Sculpture Art @ The Bay Bridge, SF
Those of you who have been reading my blogs over the years, are probably surprised to see how often I have been posting them as of late. You can chalk that up to the amount of cross country flights Ive been on recently or the fact that I actually like writing them. and yes, I love the sound of my own voice....lalalala
Ok, here we go....
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THE POLICE @ Giant Stadium, NJ
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I almost forgot this one...RIght before I split for the west coast my buddies on The Police Reunion tour hooked Lori and I up with passes for their amazing show at Giants Stadium. I was originally supposed to be working on this tour, and was actually very happy to be able to check it out without having to work...The Police were really tight and put on a solid show with all the hits, some cool jams, a huge stage, and a decent light show. It was great to run into so many old freinds from the Stones tour like Tim McWilliams, Burger, Nick Jones, Pete the Cop, Corey Mac, not to mention Mike McCann and his wife and Jay Cams who were also on hand.
(THE POLICE LIVE @ GIANTS STADIUM, NJ)
This guy was in the row in front of us. He was awesome as you can clearly see...
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ROCK THE BELLS SF 08.18.07
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Once again I went out in the field on behalf of Heineken, managing their sponsorship of the rock bells festivals and tour. Most recently we hit the great city of San Franciso, CA for the 4th and final festival date with Rage Against the Machine, Wu Tang, Public Enemy, Cypress HIll and a zillion others. This time around the venue was built from scratch in the McCovey Cove which is normally used for parking for the AT&T Ballpark where Barry Bonds hits homeruns and takes steroids all the time. Ive actually been lucky enough to work at the stadium a few times with the Rolling Stones and Metallica, so I know the surrounding areas pretty well.
Scott Ian, Me, and Sen Dog
The weather was truly amazing for late August with a steady breeze coming off the bay. It actually got kind of cold at night, but when you are working 20 hour days its a nice break from 95 degrees in the desert or NYC humidity. The show itself was perhaps the best of the tour with all the bands really hitting their mark and then some. I noticed a lot of interesting people backstage as well including Rick Rubin, Lars from Metallica, and my wifes personal favorite, Mike Patton, who i was lucky enough to meet and get to know a little bit. Also on hand was Whitfield Crane who came with my buddy Scott Ian. Whitfield is non stop comedy. Its really funny to listen to the things to come out of that guys mouth/brain. I also ran into my old touring buddy Jim Tobin, and my old freind Dan Hirsch, who I havent seen in ages.
Mike Patton & I
After a very tough month of work, I finally got to say goodbye to the Rock the Bells Tour and take some much needed R&R. Lori had already flown ahead to Oregon so I got to spend one last day off in SF.
I was so tired that day that I wound up taking a long nap in the park near the golden gate bridge. When I finally woke up, my old friend Jen Sand and I went out for some fantastic Indian food at a place called CHUTNEY. holy crap was that great!
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BACK TO OREGON!
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The next day I officially started my vacation. I flew from San Fran to Crescent City, CA on a tiny little turbo prop plane that holds like 20 people. its pretty loud, but it gets you there ok...
When I landed in Crescent City, CA, I rented a car and drove north up to Brookings, OR to meet up with my wife and our freinds who were already camping up river. we had a sweet camp site right near the Chetco River where we stayed for most of the week we there.
Brookings, OR is easly one of the most picturesque places I have ever been. The river is emerald green and crystal clear and the ocean and shoreline is breath taking.
Its really a nice change from NYC to sleep outdoors under the stars. Its so peaceful up there. All you hear is the river til the sun comes up and the birds start chirping.
We did the usual campfire bit of roasting hot dogs, beans, s'mores, drinking a ton of beer, skinny dipping and jamming some acoustic guitars by the fire. Good living!
When we were werent camping we were cruising up 101 North on Loris dads Harley Davidson Fatboy or ripping up the mountainside on a some quadrunners, or shooting guns in the redwood forest.
We had a few accidents, but aside from some bruised butts and egos, it was pretty awesome.
Im typing this while on the plane flying back to NYC and already I cant wait to go back. Im sitting in the dreaded middle seat in between some guy who smells like a locker room and a guy with a bladder the size of mouse. If he gets up again, I may drown him in the blue toilet water...
In the end I am feeling really well rested and recharged. Its hard to explain, since my job is actually pretty fun, but there is a ton of stress. I think maybe this picture that I keep by my desk best describes what my mood was before the trip.
...And this is how I feel now!
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WEIRD PICS ALERT!
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I took this picture from the terminal at JFK before I flew to SF. These guys were only play fighting around, but it looked pretty real for a while. Im sure the airline must be proud of these star employees....
This may be all time favorite! Lori took this one of Harely and I at South Street Seaport in nyc.
Pretty tough eh?
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MY TOP 10
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HOTEL VITALE (SF)
CHUTNEYS (INDIAN FOOD in SF)
MY NEW READING GLASSES (rayban)
JOHN ROGERS RUGER 9mm
WHARFSIDE DINNER (BROOKINGS OR.)
OREGON REDWOOD TRAIL
WHITE SANGRIA (SOHO GRAND NYC)
FRED MYERS (STORE)
ROB ZOMBIE'S HALLLOWEN
HOT FUZZ (DVD)
-all photos and stories taken and written by matt hanrahan
