Week Thirty: Cody and Alexis

There's one thing Erica fears more than anything else in the world: rap talk. She gets bored to tears when I yammer on about the labels I was signed too, the artists I have toured with and the projects I am working on. And given that my main passion is rap, generally, a lot of my close friends are rappers. For Week 30, I was having over my friend Cody, who I know solely from making rap music. Would the night end up being one huge dose of rap talk?



Spoiler alert: no.

Cody is a professional rap artist who releases music under the alias Sadistik. Born and raised in WA State, Cody moved to Seattle around the time he debuted with his album The Balancing Act in 2008. My former group The Let Go dropped our debut Tomorrow Handles That in the same year and shared a bill with Cody on his first show in Seattle. Here is a music video for the single off of Cody's first album:



I have known of and respected him since,and even asked him to be on the Honeymoon Tour bill at High Dive with Griff (Week 28) and Steph (Week 19). But we hadn't really connected on a friendship level until very recently. In the process of making the 2nd installment of my free EP series Bad Tattoos (download both volumes here), I received an amazing beat from Ben (Week 1) that turned into a song I thought Cody would fit perfectly on. I reached out to him and he decided to do the track. We spent a night at Undercaste Studios with his girlfriend Alexis, a bottle of whiskey and some wine finishing up the song. It was a lot of fun and I learned that Cody is a really good dude and fun to party with. So I decided to invite him and Alexis over for a dinner date.

The food requested was "something Mexican." As readers of the blog know, that is a common occurrence at 52DD. So knew I wasn't going to make tacos, for certain. But I was interested in challenging myself with enchiladas. I had no experience making them and I never order them when I'm eating out. So I looked up a recipe and headed to the store to get the ingredients.



The process was incredibly simple:
-chop chicken, cook in a pan with some oil, place in the oven on warm for holding
-dice onion, cook in pan
-add in minced garlic to pan
-puree tomatoes and add in the pan with onion and garlic
-add in two teaspoons of chili flakes
-remove chicken from oven and place in sauce
-in a separate pan, add oil and cook 6" corn tortillas until slightly bubbling
-add sour cream, cheese and chicken inside the tortillas then roll them
-place the rolled tortillas in a pan
-pour the remainder of the sauce over the rolled tortillas
-add more cheese on top
-place in oven



I must say, this recipe turned out being pretty tasty. I cooked up some black beans and rice on the side, and we had chips and salsa as well. The drink of choice was a gin and tonic. Very simple to make and does the trick quite well.

We did the house tour and had a cocktail when Cody and Alexis arrived. The conversation was casual and comfortable. I liked their presence. They are very confident yet non-pretentious people. We dabbled in and out of some unavoidable talk about rap, but for the most part, it was just two couples hanging out.

Cody has a Rottweiler named Kubrick, after the famed director of The Shining, Full Metal Jacket and A Clockwork Orange. He is an avid movie collector and horror film fan. Alexis and him recently watched a horrible, so-bad-it's-good type movie that they told us about, called Birdemic. Allegedly the GOAT of awful.

Alexis takes interest in pop-culture things and knows a lot about what's happening on the national scene, what's going on in fashion and with celebrities. Erica loves all that stuff, so they got a long well. Celebrity talk would probably be my version of rap talk. But Alexis and I openly shared the same amount of love for Sugar Ray, so we blasted it on the stereo while playing Table Topics.

This date was super comfortable. We enjoyed Cody and Alexis a lot and agreed to set up Lola and Kubrick on a doggy date at Magnuson sometime in the near future. Also in the near future is a double date with my Aunt Deb and Uncle Jim. They will be in town visiting from Phoenix this week, so we were excited they could fit us into their schedule. Always time for family! Cheers.

Week Twenty-Nine: Shaunda and Quis w/Mark

The week that was... was busy. Sometimes I am happy to have my hands full, and this was one of those occasions. Erica's best friend from middle school, Shaunda, was back in town from South Carolina with her husband Quis and their son Mark. It was time for steaks in the middle of the work week, and we were ready for it!



I remember Erica telling me about Shaunda. It was one of the few times I have cried since I've been with my wife. Erica is very calm and doesn't put me through a lot of stress. Our relationship is extremely drama-free, and thus, I do not shed tears often. But she described her middle school experience as a shy, quiet girl. She told me about how nobody would sit with her at the lunch table and she sneaked her meals into the bathroom. It made me very sad that there was ever a point in her life that the world didn't recognize how sweet and loving my wife is.



