My woman has a party trick, and it kind of involves self-mutilation. She can write on her skin. No, not with a pen or a Sharpie. She can actually write on her skin just by pressing down, and after a few minutes the letters rise up from nothing. It's called dermographism, or "skin writing," and I wish I could do it. At first she thought it was a rash caused by an allergy, but it's actually just something her skin does. As it turns out, a lot of people have this, and they draw all sorts of crazy things on their bodies. Watching people's reactions to this is pretty hilarious; but after fifteen minutes, the creation disappears, leaving the canvas blank for the next group of unbelievers.
It's a warm, windy night in Miami. Tomorrow, Rayvon Owen and I play our final show of the week at St. Leo University, just north of Tampa. We've had a great couple of gigs so far, starting up at the University of Akron. My roots run deep in Akron, Ohio, which is close to where my Dad grew up. Eventually, he moved west, met my mom, and the rest is history. So I bet if you had told him back then that his kid would someday be flying back to his hometown to play a show, he probably wouldn't have believed it. But here we are, doing just that. Even some of my extended family was able to show up to support us, which was amazing (thank you guys!).
Today we played Broward College, outside Ft. Lauderdale. Every college show is a unique experience: sometimes we play huge events with big stages, lights, and sound systems. Other times, we set up in the school cafeteria at lunch with a glorified boombox behind us. We never know, and I guess it keeps us on our toes. Today's show was no exception: we set up in the student red room and performed during a FIFA tournament. I know that might sound glamorous, but let me explain: college dudes (maybe one or two girls, but mostly dudes) sat in lounge chairs and stared at two large televisions connected to Xboxes while our little show was squeezed in directly to the right of the gameplay. Us vs. video games...rough. If anybody could win their attention, it would be Rayvon, and while the soccer games raged on, we did manage to find our crowd and gain some new fans. That's all we can wish for with these shows- a few new followers to add to the count, a few more albums sold, and another impression on the thick skin of America's next generation of music listeners. Let's just hope we're not a party trick that disappears fifteen minutes after we leave campus. I want to be in the business of musical tattoos.
Ross
Upcoming shows: Rayvon Owen @ the mint September 30th
Ross Bridgeman @ Silverlake lounge October 30th
(Jill's arm with a little cursive skin writing)
It's a warm, windy night in Miami. Tomorrow, Rayvon Owen and I play our final show of the week at St. Leo University, just north of Tampa. We've had a great couple of gigs so far, starting up at the University of Akron. My roots run deep in Akron, Ohio, which is close to where my Dad grew up. Eventually, he moved west, met my mom, and the rest is history. So I bet if you had told him back then that his kid would someday be flying back to his hometown to play a show, he probably wouldn't have believed it. But here we are, doing just that. Even some of my extended family was able to show up to support us, which was amazing (thank you guys!).
Today we played Broward College, outside Ft. Lauderdale. Every college show is a unique experience: sometimes we play huge events with big stages, lights, and sound systems. Other times, we set up in the school cafeteria at lunch with a glorified boombox behind us. We never know, and I guess it keeps us on our toes. Today's show was no exception: we set up in the student red room and performed during a FIFA tournament. I know that might sound glamorous, but let me explain: college dudes (maybe one or two girls, but mostly dudes) sat in lounge chairs and stared at two large televisions connected to Xboxes while our little show was squeezed in directly to the right of the gameplay. Us vs. video games...rough. If anybody could win their attention, it would be Rayvon, and while the soccer games raged on, we did manage to find our crowd and gain some new fans. That's all we can wish for with these shows- a few new followers to add to the count, a few more albums sold, and another impression on the thick skin of America's next generation of music listeners. Let's just hope we're not a party trick that disappears fifteen minutes after we leave campus. I want to be in the business of musical tattoos.
Ross
Upcoming shows: Rayvon Owen @ the mint September 30th
Ross Bridgeman @ Silverlake lounge October 30th