Tedheadone
10-06-2010, 12:49 PM
Lady Luck. Sometimes she sneers at you, sometimes she snubs you, sometimes she just laughs in your face... but every once in awhile she smiles broadly upon you. She smiled at me yesterday. I bought a lottery ticket to see just exactly how broad that smile would be. If you never hear from me again, it was an ear-to-ear grin...
Last Monday, I found a cheap, nonstop ticket to LA for October 5th.. My friend Liz Longley had an important showcase scheduled for 7 PM at Hotel Cafe in W. Hollywood. I jumped at the chance to be there, maybe one of those turning point nights in a career. A familiar face in unfamiliar territory. I have posted a video under "Other Bands". Just a girl and her guitar.
Two days after booking flight, it was announced that GPN would be doing Ellen on October 6th. Man, too bad, miss it by a day. But then I remembered that the show is taped the day before. Could it be?? Quick research yields a taping time ON THE 5TH at 4 PM at Warner Brothers, which is... where? Google maps tells me 4 miles from Hotel Cafe. What, WHAT? Seriously?? And more importantly, live cams show me that traffic actually moves in that direction pretty freely in the 6 PM hour, so I won't be gridlocked out. Now, how to break in, I mean get in to the show..Hmmm..after some thought I reach out to someone I know who is still in LA and has a little juice. And a pass is arranged for me to get in the gates and back door, where I can at least be in the hospitality area and watch show "closed-circuit"
My day starts out the door at 6 AM for my flight Tuesday. And, of course, the flight is full and I am wedged into a window seat, where I remain for the duration of the flight. No coffee for me. Arriving at LAX, I set out for the offbrand rental car company where i have a car for $22+ After being dropped at the wrong hotel, my fault, I find Ace Rentacar. Seriously.
And I head out, like I always do, to Marina Del Ray and Ralph's Market a big fresh fruit cup and some wicked chunky chicken salad. Up Rt 1, a quick swing thru Venice Beach, and then further up the road until I hit Wilshire Blvd and head inland. Up Wilshire, through Beverly Hills and Rodeo Drive and into west Hollywood, before heading north on 101 to Burbank.
Arriving at the WB garage, I am indeed given a pass that gets me thru the guard onto the lot, and head down Avenue A. As I reach the stage door, Big Ben and Justin are surprised to see me, and welcome me to LA with the news that some WestCoast Potters had to cancel, and thus they could get me into the studio audience. SCORE!
I hang near the pool and ping pong tables, talking for a while with Nate, Sam and the other Justins before they get pulled in for soundcheck. And about 15 minutes before taping begins, a young woman comes and escorts me out, behind the curtain and across the bands stage. We emerge from the side of the curtain, and it feels like the eyes of the whole studio audience, 99 44/100 women, are upon me, wondering who the hell this jamoke is that is getting escorted to a seat.
The warm up guys has us clap, cheer, dance, wave, yell, stomp, bounce...everything but whistle and chew gum. I am not making that part up. By the time the gig is up, I'm kinda tired from clapping, cheering, arm wavin', dancin' and hollerin' while pasting a smile on my face!
Ellen finally come out, the show progresses, until she introduces Grace Potter and The Nocturnals as one of her favorite new bands….as if we couldn't tell by the return invite just months after doing Ellen initially. Nocs cranked "Paris". Sound mix in the studio was clean, but vocals seemed a little low where I was, bass was strong. Vocals sound fine in the broadcast version.
After the regular show, the audience stayed for about 25 minutes as Ellen and Anderson Cooper traded opportunities to interview each other in segments on bullying that each would run in the respective shows. The same young lady came to escort back out thru the stage area. The band had already left at this point, and so I said goodbye to Nate and Justin and headed to the garage. The Show peeps all parked on the top (3rd) floor . Traffic snaked top down and it looked like it might take forever, but is was only about 15 minutes. Traffic was not light but I made it to West Hollywood by 6:40. The entrance to Hotel Cafe is down an alley and around a corner. Door is locked so I made it on time. And when we go in, it is very dark, with red velvet back drapes on the corner stage. Perhaps 10 tables, and i don't even I realize that when I sit at a front table, I had walked right by Liz. She is glad to see me and ask my opinion of the set list she had prepared..
I sit with a guy that has flown down from Seattle to see Anna Nalick in the 10 PM hour.the last show of her 4 week residency. And, speaking of luck, the 8 PM performer is Emily Elbert, a friend of Liz' that also just graduated from Berklee. Neither knew the other was booked.
Liz launched into her first song, and by then , the people along the wall that have been chattin' away have all stopped their conversations and listen intently as she confidently navigates her 45 minute set. I hope it was a success, business-wise, as well. Liz greets a few people before getting to me to say goodbye- I have to flee to LAX for return trip. Which is as uneventful yet as restless as those flights always are. I'm at Logan by 7:30 ....23 hours elapsed... and home in time to turn on the TV and watch The Ellen Show....how very surreal !
