Congratulations To AuSex

“When I was born, the doctor looked at my mother and said, ‘Congratulations, you have an actor!'”~ Sally Field

So let’s end the evening of blogging with something happy. Something new and fresh. Something POSITIVE.

This is my super-intense-batteries-not-included-underground-no-admittance-without-the-password-under-scrutiny-by-an-oath-of-silence-members-only-fabulously-set-to-music-primarily-awesome-most-beautiful-world’s-most-terrific-top-notch-redheaded-secret-friend.

But you can call her Aussa.

She is also known for her cult definition to the word supercalifragilisticexpialidocious as you will see a photograph of her in the margins for that specific dictionary entry.

I know her because she has a blog as well. And truth be told, she has twice as many followers to it as I have to this blog. In addition, her blog is far better than mine is.

Aussa today wins the Internet Award for her blog post that she produced earlier in the day. I do not know how she feels about winning blog awards, so I will skip the award memes here. To be safe.

It appears as if she is now going through a major life transition with her significant other, she refers to as The Boyfran. Such a transition that it is difficult for many to fathom. But she is hopeful that this transition will be happy and healthy as she deals with the fact that she now has the option of whether or not to use the name of The Boyfran to refer to the significant other known as simply, Alex.

This just happened.

Amalgamation of names resulting in a delightfully fun term of AuSex to define the two of them together in this relationship in which the parameters have greatly changed.

I’ve known Aussa for about a year through the commonality if our blogs and have been in contact with her on a socially acceptable personal level for that same amount of time.

As of recently, she has been featured in Cosmopolitan magazine. No lie!!!

Aussa is the luxury fountain of knowledge based on her own travels, experiences, and of course… styles.

And now she’s entering into a different stage, a new chapter if you will, in her life with her significant other.

To put it very bluntly, I could not be any happier for the both of them as they embark on this journey together as their lives will soon become one path as man and wife.

I originally had an actual visit to Aussa in person, one-on-one somewhere, possibly at some event on my bucket list. But it was to happen within the next ten years. Now with this new update, I’ll be including the mister as well in that visitation IF she’ll have me.

Each and every blog post that she composes sheds a light into her brilliance and expertise along with her professionalism in knowing just how to get the point across to her readers by way of tales. I wished I was as good at it as she is.

Now if only she will accept my goat sacrifice in her honor. In which it will be the first of many.

Check out her blog. Join it. Be one with it. Learn from it. BE the blog!! Subscribe and follow her blog as you will not be disappointed with the levels of entertainment that she brings. And the expertise of seriousness towards other fateful issues of every day life when humor has no place.

Tell her that DAMBREAKER sent you in her comment section. And be blessed by Aussa’s writings. As well as enjoy them as much as I have this past-almost-a-full-year. I will be sure to put it in with the other important links in the Blog Roll.

Her latest blog post can be found here:

http://aussalorens.com/2014/09/23/say-goodbye-boyfran/

No Thank You, Jasmine Tridevil

“The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid.”~ Jane Austen

Since I’m on a roll here ….. 

Dear Whatever-Your-Name-Really-Is,

Your name isn’t fooling anyone.

I know that things must be tough for you, being 21 years old and all of that and out in the scary part of the world known as “Florida” however I don’t think that there’s a single person that I personally know in life who has been impressed by your image which has been thrust into the media lately.

Your ALLEGED $20,000 body modification to your chest is almost laughable. But since the jury is still out on the situation I shall digress.

Your comment about how you wanted to become unattractive to men, so you threw on a third breast IS however the truly laughable part. Instead of being unattractive to all men (simply because you don’t wanna date any more) now you have more breasts than anyone else on the planet, which is going to make you stand out to men even MORE and thus … your plan has officially BACKFIRED.

Seriously speaking though, what is it that as infants we cling to the most especially moments after being born? What is the one thing that gave us comfort as well as nourishment and growth?

BREASTS. 

Its actually the very first thing that everyone on the planet has put in their mouths moments after being born!!!

And you think that throwing on a third is going to turn off a guy? Wow, you don’t know men at all!!!!

One thing is for certain though, this has garnished you enough attention that you truly were seeking to begin with. And that’s all this is: a campaign to gain attention. The spotlight absolutely MUST be put on you, huh?? 

Unfortunately you are not old enough to remember the 1990 original version of TOTAL RECALL starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. The three breasted look already has been done! What you are doing is nothing new or inventive.

And now you want your own television show on MTV.

Let me clue you in on something: MTV is not as popular as it once was. Hardly a soul watches MTV any more. At least to my knowledge people have have abandoned MTV since MTV quit being MTV. And you want people’s attention to watch you on camera on that particular television channel??? Is there any particular reason as to why you want MTV that I am missing or didn’t catch some where else????

I honestly though feel for you, since you are on an attention seeking campaign right now. Starting with that alleged $20,000 boob job. That’s pretty expensive to try to get the guys to turn away. But then have them turn back and look at you while on television.

You really need to figure out what it is you want.

Do you want to repel men or do you want your television show? Because at this stage, breasts are just what men are going to totally dig whether or not its two breasts, three breasts, or one hundred. Let me warn that if you add any more breasts to your chest then the TOTAL RECALL jokes and comments will disappear for sure and you’ll be nothing but looking like a woman with cow’s udders. The “GOT MILK?” jokes will come in full force. (IF they haven’t already.)

Sadly though your attention bid will more than likely be over soon. The Sam Pepper scandal along with what is going on right now in the Middle East and now another public area shooting that happened? All of these things are going to kick you out of the spotlight! And that’s not what you want, is it??

So let’s hurry up and make a decision of what you want to do with your life. The time is ticking on your viral-ness and you are almost out of sand.

I think that you WILL be contacted for television appearances but it won’t be at the caliber you are hoping for. And get ready for the offers to pose topless because honestly your goods are you being topless. Massage therapy now seems like a distant dream. The dream is fading. Better hurry up and catch it!!!

After posting this to WordPress, it was brought to my attention with absolute certainty that this story is in fact, a hoax. And personally I am thankful for that. She still needs to figure out what she needs to do with her life, other than stage hoaxes for attention.

However, since I did not believe in the story’s truthfulness 100%… I did use the term “alleged” when writing because I didn’t think that it would be true. Thank you for those people who were trying to correct the situation, as well as those who were just being vindictive assholes to prove me wrong. Instead of this being an opinionated post, it now shall remain intact on this blog…… but as satire. Thank you all for your “concern”…. DAMBREAKER

No Thank You, Sam Pepper

“A word to the wise ain’t necessary – it’s the stupid ones that need the advice.”~ Bill Cosby

As usual, I am a bit late to the party when it comes to these things that hit, become viral and get in the news and in our faces as a collective population. Things that make you shake your head incessantly.

