Road Trip to LA with EBX
I've been putting off making this post just because I don't want to write about it. The trip was last minute, it was fantastic, and it was long (but also not, all at the same time. Weird, eh? You know what I mean though). There was a lot that happened that I could write about, but would you read it all anyhow? I'm not sure, and either way, I'm too lazy to type it all out. So here are the basics. On Friday I found out that I would be leaving the following Tuesday to accompany Detroit rock band Elsie Binx to their show at The Whisky A GoGo in LA. We were driving, and would be gone about a week. We picked up a BandWagon in Bowling Green, Indiana, which would take us to California and back.
I had never visited the west coast of the US before, and had a great time taking in the scenery of the in-between states as we drove through them.
We stopped in Bulls Head City, Arizona for dinner and showers at the home of the extremely hospitable mother of the band's producer/sound guy/manager/driver. It was gorgeous and I'd love to visit Arizona again. When I woke up in Los Angeles on Friday morning I was excited to a) be out of a moving vehicle for a bit, and b) be in a place that has mountains AND palm trees AND awesome weather. Our time in LA was short, and there wasn't much time for touristy things, but we still managed to sneak in a few visits to notable places. On our first night in the city the band had an interview with Metal Babe Mayhem, an L.A. based clothing brand/PR company that aims "to provide independent artists a platform to be seen and heard, while assisting with necessary products, services, and fashion, in an effort to increase exposure, fan base, and income," according to their website. This took place at The Rainbow Bar & Grill, notable hangout of the late Lemmy Kilmister.
The day of the show we managed to visit to Santa Monica Beach, where I waded in the ocean and got some photos and videos of the band's rhythm guitarist and drummer making noise on the beach.
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Later that night the band played a fantastic set at the iconic Whisky a GoGo. They absolutely crushed it, the audience seeming to love their tunes and stage presence, with Snapchat videos being taken from all angles. If you're interested, there's some awesome footage from their set available via Jimmy Jams, courtesy Jimmy Mulder, another band hanger-on and all around fantastic person.
They shared the stage that night with The Atomic Punks, an early tribute to Van Halen, rock band Talia, Chicago-based instrumental group RDG, The Jack, an AC/DC tribute act, and the strange yet oddly-entertaining Myne.
EBX
Talia
The Atomic Punks
RDG
The morning after the show we headed to Woodland Hills in the San Fernando Valley for lunch with some of the wonderful people responsible for arranging the band's performance. In preparation for two days of driving back to the cold and terrible weather of Ontario, I took a walk around the neighbourhood grabbing shots of things that I can't find at home, like cacti and palm trees.
Two days later I was back in Michigan cursing the cold and loving the readily available showers. The entire trip was fantastic, and I'm so grateful to the band for bringing me along and to all the wonderfully hospitable people who gave us food, showers, parking spots, and t-shirts during the journey.
