Happy Wednesday! Last week I actually decided to be social, gross I know but I got to meet/ interview a new band in the Philly Music Scene and wow they were pretty good! Including a bomb ass clairnet solo, what is not to like about that. The other acts included spoken word, burlesque, rap, and even some classically trained opera. Sheesh, a fully stocked show in my opinion. I managed to snag a homemade tie dye band shirt to- I honestly cannot tell you the last time I bought any apparel at a show. I love when artists are also focused on the music, but also the experience of the show as a whole collective. So enough rambles Here is our 10 Question Questionnaire with Travesty, be sure to check out their new music!​

- Ash

1. Tragesty, that's a pretty sick name for a band, any meaning behind it?

• Juliet (vocalist): “It rolled off my tongue when I was referring to the year 2020. I tried to say “2020 was a tragedy”, but my brain got it mixed up with travesty… and thus, tragesty! Which is definitely getting the message across...” 
  
• Reid (drummer): “While in the studio recording, my fellow studio rat little brother interpreted it as Tragic Majesty. I enjoyed the imagery a lot and incorporated it into some of our art for this release. (Love you Ricky III)”
  
• Jacob (guitarist): “I think it originally came from tragedy plus travesty. It’s about being sad about something and also being sad about something else.” ​
  

Elemental
Written By: Ash Catcher

​Lately, I have been waking from that not so great sleep
I may have been faking it a little bit, I am overcompensating with a little too much weed. 
The water cup graveyard by my bed lays stagnant, and way too still.  
Taking way too many painkillers,  for my liking, I am beyond thrilled. 

Everything always hurts, and I am about to crash again, I can feel myself spiraling down. 
Thinking about how good grippy socks, padded locked rooms, and hospital gowns. 
They could be all the rage for fall, I catch myself thinking all too many times this year.
You know it's my favorite time of year, but October is also when that damn seasonal depression appears. 

That is when things start to get a little funny... 
You see  I got to soak my ass in hella water, hot as anything, almost scalding. 
Flowing in and out of consciousness, I just love making little waves.
Dissociating, and easily distracted, I have been like this for decades. 

Going from zero to 100. 
All good, for a few moments late at night,  then declining during the day. I need some wonder drugs. 
Some days I let my meds steal the show, run on autopilot. I am less clumsy, and a disaster.   
Mask all the symptoms, I should have been an actor. 

Earth grounds me and it can be pretty hard hitting.  
I cannot tell you how many times I have fallen for all these special nature spots. I am not admitting. 
These well visited places seem to be repeated all with different people, and other storylines.  
I would not have the caves I have these days if it was not for the steady inclines. 

Air gets trapped in my lungs, but I am used to choking on nothing. 
But the lump in my throat when I am next to you is not even worth discussing. 
Absent minded, gone within an instant, always hidden in the corner of my eye. 
Crafted, haunted, easily, forever waking up with a mouth that is dry. 

Lastly, fire- I have been using you to purify my space. 
I am not sure how many incenses I have lit this week, I cannot wait to get out of this place. 
This fucking house feels like a tomb, of all the things and people I thought I knew. 
Lastly fire destroys all evidence, which leaves no evidence, nothing to show, nothing is misconstrue.

Just ash is left.   


- A.C. 

Yo What Is Gouda? 
Written By: Ash Catcher 

     What is Gouda? I have had a busy few weeks- but Fall Haul life update things have been rather um interesting. With the colder weather approaching, not only am I grossly unprepared with the lack of actual/ practical warm coats, it seems to me that “Soup Season” has fallen upon us. Hence I am going food shopping close to two to three times a week. Is that too much, yea it maybe but pumpkin spice season can suck a big fat squash! I am SOUPER passionate about soup, in addition to anything maple- I am trying to limit my clove intake literally it's like my fall vice. ​

     I noticed something kinda funny the other day. The cheese section at my grocery store has  apparently become the place for people to shamelessly flirt with each other- and it is pretty GREAT because it's happened to me 3 times in 2 weeks! I am not even that mad about it, I just wish I knew about this unspoken happenstance sooner. I am not sure if it is all the R & Brie they are pumping int here that is getting everyone all jazzed but there is certainly something, I may or may nacho be divulging too much information, butI am severely lactose intolerant, but also when I stress eat I reach for cheese about 99.9% of the time. I could be a cheese monger at this point- and I fuck with all the charcuterie. 

