Thursday June 30 2022

 

Waking up around noon.

 

Oatmeal with Cinnamon, Blueberries, Flax Seed, and Almond Milk. English Breakfast Tea.

 

Catching up on business then running errands.

 

Helping James at the front desk at Music Makers – there’s always something to deal with. He’s been a big help the past two days being able to watch the front desk and all.

 

Eggs. Spinach. Sweet Potato. Bagel. Coffee.

 

Teaching lessons at Music Makers.

 

Back home. Ana’s been moving all her things out of her room – she’s supposed to be moved out by tomorrow night. It hits me like a ton of bricks seeing her room coming apart. I know she’s been avoiding any kind of interaction with me but for the most part we’ve been amicable via text. I’ve also been keeping myself busy and not dealing with any of the emotions of it but now I’m feeling it again.

 

Making myself some dinner: Indian Peas with Baby Broccoli, Squash, and Rice/Quinoa.

 

Meanwhile, Ana is here gathering her things into boxes. I help organize some of her baking supplies – we chat about a realistic timeline for her to get everything out. Then, outside by her car – she sits in the driver’s seat as I stand there leaning against mom’s truck. Unplanned, we discuss the real shit – it’s mostly me apologizing for not being gentle enough and expressing how much I loved her. She’s definitely moved on but also gets emotional talking about it. There’s still much resentment to smooth over – there’s no telling when 100% healing will come. I cry telling her how I still love her and care about her. But I want her to be happy and fully support the changes she’s making.

 

Riding my bike to the studio to organize a few things.

 

Snacking on Fruit then going to bed.

 

Wednesday June 29 2022

Waking up around 11:50 a.m.

 

Oatmeal with Cinnamon, Blueberries, Flax Seed, and Almond Milk. English Breakfast Tea.

 

Basically sitting at the computer juggling the phones dealing with all kinds of rescheduling. This week has been crazy cause both our front desk people, Allyson and Madelaine, have been sick at home with Covid.

 

James Nicholson offered to help watch the front desk for today and tomorrow. Even though he’s not trained in customer service it’s important we have a body at the front. And he’s a longtime student also.

 

PB&J Bagel. Plantain Chips. Coffee.

 

Teaching lessons.

 

Afterwards, Rebecca and I grab dinner at Shake Shack. She’s a bit upset about some family things happening in Pennsylvania. Dropping off Addy’s book bag for her so she can teach virtually tomorrow.

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Then, we park it at the warehouse to do merch inventory and organize all the shirts. While she folds all the shirts neatly and consistently I carve up cardboard for dividers in the merch rack and help count.

 

Finally back home after 2 a.m.

Fruit. Catching up.

 

Tuesday June 28 2022

Waking up at 10:35 a.m.

 

Breakfast Bar. Blueberries. Tea.

 

Meeting at the warehouse with Rebecca, Kevin, and Nigel – debriefing from the tour weekend and ways we can fix all the chaos that happened.

 

Workout with Vlad. I feel out of shape and exhausted.

 

Eggs. Vegan Breakfast Sausage. Spinach. Bagel. Coffee.

 

Teaching lessons.

 

Leftovers for dinner.

 

Wes and I ride out to the storage unit for Ladada practice with Josiah and Bobby – running through the songs we know but also feeling inspired to revamp others.

 

On the ride back I talk to Wes about my ongoing reactions to Ana and I’s breakup – about how I’m upset that she essentially ghosted me.

 

Snacking and relaxing.

 

Monday June 27 2022

Waking up around 11:45 a.m.

 

Catching up on business and scheduling.

 

Running errands – bank – stopping by the farmer’s market – setting up Rachel at Music Makers. She’s helping watch the front desk cause Madelaine and Allyson are stuck home with Covid.

 

Eggs. Vegan Breakfast Sausage. English Muffin. Pickled Carrots and Cucumbers. Spinach. Coffee.

Watching The Card Counter (2021).

 

Teaching lessons.

