Another Article!

I had another article in the Play section of the Anchorage Daily News today, as I wrote the feature for the upcoming Cake concert. This meant I got to talk to the lead singer of one of my favorite bands and write about them in a way I never thought I'd be able to in the past. It was my favorite article yet, and I really think I'm getting better with each passing article.

Check it out here, and look for me to get back in the swing of things this weekend on the old blog.

I'm in the Paper! (Again)

It seems that my raw writing talent has struck the fancy of the Anchorage Daily News once again, as I'm writing not just one but TWO articles for them over the next month. The first one will be appearing in Friday's edition on the front page of the Play section (for non-Alaskans, this is the Entertainment section that appears every Friday) and is a profile of Alaskan musician Jared Woods. He's a heck of a nice guy and very talented as well, and it was a blast getting to know him. I'll link to this article tomorrow.

On top of that, I was offered the piece on Cake much to my delight. Cake is one of my all-time favorite bands, and one that I've connected with for a very long time. In fact, I'd say they're perhaps the most consistent band in my life. I like them as much today as I did when I first liked them.

This gave me the chance to have a phone conversation with lead singer John McCrea (!!), in which I got to speak to him specifically for the piece and took the opportunity to ask a couple questions I always wanted to ask. The guy was a gem, and it made me extremely happy to say "holy crap, I interviewed one of my favorite bands."

Considering I'm basically a big fraud who can't write at all, it's pretty cool that I've managed to interview so many artists of different mediums that I greatly respect over the past few years. Thank god none of them were in person, otherwise I likely would have had a panic attack and been breathing through a paper bag throughout the conversation. Turns out that is frowned upon.

That piece will be coming some time shortly before the show (if I was a betting man, I'd say July 30th), and hopefully I can do an okay job on that one too. No less, look for my name out there as I use the ADN as a launching pad for my dream career: traveling food writer. This is totally going to work. Traveling to the south of France to sample escargot, going to the far reaches of Thailand for the top curries in the world, and all the way to NYC to try the best in bagels...great. Now I'm hungry. This job is going to ruin me.

My Debut in Print

While my writing has been in print before it has never really been in something widespread. Not that I write for some sort of illustrious word of mouth fanzine or something like that, but in a much lamer way - like writing a story in a school fiction collection. Either that or my name has been associated as the center of another person's piece, like when my friend Ryan Atkins used me as the focus in his article about Fantasy sports place in college. From time to time I've been quoted as well, but I'd never written anything front to back that was ran.

Until today.

Sort of.

The Anchorage Daily News ran my preview of Saturday's Ludacris concert on the front page of their Play section today. It was a kind of nerve wracking experience and a thrill to see my name there, and perhaps one I'll try again eventually. While it was a bit disappointing that the version that I really loved didn't see the light of day, I understand why that version didn't. It made me realize how informal and unpolished my writing style is. Not only that, but it made me realize how much I liked writing in an informal and unpolished manner.

But as a firm believer in the idea that you should try everything once, I have tried this now. Thanks to Spencer Shroyer for giving me the opportunity to do so. I very much enjoyed the experience and hope to do it again to further enhance my writing skills. Hopefully next time it's about something I know more about than Luda (whom I discovered I actually like quite a bit while researching).

Make sure to check out my debut article, and spread the word of my glory. Or not.

Shamefest Update and Official Announcements

I have two announcements today. One is affiliated with a post from last week, while the other is in relation to a post I wrote back in September of this year. Both are extraordinarily good news and both I'm excited to share.

First off, I have an update on my potential new writing gig. It turns out I will be writing for the Play section of the Anchorage Daily News after all as a freelancer, and my first assignment will likely be previewing Ludacris' upcoming show. For a person who really started writing again because of my incessant need to over share, actually being paid to do so is quite surreal. Quite literally, I am a journalist now. Or I suppose I will be once I actually get paid for it.

Second off, I have an update on Joanne, Cate, Lorna and I's weight loss campaign called Shamefest 2009. While I got off to a rather inauspicious start, as I a ballooned four pounds in the first week, I have since responded with vigor and tenacity. Every week I've either stayed flat or I've lost weight, dropping from my second week weight of 221 down to 207 at this point. Not only that, but I'm back to running sub 6 minute single miles while my endurance is up as well (1.5 miles in 9 minutes and forty six seconds) and I've gotten my strength near pre-Europe levels.

It turns out when you go to Europe for a month and only walk from place to place and eat tons of food, you don't lose a lot of weight, and it makes you really not want to work out upon your return. It's taken me that long to get back on the horse, so to speak. Throw in the fact that I've now added the stellar Group Centergy class taught by my friend Stephanie to my repertoire, and even my flexibility and core strength have improved dramatically.

So yeah...it's been a pretty quality couple months for me. I'm really looking forward to keeping all of this going as I move along as well. Assuming I don't rediscover my passionate love of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and become illiterate over night, I should be fairly safe.

Going Legit

This past weekend I was departing Middle Way Cafe after scarfing down another of their tasty avocado breakfast burritos when a stranger stopped me.

Guy: Slicedfriedgold?
Me (wondering who the hell would be named such a thing): Ummm....
Guy: It's me, DJ Encyclopedia Brown
Me (realizing this is a Twitter friend): Oh...hey there.
Guy: Your name is David right? I'm Spencer.
Me: Oh yeah, Spencer Shroyer right? From the ADN?
Guy: Yeah...let me give you a business card.

Of course, I'm perplexed. Why am I getting a business card? This was a similar situation to a few years back while on a ferry to Victoria, British Columbia when a really intense looking man with a shaved head came up to my car, knocked on the window and said "Are you Shaft?" and turned out to be someone I played Counter-Strike with. Except far less creepy and much cooler. Why was it cooler?

Well, it turns out I may possibly end up writing for the Anchorage Daily News as a freelancer. I'd be writing about music and pop culture, which is pretty much my thing. I have not actually been officially added on as a freelancer yet and it only would pay a minimal amount per piece I write, but I felt I needed to share. If I do get hired on, I'll have to learn how to write. That part is problematic, at best.

Hopefully I become the Bill Simmons of the ADN, as my friend Erik suggested. I really cannot imagine something I could want more than that. Okay...there are a few things (the ability to fly, a golden ticket that allowed me to get on any airplane first class, a debit card with infinity dollars on it, other things that will go unrevealed) I'd want more, but this is better because it's real.