(TOGETHER) GO WEST-THE SEQUEL!
Tonight I watched the second Crow movie and it sure took me back. Took me back to when I was still new to Las Vegas. I had a new job at an awesome recordstore, a fresh new life and I was excited about the new future that I was going to create here.
Now, with a day full of packing up all the crap I've accumulated since then, a sore back and a month to go, I'll be leaving Las Vegas. I remember when I first arrived here the hit song of the day, and which was being played almost constantly here, was Sheryl Crow's "Leaving Las Vegas" and I couldn't imagine ever leaving here.It was a pretty exciting time for me.
When I first arrived here, it was like some surreal dream. I had spent all of my life up til then living in Michigan. By 1993 I was ready to leave.
I had been struggling in the small hicktown of Owosso, Michigan. The place was dreadful. The town just seemed to be like one of those freaky towns from those horror films from the 70's. Y'know, the type that has some deep secret, like they were run by satanists, or cultists of some sort Children of the Corn-types. I ended up there in the early 90's from moving about from Flint, to Swartz Creek, to Flushing. I wanted to end up in Ann Arbor, but all my connections that lived there had long since moved away. The only place I had to go was the worst place on earth-Owosso. My life there had turned into crap. My band was dead, friends were moved away or struggling with their own existence, my relationships fell apart , I was sick of snow and I hated my job. I needed something new and completely different, and when a few friends moved out to Vegas, I quickly followed them.
One of my buddies went along with me on the long ass bus ride to Vegas, a three day trek of uncomfortable naps and nauseating gas fumes. Our then theme song for the trip was that "Go West" tune by Pet Shop Boys as a joke. We envisioned ourselves on a wacky adventure like the kinds David Letterman & Paul Shaffer would go on. But when we finally arrived in Vegas it was like that scene in "The Wizard of Oz" when everything went from black & white to technicolor. I had found my new home, full of cheesy entertainment icons and glittery dreams! The witch called Michigan, especially the most horrible place on earth-Owosso, Michigan-was dead. DING DONG!!
My friend went back to Michigan but I stayed behind. It didn't take long for me to find work, and even a job that I always wanted, but never could seem to get in Michigan, that of a music peddler at an amazing record store. I soon got my own apartment that I decorated my way and my neighbors were awesome and friendly people with alternative lifestyles and diversity and respect for each other. It was safe and clean and energetic! Everything was going my way!
I loved the oppressive heat, the diversity of people, the awesome rock shows, the wacky casino entertainment and gaining new friends with fresh attitudes,styles and outlooks. I felt like I was living in a bubble in Michigan. No one had any dreams or adventurous personality out there. All there seemed to do there was attempt suicide, drink yourself to death or sell yourself to a job with no meaning. Vegas, baby, is where people were living life to it's fullest, taking everyday and every night as far as you could go. People here had ambition, and spark, and sexiness!
I initially moved out here to expand my artistic skills and find musicians and creatives of all sort. I hung out at the hundreds of cafes that always had something going on-bands,art shows, stand up comedians, performers of all types. Hell, I even went to the dreadfully pretentious poetry readings. The cafes were smokey and crammed with all types of weirdos, and I felt like I was finally amongst others like me.
Sure there was moments that weren't all good. But nothing was all that bad. I remember being a little cautious of crazy homeless people that seemed to wander the streets, especially this Grizzly Adams looking guy that would pop out from nowhere. He was always screaming. Very loudly. He'd scream things like "JIMMY CARTER...GETTIN' DOWN!" But he never gave me any trouble. It was just startling when you'd be walking around and he'd just pop up.And he would show up everywhere! And there was a guy that approached me once who looked exactly like Jeff Goldblum and he'd ask me for my phone number and wanted to give me a blow job. But every town has people like that. They're just much more intense here in Vegas.
Anyways...
Even though it seemed the music scene was full of depressing goth and grunge and ska bands, I didn't care. At least it wasn't redneck hillbilly bands and Lynrd Skynrd .It was all so exciting and I would find myself staying up to the wee mornings hanging out watching people dance to silly techno music and drinking coffee with lazy college students on a 109 degree day as they all bitched about how Vegas had no scene.
That all went on for quite some time.
