From April 26th, 2007 to present...

Luck is what happens when hard work meets opportunity.  I am in a band called Arden Park Roots... and we are perhaps one of the luckiest bands around in that regard.  Take my profile pic as an example.  It is a true testament to the old cliche "A picture is worth a thousand words." Here are those words drafted in hind sight... by a guy with 20/15 vision.

There is a story leading up to April 26th, 2007... but it can be summed up as a rookie band forming, crafting, and testing their product.  It is that date in April of 07 that marks the true ignition of APR.  And that is why I love that photograph.  Leaping, stretching, aiming, relentlessly devoted... I can only describe that moment as CRAZY.  

Since that epic night, APR has celebrated many successes: Winning a Sammie Award for Best Reggae Band, winning Best Album in the Sacramento News and Review for 2008, 4 songs receiving major FM support on local rock station KWOD 106.5, and 2 television appearances on major network affiliates.  

In early 2009, we are set to go out on our first national tour.  APR will open for an internationally celebrated Sublime Tribute band called The LBC.  "Luck" is revisited again as my guitarist Matt Seidel and I will also play with The LBC, pulling a double shift each night.  The roller coaster is gaining speed.

So what does that single photograph mean to me?  I am struggling to capture its essence in a blog small enough to retain the new age attention span... but it means everything.  A person such as myself can struggle for so many years to find a niche in this society.  This photograph captures a moment in history where a lost soul finds his way... and jumps for joy.