In 2007, Mayday Parade released their debut album A Lesson in Romantics after signing to Fearless Records. The Florida natives crash-landed onto the scene after the release of their first EP Tales Told by Dead Friends in 2006, which featured a few of the tracks that made it onto the debut album. While the EP sold over 10,000, it was their debut album that really pushed them into the heart of pop punk lovers everywhere, earning the band a spot on the 2008 Vans Warped Tour as well as two MTV Video Music Award nominations.

In celebration of its release 10 years ago, Mayday Parade decided to do an anniversary tour as a way to reminisce with the fans, especially those that have been there since the beginning. It’s crazy to see just how far the band has come over the past couple of years, how their music has matured and their fan base has grown. The fan will be joined by Knuckle Puck and label mates Milestones. I caught the very end of Knuckle Puck’s set while at Warped last year so I’m really excited to see them perform. Milestones signed to Fearless last year and released their debut EP Equal Measures. This band hails all the way from the UK so I’m even more stoked to see these guys hit the stage.

Since the anniversary tour is the band’s way of reminiscing with fans, I decided to take a look back at how I first became acquainted with Mayday Parade. A friend of mine introduced me to their music on MySpace one day and I’ve been hooked ever since. “Black Cat” was the first song I had ever heard from the band and it quickly became one of my most played songs on my iPod. A Lesson in Romantics was among some of my favorite albums growing up, alongside From Under the Cork Tree from Fall Out Boy, A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out from Panic! At The Disco, and many more. Almost every girl on MySpace had "You be the Anchor That Keeps My Feet on the Ground, And I'll Be the Wings That Keep Your Head in the Clouds" as their headline. That particular song was the final track on the album; the band originally wrote it because they were trying to be "poetic". It worked out perfectly because if you wanted to be deep and express how dramatic and heartfelt your teen years were - that was one of the songs you quoted. The first track Mayday wrote was "When I Get Home, You're So Dead" and that was the song that really made an impression on me. To this day, it's still my all-time favorite Mayday Parade song. I'm still bitter that I haven't copped a pair of those iconic shorts that say "Girls Make Boys Cry" across the back. I haven't given up hope yet so, fingers crossed. 

I first saw Mayday Parade when I was a sophomore or junior in high school. I forced my friend to listen to their music the week leading up to the show so that she'd be prepared because I was definitely going to make her sing with me during my favorite songs. I got my first piece of Mayday Parade merch while I was at the show – a shirt that said “Without @Mayday_Parade, I’d Be Miserable At Best.” I still rock that shirt today. I took pictures on my shitty cell phone and posted them all over my MySpace. After the show Derek came out to do an encore acoustic set and it was absolutely beautiful. I watched Mayday Parade perform for the second time at Warped Tour last year and they're just as amazing now as they were back then. I was still that teen, passionately screaming the lyrics to "Jamie All Over" at the top of my lungs, surrounded by people who love them just as much as I do. I can't wait to be surrounded by them again when I see them for the third time during their anniversary tour in May.

Make sure you catch Mayday Parade on their A Lesson in Romantics 10 year Anniversary tour! Get your tickets here.

Use this Spotify playlist to get pumped for the anniversary tour.

Horror is such a vast and intriguing genre full of many storylines to strike fear into the hearts of viewers everywhere. Stories ranging from deranged madmen, demonic possession, evil dolls, incredible creatures, and so much more. Creators are always searching for ways to terrify audiences and come up with new concepts all in the name of horror. For some filmmakers, they’ve discovered that reality can be far more frightening than fiction. Horror has been taking inspiration from real-life events for years. Everything from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Conjuring, Child’s Play, The Exorcist – the list goes on and on. We’re going to be discussing five of my personal favorites inspired by real-life events.

Let’s Begin.

The Strangers. This film follows a young couple staying in a remote cabin who are terrorized by three masked killers. The killers eventually tie them up and murder them after spending the whole night stalking and attacking them. When asked why they are doing this to them one of the killers simply replied, “because you were home.” The thought of being pursued and by killers with no real motive, whose only purpose is to terrorize and kill you is scary as hell. The unsolved murder that inspired this film is perhaps more terrifying. Filmmaker Bryan Bertino was inspired to make this film from a childhood experience where strangers went door to door in his neighborhood asking for people that didn’t live there and were responsible for a string of robberies in the area. He was also inspired by the Manson murders. But the main inspiration was the Keddie Cabin murders that took place in California back in the 80s. They took place in April in the small, low-population town of Keddie. Sue Sharp and her five kids rented out cabin 28, one they had previously stayed at. One night, Sue was home with her two boys and one of their friends and her youngest daughter – the eldest was staying at a friend’s house nearby. When the eldest returned, she found each of their bodies mutilated and bound with white medical tape and electrical wires. Police found a butcher knife and a bloodied hammer at the scene of the crime. The youngest daughter was nowhere to be found, police eventually found her skull three years later in the woods. While there were two suspects there were never any arrests and the murder remains unsolved.