Sam Pepper,

You need a new hobby.

Perhaps you could go to your 2.4 MILLION YouTube subscribers and ask them what they all would like to see you do…. rather than what you have been doing, since you know, you’re running a streak of TWO videos being pulled on YouTube due to sexual content violations.

And now that its out there and everyone knows what has been done, what makes you think that your newly found and well deserved haters won’t stop at two videos? What makes you think that the haters won’t flag every video you upload to YouTube from now on??

You clearly didn’t learn a thing from your first video fiasco by your ass pinching prank video when you sexually ASSAULTED women, you thought that turn around was fair play. But all it showed to the world was that you are an equal opportunity sex deviant and prime slimeball.

Even your equal opportunity video was flagged then banned from YouTube by ass pinching and sexually ASSAULTING MEN since you had given women the first round about.

Putting your hands on another person when it is unwanted is actually ILLEGAL in this country. And here’s the dumb thing: You put it on video of you doing it!! So you’re clearly guilty of this action.

Let me reassure you that if I was to go around town, video recording me talking to women and then suddenly grabbing their butts when they weren’t looking or suspecting it, I’d be in jail. And in addition a few of those women would not hesitate to defend themselves from my deviant actions. And  they would be justified in doing so. But who knows…. maybe you encountered that yourself, and you just simply edited that out of your video. We’ll never know.

And now that you are feeling some heat from the vlogging community as well as having your account go down in flames because you have been deleted TWICE in a row…. there’s really not too much that I can add that hasn’t already been said by countless people already in the past couple of days because of your disgusting actions to do what you did — all in the name of calling it a prank???

That’s not a prank, that’s a crime. And believe me when I tell you that you DESERVE some jail time for these crimes against both women and men. Everyone involved from both videos that were pulled from YouTube!!!

You forcing your presence on unsuspecting women and then just expecting them to accept your actions because you are recording is nowhere near funny. Your laughter to break the ice to let them know that they’ve been pulled into your twisted joke is nothing but evil.

The fact that you refuse to apologize for your actions confirm you are a Top Class Jerk-Off.

You’ll “explain” what you did, but you won’t apologize??

Allow me to repeat myself: You DESERVE jail time, and a criminal record. Because that’s what you are : a person involved in criminal activities.

Enjoy your 200,000 EXTRA subscribers that you’ve attracted since this went down while you can. Since that’s the ONLY reason why you did what you did to begin with… that is quite clear. But you really really need to sit down and find a new hobby.

Then again, I don’t know you and you don’t know me… so why should I bother with my opinion when truth is evident?

Wheelchairs Wobble But They Don’t Fall Down

“When life knocks you down, try to land on your back. Because if you can look up, you can get up. Let your reason get you back up.”~ Les Brown

I had the right of away, you fucking moron.

Somewhere in between 11 AM and 12 PM, I was crossing the street getting errands done because I knew that in a few hours from then I was planning to see FEAR CONTROL at Dirty Dog Bar.

But no, someone almost ruins it.

And before anyone goes into a panic and starts to text me, call me, message or e-mail me to ask if I am okay…. don’t do it, because I am just fine. 

It was the other guy who has a worse fate ahead than I do.

The image included in this post was taken from a news article where the truck actually struck someone in a wheelchair and that person did die. But here I am at home, writing this story. I apologize in advance if this causes anyone to be startled. But there are some massive jerkwads out there.

While inside some very clear and specific painted lines within a crosswalk, I started to feel this super massive nudge and push from behind. But it was sudden and more like a jolt to the point where the wheelchair was only on two wheels to one side. I knew that I was going to go down. So instead of going down like a victim, I dropped out of the wheelchair, hit the pavement and rolled like a boss until I stopped, landing on my back.

What the hell?!?!?!?!?!???? 

My wheelchair had simply collapsed on itself, as it is designed to do when you want to store it somewhere or put it in the back seat or the trunk of a vehicle. The brand new wheelchair that I got from someone’s kindness took its first major hit and came out CLEAN.

I have some scrapes along my back and shoulders but I am fine. Nothing broken. Not even a bruise. But you know how they always tell you that you’re going to hurt the next day? Yep….. its the next day and I hurt.

HYDROCODONE BITARTRATE  TO THE RESCUE!!!!

By the way, did I tell you how beautiful you look today and that I love you so much?

Yeah its the effects of me being on that particular prescription. Fabulous!!!

So as I laid there, looking up at the utility wires overhead I attempted to at least sit up. I didn’t know if I should move at all because of the fact that I landed on my back. What if it was broken and if I moved… wouldn’t it make it worse?

Instead I turned my head towards the pile of vehicular debris, and the guy responsible for this collision stepped out of his pick up truck and looked around to assess the damage.

He started screaming about how he just bought it and all that and didn’t even look to see where I was. He just went on and on about how much he had paid for his truck. I mean honestly, he did not even bother to see if I was dead or alive or anything else. But the person driving behind him sure did. They came running to see if I was respond to their voice.

Hmmm, amazing how a standard run-of-the-mill wheelchair which would retail about $200 would knock out an acclaimed $30,000 dual cab pick up truck.

Like I said, the wheelchair just collapsed, but this guy’s bumper and grill got a little more smashed in than what I did.

Someone asked me what my blood type was this morning. I answered “BAMF.”

I think that it was the fact that I knew that I was going to fall and there was nothing I could do about it that kept me from sustaining serious injuries. Yes, I loaded up on Norco as I went to see FEAR CONTROL, but I didn’t bother doing anything out of the ordinary to make things worse.

The one sure thing that was a surprise was that the guy who was responsible for this happening actually stayed!! He could have drove off a little angry with his front sustaining more damage than I did, but he stayed. And unfortunately for him, he got super mouthy at the police officers as I was being attended to by members of EMS/EMT.

The pick up truck was towed. And its driver hauled off to jail. And I have a lot to think about as to whether or not to sue this guy for every penny he’s got for what he did. I just know that right now (or at that time) he was in jail. Who really knows for what though!!!!!

I do not think that I am Superman. I do think that the way things turned out that I was very fortunate as it could have been so much worse. This is the second time I’ve taken out a vehicle. The first time being a luxury German automobile.

But I went, and I rocked out with FEAR CONTROL until I could rock no more and still walked away like a bad ass. So yes, I have established my title as a BAMF. Thank you, thank you very much.

