Thursday, March 15, 2012
SongStory - The Oblivians "Live The Life"
Please note this is all being written on my iPhone since I can't wrestle my laptop away. My index finger will be sore...
So I get a writing challenge from my friend Shawn to have a song define a moment. Mine happens to be two moments linked together. A song, a great song, happened to be there. And every time I hear it, it makes me laugh and think of these funny incidentences.
My story starts in Chicago in the fall of 2005. Venue: The Original Bottom Lounge. I went out with my gay cop friend Jeremy to see some bands. My friend Rob happened to be working at the club that night as well and got to be privy to the events about to unfold.
Now, I'll only refer to the band as Band X in case anyone might know this guy but I will call him by his first name which is Jay.
So it's towards the end of the night, last band is wrapping up and Jeremy goes and gets us another round. I'm standing around waiting for him when this guy walks up to me and says hi. Your typical long black stringy hair, dirty black jeans, throwback 80's t-shirt rocker guy. He's being friendly enough and he's a little drunk but I figure he's harmless. So he asks me the typical getting to know you stuff and then comes the fun part. "I'm really tired. Do you think I could come back to your place?". Really? He's gonna pull this line of crap on me? "No you can't" I tell him thinking seriously this guy has some balls on him. I could beat the crap out of him. "Why, do you have a boyfriend?". "Yeah I do and I live with him". This is when I was still with my ex Jeff. "Well it doesn't look like he's here now" and grabs me and kisses me. How can he pull this off? Well this guy is only about as tall as I am. I jerk away from the guy and at the same time my friend Jeremy comes back from the bar with two beers. "Here you go sweetie" and hands me my Pabst. Band X Jay bails hard. I've never seen a guy take off so fast in my life. He probably thought Jeremy was my boyfriend and panicked. "What was that all about?". I proceed to tell him the story and of what happened with Jay and we had a good laugh for the rest of the night.
So it sounds like a pretty cut dry story with nothing to do with my writing challenge. Well I'm still going and here is where it gets good...
Flash forward to Columbus OH the summer of 2010. I'm at the best show day in years. New Bomb Turks during the day with The Oblivians at night. Heaven! I've been drinking it up all day with Jim and Tom and it's at the end of The Oblivians set. Jim and Tom are outside having a smoke and I'm sitting alone at the bar waiting for The Oblivians to come back out on stage. As I'm sitting there minding my own business, this guy comes up and sits next to me. He is wasted. He is trying to talk to me and I try to be nice but I really could care less. Then he says something that really grabs my attention. "I'm really tired. Do you think I can go back to your place?". I stop and really turn around to look at this guy. "Wait a minute, aren't you Jay from Band X?". He looks kinda puzzled but replies yes, how did you know. "You fucker. You used that same pick up line on me in Chicago and it didn't work then and it ain't working now.".
Now this guy is really looking at me like what the fuck. But then he stops and says "Oh yeah, I thought you looked kinda familiar. I used that line before? Sorry about that.". What a maroon.
Just at the same time The Oblivians come back out on stage and start in on "Live The Life" and Tom comes back in right as Jay tries to start talking to me again. Tom grabs me and drags me away from dirty rocker guy from Band X and we start dancing to the song. Thank goodness I was saved once again. And got to catch all three encores too!
After the show I run into Jay and his friend he is there with and I tell his friend both stories and he apologies for Jay. Friend proceeds to try to come back to my hotel room with me as well which ain't working. Why can't a girl just go and hang out these days? I gather up Tom and Jim, we grab Jack Oblivian and head to this guys house where I spend the rest of the night talking to Eric Oblivian about why KISS is one of the greatest rock bands ever.
So now every time I'm in my car or the ol' iPod is on shuffle and I hear "Live The Life" kick on, I start to think about this Jay from Band X, drunk and trying to pick me up in Chicago and Columbus and wonder if I'll see him in 2015 in some other city that starts with the letter C and he'll try it all over again. Well... as the song says... you got to live the life you sing about in your songs.
So I get a writing challenge from my friend Shawn to have a song define a moment. Mine happens to be two moments linked together. A song, a great song, happened to be there. And every time I hear it, it makes me laugh and think of these funny incidentences.
My story starts in Chicago in the fall of 2005. Venue: The Original Bottom Lounge. I went out with my gay cop friend Jeremy to see some bands. My friend Rob happened to be working at the club that night as well and got to be privy to the events about to unfold.
Now, I'll only refer to the band as Band X in case anyone might know this guy but I will call him by his first name which is Jay.
So it's towards the end of the night, last band is wrapping up and Jeremy goes and gets us another round. I'm standing around waiting for him when this guy walks up to me and says hi. Your typical long black stringy hair, dirty black jeans, throwback 80's t-shirt rocker guy. He's being friendly enough and he's a little drunk but I figure he's harmless. So he asks me the typical getting to know you stuff and then comes the fun part. "I'm really tired. Do you think I could come back to your place?". Really? He's gonna pull this line of crap on me? "No you can't" I tell him thinking seriously this guy has some balls on him. I could beat the crap out of him. "Why, do you have a boyfriend?". "Yeah I do and I live with him". This is when I was still with my ex Jeff. "Well it doesn't look like he's here now" and grabs me and kisses me. How can he pull this off? Well this guy is only about as tall as I am. I jerk away from the guy and at the same time my friend Jeremy comes back from the bar with two beers. "Here you go sweetie" and hands me my Pabst. Band X Jay bails hard. I've never seen a guy take off so fast in my life. He probably thought Jeremy was my boyfriend and panicked. "What was that all about?". I proceed to tell him the story and of what happened with Jay and we had a good laugh for the rest of the night.
