Owl City Music Review

I've had no inspiration to write in this blog lately. Not even any sound advice about starting off a new school year in the right way has come into my head....So instead of posting a brand new entry I am "going green" and recycling an old article I found. The following is the first article I ever had published, a Q & A with Andrew de Torres, the lead singer of The Scene Aesthetic, that I wrote for a music review. Enjoy!

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The Scene Aesthetic opened the Oct. 8th Owl City show at People's Court with the chill acoustic tracks they are known for. The indie band sang deep, rhythmic lyrics, which, paired with the acoustic guitar and harmonious back-up vocals, gave the band's performance a personal and subdued touch. DrakeMag caught up with Andrew De Torres, the 24-year-old vocalist and guitarist of TSA.

DrakeMag: What did you think of the drive to Iowa?

Andrew De Torres: Oh, it was beautiful! Not a ton around-a lot of farms, and those big windmill things.

DM: Have you lived in Seattle your whole life?

ADT: I moved to Seattle when I was about eight or nine. I actually was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and I lived there until I moved.

DM: How long have you and your bandmate, Eric Bowley, been together?

ADT: We've been playing together for about four and a half years. It's kind of weird though, because he was gone two of those years on a mission trip in Argentina. So technically the band has been together two and a half years.

DM: How did the two of you meet?

ADT: It was kind of random. I'm in another band called Danger Radio. Eric's cousin used to come and watch us play all the time. He randomly brought Eric out, and we became friends and went to a Christmas party together. Eric was driving me home and his car broke down. We ended up just singing Hanson until the car started again. I was like, "Oh, you can sing. Let's write this song together." So, we started playing together.

DM: How'd you come up with the name The Scene Aesthetic?

ADT: I was looking for a name for Danger Radio, because we didn't really have one yet. During my senior year of high school I wrote down a ton of names that I just thought sounded cool. And, weirdly enough, when we had to choose a name for The Scene Aesthetic, that was one of the only ones I could remember. I was like, "Hey what do you think of this name?" and he was like, "Yeah I like it!" It's been with us ever since. But you know what? I mean in theory, it's probably an awful name. Not many people can spell 'aesthetic', let alone say it. But I don't know, everyone just calls us TSA, so I guess that kind of works out.

DM: What would you do if you weren't teaching

music?

ADT: I would teach kindergarten. I love kids! I think that they're honest and amazing. I tell my mom that all the time. I'm like, "Mom, just wait. When I go back to school, if that ever happens, I'm going to be teaching kindergarten." She thinks I'm crazy.

DM: Do you have any goals for The Scene Aesthetic?

ADT: Yeah! I mean absolutely! We just got back from recording our brand new full-length album that's way overdue. We're hoping to release it early next year. It turned out amazing. We had really talented people play on it. Three out of the five people also played for John Mayer, so getting to play with these people...it was like my heart just stopped and melted and broke into a million pieces. So, I mean, we'll just release it and see how it goes. It's a little bit different, but hopefully kids will like it.

DM: What's the title of that album?

ADT: It's untitled right now. It's a couple months away, so it's going to take some thorough thinking.

DM: Are there any other bands that you draw influence from when you're writing your songs?

ADT: I'm a huge, huge Death Cab for Cutie fan. I think Ben Gibbard is one of the most amazing songwriters of our era. I don't think I've heard anyone for a while that can paint such a good picture. I feel like when I'm listening to his lyrics, I can see exactly what he experienced in that moment when he wrote it. I love that! Plus, he's got the most amazing wife ever, Zooey Deschanel. I mean, that's a catch!

Direct link to this page: http://orgs.l3.drake.edu/drake-mag/Music/Scene-Aesthetic.html

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Owl City

On Oct. 8, Owl city made music-lovers of all ages flock to Des Moines for a night of soulful emo-pop. The concert sold out and had to change location from The House of Bricks to People's Court, a larger venue, after only the first week of ticket sales. Fans were lined up outside and down the street two hours before the doors opened. A few ticketless hopefuls came to the concert, but were turned away, as People's Court was already filled to capacity.

