24 hours

The reign of terror is finally coming to a close.

For a solid month, I have subjected my family and friends to endless posts and videos of the Rolling Stones as we got closer to tomorrow night’s show in Chicago. There will still be a few tonight, but then I’ll let up. At around this time tomorrow, the Stones should be taking the stage.

Who will be the special guest tomorrow? I am really hoping for Buddy Guy. I thought that’s who it was going to be for the Tuesday show in Chicago, but it was Taj Mahal. I still think Eddie Vedder will make an appearance and sing “Wild Horses” with them...but will that happen tomorrow night when we’re there, or will it happen Monday at the third and final Chicago show? I would love to see Eddie, too, but I really hope they bring out Buddy for a fired up Friday night crowd. I’m thinking “Champagne and Reefer.” If that happens tomorrow, I’m going to go batshit crazy. You have been warned, people.

I appreciate everyone being tolerant of me, and some friends were kind enough to say that they liked seeing my excitement and enthusiasm, and many are wishing me well. They know how much this means to me, and how much I am going to enjoy this show.

I saw them back in ‘89 with Cousin Shane in Indianapolis, on the Steel Wheels tour, and it remains my favorite concert ever. I made a poster of that experience, with my ticket stub, my armband, and pictures and articles from the Indianapolis Star. I suspect that the two Stones shows I’ve seen (after tomorrow) will be my #1 and #2 favorites of all.

There will soon be a 2013 companion poster to the ‘89 one.

I know it’s only rock and roll, but I like it. *sssss* I LIKE it.

Uh huh. Here comes the Inner Lizard.

Beth’s Music Moment: Rolling Stone Archives

Boy, I’m sure doing a lot of Music Moments lately! That’s because I’m having a lot of really good music moments these days!

Today’s came when I was sitting out on the deck catching some rays and catching up on some back issues of Rolling Stone that I hadn’t gotten to yet. Lots of good stuff. One of my favorite features is the back page, where they list the top 40 albums and a few other charts. The part I love the best on that page is the “From the Vault” box, where they show a past cover, a brief quote from whoever was on it, and the top ten singles at the time. Today’s just slayed me. Since I’m a subscriber, I get full access to their online archives, and I spent a brief time there today. I have to be careful there because I could easily get lost in reading old articles!

The issue in “From the Vault” was RS 250, from October 20th, 1977, and it was Johnny Rotten on the cover, with the headline “Rock is Sick.” But what really made me grin was seeing the top ten singles from that week:

1. Debby Boone “You Light Up My Life”
   
2. Carly Simon “Nobody Does It Better”
   
3. Shaun Cassidy “That’s Rock ‘N Roll”
   
4. KC & the Sunshine Band “Keep It Comin’ Love”
   
5. Heatwave “Boogie Nights”
   
6. Foreigner “Cold As Ice”
   
7. Commodores “Brick House”
   
8. Donna Summer “I Feel Love”
   
9. Meco “Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band”
   
10. Johnny Rivers “Swayin’ to the Music (Slow Dancin’)”
    

Now, I don’t hate all of the songs on that list. I think I even had a couple of the records (and “Brick House” is still a blast!). But all in all, it’s a pretty anemic list, and it brought back memories of how boring much of the radio was at that time, and how excited Shane and I were by punk rock and New Wave. We felt like, “YES, this is IT!” Punk was and is always my first love in music, and part of it is because of how exciting it felt to be caught up in it. That is the music of my young adulthood and college years, and they say that’s always what you love the best. That makes sense, because it sort of helps form who you are. Man, I remember that freakin’ Debby Boone song being at the top of the charts for weeks, and it was just so sappy and gagworthy. Shane and I were like, “Screw it, play the Clash and blow the pictures off the walls!” (We really did that once...”Death Or Glory” was the song, and we still laugh about it.)

I won’t argue that it was the most revolutionary change in music ever, because I’m sure people have said that about rap, hip hop, many other genres, and probably even Mozart, for that matter. But it was certainly revolutionary for me, and opened my eyes to a whole different world, one far beyond my small town. I think it’s fair to say that it changed my life. The juxtaposition of that cover and the top ten list brought all that back to me in a flash. Shane and I and our friend Steve were very much in the “Disco sucks!” crowd, although there weren’t too many of us at our school. In fact, I think we might have been it!

