Rusty Art

I love to draw; I always have loved to draw.  I think I'm pretty good at it.  I've been told I'm pretty good at it.  Somewhere I have a ribbon from the fair telling me I'm pretty good at it.

However, I'm very rusty at it.

One of the pictures I took last week of Frank Hannon has just got me thinking that I NEED to draw it.  It won't leave my mind!!  So, I'm taking heed and I'm going to attempt to draw it.  This afternoon I have graphed it out.  It has been probably 12 years since I've used the gridding technique for drawing anything at all, let alone a portrait, but I'm determined to do it.  I don't like that I've become so rusty.  I don't know why I'm letting my talents and loves fall by the wayside, but I say, "No more!"  I'm getting back into the swing of it.

Here's a start of it:

From Behind Prison Walls to Behind the Stage

Many of my friends are aware that I married into a family that has a lot to do with the music business.  Mike and I are definitely not part of that business and I sometimes refer to myself as "living on the fringe".  This simply means that I live my normal, hum-drum domestic life of homeschooling, cooking, and taking care of house, kids, and Mike but every now and then get to live out some silly adolescent fantasies of hanging out with "rock stars".  Every kid I knew had a desire, on some level, to hang out with someone they perceived to be famous, and it's still a desire many people have.  My kids now have this same desire, not really realizing that they do that very thing while just spending time with some extended family and friends.  It's not something I ever expected to actually do.  If I had a bucket list at the age of 19, this would have been on it.

My brother-in-law Troy, whom I love very much even though we've had our differences a few times over the years, is the drummer for a band named Tesla.  They first popped onto the mainstream scene in the mid-1980's; I had even heard some of their songs, while sequestered at the top of a mountain in Healdsburg, CA, where radios and TV were forbidden and rock music was definitely frowned upon by my boarding school's strict administration.  They were probably at the peak of their popularity in 1989, when an epic song called "Love Song" was getting airplay on the mainstream rock stations.  I really did like that song, but I didn't know the name of the band that played it.

And then I met Mike.  That story will have to come at another time.

Since then, I've had many opportunities to attend Tesla concerts and meet a few people.  It's usually fun, and sometimes pretty boring.  Sadly, I don't have much more than passes to show for it all because management companies and venues were extremely strict about not allowing cameras into concerts.  With the advent of photo-capable phones, that rule has fallen by the wayside.

I had the opportunity this last Sunday to go to a Tesla concert being held at UCLA.  They were opening for Bret Michaels, lead singer of Poison.  Usually Tesla headlines, but this was a benefit concert for diabetes awareness and prevention, something Bret is championing as a man with diabetes.  I grabbed my friend Jenifer and we headed out on the highway to go see our "boys".

Now, I've taken Jen backstage to a concert before.  We watched the show, sang our hearts out, then headed backstage where we just kind of stood around and waited to meet the guys and say "hi" to Troy.  We got a few hugs and a couple of pictures with our phones.

All pictures can be seen enlarged by clicking:

Not the best pictures, but they were in a parking lot at night, so what can you expect?


We left mid-morning, planning to be there mid-afternoon, which we were.  Troy called me while I was on the freeway passing through Burbank and said to park as close as possible to the backstage and let them know that I was expected.  And so the adventure began...

Finding the campus was easy.  Finding the venue was not so easy.  Finally we spotted some men in yellow jackets labeled "Security" and we knew we were onto something.  I pulled into a small driveway and asked for help.  These very helpful men called a young man on a golf cart and had him take us to the parking garage.  It was very gray and overcast, which was unusual for LA, and Jen was wearing white shorts.  She decided it would be prudent to change clothes BEFORE we rode on the 2-seated golf cart (it had a flat bed).   Climbing into the back seat to change, she requested I not drive by any trucks.  She was safe.  On the way to the garage, she said that she hoped she could drive the golf cart as she's never driven one before, an option we both thought wouldn't be available.  When we stepped out of the car, he asked, "Which one of you wants to drive?"  And that's how Jen got to drive her first golf cart.

He directed us back up the little driveway we had been in before, through a very narrow gate, and right up to the backstage door.  We got out, asked around, and discovered that Troy was on stage, setting up his drum kit.  I didn't have my backstage pass out because I didn't know if I needed a different one for this show and Jen didn't have one at all; we were strictly going by my ID and last name at this point, I can't believe they let us through so easily; so they let us up on a balcony to watch him.  He eventually spotted us from the stage and called me over.   That's when he told me to take out my pass and we went to the dressing room and got one for Jen.  We now both have All Access for the entire tour.  Here's what we saw next door to Tesla's dressing room:

Bret's dressing room.

