Think about all the different ways we’ve come up with in the world to get around from point A to point B. There’s quite a few. I can remember Central Park in New York where I was born and raised for a little while. In Central Park people used to get out to move around and get exercise. Probably still do, I don’t live there anymore though. Some had bikes, some had their feet to run, others would walk, and then there were people on skates. Four little wheels attached to a boot in side by side pairs, known as Rollerskates.
People that got really advanced would be able to do some of the most amazing maneuvers. I also remember trying to Rollerskate. I never could get comfortable on them. I don’t know why. Here’s one theory. My parents were into skiing, being that they were from a mountainous state (Utah). So I was put on snow a lot. Eventually I learned to ski very well. I got very comfortable with that. In skiing the skis used to be narrow platforms that were easy to roll from side to side to create a turn. To me Rollerskates don’t respond the same as skis. That could be why I had issues.
Along came Rollerblades. I got a pair of those and hot damn it was like being given a new lease on skating life. Four wheels in a row in single file. A pair of skates that acted like skis. Well, probably more like hockey skates (another form of skating that I really have trouble with). To me it was so much easier to Rollerblade. Being a skier at heart and having parents that moved me to Park City meant that in the summer there wasn’t a lot to do. With the rollerblades and lots of mountains with paved streets and less traffic there was one thing to do. Put on the Rollerblades, grab a pair of ski poles and get someone to drive me to the top of Deer Valley (another ski resort in the Park City area).
One road in particular that is fun to Rollerblade down is Royal St. that connects to Deer Valley Dr. It winds from the top near Stein Erikson’s Lodge all the way down to the base of the resort and back in to old town in Park City where our house was. I would get dropped off, click on some music and off I’d go down down down. I’d carve turns just like I would with skiing. It was a blast making wide turns across a road that winds through the pine trees in the Uinta Mountains of the Rocky Mountain range. It’s exhilarating moving at high speed. Occasionally a car would be coming up or down and they would have to contend with me or honk to let me give the a chance to get by without hitting me. Try that in New York or Los Angeles and you’d just get hit (that’s a whole other story for another time).
A while back I featured a band called State and Maddison. I had asked them to give me heads up on anyone they figured I’d enjoy to feature here. Well, you’ve got it today in Treaty of Paris. The thing I like about T.o.P. is that they have a familiar vibe to their sound. I can’t quite place my finger on who they remind me of which is a good thing. Eventually I’ll make the connection but by the time that happens it won’t matter cause I’m already a fan. I was reading the news on their website before writing this and it seems they’re back in the studio and in the midst of writing and recording their next set of songs.
I saw that at their last show someone stole one of their guitars. It’s something I’ve heard happens to lots of bands on the road. I feel fortunate that such a thing hasn’t yet happened to me. I’ll tell ya though, as a struggling musician I know you feel violated when it happens. I have had gear stolen (just not a guitar as of yet). So if you know of someone that happened to pick up a blue fender strat in late April – and they were at the Treaty of Paris show, let them know that was extremely uncool and they ought to return it to it’s rightful owner. To that end I would like to urge you to buy this song to help the guitarist and the band get some money to help replace the instrument.