Also interesting and pertinent was this quote from Sid Vicious:

“The Stones should have quit in 1965. You never see [them] walkin’ down the street. If it gets so you can’t see us that way, then I don’t want it. But the entire American music industry is poised to turn you into the next big thing. They’ll suck out any integrity the band has.”

The Pistols were essentially a band manufactured by Malcolm McLaren, sort of the Monkees of the punk era. Sid couldn’t play for shit, although Steve Jones, the guitarist, could. The band flamed out in almost record time. But the music still stands up and it still rocks. Of course, Sid is long gone, and Mick and Keith and the guys are still out there making music. There might be a lesson there, but I’m not sure what it is. It’s more than a little ironic, though. Don’tcha think?

Beth’s Music Moment: Should I Stand or Should I Sit?

When I was waiting for Ken to get home last Friday so we could head out to the Smash Mouth show, I was getting psyched for the show and started to post a few Concert Rules. I don’t know what made me think of that, but I had fun with it. Hell, I’ve been to enough of ‘em over the years...I think it’s fair to say that I’m a seasoned concert-goer!

Some were just for fun, like “It’s not cool to puke anywhere other than the bathroom,” “It’s not cool to yell political rhetoric at the band” (Shane and our friend Steve and I still laugh about seeing REM at Notre Dame, and some guy by us yelling, “Michael, what about the Contras?!”), and “Guys, don’t push up against a girl...boners in the back are SERIOUSLY uncool.” Others were more serious, like “If someone is in distress, like if they get pushed down or hurt, HELP THEM.”

A couple were related, and are the subject of this entry. “Show the band some love. They’re working hard up there, and want to hear you’re enjoying the show” and “Don’t be a dick and tell the person dancing in front of you to sit down. It’s a concert, not high mass.” The latter generated a lively discussion. Some of my friends who are very much into music knew exactly what I was talking about, but a couple of others disagreed. (I would like to point out NOW that this entry is in no way a slam against them...it was an interesting discussion, and they had some valid points.) One said that no, they don’t pay a ton of money for tickets to have their view blocked by someone dancing...so don’t be a dick and block others’ views. One said “Dance on a dance floor. Sit in a seat.”

I just couldn’t disagree with this more. Certainly, there are some shows where you sit. I didn’t stand up and dance at Harry Connick, Jr., for example, except for the few times when everyone did; plus, we were in the balcony. But this was Smash Mouth, a band that I would put right up there at party level with the World’s Greatest Party Band, the B-52s, and we were in the third row. I feel that it goes back to the “show the band some appreciation” rule. I said that I doubt that any rock musician wants to see the crowd sitting politely. They want the crowd up and on their feet, having a great time. They’re rockin’ out up there, and they want us to rock out with them! So I decided to ask some musician friends their feelings on it.

Jim (My good pal from the lab days, and the guitarist for the local Cornerstone Blues Band...they’re great!) gave a thoughtful answer, saying that if you get seats on the floor for a rock show, you should expect that people are going to be dancing; but the only guy in the mezzanine standing usually is right in front of Jim. Haha! He also said that when he’s onstage, he wants to see the dance floor packed and people having a good time. My friend Cindy, who sings as Alice in an Alice Cooper tribute band (Malice Cooper in Winnipeg...judging from their videos, they’re great, too!) was also thoughtful, but more succinct, saying that it’s supposed to be a party, and that if the band is sitting, you’re allowed to sit...otherwise, get up off your ass!

I mentioned here that the guitarist for Smash Mouth, Sean Hurwitz, was a super nice guy, and we had exchanged a few messages. Since he is my new “pal” (Okay, I just follow him on Twitter and his artist page on Facebook...but he’s very willing to answer questions and interact with fans.), I thought, “Hey, maybe I can get his take on this!” The guy has had some real national exposure with several artists, and is doing an extensive national tour this summer with Smash Mouth, so I’d say that’s some serious cred. I sent him an admittedly rambling message explaining all this, and he messaged back something like “Beth...I’m not sure I understand what your question is. Did I miss something?” LOL I realized that I never really had asked a question. I had to laugh at myself, and responded:

As a performer, would you rather see people in the audience getting up and dancing, or do you think it's more important that people in the audience who DON'T want to stand up and dance have an unobstructed view? Like, is it cool for people to tell those in front of them to sit down at a rock show?

He very kindly sent me back this answer:

Look, my perspective is that it's all about what kind of show you're at. Gotta match that energy.

If I'm going to a Foo Fighters show, I BETTER not be sitting down, and if someone got up and started dancing in front of me, well then, that kind of comes with the territory. 

