Inspiration is coming from so many different places these days, and per usual, music taste is following accordingly. This week I bumped into an old track by Mala Rodriguez a Spanish female rapper that rips. Just the laid-back look I was looking for this week. Hope you all feel the same. Cheers, kids.
July Tunes
Just figured it was time for a new tune, and Chet Faker come sliding in with this oldie-but-goodie gem. Tune in and enjoy. Happy 4th everyone!
Cutting Room Floor: Buried At Hirafu Station
In recent months I've had a backlog of writing that hasn't been able to find a home. Turns out that I have had a place for it the entire time, right under my nose. I hope to add a couple of these every few months, so stay tuned. To kick things off, here is a brief memory of some time spent in the snowy confines of Hokkaido, Japan in the winter of 2015.
Wordlessly, the train slides up to platform, its hello flashed quickly against the fogged windows of Hirafu Station. Inside, a steam tornado swirls from the tiny stovetop, as our stationmaster, Yoshi, counters the outside storm with another log on the raging wood fire.
Doors open and train passengers shuffle into the station’s waiting room, each lugging a thick layer of white on their black overcoats.
Lost amidst our bottle of sake and trip maps, it takes a few minutes to realize that the train’s departing beeps never sound. I rise from Yoshi’s hand-hewn table to find a neon army of municipal workers shuffling out onto the tracks. Snow shovels in hand, they battle the snow bank accumulating around the engine’s front wheels.
Nothing out of the ordinary, I think. We’ve been on Hokkaido, Japan’s north island, for nearly a week and haven’t seen the sun for more than a few hours. It’s the Japanese winter fabled by poets and winter journeyman worldwide, the reason our group of powder skiers set aside day jobs to trek halfway around the world in search of snow we’d only imagined from the opposite end of computer screens.
Minutes pass and the conductor steps onto the platform. Checking his watch and bowing his head against the galaxy of falling flakes, he paces the deck front to back, back to front, his footfall swept away before it can be retraced.
“How long until they move again?” I ask Yoshi. “This happens a lot, right?”
The stationmaster goes stiff, shuffling manically around the room in search of his coat. As he steps toward the door, he looks back and shakes his head solemnly.
“Never. This has never happened before.”
Over my shoulder I catch the audible gasp from our powder contingent. In a trip full of best days, tomorrow could be the best yet.
20 Years Later...A Seattle Story That Continues To Unfold
I met Katie Rose Fischer-Price for the first time at a Seattle bar with friends a little over a year ago. She was immediately engaging, and after talking for a while, she casually slipped in that she would be heading to Everest Base Camp that May. I was confused why she didn't seem more excited. After some prodding, she mentioned that her father was famed climber Scott Fischer, and how he was the reason for her mission.
A little starstruck, I started to tell Katie how I knew all about her father, I had pored over all of the books, videos, and articles surrounding the infamous '96 Everest climb that took his life and the lives of seven others—I was practically an expert. I realize now just how patient and kind she was in that moment as she told me straight-faced, "That's not the whole story."
Over the next year Katie and her vast support system opened up and gave me that story. All the while, Katie was writing her own impressive narrative in the places her dad loved when they needed it most, and sharing that with me as well.
Today marks 20 years since the tragic events on Mt. Everest that took Scott's life, along with those of Rob Hall, Andy Harris, Doug Hansen, Yasuko Namba,Tsewang Samanla, Dorje Marup, and Tsewang Paljor. For many, those events feel like yesterday, as if time has stood still for all this time. What will stick with me most is that Katie and her brother Andy have refused to be stuck in time with them, becoming their own forces in this life, and honoring their late father in the process. I have to think Scott would be pretty stoked on that.
I was privileged enough to tell Katie and the Fischer-Price's story in a feature inside Seattle Metropolitan Magazine's May Issue. I'm one of thousands of people that could have written it, but I'm just glad it's out there for people to see. In closing, hug your mom, call your old friend, tell that person how you really feel. This stuff is too precious not to.
You can check the article out in the May Issue on newsstands now or HERE online (fo' free).
May Tunes
It's good to feel. It hurts to hurt. Sometimes you get both. Here's today's vibes, brought to you in song form.