Then Shaunda offered her a seat at her table of friends. Shaunda was Erica's first and only friend, for a bit. Erica really loves and respects Shaunda. I even met her before Erica and I got engaged. And Shaunda traveled out for our Wedding, of course, and was with Quis at the time as well. So this was a meeting of old friends, and, in Erica's case, her oldest.



This was my first time meeting Mark. As readers know, I am not a kid person. But I was blown away by how well-behaved a child he is! He wins the award by far and away for calmest visiting kid with the best manners. He pretty much entertained himself, did not make any disturbance, gave Lola a respectful distance and was generally a pleasure to have around.



Quis, on the other hand, was trouble. My man introduced me to a new favorite of the crew: Bud Light Platinum. I am not a Budweiser product enthusiast to begin with, so when the Select brand popped up, I didn't try it. I was sure to continue down the path of ignoring their beer selection, but Quis suggested we pick up a 12 pack of that and I obliged.



It. Is. AWESOME. It basically just tastes like ice cold water and has 6% alcohol, which is higher than most standard lagers. To top it off, it is packaged in neon blue bottles that make you feel like you are at a rave under some blacklights. The visual is so nerdy, it makes me feel like I am drinking Budweiser to be ironic, and I'm okay with that.



The food was pretty decent. Hard to mess up a steak! You just rub it in salt and pepper and don't over cook it. For sides, I made a Greek salad (kalamata olives, red onions, grape tomatoes, cucumber slices and feta cheese on romaine) and some red potatoes. I also grilled up some mushrooms and onions to put on the steaks.



What I did to prepare the red potatoes was the only interesting part of my cooking process. I chopped them into halves, filled a large pot with chicken stock and lemon juice, rubbed them in garlic and herbs, and boiled them then placed the pot in the oven at 430 heat for 40 minutes. They turned out awesome! Which was a big win from my previously undercooked potatoes on an earlier date.



The dinner conversation was great. We related stories about marriage, talked about cultural differences between the South and the Northwest, breezed through our meeting stories and, of course, played all four versions of Table Topics. I enjoyed their visit very much.



Even better than getting a sweet dinner date in before the weekend, was the bonus night of partying we got. Shaunda had invited Erica to Red Robin to meet up with their high school friends the next night, but the plans did not include Quis. I was going to do an open mic comedy night, so I invited him to come along, watch me bomb hard on stage and have a few Platinums. I did, in fact, bomb extremely hard and got nearly zero laughs. But I can officially call myself a rapper/comedian! (Which I have been doing for years now with no standup material to back it...)

Coming soon, Griff will be moving into Tune Castle and 52DD will potentially become just a weekly party. With one Griff-less weekend left to burn, I am tying our first Wedding Tour Show at High Dive together with the fourth act from that night (Sadistik). Sadistik and I recently created a song called "Damaged" over a Grieves beat (Ben, Week 1) which will be up for free download with the Bad Tattoos Volume Two EP at my BANDCAMP PAGE on either 7/23 or 7/30. You can listen to that song below.



In the studio, Sadistik and I both agreed our least favorite question to ask someone or be asked is "what's your rap name?" So, I will ditch the alias and just say, Erica and I are very much looking forward to our dinner with Cody and his lovely girlfriend Alexis. More on Cody, his rap music and our dinner with the girls next week. Cheers.

Week Twenty-Eight: Jackie and Griff

It's time to play match-maker! This week's date was a wild backyard BBQ with two of my good friends who hadn't met until this event. There were a few surprise guests and a followup breakfast in the morning, in what turned out to be one of the funnest double dates so far. I always knew Jackie and Griff would make a great couple!



To be an unsuccessful artist, I have to live two lives. A life in which I am extremely dedicated to my music, and put in every effort I can at all times. And a life in which I am gainfully employed and put every dollar I can towards my other life. I have met many good friends in both fields.

