A Rainy But Perfect Weekend

FFE2: The Country Bugaloo

Sunday, January 22, 2017

PellaPosse Palladium

Monrovia, CA

During the week leading up to the house concert, it rained.  It rained a LOT.  It was going to rain some more.  On Friday morning, Weff and Glenndy came over to set up the Palladium and tried to find times when they could move the sofas to the garage when it wouldn't be pouring on them.  I had been freaking out all week because I didn't want my floors to get wet.  Weff got a coat rack that we could fit in the bathtub.  Glenndy got umbrella bags.  My friends take care of me.  In the afternoon, Glenndy and I needed to pick up Steve.  But wait.  His goody bag wasn't ready, and I needed gas.  You know what's funny about the 7-11 in Arcadia?  They have Pocky.  All kinds of Pocky.  I got all the flavors and we went back to my house so I could fill up the goody bag, and then went to LAX.  It wasn't raining very hard, but I still worried a little because the next day we would be outside.    Wendy had made a sign for me, and we giggled in the airport waiting area as people looked at it when they walked by us.  One guy even started humming "Have You Seen Her", and I was pleased because that meant someone was actually paying attention to our sign.  Not that he had seen Steve or anything, though.

Bananaman helps me on my search

 Once Steve's plane landed, he texted me and we waited.  And waited.  I thought he was tricking us again and hiding somewhere.  Turns out they were taxiing on the tarmac for a while because their plane arrived so early that they didn't have a gate at which to park the plane.  We kept looking at people's legs as they came down the escalator, trying to guess if they belonged to him.  Once we saw the guitar case, we knew:  FFE Weekend had begun!

The Star Has Arrived!

After getting his luggage, we drove directly to Villa Italia Ristorante, my favorite Italian place, introduced to me by Glenndy themselves.  We were all hungry despite the snacks we ate while waiting for FFE to arrive.  Everything was delicious, and the company was wonderful, and I would have had wine, but I was driving precious cargo around, so that didn't happen.  We went to my house and FFE put his luggage away.  During dinner, we had asked if he had any idea what we'd be doing the next day.  He didn't.  I asked FFE to bring out the bag that was in his room.  He was happy to see all of the Pocky in the bag...and then saw a button that said "1st Visit Disneyland".  He excitedly asked us, "Are we going to Disneyland tomorrow?!"  Yes, yes we are!!!  It turns out that this would not be FFE's first visit, but he was a little kid back then, so this would be quite a different experience.  We explained that we were able to book a VIP tour so we'd be doing Disneyland in style.  He got really excited, like a little kid.  It was adorable.  I had only one request: that he ride with me on The Little Mermaid ride.  Of course, he agreed.  I mean, what was he supposed to say? I mentioned to him that Disneyland is special to me partly because I met Glenndy there, back before they became Glenndy.  Then we all sat down to tell the long story of the internet bringing us together.  Knowing that we'd have a big day coming, Glenndy left so we could get some rest.  I'm not sure if we got any, though, because we were excited.  I may have been excited about stuff other than Disneyland, too.

Saturday morning, the weather was perfect.  Not a drop of water was falling from the sky. Bro and V arrived and I introduced FFE to V.  We went to a doughnut place for breakfast, where I realized that I didn't have my phone, so I went back to the house to get it while they ate.  Luckily, we were only a few blocks away from my house.  On the way to the Park, V studied the way to maximize points on the Toy Story Midway Mania ride, and we decided to be in the same vehicle and together we would outscore our other friends.  KP and her brother, Jim, were late to our meeting place at the Grand Californian, which was unusual for her.  Turns out that Jim's camera was damaged while going through bag check and he was dealing with that.  Bummer.  We met our guide, Willy, and headed for DCA. We had lunch reservations at Ariel's Grotto, and met princesses.  Ariel loved my Ariel shoes.

That's Me!

 Yes, FFE sat with me on my ride, although it seemed that Bro was going to steal him from me (hence the LotD).  FFE got the most points in our vehicle at Toy Story Midway Mania.

Before he kicked our butts

 We showed him where Bro and V got engaged.

My brother got engaged here!

 We went to Disneyland and rode a bunch of rides over there.  We watched the "Frozen" show at the Hyperion and FFE told Cindy that he needed to sit by me so we could share my $1.00 popcorn.  Like I'm going to say no.  We spent some time in what Miss O calls the "special place".  

Selfie #1901

We went to back to Disneyland to watch the Main Street Electrical Parade and the subsequent fireworks.  I told FFE about my balloon phobia, which made him understand why I brushed him off when he pointed out the Death Star balloon.  We didn't stay until closing because we still had another big day for the weekend.   It was a perfect day at Disneyland: the weather, the company, the activities...perfect.  What an awesome, fantabulous, magical day!

The rain started on Sunday morning, and I went to church. FFE slept in. Weff and KP came over and the five of us went to brunch at what FFE knows as "our place" so he could have huevos rancheros.

Having his dish at Our Place

 They went to do some errands while FFE rested and I got the house ready for the concert.  Also, I formed cowboy boot-shaped sugar cookies from pre-made dough.  They came out pretty lame, and I was cracking up at my ineptitude when Weff returned.  So Wendy helped me decorate them to make them look less lame.

