Reliable News Source: Michigan Earthquake Hoax Sweeps Facebook

did you get duped by a friend posting about an earthquake that didn’t happen. Surprise all an effort to raise brain cancer awareness.

psych! It was real but I had you going!

Extreme Closeup @Phoenix_Sophia

She does not have a fat forehead!

Go time get ready

Go time get ready

Phoenix is gonna shine so bright

1971-like at the hospital

What’ll be ur 1st words to Phoenix?

I stepped Down as Vocalist…

I’d rather do this in person but I’ve got a lot to say and i don’t want to leave anything out. Also, i didn’t want anyone to waste the trip out to Dorr for this little speech. To start off I hope you guys know that I am not interested in making any of you feel guilty, I’m just feeling very truthful, Ok? Here it is:

I started writing songs when I was 11 years old. The first song I wrote was with my brother on an ensoniq keyboard back in 1993. I was inspired by Kris Kross mostly but also, metallica, megadeth, dr. Dre & snoop dogg. I spent the next 10 years making music and writing songs, melodies and lyrics. I rarely had the opportunity to perform my songs in front of anyone. I hated being stifled, I hated not getting to share my music with more people.

In 2004, I formed Vintage with Steve Shelley. We weren’t the most talented band or musicians, we didn’t have a clue what we were doing, but we made the music that we wanted to make. And I finally had a chance to share my music with more people. I was given an opportunity to perform in front of crowds of people and I’ll be eternally grateful to everyone that helped make that dream come true. For all the flaws in Vintage it was most likely one of the biggest successes of my life. Because without it, I would have missed out on meeting, and becoming friends with so many people that I love and cherish so much today.

Prior to the name change to Pass of Aggression, our band had undergone many changes. Some of them good, and some bad. But I think my biggest failure was not staying true to myself. I thought our band could be successful where so many other local bands were not. I felt like we understood, to make it out of the crowd of nameless local artists, we would come together to make music more widely appreciated and accepted. I now recognize that the rest of the band lost faith in my ability to lead us to success. Everyone became much more confident in what their own musical visions were, and understandably they wanted to express them through POA. But that became more about this song isn’t us, and that song isnt us, and I don’t like this song, or this song is boring to me, or we can do better than this, or let’s just forget that, etc, etc, etc… Instead of adding or creating better ideas on top of creative input from each other we became quick to just shoot down ideas for no more reason than, I just don’t think that’s good enough. Instead of letting each other contribute and express ourselves it became more about throttling and limiting individuality that came across in a song. And I am probably the biggest culprit of that mistake.

We once had the ability to connect with such a large group of people through our shows and social network fan-base. But we took them for granted, we pushed them away by neglecting the formula that got their appreciation and attention in the first place. I think we were trying to prove something to… I don’t even know who. Maybe other local bands and musicians, maybe we were trying to prove something to ourselves, or past members or the other guys in our own group, that we were now better than our Vintage predecessors. Ultimately all we did was destroy the uniqueness that our fans had loved from the beginning. We turned ourselves into someone else, something that was unrecognizable to me. I allowed this wonderful thing that I created, with Steve Shelley back in 2004, to become a monster of ego and arrogance. It’s funny they say that children grow up and become a spitting image of their parents. I admit, my ego and arrogance has been constantly present and out of control since the band first formed. I know it is my greatest character flaw, but regardless i still believe I can be successful through my music.

Just as I did in 2004 when I left my solo projects behind for greener pastures in the band. I believe the time has come again for me to move on with my musical visions. The members of Pass of Aggression/Vintage are all like brothers to me, even the ones I rarely or never see anymore. I’m so proud to have seen everyone mature and grow as musicians and I am grateful I got to watch it happen and be a part of it. I’ve struggled and fought for too long to have a greater influence over the musical creation, and I realize, it’s just not fair for me to push my agenda’s and ideas on to my friends. All 5 of us, I believe are truly gifted. We have heart, determination and strength. I believe what we’ve accomplished, to this point, should be considered a huge success. And we can tell our grand children that not only did we try, but we actually DID IT! We never reached the big houses and fancy cars, we never made “a living” doing what we loved but we still did it. We did it when it wasn’t easy, when there was every excuse not to. I am sad that this day has come. But I no longer see myself going in the direction I truly believe deep down inside I need to go. And asking anyone else to change their convictions isn’t fair. We all have goals, desires and dreams. I believe our ideas on how to get there are just too different now. So i believe it is finally time to let go and accept the new direction our lives will take us. I know how talented you all are, and if you keep going in whatever direction you believe will get you to your, fame, fortune, notoriety or even just making music as your 9 to 5. I urge you to continue down that path, you can get there. I will try to do the same. It has been a pleasure my friends and I will miss our time together, but I know our friendship is strong and won’t fail so I’ll still be seeing each you soon and often. At least that is if you can ever forgive me for this email. Until then lyrics anyone?

“how do I tell you it’s over… How do I pretend I don’t want to stay… How do I convince you to leave me… How do I convince myself to stay…”
~ Better for You

John Lee

062411.com (Live Wedding Viewable Here)

http://qik.com/khamelijon