So it’s been a while…………

Well I have actually settled down and am able to write a quick blog. I haven’t written anything since May 25th, and it’s been a lot of traveling between. I went to the (almost) last Big 12 baseball tournament in Oklahoma. Came back to Waco for a little over a week, and then went out to California for what I called the “Great California Backpacking Trip”. That consisted of me going to Visalia for my friend Daniel and Allison’s wedding then catching the train to Oakland to see my friends Dave and Jeremy and hanging out in San Francisco for a few days.

While in California I got to go to Amoeba Records in Berkeley and in the Height in San Francisco. Going there made me realize that I need to invest in a turntable and start buying vinyl. It was by far the coolest record stores I have been in and Kristen should be happy that music stores like Amoeba or Rasputin (which was also a very cool store in Berkeley). So I guess you can say on the horizon I will be purchasing vinyl and also have another thing to keep Kristen busy with.
While there I had to go down Height and check out all the cool graffiti and the house of Jimi Hendrix as well as searching for Jerry Garcia’s house, but to could not find it. We also went down to the Castro and walked around there and went by Harvey Milk’s camera store where the Gay and Lesbian rights movement started. I got to take in all the sites and even went by the Fillmore and got to see where not only the Dead played but The Doors and other’s graced the stage, of course we could not sneak past the doorman to get inside, but that could be for another trip.

I also got to go out to Alcatraz and tour the prison, which was a highlight of the trip. It was an amazing place and if you get a chance to go, take it. Of course while I was there, I also took in a Giants game, while wearing a fleece and jeans, which is not June baseball weather, but I won’t complain seeing how hot is it here in Texas. The first night I was there I also got to go to a concert and see Real Estate play the Independent. They were great live, the opening band wasn’t great, and the second band was good, but it was nice to hear Real Estate live.
I have been listening to a ton of music, some new and some old the past few weeks. It will be easier to list some albums that I feel should be a must get.

Here we go:
Lucero- 1372 Overton Park
Local Natives-Gorilla Manor
The Black Keys-Brothers
Eminem-Recovery
Foals-Total Life Forever
The Gaslight Anthem-American Slang
Gogol Bordello-Trans-Continental Hustle
The Hold Steady-Heaven Is Whenever
Nas and Damian Marley- Distant Relatives
The National-High Violet
The Roots-How I Got Over