Boot-ish Cookies

 KP and Jim arrived and the chairs were unloaded.  Yes, he had to bring them in while it was raining.  So prep also involved wiping off the chairs.  Glenndy arrived with the food and also had to bring that in while it was raining.  OMG, the wetness.  Katie, Bro, and V arrived and set up the video equipment, and FFE did a quick sound check with Double N. It was an NFL playoff day, and FFE's Patriots were contenders, so he was hidden away in the den to watch the game until the guests arrived.  Kyoko arrived early to make something for everyone, and when I got out of the shower, I asked why it smelled the way it did in the house.  Turns out she burned stuff in my microwave, so the next task was to clean that out and make my house smell OK.  Thank goodness for the Angry Mama microwave cleaner.

The other guests arrived, and Cindy greeted them at the door, told them how to deal with their wet belongings, and gave them place cards to save their seats.  KP had created awesome jars for the raffle tickets, and dealt with that process.

Raffle Table

 When FFE was ready to talk to folks, he did so in his wonderful way and everyone cheered with him as they watched the Patriots win the game while they ate Filipino food.   

Watching the Patriots win

Then he got warmed up for the show and folks were eventually asked to take their seats for the show.  

In the Hallway

Double N was having some trouble with the sound system when the show started, so FFE talked about our perfect day at Disneyland with the audience.  Then it was time for him to sing!

Do It For The Love

FFE asked me to sing in harmony with him, so I did.  

Sing With Me Now

Edge of 18

FFE: That's going to go on your doodle.
KP:  I've been commissioned.

Runnin' Red Lights

FFE asked Dene if he remembers leaning over in the car to get a smooch from June.
Dene: More than a smooch!

SD has to unwind guitar strings when he flies.

No Substitute

No spoilers, but...

I like that intro.

Math teacher, KP!!!!

Sam Cooke!

FFE: You hit that dissonant chord first, then you bring them back.  Oops.

Duct Tape and Prayers

Cute song!

You Leave Me Wanting More

More of your ey--Heart

Wish I Would Have Let You

FFE: (forgets lyrics) "That happens sometimes."
This happens with Scott, too.  I guess if I wrote as many songs as them, I'd forget stuff. 

One Last Summer

There may be jello shots involved with this song

Rudy began to reminisce about his past summers.  Then realized how much he liked the song.  "That was sweet, man!"

Weightless

Sherry sighs loudly and announces that this is her favorite one.

Sher: I need to get that Weightless Water.
  He's right there.

I Can Always Tell

Close To You
This song was requested by Kyoko, whom sang along a little.  

The Good Life

FFE's grandfather would slice apples at one of their gatherings and call it "Having an Apple Party"

...and we're all crying now.

FFE can't look at his dad when he plays this song or he'll cry.  It's FFE's favorite song.

Full Moon Feelin'

Perfect for a spin on a night like this (maybe not a convertible on this rainy night)

Afterward, we held a raffle to benefit the Breast Cancer Foundation.  I was disappointed that I didn't win a frame THAT I MADE myself and could make another, but Ferdie had won a lot of stuff, so when he won that, he gave it to me.  Aw, sweet!

Sherry Sandwich

Weff brought a yummy cake from one of my favorite bakeries for the occasion: an Ube cake with Lecheflan filling from Baked Dessert Bar.  So yum.  I tried not to make it look like we were cutting the cake together.  No, I did not feed cake to FFE.  I already fed him lumpia earlier.  ;)

See?

Kyoko sang "Close to You" with FFE playing the guitar.

Group Picture Silliness

By the time our guests left, the rain had dissipated a little bit, but it was still wet.  FFE helped bring in the furniture and the Posse and I cleaned up.  FFE tried to help by eating more pancit even though he said he wasn't going to eat anymore.  I told FFE why I like Doritos and somehow he's still speaking to me.  I gave him a cute print of Han Solo and Chewbacca playing with a toy Millennium Falcon, which he loved, and insisted I sign on the back.

The posse left after cleanup, and said their goodbyes.  FFE and I planned our alarm times and he went to sleep.  Because I'm me, I still cleaned up a little bit more before going to bed because I still couldn't sleep right away.  

I drove FFE to the airport early the next morning, and we had some time, so I parked the car and walked in with him.  Due to him no longer being an official Rockapella member, I sadly voiced my fear that I might never see him again.  He told me not to think like that because he's trying to get his band to play out here in CA sometime this summer.  (I'm writing this in September.  No word yet.  Yes, I'm about to cry again).  

We gave each other huge hugs and kisses on the cheeks and said we'd see each other soon.  I went home and sent messages to the posse to thank them for such a great weekend. There may have been more crying.  Dang, all of these emotions!

The Star and The Posse

Thank you, Posse, for everything you've done to help get this done a second time, and in style!  Thank you to all of our guests for braving the torrential rain to see FFE do his thang.  Thank you to photographer Jim for the awesome pictures on House Concert day.  Thank you to videographers Katie, Bro and V.  The footage looks great, and will be uploaded to YouTube when I figure out how to do that.  Thank you to Steve, for being such a trusting soul and for every smile you put on my face this weekend.

