Perhaps The Busiest Week Of My Life
This is going to be a long entry.
So don't start reading if you've got something to do soon.
Woke up at 5:45 in the morning to get ready.
Brian got to my house at about 6:15 and we headed off.
Picked up Jackson and Vince and we were on our way to L.A.
We made pretty good time and got into the city around 1 pm.
It was single handedly the sketchiest first experience ever.
We were driving by the venue (Mayan Theatre)
And right as we are about to make a right turn,
This guy rounds the corner running for his life.
We thought it was pretty crazy at first cause he was
Holding his pants up and it looked like he had a gun.
The light turned green and we finally made the right turn.
Only to see two HUGE security guards chasing this guy down.
I have no idea what he did, but it was definitely not good, hah.
After that we decided that we didn't want to stay Downtown.
So we drove to Hollywood where Trask, Mike, Ollie, Jake, and RT
Were on their way to from Anaheim. (They saw O.A.R. all over L.A.).
The place they stayed at was called the Farmer and Daughter.
It was pretty nice but was $210 for one night!
There's no way I was going to pay that much money for a room.
So we walked down the block and found this kinda nice little motel in Hollywood.
It was called the Guest House Inn and was pretty sketchy checking in.
For some odd reason you have to be 21 years old to get a room in L.A.
I really don't understand why you can't get a hotel room,
yet you can risk your life for your country.
It just doesn't make sense, but I don't want to get into all of that. Hah
After finding out you had to be 21, we made Jake come with us and get us in.
He is 2 years younger than me, but has a fake I.D. so thankfully he was there.
We were unloading the car when the first big party foul occurred.
Brian and I were just chilling by the back end up my car getting stuff out.
When I go to shut my trunk door, it hits Brian so hard right in the head.
I drop Jackson's bag, hear a little clank, but didn't think much of it.
After apologizing for hitting Brian in the head, I started to smell rum.
I'm not a pirate and have a sixth sense for smelling rum, but you could just tell.
Shortly after I noticed the smell, a river of liquid started forming by Jackson's bag.
I open his bag and to my greatest fear, the bottle of Bacardi was shattered.
I could have cared less about the alcohol being loss,
I felt terrible that all of this clothes were soaked and plagued in rum.
We get up to our room and were all pretty tired from the long drive.
Lounged around for a bit and Jackson washed his clothes in the bath tub.
It was pretty ingenious actually. He rang them out and hung them all up.
After a nice little cat nap, we were anxious and ready for the FORMAT show.
We have a few rounds of shots and toast about how awesome the night will be.
Then comes the lights and buzz as Andrew McMahon would say.
We leave our room and (some of us) stumble about laughing hysterically on the sidewalk.
We were going to eat at Johnny Rocket's at the Farmer's Market,
but when we went to the bathroom, we went out this back door and it
was like we seriously walked straight into New Orleans.
It was this secret little food court filled with shops.
Cajun food, Chinese, Italian, anything you could ever want.
Got some Orange Chicken and just ate and relaxed.
It was about time to go to the show so we called a cab.
Our driver was Armenian and drove like a mad man.
It was about a $40 ride from Hollywood to downtown L.A., not too bad.
Got to the venue just after doors opened and stood in line.
Finally got in and and right after I walked through the metal detector,
I saw Evan from STEEL TRAIN. Said hello to him and conversed in small talk.
Walked into the venue some more and saw how amazing it really was.
My friend Amanda was there with her friends Carly and Katie,
So we cut in front of everyone else and stood by them, about 2nd row.
All of a sudden, everyone around us started yelling at us.
Telling us how long they had been there and that we were in there way.
Ah, sorry. Righhhht.
Because GENERAL ADMISSION doesn't mean you can stand where ever you want to!
They didn't seem to understand that once the music started that everyone would move.
So after calming everyone down and playing a few games of Rock, Paper, Scissors,
The first band came on and they were alright. Nothing too special.
Then the FORMAT came on and rocked the fucking house.
They played Dog Problems from front to back, in order.
I was very disappointed with the crowd though.
I hate shows where no one moves the entire time.
So during If Work Permits, all of my friends and I started a pit.
From that point on, when they came on for their encore, the energy level was out of the roof.
We had started an all out dance party. It was incredible.
They played the new song Swans, and it is just beautiful.
Overall, it was a great performance and a really good show.
After the show, we caught a cab and went back to the motel.
Everyone showered and Brian wasn't feeling too good.
Amanda called and said they were going to Santa Monica.
We really wanted to go but didn't feel like driving,
So they came and picked us up on the way. It was very nice of them.
