On following the White Rabbit... Part 1

A few weeks back I ended up here:

This is me and Michael Franti chilling on his tour bus after his show at the Greek Theater in the Hollywood Hills. No Big 😱

Above is a photo of me and singer-songwriter and beautiful human Michael Franti kicking it on his tour bus. Yes, this Michael Franti:

If you didn’t watch the video, you probably recognize him and his music because it’s everywhere. The way Bill Wither’s music is everywhere. His uplifting baritone is in our pop-cultural water.

How did I end up here? I kinda wonder that myself. If I were to sum it up it would be “it’s important to have a sense of adventure.”

The real story is a bit longer. Strap in.

A few weeks back I performed a set at the Marriott hotel in Torrance, CA. It’s exactly how it sounds: a hotel lobby gig. Flight crews on furlough, business-class patrons sipping on cocktails or eating hotel bar food; it’s a pretty low-key gig. I was wrapping up my set, I ended with a song I’ve been covering for almost 20 years: Sunday Morning by Maroon 5.

For my last couple of bars, I see a gentleman walk in with a drink in hand and have a seat and he’s got that energy. If you’re a gigging musician you know the energy: he’s a fellow musician. He’s enjoying, but he’s studying like a college professor watching his favorite show talk about a math problem he’s far too familiar with and he’s ready to poke holes.

He asks me “what do you think of that guitar?” It’s not lost on me that he’s wearing a Gibson hat and I’m playing a Fender guitar. For normies, this is a potentially loaded question as these two brands are very old guitar companies and compete with one another in almost every way, their rivalry can be cultish. While I know this I’ve been blessed with the ability to act oblivious in nearly every situation. Just ask my partner as sometimes I do this for fun about really obvious things and she still falls for it 14 years into our relationship, and she’s hardly gullible. Sorry, babe, if you read this 💜. I promise I only use this power for teasing her and when I wish to de-escalate tense situations.

I’m pretty sure I answered him by saying “it’s not that great a guitar but it’s perfect for what I do. I literally could not perform the way that I do without it.”

He agreed and mentioned that he’d never heard it sound better. He mentioned he loved the guitar since its release and had a lot of admiration for the team of people that designed it and thought it was super clever and innovative. That’s when he introduced himself as JC. Yes, that JC:

In case you didn’t watch the video, the description reads “Former Gibson CEO JC”…

Wild. The guitar we’re talking about is my beloved Fender American Acoustasonic Telecaster:

Yes, that’s me. Yes, I still exclusively play this guitar for every single gig. Yes, it’s still perfect for what I do.

That’s when he asked me my story and about my music. I told him where I grew up and he laughed and mentioned something about not many folks probably looking like me, which was true, especially the nerdy, artsy-type that had musical aspirations. But I mentioned my ambition to use music as a way to unite people in love and hope.

That’s when he mentioned his friend Michael Franti. Of course he knows Michael Franti. He mentions Michael is performing this weekend at the Greek and invited me and my partner on a whim to come back stage, meet Michael, his family, eat and break bread with all of them.

Perfect! Except the show was Friday. The day JC and I met was Wednesday evening. I was supposed to be leaving for the airport at 4:30am the next morning to visit family with my partner and my 9 month old kiddo! Yikes!

I asked for some time to be able to talk it with my partner, but that I couldn’t make any promises, and I’d get back to him. He asserted his seriousness, we exchanged numbers and I packed my stuff into my car. JC’s a cool dude. Conversations with him are easy, maybe too easy as I looked at the clock and realized we’d been talking for close to an hour and a half AFTER my gig.

I hopped in the car and had two jobs: apologize for being late getting home and not texting, and beginning to broach the topic of us staying or moving the trip so that I could have this opportunity.

My partner shut me down pretty quick and that was fine. I said “okay” and for the sake of the rhythm of this story, she eventually agreed and we moved some things around to make it happen. What can I say, my partner is the real rockstar.

We moved out to Los Angeles without her ever having been out here for me to make the exact connection I was making: an industry connection with other industry people. because of all the weaknesses I have, knowing people who are movers and shakers is probably my biggest setback. I know engineers, tech bros, non-profit compassionate weirdos, educators, researchers galore, but I know zero musicians from growing up.

Next time: I’ll write about the show itself!

Yours,

Reverend Doctor