Steve Sweney Just Hangin' Out in my Living Room

Our friend Bobby Blue is a fantastic artist and musician, so when I approached him about painting our favorite guitarist, he jumped at the chance.

Bobby is our friend who lives in the old school house in West Middleton. His whole upstairs is filled with paintings, mostly of musicians.

Ryan had a photo that he took of Steve Sweney from Ekoostik Hookah in Atlanta last year that turned out really bizarre. It was blurred in a lot of areas around the guitar, but perfectly clear around Sweney's face. I know that the motion of the guitar and the lighting had a lot to do with that, but it was still crazy to look at. It almost looked as if Sweney's guitar was on fire and you couldn't actually see the flames, but the smoke was rolling up over Sweney's hands and the neck of his guitar in this red, orange and yellow hue.

So, around Halloween, when Bobby and I were planning the big Halloween party, we started making some other plans to surprise Ryan with a painting. Bobby is always painting. Never will you walk into his home and NOT see unfinished projects everywhere. His passion with his art is music. He paints musicians, musical instruments, images he imagines from song lyrics....the list goes on. So, when I inquired about doing a painting of Sweney for us, Bobby was extatic. He has seen Hookah with us a couple of times, and as a guitarist himself, was blown away. So, the fact that he had seen Sweney, and felt the energy the man can produce with his guitar, he was anxious to see how well he could transfer that into an image.

I think he did and excellent job!! I wish I had the original picture that he used as a reference, but it wasn't taken on a digital camera, so I posted a picture of Sweney in his favorite hat, so you could see the resmblance. I hope sometime all of you can see the original next to the painting....it is astounding.

And now, we say "HI" to Steve Sweney every morning when we walk past him in the living room. It's great to have a star living with us.......and he doesn't make a peep!!!

Not bad, huh?

Maybe I need to start a collection and get one of each of the band members.....hhhmmmmm.........

I think I might already know what I want for Christmas :-)

Oh wait...my birthday is sooner!!!!!!!!!

First Hookah show of 2008!!!!

It has taken me a minute to find the time to actually write another post, so get ready for a couple over the next few days..............

I went to my first Hookah show of 2008 on January 25th in Dayton Ohio with my friend Caitlin from work. She had never seen them before, so we were both really excited.

Caitlin was one of my x-ray students for the past two years, so I had to wait for her to graduate to actually start having any fun with her :-) But now, she's my co-worker, so I don't have any of that "I have to act professional around you" stuff going through my head anymore!!! It's nice....now I can be myself!!!!

So, the first show of the year was on a Friday, which meant Ryan couldn't go with me since he works second shift five days a week. I was planning on going alone, but then I got the bright idea of inviting Caitlin along. She has a pretty diverse taste in music for someone her age. ( I feel kinda weird hanging out with her because she's just barely 21) But, that's beside the point. So, I thought this little young 'un would appreciate their music...and I was right. In fact, I think her exact words walking out of the venue were : "I want to have ALL their love children!!" He he he....made me laugh!!

We had a great time together. The show was at a brand new venue called Seven Timbers Live in downtown Dayton. Ekoostik Hookah was their first event, so the staff was awesome. They were walking around talking with people in the crowd about what they thought of the venue and what they could do to improve anything. The place was already perfect. The setup couldn't be much better for a music venue.

Seven Timbers is in an old brick building that has a market place on one end, a lounge in the middle, and the concert area on the other end. It was really nice because you could go sit in the lounge, which probably held at least a couple hundred people, and chill out on couches and at big round tables with candles lit. You could carry your drinks from the venue or food from the market place into the lounge. The whole place had a really friendly vibe. I liked it a lot, and hope that Hookah will play there again sometime soon. It's only about a two and a half hour drive, so we made it a one night trip and came home the same night.My pictures didn't turn out very well inside the venue because it was so dark. I played around with my flash and some other settings that night....i don't think I'll do that again ;-)This is the bassist for the opening band called "The Werks." I had heard of them through some of my friends from Ohio, but I had never heard their music. I have to say, I was impressed. They were a lot of fun. For an opening band that I planned on ignoring, it turned out to be a nice surprise.This is the lead guitarist for The Werks.This is the keyboardist for The Werks. I didn't catch any of their names. This was one of very few pictures that turned out decent without my flash.There's Caitlin......Pre Hookah show....she was still a Hookah virgin in this picture :-)Another crappy picture, but I feel the need to post the crappy ones too....sorry :-)The amazing Steve Sweney on lead, and Cliff Starbuck on bass.Cliffy sweatin'....but still sexy!!!!Sweney rockin' my world!!!!

John Mullins, once again.............

So, anyway, I have managed to get another one of my friends hooked on Hookah. That just means more people to party with at all the upcoming shows!!! It's always exciting when you bring a friend who has never heard them, and they fall in love just as fast as I did. I'm already counting the days untill Spring Hookahville. it's like the best place on earth.......kinda like Disneyworld for adult, hippie, tree huggin dancin fools....just like myself!!!!!