But my absolute favorite artist to collaborate with on a project is Griff J (who creates my music videos). That is a major compliment considering I work with both Grieves (Ben from Week 1) and Isaac Meek on a weekly basis, and both are extremely talented and fun to work with. And, of course, the musicians (Matty, Kevin, Kjell and Jeff) in my band, who are making my new album extremely epic. But doing videos like Man Crush and My Girlfriend Beats Me with Griff are some of my fondest memories in my entire life.

And my favorite co-worker, ever, at any job, is Jackie. That is also a major statement, because I've worked with a ton of rad folks, including Andrea at Pagliacci (who was my relationship advice therapist)and Henry Browne (who needs no introduction, he's legendary). But in the end, the most cheerful and consistent co-worker has been Jackie. Sometimes I think I maintain my job at Homegrown just to see her on a weekly basis.

I consider both Griff and Jackie very close friends. Griff is in fact moving into Tune Castle in August. And I offered Jackie a room here the week we bought the house, but it didn't pan out. In other words, if I could be around these two at all times, I would. So I would vastly prefer it if they would just get married and purchase the house next door.

They are both very attractive, so it is a would be power couple situation at hand. There are certain people that would just make adorable couples and I wanted to take a shot at helping this happen. That being said, the situation of a blind date is awkward enough, place a review of it in a blog and that's a lot of pressure. So we decided to grill burgers and let anyone who wanted to come over join us.



Jackie and Griff showed up first. And we fired up the grill and drank a few beers before anyone else came. Next in the door was our neighbor Cam (Week 23) who had his girlfriend from Reno visiting. Then Ben (Week 1) showed up with Joe (Week 22) and another one of Cam's friends came over as well. It made for quite a crowd, and I believe it was the third time for both Ben and Cam to be included in a date.



The burgers were pretty standard: cheddar cheese, pickles, tomato slices, diced white onion, grilled patties and a toasted bun. We went through three big bags of chips, two bottles of Fireball, a bottle of vodka, two 12 packs of Bud Light Platinum, a sixer of Newcastle and an 18er of Rainier. It was a lively group, to say the least.



I blasted Sugar Ray, Counting Crows, Weezer and tons of other awesome 90's alt rock. It pretty much blew everyone's minds. And then I completely destroyed Jackie's connection to reality by giving her a listening session to my first album ever, Tearing Us Apart by my high school punk band The Duplos. Our roommate Aaron (Week 4) was the guitarist for that group, and the primary reason why I switched to rap. I would still be making crappy pop punk about girls if my band was into that...



This date was one of the funnest. It was so fun, I had to put myself to sleep halfway through it and missed most of the action! The anti-DUI room had been disassembled in prep for Griff's move-in, but I woke up to Griff on the upstairs couch and Jackie on the downstairs couch. It appeared maybe the sparks did not fly.



The three of us went to breakfast at my favorite Pho spot in Lake City. We were all smiles and discussed the follies of the previous evening. It seemed like they were perfectly friendly and comfortable. Perhaps the seed of a Jackie and Griff pairing was planted?



At the end of day, Jackie and Griff got along just fine, and might see each other again. But the immediate chemistry I was rooting for maybe wasn't quite there. I think what they have in common starts and ends with being good looking. But you never know! Griff is moving in and I told Jackie I insist she comes around the house more often. Cause the two people who really hit it off were her and Erica, which I loved. They are going to see Magic Mike together, which I love more, because now I don't have to be dragged to a movie about male strippers.



Next week we have a very special date with Erica's bestfriend from high school, Shaunda, and her husband Quis and son Mark. It is yet another out of town visit, this time for South Carolina. And I will tell you with 100% certainty, it will be a great time. Trust me.

Week Twenty-Seven: John and Kim

The first date of the second half of dating season was the biggest date on the schedule. Everything was on the line. The top team in the league was coming to our home court. Unlike Sports Illustrated, the power couple ranking system is flawless. And John and Kim were about to give us another lesson on perfection.



John and Kim lived in Leva on Market in Ballard when Erica and I did. I knew John prior to that from the rap scene, but we became couple friends when we both lived in the same apartment complex. Erica and I were immediately impressed and jealous by their taste in domestic decor. The more we got to know them, the greater the legend of John and Kim became.

The story of this date was homemade versus store-bought. Spoiler alert: everything homemade was made in John and Kim's home. And it started with a large jug of delicious jalapeno, cucumber margaritas.