So it's weird for me to be sitting here thinking about how much Vegas has lost all it's lustre for me. Is it me or is it the city? The cafes are all gone, the awesome record store and it's job is gone, the music scene is all about stupid trendy clubs with nothing but tribute bands and Paris Hilton wannabees. I'm now old, grumpy and just want to be left alone and do artwork. I never found the cool musicians to form an awesome band with, or get that awesome job doing artwork. I can't stand the dreadful heat anymore and everyone I run into on the streets are rude and creepy. The screaming Grizzly Adams guy hasn't been seen for years and the crazies that do wander the streets are violent and dangerous. My neighborhood has been taken over by shirtless people that don't speak English and stand outside yelping nonsense in cellphones and they seem to always be up to something illegal. The building is crumbling away and litter is everywhere and people park in the way and have no consideration for each other. The city is looking for all kinds of ways to charge us for crap they never did before. The police stop ya on the street if you breathe incorrectly. People wander about depressed and angry and drunk.
I don't know what to expect by moving to Orange County. I get the feeling it's gonna have it's share of problems for me, but the wifey's family is there. I just know that it's that time for a change again. Vegas has turned iinto another Owosso for me, which is sad. I wonder if it's me at times. I know I couldn't live the life that I used to when I first moved out here. I've grown to hate any job that is retail. I barely care what's going on musically nowdays and I haven't the patience for pretentious poetry readings or people that define themselves by fitting into such groups as goths or punks or wiccans or whatever social clique they wish to sheep with.I just wanna be around people that enjoy being themselves without a tag.
And I have met alot of them in Vegas. Alot of good friends and great people who took me as I am and enjoyed me as much as I enjoyed them. They are what I'm going to miss the most about Vegas. We've all grown up quite a bit and changed over the years, but we, just like the good friends I had in Michigan, have great stories to tell, great memories to share and support for each other that will last forever. They accept me as the grumpy old guy now, but they will be the first to remind me that I wore dresses, got drunk, danced to stupid techno music, thru tantrums, wrote silly songs with them and laughed, cried and bled with them. They know the real me, the me I wouldn't never had become if it wasn't for them. People I never would have known if I never took that chance, and hopped the bus and went west.
Yep, sure, I'm being a tad sappy. I just wish I could take all these people with me.
And it makes me sad that Las Vegas just doesn't mean anything to me anymore. The city that is.
But I'm also looking forward to a fresh start, a fresh city for me, and a new life with my wifey & I.
A wifey I met here in Las Vegas.
Technically we could use "Go West" as our theme song, cuz, yeah, we're going even further west. But that song really belongs to my buddy & I in 1994.
It's 2010 now, so what should my wife & I new theme song be for this new adventure?
Hmmm....
I haven't even a clue what is playing on the radio these days.
More Vegas musings to come as we box up The Ragzpad and ship ourselves outa here!
Now, with a day full of packing up all the crap I've accumulated since then, a sore back and a month to go, I'll be leaving Las Vegas. I remember when I first arrived here the hit song of the day, and which was being played almost constantly here, was Sheryl Crow's "Leaving Las Vegas" and I couldn't imagine ever leaving here.It was a pretty exciting time for me.
When I first arrived here, it was like some surreal dream. I had spent all of my life up til then living in Michigan. By 1993 I was ready to leave.
I had been struggling in the small hicktown of Owosso, Michigan. The place was dreadful. The town just seemed to be like one of those freaky towns from those horror films from the 70's. Y'know, the type that has some deep secret, like they were run by satanists, or cultists of some sort Children of the Corn-types. I ended up there in the early 90's from moving about from Flint, to Swartz Creek, to Flushing. I wanted to end up in Ann Arbor, but all my connections that lived there had long since moved away. The only place I had to go was the worst place on earth-Owosso. My life there had turned into crap. My band was dead, friends were moved away or struggling with their own existence, my relationships fell apart , I was sick of snow and I hated my job. I needed something new and completely different, and when a few friends moved out to Vegas, I quickly followed them.
One of my buddies went along with me on the long ass bus ride to Vegas, a three day trek of uncomfortable naps and nauseating gas fumes. Our then theme song for the trip was that "Go West" tune by Pet Shop Boys as a joke. We envisioned ourselves on a wacky adventure like the kinds David Letterman & Paul Shaffer would go on. But when we finally arrived in Vegas it was like that scene in "The Wizard of Oz" when everything went from black & white to technicolor. I had found my new home, full of cheesy entertainment icons and glittery dreams! The witch called Michigan, especially the most horrible place on earth-Owosso, Michigan-was dead. DING DONG!!
My friend went back to Michigan but I stayed behind. It didn't take long for me to find work, and even a job that I always wanted, but never could seem to get in Michigan, that of a music peddler at an amazing record store. I soon got my own apartment that I decorated my way and my neighbors were awesome and friendly people with alternative lifestyles and diversity and respect for each other. It was safe and clean and energetic! Everything was going my way!
