High Sierra Music Festival-June 29th-July 4th

As a special treat, I bought Matt & I tickets to go see the High Sierra Music Fest in Quincy, CA over the Independence Day Weekend. This was the longest road trip we have taken together. On the way out, we stopped in Las Vegas to have dinner with my friend Roni. We ate at Trevi, my very favorite Italian restaurant in Vegas, and Matt & Roni hit it off immediately. After dinner, we went back to our hotel, where I played the large Wheel of Fortune game, winning $100 when I spun the wheel!

Early the next morning we started our trek to Quincy. I chose the Nevada route because it would have less traffic than California highways. I didn't realize how much less though; there is very little between Vegas and Reno besides abandoned mining towns and military installations. We made good time on the highway, passing by an Amish man piloting a horse drawn carriage.

We arrived in Quincy and stayed at the Lariat Lodge, run by an amiable old hippy. We met up with people from the Las Vegas Jam Band Society, who had been going to the festival for years. They gave Matt & I great advice, and saved us a great camping space the next morning.

The weekend passed too quickly, and it was nice to feel so relaxed up in the mountains. Widespread Panic put on a great show, and I saw Railroad Earth and the Black Crowes for the first time in person.

The HSMF is one of the best run festivals out there. The camping is on site, and there are many artist playshops during the day that give the fans a chance to get closer to their favorite performers. My favorite playshop was the Horn of Plenty, with Karl Denson, Trombone Shorty, and Chris Littlefield. We will definitely be back for next year's High Sierra Music Fest!

Day Glo Red plays in New River

Matt's band is still playing on the Northwest side of town, so I bribed my friends Josh and Becky into making the trek to New River with me so I didn't have to drive alone at 3am. We had dinner at Kid Chilleen's Kick-Ass BBQ. I have looked at that place to the east of I-17 for many years, and finally had an excuse to have dinner there! After dinner, we headed to Gavilan Peak Sports bar, and watched the guys rock out. Unfortunately, there were only about 20 people there, but everyone enjoyed the music.

Day Glo Red plays at Donna Jean's Libations April 9, 2010

Matt plays bass in a band with 4 other very talented musicians, Will-lead vocals & acoustic guitar, Scott-electric guitar, Gary-Drums, and Tony-Keyboards.

They have been palying at Donna Jean's Libations in Glendale, and always manage to draw a good crowd. They don't disappoint! My favorite song is Little Vampire, followed closely by Tattooed Soul.

I have enlisted Becky, my fellow nerd, in making the trek to the west-side with me, but she also loves the music, so it's not too hard to convince her to go!

Moe. in Flagstaff!! 2/28/10

For Matt's birthday, I bought us tickets to go see Moe. in Flagstaff at the Orpheum theater.  I had never been to the Orpheum, and had never seen Moe, so it was a night of firsts. We raced a thunderstorm to Flagstaff from Mesa, but got to see a full arch rainbow. After arriving at the hotel, we headed into town to grab some dinner at the Beaver Creek Brewery.  I highlyl recommend them to anyone in Flagstaff long enough for a meal, or even just one beer. I had one of their artisan pizzas, and we left with a growler. Yum!

After dinner, we walked over to the Orpheum and got settled in for Moe. What an amazing concert!!! They sang all of Matt's favorite songs, and they had an amazing light show. I wish they could have played all night, and will definitely be seeing them again.

The Edge Fall Frenzy-A Music Festival at Tempe Town Lake

Danielle bought me tickets to the Fall Frenzy, which took place the weekend before my birthday. I met up with her and Mitch to enjoy some beautiful evenings (after the sun went down), beer, and good music.

 I ventured out to see a few bands live in concert that I had been long enjoyed, but never seen live. Sunday night was the Bravery, followed by Ben Harper & the Relentless 7, Flogging Molly, and Social Distortion. What a rockin' night of music!!

The Sail Inn Grand ReOpening!!