John and Kim's home is in Enumclaw, WA. They purchased it in somewhat of a fixer-up state and they have completely mastered the art of fixing up. The added a wine cellar, finished dark hardwood floors, started a garden in the yard, on top of several other improvements and additions. When they invited us over for a housewarming, I stopped by Value Village to purchase something awful for them. I scored a horribly fantastic velvet tiger painting in a frame. Store-bought. To counter, on their first visit to Tune Castle, John procured a cherub statue which he molded and mounted a bottle opener into the crotch area. Homemade.



They wanted to BBQ in our sunny backyard, and the weather was great. It was an excellent plan. However, I didn't feel a BBQ yielded much room for me to "cook" something. So I purchased a few bratwursts, some corn, some pre-made kabobs, a pack of Rainiers and a bottle of Fireball. Store-bought.



John and Kim made a salad to eat while we waited on the food. A salad made from the lettuce in their garden, with a vinaigrette they whipped together. Homemade. They also brought four bottles of WA wine which they purchased on a tasting. All four wines were awesome.



John and Kim were already dominating the date in terms of effort and awesomeness. Then to boot, our propane tank ran dry shortly after the first round of meat cooked. We even had to finish the corn and kabobs off in the oven. The highlights at this point were definitely the margaritas and salads. But the corn turned out being perfect, we needed no salt or butter at all.



And then the knockout blow came. Dessert. Angel-food cake, raspberry and strawberry skewers with chocolate drizzle. In champion form, John and Kim came out on top and before the date was even over... Erica and I both knew... they are number one.



With Griff moving into our home in three weeks, Erica and I had cleared the guestroom, and, worse, given our guest bed to Aaron. So we even came up short on proper accommodations. John and Kim would have to sleep on a twin sized inflatable air mattress.



Before calling it a night, they demanded a shot at the fabled Table Topics. We played and the night ended rather abruptly after we pulled a question about what illegal activity we would be willing to do for one-million dollars. John said something like save starving children. Kim talked about starting a charity or something. Then I said I would murder all three of them and hit Lola in the face with a hammer. Aaaaaaand we all went to sleep.



Though we had previously agreed on getting Pho for breakfast, John and Kim craftily avoided getting killed in their sleep and left this note on the pillow. The note reads as follows:
Dearest Tunes,
Thank you so much for having us over at your wonderful abode. We had THE best time with you both and with Lola. So sorry to leave so early, but we have powerful things that need to get done. Let's plan on us coming back up real soon and getting Pho because we really REALLY want to try your favorite spot. Maybe we could do dinner one night? Anyway, you two are the best and will always be the real #1 in our eyes!!!
Much Love,
John + Kim

And like that, the angels that graced our presence for the briefest moment were gone. Only the sweet memory of them remains. We love and admire John and Kim and can't wait to see them again. They are both so easy on the eyes.

Next week we have an unblind blind date! My future roommate Griff will be coming over to have dinner and drinks with my wife at home and my wife from work, Jackie (assistant manager at HG). These are two of my favorite people and I cannot wait to hangout with them! Cheers.

Week Twenty-Six: Therese and Bobby

THE HALF WAY MARK! Erica and I have made it through 50% of the dates. And I was proud to have over a co-worker from my shop for the first time. It was particularly special that this person was Therese. And on Week 26, she brought over her boyfriend Bobby for some pizza and beers.



Having Therese over was important to me because of how we met and who she currently is in my life. There's no way around saying I met Therese through Ben (Week 1) when they were dating back in the Fall of 2010. So my initial relationship with her was: my best friend's girlfriend.

At first, Therese and Ben were an amazing pair. They seemed very cheerful and in-sync. Ben was living with Erica and I at the time in a rental house, so we saw Therese quite often. Over the Holidays, T and Ben took a road trip down to California to film a music video for Ben's album Together/Apart, later released on Rhymesayers (the most respected indie rap label in the world).



Shortly after returning to Seattle from the trip, T got sick and missed work at the coffee shop where she was employed. In need of a job, I suggested she apply to Homegrown, as we had recently fired two people and needed help. Kevin, the bassist from my band and the manager at the time, hired T and she took on a new role in my life: co-worker.