Now if I'm at a Jazz show where all the musicians are sitting down and the vibe is SUPER chill...well then that's a sitting down vibe (except for the couple dancing on the side). 

As a performer, I like to see MY energy, OUR energy, take over the crowd. 

If I'm jumping around all over stage during a rock performance and the crowd is just sitting there...that doesn't really work for me. It's a back and forth energy.

Ya feel me?

Sean

YES! I DO feel ya, Sean, and that’s exactly what I was getting at about showing the band some love. They’re up there working hard to entertain us (My friend Rick, Cindy’s husband and the drummer for Malice Cooper and a few other bands, says that it’s not unusual that he drops eight pounds during a show...holy shit!), and I feel it is my sacred duty (now for the future) as a fangirl to let them know that I appreciate it and I’m lovin’ what they’re doing. Part of that is getting up, getting crazy, and shaking my booty. Interesting that he mentioned a super chill jazz vibe...I responded that yes, I’ve been to Preservation Hall, and that’s an atmosphere where you sit and enjoy the musicians and no one gets up and dances. I also loved that “couple dancing on the side” remark. Very evocative and kind of dreamy. That’s a short story waiting to happen. [writing it down in my idea book]

So there you have it. I truly do get where my “don’t dance” friends were coming from, and I agree with it for certain shows—it can even depend on where you’re sitting. But for rock shows, especially a party band like Smash Mouth, the band feeds off of our energy. The crazier the audience gets, the better their show is going to be. It’s synergy, man, and who doesn’t love some good synergy? It’s a positive thing. Show the band some love. Get up, get crazy, come on, get happy! It will make the show even better, and we’re all there together to rock the joint, right?

For me, concerts can be a communal experience. I never felt that more than at the Springsteen show at Wrigley Field last September, where I really felt like I was part of a group of thousands of people experiencing over three hours of sheer bliss and everyone just grooving on the band and connecting in a very profound way. I try to approach every concert like that, and I get off on the crowd getting into it! I don’t doubt that I’ll feel that way this Friday night when we see the Stones in Chicago. So I totally get my musician friends’ remarks on this, and how they love to feel our energy as much as we love to feel theirs.

I got permission from Sean to share his response here. A major “thank you” to him for the nice response. You’re a peach, Sean! *mwah*

Boondockery

I have no idea how I missed out on these movies all these years, because after watching “Boondock Saints” and the sequel “Boondock Saints: All Saints Day,” they are instant favorites of mine.

I guess it’s just one of those things that flew under my radar until I became a big fan of “The Walking Dead” and one of its stars, Norman Reedus. I had always heard good things about the Boondock movies, so I picked up the movies recently.

Holy shit. What a blast. I wouldn’t say that these are deep movies, for the most part, but they are fun and violent and badass. The interaction between the twin McManus brothers is fantastic and had us both cracking up several times. It’s meant to be over-the-top, and a lot of the violence is played for laughs. (For those who want to say “violence is never funny,” calm down. REAL LIFE violence is never funny. Movie violence sometimes is.)

Some friends said that the sequel wasn’t quite as good as the original, and I would probably agree with that, but I still loved it. There was one scene that made me laugh so hard I said, “Let’s play that again!” and we did. (That one wasn’t a violent scene...it was a drunken, funny one.)

They reminded me a lot of Tarantino movies in their combination of violence and humor and excess. I suppose some might call them “derivative” of Tarantino, and to those people I’d say, “Get off the cross, Mary, we need the wood!” It’s a fun ride. Just enjoy it and quit thinking so hard. Or as I said recently about something else, “Just shut up and dance.” Sometimes I don’t want to be wooed...I want you to show me a nasty good time. Both Boondock movies do that, and some serious eye candy with Norman and Sean Patrick Flanery doesn’t hurt, either! But I loved these for many other reasons than the eye candy, and I will watch these multiple times.

And guess what, guys? A quick search turned up news that a THIRD MOVIE might be in the works, and it might have something to do with the Boston Marathon bombing. Murphy and Connor take on terrorists? THIS MUST HAPPEN! As late as 2012, it looked like it wasn’t happening, or at least Norman and Sean (yes, I’m on a first name basis with them!) wouldn’t be a part of it...but more recent news says that it might be in the works. *GASP* That would definitely be a theater movie for me...no way I’d wait for the DVD to come out! It would sure be a good time to do it. “The Walking Dead” is super popular right now, and Daryl is absolutely a fan favorite...it sure seems like a good idea for Norman to capitalize on that.

