A young man wakes up into a strange world with no memories but for that of his name. It is a world where a strange orange glow shines over the land, a realm of Dragons and Half-Elves, where the land itself is shaped physically by the hearts of its inhabitants. On his search for his identity, and for the truth, he finds himself the central figure in a struggle of unthinkable consequence, one that will decide the fate of countless lives.
Peace has returned to the continent of Mayura. But when Felix Edinseed rejoins the Mages in Feralia, he learns his past is not what he had thought. Now he and his friends must defeat an enemy more powerful than Feralia has seen in a thousand years.
Continuing right along from my previous feature is the opening act from the same evening, Washington DC based S Y Z Y G Y X. This was a special treat for me. Despite being a local act for me, I had yet to discover S Y Z Y G Y X. Within the first few notes I was hooked, drawn into the dancey beats and deep, intriguing synths. It was a great set, and I’ve been an avid follower ever since. They made it a fun, energetic time, with Luna even hopping down off the stage to dance with the rest of us! Plus, it’s always awesome to have a great local band nearby to support!
Here are a few pics we got:
The setlist was as follows:
Immerse in Doom In Pieces Unknown Humanoid Deeper Die Like a Rockstar Heart Frequencies Old Karambit Snake and Poison
I should also metion the new album, Sinner, which is amazing. It’s been on regular rotation for me since its release this August. Anyone who’s into electronic, dance, dark wave, or synthesizers in general should check it out. I’d also definitely recommend catching them live if you have the opportunity! I’m looking forward to catching them again soon!!
So I’m ridiculously late posting this, as usual, but I definitely wanted to write about this show, as it was part of the Ungod 30th anniversary tour. Ungod was the album I first heard Stabbing Westward on, and is really special to me. So many great things about this show!
Firstly, it was at The Black Cat, my favorite local club. It’s an up close an intimate venue. The opening local act, S Y Z Y G Y X put on a great set, and I’ve been a big fan ever since. I’m going to do a seperate post for their set with some pictures.
Just like last time, Stabbing Westward put on another amazing show! I was super excited for the songs they played on Ungod, but their setlist was varied, and included a total of 18 songs nicely spanning their career.
The setlist was as follows:
Ungod Falls Apart Burn (The Cure cover) Ghost Lies Sometimes It Hurts Wasted What Do I Have to Do? Slipping Away Dead & Gone So Far Away Nothing Inside You The Thing I Hate Violent Mood Swings Save Yourself Waking Up Beside You Shame
Here are some more pics I took:
This was my wife’s first Stabbing Westward show, and we had a blast singing along so close to the band. It was easily one of the best shows I’ve been to, and I can’t wait til they come around again!
It’s 2025 in America and things are interesting, to say the least. Sorry (again) for the lack of updates. Writing has been off and on. So much has been going on, that it’s been difficult to find the time, determination and inspiration to write, but the next story is still coming along slowly (I’m over half done with the first draft of Feralia Book 3). It sill means a lot to me to finish the book and get it out, but I’ve decided not to rush things, to only work at it when feeling determined and inspired.
In the meantime, things have been crazy, but great over all. Summer is the busiest season running our business. We travel to events, usually working a little over 30 of them a year. Family life has been amazing, truly the best and most rewarding thing that has ever happened to me.
On other fronts, music has continued to be vital as things seem to quickly be crumbling around us. The world described in the Ministry song/video below has come back to us, somehow even worse.
My goal is to update much more often, to share my journey. There’s a lot to talk about. There’s a lot to hope for. Hopefully kindness eventually wins out.
So I’m way late, as usual, but I wanted to do a quick entry on another amazing show that I recently had the privilege to attend. I’ve been lucky enough to see Stabbing Westward several times over the years, including tours that supported the albums ‘Wither, Blister, Burn + Peel’ and ‘Darkest Days’ when they were released. This show was right up there with the best I’ve seen. The track selection was spread out nicely over their catalog, including beloved favorites, but giving the latest album, ‘Chasing Ghosts,’ a chance to shine as well.
While just as intense and heavy as in years past, it’s evident that the band has not only grown up over the years, but mastered their craft. Their experience showed, and you could tell that the members were all totally comfortable and relaxed on stage, which afforded them a really nice connection with the crowd.
This was my first time attending a show at Baltimore Soundstage, and it was really enjoyable and easy to see the band up close with good sound and a friendly staff. I’m looking forward to attending more shows there.
The setlist was as follows:
Slipping Away Falls Apart The Thing I Hate So Far Away Ghost Burn (The Cure cover) Lies Sometimes It Hurts I Am Nothing What Do I Have to Do? Wasted Inside You Violent Mood Swings Save Yourself
Encore:
Push Shame
A few pics I managed to get during the craziness….
