everybody is talking about the Oscars… and the Annual Academy Award Celebration is just around the corner from here :) I am tempted to go. Then again, I am not. I like to watch the Oscars from the comfort of my couch. But one of these days, I’ll go and check out the red carpet ;)
You probably must be thinking that I am CRAZY for living so close to Hollywood and not going to check it out, but honestly, the hype about the Oscars is a little bit too much for me and there is currently nobody for whom I would wait around for hours. Maybe next time ;) Between us, I like to look at the outfits and it’s much easier to do so on the TV screen!
Last Monday, we went to an “Open Mic” in Hollywood at the well-known “Rainbow Room”. J and Aaron have played there before and this time I was able to go with them. It was a pretty small room upstairs of the Rainbow Bar and Grill and there was a tiny bar to the left and a lowered stage to the right. We arrived a little early and sat down at a table close to the stage. Sign ups for bands and comedians were at 7:30 p.m. and the “Open Mic” started at 8 p.m.
What Generation was third on the list. The first singer [a single guy with his guitar] was pitiable. It was not that he was totally off key or anything, but his voice… well, it was basically not there… it was more an aspirate than anything.
The second guy was ‘supposedly’ a comedian, although I couldn’t find anything funny about his 10 minutes monologue. J referred to him as “the guy who comes here to talk about his day because he doesn’t have anybody else to talk to at home”. Yes, that pretty much sums it up. Not funny AT ALL.
Then What Generation was next. Let me put it this way: they left an impression. They played two songs, one cover and one original song and people liked it. Some even came up to them afterwards to compliment them. This is way more than we could hope for – after all, “Open Mics seem to be a platform for any kind of artist, in the common and in the uncommon sense ;)
We left shortly afterwards. I wanted to stay and see what the other people had to offer, but to be honest, after the first two “failures”, I didn’t expect much more later on.
The next day, J got a call from the organizer asking if they were interested to play a show.
Sure, What Generation would LOVE to play a show, but the catch is that they won’t let you play a show [30 minutes to an hour], if you don’t bring at least 15 people. Ha, where should we get 15 people? The band doesn’t have a fan base YET, and even if we had 15 friends here in LA, how do we make sure they all come to the show? It’s ridiculous and I think that there should be other ways to get people to come to the “Open Mics”. So J sadly rejected and said that they would still come and play the Open Mics until they’ve built a fan base.
Anyhow, this was a nice start, don’t you think?!
They wanted to play two other Open Mics last week, but then one of their guitars needed some fixing and the second Open Mic turned out to be a misinformation, so now they’re planning for next week again. There is one place in Santa Monica which does an Open Mic on Fridays and then they pick the best act of the night to play a showcase on Saturdays [when naturally people go out to the bars to party :)]… smart idea! So they might go and play there next week.
Friday I went shopping and, call me a penny-pincher, but I was appalled about the price difference of certain products in two different locations. I do understand that brand name stuff is more expensive than generic brands, but that there are price differences up to $2.50 for the SAME product at different stores is just unbelievable.
Well, good for me I guess that I found out, because now I know where to buy certain products and save a ton of money :)
kim
February 26, 2007 at 12:13 amthat’s bulls*it with the 15 people that you have to bring. i mean on the one hand, this way the organizer makes sure that there’s at least a bit of a crowd and atmosphere, which is good for him but of course also for the band but still… on the other hand it may be hard even for someone with a bunch of friends in the area to make sure they all go out on a weeknight… the way this other place does it sounds like a good idea actually. fingers are crossed that they get a gig real soon. :)
we watched a bit of the pre-red-carpet show last night and i was thinking of you. it’s so cool that you live so close but honestly, i can totally understand why you’d wanna stay home. i would probably do the same. or have a girly get-together with some friends to watch it on TV ;)
oh and, did you try to call a couple times within the last few days? sometimes, when we get an “unknown” we don’t answer especially with the crazy weeks lately… let me know if you plan on trying and i’ll be on the look-out! big *smooch*
Susi
February 26, 2007 at 2:55 amHey hun, sounds great! Tell Jon my best and congrats! I am a big fan already! Two more years and they are going to play in the “Hollywood Bowl” :-)
See ya soon!!
Smooches
sanna
February 26, 2007 at 5:51 amYeah smart shoppers can save a heck of a lot of money especially when you look out for sales, too.
So nice to read about J and A’s success! I hope they’ll get the Sat. gig in Santa Monica. That’d be awesome!!!!
And yup, the gowns are the best part of the Oscars. :)
ute
February 26, 2007 at 8:21 amoh my gosh i totally forgot that you live so close to the oscars. i will come visti you next year and we will go. :-) gosh i would give my life to meet ellen. hehe. congrats to jon! thats awesome!! big big hug
infineon
February 26, 2007 at 11:23 amyou just make us more and more curious.. when will we finally be able to actually HEAR anything from them? you need to upload a couple of songs. seriously. :)
Caty
February 26, 2007 at 2:47 pmoh yeah I wanna hear their songs, too!
and I would so go to the Oscars, just to see it once. Its like with new years eve on times square you just have to do it once in your life (btw its so worth it). Eventhough I was kinda disappointed from kodak theater I would still go!=)
smoochies
Antje
February 27, 2007 at 1:10 amGreat to hear that J and A delivered such a good performance! Fingers are crossed that they can play in Santa Monica!
Oh well tell me about price differences… Since prices are horrendous here in Sweden I go through the leaflets every Monday and cut out cupons. Luckily there’s Lidl and Netto, where basic items are costing about one third compared to the brand stores. So I just buy the more luxery things at the latter.
In California I found Food 4 Less ok pricewise for certain staple items.
Stefanie
February 28, 2007 at 2:13 amIs Jon on myspace with his band? Then we could listen to some songs… plus it is a good platform (is that even the right word in English?) for bands! Good luck to him and A! :)
Jen
February 28, 2007 at 4:55 amYeah… the Oscars are overrated! I loved that Ellen was hosting them… I think she was the most real thing on the whole ordeal!!