Tag: behind the scenes musician life

  • When Valentine’s Day Took an Unexpected Turn Toward the Stars

    When Valentine’s Day Took an Unexpected Turn Toward the Stars

    It’s getting near that time of year again when there’s a little bit of madness in the air about expressing how you feel to someone else. Some people are really good at it. Others, not so much. I tend to fall in to the not-so-much category, but I do have a bit of a Valentine’s Day adventure that I can share.

    A couple of years back I was making a hearty attempt to do something for someone on Valentine’s Day. I went so far as to write a song, as well as create a card for this woman. Attempted to make plans for the 14th and as such got minimal response. The play-it-by-ear response.

    That evening came and went to no answer from said woman.

    Around 9 p.m. I got a call from a friend inviting me out to watch a live music performance at the Farmer’s Market at the Grove in Los Angeles. Having been soured by earlier events, I agreed to hop in the car and head on out to the show. Of course with such a late start to the show my friend Stew and I got there for the last song. Our musician friends were happy to see a couple of extra faces despite being so late to the show.

    As we were helping them pack up, an invitation was extended for us to shoot up to the “hills” for a Valentine’s Day party. Then the side debate started amongst a few of us. Should we, should we not? I was game for it. Eventually those of us who agreed all piled in a car to head to the party.

    It started with an address and some poor directions which lead us to a strange road in the hills of Los Angeles above Studio City. Clearly the driver was lost. Out comes the iPhone and looking up the address on the map there took us through some more winding roads until we finally found the true destination. A spot on a very tight section of road where there was difficulty parking. Meaning a need to park a ways away and then walking to the party.

    At the front door of the house we’re heading too I’m finally told that the house belongs to Lucinda Williams. I knew about her and her music thanks to my dad. He happens to be a big fan of hers. My friends knock on the door and a moment later it swings open.

    My friends filter in first being greeted by Lucinda herself. Turns out several of them already knew her and visa versa. Bringing up the rear of the group I’m eventually greeted by Lucinda who takes me by the hand and looking up at me declares “I know you!” I stood there wondering to myself – really?!? She proceeds to tell me we’ve met before and I have to laugh. Reality was, we had never met until that point. Yet she was convinced that she knew me and I knew her. After a few moments of suspending reason and belief, she let me pass into the party to mingle amongst the other guests.

    There were quite a few interesting peeps in attendance, including known rockstars, actors, actresses, and even other people of note. One woman I met happened to be the reason the song Afternoon Delight was written.

    I’ll leave the uber juicy details of people there to my biography. Until then, I’m extending an early Happy Valentine’s Day and may it be a cool adventure.

    p.s. – more song updates are coming very soon.

  • Driving on the wrong side

    Hello everyone,

    One thing I forgot to mention in yesterdays news was the fact that I got to drive here in Birmingham. After getting over the initial wow of actually being on the opposite side of the car and of course the opposite side of the road, it was quite fun. 🙂 woo hoo. Now I’ve driven in England, the US, Mexico, and France. What a treat.

    Today was more of a lazy day in terms of going out for seeing the sites. Instead we went around town visiting friends and letting them all know that I’m an american musician – which seems to instantly mean I’m a rockstar. Well, I guess when you whip out a custom signature pick it sort of helps. Heh.

    Visited the Cadbury factory store in order to purchase some chocolate. Now I’ve got loads of Cadbury chocolate to give out to friends when I get back to the States. Which reminds me… Geez, all these pints of ale must be screwing with my brain, I bought some serious English Toffee yesterday as well. Very, very tasty stuff.

    Tomorrow it’s off to the races. I think we’re headed to the dog track where I can put a few pounds down. I’ve also started reading Sting’s book. It’s off to a racing start. Of course I’ll do a book report on it when I’ve finished it. I almost feel like I’m back in school, writing down what the hell I think about for reading a book. Does anyone really care what I think about it?!?

    Jody