Social Media month (April 2015) prohibited me from viewing or posting ANYTHING on all social media channels. I deactivated Facebook completely, moved all apps into a "Seven" folder on my phone with all notifications turned off and canceled my very classy Tinder account. I also banned the viewing of Pinterest pages, YouTube videos and blog postings. If you think about it--social media is a platform where one person is able to post and a group of people are able to view it. Pinterest/YouTube/Blog might not seem like social media channels right off the bat, but once I really thought about it, they fell right into the bucket.
The hardest part about the month was not getting to see the daily updates about my friends and family. Not being able to see what Melanie was up to down in Charlotte or see the newest picture Mark and Laura posted of their wedding venue. To be honest, I felt out the loop!! But it certainly forced me to be more one on one with my loved ones--encouraged me to put in the effort to keep up with them as opposed to naturally knowing what they're doing every day by what popped up on my news feed. #firstworldproblems
Other than missing seeing what my people were doing in the month of April, this challenge was a walk in the park. I didn't mind losing my connection to the online world--I actually found that my moments were so much more personal and present. When I was out at a concert or at a game, my phone stayed in my purse the whole time--soaking up every inch of the adventure--not losing focus of that exact moment to snap a good shot of the experience to post. Some of my favorite moments during April that weren't tainted by social media:
Monday, April 6, 2015- Opening Day
There's nothing like opening day at Nats Park. The smell, the energy, the opening ceremonies with the beautiful American flag displayed over the entire outfield, seeing the players for the first time running out to their positions. How we've missed these boys! As I do for all baseball games--I showed up with my 16 oz Nats koozie, got a beer at the Bullpen and enjoyed every moment of it with Ms. Marianne DuChane on a sunny and 70 afternoon. Life doesn't get much better than that.
Friday, April 10, 2015- William Elliott Whitmore
One Friday night after work I went and met up with Molly at her office (aka Rock N Roll Hotel). I made my way up to the second floor, down the dark hallway by the bathrooms, through the private swinging door and walked into her adorable office that is just filled with concert posters and music lovers. I wrap my arms around her, giving her the biggest hug, and then we skip on out to get dinner next door at H Street country club. After enjoying some beers and burritos, we're hangin at the bar and we realize that the wall we're looking at is an almost exact replica of a page out of one of those I Spy books from 1996. It was AMAZING. We sit and watch the Nats game and casually play I Spy for a couple hours, and then we get a call from Steve that he's about to be there to meet us for the show.
William Elliott Whitmore is this amazing musician with this voice that makes you feel like you never even knew this kind of music existed. His raspy, unique sound and soul filled lyrics literally make my heart grin. We meet Steve, the lead talent booker of the club and breath of fresh air dude, out front and go to the bar to get some whiskey. Next thing I know, Molly and Steve look at each other and say, "Alright, lets go!" William Elliott Whitmore was a sold out show with the most AMAZING energy. We walk through the back of the club, around a thousand corners, up a ramp, through some back hallways and then walk through the door that brings you right up to the side of the main stage. All William's got is a guitar and bass drum--I couldn't believe my ears. This man sounded even more enchanting live and he had my feet stomping all night long.
After the show, he stuck around and was the most lovely soul I'd met in a long time. We all gathered around to take shots of Jameson chased by the homemade cookies the bartender made for him (literally everyone loves him). As Molly and I walk back to her beautiful DC house, all I can do is thank God for blessing me with such beautiful friends, music and life.
Saturday, April 18, 2015- Stoney LaRue at 9:30 Club
So let me just start out by saying that Stoney LaRue is one of my top 5 FAVORITE artists in this world--my goodness, the man can write and he can freaking sing. My concert buddy Beau Jackson casually had to move to Texas earlier that week, so I unfortunately had to go to the show solo. I didn't care though, I just had to be there. I went out to dinner with Molly & co. and then split from them when we all made it to U Street. I walk into the main room at 9:30 club to Stoney on stage singing One Chord Song. I just stood there all by myself, dancing and smiling for so long that my face started to hurt. I loved this moment so much.
Randy Rogers was up next and so I hung out at the bar to catch a handful of his songs before I went back out onto U Street. As I take a sip from my Jack and coke, I look over and there's Stoney LaRue, just smiling at me. I couldn't help but just kind of giggle and think to myself, "well what a wonderful little surprise." I ended up just hanging out with Stoney and some dudes from his band all night--getting to know the guys, hearing about their next week of touring and straight up just enjoying the Randy Rogers show.
After the show, Stoney invites me and a group of fellow fans to join him on his bus to do a toast to our troops and some vets we had with us there that night.There was about 10 of us--we all sat around together and Stoney had us go around the circle to ask the person next to you a question about life. After everyone asked and answered, Stoney went through and crafted a song using each person's responses. I never would have guessed that this was how the night would go. In that moment, I was so blown away--It was an inspiring conversation that I felt lucky to be a part of.
Once everyone left, Stoney was so kind to play me my favorite song of his that he didn't play during his show, Let Me Hold You. To be sitting there next to him, close enough to see his fingers playing the music, hearing his pure voice singing those words--I have never been more aware of my love for music than that moment. After he finished, he gave me the guitar and I played a simple little tune for him too--he moved my fingers around, telling me to try it this way and giving me little pointers. We even got to chatting about my Seven project, explaining some of the different challenges and what each one meant to me and my heart. He took the guitar back, started strumming and put together a little melody about our Seven conversation and inspiration. It was the most beautiful sound my little Seven ears could have ever heard.
Thursday, April 23, 2015- Marshall Tucker Band at The Birchmere
One of my favorite things about my dad and I's friendship is our mutual love for good, Americana music. We go to shows together all the time and we're always both equally enamored by the scene. Earlier this year, due to some inspiration brought on by my dad, I bought myself a record player. My dad has the biggest record collection I've ever seen and ever since I got my record player, he has slowly been passing along his vinyl albums to me. Each morning when I'm getting ready for work, I put a different record on--sometimes I know it, sometimes it's an artist I'd never heard before that my dad recommended--but it's always a lovely way to ease into the day.
One band that I fell completely head over heels in love with was Marshall Tucker Band. I was ecstatic when my dad let me know that he got tickets for me, him and my brother Mike to see them at the Birchmere. The talent that these men have is indescribable. The assortment of instruments on the stage, the different sounds of each of their voices. Marcus James Henderson would play a 4 minute flute solo to then pull away and belt out the first verse of Can't You See. Chris Hicks was probably my favorite voice of all of them and Doug Gray had the cutest personality I'd ever seen. The music was amazing and I got to share it with my dad and Mike--I adored everything about that evening.
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