And Now I'm Back (From Outer Space)

Ack.  I've been really out of touch with the blogosphere for over a week now.  Please forgive me.  A lot has been going on and it might take a couple of posts to get everyone up to speed.

I realize I left everything off while I was still in San Diego.  I was only there for three days, but it was best weekend I've had in awhile.  Not to mention it gave me an inside look at the music industry.  Naturally, it was all a little intimidating.  But it was also really inspiring.  I did nothing but watch live music for three days.  At the end of those three days, I knew more than ever that I was meant to be a musician. 

On the last night, I pretended to be more outgoing than I actually am and I gave my demo CD to a couple of producers.  I don't know if anything will come from it, but it felt good to go out on a limb and do it.  I also trespassed backstage and ran into Vanessa Carlton eating a piece of cake.  One of the more bad ass moments of my life, for sure. 

I think it's time for a few blurry pictures from my adventures at The Sunset Sessions:

Augustana!  (I was right in the front)

Black Dub - my new favorite

Meeting Mike Mills

Blurry photographic evidence of my Mike Mills moment

I've never really listened to k.d. lang, but her set was one of the best all weekend.  I feel slightly embarrassed about saying that, but it's true.

k.d. lang owning it on stage.  Her cover of "Hallelujah" was awesome. 

The strange yet super talented Sia (wearing the poncho from hell).

Iron and Wine's first words on stage:  "Are you guys ready to get really f@#$ing mellow?"  He must know that I listen to his music when I need help falling asleep...

Vanessa Carlton!  Weirdly enough, she was the one person there that I was too star struck around to talk to.  I think I was just thrown off by how short she is in real life. 

This field was next to the resort we stayed at.  Yes, those are plastic horses.  California is really, really weird. 

The weekend was all very exciting and quite surreal.  We left California on a Sunday.  It's a two hour flight from San Diego to Portland and we were supposed to be back in the morning, but my mom and I let the airline bump us as many times as possible in exchange for flight vouchers.  We spent the day sitting around various airports and it was well worth it.  The only problem was that we had both gotten about three hours of sleep the night before and accidentally had our new complimentary wine bottle openers in our carry-ons.  That made for some fun times in security...

TSA Officer:  Excuse me ladies, you're going to need to step over here...let me look in those bags...
My Mom:  Please don't squish those R.E.M. posters on top!
Me:  Yeah, be careful!
TSA Officer:  (rifling through the bag)  What?
My Mom:  Those posters!  They are signed by Mike Mills!
Me:  Don't squish them!
TSA Officer:  R.E.M. was in town???

I think the most disturbing part of that whole security transaction was the fact that they only caught the bottle opener in my mom's bag and let me go through with mine.  They also missed out on two bottles of water.  By the way, the bottle opener was totally made of metal and had a little pop-out knife on the side.  Potentially, we could have gotten on the plane with two hydrogen bombs and a very sharp object.

That didn't really do anything to improve my opinion of flying.  But now I'm set to fly anywhere Southwest flies.  I haven't decided where I want to go yet but I have a few ideas. 

Anyway, I think that concludes this installment of "lauren vs. reality."  Tune in next time to potentially read about the following things:

-  A new music project
-  The possibility of getting a new cat
-  Adventures with The Fonz (trashy gay night club edition!)
-  Things that Urgent Care doctors shouldn't be allowed to say to their patients
-  Why my apartment now has a carbon monoxide detector plugged into the wall
-  The ongoing argument about the exact location of Funkytown. 

Just A Couple Of Quick Phone Pictures...

San Diego!

Mike Mills!



Whoa...

This can't be a long post, but I did something today that is worth blogging about:

I met Mike Mills from R.E.M.

And I gave him one of my home-made demo CDs. 

It was quite the ballsy move.  I spent about an hour afterwards replaying the conversation in my head and thinking "Holy crap, did that really just happen?" 

Another holy crap moment - as I'm typing this Mike Mills just walked in and out of the room I'm in. 

I think it's appropriate to get off of the computer at this time.

I Found Internet At The Hotel...Huzzah!

I'm in San Diego!

The plane ride here was special.  It was only two hours long, but it was long enough to throw up three times and get stuck next to a Jehovah's Witness who was attempting to evangelize.  There was also a large gyspy woman covering her armpits in smelly perfume and an entire high school soft ball team near my seat.  Not to mention another girl named Lauren who was also puking a lot. 

So that all made for a fun plane ride.  But I made it to California in one piece and have been having a blast.

Not to mention I got to sit right up front while Augustana did their set.  I met them afterwards and took some blurry photographs while hugging the cute bass player.  I then proceeded to go into awkward fan girl mode at the garden party that proceeded.  "Hi, you're that Augustana boy!  I think I was totally a dork when I met you earlier...hi, I'm Lauren!  You rock!" 

I'm ridiculous.

Last night I also had the priveledge of hearing a band called Black Dub.  I didn't expect to like them very much but they blew me away.  They might just be my new favorite.

There was also a band called Frentik that made me grin like a little kid.  The lead singer was this bad ass redhead chick in a sparkly dress.  She jumped around and sang about how stupid boys are.  It was a performance that inspired me. 

Anyway, I think it's almost lunch time.  I better go see what's on the buffet table.  There's a lot of good music lined up for today.  I recently discovered that R.E.M.'s Mike Mills is here.  Holy crap.  It's not like I listened to "Automatic For The People" everyday when I was 16 or anything.

(Please note the intended sarcasm - I totally listened to "Automatic For The People" everyday when I was 16.)

That's all for now!  Staaaay tuned. 

San Diego, Here I Come!

So right now I'm at my parents' house doing a ton of laundry and packing clothes into a suitcase. My mom won tickets to The Sunset Sessions in California and is taking me. It was one of those big radio station contests that nobody ever wins. Somehow, she won. Now I'm packing a bag for San Diego and preparing for a weekend of music. I'm stoked. I'm not entirely sure what to expect but I think it's going to be awesome. There will be a lot of up-and-coming artists there as well as some well-known acts. It also sounds like we get to go to a couple of exclusive garden/pool parties and hang out with music industry people.

Naturally, I've spent all day freaking out about what I'm going to wear. Also, I plan on having a purse full of demo CDs. Just in case I find myself in an elevator with somebody big.

You'd think I'm going away for a month the way I'm packing. I'm seriously taking five pairs of shoes. It's a three-day trip. Hey, a girl has got to look good! Don't judge.

I realized today that I've never really left the commune for more than a night. My friends there are super excited for me, but they are all acting like I'm going to be gone forever. It's actually kind of endearing.

The Fonz knocked on my door today to wish me a safe flight and a good trip. I then ran into him about five times before I took off towards my parents' house. Every time I saw him, he would awkwardly say something like, "I already said 'goodbye' to you! I'm not supposed to see you until Sunday!"

I've been instructed to text The Poet when my plane lands so that he can tell the whole crew that I safely made it to San Diego. I tried to assure everyone that I was not going to die on a two-hour plane ride, but they are a paranoid bunch.

Speaking of paranoia, I just remembered I hate airplanes. On top of just getting really anxious, I'm infamous for being that person that vomits everywhere during a flight. I'm nervous just thinking about it.

Okay, I should finish packing. And then sleep. Maybe I'll blog from my phone tomorrow to keep you guys updated.

Look at me - "I'll blog from my phone." A year ago I would have made fun of myself for that. Actually, I think I still kinda want to make fun of myself for that. Haha.

I'm going to end this while I'm still slightly making sense. Goodnight, amigos.