BennyEast.Com/Blog The official blog of Kenny West

Show 2011-01-05: The Fine Grind Coffee Shop

So I had my FIRST show of 2011 at The Fine Grind Coffee Shop on Wednesday evening.  It was an absolute blast!  I just want to first thank everyone who showed up!  I really want to plan to play another show there again hopefully in the near future.  I'd also like to play some more shows in the general NJ/NYC area.  I mean philly you are cool and all... but come on... NJ showed you up!!!  So let's see if we can beat that at my next philly show!

Continuing with the thanks I just want to give a quick thanks to everyone who came out.  I also want to thank Elyssa for opening for me.  I want to thank Leah for giving me the idea for to play there and being a super awesome dedicated fan and coming with her friend to hang they are both rockstars.

I'd like to thank The Fine Grind Coffee Shop for letting me come play.  They have a great little space to perform in and everything there is just super nifty neat.  I had some coffee and a smoothie and both rocked my world.  I would love to just go there and read one time.  It's just such a nice little relaxed spot.  Check them out online at:

http://www.thefinegrindcoffeebar.com

Also check this out they even put me on the schedule! 🙂  So that's EXTRA thanks!  I was EXTREMELY excited to see my name!!!

There was video taken.  I'm looking over that as I write this trying to find a good clip to post maybe later down in the blog.  If there's a clip there it's because I found a neat one... if there isn't well... It's because I did something so ridiculously weird during each song i'm too embarrassed to post it.

Lastly I'd like to thank my Dad for driving 2 hours BOTH way's on a work night!  He didn't get home till around “Taco Bell time” (midnight or later, if you've seen the commercial).  AND he had to get up at like 5am the next day.  So thank you Dad!  You're pretty awesome! 🙂  He also sat right in front and took like a thousand pictures so I felt like I had my very own Paparazzi crew.  No Paparazzi, just my Papa.

I'm just going to back up real quick to my drive there.  I went into work MEGA early... or 2 hours... which is mega for me! Hmm… I’m gonna stop for a second to admit so maybe sometimes I’m a little over the top in my descriptions of things… I apologize for that; I’ll try and tone it down slightly…. Ok so yes, I left work around 3 and then left for the show around 4 ish.  Ok so I kinda sorta drove like basically the whole way with out using the restroom.  In case you have ever driven decent distances and decided that when you are maybe 45 minutes away and have to go but don't think you have to go enough to stop.  I'm just going to say now that you should definitely stop.  That last 15 minutes were the LONGEST 15 minutes of my life.  I will say that the best feeling in the world is finally arriving at my destination and then finding the bathroom and well... I won't go into details.

Anyways they had the COOLEST sink-a-ma-jig thing i've ever seen!  It was like a little waterfall!  I HAD to take a picture.  I got so nervous before the show that I went to the bathroom like 6 times.  I kinda do that.  I get all nervous and start drinking lots of water and then have to go a whole ton.  Does anyone else go to the bathroom a ton when they are nervous or is it just me?

Sorry I digress(ed)… I never know the correct way to use that word… anyways back to the picture.. check this thing out!

So the show itself was just super sweet.  Elyssa played first on the keys

and then I jammed out on the geeetar...

I thought as soon as I finished my set that I should have played my new years song (which I’m also in the process of recording)!  For some reason I decided not to play it… who knows… there’s always next time!

Anyways so here was the setlist of songs I played:

Lion King - Can't Wait To Be King

In Deep

Favorite Things

Did You Just Think Of Me Right There…

Embers

A Place That Fits

Love Contagious

It's Your Day

An Excuse To Travel

I know you are thinking “he didn’t play many songs for an hour"… err… I talk a LOT ok… sorry.  I can’t help it… I like to chit chat with the crowd.  You all are just sooo much fun! 🙂

After the show the fine folks at the Fine Grind hooked me up with a complimentary smoothie and cup of Joe!  This got me through the drive home very nicely! 🙂  The thing about being a rockstar is that there are lots of free perks!

Any show where you get a free smoothie is an instant success.  Especially when it’s strawbana.

Ohhhh I almost forgot this part!  So yes right after I finished my set I had Elyssa join the ever-growing list of other creative music types on my guitar!

This thing is going to be worth money one day!  And I’ll sell it for a fortune, and then probably donate it all to charity.  Cuz that’s just the kinda dood I am (I stole that phrase from my boss)

So after the gear was packed up and ready to go I got in my car and started to follow my dad on the way home.  Unfortunately we have dueling gps units.  His is a Tom Tom and mine is a Garmin.  So much like a sibling rivalry my Garmin decided to take me one way... and his Tom Tom another.  Eventually, we both ended up back on the same path though (such is life… sometimes you stray, but ultimately you end up where you were destined to be… or something to that effect).

About half way through the drive "Eye Of The Tiger" came on my iPod.

Let's just say I had a "moment" where I rocked out pretty hard core.  Nothing beats the intro to get you PUMPED... for a drive... or at lest the second half of it.  It was probably around 11:15 at this point and I had been up since 6.  Really by rock out… and moment… I mean I just sat there singing along with my eyes on the highway and my hands at 10 and 2… but in my head I was having a mini dance party.

Ok so I really couldn't find any video that I thought was off the charts amazing... but my boss wants some video... so here's me performing my first attempting at playing with loops.  This is a song called Embers.  It’s REALLY rough…. But I got through it.  I think if I worked at it a bit I could make it sound pretty cool!  Let’s just ignore the facial expressions.

Oh and here’s another video from the show of me doing Love Contagious.  I think as well if I worked out a loopy bit thing for this it could also sound pretty awesome!  I’d love to eventually get a full band and rock out like the Muppets do on Fraggle rock (Down at Fraggle Rock!).

Yea I’ll admit it… I’m weird… I know it… you know it….

You love it!  Admit it!

Until the next show… ROCK ON! 🙂

Yours truly,

The kid in the orange jacket who always gets killed on Southpark + The direction of California.