Until next time, FFE.  Love you lots.

Our Star

PusherPix 07/19/16

PusherPix

Tuesday, July 19, 2016

One year ago today, this man sang "Venus" in my living room.

PusherPix 07/18/16

PusherPix
Monday, July 18, 2015

One year ago today: Anticipation

That Sunday, That Summer

Steve Dorian House Concert

PellaPosse Palladium

Monrovia, CA

Sunday, July 19, 2015

The Preparations
Several months ago, Steve Dorian (of Rockapella) requested donations on pledgemusic.com to help fund his next solo EP.  The PellaPosse decided to pool their resources to hold a house concert.  They decided on my house.  I did not object.  I just knew I had a whole heckuva lot of cleaning to do.  Since the shindig was at my house, I took the lead on the project because that's the control freak in me: I just can't have other people being in charge of stuff at my own residence.  That made sense to everyone at our planning meeting, and all plans went underway.   Many messages went back and forth between the posse and me, me and Steve, and me and pledgemusic when I screwed up the donation.  We had a few planning meetings.  Steve was kind enough to answer our many, many questions. A Save the Date evite was sent 60 days before the show, with the promise of someone performing in my house (hints were given, but no names).  Then the Admit One invitations were sent, and excitement abounded beyond the posse circle.  I somehow got the house clean, with the help of my parents.  The posse came over the day before to move furniture and set up decorations and such.  I wanted to sweep the room before they set up the chairs, but I couldn't find my broom anywhere, and was convinced that my mom took it home.  I don't know why she would do that, but whatevs.  I talked about what would go on the table in the kitchen, including cake.  Wendy got excited and said, "Oh, we're going to have cake?!  I love cake!"  I looked at her, puzzled and clearly thinking "You've got to be kidding me right now".  SHE was assigned to the cheesecake because it was her idea.  I told her, "You're bringing the cheesecake."  "Oh, yeah."  My posse is the best posse in the universe.  Seriously, I love them.  Then the day came.  Wendy pointed out to me that it was my half-birthday.  Well, Happy Half-Birthday to me!

Here you are, the happenings of that day.  

The Welcome
I had invited the posse to either ride with me to the airport to pick up Steve, or meet me there.  Wendy realized that my departure time was a wee bit early for her, so Glenndy met me at my house, and we were on our way to LAX.  After I got on the freeway going the wrong way, and had to turn around.  OMG, she's already in trouble, and he's not even here yet!  I had made a sign that read "FFE".

Fancy, right?  I added another star later, for Steve's lucky number.

 In case you're not familiar with my nickname for Steve, read this.  (2nd paragraph of the Meet and Greet section).  Or just ask him yourself.  Anyway, we arrived at the airport, and I needed to make note of where we parked.  1D.  1 Dorian!  Got it!  Yeah, I need help.  During our drive to LAX, I announced to Glenndy that I was hungry.  I announced it more than 3 times.  This is known as "We need to feed Sherry now or things will go badly" time.  Luckily for Glenndy and Steve, there was a Starbucks at the Terminal 4 baggage claim area, so yay!  Well, yay after we got into the beginning portion of the line instead of looking like idiots at the pick up side.  Glenn took pictures of me with my sign, and Cindy suggested that he take pictures of Steve's arrival.

Hurry up and get here!

 Steve had texted me when his plane landed, and they were taxiing around the tarmac because the flight had arrived ahead of the scheduled time.  Even US Airways wanted Steve to get the heck on over to California already!  I asked Cindy to distract me while we waited, because it seemed to be taking a long time, and I tried to keep an eye on both entrances to baggage claim.  This did not work (the eye on the entrances).  Steve snuck up behind me and gave me a big hug.  Surprise!  HI!!!!!  I told him that I made a sign for him and he took a look at it, and didn't understand.  I underlined the first "F" with my finger, and said, "Flirty..."  Steve:  "OH!"  and then he gave me this look like "Oh, Sherry."   (Not the Steve Perry song).  I told him that it would become the sign to his dressing room.  Really, he had no choice but to embrace the nickname.  I mean, he already does, so he might as well run with it, right?

Checking out the sign on the Award-Winning Clipboard

We took a couple more pictures while we were waiting for his luggage.  He hadn't planned on checking his bag, but he was running late this morning due to the heightened security in Nashville, and the airline made him check the bag because there was no more space in the overhead bin.  Then he asked me not to be mad at him.  Ummm...what happened?  APPARENTLY, he had forgotten his microphone and cord, and he felt bad about us renting sound equipment for the gig.  We told him that we had borrowed the equipment, so no need to feel bad.  Besides, he probably wouldn't need the sound system due to my hardwood floor and the size of the room.  Also, we had an extra mic.  He was relieved.

Happily waiting for luggage

 Steve's luggage arrived, and we headed over to the car.  Cindy asked if he had ever seen my car.  No.  They showed him my license plate.  He said, "Oh, I've got to take a picture of this!  Come here, Sherry."  So of course I obliged because you know how afraid I am of having my picture taken.  (On a scale of 1 to 10, about a 2).  

