Well, prom night has happened. My “Night In Paris” (prom name) has come to a conclusion. I’ll post some quick images to start this thing off. :)
Gettin Ready! ;D
Kayla and Myself :)
Travis and Myself :)
Kayla, Myself, and Ashley :)
MAFIA - In the blue, yours truly, Black/Red, Erik, White, Bernie, Purple n Red, Amy, and Black, GIOVANNI/Brandon
GIOVANNI - When he laughs, you betta be on yo toes just in case he's laughing AT you and will crack yo mothafuckin skull in!
Hahahaha…what can I say? I had a damn good time. The music sucked elephant dicks but everything else was pretty cool, everyone at the prom was looking great and we all had a good time, many of us thankful the school year’s about to come to a close. I think it goes to show, I can go to prom and look pretty damn good in a free suit, the fuck do I need to rent some expensive tux for? :)
I arrived early and was among the first in, at around 7:54, that’s when I signed in and entered. I at first was a little nervous and even confused, unsure of what was going on, really, haha. I turned out alright though, I greeted Kayla and her date, R.J., who was a pretty cool dude. For the first couple of minutes or so, we hung out and grabbed ourselves a table, just waiting for things to really start getting crowded. It didn’t take too long.
Lots of good people arrived, Brandon, Ryan M., Bernie, Dwight, Amy, Ashley, Ashley (again), Kayla #2, Adam, Joe, Matt, Ryan K., Brett, Ethan, tons of others.
We were all dressed to the occassion of course, after all, we were having our night in paris. ;p
I spent most of the beginning time just hanging about with Brandon, acting stupid. He arrived around 8:30 and we pulled out sunglasses and just spiffied ourselves up, and went exploring! We took in the craziness of it, just going around and having a good time. We saw our other friend, Ryan M. get in. He had originally been worried he wouldn’t be able to enter, as he had only a dress shirt, pants, and a tie, no actual suit, so he was considering not going. I convinced him to try and show up and that’d he be let in and sure enough, he got in. When he got in, we shared a quick high five and a hug, it’s a good thing that dude got in.
I just hung loose, I was making people laugh, I was dancing like a lunatic at times (such as headbanging to rap/poppy music), and I just kept smiling and taking it all in. I’m only gonna be in two proms, so I might as well enjoy them, that’s what I was thinking. :)
I danced with a couple of girls, mostly doing silly dances with Amy. She’s a nice girl, I had a good time just hanging around her and we did a lot of fun and silly stuff. :) Also, for the lone slowdance song of the entire night (the rest being rap/pop), I danced with this one gorgeous girl I pretty much don’t know. She and her friend saw Brandon and I sitting around and they asked us to dance with them, so we gentleman of course accepted. What worked out for me was the prettier one asked me! :D She was pretty and nice though, she told me she has a Facebook, I’ll have to get her on there, she told me her name…but of course, I forgot. Doh!
The after prom party was a little boring, but not too bad. I was the 54th visitor and was marked with that number on my hand, it’s currently still on there, actually. I ate some pizza, watched some people play around on some rides with Amy and Brandon, played some Wii myself, and then headed out after an hour or so there. Brandon was kind enough to drive me home which was about 30 minutes away and we proceeded to listen to crazy shit like this and metal like songs, it was pretty cool stuff, though!
All in all, I had a really great time, met some cool people, and just made a good memory. Fun times. :)
For the past month, I have found an inspiration. This inspiration is a man who was known as Frank Zappa. He was born in 1940 and died in 1993, of prostate cancer. This inspiration of mine created music for most of his life, music that could go around on any subject, dissing politicians and the government, lusting over Jewish princesses, not being able to dance well, muffins, ripping people that don’t act the way they really are, and flat out making music on whatever was in his brilliant mind. This was a man who did what he thought was right and flat out had fun with it! For expressing himself through such great and creative music, I admire this man and have the upmost respect for him and his art.
