Still Recovering

WARNING: Not all of the pics in this post are completely PG - just flipping of the big bird, but I wanted to warn ya ahead of time. Another disclaimer: I HATE to have my picture taken. I was not blessed with a photogenic quality, so it's a pretty big step for me to post any pics of myself, especially these ones... And now, on to the post!

I think I'm still recovering from Mission: Bleeding Ears, even though my hearing was thankfully restored when I woke up on Saturday morning. The concert was awesome, though the real highlight was meeting Zakk Wylde and the guys from BLS on Friday afternoon. Let me tell you, Zakk is a viking of a man - he looks intimidating as hell, but he was one of the coolest guys I've ever met - they all were! He was sweet and smelled OH SO GOOD! All of us that were there for the meet and greet got to go up to the band and were greeted with handshakes, hugs and kisses.

After my first hug and kiss, my hubby struck up a conversation with Zakk while I talked to the rest of the band. JD and Nick went into ninja mode and had me cracking up.

Then we lined up for my picture with the band and I got a BLS manwich... yummy stuff, for sure!

Then it was my hubby's turn... He was like a little kid on Christmas morning and I'm not sure yet if he's fully recovered from meeting one of his idols! Yep, that's my hubby with the guys flipping the bird to the camera... Isn't he a saint?! LOL

I have to say, there was more than one occassion when I felt truly touched by this band. At the meet and greet, a set of parents brought a little boy that idolized Zakk. He had drawn a picture for Zakk, framed it, and gave it to him as a gift. No autographs were given during the meet and greet, except for this one:

I should mention that Zakk's heart is really with kids. All of the proceeds from the VIP events go to the St. Jude Children's Hospital, where he makes regular visits and is a faithful donor.

As I said before, the concert was amazing. Zakk's tribute to Dimebag Darrell was heartfelt and there was hardly a dry eye in the place, which says alot considering the fanbase. He's not only a guitar legend, he's also pretty damn good with a set of piano keys under his fingertips.

BLS fans are a breed all their own. The band itself is still pretty underground, and we like it that way. We feel like family and that's because we are. We met a lot of people that share out passion for music and the simple joys in life. We look forward to meeting more of our BLS family along the way and are grateful for the new relationships we've formed.

We had such a great time that we've decided to make a trip to Grand Rapids to meet the guys again in May. This time we'll get to see the ninja, JD, perform with his own band (Cycle of Pain) too! Mission: Bleeding Ears 2, anyone? SDMF!