But only if they don’t kill off Daryl so Norman can do the movie! Don’t do it, AMC! If he needs to be away for an extended time for movie shooting, have him get separated from the group or something and come back later, but pleeeeeze don’t kill him!

Wow, two MAJOR thumbs up for these movies. Like I said, instant favorites for me, ones that I’ll go back and watch many times. As I mentioned on Facebook, I almost feel cheated that I missed out on these for so many years. I could have been enjoying them all this time! AGH! I also said that they made me want to blast some Dropkick Murphys and bust some heads! (Hmm...are the Dropkick Murphys named after Murphy McManus? I will check into that. No, they were not. They formed three years before the first movie was released. So was Murphy McManus named for the Dropkick Murphys? Enquiring minds want to know!)

Here is the trailer for the first movie. Badass!

Beth’s Music Moment: Smash Mouth LIVE!

Last night’s concert was at Four Winds Casino in New Buffalo, Michigan. We’ve been there a few times, but we had never been to this particular venue within the casino, Silver Creek Event Center. We decided to get a room and spend the night rather than drive back (it’s about 45 minutes away).

On the way up, we were jamming to a Smash Mouth CD, and I tweeted that we were heading there to see them, saying something like I hoped it was gonna be a kicky blast and the band would really bend the gig out of shape (Greg Brady quote that Shane and I still use all the time). The guitarist tweeted back at me, saying “We always do!” AGH! Awesome!

We get there and get checked in. It really is a beautiful place, with a winding drive through the Michigan woods, and the resort itself is all huge timbers and Native American decor. But we noticed the smell of cigarette smoke immediately. Good grief, it’s just pervasive and gross. At least we were able to get a nonsmoking room. As a former smoker, I try to be tolerant of others and I understand the addiction...but that doesn’t mean I don’t still think it smells gross.

Anyway, we get up to our room and have a beer and get unpacked, I do some makeup stuff, and then we head out to grab a bite at the Hard Rock Café in the casino. We had worried that we’d have to wait a while, but no problem at all. It was fun to see some memorabilia from some of my favorites, like the Stones, Johnny Cash, and Prince. We had a nice chat with our waiter, and he said that they’ve been getting some pretty good concerts there lately, so I’m going to have to keep my eyes peeled for fun shows there. We wondered if the band would stop in after the concert and he said chances were pretty good that they would...they were there all morning and were really nice guys. Cool!

Off to the show. We sat and drank our beers while the place started to fill up. We probably could have taken a little time to play some slots, but we both think slots are boring, and we weren’t in blackjack mode ($10 minimum tables, too), so it was okay sitting there for a bit. The band started pretty much on time. I had tweeted back at Sean Hurwitz, the guitarist, something like “Rock my socks off!” and he replied “Will do!”

And boy, did they ever! Let me channel my inner Stefon and say, “This show had everything! Super cool fuzzy guitar, leaping keyboardist, great songs that made you want to dance, people dancing onstage, invited up by the band, including a young teenage boy dancing with a couple of hot girls and having the time of his life. And a human spark plug.”

I’m afraid to ask...what’s a human spark plug, Stefon?

“It’s that thing when a midget wearing camouflage shorts gets on onstage and dances like a crazy person who’s been zapped with a cattle prod.”

Ohhh...yeah, that would be me. Ken took a few pictures, and I’m the short one in the picture up there. I sometimes don’t realize just how short I am, until I see pictures of myself around other people!

It really was just a total blast of a show, and I’d put it right up there with one of the funnest concerts I’ve ever been to. I’m glad I wore a tank top, because I worked up a real sweat! I waved my hands in the air like I just don’t care, I put my hands on my hips, and I let my backbone slip. They really did ask people to come up onstage a couple of times, and I’m not one to let an opportunity like that slip by! There was a girl next to me up there who also having a blast, and we exchanged a double high five and I said, “This is awesome!” It really was just sheer joy hearing this fun band and some music that I’ve loved for all these years. There were a couple of young kids up onstage, too, and the lead singer, Steve Harwell, was so cool with them. Just having fun and helping kids learn the joy of music! Yeah!

We headed back to the Hard Rock afterwards to listen to the band playing there, and Sean the guitarist tweeted me asking if we had fun. I had tweeted to him before the show “Bring it!” and after the show he responded, “Oh, we brought it!” I said, “Yes, you did!” I tweeted that if they’re heading to the Hard Rock, we’d buy him a beer. He said they were on their way. Cool!

