The Big Trip to AZ

David James McDermand... in all his glory!

I got word that David James, Carol, and Sarah Jane would all be coming to Phoenix to see Nana. Without hesitation, I told Ma I would be there. I hadn't seen any of them in almost four years, so there was nooooo way I was going to let this one pass me by.

I bailed from work as soon as I could and got stuck in serious traffic because LA experiencing very strange weather. It was a heat wave, but somehow it was raining with the sun out. I never saw a rainbow and lightning at the same time, but there's a first for everything.

I stopped by my Uncle Dave Carmona's house for a quick dinner, then hit the desert again. I arrived at about 2:00am, some eight hours after I started. I promptly passed out.

Sarah Jane at the Barton House

The next morning, Mom called me and told me to get to Denny's on the double. And there they were. There were hugs all around, and we took a moment to size each other up since we last met. Carol was more mobile, and she looked good on account of that. David James had lost some weight, but none of the attitude. And Sarah Jane was absolutely gorgeous. I was the one who had gotten fatter for once.

We wrapped up breakfast, then gave Carol her surprise. We would NOT be staying at Moms, but in a fat Marriott suite that Randy had hooked up for us. Sarah Jane and my Mom went grocery shopping, and the rest of us basked in the A/C.

Uncle Dave entertains Vera

Later, David James, Sarah, and I headed down to the pool to catch what was left of the sun. We retreated to the hot tub and soaked the aches and pains away. We all retired after that, and I finished the book I was reading (Columbine by Dave Cullen; excellent).

The next morning we decided to see Nana. We're never sure what to expect, especially since there were going to be a lot of us. I'm very grateful that she was in a good mood, though she did sour toward the end and we had to make a mad dash for the exit.

David James and Nana shared a long, emotional hug. I'm pretty sure she thought he was Wampa, and that was both beautiful and tough to watch. I have to admit the resemblance is pretty shocking, which you can see from the pictures.

David James and Nana at the Barton House

We ended up having a ball. Uncle Douvie dragged out the piano and entertained the residents. He took requests within reason, but was not above inserting the odd note or belch when appropriate. We ate it up, all right.

I did get pretty teary-eyed when Mom suggested the Lake Denoon song. Grandfather, I believe, had written it. I hadn't heard it since I was a little kid, back when Wampa and The Champions were still alive.

Mom and David James play Heart and Soul.

Well... David did.

After that, my Mom jumped in for Heart and Soul. Mom was more than a bit rusty, which was punctuated every instance with a "wrong" by David James. As the song went on, it became, "Wrong," then "WRONG," then, "WRONG!!!!"

"Wrong!"

After our escape, we were all ready for more Marriott. This time it was Mom, Sarah, and Me. We got some really good sun, but it still did little to eliminate my seemingly permanent jaundice complexion. A weekend of sun is no match for months in the office.

Randy once again was our savior, when he brought Chizzona's Pizza over for dinner. Up until that point, David James was doing pretty well with diet and exercising. But that got him off the wagon.

Mom and Sarah Jane

After dinner, Paul, Brenda, Matthew, and Daniel all stopped by. The volume got exponentially louder from that point on, as did the laughs. Around 11:00pm, we called it quits.

The next morning, I had to go. The weekend had ended far too quickly, and I had to get back to Los Angeles. I left about three hours late, since I misplaced everything I brought with me, including a pair of sunglasses I had purchased not even 24 hours earlier.

Sarah Jane McDermand

The drive back was even more unmerciful when it came to heat. Even with the A/C on I was pretty warm. I pushed fluids hard, but I had no illusions that if my crappy Ford broke down I would probably die.

I stopped in Quartzsite for lunch and fill up, then straight through back home. Even though I was exhausted, I did go to a party at my friend Veronica's house w/ Jen, and I feasted on BBQ. The next morning, I dragged myself in to Columbia, and my life has been pretty dull by comparison.

It's tough being so far apart. I can count the times I see Ma in a year on one hand, and it's even more so with extended family. They're good people, we all get along, and we all love each other. A lot of families aren't like that, so it's truly a blessing. Hopefully it won't be so long next time. We'll see...

David James & Carol

MMMbop Reloaded

Taylor, Zac, Isaac, and me.
I don't know which brother is which.

There are some things you will experience in life that you wouldn't believe if someone told you years before it happened. For example, I never in a million years thought I would be hired to sound mix an interview for the boy band Hanson. But that's exactly what happened last month.

PlayNetwork hired me to help with an interview that will be playing through Chuck-E-Cheese. The gig was at the Gibson Showroom in Beverly Hills.

The first problem I had was finding the place. MapQuest straight up gave me bad directions; telling me to turn right on a street that didn't exist. The good news was that the whole crew had the same problem, so I was spared from a situation were I could have easily been fired. I was really irked with myself when I found out the joint was only a few blocks away from Maverick Films, where I had interned some years ago. Oh well, I guess I really wanted to forget that place.

Zebra Piano

Even with my tardiness, I was still set up well before picture, so I checked out the showroom. Gibson is a legendary company, having made highly regarded musical instruments for over a century. Their flagship product are guitars, especially the Les Paul model.

Needless to say, I was in heaven. Some of the equipment was very old and very rare. There was a whole wall of vintage amps, guitars, pianos, you name it. That kept me plenty busy until the band arrived.

The Mackie Onyx Mixer.
We have a similar model at Columbia.

Now, I'm not really a fan of Hanson... at all. When their breakthrough single, "MMMbop" came out, it was in 1997. I looked up music from that year, and concluded that I was much more likely to be listening to "A.D.I.D.A.S." by Korn or "Ænema" by Tool. Regardless, that single blew both of them away in terms of popularity; hitting #1 in 27 countries.

Anyhoo, the three of them filed in and introduced themselves. The last time I had seen them they were kids, and I could not tell which one was which. They did make my job a little more interesting, though. As musicians, they were intimately familiar with all of the problems that our location was causing sound, and voiced said concerns. I got a look from the director like, "why didn't YOU bring that up before?"

Luckily, I had scoped the whole building, and we were in the quietest part. However, it didn't help that the Gibson showroom had booked a rehearsal right next door, and they weren't happy that they had to stop for over 3o minutes for the interview. But they played along, thank God.

The interview went briskly. They genuinely surprised me with their taste in music, citing Led Zeppelin and numerous Blues musicians as influences. It made me wonder why I didn't hear more of that type of sound in their music; I might have actually listened to them. After the discussion, they played in the showroom, and I had to record the music (and make it sound good) with only one microphone. We'll see how that turned out.

Can I say that I'm going to rush out and get Hanson tickets now? No. That will probably never happen. But they couldn't have been more polite, and I wish them all the luck in the future.

Liberace's Piano.
I'm not kidding, that's the REAL one.