Season 3 The Empire of Friends Blog 11: How This All Started

 How This All Started

I started "Rules For A Greattastic Life" on January 25th, 2019. But the idea that set me on the path to this series happened long before that. Let me explain:

I grew up next door to four girls. I refer to them in this series as August, Arden, Aspen, and Arlo "Kid" Anderson. Though we didn't get along at first, the girls and I developed a friendship, and they grew to become my "sisters."

We got ourselves into a ton of predicaments throughout our preteen/teen years. We did all the things normal teenagers do. We fell in love and dated people, we had movie nights, poked fun at each other, and fought a lot. And while those things are almost mundane, the personalities of both myself and my "sisters," added a layer of ridiculousness that I've never experienced in other situations. After each of our adventures, we would go back to my "sisters'" house and tell their parents what had happened. When we would finish telling the story, their mom would always say, "You guys should have your own sitcom!"

In the last installment, I talked about my brother Ryan's band, Cousin Simple and I explained why I wanted to write it. However, I posted it strategically directly before this installment. I posted it then as opposed to any other random time because I wanted it to be fresh in your minds. I wanted you to know that all the things I'm about to say have not affected my present-day feelings for the band! I love them, I love their music, and I always have. Unfortunately, when they started in 2017, I was in the midst of an identity crisis.

While I was confident and outgoing during my high school years, I was grappling with the reality of my autism under the surface. I was continually asking myself questions along the lines of, "Am I ever going to be able to be successful in life?" In the middle of my junior year, with senior year and graduation quickly approaching, these insecurities peaked. It was at this time that Cousin Simple came into being. All of a sudden, my baby brother was not only a "rockstar" but on the road to success! To cope with these rising insecurities, I started talking to my "sisters" about them.

One evening in September 2017, Arden and I drove to a place called "Alum Creek Dam," mostly because we were bored. We got to talking, and she could tell that I was feeling insecure.

"Mitchie," she said, after I told her what was going on that day, "You're such a good storyteller and you've been saying for years you've wanted to write a fiction book…you know how my mom is always saying we should have our own sitcom? Why don't you just write a book about our adventures?"

I thought about it and decided it was a good idea. So I started writing a book about our present-day life and when it was necessary, I would flashback to our childhood. However, it's nearly impossible to create a cohesive story in the present day (in a book format, at least). It would never end. After a year of trying to write a book that way, I deleted the whole thing, decided to write a book about my childhood, and created Rules For a Greattastic Life, to replace the present-day timeline.

I'm telling you this now because I have finally finished the rough draft of the book. I have gotten a group of people together who will help me peer edit it. I'm hoping to have the editing done by Christmas, so in 2021 all I have to worry about is publishing. I'm hoping that the book will be published sometime next year!

Have a Greattastic day and be safe!

J. Mitchie Ulibarri

Season 3 The Empire of Friends Blog 10: Cousin Simple (Remix)

Cousin Simple (Remix)

In July of 2019, I posted a blog called “Cousin Simple” about my brother Ryan's band. In November of 2019, a family friend suggested that I read my own blogs via a podcast, and I took that advice. Unfortunately, it took me cutting out about 50% of Season 1’s blogs and then a global pandemic for me to catch the podcast up to the present day. It wasn't until April 14th, 2020 that I finally posted the “Cousin Simple” podcast. It wasn't until I was recording that podcast, that I realized how irrelevant it's content had become. Because I do want to start writing about Cousin Simple a little more then I do currently, here's a refresher and an update on Cousin Simple:

My Aunt Cyndi is an awesome dancer. In the summer of my fourth-grade year (Ryan’s second), Cyndi suggested we have a start of the summer dance party at our house. We invited a ton of people including one of Ryan's best friends, Will and his family. The playlist created by Cyndi started blasting at about 5 pm and did not end until after midnight. It was here that I saw it for the first time… Will had this energy that made him the natural life of the party. Now I don't really believe in destiny, but I do think Will was always going to end up being a performer.

When Will and Ryan were in seventh grade a new kid named Mitch came to their school. He joined their little group, and the three became ever closer. On their last day of school in 8th grade, they performed a few songs at the end of school mass and they had a private “concert” for their class. The three started writing music together and eventually put some songs out on Soundcloud.

After a landslide win in a local battle of the bands competition, the band took off! They have played in all kinds of places, from dive bars to music festivals, and even the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame! After some trial and error, the band eventually found their current drummer, Joel.

To date, they have released 13 “regular” songs, a Christmas song, and three music videos. They had just signed with a producer and were set to start touring when the pandemic hit, and we all know what has happened to live music. During the quarantine, the boys have been working on writing and recording new music, but more details on that later. I'm so proud of my brother and his friends in all that they are doing, and all that they have accomplished.

Have a Greattastic day and be safe!

J. Mitchie Ulibarri

Season 3 The Empire of Friends Blog 9: Groovetastic

                                                    Groovetastic

The first time I went to Noah's apartment, I texted him and told him that I had arrived. His response was, "Groovetastic! I'll be right down!" I laughed to myself because if I lived in the '70s, my catchphrase totally would have been "Groovetastic," as opposed to "Greattastic." I explained it to Noah when we got to his apartment, and he said that he actually uses the word from time to time.

As we have been working on the song, the biggest issue we were facing (outside of the song itself) was what we were going to call our band.

"Noah," I said at the beginning of our month-long discussion, "We should call our band 'The Slice' and then if we release an album call it 'Pizza' so the album would be 'Pizza by The Slice!'"

Noah replied, without a hint of irony in his voice, "That's cheesy!"

Noah eventually had the idea to call the band "Groovetastic," which I really should have thought of that! Come on, Mitchell, get your act together! About a week after we landed on the name, it was time to record the song.

Our song "Miracle Child" was written as an announcement for a secret project that I have been working on. We needed to get the recording done because the announcement will come in the form of a music video. I asked my brother Ryan if he could do the recording because it was the best option. Ryan has experience because he has recorded demos for his band, Cousin Simple.

Last Sunday (8/2/2020), Noah came over to my house to record. We went upstairs to our makeshift recording studio and started by recording Noah's guitar part. I sang a scratch track (a track that won't be used in the actual song), so Noah had something to follow and make it easier to keep tempo.

I have a naturally high voice. I have never claimed to be the best singer in the world. Still, that scratch track was so lousy that when it was finally my turn to record, I sang an octave lower than usual.

The finished audio we got was not the best because I focused so much on the tone that I was missing notes. As a result, Ryan had to come over, and we had to re-record my voice. It was actually a perfect thing, though, because I managed to find a good middle ground between singing in the original recording and my natural voice. I think that is a good lesson- sometimes imperfection leads to perfection.

Have a (Oh, I may as well) Groovetastic day and be safe!

J. Mitchie Ulibarri