"Go west young man."
"Okay." And so I did. In August of 1999, the last summer of the century, I packed up my hand me down Geo Prism, gave grandpa a big hug and a handshake, and drove off into the sunshine with tears streaming down my cheeks. One electric guitar, two amplifiers, a Tascam four-track recorder, and all the other obvious stuff, not so neatly smashed into a small four cylinder car purchased by my mom seven years earlier. That car had seen a lot of traveling in a short time. Mom, brother, and me had road tripped across half the country, and now it would be my trusty steed up through the rockies, down through the desert, and straight into my manifest destiny.
San Diego was the place I would land first and the great state of Minnesota was where I was leaving. For the previous four years I had been living in Minneapolis attending the University of Minnesota for the liberal arts and the hell of it. At the end of my junior year I stood one hundred credits to the good, $20,000 + in debt and once again, on academic probation. Back then that was a lot of greenbacks to be in the hole and the free money had long since run out. I could've toughed out another two winters, doubled my debt, and walked away with the degree but my mind had been long since made up to leave. When the winter gave up it's hold on the land and my wanderlust mind thawed, the idea of leaving exploded like the spring pollen in my eyes. I hadn't been to California since I was nine years old on a family vacation, but now had a friend who would let me couch crash. Knowing that I was due for a sizeable tax return, the conditions for my adventures to begin had a green light to hit the highway. Also contributing to my decision to leave was the fact that I was an artist who wanted to do it all. Acting, music, writing, directing, you name it baby, I was a regular Brando meets Dylan meets Coppola all rolled into one. A true jack of all trades master of none, throwing myself at whatever seemed fun and interesting, so if it isn't already apparent then let's make clear now, yes I planned to head up to L.A.
I was a big party guy back then so when I arrived to the west coast it was as though I was shaking hands with my wildest dreams come true. San Diego had it all, girls, surfing, affordable year round golf, nightly legend making parties from Mexico to Vegas and up to San Fran. Letting the good times roll was easy and affordable and without six months of winter dragging me down I had a lot of stored up energy! Heading into a new century I had not a care in the world and nothing but time, luck and good looks to spend, and the greatest playground on the planet to do it on. All I needed to fund this wild kid was a steady table waiting gig and a cheap roommate situation. I wanted a lot but could get by on little, expenses like cell phone bills didn't exist for me yet so there was plenty to play with...to be continued.
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