April Covers
For all of those following along (*cough*) Mom, Lange (*cough*) you may remember that this is actually the second rendition of a much more robust personal musing space known as the (a)Musings of Bro You Know. I would argue that was some of my most honest, unrefined, and raw work to date. I also think I might have been funnier back then? And I digress.
Anyways, a major part of that blog was posting a new cover song every week, a streak that I kept going for an entire year. Not bad for a spacey college kid.
This week, I had a track reawaken the cover feelers, and figured I needed to share it with you guys. Ella Eyres' soulful pipes take a stab at Jermaine Stewart's 80s abstinence anthem "We Don't Have to Take Our Clothes Off", and the resulting quirky cover just works for me. Remember folks, we can dance and party, all night...
April Tunage
So here's my Confession(s Par II): I'm a rather large RnB fan. My expertise ranges from about '95-'05, but I just really dig the rhythm and those sappy, sultry lyrics. But somewhere along the line, RnB created a hybrid beast of the RnB-inspired electronic variety that has started to pull at the heartstrings, giving birth to the likes of Chet Faker and, now, a group called Honne. Per usual, the song isn't new, just new to me, but it's another one for the ole playlist. Enjoy beezys.
Musica March
Ok ladies and gents, sincere apologies, but winter has zapped all of my extra writing energy. Turns out skiing is pretty darn good this season, so I haven't spent as much behind the keyboard. Alas, that means your poor music libraries have been starved of sustenance, and for that, I apologize. Here's me trying to make it up to you with a little song called, "Genghis Khan" by the talented guys of Miike Snow. Check'er.
Musica, Musica
So, like, these guys totally have a modern day Elton John thing going on, right? Anyways, loving this track by Future Islands, hope you do too.
Musica...Wednesday?
Well at least I'm consistent. Consistently awful at updating this weekly music thing regularly, that is.
This week's headlines have been dominated by the sad passing of a rock 'n roll icon, David Bowie. His death at the age of 69 is a big blow to the music world, and it's times like these that you really see the influence of an icon like the Mr. Ziggy Stardust. You know, like that time a Brazilian artist recorded an entire album of acoustic covers in his honor. If you haven't heard Seu Jorge's entire cover session for The Life Aquatic, check it out here.
Today's track is one of my favorite tributes to Bowie, Seu Jorge's rendition of "Rebel, Rebel". Enjoy.
Monthly Roundup: December 2015
Sunrise skin up Tumalo Mountain with buddy Sam Balyeat with views of Mount Bachelor, OR.
Man, 2015. What a year. This trip around the sun will always stick out as "The Year of Further" in my mind. Further away from home, further out of my comfort zone, further into relationships, friendships, and experiences, further into the crazy ups and downs of life's addicting roller coaster.
By the numbers, I visited six countries, hit Alaska for the first time, and visited family approximately not nearly enough (the latter being a number that will never quite be big enough for my liking). I got to road trip across Spain with my sister and my mom, ski virgin peaks in the wilds of Kyrgyzstan, and bungee jump off a friggin' bridge in Oregon. I also slept on airport floors, ferries, truck beds, real beds, and more than a few couches.
The best part? I got to write about all of it, call it a job, and share those experiences with the people I care about.
A year that started in Japan and ended at a questionable taco truck, 2015, you were one for the books.
Here's some published work from December, including a sandy debut in Men's Journal. Hey, 2016, what you got?
Powder Magazine
Music Monday 2016
2015 was full of trials and tribs for the lot of us, but we're starting 2016 with a friendly reminder from wordsmith Kendrick Lamar.
Monday Music
One of my good buddies puts together a killer Top 50 music list every year, giving me enough listening material for a solid few months. Luckily for all of you, I pass some of the (many) gems your way. If you aren't into the double-filtered selection, head over to Spotify and give Zach Morrissey's personal channel a gander.
For now, a little Neon Indian and their new track "Annie", will have to do.
Happy holidays, beezys.
Monthly Roundup: November 2015
Touring around Mount Baker Ski Area on my birthday. November, 15, 2015.
Winter is all but here and that means everybody everywhere is going through their preseason checklist. Do I have my season pass? Is the workout routine ramped up? Where is my outerwear? What is that smell? Why is that smell coming from my outerwear?