No Thank You, Just Trying To Catch A Bus

“Sometimes we go out of our way to make someone love us in return, but suddenly fate intervenes and says oops, wrong person.”~ Unknown

So some of you are going to shake your head. Others are probably offer some advice for next time. And the REST of you are just going to laugh, either a little or a lot.

The path starts out in red and ends up in rainbow.

If I am catching a bus to return home, I have a certain path that I take to get to the nearest bus stop in the downtown area.

The thing to point out is that FOURTH STREET is known for it being the district where all the gay bars are at. But I only need to go along 4th Street for two blocks before hitting the intersection which is the actual bus stop.

So I went on my usual path. As I said, I figured out why much of downtown was closed off. The very hard way.

There were so many people crowding both sides of the sidewalks along 4th Street, and so I had to go into the middle of the street, hoping that I would not get hit by a car or arrested.

But what I would end up doing is finding myself going down the middle of the street which actually was a major section of a Gay Pride Parade route.

I would say at least 1,000 people cheered and screamed at me as I attempted to get to the intersection and out of everyone’s path as quickly as possible. Harmless mistake.

OOPS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

20 September 2014 – Living The Warrior Life With Fear Control

“Battle is the most magnificent competition in which a human being can indulge. It brings out all that is best; it removes all that is base. All men are afraid in battle. The coward is the one who lets his fear overcome his sense of duty. Duty is the essence of manhood.”~ George S. Patton

I don’t know what’s going on with this composition as it won’t indent for paragraphs so screw it.

Well I made it. My third visit to the Dirty Dog Bar in all of seven days.

FEAR CONTROL was on the bill and I had already paid for my ticket inside, but the day would prove a challenge to get there.

The whole of downtown was completely shut down and I had no idea as to why.

What was going on? I started to get subtle hints by the various people climbing on board the bus that I was riding on to get to the Dirty Dog Bar.

It apparently was something big. But I wasn’t 100% sure. I would find out for sure in the most humorous of ways.

I got to the venue and I had notified half the band that I may not make it due to problems earlier in the day. But there I was strong as ever.

LIVING THE WARRIOR LIFE.

When FEAR CONTROL  got on stage, I was literally shaking with excitement. And I would not be let down. FEAR CONTROL is known for taking chances, adapting, and moving forward to find what is right for them and their audience. Whatever it was that they did, they did it hard, fast, and correct!!

“Toe Cam”

There was this feeling of never wanting to drop down The Horns. You always wanted to have them up in the air. Or a fist or whatever. And if they asked to see something in the air, everyone willingly obliged.

It was fantastic to watch. There hadn’t been this much energy at a FEAR CONTROL in a while. It was a sigh of relief to know that it was there again.

After CASKET OF  CASSANDRA burned down the place on Wednesday night, FEAR CONTROL took hold of the reins and destroyed everything else that was still standing until it was nothing but smoldering ash.

My younger brother once said that FEAR CONTROL sounds like the band Death Angel and that they needed to contact Death Angel about maybe doing some shows together. And I finally see what he was talking about.

The best moment coming from when guitarist and vocalist Kash Sarkaria got up on his (what I call light box) and I had positioned my camera by his feet. He kept his pose while playing guitar until the flash went off.

“OFF WITH HIS HEAD”

I have never heard a crowd go so insane for FEAR CONTROL like that before. It was intense and the energy flowed throughout everyone. Both band and audience.

But I wasn’t feeling well. FEAR CONTROL exploded everything when they played my favorite song of theirs, “OFF WITH HIS HEAD” and before I knew it, I was blowing out my own voice to sing the chorus OFF WITH HIS HEAD, BLOOD MUST BE SHED.

Its kind of a way of communicating with guitarist Frankie Rodriguez. I will say the first part when I first see him and he’ll reply back to me with the second part. I love it.  Now if I can only get the new nickname that I came up for Kash to actually stick!!

After their set, I left feeling miserable and in pain. So I took off. I took photographs with most of the band and then I was gone.  What caused such misery will coming up soon in a future blog post.

Many thanks to these guys for putting up with my whining last night about how I might not make it. Thanks for them for being such a elite group of badasses. Until the next time!!!

LIVE THE WARRIOR LIFE

17 September 2014: The Final Act With Casket Of Cassandra @ Dirty Dog Bar

“The last act is bloody, however pleasant all the rest of the play is: a little earth is thrown at last upon our head, and that is the end forever.”~Blaise Pascal

When I heard that CASKET OF CASSANDRA was doing a show, I knew that I wanted to go.

When I heard further that this would be the final show for CASKET OF CASSANDRA for 2014, I knew that I HAD to go.

There was no debate to it. Get there or get gone. Granted that I totally suck and left after they played, but sometimes you just cannot stay out all night and you do what you can. I’m just glad that I went out and SKIPPED band practice.

Again under the threat of rain, I very happily ran outside early in the evening and arrived far too soon. Without any notice, the first band dropped out and so everything was pushed ahead one hour. And that included what time the doors opened.

I went to a place called Casino el Camino to get a bite to eat. I promise you this much for sure. Not even under the threat of death would you EVER get me to go back in there and order food from them again. NEVER.

But I wasn’t out of my dwelling because of food, I was out because of music.

Music that I had not seen in a while. Probably since Independence Day.

If doors were pushed aside one hour to open at 7:00, the people at the Dirty Dog Bar have been doing a piss poor job at time management.

This is the second time that I have gone to the Dirty Dog Bar and the second time to find their doors locked and closed when it posted notices were stating otherwise. They need to wake the hell up. And yes, if you cannot tell already: I am getting pissed off about it.

With the first band dropping out and everything pushed ahead one hour, CASKET OF CASSANDRA would start the early evening off.

I jumped right up front dead center. Its like my second home at the venue. And I never get bothered by anyone. I could speculate why but there’s no time for that right now.

Riles Olacsi (left) and Amanda Maddera (front and right)

I kept hearing from my talks with all of the band members individually that the set was going to be a heavier set list and what not. I kind of assumed that they would not play my favorite song. And to be honest, I would not be surprised if they just stopped playing it because they have this new album out “Day Four” and they’re going to focus on the newer material. (I had learned my lessons about expectation with “Zero Hour” from SIX MINUTE CENTURY.) However, there was to be other tunes performed that I enjoy just as much. So with that information, I was PUMPED UP to see this show!!

I will admit that I spoke to their guitarist, Riley, and told him that “Day Four” was the scariest album I had ever heard.

