New Blog

Hey Everybody, because of the new things that I hope to do with my blog, I needed more control than Blogger allowed. My New Blog can be found here

http://danielrbox.comlu.com/

A New post it waiting for you.

Deadbeat Revival

Last night I had the opportunity to attend a Deadbeat Revival concert. Having known the lead singer Eric Buzbee for most my life, I know which bands have influenced their style which influenced my expectations. When the Deadbeat's began playing, I was immediately impressed. Their music is completely unique. Most impressive the band maintained their style throughout the show, demonstrating that the band had made the distinction themselves. Deadbeat Revival offers familiar musical elements and provides them in fresh ways, making every song enjoyable. I believe that the clarity of Eric Buzbee's voice is what exemplified the bands style, in harmony with the bassist, Taylor Smith, the vocals can only be described as beautiful. The bands success would not have been possible without out the solid performance from the Drummer, Louis. His performance greatly improved Deadbeat Revivals overall strength, not once did Louis detract from the band. Perhaps the most unexpected example Deadbeat Revival's talent was a cover of the song Hot and Cold by Katie Perry, not only did the cover demonstrate their unique style by actually making the song enjoyable, it also showcased the unbelievable talent that Deadbeat Revival has. If Deadbeat Revival can improve their writing skills, and continue gaining experience through performances, they will learn which strengths to exemplify in the future. It's easy to predict a bright future for this band.

I would have liked to write a complete review of the other performance by Caught in Remorse but my time is short. Caught in Remorse's performance was somewhat distracted, Mike Buzbee's and Jory Reese preformed like professionals, but I wouldn't be doing a very good job as a critic if I didn't point out the blatantly unrehearsed and poor decisions of the drummer (whose name I don't care to know). As I mentioned before a good drummer showcases the bands ability by supporting the other musicians. In my opinion the only time that undivided attention should be focused on the drummer is during particularly impressive solos, unfortunately I found myself distracted too often by this drummer's performance. The guitarist and bassist are going to have to make some difficult decisions if they want to be as successful as their overwhelming talent deserves.

Deadbeat Revival has been awarded The Box Seal of Approval for excellent music.

College Life

    As everybody's school schedule is getting busier, I thought I'd share the secret of my "stress free" success. A couple months before school started I was searching for on Amazon for something that would put my total over $25 so I could get free shipping, and I stumbled across some books buy Cal Newport about college.

Both of these books have been incredibly helpful, I don't know what I would have done without them. College is such an important step in our lives we all have our own idea of what to expect. I think the biggest misconception about school is the Idea that you are not working hard unless you study all available hours of the day. To quote the red book:

"In the college environment, simple brute force study methods can end up requiring a lot time and causing a lot of pain. Nevertheless, most students still rely on them. And this is why they find themselves regularly pulling all-nighters and developing an antagonistic attitude toward their courses. The Taxing effects and spotty success of these methods also underlie the common belief that only geniuses and grinds can score top grades."

Even though most of you know what the point of this blog is some of you out there are thinking "yeah it sucks to study all the time but it's the only way" That isn't true!

The Authors red book lists several strategies used by real students at Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Dartmouth, Brown, Columbia, Duke, Amherst, and Skidmore. And for me if students studying under the Harvard curriculum can get A's using these strategies they're good enough for me. Here's a list of the how-to topics in the red book:

• Manage your time and deal with the urge to procrastinate
  
• Take targeted notes in class
  
• Handle reading assignment and problem sets with ease
  
• Prepare efficiently for exams
  
• Master the Art of exam-taking
  
• Write incisive critical analysis essays
  
• Conduct thorough research
  
• Write standout term papers
  

The yellow book is a little different but still really awesome, it's a list of 75 things that will help you "win" at college, It's a really good motivator, it never fails to get me pumped for college life. I know many of you are still skeptic but I promise that these books will make a positive impact on your college experience. Cal Newport, the author, has a weekly blog called Study Hacks on which he answers questions submitted by students, he will also personally answer question if you email him. www.calnewport.com/blog

You've got to believe me on this one, I'm the sort of kid that has major anxiety when I feel I am coming up short on something, and I haven't felt any anxiety this school year and I give full credit to these books. Also if you have ADD these books will help tremendously on creating study habits that work with your ADD.