Hostel. In this film, we have three college kids on vacation in Amsterdam that get involved in a shady organization called Elite Hunting that kidnap people to be auctioned off and tortured. We see the hostel clerk scan their ID’s as they check in, we seem them get suckered and lured by beautiful locals that eventually drug them and take them into this torture ring where they’ve been sold. The thought of going to a foreign country where you’re basically alone and being sold is terrifying – especially when everyone’s in on it. Director Eli Roth was inspired to make this film when he was told about a website in Thailand where you can go into a room and shoot a stranger in the head for $10,000. The site claimed that the strangers “signed up for it because they were broke and were going to die anyway and that part of the money would go to their family.” Roth explained that it was the thrill about taking another life with no repercussions. He also used the general shitty behavior of American’s going abroad that use it as an excuse to do things they’re not supposed to like visit these sorts of “forbidden” parts of these countries and do things like buy drugs, hookers, etc. The reality of it is that people go abroad frequently and sometimes, they don’t come back. The fact that websites exist where you can spend money and go and murder people for sport makes me not want to leave the house.

The Serpent and the Rainbow. The film follows an anthropologist that visits Haiti in search of a drug that’s used in voodoo rituals to turn men into zombies. Once he arrives he finds a man who had experienced the ritual and had previous died, only to return a few days after being buried. The movie was inspired by the novel of the same name written by ethnobotanist, Wade Davis, who traveled to Haiti to research this very topic. The novel tells of the real-life case of Clairvius Narcisse, a “real-life zombie.” The case explains that after feeling ill, Narcisse checked into a local hospital after experiencing trouble breathing. He reported feeling “bugs were crawling all over his skin.” He was soon pronounced dead and he was of course, buried a few days later. Soon after his sister Angelina Narcisse saw him walking down the street. Now typically, once you’ve been buried we don’t expect to see you again until we take our own dirt nap so I can imagine the reaction she had seeing her supposed dead brother up and about. Davis’ journey introduced him the world of voodoo and black magic. He discovered a black magic priests called a “bucor.” These priests were said to possess the power of bringing the dead back to life as zombie slaves. It was said that a bucor was responsible for the event of Narcisse coming “back to life” after placing him in a trance that fooled his doctors into believing he was dead. Once buried, the bucor dug him up and placed him on a sugar plantation to do labor. All of this was made possible thanks to a tetrodoxin powder from a pufferfish that was given to the victim through an abrasion on his skin. The toxin would cause the victim to go into a comatose state long enough for doctors to announce the victim dead. This, along with other concoctions full of hallucinogens and ground human bone were also given to create these zombies. So, if you ever want to kick-start the zombie apocalypse, you know what to do.

I Spit On Your Grave. This film was released in the heart of the 70s Exploitation period. It follows a woman that travels to the countryside to work on her book. While away she’s brutally raped and beaten by a group of men that then leave her for dead. The woman seeks revenge and ultimately uses the men’s own misogyny against them and picks them off one by one. This was a common theme among exploitation films, this revenge plot. Unfortunately, as we’ve seen in our own society, events like this happen all too frequently and director Meir Zarchi was inspired to make this film after witnessing a similar event in Central Part back in 1974. While with his young daughter, Zarchi came across a teenage girl who had been raped and beaten. He proceeded to take her to the police, where he was put-off by how callously she was being treated. Despite having obvious injuries, no one took the young girl to the hospital so he took her himself. He began thinking how sometimes the justice system tends to fail and thought what if the victims took matters into their own hands. This is what makes this film so personal and real, because these things happen all the time and seeing it up close and so in your face forces you to see the reality and brutality of it. It’s also what makes it so satisfying to see the main character get her revenge on the ones that violated her.

