LACMA...

“Okay, we can crop that later. God, these are going to look great on Insty!” - Some very hip Angeleno.

We recently took the traitorous trip across the 10 to see some of the city we haven’t explored yet. Figuring we would fake being cultured and see some art; we decided to check out the LACMA. Our friends have been telling us we have to check it out for months now, and since we rarely have time off together, it seemed like a great day date. The sun started to come out when we arrived, and traffic was not as bad as we thought. I have written about how LA has taught me you can charge anyone for anything at any time. That aside parking was not bad, and general admission tickets were not expensive. Anyone looking to have a fun and enjoyable afternoon I would suggest it.

There are a few different building dedicated to various forms or time periods of art. Once inside I started to realize how uncultured I was. There are just some forms of art I will never get. But, hey, do you. As we progressed from piece to piece, I also started to notice a majority of the people taking in art were not there to take in art. They were there to take new Instagram photos. Not gonna lie, I snapped a few that will end up on my Instagram but, holy hell. Some of these folks just snapped photos and had no interest in checking out what was in front of them. 

I love people watching, so my interest started to turn from checking out “Homage to the Square” to however girl there wanted a photo taken of them from behind as they stared at a piece of art. “Oh, the lighting in here is great! This is going on my Snap Story.” We walked through some The Sympathetic Imagination, which is reminiscent the tunnel boat ride scene from Willy Wonka (Gene Wilder variant). Everyone in there was posing as if they were doing a photo shoot for their next album. “No. Now, look at the camera but look like you don’t care! Okay, now stare out this orange window but, act like you don’t care!” A brief pause to review the photo just taken and then and excited, “Boom. Nailed it. You look like you really don’t care. Can’t wait to post this.”

“Jamie, take my picture! I want to act like I don’t care!” I yelled at Jamie as we continued our adventure through the museum. We snapped photos and had a great time pretending we knew what we were looking at. All in all great day and we even found 2 for 1 cocktails in Marina when we got back to the west side.

Be on the look out for my “I Don’t Care” selfies on social media soon.

Blink 18...Get Your Shit Together...

Fuck Tom! No. Wait. Fuck Mark! Or is Travis an asshole? Who should I be pissed at?

If you haven't heard, and care about Blink 182 at all, Tom (kind of) quit the band. Or didn't? It all seems very confusing as of now as more news and allusive Instagram, Facebook and Twitter post keep coming out from the band. This is basically a 27-year-old, pop punk loving dudes worst case scenario of a soap opera. 

On Monday one of my half-bearded millennial friends ran up to me asking if I had heard the news. One of my childhood (and life long) favorite bands has made some horrible announcements. Evidently Blink 182 can't get their shit together and Tom quit; then quickly posted that he didn't.

The Breakdown of Blink-Gate 1/26-1/28 as I see it:

1/26 - 12:01pm - KROQ posts article that Tom quit the band...but Matt Skiba will be filling in.

Matt Skiba replaces Tom...Photo from that one weird Matt Skiba album...Wait? Which one? I don't know either.

1/26 - 12:02pm - I cry uncontrollably.

Handsome. 

1/26 - 1:34pm -  Tom post instagram picture of some overweight Tron guy and says he "Never quit the band."

Pretty sure Tom was actually abducted by aliens in the early 2000's. Remember when his voice changed? And he didn't talk about dicks anymore? AND...this guys dick. You definitely looked. What the fuck is going on there? Good dick, dude!

1/26 - 1:35pm - 9PM - I am happy and I look forward to new Blink music and the future and my life rules.

1/26 - 9pm - Rolling Stone, somehow, has more connections than me and was able to get an interview with Travis and Mark, where they call Tom out for being a boner.

Basically what is going on now. It is crazy how history repeats itself...except now they both have $60 million each...Oh! What money does. Bring back the lip rings, tall socks and backwards/sideway FlexFits...

1/26 - 9pm -  1/27 - 12:27am - The next day - I am inconsolable. Basically and human mess-ball of emotion. I put on my Batman pajamas and drink till I pass out on the couch. 

1/27 - 12:27am - Tom tweets and then deletes "Don't pretend there isn't more to the story." With another comment about kicking out Travis.

1/27 - 9:28am - Radio silence...for now...I think all is lost...I start playing my favorite Blink songs...but then...

1/27 - 3:37pm - Tom writes open letter to fans about his side of the story.

I miss the old Blink. The Blink that got naked with its friends and ran around being a bunch of foul-mouth hooligans. This is what I based my entire life from. Boys, get your shit together, have fun, be happy and go do what you do best. Bring smiles to everyone through music or antics. I get it, you have other commitments but come on. Get aligned. I have no idea what to do now. I am going back to bed and listening to Take Off Your Pants and Jacket. Not the music. Just the last 30 tracks of dick jokes..

