Tag: Music

Finally Saddling Back Up

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It’s been a little bit. The horse is right next to me and I’m deciding to mount up. Back on the horse. There’s (potentially) a lot more of you now. Not in like a clouty social media way, but in fact the last time I wrote a piece was in November of 2022. I’ve met many more people along the way of this thing called life. No guarantee any of them will care about this or care to read it. But you never know. Speaking of my last writing work, it was a synopsis of a clip I filmed over the summer months at lowers. It’s pretty cool. You should watch it. It’s set to Red Hot Chili Peppers. How much more California could it get?

At one point I was penning a piece a month. Those days are in the rearview quite a bit. I used to try and find excuses as to why the writing has become so infrequent, but at this point I’ll just cop it on the chin. I guess I’ll give myself one scapegoat-I read a lot. Not like a book a week, but 30 minutes to one hour a day (with a couple no goes here and there). This kind of absorbed a time in which I would take to the keyboard. I’ve always heard that reading makes you a better writer. I guess we can find that out in the next couple posts. 

Works busy, lifes busy, but isn’t everyone busy? So why not hunker down and try to put pen to paper (but in most cases digits to keys) and have some trains of thought going a couple times a month? Maybe that’s a little ambitious. I am going to write more. But I’m not pinning it to a number like I have previously. I will write more. But no promises on frequency. Or maybe I’ll write a bunch but only post a couple. It’s all up to me.

If you ask me, I think I am a pretty creative guy. For instance, I am writing this to the sounds of the outdoors. No music. Usually I love writing to music. But not this time-it feels pure. Back to the original thought. I like creating things and always have. And it wasn’t always writing. There’s so many creative outlets out there. I definitely have been in tune with this (and could also be marked as my catalyst for doing this act) after flipping through some pages of Rick Rubin’s new book. A friend of mine dubbed it “the creative’s bible”. I am starting to see why.  Again, back to the original thought. I think I didn’t feel as dried up about not writing as I normally would since I replaced creating words with creating images. I tend to take a bit of photos for my work (start-up marketing requires only the most novice photography skills). And I’ve always been drawn to the minutiae of film photography especially. But over the years, I’ve snapped flicks I love on anything from the iPhone to a disposable. I think one of my new features of work will be a behind the photo series. It’s not always that deep, but as a decent writer I might be able to spin it as something deep. Or just tell a funny story behind the moment.

Ok, that was a bit of a tangent. Bottom line: I’m back in this bitch. I also went through a phase of doing work on my site and not telling anyone about it. I think if you are putting effort into something and not putting it out there, it might seem a bit lost. I am not someone to flaunt or jam something in peoples faces, but if I’m getting jiggy on the site I might broadcast it. Digitally. Maybe I’ll talk about it in person. Ask me about it! Please!~

Until next time, sooner than later. -JG

COBBLE HOBBLE

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I love surfing lowers. Unpopular opinion for some surfers, but for me stroking into a lowers left is a feeling like none other. Sure, it might take a while to get said wave and sometimes you might leave a little disgruntled, but hear me out. For one, it’s a wave that’s so perfect you can go and pick how you want to surf it. Straight up and down, more round and directional, above the lip, or on the rare offshore day inside the tube. The mechanical perfectness is second to none. Two, it suits almost all board styles and is the perfect testing ground for new boards or styles of surfing (repeating myself here). Three, it’s the most condensed pool of talent you’ll find in America, from CT top fivers to up and coming groms, industry heads, and old mates that still got it. So even if you find yourself not catching a wave there’s at least some sideline entertainment. 

It all started when I came out to CA to look at schools and surf lowers for the first time with my dad. I’d seen all the clips, especially the ones from one of my favorite surfers Kolohe. The nike wetty’s and graffitied mayhems were just as real as in the clips I’ve seen-considering we almost collided when he faded after I took off deep, and my floater to bottom turn almost connected with him coming down from a snap. Although a moment most would lament, this is seared into my brain as this was “california surfing” and a world collided moment for me. 

Kolohe and plenty of other lowers clips usually featured one of my favorite artists growing up: The Red Hot Chili Peppers. What’s more California than RHCP? Nothing. What’s more California than lowers? Probably a couple things, but for me it’s up there. So without further ado-I present cobble hobble! 5 sessions from 5 days on the cobbles. 5 different boards. Initially, I wanted to stack up and have a proper multi-location clip but when I looked on the hard drive it was almost all from the fabled wave in San Clemente, so I decided to package it up and send it out. Watch now! Please.

The Butcher Ain’t Coming-He’s Here

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If you listen to rap music, you may have heard the phrase: “the butcher coming *****”.

