I can only assume that this sometimes ambiguous, sometimes uninviting expression has been occupying my face for a while. It’s been manipulating my eyes, mouth, and countless facial muscles in aims of organizing the millions of dizzying thoughts that dance through my head, inadvertently conveying an unwelcoming warning to its viewers. Although I’m just becoming aware of its existence, I can’t say I’ll be doing anything about it any time soon. It seems I’ve no expendable brain power to mask my own thoughts, as these thoughts are currently serving the all important purpose of weaving a lyrical tapestry grand enough in both size and substance to complement and complete an entire album of music.

I’m using words to create imagery and emotion, to convey ideas and dreams, to lament and to make bold claims, to tell tales and to right wrongs. An entire universe is forming in my mind, pieced together with words and rhymes, rhythms and melodies. Its characters develop and travel across its massive landscape, exploring untouched stretches of thought-lined paths, tearing down old ideas and building strange new inventions that spit out stanzas that run and fly and can breathe under water.

This universe is indeed wondrous, but it is all consuming. It occupies my every waking moment and demands my full attention. It nags incessantly, begging to be nurtured. It pulls my mind in and out of reality as lines of prose invade my mouth and interrupt simple small talk, confusing grocery clerks and bank tellers.

Immersed in my pursuit of mot juste, I forget about this real world. I forget about the universe that exists beyond the borders of my own skull. I forget how to discern between the feeling of a frown and a grin, a furrowed brow and a burst of laughter. I forget that any of these are even visible or that anyone might actually be looking.

I didn’t mean to put this sign here, but, maybe, until my tapestry is complete and my universe has been fully colonized, one might be wise not to disturb.

We’re looking for committed, passionate fans that are interested in participating in fun and creative guerrilla marketing in exchange for exclusive HoE merch and music, free admittance to select shows, and more. If this is you, sign up below!

Upon joining the Hills of Elysium Street Team, you’ll be provided with more details on what’s in store for the year.

**Membership is open to all fans, from all corners of the globe.**

Rock.And.Roll.
Hills of Elysium

To all of our fans and friends we wish you all a kick ass 2012!

We’ve got some pretty awesome plans in store for this year, so be ready. We’ll be releasing a new album, playing a ton of shows, and more.

Be sure to check us out on facebook and follow us on twitter for up to date reports on your favorite HoEs’ antics.

Rock.And.Roll.

Hills of Elysium

Thus, here are a few highlights from the past year. Shit I liked and Shit I didn’t like are listed below, loosely ordered by importance. For a more extensive, detailed recount of my 2011, buy me a beer and I’ll tell you some stories.

Happy fuckin’ New Year!

Sorry it’s been so long since I last wrote to you. I’ve been pretty busy (and very good as you already know). I’m writing to you this year hoping that, as you’ve always come through in the past, you might be able to grant me a Christmas wish. I don’t need any gifts this year, I would just like to make one small request.

I will be spending Christmas Eve at my mother’s house, as per tradition, and was wondering if you could lend us some of your elves for the evening to aid us in some home defense. You see, last year, your arch nemesis The Grinch, stole our Christmas. Literally. He took every last present from under the tree, the stockings that had hung full of candy and mini bottles of Bailey’s, and even worse, my mother’s lifetime collection of jewelry. I ended up spending the Christmas money I was given by my grandparents on an early morning run to Walgreen’s (the only store open in Skagit Valley on Christmas morning) for overpriced tacky gifts for my devastated mother and outraged teenage brother.

I tried my best not to let The Grinch ruin my Christmas last year, but I also swore that I would never let him strike again. Thus, I am asking for some help. If The Grinch does indeed return this year, I want to be prepared. I’m looking for the most bad ass, hardcore, sharpshooting, ninja skills having, vendetta holding elves you’ve got. I’m sure there are a few of them that fit this description, and if so, I would love to borrow them for the night of Christmas Eve. I can supply the arms, so no worries about transporting weapons.

If we catch The Grinch this year, I’ll be sure to keep him alive for you until you’re done making your rounds and you can finish him off. I can’t promise what kind of state he’ll be in once you get him though. I’ve got a year’s worth of rage brewing and an unquenchable thirst for vengeance.

Anyway, I hope this letter finds you in good health and I look forward to meeting the elves you send us! Thank you and Merry Christmas!

Love,

September Garland

PS- Below is a photo of the type of elves I have in mind. Of course, they would have to be real life elves, not figurines, but you get the idea.

Wikipedia gives a great explanation for those of you who are unfamiliar with the phenomenon that is Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon:

Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon is a trivia game based on the concept of the small world phenomenon and rests on the assumption that any individual involved in the Hollywood, California film industry can be linked through his or her film roles to actor Kevin Bacon within six steps. The name of the game is a play on the “six degrees of separation” concept. The game requires a group of players to try to connect any individual to Kevin Bacon as quickly as possible and in as few links as possible.

