The Bona Blues

I didn't get a chance yet to talk about our last band practice at Bona Signs, even though it was really awesome.  And now that Adam posted some sweet pictures on Facebook that he took with his nice SLR camera, I figure it's about time that I show them off a bit.

Two weeks ago, we had our second practice at the Bona Signs warehouse in Springville.  It was about as long as the first one, and once again we got a lot done, working on new and old songs, as well as some sweet covers we're trying to hammer out for our next shows.  There was, however, one very big difference that set this practice apart: the lighting.

In the center of the warehouse was a large, LED message board, like what are used on huge electronic marquees on billboards and at shopping malls.  Just drive down the freeway for 20 minutes--or even down state street in Orem so you can get blinded by the Supersonic Car Wash sign--and you'll know what I'm talking about.  We actually took our band promo pictures in front of a similar message board back when we were preparing our album.

Anyway, halfway through the practice, Brian shut off the main lights as Blue turned on the message board, bathing the warehouse in an eerie blue light.  It really made it fun to practice, as it almost made it feel as if we were at a show with stage lighting.

It also made for good practice, because it really tests your skill when you have to play an instrument in the dark, as you can't see what frets your playing and really have to rely on memory and feel.  Back when I played in my old band 2 The Same, and when I first started with Formerly So, I used to practice to the songs in my basement with the lights off and only the computer monitors to give me light, so that I could get used to it.  But it even close to the same.

It was definitely a band practice to remember, and really got us excited to hit some future shows, and to finish up all of the new songs we have in the hopper that are super close to being completed.

36 Holes in Two Days

Last weekend was the long-awaited golf trip that my Dad, my brother Easton, and I had planned months in advance.  We spent three days down in Mesquite, NV, as well as southern Utah, hitting some major golf courses and just having an all-around good time.

Now, I'm not a huge golfer.  In fact, before this trip, the last time I had been golfing was before my mission, meaning it had been at least four years, if not five.  I had the same set of clubs since when I was about fifteen or sixteen, and they weren't the best.  But the night before the trip, my dad and I hit Big 5, where we found an amazing left-handed set by South Bay that included 12 clubs, for only $129.  I didn't buy them, but the next morning my dad spent awhile on the phone with the manager, and talked him down to selling them for $97, and of course I jumped on that.  And I must say, they were definitely worth the money.

So, on Thursday afternoon after picking Easton up from school, we made the journey down to Mesquite, where we stayed at the Virgin River Motel & Casino.  We always stay at the Virgin River because not only do they have great prices and nice rooms, but their prime rib in their cafe is to die for.  And it's only five bucks.

Friday afternoon was our first round of 18 holes, at the Palms golf course...the one that is always advertised on TV on the Casablanca Resort and Casino commercials.  It was a beautiful course, and was a ton of fun.  I was actually impressed with how well I did, and attribute a lot of it to the new clubs.  Beginner's Luck played it's part as well.

The course had just about everything, with a ton of water shots, shorter par 3's, and even a sweet hole where we had to hit off a cliff into a valley below.  It was amazing.  Our tee time was at 2:30pm, which is considered a twilight tee time, and there was a good chance that we wouldn't be able to get all 18 holes in before it got dark.  But, with the moon in the sky and the sun going down, we finished the last hole and still made it back to the motel before it was completely dark.

The next morning we got up at 5am (Nevada time), packed up, ate breakfast at the cafe, and headed to Apple Valley, UT, for the Kokopelli golf course.  For those of you who don't know (and neither did I), Apple Valley is just past Hurricane, UT, near St. George.  We were actually comped the golf game by a friend of my dad's named Mike, who works on the magazine Fairway Golf.  It was really cool of him to do that, especially because the course is well-known and very expensive.

It was extremely windy on the course for about the first 10 holes, but it was still amazing, with tons of cliff/valley/canyon shots, and a sweet par 3 hole where we hit from one hilltop to another, shooting over the cart path down below.  It was very cool.  And at the end of the 18 holes, we were even given chicken enchiladas for lunch.  Can't beat that.

So, this weekend turned out to be a much-needed, relaxing vacation for all three of us, and it reminded me why I used to love golf when I was a teen.

