Tag: Good Charlotte

Thumbs Up!

~ Sue ~ Leave a comment

Today I am feeling very positive. Like that I can take on the whole world. Which is something that doesn’t happen very often. It may be that taking time out and doing things for myself is working, or it may just be that I haven’t been working for most of last week. Either way, it is a nice feeling. And, as I have mentioned before, I want to show a bit more of a balance on her. Making the point of writing when I am doing well, not just when I feel rubbish.

So, I am taking this feeling of positivity and turning it into actual stuff. That stuff includes writing, like this, and getting things ready to shoot a video tomorrow. Yes, I am another person who sometimes vlogs (video blogs). Nothing makes me feel better than expressing myself, and the more avenues I have to do that, the better I feel. I started off well with my vlogs, at the start of the year, but I have since fallen off that horse long ago. But, as I have said before, it is not about not doing something, it is about carrying on with that thing after a period of not doing it. If that makes sense.

I feel buzzed today. As much as I would like to think it is because it was my birthday yesterday, I know it isn’t. Being on the wrong side of 30 kind of has the opposite effect that my birthday used to have. But, I do always take time out of work for my birthday, so maybe it did help. So I was sitting around feeling a bit hyper today. So i decided to do something useful, and spend a while rambling some nonsense. Again.

This post was created under the influence of:

This video by Tessa Violet (Meekakitty)

This song by Good Charlotte

This album by Babymetal

 

Points Of Interest

~ Sue ~ Leave a comment

What do you like? What ‘stuff’ makes you happy?

Everyone has different things that makes them ‘tick’. Something that inspires them to get through a tough day. Something that helps them unwind and relax. Something that cheers them up when they are sad. Things mean different things to different people.

I have lots of different things that make me happy. They are mostly food, music and football. The food one is unhealthy. I have a habit of ‘eating my feelings’, which is never a good thing. If I feel like crap, I eat crisps and lots of fatty snacks. It is one of these things that I know is unhealthy for me, but I still do it. Because it has become a coping mechanism, when trying to deal with those down periods in life. It seems easy because it is something simple, buying the stuff is the hardest part. But when done, I feel bloated and rubbish for an entirely different reason. I am trying not to be too hard on myself, as I have to re-train myself on how I deal with things. And that takes time. Yes, I am slowly moving away from relying on comfort eating, but it I’m not there yet.

As mentioned, i have grown up being a fan of both football and music. I support my local team Dunfermline Athletic, and at the moment they are flying high in Scottish League 1. The team are 5 wins away from lifting the title, and winning promotion back to the Championship. I have always loved football, but when I lost my job a few years ago, I turned to football. Dunfermline were going through it a bit, they went into administration. It felt like what I was going through with my lack of job, was mirrored in the what was going on with the club. Fortunately, they have built themselves back up slowly over the years, as have I. Seeing how close the club were to the brink, gives me hope, knowing they got through it.

Music was a big thing for me, particularly when I started getting bigger problems with my mental health. I felt so alienated by how I was feeling, and nobody around me understood. But, music helped. Listening to albums by Good Charlotte, Rancid, Blink 182, etc, helped me feel not so alone. Through the internet, mostly band forums, I was able to connect with fans of the bands that I had come to love. Some of these fans were going through the same stuff as I was, so we helped each other. It’s not just though, sometimes listening to Cattle Decapitation can lift me after a shit day at work. Britney Spears’ Greatest Hits might wake me up in the morning. NWA have always made me want to paint and be creative. Different music effects my mood differently.

Which all sounds awesome, and it is. For me. What doesn’t help are people’s reactions on what makes me better. Noone thinks that I am overweight because I couldn’t talk to anyone. People seem to believe that you can’t like certain types of music, if you like football. But anyone can like anything. Anyone can rely on anything to cope. It is not for anyone to take away from something that another person likes. You should be the person who decides what you like. Nobody else.

Last Night…

~ Sue ~ Leave a comment

It’s taken 24 hours to collect my thoughts on what happened yesterday. What happened yesterday? Well, (in case you don’t follow me on social media) I was going to see Good Charlotte for the first time in 5 years, not just that, I got meet and greet. 