The Sail Inn, which had been a live music staple in Tempe for many years, closed in 2005. On January 30, 2009, the Sail Inn reopened. I ventured up to the bar for both Friday and Saturday of Opening weekend, and on Saturday, the Mojo Farmers played, featuring their new drummer.



Thanks to Gina for bringing back the best live music venue in Tempe!!

Mogollon Music Fest 2008

I attended the First Annual (hopefully!) Mogollon Music Fest the last weekend of May with the Mojo Farmers. The King family & I arrived Saturday afternoon, and it had been quite a while since I had driven north of Payson. My family used to have a cabin in Pine, AZ when I was growing up, so it was a great experience to drive through the main street and see all the places we used to visit while we were at our cabin for the weekend. But we couldn't linger, the Mojos were playing at 5, so we continued up the mountain.






The weather was absolutely beautiful. I hadn't been camping in years, and forgot how wonderful it was to be where you can't hear traffic and there is the clean scent of pine in the air. We arrived in time to watch Brewed to Perfection, one of my favorite local bands. After they played, Joy World Entertainment Co, a new addition to the local music scene jammed out on stage. Kansas and Red from Joy World were the hosts of Mogollon Music Fest, and they did an outstanding job for their first festival. There were plenty of awesome vans, cool vendors, a bar that served drinks for donations to troops, and of course, Zeke, the most awesome food vendor ever. He made a mean french bread pizza, which tasted even better when the weather cooled down.




At night there were several bonfires and the music lasted until well after 2am. I met quite a few new friends, hung out with some old friends, and had one of the best weekends of my life.

I hope to attend Mogollon Music Fest every year! Thanks to Kansas & Red.

A Mojo Sendoff

On Friday the Mojo Farmers played at the Last Exit, which was fitting as it was the drummer, Tim Olson's, last show. Tim has been playing with the band since its inception, but has decided to pursue other interests. The show included previous members of the band as a reunion to celebrate Tim's contribution, and to wish him luck on his way.



Tim has been a big part of the band for many years, and I wish him luck on his future endeavors. Thanks for the memories and the music Tim!!

Hot Child in the City

Well, I'm not really that hot, but Albuquerque isn't much of a big city either, so I suppose we're even. :)

I'm traveling; my first trip in a long time without homework or other obligations, so I took myself out on the town, researching live music venues for my favorite band, the Mojo Farmers.

I had dinner at one of my favorite local spots, the Flying Star Cafe. It is a hip joint, with magazines to borrow or buy, and an excellent menu. I highly recommend the pasta pomodoro. There is always good music playing, in fact the set tonight could have been from my Mp3 player.


After dinner, I went over to the Launchpad, a great place right downtown for live music.




The show tonight was excellent, 3 performers all doing acoustic sets. I even bought the CD of the opening act, Alexa Wilkinson. She has an amazing voice, so please visit her myspace page. Next up was Joshua Radin, who has an amazingly deep voice. Unfortunately for me, most of the songs were sad, lost loves, breaking up, etc.

Ingrid Michaelson, the headliner for the evening, is a true MySpace success story. She started posting her songs on myspace, got a break by getting a song on an episode of Grey's Anatomy, and the rest, as they say, is history.

All in all, a very good way to spend the evening, and hopefully, my Mojo Farmers will be playing in Albuquerque very soon.

Mojo Farmers at the PF Changs Rock N Roll Marathon!!!

The Mojo Farmers played at the PF Changs Rock N Roll Marathon this morning. Congratulations to all those who ran in the race, both the half marathon, and the full marathon. For those who ran the full marathon, they were treated to the awesome sounds of the Mojo Farmers at mile 17.5. For those who are unfamiliar with the RNR marathon, bands line the course. This year there were over 70 bands on the course. The Mojo's sounded excellent, and the people running by were definitely pumped up when they heard them. Or maybe it was because there were less than 10 miles left at that point. . .



The weather was much nicer than 2007, which was the coldest marathon start yet. It was in the mid 60s, which was plenty warm for the runners judging by the amount of sweat pouring down their faces.



Elvis even joined the band for a bit