Quiet Life: Vol 2

Surprise!! A new record drop!!! Started this project while vacationing in Japan and a few months ago completed it to have it released today! This is the second installment of this series that I'm hoping to continue until I get tired of it lol. This project focuses on the Olympus Pen F images I've taken over the years and have been trying to figure out how to present these images as something special and meaningful.

"Quiet Life Vol 2 continues the exploration of images that conveys solace and peace. While writing these songs I'm reminded of the fatigue and sleepless nights that continue to plague me that may have influenced the low key and repetitive sloppy performances I created on these songs. Though the days have gotten better and have not had serious episodes of insomia my yearning to take Melatonin more to help neutralize my nightly active mind still has me slightly afraid of the dependency I could develop. I, however, continue to find other avenues to wear myself out and not stay up too late in order for the 5am wake up feel a little easier."

As of late being a photographer and musician has been exciting even with the audience I have. And with the industry being such a mess and seeing their hardships be seen to the front I'm almost glad that a lot of my audience doesn't notice me lol. It' true that being a celebrity can take a toll on you and I'm glad that my status is just as normal as the dude next door. What I hope though is that this work that I'm creating can be exhibited in some way. I'm not ready right now, but until then I'm going to just keep making bodies of work as much as I can.

Enjoy the new release. Hopefully this continues my momentum and helps me keep the excitement of working more and more on these things.


- LST LVS Bueno

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It Ended Up Not Well

I could credit a number of people in my youth that have helped me grow as a person and most of them have ended up doing some cool things. But one in particular didn't seem to have that same result, but still remained a core memory in my life. That dude that you see second to the left is name Robert Zane.





From my understanding "Robbie" was this religious extremist who leaned right winged heavily. Examples of texts above would be streams of him venting his experiences and crazy viewpoints of what things should be like. He also was involved in some of the proud boy rallies that used to be held in Tower Theatre in Fresno, CA when it used to be ran by religious freaks.

But this post in particular mentions our friend Nick. On the image above Nick is right next to me while Tyler is laying on his legs. I got to know Nick from Colby, middle of image, who used to just sit on my front porch in-between classes and hang with a smoke. He was heavily involved in Robbie, Tyler and Colby's life at the time. It wasn't until Nick had passed away in a car accident that Robbie seemed to fade away from the group (at least in my viewpoint).

I'm making this post because recently Colby told me Robbie had passed away due to suicide. I can't help, but see this screenshot and imagine how one specific event ruined his life. And as someone who has faced loss numerous amount of times I've learned to collect those feelings and channel them towards positive things. But then again I've been lucky to have the support that I have. And it seems Robbie didn't have the same.

Robbie,
Wherever you are I hope you had found peace. And if your friend is still up there somewhere I hope you see him and tell him you missed him the most. You can finally stop hurting


Colby thank you for letting me know. I appreciate you and yes I do miss you too man. I just want to say that I've so proud of you and what you've done. You've been a great dude to me and your loved ones and you continue to do so.


- Art B.

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Febuary in February

Recently I started diving into the new generations of hardcore, indie, emo and the like, but one specific band that caught my attention was this band Febuary. They’ve existed for quite some time and have already done one hiatus (pretty legendary). All their records have sold out at the time of this article written and are receiving lots of love fans and bands alike. I’ve yet to get in contact with these folks one day to do a “7” interview, but as of right now it’s hard to reach them if you’re a nobody like me. I’m going to try again in the next few weeks.

Other than that this bands first and current release has reeled me back into for this sound in this new generation which had me discover bands like “beforeyouleave_” and “Catalyst…” and even “Knumears”. But Febuary has something a bit special for some reason.

Before Febuary it was Beau Navire’s first record, demo cassette tape and the splits prior to the first record. The production was so different as it made it feel like I was at home hearing the band play in my living room. Normally I seek out bands who make records independently because the sound is so unique and most of the time the rooms that they write in are not sound proofed lol. I can definitely say my room is not proofed at all, but I could really give a shit about the aesthetics of my setup. I just want to record.

Beau Navire, Loma Prieta, iwrotehaikusaboutcannibalisminyouryearbook & Comadre were a huge staple to my ever growing youth of understanding punk/hardcore through melodicism and intricacies of being simple, straight forward, with a bit of arpeggiation sprinkled on top of what is already chaotically moving in their music. With these bands most of the time my mind gears towards that sort of process of using simple phrases, but figuring out ways to make them move and impactful.

I know that I’m saying a lot right now talking about a band that just started, but believe you me projects that start this way seem to age well. You’ll end up finding this band in peaple’s skramz/screamo lists because of the nature of the recording, the concept, the intent, the rawness that isn’t found in most records these days.

Febuary, I would say, is a screamo / skramz / emo-violence band that right out of the gate of the first track has them screaming their lungs out before entering their first official song “I’d Rather Burn Than Fall”. From there you hear songs such as “Brand New Shoes” that throws it back from that waltz-esque type of rhythm with clean guitars and vocals that are just belted away from the mic. It transits to “No Way…” that showcase their singing talent of lines “How I could I reach for you when you’re already on your way” or “So why should I be for you when I only ever needed me.” What makes this record so intriguing is the fact that the band sounds like the record live. And you don’t get that a lot these days and it just sucks to know that these types of projects or sounds don’t get appreciated as much. This project sort of brings me back to my youth and has me understand that the sounds that I remembered back then have never left and will continue to move on with this new generation of kids bringing it to the scene. It's so cool and I hope they get their flowers they so deserve.

Give this band a shot. I think you’ll appreciate it for sure.

Links:
Bandcamp
Instagram

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