Don't follow the shadows

I’m really behind with updates. Yeah, so what else is new? :p I don’t have quite as much homework as I did last week, so hopefully I can do a little bit of catching up this week. I spent over 20 hours outside of class last week in the ceramics studio because my teacher decided not to give us an extension on our first project after he said he would. Anyway…

Elizabeth and I went out for our birthdays with Sam a few weeks ago. This was definitely the best birthday I’ve had in a long time! Sam’s birthday was on Monday, but I probably won’t be seeing him until Dybbuk’s next show on October 8th because their daughter just started kindergarten. He paid for all our dinners at the Stone Sword, coffee and desserts at Alterra, and more coffee and two hookahs with mango and strawberry shisha at Sphinx Coffee. He wouldn’t let me pay for anything because it was for my birthday, so I got him a Banksy print off Ebay as a belated birthday present. Banksy is his favorite artist, and I hope he likes the piece I chose. This is also the first thing I’ve ever bought off Ebay and the first time using my PayPal account, and luckily everything went smoothly. The print was sent from Canada on Wednesday, and hopefully I’ll have it by next weekend so I can frame it and get it wrapped.

For my birthday, Elizabeth got me a really nice card that Sam also signed, three pairs of earrings from World Market, and a beautiful black wrought iron jewelry tree. She also bought me the same bracelet I showed up wearing, and she was wearing one herself! What are the chances of that!? I ended up giving one to my sister, so now we all have matching bracelets. XD I bought her a sterling silver dragon pendant at Irish Fest that was handmade in Ireland. She collects dragon stuff, so I figured she would like it. I would have bought her some more stuff, but I had no idea she was even going to get me anything! At least both of us spent about the same amount of money, since the piece of jewelry I got for her was high quality.

It seems like I posted these photos ages ago on Facebook, but not everyone is on there and I want them to be included in my journal, so here they are!


These definitely aren’t the best photos of me because I was pretty stressed out that weekend, so there’s some major face shine going on and my hair got messed up from the wind and rain. Also, sorry about all the cleavage! I didn’t realize my top was that low-cut and I’ll be wearing a cami underneath it from now on. I know I look more like a saucy renaissance wench here than a medieval lady! XD

( + 20 photos )

After many months of hard work, Dybbuk played their first show on August 20th at Vnuk’s Lounge in Cudahy. Sam’s parents and brother were in town for his daughter’s 5th birthday, so they also came to the show. Matt drove all the way down from Watertown, so Sam ended up driving them with a car full of equipment to the venue. It was nice to finally meet their vocalist. Like most of Sam’s other friends, he was a lot of fun to hang out with, had a really positive attitude, and a good sense of humor. There wasn’t room for Elizabeth or Sam’s brother in Sam’s car, so I picked them up from their place before heading over to Vnuk’s. Things were really chaotic with everyone there and we all ended up being late. Luckily the band made it in time for their sound check! We would have arrived shortly after them, but the venue didn’t have a sign. :/ After driving up and down the main drag a few times, Sam’s brother called to get the address.


The show itself was really great. You never would have guessed that it was their first time onstage. Sam and Auggie seemed a little stiff and didn’t move around much, but they do a lot of technical guitar playing, so I think it will take a bit of practice before they develop a good stage presence while maintaining the quality of their playing. It was kind of funny that they were the opening band, yet Eric had the biggest drum kit out of all the bands. It was tucked away really far back on the stage so I didn’t get a lot of shots of him. I’m going to make an effort to get some at their next gig in October. I was glad to see that John got brave toward the end of the set and came up to the front. One of the last songs had a fantastic bass lead, so it was great timing. Matt has played in an ‘80s cover band before, so he was a complete natural onstage. I wish he had more time to write some lyrics for their songs because it seemed like he was only doing vocals half the time. His growl sounds as good as his clean vocals and did a great job communicating with the crowd between songs. There were only about 20 people there, but as their set went on, the applause got louder, which is definitely a good thing. A couple of the old-school death metal guys complained because Matt didn’t use only growled vocals, but that’s their loss for being so close-minded. The band has been working on a cover of Iron Maiden’s “Only the Good Die Young” and I hope to hear it next month! They only had half an hour to play this time, and who knows how much time they’ll get at the next show.

The first four photos are before the show started. Elizabeth, Sam’s brother, and I arrived during the sound check. Then Sam’s parents showed up, and his dad was buying everyone tropical drinks. XD Speaking of drinks, the reason the guys have x’s on their hands is so they could get free drinks. However, there was a catch they didn’t know about where 40 people (not including the bands) had to show up for them to be free. There weren’t 40 people at the bar because it had been storming all afternoon and evening. Sam and Auggie ended up getting some for free, but the rest of the band didn’t.