     I was first approached by a tennis pro, then a single father, and finally two employees all somehow centering around this miraculous dairy crisper. I am flattered really but I just need to grab my triple cream brie, or my habanero cheddar cheese for my Sammies. I am not trying to get wifed up, but if you wanna talk cheese I usually go to the food shop on Tuesday A.M or Sunday Night. Fun Fact the tennis pro was super smooth, and handed me his business card. Carl did a great job, I however have not played tennis since I was 10.  I was so thrown off guard but I think the cheese aisle is where most women who play tennis congregate the most off the clay courts.  

     I don't normally like being hit on in public, however the bright colors and lack of fluorescent lighting makes any grocery store look and sound like a Vegas casino to me- but with Brie and fancy crackers respectively. It seems like being around like minded people who also like to cook makes for quite the setting for Netflix's next romantic comedy. I purchased some maple streusel bread the other day, the gentleman ringing up my items casually mentioned that this was a really good product. I always get jazzed when people are knowledgeable/ passionate about a particular item or product. I plan on making Creme Brûlée Maple Strudel Custard toast. I proudly told them I had recently purchased a blowtorch for smoking glasses primarily but I wanted to take a stab at making creme brûlée. I know a foodie when I see one! I need to keep my eyes, ears, and taste buds open, never know who is gonna roll up in your local dairy section. You Feta believe I have learned something new today. 


I am grateful for everyone still reading these things! 
Thank you for Brie leaving in me. 


-Ash ​

​Stepping Stone 
Written By: Ash Catcher 

​Eventually you’ll end up where you need to be. 
With whom you're meant to be with. 
And doing what you should be doing. 
It could take awhile, you used to say to me. …" Ash it could take awhile.”

You won’t be back to 100% overnight. 
There are going to be good nights and bad. 
The ones where you're alone all night, those get easier trust me. 
The ones you get to share with others, no matter what you two do will be etched into your brain forever.  

And all that extra stuff, all that static, all the little problems we make big. 
You’re going to look back on that in a year or so 
And a wave of relief will overcome you. 
Your face won’t be so flushed, your heartbeat will lower. 

Maybe you will be able to sleep without creating chaos beforehand. 
But then again, maybe you won’t. 
Maybe if I leave again after being gone for so long maybe you’ll look in the mirror one day and see. 
I was never meant to be a part of your life, that is why I felt the need to keep removing myself

I was simply a tool, or a stepping stone to get you where you need to be. 
I have been a lot of things in people's lives, but mostly it has been for practice.
I like when we part ways, they get their lives in order, 
And then apologize to me years later “ I am so sorry for the way I treated you in the past…. But I am not that person anymore…..” 

Bull Fuckin shit. 
I used to ask what they wanted but now I just screenshot the messages and go about my day. 
Call it pettiness, I call it growth. 
There is absolutely no reason to come back, if you felt the need to leave. 

The door doesn’t open both ways. 
This wood is so worn out. 
And my hinges are rusted. 
I am not willing to soften myself or them up
There is no amount of oil or lube that could soften the blow of you attempting to make your way back into your life. 

I write an awful lot, and the great thing about writing is that you can absolutely write off people. 
You will always have some story to tell, of whatever relevance you wish to compare. 
I like to tell stories, because I personally think it's an art form that is dying. 
Some people take them seriously and treat them like a warning. 

Forever everyone’s stepping stone. 
​
-Ash ​