Grohl

I finally saw Dave Grohl.

This afternoon I stopped by Northridge Library in order to return a book ("Waco", which I didn't finish because it was heavily biased), and after doing so I decided to go for a short walk, to add to my daily miles. I try to do 5 per day, as you know. My walk near The Libe leads down Darby Street, past Rayen to Parthenia Place. You can street view it on Google to get a better perspective. About 4 years ago, I discovered that Grohl's Studio 606 was located right on that corner, of Darby and Parthenia Place. He's got the Lemmy mural painted on the back wall, you can't miss it, even though it's located in a totally nondescript area. Over the years, since my discovery, I've walked by there on occasion, when I stop at The Libe, just to see if Dave Grohl is there, and to get some mileage in. You can see through the tinted windows as you pass by. He's got some vintage pinball machines in the lobby.

But I've never seen him until today. I must've timed it just right, because as I walked down the sidewalk, I could see a guy standing in front of the studio, which looks like an industrial building. I've seen other guys standing out front over the years. Most of the time, no one is there. But this time, as I got closer, I could see it was Dave himself. He was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, like me. He was holding the studio door open, talking to someone inside, but when I passed by he looked at me directly, almost like he expected me to recognize him. He probably gets that all the time. The whole exchange lasted less than two seconds, then I walked past and continued on my way.

If this were 1975, I'd have stopped and asked him for a picture and an autograph. But now, that's the last thing I'd do, because that's his studio, his private enclave. I've walked past because I'm a Northridger and since 2016 or so, he's been a Northridger, too. So as it stands, we're just a couple of local schmoes, and I've just wanted to see if I could see him. For all I know, he probably walks past my apartment on occasion, just to see if I am outside, and if I was, he very likely walked by without saying anything, much like I did today.

What I'd really like to tell him, if I ever see him again, is that in 1982, before his building was even there, I played a party at the house next door, with my band Disturbing The Peace. We got the gig through my late great friend "Freedy", who knew the owner, a guy named Paul Braun. The place was a crazy house. Paul drank vodka like it was going out of style. His roommate Kirk had hair to his waist and kept rattlesnakes. Another guy lived there too and they'd have drunken fistfights. Paul and Kirk were computer geniuses, pre-Internet. I was only there a few times, they were Freedy's friends, but I'll never forget that party. We played Judas Priest and Rush covers to about 30 people, including a handful of bikers. It was only about our third or fourth gig, but everyone seemed to like us, and we played super loud.

I think there was another house on the corner where Grohl's studio now stands, but I'm not certain. Anyway, next time I see him I will tell him about that party. As a fellow Northridger, he will surely get a kick out of it.  ////

In other news, Pearl had a nice birthday today. She got a lot of cards from friends and we went for a walk after dinner. Then we watched a Buster Keaton short called "The Boat", which was hilarious.

That's all I know for tonight.  xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):)