One thing I absolutely adore, love, respect, and just flat out, please let me say it again, LOVE in a person is a great sense of humor, hinted with a mix of sarcasm, and the mindset of “Hey, I’m gonna tell you what’s on my mind. Don’t like it? Tough shit, buddy.” type of attitude. I’ve known very few people who are really like that, or at least to the extent to satisfy my needs (o wat an analogy~) in that way. Those people are dear to my heart to say the least. Well, Frank Zappa is just like that, so I’ve got the upmost respect and love for the guy.
He stands up for himself in what he believes in. He was very opinionated and stood up for his thoughts and backed it up in the way he acted and responded to anyone who disagreed. Yet, he seemed like quite the gentlemen despite all the wackiness and rebellious attitude to him, again, a few more things I really respect. He stands up for what he believes in and doesn’t let up in his ways of expressing himself like that, but he’s not a complete asshole about it either. That’s awesome.
His lyrics are pretty fucking great too. Frank was a man who was extremely devoted to his music, and for a long very time, all the way until he just couldn’t be due to his cancer. He was known for being a workaholic with his music and it reflects with his music in the end, he brought together multiple musicians in his musical acts, the basic rock instruments and some more, and he mixed it all into his own style. It’s his style. It’s like Rock, Blues, mixed in with so much more, just something that you can’t describe in words. It’s Frank Zappa’s style, whatever you want to call it. It’s something truly amazing to me.
Obviously, as you can tell that I’ve repeated a couple times, I’m inspired by the guy. So, naturally, I’ve studied about him, have tried to listen to as many songs from him as possible, have read his autobiography (Thank God he did one! So many others never did…), have done covers of his songs for the laughs and fun of it, have watched his interviews and movies, studied about his bands, kids, family, etc etc. I must sound like a fucking stalker or something but it’s true. I’ve been deeply fascinated by this musical genius.
I’m really at the point to where he’s about the only thing I listen to. Not long ago, before I started listening to Zappa, you could ask me, “Hey Hux, who’s your favorite musician/band?” I would have probably answered The Doors for band but you would see me pondering over the favorite musician part. There were musicians that wrote great music (Bob Dylan), ones that could play the guitar outstandingly (Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Steve Lukather, others), but there wasn’t really anybody who could play a guitar really well, write songs that are both great and funny, and have the ability to just be completely awesome and make others laugh. Now, Frank Zappa has appeared and folks, I say proudly that Frank Zappa is my favorite musician. No fucking doubt. Nobody comes close. It took me a long time to find a favorite musician and be completely sure that he or she was the one, but Zappa definitely is the one.
He has songs where he’ll do guitar solos that leave me in awe, he’ll have songs with his bands that are so fucking hysterical and catchy, and he’ll have his songs that are just so what the fuckish, that it just blows my mind. The moment I listened to the song He’s Soooooo Gaaaaayyyyy, I was absoulutely fucking hooked. It had me laughing like hell and I must have listened to it 20 something, 30 something, shit, I wouldn’t doubt if it was 50 something fucking times! From then on, I find a few more songs of his, some more of the silly funniness, then some of the really serious music, and boom! I am listening to Frank Zappa and absolutely loving it.
Luckily, he lived longer than a lot of musicians did and was an extreme workaholic. He made many, many, many albums (I’m not even sure how many, 60 at least though), he wrote an autobiography (in a style that I really enjoyed, multiple funny pictures, cool fonts, the works!), and was able to record a ton of music. That’s something I’m really grateful for because so many musicians I liked had so few songs and such out because they died so young. He was a true composer and considered himself one first and foremost when asked about his music and he definitely was one! Mixing up so much with that Zappa style, many great songs and albums were made and Thank God they were! I can listen to his stuff in any mood I’m in because their is so much different stuff that is just timeless. I consider myself lucky that someone like Zappa existed and made so much amazing music.