For your viewing pleasure. The year was 2000 and all was right with the world.

-YourFriendMatt

While You Were Gone...

Holy Crap! I am so excited! Here it is! We made a 3 minute short film!

I can't believe that I still get to do creative things surrounded by the people I love who in return continue to push me to do more creative things. I am one of the luckiest and richest dudes on the planet. Please watch, share, laugh, hate it, love it and let us know what you think!

Also, if you have not already done so please check out some of the other shorts we have done under the "I Write and Act" tab on YourFriendMatt.com or at our YouTube Channel at YouTube.com/BrokenSoundRecording.

Thank you all for anything and everything you do!

Stay positive. Smile. Have fun and screw 'em.

-YourFriendMatt

Ol' Trusty...Part Two...

“Oh man. No way. This can’t be happening.” we softly uttered as the engine seized… 

Our band had been invited to play an event for a rock radio station in Philadelphia. We hadn’t played together in almost a year, we had no new material to showcase, some of us moved to other states and we would only be able to get one rehearsal in…we went for it. We missed each other and needed a excuse to play music together again. Besides, we are professionals right? We would all remember the lyrics, harmonies and parts after a hour of rehearsing right? Sure - it's like riding a bike - 'we got this' repeats over and over again in my head.

I landed back in Philadelphia to rehearse, caught up over some beers, packed up and we were on our way. Chris and I drove our ramshackle van full of equipment while the other guys went separately due to prior obligations. When we get together we think we are invincible and even at our age, which is closer to 30 that 20, we find ourselves reverting to our adolescent mindsets. Even the worst ideas seem probable after we all convince one another it's possible. Case in point - driving our band van, which is literally falling apart, 20+ miles to Philadelphia. 

Our final destination...if we make it there...

We got this...

Right before we departed there was a (very) quick conversation about the  possibility of the van not making it. Back up plan? Nope. “She is going to make it! There is no other option!” We decided as we all raised a toast to the van that has gotten us around the world and back. “Here goes nothing.” Chris whispered in a moment of clarity “Okay Ol’ Trusty…all you have to do is get us there. We will take it from there.” caressing the steering wheel. I turn and place my hand on the dusty dashboard. "We got this."

There was traffic so we decided to make our into New Jersey and then cut back over into Philadelphia from there. This made sense if you were driving a vehicle that was well maintained and knew it was going to get your to your final destination. In our case though this was a tricky maneuver. If the van died in New Jersey we were screwed. We crossed the bridge from Delaware in to New Jersey and all was going well. As we had reached the crest of the bridge there was a loud, unnerving bang. Where did it come from? Chris and I side-glanced at each other. “Did you feel that?” I asked. “It’s nothing! Ol’ Trusty will get us there!” Chris responded and then it happened - the van shut off. Died. We were motionless at the crest of the bridge like a roller coaster at the top of its track. “No way!” We both barked “Start rocking forward and hopefully we can coast down the rest of the bridge!” We rocked and pushed and then she went. The centrifugal force and gravity started to pull us into New Jersey as we coasted with a dead van full of equipment. “Oh man! Do the brakes still work?” as I turn to Chris who is throwing an open container out the window. He responds “Man! This is probably an awful time to tell you that the van is uninsured!” We both scream held each other and pray for the best as we careened towards the garden state.

Frantically, Chris pumps the brakes as we whiz by a colorful "New Jersey Welcomes You" sign. We were running out of road fast as we see our lane was coming to an end. "Woo! The shit hit the fan quick on this one, baby!" Chris yells and he jerks the wheel steering us into another lane. I could see there was a fork in the road at the end of the bridge. "Aim for that shoulder man! If we can land there we'll be fine!" I point as I pull out my phone to document with a quick social media post...and to send to the rest of our band to keep them up to date with our current whereabouts. What? If we are going down like this I want social media to know we went out in glory. "Already ahead of you!" Chris responds as our ship starts to course correct towards the fork 's shoulder. 

With a screech of the tires, a cloud of black road dust and a touch of luck we land on the shoulder of the road. We wipe the sweat from our brows and slowly turn to look at each other in awe. After a wide-eyed, jaw dropped pause of amazement we slowly crack smiles. "Holy shit! We did it!" Double checking my phone for the video playback. "Damn straight we did. Now, lets fix this beast." Chris motions to me exiting the drivers seat to pop the hood. In a few moments, along with a a lot of cursing, hitting the engine with hammers and readjusting battery connections we were back on the road.

"I don't know? Should we hit it with a hammer?" - Matt & Chris

The rest of the ride was steady besides a few pops and sputters. We made it to the venue in time to load in, sound check and grab a brew together. The show went on and we had a blast seeing all our family, friends and creating memories. See…like I said…we got this.

-YourFriendMatt