Blessing In Disguise

      So one thing in my life that was a really bad situation that turned out to be a blessing in disguise was the breakup of my first serious band NightSlasher. Basically what happened was everyone slowly but surely became unmotivated and lost interest. After 5 years of hard work we really weren't getting anywhere, many of the members became unreliable and started focusing on life outside of the band, which is perfectly okay, but at the time it really sucked. The straw that broke the camels back was when we had to cancel our studio sessions to make our first real album, that was kinda the only thing that was keeping everyone in the band was the hope that our album would happen, but unfortunately the plans fell through. So most of us went our separate ways me and a couple of the others started a new band.
     At first when it happened I was actually kinda happy, but once we made the announcement on our facebook page and a lot of our fans got pretty upset, I actually started to get really sad. I thought I might've made a huge mistake and messed up what could've ended up being a really good thing. Starting the new band was extremely slow and tedious as well and for a while I didn't know if going through the process of finding all new people and making all new songs would be worth it, I knew eventually that's what I would have to do, but I started to think about taking time off from music.
    I didn't though. Because once the new band actually came together it breathed new life into me.  Now I realize that breaking up the old band was the best decision I could've made. This new one is working out so well and I honestly feel we're 10000x better than the old one. We have better songs and just better and nicer and more dedicated people. I'm much happier now than I ever was with the old band.



Psychological Alchemy
An entrance to the mind
What lies beneath?
What don't we know
That in reality
Deep down we do know

It is a key
To unlock the door to the mind
And unlock the door to our minds mind
Find the hidden passageways inside
Show us who we really are

What drives us
Why we do what we do
Why we are who we are
All the questions have answers
All we have to do is look
At ourselves

Experience

     So I'm going to discuss some events in my life that have set the course for what I want to do with myself. I really haven't had to many bad experiences, so these will mostly be good things.

     The first event was playing my first gig. This was back in Dec of 2012 and I was 15 at the time. The gig was at RGs Pub in Haverhill, MA it was a crappy little bar, but for some reason it was packed with people wanting to see us and the other bands, it was a bout 60 or so people, which doesn't seem like a lot but for my first show that seemed like a million ... especially in such a tiny place. I had been playing in a band called NightSlasher for about 2 years at this point and we had worked extremely hard up to this point, then one day our new Bass player asked us about playing our 1st show, he had heard through a friend that a lady was putting something together and still needed a couple more bands so we got on that. It was just a great night, seeing all those people rocking out to the songs that I made was so cool and it just made me realize more than ever that I wanted to play music for the rest of my life. I wasn't really nervous going into it either, I was very prepared and everything felt so natural, my stage presence was so so, but that has improved greatly over the years.

     Another good experience I had was working my first job at Everett City Hall. It was a summer job that I did the past 3 summers and I really enjoyed it. I just did all sorts of odd jobs, whether it be sorting papers, moving boxes, archiving stuff, or making trips to Dunkin Donuts for the office. It was usually pretty easy, there were definitely some tough days where I did some tedious stuff, but my grandfather and one of my best friends also worked there, so it wasn't usually that bad, I learned a lot about responsibility and it helped set me up for getting  more real job at some ... soon hopefully.

     Another cool experience was when I went ghost hunting in the haunted woods. Now this didn't really shape my future or anything, but as a kid I always had an irrational dear of ghosts and the dark for absolutely no reason, it got better over the years, but even as a teen I was still scared. So last year me and all my friends decided to go to Maudslay State Park .. I don't remember where it's located but it seemed like the middle of nowhere. So we all had flashlights and a gps satellite so we wouldn't get lost ... and we even brought a sword. It was very freaky ... nothing paranormal happened, it was definitely very eerie though, it just felt strange. It was unbelievably dark and it was the middle of the night, if we looked behind us where the flashlights weren't shining it was absolute darkness, I have never seen darkness like that. We found all sorts of weird things, like a pet cemetery and an old run down garden and an area in the middle that was completely open for quite a distance  (I guess a house used to be there and it burned down a while ago) so eventually we got lost even though we had the satellite we kept running into dead ends and eventually all of our flashlights died except 2 (we initially had 6) and then the satellite started to die, but luckily we found the exit before that happened (it had less than 10% battery left) so even though the night was really scary it helped me realize that I probably won't have a night as scary as that again so I guess the thought of that and the fact that I faced my fears and came out just fine it helped me get rid of those fears. NOW I CAN SLEEP WITH THE LIGHTS OFF

Power

     One time I tried to race my friend. I discovered I was faster than him. I discovered I was the fastest the kid in my class. I felt so cool. I knew all the girls would like me now. I was on top of the world.
     Then the next day my friend beat me in a race. My life was over.  The girls would hate me. The cool kids would shun me. I was no longer the fastest kid in my class.
     Then I figured out that by doing a lot of squats and jogging that I could build up my strength and be the fastest kid in the class again. Also I would wear my flash shirt everyday to assure that I'd be extra fast. So then I beat my friend in a race again. I was so fast. The fastest kid in the world.


