Why I LOVE Los Angeles

No, you read that right. I know this blog is filled with complaints about my crowded, vapid city but every once in a while I just fall in love with her. Not even the smog, traffic, graffiti or writers strike could get me down this week. Wanna know why?

I met these three people in the last five days.

Slash

Matt Sorum

Courtney Taylor

Call me a star f*cker, I don't care. What's the point of living in this town if you don't enjoy it's fringe benefits??? As I said before, I attended the book signing for Slash's new autobiography at the Whiskey a Go Go. After being shoved through the line for signatures I finally got to make eye contact with the man I swore I'd marry if I got the chance to meet him. Well there I was, eye to eye, mano y mano and I froze. He looked up at me and I said, "I've been a fan for 20 years!" He said, "Wow, thanks so much." I said, "Umm, ok, errrrr, hmmmm, well ok, ummm I love you!!!!" and practically ran away.

Oh jebus. That was not at all what I wanted to say. I'm thirty freaking three years old; I couldn't be a little more sexy? Subdued even? I guess his wife sitting next to him freaked me out a little.

*Note to book publicists when you're hosting a signing of a book written by a ROCK STAR. Tell them to leave their wives at home, so us thirty-something married women can come out and wait in line for an hour to bat our eyelashes at them for eight seconds without feeling like we're going to get a knuckle sandwich. I still have a cigarette butt this man spit out of his mouth during a concert in 1991. I keep it in a baggy with my ticket stub in my "memory" box. I realize I may sound like a psychopath to some of you, but really, I'm just a good old rock n' roll fan. (Who was sixteen at the time of the concert and all I cared about was I was holding a memento that Slash had wrapped his lips around. Yes I realize in retrospect, it's a little odd that I've hung on to it this long, but what are memory boxes for, if not to look back and remember what a nerd you were???)

Saturday night we headed to a bar for a friend's birthday, and who walks in? Matt Sorum. This will be my second time running in to him in two months! Last time was in the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport so a bar is a bit more likely, but with Velvet Revolver on tour, it's still quite a coincidence. I went over and said hello and introduced him to the girls I was with. He was gracious and sweet and talked us up for at least fifteen minutes, excusing himself by saying, "I should get back to my date now. I don't want her to get the wrong idea." Awww, cute! Again, how much do I love L.A right now? Especially when we topped off that night at The Rainbow Room for last call, surrounded by every long-haired hescher in the Thirty Mile Zone.

But the piece de resistance had to have been last night, where Hubbie and I along with two friends attended the screening of Amazing Journey: The Story of The Who, hosted by Roger Daltrey. As if that wasn't cool enough, following the movie two members of the Dandy Warhols played a quick acoustic set of Who songs. I was in hog heaven. My mom raised me on The Who and as far as I'm concerned, TOMMY is one of the best albums of all time. I was really touched by the portrayal of Keith Moon, in that he seemed just like a big kid who was somewhat lost in the "business" of being a star. Of course he had obvious drug and alcohol addictions, but there seemed to be a looming child-like innocence about him still. A sense that he really didn't know what he was doing was actually dangerous. The movie is a must see for any Who fans and is available at Amazon. I'm so glad I got the chance to see it in a theater though with good quality sound. I think I had the chills for a good hour.

We hit the bar after Brent and Courtney played and lucky for us, they were still hanging out. Here's a pic of me and Courtney, singer of the Dandy Warhols. Look at the smile on my face. I was shaking like a leaf I was so excited. After my friend snapped the pic we casually strolled in the other room and jumped up and down like maniacs screaming, "I can't believe it, I can't believe it," while Joy Division played in the background. I'd say it was a PERFECT Los Angeles evening.