It finally happened.

The event I’ve been working my tail off for, along with producer Will Chase, Porto Franco Records, among others.

Mark Growden‘s CD Release was Friday. The sponsorships were secured, the programs were designed & printed, the last promotional waves were complete. I could relax… sort of.

Relax enough to go receive my mother and her boyfriend, Barry Barrington (yes that is really his name) into town, as they were flying in from NC to visit for the weekend. I figured I could grab a quick fabulous German dinner with them at Suppenkuche, then head to the venue with time to spare before showtime.

(PC: Barry Barrington. Yes, I am aware that she looks like she should be my sister, not my mother. Let’s hope those genes translate.)

Well, I knew something ironic was bound to happen before the night was over. It just came sooner than I expected.

Long story short:
Head toward bus stop
Receive text message requesting that I find metallic sharpie pens for show
Ponder where the hell to find metallic sharpie pens
Run to Walgreens, find metallic sharpie pens
Return to house with pens to meet mother and Barry Barrington
Head to bus stop
Wait for 15 minutes at the wrong bus stop
Wait 15 minutes at the correct bus stop
Decide to call a cab, walk away from bus stop
Watch correct bus pass us as we walk away
Wait for cab in front of house for 20 minutes
Call to check in, as said cab is nowhere to be found
Receive information that cab has forgotten about us
Finally get cab 15 minutes later.

I arrive at the venue at 7:56. The show starts at 8. I still need to find my sponsors and give provide them with their well-deserved treats. This should be interesting.

Fortunately, I managed to find my sponsors prior to the set starting, and I settled down in time to catch the whole show.

The set was beautiful. The 350-person crowd knew every word. John Law (oh, you know, just the founder of Burning Man & renowned pioneer the SF arts scene as we know it) hopped on stage and gave a kind speech about Mark’s talent and quality as a musician and human being. It was definitely a notable night in the San Francisco arts community.

I happened to snap some photos from my seat.

Oh, and as for the sort-of-major career updates – I have been offered a position by Porto Franco Records. For those of you who already thought I was working for them, I wasn’t. I happened to be working on the same team as them for this event, which was a contracted freelance gig that I am EXTREMELY fortunate to have had the opportunity to work on. But Porto Franco seemed to dig the work I did, and want me to join their production team.

I don’t think I can begin to explain to you how perfect this job is for me. I will still be doing freelance stuff here and there, but this is a project I know I’ll be putting 200% into, because I absolutely love what they’re doing. My brain is on fire. I can’t wait to get this rolling.

So yeah, things are good. Really freaking good.

I’ll have more photos from this weekend coming up later.

For now… END!