i just can't get enough

in my (short and therefore limited) experience in life, i would say i'm a lot of different things.  i'm a daughter, and a sister, and a friend.  i'm sensitive, analytical, and (usually) smart.  i'm sometimes grumpy, sometimes cynical, sometimes peaceful, and sometimes adventurous.  but there's one thing i never thought i'd be.  i'm not proud, but i won't deny it: i'm a groupie.  yep, you read that right.  a GROUPIE.  wow, it's freeing to admit that.

how can this be, you might ask?  how does a normal girl, living a normal life end up becoming a groupie for a band.  and not just any band, but an 80's pop cover band.  an 80's pop cover band that wears red pleather and rocks mohawks.  it's a fun story, so let me fill you in:

last summer, i became good friends with a girl who used to live in my house.  she moved out 5 months before i moved in, and i'm still bummed she's not my roomie--because she's awesome.  but she now lives in the land of plastic--aka hollywood--and works for a major fashion label (ella moss/splendid anyone?).  so she's living a cool life, i guess i can't be bummed forever.  anyways, she and became good friends last summer, and she kept telling be about this band.  she raved about them actually:  they played every Saturday night at the Royal Hawaiian Restaurant/Bar in Laguna Beach...and when were we gonna go??

now my only other experience with an 80's band (as some of you reading may recall) was in Waco, and involved a certain person dragging me in 80's garb out the door to see this band.  the band that turned out to be 80's metal--not pop--much to the embarrassment of me & my side ponytail.

So, needless to say, I was hesitant.  I put it off weekend after weekend, but in the end my friend was persistent.  and she won.  so we got a group together, dressed ourselves up (in normal clothes this time) and headed to the Royal Hawaiian. The Royal Hawaiian is the best nightlife in Laguna, and that really doesn't mean much.  It's a quiet restaurant with bamboo on the walls and drinks with names like "lapulapu".  At night, they move the tables and convert it into a stage with a dance floor.  The stage isn't really a stage either, it's really a roped-off corner of the floor by the window.  And everywhere I looked, there were cougars ready to pounce.  You really haven't seen a cougar until you've seen an Orange County cougar.  We're talking plastic, spray-tanned, scantily clad, and really really aggressive.  Watch out!  Rawwr!

So I took in the scene as I walked in the door, and was a little nervous for the band to start.  We made our way to the bar, grabbed drinks, and made out way to the front of the crowd (in case you were wondering: yes I've seen some of the cast of Laguna Beach there.  one of them served us our drinks!).  A few minutes later there they were.....in all their red pleather glory:  Flashback Heart Attack!  Such a fun name, and an even better band.  Not only did they get the crowd going with some classics by Depeche Mode, Duran Duran, and and A-ha, but they changed up the lyrics to create their own unique (and sometimes PG-13) meanings.  These guys meant business.....and we danced like crazy!  They sang everthing from Bryan Adams to the Ramones to Billy Idol to , and they were amazing. beyond amazing. One of the guys decided to single me out for the night, and danced with me as we both sand "Come on Eileen" into the mike.  I was SOLD. 

Since that first night in July, I've been to see Flashback half a dozen times, and they now recognize me and my friends. they usually come up & chat with us on their break. embarrassing? yes,  but i wouldn't trade it for anything.

And that, my friends, is how I became a groupie.......