Graffiti in Maple Ridge’s Suite 125 Bathroom

            My friend Katie lives in Suite 125 in Maple Ridge. Since I frequently go there, I have used the bathroom whenever nature calls. Sometimes I even use it if I have to go extremely bad and I don’t think I can make it up the three flights of stairs to my suite’s bathroom; it makes for a nice pit stop. I have learned that the middle stall doesn’t lock and the last stall is too far of a walk so I usually choose to use the first stall. It’s darker than the other two since it’s in the corner and the light on the ceiling doesn’t shine bright enough to illuminate Stall #1.

One day while peeing in Stall #1, I noticed that there was something etched into the greyish blue paint on the door. The letters were jagged and thin so it was difficult to decipher in the absence of light. After further inspection I deduced that the graffiti spelled out “TOM WHAZZUP.” TOM was written above and slightly bigger than WHAZZUP. I always seem to forget that this is written in Stall #1 and it is a little surprise every time I see it.

Now, I have given this graffiti some thought. I’m always curious as to who wrote it and what it is supposed to mean. I figure that someone named Tom is the culprit in this vandalism but there is a sign on the bathroom door that says “Sorry Fellas, Ladies Only.” Why would this Tom character disobey the sign, use the girl’s bathroom, then scratch his name followed by a greeting into the stall door? It will forever be a mystery. In my head I read the WHAZZUP part like that Budweiser commercial, when everyone yells and drags out “What’s up” when they talk to people. If this is what Tom was going for, he did a good job. I think Tom just wanted to say hello to all the ladies using Stall #1. Maybe he’s a friendly guy or maybe he’s a being a creep, because who says hi to girls while they are going to the bathroom? Creeps.

In my opinion, I think Tom did a decent job carving his this graffiti into the stall door. All the letters are relatively the same size in each word and they are in a perfectly straight line, almost as if he used a ruler. The shape of the letters isn’t very good though, all the edges are rough but maybe Tom was going for a rock and roll or punk look to it, since he did rebel against the sign and he defaced the bathroom door. Tom also accomplished his possible goal of creeping out a girl using the bathroom, so that’s good for him. I wouldn’t necessarily say I like this piece of graffiti but it does alter the norm of bathrooms around campus and makes this interesting, and it’s fun to say WHAZZUP.

Grux by Dave Matthews Band

Dave Matthews Band is a popular rock band that was formed in Charlottesville, Virginia in 1990. The talented musicians who make up Dave Matthews Band, sometimes shortened as DMB, are Dave Matthews, on vocals and lead guitar, Stefan Lessard, on the bass, Boyd Tinsley, on the violin, Carter Beauford, on the drums and backup vocals, and Jeff Coffin, on the saxophone. All of these musicians have their roots in different genres of music, ranging from classical to bluegrass and hip-hop and jazz, the combination of these plus a unique electric sound makes DMB distinguishable, and in my opinion, better than most all other bands. Every year Dave Matthews Band holds a summer tour in the US and Europe, I saw them in 2010 and it was the most amazing experience.

The song I chose to blog about is Grux. It’s an instrumental song, lasting a little over one minute that consists of mostly saxophone and drums, with subtle hints of guitar and bass in the background. Grux starts out slow with low notes on the saxophone. It picks up with the sax and the drums towards the middle and ends with a high note that sounds like someone yelling. The guitar and bass are barely noticeable but they make this song unique. Grux, like all DMB songs, is incredible sounding. I don’t know too much about music to talk about melodies and harmonies but whatever is going on during this song works.

The saxophone and drums in Grux are the main components. The sax stands out and makes a statement while the drums do their job to keep the beat. It seems like the guitar, bass, and drums were written beforehand and the saxophone bit was off the cuff. The saxophone is soothing while the drums are powerful; the way the sax and the drums sound together are amazing.

The guitar and bass in background show more of an established flow of this song. It’s hard to hear them until the middle of the song but the combination of the bass and guitar with the saxophone and drums can send chills down your spine. I think the band chose to include these two instruments was to keep a flow going with the rest of their album and have their signature sound without having to sing.

This is the only DMB song that I’ve heard with no lyrics and it has got to be one of my favorites. The way it sounds is like eating a jelly donut, at first you don’t get any jelly but you know you’re going to and once you do, it’s awesome. I may be a little biased though because Dave Matthews Band is my all-time favorite band and I love all their songs, Grux in particular.