In My Mind’s Zen Garden

Three of us musicians carpooled in my van, and the minute we turned off the freeway into Hollywood Blvd., we immediately spotted a woman beating up on her boyfriend.

Welcome to Hollyweird, yes!

Anyway, last night the band performed at The Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood. The thought hadn’t occurred to me that this area would be very crowded, and it was. That last mile before getting to the Roosevelt Hotel must’ve took us a half hour. We were able to cross Hollywood and Vine, and saw Hollywood’s Walk of Fame and Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, but there was no time for sightseeing.

So, we performed in the Blossom Ballroom, which was the place where the first and second Academy Awards took place. I confess, the acoustics in that room were horrendous. Very echoey. People kept telling us to turn down and we weren’t really that loud. I just think the sound of the room wasn’t made for musical performance.

Anyway, I am somewhat of a fan for ghost stories and The Roosevelt Hotel has them. This is the place where a few guests and workers have seen the image of Marilyn Monroe in the large mirror in the main lobby. I found the mirror during our break, and I didn’t see Marilyn Monroe. Next to the mirror, however, was a sculptured wall hanging of Marilyn. And supposedly, there is a “cold spot” somewhere in the Blossom Ballroom which I didn’t find, although the corridor behind the stage felt a bit strange and eerie, and was rather dimly lit. But, I confess that I did feel a coldspot on the Queen Mary, which is said to be haunted too.

Nevertheless, the wedding reception was a big one, very classy… a Chinese Filipino wedding and the wedding couple said they really loved us. So it was a success. On the way home it rained, so I was a little worried about that, but I got home okay.

Out-of-town gigs are beginning to wear me out in my old age, but I still had a lot of fun!