02/14/2024
Good afternoon, good evening and goodnight friends!
Just kidding. We had quite the weekend. Friday night blackhat celebrated Chris Gonzales’s birthday with a killer show at Frogee’s. They had quite the lineup featuring Dezbo, G Hippy, Johnny Carnage, and Twenty Dollar Prophets. The biggest announcement of the night that I heard was that Chris is going to be a dad! That’s awesome, and I wish them so much joy and happiness in the coming years. What a wild way to celebrate a birthday and the beginning of a new chapter; a crowd full of friends rocking out to some of the best music in the I.E. Congratulations to Chris and Sammy!!
As for the Fools and Lovers show over at Frogee’s Saturday night, Rhey had this to say: The bar was packed, and I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off but I wouldn’t have had it any other way. Bacho started off the night with a killer acoustic set, Heroes & Fools brought the house down as per usual, Blindsided had been on a hiatus so it was great to see them back in action, Everett killed his first live performance and got a great reaction from the crowd followed by a request for an encore, and Marty Calderon and Los Kombi ended the night with a bang. This was the biggest show I’d hosted so far so I was quite nervous starting out, but everything just seemed to fall into place as the night went on. Overall I’d say it was a solid night for not only the artists who performed but for Blackhat as well and I hope we get the chance to host in the future!
I don’t go to shows often and when I do it can be a little challenging to actually enjoy myself, especially when I am there in a business capacity. The same thing goes for the rest of the blackhat crew I’d imagine. I know Matt doesn’t get out much and actually get to relax or let loose, so that’s what he did Saturday. He got to enjoy the company of friends, have a few beers and see some new music from our good friends. Unfortunately I got a little frustrated with my camera’s performance in that venue. I do not have a lens capable of taking the most amazing photos in particularly dim venues. I don’t do this part of the job often enough these days to justify buying the expensive lenses I want for these situations. They’re the wrong investment at this juncture. Especially since my main push is actually getting the podcast off the idea board and into production.
I also failed to schedule an interview with Carnage that we’ve been trying to work out for ages. The entire weekend didn’t quite go as I’d planned…I almost didn’t even make it out there at all.
What did I learn from this somewhat unsuccessful weekend? Do I bench myself from shows? Hang up my camera, put away my tools and call it a day? No, I edit the photos I WAS able to get, offer alternative solutions to scheduling issues and move on. Remember Semper Gumby from one of the first few issues of the Buzz? No? Well, here’s that reminder to stay flexible friends. Vibe, roll with it, have feelings if you need to, but stay flexible. The nature of life is messy, chaotic, and beautiful. I’m going to refocus my energies on pushing more and more blackhat projects down the pipeline in hopes that something hits and we can grow this lil indie label into the arts collective we want it to be.
While things have been pretty intense recently I have taken to falling back on music in a way that I haven’t in a long time. I’ve written lyrics, picked up the uke that’s been collecting dust for seven years and actually learned a few things. I’m not saying I’ll be performing anywhere, but having the outlet is really therapeutic.
Until next week…
“Take a moment to think of just flexibility, love, and trust.”
Rebecca sugar
blackhat 