 

Back home. Making dinner for myself: Smoked Salmon with Rice/Quinoa, Roasted Squash and Tomatoes, and Pita with Hummus.

 

Catching up on business and cleaning.

 

Sunday June 26 2022

Waking up around noon. Voice is slowly coming around – still recovering from losing it days ago.

 

Breakfast Bar. Tea.

 

At Music Makers for the second Broadway rehearsal this weekend. We go through all the group numbers we did yesterday and clean up the choreo and polish up the music/singing. I get to reprise my role as Aladdin in “Never Had a Friend Like Me”.

 

PB&J. Coffee.

 

We go on till 6:30/7:00. One of the student’s tires goes flat – Clarence and I figure out how to put on the spare. He also helps add refrigerant to our A/C unit to help cool off the 104 space – it gets majorly hot in there with all the bodies moving around in a tight space.

 

Afterwards, Rebecca and I grab some dinner at Old Beach Tavern to recap things from today. Then, some gelato at Gelati Celesti.

 

Back at the studio – organizing all the things back into place

 

Home. Catching up on things and chores. Running the recycle out.

 

Watching the third episode of Stranger Things 4 with Rebecca.

 

Saturday June 25 2022

Waking up around noon.

 

Oatmeal with Cinnamon, Blueberries, Flax Seed, and Almond Milk. English Breakfast Tea.

 

At Music Makers for the first summer session of Broadway. We’re doing it all here in the 104 space and the main studio. Rebecca does choreo with Reid while I lead small groups for the music. The only problem we have is it being too damn hot – with all these bodies running around it makes it difficult to keep it cool inside.

 

Eating a leftover Falafel Wrap for lunch.

 

At some point I have to leave and head to Smartmouth Pilot House at the oceanfront. I’m playing with Josiah and Josh as Bamm Bamm alongside bands like Invisible Landscapes, Danet Jackson, and The Sand Tones. It actually turns out to be a great set considering we only had two practices. There’s a funny moment where Josh drops a stick and I pick up for him without missing a beat.

 

 

Sipping on beers – feeling buzzed – mingling with everyone. Quite a few faces I haven’t seen from a long time ago appear. Michelle, Josh’s sister, shows up. We used to hang way, way back in the day. She’s married and has an almost exact replica of my cat. Then, Margot appears with a boyfriend of hers. What a blast from the past! We chat for a bit – I was sad to hear she lost her mom to cancer a few years ago and her grandma.

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Chatting with Sean, Ryan, and a few other people standing around about social intelligence and movies.

 

Friday June 24 2022

Waking up around noon. Voice is slowly coming back.

 

Oatmeal with Cinnamon, Blueberries, Flax Seed, and Almond Milk. English Breakfast Tea.

 

At the storage unit once again. Bamm Bamm has a final afternoon practice for tomorrow’s show. Josh, regaled us on some kind of make out story that magically revitalized him and now he’s playing the songs better than ever. We’re all stoked.

 

Grabbing a Tuna Salad Sandwich from Panera for lunch.

 

Teaching a couple lessons at Music Makers.

 

Afterwards, reorganizing and cleaning up the studio in preparation for this weekend’s Broadway rehearsals. This time we’re actually having them in the new 104 space.

 

Rebecca and I grab some dinner at Baladi’s. They completely expanded and redesigned the restaurant to my discovery. And tonight is a soft opening. They were only supposed to seat private guests but they manage to get us in. Dining on the patio enjoying some hummus and falafel things.

 

After that, we listen through some of the group numbers we’ll be rehearsing tomorrow and get a game plan.

 

Back home. Catching up on things – doing dishes and laundry.

 

Taking a walk to the bank late at night – stepping foot on the almost finished sidewalks of Hilltop that probably five generations from now will get to enjoy.

 

Thursday June 23 2022

Waking up around noon. My voice is somewhat back today thankfully.

 

Breakfast Bar. Tea.

 

Catching up on business and things.

