beautiful about local musicians. Their craft is shaped by the love of music, not just a love of money. Every note, every chord, every lyric, every performance is guided by emotion and unmarked by the ugliness of greed. Local musicians still have a certain purity about them. This is only emphasized by their ability to actually see themselves touching lives. They can watch an audience in a way that is lost with too much success. From the stage, they witness the smiles, the laughter, the tears, the words to their songs being sung. But even more importantly, after the show they can meet these individuals, exchange words and hugs, learn something about the person before them, forging a connection, however slight.
There is a level where all of this is lost. And as much as we all want success for the bands/artists we love so much, it is an unfortunate side effect that a lot of what made them beautiful will fade in the glare of the limelight. They still touch lives, still make people laugh and smile. However, it is no longer a major part of the job…and they begin to lose the personal side of things, working only for a bunch of nameless and faceless fans that become nothing more than sources of money.
Local musicians are the true celebrities. They are the ones who deserve respect, praise, awe, and love. We should all devote as much to their cause as they do. I personally would be lost without the local musicians that I am lucky enough to call friends.
(Let me add that I do not begrudge those who succeed. I have no issue whatsoever with those who worked their way to the top. On the other hand, I do have problems with these created artists who never do anything to earn fame but get shoved down everyone’s throats. For every one of those “artists” that exists, the dreams of a legitimate and deserving artist are being crushed.)
Mostly Music 