I Rocked So Hard I Made My Fingers Bleed

For those of you who don't know, Seattle is the birthplace of Grunge music: Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, etc. It singlehandedly ushered out the era of Hair Metal, and introduced the world to a Seattle state of mind. Also, it caused kids across America to start dressing like they lived in Seattle: The Grunge Fashion Style. Thank goodness THAT'S over.

But I'll just come out and say it: I'm a rock nerd. Which, believe me, is somewhat of an oxymoron. But I love rock music: the culture, the performance, the attitude. So when I remembered that The Seattle Experience Music Project was up here, I was very excited.

EMP, as it's called, is right next to the space needle:



The building itself was designed by Frank Gehry, who also designed the Disney Music Hall in Los Angeles (which was right next to where JB played in LA at the Ahmanson). The EMP building is truly a sight to see. Certainly not an eyesore, but enough to make you go "hrm".

As we walked in, being the music nerds that we were, went immediately went to the top floor, where all the Jam Rooms were. These soundproof rooms are filled with electric guitars, keyboards, electric and acoustic drums, amps, and pedals to fulfill your music dreams. Yes, I know a Guitar Center is just about the same thing, but rockin' out with your friends in a soundproof room is a great time. Sadly, none of the rooms had guitar PICKS so I had to play with my fingers. And I was rocking so hard, that I accidentally nicked one of my knuckles against the worn guitar and split it open. Sigh.

After mending my wound, we went to the "live performance" experience, which, IMHO was pretty lame. You go into a room, and can lip sync (or play, as they say, but our REAL playing was at a lower volume than the track) one of three songs. We chose "I Love Rock And Roll". After playing that song in that dumb room, I don't think I Love Rock And Roll anymore. Never-the-less, we named our group "Monday Off", played around in the silly room, and exited, where they then pump you to buy pictures and videos of your performance. I think the embarrassment was so ripe that buying something would only catalyze the uncomfortable experience.

But someone did buy a picture. Sadly, I don't have a digital copy.

After that, it was off to the actual museum, which was really cool. There was an exhibit about the birth of Hip-Hop, a room which showed the history of the guitar with real world examples (with some really crazy guitars that would make Cheap Trick jealous), and a history of Seattle Music, including a large section dedicated to the Grunge era. I didn't know Heart was from Seattle!

Our day at EMP came to an end, as we watched Jimi Hendrix play The Star Spangled Banner on a big screen, and taking a picture in front of this tree of music instruments:



All in all, it was a great day, and afterwards, we all headed back to our hotel rooms, humming "Evenflow" all the way home.

Meanwhile, back at work, we, once again, took first place in the BC/EFA Gypsy Of The Year collection period with a total of $327,404! Hooray! Congrats to our Chicago Company with a second place total of $293,673!

And with our successive win in hand, we have crossed the #400 performance mark! It's been a great run, and you know how it felt? Just like #399. But we couldn't have made it without you guys: the fans. Booya to us all. Stay tuned for #406 ;-)

...

And Miles and I bought the same Jacket: