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I am a night owl. The early morning hours when everyone is asleep is such a great time for getting projects done or hearing the silence of the world. Well it is 4 am and I am stuck in a rabbit hole that is respiring my dreams.
I found a show called Car Masters: Rust to Riches. The show follows a custom car garage called Gotham Garage in Temecula California. I have always been interested in cars and business and this show combines both with a splash of creative artistry. The owner Mark Towle and his team do custom builds of hot rods and classic cars. In episode one my attention was grabbed by both Mark's business model and his love of creating cars that are both unique and support the Gotham Garage name. His business model runs on the idea of trading one project for another project that will make more money. Mark referenced the story of that guy that started trading a paperclip and ended with a house. This has always been a story that has interested me and although the time is not right with the whole pandemic, I have been inspired to try this, like actually trying. I’m going to start with a paperclip and see where it leads me. Mark has an employee named Shawn Pilot who is his deal finder. Shawn is an optimistic salesman who goes out looking for people that want to make the trades. He is the guy that knows a guy. Watching Shawn work on making deals is exciting because watching products move and bargaining deals is like a game with a rush. It is almost like the stock market but there it is in person. I also appreciate Mark’s desire for quality in the projects that leave his shop. He wants every project to leave with the Gotham Garage stamp. Also his artistic creativity, with the help of his crew, creates amazing pieces of art. A couple of my favorite projects were their 1954 Ford Thunderbird, a hot rod that had a tequila bottle for the radiator overflow, and the Futura project. Being stuck in quarantine has been an adventure allowing me to explore more music. While exploring music I was remembering all the shows I went to last year. I saw somewhere around 42+ bands in a year. I wanted to share some of my experiences of these shows with you guys!
Most of the shows I went to were metal at The historic El Rey theatre, Sunshine Theatre, and Isleta Amphitheater. While shows like Slipknot, Iron Maiden, and other huge performances come to Isleta I really love small venues because you get so close to the bands and the crowd is packed into this "tiny" room with no where to move! The first story is coming from the Black Label Society concert. The show opened up with a band from New Zealand called Alien Weaponry, amazing trash metal even better live! After waiting in line for a while you walk in the front doors on either side there is a set of stairs that go up to the bathrooms and the balcony where adults can sit, drink and enjoy the show with no mosh pits, but that is not the area you wanna go to. On the left side there is a doorway that opens to a ramp that walks by all the band merch. There is a plexiglass wall on your right as you walk down to the pit. If you want merch this is the time to get it because after the shows everyone has already bought merch for the most part. When you reach the bottom of the ramp you see an open concrete floor. The stage is about 50-60 feet in front of you, open space for 150 to your right and another 15 feet to your left. This space is not that big, compared to Isleta where you can fit 15,00 people. As everyone starts to fill in the like 10 feet turns to 5 feet then slowly it becomes just a few inches between you and someone in direction. Now typically i do not believe most would enjoy standing in close proximity with a few hundred strangers but this is the beginning and everyone is just waiting for the show to start. You see all types of people. The tall guy that no one can see around, the veterans of metal shows in their war jackets showing off all the shows they have gone too, and the chill old dude. These are just a few examples. Then we just wait sometimes singing to the music playing that stage crews are playing but then the projector screen showing ads begins to ascend into the ceiling, the lights start to dim and the crowd comes to life! Make sure you got your ear protection in! At this concert I was in the middle on the edge of the mosh pit. The crowd in front of me opens up violently creating a circle as people start slamming into each other. Being on the edge of the pit I was helping push people back into the pit or helping those who up that have fallen. As the Black Dahlia Murder showers the crowd in Metal riffs and screams the mosh pit picks up pace. Typically I am one of the bigger people but I see this one guy. He stands about 6’4 he is dressed in a Hawaii floral shirt and Khaki shorts, also he is not a small dude. Being on the wall of the pit the moshers will slam into you as they run around the circle. I see the man in the Hawaii short coming around and he slams into me. I get thrown back a couple feet and almost off my feet. The people behind me push me back into the pit after regaining their footing. This is an amazing experience! As the pit continues people fall down the moshers stop pick them up make sure they are ok then continue like nothing happened. At one point I lose sight of the man in the Hawaiian shirt. As I look to my left I see him recoiled back in a group of his friends as he prepares to launch himself into the mosh pit! 3,2,1 and he comes barreling into the ready crowd who braces them self and then push him into the circle pit.. This was probably one of my favorite mosh pits I have been in! My name is Karmichael Pocaterra, but everyone knows me as Kai. I have lived in Los Alamos my whole life! I have worked with the YMCA for 10 years working with the Teen Center and the Climbing wall mostly.
I love cars, music, and business/marketing. I look forward to one day owning my own business, potentially a franchise and rentals. When I am not working I am playing Pokemon Go, Go team Instinct! I have gotten gold in all of Los Alamos and now I am focused on filling out my shiny Dex. Tiktok has given me a creative outlet to post Pokemon Go videos on! Go check it out Kwadd1234. I dream of owning all my dream cars and one day getting back onto a track to race again. Some of my favorite car are the Supra MKIV, Subaru WRX, and Mazda Speed6. I have been slowly learning how to play acoustic guitar, bass, drums and singing. I would love to perform one day in a metalcore band as a vocalist after I learn how to scream properly. I love music and hope to attend more concerts in the future. Last year I saw 30+ bands! Ice Nine Kills, Trivium, Jinjer, Buckcherry and Hozier were some of my favorite shows but there were so many amazing shows! I would love to see Ice Nine Kills, Trivium and Sleeping with Sirens again! Bands I am looking forward to seeing Theory of a Deadman, Atreyu, I Prevail, and so many other bands in the future In the future I will post videos I have found about stock market stuff, car videos, and talking about bands I have found. Be Safe Be Happy, Kai |
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