He did indeed show up, and he couldn’t have been a nicer guy, even offering a picture with him before we asked. He didn’t linger long, but was nice enough to sit and chat for a moment. Turns out he’s only been with the band for a few months, but what a great addition. He meshes perfectly with them, and you can tell he has a lot of fun playing the music. I think it’s also great to see how he interacts with fans on Twitter. It seems that they were up at 4:30 this morning to get on the bus and head to O’Hare. Yikes...I slept until about 10:30! If you ever doubted, it’s hard work touring like that!

We also said hi to the keyboardist, Michael Klooster. He’s been with the band from early on, and he was also a really nice guy.

We didn’t stick around real late. The band playing there was kind of fun, but I think we were both a little wiped out from the concert. When we got back up to the room, I had more responses from Sean, saying that he was glad we liked the show and thanking us for offering to buy him a drink. I finally saw the picture of me and him and I totally cracked up. I hadn’t realized he’d flashed that tongue, and I said, “You better put that monkey on a chain!” Ken went to bed a little before I did, and jokingly asked, “You aren’t going to go meet the band, are you?” I laughed and said no, but I tweeted that to Sean and he said, “Sorry Ken.” haha

What a blast. For real. I had no idea they would be that good and that I would have that much fun. A complete blast of a show, and super nice guys to boot. Fangirl approved! If you get a chance, go see them! They’re on tour all summer, and it is an incredibly fun show. Ken and I were talking about it today, and agreed that it’s just FUN music. I’ve loved ‘em since “Fush Yu Mang,” and “Astro Lounge” was my favorite. I played the hell out of that album. It has such a retro, surf punk vibe, and you all know that I dig that, Daddy-O! Man, my neck is still sore from all the dancing. But it's a good kind of sore!

Hey, if my superhero identity is Fangirl, what would be my superpower? Hmm, I need to ponder that.

Look at some live Smash Mouth (pre-Sean as guitarist). This is my favorite song of theirs. See how much fun they are. Look at it. LOOK AT IT!

Bad, Bad Cindy

Did I ever tell you guys about that one time when I was in a hurricane? Like, literally IN one? Yes? You don’t need to continue reading. No? Well, kick back and sit a spell!

This happened back in 2005, and I was reminded of it the other day when we had a “group call” with our friends Kim and Steve. I can’t remember how it came up, but we had a laugh over it.

We met up with them in New Orleans for a week of fun, friendship, fantastic food, and fabulous music (I’m sorry I couldn’t think of a synonym for music that started with an F!). Like most southern coastal cities, New Orleans gets its share of pop-up storms, usually in late afternoon, but then it clears up. It happens to us often when we go to New Smyrna Beach.

Anyway, we had heard that a tropical storm was brewing in the Gulf, and we were trying to keep an eye on that. But we weren’t going to let it spoil our fun, and things didn’t seem to be too bad, so we headed out for some food, then to Fritzel’s European Jazz Club on Bourbon Street, which is always one of our stops. World-class jazz musicians play there, many of whom also play at Preservation Hall. It’s a bit of a different style of jazz, though. At Preservation Hall, they play the kind of jazz that you always think of when it comes to New Orleans. Fritzel’s has a much more European sound to the jazz there—DUH! It’s right there in the name!—and you see a lot of German signs and decor. It makes me think of a German beer hall, if that makes sense. I’m sure music scholars could explain the full differences between the two styles, but I’m not a music scholar, so don’t look at me!

It’s just really fun music, and the talent of the musicians is phenomenal. The bottom line is that if you’re playing on Bourbon Street, you’re GOOD. We enjoy it every time we go. We were having a great time that night with Kim and Steve, too, just diggin’ the music and the talent, talking and laughing. I seem to recall Kim having a Hurricane (the drink), which is kind of funny now that I think about it!

The doors to the clubs in New Orleans usually stay open, and it’s part of the charm of the Quarter. As you walk down Bourbon Street, you can hear the music spilling out into the street, and as you walk along you can go from Cajun/Zydeco to EDM to blues to jazz to straight up rock and roll. It’s a little slice of heaven for any music lover, and it’s part of the reason I fell in love with the city the very first time we went. It can also get pretty hot in these places, so the open doors help bring in the breeze. We were there in July that year, so the cool night air felt wonderful, and it felt even better when the wind picked up a bit.