The chauffeur, the precious cargo, and the vehicle

We drove back to the San Gabriel Valley commune, and went to brunch at my favorite brunching place these days: Nano Cafe.  When he had texted me the day before, Steve said that he wanted to rest a bit before the show.  I told him that I was planning on taking him to brunch first, but would do whatever.  I guess he realized that he'd be hungry when he landed, and agreed wholeheartedly.  YES!  We told him that we've enjoyed everything that we've tried there so far, so really, we weren't very helpful.  He ordered the Huevos Rancheros.  The server asked him a lot of questions about sides and such, which seemed to overwhelm him.  I think maybe she liked him a little more than she liked the rest of us.  I mean, who wouldn't, right?  Even with his baseball cap on, which he cutely removes to tousle his hair every now and then.  When our food arrived, somehow we got an extra fruit plate that we hadn't ordered.  See?  I was right.  Heck, if I was our server, I'd bring out another order of Huevos Rancheros.  But I'm crazy, and that's why I don't work in a restaurant, because I'd get fired for giving away free food to handsome men.  Our food was yummy, as usual.  I couldn't finish my food because of the earlier Starbucks visit, but that's OK.  It was still good the next day.  We had a great time exchanging stories with Steve about how we met and how long we've lived in California, that Glenn doesn't like jalapeno, keeping secrets, and the Asian gangs and...yeah, I think I may have shocked his smallville-ness with my not-really-that-much-but-more-than-his street cred.  Sorry.  Then the server brought the check, and we all fought to take it.  Glenn finally got it, and I said, "Steve, remember when I said that I would TAKE you to brunch?"  Cindy added, "She didn't say 'I'll give you a ride to brunch.'"  Steve did not give up, though, and somehow reached over with his long arms to grab the check when Glenn set it down to get his wallet.  Oops.  

Before All of the Check Wrestling.  Thank you, Steve!

We arrived at my house and before I opened the front door, I asked him, "Are you ready?"  Yes, he was, and when I opened the door, he exclaimed, "YEAH!!! This is perfect!"  He loved the set up of the PellaPosse Palladium.  We told him to look left, and he saw the background for the photo ops, and got more excited.  We told him that Glenn was his stand-in when we were figuring out the height of everything.  He sat on the stool so that we could determine if the chairs in the front row were an OK distance away from him.  "Yeah, that's a little close."  So I scooted the chair back until it was comfortable for him, and we adjusted accordingly.  I mean, intimate is one thing, but that was a little too much.  He agreed that we wouldn't need the sound system.  I showed him around the house and told him to help himself to whatever in the kitchen, and Glenndy left to get ready.  

Photo Op practice

Steve brought all of the stuff from Nashville to use for the raffle:  magnets, a Steve Dorian crew shirt, a mug (he showed me that the General Jackson Showboat was on it), and a couple of his CDs.  He then settled down for a nap.  I freaked out a bit over not making any sound so that he could sleep, and of course, needed to make noise during that time.  Also, I wanted an adult beverage, but had forgotten to take out the Angry Orchard bottles from the closet in Steve's room, and wasn't about to go in there to satisfy my need to calm the heck down.  Someone rang the doorbell.  My doorbell is very loud.  Sorry, Steve!  I was, like, "What the heck is anyone doing here this early?!?"  Turns out that it was a delivery from Edible Arrangements.  Jenn was on a wonderful trip to Thailand, but wanted to contribute, so she sent a bouquet of fruit.  Thank you, Jenn!  I checked my phone.  The restaurant had left me messages last week that my food was ready (I don't listen to messages unless I know who they're from, but checked today in case of snafus)...so I called to see if they still had my order for today.  No.  I tried not to go ballistic, and told the guy the name of the person I talked to, and what I had ordered.  He must have realized that HE was the one that wrote down the wrong date (I told him about 3 times back then), and said that they could have the food ready by the original requested time of 3:00.  (It was 5 minutes to noon).  I breathed a little bit and decided to finish making the iced tea because the water was boiling and the kettle was whistling, and OHMIGOSH, is he still able to sleep with all of this racket?!?  Do you know that the process of making iced tea is loud?  I do now.  Oh, Good Lord, Sher!  So are steps on the hardwood floor.  At least I didn't put tennis shoes in the dryer, as Glenn had suggested.  Steve's response to him was an emphatic "NO."  So I skipped the laundry part of the getting ready time, and took a shower instead.  It was a really humid day, and I could have taken a shower every hour if not for my house guests and our drought.  Luckily for Steve, he had the room with the window unit air conditioner.  I have to treat my star right!

