I Ran, Even Though I Didn't
I've always been curious about the LA Marathon, and admired those who commit to running that entire distance through LA's beautiful neighborhoods - but I have to admit that, until this year, I had never even actually seen the race. That is mainly due to the fact that it happens really early on a weekend, and I usually sleep in on weekends. However, this year, my band was selected to perform at Mile 5 (approximately), at Echo Park Lake, so I finally got to be a part of it - and I didn't even have to run.
Leading up to the event, there were several things I had to do to prepare. First, I decided upon a set list that contained all up-beat songs, and lots of cover songs, because I know people like to hear songs they are already familiar with. So in addition to some tunes we had already played, we worked up a brand new cover, "I Ran," by Flock of Seagulls, to tie in with the whole running theme.
I also wanted to make sure the runners and spectators could easily identify us, so I made a 9 foot banner with our band logo on it, which I was still sewing up until a couple days before the event.
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I wanted a new, sportier outfit that still fit in with our current red and white color scheme. After an unfortunate first attempt ($30 wasted) on an ill-fitting outfit involving swim trunks, I found a much better outfit a couple days before the marathon.
Also, we were informed that our location did not have a stage or electricity provided, so I had to scramble and try to find a business that would let us borrow their electricity; when that didn't work I had to find a place to rent a specific type of generator that wouldn't be too loud. Then, I had to drive all the way to South Gate, about an hour away, to rent the generator the morning before. By some fluke, my drummer and I also had also scheduled a recording session at a studio in Simi Valley that happened to be the day before the marathon, so after picking up said generator, I went back to West Hollywood, picked Myles up, and drove another hour to Simi Valley.
I had intended to go to sleep by 9pm the night before the marathon, which with Daylight Savings Time beginning that morning would actually be more like 10pm... of course, I didn't actually get into bed until 11pm, which was basically midnight, and had my alarm set for 4:40 a.m.
Waking up was not as hard as I had feared it would be, and by 5:40, Jarod and I had packed my car up and headed out, meeting Brandon in his car at Wilcox and Santa Monica to follow us the rest of the way.
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We were stoked to discover that we could drive right up to the route to unload, and we were even able to get Brandon's car past the barricade to unload before the police showed up to prevent anyone from driving on the route. Unfortunately, Myles got there after this, which meant we had to carry his drum kit from the barricade point, but it wasn't that bad since we had rolling dollys. I only had to park about 3 blocks away which wasn't as bad as I had predicted.
We got all set up and ready to go by about 7:20, before the first runners had arrived, so we started our set with a song from our forthcoming album called "To Be Young and On Downers." Pretty soon, the elite women sprinted by, followed by the elite men. Just a few songs in, the whole pack of runners appeared and for the next couple hours, it was just a blur of smiling faces running past us, cheering us on just as much as we were cheering them on! It was really amazing, and it felt so good to be a part of something with so much diversity and people who were doing such a monumental thing as running a marathon. It really makes you feel like a part of the city. A lot of neighbors came out to see the runners and a lot of them were taking pictures and video of us too, and we even had a few friends come out to support us.
The most fun thing was how so many of the runners reacted happily to seeing and hearing us, pumping their fists in the air, taking a moment to dance a little, and even coming up to us to take photos! It felt like they really appreciated us, and I couldn't help but be thankful that our location was nearer to the beginning of the race, when the runners still had energy and optimism (and before the sweltering sun had come out in full effect!)
It seemed the runners just kept coming and coming, up over the hill to our east and then passing by us, turning right onto Glendale, and continuing into Silverlake, then Hollywood, then West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, West LA and ultimately Santa Monica where they ended near the Pacific Ocean. We realized we were just a tiny part of the race, but it felt like we were providing much-needed energy and support as the runners made their way past us.
Some of the highlights for me were my keytar solo on "I Ran," which always seemed to excite the runners when I would go right up to the edge of the sidewalk for; high fiving one of the runners as she went past; and posing for several selfies that runners would stop and take with me while I was singing and they were briefly pausing from running!
The two hours went by really quickly, even though it was the longest set we had ever played (it was actually two sets - we played 11 songs and were going to take a break before repeating it, but ended up just launching right back into it 'cause we didn't want to let any runners down). I was definitely worn out, and my voice was starting to strain at the end, but it was all worth it. By the time we finished our last song, most of the runners had already gone past us, but there was a few still making their way so after we finished, I DJ'ed "Closer" by Tegan and Sara on the laptop and we all danced around to it to celebrate the end of an amazing set.
After the show we took down all the equipment and loaded it up, pissing off an LAPD officer after we removed a barricade to let Brandon drive his car up to the spot. I got yelled at by the officer who just kept saying that no cars were allowed on the route, refusing to answer my question of when we might be allowed to drive on and pick up our stuff (although he did finally say he didn't know when, and after I apologized to him, he apologized to me). We were able to haul the rest of my stuff down the street to my car, Dylan and Marc had already taken a bunch of equipment with them, and Brandon fit all Myles' drums in his car along with the PA and bass stuff.
