circlesandsoundwaves

[circlesandsoundwaves]

The end of an era (2011 - 2018): Circles & Soundwaves has come to an end.

Seven years.

Can you believe it's been (almost) seven years since I started Circles & Soundwaves?

Seven years ago, when I started this blog, I knew some day I'd sit down to write this post. I knew at one point I would say goodbye and end Circles & Soundwaves. I didn't know when – and for a long time I waited for a "sign" of some sort, a life event that would tell me it would be over, but that never came – and now, that time has come. Circles & Soundwaves is officially over.

Seven years ago, I had (almost) no experience writing about music. I had no publicity contacts and I didn't know any other writers, photographers, or people who ran blogs of their own. I wasn't in any networking groups. I didn't know how to run a music blog, conduct an interview, write a review, photograph live music, or contact a publicist, but I did know that I loved doing this. I had goals – a lot of them – and figured starting this blog was my way of working towards them.

Seven years later, I've interviewed, photographed, and reviewed hundreds of bands. I have many publicity contacts and know several other writers, photographers, and people who have run blogs of their own. I'm in several networking groups and regularly have people coming to me for advice. I certainly don't know everything there is to know about music writing, but I know a hell of a lot more than I did seven years ago.  Perhaps the most striking thing I know, however, is that I love writing about and photographing music even more than I did seven years ago. I found something I am completely in love with doing and I can't imagine it not being a part of my life.

With that being said, I also know deep in my heart that this chapter in my life – the chapter where I run a music blog called Circles & Soundwaves (always with an ampersand, and "soundwaves" always as one word) – has come to an end. I'll still be writing about and photographing music, and there were many factors that lead to this decision – some personal, some in how the music industry has shifted over the years - but it all comes down to the fact that it's time for me to move forward.

I've learned a lot over the past seven years, and I've accomplished things I'd never thought possible. I've interviewed bands like Yellowcard, at the same venue my dad took me to see them when I was 14, and Jimmy Eat World, which was done over the phone in the middle of a whirlwind travel schedule for work. I covered the Vans Warped Tour and photographed and reviewed artists like Tove Lo, DNCE, Fall Out Boy, Panic! At The Disco, and my favorite band of all-time, Good Charlotte, on their reunion tour and at one of the final Webster Hall shows. I did several interviews and photographed countless times bands like Major League, Pentimento, Patent Pending, Vanna, and Have Mercy, and have felt like I've truly had a part in telling their stories.

I've accomplished a lot through Circles & Soundwaves. In addition to the obvious writing and photography, I've developed time management and organizational skills that I'll carry with me wherever I go. I've met so many people in the music industry. I've found other music journalism opportunities, online and in print (which is a dream come true), internships in college, and now, a real job in the music industry. And an incredibly rewarding feat has been the messages from people who have told me they found their favorite bands through Circles & Soundwaves. I'm forever grateful for all the opportunities I've found as a result of this, and the lessons are ones I'll carry with me always.

To answer the questions I know will be asked…

Yes, circlesandsoundwaves.com will still exist; all content will continue to live on the internet. We – myself and the dozens of contributors who have been a part of the site over the past few years – have created something special over the past seven years, and I'd like to preserve that. The Facebook page, Twitter account, and Instagram account will continue to exist as well. I may share content I or other members of the C&S team create on other platforms; I may retweet or share updates from the bands and organizations we believe in.

No, I'm not ending Circles & Soundwaves for any one reason or because of any new opportunity that has been presented my way. There were new things that came in to my life over the past year, but as I said before, it just boils down to the fact that this chapter has come to an end. Do I know exactly what's next? No – but in the words of a very dear friend, it's whatever I want it to be. 

There were a few people I told before making the decision public – current and past contributors, publicists I worked regularly with, and a very small number of close friends – and more than once I heard, "that must've been a hard choice." It's something I've wrestled with for a while now, but then… I knew. And when I knew, the decision wasn't so hard after all; in fact, it was a clear choice and I've never felt so sure something was right. I hope you all understand.