Last Monday, I found a cheap, nonstop ticket to LA for October 5th.. My friend Liz Longley had an important showcase scheduled for 7 PM at Hotel Cafe in W. Hollywood. I jumped at the chance to be there, maybe one of those turning point nights in a career. A familiar face in unfamiliar territory. I have posted a video under "Other Bands". Just a girl and her guitar.
Two days after booking flight, it was announced that GPN would be doing Ellen on October 6th. Man, too bad, miss it by a day. But then I remembered that the show is taped the day before. Could it be?? Quick research yields a taping time ON THE 5TH at 4 PM at Warner Brothers, which is... where? Google maps tells me 4 miles from Hotel Cafe. What, WHAT? Seriously?? And more importantly, live cams show me that traffic actually moves in that direction pretty freely in the 6 PM hour, so I won't be gridlocked out. Now, how to break in, I mean get in to the show..Hmmm..after some thought I reach out to someone I know who is still in LA and has a little juice. And a pass is arranged for me to get in the gates and back door, where I can at least be in the hospitality area and watch show "closed-circuit"
My day starts out the door at 6 AM for my flight Tuesday. And, of course, the flight is full and I am wedged into a window seat, where I remain for the duration of the flight. No coffee for me. Arriving at LAX, I set out for the offbrand rental car company where i have a car for $22+ After being dropped at the wrong hotel, my fault, I find Ace Rentacar. Seriously.
And I head out, like I always do, to Marina Del Ray and Ralph's Market a big fresh fruit cup and some wicked chunky chicken salad. Up Rt 1, a quick swing thru Venice Beach, and then further up the road until I hit Wilshire Blvd and head inland. Up Wilshire, through Beverly Hills and Rodeo Drive and into west Hollywood, before heading north on 101 to Burbank.
Arriving at the WB garage, I am indeed given a pass that gets me thru the guard onto the lot, and head down Avenue A. As I reach the stage door, Big Ben and Justin are surprised to see me, and welcome me to LA with the news that some WestCoast Potters had to cancel, and thus they could get me into the studio audience. SCORE!
I hang near the pool and ping pong tables, talking for a while with Nate, Sam and the other Justins before they get pulled in for soundcheck. And about 15 minutes before taping begins, a young woman comes and escorts me out, behind the curtain and across the bands stage. We emerge from the side of the curtain, and it feels like the eyes of the whole studio audience, 99 44/100 women, are upon me, wondering who the hell this jamoke is that is getting escorted to a seat.
The warm up guys has us clap, cheer, dance, wave, yell, stomp, bounce...everything but whistle and chew gum. I am not making that part up. By the time the gig is up, I'm kinda tired from clapping, cheering, arm wavin', dancin' and hollerin' while pasting a smile on my face!
Ellen finally come out, the show progresses, until she introduces Grace Potter and The Nocturnals as one of her favorite new bands….as if we couldn't tell by the return invite just months after doing Ellen initially. Nocs cranked "Paris". Sound mix in the studio was clean, but vocals seemed a little low where I was, bass was strong. Vocals sound fine in the broadcast version.
After the regular show, the audience stayed for about 25 minutes as Ellen and Anderson Cooper traded opportunities to interview each other in segments on bullying that each would run in the respective shows. The same young lady came to escort back out thru the stage area. The band had already left at this point, and so I said goodbye to Nate and Justin and headed to the garage. The Show peeps all parked on the top (3rd) floor . Traffic snaked top down and it looked like it might take forever, but is was only about 15 minutes. Traffic was not light but I made it to West Hollywood by 6:40. The entrance to Hotel Cafe is down an alley and around a corner. Door is locked so I made it on time. And when we go in, it is very dark, with red velvet back drapes on the corner stage. Perhaps 10 tables, and i don't even I realize that when I sit at a front table, I had walked right by Liz. She is glad to see me and ask my opinion of the set list she had prepared..
I sit with a guy that has flown down from Seattle to see Anna Nalick in the 10 PM hour.the last show of her 4 week residency. And, speaking of luck, the 8 PM performer is Emily Elbert, a friend of Liz' that also just graduated from Berklee. Neither knew the other was booked.
Liz launched into her first song, and by then , the people along the wall that have been chattin' away have all stopped their conversations and listen intently as she confidently navigates her 45 minute set. I hope it was a success, business-wise, as well. Liz greets a few people before getting to me to say goodbye- I have to flee to LAX for return trip. Which is as uneventful yet as restless as those flights always are. I'm at Logan by 7:30 ....23 hours elapsed... and home in time to turn on the TV and watch The Ellen Show....how very surreal !