We continued to enjoy the music and got really caught up in it. At one point, we looked outside and realized it was raining really hard, and that there weren’t a whole lot of people walking around out there, but that’s to be expected when it’s raining hard, right? There were still other people in the club, so we weren’t the only ones hanging out. The music was smokin’, and we were having a blast on Bourbon Street. Yay!

Things eventually wound down, and I can’t recall if we stayed until the band was done, or if we left during one of their breaks. Knowing us, I’m going to say that we probably closed the place down. So we head out to walk back to the hotel—it was only a few blocks, and the blocks in the Quarter are small—and when we got to the doorway, we stopped and went, “Holy shit.” It was just pouring, sheets of rain blowing down Bourbon Street, water running like small rivers in the gutter (since it was Bourbon Street, it wasn’t just water, either, believe me). The street was deserted, and we weren’t going to stand there and wait for a cab to go just a few blocks, so we all looked at each other, said, “Ready?” and we took off at a run.

We were all laughing and saying “oh my god oh my god” and at one point, I’m pretty sure I went “AGGGGHHHHH!” as I ran. I have never been out in such a torrential rain before, the winds were powerful, and we were all soaked to the skin in a matter of seconds. Even our shoes were soaked, and took a couple of days to dry out. We made it back to the hotel safely, if completely waterlogged, and it felt good to get out of our soaked clothes and dry off.

The storm blew through that night, and as we walked around the next day, we were surprised to see so much damage. Some of the glass in the gaslights was broken, trees were downed on cars, and at the Moonwalk, there were downed limbs and debris everywhere. We started realizing then that it was a pretty bad storm. It was Tropical Storm Cindy. We joked about being out in a tropical storm.

We enjoyed the rest of our week, and made it out just in time before they closed the airport because of Hurricane Dennis, which was supposed to make landfall that evening.

It wasn’t until a while after we got back that I was reading that they had upgraded TS Cindy to hurricane status. It was a Category 1, the lowest level, but it still packed a punch.

And that was the night I ran down Bourbon Street in a hurricane.

Fangirl unleashed

This week in the Twitterverse, I had two fun things happen.

First, on the night of the horrible tornado in Oklahoma, I was feeling pretty bleak and angry and just generally mad at the world. I know my limits and broke away from the news reports to get myself together. I follow several of the actors and crew from “The Walking Dead,” and David Morrissey, who plays the Governor, tweeted a video of Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash singing “Jackson.” It was such a welcome diversion, so I responded to it. And he responded back!

Dudes! The Governor tweeted back at me! I did my best to be cool, but decided to tweet back once more. When I got up the next morning, I had another response from him and I was like “WHOA!”

I loved it that he was “soooo” jealous! Well, I mean I never intend to make anyone jealous...it was just so cool to me that here I am a fan and follower of his, and he’s got people that he is also a fan of. Know what I mean? Of course, who doesn’t love Johnny Cash? If you don’t, show yourself so I can punch you in the face! haha Not really. But I will lecture you on why he is one of the greatest artists EVER. Anyway, it was so cool that he responded and in such a nice way. He seems like a very cool and fun guy, the polar opposite of his psychotic character.

My niece Jen commented almost exactly what I was thinking...that sure, he’s all charming on the surface, but don’t fall for it because he’s crazy on the inside, and did I learn NOTHING from Andrea?? (Fans of the show know what we’re talking about!) The Twitter exchange itself made me happy, and then Jen’s comment made me even happier. Great minds, I’m tellin’ ya!”

The second fun thing happened when Ron Wood, the Rolling Stones guitarist, posted a picture of himself in a suit he’d just gotten. Black cashmere. Sharp. I thought, “Why not?” and responded.

And he favorited it! AGH! Ronnie Wood, man! Not quite as exciting as a tweet back, but damn, if it didn’t totally send this fangirl trippin’.

I suppose some would say, “Aren’t you getting a little too old to be acting like this?” Screw that. I’ll never get too old to be a fangirl. I’ve never gotten as involved in a show as I have “The Walking Dead,” and I’ve loved the Stones for years. Those who know me know how much music has meant to me for almost my entire life. When Ron Freakin’ Wood favorites one of your tweets, it is a BIG DEAL.

These are some of the things that make life fun and exciting for me, and I will always be an unapologetic fangirl. Thanks, David and Ronnie, for making me smile!