Twenty Questions

I just thought it would be cool if we asked people 20 questions about how they became a fan. Here's some:

1. Do you remember the day?
2. What song were you listening to when it happened?
3. Do you remember where you were?
4. Did you see a video or hear a song first?
5. When did you get your first album?
6. What was your first album?
7. Have you been to a show yet?
8. If so, how many have you been to?
9. Do you have a favourite song?
10. Favourite album?
11. Favourite band member (if any)
12. Why do you like said band member?

If you can think of any more questions, let me know :)

Part II--The Rest Of The Story

Okaaay, the mood in here is getting a little maudlin. Let's lighten things up a bit. And, fortunately, I have got a story that should make you chuckle a bit. Remember in my last post how I said getting the message to request "Something Beautiful" was a story in itself? Well, indeed it is, and here is that story.

So there we were, five fangirls on the the loose in Seattle, about to see a GBS show, excited and thrilled by it all. Jamie, annathepiper, Kate, Elane, and me. We had approximately two hours to kill before the show, and most of us had never met the others in person before. We all knew each other from the 'Net, but that was all. Someone (I didn't discover who until later; it was Jamie.) conceived the idea that, since the day before had been GBS's 18th "bandiversary", we should give them a cake. By the time I heard about it, two or three people were discussing it excitedly and it seemed like a grand idea to me.

OK. So we are on foot; we walk to a local supermarket featuring a bakery and ask them if they could pipe letters on a cake and, if so, how long it would take. They say, about 15-20 minutes. We say, perfect, and go to pick out our cake. We finally settle on a 1/4 sheet cake after seeing the label saying "Chocolate" (even though it had white icing and somewhat incongruous red roses). Chocolate is good.

So we decide on "Happy 18th Bandiversary!!", with some argument over the spelling of "bandiversary", and hand our cake and the writing in. We ask for pink and green lettering, but the lady behind the counter says she can't guarantee what color icing they have, so we say, OK, whatever you got is fine. And we wait. And wait.

Finally, she hands us a perfectly blank cake with pink roses on it this time and a can of red icing and says "Bandiversary" was too long and she couldn't do it. If we want that lettering, we are going to have to do it ourselves. You are kidding. Seriously? None of us has any experience AT ALL decorating cakes. None. Zip. Not even writing "Happy Birthday" on a kid's birthday cake.

We look at each other in bewilderment. But Jamie bravely volunteers. A different (and slightly more helpful) bakery lady assures that the red icing we were given is going to come out too thick, and we should use something different. So she comes up with some pink gel from the store's shelf. Jamie bends over the cake, and with deep concentration, spells out "Bandiversary". Next, she does "Happy". But she runs out of gel. And the bakery lady has disappeared, and we don't know where she got this gel from. And we can't find any more. So the "18th" part is done in red icing, which turns out not to be too thick for numbers. So the lettering is done in two colors. But at least it's mostly legible, if slightly spastic. It was the best we could do. (Picture of cake at top of blog)

So in triumph we pay for the cake and off we go. The theatre where the tour bus is parked is about three blocks away from this bakery. We are prepared to be very obnoxious to get the band to open up the tour bus if we have to. We are going to stand outside the tour bus and sing "Happy Birthday" very loudly if that's what it takes to get them to open the bus. But we didn't have to. Kris MacFarlane, the drummer, was sitting in the driver's seat, with his feet propped up on the wheel, doing a crossword puzzle or something. Since I was carrying the cake, I knocked politely on the door and handed it to him. I explained that the store wouldn't decorate it for us and that it was the best we could do. That night, on stage, Alan thanked us for the gift.

I'm sure he busted a gut when he saw it. The only reason it isn't a Cakewreck is because we aren't professionals.

Now, about the message requesting "Something Beautiful": I was wearing a hoodie with a front pocket. The note was in that front pocket. Since I was the one carrying the cake (entirely by coincidence), I slipped it in on top of the cake. None of the other girls knew about it. Presumably the guys read the note while they ate their cake. I know Alan changed the set list after he had already made it up because "Captain Wedderburn" is crossed out and "Beautiful" is written in by hand.