The posse arrived to finish setting up.  I let them do so while I finished getting myself ready.  Steve exited his room and looked at me as I was sitting on my bed and struggling with the buckle on my new shoes, and said, "Hi."  He was a little groggy.  I told him that Weff had arrived, and he said, "OK, I'm going to go scare them."  When I finally got my shoes on and went to the kitchen, I gave proper hellos to the posse and the crew. Posse, BTW:  Karla (KP), Wendy and Jeff (Weff), and Glenn and Cindy (Glenndy).  Nicole set up the video equipment, and Michelle arrived later to be our photographer.  KP nicely set this up because she knew that we'd want to concentrate on the show.  Awesome thinking, KP!  Steve had agreed to video of everything.  He's so brave to deal with us and our craziness.  Then Steve looked at me with those eyes, and I could tell that something was wrong.  I asked him what was going on.  "I didn't know that people would be arriving already."  Sher: "Remember when I told you that the posse would be here at 3:00 to finish setting up?"  FFE:  "Oh, yeah, you did say that.  I need to take a shower."  So I told him about my old shower pipes, and let him get ready for the real guests, and we'd handle everything.  Looking back, I wonder if he wanted to help with set up.  He's so sweet, that guy.  Maybe he was still trying to figure out why I was sitting in such an awkward position on my bed...or he wondered why there was noise from the kitchen if I was in the bedroom and we were supposed to be alone in the house.

Bro arrived with the food from Pinoy Pinay.  Well, he arrived and then left it in the car so that he could say hello and make sure that I had everything ready for the food.  We were standing there, talking, and I said, "Um, Bro?  The food?" and he took it out of the car.  Bro told me that when he arrived at the restaurant, they DIDN'T HAVE MY NAME for an order.  He reminded them that I called today to confirm and that they had the food ready on the wrong day, just so it would jog someone's memory.  They said that they didn't have my name, but they said his name.  He said, "That's me."  While I did tell them my name, I also gave them the name of the person picking up the food.  Clearly, they're confused, and we might be ordering from the other storefront next time because SHEESH!  

The Personal Touch
Steve was ready to meet the public...in the Star Wars shirt that I had placed in his Thank You bag.  The shirt is a picture of Darth Vader in a phone booth, with the Stormtroopers waiting in line to talk on the phone.  He said that he really liked the shirt.  Yay!  I introduced him to Bro and told him that it was Bro's fault that I started following Rockapella in the first place, and therefore anything that went wrong that night would be Bro's fault.  Bro said that he gets me into things, lets me run with them, and steps back and watches.  Except for drum corps, he is correct.  Another obsession that is his fault:  Disneyland.  Bro then had people smell his arm because he's trying a new coconut oil skincare program.  Yes, he asked more than just me.  He asked Steve, whom he'd just met 15 minutes prior.  Steve thought that Bro was going to punch him, and flinched.  I was mortified and apologized for the craziness that is the Santos Family.  Later on, Bro was talking to Steve about V and the kids, and Steve couldn't understand how someone like Bro already had a 9-year-old.  Dude is 40.  Steve was incredulous.  

Wendy had made tattoos and sold them for $1 each, also for the Breast Cancer Research charity to which the raffle money would go (it was Steve's request for any $ he collected after he reached his goal).  These are some of the tattoos:

• FFE (Steve's)
• PellaPusher (Sherry's)
• I Wear Guacamole On My Jeans (Wendy's)
• The Good Life
• Steve Dorian

  

  Tattoos

  
  

  

  Tattoo Artist Applying Her Work

As folks arrived, Cindy greeted them at the door and had them put their name on a place card and put the card on the chair where they'd like to sit.  

My seat.  Mine.

Then Karla hit them up for raffle tickets, and Steve would meet folks.  This was his plan, to talk to people, eat some dinner, then sing, then we would do our raffle while having dessert.  The man is OK with singing after he eats.  I'm the other way around.  I get too nervous to eat.  So he talked to people.  At one point, we talked about Fred, and Steve did his impression of Rockapella's sound man.  It was completely and hysterically accurate.  I walked into the dining room where a few people were standing, and said, "I want some Doritos."  Steve:  "Everyone needs a little Doritos in their life" and smiled at me.  I'm pretty sure I blushed at this point.  He has no idea why I would blush, but I have witnesses that he said it.  BTW, the Cool Ranch Doritos were served as an homage to the lyric "She's California Cool" from "Wildfire".  Kyoko came all the way from Japan just for this concert, and Steve was very appreciative.  It started to pour rain as guests arrived, so some people were wet, including Ken, whom was absolutely drenched, but I love that he came anyway.  Ferdie wasn't able to talk to Steve when he first got there, because Ferdie is like me and becomes speechless in that kind of company.  

I grabbed his hand after a little while and stole him from whomever he was talking to (sorry!), leading him back to the kitchen for his first try at Filipino food.  He didn't want to go first.  I told him that he is the guest of honor, whom else would go first?  OK.  He asked me to tell him what to do.  Maybe he shouldn't say that to me.  :)  I directed him to put rice on the plate, put the pork adobo on top of the rice, put lumpia on the plate, put sauce on the lumpia, then put pancit (3-noodle combination of miki, bihon, and sotanghon) on the plate, then eat.  Then he asked Michelle to take a picture of him with the food, and of him feeding me lumpia.  I was told later that I should have fed him lumpia in return.  I was just too flummoxed to think at that moment. I owe you one, Steve!  

Lumpia Time!

