“…Even if you suck.”  There is this website I found called BeHappy and you can check them out at www.behappy.me and they just have a lot of awesome quotes, and you can even order prints or t-shirts with the quotes on them – you should check them out if you are into quotes (like me!)

So The Joints (the jazz group I work with) just recently had their one year anniversary show at The Laughing Goat in Boulder.  The Laughing Goat could not have been a better spot for them to get their foot in the door playing in Boulder, they started out slow but consistently more and more people started showing up and even bringing their friends (without us asking!)  They just receive a ton of love from everyone who would come out and I couldn’t be any more happy with their shows at this venue.

I was sitting there that night and had this moment where I was looking around at everyone who came out to celebrate and had this though that this could actually work – The Joints could actually ‘make it.’  I know that has a different definition for everyone, and we won’t go into mine right now – but it just made me think The Joints have something special, and people actually want to come and see them!  I know that sounds silly coming from their band manager (and their friend) but it is cool to sit back and realize how far they have come in one year and how well the band and the music has been received by such a diverse group.   I like this quote (Just do it.  Even if you suck) because when I agreed to come on board with The Joints and help them out I thought that I was going to suck at (and let’s be honest I still kind of do) but because I agreed to ‘Just do it’ they now have fans and people who come out specifically to hear them play – a really happy & proud manager right here:)

I was talking to some people sitting at a table next to me who were on vacation and heard The Joints playing from the street and decided to stop in and listen.  They were jazz listeners and had been to some of the greatest jazz clubs in the country so it was really cool talking to them about The Joints.  They were shocked at the diverseness of the crowd and the huge span in age of the audience members.  The Joints didn’t set out to appeal to one crowd/age group/certain set of people, and it turns out a lot of different people like them.  The two I was talking with made a comment on how versatile their music is for any music lover (not just jazz) but also the jazz lovers could really enjoy them as well.  This was a huge complement coming from someone who had never seen The Joints and didn’t know who they were because that is exactly what the group has been going for – it was just a really happy night for all of us.

Also, there was a film crew there who are doing a documentary on The Joints and I am hoping that will be out in the next month or so – I will be sure to share it with everyone once I get my hands on it.

Thanks to everyone who came out to the anniversary show – or anyone who has come out to support them in the last year – I seriously can’t thank you all enough.  O and thanks to the awesome person who was wearing this hat and who ordered this bottle of wine and gave me a perfect opportunity to get this great shot – believe it or not this shot was not planned, he just set his things down so perfectly on the table in front of me, I couldn’t resist.

My favorite tweet from anyone at a show in the last year has been “The word from The Goats behind the counter is that last night was EPIC.”  Thanks to The Laughing Goat for being so open and showing us so much love.

Also, if you live in Boulder (or visit Boulder) and haven’t checked out The Laughing Goat www.thelaughinggoat.com you really should – very nice people, great drinks, a happy hour with wine and beer, fantastic art that changes on a monthly basis, and consistently great music.  You can check out The Joints the first Tuesday of every month – but they have wonderful music most nights of the week.

For my recipe of the week (well I guess my recipe from the last couple of weeks) I chose Creamy Garlic Alfredo Sauce from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe (http://www.melskitchencafe.com/).  Brandon and I have been trying to eat more vegetarian meals which is proving hard because I don’t really want to each a ton of soy products and neither of us like that many vegetables… but this is one will be a definite keeper.  We used 0% fat milk and 1/3% less fat cream cheese to make it a little bit healthier and we both loved it!  If you like meat I am sure sausage would be a fantastic addition to this meal.  And if you are only feeding two you will certainly have leftovers.  Enjoy! http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2011/10/creamy-garlic-alfredo-sauce-my-go-to-dinner-saver.html

~Trying to stay on top of everything~