Dear Boy In Store

I had another really good weekend. It was a standout two days in a month that has really sucked. Quick Disneyland trip, coffee with my BFFL, first meeting as a sorority advisor, and the train wreck that was the VMA’s. (I did a lot of side eyeing my television last night, that’s for sure). The funny part is, all of that happened on just Sunday! On Saturday (yes, I realize this is backwards), I went to an in store performance by one of my favorite bands, Dear Boy.

According to their Facebook page, Dear Boy (Ben Grey, Keith Cooper, Austin Hayman, and Nils Bue) is bitter-sweet alternative rock with roots in both post-punk and 90‘s British guitar pop. They are based out of Los Angeles and recorded their first EP in London. They’ve built a devoted live following through their shows and you will generally find me somewhere in the crowd if they’re playing in Los Angeles. 

I met Ben in July of 2006, during a rather low period in my life. His previous outfit, Scarlet Grey, was opening for Nico Vega at The Troubadour. I was aware of them, as they had opened for AFI (basically my favorite band of all time), the previous fall. They were great. I stopped by the merch table after the show to express my thanks for their work and tell them I’d be at their next LA show. Fast forward a few months; I’ve kept my promise, Ben spots after they’re done playing, and thanks me for that. We become friends. Ben Grey is one of the most gracious, talented, kind people I have ever met in my life. Even if I’ve already gotten a Facebook notification about a show and RSVP’d, he will still personally message me to invite me, ask me how I’m doing, and listen if the answer is not so great. He is a great person who also makes really great fucking music, and I urge you to check out Dear Boy. (And this is not to shit on Austin, Keith, or Nils…because they’re also amazing men who are ridiculously talented, and equally kind. Shout out to Nils for sharing his beer with me on Saturday).

The in store was awesome. It was held at Vacation Vinyl in Silverlake. If you like record stores, give it a whirl. They had some really good rare stuff, including Jimmy Fallon’s Tebowie 7”. We celebrated the release of Dear Boy’s first 7” by packing a fire code’s violation worth of people into the store on a day when it was already 91,000 degrees and dancing our butts off to 6 song set. I made a few new friends, I got my 7” signed, and I had the pleasure of talking to some old friends. 

Here’s Dear Boy’s Spotify… 

 

In other news…quitting my day job to follow my dreams is the scariest thing I’ve ever done and I don’t know if I’m handling it well. 

What the fuck is Miley Cyrus’s new album?

I'm in love with emo Bieber. 

When will summer end?

Until next time.

xo <3