With a little help from my friends.

It's a late night again. Sitting outside with Bob listening to Cautioners by Jimmy Eat World and thinking a lot about life like I used to on warm summer nights. It's a little colder now but tonight's not as bad as some of them have been. It's the middle of March now, which means it's been a year since I became a part of a band that ended up meaning more to me than most anything else in my life. I've met a lot of people this year. I've grown a lot. I barely recognize myself as compared to who I was at this time last year. Mostly in good ways. This is a borrowed idea, but I decided it'd be a good reflection to write about some people other than myself in this blog for once. You're all such parts of me that I really wouldn't be me without you anyway.

Tristan Costanzo.
If it weren't for you, most of the things that happened in this past year would probably never have happened. I still remember randomly meeting you at that skate shop show in Fremont two summers (or was it fall?) ago. And randomly seeing you at the Burger King in the food court and talking for a bit. Somehow through some strange twist of fate we ended up spending a month together in an ill-fated pop rock band. I don't think I could've even imagined how much that would change my life.
Your hospitalization and our lunch at Taco Bell a few weeks later are things that I probably won't ever forget as long as I live. I didn't know what to say at first when you asked me to come jam with you and three people I barely knew for your new band.
It was all uphill from there, for the most part. Learned some songs, played some shows, kicked out a member, wrote some more songs. Confronting you outside your grandparents house with Nick and Lisa. Driving to Elise's dorm at 5AM to make sure you were going to be okay. Going on tour with you for the second and third times, having a blast. Carrying you up to your room in Pierre, SD.
Then, tour was over and real life started again for a few months. Things got a little strained, things were said that shouldn't have been said, we kicked you out and started looking for someone to replace you. Fast forward a month or two. You were back and, subsequently, I was gone. More things were said that shouldn't have been said. Another month gone, and I was watching you from the crowd at the Sokol Underground, singing along to the songs I'd helped write.
I could never even explain how proud of you I was that night. You barely resembled that nervous little boy I'd watched take the stage with his bass in hand for most of the past year. You were confident and you sang like I'd never heard you sing. I passed you some water and came on stage to sing a song and feel alive for a few minutes again. Fast forward another few weeks, and I was back with my friends playing the songs that I'd been missing for months. Another week, and we were writing again.
And now here we are, four more months later. Another EP damn near finished. Much better than our last, I think. You're like a brother to me. Sometimes I get frustrated with you, sometimes I want to punch you in the face. But at the end of the day I love you and I wouldn't trade you for the world. None of this would've been possible without you, so thank you for that. Here's to another year.

Nick Vierregger
I never knew quite what to think of you. Always yelling things at me across the parking lots at UNO. Sending me MySpace messages asking me to jam that I thought were just sarcastic jokes. Asking me to form a new band with you, Tristan, and some kid I'd never heard of named Alex. Then asking me instead to just come play drums with you three in a band with another dude. Jamming some songs, playing some shows. Then we kicked out the other dude and it was just us four, like it was supposed to be in the first place.
We wrote an EP, recorded it in a few weeks, and scheduled a couple of tours. We left home for some ill-fated adventures in Iowa, came home for a few days, and headed up for a few days of good times in Minnesota with Skies and NAF. Then it was back home for a couple weeks and then off on tour with The JV All*Stars. One of the most stressful times of my life, if you'll remember. But looking back it was also the most fun I've ever had.
We haven't always seen eye to eye, in fact I think in most things we're pretty much polar opposites. I know you were pissed when I left the band, and for good reason. But I'm definitely grateful you guys asked me to come back. We've fought a lot less since then and I can now say you're definitely one of the best friends I've ever had. We still bicker about dumb shit, but you're always there to keep me in check when I'm being an idiot.
You really stepped it up on writing guitar for this EP, I don't know if I've really even sat down and said that to you. But musically I'm way proud of this EP and I can't wait to see what we come up with from here on out. I know you're worried about this summer and getting all our tours booked and everything. I'm worried too man, but we'll make it happen. I'm stoked to spend the next few years in a van with you. But you're paying for your own speeding tickets. Just kidding. Maybe.
I know this is getting stressful and sometimes it seems like a little too much to handle, but if I learned anything in my time away from this band, it's that none of us can do this without each other. And I don't know about you, but there's really nothing I'd rather be doing. So get ready for a few years of being broke and scraping by in a van on the road. I can't wait. I love you man, I really do. You're my best friend and my brother and I'd rather not have to let that go.

