About a Girl

My name is Amy and I'm 23 years old. I recently graduated from college with a Bachelor's degree in Biology. I'm going back for another year to earn my medical technology certification so that I can have a high paying job so that someday I might be able to afford to go to graduate school for zoology. I'll have to make a lot of money so that I can move to a state that offers the program and so that I can live on my own. I have two dream jobs - working at a zoo and being in a band. I'd love to be in an indie pop band like The Hush Sound or Straylight Run or an alt-metal band like Hydrovibe or Lacuna Coil. I know, conflicting interests.


I have a slightly obsessive personality, mostly when it comes to music. But not in the creepy stalker-shrine-building kind of way. More like the I will always be a fan and buy your music and come to any show near me kind of way. My biggest obsession is Tori Amos. Her music has changed my life in so many ways, but I won't bore you with the silly specifics. My three other favorites are Ben Folds, The Hush Sound, and The Dresden Dolls. I have been lucky enough to meet and talk to all four of these, except for Amanda Palmer of The Dresden Dolls. Although she did high five me. I haven't washed my hand yet, and that was two years ago. Ok, that might be a slight exaggeration.

me and Tori Amos
me, Ben Folds, Nikki
me and Greta of The Hush Sound
me and Bob of The Hush Sound
me and Brian of The Dresden Dolls
me, Chelsea Handler, Jess
Jess, Marla Schultz, me
Jess, me, Hillary Clinton
Josh, Chelsea Clinton, Emily, Jess, me
Juliette of Hello Stranger and me


I was the music director at my college's radio station, and as a result, I was given the opportunity to interview Ben Folds at the Bonnaroo Festival of 2006 in Manchester, Tennessee. Being that I had only interviewed one other band and that Ben Folds was a huge idol of mine, I crapped my pants a bit when I was given the news. It was so intimidating. I was shaking the whole time. But if you want to talk about shaking, I was trembling uncontrollably when I saw Tori Amos on the sidewalk hours before her show I was going to. I jumped out of the vehicle and stood there crying like a little kid. The feeling was overwhelming, and I can still tear up thinking about it. Especially when I'm listening to the bootleg from that show. That will forever be the very best day of my life.


Because I was a music director, I became exposed to loads of awesome bands that are under the radar. Very few people know any of the bands that I listen to, which I think is a shame. There is so much talent out there, and some of it hardly goes recognized. Here's a short list of some other artists that I listen to (in alphabetical order, from my iTunes playlists):