Thanks to Miss Jenny Lin, the actress who played one of the main vampires in our music video for “Planet Full of Strangers”, Hills of Elysium’s Bacon Number is now 3!

Hills of Elysium

was in

“Planet Full of Strangers” music video (2010)

with

Jenny Lin

was in

an episode of Californication (2012)

with

David Duchovny

was in

Kalifornication (1993)

with

Brad Pitt

was in

Sleepers (1996)

with

KEVIN BACON!!

Shortly after the completion of our video, Jenny Lin moved to LA in pursuit of her acting dreams. Since her move to LA, Jenny Lin has landed roles in a variety of popular TV shows including Dexter, CSI, and Californication. She also appeared in Rammstein’s newest music video for “Mein Land”.

Check out Jenny Lin’s profile on IMDB here: http://www.imdb.me/jennylin

Band Name: Blame it on the Girl
Location: Seattle, WA USA
Genre: Alternative/Jump Rock
Members: Linzi (Vocals), Ryan (Guitar), Ben (Drums) & Dean (Bass)

Seattle based Alternative/Jump Rock band Blame it on the Girl has been rockin’ the shit out of the Puget Sound and beyond since their inception in 2007. They’ve released multiple EPs and have completed 3 west coast tours thus far.

Back in 2008, Hills of Elysium and Blame it on the Girl played an all ages show together at a tiny venue in North Seattle for a crowd of about 7 people. It was a disastrous event, but the performances were electric. Our bands complemented one another musically in a way that made up for the shitty turnout and reminded us just how amazing it can be to perform with bands that you actually enjoy listening to, watching perform, and hanging out with.

For one reason or another, we lost touch with Blame it on the Girl until this fall when we shared the stage again at the 2 Bit in Seattle. The most recent show was electrifying, and this time, for a decent sized crowd. My bandmates and I are stoked to have reconnected with these guys and gal and look forward to many an exciting show together in the future. Of course, we won’t be waiting long. Blame it on the Girl and Hills of Elysium will be performing together at NEUMOS in Seattle tomorrow night. I anticipate a most epic evening!

Blame it on the Girl’s multiple EPs are currently available on BandCamp. GO BUY SOME NOW!!! To hear more from and about Blame it on the Girl, check them out on the following sites:

Blame it on the Girl on Band Camp
Blame it on the Girl on Facebook
Blame it on the Girl on Reverbnation

Next on my list of seemingly impossible feats is to complete this draft and proceed to edit, edit, and edit the shit out of it. I’ve set my deadline for completing this manuscript for March 26, 2012 (my birthday, if anyone’s wondering when to send me presents), at which point I plan to prepare for the exciting notion of becoming a rejection letter collector!

Now that I’ve completed NaNoWriMo, I’ll be shifting my attention to other pressing challenges and projects and will be returning control of this blog back to the rock and rebellion loving corner of my brain. Stick around. I will undoubtedly have entertaining things to say and exciting stories to embellish.

(For any of you who may wish to congratulate me for this achievement, feel free to come out to Hills of Elysium’s next show on December 3rd at Neumos and buy me a goddamn beer. )

This will be our last show for a while as we’ll be locking ourselves up in the studio for the next few months and won’t re-emerge again until the spring, hopefully with a new album.

Stay tuned for updates on the album as well as other crazy news from your favorite HoEs! \m/\m/

Tickets available online and at the door. Click the poster for tickets now!

By the end of today, I’ll hit the official halfway mark as far as word count goes. The more I write and the more shit I put my poor characters through, I realize that this story is turning out to be entirely too awesome to be confined to a mere 50,000 words. Even though this number seemed impossible to attain just a short week ago, I’m realizing now that by the end of this challenge, it’s more likely that my word count will be somewhere around 80K, possibly more.

Regardless of the amount of words I’ve managed to pump out over the last 9 days, the story itself is coming together pretty damn well, especially considering that this is my first true attempt at writing anything in the long form. I have had a few bouts of debilitating frustration and short spells of procrastination, but all in all, the process has been surprisingly less painful than I had anticipated.

I’ll be posting an excerpt at some point this month, so stay tuned. For now, check out the WORDLE I created this morning while avoiding finishing a somewhat daunting scene. WORDLE takes the top 100-150 words used in a document and creates a quirky word cloud out of them. I’m curious to see which words will still be included, and what new words will pop up when I do this again another 25K words from now.

(Is it obvious that I’m writing in the Sci-Fi/Dystopia genre? )