FAMILY SOJOURN - US TOUR (Part 1 - SAN DIEGO)

Ready for take off!

(A story by Stiff Lu – Night watchman of Kasbah Boracay, proprietor at Loudhouse MusicEnterprise, lead vocalist of the Rockoustic Blues Experiment, gatekeeper of The Rizal Underground and a musical voyager/dad to some of the most beautiful destinations of the World)

This is the first part of a series about the recent journey with my two prized possessions, who have long been exposed to the music, specifically performances of mine, as far back as they can remember – the RUNAWAY BOYS, RIZAL UNDERGROUND & most recently ROCKOUSTIC BLUES EXPERIMENT. I can still recall them singing with childhood friends, the songs they’d hear but little would prepare them for the barrage of 2018 - a coast to coast tour across the United States, my first time to perform outside of the Philippines.

Welcome dinner with the fam

Here's a brief introduction and let me reassure you it gets meatier in the succeeding chapters. It starts in the summer of 2016, when we planned for a trip to the United States, slated for the summer of this year, in time for their High School graduation and moving up ceremonies. So we laid down the groundwork and saved the cash for this trip, we’re blessed to have the support of family and friends which made it all feasible. By October of 2017, upon securing our airline tickets we proceeded to map out a course for this journey of discovery, to meet up with friends and family throughout the USA, a pretty daunting and expensive prospect but kept our spirits high.

As many of you already know, I formed the ROCKOUSTICBLUES EXPERIMENT early in 2017 with my 90’s mates & released an album + music videos and subsequently went on tour around the country to promote the CD. The success of this endeavor prompted me to explore the possibility of doing shows in the US while on holiday and thus sought out the rock and roll Gods for guidance. Luckily, through their kindness, I was lucky enough to land a booking in San Francisco that led to successive bookings elsewhere. And thus set this journey in motion.

At the iconic Hotel Del Coronado

Thanks to social media, we were able to stay connected with school mates, teammates, friends and family, from elementary all the way to 2018. Something of a marvel if you ask a wise man like me and made everything possible without having to send a postcard. And through this medium we plotted a course for a musical journey to coincide with the family vacation and musical tour, with kids in tow. Marvelous.

First stop was San Diego, down south in California bordering Tijuana, Mexico, that served as home base, this is after all a family affair so we used the occasion to catch up with everybody, including me mum who’s here on holiday. It was a good time to get acquainted with the weather and overcome jet lag. We visited some iconic destinations while enjoying the relatively slow pace of this City.

Meeting the LA crew for the first time

Before you know it though, we kicked off the musical journey with an unannounced show at MY HAUS in Murrieta, a stone’s throw away from San Diego. It was a perfect way to save time and meet the Los Angeles crew - make new friends along the way and give my family a chance to finally watch me perform - including mom, the sisters, brother-in-law & kids.

I didn’t realize it was going to be an hour long drive but nevertheless cozy one. We hit the town early in the afternoon for a jam at the house of one of the locals. The drinks were ice cold and the room was just as, and as the LA crew emerges, we break out into a song to run through the lineup. It was real pleasure to have met the guys who put this Murrieta & LA leg altogether – JP CARIAGA of MY HAUS, Timoti of Red Elf Events, Nestor of Tabo Productions and the gang Robrich on drums, Frei on guitar and Michael on bass. It took very little time for us to jive. Soon, it was time to head out to the venue to setup for the evening’s festivities.

Maraming salamat po My Haus Murrieta

It was a surprise to see a packed house considering the short time to promote this event, but just as well, we all had fun and the night ended as beautifully as it started. And soon, we had to bid adieu and look forward to Los Angeles the following weekend.

First jam with the LA Crew

In the succeeding days we prepare for this short drive to LA, in a rental car. It was a bit nostalgic having lived in the area during the mid-eighties and taking my kids through this re-discovery who's first time it was. Made a quick stop to the old house and then to the Hollywood sign and drove along Melrose Avenue before heading out to Long Beach for our residence in transit – with an old high school mate but that’s the next part of this series which should be out next week. Also coming up are our visits to San Francisco, New York, Boston & Houston, so many photos and so many stories to tell. Stay tuned and I will take you through beautiful Los Angeles!

This story is dedicated to all those who made it possible. Sofia, Stephanie and I are truly grateful to y’all and this memoir is testimony to how much fun we had during this trip. THANK YOU!!! Stuff dreams are made of – travelling, touring, bonding and parenting all in one!

Check out the rest of the San Diego PHOTOS HERE.