So yeah, this is a bit random, but I totally just had a moment when I checked my email. I posted the pictures of me with Mark Tremonti and Eric Friedman to Twitter…and both men replied to my tweets!!!!!
I know Mark is actually responsible for his own account, and I figure Eric is too, which makes this even better, of course.
Just wanted to share my happiness with y’all. 🙂 I hope if you’re reading this that you are having an equally wonderful day!
Last Thursday, I went to see Shaman’s Harvest, Tremonti, and Black Stone Cherry in Birmingham. I’m not even going to try to explain how amazing the show was. Just…if you ever get the chance to see any of these bands, GO!!!!!!!!
After their set, Tremonti did a meet & greet at their merch table. Unfortunately, they were supposed to be out when Black Stone Cherry took the stage. They didn’t leave at the appointed time; however, we were ONE person away from them when security told them they had to go to the bus. No lie, I almost burst into tears. I love Mark Tremonti and I’ve wanted to meet him for a while and I was SO close…
While I was still struggling not to cry, a guy we’d been talking to before the show walked up. His name was Wade and he had tweeted Mark earlier in the week, asking if he would play his PRS at the show–and Mark said yes. He played the guy’s guitar for one song and announced to the crowd that it was Wade’s. (Legit, right?????) So Wade looks at me and asks if I got to meet Mark. I replied no and explained what happened. “Well,” Wade says, “you’d probably have luck if you went to the buses. They’re right around the corner. If Mark sees you out there, he’ll definitely talk to you. He’s a really cool guy.”
Second chances, for the win!!!!!!!!
My brother decided to stay inside and watch Black Stone Cherry because A) he’d never seen them before, and B) he didn’t believe that I’d have any luck outside.
I went out there. I found the buses. I froze my ass off for about twenty minutes, jumping every time a door opened. Finally, finally, the door to the venue opens and I glance up and I see him. Mark fucking Tremonti, carrying a guitar and looking like the most gorgeous thing I’ve ever laid eyes on. I very softly called “Mark?” He looked straight at me and I waved and he waved back and I said “Can I…? Can I climb over the barrier?” And he said “Yeah. Come on.”
*DEAD*
I trampled some flowers to get to him. Lol. He tried to shake my hand and I threw my arms around his middle and hugged him and it was so glorious. I lamented the fact that there was no one there to take a picture and he goes “It’s okay. We can selfie it.”
Sorry it’s so blurry, but the only lighting back there were the streetlamps.
We talked for about twenty minutes, then I asked for another picture, closer to the light this time. Instead, we grabbed some guy who was beside Black Stone Cherry’s bus and we got these.
I joked we were going to have about twenty pictures together and he assured me it was fine and waited for me to make sure I was happy with them. ❤
My brother came outside after that, because I texted him and told him that Mark Tremonti said hello (which he did), but Mark was already on the bus and he never came back off. We did meet three members of Black Stone Cherry and two more members of Tremonti, though.
Black Stone Cherry
Eric [Tremonti]
Tanner [Tremonti]
Last Thursday, I went to see Almost Kings in Madison. Insert everything I’ve ever said about them into this post and you will be able to almost imagine how epic my night was.
I will never get over this band. I’m impressed by the fact that these four men give 200% at every show, both on and off the stage. They are the kindest, most wonderful and talented people, and I hope they know how much happiness they have brought to my life. Seriously, I can’t say it enough: if you ever have a chance to see them, take it! You won’t regret it!
Ryan and Danny
Boze
Kevin
Jude and Boze
Kyle
I wrote this a while back, inspired by some of the most wonderful nights of my life with Lynam, The Velcro Pygmies, Within Reason, Almost Kings, and Rearview Ghost. I wrote down all that occurred to me, then reworded it to make it sound better. (I’m a writer; it’s what we do.) This is the final product.
There is something undeniably beautiful about local musicians. Their craft is shaped by the love of music, not just a love of money. Every note, every chord, every lyric, every performance is guided by emotion and unmarked by the ugliness of greed. Local musicians still have a certain purity about them. This is only emphasized by their ability to actually see themselves touching lives. They can watch an audience in a way that is lost with too much success. From the stage, they witness the smiles, the laughter, the tears, the words to their songs being sung. But even more importantly, after the show they can meet these individuals, exchange words and hugs, learn something about the person before them, forging a connection, however slight.
There is a level where all of this is lost. And as much as we all want success for the bands/artists we love so much, it is an unfortunate side effect that a lot of what made them beautiful will fade in the glare of the limelight. They still touch lives, still make people laugh and smile. However, it is no longer a major part of the job…and they begin to lose the personal side of things, working only for a bunch of nameless and faceless fans that become nothing more than sources of money.
Local musicians are the true celebrities. They are the ones who deserve respect, praise, awe, and love. We should all devote as much to their cause as they do. I personally would be lost without the local musicians that I am lucky enough to call friends.
(Let me add that I do not begrudge those who succeed. I have no issue whatsoever with those who worked their way to the top. On the other hand, I do have problems with these created artists who never do anything to earn fame but get shoved down everyone’s throats. For every one of those “artists” that exists, the dreams of a legitimate and deserving artist are being crushed.)
Last May, I saw Sevendust at a club in Huntsville, Alabama. Their opening acts were Longreef and Almost Kings. (In my opinion, it was worth going just for Almost Kings.) Long story short, the show was absolutely fantastic. I had never seen Sevendust before, but I will definitely be seeing them again whenever possible.
At the end of the night, I was waiting to say goodbye to Almost Kings and Sevendust front man Lajon Witherspoon came out. He went to the bus first. When he re-emerged and saw me standing there, he said “Hey, baby.” I ran forward and hugged him. He told me exactly where I had been during the show–front row, on the right–and was more than happy to pose for this picture (taken by one of Almost Kings’ crew). It’s always nice to discover that members of the bands you love are actually kind people.
Mostly Music 