The primary reason why I started this blog was to keep up on the news for my uncle’s illness two years ago.
He had Amyloidosis, as I have mentioned in an earlier blog entry, and it was a long, hard battle for him. That’s sort of putting it lightly.
He was in so much pain. Since he lived in New Jersey, I couldn’t see him at all during his illness. In fact, the last time I saw him was on Independence Day 2008. I would’ve never imagined that this would be the last time I would see, touch, hear, hug, kiss, and spend time with him.
Here he was, on the last day I ever saw him. At this point in time, no one could've ever began to imagine what would happen to him.
Needless to say, he didn’t make it through. Not even until Christmas.
December 20, 2008: a day I, nor anyone else in my family, will ever forget.
So, with the second anniversary of his death just around the corner, I thought that I’d pay a tribute to him.
Let this be a tribute to the greatest photographer, uncle, father, brother, husband, son, cousin, co-worker…. The list could go on and on. He was loved by so, so many people. More people than I can even begin to imagine.
I know one thing for certain, however. He was – and still is – loved by me.
Here’s to you, Uncle Paul. You may have left this earth, but you’ve never left my heart.
The Heroes are accelerating towards a promising future.
Todd Staley, lead vocalist, guitarist, and original member of Hard Luck Heroes, talked about the band’s hopes to record their first 10-song album in the near future, he said.
Staley, an original member of the band, has high hopes for the near future.
Staley said the band is striving to play in more shows after the first of the year. He also said that they hope to continue to play on a regular basis.
This isn’t the Hard Luck Heroes’ first attempt at recording an album. In 2005, the band scheduled to record a four-song demo at Innovation Studios in Steubenville, OH. The week before the recording date, the band’s then-bass player resigned for unknown reasons.
The remaining three members learned the bass tracks and laid them down themselves in order to still be able to record. According to the band’s website, they landed a steady stream of shows as a result, but a series of temporary bass players made playing these shows difficult. In 2007, the band went on hiatus due to the inability to find a steady bassist.
Staley said that he has no apprehension about the second attempt at recording an album.
“We did it once before. It’s a frustrating, arduous process, but it’s very rewarding,” he said.
Todd Staley and his band mates hold regular practices in his home to prepare for shows and recording. Photo is credited to Kyle Batting.
Bassist Kyle Batting, the newest addition to Hard Luck Heroes, also isn’t worried about recording.
“As far as going into the studio [is concerned], I think that it will be less stressful than any show,” he said. “We can sit down, take our time, redo things and really put work into creating the exact sound we want.”
Staley talked about the “Rock Radio Allstars” days and how they differ from the band’s current capability and potential.
Staley saw a great improvement in the band since bassist Kyle Batting came into the picture.
He said that even though it’s a difficult task to take on a band with only three people, the addition of Batting as the new bassist has allowed the band to vastly improve in such a short time frame.
The Hard Luck Heroes: Kyle Batting, Todd Staley and Matt Cochran. Photo is credited to Rick Staley.
Staley contacted Batting via e-mail in late July 2009, now making him an official member of the band for over a year. He said he doesn’t feel any pressure when it comes to recording, despite his “new member” status.
“Everything is comfortable,” he said. “It's home.”
The Hard Luck Heroes, a “powerpop” band with 90's rock influences out of Steubenville, OH, participated in the Battle of the Bands tournament held on December 2 at the Altar Bar in Pittsburgh, PA.
However, the Heroes didn’t take home the first place title for the evening.
The Hard Luck Heroes may not have won the Battle of the Bands in Pittsburgh on December 2, but this definitely didn’t discourage them.
Bassist Kyle Batting and drummer Matt Cochran took time to reflect on their performance that night.
Batting has played for the band since 2009 and has been playing bass for nearly three years.
Matt is a founding member of Hard Luck Heroes - he was a member when the band was called "Rock Radio Allstars."
Though they both performed the same show, Batting’s and Cochran’s perspectives and opinions about it were very different. Batting said he didn’t expect to win when he started playing the show, but he was excited nonetheless. He said it was different than being in a show that the band would normally play in, but this fact is part of what made it more exciting.
Even though Cochran was intimidated about the presence of the two metal bands at the show, he said he tried to keep an open mind about the outcome of the show.
Drummer Matt Cochran reflects on his performance at the Battle of the Bands, held on December 2.
“Even though we were slated not to win from the get-go, I think the competitiveness added a bit more flavor to it than just a regular show,” said Batting.
The band found out that the show was judged partly based on the ticket sales of the fan base for each band, so they knew that their chances decreased from that fact alone since only a few of their fans showed up, Batting said. The Hard Luck Heroes were also the only band from Ohio among four other bands from Pittsburgh and the surrounding areas.
“We can't compete with that,” Batting said.
Cochran said that he was a little more nervous than usual at this show since other bands were watching them play.
“When you’re in a house full of musicians, they know what to look for,” said Cochran. “If you slip up, everyone is going to know that you did.”
Cochran said that he enjoys performing in non-competitive shows better than shows such as the Battle of the Bands.
“I had good feelings about [the show],” said Batting. “I didn’t know what to think of the venue [before the show] because I had never played there before, but it was a lot smaller than I anticipated.”