We went into the room and sat around and waited.  The band, according to the schedule, was on lunch.  There was a full sandwich bar with chips and candy, etc., set up.  One by one, the members straggled through the door and started getting ready for the evening.  Brian came in with his two Jack Russel terriers, Bonnie and Clyde, and his wife Monique.  Jeff came in alone and Frank came in with his 12 year old son Alex, who greatly resembles his dad.  Dave came in later and had his wife and a couple of friends with him.

Jeff was in top form.  He was in a story-telling mood, and boy, can that man weave a story!  Soon enough, it was time for sound check.  Troy grabbed me and Jen and I followed him out to the stage.  We opted to sit in the chairs while they worked sound check.  Troy did his bit, then Brian, then Frank.  Alex played a few bars of "Crazy Train" and "Rock Me Like a Hurricane" on his dad's guitars.  Dave checked his, and Jeff just kind of bounced around the stage.  At this point, it started raining, something we had been told wouldn't happen.

When sound check was done, we went back to the dressing room, which was really starting to fill up.  Jeff continued to come out from the back and tell us stories and Bonnie and Clyde kept looking for love and attention.  There was a couple with their 3 and 7 year-olds, Devon and Maya, and they were so sweet and cute!  We ended up watching the kids, Alex included, eat far too much sugar and start bouncing off the walls.

Soon, it was time for the Meet and Greet.  Jen and I were swept along across some tennis courts and into a tent with tall tables and food.  We ended up walking in with Jeff and Dave, who were telling Jen that Bret owes her $30 for a canceled concert in 1989, or at least she could give him a swift kick to a sensitive area.  Once inside, a local radio host did a quick interview with the guys and let the audience ask them a few questions.  Jeff, already being hyper and having eaten a bunch of junk, was dancing all over the stage and then fell off the back into the tent.  What a goof!

 

Once the M&G was done, it was time to go to the dressing room - again.  This time the guys really were concerned about getting ready for the show, taking showers, changing clothes, etc.  Monique came in and said that the Bret M&G was a madhouse and she left it because you couldn't even move.  Alex confessed to me that he had already had 2 Mountain Dews and about a dozen mini Snickers.  Maya and Devon played  Phineas and Ferb songs on their mom Jackie's iPod.  Jeff entertained us some more and then - out of the blue - shows up with a big cup of coffee.

Now, I had been looking for coffee and could not find it.  I was resigned to the fact that there just wasn't any.  Naturally, I jumped all over this.  "Jeff!  Where did you get coffee?!"  "It's upstairs."  "What?!"  "Grab your cup, put in some creamer, put the lid on, and follow me."  Jen and I did as told and followed Jeff upstairs.

Upstairs was more food, catered, and coffee.  A couple of members from Bret's band were finishing dinner and Jeff stopped to talk to them.  I started to pour my coffee when Jeff yelled, "You're doing it wrong!" and proceeded to tell me how it just HAD to be done so that I could get the full effect.  As we laughed and joked about how to make and not make a cup of coffee, I was missing my chance downstairs, in the room I had been in most of the day...

When we walked back into the dressing room, Jackie said, "You just missed Bret.  He just came through."  That would have been my only chance at getting a picture with him that night.  Darn that Jeff.

Before we knew it, it was show time.  Now, watching a show from backstage is nothing like watching a show from the audience.  First we went up into the wings on the stage, but Jen and I are such big fans that that wasn't good enough for us.  We wanted to be in front, right in front of the speakers.

The rain was really starting to come down so we headed backstage to listen.   Tesla finished their set and Troy once again grabbed us and dragged us to the dressing room while Bret's band set up.  We heard them start, but still stayed put until Troy announced that he really wanted to go listen.  Backstage we went again.  I tried to get as many pictures as I could for my friend Aurora, who is crazy about Bret.

Again, Jen and I wanted to be up front.  Unfortunately, security wasn't honoring our All Access passes and wouldn't let me stand in the front where I didn't have an assigned seat (what?!), but I managed to get one shot from the front.

Bored with standing in the middle, Jen and I wandered around the backstage and back to the dressing room for awhile.  Troy found us and asked us to go out with him again, so we headed to the sound booth with him and his friend Ryan to finish watching the show.

The show over, we once again headed to the dressing rooms.  Outside, we ran into some of Bret's band, but no Bret.  Troy and Bret's drummer met and traded numbers.  I have to admit, the guy was awesome.

While standing there, I saw Dave just sort of hanging around.  I said that I'd never had a picture with him, so Troy took one of us.  Unfortunately, Troy isn't the best photographer.  We got one of Jen with him, too.  All we have left to get is Brian, and I have no idea why I didn't ask this time.

