Ask me anything
Recent Responses
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No doubt it's Red Elephant! I LOVE their pizza!
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Facebook, Twitter, I Can Has Cheezburger and job search engines.
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Selling band merch at shows! Technically its not a job because I never got paid, but I didn't care. I was having fun and helping. I'm not happy at a show unless I'm doing something to help the band(s). Its been a while since I've been in my favorite spot at a concert (behind the merch booth), I miss it!
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I want to see State of Man on tour with InPassing. Yes, tour. Not just one show. My mind wouldn't be able to take one, it would need several dates to ease into it without having my brain explode from the sheer awesomeness of seeing two of my favorite bands together.
State of Man - "Swallow Your Fears"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Io0ar7HA1BM&feature=fvw
InPassing - "Say To Me"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9aaidc1lrs -
Nope.
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John Smoltz, Chipper Jones, and Andruw Jones have always been my top three. Brian McCann is pretty awesome too. I can't pick just one!
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My worst concert experience was when I went to see a friends band play in Dothan. Got the cold shoulder treatment and that really pissed me off because I'd driven three hours to be there to show my support. Not much of a friend, huh?
My best experience? Probably when I went to see Waking Ashland and Jamison Parker play at a coffee shop, also in Dothan. I ran into Parker Case at the mall before the show. I was listening to his CD at the FYE and I was too embarrassed for him to see (now that I look back that was stupid to be embarrassed) so I hid it under a stack of other CDs. It was the only copy the store had, and he was looking for it! Later that night at the coffee shop I sat down on a couch across from Jonathan Jones. He was on his laptop, on MySpace apparently, because he looked at me kind of funny, then his computer, and back at me before saying "Kerri?". Haha he'd just read a comment I'd left him the day before. It was unreal, I was on cloud 9. Jonathan and the rest of Waking Ashland were my guardian angels back then. I'd brought along a copy I had of their very first EP (that they pressed themselves) and they were beside themselves over seeing it. I ran into Jonathan years later, with his current band We Shot The Moon, and it was like picking up where we left off in that coffee shop. He always seems to show up in my life when I'm feeling my lowest and am in need of a hug, that's why I call him my angel... such a sweet guy. -
Nope, no computer games for me.
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Guantanamo Bay, Cuba! Yep, the infamous US base.
I went with a band called State of Man who were going to play an Independence Day show for the troops stationed there. In the downtime we went fishing in the bay, visited one of the beaches, and probably the coolest part (aside from the spectacular Fourth of July show the guys put on!) was the VIP tour of two of the detainee camps. I was scared out of my mind haha but obviously we all made it through that okay. Security was pretty intense.
Here's the blog I wrote about the trip:
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
Where to begin? I guess I will start with an unofficial military slogan, hurry up and wait. No complaints, I actually find it a little funny. Musicians are notoriously late anyway ;-). I didn't know any details about the flight until the day before I was to leave. I'd call James every few days asking if he'd heard anything about our flight. I am a planner by nature, and if I don't know something I feel I need to know I tend to go batty, but I mellowed out pretty fast. Heck, I was going to Cuba with one of my favorite bands. Nothing could get me off the high that this knowledge created.
Arriving in Jacksonville the night before, I had a 5am wake up call and a 6am continental breakfast before departing for NAS Jax at 7am July 1st, waiting for the rest of the crew to show up at the gate. There were 14 of us total. I hope I can get the names/spelling right… Anne, Michelle, Andria, Kathy, Jason, Bram, Leon, Shawn, cutie pie Ethan, John, Chris, Thomas, and James. The flight to Guantanamo Bay was with Miami Air International, I hadn't been on a plane in eight years and was a little nervous but sitting next to Jason who is a pilot helped ease the butterflies. We arrived in Cuba after being in the air two hours. Departing the plane it felt like I was stepping into an oven. Wearing anything less than SPF 50 In Cuba is a bad idea as is not wearing bug repellant… you will be eaten alive otherwise. You can't see them either, these bugs are tiny! Smaller than a period, but more annoying (penctuation versus Aunt Flow… come on, don't tell me you didn't get it! …I thought it was funny anyway…).
At the airport after having to line up our bags for a dog to sniff at a security checkpoint we met up with the awesome Carissa who was our go-to guide-type person (official title? Guys? help me out...) for the trip (dubbed Care Bear by the band, I was confused at times because I also have that nickname :-P) and had to get on a ferry to the part of the island where we were staying. While waiting on the ferry, a crab was discovered in the ladies restroom. I wonder how it got in there. At check in we saw our first Iguana of the trip. It was a big'un! These creatures are protected on base and are each worth $10,000. You better hope you don't run over one! Even with a speed limit of 25 mph, they can still move fast and catch you off guard. There was a stop at the Navy Exchange for food where I also had to buy some sunglasses because I forgot my pair at home. Supper at the Jerk House followed by a comedy show at the Goat Locker featuring Mike Speanburg, JR Brow, and Scotty K. There was one other comedian but we missed his act and I can't remember his name.
The next morning I ate a yummy omelet that Leon cooked, and downed a glorious Ibuprofen (I also forget to bring meds! Ack!) After eating everyone spent a good solid four hours sunning at Windmill Beach (I'm proud to say I did not burn!). After eating a late lunch, sound check was on the schedule for that night's acoustic show at the Goat Locker. I went with the guys while the rest of the girls headed to the houses to chill before the show. Which was awesome, by the way. I went a little crazy with my camera, recording some of the songs, I wish I'd saved some memory for the big Fourth of July show.