Owl City was upbeat and energetic. The band consisted of several instrumentalists-a violin player, a cello player, a drummer, a keyboardist, and even someone playing the maracas. The band did a great job of pumping up the crowd and including them in the show.

Concert Footage

Check out footage from the Oct. 8 concert here:

http://orgs.l3.drake.edu/drake-mag/MediaSection/Scene-Aesthetic-Concert-Video.html

Break a Sexy Sweat

Drake Magazine came out this week, along with my article about the best workouts for your sex life. After so many rounds of editing, it is always exciting to finally see your name and piece in print. So here is my piece, Break a Sexy Sweat, enjoy!

Ask any woman who's rockin' a good sex life what her secret is and nine times out ten she’ll tell you: confidence. As easy as it is to worry about your “wobbly bits” as Bridget Jones says, it is just as easy to find a fun, unique workout to give you the confidence boost you need, and the resulting boost in the bedroom. These workouts all not only help you build confidence, but also let you have fun and feel sexy.

Strip Tease Aerobics

“When you feel good, you look good, and you want to go home and…feel even better.” Caeli Esser teaches strip tease aerobics at the Des Moines Social Club, giving women an intense cardio workout while teaching sensual dance moves. The 45-minute class is almost nonstop movement. One class consists of some stretching routines, a few dance/strip tease numbers incorporating burlesque moves, a chair dance, some ab and arm work, and finally a much-needed cool down stretch. Esser teaches in a fun, encouraging way that really lets you open up and let loose. Participants leave feeling invigorated, accompanied by some soreness, but mostly feeling their body humming with energy. Strip Tease Aerobics can simply be a good workout, or as your boyfriend may prefer, you can take home the moves for a sexy, practical application. After all, a spicy sex life is more than just having the right moves; a good visual is always appreciated.

Kegels

If you aren’t comfortable exercising in public or don’t have time for to go to a gym, Kegels are an exercise you can do while just sitting in class. Dr. Locke, of the Winneshiek Medical Center, describes Kegels as tightening and relaxing of the pelvic floor muscles and can be done by both men and women. Don’t know which ones are the pelvic floor muscles? He often tells patients to try to stop your flow of urine mid-stream, the muscles that you use to clench are the same muscles you use when doing Kegels. However, don’t attempt to do this often or you’ll find yourself with more problems than just a dull sex life. Although Kegels are most often used to help urinary incontinence, they can also help with your sex life. For men, the strengthening of these muscles helps stop early ejaculation and can lead to multiple climaxes. And while it can’t hurt for the sex to last a little longer, women also get the added benefit of tightening, which you can use to squeeze your man’s package more (a benefit for him as well). But beware, the benefits of this exercise are controversial; some doctors say to see results you may have to do up to 200 a day!

Yoga Booty Ballet

Yoga Booty Ballet is just what it sounds like, a little bit of yoga, a little bit of ballet, and a whole lot of working and toning the booty. And of course, having a good booty helps you get some good ‘booty’ (cheesy, but true). Yoga Booty Ballet is a series of DVDs that help you embrace your inner power and inner beauty through toning ballet exercises combined with breathing techniques and yoga mantras. This workout is more about your mindset than anything else. “My outer body will now reflect my beautiful insides,” is one mantra used in the DVD “Goddess Booty” (available at Amazon for $19.95). It gets you thinking about what mantra you could use under the covers; perhaps “I am a sexy, confident, strong woman.” That pretty much sums up what we want our guy thinking about us as well.

Other DVDs to try include Flirty Girl Fitness (flirtygirlfit.com $9.99), in which you can even order a pole to be installed in your home to aid your workout, Core Rhythms (at Amazon from $13-$20), a Latin-inspired abdominal-centered workout, or the Pussycat Dolls Workout DVD (also at Amazon for $10.99) with routines set to the group’s hit songs and choreographed by their own choreographer, Robin Antin.

Whether it’s getting the right moves, building up certain muscles, or just thinking in the right way, there are plenty of ways to spice up your sex life. If you don’t believe me, get out there and start seeing the results, you’re certain to get rave reviews. Remember, the key to all these workouts is the one thing guys crave the most, confidence.