One Week Late Wedding Update
Fri Jan 29, 2010 11:30 pm
The couples + their grandad (my dad just turned 80) - performing the ceremony.
So... was anyone who knows this band really surprised to see a 2 for 1 sale? Hey - it wasn't my doing. Everyone knows that weddings are advanced by women. We have plenty of those around here. I think it was actually Chauntelle and Weston's doing; at least in the beginning. Practical or emotional - once the idea hit the public arena, it was like lighting a grass fire in Malibu on a hot August day.
Wedding Fodder - Anyway, as you might imagine, it was a gorgeous, beautiful double wedding... as double weddings go. What the heck - who's ever even been to a double wedding? Well... I'm sure this was the best one. It was very much like Sherri & Max's wedding: magical. Darren wasn't able to come to Sherri's and we all felt so bad/sad for him. So was he... but he was there Saturday night and I think he'd be the first to admit that he was visibly overwhelmed. So was Max. Man alive. But after the [double] wedding, Darren was verbalizing how special it was... and I said, "hey now you've basically been to Sherri's wedding too... because this WAS that wedding... seriously - all that changed were the lead actors on stage...". ha-Ha... nah, it wasn't identical... Sherri had more pink & BBQ.
It was slightly different for me too. I got to walk TWO brides down the aisle. What an honor. I fought back tears but had to be strong for Chauntelle & Jessie who came out of their girlie bridal room fanning their eyes... "dad, you've got to help us stop crying...". I was like, "ok... focus... look into my eyes... i am a rock..." But inside, i was right on the edge... fearing I would sob like a glubbery poo-baby. I didn't. Rock-man rocked it.
Coming off stage to "Wouldn't it Be Nice if We Were Married"
Credits - Everyone who came seemed to be touched. Yes - because of the emotion... the couples... the moment... but honestly - Kim and Parrish (DuPree) were to blame. They should get a huge hunk of the cred'. You don't know them; just a couple of mom's who have poured their lives into their kids quietly in the background for decades. They rose to the epic occasion... quite expectedly. Cakes and flowers and arrangements and decoration and planning and details and on and on and on... for weeks. If the couples were the magic, Kim and Parrish's work were the sprinkles that gave it visibility. All the eisley girls helped. It was spectacular... lovely. There were few dry eyes.
Sickly Stacy - Few know this but poor Stacy has mononucleosis'. Yeah, not kidding. She came to the wedding sickly... she even danced... sickily. 
Wish her well. She's still sick. She tracked some vocals today with a swollen globula. I just made that up. Her throat is swollen and she's... well, she has mono... you get tired and run down day after day after week.
Dreams - For whatever history you do or don't know, this wedding was very important. But without getting into all that, I hope it might be obvious... family is important to this band. Starting/raising families has always a part of the dream. Having stated that fact, it might be important to let you guys know that creating music & presenting it (digital, retail, live, whatever) is equally foundational. If you've peered in closely over the years, you probably knew that. It's in the DNA. And it's already working. Sherri is as passionate about her band as ever... even moreso. I know it to be true... (sherri and i emailing back and forth at 5:30am about the band. she's in LA) with all of them. Three new families... there is no wavering. Only dedication.
Behind Scenes - It was funny - that night after the wedding, what remained of our small family were hanging out basking in the aftermath of the amazing night; we stayed up til 4:30am; we couldn't go to sleep. Wired, full of joy. It's funny - all that night at the wedding, friends were joking w/ me about us being empty nesters. What? We still maintain the national average after losing half of our kids. Get real. Plus - everyone lives a few blocks from each other so it's not like things are changing that much.
The day after their wedding, we were all hanging out at our house w/ Garron's gi-normous family and about 4:00 - within about 15 minutes of each other - both newly weds busted in... followed by loud cheers, applause, hugs, frivolity. Sorta awesome. We were all hanging out, relishing the moment, reminiscing about the wedding... laughing at the fun of it all.
Brides w/ an important mom in the middle
Making it vs Living it - I said years ago, this has never been about fame or money. Eisley is unique for many reasons. Being in a family has a built in benefit. The thread that connects them is in the blood... in the mind. Bands get discouraged, get disgruntled with each other, give up; I hear it all the time: "yeah, we didn't make it... we tried but we just couldn't make it..." Make what? ($) Ok... i get that; but seriously... you have to frame this right. Even the tiniest local bands make recordings and get their music out with little or no money. They work and have jobs. They do what they believe in.
You do what is within you. A painter paints. A writer writes. Quitting on the talent... the God-given gift you've been given is just pure (vocabulary mishap). Right? I'm not saying that bands should stay together forever. I'm just saying that you can't stop being who you are... you don't ignore what is in your bones... what runs through your soul... for any reason. I just wanted you guys to know - for a band like Eisley, getting married doesn't mean giving up on what is in them. Perhaps just the opposite.
Finding the Wood - Not sure if many read this buried little Trolleywood blog anymore. I don't care... it's an outlet. Insiders only. I see a jillion blogs out there without ANY comments. If we get a few, it represents 100's if not 1000's of reads. And no - you don't need to re-assure me. "We found the wood, we unfound the wood". And yes - "Trolley's still drive".
And Tweets are so limiting; mostly news chunks when you're a band. Ya'll... Eisley is in this nifty place; news is funny to us right now. Probably doesn't seem like there's much of it but we're laughing at a few things behind the veil. Yes, we're easily amused and we tend to laugh at things others don't so... whatever; you read whatever u want into that. When I say expect news soon, I mean it. We have sxsw coming up, a show coming up and even more... obviously more; trust me, there's more.
bd
manager/designer/web/coffee drinker
p.s. Jamie took a million pics (professionally) at the wedding. So did another photographer. We'll post more for fun when he/she delivers them. Thanks and stay tuned for important news.
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