On my way to work I decided that it was a good morning for Starbucks so I made a stop at the drive-thru.

I had a rough night on Wednesday due to some bad food for dinner so I was feeling uneasy about eating much so I made a run to Safeway to get some soup and crackers.

Tomato Bisque always hits the spot. I was feeling well enough to head to the gym after work.

I didn’t do more than my 12 minute BodyRock workout and a little stretching because I had places to be and needed to go home and get ready.

Now I’m going to tell a little story. In 2007 I was going to see a couple shows on the Flyleaf/Kill Hannah/Sick Puppies/Resident Hero tour with my friend Robin. Neither one of us had heard of the opening band, Resident Hero, at that time. We were in MD and RH came on stage my first thought was, well, this is a good looking group of guys. Physical attraction, check! But once the music started I was floored and I was an instant fan. I have very few “favorite” bands and I can be picky about the music I love. Within the time they played their set I was changed. I’ve never been moved by music in the way I was moved by RH. Each member of the band played with such passion. I was captivated. Every word that was sung pierced my heart. I was overwhelmed with feeling and I knew that Robin was too. We bought their CDs and as we drove to NY we listened to their songs over and over. I wanted to memorize every word and I think I came fairly close. That’s not really important to the story but I was kind of proud of myself for that.

Anyway, we were in NYC and my feelings about RH were very intense. I honestly didn’t care about any of the other bands (actually, that’s a lie, I cared about KH) and felt like I was going to a RH show. I sang along with every word I knew and I may have cried at one point. I was moved by their songs and as cliche’ as it sounds, felt like every song was being sung just for me. After the trip we returned to our lives and sometimes after I see a band in concert I stay away from their albums for a little while because I had just seen them live. It is weird, but it is something I do. I couldn’t do that with RH though. I think I had their songs on constant repeat in my ipod and when I drove from VA back to CO I listened to them more than anything else. I honestly couldn’t get enough of RH. I told everyone I knew about them and turned a few other friends into fans. One in particular because she lives in CA and knowing that they were from LA I figured she could attend their shows. I basically wanted to live vicariously through her. I even got a tattoo inspired by the heart that the band uses. RH became part of my heart. I wanted to represent that on my body.

Thanks to social media I became a “fan” of the band or “liked” them, or whatever it was at the time on FaceBook. I also sent out friend requests to each of the band members just because. I never thought that they would add me back because, well, they’re in a band and didn’t know me from Eve so why should they. But they did. All of them. It probably seems silly but I was honestly excited that they were my internet friends. I would message with them and they would “like” things I did or said, and comment on my posts. I would talk about them and refer to them as my friends. I do have a voicemail of Ryan singing me happy birthday, so I was okay with calling him my friend.

So, a few years passed and the next time I saw RH was August 2009 when they came to Denver. I drove 7 hours and stayed with friends just so I could be there for the show. All of the guys welcomed me with open arms and I really felt like they were happy to see me. I was mesmerized during their set. It was fantastic to hear new songs. It was fantastic to get to hang out with the guys. I was on cloud 9. Their new album was fantastic and I was trying to spread the word about them to everyone I knew in the other cities that they were going to visit. My love for them was ignited once again and then I got hit with the news in early 2011 that the band was breaking up. My heart broke. I was’n't that surprised based on the things I could see through FB but it still broke my heart. Jay had moved to TX and Luke was kind of everywhere for his job so the fact that they broke up made a bit of sense. You can’t be a productive band if you’re on different continents. I continued to follow their lives and the bands that they ventured into. Jay started playing with the Bart Crow Band and Ryan started a new group, Birds of New York (which I also loved).  It seemed like the past year was a difficult one for Ryan and when he announced that he was doing an acoustic tour I poked at him over and over about coming to Denver. When he made the announcement that he was coming to Denver I did a happy dance.

A few days passed and that brings us to today. I drove 15 minutes to the bar, got a drink and settled in. Ryan hugged me and we chatted for a few minutes before he got set up to play. I met Ryan’s friends and we all hung out while Ryan did some sound check. 

At one point Ryan asked what song I wanted to hear. Without skipping a beat I responded, “Almost Home” which is a song that means a lot to the me for various reasons. He agreed and when he performed it I took video. I sang along with every word and one of Ryan’s friends captured this photo of me.

{Photo credit: http://backtomadison.tumblr.com/}

I took lots of pictures and some video (these will be on my facebook soon if you are my friend and care to see) and felt happier than I had felt in a while. It makes me happy to see people doing what they love to do, and do it well. And Ryan does it well. He loves music, he is passionate about what he’s doing, and that passion infects those that watch him.

After the set was over we all got to hang out and I stayed out later than I have in I don’t know how long.

We prepared to go our separate ways and there were hugs all around and I realized that Ryan was my friend. Not just a guy from a band, not just someone I know from facebook, but a real friend. And I feel like I might have a few other new friends too.

That’s all for day 4. See you next time!