Alex Brown
Oh man. Alex Brown. Where to even start. I had no idea who you were the first time I met you. I'd always seen you walking with your head down on your way to class. I had no idea you lived one floor above me on the other side in those dorms. That first time you, Nick and I hung out in his dorm was a little awkward. I'd barely talked to Nick and knew absolutely nothing about you.
But that changed pretty quickly. Soon enough we were jamming in the same band and bonding over a mutual dislike of our current singer. You and I hit it off a lot easier than Nick and I did at first. The crazy shit you say is always guaranteed to make me laugh, and I doubt I'll ever find a more entertaining afternoon activity than riding around in your car listening to you yell at traffic.
We both went a little bit crazy on tour. We were definitely the more level-headed (read: worrisome) dudes in the group and things got a little too nuts for us a couple times. But it was a blast. Even if you did spend most of your time either sleeping or texting. Ha.
I'll never forget hanging out with you in Lisa and Sarah's dorm room. Typing on my computer all the crazy things you were famous for saying. And reading your goofy MySpace bulletins every day always puts me in a good mood.
I know you were definitely the most bummed when I quit the band for a while and I definitely missed you the most at that time. Nick and I hadn't been getting along great and Tristan and I obviously had our differences at that point. I honestly almost stayed in the band just to not make you mad. Some days, I wish I had. But I think doing so made me realize a lot of things and I think we're a lot better of a band now and a lot better friends because we made it through all of that. The day you called me up to ask me to come back and jam was probably the happiest day I've had in a long time.
I know we all give you a lot of shit for staying in school and not going on tour. I think this summer is going to hold big things for us and I really hope you'll make the decision to stay on the road with us in the fall. Every time I think about the possibility of having to have a touring guitarist, I get a little bummed at the thought of having someone else on my left every night. You rock harder than most any guitarist I've ever seen, especially in a pop-rock band. And your lead lines on the new EP are some of my favorites; simple and clever, just the way I like them. Before we wrote vocals I consistently had your lead lines stuck in my head over and over. I'd rather never tour with a guitarist who's not you. You're always there to keep me sane and you open up on stage in a way that you don't do much in person and it always makes me glad (and, quite honestly, makes me play a little better).
You're a good man, Alex Brown. Same as Nick and Tristan, you're another brother from another mother. I can't wait to hang out with you in a van every day. It's been a good, long year but I have a feeling this next one's going to be even better. I really hope you'll decide to stay on the road with us man, I'll do it without you for a few months while you're in school if I have to but I damn sure don't want to. Like you always say, dude: "Shhh. Just let it happen."

Sarah Jorgensen
Sarah. Yours is going to be way short, quite simply because I've known you for like four years now and we've been through way too much for me to even begin to list in this blog.
So let's just start from about a year ago. I miss spending all my time on the couch at you and Lisa's dorms. Lots of good times and good memories in that dorm. Lisa burning popcorn. You and your disgusting bread & butter pickles and other assorted strange foods. Taking lots of pictures. Watching way too many movies. Sleeping through my classes way too many nights on your couch. I'll probably miss it for the rest of my life.
When we first moved down in 2007 you were one of the only people I knew. Now you're my roommate. And you've always been one of my best friends. We don't seem to really go hang out as much anymore seeing as we live in the same house and pretty much inevitably see each other every day. But don't worry, once I'm back from tour this summer I will still be calling you and seeing you often. And you'll have to come over and visit Bob once he moves over to wherever I move. He'll miss you. I might miss you. We'll see. Haha. We've been through a lot and we'll probably go through a lot more. You're a good friend and you're always there when I need you. Sorry I'm a dick sometimes. But you know I love you.

