Sound Check

Sitting at a sound check and finding myself with time on my hands.  No, sound checks are not my regular gig, but our friends Ron Ellington Shy and Taber Shy, who used to live and perform in Las Vegas (and now live in Southern Cali) wanted to come back and do a show here in town.  So, they know Romeo is not only a music aficionado but as a friend would do anything for them...so, here we are "producing" their show at a park district building on the east side of Vegas.

It means that since October we have been e-mailing, mailing, and calling their old friends and colleagues in town, drumming up support.  Getting chummy with the director at the park district building to work out the details of tonight's show.  Driving to and from Cali and other gigs here in the southwest to take pics of Ron and Taber, just to find that PERFECT one for the ads, fliers, and newspapers.  I've been creating and managing a facebook page for the group and specifically for tonight's concert.  For the last two weeks there's been lots of computer work to create the concert program, slips for audience members to fill out for a giveaway autographed headshot.  I even pulled out my scrapbooking supplies to make a large (and may I say really neat!) "Now Appearing" poster for the lobby.

The show is 7:00pm tonight.  And sound check started at 11:00am this morning.  I love these men.  They are dear friends that I met through Romeo.  He's actually "produced" shows for Ron before when they were both living in Southern California.  But that means I've also been to more gigs of theirs than I can count, and all these songs they are rehearsing right now and will play tonight?  Well, I've kind of got them memorized.  I do have to admit though, that hearing them professionally mic'd is a great experience.  Most times they are playing in blues clubs or casino lounges and none of the sound and tech is tailored to them.  I've heard them this way only a couple of times.

Oh, I forgot to mention, I guess "producing" also includes going to Costco for water bottles, deli meat, cheese, and rolls, and making the band a homemade sandwich tray for backstage.  LOL.  Makes me sort of wonder how Romeo used to produce as a single guy in Cali, seeing while he's been the "business" guy and worked with the contacts for 4 months now, I'm his "right-hand man" when it come to the technology, crafting, and of course sandwich making!  :)

Anyway, it's been an adventure.  But I don't know when we'll be doing it again.  I'm pooped!

California, Part II

*I'm feeling bad. Horrible in fact. I've been slacking on my posting frequency. I was never posting as often as Frenchie, but it's been really slow as of late. That said, I am going to make a concerted effort to change things up.*

So, where did we leave off? I was expounding upon how much I enjoy traveling from Vegas to L.A. as well as describing the original reasons Romeo and I went this last time (musical gig of a friend). But I didn't really get into details of what we did and how much fun it was.

So, our friend Ron Ellington Shy was performing in Covina, CA, and Romeo and I decided to make a weekend out of it. However we found out in the interim that it also happened to be a day in Covina called "Pat Allen Day." Pat Allen was the late wife of one of Covina's former mayors. She passed away after battling breast cancer a few years ago and the city has since organized an annual fundraiser and donates money to the local hospice and has done it for three years now. Romeo knew Pat, her husband (mayor) Walt, and their son Walter from his theatre days there in Covina, as Pat and Walter were both involved as well. So when he found out this day was the same weekend, you couldn't keep him from it! A day to reunite with old friends in downtown Covina, and support his old buddy's late mother's cause and celebrate her life? He practically sprinted from Vegas to California! (P.S. I LOVE my husband for being that kind of guy. If he cares for you, he SERIOUSLY cares for you.)

Our day consisted of visiting with friends, eating, shopping, and just having a seriously grand time. We visited with Walt and Walter for a while. It was wondeful to meet Romeo's fun-loving theatre friend. We also patronized not one but two restaurants owned by Romeo's friends, the Petersons. (If anyone reading this blog lives in or near Covina or the San Gabriel Valley area, I highly recommend both The Sugar Bowl and Giovanni's, by the way. Seriously, the food is great at both, and the atmospheres of each? So wonderful! And no, it's not just because Romeo knows the owners. I wouldn't do that--if I didn't like either place I simply wouldn't even mention going there.)

What struck me the most, and one of the reasons I wanted to post about this particular visit to California, was how this community banded together and what a warm feeling I know I had, and believe everyone had, that day as I walked up and down Citrus Ave. Coming from the suburbs of Chicago to Las Vegas has been an adjustment, most definitely. One part of that is city size. Las Vegas doesn't compare to Chicago as a whole, but most of the time growing up I didn't really consider myself as living truly in Chicago. I lived in the suburbs, so in comparing the suburbs to Vegas, Vegas is HUGE. There is no "small town" or "community" feel. And honestly, most times I don't really miss it that much, actually. Don't get me wrong, it's a loss, but it's just not such a loss that it would make me leave Las Vegas. I love Vegas. But spending the day in Covina on Pat Allen Day was just so refreshing. It actually felt more tight-knit and caring than the suburbs I'm used to!

