Saamba

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Remotely interesting - 07.07.2006
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Dear Scientific Community..... - 03.11.2005
the saambas go missing-in-action - 11.22.2004
i'm baaack! - 10.29.2004

good stalking pays off - a concert story

09.11.2004 3:54 p.m.

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Not-So-Daily Blatherings

....with "his viewpoint" comments in italics.

yeah, i don�t really know where to start, and this probably won�t have as much the humor as we normally try to do, but just bare with me. while i have many favorites, they are not in the same category as the Beatles, who were genetically imprinted in my dna. on a step midway between the Beatles and all other bands is collective soul. I�ve been a huge fan since the first time i heard their first single, shine, back in 1994.

background: 1994. i was 16. and I�ve tried writing this paragraph so many times, and i can�t seem to get it right, so i�ll just say it. i was 16, depressed, atheistic (which isn�t a bad thing, i�d probably consider myself agnostic now, but at the time any mention of god or a higher power incensed me and i would fly off the handle in anger, don't ask...), and suicide was a constant thought. damn that nirvana and nine inch nails music.

i remember the first three times i heard the song shine. i loved it right away. the third time i finally caught the name of the band and made my mother bring me to the mall to get their album (didn�t learn to drive to drive until i was 17, no wonder i was suicidal). i brought home �hints, allegations and things left unsaid� and listened. i considered returning it within the first few songs, it was spiritual, and had hints of everything i had been rebelling against in life. i debated this for 48 hours and decided to keep the album. i gave it another listen, and another, and another� to the point where i played in on repeat when i was asleep, when i was awake and home it was on in whatever room i was in, it was on my walkman for school, and if my mother drove me anywhere, it was in the car. it caused something inside of me to snap and things started to change, i began to see light where i had previously just seen darkness. the depression slipped away and the thoughts of causing myself harm disappeared. and for that i am forever indebted to the band. and i have been a firm fan ever since.

the band is putting out their newest album, youth, nov. 16 and they are finally starting to tour again. so i was very jazzed when i learned they were coming to our area to do a show at a local college sept. 12, and then within the past few weeks, i learned they were doing the transworld entertainment convention on the 9th. there was some confusion as to the location, it was listed as a town that is in florida, but is spelled very closely to a town that is in new york, and nearby us. for resons unmentioned i thought there was a chance the listing was mistaken. i was right.

last night, we had been planning an evening of drinking a bottle or two of wine, munching on appetizers all evening and working together on our entry about our blue jay buddy. the evening was off to a fun start, we were writing and having a lot of fun, and then i remembered the band might possibly be in the area. i couldn�t find any confirmation online, so we just decided to call the hotel/convention center and probe as to whether the conference was there. actually i think saamba(him) just said, �yes, hi, is the hotel where the transworld convention is taking place?� and the answer was a resounding yes. so i did possibly the funniest girly jump of happiness ever and we decided to try and crash the convention. i never would have forgiven myself if i hadn't at least tried. we expected there to be some security and to have to bs a lot about working for the company or lie and pay for convention tickets. we got all spiffied up so we at least looked remotely professional.

we got to the hotel, went right past the private function sign and bought drinks so we looked like we fit in. my heart was thumping so hard, i was pretty sure everyone could see it. but no one even noticed us. we went into the hall where the events were going on. they were handing out awards to everyone. seriously, everyone. it went on for more than an hour, just person after person getting an award for something or another. complete with power point presentation, showing them sitting all happy like at their cubicles.

Yeah, as soon as we walked into the lobby, I made a bee-line right past the 'private function' sign heading for the little bar they had set up there - who needs an ID badge when you are carrying a gin&tonic, right? And she isn't kidding about the awards ceremony, either. We walked into it while it was in progress, so god-knows how long they had been doing it, and it laster over another hour. I swear they must give an award to every single employee. Even if they had to make up reasons to do so - one guy got an award for 20 Years of working for the company, and he is in charge of the mailroom in one office. 20 Years?? Jeez. In another 30 years he might make it to assistant office manager. Everybody had pictures of themselves sitting in their cubicle, with a weak smile, except the mailroom guy. His photo was taken in the hallway. Apparently he doesn't even have a cubicle.

Another guy got an award for 5 years of service, but they added "....he showed his great leadership skills one day by performing CPR on a fellow employee while all other employees just stood by and did nothing." I thought that was great. He doesn't get an award for saving someones life - he gets an award for staying with the company for 5 years. That's one to show the grand-kids. And the part about the other employees doing nothing was priceless. Apparently that person wasn't very popular in the office.

No word on if the person lived. Or if they even were in need of CPR in the first place.

my heart still weighed a ton, i could hear it beating as clear as day. i was sure security with their little headphone walkie talkies were going to smell our non-transworldian selves at any moment and boot us out.

we alternated between clapping for the newest country/latin/opera/70s funk/ragtime music buyers of the year and going out for cigarettes to try and get the skinny on the concert. while we were outside one time, there were a few very musician looking fellows out there as well (unfortunately not collective soul but they come into play later). we did learn that collective soul (cs from now on because I�m getting lazy) was going to be playing the bar after the never ending award ceremony. so we went to the bar and staked out seats. nearly an hour had passed and i was getting so antsy, this was really happening! i went out for a cigarette just so i could check on how the ceremony was doing, as i passed the closed auditorium room, i heard music, i popped my head in and saw the musician guys from earlier, but it wasn�t until i saw the bouncy female with rock hard abs on the stage that i realized it was the black eyed peas. i watched for a few moments, but quickly lost interest and had my ciggie outside. so, the awards were done, but we now had to wait until the black eyed peas finished. the suspense was killing me.

