My 2017

My 2017

The year of twenty seventeen I lived in Denver, Colorado. I stayed busy with many projects and assignments that kept me motivated to continue to thrive within the passions of my life. My dreams are slowly, but surely starting to set into a reality. This year presented me lots of challenges, but I am proud to say I overcame them all and have developed into a much wiser person than I would have imagined. This year presented me with lots of traveling, music, media, and making new friends. I anticipate many incredible voyages in 2018.

Top 5 highlights of 2017:

My favorite picture I took this year. Taos, NM.

1. Hosting my radio show
2. Grand Canyon road trip
3. New Orleans/Florida road trip
4. Hawaii Birthday Vacation.
5. Playing shows in Baltimore, Artscape & Light City weekend



January:

Santa Fe, NM 1/1/17

I started my first day of the new year by packing a bag of clothes and driving to New Mexico with Kim. We made our way to Santa Fe for the evening. The center of the city was decorated with Christmas lights and the original architecture of the town is galvanizing. We explored the local shops and ate dinner at Ying Yang Chinese restaurant. Afterwards we made our way up a mountain to camp out. We discovered a group of people locked out of their car in need of a ride back home to get their keys. We drove them and following that the guy we helped offered us to sleep in our car in his drive way, being the mountain was filled with snow and too cold. We took him on his offer and camped in our car that night. The next morning we had a delicious breakfast in the city center and visited IAIA Museum of Contemporary Art. Once, we left the wonderful museum we started our journey back home, taking a different route than the way we came. The sights of New Mexico are some of the most underrated views I've seen in the US. Taos, NM was absolutely stunning from afar and this is how I spent my first couple of days of the new year.

A river outside of Santa Fe

Throughout the rest of the month: I ran 60 miles in 12 runs and ran my first half marathon of the year in the first two weeks of 2017. I saw Manchester by the Sea which I thought was a marvelous movie. I visited the Botanical Gardens of Denver on a snowy winter day. January 17th, I celebrated my 3rd year anniversary of winning The Price Is Right by attempting to grow out a mustache. I saw a Purity Ring DJ set at Club Vinyl. They put on a excellent performance. Thieves Like Us, came out with a new album and it's really that good. I highly recommend checking it out. Lastly, my friend Rachel Warren put a guy named Danny in touch with me to get my advice on starting a local currency. We talked for hours on the phone on local currency and the benefits to a local economy. He eventually created his own local currency called Open Currents

Bailey in Taos, NM

February

Arches National Park was the highlight of this month for me. Kim and I drove from our apartment in Denver to Arches. It was a great ride seeing the west side of Colorado and entering the east side of Utah. The scenery of the ride there is breathtaking. We arrived at Arches and drove around the NPS for only an hour due to it getting dark. Afterwards we made our way to the town of Moab. While walking along the strip of tourist hubs, we discovered a cheap Chinese restaurant. We ate there and started making our way to the campsite. The area we camped at was in the middle of nowhere. We parked our car by the entrance of the site and setup an inflatable backseat mattress. It was too cold to sleep outside, so we slept in the car all night.

Delicate Arch

The next morning we woke up and drove the few miles down the road back to Arches. The admission was free due to it being President's Day. Although, we have an NPS pass and can use it any NPS in America. We drove around the park for hours and everything felt perfect. The shapes, sizes, and colors of our surroundings was incredible! The rocks, boulders, arches all made the drive and chilly slumber worth it. The best part of Arches was hiking to the delicate arch. This was an astonishing hike walking on the edge of cliffs to get to and the hike was exhausting, but honestly one of the best hikes of my life. After all the endless hiking and pictures we took. We started to make our drive back home. As we were driving the highways became too icy. We pulled off to the closest exit which was called "No Name". We drove back to the nearest town which was in a little town called Glenwood Springs. We started searching for hotels by using fast food restaurant wifi as we sat in the parking lot. We discovered a cheap hotel close by and called it a night there. The next morning we realized how beautiful the town of Glenwood Springs was. We walked along the neighborhoods that were filled with friendly people and local business. We snapped some photos and made our journey back home of an amazing weekend at Arches National Park.

Sulpher Hot Springs

The second month of this year included plenty of other adventures for me. Kim, Courtney, Cynthia and I all did a day trip to Cheyenne, Wyoming. We walked around the town and explored the city. It was fun and afterwards we stopped in Fort Collins to have a couple of beers at New Belgium Brewery. Another journey of the month was visiting Sulpher Hot Springs. Kim and I drove over two hours to relax in hot springs for a day and that was fantastic. I got to see Computer Magic at Lost Lake Lounge which is someone I've been wanting to see for years. She put on a fantastic performance and I got to talk with her briefly before her set. Lastly, The Shaky Experience released our music video for "Ghosting" as a Valentine's Day treat. You can watch that music video here.