Lisa Kuhr
Lisa Kuhr. I don't even really know what to say about you. You're a sweet girl, most of the time. Except when you're angry and not speaking to me for two weeks. Or two days. Or even two months. But as pissed as you get sometimes, I think we'll probably always be friends. At least a little bit. I'm way sorry for being such a jerk that one time when we didn't talk for two months. I don't even know what happened. I obviously wasn't thinking straight, seeing as I quit my band and started planning to move my life to Minnesota. Crazy times.
We met on the internet, as so many people do. Not randomly, but because you were going to be Sarah's roommate and I added you on MSN Messenger. We talked about life and music for a while until you mentioned that you loved Saosin and I assumed we'd probably never really be friends. I guess I was wrong.
Like I already said, tons of good times in your dorm. Lots of great conversations about panhandles, Burger Kings, warm faces and their connections to AIDs, etc. You're not dumb by any means, but sometimes you're not quite all there. But it's why we all love you. Promise.
You and I, like most of my friends and I, fight a lot about really dumb things. Things that I can't even really remember for the most part because they're so pointless. But you know you're one of the sweetest girls I know most of the time. Hopefully nothing drastic ever happens again that leads to another no-talking-for-months period 'cause that was really no fun. You're one of my favorite people and I'm glad we're still friends.

Sam Houser
Sam. We were best friends for, what, like a year or two in high school? Then you hated me and wouldn't speak to me for about two or three years. And now we're good buds again. I spent way too much time over at your house when I wasn't in my band but it was never anything short of interesting. Most of the time it was actually even fun. I'm bummed your band didn't work out but you'll find something. You've gotten a lot better at bass since our first awful band (WITW, FTW!). Glad we both stopped being idiots for long enough to become friends again. Let's hang out more.

Reuben Houser
Unlike your brother, I didn't really hang out with you a lot outside of school back in the high school days. But we saw each other at Circle B shows often. (Do you miss those as much as I do?) This last year we've started hanging out more. A lot more. And now we even work together at PepperJax. You're an awesome dude and an amazing guitarist. You also drink a mean half-gallon of milk and aren't too bad with the ladies either. I think I have a lot to learn from you. Rivercourt is my new favorite band. Don't break up or start writing bad songs. I'm stoked to tour with you. It will happen sometime this summer. Get ready.

Margot Hurwitz
I only just met you a month or so ago, so I suppose this isn't too fitting for the whole "the last year" theme. But I borrowed this idea from you. So it's whatever, I guess.
You've quickly become one of my all time favorite people. Ever since that first night I talked to you when you stopped in Omaha on your way to move your life to Arizona, I haven't stopped thinking about you for more than an hour.
Your smile is incredibly contagious and you make me smile and laugh more than most anyone else about 5 days a week. You usually spend the other two days driving me completely insane and making me wonder what the hell we're even doing. But I like you. A lot. And I can't see myself stopping anytime soon.
You're a total nerd. You love Lord Of The Rings and know more about comic books than I do. You read more than probably anyone else I know. All of those things are probably even more attractive than the fact that you are quite probably the cutest girl ever. You enjoy mostly decent music, a good amount of great music, and some music that I'm not really into. But I won't say any of it sucks, or I'll probably get yelled at. Haha.
All in all, you live 1,300 miles away from me and do things that drive me nuts more so than anyone else I have ever met. But I like you way too much to let little things like that keep you from being in my life. I really hope this works out as well as I believe it can because if it doesn't, it'll be a very long time before I find a girl as close to perfect as you. I can't wait 'til I see you again, and I'm going to do whatever I can to make that happen as soon as possible.
I miss you tons and like you even more. Thanks for making my days a little happier and making me smile. I've known you for such a short time but I feel like I know you relatively well so far and I'm stoked to continue getting to know you and talking to you for hopefully a very long time.

There are some people I probably left out here. I'm sorry. I have quite a few friends that really mean a lot to me and you all know who you are, regardless of whether or not I wrote a few paragraphs about you here or not. Amy Hampton, the best roommate in the world. Colby Sanchez, one of my favorite songwriters, one of my favorite co-workers, and one of my good friends. All the dudes in Skies Alive, Now And Forever, The JV All*Stars and Avery: nicest bands and sweetest dudes I've ever toured with and probably ever will tour with. There are so many more and the more I list, the worse I'm going to feel for those I forget. So everyone who is a part of my life (listed here or not) and, consequently, a part of me: thanks for making me who I am. For the first time in my life I can honestly say I'm fairly happy with who that is, and that wouldn't be true without you.