Brien O. - ProfilesArchive

About Me

I am a jack of all creative trades, let's just leave it at that.
Seriously though...I'm passionate about all creative pursuits in life. I get too bored with routine and I love attention too much to settle for blending into mediocrity. Hence, my pursuit of music journalism and music photography, which I knew I've wanted to do since I was 16. Something and someone new every day.
I know it wasn't that long ago that I said "I could never work a 9-5 office job," and yet there I was, working for the man, living for the weekend and staring at a computer screen all day putting in html coding. Lucky me I don't work there anymore :)
I like being around similarly minded people, people who are geared towards artistic and creative endeavors, and are genuinely passionate about what they do as well. And there's nothing I respect more than ambition in the pursuit of said artistic endeavors, people who are willing to live the life of the starving artist for a little while and aren't afraid to be a little hungry because they're doing what they love and that's all they need to be happy. I like to surround myself with people who value honesty and integrity as much as I do, people who aren't afraid to take a stand and don't need affirmation from others in order to really believe in something themselves.
I like being where the action is, I like spontaneity, I like living the rockstar lifestyle of drugs, booze, sex and music...minus the drugs...and sex kinda...but y'know, it's all in a day's work for the modern bandwhore.
Someday, I want to make a legitimate living off of journalism and photography. I want to break the notion that writers can't be photographers and photographers don't write. I want the bands to say "I want that Brien kid to do our shoot, he's got mad crazy ideas," rather than me try to whore myself to the label. I want to keep going on tour, seeing the country one dark and shady club at a time. I want to put Rolling Stone back on track so it's not a half celebrity gossip and half right-wing political agenda magazine anymore (when even liberal me says he's had enough already, c'mon!). I want to start my own magazine. I want to marry Alicia Keys. Then Gwen Stefani. Then finish up and settle down with Jessica Alba. So much to do...
Bands I can't live without:
Thrice
Lostprophets
Brand New
Incubus
Radiohead
Nine Inch Nails
Evanescence
Thursday
Bad Religion
Acceptance
LetterKills
The Clash
Muse
Bands everyone needs to know about:
Bayside
A Loss For Words
Jack's Mannequin
Anberlin
Gallows
Matthew James Shelton
Dustin Kensrue
Cold War Kids
Paramore
The Color Turning
Every Time I Die
Over It
Monsters are Waiting
The Sounds
The Bronx
Yellow Red Sparks
Still Remains
As I Lay Dying
Chiodos
Sam Sparro
Say No More
Monty Are I
The Photo Atlas
Bands who suck:
Trapt
Amber Pacific
Yellowcard
The Pink Spiders
Cute is What We Aim For
Underoath
My American Heart
Three Days Grace
Metro Station
CDs rotating most heavily through my player right now:
Anberlin - New Surrender
Bayside - Shudder
Paramore - Riot!
Brand New - The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me
Thrice - The Alchemy Index vols. 1 & 2: Fire and Water
- The Alchemy Index vols. 3 & 4: Air and Earth
- Vheissu
- The Artist in the Ambulance
Alexisonfire - Crisis
Augustana - Can't Love, Can't Hurt
Saosin - self-titled
Chiodos - Bone Palace Ballet
Scary Kids Scaring Kids - self-titled
The Kooks - Konk
Circa Survive - On Letting Go
Evanescence - The Open Door
Dustin Kensrue - Please Come Home
Atmosphere - Seven's Travels
Over It - Silverstrand
The Bronx - self-titled
Kasabian - Empire
The Sounds - Dying To Say This To You
Beat Union - Disconnected
Forever the Sickest Kids - Underdog Alma Mater
The Matches - A Band In Hope
Sam Sparro - self-titled
Norma Jean - Antimother
Easy ways to my heart:
Chocolate
Art supplies
Taking me on tour
Badly closeted geekery
Being Jessica Alba
Liking Thrice
Modeling for me
Good barbecue
Clothing brands and lines I love:
7 Diamonds
Affliction
Cardboard Robot
Diesel
Drifter
Iron Fist
Jedidiah
MEK
Monarchy
Paul Frank
Rebel Spirit
Rock & Republic
RZST
Salvage
Sinful
To Write Love on Her Arms
Triple Five Soul

My Interests

Artistic expression in all its forms, music journalism, photography, drawing, painting, sculpting, going to concerts, going on tour, transcendentalism, romanitcism, pursuing truth, having integrity, having cook-offs, waxing both poetic and philosophical, etc.

I'd like to meet:

Anyone who doesn't think that they're better than everyone else because they have ironic facial hair or equally ironic tattoos.

Anyone who's not a MySpace "celebrity" or a member of its "glitterati." Audrey's exempt from this because she and I have toured together and she's legit.

Anyone who doesn't have the attitude of "...but what can you do for me?"

People with good grammatical skills.

People who don't give two shits about who's on Cobrasnake.

People who have a good cause they really believe in.

People who are out to exchange wisdom and experiences and want to discuss thoughts, ideas, life in general...rather than try and prove they know more, have more connections or are more important to the "scene" than anyone else.

And anyone who does anything remotely creative.

Oh yeah...and people without fucking emotional baggage.

