About the blog
The official name of this blog is Can You See the Sunset From the Southside? but can be (without punishment and more conveniently) referred to as either Can You See the Sunset or CYSTSFTS (which is quite possibly the worst acronym ever). It has been regularly updated since July 2005. For most of those years this has been primarily a music blog featuring MP3’s, album reviews, interviews, etc… from bands and artists deserving of recognition. Can You See the Sunset covers great music from all genres, but (as you can probably tell) has a general punk/indie slant. This blog has been featured in the Chicago Tribune, Washington City Paper, and was even called one of Gapers Block’s favorite Chicago MP3 blogs.
About the author
With the exception of 2 posts (I think) this blog was/is/will be made by one person, me. I’m Eric and I started Can You See the Sunset because I’m the kind of guy who starts countless conversations with, “So have you heard the new album from [insert band name here], plus it just sorta seemed like a natural extension of the short-lived punk zine that I worked on back in the late 90’s with my (now) wife. Before Can You See the Sunset took over my free time, I wrote and recorded my own lo-fi pop songs and also toured the U.S. in a beat up old van as one of the founding members of the pop punk band Allister. I currently reside near Chicago with my wife and our two daughters. You can also find out more in the Get To Know Your Blogger feature that Ryan from Muzzle of Bees blog did (even though that was a long time ago).
FAQ
Q: Where does the blog’s name come from?
A: The name comes from a sample that begins the Lifetime song “Ostrichsized” from their album Hello Bastards. The sample, in turn, is from the Francis Ford Coppola film The Outsiders released in 1983. It has nothing to do with the South side of Chicago.
Q: How many people do/make/write this blog?
A: One. Me. Eric.
Q: What was your zine called?
A: The zine was called More Than Corn and we published 2 issues in 1998/1999. We interviewed the likes of Alkaline Trio, Get Up Kids, RX Bandits, Boxer, Discount, The Hippos, Teen Idols and more.
Q: Do you still play music?
A: Although I didn’t for a few years when my daughters were younger and when I started Can You See the Sunset, I have recently been playing out some and have some new-ish demos available. Almost everything I’ve ever recorded can be found on my Bandcamp page.
More coming soon…