So it sounds like a pretty cut dry story with nothing to do with my writing challenge. Well I'm still going and here is where it gets good...
Flash forward to Columbus OH the summer of 2010. I'm at the best show day in years. New Bomb Turks during the day with The Oblivians at night. Heaven! I've been drinking it up all day with Jim and Tom and it's at the end of The Oblivians set. Jim and Tom are outside having a smoke and I'm sitting alone at the bar waiting for The Oblivians to come back out on stage. As I'm sitting there minding my own business, this guy comes up and sits next to me. He is wasted. He is trying to talk to me and I try to be nice but I really could care less. Then he says something that really grabs my attention. "I'm really tired. Do you think I can go back to your place?". I stop and really turn around to look at this guy. "Wait a minute, aren't you Jay from Band X?". He looks kinda puzzled but replies yes, how did you know. "You fucker. You used that same pick up line on me in Chicago and it didn't work then and it ain't working now.".
Now this guy is really looking at me like what the fuck. But then he stops and says "Oh yeah, I thought you looked kinda familiar. I used that line before? Sorry about that.". What a maroon.
Just at the same time The Oblivians come back out on stage and start in on "Live The Life" and Tom comes back in right as Jay tries to start talking to me again. Tom grabs me and drags me away from dirty rocker guy from Band X and we start dancing to the song. Thank goodness I was saved once again. And got to catch all three encores too!
After the show I run into Jay and his friend he is there with and I tell his friend both stories and he apologies for Jay. Friend proceeds to try to come back to my hotel room with me as well which ain't working. Why can't a girl just go and hang out these days? I gather up Tom and Jim, we grab Jack Oblivian and head to this guys house where I spend the rest of the night talking to Eric Oblivian about why KISS is one of the greatest rock bands ever.
So now every time I'm in my car or the ol' iPod is on shuffle and I hear "Live The Life" kick on, I start to think about this Jay from Band X, drunk and trying to pick me up in Chicago and Columbus and wonder if I'll see him in 2015 in some other city that starts with the letter C and he'll try it all over again. Well... as the song says... you got to live the life you sing about in your songs.
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Too much fresh air.
Living out in the stix I think is starting to have a negative effect on me. After living in big cities my entire life, moving out to the middle of nowhere Alabama has been the complete opposite of everything else I have ever done in my life. No shows. No bars. Hell... pretty much no people. My new best friend is my PS3 and Red Dead Redemption.
Actually bought some new vinyl (on line of course). New releases from Xiu Xiu, The Rapture and Sleigh Bells. Yep, Sleigh Bells... I went there. Their music makes me want to hopscotch. At least now I get a chance to go back and listen to all those albums that I was real far behind on from living in Chicago. Fucked Up's David Comes To Life is better than expected. Saw them right before I left Chicago as well and they put on a great show. Jeff The Brotherhood played with them and they were amazing.
With all this free time, I need to get back on track with writing and goals. You would think that it would be easier with all this free time but it has made it worse. Like I said... too much fresh air. Trees are distracting.
R.N.R.H.K.
Angie
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Worst. Day. Ever.
Yep... it's my birthday. What makes it worse is turning 36 meaning inching closer to 40. It's always ok for guys to get older but never for girls. We are always more criticized as we get older. More attention is paid to our looks as we are no longer 18. We are no longer those cute young things in cheerleading outfits. We are now caring more for comfortable shoes to wear and bras that will keep us held up at this point. Life is no longer our oyster. That time now belongs to someone else.
But it also has it advantages. We no longer care. We at least I don't. I don't give a shit if I have a waist or curves or that I have crow's feet around my eyes. I just only wish that I was 40 and get to it. I am looking forward to actually being 40. There is nothing that is more "punk" that a 40 year old woman cause really... they are the ones that will tell you to fuck off in a minute and don't give a shit any longer how they look in public cause if you don't like, don't fucking look.
The best part about all this: yesterday I put on my Ramones t-shirt that my mom gave me the money for when I went and seen them play on my 17th birthday in Detroit. First time out of five that I ever saw them play. 17 year old Angie is still keeping up with 36 year old Angie. I still haven't changed. I started playing music in the 4th grade and I'm still playing to this day. First band I was in was when I was 12 or 13.... can't remember anymore. Here is that young Angie still keeping up with old Angie. The best part: I have not changed. All these years have passed by and I am still the same woman. I have hair now as I used to be bald back then. I'm covered in tattoos as I was too young to have them then. But I am still the same me. No soccer mom here. No real estate agent. Just me.
Damn it feels good to be a gangsta....
R.N.R.H.K.
Angie
Monday, October 10, 2011
Gip's Place
So we all know that I am a huge fan of blues music. I got a lead on a place south of Birmingham in Bessemer AL called Gip's Place. It's pretty much OSB board with a tin roof on it in a guy's back yard and hold about 50 people. Everyone from R.L. Burnside to T-Model Ford has placed here. You bring your own booze. The bathroom is an outhouse. They cook catfish sandwiches and bbq on grills outside. This place sounds like my own personal heaven.
I imagine it like a scene out of Black Snake Moan. Even better if I got there and Samuel Jackson was playing too.
I had planned on going this weekend for my birthday but I have to work... boo! It's an hour and a half drive one way. Maybe I'll still make it down there.
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