A Nightmare on Elm Street. Now, out of all the films mentioned here, the fact that this was inspired by true events surprised me the most. This iconic slasher film is about a group of teens being stalked by Freddy Kruger, a man that uses their dreams to kill them. While there may not be a dream stalker named Freddy out there in the world, there was a case where teens were dying in their sleep. Filmmaker Wes Craven came up with the idea for this film when he came across an article about a teen from Cambodia that was plagued with nightmares and was afraid to fall asleep. His family had survived the Killing Fields in Cambodia, which was basically a mass genocide during the 70s. His family escaped to America but he was plagued with terrible nightmares. Craven went on to explain that the boy had told his parents that he was afraid to sleep because he felt that he would die. The boy went on about something that would chase him and he believed it would kill him. So, he tried to stay awake, using caffeine pills, coffee, whatever it took to help him stay awake for days at a time. Eventually, he fell asleep and all was well until the parents heard him screaming. When they finally got to him he was dead. Much like in the film, the parents didn’t really believe that there was anything after him in his sleep because that sounds ridiculous, right? They’re just nightmares brought on by a traumatic experience, surely, it’ll get better with time. Whatever horrors the teen saw when he shut his eyes, were enough to kill him in his sleep.

Sweet dreams.

I got the chance to catch Attila on the last night of their Let’s Get Abducted tour in North Carolina last night. The hype surrounding Attila and their live performances was well deserved because it was some of the most fun I’ve had at a show. The crowd was absolutely insane and I loved every minute of it.

Performing alongside Attila was Dear Desolate, a nu-metal band from Raleigh, NC. I love when band’s use local talent to open their shows because not only does it help the band reach a whole new fan base but it’s amazing to see what your own state has to offer. You definitely can’t just sleep on the local bands in your area and for my friends in the NC music scene; Dear Desolate is one you can’t miss. Next up were Michigan metal band, Vesta Collide. Their set was one of my favorites of the night. It might have something to do with the fact that their vocals were out of the world, or the fact that The Used, Paramore, and Fall Out Boy are among some of their influences. Plus, I’m all about bands that rock makeup on stage.

Out of the entire lineup, Cane Hill were the only ones I had previously seen live. The last time I saw Cane Hill was back in 2015 during BlessTheFall’s To Those Left Behind tour so it was long overdue. These guys never disappoint, It was so good to see them again. Their songs are high energy, addictive, and they always leave you wanting more. I had the pleasure of meeting them after the show and they’re some of most chill guys ever. Bad Omens took the stage next. This band is another must-see, we couldn’t stop talking about their set after the show. They have a great mix of heavy and clean vocals, amazing riffs and their stage presence is phenomenal.

Finally, Attila took the stage. I had heard amazing things about their live shows and it still didn’t prepare me for what I was about to see. It was one of the wildest crowds I had ever been in. I’m no stranger to stage diving, crowd surfing, things of that nature but I can definitely say I had never seen so many boobs during a show before. Aside from the surprise nudity, seeing everyone moving in unison and screaming at the top of their lungs is one of my favorite things about shows. As front man Chris Fronzak said, “We’re all one big fucked up family” and you could definitely sense that during the show. Attila graced us with some old favorites and some new tracks from their latest release Chaos. Since it was the last night of the tour, the band decided to switch things up and let someone from the audience perform their song “Payback” with them. They also added a ton of limited edition items and personal items to their merch table. The band apologized for being so low on merch, seeing as it was the last show, so they signed a bunch of the items and pretty much stripped their bus to give us a lil’ something extra. Honestly, if you’ve never seen Attila live I highly encourage you to see them because it’s an experience you’ll never forget. Mostly because you’ll probably see things that will be burned into your mind but I can guarantee there’ll never be a dull moment.  

For me, self-love is one of the hardest concepts to grasp. It’s something that I’ve struggled with since I was a kid. When I checked my subscription box this morning I saw a video from Hello Katy on YouTube titled “My Thick Thighs” and I’m so glad I watched it. It was perfect timing because just minutes before I clicked on it, I had looked in the mirror while getting ready and immediately started saying how much I hated what I saw. It inspired me to sit down and think about just why is it so hard for me to say “I love you” to myself.

When it comes to those around me, I can always find beauty and things I love about them. Whether it’s my friends, family, or someone on the internet, I can easily sit there and say what I love about them and why they should love themselves. I tend to have a bit of a savior complex, always wanting to help others find it within themselves to love themselves and their bodies because loving others is easy for me. Whenever I see someone talking about how much they hate themselves I immediately turn into Leslie Knope and I make it my job to uplift them and tell them just how amazing they are. But when it comes to myself and my own body, I can sit and tear myself to shreds without even batting an eye.

The amount of times I’ve looked in the mirror and cried because of what I saw is astounding. The times I’ve cried myself to sleep over how much I hated myself is all too frequent. I’ve never understood why it was so easy to look at myself and feel compelled to openly tear myself to pieces, nitpicking at every little imperfection, tearing away at myself till there’s nothing left. I’m always the first to uplift my friends and tell them they should love themselves and tell them how beautiful they are, inside and out; but I feel like such hypocrite for telling them to love themselves when I can’t even look in the mirror without crying.