I don’t know if he read the blog post about it when I first got it, but now he was getting feedback in verbal form. And it was exactly the feedback that he was craving deep down inside. All of that put aside, I was ready to hang on for the wild ride. But I simply would have no clue as to what was truly lying before me.

There simply was no telling at all. The band knew the set list, but nobody knew what the results were going to be. The band wasn’t even sure if the crowds were going to enjoy it.

Sure enough, this set was insane and Amanda Maddera looked as if she had gone insane faster than a tear drop falling off the cheek of the lonely. The contorted facial expressions that Maddera let off were totally intrusive and I sat back thinking “Wow!”

I really began to think (or at least ponder) whether or not Maddera snapped into insanity or if she is just that good of a performer. Riley too, was quite the shocker when he was all over the stage. Stomping, marching, kicking everywhere he went. And it just didn’t seem to stop.

There were times where I, myself was so into the music that I could have cared what the scores of people behind me thought. And I think that is kind something important for me to remember when I go out to venues and clubs and bars. I don’t drink, so I’m not there to do that… but I will go there to listen to music by people that I know and bands that I love. Besides if you spend too much time at a show worried about what people behind you are thinking, you’ll destroy your self confidence to pieces. 

I’m getting off subject. Hang on here.

The more and more the set went on, the actual scarier it became. Amanda would often come front and center on stage and be directly standing in front of me while on stage. And of course, I panicked again… not knowing what she would want me to do as far as audience participation. Put a fist in the air? Raise the horns? Scream and shout? I just don’t know. To each their own, they say. And its so true. I just have not figured out what Maddera insists on during their shows.

Suddenly the swarm of chaos came over the entire band. Everyone was doing their own thing, but it was completely in disharmonious harmony. They didn’t all do the same things on stage but it all fit.

And they ALL began to look like they had lost their minds. It was a sight to behold. I couldn’t make my camera’s flash go off quick enough because as I am trying to capture one person’s facial expression, I lost another one by the time I finished with the first one and would have to wait to see something else come up.

Quinton Rivera bass (left) Isaac Holliday guitar(right)

However, CASKET OF CASSANDRA did not disappoint. By the middle of the set, all members looked possessed by the spirits of heavy metal music.

Ladies and gentlemen: This………… is what I enjoy when it comes to metal bands. This “appearance” of fear, domination, and total and complete insanity just puts all kinds of charges through me. And it works that way every damned time.

Patiently I had been waiting for those songs that I had heard prior to them starting the show.

“Day Four” which is also the name of their new album has some nasty-creepy elements to it. Honestly it scares me to pieces. I NEVER listen to that album after dark. NEVER. And they played it LIVE!!!

Finally towards the end, the best had been saved for the last! Well, at least in my opinion.

“The Kraken’s Reign” and “Nail To The Head” rounded up the set.

THE KRAKEN ARISES
IT FEEDS ON YOUR SEASICK SORROW
AND WITH ITS AWESOME MIGHT
YOU MIGHT AS WELL BE 20,000 LEAGUES BELOW

Yeah, you gotta love that. Even if you don’t like heavy metal and it sounds like a lot of syllables that don’t belong. That imagery of fear and looming death is just a killer thought to have go on in your head. Especially once you had been believing that the entire band had gone insane. Including drummer, Chris Campagna who was sweatier than the whole band combined times twenty. He works so damned hard at his job. Its admirable.

Someone remind him (or me) he owes me a broke drum stick from the show. I called dibs.

Then “Nail To The Eye” which I’ve not heard since July. It never gets played live the same way twice. NEVER.

GLASS BONES
PAPER SKIN
FRAGILE AS FUCK
FACED WITH STICKS AND STONES
YOU’RE SHIT OUT OF LUCK 

Again. Classic lyrics. Would love to know who wrote the words to these last two songs. Just for giggles and common knowledge.

CASKET OF CASSANDRA has never honestly been a band to disappoint. As much as I stay positive when reviewing or discussing other shows that I have been to, I usually stay away from the negatives because who wants to read a bunch of negative crap?

With CASKET OF CASSANDRA, I’ve not once found any negative experiences.

Bands will often talk to me after their set and talk about their errors and mistakes that they made when they were playing. I don’t get that from COC. Honestly, I wished that other bands would stop doing that because hardly anyone notices those mistakes. Unless they are all assholes.

COC though just takes you by the face, scratches it off, and feeds it back to you with every spoonful that is a musical note that they play. Every chord, every note is another spoonful of your own face.

Amanda Maddera however did catch me way off guard to the point where I just sat there helpless. She had crawled down onto the floor of stage and slithered over the monitor with microphone in hand. Her hair was over her face and her brutal monster vocals were screeching everywhere. It was to the point that I honestly could hear the screams even without the microphone dead set in her face.

But her slowly moving over the top of the monitor freaked me right out to the point of literal terror. She looked like the thing from “The Ring” that crawled out of the television set. Only this time there was no television set and she was heading straight for me.

I had no idea what to do. Should I attempt to catch her? Should I grab a hold of her so that she didn’t just fall face first onto the floor? And for the love of all things good and happy — why the hell was she giving off the appearance of horror?

If I had taken a photograph of it, you ALL would know what I am talking about. But I was too much in this state of fear and uncertainty to think straight and clear to know to take a photo.

Again, it has to be great performances by Amanda Maddera. And by the entire band actually. When they finished and said good night… they came off the stage and were all smiles. A bit winded and exhausted, but smiling pretty big. One has to wonder how they could go from excitement to pure evil and back to contentment again.

It is sad to hear that this will be all that they will do on stage for sometime. They will have some other dates that will be out of town. But nothing locally. And yes that stinks but this time of year apparently is difficult to gather everyone together.

I still am looking forward to the next time they will play here locally. One never knows and something might come up where they could believe that they could play. They aren’t going anywhere. And if they never make it locally as they have been thinking, they will come back stronger than ever in 2015.

This my second show in four days. It seemed pretty hollow and empty after being at a One-Eyed Doll show which crammed the entire venue last Saturday. But again I don’t need to be worried about who is there and who is not there. And I will be back again for #3 this coming Saturday for FEAR CONTROL.

This means three shows in seven days. All various bands. And I’m rocking out to each and every one of them!!!! So if you need me, you know where I will be.

14 September 2014- One-Eyed Doll VIP After Show Acoustic Party

Kimberly Freeman of One-Eyed Doll allows me to take this photograph of her before getting started.

“Inside each of us, there is the seed of both good and evil. It’s a constant struggle as to which one will win. And one cannot exist without the other.”~ Eric Burdon

This is my 700th post. THANK YOU EVERYONE WHO READS AND CONTINUES TO STAY CONNECTED TO THE SAGA.