7am blueberry pancake breakfast on the 3rd (Another of Leon's creations), followed by an 8am arrival to the marina. We were told to not be late but ended up arriving before our captains and then a mandatory beer/bait run happened. Can't go fishing without either! I had fun on the boat, even though no one on the boat I was on (we took two out) really caught anything aside from a crab and a nibble from a baby shark. Being on water of any kind is peaceful. The water was so pretty! I couldn't get over how green it was. I'm used to murky brown. Saw a sea turtle. I'd never seen one in the wild before! Also got to see one of the borders separating GTMO from Cuba (from a safe distance, getting any closer and we would have probably been shot at) and we were visited by GTMO's border patrol on a routine license/registration/life jacket check. That was exciting. Funniest moment on the water was Thomas's crab dance. I believe it was at this point on that Anne and Thomas swore they'd get me drunk before the end of the trip. As a side note, I think I prefer Heineken over Corona now. But neither are better than Vodka. I'm a sucker for a mixed drink (as long as Thomas doesn't mix it, more on that in a moment).
After lunch, Andria and I headed to Radio GTMO with the guys for a radio interview that I ended up being the one to film being the only one present with a camera. I'd never been in a radio station before. College once saw me in a studio a time or two for a class, but I never got to the point of playing with the equipment (my partner for all the radio spot group projects had a bit of a stubborn streak and wanted things their way… boy did we ever argue about everything… but I'm getting off subject). It's a fascinating process to watch. Right up there with sound checks. I'd really love to watch the process of recording an album one day. After the interview, it was time for supper and then another comedy show, this one at Bayview, before calling it a night.
Independence day! We got a VIP tour of two of the detainee camps. From what we were shown, the detainees are treated better than anyone in the United States prison system. Each cell has an arrow pointing toward Mecca so they can pray and the Koran is not handled by any of the guards. When they conduct searches, the only ones who can search through the Korans for contraband are the translators. Detainees who go on hunger strikes only do so because they are taught to, and they get mad if the medical staff is late to feed them intravenously when they refuse to eat. We were shown the different uniforms the detainees wear and what they meant, as well as a few cells, a classroom and sort of break room that are available to detainees in one of the medium risk camps, and the medical facilities.
Hotter than hell and nearly starving to death, lunch was at Taco Bell for everyone except Michelle and I who chose to pick up something at McDonald's instead. Dropped some of the guys off for sound check before Michelle, Anne, and I headed to the Navy Exchange for a little shopping, myself to pick up souvenirs for family. Next up was a meet and greet at a carnival before heading to the main event – the Fourth of July show!
Sold raffle tickets for people to win a signed guitar, along with a CD, poster, and t-shirt until a little ways into the fireworks show. The fireworks were incredible! They were shot off from a ship in the bay, behind the stage, and were huge! State of Man took the stage right after the fireworks and rocked hardcore. I ended up backstage at some point, and watched the show from there. Thirsty and only having a frozen bottle of water at my disposal, I took a swig of Thomas's drink. I swear there were three shots in that single swallow, I about died getting it to go down… haha. Note to self: Thomas's drinks are 98% alcohol, 2% other. But it ended up providing a bit of liquid courage for what was to come next. Thomas got me to come up on stage, and John introduced me to everyone, telling me to tell the crowd who I was, etc. I introduced myself, asked everyone if they were having fun, pointed out how cool John's patriotic pants were and thanked the men and women in the military for doing what they do for America. I didn't have a lot of time to get too nervous plus with the lights pointed toward the stage it was hard to see the crowd anyway (and it was a very, very large crowd!) so it was a breeze. So many people approached me afterwards asking me what it was like traveling with them and told me how much they envied me for knowing the band. One woman even asked for my autograph, haha.
On Saturday, the 5th, it was sadly time to say goodbye to GTMO. Boarding a Continental plane, the flight back was a little scary. There was lots of turbulence. But we all made it back safe and sound. God bless the men and women stationed at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba! I feel extremely blessed to have been given the opportunity to visit GTMO with State of Man, many thanks to them for making this whole trip possible. -
Some sites claim it to be Irish, meaning dark haired. Others claim it to be English from the name of the Irish county, called Chiarraí in Irish Gaelic, which means "CIAR's people". Who knows, all I do know is its annoying because no one ever spells it correctly.
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Go on an epic adventure around the US, hitting as many major cities as possible.
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Nate Elliott (of National Product) once told me that life was too short, I should do what makes me happy. We were talking about tattoos at the time, but I can relate it to life as well.
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My camera, my Blackberry, and my USB flash drive
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"People need a passport to come down here." - Reese Witherspoon as Melanie Carmichael in 'Sweet Home Alabama'
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Williamsburg, VA. SO. EFFING. BORING.
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The best things about living in Alabama are a) it doesn't cost much to live here, b) not many natural disasters and c) I can't think of a c).
The worst things about living in Alabama are a) bands rarely tour here, b) you have to be creative in order to entertain yourself... not a whole lot to do and c) having to deal with the seasonal floods of spring breakers and snow birds (Yankee retirees) passing through.
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