I had a live radio show scheduled at UC Davis KDVS 90.3FM for Thursday, 17 Nov (the night before the famous brutal pepper spray incident), and of course it couldn’t just be a typical drive-to-play-a-show-then-come-back type of affair. The Universe and I conspired to make it an adventure. But let me take us back a couple of days…
It was Monday morning and I was having coffee (hot chocolate actually, I never drink coffee) with a bunch of friends at my local coffee shop, when a very pretty girl walks by and smiles at me and I was compelled to smile back. Neither says a word, we keep on our separate ways. Day continues on and ends as normal.
Tuesday morning, same coffee shop, with very much the same group of friends. The pretty girl comes in again, smiles, I smile back, and this time I raise the bet and say “hello”. Dear reader, we have made progress, and I have confirmed that she is still very pretty. Day continues on and ends as normal.
Wednesday morning, same coffee shop, most of the same friends are around me talking about cars and welding and very manly things. I’m listening in, but also reading the LA Times. I’m not much of a welder. Pretty girl comes in, gets her coffee, sits down at a table. I decide to leave my guy friends to talk about their automotive tools and what-not, and instead see if this girl is interesting at all. Well, I sit down and introduce myself (trust me, I did this in the right order, in case introducing myself ruined an opportunity to sit down), and then the Universe revealed part of its plan. It turns out she’s Canadian and a singer-songwriter, just visiting Venice Beach, and we have a ton of other things in common. Well, at this point I have to find out if she’s any good at playing music. We agreed to meet up later at my studio and play some tunes.
Early that evening we meet at my studio play some songs for each other, and it’s all very good, she’s a fantastic singer and songwriter, and maybe I’m not so bad either. The Universe whispers in my ear, and I asked her if she wants to come and play a college radio show up at UC Davis with me the next day, I then give her the details and she figures it sounds like a good idea. Phew!, if I had to drive up to UC Davis on my own I probably would have just driven off the side of the road in boredom.
[Dear reader, if you are a young female (or even male), let me please encourage you to never go on a road trip (in a van, no less) with some guy you just met the day before. This was a very particular occasion arranged by the very same powers that make it so I don’t accidentally step off a curb in front of a large speeding truck. It I wasn’t me, and she wasn’t her, it could have ended disastrously.]
Anyway, we had a brilliant time, telling stories and laughing all the way there and back, with a fun performance at a really cool college radio station in between. We got lost a few times, almost crashed twice (don’t tell Alanna, I don’t think she noticed, but I’m a terrible driver) I broke a guitar string, dodged zombies, and we were able to find a delicious chocolate shake after the show at about 2AM. Mission accomplished. She got to play a surprise radio show, and I didn’t have to commit suicide on a mind-numbing never-ending drive.
Go check out her music, her name is Alanna Clarke, and she’s pretty great:
We’re talking about planning a little tour together early next year, we’ll see what the Universe has to say about that.
Talk to you soon.
Love,
SJ
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