It was an amazing night (also made great by I Ya Toyah and 51 Peg, both of whom you should check out as well!), and thankfully I won’t have to wait long to see SW again, since they’ll be performing at The Black Cat in Washington, DC on April 19th! (It’s a really great venue!) If you haven’t seen them live, do yourself a favor and catch them next time they play a show near you!
Also, if you’re a big nerd about the band like myself, check out my Stabbing Westward Collection, which I’ll be updating with a couple new items!
Last week I had the opportunity to head out to Las Vegas to see one of my favorite bands, U2, at their residency there. Much attention has been given to the new venue, Sphere, which has crazy visuals inside and out.
First and formost was the band. This was somewhere around my 12th or 13th time seeing U2. Things were a bit different, with drummer Larry Mullen Jr out of the lineup due to back surgery, but fill in drummer Bram van den Berg didn’t miss a beat, doing a fantastic job. The Edge effortlessly showed his prowess, Bono his usual charm, energy and humor, while Adam Clayton demonstrated his talent on bass, powering band through their 22 song set.
The entire Achtung Baby (my personal favorite U2 album) was played, with a break in the middle for a few other songs, as well as an encore of 6 of their other beloved tracks. In short: they’re still easily one of the best live bands I’ve seen, and this show didn’t disappoint.
Now, onto Sphere itself. It was pretty impressive, with its wrap-around screen on the inside and outside of the building. The visuals were stunning at times, even making me feel as though the entire inside of the building was moving. It was dizzying, but super cool.
There is only one negative I have with the venue: if you’re sitting in the lower seats under the overhang of the seats above, like we were, a great amount of your view of the screen is obstructed by that section. I often found myself struggling to lean forward in hopes of seeing more of the giant display, but was never able to see all the way up to the ceiling. As amazing as it was, we couldn’t see many of the visuals above a certain point. This was a real shame because videos we’ve seen show that there’s much more to be seen above, where the ceiling makes some cool effects. This was definitely a letdown, though it did nothing to hinder the band’s performance.
Overall it was a great experience, even though the flights from and back to Maryland in the early hours of the morning were exhausting. Getting to see such an event was well worth it.
Below are some pics I took.
Next up I’ll be featuring another show I recently attended.
It seems time has gotten away from me once again, but I wanted to add an update! There’s been a lot going on, keeping me pretty busy. Creatively, things have been great. Progress on Feralia Book 3 is coming along slowly, with the end of the first draft in sight. Things on the music side have been a blast and fairly productive! I have several projects which I hope to record, and I’m always learning a lot. Hopefully I’ll have more exciting news before too long.
In the meantime I hope to jump back into blogging more regularly again. I actually have a bunch of nerdy/fun stuff to share, including some concerts, music and art features, and other fun stuff.
Next up (this afternoon), I’ll be writing about my experience at U2:UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere!
Hey everyone! As mentioned a while back, we sold out of our signed copies of Feralia Revised Edition. We’ve ordered a bunch more and they’re on the way, with an expected delivery date of February 9, 2023! We’ll update here (and on social media) as soon as they arrive. In the meantime, you can still order (non-signed) copies from Amazon or any of the major sellers (links here).
As always, thanks so much for checking out the stories!
It’s been a while since I featured any bands, artists, or creators, so I wanted to take a moment to talk about a short film I recently got to watch, While Mortals Sleep. I won’t get into the plot, for fear of spoilers, but if you’re into horror, sci-fi, or, like me, weird stuff in general, take 14 minutes, sit back and relax, and watch it HERE, on Short of the Week.
A few things that I loved about the film are the retro look, amazing camera work, and soundtrack by Danz CM. Written and directed by Alex Fofonoff, produced by Matthew James Reilly and released by Video Horse, While Mortals Sleep is a fun experience, both dreamy and weird. The first time I watched it, it was on a small screen with a good pair of headphones, which made for a great experience with the audio and music. I’d recommend watching it once with headphones for the experience, but it also looked great on a larger TV screen when I rewatched it with my wife. Lastly, I’d be remiss not to give the camera work another mention – the super slow zoom-ins in particular were mesmerizing. Defintely check it out!
So, work has been crazy, but I’ve been managing to find some time to create. A new project of mine. OSAKAMOMENTS, explores synthesiszers and weird and dreamy music. Today I released the ‘Demos ’22 EP.’ You can stream it on SoundCloud and check out some of the sounds and moods I’ve been working on. Check it out here:
Feralia - Home of the Feralia fantasy novels by Clint Cassa 