( + 22 photos )

We only stuck around to see Face of Ruin after Dybbuk. Their vocalist recently left the band, so it was an instrumental death metal set. Beth said the band playing after them sucked and no one wanted to wait to see the headliner, so we went back to her house.

After the band got all their equipment unloaded after the show, Sam and his brother, Elizabeth, Matt, and I went to get dinner and celebrate at Ma Fischer’s on the east side. Sam paid for everyone’s meal, so I’m glad I just decided to get water and $2’s worth of French toast because I didn’t have much money left. I didn’t get into the show for free because I wasn’t married to anyone in the band. :/ I probably could have got in free if everyone didn’t wait until the last minute to take showers because we originally planned on driving to the venue at the same time. That way I would have been able to enter through the back with the band. Oh well.

Dybbuk is currently trying to get the opening slot before Blackguard at the Kamelot show later in September and I’m crossing my fingers they’ll get it. It would be nice to get in for free and hang out backstage. I have a bad feeling that boring Urn band from Chicago will end up playing, though. Sam and I are also working on getting some t-shirts screen printed with their logo on it.

I can’t wait to go to this new medieval bar/restaurant called The Stone Sword on the south side this Friday to celebrate my birthday and Elizabeth’s! I’ll be 22 tomorrow and she’ll be 26 on Saturday. :D

I almost don’t know how to compose an entry that doesn’t have anything to do with art I’ve made, my tattoo progress, or a concert I’ve just been to. D: This needs to change, and it will, starting now.

So, this has been popping up on various LOTR-related sites over the past week and is just too cute not to share.


There are sheep living in abandoned hobbit holes! Well, probably not right now as the set is under construction, but come on, how adorable is that!?

It’s a good thing I didn’t sign up for any yoga classes because I’ve been so busy working on Dybbuk’s MySpace layout that I really wouldn’t have had time for them. Their first show is already this Friday at Vnuk’s Lounge, so I’ve been hurrying to make sure it will be ready before then. MySpace’s coding is incredibly frustrating to work with, and I recently learned that the layout I designed will be obsolete in the near (or hopefully not so near) future. Most band profiles use the Version 1 layout, and I’ve read that it’s just a matter of time before MySpace forces everyone to switch over to Version 2, where nothing is aligned or centered in a way that makes sense or is visually appealing for the artist pages. Just look at Amon Amarth’s new layout on Version 2. What an ugly mess! The main problem now is that there are very little HTML or CSS resources out now for this version, but I’m hoping once it does switch over, tutorials for the coding will follow shortly after or else there’s going to be some really messed-up looking band layouts for a while. Unfortunately, with MySpace you can’t just use a nice, organized CSS stylesheet like you can with LiveJournal customizations. I’ve just got it all sorted out so that it works in Safari and Firefox, but I still need to check it using Internet Explorer, Chrome, and Opera. It looks great on my MacBook Pro and my sister’s Asus laptop, but I’m also going to check it on the ancient PC my parents use just to make sure. I also have to finish the illustration for the header image today, and then it’ll be finished.

I just want Dybbuk to have the layout before the show in case they want me to make any changes. I think their MySpace page will get a spike in visitors after they see them perform live and hopefully want to know more about the band. Here’s the link to their MySpace if you want to check out a couple samples of their music. (I’ll also repost a link once they have the new layout up so you guys can check that out as well if you’re interested.) They’ve been in the studio recording their first EP this summer, which will be out in fall. I know it’s my friends’ band and all, but there aren’t many good bands from Milwaukee, so I have a lot of faith in them to improve the scene. Dybbuk started out playing progressive technical death metal, but found this power metal singer from up north, which I think makes for an interesting combination. Since I’m taking photos for the band at the show, I get to be let in as part of the band and get free drinks all night! It should definitely be a good time, even if all the other bands sound like a bunch of chaotic death metal noise. I’m a little disappointed I’ll be missing the Young Dubliners at Irish Fest that night, since I’ll have to go tomorrow instead and they’re not playing then. The Red Hot Chilli Pipers will be there, though, so I’m sure it will still be fun. I’m also finally old enough to try some of their mead, so I’m crossing my fingers they still have it there! ;) I refuse to go over the weekend because $15 for a ticket and another $15 for parking is ridiculous. At least admission is free on Thursday with a donation of school supplies!

While I’m on the topic of metal, you’ve got to check out this animated video for Ensiferum’s "One More Magic Potion" if you haven’t seen it already. This is one of my favorite songs of all time, and I just love all the imagery from the Norse myths and the Kalevala.