For years, I've signed off on emails as "molly C&S". The "m" was always lowercase; I think I just liked how it looked. I've signed off on thousands of emails that way, and doing so became so routine that I found myself in the habit of signing off non-C&S related emails as such (though I always caught the mistake and deleted it). It'll take a while to get out of that habit, but for now- I'll sign off as molly C&S one last time.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you. If you're reading this – whether you were a regular reader or visited the site just once or twice, a contributor, an artist I featured, a publicist, manager, or otherwise worked with me to coordinate coverage – thank you. I couldn't have done it without you.

 With all of my love,

--molly C&S

[circlesandsoundwaves]

The Time I Cried at a Twenty One Pilots show: by Vaeda Black

Words by Vaeda Black, musician (Website, Facebook, Twitter).

I remember the first time I had listened to Twenty One Pilots. I was laying on a lounge chair at a family party near the pool with my earbuds in. I was searching for something new to listen to and I stumbled upon their song “Stressed Out” on the iTunes new music list. I listened to it, and from there I instantly downloaded all of their albums. I laid there for the rest of the party soaking in their music. I was hooked on their lyric-driven music. After that, I would listen to them every day. Every one of their songs brought something new to my ears. 

A couple of weeks after I discovered Twenty One Pilots I had shown them to a couple of my friends and I got one of them really into them. We would lay in my bedroom and just listen to their music. I think we both felt a strong connection to what Tyler was saying in the lyrics of his songs. We wanted to see them in concert so badly. It was the kind of music that brought the best people together and we both wanted to experience that. Sure enough, Christmas came along and my parents had gotten my friend and I tickets to see them at Hershey Park that upcoming June.

June comes along and before we know it we are at Hershey. We have tickets in GA and we wanted to get close up, so we get there really early. Mind you, it was 90 degrees out and doors opened at 7. We got there 11 hours before the show started. So we were dying in the heat with all of these people around us, and people are just singing and talking about the band. Eventually we got into the concert and it was packed. The openers were MUTEMATH and Chef'Special. 

When Twenty One Pilots finally came on, the crowds went insane, and I’m not exaggerating when I say that when everyone ran closer to the stage my feet weren’t touching the ground. It was insane. I could feel the bass in my chest and as the music played I felt one with everyone around me. It was so overwhelmingly beautiful to be so close to all of these strangers, just going insane for this band. When my favorite song of theirs (“Car Radio”) came on I felt so connected to the performance. It was like everyone disappeared and I was just feeling all of the lyrics. I get chills just thinking about it. It was one of the best concerts I’ve been to in my life, despite the awful sunburn I had from standing outside for so long. 

Twenty One Pilots put on such a good performance that night, I saw them four more times after that. I’ve never felt so moved by a performance before. 

[circlesandsoundwaves]

The Time I Cried at a MuteMath show: by JD Vazquez (Shadow of Whales)

Words and photo by JD Vazquez of Shadow of Whales (Website, Facebook, Twitter).

I remember seeing MuteMath when I was about fourteen years old and immediately falling in love. The energy, the amazing instrumentation and production, all of it had me entirely enamored. I remember that experience so vividly because that moment was the first that began my journey of actively trying to carve my way as a musician. The emotions of the band and all of the people around me at that concert were so engulfing, and I couldn’t escape my feelings of wanting to be up on that stage doing what I loved, just like Paul Meany was in front of me.

Just recently I had the opportunity to see them (along with another band that I love named Colony House) in Houston, because Josh was running the merch table for Colony House. I had a whole rush of emotions that hit me all at once. It brought me back to the place of being fourteen and never hearing music that was so amazing to me before. It brought be back to the moment that made me who I am today and what I strive for every day as a musician.

