ayla

I realize that I fell behind on pictures, so this week, there will be two pictures hosted in my pics section, so after you read all this, I demand you go look!
Anyways, I'm sorry I've been gone so long. Friday night, I got home around 8 p.m. after a long day at work and going to Longs to pick up a camera for the San Bern trip. I get a call around 8:30 from Amber, saying that we were leaving for San Bernardino that night, as opposed to way early Saturday morning. So that left me a little around a hour to get my shit packed (and I was about to do laundry too!!!) and get out the door.
We officially left for SoCal around 10 pm. It was one hell of a trip, jokes, comments and really bad singing all around. We got to West Covina around a quarter to 4. Amber called our friend Sarah, to let her know that we were in town, all while I'm snapping shots of her ass because she looked like she had a Jade Puget ass in her jeans - which means no ass whatsoever. We (Amver, her mom Debbie, our friend Cherre, a newbie named Frank, and I) drove around for nearly an hour looking for a hotel, found one and crashed at damn near 5. Funny, after only 4 1/2 hours, I woke up and felt fully rested.
Ah, Saturday, the day of days. I got up before everyone else to get a head start on getting ready, as I had to take longer than those guys - washing my hair would be a bitch because of the gel buildup I had from two days of having to pull my hair back for work. Sarah came over the hotel room around 11. Debbie, Frank and Cheree left for the venue around 12 so we could get a good spot in line. Sarah, Amber and I went to the mall to find Sarah an outfit. I got a purse for $10 while I was there, even though I couldn't really afford it, but I needed SOMETHING to carry my camera, five rolls of film, and other various items in. Sarah ended getting this really cute off-the-shoulder green sweater from Forever 21 and we went back to the hotel to get ready.
While we were there, Amber spent a good hour on Sarah's cell phone talking to this guy who works for Punk Rock Tonight. Turns out he was in San Fran, getting ready to hop a flight to LAX to interview Davey and Hunter at the venue. He wasn't sure if his photographer was going to make it, so Amber suggested me, since I have experience, and was up for a photo pass for the show. He asked who I work for, so I said poppunk.com and POSSIBLY suicidegirls.com, to make it look good. I guess he said something good about SG, because Amber told him "Yeah, she's a Suicide Girl." She was at one end of the room, I was at the other, and I could STILL hear the guy go "NO FUCKING WAY! THAT'S GREAT!" Hahahaha, great times. Anyways, after talking to this guy, Amber might have a writing job with this guy. He wants to send her to Cochella to interview The Cure and I think Morrisey. (Did I spell that right?) Amber damn near had a heart attack when he told her about Cochella. He also wanted to try to get us backstage at the show, and wanted to interview Sarah and Amber. Which meant that Sarah could FINALLY meet Davey, the one member of the band she hasn't met yet.
So after all that, and Sarahpants taking hella time to get ready, we left - about an hour or so after we planned. *lol*
We got to the Orange Pavillion around 5:30 ish. Cheree and Frank had taken off, so Debbie was left standing by her lonesome. And she had to move Amber's car, because they were going to open the gates to let other cars park around 6, not to mention the Stalker Horde, or part of it, were staring at the car. So she did that, we stood in line, Debbie came back and Amber and Sarah took off to get food and go to the bathroom. During that time, everyone crowded around the gates, because it was becoming clear that they were getting ready to open the gates. I saw Mark and his boyfriend, Steve, so I'm like "Aw, fuck." I also saw these two fans, Lynz and her boy Eric. I know Lynz from livejournal.com, she's one of Amber's buddies and an old school DF'er. I wanted to say hi....but because the part of the Stalker Horde was there, and I didn't wanna leave Amber or Debbie alone, I was forced to bypass. The gates opened JUST as Sarah and Amber came back, and we all herded like cattle to slaughter up to the actual gates. Cheree and Frank found us, but went up front with some other kids. This girl from the A.F.I. board, Cassie a.k.a. Poison Ivy showed up and hung out with us, along with her sister and cousin. That was cool, she's really awesome....hmmm...who else....we saw some idiot named Kat walking back and forth (think walking joke)...Amber's friends, Danny and Alyssa walked past us to go up front - I guess they were waiting for this one guy, Joe, to show up because they were waiting up front when we got to the venue, and suddenly they're just now coming up to the line. Anyways, yeah, Danny, Alyssa, and Joe walked by, so I got more hugs from Alyssa and a hug and kiss from Joe (Woo hoo hugs and kisses from a hottie!) The line was fucking slow once they let kids in to be checked by security.