 

Buying another powered speaker from Alpha to put in the storage unit space, which we all lovingly call Ringo’s.

 

Eggs. Spinach. English Muffin. Sweet Potato. Coffee.

 

Teaching lessons at Music Makers.

 

Chicken Pad Thai with Broccoli for dinner.

 

I take Wes and I to Ladada practice with Bobby and Josiah. Relishing in the newly vamped space – practicing all the new songs we’re working on. Then, Bobby and I get carried away on repairing the bass speaker cabinet – all we had to do was reconnect the speaker wires. Then, the boys go out on a pizza run.

“What are we the teenage mutant ninja turtles?”

...

On the drive back I open up to Wes on what’s been happening with Ana and I’s breakup.

 

Snacking on melon and popcorn back at home.

I’ve been watching The Staircase series on HBO. One of the French characters spits some truth...

“That’s love...You paint people in their best light, and then the light fades. Sometimes, you find the light again, and sometimes you don’t.”

 

Wednesday June 22 2022

 

Waking up with no voice. My sore throat has decided to steal my voice.

 

Oatmeal with Cinnamon, Blueberries, Flax Seed, and Almond Milk. English Breakfast Tea.

 

Catching up on business and scheduling.

 

Eggs. English Muffin. Vegan Breakfast Sausage. Spinach. Coffee.

 

I stick to whispers today for teaching lessons – it all works out. If anything the students listen better.

 

After work I grab some Tofu Pho to go and drive to the storage unit for Bamm Bamm practice with Josiah and Josh. We rough it through while Josh tries to remember how to play the drums – and us remember the songs. In between we horse around while I keep organizing the space. Josiah brought in a new mixer his dad gifted him – so we get that set up and functioning with new speakers. Also, helping Josiah fix his amp and vocal setup. Before I know it the clock strikes 2 and we finally get out of there.

 

Back home. Snacking on fruit and chips. Popping a few pain relievers and relaxing.

 

Tuesday June 21 2022

Waking up around 11 or so. My throat has come back super sore.

 

Breakfast Bar. Peach. Tea.

 

I take care of business and scheduling.

 

Running up to Alpha to buy a speaker.

 

Eggs. Spinach. English Muffin. Vegan Breakfast Sausage. Coffee.

Watching The Staircase.

 

Teaching lessons at Music Makers.

 

Coaching the MDW band jam.

 

Leftovers for dinner.

 

Driving over to the Ladada storage unit to reorganize all the power cables and change out the PA speakers – I get lost in the zone moving things around and doing my organizational thing.

 

Back home. Taking care of myself with gargling hot salt water.

 

Monday June 20 2022

Waking up around 11:30 a.m. Elvis lies next to me all stretched out looking longingly with his big cat eyes.

 

Breakfast Bar. Tea. Plum.

 

Catching up on business and scheduling.

 

Running errands.

 

Eggs. English Muffin. Spinach. Sweet Potato. Coffee.

 

Teaching lessons at Music Makers.

 

Sharing some Pizza and Slaw with Rebecca after lessons – doing some Broadway planning.

 

Driving out to the Norfolk storage unit to meet Josiah and Josh for a Bamm Bamm practice but to my dismay they are locked out. Apparently, the storage unit changed the access hours. The garage door to the unit is still wide open but they can’t get in through the front door. Very crazy.

 

So I drive back home.

 

Taking care of myself and catching up on things.

 

Still got a sore throat.

 

Sunday June 19 2022

Waking up at 1 p.m. Elvis lies by my legs as usual after my trip to the bathroom. Feeling very well rested after taking that NyQuil last night.

 

Oatmeal with Cinnamon, Blueberries, Flax Seed, and Almond Milk. English Breakfast Tea.

 

Running errands – Target – Kroger.

 

Eggs. Spinach. English Muffin. Tomato Soup. Vegan Breakfast Sausage.

 

At the warehouse moving stuff out of the trailer.

At Music Makers building one of these piano dollies and cleaning up things.