So there you go. I told you it was a story in itself. And wasn't I right?

a reply to 'something beautiful indeed'

I was going to write this as a comment, but I think its too long to be a comment.


You just brought tears to my eyes Sara. Those first few days, the first week actually was like a living nightmare. I felt like I was in hell. I was tired, but I couldn't sleep. Hungry, but I couldn't eat. I was like a zombie. I didn't know one person could cry as much as I did. I have tried to move on, but there are still some days that I can't believe she is gone.


When I saw that video, the tears started all over again. During the first few days after Wolf's death, the song 'Something Beautiful' was the only thing that kept me going. I honestly did not know how I was going to get through it. Some people told me to just get over it. Well, that's easier said than done, and I'm sure that those of you reading this, that have lost someone dear to them, know what I mean. Those words soothed me, and helped me find peace and come to terms with Wolf/Jen's death. It ended up resulting in one of the best blog posts I've ever written. 


Hearing those words again did my heart good, even though tears were streaming down my face. It felt like the guys understood the kind of hell that we had gone through; the loss of a good friend, for that's why the song was written in the first place. The guys had lost three close friends to cancer within a span of seven months. Wolf never had cancer, but the sudden shock of her death hurt no less than losing someone when you know they aren't going to make it.


Sara, thanks for sharing that. I think Wolf would be proud of how well we're carrying on.

Something Very Beautiful, Indeed...

Awhile back, I promised to tell why "Something Beautiful" has recently earned a special place in my heart, and I think it's time to make good on that promise. A dear friend, who I only knew as Wolf Whitewater on Facebook, quite suddenly passed away on January 29 of this year. It was completely unexpected and extremely heart-wrenching. Both I and my fellow admin, Krista, had been particularly close to her, and found the loss almost more than we could bear. I can't speak exactly for Krista, since she is physically so many miles away, but the first few days were full of a wild woe for me. I barely slept and didn't eat at all the first day. As you might know, the album "Something Beautiful" was written after several of the band members' friends died in a short period. It was written out of grief, to reassure themselves that there was still some light ahead. And nowhere do you see that more than in the title track. Krista and I found that "Something Beautiful" helped us grieve for Wolf (her given name was Jennifer, but I still think of her as Wolf), and indeed still helps us. That brings us to the March 12 show in Seattle. I determined to ask Alan to sing "Something Beautiful" in Wolf's memory. I managed to get a message to the band (that in itself is a story--perhaps Part II?), saying how Wolf had been inspired by Alan to sing, play mandolin and guitar and was about to learn bodhran, like Sean, but passed before it arrived in the mail. She never set eyes on it. (This is all true, by the way. She saw the way Alan delighted in the music and wanted that same fierce joy for herself.) I asked if they would perform "Something Beautiful" in her memory--that it would mean a lot if they did, and signed it. I thought if they did do it--IF--Alan would simply say "By request". Instead he said, "This song is for Sara, and for some of us who can't be here tonight." Another friend videotaped it, since I almost didn't believe it happened. He made me cry--a lot. The set list--which I saw later, showed that they had been going to play "Captain Wedderburn", but it had been crossed out, and "Something Beautiful" had been put in its place at the last minute. So that is why "Something Beautiful" means more to me than ever, and I'm sure Wolf smiled down when she heard that song. Cheers, Sara

and the sea he commands...

The son (or actually the grandson) of a sailor sing the titletrack of his new song at sea. Lovely song, great voice and amazing guitar play.

Make some noise for Sean McCann

Sorry I've been a bit busy for the last few days so the poll is still not up but it will be within the week. Again if you got any ideas what the first poll should be on drop us a note - here, on the mail, on fb or twitter (we are everywhere - uuuuhh) ;)

But know to the real reason I stopped in, Sean McCann is posting videos from his Ship and Dip show these days.. Here are the first two :) and you gotta love Alan's introduction of his friend - this sweet!!!

I'll try and keep you updated - but if I am too slow for you hardcore fans out there, you can find the vids at Sean's youtube channel greatbigsean :)

Cheers

Karina

the card

So, I tweeted the finished card to Alan today. This is what it looks like:

And this was his tweet, shortly thereafter:

I think he liked the card :)