'One More Magic Potion' Animated Tribute from Celine Lester on Vimeo.

The Soilwork show on Friday was amazing! Wisconsin just recently passed a statewide smoking ban, so it was nice to be able to breathe and not have to worry about my eyes watering or feeling light-headed or smelling horrible after the show. The only downside was that it was incredibly hot - even worse than at Hypocrisy. After the show, Sam said the only concert he’d been to that was hotter than this one was in the desert in 120-degree heat.

The Crinn
This band was mostly straight-up hardcore with some metalcore and technical and progressive elements. Before I saw them, I read that their album can also be interpreted as one whole song, and after seeing them I have to agree. You couldn’t tell one song from the next and the band rarely stopped for applause. I’m also not impressed with bands that use weird time signatures. They make a big deal about it because all of them are self-taught musicians, which I find a bit annoying. Once you get the feel for a strange time signature such as 5/7, it’s not much different than playing a song in 4/4, whether you’re classically trained or not. Though I’m not a fan of hardcore, this band was at least tolerable to listen to and their music had a few interesting aspects to it.

Swashbuckle
I could see this band every week and never tire of them - that’s how much fun I always have watching these guys. They were playing “Hit Me with Your Best Shot” while warming up, and some idiot behind me yelled, “Minus 100 metal points for that!” Seriously, fuck you ‘cause Pat Benatar is awesome. Once again, no coconut tree or parrot costume guy, but they came onstage dancing to what sounded like an electronic remix of Alestorm’s “Set Sail and Conquer”. Another funny thing that happened was some guy back at the bar yelled that he wanted some women and Admiral Nobeard said that a metal show is not the place to pick up women ‘cause the ones that are there look just like the men. XD Swashbuckle even dedicated a song to beer, cheese, and bratwurst in honor of Milwaukee!

About halfway through their set, I felt someone tap my arm, and I looked back to see Sam and Elizabeth! I hadn’t heard anything from them about the show, so I assumed they weren’t going, but they decided to come at the last minute. I’m glad they came so I had some people to hang out with, since Dominic wouldn’t be there. I was also feeling too shy to go up and talk to the guys from Mutiny Within when they were hanging out near the buses and vans before the show.

Mutiny Within
These guys were fucking amazing! I had just checked out their video and a couple other songs on YouTube a couple hours before I left to go to the show and I was completely blown away. Beth has been a big fan of theirs and kept telling me to check them out. I just wish I had done so sooner so I could have properly sang along when they asked the audience to at the show. I’ll definitely be ready when they return in a couple months, though! I love Chris’s clean vocals just as much as his growl and both sound flawless live. He’s also a great showman, constantly running around the stage with his cordless mic. The whole band sounded really tight, too! I’m really impressed with them, especially for being so young and a new band. I can’t stop listening to their record. Here’s their video for the single “Awake”:

Augury
As I mentioned in an earlier entry, Dominic ‘Forest’ Lapointe, their bassist, decided to leave the band after their tour with Vader. The band is definitely not the same without him! Their new bassist isn’t as good, and you could hardly hear him. Dominic made sure to really crank it up when he played, as it is an important element to their music and truly put the technical in technical death metal. The rest of the band sounded good, but it was disappointing after the last time I heard them when they were great.

On a side note, Dominic isn’t talking to me anymore, and I’m kind of disappointed about it. He probably realized that I’m not interested in him romantically and stopped pursuing me. Ugh, why do guys always just totally ignore you and never talk to you again after you’ve turned them down? Why can’t they get over it, look for someone else, and still be friends, especially if there are common interests between both parties? It seems like the only men women can really be friends with have to be either already married or in a relationship or gay. Oh well.

Death Angel
The 80’s Bay Area thrash legends did not disappoint! They put on one of the most energetic performances I’ve ever seen, which inspired the crowd, despite the heat. Some smaller pits had broken out during Mutiny Within and Augury’s sets, but they didn’t come close to the massive circle pit during Death Angel. There were constantly 20-30 people in it, and after they were done playing, the floor was covered in puddles of sweat. Their frontman’s ferocious yell and guitarists’ abilities really stood out. It’s also always a treat to see someone playing a Les Paul in a metal band, where the skinny, light guitars are usually preferred.

