Monday, November 20, 2006

Obadiah Parker rocks the house!


Some of you may have seen a video on youtube or heard on the radio of a guy named Mat Weddle. He is a local guy here in Phoenix, AZ that is very talented. By the way here is a link to his youtube video where he sings an accoustic version of the song "Hey ya" by Outkast....it's terrific! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXlSrfkNxPw

So, when I found out that Mat Weddle lives in phoenix, I went to his band's website www.obadiahparker.com and found out he was playing at a small venue only like 3 miles from my house, so I said "I'm there dude!" and went last friday.

I thought for sure that the other two band members of Obadiah Parker would just be "ok" but I was terribly wrong. The base player was amazing, was all over the neck of that bass. The girl on the keyboards was also very, very talented and broke out the trumpet of all things on some of the songs.

These guys were so good live that no one could help but shake their heads or even dance to the groove they were laying down. I was so impressed that I bought a CD from Mat's parents....yes, you heard right, his parents were there selling the CDs and supporting their son. It was heartwarming to see them there at 10pm on a Friday night supporting their son like that. They had smiles on their faces a mile wide and you could tell they were proud.

Actually, I was a little disappointed in the CD because Obadiah Parker was soooooo goooood live! It is rare when a band is better live than on their CD. Don't get me wrong, the CD was good, but it was a little rehearsed or something...it lacked the feeling I think. The CD only has 5 songs on it (which I knew before buying it) and they are trying to get another CD released before Christmas.

Thursday, November 16, 2006

My first business trip

Well, I had my first business trip for work. A group of us went to Austin, TX to visit a potential customer. My boss and I went monday night and flew back to Phoenix on Tuesday. It was a quick trip and the visit went well. We stayed at the Marriott Springhill Suites and they were very nice with a decent breakfast as well. Monday night we ate at a restaraunt that I think was called "Texas Land and Cattle" which had very good fried jalapenos and the filet was quite tasty as well.

Thursday, November 02, 2006

Started my new job!

I just started my new job at a small company in Tempe on Monday. Everything is going great, going through the learning curve again. I like learning so that's not a problem. The people here are polite and friendly, and I hope to get to know them better and maybe make some new freinds.

The commute is going to take some getting used to....I was spoiled at my last job which was only 5 minutes from my home. I could go home for lunch and didn't have to fight any traffic to speak of. Now, I have a 30 to 35 minute commute minimum and it is a huge pileup mess of cars which drives me crazy! It's just the first week....I'll get used to it I'm sure.