Meet and greet is something contentious in the music scene, right  now. Where artists charge an extra fee, so that fans can meet artists without having to wait outside before or after the event. I have always thought it was not a good thing. Having mostly visiting small venues, with no more than 2,000 fans, it has been okay seeing the band outside the venue. I never saw the point. But when bands upsize to bigger venues, meeting them becomes difficult. That is where meet and greets become more popular. 

Last night, All Time Low‘s Back To The Future Hearts Tour came to Glasgow’s SSE Hydro Arena, and their support was Good Charlotte. Good Charlotte is a band I have been a fan of for 15 years, and who have been a massive impact on me as a person. This is a band, who’s music has helped me through the darkest periods of my life, where I considered giving up completely. 

So if I was going to do Meet and Greet for one band, it was Good Charlotte. Because All Time Low were the main band, their group for the meet and greet was a lot bigger than that for GC. ATL had 56, GC had 5. Yes, 5. We got to meet Good Charlotte and get early access into the venue. Going to the room where we’d meet the band was nerve wrecking. The butterflies were horrendous. But it was great. We had a super casual Q&A session, where it was like the 5 on them at one side of the room, and the 5 of us on the other. I had to pinch myself at one point. Benji Madden then got out his guitar, and we got to pick a song. The one that got the go-ahead was The Motivation Proclamation, my suggestion, as it has always been a favourite song. And they played it acoustically. I believe I did cry at that part. Slightly. And then we got photos. A picture taken by one of the tour managers.

 And another one, a selfie taken by Joel Madden (which would have killed me as a 16 year old).  

 Then there was lots of hugs, more small chat, then it was over. We got a GC bag, shirt and signed poster. It was beyond anything I ever thought it would be. To be able to say thank you, personally, to the band who made me who I am today, was priceless. 

We then got out early access to the venue, and got to the barrier. Funnily enough, I got to the same general area that I would get seeing GC in a smaller venue. Stage left. Between Benji Madden and Paul Thomas. Was so happy.  

    
    
    
 I sang along every word, and the band were as flawless as normal. I have missed them so much.  

The set list was as below: 

The Anthem

The Story of My Old Man

My  Bloody Valentine

Girls & Boys

Riot Girl

Makeshift Love

The River

Dance Floor Anthem 

I Just Wanna Live

Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous

Because I saw the band I loved, I let the bigger All Time Low fans into the barrier, and I went for a drink. This is the way I have always done concerts, the biggest fans deserve to be at the front. I do like ATL, but I didn’t think it was fair to take up barrier space for bigger fans. It’s gig ettiquite. 

If you have ever considered doing meet and greet, do it. Other’s may speak ill of it, but that’s because they have never done it. I have achieved something I have dreamed of for 15 years, almost half my life. If you work hard, and you really want to you should do it. It really was one of the best experiences of my life,  and it really is a good idea if you are attending a big venue that offers it. Both the Good Charlotte and All Time Low meet and greets were organised by Future Beat, who do a lot of VIP deals for events. If you can, give meet and greets a chance, because it really is an opportunity for people to achieve their dreams.

Good (Charlotte) Monday?

~ Sue ~ Leave a comment

I have spent all day listening to music. Now, I don’t mean the usual ‘I can’t make up my mind, so I’ll put my ipod on shuffle’ kind of mood. Usually I have to be in a certain mood to do that, unless its a new band or album, and I obsessively play that music till I’m sick of it.

But today, I was tactically listening to, wait for it, Good Charlotte. I’m gonna be honest, I like to call myself some kind of uber-fan when it comes to Good Charlotte, but I don’t really listen solidly to their music for hours on end. Not like I used to, anyway. I mean, music to me is an emotional experience, so I like to listen to something that matches my emotions. For example, Municipal Waste is my angry music right now, because, well the music is a tad shouty and GRRR.
But anyway, today, I solidly listened to Good Charlotte. I watched videos, read articles and this feeling came over me. I felt proud. I know it seems stupid being proud of a band that don’t know I exist, but I can’t help it. I have been a fan of this band for 10 years, that is over a third of my existance on this planet. And they are still going so strong. I am guessing its what a parent feels when their kid does well.

Longevity is a big issue in modern music, what with the endless ‘talent’ vomited out by TV shows every year. So every band that remains a success for a long time, on their own talent, should be honoured. And to know that Good Charlotte have stood the test of time and are now winning over the critics, why shouldn’t I be proud? They are not existing in name only, they tour, they make albums and the most important part, they talk to their fans.

