Ah the bright lights, the people, the places, the opportunities…
The traffic.
People come to Los Angeles for a multitude of reasons. I would be willing to bet one of the most popular would be working in entertainment or to be famous. The realities of what it’s like once you’re here are completely different. That’s a whole other thing though.
Yesterday I got the fun of seeing what it’s like when your car springs a leak in the radiator hose while on the freeway. Then to have it completely drain itself of radiator fluid while you do everything you can to get home without killing the car. Luckily I was able to get it home before I killed the engine. Lots and lots of coasting. It meant I needed to walk over to the auto parts store and get a new hose and some antifreeze. Which I promptly did after I hosed down the engine with cold water to cool it off.
A fairly easy fix. While I’m not a mechanic, I’m not inept either. It’s a good thing to take the mind to other places via working something other than your day job. Like mowing a lawn, or trimming a tree, or fixing your car. The happy thing about me getting my car home without killing it is that I did not have to deal with being the guy that stopped traffic on an LA freeway.
Being quick to fix it, I was able to get out to see my friend Jesse do a rehearsal with a guy who is hiring him to record bass on an album. The guy had a great guitar tone, unfortunately I wasn’t there long enough to catch his name. I was also there to pick up a remix that Jesse did of my song Hero Unexpected (which is going to get released soon). Jesse and I chatted for a bit on their break. From there it was a another hop in the car to head back down to Joe’s Joint.
Yes, I went back last night to the place I played the night before. I got a call from Dan Reed who was in town and he was kind enough to put me on the guest list to see his performance. In case you don’t know the connection, a while back Dan was featured here on Single of the Day, on a sunday in fact. In that post I described the fact that I want to do a mountain bike trek from Canada to Mexico across the rocky mountains. Dan is an avid biker too. Thus we started corresponding. He wants to be a part of the trek.
While walking around in the room I ran into a guitarist that I know Tariqh Akoni. He and I have met a few times, but I was rather surprised when he spotted me and said hi. He was playing for the headliner of the evening, Bernard Fowler. I gotta plead ignorance as I didn’t know who that was. So I stuck around to chat with Dan a little bit, trade some goods, and then watch Bernard. Glad I did. Bernard was some straight up good rock. Of course there was a surprise guest who came out to hit the stage with him. Ron Wood showed up.
Talk about a surprise. What the heck is a Rolling Stone doing in a little bar eh? Actually I get the impression it’s not uncommon for one of them to show up there. As there are pictures of Keith Richards playing there too. But Ron brought the house to it’s feet and cheering. Tariqh is no slouch on the guitar either. Bernard’s entire band was solid. So it was a great evening of music. Good thing I could partake due to having the ability to fix the car without waiting on a mechanic.
Since I’m new to Bernard I figured I’d make you new to him too…
You’ll probably recognize what you hear in the video. Unfortunately I didn’t meet up with him and I’ve yet to pick up his CD. However it looks like you can find lots of little live clips on Bernard. Visit his website and become friends with his music. I know I will. He’s got a great live presence on stage.