But for a ski writer, it's little more than that. Bookending Thanksgiving are the pivotal few weeks where we decide what we're doing with our lives (okay, maybe just our winter, but still), presenting our finest ski ideas to our favorite publications and hoping that they think we're as cool as we think we are. Pitch season. It's a fun dance, but a time consuming one, so I'm thankful to have still gotten some writing done this month. I even made my debut in a new (to me) print publication, Coast Mountain Culture, which, if you haven't checked it out, is just about as close to art as you can get in the magazine world.
Thanks for checking it out guys. Now, let's get ready for the Niño.
Powder
Music Monday Dec. 14
Woof. Almost a month's hiatus on the blog and not even a good excuse to go with it! Sorry folks. Alas, fear not, as I have a brief respite from the horrible mundanity of Christmas music season. Tune into this track from Stwo and Sevdaliza for an all-too-welcome distraction. Cheers.
Musica Monday Nov. 16
I'm not a huge birthday guy—presents aren't my thing, not a huge fan of that birthday song, and getting old, well, it feels weird. That being said, I hit 27 over the weekend and got to spend time with some of my favorite people in the world. And my other favorite people in the world? Yeah, well they called me, texted me, messaged me, and even emailed me from anywhere and everywhere. I'm really a lucky dude surrounded by some pretty amazing people.
And I digress. As for music this week, another local band that has been stuck in my cerebral is Deep Sea Diver, a catchy alternative group with shades of the Shins, Phantogram, and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Press play.
Musica Monday #Number
Greetings all, happy Monday! After a little friendly prodding last week, I made it out to Neumo's (concert venue of Nirvana fame) for some local live music from bands Sisters and Deep Sea Diver. I have to say, it's been way too long since I've seen some good live music and this one-two punch was exactly what the beats doctor ordered.
While Deep Sea Diver absolutely blew me away, I'm turning to a track by Sisters this Monday. For their final track of the night, a pretty upbeat song called, "Back 2 U", they pulled up renowned Seattle rapper Sol to bring it home. It's the track that stuck with me, and now I'm passing it to you. Enjoy Beezys.
Monthly Roundup: October
Got a chance to see/shoot the Northern Lights for the first time near Mount Baker. Maple Grove, 2015.
This is an experiment, so bear with me here. After having several people ask me where they can find some of my writing, I've realized that I don't really have a good answer. Sure, I have articles on this trusty little site, but it's often hard to update it fast enough to keep up with my current work.
Call me slow on the uptake, but I figure it's time to try something new. Instead of posting a barrage of social media content and pleading with people besides my mom to check out some of my projects, I've decided to list all of my work for the past month in a blog post. The goal isn't narcissism here, I just wouldn't mind making it easier to read, comment, rip apart, or angry tweet some of the content I'm putting out into the world.
So here goes. Read to your hearts content, or turn the page. Thanks for swinging by.
Powder
Passing Through: Crystal Mountain
Week in Review: In Tatum We Trust
GrindTV
Which Ski Pass is Right For You?
Is This the Most Creative Skate Video Ever?
Behind the Scenes of Sweetgrass' 'Darklight'
Thrillist
Why Japanese 7-Elevens Totally Kick Ass
It's happening.
While the days are getting shorter and the nights colder, days in the lift of a ski junkie are really heating up. The mountains are awakening from summer slumber and it's almost time to get up and out there. With the latest system dumping feet of snow in higher Cascadian elevations, we may have jumped the gun getting some early season turns up at Crystal Mountain over the Halloweekend, but damn if it didn't feel good to slide downhill again.
We even met a soul surfer named Eric at the summit, who proceeded to save our day with a screwdriver, a nip of whiskey, and the kind of contagious positivity that draws people like us to the mountain culture year after year.
I'll leave you with a tune, a few grainy phone pictures, and a promise to whip this blog into shape! B EZ.
Musica #14
Competition heating up in the streets of Havana. Cuba, 2013.
Well, it's Thursday and per social media standards my mind is turning the page back to one of the best places I've ever been: Cuba. I was lucky to visit twice, having the rare opportunity to make friends on the island nation and then return to catch up with them a second time. My time in Cuba was special and this little mix and its heavy Cubano influence brings me back to early Havana mornings, the city slowly coming to life as the sun announces itself through cracks in the concrete jungle.