Top 10 list #1

So I thought it would be fun to make a top ten list every once in a while. Here is list number one!

Top ten bands:

(not in any particular order)

1. Cinematic Sunrise

Simply awesome. I especially love the vocals! Songs to check out would be "Wordless" and "Umbrellas and Elephants."

2. The Morning Of

I discovered this band the other day and instantly fell in love with them. Everyone in the band is so talented! My favorite songs by them are "Shine" and "Tell Me I'm Wrong."

3. A Day to Remember

Probably my favorite band....ever. They do mostly hardcore stuff, but they also have some songs that anyone would like. A few of their good ones are "Have Faith in Me", "Monument", "You Had Me at Hello", and "If it Means A lot to You." There are too many to name.

4. A Change of Pace

These guys have been on my iPod for years! They actually originate from Peoria, AZ. They have several catchy songs that are what I would call "the classics." A couple of my favorites by them are "Take Care"and "Weekend Warriors."

5. NeverShoutNever

This one is kind of cheating, because it's not really a band, it's just one person. But oh well! NeverShoutNever is what Christofer Ingle goes by. I have always recognized the name, but haven't actually sat down and listened to him until recently, and I really like his music! Three words to describe NeverShoutNever: whimsical, raw, punk. A few of his songs that I like are "Did it hurt?", "Trouble", "BigCityDreams", and "On the Brightside."

6. Four Year Strong

Once again, I have always heard of this band, but never really listened to them until recently, and they are super cool. I would classify their music as punk/rock. My favorites by them so far are "Heroes Get Remembered, Legends Never Die", "Beatdown in the Key of Happy", and "Catastrophe."

7. Paramore

With vocalist Hayley Williams (featured in the song "Airplanes" by B.O.B."), it is obvious why Paramore is successful. Their music ranges from soft and sweet ("The Only Exception") to fiery hard rock ("Misery Business" or "Born for This").

8. Alter Bridge

One time while at the library I decided to start a new thing where I randomly select a few CD's that I'd never heard of before and listen to them. The very first random CD I listened to was Alter Bridge, and I immediately loved them! Great vocals, melodies, and instrumentals. They are definitely on the "very rock" side of music. A few of their best songs include "Before Tomorrow Comes", "Coming Home", "Blackbird", or, for their more softer side, "Watch Over You".

9. Escape the Fate

Like A Day to Remember, they do a lot of hardcore stuff. But they have a lot of really good songs! A few of my favorites are "Ashley", "Not Good Enough for the Truth and Cliche", and "Something".

10. Truman

The Truman brothers performed at my stake's youth conference, and they were amazing! They put on a perfect performance. I especially like their songs "Wasn't that your plan" and "I Want You There".

Catography

After looking at a bunch of creative cat photography on the website http://thepioneerwoman.com/, I felt inspired to take a few pictures of my own cat. Buzz became my model this morning, and he did and excellent job :)

I thought this shot was kind of funny:

Canada, eh?

I went to Canada earlier in July! The weather is most definitely more exciting up there, compared to the heat here in Phoenix. I am in marching band at SDOHS, and we were invited to be in the Calgary Stampede parade and field show competition. We drove (yes, DROVE) all the way up to Calgary on buses. We made several stops along the way, but only for bathroom breaks and to eat. Not for sleeping. The 36 hour bus ride has taught me that sleeping while in an upright sitting position is impossible to do.

Once we arrived in Calgary, we unloaded our stuff at a high school, which was our "hotel" for the next week and a half. People set up tents and air mattresses on the gym floor and made themselves at home. It sounds uncomfortable, But I actually didn't mind it.



The stampede parade was miserable, because I had to carry a heavy banner AND march in step for at least an hour and a half or longer. Although the parade was miserable to be in, it was really exciting to see all of the enthusiastic Canadians on the sidelines. The stampede is a big deal up there; bigger than we can understand. On some sections of the street there were even grand stands put up, ranging from around five to twenty rows high. The day of the parade was probably the hottest, reaching up to 88 degrees. The entire band was super hot and sweaty at the end, sore from holding their instrument, banner, or flag. Out of 21 bands, our band won fourth place, and we received a bit a money.

The Calgary Stampede is a HUGE deal in Canada. Bigger than the Macy's day parade, and bigger than any state fair! We spent a day just walking around the fairgrounds around the Saddledome, and it's insanely bigger than the Arizona State fair. The most exciting part of that day was the Rock n' Roll Acrobatic Ice Show which was the coolest ice show I've ever witnessed. Rock music mixed with acrobatics mixed with ice skating mixed with crazy lighting effects. Also, the Olympic gold medalists for ice dancing (Tessa Vitue and Scott Moir) were a part of it! It was a thoroughly entertaining show.

One day we took a trip to the Lake Louise area, and had the opportunity to ride a ski lift that had a fantastic view of the surrounding country. Following the ski lift, we drove over to Lake Louise to see the lake up close. The coloring of the lake is very pretty, and not just the average water-blue color. It was more aqua/teal colored.


On the last day of our trip, we took a trip to Edmonton and spent almost the whole day at Edmonton mall. It's the coolest mall I've ever been to in my life! It has a whole theme park AND a waterpark right inside of it. And of course, excellent stores to shop at.




Overall, the trip was a blast! I most definitely want to go back to visit again sometime. And maybe even try and go to the Calgary Stampede again too.