Weekly Pull Request: November 8th, 2024

Welcome to the Weekly Pull Request, a place where I share cool music, tech, and things I’ve been working on throughout the week.

If you’re new here:

👋 Hey! My name is Shawn aka Paps

💻 Lead Developer & Founder @ SPAP Technology Solutions

📈 I build high-impact web solutions for entrepreneurs.

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Table of Contents

• Riffs

• Heaven Let Them Die - Counterparts

• Live in Toronto (2024) - Counterparts

• Nightmare Logic - Power Trip

• You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To - Knocked L …

• Code

• Payload CMS

• Noise Box Website

• We Are the Creatives

Riffs

Heaven Let Them Die - Counterparts

My favorite Canadian hardcore band is back with an ass-beater EP. Just when you think they can’t get any better, they do. Instrumentation is great, production is incredible thanks to the magic of Will Putney, and their talent truly shines. What stood out to me the most was the songwriting. Imagine taking Brendan’s other band, END, and blending it with both early and recent Counterparts. That’s what this record is, and as a fan of all eras of Counterparts and END, this one is going to be on repeat for awhile.

Live in Toronto (2024) - Counterparts

Did I mention I love this band?! After my ears got done taking a consensual beating from ‘Heaven Let Them Die’, I turned on this live album captured at Danforth Music Hall in Toronto, Ontario.

(Go Leafs Go)

Counterparts is one of the best bands I’ve ever seen live. In fact, I find I like their live show even better than their albums. Brendan is comical with the crowd while still orchestrating the chaos in the pit. I don’t know man, something about this band live pulls out all of the feels and just hits you in the soul. Not to mention they sound incredible.

Not often we see live albums anymore. Definitely give this one a spin.

Nightmare Logic - Power Trip

I love Power Trip, and am still so sad that Riley is not with us anymore. In light of recent events, I revisited this record from 2017. Still a banger, always a banger. Rest in Power, Riley.

You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To - Knocked Loose

Again, another record that got me through Tuesday. I’m pretty sure I’ve shared this one before, but this time I’m sharing this for the song “Blinding Faith”. Knocked Loose is one of my favorites, and I will be spinning this record for many years to come.

Code

Payload CMS

Payload is an interesting take on the headless CMS. When you open up a project, it is essentially a Next.js web project, but with a custom admin panel where you control every aspect of the website content. Canonically similar to Notion, but with some code, it can be many things:

• Inventory for your online store

• A hub for your blog website

• A custom CRM for your business

• A no-code editor for your marketing team.

If you don’t know what a headless CMS is, then you should pick up my free “Unf[…]ck Your Tech Stack” guide, which tells you all about why a headless CMS is extremely powerful for your business website, as well as some of my favorite tips and tricks to get the most out of your business technology.

I’m not gonna lie — the first time I opened up this CMS after their v3 update, I didn’t like it. As a full stack dev who started in front end, it looked to me as if I was going to be editing the entire site using Typescript + a User Interface. Although I’m not opposed to website builders, I’m still one of those sickos that enjoys frontend.

It wasn’t until I watched a couple of awesome youtube tutorials from the All About Payload channel that I understood the potential. Payload has added the ability to create prebuilt layout blocks, giving even the least tech savvy user the ability to customize their website while utilizing Live Preview to see their changes in real time.

I’m not sponsored, I just really like this product y’all. As a developer, one common feature request I come across is the client’s ability to edit the not only the content, but the layout to their liking. Heck, why do you think Squarespace, Wix, Framer, and Webflow are so popular?

Devs, you’re going to love it for it’s simplicity and ability to scale. There is a learning curve, but there is little to no abstraction here, as it is built by you using Typescript. Payload also assumes the role that you want it to. It can be a full fledged editor, or even just a small blog database consumed by an API.

But here’s the kicker, entrepreneurs:

• Cost savings

• Freedom from being locked into a provider that will nickel and dime you for every feature.

• Scalability: Maybe you have a booking app or want to integrate with your existing tech stack. Or a mobile app, but don’t want to build another backend.

  Many of the tools above have their limitations when it comes to things like this. Payload is guaranteed to do so because it’s all developed to your specs. Anything is truly possible.

• Customization: Users, Inventory, Blog posts, even multiple domain management, all done from one single hub.

I’m very stoked to announce that this will be the technology I’m using on the project below. Check out Payload — you won’t regret it.

Noise Box Website

For Florida natives, this place needs no introduction. I’ve spent the last ten years of my life playing and attending shows at this “Hole in the Wall” in Brandon, Florida.

As many musicians, promoters, and venues know, it is becoming increasingly difficult to market upcoming shows on social media, so I’m working with DC Noise, the nonprofit that runs the venue, to build a website for them.

I am going to be using my newfound tool Payload + Next.js on this one to make a badass experience that will hopefully inform the community and bring more people out to local shows. This one means a lot to me y’all. Super stoked.

Every artist you listened to has cut their teeth at their local venues. We don’t have many left in Florida. Support your local scene, friends. And if you see me at a show, come say hey! Always down for a chat!

We Are the Creatives

I have been a creative professional for over a decade now. My profession has connected me with so many incredibly talented and creative people that have a lot to share in the form of experience and knowledge.

With that being said, I’m introducing We Are the Creatives, a series where I will be talking with creative professionals and entrepreneurs about technology, entrepreneurship, music, and more.

My goal with Riffs. Code. Coffee. is to give you, the reader, as much value as I can in the form of experiences, failures, successes, tips, and tricks that I come across. I’m hoping that these interviews will help inform, inspire & teach all of us at the intersection of creativity and technology!

Are you a creative professional? I’d love to have you be a part of this. Email me and let’s chat!

That’s all for this week’s extended version of the Weekly Pull Request. Let’s go ahead and merge this to main. I hope you have an amazing weekend!

Support Your Local Music Scene. Always Creating.

Paps

Speaking of creating — I create high-impact websites and applications for entrepreneurs and creators. Set up a call with me today!