Steve really liked the food, which made me very happy.  We joked and told him that he needs to have a rider, and it needs to list Filipino food as a requirement.  He talked about Rockapella's rider.  His request is the hummus.  Now, though, that might change, as I've been told that he'd like to be an honorary Filipino so he can have the food all of the time.  Linda said to him, "I'm an Honorary Santos, and now, you are too!"  She told him that she spends Thanksgivings with my family, and when he asked if we have Filipino food on Thanksgiving, told him no.  But um, we can arrange for that to happen.  Well, OK, then!  Welcome to the family, Steve!  (You may ignore Bro's arm at future family events).

D'Saints

After the deliciousness, Steve got ready for the show and changed clothes.  I brought him the one thing he requested: his Monster energy drink, brought my now-chilled bottle of Angry Orchard (I was able to take bottles while he was out mingling, but did tell him what I was doing), and we toasted to a great show.  He asked what I was drinking, and I told him I'd get him some later.  

He's in my hallway!

The Show
I wished Steve a good show one more time and got a nice thank you hug.  He's so huggable!  Then I told him that I would announce him.  I closed the hallway door, and thanked everyone for coming, thanked the posse for the event and thanked everyone for contributing to Steve's transportation costs (their admission ticket), and was just about to introduce him when I looked over and the door was open, and there he was.  I looked at him and said, "You're nice and full now" and patted his stomach.  One sip of a drink is all it takes, I guess.  He said yes, and I announced him formally.

Steve asked Wendy to give a blessing for tonight.  He had been talking to Jeff about it because they were talking about how blessed they both felt about life stuff, but Jeff suggested that Wendy do the prayer because she's used to doing that out loud.  Wendy did a beautiful job.  Thank you, Wendy.  This house is already full of so many blessings, and now with Wendy's prayer, it is all the more happy.  What a great idea, Steve!

Wendy asks us to raise our hands in prayer toward Steve

Steve talked about the pledgemusic campaign and thanked us for our contributions.  Steve talked about writing each song, but I'm sorry, I didn't take notes that night, so I don't have all the info that I would usually share.  


Runnin' Red Lights
This started out as a song about wanting to take his time taking a girl home, and turned into trying to get home as fast as possible so that they can spend quality time together.  He sang this song at CMA Fest when he won the Country Deep Rising Star contest.  We're so proud of you, Steve!  I wish I had AT&T Uverse so I could watch the performance.

Wish I Woulda Let Ya
I think that this is when I told KP, "He's RIGHT THERE."  
KP: I know
Steve:  I can hear you.
Oh.  Hi.  

Yeah, he IS right there!

If I Knew Her Name

Weightless
Ah, love.  Feeling like you're just so light and on air.  I was feeling Weightless for at least a week after this event.  This song is beautiful, and I hope it gets released as a single, because it has airplay potential, and we want to hear Steve on the radio, goshdarnit!

Do It For The Love

Girls Know Better
Cindy and I agree with this sentiment.  So does Glenn.  This is a fun song.

Well, we do.  Even right there, we do.

Low Tide

Somewhere in here, Steve was talking, and was distracted by the tattoo on his arm.  He showed it to all of us and asked if everyone knew what "FFE" meant.  Not everyone knew, so he told our story, including the fact that whenever Rockapella sings the song, he looks at me during that lyric and <demonstrates the flirty eyes at me>.  It was hilarious.  I couldn't contain myself and yelled out, "Well, LOOK AT HIM!!!"  More laughter.  He's such a good sport about that nickname.  Someday he'll write a song about it.  Oh, wait.

Somethin So Beautiful
And then one of the lyrics is "she wakes up and I get lost in her angel eyes"....Awwww...  
Eyes.

He's still right. There.

My Cup of Tea


Pull You Closer
This is from the current EP, and I find myself humming it a lot.

The Good Life
Steve told us about Sundays when he was growing up.  His family always ended up at his grandfather's house, and his grandfather always said that this was "The Good Life".  Aw, how touching!

Full Moon Feelin
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, that full moon feelin..."  "This is one where you can sing along.  Wendy?"
Wendy:  "Me?"
Linda, after the song was over:  "So you're going to bring us all on tour now, right?"

The PellaPosse Palladium

Encore
One of the raffle prizes was for Steve to sing whatever song the winner chose, as long as he knew it.  Cindy had been prepping for this since March.  If I won, I was going to choose her song.  But because God is good and Cindy had put about $40.00 worth of raffle tickets in the jar, she won!  She requested "Venus" by Frankie Avalon, but Steve didn't know it.  She had a backup plan, though, and chose "Cupid", a Sam Cooke medley that Steve sang when he auditioned for Rockapella.

Cupid
Yay!!!!!!  At the correct point, he said, "This is where I go out into the audience and talk to people."   I was so happy for Cindy that I smiled widely through the entire song, and it made my cheeks hurt.   You know what's weird?  Venus was Cupid's mom.  How weird is it that these are the 2 songs we associate with Steve?

We're All Alone
I can't remember when in the show Steve sang this song.  It was requested by Kyoko as part of the pledgemusic campaign.  Steve didn't know the song before she requested it, and learned it, but hadn't recorded it yet to send to her.  When he found out that she would be in attendance at the PPP, he decided to prepare it for her.  This was the first song that Kyoko learned in English.  Steve referred to Boz Skaggs, but my contemporaries and I are more familiar with the Rita Coolidge rendition.  Very nice job, Steve.