Hopped in their truck and just cruised on the empty freeway in the black night.
I don't know what it was, but i was in a really really good mood.
After getting lost a little and me talking in only Spanish to this guy
(I was pretty impressed by myself, hah) We finally got the the beach at about 1:30 am.
Strolled around the pier for a little bit and then headed to the sand of the beach.
Someone was filming a big budget movie right there. It was really cool to see.
Chilled on the beach for a while and decided we were all hungry, so we left.
Drove back by our motel and couldn't find anywhere to eat.
So I just had them drop us off and planned to order a pizza.
We got back to the room and Brian was tripping us out.
He was absolutely delirious and said he threw up a few times.
We were all still starving so we went to this Mexican place called Burritos.
The food wasn't that great, but on a limited budget and an empty stomach, it was bomb.
Got back to the room around 3 and passed out.
Woke up around 11 and got all of our stuff together to check out.
Left for Santa Monica shortly after and just did the beach thing.
Ate at Taco Bell and joined JP and Vince at Bubba Gump Shrip.
Chilled on the South side of the pier, went swimming and just relaxed.
Departed from there around 2 and headed back to Phoenix.
It took FOREVER! Between heavy traffic and one REALLY bad car accident,
We finally got back to the Creek around 10.
It was such a fun trip.
Brian, Vince and Jackson, you guys are awesome.
When I got home my entire family were partying in my backyard.
Chilled with them for a while, roasted marshmallows, etc.
Went to Nick Benhardt's house for a little to chill with Cameron,
then drove up to Desert Mountain to hang with Lyle and D-Pushizzle.
Had a really good time there, chilled, talked, and watched Saving Silverman.
Left Lyle's around 11 am and cruised home.
I love driving and listening to music in the morning.
It is such a nice way to start off the day.
Chilled at home all day. Got my dad a father's day gift.\
Stopped by Keegan's house to get a PA speaker for the show.
Around 4, I picked Sophie up and headed to Cameron's house.
'Twas me, Sean, Sophie, Sonia, and Cameron.
Hungout there for a bit then departed for Olive Garden then Tempe.
Olive Garden was amazing as always.
Got to the Contrite Manor at about 6:30.
Danelle, Matt, Jon, Sal, Dustin, Taylor, Dylan, Jon Boutin, and Clayton were there.
Played ping pong and just killed time until we left for the show.
I absolutely love nights like that. Everything is planned around the show.
Rode with Sal and Dylan to the show. Got there, unpacked everything.
And got everything set up pretty quickly.
Liz McMahon played first and was amazing.
I've known this girl since Elementary School and had no idea she played.
Then Dylan (In Symmetry) played. He did awesome, as usual.
Sal and I held down the merch table and sold a few Willow cds.
Jessica Bobince came and hungout for a bit before she played.
There's something about that girl. She is very intriguing.
Not to mention that her music is genius.
After Jessica blew everyone away, Willow came on.
It was cool, a bunch of people were there. Jake, Rachel, the Orriss', etc.
Willow played very very well. They really have something special.
I can never say it enough. Their songwriting skills are phenomenal.
After the show, we went back to the Contrite Manor and chilled.
Played some pong, watched 7 Years In Tibet (Amazing movie).
And Sal, Cameron and I talked about old times.
They both took a shot of each other's respected poison of choice.
Cameron hates Jack and Sal hates Captain, so it was a gesture of their friendship.
After that, I drove Cameron and I in his Trooper back up to his house.
Got there around 1 am and I still didn't want to go home yet, so I called Mike.
Arrived at Mike's and everyone was pretty faded by this point, haha.
I guess Mike's parents gave him the task of bringing down the back patio roof.
He had almost all of it knocked down except for a few posts of cinder blocks.
So, naturally, we all took turns hitting them with a sludge hammer. It was awesome.
Headed home around 3 and fell asleep in my computer room.
My relatives were all over so I had no bed to sleep in.
For some reason, my bro woke up and thought I was dead on the floor.
It was really weird. I woke up with my parents, him and my sis hovering over me.
Asking what I was doing and they didn't believe that I just fell asleep there.
They thought I was really fucked up or something, whereas I was fine.
After explaining to them that there were no beds and I just crashed there,
I went into their room and fell asleep on their floor, hah.
Now I am here, sitting in my computer room, finishing up the longest post, ever.
Not sure what I am doing today.
I just want to relax since I've been so damn busy lately.
I work Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.
We are going on a field trip Wednesday to the D-Backs game.
Hope everyone had a good weekend.
Happy Father's Day.
I'm gonna go watch the baseball game with my dad now.
