Living two lives like my name’s Danny Phantom

Title Lyric Credit: hammer. by nothing. nowhere. or hammer by Point North. Dealer’s choice, both bang like a motherf***in’ hammer.

So it probably is not a secret to my family, friends, the random strangers I talk to in elevators and the bus that I am a music encyclopedia and that is my life blood. So, by day I work in an office at a university, helping students and by night, well, I spend way too much time reading music articles, browsing band pages and sites, and discussing music in various reddit posts. Okay, let’s be honest… I do that by day too. My phone notifications let me know when a tour or new album is announced and I lack proper impulse control in that regard.

Which leads to the fact that in reality, I sit in a boring as hell grey cube surrounded by way too loud coworkers (some I love, I try not to hold it against them too much) and blasting music in my Heavys (forreal. get yourself a pair.) Ever sat and watched your coworkers meander about the office with raging music in your ears? It lets you narrate so much more than what is probably actually happening. So in my grey cube with grey cabinets and gray carpet, I get a little stuck in my head wishing I had the bravery to pursue what I really wanted earlier in life and what a different world that would be. Would I be a booking agent, band manager, or music journalist? Probably would not have made the stupid decisions I did, but likely would have made other stupid ones.

But then a few years ago, it clicked I could still pursue something in the music realm. I live in an area that is full of college students, but the only music acts are smaller or up-and-coming country artists and the weird occasions we have had Waka Flocka Flame and recently., Flo Rida (I grew up with Flo Rida, no hate here). We are perfectly located in a triangle between three major cities that artists visit, but I always felt there was a need for some sort of venue here. This town was lucky to have a Big Shots (now Top Golf) as something that was not drinking to do, and to make things worse, recently, the last country dance hall in town was recently torn down, so we are likely the going to see even less country artists too. We have some smaller venues in the downtown area, but those tend to only host local bands.

We have 75,000 college students, meaning we also have thousands of staff, faculty, employees, and locals in the area. Why in the world are we an entertainment desert?

So, when I have run out of emails and am waiting inbetween student phone calls, I spend a lot of time thinking about this and who knows, maybe one day we can bring something here. I would love to see that happen, even if at that point I am in my 50s and all my favorite bands are also too old to play shows.