It was well into the night and well into the AM hours before the VIP After Show party officially was put into gear.

We had arrived at the secret location after 2:00 AM, closer to 3:00 AM and nobody could find One-Eyed Doll or know where they were.

It had been a very long time before both Junior and Kimberly had even shown up, much less sat down to begin playing and singing. The pre-orders of the VIP show had their choice of which song they wanted to hear being played acoustically.

But when Kimberly walked through the front door, she was giving everybody hugs. Or as she put it “I gotta get me my huggins in from everyone. Collect them hugs! Mmm!”

For me though, when you’ve realized that you are at a party that should have cost you $100 and it was free and the company that was being kept was entertaining (because I was able to keep them laughing while we waited) and your musical hostess actually in real life has hair that has grown beyond her ass, beyond classic length, and you are out of the house in the middle of the night….. life is great.

Considering that the musical portion didn’t start until closer to 5:00 AM, everyone seemed to be very alert and receptive to the sounds of the acoustical instruments and anything else that was performed.

I found myself constantly and continuously in a hug with Kimberly or in the very least with my arm around her and hers around me. Time and time again with the sharing of affection. I kept thinking that I was the newbie, the stranger in the room, and still she was just as loving towards me as she was towards anyone else?? 

She had my colleague Robert and I towards the front which finally allowed me to see them perform. In fact, I had been placed right next to the  chair that Junior sat in as he played and accompanied Kimberly.

Again I was at the mercy of not knowing the songs that they sang with the exception of a couple…. that’s IF they played them at all!! Kimberly told the group that if they knew the words to sing along.

That would turn out to bite me in the ass later on.

I had one gentleman behind me stuck in the corner near the front door of the house.

You know the person in the crowd that always has something to say in between songs when they are not performing or singing and its always seeming like they are sucking up to the musician or artist or maybe just kissing ass? Or in the most harmless of ways … just adulating and they don’t know when to stop? Yeah, that was behind me. The whole night.

But One-Eyed Doll continued their musical journey with stories and tales of being on tour and how certain songs came along to be. It was like my very own personal band biography that nobody else got to hear if they didn’t buy VIP passes.

And that may or may not have been the point. One-Eyed Doll did mention that the VIP parties were the only true way that they could make money and have gas in the fuel tanks and food in their stomachs. Everything else, someone took some kind of cut or percentage. Even their merchandise table… someone was taking a cut from it. Made me not wanna buy any merchandise from anyone, but that’s not the answer. 

Slowly but surely the night slipped away from everyone in the house. And people were slipping out the door. There were even people there who were at the house when we arrived and had left before One-Eyed Doll even showed up. Such a loss. One person actually split after they got set up to play. It was so weird.

People were beginning to fade and fall one by one by one.

The windows began to show signs of life, signs of light, and most importantly signs of the sun coming up.

It was bizarre. I cannot honestly tell you when the last time was that I went out for the night and came home when it turned light again. But it seemed apparent that this was going to be the  case as the show went on.

Another gentleman mentioned that he had faith that one day One-Eyed Doll was going to play at Madison Square Garden. They had been all over the country this tour and it was his dream for them that they would do so and in quick and short order. 

I can only imagine what One-Eyed Doll was truly thinking when he said it. When I heard it, it sounded like it was full of hope and support.

How can you argue that???

It was nice emotional break for everyone I think. Everyone had been in almost a zombie-coma like state from listening to music and being so tired from being awake for so long.

Even One-Eyed Doll was showing signs of running out of gas at this point in time.

Everyone still remaining in the house had been going on for nearly 24 hours at this point and the acoustic show was far from over.

Kimberly did what she could to make things flow with entertainment throughout, knowing that everyone, including herself was so exhausted.

Nobody wanted to admit their fatigue though. In fact, people were surprised with themselves about how long they were able to last without showing physical signs of fatigue. Nobody appeared to be yawning profusely. Nobody was nodding off. Everyone was alert and still going.

Either the nostalgia took control or everyone was good at faking it.

Kimberly Freeman jumps into the group of people while singing “Committed.”

I suddenly was reminding myself of many things.

First of all, I wouldn’t have been there if it had not been the for the kindness of a guy by the name of Cory who gave me his second VIP pass that he bought and had nobody to go with him. I wouldn’t have made it to the house had it not been for the generous help of my brand new colleague Robert and his family. I wouldn’t have known about One-Eyed Doll had it not been for NANCY SILVA PROJECT to announce that they had a show in town finally and at last after six months of being away.

So I start at the top to thank Nancy Silva personally for being an important person in my life these last few months. I thank Junior of One-Eyed Doll for pointing Robert in my direction to connect with as another fan. And the willingness of him and his family to get me to the house of the party. And of course the sacrifice Cory gave as he handed me his other VIP pass for free.

Not having these people in place at the right time and I would not have stayed out all night long. I probably would have stayed long enough to watch NANCY SILVA PROJECT and then gone home and been back within the walls before the sun went down. Instead I was back within the walls as the sun had been up. It was like leaving the house and going out into the street just before high noon. Even though it was after 7:00 AM.

Robert and his family were interviewed and I stood back and watched. It was wonderful to watch them tell their stories. They almost came to tears telling it with great pride and joy. I hope that One-Eyed Doll appreciates their words.

And even though I was the newbie, I felt like I was surrounded by people who were like family. People who were caring. New people that crossed my path that one fateful night and remain in my thoughts and memories as they all traveled back to their homes across this great nation. To know that Dirty Dog Bar was packed with people like that and a huge percentage of them were not even from the state of Texas was mind blowing. Knowing that NANCY SILVA PROJECT got one hell of a crowd which meant exposure to them as well. I think I remember seeing ONE man who had a NSP t-shirt after the fact.

Throughout the whole night and into the VIP party, I still was wearing my NSP t-shirt. Representing during One-Eyed Doll. Come to find out that both bands are fond of one another in real life on a personal level and that’s great.

Hoping and believing that Kimberly got over her shock of receiving roses the evening before.

Due to the fact that my batteries were dead in my camera while waiting in line at the venue, I changed them before I got to the house party and I finally got my own photographs with Kimberly. Then we left the house.

The host of the party was outside with Junior talking and he asked if he could help in any way as I approached the ramp to go down. I said “Stand back and watch the magic.” Then I flew down that ramp and onto the walkway and all the way to the front gate where he met up with me and helped me to the vehicle.

I finally crawled through my front door after saying farewell to Robert and his family and looked at the clock. It said 7:40 AM.

Damn.

