Shinybass journal entry 2-14-11

Love is a Beautiful Thing

Happy VD, everybody! Wait, um, Happy Valentine’s Day! How about that? I hope you are being swept off your feet and told how much you are loved today. If you aren’t, that’s OK. This (with Arbor Day being a close second) is a Hallmark Holiday. Nothing says ‘I sure as hell don’t know how to treat you the other 364 days of the year’ like doing something nice for your special someone on this day. I don’t buy into it. I know the pressure is on, and my gf probably hates the fact that I don’t celebrate in ‘normal’ fashion, but again, to me, everyday should be Christmas, New Year’s Eve, and Valentine’s Day all rolled into one. I guess for all you regular-type folks, you need the day, but ramping it up on other random days to me is much more effective. As well as getting a table at a decent restaurant.

I started off this entry with the song title of none other than Phil Vassar. He is my new boss. To those of you that follow me because of playing with Bucky, then I appreciate you coming back ’round these parts to check in. If you don’t know Phil or his music, check him out. Phil is not only an extremely talented individual, but nice as can be, generous with his time, and a scratch golfer (we’ll test this one later). Rehearsing and learning the show has consumed my past few weeks, but now with the first two shows under our belt, then I can share what’s been going on.

Phil’s set up is crazy. There are ramps, smoke machines, strobes, the whole sha-banga-bang. It’s a pretty cool setup, and Phil lets us run around wherever we want. I have an ‘ego box’ at the front of the stage that has smoke and lights under it (See ‘random thoughts’ entry below for the pregame look), and I’m here to tell you – there is nothing like having smoke blow up your ass in front of 1000 people on a Saturday night. Phil’s got smoke and lights hitting from inside his piano as well. Here I am giving the whole thing away already. Maybe you’ll just have to come out to a show.

My first show with Phil was at Mohegan Sun in Connecticut, and in front of a packed house. I was a little nervous, but I think more anxious to get the show going. It seems like forever when waiting for the first show to start. It’s almost like you can’t wait to mess up. And I did, but made mental notes and fixes the second night. To make things better, I had some family there as well, so I had to be on my game. And speaking of, being up at a casino, I had to play something, and looking for a relief from the stress of the day, I ‘relieved’ my wallet at a slot machine. I hate slots. I really do. Blackjack and I get along great. It was not easy to find a spot to play, especially since my checking account status won’t allow me in the High Limit section. Needless to say, I was in bed relatively early.

Day two I woke up in Lowell, Mass. I walked out of the bus and saw this.

Snow, snow everywhere, and not a drop to drink.

So with the morning, came catering.  Then I had to go for a walk and check out what downtown Lowell had to offer on this blustery morning.  Turns out it had a few nice spots, even if the sun was nowhere to be seen.

I did manage to take one picture that I am pretty happy with.  It was an old clock, and it was an old building, but with the fantastic new features on my really, really smart phone, I was able to cut out the Lay’s delivery truck, sepia-fy it, and show it to you:

So after all the sightseeing, the catering (which seemed to last all day), the gym visit (love the workout ethic of Phil), and a shower, it was finally showtime.  Of course, I have no pictures of the actual show.  I was a little busy.  I was hoping someone would email me a pic from either of those nights.

The burning questions still linger, I think : Why leave Bucky?  Are you happier now? What is my favorite color?  I feel that my explanation before covered all the bases.  Being happy is directly related to many factors, and as you all know I am an optimist to the end, so I am very happy to have found a situation with a lot of positive energy and forward thinking. And my favorite color?  I really don’t have one.  I just can’t wear pink.

In the coming weeks, I hope to have video clips of Phil up here, as well as show pictures.  If you are in Chicago this weekend, then truck on out to Joe’s on Weed St, and rock with myself and the rest of the boys.  And you never know – you might hear a song or two you like.  Thanks for dropping by, and again…

See you on the road!