Showers With Strangers

I don't like taking showers with strangers... actually, I don't mind that much.

Everyone is in there, and you think to yourself, "Should I keep my damn underwear on?"  Everyone else is naked, though, so you follow un-suit.

When everyone has clothes on, everyone acknowledges everyone else with a nod--at least in Southern California that's normal.

Get into public showers, and you don't acknowledge anyone.  Bunch of fucking naked fucks walking around ignoring each other; you just gotta take that fucking shower at the public showers--you know... because you're there anyway, and you don't really want to get home and have to take a fucking shower.

You don't know if you should face the wall and be bearing your ass out to all the other dudes that are probably looking at your ass to see if you look weird--to see if you have a weird ass: hairy, saggy, wrinkly, super small, super big, roundy, squarey, shitty, flat... roundy.  And plus, you can't see if someone's gonna try to rape you!

Or, you can take the shower with your cock facing out.  This way you can see guys walking by and they won't look at your cock because they know you're keeping an eye on them.  Motherfuckers.  This way, though, you are constantly accidentally looking at weird, shitty cocks.  No bueno.

It'd be better if these public showers always only had one hot girl and me in them.  That'd be ok.

I don't mind that much really though because we're all just fucking humans trying to take a fucking shower in a convenient place.  Fuck it.  Just don't think about the girl from Transformers 3 while you're in there...

The shower floors are always grimy and slimy too...

Let's Kiss Again Then: Thanks To David Jobe

Many a moon ago, Ismael and I were recording songs in Ismael's room.  We still do this, actually.  Ismael has gotten really good at recording us.

Back in 2005 (or somewhere around then), Ismael and I had recorded a bunch of demos in his room.  Out of those demos we chose eight potential songs to record in a studio.  We were planning on recording four songs at Scott McKay Gibson's studio.  So we had to choose four songs out of the eight finalists.

I, loving Coldplay and U2, picked a couple songs that were more on the epic side.  The songs were called "New Orleans," "Everybody Wants To Be In Love," "We Can Make It," and "Something Flashing."

Ismael, being more esoteric, picked "Sweet Little Harmony," "Everybody Wants To Be In Love," "Come and Knock On My Door," and maybe "Dark World."

Two things were clear at this point: "Everybody Wants To Be In Love" was going to make the cut, and a simple song called "Let's Kiss Again Then" was not.  Like most songs, we wrote "Let's Kiss Again Then" on a whim, and though it sounded cool, for some reason or another, we were more attached to the other songs.

By chance (and as usual), we had a new bass player--our old friend David Jobe.  I invited Jobesies over to our house, so that he could check out the eight songs we had chosen as finalists to pick four from.

David Jobe had been familiar with our shit since the absolute beginning.  He booked our old punk band, Home By Faith, when I was 16 and Ismael was 15 at his old church.  Then we started Long Live Logos and he booked us many times, and we hung out all the time, and for a time, before he joined the band, we were all best friends.  It was always Dave, his wife Bethany, Ismael, Sam, Ivan, our cousin Dave, Dave's friend Josh, Josh's wife, and me hanging out--other friends would hang out once in a while as well.

We would all chill and get drunk at his old house, or at his old apartment, and we would all just dance or watch movies.  I even lost my virginity at his old apartment... but, don't tell anyone about that.  Things would get crazy.  It was ALWAYS fun.

Well, Dave listened to all the songs, and even though they were shitty demos, he understood their future potential once recorded by Scott.

One listen through all of the songs, and Dave said, "You HAVE to record "Let's Kiss Again Then."

I said, "What the fuck?  Are you serious?  That one wasn't making the cut, actually.  We're spending $500 to record four songs, so we kind of want to choose our favorites."

Dave said, "Well, I'll give you $100 to pitch in on the recording, if you record 'Let's Kiss Again Then.'"