I posted all my photographs that I had on my camera from the evening onto Facebook and then got slapped with the article of Kanye West opening his mouth at a concert in Australia and shoving his foot down his throat farther than ever before. But that’s for another post. Depending on how mad I remain about the situation.

Kimberly Freeman Loves You

After posting photographs and ignoring Kanye West’s stupid ass, I finally went to sleep. But only got four hours of sleep. Then I suddenly had to be up and awake because I was babysitting my niece.

I hope that I get another shot at One-Eyed Doll. Kimberly finally put two and two together and realized who I was since we had some minor interactions on the Internet prior to the show. But almost too late. I found out later that Kimberly is just uber affectionate. She loves her hugs. Receiving and giving. It shows with as many as I had with her.

I think that I am going to go to her and tell her that I want to extend the hugs and call them “Kimberly Kuddles.” She’ll probably love the sound of it. But we’ll see.

13 September 2014: One-Eyed Doll At Dirty Dog Bar- TOUR HOMECOMING

“I have seen many storms in my life. Most storms have caught me by surprise, so I had to learn very quickly to look further and understand that I am not capable of controlling the weather, to exercise the art of patience and to respect the fury of nature.”~Paulo Coelho

Part II – One-Eyed Doll.

The first difficult lesson that I learned was never to move from your spot if you got a good place in front of the stage, if you are at a One-Eyed Doll show.

Being a local band, there’s plenty of people who were there for One-Eyed Doll specifically.  I’d like to think upwards towards 90% of the crowd was there for them.

And I had never seen Dirty Dog Bar that packed with people. I probably said that in the last post. I was the only person there wearing a NANCY SILVA PROJECT t-shirt. And I wore it with total pride, against the oceans of One-Eyed Doll shirts.

But this was my first time for One-Eyed Doll. And I have been watching videos on YouTube for the past two months or so just trying to familiarize myself with the band.

The only real connection I was able to make was listening to two songs called “You’re A Vampire” and “Committed.”

When the show started, I was so far deep in the back after trying to find Nancy Silva to hang out that when I attempted to reach the stage that nobody would move so I got pushed over to the side of the stage closer to the restrooms, watching the show from behind. Watching Kimberly Freeman’s back the entire time, unless she marched over towards the side of the stage before going back up front.

I missed the silly introductions and realized that the first song that they were going to perform was “Committed” and right from the start I found myself in a spot where I would know this first song, but nothing more… unless she performed “Vampire” and she did not. So everything else was new.

One-Eyed Doll. Photograph by M. Eagle (I was sitting directly behind and to the right of the guitar stand with limited visibility.)

I just didn’t know what to think about this entire show. Filled with silly props, silly banter, silly lyrics, and silly stage presence. But it worked. It turns out that Kimberly Freeman and Junior are actually incredibly talented musicians who makes silly turn into gold.

I kept wondering if she was the female rock and roll version of Weird Al Yankovic. I just couldn’t take a lot of the lyrical content seriously and come to find out, you aren’t supposed to.

During “Committed” she kept up with her high kicks. I had previously asked on her official Facebook page how many kicks she predicted to do during the entire tour. I received the answer of “One Million.” I’m tellin’ ya though, with as many kicks as she did during that first song, I am pretty sure she came close to hitting that mark.

There was quite a bit of audience participation, including allowing members of the crowd to join her on stage.

From my searches on YouTube, I noticed that there was a lot of gross stuff too. Spitting and screaming the demeaning of others by humiliation. Even one video a few years ago where she had one man on stage with her and she just up and slapped him then spit on him.

Freakin’ gross! Can you say “assault” charges?

Who in the world puts up with that? Who in the world thinks that’s great entertainment?? The members of the One-Eyed Doll nation. Although sufficed to say that there was no spitting. No slapping. But plenty of audience members on stage to dance and dress up in silly costumes. There was also plenty of audience participation to scream out phrases like “Yee-haw!” during songs such as “Be My Friend.”

One audience member was brought onto the stage and it was announced that it was his birthday weekend. Come to find out that it was the same person who gave me the VIP pass earlier as a gift. So he got to hang out during a song or two. The One-Eyed Doll nation is a very close and supportive group, whether they are from Texas or from Tasmania or Toledo. 

Poor Kimberly was met by one member of one of the earlier bands that was on stage before her. He was so drunk that he just made his way up the stairs and stood right next to her. Her sound technician played a dual role as he pulled the slobbering guy off the stage and away from Kimberly. All she had to do was stand there and keep her distance. And I wondered that with all the audience invitations of joining her how many times people who were drunk would misunderstand her and just show up as this guy did? How many times has that happened?

Towards the end of her 90 minute set, she sang “My Little Bus” which I am still conflicted by, lyrically. But musically its catchy as hell. I knew that one, but that was it as far as familiarity was concerned.

I still had a bouquet of roses that I had planned to give to Kimberly but I did not know how I was going to do that. I could throw them at her feet on stage but she could have used them as a stage prop and then in the end they would be destroyed. Or someone else might have taken credit, and that’s never good.

At the end of the show, Kimberly encouraged her fans to follow her to the back of the venue near her merchandise table, which was LOADED with goodies. I just was too damned poor to buy even a $3 sticker. But then again, the sticker is THREE dollars. But having the crowds follow her reminded me of the Pied Piper.

It just stinks that a majority of the items that are cool and can be used to wave the flag were $20 or more. And it sucked because I didn’t have any money for that.

Kimberly Freeman and Junior stood by their merchandise table and was available for photos, autographs, and simple conversation. But there were splintered lines coming towards Kimberly from at least six different directions. It just never seemed to move because you couldn’t tell where people were coming in from. 

Me with my camera which was beginning to run out of batteries and I just was not into any position to stop and search for the extra batteries that I had brought with me. If I had done that I would be distracted from the lines and lose my place whenever it decided to move.

Plus when people were done with meeting Kimberly they did an about face back into the crowd which I thought was stupid. I felt as if they should have made a path to go around the outside of the crowds who were waiting to talk to Kimberly rather than go back into the same crowds by going back the way you came.

People were expecting ME to move out of THEIR way- and that just wasn’t going to happen. Your dumb ass should’ve gone around the outside and now you are wedging me and my wheelchair between you, the merchandise table and a stripper pole which is located in the middle of the floor out of nowhere. This is not my problem nor my fault. You should have gone around.

Then I got closer and closer to where I could actually see Kimberly Freeman sitting there.

She had a very unique way of deciding who she would see next. Nevermind the rule of “next in line” especially since there were about six different lines coming in from different directions.