Did he do drugs? Nope, believe it or not, he wasn’t into drugs or alcohol. He was a clean thinker for his songs and didn’t experiment with anything to help him write songs. He didn’t need it. He was definitely into his cigarettes though, “Tobacco is my favorite vegetable” is a quote he told an interviewer during his dying days.
He’s all over my YouTube as well. I’ve got a playlist of all Zappa related videos that’s closing in on 100 videos. I listen to it pretty often, it’s my background music you could say.
I like his kids too. One more thing I like about Frank is that he gave his kids very unique names, even prior to listening to Frank, I’ve always thought giving offspring crazy, unique, rare names was a great thing to do. Maybe it’s because Justin is soooo damn common? At least, around here it definitely is. Blacks, whites, even Hispanics, I know many Justin’s. Don’t get me wrong, I do like my name but it’s just too common. Anyways, he names his first daughter Moon Unit, I love that name, she actually had a quite successful hit working with her father in a comedy song called Valley Girl, when she was 14 years old. Insane. Definitely a Zappa. His second child and first son is named Dweezil, after his mother’s stubby oddly shaped toe of all things, lmfao, and he’s a very good guitarist himself. He actually does tours called Zappa plays Zappa and he plays great covers of his fathers songs. He actually performed with Frank a few times at a young age and was quite damn good at that too. I hope one day I can see Dweezil perform. Then, there’s his third child and second son, Ahmet Zappa. Ahmet is also a musician and is popular for noting to people that his name rhymes with vomit. He and Dweezil did some performances together that were pretty good and funny, not quite to the extend of what their father did but still good nonetheless. Then, there’s his last child and second daughter, Diva Zappa. He named her that because she was the loudest baby in the hospital. Works. :P
Since I like Zappa for pretty much everything about him, I am trying my best to get anyone I care about to listen to Zappa, hoping they’ll enjoy his stuff. Hell, writing this, I’m hoping to get some people to check out Zappa but I’m sure by now, you’ve probably stopped reading or have skimmed by simply because this post is so long and says things that are way too similar or nearly the same. Well, hey, at least I’m nice enough to paragraph and use somewhat okay grammar. :)
Perhaps the thing I admire most about Frank was simply this; He lived his life the way he wanted to. Or at least, it really seemed that way to me. It seemed like he did what was on his mind, no matter how much heat he took for it, and he just had that beautiful mentality of, “Hey, I’m gonna tell you what’s on my mind. Don’t like it? Tough shit, buddy.” that I love so much. He went out, made extremely unique music that was catchy, funny, innovative, and flat out amazing to me. He acted the way he always did to the very end too, when he knew his life was coming to an end, sarcastic, witty, hilarious, definitely not afraid to express what was on his mind, just look up at what I’ve previously written above, he continued to act that way to the very end. I’ve got nothing but respect, admiration, and love for Zappa. Thanks for all you did, Frank. I’ll see you someday, bro.
How can I put it? I like the guy. Frank Zappa fucking rocks.
Steve Lukather, just a completely fucking insane guitarist, seriously, dude could duel Hendrix!
Okay, let me put this with one line. Steve Lukather’s concert I just got back from was easily the best concert I’ve ever gone to.
Okay, so dad and I got there about an hour before the show started. We were both hungry so dad gave me some money and I went downstairs by the bar/appetizers area and ordered my chicken wings and root beer from a lady named Dianne. She had short red hair, an angelic face, and looked quite great. She was probably in her early twenties if I had to guess. Anyways, it took a couple mintues for the food to be ready so I made conversation with her and we talked about some music, Lukather himself, Toto, Eric Clapton, and even Robert Johnson. That was pretty cool and the chicken wings were awesome.
Head back upstairs to our seats and dad and I chow down and talk, we were both amazed at how small the crowd was, the place couldn’t have been half full, it was ridiculous. Dad was even starting to wonder if Lukather would bother performing or only perform for a short time due to it.