He said that the smaller atmosphere of the Altar Bar made him a lot more comfortable while playing on stage.
Batting discussed how the atmosphere of the venue made him less nervous and shared a story about an audience member's behavior that night.
Since this was the band’s first competitive experience, they had new opinions on what they favored more: a battle such as this one or a show like the ones they normally play.
Batting said that he enjoys them both equally, but for different reasons.
Batting thought the band could practice more to increase their chances of winning in the future and to move on to the final competition.
When asked if he would ever participate in another competitive show like this one, Batting said that he, as well as the rest of the band, would “do it again in a heartbeat.”
This Christmas season in particular has made me think about its true meaning.
No, I’m not talking about “putting the Christ back in Christmas” or “the true meaning of Christmas.” Save that for the Crazy Evangelical Christian’s blog.
I’m talking about the sense of giving and kindness that society seems to experience after Black Friday passes. Notice how I say AFTER Black Friday. All it takes is one early morning Christmas shopping trip on this particular day for a person to realize that people aren’t exactly in the giving mood quite yet. Hmm… funny how that is, considering this shopping frenzy occurs only a few hours after they’ve cleared the ThanksGIVING dinner table. But I digress.
As the 14th Great Dalai Lama once said, “only the development of compassion and understanding for others can bring us the tranquility and happiness we all seek.”
So, what does this mean? It means that you can’t truly be happy until you’ve showed compassion toward others. I would LOVE for a Christian to explain to me how one season of giving and kindness makes us all happy.
“It’s the most wonderful time of the year. It’s the happiest season of all.” That’s how the Christmas song goes, right?
There’s a key word here. Development.
A person needs to develop their understanding of others to truly be happy. Kindness and compassion do not happen overnight. You cannot be a kind person in one day, just like that. Even more so, you cannot be a kind person FOR one day.
This is a problem I see in most Christians. Those who are the loudest in proclaiming their religion are also the rudest ones on most occasions. But, again, I digress. Let’s not get TOO off-topic here.
Moral of the story? Regardless of your religion, kindness should be incorporated into your everyday life. That goes along with patience – something I see less and less of in people each day, no matter where I go.
Sounds a lot like the key principles of Christianity, doesn’t it? Hmm. Intriguing.
As my friend Rob always says… “Jesus was a great Buddhist.”
The Altar Bar, at 1620 Penn Avenue in the Strip District of Pittsburgh, held its second week of a five-week-long stretch of Battle of the Bands shows on Thursday, December 2.
Photo is credited to Angie Fec and altarbarpittsburgh.com.
The show started at 7 p.m. with bands from Pittsburgh and surrounding areas in the lineup.
Bands that participated in the battle were of genres such as metal, ska, rock, and indie rock.
Metalcore band Oh No! the Afterlife was the first band of the evening to play. Next was Havoc Theory, Reel-A-Peel, and fourth, the Cascade Atlantic.
Last, but not least, came Hard Luck Heroes, hailing from Steubenville, Ohio.
In 2003, Hard Luck Heroes started out in New Cumberland, WV with the name “Rock Radio Allstars.” Shortly after their formation, the band lost their lead guitarist, leaving four members.
In 2005, the band was set to record a four-song demo at Innovation Studios in Steubenville, OH. The week before the recording date, the bassist resigned for unknown reasons. Then, in 2007, the band went on hiatus due to the inability to find a steady bassist.
According to the band's website, the original members Todd Staley and Matt Cochran decided to bring the three remaining members back together in 2008, naming the new and improved product “Hard Luck Heroes.”
Todd Staley, the guitarist and lead vocalist of Hard Luck Heroes.
The band came across an online ad in 2009. The ad was posted by Kyle Batting, a bassist in search of a band. Staley and Cochran sealed the deal with Batting and the Hard Luck Heroes were back on track with playing shows and gathering support.
Bassist Kyle Batting, the most recent addition to the band's lineup.
The Hard Luck Heroes are currently made up of a guitarist, a bassist, and a drummer. However, the sound that their simplistic band lineup produces is full enough that the lack of a fourth person isn't too apparent, says Batting.
“I like the dynamic of 3 of us,” he said. “I've grown very close to them in the last year and a half, and I consider them brothers above band mates.”
With Todd Staley as the vocalist on lead guitar, Kyle Batting on bass, and Matt Cochran providing the background vocals as the drummer, the Hard Luck Heroes are a trio that fuses a “powerpop” rock style with 90’s rock influences.
"I couldn't have lucked into a better group of people or a more talented group of musicians,” said Batting. “Hard Luck Heroes had a pretty decent local following before I joined, and we're hoping to build that up again in the coming months. Altar Bar's battle of the bands was a good start, and that's the kind of exposure we need.”
Batting playing bass during the third song of their set, called "These Childish Things."
Even though the Hard Luck Heroes didn’t win the Battle of the Bands, they aren’t (pardon the pun) completely out of luck.
“It doesn't hurt that the winning band, Reel-A-Peel, asked us after the set to do a show with them in the future,” said Batting. “That's proof right there that people like what they hear."
The Hard Luck Heroes are anticipating heading into the studio in early 2011 to begin work on their first full-length album.