That takes me to the big reason, why at 27 years old, I am so fond of this band. The fans. Or GCFam. Whilst, yes, as a group there are some disagreements there is so much support there. No matter what a person goes through, the friends they have in the GCFam will support them regardless. Which for having friends from a mostly online community, is maybe frowned on by some, but that’s just because they don’t understand how close people can become.

I’ll shout it from the roof tops that I am a Good Charlotte fan, and I don’t care what people will say back to me. I’ll ask them if their favourite band gave them friends for life, if their favourite band inspired them to be where they are now. I just am protective about the band, which is strange. But when you make such a personal connection to something, you can’t help wanting to protect it. You want to keep them safe from harm, and it seems a bit strange, but its true. Its the truth of what a band can mean to so many people.

Good Charlotte are the truth.

Adventureland

~ Sue ~ Leave a comment

Glasgow is my favourite City in the world. Some may say it’s because on a worldwide scale, I have no visited very many cities. But I’ll just dismiss that with a wave of my hand. I need to explain a little, or I feel I should. I spent a lot of time in Glasgow, about 8 years ago, when I was studying to be a Veterinary Nurse (something I failed due to my ability to flunk exams). But I stayed in Glasgow for a total of about 6 months out of the year, and I fell in love with the place. It is one of the few places I get really excited about visiting because it holds so many memories for me, and it is one of my dreams to move there.

++Clyde River- Glasgow City Centre++

Glasgow is a really warm city, and it feels really homely, well it does to me anyway. The people are so friendly and it just feels a buzz to be there. Like any city, it is seeing its fairshare of run-down areas, but there is movement in the right direction, with people trying to improve appearance. There are a few areas in the city centre, where there graffiti projects, which aims to make things that little bit brighter.

+Glasgow Graffiti++

But, of course, the reason I was at Glasgow was for Good Charlotte. Who I swear have the world’s most obsessed fans. When it started rain/hailing, it was only GC fans in the queue outside. Yes, I was there at 10am, when the venue opened at 6.30pm. All to make sure I got to the front. It was so worth it. The Wonder Years, Framing Hanley and Four Year Strong,  all played for half an hour each, whilst GC played for an hour and 20 minutes. And GC’s set seemed to go really, really fast. Was so awesome though, so worth all the waiting and everything.


++Benji Madden, Good Charlotte++

That picture of Benji from Good Charlotte. It is really out of focus after being told to switch the flash in my camera off, but I like it. It could be the subject matter *cough* or it could be it does look quite cool. Or to me it does anyway.

Aight!!

~ Sue ~ Leave a comment

Going to go out today to take some photos.

I am working a couple of hours extra today, and would like to do something with my day, other than just work. So, heading to bank as I need to find out information to get my PayPal account verified. So I’ll get that done today, and then I have a few clients that can pay me via PayPal, seeing as they don’t want to deal bank-to-bank.

The headaches of doing things for people and them not wanting to pay. It’s like people expect me do give them free things, just out of the kindness of my heart. I mean, I can give things away to an extent, but not to the organising 40 flashbook pages for a business that is already doing well. Considering all the images had to be cleaned up, some re-sketched, and categorised, it was a lot of work to expected as a freebie. I did say a tattoo would be adequate payment, but they didn’t like that idea. -.-

So, I’m using it as an excuse to head up into town, take some pictures, and buy nothing. Because I am still broke. :S Still, it’s better than sitting around here all day. Doing nothing. Well till 3pm, considering that’s when I start work. I may continue to do nothing at work, but, sssshhhhhh, don’t tell anyone.

As you can tell, I am in a random mood today, possibly made possible, because I can say that I should be seeing GC at the flipside of this weekend. If you don’t know that GC is Good Charlotte, and are my absolute favourite band in the world, then :P. It has to be said that Good Charlotte fans (the GCfam) are awesome and are some of my best friends. I have had a lot of ‘inner problems’ in the last few weeks, mostly over-stress, and they are the best support ever.

 

 

Sex On The Radio

~ Sue ~ Leave a comment

^^Good Charlotte’s new video for their song Sex On The Radio. I heard some things about the video before it was released, but having see it, I can tell you I think it’s one of my favourite videos.

