Level 42-love.

Man, I love Level 42!!! Thanks to a co-worker, I am now a serious Level 42 junkie!!! LOL just in case you don't know who Level 42 is, they're a Brit-funk, pop-jazz group, who were huge in the '80's, not so much here in the U.S., they're huge all over Europe and Asia, and the rest of the world back then. After my friend, Ed, at work lent me his CDs and videos, I have been hooked ever since! Especially that "Fait Accompli" video they have. I've seen a whole new side of the group that I've never seen before. I've known of them since I was 7 years old. They were huge in the Philippines, especially their singles, "Something About You" (my absolute fave) and "Running in the Family" while I was growing up. I had a crush on the keyboardist/vocalist Mike Lindup. I thought he was the cutest thing! Then I lost track of them. I sort of "rediscovered" them again about a year and a half ago, after finding out that Jeff Thacher listed them as one of his fave music groups. Mind you, I didn't start liking them because of him, but I did get curious after that and started looking them up on the 'net and I stumbled upon their website, and found out that the original line-up of the group is no more. They've parted ways, except for Mark King, the lead vocalist/bass player. He bought the rights to the the name Level 42 and is now touring with a whole new line-up under the name. So, in a way they're still around, except for the fact that there's only one original member left. The other original members (Mike Lindup, Boon Gould and Phil Gould) are now doing their own thing.

Let's talk about Mark King. The man is brilliant! He's been called the best bass player in the world, and arguably so. The man, known as "Thunder Thumbs" is freakin' amazing on the bass! He plays it at lightning speed. And apparently, he was the one who popularized the "slap bass" technique. It's hard to really explain how the technique works, but basically, you use your thumb to slap the top string of the bass and pluck the bottom string with your pinkie, creating a rhythmic bass pattern, which is now very popular with a lot of funk-bass players. If you ever have the desire to learn how to play the bass, you should look to Mark King as a role-model. The man is amazing! I want to marry him, except for the fact that he IS married and has children. Well, I am not delusional, you know? LOL … Well, at least not EXTREMELY delusional. Okay, I think I'm gonna go watch the videos right now. good night!

