J U L Y 0 3
The beach, the band, and bar mitzpahs - that's July 2003 in the proverbial nutshell. The TFA Chronicles were finished up with chapters seven and eight, and Dave also posted a short story he wrote in college called Real. Actually, Dave wrote everything this month, because it was summer vacation for him. Andrew was up in Baltimore for quite a while, helping drink 180 sodas. Don, Jeff, and Eugene came to visit for a teary-eyed Okay Samurai Reunion. Dave also announced plans for the new CD, The Possibility War, and thought that the new Harry Potter book rocked.
Okay Samurai Baltimore Reunion
Eugene, Don, and Jeff came up to Baltimore this past weekend. As soon as everyone walked through the door, it immediately became just like old times. (I'll post a few pictures next week.)
We started out at the Inner Harbor and rocked the ESPN Zone. Andrew beat me 5-4 in air hockey, but not without a surrounding crowd and hitting a girl with a stray puck. Eugene and Jeff played basketball and Don broke 100 on the football throwing game. Then it was off to Don's recommendation for dinner: The Cheesecake Factory. We sat outside with a nice view of the water and devoured whatever appetizers and desserts were thrown at us. Back at 103, we sat on the deck for a couple of hours while Don, Andrew and I played through every Second Nature and Okay Samurai song we could think of on acoustic guitars and bongos.
Don brought a video of our first show ever - Janine Mason's 18th Birthday Party. The group viewing was humbling and hilarious. Eugene was allergic to a cat and spent the night huddled in a corner with puffy eyes. Don's distorted guitar drowned everyone out and Andrew let our friend Tony Weeda play drums for a song. My Richmond Braves hat covered my eyes, which were consistently staring at the ground. It was often painful to watch, but we were always laughing while struggling through Glycerine or switching instruments for Mercury Rising / Janitor Chaos. Watching the video of our 2002 JMU Mainstreet February 27 show was a necessary follow-up, where our stage presence and talents had significantly improved (but that's not exactly saying a lot).
We met up with Mike, Mel, Jason, Sarah and others at the Federal Hill bars that night - Ropewalk, The Thirsty Dog and McGerk's. When we got back home around 2, Andrew and I played through Pour Some Sugar On Me and Mosquito loud enough to wake everyone in Fell's Point. Jeff, Don and Eugene jumped around my room and sang along. Then we took a driver and 36 practice golf balls and hit them off of the Christmas-lights-lit deck. Most went into backyards or the nearby alley, except for Eugene's drive right into the railing of our deck...that one left a mark. When it was finally bedtime, Eugene stayed in my room and could not get to sleep. We stayed up until 6 doing impressions of Ben Park in Mrs. Jurinski's 12th grade Calculus class ("Hey Shea, what'd'ya get for number 7? Hey Shea, what college are you going to?") and talking to each other in Korean.
It was great seeing everyone again after such a long hiatus. I think everyone other than me will be in the DC area next year, so I'll hopefully be able to see the old band together again on my vacations. I am working on the compilation CD as I write this, but it probably won't be finished until next week. I'm also recording some acoustic stuff in the hope of immediately playing some solo shows in Atlanta come September. I figure it's now or never, huh?
Andrew and I went to Kings Dominion with my college roommate Jed yesterday and rode the Rebel Yell four times - 3 times backwards, once forwards. We also caught Pirates of the Caribbean last night - awesome movie, and Johnny Depp's character is beyond cool. I had the greatest dream about fighting off pumas with swords last night in someone's backyard. One more week in Baltimore - I move back home next Wednesday.
Tuesday, July 29 at 12:26 PM
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