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THURSDAY
December 10, 1998
L.A. Traffic Around 1:30PM, I received a call from Shannon. He said that Warren and Jamie had called, relaying word that the traffic in Los Angeles was horrendous. They had gone up earlier around 12:30PM and had a first-hand experience with the L.A. traffic. I got ready right away and called Nate to arrange for us to carpool together. I headed out the door at 2:30PM. As soon as I hit the I-15 freeway on the way to Nate's house, I ran into traffic so bad it made my heart stop dead in its tracks! It looked like that scene from Sudden Impact, where everyone is trying to escape from the impending disaster and the freeways are jammed and traffic is at a hault! From past experience, I knew my normal 20-25 minute commute to Nate's house was now going to be 1 hour to 1hour and 15 minutes. This I-15 freeway has turned into a nightmare, a result of bad city planning and housing development, from what I have gathered. Should a freeway be at a virtual standstill at 2:30PM in the afternoon? I immediately pulled off the next freeway exit and called Nate at a pay phone. He wasn't there so I left a message that I would take the other freeway and for him to go on ahead on his own. I cut across to I-5 and it was smooth sailing... up until I hit 405 in Orange County. Throughout the entire trip I was listening to Led Zeppelin, the Remasters CD Box Set. In a way, it helped me cope with the traffic. In a way, it got me pumped up for L.A. driving! It was pretty much stop and go until I got close to the Santa Monica Blvd. exit, where I was to hang a right and travel two long, grueling, traffic-laden miles to The Beverly Hilton! I arrived at the Beverly Hilton right at 6:00PM, the designated load-in time for the band. Total driving time: 3 and a half hours, a trip that would normally take 2 and a half hours, but then again, in L.A., what's normal? When I got to the front I asked one of the valet personnel where was the best place to load in to the Coconut Club, he gave me directions to go around the block and pull into the loading dock on the other side. I went through a lot of traffic just to get to that loading dock, but when I got there, two workers told me to go back to the front of the hotel. I was in the wrong place. I was stressing by now, being that someone had given me wrong directions... I pulled up to the front, 15 minutes later, walked into the lobby and looked at the display map myself, and finally loaded into where we were supposed to play, the Coconut Club, by now it was 6:22PM.
The Beverly Hilton The gig at The Beverly Hilton went well. The Coconut Club is owned by television celebrity Merv Griffin. Someone said he was going to be at The Coconut Club tonight, but I never got a chance to see or meet him. Toni had gotten us this gig. She's a multi-talented singer, dancer and writer who has so much energy. She wanted the opportunity to sing a few songs with us tonight, and she got her chance. She sat on a chair to the side during our sets and when it was time for her to sing her "special numbers", she got up and did a fine performance on vocals. The whole thing reminded me of the old days when singers like Anita O'day, Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughn would sit on a chair up on stage until it was time to sing that special number. Toni has a beautiful voice and has a lot of potential to be a fine, young singer. I'm amazed that she really gets around, from writing swing articles for Swing Time Magazine and a few online magazines, to singing with Lavay Smith at The Derby. You have to admire someone like that with all her energy. And she's also good friends with Scott Steen and Royal Crown Revue, the premiere neo-swing band featured in the movie The Mask, and have gone on to be signed with Warner Brothers. In a way, I'm inspired by that amount of enthusiasm and dedication to so many things.
Perseverence I will definitely focus on self-improvement on the drums, getting to the next level and making sure I tie up all the loose ends, and practice the things that I am weak in, and not just go over things I already excel in. This must be the hardest thing for all musicians and artists to do, to go beyond what you already know and excel in, and strive to reach a higher level of artistry and surpass the "plateau" of complacency. I know my mind says that I should sit down and practice harder on the drums... to get to the level of Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich's technical brilliance... it seems so far away for me. For now, I am struggling with complacency in my own performance, but I know I must push on, being careful not to overdo it as well. For the drummer, injury too must be taken into consideration for if I'm injured, then I simply can not play drums. But I know now that it's all about feeling and attitude, and not just technical master of the instrument. A player must have soul and the ability to connect to the audience. To bring joy and pleasure to the audience through playing the drums.
Currently Reading:
Led Zeppelin - Remasters Carlos Rull 
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