Options
How five musicians from the opposite side of the country changed my life…
I’ve procrastinated posting about this for so long because I figured, besides me and maybe my wife, who really cares. But I realized, for everything the guys have done for us, why not? Chances are they might never read this, maybe nobody will, but then again…
A quick back story; I’ve been a diehard PJ fan since ’92. I’ve been to 19 shows, bought the $50.00 boots before the internet was used to spread the Jam. I’ve collected the records, the shirts, whatever I could afford. PJ is the reason that I started to really study the guitar, and music in general, to expand, grow, or in the words of Mr. Jeff, just add water and PJ and watch grow.
The last time I had seen the guys was at the Kissimmee VFC show. My wife and I bought tickets to Lollapalooza, but a couple of months before the show we were blessed with the most beautiful daughter, so we had to miss it. Fast forward to a couple of months ago, whenever they announced they were going to play the south. I was going this time, no illusion, just fact, no trade backs.
This is where it got really exciting. My wife and I had discussed trying to go to Bonnaroo, but we were already going to West Palm and Florida, so it was going to be stretching it, budget-wise. Whenever the performance schedule was announced I knew it inevitable that I be there. Not only was my all-time favorite band playing, but right after their set, my second favorite band was playing (Sigur Ros). But here is the kicker…my birthday is June 15th, and PJ was scheduled to be playing at midnight on the 14th, so I would be watching the greatest band ever (to me) at the exact moment that I turned 30! A couple of days after this realization was made, my economic stimulus check came in. It was fate – I had to be there.
Fast forward to the afternoon of the 14th: despite some little bumps along the way (missing our first plane, and having to pay almost $300 extra to make sure we made it to West Palm in time for the show) we were at Bonnaroo. Having just witnessed two really amazing PJ shows, and resting up for what was going to be the most amazing show yet, we were taking a nap in our rental car whenever my phone rang. My wife answered, and this is what we were told; it was a lady, who happened to be a nurse. She was driving home behind my Dad and he had fallen asleep while driving and hit a culvert. She used his cell phone to try and contact a family member and my number was the first she came across in his contacts list. She said it was a very serious wreck, and the paramedics actually had to revive him at the scene. The State Trooper said he was dead whenever he arrived.
So here I am, stuck in the middle of Tennessee, while my Dad was in Louisiana dying on the side of the road, and I was the only family member they could get a hold of! I went numb and my thought process went blank. After a couple of hours of phone calls and frantic conversations with family members, my wife and I decided that we should just stay to watch PJ and Sigur Ros, and then leave, because if we had left then we still wouldn’t get back to LA until the next morning. Might as well stay there and try to enjoy it, instead of worrying ourselves sick in a situation that we had no control over. Soon after that we made the long walk to stand in line for PJ.
We got in line around 2pm and were sandwiched up with some really cool people (and 2 complete dickheads) for 8 ½ hours. Finally they let us go into the pit section, the air opened up, the sky got dark, and about a thousand glow sticks were released into the air. PJ took the stage, and proceeded to deliver a performance that not only lived up to all of my expectations, but surpassed them. It was spiritual and cathartic, peaceful but violent at the same time. I turned the big three-o while the five guys who wrote the soundtrack to my life preformed it with all the emotion and energy that human beings are allowed to harness from the Gods of the universe. All the worries about my Dad, life, money, work, and whatever else bugs me on a daily basis was left a thousand miles away in Louisiana, except for a brief moment during Release, whenever I realized that it was father’s day also.
Besides the first time I laid eyes on my daughter as she was being born, and dancing with my wife at our wedding to Yellow Ledbetter as our first dance, it was the most amazing experience of my life. I was really excited to see Sigur Ros afterwards, but honestly, I was so drained from PJ’s set, that I don’t know if I connected during their show as much as I thought I was going to.
Anyways, sorry for being so long winded. If you actually read this whole novel of a post, I appreciate it. I really do, and I hope that you took something from it, and maybe even connected to it in a way. I’m going to listen to the Bonnaroo boot now, and try and relive some of the feeling I had that night. If you’ve got a boot to a special show for you, take the time to put on some headphones, block out everything else, and jam it at full volume. If you don’t have a specific show, then put on the Bonnaroo boot and just let it overcome you. I promise it will.
And to those five guys from the other side of the country, no matter what you take from this life journey, I hope you take solace in the fact that there is at least one guy, hundreds of miles away, whose life you changed significantly for the better, and who will always be in gratitude for everything you’ve done.
I’m, oh I, oh I’m still alive…
A quick back story; I’ve been a diehard PJ fan since ’92. I’ve been to 19 shows, bought the $50.00 boots before the internet was used to spread the Jam. I’ve collected the records, the shirts, whatever I could afford. PJ is the reason that I started to really study the guitar, and music in general, to expand, grow, or in the words of Mr. Jeff, just add water and PJ and watch grow.
