Listen to the Boulevard...

Here we are... on the road again. Leaving LA for NoCal after our spot tonight at 14 Below in Santa Monica. The show was great. Unexpectedly, we shared the bill with some old friends from the east coast. Sean Aleward and his ensemble, Hello Echo, opened the night up and hung out for our set. Collectively, we felt like we didn’t get completely up to speed like we wanted at this show, but we received an overwhelmingly positive response from the crowd. People were fired up about the set. I guess this begs the question: What would you rather have as a band… a great performance with little crowd response, or a less than perfect show with an overwhelmingly enthusiastic response? The artist would likely say the former; the manager would say the latter. I say neither… I would much rather curl up on a couch with a nice bottle of merlot, and catch Sex & The City re-runs on the USA Network all night… that’s just me though.

Rock Me Sexy Jesus... Derek's Dashboard Decoration

Also, for the record, during this stop I went down to the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, before the show, looking for a Dodgers Manny Ramirez #99 jersey. Everywhere I went they were sold out. I can understand them being sold out, as Manny is the man, but the frustration came when I tried to communicate with the locals about how awesome Manny is. This was when I came to the realization… NO ONE in LA knows who Manny is. It was so upsetting. It was like having a beautiful, sexy old girlfriend break up with you, only to move to the big city and start dating some good-looking corporate hot shot dude that treats her like crap and takes her for granted. Sure, she still looks great, but is this guy really celebrating all that is wonderful, great and beautiful about Meghan… I mean Manny? I don’t think so. Anyway, enough of that. All Manny matters aside, I have to say, I love LA. There is something that is always exciting about playing this town. I can never wait to get back there. Good to see you again 9021?

Jim