Recently Underoath, one of the most crucial catalysts for hardcore as we know it, returned to the music scene with the announcement that they had an album done-- and we'd be hearing it soon. However, this was not the reason why they instantly became a trending topic in Christian music circles. The bigger news was … Continue reading On Underoath, From a Longtime (Christian) Fan
I drove down to Florida recently, chasing some songs and some ocean waves and the sliver of a hope that I could feel like myself a little. It was 25 hours of driving, driving time during which I reminded myself over and over again of the old truth: the process of getting somewhere is as … Continue reading Heavy and Light
Today is self-injury awareness day, as good a time as any to continue the commitment I made last year to be faithful in shining some light on these kinds of things. The question I am perpetually asked is some variation of "does recovery get easier?" And at 11 years in, I think my best answer … Continue reading Field Notes From the Road to Recovery
Introductory disclaimer: This took me ages to create because 2017 was not a good year. Good things happened in it, certainly, but I didn't want to run the risk of creating some social media ready list implying that everything was OK in the end because of a few snapshot highlights. It was a complicated and … Continue reading The Best of 2017
Six months ago today, I irreparably damaged the nerves through my left ear into the side of my face. It feels like a time worth marking in particular because the six month mark was the point at which I was supposed to have been able to notice significant improvement. Instead, if anything, it's been worse … Continue reading Nerve Damage
All afternoon my phone was going off: "did you see the news?" And I had; all of us in the rock community had, the news spreading through our tight knit family like a blackout, lights suddenly switched out. Chester Bennington, the lead singer of Linkin Park and easily in the top 5 most influential voices … Continue reading Chester Bennington: What We Do
June 26, 2007. I am listening to my current favorite song, curled up in a room with all the lights except for the computer switched off for the night. I'm motionless, lost in the music, arms wrapped around myself as if for warmth even though it's in the upper 90s outside-- Texas summers are unrelenting, … Continue reading Threads of Stars
In that moment, I stood in my living room, meeting the eyes of a man who intended to break into my home. A single sheet of glass separated us. For a freeze-framed fraction of a second, neither of us moved. The 911 operator would ask me detailed questions mere minutes later about his tools, if … Continue reading Glass Doors
The club was dark and grimy, dim with the haze of midnight, emptied. I was being stared down by someone I barely knew who had just torn a hole in my carefully constructed front with his keen kindness, letting the wreck of my soul spill out all over the place. That night he looked into … Continue reading Find This Strength
Over the years, my involvement with music has led me through some strange worlds. One of those worlds is that of the fan club. I've been deep into a couple of bands' fanbases over the years, though these days I'm only really involved in one due to the conflict of interest with my job. If … Continue reading The Rockstar Treatment
Threads of Stars 