The idea is, that the band are all in ‘disguise’ and they record people in LA listening to the song, and film their reactions. Its a really funny idea. It’s refreshing to see a band show people’s opinions so freely, to the point that they show people saying that the song is rubbish. Not a lot of bands would put that in a promotional video.

Anyway, this marks 14 days before I see Good Charlotte in Glasgow. *Squee* So as a warning, the fangirl posting may become more frequent.

Planning Plans

~ Sue ~ Leave a comment

So operation make things work this year is happening.

And that doesn’t just about me finally getting my hotel for Glasgow booked. *bounces*. Good Charlotte on Valentine’s Day.  *jumpy jump*

++Benji Madden, Good Charlotte May 2007, photo credit—Moi++

Anyways, also been looking at flats (appartments) with Paul, because we both have decided that we need to get out of our parents houses. Although I don’t have money right now, the plan is to get more hours or a second job, so that I can afford to move out. The good thing is that i could then afford to go to the pub without having to pay money on a taxi getting home.

I know this has nothing of major interest to anybody, but it does geniunely feel like this year is going to be a good year. And, that makes me so excited. *Squee*

Celeb-lies?

~ Sue ~ Leave a comment

So, today is the day, if you believe the papers, that Nicole Richie marries Joel Madden. I am excited about this as I was about Paul Thomas and Billy Martin’s weddings. Its another GC wedding, and if you know me at all, you know it is one thing I am obsessional about.

Next year marks my decade as a Good Charlotte fan, and I always would be ecstatic for the boys whoever they settled down with. If you support anyone, its normal to feel happy to see them achieve happiness. But because Joel is marrying someone well known, he is being pulled into the ‘Celeb culture’.

I don’t think I’d be bothered so much if Joel was popular for being the awesome musician that he is, but on some level he is famous for dating someone famous. That is sad, and says so much about society. I know that Good Charlotte’s most recent album, Cardiology, didn’t get a lot of publicity in the UK, but I KNOW Joel and Nicole’s wedding will be featured in all the tabloids. It makes me sad, because the tabloids show a different side to Joel, than the Joel I have loved for ten years. Actually, I wouldn’t say it shows a ‘side of him’ more an idea of him, a picture painted by writers and gossip mongers. They say he is a gold digger, and an abuser. Joel has his own money, his whole career, and from speaking to him he would NEVER hurt a woman.

It makes me think. How many other celebs are being portrayed wrongly in the press. Miley Cyrus, for instance. Once a tween-queen, she is now being slaughtered by tabloids, trying to make her seem like she’s lost the plot. This is a teenage girl. A school age girl. Being stalked by 40+ year old paparazzi, who want to get a picture of her doing drugs or see her flash her underwear. Am I the only person who finds this unsettling? I have no idea what Miley is like, and I don’t believe this persona we see in the press.

I find it uncomfortable seeing famous people going to the supermarket. Its maybe because I wouldn’t take a picture of anyone I didn’t know doing their shopping. So I wouldn’t buy a magazine which has Brad Pitt at Walmart, it doesn’t interest me at all. Celebs are people, who work a job which places them in the public eye. They should be able to go get a paper without being bombarded by ‘photographers’. I have no respect for anyone who makes money out of taking pictures and telling lies about peoples private lives. Its like they scrounging what they can off someone else’s hard work. I don’t know how that is counted as a career choice.

But it makes it all seem so contrived. I mean, Lady Gaga being friends with Perez Hilton? Getting the world’s most famous gossip columnist on your side is a stroke of genius. He won’t say anything too damaging about his pal, just don’t fall out with him.

So basically, what I am getting at is, don’t judge those you read about in OK! magazine, because you really have no idea what they are really like.

And I hope that Joel and Nicole have a good Wedding day, and I hope you guys have a good life together.

Hey-o!

~ Sue ~ Leave a comment

Been busy meeting up with friends, working and tidying up. These are the normal things that one must do in their lives.

To be honest, the work is essential for buying things and meeting up with mates makes it easier to go to work. Its like, if things get hard, focus on the positives. Which is something I try to do, so that the bad things seem better, because I am getting closer to doing something I want to.

It does sound silly, but it’s the way I am able to work through things. And it works.

Sometimes :S


*Good Charlotte from the Sprite live show- which was awesome*