Yes, yes, I understand it was one special annual day. Some could say it isn't necessarily how the town is the other 364 days a year. Yet, I would argue that in fact they must have at least some of that magic those other 364 days, or else they would never be the kind of community that would even think to put on such a special day once a year! (Am I making any sense? What I'm trying to say is it takes a special town, a special community, a special people to even want to produce such an event.)

When was the last time you knew of a community where for a day 7 hair salons and almost a dozen shops donated up to 50% of their profits for a woman some employees and owners didn't even know? In this day and age, that's HUGE! People smiled on the streets to strangers as they passed. People stood in line to shake the former mayor and widower's hand and share their condolences. People opened their wallets to buy from the businesses donating, and there were extra raffles and donation boxes as well. There was even a large banner hanging at the main intersection announcing the day. My hometown in Illinois never even did that!

I felt at home in a place that is practically across the country from my home.

Thank you, Covina, CA for what you did for the hospice, the Allens, and for me.

California

One nice thing about living in Las Vegas, quite honestly, is it's proximity to Southern California. Romeo's mother and her siblings are from there, he was born there, and after being raised in Las Vegas, he returned to CA for college and the first decade of his professional life. He returned to Vegas just a few years ago with a job transfer. (It was shortly after both of our moves here that we met.)

Anyway, he and I enjoy traveling to the Los Angeles area, or primarily it's "suburbs" (is that a Midwest term?), as often as we can. We used to go once every two or three months before the marriage, pregnancy, and baby. He enjoys going "home," I enjoy the shopping and the weather, and we both enjoy the entertainment factor, as his favorite blues band is L.A. based and he has turned me on to them as well. So we would often find dates that B.B. Chung King and the Buddaheads were playing an L.A. area club and just pack ourselves up, head on down, and make a weekend out of it.

Needless to say, for any mother or parent reading this blog, packing a couple's belongings for a weekend is by far easier than packing for a family of three, especially when one of those family members is an infant. Then there is the trip itself, which is 3.5-4 hours. Sometimes, I get bored myself, so you can understand how a baby would do on it. Add in having to take feeding breaks, get a better hotel room than we would have to just for ourselves, and, and, and...basically, our trips to Cali started becoming few and far between when I got pregnant (L.A. rush hour stop and go traffic and morning sickness also don't mix well). We have only gone once since my 1-year-old son was born. That time, about 7 months ago, we did bring Tybalt, and we had a a great time attempting (and successfully) finding new things to do in California that are baby-friendly. We ended up at a Food Truck Festival. And for the gig we planned the trip around, we luckily have family in Cali and were able to have an aunt babysit for a few hours in the evening. But in general, like I said, we made it a family weekend and enjoyed a lovely late winter-early spring day with our young son.

Romeo and I have been craving some time alone, however. And seeing I am blessed with a loving mother-in-law and [cursed with a hateful] father-in-law who adore Tybalt, we had them babysit for the weekend and Romeo and I hit the road for a little couple's time. This time around the musical entertainment was our dear friend Ron Ellington Shy. He used to perform with The Drifters, The Coasters, and Don and Dewey (just to name a few!). He is an amazing musician. Romeo has known him for years and years. They met at a show in Cali, and they both ended up living in Vegas. But the economy has declined for all residents here, and that includes gigs for musicians. So Ron moved back to Cali a little over a year ago and now performs in the L.A. area.

Ron was playing at a place called The Fret House in downtown Covina, California. Covina is the town Romeo called home for more than 10 years of his adult life. He knows Citrus Avenue, the main drag, well as he was on the board of directors of the playhouse there for a handful of years. It is there that he got his acting experience and honed his skills. The night we met we talked about that theatre and the shows he has acted in, produced, or otherwise participated in. And on other trips to Southern Cali we have driven down Citrus Ave, or once stopped and parked at the theatre, just to get a quick look but on Saturday we spent the ENTIRE day on Citrus Ave. in downtown Covina. And it was amazing. Absolutely wonderful.

But this post is long enough. For now I will say...

To Be Continued...