When I was a limitless child
I wanted to be a Power Ranger
I used to think everything on tv was real
so I thought I could be a Power Ranger
when I grew up
or have my own Pikachu
and catch all the pokemon
or go have coffee with the cast of friends
or become a jedi
with a really badass lightsaber
I thought if i went to new york
I would see spider-man
I always wanted to do that thing from Blues Clues
where Steve jumped into the pictures
I had quite the imagination

Mentor

Letter To My Mentor (My Guitar Teacher)

Dear Brian,

      I am writing to you to thank you for all that you have taught me. You have taught me many lessons on music and how to be the best I possibly could. You have taught me many lessons in life as well. You have taught me to never give up and even though many things will be difficult I will always prevail as long as I give it my all and never stop.
      I remember the day I met you when I was 11 years old and a friend of mine took me to one of his guitar lessons, he kept going on and on about his new guitar teacher and how he was so sick at the guitar and such a cool guy and I just had to meet him, so I figured alright that sounds cool I'll come to your lesson and meet this guy. I walked into the place and saw tons of guitars hanging on the wall and a huge poster of all the famous legendary guitarists and tons of empty pizza boxes. I remember my friend just looking at me and saying "Yeah, he LOVES pizza". Within moments of meeting you and watching you play you had made me realize what a horrible player I was haha. But you had also given me a free lesson and wrote down a bunch of helpful tips that still stick with me to this day. Eventually I started taking lessons from you once a week. You've taught me so much about music. You've taught me so much about life as well and you are definitely one of the few people I talk to when I have a problem and you've helped me through many low points in life. With your wisdom and especially your humor you were always able to make me feel better and put me right back on top of things.
     When I first met you I was just a young kid that didn't really know much about anything at all. Now I am much wiser and have a very extensive musical knowledge. I've played in a few different bands, been to recording studios, and played many shows all throughout New England and I never would've been able to do any of that had you not been there to help guide me. So I thank you for that.

You're a shredder on the guitar

But Splinter In my life

Guide me on my quest to be a star

You fear no strife

Always got me laughing

Van Halen got nothin on your tapping

You taught me to always reach high

So I guess a shredders not always the bad guy

My Perennial Quest

     Hi my name is Andrew Matarazzo, I am 18 years old and am from Everett, MA. I've lived there almost my whole life, there was a period of time from when I was 10-12 where I lived in Salem. Even though there was more to do there I always missed home so I was very glad when we moved back. I spend a lot of time playing music, I currently play guitar in a Power Metal band called Perennial Quest. I used to play in another band called NightSlasher and I did that for 5 years and we played all over the state and a few shows in Rhode Island and that was a lot of fun, but I wasn't really digging the music anymore so that's when I started the new band. The only place I ever worked was at Everett City Hall.  I worked there the last 3 summers and that was a lot of fun, my grandfather and one of my best friends also worked there so it was really cool to see them everyday.

    My biggest interest is music. All I want to do in life is just play music. I've been playing guitar since I was 10 and it's so much fun. Other than that I love reading comics and going to the movies and just hanging out with close friends and I just try to enjoy life as much as possible.

   When asking a friend how they would describe me I was told that I am looked at as a mentor, I am honest, and very trustworthy. Now don't get me wrong I definitely have my bad traits just like anyone else, I can definitely be cranky at times and I can also be a tad lazy, but I try to be as good as I can.

Work towards the sun 
On desires and aspirations.
Not allowing yourself to forget the 
Discovery of your motives. 
Envisage the possibilities. 
Realistic thinking is crucial, but continue to 
Fervently believe in your success. 
Utterly unfathomable is entirely possible. 
Laudably pursue 

The unattainable. 
Hold yourself to it, be
Indefatigable. 
Never forget to 
Go forward with 

Unabated progress. 
Nostalgia will not hold you back, but. 
Fall back if you need to. 
Optimism is the biggest key, 
Learn to love it. 
Dance on the edge of a risk. 

Become 
Everything you'd ever want. 
Find ways to 
Open locked doors 
Remember to find the 
Expectancy in uncertainty 

Make your way to absolute 
Euphoria.