Until next time, take it easy.
-Tyler
So don't start reading if you've got something to do soon.
Woke up at 5:45 in the morning to get ready.
Brian got to my house at about 6:15 and we headed off.
Picked up Jackson and Vince and we were on our way to L.A.
We made pretty good time and got into the city around 1 pm.
It was single handedly the sketchiest first experience ever.
We were driving by the venue (Mayan Theatre)
And right as we are about to make a right turn,
This guy rounds the corner running for his life.
We thought it was pretty crazy at first cause he was
Holding his pants up and it looked like he had a gun.
The light turned green and we finally made the right turn.
Only to see two HUGE security guards chasing this guy down.
I have no idea what he did, but it was definitely not good, hah.
After that we decided that we didn't want to stay Downtown.
So we drove to Hollywood where Trask, Mike, Ollie, Jake, and RT
Were on their way to from Anaheim. (They saw O.A.R. all over L.A.).
The place they stayed at was called the Farmer and Daughter.
It was pretty nice but was $210 for one night!
There's no way I was going to pay that much money for a room.
So we walked down the block and found this kinda nice little motel in Hollywood.
It was called the Guest House Inn and was pretty sketchy checking in.
For some odd reason you have to be 21 years old to get a room in L.A.
I really don't understand why you can't get a hotel room,
yet you can risk your life for your country.
It just doesn't make sense, but I don't want to get into all of that. Hah
After finding out you had to be 21, we made Jake come with us and get us in.
He is 2 years younger than me, but has a fake I.D. so thankfully he was there.
We were unloading the car when the first big party foul occurred.
Brian and I were just chilling by the back end up my car getting stuff out.
When I go to shut my trunk door, it hits Brian so hard right in the head.
I drop Jackson's bag, hear a little clank, but didn't think much of it.
After apologizing for hitting Brian in the head, I started to smell rum.
I'm not a pirate and have a sixth sense for smelling rum, but you could just tell.
Shortly after I noticed the smell, a river of liquid started forming by Jackson's bag.
I open his bag and to my greatest fear, the bottle of Bacardi was shattered.
I could have cared less about the alcohol being loss,
I felt terrible that all of this clothes were soaked and plagued in rum.
We get up to our room and were all pretty tired from the long drive.
Lounged around for a bit and Jackson washed his clothes in the bath tub.
It was pretty ingenious actually. He rang them out and hung them all up.
After a nice little cat nap, we were anxious and ready for the FORMAT show.
We have a few rounds of shots and toast about how awesome the night will be.
Then comes the lights and buzz as Andrew McMahon would say.
We leave our room and (some of us) stumble about laughing hysterically on the sidewalk.
We were going to eat at Johnny Rocket's at the Farmer's Market,
but when we went to the bathroom, we went out this back door and it
was like we seriously walked straight into New Orleans.
It was this secret little food court filled with shops.
Cajun food, Chinese, Italian, anything you could ever want.
Got some Orange Chicken and just ate and relaxed.
It was about time to go to the show so we called a cab.
Our driver was Armenian and drove like a mad man.
It was about a $40 ride from Hollywood to downtown L.A., not too bad.
Got to the venue just after doors opened and stood in line.
Finally got in and and right after I walked through the metal detector,
I saw Evan from STEEL TRAIN. Said hello to him and conversed in small talk.
Walked into the venue some more and saw how amazing it really was.
My friend Amanda was there with her friends Carly and Katie,
So we cut in front of everyone else and stood by them, about 2nd row.
All of a sudden, everyone around us started yelling at us.
Telling us how long they had been there and that we were in there way.
Ah, sorry. Righhhht.
Because GENERAL ADMISSION doesn't mean you can stand where ever you want to!
They didn't seem to understand that once the music started that everyone would move.
So after calming everyone down and playing a few games of Rock, Paper, Scissors,
The first band came on and they were alright. Nothing too special.
Then the FORMAT came on and rocked the fucking house.
They played Dog Problems from front to back, in order.
I was very disappointed with the crowd though.
I hate shows where no one moves the entire time.
So during If Work Permits, all of my friends and I started a pit.
From that point on, when they came on for their encore, the energy level was out of the roof.
We had started an all out dance party. It was incredible.
They played the new song Swans, and it is just beautiful.
Overall, it was a great performance and a really good show.
After the show, we caught a cab and went back to the motel.
Everyone showered and Brian wasn't feeling too good.
Amanda called and said they were going to Santa Monica.
We really wanted to go but didn't feel like driving,
So they came and picked us up on the way. It was very nice of them.
Hopped in their truck and just cruised on the empty freeway in the black night.