I loved the oppressive heat, the diversity of people, the awesome rock shows, the wacky casino entertainment and gaining new friends with fresh attitudes,styles and outlooks. I felt like I was living in a bubble in Michigan. No one had any dreams or adventurous personality out there. All there seemed to do there was attempt suicide, drink yourself to death or sell yourself to a job with no meaning. Vegas, baby, is where people were living life to it's fullest, taking everyday and every night as far as you could go. People here had ambition, and spark, and sexiness!
I initially moved out here to expand my artistic skills and find musicians and creatives of all sort. I hung out at the hundreds of cafes that always had something going on-bands,art shows, stand up comedians, performers of all types. Hell, I even went to the dreadfully pretentious poetry readings. The cafes were smokey and crammed with all types of weirdos, and I felt like I was finally amongst others like me.
Sure there was moments that weren't all good. But nothing was all that bad. I remember being a little cautious of crazy homeless people that seemed to wander the streets, especially this Grizzly Adams looking guy that would pop out from nowhere. He was always screaming. Very loudly. He'd scream things like "JIMMY CARTER...GETTIN' DOWN!" But he never gave me any trouble. It was just startling when you'd be walking around and he'd just pop up.And he would show up everywhere! And there was a guy that approached me once who looked exactly like Jeff Goldblum and he'd ask me for my phone number and wanted to give me a blow job. But every town has people like that. They're just much more intense here in Vegas.
Anyways...
Even though it seemed the music scene was full of depressing goth and grunge and ska bands, I didn't care. At least it wasn't redneck hillbilly bands and Lynrd Skynrd .It was all so exciting and I would find myself staying up to the wee mornings hanging out watching people dance to silly techno music and drinking coffee with lazy college students on a 109 degree day as they all bitched about how Vegas had no scene.
That all went on for quite some time.
So it's weird for me to be sitting here thinking about how much Vegas has lost all it's lustre for me. Is it me or is it the city? The cafes are all gone, the awesome record store and it's job is gone, the music scene is all about stupid trendy clubs with nothing but tribute bands and Paris Hilton wannabees. I'm now old, grumpy and just want to be left alone and do artwork. I never found the cool musicians to form an awesome band with, or get that awesome job doing artwork. I can't stand the dreadful heat anymore and everyone I run into on the streets are rude and creepy. The screaming Grizzly Adams guy hasn't been seen for years and the crazies that do wander the streets are violent and dangerous. My neighborhood has been taken over by shirtless people that don't speak English and stand outside yelping nonsense in cellphones and they seem to always be up to something illegal. The building is crumbling away and litter is everywhere and people park in the way and have no consideration for each other. The city is looking for all kinds of ways to charge us for crap they never did before. The police stop ya on the street if you breathe incorrectly. People wander about depressed and angry and drunk.
I don't know what to expect by moving to Orange County. I get the feeling it's gonna have it's share of problems for me, but the wifey's family is there. I just know that it's that time for a change again. Vegas has turned iinto another Owosso for me, which is sad. I wonder if it's me at times. I know I couldn't live the life that I used to when I first moved out here. I've grown to hate any job that is retail. I barely care what's going on musically nowdays and I haven't the patience for pretentious poetry readings or people that define themselves by fitting into such groups as goths or punks or wiccans or whatever social clique they wish to sheep with.I just wanna be around people that enjoy being themselves without a tag.
And I have met alot of them in Vegas. Alot of good friends and great people who took me as I am and enjoyed me as much as I enjoyed them. They are what I'm going to miss the most about Vegas. We've all grown up quite a bit and changed over the years, but we, just like the good friends I had in Michigan, have great stories to tell, great memories to share and support for each other that will last forever. They accept me as the grumpy old guy now, but they will be the first to remind me that I wore dresses, got drunk, danced to stupid techno music, thru tantrums, wrote silly songs with them and laughed, cried and bled with them. They know the real me, the me I wouldn't never had become if it wasn't for them. People I never would have known if I never took that chance, and hopped the bus and went west.
Yep, sure, I'm being a tad sappy. I just wish I could take all these people with me.
And it makes me sad that Las Vegas just doesn't mean anything to me anymore. The city that is.
But I'm also looking forward to a fresh start, a fresh city for me, and a new life with my wifey & I.
A wifey I met here in Las Vegas.
Technically we could use "Go West" as our theme song, cuz, yeah, we're going even further west. But that song really belongs to my buddy & I in 1994.
It's 2010 now, so what should my wife & I new theme song be for this new adventure?
Hmmm....
I haven't even a clue what is playing on the radio these days.
More Vegas musings to come as we box up The Ragzpad and ship ourselves outa here!