I Remembered!

I told you last week I had a theme for last week’s newsletter and I forgot it. And I told you that I would remember. Well, for all you haters out there who didn’t think I’d remember…. WELL I DID. This week, let’s talk about running. And DIY shows. And Mother Mary. 

Running - Hang with me. Ready? I run. Less than I used to cause now I have a walking pad. I have a streak of like 90something days of burning 1,000 calories and keeping my Move ring closed on my Apple Watch. Crushing it. I used to run 5 miles two to three times a week, but I learned about running and exercise on instagram or TikTok and it turns out, that intense running wasn’t super good for my body. Blah blah blah. So now… I walk a bunch and I still try to go on a couple 2 mile runs each week just to change the rhythm up. Keep up. Come on.

Near my house, we have a bunch of hills. An obnoxious but pleasant amount of hills. My runs are mixed with a bunch of incline/declines and I happen to run past a bunch of people I know. So I awkwardly wave or give peace signs or flip off their front window when I run by (HI BIANCA!!!!). It’s embarrassing cause I get real red in the face when I run. Like a tomato. A big long hair, beard tomato farting down the streets of San Marcos. My kids do it too when they play soccer. Genetics. Weird. Anyways, I don’t like talking to people when I’m in the middle of my run. But there’s one dude who lives at the bottom of a big ass hill and I’ll wave to him as I run past. Turns out, he’s very impressed by my running route cause I take on these big hills. Which…I do to push myself. I’m trying to push myself with my runs, right? So this guy mentions something about my mile time which is like 8-9 minutes per mile. Not bad, not great. I don’t care. And he’s like oh, I go on easier paths when I run so my mile time is better on Strava. And I’m like…. What the ****? You what? Why? 

(Editors note - I didn’t actually say that)

But let’s pause. So you’re telling me you intentionally run easier paths so you can post better mile times on a social media? You purposefully game your strava mile time so you look better to your friends? If anyone reading does this, please let me know (or don’t). That’s just so odd! Right? But then I thought about it and we do this kinda stuff all the time. Did social media break us? We’re constantly making choices to make us look better to our peers. Weeeeeeird. Kinda icky weird. Made me think about the music industry and how people are obsessed with monthly streams and monthly listeners and followers.

We had someone recently tell us we aren’t “Label-ready” and I’m pretty sure it’s cause our Spotify Monthly listeners are so low. Guys… holy moly, we don’t care. Our music is being made and released cause we love it and we have a passion for creating and we have a ton of fun doing it. Having fans, playing shows, getting to meet people around the country is all a huge freaking blessing/ unintentional side effect of a very selfish endeavor. This... undertaking (cymbal hit) is not for followers and listeners and likes. We’re not choosing the easy path forward just so our numbers look good. Hear me… we’re gonna make weird, kinda chaotic, kinda kooky metalcore adjacent rock n roll cause…. Guys, it’s never gonna die. 

Blah. Rant almost over. 1) I love running and I’m going keep running my hills. 2) You do you. Run the easier path. Make yourself look better on social media. 3) The Undertaking! has a bunch of plans to keep this baby rolling forever and we’re not gonna stop cause “no one listened to our new single.” 

YAH! Told you I’d remember. Freaking Strava. Delete that app and just run. Who cares about sharing how many miles you ran. It might be Strata? Not sure. Not looking.

DIY SHOWS - Shout out Bleed For the Scene. Went to one of their shows this past weekend. Josh is active military so he has access to VFW’s. I told Josh #2 (Kemble) that I feel young at heart but realize I’m the old dad at shows when one of the bands is a bunch of 16 year olds. Sick for them, humbling for me. Anyways, I may or may not link to a video from the show. It was packed. Stoked for the scene. Support your local scene. 

UNDERTAKING SHOWS - May 23 at Pourhouse (Oceanside). May 30 at Tower Bar (North Park). June 12 in Nashville. June 13 in Kentucky or Indiana. June 14 in Grand Rapids or Kalamazoo. June 15 in Chicago. August 1 in Vista (Roadies). Come to all of them. Buy tickets. Hyper linked above. 

Mother Mary - new David Lowery jammer. I’ve found certain musicians and filmmakers really get my creative synapses firing…. Noah Hawley and Legion/Fargo…. ETID…. And more recently David Lowery and The Green Knight. He’s so interested and obsessed with aesthetic and the artistic and visual choices he makes just click with my brain. He has a new movie called “Mother Mary” and I thought it ruled. Josh… this is for you. 

Anne Hathaway plays Lady Gaga and Michaela Cole is her fashion designer. Anne fires Michaela and Michaela’s anger/sadness/resentment manifests itself… never mind. No spoilers. Movie rips. It’s spooky but not scary. It’s poppy but not over the top. It’s basically those two actors circling each other for 2 hours. Their regrets. Their future. Their past. I was locked in. Just weird enough to be weird but not like David Lynch weird. 4 Hail Marys outta 5. 

Just FYI - you get two newsletters this week cause Funeral Psalms turns 5 on Thursday. 

Goodbye now. 

Song of the Day

Merch (every order has been getting a free tote bag). Discord.