Taco Night in Tulsa
Wendy's tattoo is from this song.  It's so much fun.  It is about an actual waitress that was having a hard day in front of Steve and his songwriter friends, so naturally, they wrote a song about it.  I believe that this is the song that "Tulsa" was chosen because of the syllables, and smiled at me.  On our way home from LAX, Steve saw the sign for San Bernardino, and sang it a la California Sad-Eyed Girl.  Yay!  Double N told him what it was really like out there, and not as romantic as the song makes it.  Steve wondered why CSL4 chose that city.  I told him that Scott said it was because the syllables fit the music.  Steve was so on point that he remembered Glenn toward the end of the song and sang the lyric "No me gusta jalapeno" to him.  Now I want horchata.

A Change In My Life
Steve had told me ahead of time that he was going to sing this song for the Rockapella fans, and asked me to keep it a secret.  He likes to surprise people.  He had us sing along, and it was awesome.  He loved the participation.  You know, ask a room that's half-filled with choir people to sing, and harmony happens, especially when some of us have sung it a capella together before.

Rudy arrived with Carmen just as the show was about to start, I think.  Liz made it about halfway through (she was volunteering for the Special Olympics.  I'm a horrible person and tried to convince her to ditch that, but she's much more responsible than I am). During the show, a sound rang out from some cell phones.  The crazy weather resulted in a Flash Flood Warning.  I'm sorry that I didn't know where my phone was, or I would have turned it off so that it didn't sound again when the 2nd alert came on.  Not that I was anywhere near it.  Oh, and the windows were open due to the heat, so when the wild parrots came near, we heard their accompaniment to Steve's song.  Ah, nature.  He's like Cinderella or Snow White or something: he starts to sing, and the animals arrive.

Well, that was amazing.  I love that he talked about the process of writing each song, because now when we listen to the EP, we can think about whatever he said he was thinking.  I'm pretty sure that I will also be saying, "He sang that in MY HOUSE!!!"  Sigh.

Everyone pose like Steve!

Dessert / Raffle
Dessert was served, which included Nicole's awesome brownies, which Liz hadn't had in a few years, so she was happy.  We also had cheesecake (another nod to "Wildfire", lyric "with a New York Style"), and the fruit from Jenn.  Kyoko brought some red bean pancakes for us, too.  Steve had another helping of Filipino food.  :)

Raffle Prizes (photo books and picture of nephew not included)

I think that everyone contributed to the raffle, including Jackie, whom thought she could be there, but wasn't, so I put her admission money in for tickets.  She won a CD.  Steve read out the names of the winners, and at one point, he said "Bro".  Yup, that's my Bro, whom got all excited about the CD he won, and now Steve calls him Bro.  Well, he IS part of the family now.  Later, he read the name "Dick", and his face was priceless, as we all fell silent, wondering who the hell was named "Dick" or "Richard" or was just some kind of self-aware jerk.  Dodie realized that it was her, and we laughed and laughed.  Leave it to Dodie to do something inappropriate and not realize it.  (BTW, it was D/C, her initials).  Some people won more than one thing, which made Mona jealous, so Bro gave her the guitar pick that he won.  Awww, what a sweetheart my Bro is when he's not making people smell his arm.  

Kyoko must have said something to Steve about not getting picked yet to go on stage and sing with Rockapella, so he had her sing "Stand By Me".  She was sooo happy!  Steve took pictures with everyone in front of the photo op backdrop, and then some folks started leaving.  He also gave Kyoko and Wendy their prizes for their individual donations.  Kyoko asked me if it was safe to walk home, and while I advised that it was safe, I was afraid it would rain on her on the way, and I didn't want her to have to walk home in the dark.  So I drove her to her hotel...after I took her to other hotels that were not hers.  I only pass that hotel twice a day, every day.  You would think I'd know what she was talking about.  

Stand By Me .. or sit.  Whatever.

When I returned home, I announced that it was time for Sherry to have a drink.  So I got more Angry Orchard and put a shot of Fireball whiskey in it.  The posse, the crew, and a few other people were talking to Steve and chillaxing.  Steve motioned to me that his bottle of AO was empty, so I got him another one, had him drink a little, then put in a shot of Fireball, which he enjoyed.  Steve offered to play the songs from the upcoming EP, so we ended up using the sound system after all!  That was cool.  

Steve tried to check into his flight, but couldn't do so on his phone, so I got my Chromebook and tried it from there.  The website was kind of confusing.  Steve called out to me and patted the chair next to him for me to sit there.  My posse giggled.  Michelle didn't understand why.  KP explained whatever to her.  I was just trying to get him checked in.  Not that I wanted him to leave.  So we were finally successful when we got our heads together, and then we all talked some more.  Somebody brought up "Venus", not sure if it was Cindy or me.  Steve felt badly that he didn't know the song already, so he got up to find his iPad and guitar, so that he could learn it real quick.  Cindy couldn't believe what was happening.  We all listened to Frankie Avalon, and then he tried it on his own, with us helping.  Cindy's dream came true!  It was incredible.