(his iconic tag comes in at 30 seconds)

If you happened to click and listen to that musical masterpiece, you might have an early understanding of the talent Benny possesses on the mic. In an era of beats carrying the songs, basic rhyme schemes, and somewhat lazy successes, Benny is a breath of fresh air thats been grinding on the rap scene for quite a bit. 

Under the Griselda record label, Benny and his other Buffalo brethren have blown up in the rap scene over the past couple of years with consistent projects with their own trademark sound-hard bars over simple but grimey beats by their good friends alchemist and daringer. While each of the 3 have their own strengths, Benny to me stands out as the one with the star power and relentless raps to break into the mainstream (which he already has a bit with his last single with Jermaine).

With his latest project Tana Talk 4, Benny adds another great body of work to his magnum opus to fans, the Tana Talk series. Tana Talk 3 is held in high regard to fans of the butcher, and a lot were worried about the fourth installment being a bit of a let down since the expectations are as high as they could be. As an artist, you’ll never make everyone happy. But for me, Tanat Talk 4 picked up right where the third left off. Maybe a little more polished and a little shorter in length, but Tana Talk 4 delivered classic Benny with some additions of features that cater to a broader audience like P Diddy. But don’t worry, Benny still calls on his NY and griselda clique to give features fans know them best for. 

With most music reviews, I’d rather keep the writing a bit on the shorter side in hopes for you to close out and give the records I talk about a spin. If you like rap, I think you could be sleeping on Benny. If you like melodic rhymes and catchy hooks, maybe keep napping as the Griselda crew always delivers raw, barebones raps and production.

Stream it here:

PS- I recently saw benny live and the performance was great (aside from being about an hour late). No backup vocals and The Butcher spitting a cappella made for an impressive vocal performance with minimal breaks.

Handwritten Posts 001

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The scene of the crime.

Initially, I didn’t want any words typed-just the handwritten note. but there should be some context.

I decided to handwrite a post for the hell of it. It wasn’t any sort of structured post, just a free write with a pen and paper. In classic writer fashion (or at least how I picture them in my head), I had to write on the back of 3 seperate to do lists since i had no classic line paper. Upon beginning, I got instant flashbacks to my writing prior to actually enjoying it. Standardized tests and high school english assignments. But that’s enough. Read it below.

A YEAR IN CLOSURE

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It’s 8PM on a Friday. It’s actually NYE, to be precise. I take another sip of wine out of a stemless glass (they just look better). Mixtape Lil’ Wayne plays out of my Macbook speakers. I have a pretty decent speaker setup in my bedroom, but something about the old music with the rawness of kinda shit speakers strikes a cord. Now about the wine. One of my new things to try in 2022 is wine. Sure, I’ve slapped the bag and drank wine before. There have been many deadly hangovers in my day from a classic Wine Wednesday. But I’d like to get an appreciation for it-similar to my love for coffee. It’s funny though, I make a resolution to drink more alcohol even though I am trying to kick liquor of all kinds to the curb in 2022. Not for any reason other than it just makes you feel so shit the next day. Don’t worry-I’m still going out tonight. I can’t just sit at home on Fridays and Saturdays. But it’ll be light in comparison to previous years. 

The idea of resolutions I think are great. I saw somewhere on social media someone say a statement along the lines of “I don’t make resolutions because I don’t wait”. Sick man. I’m not saying I wait until the new year to actively try something either or achieve a certain goal. But I find a new year let’s you account for all happenings of the last year and focus on things you might not have gotten to put attention towards or you missed out on trying. Sometimes, it’s a challenge to do something within the year (like surf 365 surf sessions, or my new number based challenge, train 1000 rounds of boxing drills). I also feel like it’s a time at the end of the year where people are more comfortable sharing what they improve on (even though that should constantly be in conversation).

If anyone thought I was doubling down on 365 surfs as a resolution-you are wrong. It wasn’t terrible in the moment, but it was grindy. There just wasn’t enough swell this year (not that I was trying). And I knew with how I was approaching it that it probably wasn’t going to happen. The number? A little over 300. Not bad but a decent bit off. I just always try to surf when I can.

This wine is OK. In my newfound trials I have for sure found better. But I still don’t know much about it. “Banned” by Lil Wayne just came on. It’s Weezy sliding over the old N.O.R.E. beat from Banned From TV. A classic. But back to the year coming to a close. I’ve been lagging on writing, which is unfortunate because when I get in a groove with it I write my best and it just feels good to vomit on the word doc. That’s kind of what this one’s about. Just a quick journal-esque rambling before I decide to shower and head out. What else can I jam in here before it seems like some quickly written blabber (in pure honesty it is)? Upon taking one last sip and looking up, this has some decent substance to it. Self reflection, new ideas for 2022, surfing, music, and some witty sentences (self proclaimed). Check ’em all off. That’ll do. Onto 2022.