Dear Friends,
The first thing I do when I start out to write each blog is write the title. I start with the entry date, of course, then I come up with a title for the day, then I write “Letters to My Friends.”
Most days, I have some semblance of what I’m wanting to write in my head before I start, but others, like today, I am just not sure. So, the title is often a crap shoot. I like it when someone (or my brain) gives me a direction to go.
I slept in a bit after a fun night of birthday celebration and then selling merch for Oxbow. It feels like time to write, so here I am. In a little bit, I’ll post it and hopefully you will enjoy it and feel like the five or so minutes you spent with me today was worth it.
Yesterday was quite a day, actually.
It began with a nice walk around the neighborhood with T, Q, Bailey, and Luna. It was wonderful outside (which I don’t think we even noted once on our walk because we’ve already become jaded “Not Hots” who take Phoenix for granted), and the exercise and conversation are good for the soul.
After a shower and a bagel, tomato, and cream cheese, we headed for the wonderful world of baby Mia. It was great to spend a couple of hours with all three of our peeps to the southeast and soak up some baby time. It was Rhondi’s first time getting to see her and boy did they take to each other.
She was worried that she was hogging the baby time, but getting to see them bond was just as good as having the little gal in my arms. It was also pretty heart filling to see how Ryan and Bree were so in love with her. They really have made a nice place for Mia to learn and grow. I am very proud and happy.
I think my Friday night Mudhoney fun made me a little crabby for the ride home. I just wanted to have a sandwich and lay down, but we had to make a trip to Target. I gave Rhondi a hard time about where she chose to park, and I feel bad about it. I tried to make a joke of it when we got back to the car after getting our salad makings, but it fell flat.
I got my sandwich and nap, though, while finishing up the film version of Vision Quest. As much as it pales in comparison to the book, the movie is kind of satisfying in a different way now that I know the real story. It’s still a clunker as a movie goes for the first half hour, but it does warm up well.
Later in the afternoon, we went over to the J’s and had a lovely time, as usual. It is so nice to be able to just relax with friends. I’m starting to learn that I have a different definition for “relax” now, too. When we all get together, we can just be and have fun and laugh and enjoy each other and the company. The J’s are wonderful hosts, too, which is a beautiful thing.
Rhondi and I headed to Scottsdale with that heavy “We should just get in bed and fall asleep watching TV” feeling. It was really hard to shake it, but we powered through. For me, it was totally worth it. Rhondi is a real trooper, though. I don’t she saw the beauty in Oxbow that I do.
They were so good. It was also kind of a fun thing to sell merch for them. When I interview folks who are coming through to play a show, I always offer to help in anyway that I can. When I was interviewing Eugene and Niko, I said my usual thing and they said they needed help with merch.
Considering that I had just said I was “happy to help however I could,” what could I say? We got there around 9, saw Shane and his lovely lady, Karen, and a few other friends. It was a small crowd, but there was the kind of tension in the air I was hoping for. People were excited to see Oxbow.
I got the skinny about merch from Eugene, who was prepping for the show by watching MMA fights on his phone, and Rhondi and I took our place at the booth. Even though there weren’t as many people there as there should have been, the band was on fire and the crowd bought merch. I hope the Oxbow dudes were pleased. They did seem like it and it was nice to talk to Eugene and Niko in person.
We also met a new, interesting person named Lance. He takes great photos, that’s for sure. I hope to run into him at more shows.
Today is a mystery still waiting to happen. Going to jam with Ward and then have some more salad.
Not sure where I was going with today's title, but the Oxbow guys did give me a copy of their new record last night. That was very nice of them.
See you tomorrow.
What's up, cousin?
I know Lance Webber! I met him at a show at the PV that Mj was shooting a few months back. We chatted about the L.A. scene (as we're both expats, though he's a far more recent one than me), and Mj shared some knowledge of the newer local music scene with him.