People You Can Count On

Picture

2009-11-09T07:03:00.000-08:00

Ok so I don't have a single picture selected yet, but I plan on using an oldschool war propaganda poster. The question I will ask are the following

1) What Side Made The Poster?
2) Who's Attention Is It Trying To Grab?
3) How True Are The Statements On The Poster?
4) Did These Poster Help The War At All?
5) Were The Other Reasons For The Posters Other Then Slandering The Enemy?

Final Ethnography

2009-11-02T07:39:00.001-08:00

The subculture that makes up the customs and life style of a local rock band is an interesting as well as complex rituals, rules, goals, and scheduling. It is a very difficult life style to be apart of while juggling things like work and school. The first part of starting a new band is to select members who you feel would be best to play the style you’re aiming to achieve. Now in most bands in the local area there is a drummer, 1-2 guitarists, a bass player, a singer/screamer. Instead of having a standard band with 5 or 6 different members there band consists of 4 people, one drummer, one bass player, and the two guitarists sing as well as scream. Once the band is assembled the band needs to find a place to practice, they planned to rent out a band space at the Wamsutta Mills in New Bedford. Before the space is rented they need to find out its cost a month, how much it is to split it 3 ways, and figuring out if everyone will be able to pay each month. Once they sign the lease they begin setting up the electrical wiring and setting up the stage. Then they bring in there equipment and decorate it then way the want to give a more relaxed feeling for writing and practicing. Though bands try to be self efficient they still need people to help book shows, help load/unload equipment at shows and get the members without vehicles to the show. The subculture doesn’t have a specific clothing style, dialogue, or actions although there are certain things that just this band and the people who hang out with the band do and say.Even though the media has portrayed the type of people that listen to screaming music as punk rocker kids with tattoos, gauges, piercings, and tight or hardcore clothes it is much different then that. Most of the people in the band actually look nothing like any single classification. None of the members actually have gauges like most people assume, although they do have tattoos but not many. They also don’t always wear tight clothes or ripped up metal t-shirts, actually the wear most sports jerseys and hooded sweatshirts or they wear AE clothing. The music scene is also portrayed as lazy people who only work enough to get by but on the contrary all of the members work over 40 hours a week as either laborers or cooks. When most people think of bands with tattoos they assume that the only purpose of the tattoo is to make them look tough, but in reality all the tattoos this band has is a symbol to the musical influence they’ve experienced and the expression of their minds.In a band there aren’t really rituals, they’re more like schedules or habits. Such as every Monday morning, Wednesday nights, and Saturday mornings they have practice to work on there songs. During either those days or days when it’s just the guitarists/vocalists they begin to write new material for lyrics and guitar. Then almost every/every other night they get a few beers and relax to discuss what the new material sounds like with the other members. On Fridays they hold there own mini show/party in their band space so that there friends as well as the other bands can hear what they song like and let them know their opinion of there music and what they feel should be worked on. Then once they have the music and lyrics critiqued them the way they want they begin recording their demo for them to sell at shows. Once the recordings are complete they burn around 100 copies and they begin to sell them.Once they have the CD’s recorded, the show booked, and the directions to the venue they begin to pack up the equipment, but they do not currently have a van or trailer to transport the equipment so I bring my fathers truck and trailer to the band space. We begin to load the equipment & head up to the venue, where ever it may be, usually at ACCU Billiards in New Bedford, MA. Once there we bring the truck to the back then begin to get checked in, get our free admission bracelets, and begin to unload the equipment from the truck. When there set is up we bring in all the equipment and begin to assemble it for them to play. Then while they are playing their set me and two of our friends sit at a table in back selling their demo CD’s. After there set we break down the equipment and load it back into the trailer then watch the rest of the bands play. Once the show is over they see the man running the show to collect there money and then we head back to the space and unload the equipment. Then we all sit around having a few beers seeing how many CD’s were sold, how much they got paid, and how the show could have been better. Then we all leave and wait for the next day so the schedule can start all over again.

2009-10-22T09:00:00.000-07:00

Personal Essay

Joshuah M. Powers

In my life there have been several people I have been to rely on in numerous emotional & mental struggles. There’s of course my family (Mom, Dad, little brother, older sister), my sister’s friends Eric and Kendra, and last but not least my friends Nate, Kenny, Scott, and Timmy. These individuals, at one time or another, have helped me pick myself up in my lowest and most strenuous moments. Wither it was my family or my friends trying to instill there several different point of knowledge, which would later help me become as wiser than before as well as increased my confidence as well as my popularity.

