Stormy Weather

Here is an awkward admission: I spent the majority of the day singing "November Rain" to myself. When I say "to myself" I also mean "at top volume" and "with hand flourishes." I had to walk a lot today and since I don't own any sort of portable musical device, full on vocals seemed appropriate (though not so much to the strangers casting weird looks in my direction). To be fair, I didn't spend the whole day on NR; "Purple Rain," "Stormy Weather," and "I Can't Stand the Rain" made guest appearances. An even worse admission: I am not generally the sort who sings out loud whilst walking in public. I prefer to be more low key by, you know, just walking. But it was raining and foggy and it seemed as good as any time to think about an assortment of glittery bandannas and leather pants.

It reminded me of the good ol' days when Duff McKagan's older brother directed my middle school band. Duff would show up at our concerts in his leather pants. He'd stand in the back, leaning against a wall, arms folded across his chest, nodding and keeping the beat to our exquisite renditions of "Big Rock Candy Mountain" and "Old Time Rock n' Roll." He really liked it that time we bust out the Ewok theme song. That's when the arms came unfolded and he rolled up his fists to hold imaginary drum sticks, which he beat on the sides of his legs. Duff once played in a punk rock band called, no joke, "The Fartz." That guy was awesome.