jazzfest...

"What is it you love about music."

"To begin with, everything."
-Almost Famous

In my life, there are a few constants. One of those, is my absolute love for music. There's just something about it that so captivates my soul. Maybe it's just the way I grew up...listening to all kinds of stuff, from classic rock on vinyl to country music on the radio. Here's a shout out to my mama and pops for educating me so well on the joys of the beatles, elton john, ted nugent, pat benatar, captain and taneal, cheap trick, and so many others.

New Orleans has a great music scene. And I happened upon an opportunity to work at JazzFest, a yearly music festival that brings thousands of musicians to 12 stages to perform for two weekends. Kind of like Woodstock, except that this is JazzFest's 40th year, and Woodstock only happened once. I'm a dressing room manager for the blues tent, and let me just tell you, it's great. It's been awesome being part of the behind the scenes, backstage crew. It's been amazing meeting musicians that have been playing for decades. It's been interesting seeing the lifestyles and personalities of all the musicans that come through my stage. It's definitely busy, draining, exhausting, but totally worth it.

a birthday and a visitor...

last friday was my 21st birthday...and my cousin jacob flew in to celebrate with me. he got to see new orleans and treat me to one of my first legal drinks. here's some pictures from when we went to cafe du monde. (sorry for the silly pic, jake, but you totally asked for it when you made that face...)

before...

after...

cabin camping...

over easter weekend, the gang went cabin camping at tickfaw state park. it was nice to get away for a few days and just rest. here's a few pictures from my time there.

and for those of you who thought they only existed in the movies, a real life piggly wiggly. i think everyone should experience shopping at one of these stores sometime in their life. :)

that time of year...

it's that time of year again. the grass is cut, the fields are lined, the bases are out. yep. baseball season. and i couldn't be more thrilled. i've always loved this time of year. i guess that's just what happens when you grow up in a family that starts the countdown to opening day as soon as the world series ends. what can i say? it's just how we roll.

new orleans doesn't have a major league team...but between the colleges and the farm teams, there's lots of chances to see some good plays, some good hits, and go through a bag of peanuts. and seeing is great...but what i've really missed these last few years is being a part of the game. after playing fastpitch for 10 years...i've started going through withdrawls. so...this season i'll be assistant coaching an 11-12 year old girls team, and i'm stoked!

and just in case you're not full of baseball spirit yet, here's something that might help. ken griffey jr is back in seattle playing for the M's. the prodigal son has returned and he even hit a homerun in their first game. what can i say? i've gotta have a little hometown pride. :)

banksy...

have you ever heard of banksy? he's a pseud0-anonymous english graffiti artist. originally trained as a butcher, he became involved in graffiti during the late 80's. his art is often satirical and he uses topics like politics, culture, and ethics to convey a message. he came to new orleans in late august 2008,  the third anniversary of katrina, and produced a series of works, mostly on buildings left derelict since the storm. but he was also making a statement about a man from new orleans dubbed "the grey ghost". he's known for his trademark dull grey paint, used to cover up any and all street art and tagging in the city.

banksy did 14 pieces in new orleans. today, i found a few. hoping to find more soon, although a few have been completely covered, courtesy of the grey ghost...and others.

this piece...

looks like this now...

this piece wasn't originally all red...

and this one is my favorite... (it's also protected with a thick clear plastic cover)

i personally, love what banksy has done in new orleans. he's not just tagging to tag. his street art is just that--art. beautiful, impactful, sometimes harsh...but he's making statements, and it moves people.