 

Back home. Making some quick dinner. Ana happens to be off work – we chat for a little bit. We don’t get into anything too deep except for the past weekend. Then, she’s off to I suppose her new guy’s house to spend the night. She’s still afraid to admit all this to me. But I can’t hold it against her.

 

Catching up on business and chores.

 

Saturday June 18 2022

Waking up around noon. Elvis lies by my side vying for affection.

 

Oatmeal with Cinnamon, Blueberries, Flax Seed, and Almond Milk. English Breakfast Tea.

 

Feeling the post tour sickness but I rise up and head out to the beach. Logstradamus is happening by the 1^st Street jetty. They’ve got a stage with gear set up for anyone to really get up and jam. Wes, Josiah, Bobby, Chuck, Zack, Josh, and all kinds of good dudes are there. I hop on the organ then the toms for a bit. Meanwhile, out in the water are surfers dressed up as Teletubbies, wrestlers, etc. I parked at Pizza Chapel and took a long walk.

 

 

Tuna Melt from Aloha Snacks. Salt n Vinegar Chips. Pineapple. Coffee.

 

Driving out to the airport to retrieve a folder of receipts I left in the rental yesterday. Of course I have to deal with a long line and some minor complications but eventually I get it.

 

Out to The Bunker where the Logstradamus after party show is. Gabe Niles is deejaying. Community Witch is playing and so is Natalie Prass. I chill outside on the smoker’s patio chatting with Josiah and Chris Ledbury for a long time. Seeing Ana isn’t too awkward but we don’t get a chance to talk much. I film her band – I’ve always been very supportive of them regardless of our relationship. I hang around to see Natalie go on stage – she’s as good as I remember when she used to live here in VB. I settle up at the bar and walk a few blocks up the street to my car. I’ve been walking a lot today.

 

 

Starting to feel an achiness set on in my body.

 

Eggs. English Muffin. Spinach. Sweet Potato. Green Tea.

 

Catching up on things.

 

Friday June 17 2022

Waking up in the back of the van on the futon somewhere in North Carolina. We’ve been driving since 11pm last night – it’s about 11 in the morning now.

 

Nancy and Ron man the wheel up front with Nigel, myself, and Rebecca in the back.

 

A couple stops here and there.

 

Breakfast Bar. Coffee.

 

As we get closer to home we all reflect on the past three shows – talking about what went wrong and what we could do better. We also take a dive into movies and how genius Seinfeld was.

 

PB&J Pita.

 

It’s about 6 p.m. when we arrive at Nigel’s house – dropping off Nigel, Nancy, and Ron. Rebecca and I take the van on an adventure (involuntarily) to find the Hertz rental drop off in VB but they’re closed. So we have to trek out to the airport instead.

...

It’s just one obstacle after another. When pulling into the parking garage the guy manning the booth freaks out because I’m not supposed to drive my personal car in – all we wanted to do was switch out drivers so I could drive the rental up. We get it sorted out and apologize about it.

 

Then, when driving through Hilltop I almost hit a guy braking in the middle the busy road. After all the happened since last weekend it’s crazy to look back at all the obstacles we went through to make that trip happen.

 

I get home. Ana’s putting dishes away and cooking a bunch of food. I’m actually glad to see her but we don’t talk much cause she always appears busy preparing to leave. She offers some leftover food she made a few days ago.

 

Unpacking – doing laundry – cleaning dishes – catching up on everything.

 

Watching Hustle (2022).

 

Thursday June 16 2022

Waking up at 10:20 a.m. Checkout time at The Rodeway Inn is 11.

 

With Rebecca, Mike, Nancy, and Ron (who just flew in this morning). Grabbing some brunch downtown at that Argentinean place. Omelet, Biscuits, Potatoes, and Coffee. There’s a stressful moment when Rebecca starts complaining about a situation with the booking agent asking for comps. I sensed most of last night and this morning something was wrong with her. I say in so many words for her to calm down cause I felt overwhelmed with listening to it. But that was the wrong move cause now she feels like I don’t have her back, which I don’t want her to feel.