After I got back from the bathroom after Death Angel’s performance, who of all people do I see at the bar with Sam and Beth? Chris from Mutiny Within! I’d told them earlier that I thought the only cute guy there was him, after Beth and I had a bunch of annoying gross old guys hit on us. Later during Soilwork, one even touched my tattoo like he was trying to read Braille off it. Because of this, Sam made a special effort to introduce me to him, and we actually hit it off pretty well! I had no idea he and one of their guitarists were actually from the UK. He said he liked my haircut because it made me look like a movie star from the 1940’s, which was probably the best compliment I’ve ever received! :D I try to style my hair and make-up from that era, and I guess I succeeded. Then he started singing some Vera Lynn song to me and I was smitten. Seriously, a guy who’s single, a fantastic formally trained metal vocalist, a vegetarian, a few years older than me, AND also likes mid-Century vintage stuff? Why can’t he live around here!? :( This is not good that I only keep falling for guys from bands and no local guys ‘cause at this rate, I’ll be single forever…unless I move somewhere else or by some stroke of luck attract someone who isn’t from here. FML. Anyway, Sam was going to buy him a drink, but I had two free drink tickets I hadn’t used yet, so I bought him one. (Sam insisted on buying me two waters and saving my drink tickets, bless him!) Even though I said it was too hot to drink, he said he’d get a beer if I got a beer, so I caved to peer pressure and got a Heineken. I literally got a slap on the wrist from Chris for stealthily sneaking a drink from a straw so I wouldn’t mess up my lipstick but I got caught. It’s not like it was a particularly good beer anyway, and if they actually had a decent beer selection there, you can be sure I wouldn’t have used a straw. He ended up chucking the straw over the bar, so that was the end of it.

Brandon from Mutiny Within came over after a while, and Chris asked if we’d met his guitarist yet, and I had to tell everyone that I’d hit him with the women’s bathroom door as I was coming out. I’d already apologized profusely to him after it happened, but having to tell everyone made it even more embarrassing. This is probably worse than when I walked in on Blackguard’s soundcheck last year ‘cause I ended up embarrassing the poor guy as well. (I also got walked in on in the bathroom even though I could’ve swore the door was latched, but it was just another chick, so it wasn’t that big of a deal.) In my defense, I have to wonder what the hell he was doing right outside the door because their merch table was a good four feet away from it. Anyway, I had a really great time chatting and drinking with them and Elizabeth and Sam. I’ll be looking forward to their return in October and November with Nevermore and Epica.


I have no idea why he’s making that shifty eyes/raised and lowered eyebrows face in the photo, but he did the same in Sam and Beth’s photos as well. I think I’ve finally been bested when it comes to the “Elrond eyebrow”! XD Also, don’t mind my flushed, sweaty self here!

Soilwork
I’ve never been more than a casual fan of these guys, and their live performance further reinforced my opinion. They’re a good band, but nothing really stood out about their performance. Some people left right after Death Angel, and while I think it was a bit rude, I can also now understand why. They also didn’t play any songs I know, but I was pretty tipsy by then, so it was nice to just lean back on the bar and listen. I was too hot and tired to care at that point.

These are the only two photos I took that turned out due to the damn strobe light. I was too chicken to try to take any before Soilwork’s set (and coincidentally before the alcohol started to kick in). Luckily the venue’s photographer got some decent shots of Soilwork, Death Angel, and Augury.

After the show, I went back over to Mutiny Within’s booth and picked up their self-titled album for only $5! Brandon said if I opened it he’d sign it, and he also got the rest of the band to sign it! :D

( + 3 photos )

Sam and Beth were so kind to offer me a ride home, so we quickly stopped at an East Side coffee shop and were on our way. I felt bad because the concert got out really late and it’s a 45-minute drive to my house when there’s no traffic. They also had to drive straight into a huge thunderstorm and back home in it, too. I have some toys and books for their daughter next time I see them, so hopefully that will make up for it.

Number of hours for this session: 2
Total number of hours tattooed so far: 48.5

This is the work I got done in late May. Lane darkened and added onto some of the gray areas to add more contrast. I’m really happy with how it’s turning out because it reminds me of watercolor. He also finally added the glow around the lantern, which he will be expanding a bit more when I go back in August. The best part about this session was I got to watch the Hori Smoku Sailor Jerry documentary and Lane only charged me $100 for the five hours I was there. We spent a few hours talking about art and paranormal stuff, and he vented about their apprentice who recently quit before he could get fired. He also mentioned that he’d talk to Scott about letting me come in and draw, but I never heard back about that. I’m not surprised, since they’re currently hosting a guest artist from San Diego, and the last thing they probably need is another person hanging around the shop. At least it’s good to know that he thinks that well of me, so once I graduate, I just might have a shot at getting an apprenticeship there.

( One photo, NSFW )

I can’t wait ‘til the work Lane did yesterday heals so I can take a pic! He got so much work done, and he thinks I only have one more session before it’s finished! :D