Music:

Oh man where do I start... 30 seconds to mars, 311, A Perfect Circle, The Academy Is, Acceptance, Aesop Rock, AFI, Against Me!, Alicia Keys, Alkaline Trio, The All-American Rejects, All Time Low, Anberlin, As I Lay Dying, Atmosphere, Audioslave, Auf der Maur, Augustana, Avenged Sevenfold, Bad Religion, Bayside, Beat Union, Bleeding Through, Bon Jovi, Brand New, The Bravery, Bright Eyes, The Bronx, Bullet For My Valentine, Cartel, Chiodos, Circa Survive, The Clash, Cobra Starship, Cold War Kids, The Color Turning, The Dear and Departed, Dillinger Escape Plan, Dredg, Eighteen Visions, Eisley, Emanuel, Evanescence, Ever We Fall, Every Time I Die, The Faint, Finger Eleven, Fiona Apple, Forever the Sickest Kids, Gallows, Garbage, Guilt By Association, Guns N Roses, Gym Class Heroes, Halifax, I Am Ghost, Incubus, The (International) Noise Conspiracy, Jack's Mannequin, Jamie Cullum, Jamie Lidell, Jimmy Eat World, John Legend, Just Surrender, Justin Timberlake, Kasabian, Keane, Kelly Clarkson, Kill Hannah, The Killers, Killswitch Engage, Klaxons, The Kooks, Lacuna Coil, Lamb of God, LetterKills, A Loss For Words, Lostprophets, Lovedrug, The Mars Volta, The Matches, Maximo Park, Meg and Dia, MGMT, The Misfits, Monsters are Waiting, Monty Are I, Murder By Death, Muse, My Chemical Romance, Nine Inch Nails, No Doubt, Norma Jean, Over It, Paramore, Pelican, The Photo Atlas, The Pixies, Queens of the Stone Age, The Raconteurs, Radiohead, Refused, Rihanna, Rilo Kiley, Rise Against, Rocky Votolato, Santogold, Say No More, Scary Kids Scaring Kids, Sex Pistols, She & Him, Matthew James Shelton, Snow Patrol, Soundgarden, The Sounds, Sam Sparro, Sparta, Steriogram, Still Remains, The Stills, Stone Temple Pilots, Story of the Year, Street Drum Corps, The Strokes, Sugarcult, Taproot, Team Sleep, Thrice, Thursday, Tsunami Bomb, Under the Influence of Giants, Unearth, The Unseen, The Used, Waking Ashland, We Are Scientists, Young Love ...just to name a few

Movies:

Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs, The Usual Suspects, The Game, Cruel Intentions, the Lord of the Rings Series, Kill Bill vol. one and two, Dead Poets Society, Swingers, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Donnie Darko, Hero, Trainspotting, Almost Famous, Sin City, Office Space, Match Point, V for Vendetta, Babel, anything else Tarantino...

Television:

Lost, Project Runway, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Drawn Together, any show that plays straight rock music videos

Books:

What is this "printed word" you speak of?

Heroes:

People who stand up for what they believe in.

My Blog

Seriously Olympics?

Speed walking? Huh? Really? You voted out softball and kept that? GTFO.
Posted by Brien O. on Fri, 22 Aug 2008 01:38:00 PST

Good things coming and bad things that won’t go away...

Promotions/validation/joining the management team are awesome... ...but why is Trapt still a band and still on my TV?!?
Posted by Brien O. on Thu, 21 Aug 2008 02:05:00 PST

More reasons I hate Jasmine McAtee

Jas: honestly, i am so stoked for this summer...Brien: ...and i'm jealous Brien: I saw David Cook in passing Brien: you're GOING ON TOUR. Brien: AGAIN. Brien: ...
Posted by Brien O. on Tue, 10 Jun 2008 02:01:00 PST

Musical rants while Im at it...

Dear Corey Taylor, you're not Trent Reznor. Dear Leona Lewis, you're not Mariah. Deal with it. Love,-Bri
Posted by Brien O. on Thu, 01 May 2008 11:34:00 PST

Never has my level of fail been so epic

Someone called me Pete Wentz the other night out and about in H-Wood. A good portion of my soul has since died.
Posted by Brien O. on Thu, 01 May 2008 11:28:00 PST

Alternative Press, bitches

Check me out: Alternative Press Tour blog ...
Posted by Brien O. on Thu, 27 Mar 2008 04:12:00 PST

Brien O.s top 10 albums of 2007

The most awesomely rad: Chiodos Bone Palace Ballet Thrice The Alchemy Index volumes 1 & 2: Fire and Water Scary Kids Scaring Kids self-titled Paramore Riot! Dustin Kensrue Please Come H...
Posted by Brien O. on Thu, 03 Jan 2008 03:20:00 PST

So friggin awesome

Because Thrice is love... ...
Posted by Brien O. on Fri, 07 Dec 2007 05:14:00 PST

You will not find the UFC in my closet

OK, I totally get into the UFC stuff and watching the fights and whatnot, it's good shit and some of those dudes are just fucking insane with what they can do. I'm not into it being a fashion trend, h...
Posted by Brien O. on Sat, 30 Jun 2007 04:46:00 PST

Three Days Grace...

This is the second blog I've posted about Three Days Grace, but...I still don't fucking get them and the progression of their image... 1) They started off doing the whole Linkin Park nu-metal-badly-dy...
Posted by Brien O. on Wed, 18 Apr 2007 12:44:00 PST