It’s hard to love the parts of yourself that are imperfect when you’ve been told your whole life that you should hate them. When getting ready to go out with my friends I sit there and give myself a pep talk to even find it in me to get up and join them. Getting ready takes forever, not because I’m spending time on my hair or makeup, but because I’ll change outfits two or three times because I felt hideous in the first one. Wearing shorts or tops that show my arms take a lot out of me because the whole time I’m hyper-aware of how thick my thighs are or how uncomfortable I am with my arms. Crop tops were completely out of the question. It’s hard to feel beautiful when you’ve had every single negative and hateful comment ingrained into your head. I’ve heard it all, every backhanded comment and the looks, they replay every time I get dressed to leave the house. It’s hard always being the butt of the joke or having someone smile in your face when you heard the shitty comment they made about your body just minutes ago, when they thought you weren’t listening. Those were the moments playing in the back of my head when I would hide out in the bathroom and throw up the meal I had just ate. Those same hateful things said about me were the things I’d tell myself when I’d skip a meal. It got to the point where I didn’t even want to eat around others because I didn’t want them to see me eat. I would have rather cut away pieces of my body than to sit there and eat a meal in public like a normal human being.

Talking about my eating disorder is always hard for me to do. Talking about any mental health issue is hard because they're dark and dreary and no one ever wants to expose those parts of themselves. I didn't want anyone to know that they got to me. I wanted to pretend that I was strong and that their words didn't break me but I eventually reached my breaking point. All through school I had to deal with people picking apart my body more so than I already was. So as a result I began purging after I ate, which lasted for a while until my mom finally heard me throwing up after dinner and began keeping a close eye on me. When I finally left for college one of the things I was glad about was that I'd be on my own so no one would notice If I wasn't eating. Part of me was hoping that people would get better and I wouldn't even have to worry about my issues but unfortunately that was wishful thinking. Just because people get older doesn't mean their shitty qualities fade. But if there's one thing I'm good at, it's forcing a smile and pretending like I'm not dying inside. 

While I’m proud of myself for the fact that I haven’t forced myself to purge in a couple of years, the urge is still there. I’m still fighting with myself every single day to be good to myself instead of destroying my body. It’s an everyday process to build up your self-esteem and find it within yourself to love yourself. Especially when you’ve spent so long hating yourself. Hell, I remember looking back at old home videos of family vacations and seeing myself in a halter top and I felt disgusted and I remember being so angry with my mom for letting my go out in that and she just turned to me and said, “Mikayla, you were eight. You were a child.” When you’re a kid you don’t know that something’s “wrong” with you until someone points it out. I was kind of okay with myself until the first time of my friends called me “fat.” You can go out with your friends and start off having a good night and then hear a rude comment and it immediately turn your whole mood around.

One of the things that I’ve tried to do to is to surround myself with people that support and uplift each other. I cannot stress just how important it is to have a good support system because without it, the only things I’d have to go on would be the negative and that would be so damaging to any progress that I’ve tried to make. Having that positive energy around you is essential to your growth and well-being. Try to stop picking apart your body and start finding things that you do love about yourself. Have something that always makes you feel confident and beautiful, whether it be an accessory or your favorite top – whatever. For me, it’s always my band tees or my combat boots. I also have certain songs that always make me feel better, so I’ll listen to those while I’m getting ready to try to lift my mood. Whatever little tricks you have to get yourself out of that slump. Talk to your friends, tell them how you’re feeling and work with someone If you feel you can’t do it alone. There's absolutely nothing wrong with seeking help. 

Bottom line: you can’t keep beating yourself up and hurting yourself because you feel that you’re not good enough. You are more than enough. Learn to love yourself and treat yourself like the beauty that you are. Think of it like this: the next time you look into the mirror picture that you’re talking to best friend. Would you stand there and tell your best friend that they were hideous, fat, ugly, etc.? Then why continue to say those things to yourself? Unfortunately, I can’t change the things that others have said about me or take away how shitty they made me feel but I can control what I tell myself. It’s not easy, I’m not going to wake up tomorrow and suddenly feel like a brand new person. I’m still going to have bad days. What I can do is try my hardest to have more good days than bad. Because no matter how healthy I eat or how much I work out – nothing is going to change unless I work on what’s on the inside as well.