Kimberly would stare blankly ahead and stick her index finger into the air and whomever touched their index finger with hers, was next.

It was like some twisted, light-hearted game of E.T. Phone-Home. Minus the part where her fingertip was supposed to light up.

Me and my roses on my lap, playing around with my camera and realizing that the life of the batteries were extremely low was not a game. I had a surprise in store for the person ahead of me in the line that we both were in. They were short and I have long arms so I was going to reach around and touch fingers with Kimberly and take my turn. Besides, I was losing precious time wanting to do another one hundred and two things before leaving the venue and getting ready for the VIP party.

But my plan would not work. Instead, Kimberly saw me crushed against the side of the table with people looming over me from all sides, basically trapping me where I sat.

Kimberly looked and saw me and then I heard “I am going to come to you.” She got off her chair and moved to my side and hugged me. Even after being on stage for an hour and a half, moving around under those hot stage lights, her scent was still a bit intoxicating.

I gave her the roses and for the rest of the night was in shock and disbelief that someone gave her roses. Constantly asking if they truly were for her. Not even Kimberly Freeman would remember the old traditions.

Then I picked up my camera but nothing would happen. The batteries were just dead by the next time I turned it on. So I had to accept the substitute of someone taking their cell phone and taking a photograph of Kimberly and I together and then having that person text it to me, in which I had to text it to someone else who would e-mail to me so that I would be able to post it to the Internet.

I remember very clearly and vividly that Kimberly was so touched by the flowers that tears formed into the corners of her eyes, but the tears did not fall.

She touched my hand and thanked me. I then turned and lifted her hand to my lips and kissed her hand with reverence, chivalry, gallantness, affection, and respect. I was informed later by someone else that it won her over.

I mentioned to her that I would be attending the VIP party and told her that someone that I did not know was my hero for giving me his other VIP pass for nothing, otherwise I just wouldn’t have been able to afford. Kimberly stunned me with her answer of “We would have hooked you up so that you could come.”

Wow………..

More affection, more hugs, and more kind words and then I was finished. I shouted behind me that everyone needed to move the hell out of my way or suffer being ran over. Everyone parted like the Red Sea and I just kicked it backwards into high gear. I connected with my ride with the family from Richmond and then shortly after that the bar closed and the person on the PA system who was announcing the closure of the bar was being a colossal dickhead about it.

I said good night to Rai and he vowed once more to come by my place some time soon. And again I was not deterred and encouraged him to bring it. Just make sure that Nancy Silva was with him when he did stop by. I am hopeful that he had at least a little bit of seriousness within him. I said farewell and bolted for the doors, hoping to find Nancy Silva to say good night and farewell to her. Even though that I did not want to. I wished I could have kept her here in town forever.

I ran outside and found Nancy Silva just standing on the sidewalk having conversations with others. I sat nearby but didn’t interrupt. Then she said she was leaving to go back to San Antonio. We embraced, I kissed her on the cheek gave her my affections verbally and then BEGGED her to come back sooner than six months.

Then it was onward toward the hotel of my colleagues so that we could get into their vehicle to head to the VIP after party.

We were stopped by two girls who were drunk out of the skull, kissing on Robert. The first girl just pecking his lips but the second girl attempted to start a making out session with Robert but that was all stopped by Robert’s wife thankfully.

People on Sixth Street after 2:00 AM– annoying as hell.

We pilled in and set the GPS system up and took off for the house where the party was being held.

Next Post: One-Eyed Doll VIP After Show Acoustic Party.

 

13 September 2014: Infamy Remembered By OED With Nancy Silva Project

“Some people never go crazy, What truly horrible lives they must live.”~ Charles Bukowski

Let me just start off with a couple of things.

#1- The idea of giving myself a break before posting this blog post was probably not a good idea as I am beginning to forget a number of things that happened during the event and I don’t want to feel bad or let others down. So I am going to do the best that I can with what I can remember as I compose. And if that means I have to come back and edit even days later, then so be it.

#2- With scattered memories come scattered story telling so I am going to break up the evening’s activities in parts and pieces so this will take up a small number of posts. Stay tuned and keep reading!

After a week of drama of breaking my eye glasses and having to pay so much for it, and then saving my sister’s posterior and having given her money, I was on the edge because I knew that I had a choice for the evening. I could either LEAVE the venue after watching NANCY SILVA PROJECT perform and miss out on my first experience at a One-Eyed Doll show. And if I left, just how late would I stay because I would want to be able to spend time talking with Nancy Silva and hang out a bit.

The other option was to stay and watch One-Eyed Doll and then take a taxi home which would take $20 that I was not sure that I would have.

On the 12th, I was able to accomplish two things: Get a haircut and buy roses for Nancy Silva. A tradition that seems to have been lost along the years but long lost traditions will be a post for another time, if the readers want it.  I wasn’t quite sure if I should buy roses for Kimberly Freeman of One-Eyed Doll since I did not know her and she did not know me. I didn’t want to send the wrong message.

Nonetheless, I would pull an audible and buy roses for Kimberly Freeman as well… keeping in mind the old time traditions of presenting performers with flowers after their show.

Then as I returned home, I had a personal message waiting for me from Nancy Silva herself. She wanted to know if it was okay if her group would come to my home to get ready for the show and relax and hang out.

WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT??????????????????????????

I do not usually say this but OMG! OMG! OMG! OMG! OMG! OMG! OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!

OMG!!!

The one brilliant, musically talented, and beautiful woman that I adore coming from San Antonio to do a show. Someone I have not seen face to face in six months plus one day was asking me if she could come to my home.

I thought to myself, “Dear Lord, these are the things that only dreams are made of. And its slowly showing signs of becoming true!”

After a few hours of bantering back and forth I agreed to the arrangement. And as I was doing so… I was scrambling to get everything in my home straightened up and clean and everything at least in the condition to be acceptable for having company over.

My apartment manager defines a clean apartment (for me at least) as “If you would be embarrassed to bring a girl back to your home… then you need to clean it.” And at this point, there was this great possibility of a girl coming over. So I made sure that the apartment was up to those standards. Then I sat back and waited. Noticing that the request to obtain my address had not been given. The longer it went on, the more I thought that this would not happen or that something was going to defeat me.

So on the 13th the day of the show as I was watching my favorite college football team beat the crap out of their opponent, I received word that it was not going to happen. And this was the official decision. It had been raining too and that was  getting annoying. Would I be going out in the rain again?

As deflated as I became I knew that in a few hours I would be there at the Dirty Dog Bar and that I would see NANCY SILVA PROJECT play.