I don't know what it was, but i was in a really really good mood.
After getting lost a little and me talking in only Spanish to this guy
(I was pretty impressed by myself, hah) We finally got the the beach at about 1:30 am.
Strolled around the pier for a little bit and then headed to the sand of the beach.
Someone was filming a big budget movie right there. It was really cool to see.
Chilled on the beach for a while and decided we were all hungry, so we left.
Drove back by our motel and couldn't find anywhere to eat.
So I just had them drop us off and planned to order a pizza.
We got back to the room and Brian was tripping us out.
He was absolutely delirious and said he threw up a few times.
We were all still starving so we went to this Mexican place called Burritos.
The food wasn't that great, but on a limited budget and an empty stomach, it was bomb.
Got back to the room around 3 and passed out.
Woke up around 11 and got all of our stuff together to check out.
Left for Santa Monica shortly after and just did the beach thing.
Ate at Taco Bell and joined JP and Vince at Bubba Gump Shrip.
Chilled on the South side of the pier, went swimming and just relaxed.
Departed from there around 2 and headed back to Phoenix.
It took FOREVER! Between heavy traffic and one REALLY bad car accident,
We finally got back to the Creek around 10.
It was such a fun trip.
Brian, Vince and Jackson, you guys are awesome.
When I got home my entire family were partying in my backyard.
Chilled with them for a while, roasted marshmallows, etc.
Went to Nick Benhardt's house for a little to chill with Cameron,
then drove up to Desert Mountain to hang with Lyle and D-Pushizzle.
Had a really good time there, chilled, talked, and watched Saving Silverman.
Left Lyle's around 11 am and cruised home.
I love driving and listening to music in the morning.
It is such a nice way to start off the day.
Chilled at home all day. Got my dad a father's day gift.\
Stopped by Keegan's house to get a PA speaker for the show.
Around 4, I picked Sophie up and headed to Cameron's house.
'Twas me, Sean, Sophie, Sonia, and Cameron.
Hungout there for a bit then departed for Olive Garden then Tempe.
Olive Garden was amazing as always.
Got to the Contrite Manor at about 6:30.
Danelle, Matt, Jon, Sal, Dustin, Taylor, Dylan, Jon Boutin, and Clayton were there.
Played ping pong and just killed time until we left for the show.
I absolutely love nights like that. Everything is planned around the show.
Rode with Sal and Dylan to the show. Got there, unpacked everything.
And got everything set up pretty quickly.
Liz McMahon played first and was amazing.
I've known this girl since Elementary School and had no idea she played.
Then Dylan (In Symmetry) played. He did awesome, as usual.
Sal and I held down the merch table and sold a few Willow cds.
Jessica Bobince came and hungout for a bit before she played.
There's something about that girl. She is very intriguing.
Not to mention that her music is genius.
After Jessica blew everyone away, Willow came on.
It was cool, a bunch of people were there. Jake, Rachel, the Orriss', etc.
Willow played very very well. They really have something special.
I can never say it enough. Their songwriting skills are phenomenal.
After the show, we went back to the Contrite Manor and chilled.
Played some pong, watched 7 Years In Tibet (Amazing movie).
And Sal, Cameron and I talked about old times.
They both took a shot of each other's respected poison of choice.
Cameron hates Jack and Sal hates Captain, so it was a gesture of their friendship.
After that, I drove Cameron and I in his Trooper back up to his house.
Got there around 1 am and I still didn't want to go home yet, so I called Mike.
Arrived at Mike's and everyone was pretty faded by this point, haha.
I guess Mike's parents gave him the task of bringing down the back patio roof.
He had almost all of it knocked down except for a few posts of cinder blocks.
So, naturally, we all took turns hitting them with a sludge hammer. It was awesome.
Headed home around 3 and fell asleep in my computer room.
My relatives were all over so I had no bed to sleep in.
For some reason, my bro woke up and thought I was dead on the floor.
It was really weird. I woke up with my parents, him and my sis hovering over me.
Asking what I was doing and they didn't believe that I just fell asleep there.
They thought I was really fucked up or something, whereas I was fine.
After explaining to them that there were no beds and I just crashed there,
I went into their room and fell asleep on their floor, hah.
Now I am here, sitting in my computer room, finishing up the longest post, ever.
Not sure what I am doing today.
I just want to relax since I've been so damn busy lately.
I work Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.
We are going on a field trip Wednesday to the D-Backs game.
Hope everyone had a good weekend.
Happy Father's Day.
I'm gonna go watch the baseball game with my dad now.
Until next time, take it easy.
-Tyler