 

A quick 30 minute drive to the venue, Ponce De Leon Center, and we’re all out moving gear around the stage and setting up.

 

I manage to get a private moment with Rebecca to talk it out and apologize for adding to the stress she was already experiencing.

 

Sound Check. All goes well except for a few technical issues with Kevin’s line.

 

Catering is barbecue.

 

We perform to a sold out crowd tonight – about a 650 cap room. We can tell how tired and exhausted we all are from traveling the past few days but we put on a good show.

 

At the meet & greet there’s a little girl, very shy, collecting autographs. Her name is Rose – reminds me when I was young and seeing some concert at her age – how awestruck you were and here I am on the other end of things, the larger than life performer.

 

Afterwards, it’s time to pack everything up and load out. Lately, with this particular tour, it seems to take a long time to load the trailer – it’s an all hands on deck team effort.

 

Then, we hit the road for the 16 hour + drive.

 

Wednesday June 15 2022

 

Waking up at noon (Arkansas time).

 

Rebecca, Mike, and I drive into downtown to catch the quaint yet stimulating street sights of Hot Springs.

 

 

Eating at a small brunch spot called Granny’s that actually stopped serving breakfast by the time we arrive. Our waitress Mystica (correct spelling?) is really nice and gives us some pointers on what to do nearby. Apparently, the original owner is a grandmother and filled up the top shelves with all her house décor and uses her very own Southern recipes.

 

Strolling alongside the infamous bathhouses that all have direct pipes into the spring water that comes out of the mountain. And most of these buildings were erected back in the 1900’s. We peruse inside the Fordyce Spring museum keeping intact all the original tubs and rooms.

 

 

At some point we discover a long stream from the hot springs coming out alongside the mountain. The water is so hot it would scald your hand – gotta be at least 100 degrees – the steam billows up feeling like an outside sauna.

 

Later on, we scoop up Dante and Mmy to join us on a drive up the mountain to climb the Hot Springs Mountain Tower with the perfect observation lookout across the green terrain.

 

 

Back at the hotel, Nigel got everyone a bunch of cook out supplies (burgers, hot dogs, veggies, etc.) and made a deal with the construction crew to borrow their propane grill. So all of the crew and band hang by the pool sharing plates of thrown together backyard cookout food. Nigel is super stoked to be doing this in hopes to make everyone happy. Fun times in the pool.

 

 

Cleaning up and then taking a crew out to Maxine’s Live where a drag show is taking place (our second night in a row). With his slicked back hair Nigel looks like an Outsider to the likes of Patrick Swayze – slinging twenties at the bar buying rounds of drinks for everyone. I sip on an old-fashioned and a few beers – feeling pretty buzzed while we watch a few drag queens do their dance routines on the stage. I find two small balloons to give Nigel so he can place them under his shirt resembling big boobs. He runs on the stage and joins the queens – fits right in and they accept his excitement with hugs.

 

 

A funny moment with Mike filming me walk nonchalantly down the stairs with a broken dart in hand and just as a lady goes to squeeze his balloon boobs I pop one at the perfect moment. Mike says it was like Lee Harvey Oswald – assassination of Nigel’s Titties. Lol.

 

Rebecca, the only 100% sober one of the group, drives us to a Waffle House down the street – obviously some drama is in store for us. Almost immediately we witness a waitress have an argument with the manager/cook and ends up walking out – apparently the guy either said something inappropriate or possibly harassed her – no idea – but after returning from the bathroom Kevin, in vigilante mode, requests some help from me to beat the guy up – I defuse his eagerness. Either way it still creates a weird situation. Meanwhile, Nigel being his clown self is organizing lines of sugar to look like cocaine – some kids nearby start filming him.

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I can tell on the way back Rebecca is not feeling great having to deal with all the drunks. I know she’s having a good time – it was a big and full day of activities – but sometimes it’s a little overwhelming with the type of characters in this band.