1) First solo road trip to Hollywood
2) Right against the stage...
3) ...for Toad the Wet Sprocket...
4) ...at Key Club...
5) ...on the Sunset Strip!
6) Discovered new music (I'm always glad to find something new and unique to listen to)
7) Chopped my hair
Ok, so it's not all true "Bucket List" type stuff, but it sure was incredible... except the haircut cut thing was a little scary...
I've been a HUGE fan of Toad the Wet Sprocket since high school (insert "old" joke here), and, thanks to my friends Shelle and Chris, I was able to see them in concert for the first time last September. As amazing as it was seeing them for the first time, it was equally amazing being so close to the stage I could have been sweat on! No offense, Todd :) The absolute highlight of my night was seeing "Crazy Life" performed live less than 5 feet from me!
And the new music I was introduced to: the two opening acts... A.MA.ZING!
Brandon Nathaniel is a young kid (well, younger than me... insert "old" joke #2 here) with a tremendous talent for songwriting and seriously rocks his acoustic guitar! He is truly living his dream and that in itself is purely inspirational. It takes A LOT of guts to put yourself out there like that. He single-handedly helped renew my passion in playing music and writing lyrics... and finishing on my novel...
To say that Barley Legal is a fun band to watch is a SEVERE understatement. I should preface this by saying that the stage at Key Club is not a vast expanse by any means. So when the guys started to take the stage, I had to count multiple times to make sure that there were... 9 members in the band?!? And as if that wasn't unique enough, their instruments then grabbed my attention: acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass, drums, keyboard... ok, pretty standard... wait! Is that a Hammond Organ? Saxaphone? Flute? Trumpet?... WASHBOARD??? What the heck were we in for? Hmmm... how do I put this... to me they definitely sound like California... kinda surf, a little ska, a teeny bit of country, but oh boy, can those guys harmonize! They have a fan base that is as wild and crazy as they are. And I am proud to now call myself a "Legalite" as well! I found out later that they are classified as "Americana"... whatever that is...
Overall, my trip was extremely motivating, but then again, every time I go to Southern California, I return with a renewed sense that I can take on the world. In fact, the more time I spend down there, the more difficult it is to drive the lonely highway home. Sometimes I feel like I belong in LA more than I do in Vegas...
So how did I cheer myself up? By getting the crap cut out of my hair! Well, to me I had a bunch hacked off... about 8"! I went from having long red hair to medium length chocolate brown with short blondish highlights. Mad love for my girl Crystal! And I didn't even shed one little tear :)
I'm ending this week with an improved drive to get my life going back in the right direction. After Friday night, I'm going to lock myself in my apartment, work on my novel, and not surface until Monday morning when I head back to the office for another fun-filled week of Art Direction (no sarcasm intended... really, I love my job).
Current Read: Perfume - Patrick Suskind
Current Tunes: All Your Stories - Barley Legal
Current Craving: Curry Chicken Soup from DW Bistro
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