This was the funny thing: when I bought my ticket back in January, they said that cameras were okay. When I was waiting in line, they were shouting "NO CAMERAS." I'm like, "Aw fuck!" again. So I yell at one of the guys, "Hey! Can I cut ahead? I'm supposed to be doing press work tonight, I need to check the pass list!" So, they let me go. I really wasn't anticipating a photo pass, because the PR agency that handles A.F.I. has fucked me over twice. So I get to the will call office, hand them my ID and tell them what the deal is. The guy looks at the list......picks up a marker and crosses off my name! I all but screamed like a fucking fangirl. I feel soo lame right now for that, but I didn't then. *lol* Oh, I should mention that by that time, Mark had gotten in through the security gates and was acting like he was waiting for the guestlist to come in for tickets. NEWS FLASH! Guestlists and presslists come in at the same time! Amber and our gang had gotten in and were going throught the security tent when I got my pass. AND the Punk Rock Tonight guy, Jerry, had called back and said that he had already done the interview in L.A., but asked if I had gotten my pass, because he was going to call Dreamworks about it. As soon as he asked that, I came up screaming "AMBER! THEY CAME THROUGH, I GOT IT!!!". He heard me and I guess said, "Okay, she got one." Funny thing, I had asked Cassie's sister to "boob" my camera, and as soon as she gave it back to me, Sarah slapped her camera in my hands, because I could get in through.
So, we get in. The Orange Pavillion is just as I remembed it from when I was 12. Still a freaking warehouse. Anyways, Mark was left waiting outside for this guy named Gavin, who is the admin for both the A.F.I. board and the Despair Faction board. WE saw Gavin inside, talking to some kids. Hahaha, damn fucker. I got a picture of Danny and Alyssa kissing, it was so cute. But she saw me holding the camera after I took the pic, and smiling at them with a smart ass grin. She just smiled and shook her head.
So, yeah, A Static Lullaby was lame as hell. Coheed and Cambria was pretty good. The lead singer has one hell of a fro. Amber and Sarah went outside near the end of the C/C's set, and I guess two other members of the Stalker horde, Bianca and Clarissa finally showed up. Bianca said "Oh my god it's Amber!" So, Amber said "Oh my god it's a fat bitch!" then turns to Clarissa and says "That lipstick looks fucking horrible, it's all over your teeth!" (Clarissa said the same damn thing to Amber online in December.) THEN, Amber yells, "Hey look it's the psychos!" Fritch, the merch booth managers, just instantly looks up and around and the two cunts took off fast.
So, C/C's set ended, and I went to go into the photo pit. Security said that I had to get clearence from this chick named Natalie, so me and this HOT photographer named Dane go backstage to find Natalie. She wasn't there. About a few minutes later, I spotted Smith, A.F.I.'s tour manager. I ran up to him and was going to tell him that the Stalker Horde was here. He looks at me all confused and said "What are you doing back here?" I held up my wrist, which had the blue photo band on it, and said, "I'm waiting for security clearence. They said to wait back here." Smith goes, "Huh? No, blue bands are supposed to be in the pit right now." I told him, "They said we're not allowed up there yet."
Smith. Got. PISSED.
He asks where the security guy that told me this was, so I lead him to that guy. He let this guy have it, then turned to me all polite and said "Aight, you're set, go ahead to the pit."
The hot photographer, Dane, had never been to an A.F.I. show. He was fucking scared. He's looking at how security is pulling people out of the crowd, tossing water on the crowd, and all this crazy shit. He goes "Damn, these kids are insane!" I go, "First A.F.I. show?" He nods. I laughed my ass off and said "Aight, this is how it goes" and just gave him the complete breakdown, down to who the long haired tattooed guitar tech was and how he manages to get his fiancee to accompany him on tour.