It brought me back to my origins, but it also made me feel sad and old, particularly when the singer brought his toddler daughter out on stage (who didn't exist when I had first seen them). I felt like that moment was such a mix of nostalgia and a wake-up call to how all of our favorite musicians go through life doing the best that we can, and I’m no exception to that. But aside from this, apart from the front man Paul Meany, it was an entirely different band than the one I had seen when I was young. Truth be told, I had stopped following the band very closely after the first few albums, so a lot of the songs didn't feel familiar. You can't relive the past and recreate the moments you've romanticized, but I definitely remembered why I fell in love with them in the first place and how I got to the place I’m at now.

I hope that along with influences like Paul Meany and others that have inspired my music, I can continue moving forward with my band, Shadow of Whales, and maybe I can be a part of an experience like the one I had as a fourteen-year-old for some struggling kid that wants to be a musician someday.

Editor’s Note: I (Molly Hudelson, Founder / Editor-in-Chief of Circles & Soundwaves) work full-time at HIP Video Promo, where Shadow of Whales is a client. I coordinated this not through HIP but through the band’s publicist, Angela Mastrogiacomo at Muddy Paw PR, who reached out about having the band contribute to this series. I received no compensation for this post.

[circlesandsoundwaves]

The Time I Cried at my band’s show: by Ten Two

Words by Ten Two, musician (Website, Facebook, Twitter).

Southern California houses so many forms of entertainment it is impossible to keep track of it all, and even more difficult to stand out from the overcrowding these options present to the masses. With this knowledge constantly in mind, the task of attempting to convince friends, family, and anyone else to attend a show for a band that they’ve most likely never heard of is particularly daunting.

Which brings me to the House of Blues in Anaheim, California. My band at the time had recently recorded the first real EP of our tenure as musicians, being extremely fortunate to garner the talents of super producer Erik Ron, who in a matter of a few weeks had blown our minds in his recording studio and changed the course of our musical journey together. So, with EP in hand we wanted nothing more than to blow the doors off of the music scene in our area, and the opportunity to perform at the HOB couldn’t have come at a better time. A perfect storm of hope. We put our every effort into promoting and spreading the word about this one show. The kicker of the entire experience was that we didn’t really receive any feedback regarding whether or not anyone would show up or not; it was unnerving to say the least.

The night of the performance we arrived at the call time, which was around three hours prior to doors opening, so of course we still had no idea what to expect. It was a local band’s show with a semi-popular headlining band, and the promoter (who had become a friend of ours due to previous experience at shows) asked us to do him a favor and open this show, as he would make it up to us later with a better slot on subsequent shows. Typically, opening a local band's show is the kiss of death, at least in Southern California; in the spirit of good faith and courtesy we obliged, but that sinking feeling of playing to an empty room definitely crept in to our minds. Regardless, we were there to have fun and do whatever it would take to enjoy ourselves and rock the new material. We set up, performed a sound check, and waited.

When the time came to step up to the stage and do what we loved the most, we just knew that no matter what the outcome, we were going to be our normal, overly-energetic selves and enjoy the moment. Then our musical intro hit, an eerie piano piece with a simple vocal track, and the curtains opened. That is the moment my eyes welled up and I almost lost it. We were looking out at hundreds of people staring up at a stage, over the entire floor of the House of Blues, Anaheim stood tons of friends, family members, and countless other people we had never met before. It was both the beginning and culmination of the most effort filled time in our musical lives. We knew we weren’t owed a thing, but the fact that in this moment we had accomplished something magical was one of the best overwhelming feelings to ever come over me. Easily the most emotional performance we had as a band. Our eyes were fire and nothing could wipe the immense smiles from our faces throughout that night. There is no better feeling than to be able to share the journey with others, and that night is a blur that I will always remember; as the time I cried at a show.

[circlesandsoundwaves]

NEW: Perspective Ep. 014: The One About Tom DeLonge

Episode 14 of our podcast, Perspective, is out now, and you can listen to it here.

On Epsiode 14, we talk about Tom DeLonge and there's a lot to unpack. Included in this episode is Tom DeLonge trivia, an analytical discussion of his Wikipedia page, and aliens. We're both pretty stressed out here. 

