O.A.R. Sound Check

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! The highlight of the long weekend…or month of November….or 2014, was this past Saturday when Ken had the opportunity to perform during the sound check with his all-time-favorite-band, Of A Revolution (O.A.R.). It was the equivalent of PR’ing his marathon. Not only was it a rush for Ken, but for me, too. And I am a self-acclaimed Miss Sour Puss who *HATES* jam bands, dislikes guitar and saxophone solos, and despises fratty crowds. And yet, OAR was unbelievable. CRAZY GOOD, FUN, AWESOME, and now I am a huge fan. HUGE OMG HUGE! Count me in as the newest member of #OARgroupie. And having the good fortune of watching Ken experience a lifetime dream was pretty awesome, too. I love my Babers and watching my Babers be happy, makes me happy (transitive property).

An experience of a lifetime (and two picks and a zip file with the sound check song).

Ken, getting ready to jam out. Marc, the head singer, is on the left. Richard, the guitar player is on the right. Benj is in the plaid shirt in front of Ken with the bass. And to the far left, with the saxophone, is Jerry.  The drummer Chris’ head is poking out in the background. And yes, I know all the band members by name. And yes, I have stalked their instagram accounts to see their real lives. #sorryImNotSorry

So how did this come about? GOOD QUESTION! Readers of the blog know that we (Ken) have developed a relationship with the band over the past couple of years, thanks to an impromptu video we took years ago of Cruzzie dancing to one of their most famous songs, That Was a Crazy Game of Poker (video details and subsequent interview with sax player Jerry DePizzo is here.)

Rocking out. Asian guitarists talking to each other.

After that blog post, we got invited to a special benefit concert in May 2012 (Ken went solo- as I was 14 months pregnant with Toosh).  Long story short, Ken bid on a pretty cool silent auction item: playing with the band in a sound check.  He won, which inspired him to take guitar lessons (without which, this never would have happened)…..So, 2.5 years later, we made it happen. We went to the sound check, where Ken was able to perform with them, and then we had box seats at their concert that night. It was SOOOOOO FUN! I can’t even begin to tell you all how much fun it was. So awesome, so incredible, so perfect. The music was grand, the experience full, and the band was incredible. And I am not just talking about their music, but each of them was so nice, down to earth, genuine, and sincere. I love them all — Marc, Jerry, Chris, Richard, and Benj — we (both Ken and I) heart you.

Hammerstein Ballroom, during the sound check.

The full scene.

My main squeeze.

Hey dude.

The concert that night

In all seriousness, it was such an inspiring and ridiculously unique experience.  Thanks, O.A.R. You are all such gentleman — nicest rockstars I have ever encountered. Thank you for a wonderful performance, and for allowing Ken to fulfill a life dream. XOXO