Now as far as how my friends have been there to support me, I was never a popular, talkative, or that interesting of an individual. When I first started high school I had only 2 friends. So they convinced me to play football to get more comfortable around other people which I did and began making new friends. Even though I was making friends I was still not that talkative, and I was actually rather embarrassed by my large size, goofy/sloppy appearance, and lack of social skills/knowledge which kept me from being in on many conversations with the new set of peers I was introduced to. As my 4 years of high school went on my I had few problems, which I see now as insignificant and a waist of my time then, but I was always concerned with having a girlfriend.
Around my sophomore year I had my first girlfriend who, for some reason I’d be with forever. Until after a year & a half my first and only girlfriend to date, started “messing around” with some of the kids I played football with., which made me very depressed and sick to my stomach. For weeks I barely talked, did my work, or even paid attention in class because I felt worthless & easily replaceable. My friend Kenny (who at the time wasn’t my friend) noticed that I wasn’t doing any work or even talking in shop. He approached me and asked me why I was looking so down, I explained my situation and after he gave great advice because he had gone through a similar experience with his on/off ex-girlfriend of 3 years. Even though I look back on that time in my life and realize it was stupid and not worth being as upset as I was, if it was not for Kenny making the attempt to see what was wrong I probably would have done something dangerous or maybe life threatening.There are not enough words, phrases, or praises that I could articulate to describe there worth & contribution to making me who I am today. These few examples I have listed are just the some of the many things that have made me more confident, wise, and humble about my life as well as the value of life in general & that life isn’t complete until you have great friends and/or family that is willing to stick there necks out and put everything on the line to make sure your happy and safe. There are so many moments made by and with these individuals that have dramatically changed my life over the years. Finally it’s those moments that I hold dearest to me with the most personal regard.

2009-10-22T08:59:00.001-07:00

Local Band Ethnography

Joshuah M. Powers October 14, 2009

The subculture that makes up the customs and life style of a local rock band is an interesting as well as complex rituals, rules, goals, and scheduling. It is a very difficult life style to be apart of while juggling things like work and school. The first part of starting a new band is to select members who you feel would be best to play the style you’re aiming to achieve. Now in most bands in the local area there is a drummer, 1-2 guitarists, a bass player, a singer/screamer. Instead of having a standard band with 5 or 6 different members there band consists of 4 people, one drummer, one bass player, and the two guitarists sing as well as scream. Once the band is assembled the band needs to find a place to practice, they planned to rent out a band space at the Wamsutta Mills in New Bedford. Before the space is rented they need to find out its cost a month, how much it is to split it 3 ways, and figuring out if everyone will be able to pay each month. Once they sign the lease they begin setting up the electrical wiring and setting up the stage. Then they bring in there equipment and decorate it then way the want to give a more relaxed feeling for writing and practicing. Though bands try to be self efficient they still need people to help book shows, help load/unload equipment at shows and get the members without vehicles to the show. The subculture doesn’t have a specific clothing style, dialogue, or actions although there are certain things that just this band and the people who hang out with the band do and say.

Even though the media has portrayed the type of people that listen to screaming music as punk rocker kids with tattoos, gauges, piercings, and tight or hardcore clothes it is much different then that. Most of the people in the band actually look nothing like any single classification. None of the members actually have gauges like most people assume, although they do have tattoos but not many. They also don’t always wear tight clothes or ripped up metal t-shirts, actually the wear most sports jerseys and hooded sweatshirts or they wear AE clothing. The music scene is also portrayed as lazy people who only work enough to get by but on the contrary all of the members work over 40 hours a week as either laborers or cooks. When most people think of bands with tattoos they assume that the only purpose of the tattoo is to make them look tough, but in reality all the tattoos this band has is a symbol to the musical influence they’ve experienced and the expression of their minds.

In a band there aren’t really rituals, they’re more like schedules or habits. Such as every Monday morning, Wednesday nights, and Saturday mornings they have practice to work on there songs. During either those days or days when it’s just the guitarists/vocalists they begin to write new material for lyrics and guitar. Then almost every/every other night they get a few beers and relax to discuss what the new material sounds like with the other members. On Fridays they hold there own mini show/party in their band space so that there friends as well as the other bands can hear what they song like and let them know their opinion of there music and what they feel should be worked on. Then once they have the music and lyrics critiqued them the way they want they begin recording their demo for them to sell at shows. Once the recordings are complete they burn around 100 copies and they begin to sell them.

Once they have the CD’s recorded, the show booked, and the directions to the venue they begin to pack up the equipment, but they do not currently have a van or trailer to transport the equipment so I bring my fathers truck and trailer to the band space. We begin to load the equipment & head up to the venue, where ever it may be, usually at ACCU Billiards in New Bedford, MA. Once there we bring the truck to the back then begin to get checked in, get our free admission bracelets, and begin to unload the equipment from the truck. When there set is up we bring in all the equipment and begin to assemble it for them to play. Then while they are playing their set me and two of our friends sit at a table in back selling their demo CD’s. After there set we break down the equipment and load it back into the trailer then watch the rest of the bands play. Once the show is over they see the man running the show to collect there money and then we head back to the space and unload the equipment. Then we all sit around having a few beers seeing how many CD’s were sold, how much they got paid, and how the show could have been better. Then we all leave and wait for the next day so the schedule can start all over again.

Topic Thoughts

2009-09-23T09:24:00.000-07:00

I'm thinking about writing my personal essay on my the encounters in which I've had my friends get me through it. I don't know which of my friends is there for me the most though that is my dilemma. It's between my older sister Sarah, my good friend Checo, my best friend Nate, or my friends Kenny & Scott. They've all been there for me whither its been putting up with stress from school, being low on money when I lost my job, and just getting me through my family problems. But with how much each of them mean to me on a best friend level I don't know which one was the vital incident in my personal experiences.