Another month down, another list of things I’ve loved. It’s been a while since my last favorites post so I’ve accumulated a few things that have been slowly taking over my life – whether it’s been beauty related or a song I’ve been playing on repeat. So with that being said, let’s get started.

Beauty:

My Pretty Zombie Cosmetics shadows:  I’m absolutely obsessed with red eye shadows and red-based brown shadows so these two have been creeping their way into my everyday looks ever since they arrived at my doorstep. These are mineral shadows that come in a small pot. They’re incredibly pigmented and blend nicely. "Epistaxis" is a true, blue based red, similar to a nose bleed (hence the name). I’m a fan of anything that makes me look like I’m still stuck in the 2004 Revenge Era. “Everything Looks Better on a Meat Hook” is a darkened reddish brown with tiny flecks of blue-green shimmer. It looks stunning on the lid. This company is also cruelty free and a lot of their shadows are vegan. I’m a huge fan of the outlandish and creepy names of their products. It’s so fitting.

Too Faced Sweet Peach Palette: This has become my go-to palette for every day looks. It’s so beautiful and the smell is incredible. If you’re not a fan of the peach scent, it does go away after a while so once the shadows are applied, you have nothing to worry about. Too Faced shadows are really pigmented and blendable, even the shimmery shades. While I love reds, I have very little pinks in my collection so this palette was perfect to switch things up, but I can still achieve my favorite “wearable dead” look that I love so much.

Wet N Wild Catsuit Liquid Lipsticks: Everybody has been raving about these and they've been clearing out shelves left and right. I finally managed to pick up two shades and I can finally see what the hype is about. These are great quality drugstore liquid lipsticks, they dry down without being too drying on the lips. They're pretty long-lasting, with minimal touch ups needed throughout the day. I picked up "Goth Topic", a darkened brown, and "Video Vixen", a deep blackened berry shade.

Wet n Wild pigment in “Dom and Cherry on Top”: I lucked up on this product before it was all gone, which was good because 1. Its limited edition and 2. It was the last one on the display. It’s a gorgeous golden bronze shade with shimmer. It looks amazing on the lid, as an inner corner highlight, and even a cheek highlight if you’re a medium to deep tone. You need the tiniest bit of product and then you can tap off the excess in the lid so this will last you a while.

Jeffree Star Velour Liquid Lipsticks: I snagged Sagittarius during Jeffree Star’s holiday sale and then immediately made a purchase on Beautylish. "Androgyny" is a deep mauve nude shade and it’s perfect for everyday. "Sagittarius" is a deep plum brown (a bit darker than his shade "Deceased" that’s completely sold out), and "No Tea, No Shade" is a metallic pinky purple shade. I’m completely obsessed. I can’t wait to order more.

Kat Von D Liquid Lipstick in “Hawkwind”: I picked up one of Kat’s new nude shades and I’ve worn it almost every day. It’s comfortable to wear and lasts for hours. It was a bit streaky at first but it’s easily fixable because you can layer it without the product clumping up and crumbling off. It's a gorgeous reddish brown shade. It’s perfect for medium-deep skin tones.

Lush Cosmetics “Ayesha” face mask: This mask is amazing for those with sensitive skin like myself. It’s full of clay and soothing properties to help cleanse the skin, brighten and firm without irritating your face. You store it in the fridge which is probably my favorite thing about it because it’s cooling on your skin and it feels amazing.

Entertainment:

Pierce The Veil “Floral and Fading” music video: “Floral and Fading” is one of my favorite tracks from Misadventures so I was thrilled to see they were finally going to release a video for it. It’s set in a 50s bowling alley and it’s ridiculously entertaining. The outfits and the hair are my favorite part of the video.

As It Is “Hey Rachel” music video: I’ve mentioned this song before, but if you still haven’t checked it out, you need to! “Hey Rachel” is off of As It Is’ new record Okay and it’s dedicated to front man Patty Walters’ little sister. Its incredible sweet and tugs at your heartstrings.

From First to Last “Make War”: Y’ALL. I’m so shook about this because 2017 is the year of the emo revival. Sonny Moore aka Skrillex, finally reunited with From First to Last and they’re here to bless us. They released this single and we all kind of died over it. They also reunited at Emo Nite LA recently to perform and I’ve never been so jealous to not be in the LA area. Definitely give this new single a listen.

Waterparks “Double Dare” album: I’m completely kicking myself for waiting so long to get into Waterparks. Curiosity set in and I started listening to their recent album Double Dare and it’s incredible. It’s catchy, upbeat and I listened to it on repeat for weeks. It’s got this electric pop punk-feel, like a modernized Cobra Starship and I’m digging it.

Till next time,