Follow Perspective on Twitter: @perspective_pod

Follow Molly on Twitter: @mhudelson

Follow Logan on Twitter: @aniafc 

Follow Tom Delonge on Twitter: @tomdelonge 

Song: "Last Call Casualty"- Bowling For Soup (A Hangover You Don't Deserve, Jive Records, 2004)

[circlesandsoundwaves]

Photos of Pentimento, 1/20/18 at Town Ballroom in Buffalo, New York.

Photos by Molly Louise Hudelson.

[circlesandsoundwaves]

Did you catch Molly on Inside Music last week?

Inside Music Podcast #118 - Music writing will never die! (with Molly Hudelson)

On this episode of INSIDE MUSIC, host James Shotwell calls writer Molly Hudelson to discuss what makes a great story in the world of music journalism. Molly and James also discuss their evolving music tastes, the state of music writing today, and whether or not their dreams can become lifelong careers.

[circlesandsoundwaves]

The Time I Cried at a Florence + the Machine show: by K-Bust

Words and photo by K-Bust, musician.

 In my quest to discover new music online, I came across one of Florence + The Machine's live videos. I was hooked within the first second; she had a very strong voice and stage presence that blew my mind from the first note she sang. Where was I all this time? I felt I had missed so much, that it was time to catch up with all of her videos.

Every time I discover a new artist, I want to dive into their universe, what they stand for, what they’re passionate about, what they think about the music scene, etc... Always looking for that personality trait that would make me feel that we have something in common, something I can identify with.

The minute I found Florence + The Machine, I knew she was an artist I had to see play live. It all started with one song that captivated my ears and attention, as well as her energy on stage, jumping and running all over it. I still get chills when I watch her live videos; they take me back to that night I saw her performing for the very first time.

It was a hot day in Montreal, the day I finally made it to Osheaga, an important local music festival that happens every year during summer time. It all started early that day, walking from one stage to the next under the implacable sun, just to come across new bands or sing along with the songs that sounded familiar. It was a massive music event, with an enthusiastic crowd coming from different places, an event I didn’t want to miss this time around. I was there for the headliner; I was there to finally see Florence.

It was great to know she had some fans among my friends, so we were all excited to attend the festival together that day. We had done everything to make sure to be there, from securing our tickets the minute they were on sale, find the perfect festival outfit, to make up the perfect excuse to leave our workplaces earlier. It was a hot sunny day, but the nice weather in Montreal is not something we could take for granted, not even in summer.

The sun went down, the night was electric and the place was full of excited music fans like me. We were all impatient waiting for the big act of the night to hit the main stage. When suddenly the sky, that was previously clear, become cloudy and grey. A storm was coming our way to make an entrance; black clouds were hanging over our heads and some scattered raindrops started to fall, a night that was supposed to be unforgettable, was abruptly ending by the threat of a thunderstorm.

I could imagine the moment we all heard that the show would be canceled if the storm unleashes. I guess we were all crossing our fingers in an almost religious way to make it go away. I couldn’t go back home like that, after all the preparation we went through to be there. I just couldn’t believe my ears; that feeling of disappointment that ruins everything and sometimes makes you want to cry. I almost cried, at a Florence + The Machine show; when the lights went down and we heard the band starting to play, it was show time and she was there, on stage. I think miracles do happen; eventually, the black clouds went away.

Listen to K-Bust’s new single, “Shoot”, premiering at Nü Sound here.

[circlesandsoundwaves]

The Time I Cried at a Jimmy Scott Show: by Marc Copely

Words by Marc Copely, guitarist and producer of JD & The Straight Shot.

Mesmerized, intoxicated and inspired are three of many adjectives I think of when remembering Jimmy Scott's performance on a cold and snowy night in New York City.