Leading up to the event, there were several things I had to do to prepare. First, I decided upon a set list that contained all up-beat songs, and lots of cover songs, because I know people like to hear songs they are already familiar with. So in addition to some tunes we had already played, we worked up a brand new cover, "I Ran," by Flock of Seagulls, to tie in with the whole running theme.
I also wanted to make sure the runners and spectators could easily identify us, so I made a 9 foot banner with our band logo on it, which I was still sewing up until a couple days before the event.
Our new banner, hung pre-dawn in front of Echo Park Lake on the day of the Marathon.
I wanted a new, sportier outfit that still fit in with our current red and white color scheme. After an unfortunate first attempt ($30 wasted) on an ill-fitting outfit involving swim trunks, I found a much better outfit a couple days before the marathon.
The pants were originally $110... I got them at the bargain basement price of $14.99!
I had intended to go to sleep by 9pm the night before the marathon, which with Daylight Savings Time beginning that morning would actually be more like 10pm... of course, I didn't actually get into bed until 11pm, which was basically midnight, and had my alarm set for 4:40 a.m.
Waking up was not as hard as I had feared it would be, and by 5:40, Jarod and I had packed my car up and headed out, meeting Brandon in his car at Wilcox and Santa Monica to follow us the rest of the way.
Jarod takes the opportunity to pose in the middle of the marathon route before the race.
See how dark it was when we arrived to set up?
We were stoked to discover that we could drive right up to the route to unload, and we were even able to get Brandon's car past the barricade to unload before the police showed up to prevent anyone from driving on the route. Unfortunately, Myles got there after this, which meant we had to carry his drum kit from the barricade point, but it wasn't that bad since we had rolling dollys. I only had to park about 3 blocks away which wasn't as bad as I had predicted.
This relatively small generator was enough power for our full set up:
a PA for three mics and the laptop, keyboard, keyboard amp, bass amp! (and it was quiet)
We got all set up and ready to go by about 7:20, before the first runners had arrived, so we started our set with a song from our forthcoming album called "To Be Young and On Downers." Pretty soon, the elite women sprinted by, followed by the elite men. Just a few songs in, the whole pack of runners appeared and for the next couple hours, it was just a blur of smiling faces running past us, cheering us on just as much as we were cheering them on! It was really amazing, and it felt so good to be a part of something with so much diversity and people who were doing such a monumental thing as running a marathon. It really makes you feel like a part of the city. A lot of neighbors came out to see the runners and a lot of them were taking pictures and video of us too, and we even had a few friends come out to support us.
We set up on the south side of Echo Park Lake, on Bellevue.
The most fun thing was how so many of the runners reacted happily to seeing and hearing us, pumping their fists in the air, taking a moment to dance a little, and even coming up to us to take photos! It felt like they really appreciated us, and I couldn't help but be thankful that our location was nearer to the beginning of the race, when the runners still had energy and optimism (and before the sweltering sun had come out in full effect!)
It seemed the runners just kept coming and coming, up over the hill to our east and then passing by us, turning right onto Glendale, and continuing into Silverlake, then Hollywood, then West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, West LA and ultimately Santa Monica where they ended near the Pacific Ocean. We realized we were just a tiny part of the race, but it felt like we were providing much-needed energy and support as the runners made their way past us.
A behind the scenes shot.
Some of the highlights for me were my keytar solo on "I Ran," which always seemed to excite the runners when I would go right up to the edge of the sidewalk for; high fiving one of the runners as she went past; and posing for several selfies that runners would stop and take with me while I was singing and they were briefly pausing from running!
The two hours went by really quickly, even though it was the longest set we had ever played (it was actually two sets - we played 11 songs and were going to take a break before repeating it, but ended up just launching right back into it 'cause we didn't want to let any runners down). I was definitely worn out, and my voice was starting to strain at the end, but it was all worth it. By the time we finished our last song, most of the runners had already gone past us, but there was a few still making their way so after we finished, I DJ'ed "Closer" by Tegan and Sara on the laptop and we all danced around to it to celebrate the end of an amazing set.
The whole band poses for a photo after the show.
After the show we took down all the equipment and loaded it up, pissing off an LAPD officer after we removed a barricade to let Brandon drive his car up to the spot. I got yelled at by the officer who just kept saying that no cars were allowed on the route, refusing to answer my question of when we might be allowed to drive on and pick up our stuff (although he did finally say he didn't know when, and after I apologized to him, he apologized to me). We were able to haul the rest of my stuff down the street to my car, Dylan and Marc had already taken a bunch of equipment with them, and Brandon fit all Myles' drums in his car along with the PA and bass stuff.
The complete set list, which we played starting around 7:30 a.m. and repeated around 8:30 a.m.
Thanks to my band members: Brandon Strecker, Myles Matisse, Liana Hernandez and Jarod Millsap. Thanks to Marc Loren, Dylan Tucker and Moni Marx for support and photos/videos.
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