Then Steve offered to sing whatever.  My head started spinning.  No, it wasn't the Fireball.  It was the amazing events occurring before my eyes.  He needed another beer.  I got up and announced to the room, "Getting Steve drunk!" and he smiled.  He took a big swig of the beer this time, so I saw that there was enough room for a double shot.  Yes, I warned him.  "Whoo!" Sher: "Well, you drank enough for a double."  Steve:  "I was thirsty!"

More singing.  Here's what I remember.  If any of y'all that were there can remember more, please let me know.

• Steve asked Michelle to sing a couple of things while he played, including Jewel's "I Was Meant For You".
• Linda requested "Blackbird".  He loves to play that riff.  I love the way it sounds when he glides his fingers along the frets.
• "Time After Time" 
• He played something that he knew Glenn (or "Double N", the new nickname) knew, so Glenn pretty much sang the whole song.  That was cool.  I can't remember what song it was. Edited:  Steve says that the song was "More Than A Feeling".
• "Keep Your Hands to Yourself" -- I guess I'm familiar with this song because of Jerry Lee Lewis.  I don't really know it, just sang the title part.  Double N knew a lot of it, too.
• "Let It Go" from Frozen.  Yes, he sang it.  I kept mouthing to Liz, "What is happening?!"  He said that he sang it for a little girl at Margaritaville, and soon everyone was singing along.  So we sang along, too.  I confess that I don't know the lyrics that well due to my being very tired of it and avoiding it, even though I think it's a great song.
• "Whenever You Come Around" by Vince Gill.  A beautiful song.  I wondered aloud if Vince wrote it for Amy (Grant).  Steve wasn't sure.
• I asked for some Garth.  He played "The Dance".  Many sighs happened when he started the song, and not just from me.
• Linda was about to leave, but Steve wanted to play just one more song to end the evening:  "If Tomorrow Never Comes" by Garth Brooks.  Awwwww, sweet.  I love that song, too.

As people left and the chairs were being packed away, the posse decided that they wanted to move the furniture back into the house so they wouldn't have to come back another day.  The light in my garage wasn't working, so they had me turn on the headlights of my car while they did all of the heavy work.  It was a little bit drizzly.  Then Steve came outside, barefoot, to help.  I was yelling in my car, "There are rocks there!"  I did not want Rockapella to blame me and my house for disabling Steve from dancing.  But he helped, and I was grateful.  People left, with Glenndy being the last to leave, as usual.  Cindy said they should leave us alone so we could sleep.  As I was clearing up all of the food, Steve helped with the cheesecake by trying to put the round cardboard tray into my rectangular plastic ware.  I showed him that I just wanted to push it into the container.  "I don't know what you're doing."  It was so cute and non-domestic.  Then he put the Fireball into the freezer.  I guess it's better that way, I don't know.  He pointed to a photo of Joseph Fiennes on my refrigerator, but I never got to ask him what he was going to say because we talked about something else.  We figured out what time to wake up, and he took a shower so that he wouldn't have to do so in the morning.  I just listened to more singing, although I don't know what it was, as I finished up with the cleaning.  He checked on me before he went to sleep, and showed me that his FFE tattoo had already rubbed off and he wasn't even trying.  I took a shower so that I could get some sleep, and I was sad when my tattoo rubbed off, too.  

The Farewell

Steve did not wake up when he was supposed to do so.  I was ready to go a little early, and didn't want him to miss his flight because he had a gig that night, so I knocked gently on the door.  Gently turned into loudly, with a gentle "Steve?"  Then I got louder and louder, even yelling "STEVEN!" until I was finally loud enough to wake him up.  Boy got thisclose to me barging in on him while he was sleeping.  He said, "Yeah?" I yelled, "Are you awake?"  
FFE:  "NOOOOOOOO!"  
I couldn't stop giggling.  He told me that he liked my shirt.  
Sher:  "Well, I hope so.  You made it!"  Steve had given me a shirt from his CMA Fest gig as a thank you.

Blue.  I like blue.

We got in the car and I actually drove in the correct direction right away.  We encountered traffic, but we were fine.  I was listening to the Natalie Cole "Unforgettable With Love" CD and singing along, which he found soothing (Natalie, not me.  Well, maybe me).  He was really tired, but still talked to me to keep me company even though I gave him an out and told him he could sleep more.  We got to LAX and the Departures line was crazy, so we went down to Arrivals, and I got out of the car to hug him goodbye.  Gave him a kiss on the cheek, too, and got one in return.  He asked when he'd see me again..."In a couple of weeks?"  I told him it would be 6 weeks, but I hadn't decided if I was going to all 3 shows that weekend.  I've since decided, though.  As I pulled away, he waved at me until I had to merge into regular traffic.  Swooon!

When I got home, I thanked my posse on FB, and finally, the tears fell.  The feelings of the weekend were quite overwhelming, and there was just so much happiness all around that I couldn't hold it back any longer.

I love my posse...and our tattoos

Thank you for one of the best days of my life, Steve.  I will never ever forget this feeling.  Let's do it again!