There was just a few details that life hadn’t given to me in the memo.

Doors were supposed to open at 7:00 PM. They were not.
There was a LINE to get indoors. What the hell is up with that?
Staff who normally are warm and friendly were nothing but hulking statues of not giving a rat’s ass.

Everyone in line ahead of me and everyone in line behind me had some kind of memorabilia for One-Eyed Doll. I was the only person there with a NANCY SILVA PROJECT. Damnit, I am gonna wave this flag!!!

And some how when I got inside, there was already so many people inside. Why are THEY inside and I am not? I figured it was a lost cause and dropped it.

One-Eyed Doll Nation was everywhere. This place was totally packed and there were scores of people already lined up along the edges of the stage from the front and wrapped around to the one side.

But I would find Rai de la Cruz, the guitarist for NANCY SILVA PROJECT. I had never in my life conversed with him before and now it was like we had been friends forever and had connected again.

His continuous plaguing me of John Malkovich stood throughout the entire night. But I never fought it and that probably threw him off.

He’s now threatening to make an unannounced visit to my home… now that the band has my address. And again, I responded with “BRING IT ON.” If it was a fear tactic to pick on me, it wasn’t working. I would LOVE to have NANCY SILVA PROJECT in my home. Of course I’d have to take a photograph or two to have proof of it actually happened. But I got along with Rai pretty well. And Raj Arenas, the drummer. These two guys clearly remember me from SXSW Festival six months prior.

And then at long last, I saw Nancy Silva but she moved into the restroom and I lost her there.

And as I was digging out the roses to give to her she sprung out of the restroom and spotted me there. She hugged me, I gave her a kiss on the cheek and then gave her the roses.

There was this really bizarre color on one of the bouquets of roses that I couldn’t pass up, so I gave Nancy Silva BOTH.

Then a well known local photographer took our photograph together. Then I let her go, knowing that she was busy with preparations of her set on stage coming soon. Six months plus one day I had waited and the patience was paying off in spades.

So then I learned something about these events:

Rule #1 & 2 in attending a One-Eyed Doll show: If you are there for them or even some other band that is playing the same venue, get there early and grab your spot and DO NOT MOVE THE REST OF THE NIGHT.

Geez. I had to fight to get a place near the stage where I would be able to see. And still to that point I had not made up my mind as to how long I was staying.

Some gentleman saw me and then sacrificed his standing position that was right up against the edge of the stage and said that even if I was in front of him, that he could still see because I was so low.

I had thanked him and found myself next to a cute redhead who was even shorter than I was sitting down in a wheelchair with X’s on her hands.  Wow. Just when you think that they cannot make women any smaller you get proven wrong.

But I sat there and waited for NANCY SILVA PROJECT to set up.

I saw someone who I had just made friends with that was there who also is in a wheelchair. He and I together were calling ourselves “ROLLING THUNDER.”

So this conversation happened in the crowd between my newest colleague, the guy who gave me his spot, and myself about whether or not I was going to the VIP after show party.

Umm no. I could not afford that.

Then the guy who sacrificed his spot became my personal hero for the day. He had bought two and he just gave me the other one and didn’t ask me for anything for it. I couldn’t believe it.

Then my newest colleague promised to give me a ride to the party and then drop me off at home.

Honestly, could this have become any better???

Nancy Silva Project- Photo by Maurice Eagle

The VIP passes were $100 a piece. $150 for two. Before I could turn into a thankful blubbering mess the set started and NANCY SILVA PROJECT was rocking it from right out of the gate!!

The One-Eyed Doll crowd was blown away.

I started keeping track of the set by writing down the song titles on my hand with a permanent marker, knowing that this blog post was going to happen but because I waited, its nothing but a blurry mess that looks like a tattoo on my hand from far away.

They had nine songs on the set list but had to cut it short. Two songs were clipped. And when I heard the sound guy say “one more” I began to panic because my favorite NANCY SILVA PROJECT had not been performed.

What if they didn’t perform it? Would I feel cheated? Would I be angry? What the hell?

But all of that would not be necessary as they finished their set with “Lift Me Up” … my favorite song that has taken me through quite the huge emotional roller coaster ride over the past half year from tears to goosebumps to feelings of love and pride to support. And everything in between. No other musical performer has been able to do that to me or has had that much or that kind of impact on me. And so I love Nancy Silva and NANCY SILVA PROJECT so much because of it.

And then I made the costliest mistake of the night. When NSP was off of the stage, I moved away from my spot by the stage. It was time for me to hang out. Although it didn’t really work out as well as I had wanted.

There was two bands in between NSP and One-Eyed Doll and honestly, I could have cared less. I mean, the opening band “Force Of Rage” sounded okay but of course in my singleness my mind was focused more on the two female led bands ahead. I cannot even tell you the two names of the bands without looking it up.

Those wrist bands that bars give up, I finally found a way to not hate and loathe them as much any more. I presented Nancy Silva with a number of odd items and handed her my permanent marker, asking for her to sign it.

First was my bus pass. And since I had a return ride home, and I was not going anywhere the following day, it was useless for travel. So I had her sign it as a piece of memorabilia to remember that I had to take the bus and ride it for nearly an hour before I got to the venue.

Then I stuck my hand out wanting her to sign the wrist band. I turned my head and she started writing on my hand. I had to clear up the confusion. She signed the wrist band and then I told her that since she already started writing her name on my hand to finish it. Otherwise it would look odd with “NA” on my hand the rest of the night. Comical errors are very comical.

After a while, Nancy Silva discovered that the band’s equipment was going on unprotected. Nobody was around to kind of keep an eye on it and this look of frustration crawled across her face. I volunteered to watch it with no argument and then just kinda sat around near the stage area where bands stash their stuff. I wondered if that was a mistake because I felt tethered to it all. But in the end, it was fine.

I was so happy. The world could have blown up that night and I would have gone out happy and feeling like the king of kings.

I take Rai’s words seriously. I think that if he could get away with driving up from San Antonio to crash my place, that he would do it. Nancy Silva seems to be supportive of the idea. The band suffered 20/20 hindsight wishing that they all would have come by. And all I could do was shrug.

I told Rai that I did NOT want to wait six months to see them again. Six months from now will bring us back around to SXSW 2015. Rai claims that they will stop at my place for SXSW, and they’ll do it over and over and over again as long as they are in town and in the area.  BRING IT ON, RAI!!!! LET’S DO IT!!!!!!

Now I wait and pray to see them all sooner than six months.

The next blog post: One-Eyed Doll’s performance at the Dirty Dog Bar. And then the VIP party.