Bingo!

This past weekend my friend Andrea and I made a day trip to Wendover, taking what is known as the "Fun Bus."  For those of you who don't know, Wendover is a town bordering the Utah-Nevada state line, and is known for its many casinos, as well as being the scene for a ton of movies, including Con Air and The World's Fasted Indian.

The Fun Bus, was exactly that...a whole lot of fun.  The driver's wife was the emcee, and she was hilarious!  On the drive to Wendover, it's tradition for the passengers to play a game of bingo, being able to win dollar bills and little gifts and prizes.  The whole thing was pretty wild for several reasons.

First, Marsha (the bus driver's wife) shouted that our bus didn't have a PA system, and that she would have to speak loudly to be heard.  But then she noticed a toy voice modulator on the seat next to her...who knows why.  (A voice modulator looks like a megaphone, but transforms the voice, usually with a few settings like Darth Vader, Child, Robot, and Alien)  Thinking it was a megaphone, she picked it up and used it to give the Bingo instructions, sounding like C3PO the whole time.

The bingo cards we used were made to be portable, with little red, transparent windows that you could slide over the number if it was called out.  Instead of balls that were drawn to give the numbers, Marsha had some playing cards with letters and numbers, that she was supposed to use to call out the numbers during the game.

The way we played was with a letter at a time, trying to win by columns, as Marsha thought this would be easier.  That means she would only call out the B's first, and whoever got them all first would win.  But what Marsha didn't realize is that she was supposed to move on to the next letter after a winner was announced. Instead she called out every single number to each letter, meaning that everyone on the bus called out Bingo! five times that day.  It was sad (and funny) that neither Marsha, nor her daughter who was helping, didn't realize their mistake, and Andrea and I couldn't help but laugh as we overheard her say, "Wow, there sure are a lot of winners tonight."

The night was fun after we got to Wendover.  We were given five dollars in cash, a voucher to a free meal at the buffet (the regular price being $19.95), five dollars free play on the slots, and some Lucky Bucks for the tables, which I didn't use.  It was way fun.  The buffet was awesome, as it always is, with prime rib, seafood of all kinds, and anything else imaginable.  It was delicious, to say the least.

I brought fifty bucks with me for the trip, fifteen for the bus ride and the rest to play around with.  I wasn't a "big winner," but after all was said and done, I got back on the bus to go home--at 3am because of daylight savings time, meaning I climbed into bed at 6am--with fifty bucks still in my wallet, meaning I not only didn't lose any money, but I also won back the money it cost me for the bus.

So overall, it was a fun little mini-adventure.

Band Practice at Bona

Last night was pretty awesome.  After working a shift until 4, I picked up Tim (guitarist in my band) and together we headed down to Springville to the Bona Signs warehouse, where Blue, Brian, and Adam (Formerly So guitarist, drummer, and sound tech, respectively) work.  They had gotten there hours earlier, setting up our PA system and the drum set, so that when we all showed up we could have a long, thorough band practice.

We practiced from about 5pm until around 11pm, and got a lot done.  We worked on every one of our songs, old and new, we hit a bunch of the cover songs we play (even some we haven't played in months), and worked on some new songs as well.

Overall, it was an awesome night, and even though I got home feeling more sore than after a day of snowboarding, I had a great time hanging out with some of my best friends and playing the guitar.  I'm looking forward to the next jam session.

It Begins...

Well, it's happened.  I've found the need to create my own blog.  Why?  I'm not exactly sure, but I suppose there are a few reasons.  What really got me interested is a zombie book I've been reading.  Yeah, you heard me right, a zombie book.  It's actually called Feed, by Mira Grant.  It's about life after the zombie apocalypse, and how life goes on.  I've been reading some good zombie books lately, and this one not only has some good action, but also hits on some interesting topics, like the media.  In this story, blogging has become a huge element of national news, because they don't have to go through so much red tape to get the news out there.  So while reading, I thought to myself that I might as well get one going too.

I also figure that with a blog, I will be able to post some pictures of what I've been doing with my band, as well as anything else interesting (or not) in my life, without having to rely only on Facebook.  So, let's see where this takes me, and if it lasts.