I ended up telling Ismael about it, and we agreed to record "Let's Kiss Again Then," "Come and Knock On My Door," "New Orleans," and "Everybody Wants To Be In Love," and "Sweet Little Harmony" was thrown in last minute.  The EP was called Marquis Romance.

"Let's Kiss Again Then" would NOT have been recorded if it were for David Jobe.

That song was immediately a favorite amongst friends, fans, A&R and label folk, managers, producers, our lawyer, and it ended up being played many times on San Diego radio stations, and finally it was on ABC television show Cavemen.  That EP helped us get our first tour.  Dave, Ismael, Travis, and I shared our first tour together.

I miss you Dave.  Thanks for the influence David Jobe.  Thanks for "Let's Kiss Again Then."  You will always be a part of Long Live Logos.

You were one of the few that FOREVER changed and shaped the future of Long Live Logos.

You were a great friend, and we love you, and we will never forget you.

RIP David Jobe... See ya soon.

Dave, Danny, Travis, Ismael - First Long Live Logos tour - 2006

The Cool Orphan

There was a shitload of orphans everywhere when I was ushered in.  I don't know what I was expecting; it was an orphanage after all.

So, I walked in and the first thought I had was, "Shit.  Everyone in here already knows each other and I'm the fucking new kid.  They'll be talking and knowing each other all well and comfortable and shit, and I'll be all quiet like a fucking dickhead.  They'll think I'm a dickhead.  And worse still, I'll probably end up integrating into the group, and then I'll be all fucking normal talking to everyone here as if I've known them for years, and they'll be my 'friends,' and then some new kid will arrive, and he'll feel all shitty and alone... fuck that.  I'm not integrating.  I'm not making friends with anyone any more."

That was the first thought I had when I walked into my new home.

I noticed some girls right off the bat.  OFF THE BAT.  I hate that saying.  I'm not going to use it any more.  So, I saw these girls right away.  Here and there, they were.  I'm talking about the beautiful ones.  The ugly ones are never surprising.  I see an ugly girl, and I'm not surprised.  I simply think, "Oh, there's a fucking girl."

But when I see a beautiful girl, I'm always surprised.  I think, "Holy shit!  There's a beautiful girl!  I can't fucking believe it!"

I walked in all cool, but my cool was taken away after I saw the couple beautiful orphan girls here and there.  I always liked seeing poor, beautiful girls.  I don't know why.  It's like, you see all these amazing looking girls in Hollywood and crap that are rich and have it all and crap, and you kind of expect them to be rich... because they're beautiful after all.

But in here, there are some of the most beautiful girls I've ever seen, and they're poor as fuck!  Shit, they're abandoned and/or alone, just like me.  I love it.  I wonder what it feels like to be extremely good looking.  I've asked some extremely good looking people what it feels like, and I always get the same sort of answer: "I don't know.  It feels normal."  My ass it feels normal.  It must feel great.

The adults ushering me in began their spew, "This is Daniel, everyone!  He is..."

She would have kept going, but I put an end to that bullshit, "Hello everyone!  I DO NOT want to be friends with anyone!  Thank you!"  I walked off to a corner.  I knew the drill very well.  There was nothing to do but wait for food or whatever the fuck they'd have us do in here.

Nothing to do.

I went to some fucking corner, turned around, tilted my body back until it hit the wall, and then slowly let myself crumple to the floor until I could rest my chin on my knees.

I watched everyone be friends.  Good for them.  I said that a lot in my head: "Good for them."  I tried saying it differently.  I stressed different words in the sentence.

Good for them.

Good for them.

Good for them.

Good for them.

Weird.

A beautiful girl walked by.  I reminded myself: You DO NOT want to befriend ANYONE.

I especially didn't want to fall in love with or like a girl.  Fucking-A is it hard to get a beautiful girl to like or to love you.  Fuck that.

Worse is when they just want to be friends.

I sat there watching them all, and I really hoped I wouldn't integrate into the group.  I didn't want to do that at all.