Zona

Zona Boy joins a hip hop posse yo

You will think my actions were those of a man 25 years my younger after you read this.

Friday morning I got up at my usual workday time of 3:30AM. I showered. I went to work. I was scheduled to work overtime so I blew out of work at 6:00PM. I arrived home. I ate. I relaxed. I left home at 7:30 and drove to Bellingham. I stopped at Fred Meyer's to get some things and fill up with gas. I arrived at the nightclub at about 8:30.

The gal found my name on the guest list so I was in. I stopped by the merch stand and bought two CD's and a t shirt. I told the guy I knew the band and we talked for a bit and he let me leave my jacket with him.

Fast forward past the skate film debut and the local scratchers who came on first.

At about eleven Sweatshop Union took the stage. Of course I have never heard of them but I was very impressed. I liked their tunes and the presentation was just great. Good hip hop and stage movement by an eight member group. I was dancin' and enjoying the show.

Just over half way through their set I spotted Prevail from The Swollen Members in the sound booth and said hello. He was happy to see me, introduced me to his girlfriend, and invited me out to the group's bus for a beverage. There I met the other two band members and got my CD's signed. We chatted and enjoyed our beverages until it was time for them to take the stage. After some tech problems were solved the Swollen Members hit the stage. The time was midnight.

The Swollen Member were awesome. I liked their tunes and their stage presence was really great. Most of the sold out crowd was in the front but I was back by the sound booth with a great view. They played just over an hour which was all they could do for two reasons. One was because the club wanted them off a 1:10AM at the latest so they could get the place cleared at a specific time and keep their liquor license. The second was that the air circulation was so poor that the guys were drenched in sweat and exhausted.

So we hung out backstage for a bit and got rehydrated. Then we headed back out to the bus for more beverages. I had a can of Cherry Squirt. We talked and I got the Sweatshop Union CD signed that I had bought after seeing them perform.

What was kinda nice is that when both groups found out that I had PAID for their merch they were upset. I guess the felt that since I was such a cool dude and had treated the guys so nice at the airport I should not have to pay. I explained that since I got into the show for free and that this is what they are doing to make a living I was happy to support the effort. They thought that was really cool. At the insistence of the road manager I got another t shirt.

So we chatted for a while in the bus until I decided that it was time for me to go. I got home at about 2:30 and relaxed and told the wife of my evening adventure. YES I had invited her to go but she declined. At 3:30 I jumped in the shower. I watched a bit of TV and then left for work. When I parked the car I reached down and grabbed the can of Cherry Squirt. It was half full, still cold, and had not gone flat yet.

I got off work at 1:00 and returned home to be greeted by the kids when I walked in the door and shouted "Mastuh D in the HOUSE YO!". Soon after telling the kids about my evening I plopped down on the sofa to let the adrenaline wear off. The next thing I know I was being shaken awake by the wife and told to go take a nap, which I did.

My wife told me that while I was on the sofa my snoring reminded her of a drunk angry bull walrus during mating season that she saw on a National Geographic TV special.

I thought that was odd because I usually only snore if I was really tired when I went to sleep.