The Greatest Album Review Of All Time - Ballroom Boxer

What do you get when you drop the Great Gatsby, Johnnie Walker, & fireworks in a blender?  The answer is a need for a new blender, as that combo will probably ruin the motor pretty quickly.  Good news is that you can find plenty of them at Bed, Bath & Beyond this holiday season, which is my preferred castle for everything home.  Oh yeah, you also get Ballroom Boxer, a staple in the Chicago music scene and my favorite Spotify obsession.  Over the years, the critically acclaimed rockers have opened for national acts such as Velvet Revolver, Buckcherry, and The Gaslight Anthem; but their finest achievement to date is this album review that you are reading at this very moment. 

The group, formed by brothers Mike and Dave Altier, Jared Cummans, and Tom Wood, came together from different areas of the country, including Chicago, Tennessee, and Akron, Ohio.  When asked about how the band emerged from these distinctly different regions, lead singer Mike Altier stated that each area’s awful football teams and really shitty quarterbacks were the inspiration. Might As Well Be a Bullseye, the pounding closing track on their debut EP Summer Mixes & Backseat Dreams, was written about Bears quarterback Jay Cutler and the less than stellar play of his left tackle.  Altier has a knack for drawing inspiration out of the deepest of despair.  The track is just one of the heart-pounding, soul-shaking moments on the band’s well-built debut.

Jukebox Romeo

 The band’s inventive sound really shines on its strongest track, Lost in Someday, an energized song soaked with whiskey and Ecto Cooler.  A gritty tone with a pop-like feel, Altier’s vocals reminisce of vintage souls such as Springsteen, Petty, and Zach Morris from that one episode where Zach Attack takes over The Max and shreds on their #1 smash, Friends Forever.  Ballroom Boxer, or any band for that matter, cannot top this heartfelt tune about friends, but I’ll be damned if they don’t try their hardest.  Hearts Are Wild, the band’s most poppy effort, grooves on in the middle of the EP and is a great summer song for males to bop around the beach in short jeans shorts to.  There is nothing that the band holds back. Last Cig, with its raunchy guitar and pounding drums is probably a good song; I haven’t listened to it yet.  I would definitely recommend it though, I think.  

Ballroom Boxer combines tight drums, driving guitar, catchy hooks, and acute alcoholism into one thrilling package that I cannot get enough of.  Overall, the band has crafted the perfect feel-good summer splashed EP that leaves you yearning for a follow-up, which they are currently recording in studio.  For more heartache, redemption, and wild times, check Ballroom Boxer out at their blog page, http://ballroomboxer.tumblr.com/, Twitter @ballroomboxer, or facebook.com/ballroomboxer.  

The Key to Geniune Messaging - Be Yourself

When I started this blog, I thought that it would be a great outlet to become a better writer. I have found out that the best way to accomplish this is to write, keep writing, and when you finally think you are done and sick of writing, write some more. The main reason for this blog is to help me in my professional life. I have a pretty decent creative mind and have a certain knack for identifying issues and finding simplistic, yet impactful creative solutions. I am always trying to stay on top of the latest trends in photography, music, social, and creative design. I find this essential to becoming a well-rounded marketer. My biggest weakness is in my creative writing ability. Anybody reading this out there that is a copywriter - God bless you. Many people overlook the importance of this role, but it is one of the most essential in the creative process. And I suck at it.

As I have been writing these posts, what I have found is that it is really easy to write about myself. Some of my favorite posts (and easiest ones to write) include stories of personal experience, opinion and self-deprecation. I shine in the latter, as you will soon find out in a future post. The reason these come to me so effortlessly is because I am being myself and writing about what I know. I am my own audience. I use this space primarily to improve a known weakness and hope to make people like me laugh along the way (which is highly debatable). It is a really simple process because I am just being me.

This made me think about my professional life and my struggles with writing, as well as other companies that offer lackluster content. As a company, the message that you convey to your core-audience should be a reflection of who you are and what you stand for. Being genuine and real counts. Many corporations and small businesses feel like they need to be everything to everyone. I say that if you’re not alienating some portion of the population that you’re doing it wrong. Would you rather have a core base of crazy fanatics of your brand, while isolating some groups, or have a homogenous fan base that will switch brand allegiance unhesitatingly? I’d rather have the former, even at the expense of potential market share and other blah blah business talk that investors and people in suits worry about.

This is why companies that are real have an easier time engaging their customers. Be yourself. Just like it is easier for me to write about my life, the same holds true in business. Companies that aren't afraid to be who they are come across more genuine to their audience. It's really noticeable when you try to fake it. Listing customer service as a company pillar on the "About Us" section on your website means absolutely nothing. They are empty words if not truly embodied every single day. But having a passion and caring for genuine customer service is instantly noticeable. You don't even have to list it on your website. People don't need websites to tell them how to think or feel about a company. In an unofficial survey that I just made up in my head and have absolutely no research to back up, 98% of customers appreciate genuine customer service. The other 2% are jerks that complain about everything. The key to becoming a better writer and getting people to notice you or your company as genuine? Be yourself.