8/28/16

Before I post part 3 of "I Never Ever Saw the Stars so Bright," I wanted to give you all a quick update on what's been going on.

Since getting back from my Phish adventure with Dylan, things have been pretty quiet. I've been trying to keep busy by writing in my journal, listening to music, playing music, cooking, and doing volunteer work. My record collection has been increasing. On the first day of this month, I got an email from The Killers Victims fan club stating that The Killers' second album Sam's Town was going to be re-released on vinyl this October in honor of its 10th anniversary. A limited edition pressing that included two discs, a booklet, and a bonus 45 was made available for pre order. There were only about 5,000 copies of that version available. It was an opportunity I couldn't pass on, so I immediately jumped on it and pre-ordered mine. That turned out to be a good idea, for the minute the order went through, the pre-order sold out. I'm stoked and cannot wait until it arrives in the mail.

I've been getting back into a band that I have liked for many years: the Jonas Brothers. I started thinking back to when I first saw them on TV back in 2006 and became inspired to begin playing the guitar. I found my CD of their 2007 self-titled album and gave it another listen while driving one day. I can safely say with complete confidence that that is my favorite pop album of all time. The songs are memorable, sophisticated, and likable. To this day, my biggest concert regret is not seeing them while they were together. I missed what turned out to be their final concert at the now demolished Gibson Amphitheater back in 2013. I will always regret that. Nick Jonas is still doing music, so my goal is to see him one day, since he was the one member of the band I really paid attention to musically. Some may simply disregard him as just another teen pop star who will soon be forgotten, but I have always admired his talent. He was the driving force of the Jonas Brothers. He played the most instruments, wrote most of the music, and wrote most of the lyrics. I only just now discovered his solo discography and ordered a vinyl copy of his latest solo album the other night.

I will be attending my fifth Yes concert tonight at the Arlington Theatre in Santa Barbara. We decided to try a venue different from the Orpheum this time around. We began to regret that decision, but I found out something last night that made me feel differently: Trevor Horn will be joining the band onstage as a guest musician. I can't believe it. What are the odds? I'm way excited to hear Drama in its entirety along with sides 1 and 4 of Tales from Topographic Oceans. We'll see how this goes...