Rockapella Concert - B.B. King's, New York, NY -

This night could be summed up in 3 words - BARRY, SEAN, GEORGE!!! Incredible night, bitter-sweet as well because this was to be Barry's last concert in NYC before he retired. Everyone was very emotional and we all made it known to Bear how much we would miss him. This was also Angela's (fellow diehard and co-Pellapusher) birthday so it was quite a special night altogether. There were 2 shows that night, one at 7pm and on at 10pm. I got into the city from Jersey a couple of hours prior to the first show to meet up with fellow diehards and stand in line so we could get good seats. When I arrived at B.B. King's it was still closed and it didn't seem like any of the diehards that I was supposed to meet up with were there, so I walked across the street and decided to shop for a while. I ended up at this little boutique that sold trendy clothes so I decided to purchase one. After shopping, I decided to head back to B.B. King's to see if any of the people I was supposed to meet up with arrived, but when I got back, there was still no one there, so I went to the Starbucks across the street (yeah, really!), went into the bathroom to change into the new shirt that I got, bought myself a drink, sat there and waited. A few minutes went by and I noticed that some of the people I was supposed to meet up with had started to arrive. So, I went outside to meet them and we stood around and waited. Then, one by one, the guys started to appear. I think Jeff arrived first and noticed us waiting, he said "hello" to all of us and quickly descended down the stairs. Then El arrived, said a quick "hi" to everyone and went downstairs, followed not long after by Kevin and then Barry. At this point, one of the workers at B.B. King's went outside and set up the rope so we could all stand in line. Just as expected, we were first in line. Slowly, people started to arrive. We had waited a few more minutes, when they finally told us that we could go ahead and come in. We quickly made our way to the table that was situated in front of the stage, it was me, Angela, Sue and Sarah. We ordered our food, which wasn't all that great by the way, ate and then waited for the guys to come on. The show... I can barely remember the details of the show except for a few highlights: - Sean and George joining the guys on stage to sing "House of the Rising Sun" and "Change in my Life". George won me over instantly. He sounded great with them and seemed to have fit in well. Sean of course, my gosh! I was simply out of my mind when I realized that he was going to join the guys, his old comrades, on stage for a couple of songs! I was so caught up in the moment that I forgot to take pictures. Darn it! That's okay, it will be forever embedded in my memory for years and years to come! - Barry singing "60 Minute Man" and gyrating in front of the diehards! Incredible. For the 2nd show, some of the diehards stuffed dollar-bills down his pocket (just like what happened at The Key Club a few months back), and he distributed them to the guys. When Jeff got a hold of the dollar bill, he stuffed it down his pants. Yes, I know! Cheeky. - For the 10pm show, some of the diehards wore party hats and noisemakers in honour of Angela's birthday. Jeff got a hold of a party hat and wore it on stage during a song (can't remember which, but there should be a picture of that floating around somewhere). The meet-n-greet... After the show, the guys came out and started walking around, talking to the fans. I ran into Jeff first, said "hi" to him and asked him if he had a chance to try on the gift that I gave him at Hofstra. He said that he wasn't able to, and didn't know if he wanted to because he didn't want to take it out of the plastic and risk ruining the print on it, which was the most important part of the whole item. He did say that he was thinking of turning it into a pillow case. Anyway, I hugged him and said goodbye because I really wanted to look for Kevin to give him the gift that I got for him. I walked around and saw a line had formed to get to Kevin, so I stood there and waited my turn. As soon as I reached Kevin, I presented him with my gift, it was Dakota Moon's latest CD release at the time, "A Place to Land". He had this shocked looked on his face and asked me how I knew that he liked Dakota Moon. I told him that Jeff had mentioned it to me in an e-mail. Kevin was completely pleased with the gift, and he told me that he actually knew the lead singer of DM through his Broadway days. I told him that I had met Ty (the lead singer), that I'm friends with the bass player of the group, and that I had been a fan of Dakota Moon's for about 7 years. He said that he had a chance to see them one time while he was out in LA a few years back, and thought they were incredible. I told him that I was going to see DM when I got back to LA. He told me to say "hello" to Ty for him. I told him that I would. (Side note: Yes, I did tell Ty about Kevin, and he totally remembered Kevin. They didn't work on a show together, but Ty went to see Kevin in one of the shows that he did, and that's how they knew each other). After I got my hug from Kevin, I went to look for either El or Bear, but both seemed to be swarmed by fans. So, I decided to just sit back and talk to other diehards, when Scott approached us and we got to chat with him. We talked about and compared notes on hair and hair products (Pantene Pro-V and Bumble and Bumble), he let me touch his hair and he touched mine. We talked about music, I asked him how he gets to start writing a song. He basically just said that it just comes tohim, no inspiration or anything. Words just flowed for him, I guess. I told him that I had been trying to write songs, and have written some, but it just doesn't come as naturally as I would like. He said that I just needed to keep at it and it shouldeventually become easier each time. Then we ended up talking about current popular music, Usher in particular. I was joking around about Usher, but he looked at me with a serious look on his face and told me that he really dug Usher, which surprised me. Not long after that, we were joined by his kids, Jesse and Natalie, both adorable kids. I said "hello" to both of them, Nat wanted to get carried by her dad, and she started talking to me. We talked about TV shows that she liked, I think I remember her saying that she liked "Thomas" and something else, I think it may have been "Blue's Clues", I can't remember anymore. She was just the cutest thing and wasn't shy in front of strangers. Jesse, on the other hand, was the opposite. Seemed really shy, but dad said that he's very musical. I'm not surprised, he takes after his dad. Anyway, I realized that it was time for me to go, so I said goodbye to Scott, and the kids, and got a nice hug and a kiss on the cheek from Scott. *swoon* I waited for my ride outside for a good hour all by myself, the place was already closing and virtually everyone was gone. During my wait, George walked out, he looked at me and smiled, followed by Phil. He said goodbye to me and they both hopped in a cab and drove off. Next person I saw walk out was Scott and his family. Although he didn't see me, I saw him flag down a cab while his wife Lisa was trying to keep Natalie from running onto the street. So cute. They hopped in the cab and they were off. Next to come out was Elliott and Bear, both of them saw me and stopped for a chat. Asked me if I was waiting for a cab, I told them that my cousin was supposed to pick me up. Then they started talking about whether they should walk a couple of blocks down to take the subway or go to Port Authority and take it from there. I think I will never forget that moment, talking to Bear and Elliott, it just seemed like I was in a normal conversation with a couple of friends. I didn't feel like a fan at all. They both gave me a hug and they walked towards P.A. I was starting to get a little worried that my ride had forgotten about me, when a few minutes later, Jeff emerged out of B.B. King's, carrying his equipment, followed by Steve Lewis. Jeff saw me, looked me up and down, and then asked what I was still doing there. I told him that I was waiting for my ride. Steve hailed a cab, and then Jeff loaded his equipment in the trunk, said a quick goodbye to me and then they were gone. At this point, it had started to rain a bit, and finally my ride arrived and off I went, home to my comfy, cozy bed, still on a high from the night's events.

