Friday Night

...was a blast. So much stuff happened that it's tough to remember it all. Mike does a great job of summing up events in this post. The day started off later than expected, since we were supposed to meet for breakfast at my favorite spot "Original Pancake House." But, Bob Hartry needed some extra time to finish a mix to uplink for a keyboard player in Detroit to do some overdubs. When we got to his studio, Bob was finishing the uplinks, so I showed Ryan Webster around the studio and we got to play a Gibson 335 that Bob purchased from Lyle Workman, which purportedly was used on Jellyfish's Spilt Milk, one of my favorite records of all time.

We headed up to Venice Beach to grab lunch at Mercede's Grille, a small restaurant near the beach that is a particular favorite of mine and Bob's. The Citrus Salmon was excellent, as was the margarita. Three of us got some Starbucks coffee (Mike doesn't drink coffee) to shake off the effects of the margaritas. We had a long night ahead of us.

We made our way up to Santa Monica, where the legendary True Tone music is located. It's a small- to medium-size shop full of guitars, basses, amps and pedals. I always tell Cherie that I hate shopping--well, that's a lie. Shopping for guitar gear is fun. I played a $10,000 1964 Fender Stratocaster (which Bob ended up putting on hold) through an old late-50s Fender amp, a Gretsch Jet Firebird, a couple of other obscure (but very cool) guitars, and a black 1978 Gibson Les Paul Custom. The Les Paul sounded great and, after much agonizing, I decided to buy it. It's a great guitar and I'm stoked that I bought it. It's the first big purchase toward replenishing the gear that was stolen from me a few months back.

True Tone was closing, so we walked down Santa Monica Boulevard to meet Glenn Pearce (guitarist extraordinaire, secret agent, and all around good guy) at an English Pub called Ye Old Kings Head. On the way, Bob saw some cool shoes he had to get and, since it was buy one get one half off, I bought some shoes, too. We got them to go in different bags, though.

After a pint with Pearcey and the boys, we headed up to the House of Blues on the Sunset Strip in Hollywood. Unfortunately, my temporary membership card wasn't available at the podium, as promised, so I had to wait behind Tom Green (who was on crutches due to an apparent foot injury) until it got cleared up. In case you're wondering, Tom did not rub his bum against me. Meanwhile, Steve called to say he and his best friend, Chris DeWitt, were coming up. They had been drinking so Steve's daughter (and Ryan's wife) Rissa was going to drive them up. We walk upstairs to the Foundation Room and this '70s cover band, AM/FM, are playing Jet by Wings and nailing it. We got seated for dinner and I had one of the best filet mignons I've ever had, and a great glass of Pinot Noir. Meanwhile, Pearce shows up with two more musician friends, Adam and Brandon, who run into Steve, Rissa and Chris outside and, before we know it, we have a party of 10.

Dinner ends and AM/FM kicks into Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen--a very ballsy move, which they pulled off reasonably well. The HOB was rockin'. Some people were coming in dressed in costume, others came in from the Cypress Hill show downstairs. It was a mix of rockers, partyers, gays, gangsters and regulars. Very fun. One of the artists in the opening act, F.I.L.T.H.E.E. Immigrants, tried to pick up on Rissa, but then found out that she was married to Ryan. So, as a sign of "respect," he pulled out a wad of $100s and started buying them drinks. Then, he invited Steve to come out to the balcony and smoke some weed with a bunch of his gangster friends. Steve abstained.

Most of us found our way to the private "Ganesh" room, where we were having drinks and laughing about who Adam and Brandon looked like (opinions ranged from Michael Clark Duncan to Billy Barty). Then an older guy named Nigel walked in with a couple of pretty girls from Mexico. He claimed to be the designer of most of the HOBs. He told us of his adventures in India getting the statues and showed us the oldest artifacts in the room--200-year-old prayer doors that were attached to the ceiling. Not long afterward came "last call" and that wrapped things up. After a long drive back to Bob's studio in Rancho Palos Verdes and Yorba Linda, I got to bed after 3 a.m.

An extremely long post, I know. But, it was a lot to pack in and I don't think I even got to all of it.