The last time I had seen the guys was at the Kissimmee VFC show. My wife and I bought tickets to Lollapalooza, but a couple of months before the show we were blessed with the most beautiful daughter, so we had to miss it. Fast forward to a couple of months ago, whenever they announced they were going to play the south. I was going this time, no illusion, just fact, no trade backs.
This is where it got really exciting. My wife and I had discussed trying to go to Bonnaroo, but we were already going to West Palm and Florida, so it was going to be stretching it, budget-wise. Whenever the performance schedule was announced I knew it inevitable that I be there. Not only was my all-time favorite band playing, but right after their set, my second favorite band was playing (Sigur Ros). But here is the kicker…my birthday is June 15th, and PJ was scheduled to be playing at midnight on the 14th, so I would be watching the greatest band ever (to me) at the exact moment that I turned 30! A couple of days after this realization was made, my economic stimulus check came in. It was fate – I had to be there.
Fast forward to the afternoon of the 14th: despite some little bumps along the way (missing our first plane, and having to pay almost $300 extra to make sure we made it to West Palm in time for the show) we were at Bonnaroo. Having just witnessed two really amazing PJ shows, and resting up for what was going to be the most amazing show yet, we were taking a nap in our rental car whenever my phone rang. My wife answered, and this is what we were told; it was a lady, who happened to be a nurse. She was driving home behind my Dad and he had fallen asleep while driving and hit a culvert. She used his cell phone to try and contact a family member and my number was the first she came across in his contacts list. She said it was a very serious wreck, and the paramedics actually had to revive him at the scene. The State Trooper said he was dead whenever he arrived.
So here I am, stuck in the middle of Tennessee, while my Dad was in Louisiana dying on the side of the road, and I was the only family member they could get a hold of! I went numb and my thought process went blank. After a couple of hours of phone calls and frantic conversations with family members, my wife and I decided that we should just stay to watch PJ and Sigur Ros, and then leave, because if we had left then we still wouldn’t get back to LA until the next morning. Might as well stay there and try to enjoy it, instead of worrying ourselves sick in a situation that we had no control over. Soon after that we made the long walk to stand in line for PJ.
We got in line around 2pm and were sandwiched up with some really cool people (and 2 complete dickheads) for 8 ½ hours. Finally they let us go into the pit section, the air opened up, the sky got dark, and about a thousand glow sticks were released into the air. PJ took the stage, and proceeded to deliver a performance that not only lived up to all of my expectations, but surpassed them. It was spiritual and cathartic, peaceful but violent at the same time. I turned the big three-o while the five guys who wrote the soundtrack to my life preformed it with all the emotion and energy that human beings are allowed to harness from the Gods of the universe. All the worries about my Dad, life, money, work, and whatever else bugs me on a daily basis was left a thousand miles away in Louisiana, except for a brief moment during Release, whenever I realized that it was father’s day also.
Besides the first time I laid eyes on my daughter as she was being born, and dancing with my wife at our wedding to Yellow Ledbetter as our first dance, it was the most amazing experience of my life. I was really excited to see Sigur Ros afterwards, but honestly, I was so drained from PJ’s set, that I don’t know if I connected during their show as much as I thought I was going to.
Anyways, sorry for being so long winded. If you actually read this whole novel of a post, I appreciate it. I really do, and I hope that you took something from it, and maybe even connected to it in a way. I’m going to listen to the Bonnaroo boot now, and try and relive some of the feeling I had that night. If you’ve got a boot to a special show for you, take the time to put on some headphones, block out everything else, and jam it at full volume. If you don’t have a specific show, then put on the Bonnaroo boot and just let it overcome you. I promise it will.
And to those five guys from the other side of the country, no matter what you take from this life journey, I hope you take solace in the fact that there is at least one guy, hundreds of miles away, whose life you changed significantly for the better, and who will always be in gratitude for everything you’ve done.
I’m, oh I, oh I’m still alive…
It's all about the music...
http://www.myspace.com/christianjame (Music Page)
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/19598996 (Personal Page)
http://www.myspace.com/christianjame (Music Page)
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/19598996 (Personal Page)
Post edited by Unknown User on
0
Comments
Hope all is well.......
There's a constant ringing in my ears
Sense of humor's void and numb
And I'm bored to tears.......
I know for you it had to be bitter sweet, with your father hurting and no way for your to help. I hope he is well.
Washington, D.C. - 2008
Philadelphia, PA I - 2009
Bristow, VA - 2010
Baltimore, MD - 2013
Milwaukee, WI - 2014
Hampton, VA - 2016
My Dad is doing a lot better. He had 3 operations and stayed in the hospital for a while with blood filling his lungs, 6 broken ribs, a shattered wrist and a 9 inch gash in his head. He's at home now, still recouperating. Thanks for the well wishes though.
http://www.myspace.com/christianjame (Music Page)
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/19598996 (Personal Page)