Tiger77

ok, the main reason for people going to the colonies was no religous persecution, that may have been it for some, but not most. there were many other attributing factors; land ownership was seen as a way to cement your social status, and there was plenty of it in america. most people lived in poverty and could start over in america. many merchants hired people to come to america to set up trade. as a matter of fact, only 1/3 of the colonists were even members of any church. but that 1/3 made all of the decisions based on their beliefs because the early government of most colonies was a theocracy.

both of my favorites were warped tours Saosin: Warped Tour '06 @ Dallas they were putting on a great show when the guitarist went to spin his guitar. me managed to spin a total of 4 time (in hula hoop style fashion) before the strap broke and the guitar flew into the crowd. he didn't even hesitate to see were it landed. he had already turned aroung and picked up another guitar and started playing the Matches: Warped Tour 07 @ Dallas i was standing in the very front row. they were playing their last song which happened to be my favorite, "Sick Little Suicide". towards the end of the song Shawn Harris, the lead singer, gave his guitar to their roadie and he started playing while Shawn grabbed the mic and went crazy. he then did a stage dive. directly onto me. he even stuck the microphone in my face and let me sing. it was crazy. the show itself up to that point was fantastic anyway. but i'll never forget that. Ponyboy's Revenge: Green's Billiards and Game Room 07 @ Troup lol yeah. that was the first time i ever played live.

assuming that i know what i am talking about, (i dont want to put words in anyones mouth). Middle is trying to get the point made that those that fled to come to the colonies may have left because they wanted religous freedom, but whenever they got here they were free to practice their own religon but if you wanted to practice a different one than them then they would kick you out of the colony or even kill you. and does it really matter what religon the founding fathers were? as it stands you can currently practice whatever religon you want in america and no one can tell you you cant. and i think that is what is most important, that we have it right now. I dont think zombie washington will come after me if i am not Christian.

1. Queens of the Stone Age - Songs for the Deaf 2. Brand New - Deja Entendu 3. Say Anything - ...Is a Real Boy 4. Jimmy Eat World - Bleed American 5. The Matches - Decomposer 6. The Strokes - Room On Fire 7. Incubus - Make Yourself 8. Silversun Pickups - Carnavas 9. Death From Above 1979 - You're a Woman, I'm a Machine 10. Taking Back Sunday - Tell All Your Friends 11. The Used - The Used 12. Blink 182 - Enema of the State 13. Brand New - Your Favourite Weapon 14. System of a Down - Toxicity 15. Protest the Hero - Kezia 16. Interpol - Antics 17. The Riverboat Gamblers - To the Confusion of Our Enemies 18. The Killers - Hot Fuss 19. He Is Legend - I am Hollywood 20. The White Stripes - White Blood Cells

most of the pro wrestlers would either be in the heavyweight class or not even close to the weight requirements at all for UFC. Kane, Undertaker, Khali, Big Show, etc. would not even be allowed to fight.

Matt Serra Def. GSP by TKO in the first round to become the new Welterweight Champion of the UFC.

Ponyboy's Revenge

Dead Leaves On the Dirty Ground Hotel Yorba The Hardest Button to Button

Their band is called Five Star Nothing. www.myspace.com/fivestarnothingfsn

the guy that wrote this article is having a show this saturday at the door in Canton. it starts at seven and they are the opening band. so come show some support. they are Five Star Nothing.

TBS, underOATH, Armor for Sleep, the used, senses fail, saosin, and silversun pickups are all awesome bands.

question: everyone that ive talked to is in agreement about this subject. everyone feels that there needs to be changes. so if so many people support it why is nothing done? if this many people want something like this then it would make sense that someone could make a killing and opening up a venue. so why not?

i got all 11

no it was actually a rant on his blog after he found out his band didnt make it onto a battle of the bands in whitehouse. there were 6 chosen, 5 were christian bands and the other was "christian influenced". 2 of the bands have never even played a live show and one of them only has been together for 2 weeks and has 2 songs, 1 of which is acoustic. haha yeah. hes a journalism major. freshman at UTT.:thumbsup:

the following was written by a close friend of mine and even if you arent into new music or whatever i would appreciate it if you took the time to read it. Grievances. over the past year or so, something has been coming to light that bothers me alot, so i thought that i would take the time to try to educate some people, or just make people aware. i, matt rivers, am the drummer for a local band. we call the east texas area our home and main place of performance, particularly in the tyler/whitehouse area. many of you are aware that this area is considered a part of the bible belt, a large part of the geographic southeastern portion of the united states, which is predominately protestant in religion and very conservative in behavior. we live in an area where expressing yourself is often difficult, unless you follow a set of guidelines, which, in my opinion as a human being, isn't much of a form of expression at all. i have been actively passionate about music since i bought my first punk album in fifth grade. i always hoped that people would start to develop a passion like mine and discover the majesty of good music, so i would have people to relate to. in the past couple of years, it seems like alot of people finally found it, and i was happy for a while. people were starting bands and making music that seemed like it was striving to be something great, something different, but i didnt know it would turn out the way it did. i joined a band about a year ago, and i couldn't ask to join a more talented group of raw musicians with goals and dreams similar to mine. i knew it would be a tough road to make success for the band, but i felt like we had the drive, determination, and skill to somehow find a way. i was also very aware when i joined the band that we didn't all share the same religious preference. of the four members, two of my bandmates are agnostic, i am catholic, and to be honest with you, i have no idea what the remaining bandmate's preference is. the point is, we are definitely, in no way, a christian band. and though i am a christian, this comes as no disappointment to me at all. the fact that we don't have the same beliefs doesnt bother me at all, i love my brothers in the band and religion would never change that. i love playing music with these guys. as time progressed, more and more bands were popping up on the local scene, only now, there was a cultural phenomenon in progress. several bands that played an aggressive or alternative style of music were making it huge nationwide, but heres the catch: they were doing it as christian bands/groups with religous messages and lifestyles to back that up. and they were really making it big. as a result, these new local bands that were coming up were doing the same thing. and they were getting big locally. we played with alot of them, and you could always tell that they were well liked. i had absolutely no problem with that. these bands were playing a style of music similar to what they listened to and were getting fans as a result of it. im not saying that we were being "innovative" or anything like that, but we were really out to make our own sound, and maybe it wasnt that great, or completely developed, but we were trying to do something cool. and also, there's no disrespect intended to those bands either, i'm not accusing them of ripping other bands off. but being in the bible belt is what made all the differences. local churches began to strongly embrace the new spin on christian rock and do what they could to help them take it to the next level. unfortunately, it seems like no one ever tried to help us out either. we've played with christian bands, we've played with death metal bands, we've done it all. but it seems like the fact that we aren't a christian band is putting us at a big disadvantage locally, and that's pretty harsh. we've been doing whatever we can to make friends, get respect, and most importantly, give and recieve assistance to other bands as much as we can over the past year. but this east texas scene is feeling like quicksand for our band and others like us. because of stupid things, it feels like we can't go anywhere. we have yet to headline our own show. startup bands that aren't at our level are getting 10 times the hype we are. it just isn't fair anymore, and it's extremely disheartening to bands that are trying so hard to be heard but are being rejected by a (yes i'm saying it) socially and religously biased music scene. we were recently denied by a battle of the bands competition that we were entering and felt like we belonged in. i can't help but feel like some of these aspects contributed to us not making it, it felt biased from the start. i'm not saying that we didn't get picked because there were better bands than us, that could very well have been. but i'm not totally convinced to that explanation either, and that, my friends, is sad. what i've discussed so far isn't the only thing that is hurting the east texas underground music scene. below are a list of grievances that i believe can and should be changed for the good of this area's musical growth and survival. 1. not every band is a christian band. there are a good amount of awesome christian bands out there, but just because we live in a conservative christian area doesn't mean that we should disregard the other talented musicians that east texas has to offer. when churches, which in many cases in this area are some of the only "venues" to play at, only help out christian bands, what kind of message do you think that sends out to everyone else? wake up, there is, indeed, diversity in existence in east texas. ivoryline made it. eisley made it. these are great bands. and they are openly christian. no problems with that at all, they've put in alot of work to get where they are and they deserve all the respect they receive. but how many non-christian bands from here made it? can the east texas area only send forth musicians with wholesome images? 2. i am not alone when i say this: the attitude of the majority of east texas bands is to primarily boost their own status. we have tried to reach out to other bands and work together to play and have a good time, but how many people have tried to lend a helping hand to us? not many. bands talk so much trash about other bands around here that it's not even funny. so you play in a band. big deal. you're not better than anyone else. alot of bands just think they comprehend how to play music better than others. this is crippling the east texas scene. in fact, that's why we have as few bands that actually made it big from here as we currently do. no one wants to help each other out. they just want to compare themselves to other bands and be better than them in their own minds. it's absolutely ignorant, and bands should be ashamed of themselves for having that mindset. we can look to the new jersey scene for example. im sure they have their problems, but look how many awesome bands came out of there: senses fail, thursday, hidden in plain view, armor for sleep, saves the day, and so many more. they must have done some things right. and one of those things was to support each other. look it up. playing music isn't all about making it, but a sense of camaraderie would make it a more fun place to play for everyone. 3. this place has virtually no venues. tyler has clicks. there are some hard rock clubs in kilgore. other than that, all we have are churches, house parties, and storage sheds. church shows are never that great, you can't have songs with profanity or any kind of content that isn't "church suitable". it's great if you're a christian band, but not everyone is. house parties often have several illegal aspects to them. and playing in sheds, well, you get the picture. we've done all of these things. we need to get together and make it happen, we need places for our bands to showcase their musical talents, no matter what religion you are, what kind of music you play, or what you talk about in your songs. these things, i feel, are keeping this scene from being as successful as it is capable of. with so many great musicians, it's a crime that east texas isn't even truely on the map in the music world. we shouldn't have to leave it to a small few number of bands to put us there. this essay is in NO way intended do the following: disrespect christian bands, disrespect anyone at all, promote/gain sympathy for my band, offend people with opposing views on the subject. i am simply presenting my argument based on research as well as experience. if you have taken the time to read this, agreed or not, i thank you. i encourage those who feel the same way or not to repost this as a blog entry/bulletin/email or whatever. if you do so, let me know so i can thank you. share it with people. butcher it. anything. more importantly, if you care about this area's music, then do something to make it better. feel free to contact me/send me hate mail at myspace.com/mcrivers. thank you very much for your time. i have been as sincere as possible, and i want change