It's been an incredibly long week in my life, one of those weeks when I've been so busy running to get things done I haven't thought much about the greater meaning of everything that has happened. Today, I put over 150 miles on my car road-tripping to Southern California's "High Desert" (aka Lancaster/Palmdale) for a birthday celebration for a friend.
That gave me a lot of time alone to think.
On the drive home, the sun was setting, and for long sections of the drive south on Route 14 back to Los Angeles, the colors of the sky were beautiful, a gradually blurred descent from indigo to rust. And while it isn't the safest thing in the world to do, something told me to pull out the camera, point it towards the sky, and click just once. When I got home and saw what I captured, I had a revelation...
Sometimes the road ahead of you is unclear. But when you see something beautiful in the distance, it's best to keep heading towards it.
I mentioned some time ago I had decided to branch out with my hockey blogging , but I hadn't completely decided on the plan to execute my idea. It took some time, a lot of thinking, and a great deal of editing help from a dear friend, but I'm finally ready to unveil my new adventure.
Welcome to Kings Court!
All my musings on my beloved Los Angeles Kings will now be posted here: http://lakingscourt.blogspot.com/
I have a Twitter account for Kings Court as well, and I have something planned for Facebook but haven't had time to execute it yet. It's been an incredible experience carrying a nagging little idea in the back of my mind to something fully realized, and I hope you decide to follow along.
If you don't, A Life Less Ordinary will be still be here so you know what's happening with me personally. Whatever your choice, I hope you enjoy reading!
For any artist, name recognition is a big deal. If you've ever read a story about how your favorite band came up with it's name, you know lots of thought goes into it. You want your name to say something about the themes in your music, or your vision as an artist. Most of all, you want people to remember you.
The memory wasn't specific at first, but when Tammy and I arrived at the Hotel Cafe and saw her name on the list of artists at the door, it was nagging at me. "Tracy Bonham....where do I know that name?" With a quick Google on my iPhone, it started coming back.
The year was 1996. The album was The Burdens of Being Upright, which I always thought was a genius name. And the monster single was "Mother, Mother."
I loved this song. It kicked ass in a way that made me want to go out and conquer the world.
More than 20 years later, Tracy Bonham is still knocking around, making fantastic and interesting new music. Key tracks from her latest record Masts of Manhatta performed at Hotel Cafe included "Big Red Heart" and "Devil's Got Your Boyfriend." I bought them on iTunes as soon as I got home, along with "Mother, Mother." Because she performed that one at Hotel Cafe as well, and it rocked my face off just as much as it did in 1996. Good music becomes great music over time that way.
The other intriguing discovery of the evening was Kasier Cartel. They're an unusual duo out of Brooklyn, NYC who made me think of a folked-out version of the White Stripes, but with distinctly non-Rock-and-Roll musical instruments included. Remember those little multicolor xylophones you played with as a kid? Yeah, they do too. They used one! And they also used a slightly more grown-up version on the same instrument, but played with a Dremel tool so it sounded like a phone ringing....
What can I say..I'm intrigued. This is the fun part about discovering new music. You should try it. Just make sure to remember the artists name, even if it just hangs out in the back of your mind for years before you need it again.