I really tried to postpone my leaving so that we could get a picture with Bret, but Troy and Ryan insisted on walking us to our car.  And that is what the VIP treatment is like, backstage at a Tesla show.

My Prison Term

For the record, I did host a party and got another over-priced, pretty, sparkly shirt.

Now, for the post explaining the title "My Prison Term".

My mom works at one of the CA women's prisons.  http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/Facilities_Locator/CCWF.html  It so happens, hers is the one with the female death row.  They had a family night celebration, celebrating 20 years.  Now, the kids and I have gone for a prison tour before, but we were only allowed outside the gates, which was fine; we still had a great time. 

This time, however, we were allowed INSIDE the prison.  Too cool!!! 

We started with a little ceremony in front of the administrative offices.  There was prayer, a little talk from the warden, the Pledge of Allegiance, and the National Anthem.  Then we headed over for the tour of the prison.  We were checked in and went into the first set of gates.  Once those closed, we walked into the second set.  When those closed, we were then allowed to go onto the grounds. 

We walked past my mom's office, which is just inside the walls.  There is a huge population of wild rabbits on the grounds and the kids were on bunny-alert.  Then we walked into the visiting area.  After that, we walked through the processing area for the inmates who receive visitors and out into the yard. 

Next, we walked into our first pod, an inmate housing unit.  We went to the guard's station and heard a few facts about how they run the unit.  The guards are unarmed, unless you count pepper spray and a baton.  The cells are off of hallways, spread out like spokes from the station.

We got to enter two empty cells.  They had bunks, one held 6 and one held 8.  Each bottom bunk has two metal drawers attached underneath to hold inmates' belongings.  They each also had a locker.  The shower and toilet were in-room, with doors, but still not much privacy.  The doors basically covered vital areas, but head and feet would still be very visible.

Along the hall there were probably about 12 cells, 6 on each side.  We were encouraged to walk down and wave to the prisoners, which was odd.  I'm sure they felt like goldfish, but so did I.  They were pressed against the windows, knocking to get the children's attention.  They smiled and waved and I encouraged my kids to wave back.  I explained to them that many of these women are mommies themselves and they miss their children very much, but made poor choices in life and that's why they're there.  They showed Reece how they make their own dominoes (pieces of cardboard with the dots drawn on).  I am sure I saw more than a few tears.

After leaving that unit, we walked along and the Sgt. pointed out the medical and library buildings.  Then, we headed into - what was for me - the highlight of the tour...death row!

Going into the maximum security was strange.  On our walk, inmates in other units were knocking on the windows and waving.  Things were eerily still in death row.  It's two-tiered, with metal stairs leading to metal walkways.  It's laid out in a circular pattern, no halls in this unit.  Directly over the entrance is a room with armed guards and a posted sign that reads, "Warning - there will be no warning shots fired".  The room has round metal tables, each with four metal chairs attached.  The ceilings are open-beamed, sprayed heavily with insulation.

These cells are small.  As a claustrophobic, I wouldn't last 10 minutes in one.  There are 2 bunks.  I believe the cells are only 6 feet wide.  There is absolutely no privacy here.  The stainless steel toilet and small sink are right inside the door, visible through the small window.  That is about all there is to it. 

The showers are side by side outside of the cells.  Inmates are escorted to the shower.  It is basically a closet with bars, and it is facing the openness of the unit.  There are inserts behind the bars that would barely suffice for modesty, probably covering from mid-thigh to upper chest.

There was no knocking and waving on death row.  I noticed only a couple of women peering through the narrow windows on the doors there. 

We left death row and walked past the counseling services and another library, with a poster advertising a Steve Martin book.  We went through another guarded area and headed through the gates to the outside. 

Our next stop was the parking lot.  There were booths in the lot and on the grass.  We walked up just as the Crisis Response Team (CRT) demonstration began.  The CRT is like the prison SWAT team.  My friend Andy is a member of the team and after the demonstration, the public was invited to visit with them and ask questions.  I walked up to Andy and the first thing he said to me was, "What are you doing out of area?"  About 6 camouflaged, helmeted heads swung around to look at me.  "Haha, Andy, you're so funny!"  "Seriously, did you make parole?"  The other members of the team relaxed and he indicated he was joking.  The LAST thing I wanted was to be taken down by that team.  After chatting with Andy a bit, we decided to go on the hay ride.

The hay ride took us around the perimeter of the prison.  We peeked inside the almond processing plant and then proceeded to the fire station.  There, the kids shot off the fire hose, sounded the alarm on the truck and watched a jaws of life demonstration.

Finally, we grabbed something to drink and the kids ate some cotton candy and then we were done.  Altogether, I'd have to say, prison rocked!

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