2002-10-23 : 4:03 p.m.
Ode to Gainesville and LTJ

Listening to: Less Than Jake, Rockview

Christ I love this band�no really. I was thinking about it on the subway ride to work� I Love this band� in the way, I want them to be world famous and change the world in a Bono/U2 sort of way� high expectations I know� nevertheless, I wondered why I felt this way� why I am more than willing, even in my ripening age to go out in the dead of night, to staple flyers and posters for them� okay be warned� here�s a plug� the new remastered �Pezcore� has been rereleased, for their 10th anniversary! If you�re at all into ska/punk it�s a must buy! Wow, ten years�.

Hmmm� that only led me to reminisce to the first time I saw them live� a little over seven years ago� I was fresh to Gainesville and the world of University of Florida� and my first roommate Ivy� took notice of my taste in music� as did my new found friend Kenda� It was Kenda who had heard wind of this super cool- funky- jazzified-raw � hopping local band� she asked me if I would want to check it out� and Ivy insisted I go� (at the moment, didn�t know why�) I don�t remember why Ivy didn�t go, I only remember her telling me� "I�d get you the tickets myself, but it�s last minute and besides it will do you good, to experience them from the root, as your first time�" I was like� eh? Okay Ivy, whatever you say man�

So I did� I was surprised to see the number of people who had plopped their behinds outside of the club� punks, geeks, goths, every representation of the different aspects of my own personality and life� I was to say the least� feeling at home�

So we made the line� squat and sat for a couple hours� (as per the advice we got� to get there really early before it sold out)� we finally got in and got tagged with the band and got a receipt (I think)� and went in� the place wasn�t too packed at the moment�

So Kenda and I just spent the hour we had to kill before they came on, just walking around� sober as hell� we were 18 and with no hook up for liquor in site� so we walked, met folk, and the time passed�

Then LTJ waddled on, to screams and toys being thrown on and off the stage� with antics and one liners that made me think I could just have easily entered a comedy club� and oooohhh ahhhh, enter Chris� (lead singer)

Beautiful boy� Chris� he had his hair bleached that insanely bright-almost white color� with roots black as night�. Pre-apologies for the bluntness, but I thought I was going to cum through my pants�

And then the horns began to flare� Goldfinger and Jessica (previous horn players) began to sway and groove, like band players in a blizzard being kept warm by the musical funk� it was all original soul�

The club/bar was small and packed with people jumping, singing, strangers swinging each other around, cheering, kicking, hopping� The stage was also small, and barely equipped to hold all the members� but it seemed to be perfect�. They would turn, find each other, crack jokes�. Spank each other with their instruments� and any flying fans that would end up on the stage for that matter� and have such ecstatic fun� I was trapped in the wave of raw energy and the music, that induced a kind of euphoric happiness� that I can only equate to being on X� it was just surreal� I was hooked and star struck by that beautiful boy Chris� yummy�

Then, a few days later, when Ivy came around after being MIA for a few days, I told her EVERYTHING�

I remember the smile on her face�. And what she would proceed to tell me�

�Well, I was just by their place this past weekend� and well, there having a party this weekend� and even though I didn�t see Chris�. He�s well, shall we say, very very single� I�ll show him your picture��

In total disbelief� the kind I can only imagine would be like if you win some kind of lottery�

�Whaaaaat!!!! FUCK YEAH! �. Nuh-uh� for real? HOLY SHIT! Nuh-uh� you joshin� girl� (she�s laughing) No way! OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!�

Then in a moment of clarity, I looked to her and said, �But�. But what? You said, But��

�But you have a boyfriend asshole��

Days went by and I had a decision to make� even though it wasn�t a real decision persay� because well, in all likelihood, I would just meet him and the others, and nothing� absolutely nothing would come of it, except maybe- just maybe a group of really cool new friends�

But you see, I have this thing with �intentions�� and I believe intent should be weighed just as heavily as any outcome (prior to it�s intent). Because in my opinion, intent is always defined by what the heart truly wants and desires.

I had gone into college, with the weight of what had become a long distance relationship with my high school sweetheart and I would never consider cheating(and to this day, never have on anyone.)

So I did something I actually regret to this day, a decision I feel cheated me out of a huge life experience� when the invite finally came through to come over and hang out� I chickened out. I never met any of them. I had let the guilt of feeling this intent cloud me� and in a strange way I think I punished myself. And it�s a regret, because I should have taken that as the message it was, to let go and move on. You see, our break up was inevitable, we both knew this already� as much as we really did love each other� the only thing that kept it going for even a bit longer� was the fear of change. And I had lost big to this fear.

But my love for LTJ, is not just this� see, that day would eclipse and personify my entire college career� a world that could only be fed by the setting of Gaineville� a small city, literally run and kept alive by students� there are many college towns, but so very very few with dynamics like this� where everything from the grocery store cashier, club bouncers/owners, gas attendants, shop managers/supervisors, librarians, McDonald�s, Denny�s, the infamous �Insomnia� coffee place (owned and run)� the whole freaken town was essentially run and survived with and of students�

It makes for a breeding town of art and experimentation like no other� no matter what scene you secluded yourself in, it always co-existed with the others, frats, punks, sorority dumb-fucks (nothing personal�), athletics, photographers, musicians� always were crashing each others parties� events that would take over entire complexes and over came sex, color, or religion. (I was never able to make it through an entire complex� ever.) Even the cops were for the most part alumni or alumni drop outs� which would always make for some hysterical banter when they would show up� purposefully hours later� they really would let us have our fun� for the most part they would wait until some mad influx of nudity would ensue and have to arrest the nerds for indecent exposure and lewdness...

LTJ was all this and more� and what�s even crazier is how true they are to the Gainesville scene and the energy that feeds them� found in such songs as �Gainesville Rock City� and �Liquor Store�� to name a few� even after all this time and the big record label they would be finally signed to my freshman year� they still live and work out of Gainesville�

For these reasons and more that rush through my head� and not because it happens to be a huge American foot ball school� I bleed orange and blue.

Yeah, and LTJ is on a european leg of their tour... so heads up devallyk, you lucky devil...

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* - 2007-07-05
--------------------- - 2006-05-30
hello, goodbye - 2006-05-24
Pinky burglar - 2006-03-09
So let's go... - 2006-02-24