A Fine Frenzy, A Particularly Vicious Rumor, Aberdeen City, Against Me!, Apples in Stereo, Arric Rose and the ...'s, Avril Lavigne, Band of Horses, Bat For Lashes, Beck, Ben Folds/Five, Black Lips, Bloc Party, Bon Savants, Boyslikegirls, Brand New, Bright Eyes, Calexico, Camera Obscura, Cary Brothers, Cat Power, Cat-A-Tac, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Cobra Starship, Cold War Kids, Death Cab For Cutie, DeVotchKa, Don't Die Cindy, Drop Dead Gorgeous, Dropping Daylight, Dustin Kensrue, Echoes of Eernity, Editors, Elisa Korenne, Elliott Smith, Emily Haines, Endwell, Eulogies, Evanescence, Fall Out boy, Farewell, Feist, Fiona Apple, Fluttr Effect, Flyleaf, Fountains of Wayne, French Kicks, Fydolla Ho, Garbage, Georgie James, Girl in a Coma, Graham Coxon, Grand National, Hard-Fi, Hawthorne Heights, Headlights, Heavens, Hole, Hydrovibe, Idlewild, Imogen Heap, Iron & Wine, Jack's Mannequin, Jamie T, Jenny Dalton, Jenny Lewis, Jesse Malin, Jimmy Eat World, Jose Gonzalez, Joseph Arthur, Josh Ritter, Kevin Devine, Klaxons, Kooks, Lacuna Coil, Lamexcuse, Les Savy Fav, Lily Allen, Locksley, Loney Dear, M. Ward, M.I.A., Madina Lake, Mae, Manchester Orchestra, Manhattan Love Suicides, Mates of State, Matt & Kim, Matthew Good Band, Maximo Park, Menomena, Mew, Mighty Fairly, Mike Doughty, Minus The Bear, Monica Attel, Motion City Soundtrack, Murder By Death, Muse, My Brightest Diamond, My Chemical Romance, Nada Surf, Neko Case, Nightwish, Nine Inch Nails, No Doubt, Office, OK Go, Page France, Panic at the Disco, Paramore, Permanent Me, Peter Bjorn & John, Pistolita, PJ Harvey, Placebo, Poe, Porcupine Tree, Portastatic, Puffy Amiyumi, Radiohead, Rainer Maria, Rasputina, Ray Lamontagne, Red Animal War, Regina Spektor, Remy Zero, Rhett Miller, Rilo Kiley, Robin Hitchcock, Roman Numerals, Sara Bareilles, Saves the Day, Say Anything, Scary Kids Scaring Kids, She & Him, Sherwood, Shiny Toy Guns, Shout Out Louds, Silversun Pickups, Sloan, Smith and Pyle, Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, Sondre Lerche, Sonic Youth, Spoon, Starcode, State Radio, Straylight Run, Sufjan Stevens, Taking Back sunday, Ted Leo, Tegan and Sara, The Academy Is..., The Arcade Fire, The Black Keys, The Cardigans, The Decemberists, The Dollyrots, The Dresden Dolls, The Forecast, The Fray, The Hush Sound, The New Pornographers, The Postal Service, The Shins, The Smiths, The Subways, The Tossers, The View, The Vincent Black Shadow, The Weakerthans, This Is Me Smiling, Tiger Army, Tom Waits, Tori Amos, VHS or Beta, Via Audio, We Are The Fury, White Light Riot, Wilco, World-Inferno Friendship Society, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Yoav, Youth Group.

That was exhausting. And there are probably some that I missed. I hope you've at least heard of some of these bands. If not, myspace them and listen to their tunes.


Another slight obsession I have is with TV. I love being at home in my room under the covers, watching a good episode of Law and Order: SVU or The Office. I can pretty much insert a situation from a TV show into a conversation. Try me.


Here are the shows that I can't live without. Some are over, but I still watch them in syndication. I'll try to put them in order.
The Office, Law and Order: SVU, The Colbert Report, House, Chelsea Lately, Becker, Monk, Scrubs, Intervention, ER, FRIENDS, In Plain Site (new show - check it out!), The Daily Show With Jon Stewart, Arrested Development, Weeds


In my spare time, I like to play volleyball, play my piano and guitar, write songs, read, work on my web sites, work out, and scratch off instant lottery tickets. I played volleyball from sixth grade until my junior year in college. I'm ok at the piano and guitar. I'm not the best at reading sheet music, and I can sometimes figure songs out by ear. Not very often though. I really wish I could write a good song for once. I think it's the greatest, then I read it the next day and think wtf? I wish I had more time to read than I do. For the past 10 years or so I've only been reading school books. But on this seven month haiatus, I haven't done as much reading as I had planned. My favorite author is Neil Gaiman - I read his novels, not so much his graphic novels. My favorites are Neverwhere, American Gods, and Good Omens.


People I want to meet:


Shawnee Smith - Saw I through IV, Becker, Smith and Pyle


Christopher Meloni and Mariska Hargitay - Law and Order:SVU


Steve Carrell - The Office, The 40 Year Old Virgin


Stephen Colbert - The Colbert Report


Shirley Manson - Garbage


Gwen Stefani - No Doubt


Jon Stewart - The Daily Show With Jon Stewart


Hugh Laurie - House, A Bit of Fry and Laurie


Missi Pyle - Galaxy Quest, Smith and Pyle


Tony Shalhoub, Monk