After all that, the lights went out and A.F.I.'s set was starting. I must have looked like a fucking moron, I was the ONLY photographer screaming and chanting along. We were only allowed up there for two songs, so I didn't waste time getting pics. I got about 26 pictures. Davey fucking pissed me the hell off, he kept fucking with me and nearly caused my back to go out. Damn guy couldn't miss me, I was singing along while shooting with my camera in one hand and throwing my other hand up in the air. Once again, I had placed myself in front of his micstand, because it's prime shooting area. You don't have to follow the guys anywhere, because they all cross and end up in that area. Well, Davey would go over to Hunters side, (the left side if you looking from the crowd) and he'd lean over a little bit towards the crowd. Then he'd cross over to Jade's side (right side) and do the same thing. He'd get back to the middle, jump on the wooden box in front of his mic and damn near let himself fall into the crowd - right over my head, so I'd have to lean way the hell back to get a shot of him. I was the ONLY girl photographer there, the ONLY photographer in that area. Everyone else was to the sides. God damn mother fucking girlie man....*grumbles* But, he looked SOOOOOO good, so it's a little okay. *lol* Jade was fucking awesome. I refused to move from where I had put myself. So he comes over, almost in front of me, but still to the side, and just JUMPS into this pose where he's got one leg in front of him and he's like leaning a little. I waved my hands and the camera around, trying to get him to look at me. He doesn't look up fully, but rather exaggerates the pose even more. I got the picture and as soon as that flash went off, he started spinning around and spun away from me. Hunter was jumping around like usual, so I turn and shoot a pic of him. He noticed the flash and looked right at me. So I got another picture, lowered the camera and winked at him, being the smart ass I am. He stares for a second, raises his eyebrow, and spins around. Hahaha....fucking Hunter. I wish I could have gotten more pictures of Adam, but fucking showboat Davey would NOT let me get around him. I go to move one way, he's instantly in front of me, singing to the crowd. I move another way, there he goes. I bet anything it's because I was the only girl photographer. Later on, back at the hotel, I told Amber that, and she laughed her ass off, saying "He was so fucking with you." I grabbed my tits, and was all like "Right. He just spotted the boobs and wanted to keep an eye on those." She goes, "He's a closet perv, so yeah, probably. He saw you and thought MMMM BOOBIES!!!" I only wish. *lol* REGARDLESS, I think I got some good shots of him and Jade. And Hunter... maybe.
It was an awesome concert though. After the songs were done and I got yanked out of the pit (fucking security had to grab my BAD arm), I turn around and there's Dane. So I asked him what he thought. He grins stupidly and says "FUCKING BADASS!!!!"
Woo! We broke another one, people!!!!
Debbie found me after that and we spent the rest of the set on the left hand side. I went through about three and a half damn rolls of film on the rest of the concert. I hope like hell everything turns out better than in Reno. I have a better camera now, with a zoom lens, and was really close to the stage. I got to use my lighter for "Morningstar" "This Time Imperfect", and part of "God Called in Sick Today." I think I got some AWESOME shots of Davey crowdwalking for GCIST. There was ONE opportunity for me to get a homoerotic shot between Davey and Jade - and I got that (THANK YOU!). It's not like, a sick fantasy or anything. I just think that homoerotic shots involving those two are fucking funny. The only thing that pissed me off was that I was fiddling with my camera, trying to load the last roll of film and put the most recently used one away. I look up and I have what could have been the perfect concert pic. It was during GCIST, right before Dave was getting ready to crowd walk. The lighting, the crowd - everything was perfect....and my fucking camera was giving me shit. I finally get the thing to load, shut the little door - and Dave had moved, the lights had changed, and the crowd had their hands in the air again.
GOD FUCKING DAMMIT!!!!!
But it's all good. I think I got a shot of Davey crowd walking and there was a light shining down on him. Talk about irony.
After the show, I found Amber and Sarah, Debbie found us and we stood, waiting for Cheree and Frank. Clarissa and Bianca had come in now, and spotted us. I looked right at Bianca, smacked Amber's shoulder and pointed right at her. She ran her ass the fuck out of there. What was really funny, though, is that Clarissa had wiped all her lipstick off. Hmmm....how convienent. Wonder why she did that?
Anyways, so we were going to try to see if we could catch the guys after the show, but we saw this HUGE ass limo take off...so yeah, they left real quick. I don't blame them though, so many things were fucked at that show. There were security breaches left and right from what I heard after the show. And it had been raining off and on all day, then raining nonstop since 7. So, I didn't get to give Davey his "gift", but it's all good, because I didn't get to bless and charge them properly, so now I have around a month to do that. They're wrapping up their tour in Davey and Adam's hometown of Ukiah. That show is also supposed to be a benifit concert - which means MAJOR PRESS COVERAGE. I so want to cover that, it'd be SUCH a huge oppertunity to prove that I do have what it takes to be a success in the journalistc field....but I'd probably be going as a photographer since I have really little experience with it and this could be a good chance to learn some tips, tricks, and get some good hands on experience. I've been writing for over a year and a half now. I need to branch out, and Ukiah could be that chance. ....and afterwards, once I've done my press work for the day, and I'm back to being just a fan, I could get Davey's gift to him.
But...we'll see.
It's going to be a few days before I can get most of the photo's developed. I don't have enough money to get all the film developed and burned onto a cd. Just two rolls. I have an idea of what two rolls could be the press photos, based on how I marked them off, so I have to take care of those tomorrow. I'm also missing a roll of film. I think it fell out in Sarah's car, so I have to email her and have her check. I hope that's where it is. I can't think of any other place.
But, once everything is set, done and ready to go, I'll let you guys know and the pics will be posted in my pics section.
I know this was long...but when I write about trips, I try not to leave out details, so you guys can get the full experience.
Thanks for bearing with me! I love you guys!!!!! Now go to the pic section for the double pics of the week treat.