Our stomachs kept growling so I went back downstairs to Dianne and got a brownie sundae type dessert and I talked to her once again, mainly just about how the crowd was so small and I asked her how she was enjoying her job at the place, etc etc. I’ve always thought stool seats at bar counters were a great place just to relax and talk, I’m not sure how or why, it’s just sorta right, like bread and butter.
The crowd never really did expand – Didn’t matter. Steve came out with a huge smile and he adressed the crowd warmly and with an outgoing presence that was just flat out awesome. He had other guys with him, a keyboardist who was his brother apparently, a guitarist, a bassist, and a drummer.
They played and from the very start, Lukather blew my mind away although I also noticed the drummer, who was this oversized black man in a Superman shirt, completely playing like a mad man. He didn’t even look at the drums, he had his eyes closed and shook his head as he played, just like Ray Manzarek of The Doors does when he plays! So that completely got my attention.
Song after song, I could feel my mind blowing, words can’t describe it folks, sorry, you would just have to be there. Steve could just play one string and it can sound not that loud one second but then just scream a terrific melody within seconds! It was unlike anything I’d ever seen before!! His solos, the way he encouraged each temporary band member by doing simple things such as patting their shoulders or butting heads with them to get their spirts up and encourage them, the way he talked to the crowd about his family and such, just his natural presence and smiling and such, it was all just fantastic and masterful stuff. I could see someone who was a great guitarist and great dude, I couldn’t help but feel myself just being amazed.
The drummer had me laughing really damn good too. In one part of the show, he and the keyboardist had a solo together and the drummer kept on playing and doing so many crazy styles, he was even pretending to run while hitting the drums and it was just so fucking hilarious and unlike anything I’d ever seen of a drummer! He was smiling and laughing the entire time and he was truly amazing himself, he was a hell of a drummer and hell of an entertainer! His entire shirt was just sweat drenched by the end of the show, the dude used a lot of energy and was insane. Honestly, that cat could easily put Ringo Starr or Ginger Baker to shame, no exaggeration on this. :D
The second guitarist was okay, nothing special. Although, how can you stand out when you’re on the stage with Steve Lukather? Still, the second guitarist did have a nice taste in guitars, he was playing Fender Strats and Teles, Gibson SG’s, and an Ovation acoustic. There were parts where he was off the stage as the others played, he wasn’t really needed in those, poor guy, haha.
The keyboardist was also good, he is apparently the younger brother of Steve, actually. What I enjoyed off the keyboardist was that he often jumped when he played and that was amusing and fun to watch. He was pretty cool.
The bassist was some young hispanic guy. He was okay as well, I’m sure he and all the others musical lives have changed due to that performance, probably a night he’ll never forget, it sure was one I’m not gonna forget either. :)
Okay, any answers are really and sincerely appreciated!
Here we go: Should I always spend some time dancing while smiling in the mirror and just basically dancing like a fucking loon while smiling the entire time and keep doing that each and every day until I die?? It’s seriously a lot of fucking fun for some damn reason! HAHA! Answers pleasse! Very much appreciated! Thanks! ;D
Ohh, I’ll blog about school and such some other time. It’s gone well so far. : )
Ohhhh, and I am going to a Steve Lukather concert tomorrow as well! I probably won’t be able to take photos due to the place most likely not allowing them, sorry guys. Will blog about that as well sometime.
One more silly request: Can you guys recommend any good music to dance to?? This and this have gotten me good so far, lmfao! :D
Well, I decided to re-decorate my blog again! I made the little banner header above with Bob Marley, Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, and Bob Dylan! Was quite easy to make actually, just google, copy/paste, and doing it all in the trustworthy “paint” section on the computer. Paint is almost as handy dandy and trustworthy as Rick Astley! Key word, almost. ;P
Do you guys know those Spicy Thai chips? Ever eaten those before? Those are painfully addicting I swear! I’ve managed to close the bag and not open it since night time started and all, but still, they are so damn good. Makes Pringles completely, ridiculously, utterly weak. Sorry Chuck Norris, there is no chance in hell you could eat only one, maybe that bassist fellow off Melee could. ;D