I feel a little background is necessary here. I was on tour at that time with Sony artist and friend, Mary Lou Lord. I was part of a group of kids from various parts of Massachusetts who Mary Lou hired to be in her band in support of her new album, and we were in NYC to perform on "Late Night with Conan O’Brien." For us, being on Late Night was a dream come true. Playing music on TV in New York City! We didn't have a dime and didn't care. Around that time, I had been working with all my friends by then as a guitar player, background singer, and sometimes producer. The producer part of that equation was fairly new to me and I had always been a fan of producers that were also great musicians. Jimmy Miller, Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois are good examples of this. Another is Mitchell Froom. Mitchell produced the last Jimmy Scott comeback album titled Dream and I hadn't stopped listening to it for weeks. I bought everything Mitchell produced since I fell in love with Los Lobos' album, Kiko. But man, I couldn't figure out that voice! His tone was other-worldly and it reached straight into my soul. It turns out Jimmy Scott was born with a condition called Kallmann Syndrome. Those inflicted failed to reach puberty, so his voice had never changed. In my search for unique voices (whether vocal or instrumental voices), I found Mr. Scott and am sure glad I did. 

I took a bus into town from Jersey, since we were staying in some dump outside of town - as bands with no money and very little tour support do, and reached the Iridium about 10 minutes before showtime. The weather was bad so there were maybe 15 people in the joint, and they let me sit right up in front possibly sensing my rather youthful enthusiasm. The band took the stage and I was hooked from the downbeat. Along with that amazing voice, Jimmy Smith has these incredible hands. Not average hands by any means, but ones that also add immensely to the drama and beauty of his performance. Not many people mention his hands, but his movement was something I took away from that evening and have never forgotten. 

As he swung, I swayed, and when he sang Duke Ellington's "It Shouldn't Happen To A Dream", I felt a tear stream down my cheek. I was so caught up in the music that I didn't realize I was crying. He did exactly what we musicians all attempt to do night after night, which is to leave your audience with a piece of you they can't ever lose. (Or explain for that matter, as I'm painfully trying to do here) Upon leaving the club, I saw Mr. Scott sitting at the bar and somehow found the guts to shakily say, “Thank you". He smiled, and shook my hand with both of his hands. Jimmy Scott's hands.

[circlesandsoundwaves]

After releasing one of the scene’s most buzzed-about records, Feel Something, back in October, Movements have announced their first-ever headlining tour. They’ll be joined by Can’t Swim, Super Whatevr, and Gleemer for support. The tour will begin on March 2 in Berkeley, California, and wrap up on April 7 in Pomona, California for a hometown show. All dates can be seen above, and tickets will go on sale this Wednesday, January 10 at 12pm local time. Tickets will be available on Movements’ website.

[circlesandsoundwaves]

Photos of All Time Low, 12/21/17 at Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, New Jersey.

Photos by JenaRose Dahlstrom.

[circlesandsoundwaves]

NEW: Perspective Ep. 013: The One With The Best of 2017

Episode 13 of our podcast, Perspective, is out now, and you can listen to it here.

On Episode 13, I read a poem, Logan's dad punches someone, and we both talk about our favorite music-related moments of 2017.

Follow Perspective on Twitter: @perspective_pod

Follow Molly on Twitter: @mhudelson

Follow Logan on Twitter: @aniafc

Song: “Last Call Casualty”- Bowling For Soup (A Hangover You Don’t Deserve, Jive Records, 2004)

[circlesandsoundwaves]

Photos of Patent Pending, 12/23/17 at Sherman Theater in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania.

Photos by Molly Louise Hudelson.

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Photos of Trophy Eyes, 12/17/17 at House of Independents in Asbury Park, New Jersey.

Photos by Molly Louise Hudelson.

[circlesandsoundwaves]

Photos of Free Throw, 12/17/17 at House of Independents in Asbury Park, New Jersey.

Photos by Molly Louise Hudelson.

[circlesandsoundwaves]

Photos of Grayscale, 12/17/17 at House of Independents in Asbury Park, New Jersey.

Photos by Molly Louise Hudelson.

[circlesandsoundwaves]

Photos of Head North, 12/17/17 at House of Independents in Asbury Park, New Jersey.

Photos by Molly Louise Hudelson.