I enjoyed myself being annoying and causing my girlfriend great fear that we would be kicked out. I cheered for some people like they were my best friends, and kept clapping long after everybody else had stopped, which got me some strange looks from people around us. Sometime I would make loud comments like "Oh, Steve. He's a real ball-buster." or "Hey look! There's Fran!" My girlfriend looked at me in a way that says 'I'm going to kill you.' When one person was going up for an award (#265,094 - Best computer screen wallpaper in the accounting department - Month of June) I walked up the center aisle and started taking photos like I was the proud parent at graduation. She threatened to take the camera away from me after that.

it got more and more crowded in the bar and i was pretty much about to burst. finally the bep�s finished and they started getting cs�s gear tuned up. when the band finally came on stage, i ditched saamba(him) and went to stand right by the stage to sing along and take pictures.

the band sounds great still and ed roland, the lead singer, just gets more awesome each time i see them (this was my 4th). the place was perfect, there were barely 200 people there, and i was so close. the setlist was abbreviated, but good: heavy, where the river flows, december, precious declaration, she said, run, why pt. 2, gel, the world i know, counting the days (their new single) and shine. normally when a show ends i�m feeling great, but highly disappointed it is over after all the anticipation. this show was great because the anticipation only was two hours long and i�d be seeing them in another 48 hours.

I didn't realize she was going to spend the entire show up in front drooling over the band (that's why the lead singer is so wet in the photos.) so I sat at the bar and kept busy saving our seats. The band did sound great, I have to say. The guy sitting next to me said 'So, you work for TransWorld?,' and I briefly considered lying and making up some elaborate story. I even had a back-up story worked out that I worked for some private equity-investment firm that was looking into buying into the company, but screw it. I told him I didn't - we crashed the conference just to see the band. Turns out he didn't work for them either, he was just 'a regular' at the hotel bar....so I bought us both shots and we made fun of the corporate-types the rest of the night. In a town with 30 pubs and taverns, this guy is a regular at a hotel bar....but he was funny and shot spit-balls at an annoying woman. That's a good drinking buddy.

after they finished, i got the lead guitarist, joel's, setlist from a roadie, and the band stayed around talking to all the transworld folks. so i ran back to saamba(him), grabbed my faithful sharpie, cd jacket and camera and ditched him again. i waited in a circle that formed around ed, since the remaining band members were up on stage getting their pictures taken. i was behind him and in a slight lull, i reached out and touched his shoulder, asking if he could sign the cd jacket for me, when he turned around to face me, his face lit up and he exclaimed �you! i saw you singing along to all of the songs! you don�t know how much that means to me! what�s your name?� i responded, he said he was happy to meet me he gave be a big sweat-soaked hug and said �thank you� about five more times before just grabbing my face and kissing me (not THAT type of kiss, naughty people!). he took my �hints� cd jacket and before signing it commented on it being so old, and i finally got the opportunity i had been wanting since 1994. i got to say thank you for the album and say how much it meant to me, again he said how much that meant to him and we got our picture taken together� (okay, so just this once i get to be angelina jolie with blonde hair� humor me.).

That photo really freaks me out. Angelie Joli's head is too big - she looks like an infant - and doesn't look good with blond hair either. To top it off, sweaty lead-singer-guy looks like has has some sort of lazy eye action going on - Like the love-child of Marty Feldman and Carrot Top. Not very flattering. He looks better in real life, but then again, I had been drinking.

he hugged me once more and i went talk to the rest of the band members, met all of them, told a few we�d be at the show on sunday, got a few more pictures with them got the cd signed by everyone and also got to tell dean (ed�s brother and rhythm guitarist) thank you for the album and their music. i really have wanted that opportunity for as long as i can remember, and it felt so good to say that to them.

the band had to get down to virginia for a show today (crazy schedule, it�s a shame they didn�t have today off since the convention show and sunday�s show are only 20 minutes apart� we would�ve invited them to go out to our favorite bar for a drink or something). but alas, they had to leave, and so did we. we did go to said favorite bar, and i was as giddy and silly as a schoolgirl the entire night.

so, the moral of the story is stalking does pay off occasionally, you get to tell the people who saved you from yourself that they�ve meant the world to you the past ten years. rockin�

My diary entry for the evening: "Went to a hotel. Made fun of people. Had drinks. There was music playing. Girlfriend seemed really happy about something. Went home."

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an update - 9/12/04 we went to the albany show today. it was easily cooler than friday night's show in saratoga. we were standing front row center, and during the second or third song, ed recognized me singing along and nodded and smiled... made my effing year! the show was really great... and we got to go backstage afterward. ed came out to sign for everyone, signing one or two things and then seeing me, he came straight over to thank us for coming out to see them again and he hugged me. we talked for a few minutes and he continued signing for everyone else. ran into him again later and again he is just the sweetest guy ever. what a wonderful experience!

if you could only see the smile on my face in this picture!!!

Notice lead-singer-guy is wearing the same shirt he was two nights before - I wonder if he washed it? Must be tough living on a bus. I should add that I think the girlfriend was a bit modest in her description of those last few sentences. When "Ed" came out to sign autographs, he signed a few while we were standing about 20 feet away. Then he happened to see us and blew eveyone off to come hug my girlfriend. I thought that was really cool, and couldn't help but think that the other people were all like "Who the fuck is that chick?" and stuff. I was proud. But then I was worried he would be all like "Run away with me and ditch this dorky boyfriend of yours and come live in the world of Rock&Roll and be happy." but he didn't.

Next week it will be my turn and maybe I will tell all of you about the time I once met Telly Savalas.

You know you want it.



 3 wrote to say im an idiot.


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