UNBRIDLED ENTHUSIASM – DARYL NAGAMINE!

I have a friend I turn to when I need to find a new band whose music I cannot live without.  Somehow, he just always knows what I cannot live without, and I have bought several downloads for my iPod based on his ideas.  He is always so enthusiastic about music, and now I have learned, he is just enthusiastic…period! 

Daryl set out to answer those two questions and then found he could not stop the memories once he began writing.  Luckily for us, he just let the music flow, and here is what music man Daryl came up with.  I found not only could he not stop writing, I could not stop reading! 

Say hey to Daryl Nagamine, and enjoy his stories!

“I’ve got two favorite memorable moments that I’d like to mention.  The first event took place in June of 1982 when I was still in high school.

My friends and I went to see the Peace Sunday antinuclear rally and concert at the Rose Bowl which featured these headlining acts:  Jackson Browne, Stevie Wonder, Stevie Nicks, Linda Ronstadt, Stephen Stills, and Graham Nash.  I had not been to many rock concerts, so getting to see six great artists in one day was going to be a real thrill!  However, that was merely the beginning.  There were shorter sets scattered between the headliners, but these were not just a bunch of no-name filler bands.  Those sets included the likes of Jesse Colin Young, Donovan, Bonnie Riatt, Dan Fogelberg, three of The Eagles including Don Felder, Timothy B. Schmidt, and Joe Walsh, as well as Gil Scott-Heron, Tierra, and several others I cannot remember.  I did not know them at the time but probably do now.

Some of the headliners brought out friends to help them, too.  Stills and Nash, for example, brought out David Crosby for a brief CSN reunion set which served as a preview of their successful “Daylight Again” album and tour later that summer.

Then the trio announced another surprise guest!  For a moment I was hoping it would be Neil Young, but it was ONLY Joan Baez!  The crowd was still buzzing about that when Joan announced a surprise guest of her own, Bob Dylan!  Other surprise guests included Tom Petty, Nicolette Larson and Gary “U.S.” Bonds. 

The nonmusical portions of the event featured speeches by Jerry Brown, Jesse Jackson, Jane Fonda, Muhammad Ali, Ed Asner, Patti Davis, Bette Midler who, by the way, performed an awesome a capella version of “The Rose” due to overwhelming crowd demand for her to sing.  Also there was Cesar Chavez, Michael Douglas, Mike Farrell, and many others.

The best part of this incredible mind-blowing day of music?  Tickets were only $12.50!

My second moment is a two-parter.

Part one:  I was in Anaheim for Game 6 of the 2002 World Series, watching the San Francisco Giants beating up on my favorite sports team, the Anaheim Angels.  With a 5-0 lead and a mere eight outs to go, it looked like the Giants were going to clinch the Series 4 games to 2.  I could not believe that the Angels’ attempt at winning their first championship after 40-plus years of misery was going to end right in front of my face!  However, the angels staged a miracle rally to win 6-5 and force a seventh game.

Part two:  I was in Anaheim watching rookie starter, John Lackey, leading the Angels to a 4-1 Series-clinching win, also right in front of my face, and on my birthday, no less!  Can you say, ‘Best present EVER?’”

Daryl told me that he cut his favorite childhood activity answer short, thinking nobody was going to read that far anyway.  I think he underestimates our entertainment thirst!  So here’s Daryl, finishing it up. 

“My favorite thing to do as a kid was going on summer vacation trips with my family and relatives.  It was so fun traveling around seeing cool sights with them.  Here are some off the top of my head:  Hearst Castle, Winchester House, Petrified Forest, Meteor Crater, Grand Canyon, Royal Gorge, Pike’s Peak, getting soaked on the Maid of the Mist boat ride at Niagara Falls, the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, the White House, Capitol, Washington Monument, Arlington National Cemetery, the Smithsonian, Proctor and Gamble Plant in Cincinnati, Hershey, Pennsylvania (I loved those street lamps shaped like Kisses), and Hawaii. 

I just double-checked and was surprised to see that I visited 20 different states back then. I have since been to four more, and that is only half of this great nation.  I still have a ways to go!”

Better start booking tickets, Daryl!  We are waiting to hear about your next adventure!

””