“All I Have” by Until June, Friday, June 11, 2021

The falsetto sounds of vocalist Josh Ballard's voice may not be to everyone's liking. But back in 2007 when Until June released their debut album, singing high was the way to make it in the indie scene. Until June's self-titled debut is full of soaring melodies both on the guitar and in Ballard's vocals. The band's name makes me listen to them mostly in late spring to early fall. Though hailing from Arizona, this album makes me think of two early summer trips I took up to Michigan. One trip was before I had listened to this album, back in 2008 and the other was after I had listened to this album in 2010. The cool and breezy guitars remind me of the cool nights when walking around the lates and ponds in a northern early summer.

I KNOW IT FEELS LIKE SUMMER. I ended up driving over night from North Carolina to Michigan after my friend's graduation to crash another friend's graduation party. After getting practically drunk on espresso (5 shots, I think), I was in the mix to drive all night listening to the new Thousand Foot Krutch album. It was an eclectic mix of friends: my friend, her dad, my sister's boyfriend who nobody liked, and the Michigan friend's cousin who no of us knew. This was the time when gas was $4 a gallon, and we all chipped in for gas. We left on a Friday night and came back by Sunday evening. The driving was not bad when everyone was awake. We told jokes, listened to lots of rock music, and refueled on coffee. But when the sun was coming up in Ohio, and I was driving, everyone had fallen asleep. That was the hardest part of the trip. When we made it to the graduation party, we were all falling asleep on the lawn. The Michigan early summer was warm in the afternoon and cool in the evening. We under-packed for the journey, thinking about North Carolina late-May, but the Michiganders weren't even cold. Lending us their windbreakers, we headed out for soft-serve custard. Early Michigan summer reminded me of growing up in New York, but there were far more lakes and ponds there. 

SO I TRIED. Before going to Yap, I spend a few days in Berrien Springs, Michigan.  I drove up to Michigan because it was cheaper than flying to O'hare, where we would fly out of to begin the long journey to Yap. I spent a few days with River, getting to know her family and seeing what Adventist life was in one of its capital cities. I got to see Andrews University and met a professor or two as I was thinking about their English master's. I met River's mom, an elementary school teacher who worked constantly, cutting out crafts and preparing lessons. Her father and her mother lived very separate lives. It was my first encounter with a Korean ajosshi. The story of how her parents met fascinated me, but what fascinated me more was how they were still together. It seemed that they were fiercely independent forces. They ate separate food--River's mom cooking both Western and Korean food. They spent time in separate rooms, she in the kitchen and he in the living room. He watched Korean television and sat on the floor. Mr. Jung seemed distant from his wife and daughters. I told Mr. Jung that I was interested in going to Korea. "Oh yes, Korea is a great opportunity. As you can see my wife married the wrong man, but maybe you will meet the right person there." I thought the conversation was odd, but it's stuck in my head.

Read “All I Have” by Until June on Genius.