Rockapella Rendezvous for Camp Heartland - Adams Playhouse, Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY - June 1, 2002

I asked my cousin to drop me off Penn Station so I could take the LIRR into Uniondale. I was to be picked up by fellow diehard, Madelin, at the station, go to her house and from there we’d get ready to go to Hofstra University for our Rendezvous with the guys. I arrived at my stop and found Madelin waiting for me, along with diehards, Amy, Sarah, and Angela. As soon as we got to her house, we got ready to go to Hofstra, whilst watching Rockapella videos and chatting about our favorite pella guys. We arrived at Hofstra about an hour before show time, and as soon as I got off the car, I saw this girl running towards me. It turned out to be Jessy, another diehard, who I became good friends with online. She was so excited to see me, she practically jumped me! It was great! We all walked over to the front of the Playhouse where everyone else was waiting to get in. I immediately saw Barb’s kids, Manda and Scotty, and I went over to Manda and gave her a big hug. She just hugged me for a while and didn’t seem to want to let go. I told her that it was going to be okay, and that she can cry if she wanted to. I looked over and saw her younger brother Scotty and gave him a hug too. I saw Gene, Barb’s husband and we hugged for a bit and asked him how he was holding up. It was such an emotional reunion, as Barb had just passed away a few weeks prior to the show. I saw my other friend MJ, who’s also a close friend of Barb’s, and she and I hugged each other and just cried. We finally went inside and got to our seats. Before the show-proper, there was a short presentation on Camp Heartland, the reason why the Rendezvous was being held. The founder of Camp Heartland came out and explained what it was all about. Before I go on, Camp Heartland is a camp that was founded as a place for kids, who have HIV or AIDS or who have family members with the disease, to feel like they belong and just get the support that they need. Anyway, the founder also brought out some of the kids that have attended the Camp. It was great seeing those kids all smiling and full of life. After the presentation, the guys came out and everyone just had a great time. During the auction, the guys did a small presentation honouring Barb, and they sang a song that Gene, Barb’s husband, had especially requested, being that it was Barb’s favourite song (I can’t remember what the song was though, argh!). They also raffled off some goody-bags and I was fortunate enough to win one (I still have my Christmas ornament from Brookstone that has audio-recording capability – I have Bear singing “Grinch” into it). The Rendezvous… After the show, all of the Gold Circle ticket holders were escorted to a reception room downstairs to have dinner with the guys. One by one, the guys came in, greeted by applause. We were already situated at our table, eating our food, when I turned around and saw Jeff walking towards our direction. He was making his rounds, from table to table. When he got to our table, he didn’t realize I was sitting there (my back was towards him) so I turned around and said “hi”. He was surprised to see me there (aren’t they always? LOL). Anyway, one of the girls, took out a gift for him, a stuffed Spiderman toy I believe, and he started laughing and thought it was great. So, I took that as my cue to give him the present that I brought him. I had never given him a gift before, and I didn’t want to bring him food. I wanted to give him something special and unique. And that’s what I did. I got him a gift that I knew he would absolutely enjoy. So, I presented him with the gift, I told him that I hope he didn’t have it yet, that he likes it, and that it fits him. He got curious so he asked me if he could take a peak. I told him that he could, so he opened the wrapper partly, and then I saw his eyes “bug-out” when he saw what was inside! He looked at me and said, “how did you find this?” I told him that I saw it at vintage store in L.A. I told him that I hope he liked it, he said that he did and he came over to where I was sitting, gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek. Aww…I’m glad I made him smile. :-D I spent most of the evening talking with friends, mostly Manda, Scotty and Gene, along with MJ and Jill. I did my rounds and took pictures with the guys, who were all surprised to see me on the wrong coast, again! LOL We took group pictures with all the Rockapella diehards that were there, and even Scott joined in at one point (well, I grabbed him as he was walking by, and pulled him next to me). Kevin ended up taking pictures of us as well. All the girls gave him their cameras, and he became our photographer (I have a picture somewhere that I took of Kevin taking our picture, LOL.). I went over to Jeff and asked if I could have my picture taken with him. So, I gave my digital camera to MJ, and stood next to Jeff. At first, we were just standing, side-by-side, with his arm over my shoulder and my arm around his waist. Next thing I knew, he pulled me closer to him, like we were about to hug. I tell yah, this guy can pull a few fast ones on you. LOL Sneaky, sneaky… ;) Gotta love it though! After the Rendezvous, we all headed to Madelin’s SUV. As we were about to drive off, the guys’ limo drove past us, with the window rolled down, and they started heckling at us. We yelled back at them as they drove away. It was too funny! Those guys can be silly when they want to. It was an awesome evening all together.