super bowl starts now

You know how hard it is to concentrate on an average Friday afternoon. What makes it harder is when there's a Super Bowl party happening right outside your office. If the bass was any louder, my desk would be shaking.

3 great concerts, 1 great night

Dear Harper Blynn,
Thanks for playing your little hearts out at Radio Radio on Wednesday. Y'all played a fierce opening act and the Tears for Fears/Everybody Wants to Rule the World cover was perfect. Rock on.

Dear Cary Brothers (first name Cary, last name Brothers),
I'm sure you get this all the time, but you are like some delicious hybrid of George Clooney and Russell Crowe — younger, though, and with a guitar. How have we not met before? Of course I've loved Blue Eyes ever since I first saw Garden State, but I had no idea you were so... mmm... shockingly adorable. I was distracted by how you looked, but your music was also spectacular. Break off the Bough just might be my favorite song of the summer.

Dear Greg Laswell,
Loved your slow acoustic version of Comes and Goes so much that I videotaped it and am now blogging it. Aside from being a phenomenal musician, your in-between-songs stories are pretty hilarious. Thanks for cracking me up, and for playing Sing Teresa and How the Day Sounds.

P.S. I noticed you were wearing a wedding ring? When did this happen? I would have been more upset if Cary hadn't been there. He'll be taking your place in my Musician Crush folder now that you're officially off the market. Sorry. But congrats man.

blessid union

"Open up your mind and then open up your heart
And you will see that you and me aren't very far apart
Cause I believeeeeee
That love is the answer
I believeeeeeeeee
That love will find a way"

Are you having flashbacks from 1995? I was last night, when Blessid Union of Souls played at the Rathskeller Biergarten. This was my favorite song way back then when I looked like this, and the band looked like that:















The lead singer looks a bit older these days but his voice was pretty amazing. And actually, that's the cover of their second album, from 1999. The one with the hit single "Hey Leonardo/She Likes Me for Me" — the one that they played last night RIGHT in the middle of my 3.5 minute bathroom break. What luck.

crazy crush

Let's state the obvious:
1) I love Third Eye Blind
2) I have a crush on lead singer Stephan Jenkins
3) This post will be dramatic (I couldn't write it any other way) and probably appreciated only by fellow Third Eye Blind fans
"The First Encounter"
Jacksonville, FL 3/28/09
Raining, warm, muggy — the way it can only feel in Florida in the springtime. It was after 11pm. I ran down the sidewalk, clomping along in a dress in cowboy boots like a freak. We lapped the theater... once.... twice... lost count. But the lesson my friends The Redheads taught me is that stalking always pays off. Not only did we score an official Stephan Jenkins guitar pick, we also found out what bar he was headed for and dashed over.

The band arrived shortly after. Then there was an hour of lamenting that I couldn't approach the VIP section because I was so nervous I'd throw up on myself. Thankfully this was followed by one shining glorious moment: Stephan is making his way out of the bar. The crowds part like something biblical. I grab his arm and the only thing my brain produces is, "Hey, great show." He turns and takes my hand, smiles a huge smile: "Thanks. I'll see you soon." The Redheads and I waited around a bit longer, because I was sure he was coming back. Such a dangerous phrase, see you soon. How soon did he mean? Soon, like in an hour? Or soon, like in seven months? Which brings us to...

"The Second Encounter"Indianapolis, IN 10/30/09Another rainy night. Third Eye Blind played a free show under a tent on Pennsylvania Street, as a promo for the Pacer's opening game. The tent was cramped and dark, and sweltering, on an otherwise cold night. Not exactly comfortable, but worth enduring for the music. After the show, Ryan and I grab dinner — and I grab his BlackBerry to scope out Twitter, in search of 3eb updates. Annnd, bingo: Third Eye Blind afterparty will be at Blu.

Hours later, at Blu... we wait. Ryan, patiently. Me, not so patiently. But this time, I'm ready. Ryan has my camera when Stephan Jenkins walks in the door. I don't think, I just go.

Me: "Hey, would you mind taking a picture?"
SJ: "Yea, sure." Grabs my hand. We're walking toward the VIP section. He's trying to keep up with the bouncer ahead of him. I'm floating along behind (probably with an idiotic smile) until this stupid stupid girl jumps in our path and yells "OHMYGOD!" At that point, SJ turns around, gives me a sheepish grin, says "sorry, I gotta go" and scurries up the stairs.

But the story doesn't end with me punching that girl in the face, as you might have been assuming. We hear rumors that SJ (yes, I call him that) will be bartending later in the night.
We wait again... long enough so that by the time SJ is working the bar, what I really want to order is a Shirley Temple. But I'm thinking this is my chance to impress him. So I ended up ordering "the Stephan Jenkins Special," which is a strong martini (ick). I can't drink it, but I swipe the glass. And, as an added bonus, he signed my new t-shirt... if you can call that a signature.























Photos courtesy of Ryan, paparazzi photographer extraordinaire.

don't mess with it

Austin, Texas. Nice place to visit, bad place to camp in July. When it's still 90 degrees at midnight, the last thing you want to do is look at a sleeping bag, let alone curl up in one. But the highlights of our short stay were worth the sweat and tears.

Highlight #1: Greg Laswell at Stubb'sStubb's is famous first for their BBQ and second for their concerts. Or maybe the other way around. After dinner, we made our way to the basement for the show. No air conditioning, but I had a good spot ten feet from the stage, and a cheap Lone Star beer, and I even got to talk to him afterward... when I promptly plugged Atlanta (their next gig) and recommend breakfast at Flying Biscuit. Gotta represent the A.











Highlight #2: Barton Springs
Here is what made the heatwave bearable — Barton Springs. Thirty million gallons of spring-fed, stone-bottomed, 65-degree goodness. We parked our overheated selves in the water for about five hours.











Highlight #3: The BatsBy day, the Congress Ave bridge is quite ordinary. But every evening around dusk, tourists stand elbow to elbow. Underneath the seemingly unremarkable bridge sleep 1.5 million bats, the world's largest urban bat colony. More than the sight of it, the sound was a bit unnerving.

3eb countdown

I realize that 98% of the people who read this won't care, but the new 3eb album drops August 18 and I CAN'T WAIT THAT LONG. Stephan Jenkins, if you somehow stumble upon this page and are feeling friendly, please mail me an advanced copy. Thanks.