Last night I had the luxury of meeting 3 of obner's finest-- Tania, Dri and Billy. I'm no longer a virgin! Let me just say thank you to all of you for taking time out of your busy schedules to show me around and hang out with me. I wish I'd had more time so that we could have done it up real good, but I had a lovely evening anyway.

Started out with Dri picking me up at my hotel, and us chatting away in LA traffic-- for 2 solid hours. I didn't mind too much because the scenery and conversation was interesting, and of course, Dri was rocking her ipod with all sorts of stuff I hadn't heard before. For those of you who haven't met Dri, let me just say she is everything you thought she'd be, and way tinier and cuter in person! She took me to the amazing Amoeba store, and I felt the ray of light shining down while angels sang in the background. I only walked out with 4 cd's (I thought of many more, believe me!)-- Jeffrey Foucault's "Stripping Cane," Marah's latest (due to y'all's raves here), the 88's (a local LA band that Tania had good things to say about) and the Clientele. I put back Tom Vek at last minute, which I now regret... I'll try and pick it up at home (hey Dri, looks like Tom is playing PDX Saturday night, and I've already got my bid in with the local promoter for a free pair of tix!).

There at Amoeba, we met Tania and Billy. Tania is just as friendly as I suspected she'd be, and I can see why she's so loved! It was so great to finally meet her, and she didn't even laugh at me when I told her I wanted the new Madonna cd! The girl is clearly crazy about her music, and was debating on which shows to go to this weekend (fyi, there were FIVE she was considering). I rode with her over to the diner we ate at last night, and she asked if I wanted to be dropped off at the Scientology center. As you can see, I said no, otherwise I'd be jumping up and down on couches instead of posting this.

Billy is a rather quiet and unassuming guy, but I can tell there's a wealth of music knowledge lurking beneath the surface. He sat quietly while Tania, Dri and I all talked about who we thought was the cutest obner on the board and was bemused by the fact that we all know so much about each other, even though many of us have never met.

I had a great time meeting all of you, and I thank you for making my one night in LA a fun one. Next time, I'll try and have a day free so I can see more of LA. And Dri don't ever forget.... "who hasn't fucked Britt Daniel?"

Thanks again y'all.

oh, and Chicago Phil? we all think you should move to LA. You'd have no problem with a support network here! And Cory... sorry, no one brought a camera, so you'll just have to imagine what the photo of the 3 hot chicas would look like! Hope you had a great birthday!

d you're a traitor. leaving us pdx folks here.

yeah - traitor! sounds like fun though - too bad I never get down to LA.

yeah, I'm a traitor... I don't see you guys organizing any get-togethers in Portland.

i'd ruin the fun

off to work, bye.

My ears are burning.

Sounds pretty qual, Dana.

Dri

You went to Amoeba with someone else? How could you?!? *runs away crying*

If you tell me, that you guys had dinner at Baja Fresh, Im gonna have to break things off with us!!!!

Very nice meeting you Dana and finally meeting Dri, and of course seeing Tania. And of course, Phil needs to move to LA. Where else can an obner get-together have a 3-1 girl/guy ratio.

I'm quite sure us LA obners would have rolled out for the late show unlike those sleepy chicagoites.

And to make Todd jealous, Amoeba selected Emmitt Rhodes as the soundtrack for our shopping excursion.

I wanted to roll out but my sister got a new dog & I had to check it out. It's a Chihuahua mutt that literally looks like a 4lb Irish Wolfhound complete with the really long legs.

Glad to hear you kids had fun

hey i had to man. it's tradition. never been to la before? first stop: AMOEBA! don't worry dov, i have a date saved for you in january and i'm always updating my to-get list because i'm sure you'll influence me to buy lots of cd's as always. actually though, when you come here in jan, we need to go to zankou chicken.

and dana, YOU ARE AWESOME. the conversations were great! i was crackin up this morning while stuck in traffic on the way to work thinking about the spoon show tonight... hah! i'll show her! glad that tom vek is playing in portland, i'm sure you'll enjoy the show... from what i've heard, he puts on an amazing live show which will have you dancing all night. glad you had a great time, it's a bummer the road was closed to griffith park but next time if you're ever down here, i will take you on another tour.

and billy, great to finally meet you too.

and damen, you're totally fired. tania & i were discussing how we haven't seen you in awhile. hmptt. i heard you finished school though? congrats!

and phil, yes you need to move to la. 'nuff said.

I don't know if you're an evil trader of contraband CDRs, d, but if so we have GOT to work something out so I can get my paws on that album. I found it in a local store and the leeches want $26 for it.

btw - one day, when I grow up, I will go to Amoeba.

I'll hook you up when I get home. No worries!

Last time I was in LA, dri wasn't on the board yet, so I didn't get to meet her. Met Tania, and spoke to Billy on the phone but wasn't able to meet him. Sounds like you got the better deal, Dana.

Isn't that a violation of NAFTA?... They can't charge import prices on cd's from U.S. artists - can they?

They can and they do. The most frustrating is when some local band signs to an American label (like Hot Hot Heat to SubPop) and they STILL want import prices. That Knock Knock Knock ep was prohibitively expensive around here.

I was jealous before you mentioned the Emmitt. Now if you really wanna make me green, you'll tell me that it was Emmitt's NEW stuff that has yet to see official release.

Sounds like a great time, y'all.
Maybe one day I'll make it down there.
Of course, I can't even get out for a night in Chicago, so you can guess the odds of my getting to LA!

so you should make another trip out here!

If you want, I can buy it for ya here and ship it up.

Meeting Dana was absolutely fantastic! And, guys, she's even more beautiful in person than in photos -- taller too, dunno why I thought otherwise.

I wish we had the chance to do it up proper (ie, more alcohol involved), but I had a great time, nonetheless. And gee, what a special treat to have Billy G show up! (Always great seeing you, Billy!)

Next time you come down, Dana, hopefully with hubby in tow, we'll at least go to a show and see LA properly.

willie mcgee needs to fix that signature.

try using a www.tinyurl.com

Oh Lord, its hard to be humble, when ur perfect in every way.....

haha, I'll never tell!

oh don't you boys just wish you knew.

Stop it already...I'm blushing!

But my brother doesn't live there anymore!