Just Joshing You

Taken from their Wikipedia page:

Drummer Mike Marsh and guitarist Klaus Ketelhohn formed the band in the summer of 1994 with a rotating cast of bass players until Marsh met Chris Drueke at a party in October 1995. Drueke jointed the band and The Agency had its first solid line-up and began playing South Florida clubs like Cheers, ClubQ, and Fubar.

In 1997, the band recorded its first album, Rock to the Apocalypse which resulted in an increase in popularity. In 1999, they completed their first national tour with the Grey A.M. Over the course of the tour, the band sound tightened and improved. Returning home at the end of the tour, they recruited Chris Carrabba (Vacant Andys/Dashboard Confessional) to play second guitar. In November 1999, they began recording Engines for Fiddler Records at a cost of $2500. Although the album was recorded at a frenzied pace, it sought to capture much of the band’s energy and live sound.

Carrabba’s schedule with his other band Further Seems Forever began to conflict with the Agency, so Carrabba left and Joe Williams joined as his replacement. After about six months and an east coast tour, Williams left and was replaced by John Owens (Vacant Andys/Seville). Due to family tragedy and poor tours, the Agency broke up in 2001. Marsh joined Dashboard Confessional and Marsh, Owens and Drueke went on to form Seville with Dan Bonebrake. Seville lasted in various forms until 2003.

The Agency reformed in April 2003 to perform a reunion show. Marsh, Drueke and Ketelhohn realized that they still had a strong desire to play and write music together and consequently began recording Turn in late 2004. The writing, recording, and mixing process was delayed due to Marsh’s schedule with Dashboard Confessional, but the album was eventually released on Marsh’s Perch Records label.

That doesn’t do them justice though… The singer on most of these songs is in fact the drummer. And he sounds just as good live as he does on recording. Everyone shares in vocal duties, sure, but to see such an amazing drummer ALSO singing (amazingly), is just great to me. The band is generally just a 3 piece as well, with an occasional 4th guy here and there.

And onto the albums:

First (other than the Milkshed split), was Rock to the Apocalypse. RttA is poppy and very….weird mix of songs. Some are downright amazing (Adrenaline, Lay it Down, Say Something), and some are just…I don’t even know what to call them (Fat Guy, Big Bag). They still play a handful of these songs at their live shows, and I still listen to this album.

I’ve decided to include a download link, because I’m almost certain that this is out of print and you can’t get it anywhere anymore. So here is The Agency - Rock to the Apocalypse

Second was the fucking major success, Engines. Start to finish, this album is absolutely perfect. There’s a very, very slight hint of that old weirdness, but overall, it’s just pure, solid, perfect indie rock and roll. Seriously. I can’t say anything more about this album. It just won’t do it justice. Here are some tracks:

The Agency - “Zero”

The Agency - “Engines”

Last, and most recent (2007), is Turn. After 7 years, The Agency was releasing another album. I was torn. Would it live up to the pedestal I had put them on from listening to Engines so much? Could they really pull off another great album, especially after so much time apart? I hesitantly got the album and attended the “reunion show” (which they seem to do about once a year, usually around December). The first track, Walking Disaster, caught me completely. “Yes!” I thought, “This can be just as good as they’ve always been!” Listening further into the CD, it became apparent that The Agency had not lost a step, and this too was a purely awesome, poppy, rock and roll album. Standout tracks are Walking Disaster, Flood, and Chasing.

Some tracks:

The Agency - "Walking Disaster"

The Agency - "Chasing"

The Agency - "Flood"

Love this band.

The Agency’s Myspace Page
The Agency’s Official Website

Just as the title says…

I have reason to believe that Chris Cooley, the Pro Bowl Tight End of my favorite football team, the Washington Redskins, possibly visited my blog. Here’s why…

Exhibit A:

Someone visited my blog by doing a blog search on google, looking for the EXACT term “chris cooley,” as you can see from the screen shot below:

Exhibit B:

Upon looking up the IP address, I was given a general area where the IP came from. As you too can see if you visit this link: http://www.geoiptool.com/en/?IP=69.251.106.164. Cobb Island, MD is where the IP is said to be located near. Chris Cooley plays for the Washington Redskins. Can you guess where Cobb Island is very close to? That’s right, Washington DC. Where Mr. Cooley should be, or at least close to, because of OTAs having started.

