I AM GRUMPY

Overall, rock. Let it rip. 

But also, I’m grumpy. I deleted TikTok and Twitter off my phone so I’m not up to date on memes, but my Instagram and Facebook feeds have been taken over by music industry accounts that always have the “right” advice. 

“What’s Up Guys. My name is Bob and I’ve been in 25 bands and toured the country 15 times and here’s how to grow your group successfully.” And it’s like… I mean… their content isn’t bad or wrong. You have to understand that the music industry isn’t one size fits all. Their content ranges from writing emails to venues and promoter* to creating local fanbases** and creating anchor cities*** 

*Writing Emails to Promoters: Homies in the TikTok world out here telling people to make sure to tell the promoters what your band name is. Make sure to link your music. Bro. Obviously. 

**Play local shows. Be cool. Have friends. Make friends. Local shows are hit or miss. One will be great. One will be terrible. 

***Anchor cities: Shout out Spokane, an anchor we haven’t visited in 3 years. Shout out, other cities. 

Screw it. I’m going to start making grumpy instagram reels about bands just doing whatever they want. Play shows. Have fun. Write cool music. Take risks. None of this stuff matters. 

“What’s Up guys, my names Austin. I’m in a d tier metalcore adjacent band called (it doesn’t matter) and none of this is actually worth it. Go have fun. You wanna play shows with your friends? Make it happen. Don’t overthink the weird minutia of anchor cities and whatever. Yes - make sure to write articulate emails to promoters. Stay the whole show. Be cool. Promote the show weeks before the date. Throw some ad money on your reels beforehand in the cities you’re about to play. Yes. Do all that. But also, have fun. Do it cause you love it. No one in the industry owes you anything. Everyone’s out for themselves. Go out and play shows and pour your gosh dang heart out on the stage or floor every night. You don’t need in-ears. You don’t need samples. You don’t even need merch (you should though). Support the other bands you play with. Know their name. You don’t need a manager. You don’t need a booking agent. They’re just gonna take money from you or tell you not to do the fun things. Don’t lose your attitude. If you do… maybe take a break. Music is supposed to fun. Thanks for watching. Hit that subscribe button and make sure to like our post”

That’ll play, right? Hahahahaha. I’m not jaded. It’s just the reality of where we are. 

Appreciate you all. 

Oh, my intro sub header thing - why does being grumpy help me stay motivated? cause its a reminder that its supposed to be fun. and when The Undertaking! is having fun, we’re unstoppable.

MOVIES AND TV 

The Bear - I liked this show a lot. I won’t spoil anything but I thought the final season was great. Hit the right notes for me. 

Hot-D - this shows dour yall. No humor all dragon fire. I watch but I don’t necessarily enjoy. 

DANS VIDEO GAME CORNER

Different Mercuri, same nerd stuff.

Mina the Hollower is a game that answers the age old question:

What if Gameboy Zelda was also Bloodborne and also Castlevania.. and also about a mouse?

In Mina the Hollower you play as a mouse named Mina who is also a hollower. Which is a secret guild of, what I can only describe as mice, who research the earth and its resources.

Your main goal is to restart the “Spark Towers” that have been sabotaged. Each one is in a different biome, like a graveyard or a snowy mountain, and are guarded by a boss. It’s Zelda 101, and it’s awesome. So you take your little mouse and your little whip and take on big monsters all over the map while uncovering more and more of the story.

This game is beautiful, it nails the look and feel of an old Gameboy game like Link’s Awakening. The character, enemy, and boss designs are all phenomenal. The world is vibrant and fun to explore, even if you end up at a dead end.

Mina the Hollower is hard, like real hard. It lets you know who’s boss in the early game (it’s not you). The difficulty feels like it was inspired by Soulslike games. When you die, and you will die; you will run the risk of losing all your “bones.” (The in game currency and also your experience points). Then you make a mad dash back to where you died to collect it all back before you subsequently die again. It’s great.

If you like Gameboy games or souls games. Get this game, it’s 20 bucks.

OKAY - that’s it.

SONG OF THE DAY