Ikedas - look it up

I’m not sure whether it was the red velvet pants, sequined jacket, or eerily close resemblance to that blonde girl in Napoleon Dynamite (ya know, the one he has a crush on, draws a picture of, and who happens to be Hillary Duff’s unknown older sister), but she kept drawing us back. We never found out her name. We never actually found out the name of the band she was lead singing for. We never found out how she ended up in Crystal Bay, NV blaring her lungs out for punks like us. Punks like the sloshed post frat house boys and married couple rolling on something illegal.

I think she grew up in this town. Well, at the bar/casino/hotel to be exact. She grew up being accosted by drunk unmotivated older men. Influenced by the leather faced waitresses, she started smoking at the age of eleven and didn’t look back. The four African American grooving, styling, talented musicians were driving through when their van broke down. The owner of the bar/casino/hotel, also the father of the lead singer, snagged the group, convinced them to let his daughter sing, and The Breeze Lounge house band was born. Of course that is just my version of the story. I’m sure so close to the truth.

In reality and completely sincerely the band was actually awesome. I’m not sure how long they studied the Karaoke Box Set’s 1967-2007, but they knew every word, every beat, everything about every song. If their voices would have been disappointing they would have made it up with their outfits. Shimmering and tacky. Just what you would expect from any sort of entertainment in Nevada (I have a video on my phone and if I ever upload it it's worth a look see). The entertainment matched the décor. Mirrored ceilings, gold specked tile floor, a bartender named Nicky who served the best Jose Cuervo on this side of the...the…Mississippi? Which isn’t hard when it is a free Jose Cuervo. Promoted by the enormous blinking sign outside Jim Kelly's Nugget. “Free drink when presenting lift ticket”. Hell yeah!!!

There is so much more about this weekend I would love to share. Like almost getting hit by a Tow Truck going way too fast and disregarding this thing called a turn lane. We almost died. The friendly Peruvian barista. Or hitting the pow with no one in sight. If you don't understand or appreciate how awesome fresh pow is then stop reading now. If I continue any further I might end up leaving too many good things out, so I'll just add that It was a great few days, with infinite characters that gave me more of a sociology study I could ever ask for. Cheers Crystal Bay. Oh how I miss you…and the $1.99 breakfast that you serve 24hrs a day.