February 2012
2 posts
SUMMER TOUR DATES ANNOUNCED!
Hey folks!
I’ve been booking my summer tour since November, and I’m happy to say that it’s been going extremely well! I have a crazy schedule planned for June, July, AND August — specifically, I’ll be going on THREE separate tours, all with unique lineups! The first tour is the most ambitious tour I’ve ever planned: a six-band, rolling wizard rock festival...
January 2012
2 posts
From Ginny To Luna (New Single!)
Happy New Year, wizard kids!
A few weeks ago I wrote a new song, entitled From Ginny To Luna. The inspiration for this song came directly from recent live performances of Draco and Harry, in which I’d substitute “Ginny and Luna” for Draco and Harry during the last chorus as a means of demonstrating that Ginny is badass enough to find her own happiness and not just pine over...
December 2011
1 post
Q. Will The Whomping Willow Ever Release A Solo...
A. I received this question via twitter from @loveofstrings, and I have to admit that it threw me for a loop. My immediate reaction was “Yeah, he’s released like 8 of them already,” and then I remembered that The Whomping Willows is actually a collab between the Whomping Willow and the human he possesses (me). Before striking this deal to possess my body for live shows and...
November 2011
2 posts
Anonymous asked: I didn't really know where to post this but I did the pay for your album before it was real thing haha :) and I just wanted to say that I really really love it and I'm sad that people have to wait to listen to it because it is just brilliance! :) <3 -Heather, 17, Denver CO
The Future Of The Whomping Willows (2011 Edition)
Wow. Is it really that time of year again? Am I really posting another one of these retrospective end-of-year blogs? Am I really still in a wizard rock band? Are you my real mom? WHO AM I?! (Answer key: 1. Yes. 2. Yes. 3. Yes. 4. Results of DNA test still pending. 5. Matt Maggiacomo!)
My band’s official six-year anniversary came and went without much fanfare, and I think that’s...
October 2011
2 posts
siriusismyhero asked: RE: your last blog post. I just wanted to say that you already have a pretty big fan base, most of whom are probably Nerdfighters. I don't think you have anything to worry about. When your fans buy your album, they'll tell their friends about it. Especially now that you're doing muggle stuff with DFTBA. They/we can be all "Hey, I've been a fan of this guy for years,...
Don't Forget To Be Anxious.
Tomorrow I’ll receive the final master of my new record, When I Was Your Age. Some time before Christmas, this album will be released by DFTBA Records. Most people in my position would be delighted, and I am, but I’m also myself and myself is a person who worries about everything.
Here’s what I’m NOT worried about: the album itself. It rocks.
Here’s what I am...
March 2011
3 posts
Red Bean Salad (or Bizarro Pico de Gallo)
This is basically pico de gallo with the tomatoes replaced by dark red kidney beans. It tastes pretty good, and it’s high in potassium, fiber, protein, and various vitamins and minerals.
Combine the following in a large bowl, stir it up, and refrigerate for a bit:
1 15.5-ounce can organic dark red kidney beans (drained well)
1/2 red onion, diced
2 medium celery stalks, diced
2...
Kickass Low-Sodium Chicken and Vegetable Soup...
I found a decent recipe for chicken vegetable soup on the internet and tweaked it to my liking. Figured I’d share!
Ingredients:
4 cups water
2 cups organic low-sodium chicken broth
3 organic cage-free chicken breasts
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium red onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1lb organic baby carrots, chopped
3 medium organic celery stalks, chopped
...
400-Calorie Buffalo Chicken Sandwich? FuckYeah!
Hey dudes,
I’ve just begun a diet/exercise plan, and I plan to stick to it until I lose 90 lbs. I’m doing this mostly independently, but I’m using MyFitnessPal (free phone app and website) to help keep track of my daily nutritional intake and exercise. I’m also using this as a social networking tool so I can communicate with other folks trying to get in shape, so please...
February 2011
1 post
Anna and the French Kiss
I’m not going to pretend that I know how to review books in any professional, substantial way. I do know how to share my feelings in coherent sentences though, so here goes.
I’ve never been a fan of romance novels, but then again I’ve never read any romance novels that weren’t assigned in an English class. Most of those were Victorian, which meant that the stories reflect...
January 2011
1 post
People Are Funny (The Death of Wizard Rock)
Hey fellow wizard rockers! Remember that time in 2007 when interviewers constantly asked us this annoying question: “Now that the books are ending, do you think wizard rock will fade away?”
And remember a few weeks later at Prophecy when wizard rockers and their amazing fans turned the HP fan community upside down with a rock n’ roll show attended by 1,000 screaming fans?
...
December 2010
1 post
The Future Of The Whomping Willows (2010 Edition)
It’s that time of year when people begin to look back on the present year and think about how it’s gone, how it’s changed them, and how they’ll proceed over the next year. As I’m one of those people who spends an awful lot of time thinking about everything, this opportunity for introspection never seems to pass me by, and it usually results in an end-of-year blog.
I...
August 2010
2 posts
I Am Lucky
Since this IS my personal blog, I don’t feel bad about sharing this moment from the weekend.
Andrew Slack said to me: “Lauren just keeps getting more and more beautiful. By the time she’s like 28, you’re going to be asking yourself, ‘How did I end up with this woman?’”
I responded, “I’m already saying that.”
:)
Thoughts About Esther Earl
I’m pretty sure the first time I met Esther was at LeakyCon. I remember a small girl with crazy hair and an utterly gigantic smile, and I remember thinking that the sea of people in the room had parted unconsciously to let her through. She was that kind of girl. I remember talking with her briefly, and coming away thinking, “I don’t know this girl but she is totally...
May 2010
1 post
Demons at the Helm: Meta or Not-a?
After debating with the ubiquitous WrockSnob over the meta-ness of Demons at the Helm for a few hours last night, I’m thinking a fun academic blog is in order.
In short, WrockSnob asserts that Demons at the Helm isn’t wizard rock, isn’t meta-wizard rock, and is in fact the worst wizard rock album of all time because…(wait for it)… it isn’t wizard rock.
Now,...
March 2010
2 posts
Lost and Found
Perhaps my last post was premature. I think things are starting to come together now that I’ve actually completed writing the new record and I’m getting deeper into recording it. Jarrod is sending me drum tracks as he completes them, and that’s allowing me to pay attention to one song at a time and build it from the ground up. I think I have more time to work on this record than...
Lost In Translation?
I’m having this experience as I work on my new record where the songs I’ve written appear in my head as these well-orchestrated rock anthems, but when I get down to recording them… I just can’t get them to sound the way I’m hearing them in my mind. I’ve always written songs in my head. A chorus will appear, sometimes with or without words, and whether or not...
February 2010
1 post
For Granted
Oh, winter tours. I’d almost forgotten what a challenge this can be. In Nashville, the threat of black ice is enough to keep most wizard kids in their homes. Augusta GA isn’t fully mapped by google or GPS systems, and of course we learned that the hard way. Winter weather in the north is… well, winter weather in the north. However, our biggest crowd-killer might be the school...
January 2010
1 post
1 tag
I've Started A Blog.
I used to write a lot. Almost every day. I wrote in a livejournal, I wrote fiction, I wrote plays, I wrote long emails to friends, I even got paid to write biological narratives for an environmental consulting firm.
Writing feels like a chore nowadays. Culture drives us to summarize our thoughts in 140 characters or less. I’ve grown too comfortable with this format — I want to start...