Exhibit C:

Mr. Chris Cooley is an avid blogger. He would be all over the blogosphere doing stuff like that! I know if I were famous, with the knowledge of the internet that I have, I’d be doing all sorts of things to see who was blogging about me. He seems like a pretty smart guy, so I wouldn’t put it past him.

Of course this is all just speculation. There’s no way of me REALLY knowing if one of my favorite football players has viewed my blog. I imagine multiple people will try and leave comments claiming to be Chris Cooley now, just trying to fuck with me. BUT! If by the slightest chance it IS the real Chris Cooley, and he sees this, I have a couple requests:
1.) Let me get a linkback from your blog!
2.) Send me some tickets! To any game, home or away! Even pre-season! We can get crazy amounts of beers afterwards, because I drink a lot.
3.) Or maybe a Cooley jersey? Or at least an autograph?
4.) Let me in your fantasy league next year!

The 2008 NFL Draft has now come and gone. There is absolutely no possible way for me to grade and evaluate every single team’s draft outcomes, because I just don’t pay that much attention to every team. So really I can only focus on the Redskins (Though I suppose I could write about the Dolphins a bit, but I just don’t feel like it. They did well.). Without further ado, the 2008 NFL Draft, for the Washington Redskins.

My skins went into day 1 with the 21st overall pick. Not too bad, I was thinking. I didn’t actually get to watch live coverage, so I went all day without knowing what happened. At 21st pick however, you’re not actually getting the best player for your money, as first round players cost and demand more than subsequent round players, when they may not be worth it. “But this is Dan Snyder we’ve got here,” I thought, “We’re doomed!”

On the contrary! To my surprise, we traded down and ended up with 3 2nd round picks, in which we picked Devin Thomas (pick #34), Fred Davis (pick #48), and Malcolm Kelly (pick #51). That’s wide receiver, tight end, wide receiver. Here’s my thoughts on this. Yes, Devin Thomas and Malcolm Kelly are taller receivers that both show some pretty good potential. Hell, Devin Thomas was even the #1 receiver on many teams’ draft boards. But we’ve already got Santana Moss and Antwaan Randle-El, not to mention Chris Cooley, who keeps catching the most passes. Could we not have picked just Devin Thomas, and gotten someone else with the 48th or 51st pick, and then picked up another receiver somewhere later on down the line. I’m not picking on the Fred Davis pick because he was overall the BEST player available at the time, and sometime you have to make value picks rather than need picks. God forbid Chris Cooley goes down with a horrible injury. But what about a defensive end to compliment Andre Carter so we can effectively pressure quarterbacks better? How about a shutdown defensive tackle to stop the run better? Hell, ANY defensive player would have been alright with me. I can’t help but think that if Gregg Williams were still in some way apart of our organization, we wouldn’t have gone WR, TE, WR.

How about some O-line help? We’ve got a bright young prospect in Jason Campbell. I’d like to see him get the opportunities he needs to assert himself as a top quarterback in this league. Without adequate protection, it’s going to be a rough road for him. Chad Rinehart was picked in the 3rd round, an OT out of Northern Iowa. I suppose that adds some depth to our O-line, but I’d like to see it stronger. Perhaps through free agency? I don’t even know who’s available out there right now.

They drafted CB, P, DB, and QB after that, in that order. The QB there is none other than Hawaii’s Colt Brennan, and in the 6th round, no less. There were some that originally had him going in the 1st or 2nd round! His stock fell significantly after the Sugar Bowl, huh?

The Skins used their last two picks on defensive end Rob Jackson and safety Chris Horton. These seem to be alright picks. Horton adds depth to the safety position since Sean Taylor has died and Pierson Prioleau didn’t re-sign with the team. Reed Doughty and LaRon Landry seem as if they’ll keep the starting positions though. I don’t know anything about Rob Jackson. People seem to say he’s a good pass rusher? Apparently he tackles well? Who knows.

Draft “gurus” all across the internet seem to have all rated the Skins draft a success. Is it really? I don’t know. I really would have rather focused more on defense. “Defense wins championships,” after all. I sure hope Jim Zorn knows what he’s doing. I suppose I can understand the picks, it just doesn’t mean I have to like them.

I predict nobody caring about this post.