As time passed, T and Ben began to argue, and the foundation of their friendship suffered a bit. That March, Ben invited me to open up for his sold out show at the Aggie in Fort Collins. I was stoked. To get there, I ended up driving his tour van to Colorado with T, as well as Gomez (Week 6) and his stage partner Budo. This trip would be a very important memory for me.

A little while after our return to Seattle, Ben and T split up. I was concerned about her. I was concerned about her from the stand points of best friend's ex and current co-worker. I was worried, for no reason other than just me not wanting bad things to happen, that she would start dating other guys immediately or quit working at the store or just work poorly. I wasn't EXPECTING this stuff from her in particular, but I was worried in general. Because sometimes those things happen in these situations.

They didn't. At all. Not even close. The farther away from their breakup, the more solidified her true role in my life became: friend. She wasn't just some blip of a pleasant memory, that came and left the crew after a relationship ended. She was a really solid friend to everyone in our group. And she didn't nothing to hurt or hinder any aspect of our lives.

So I was happy to have T over because I am happy to say we are still friends. And her and Ben are still friends. Because she is a really good person who means well. And when Kevin left HG for Taylor Shellfish and I bumped up to the manager position, she was promoted to shift lead. And she became one of my most trusted, hardworking employees.

It was at Sky's (Week 25) bachelor party at a cabin, that I reflected on what T has done for our group of friends and for HG. Erica and I had more than a handful of awesome memories with T. Henry's birthday sticks out for sure. A ton of rap shows she attended, especially the 4/20 show at Funhouse, were a blast. But one memory stuck out in my mind, as Aaron (Week 4) and I stayed up later than the group and shared beers listening to songs on my iPhone on the back porch of the Oceanside cabin.

And I texted her this message:
"Right now I'm listening to Teddy Thompson. And I have a vivid memory of Gomez driving the Sprinter into the sunrise of the Northern Colorado mountains. I was tired and we were going to the Aggie. It was March, almost a year ago or over. But that moment, if you remember it as well, was the one I knew I truly appreciated you as a person. Right now is the one I notice I don't say that enough to you."



As clear and straight forward as I can be... anything off or wrong I thought about, accused or said about Therese... has been totally false or misdirected. She has proved her self to be a wonderful ex-girlfriend, an incredible co-worker, and one of the best friends you could be lucky enough to have.

Which is why this date was both important and... tricky. We tried to book something prior, but I was very particular about the guy she could bring over to my house. He had to be both good enough, and distant enough from our crew of friends, and this and that... and she finally found Bobby.

Bobby works at Rain Shadow Meats, the butcher shop across from HG in Melrose Market. He is tall and handsome and charming. He grew up in Reno, did some traveling in Europe, ended up in Seattle at UW and graduated with two degrees. He is an interesting person, very poised and composed. He can hold down a conversation and he likes to party.

Of course, I didn't know any of this. All I knew is that he treated her well. That was definitely enough to get him in the door. He is a good guy and he makes her happy. Aside from having my total approval to date T, as both the best friend of the ex and current boss, I ended up enjoying hanging out with Bobby quite a bit. He's a legitimately cool person.



So Bobby and T showed up. And T had homemade dough, sauce and cornmeal in hand. Pizza is her favorite food and cheap beer is her favorite drink. I had a fridge full of toppings and Rainer. And the date was on!

We kept things light, bumping some music in the kitchen as I tossed the dough, heated the oven and prepped the ingredients. We chatted it up, drank some beers and baked the food. Then casually sat down around the coffee table and ate slices of pizza. We ate some American Flag cupcakes (her favorite dessert, not necessarily the Patriotic kind, but cupcakes) and of course did some Table Topics, then T and Bobby were out to cook some crabs for his sister's birthday party the next day.



What I've learned from Therese is that not all roles are concrete. I tried to judge her in this black and white way in the beginning. The reality of her is she's just a cool person. And the reality of us is we are friends. Her and Bobby are super cute together and I hope they continue being happy. It's great to see her smile again.

Next week starts the second wave of dates off with a big bang. The biggest bang possible... THE NUMBER ONE RANKED POWER COUPLE IN THE GAME. The notorious John and Kim make their way up for a post-4th of July BBQ in what is sure to be a DD for the ages. Be safe on 7/4, don't drive drunk or set off fireworks improperly. You'll want to be alive to read about this next one!