Cheyenne, WY

March

JFK Memorial, Dallas, TX

Bourbon Street, NOLA

24 hours on the road from Denver to Tampa, Florida was the juice of the month. I quit my job and had money saved up. Kim and I packed the car and drove south. The first night we camped out in a small town on the boarder of New Mexico and Texas. It was right next to train tracks in the middle of a dirt field. It felt special and unique to spend Spring Break in such an unconventional way. Dallas was the first major town we stopped in. It was time for a dinner stop and while we were walking around the town we stopped at the JFK assassination memorial. It was neat to see it in person and very unexpected to stop in a historical landmark. Afterwards, we drove around the trendy part of town and ate Pad Thai. The drive continued throughout the night. We initially had plans to sleep on the boarder of Texas and Louisiana. Unfortunately, when we got to the campsite it was basically a swamp with large glowing crosses in the middle of the woods. It was creepy so we drove till we got to a less spooky area. The next morning it was St. Patrick's Day, we woke up and drove to New Orleans. We rented an AirBnB at Flamingo House and explored the absolutely beautiful city of New Orleans. It felt magical being there, I truly love NOLA. Kim and I walked along Bourbon Street and had a few drinks. We explored other neighborhoods besides the strip. We loved it so much and was a major highlight in our year.

NOLA, City Hall

The next day we got up and started making our drive to our final destination, Florida. We continued our drive stopping in Mississippi for gas and eating lunch in Mobile, Alabama. We made it to Kim's home state of Florida. After endless hours down the coastal line we were finally at her parents house. We spent the next few days hanging out with her parents, old friends, visiting new places in the city of St. Pete. One of my favorite moments was visiting a beautiful park called Roser Park. It looks like no other park I've ever seen before. It's historic and had bricks within the road. There is vines hanging from the trees and a creek flowing water. We also got to see Orioles vs Rays at the MLB training field in Sarasota, FL. That was definitely something I've always wanted to do (bucket list CHECKED!)

Orioles vs Rockies, Sarasota, FL

.Over a week of awesome adventures in Florida, we had start making our way home. We drove up the coast and stopped in Pensacola for the night. My Baltimore friends Raindeer were on tour with Generationals we were put on the guest list. It was an awesome time seeing my friends perform in Florida and cool to catch up after living in Colorado for awhile. We continued our drive to Denver stopping in Little Rock, AR Tulsa, OK Wichita, KS and finally home. The trip was AMAZING! I'm so glad we went and had such a wonderful time road tripping across country.

Biking down town St Petersburg, FL

Bailey and I sitting on a bench in the mountains

The rest of the month had many surprises for me. Kim and I spent an entire day hiking Rocky Mountain National Park. We also hiked Winter Park earlier this month too. I won 4 guest list passes to see Dan Deacon through a social media contest. I brought Kim, Courtney, and Cynthia to see our old Bmore neighbor DD. I got a job with Denver Parks and Rec as a little league football coach. It's something I never thought I would do, but it was an incredible experience. Lastly, after weeks of planning my friend Ben and I setup an album release party for a Baltimore band compilation album we all put together called The Hive. I bought tickets to Baltimore for April during Light City week to visit my family and play the release party.


April

The Hive, Baltimore compilation album

Baltimore, Maryland, my hometown was calling for me this month. After a short layover in Chicago, I made it to Charm City. It felt amazing being home, I love my city more than anywhere else I've ever been. I spent time with my family and friends throughout the week. We caught up, went out drinking, and explored the new local businesses in the city. April 9th I woke up at Hosteling International Baltimore went to the Orioles game with my friend Kevin and got ready for my show as Pelvis Presley. The Hive album release show was finally here! We had the show at Joe Squared, all the bands were great. It was my first time performing in Baltimore since all the hostel shows I would host and perform at monthly. I felt like I put on a great performance and all of my friends were there. The show even has a review which you can read here. Earth Day/Record Store Day, The Hive album was given out for free at Soundgarden Baltimore (voted the second best record store in America every year). The album was also released on iTunes, Spotify, Pandora, as well as other places. I also released my full length debut album as Pelvis Presley this day and released a music video for my song that was featured on The Hive, called "Compadre". Lastly, my band The Shaky Experience celebrated our 5 year anniversary of our debut album "Greatest Hits" on that day. After all the fun and excitement of the show and music I went back to Dundalk to see my family. I spent time with my family the entire day which was very much needed. I flew back to Denver the next day and saw Real Estate at The Gothic Theater with Kim. It was a really concert and a band I've always wanted to see. This month felt like it belong to me.

Golden Gate Bridge 

Later on in the month, Kim and I flew to San Francisco to visit her brother in Napa. He picked us up from the airport and we drove up the coast. We spent our first day going to the vineyards and eating at a fancy restaurant her brother worked at. We went on a few free winery tours and wine tastings throughout the day. The next few days we relaxed on the beach, went hiking, explored SF. We also went to Berkley for a day and watched live music along the main streets. It was a cool trip some of the highlights were free wine, delicious food, visiting Golden Gate Bridge. Our last night in Napa we went to a bbq night with a fenced in pool and hot tub surrounded by palm trees. It was a rad time with friends, swimming, and drinks. The last night in California we went back to San Francisco for dinner in China town. Afterwards, Kim and I caught up with her long time friend from Florida, Josh. He was part of the original founders of the music streaming website, Grooveshark. He now works for Yelp and lives across the street from Twitter's headquarters. Josh let us stay with him in his apartment in downtown, SF. His apartment was magical! It had a projection of traffic in SF playing on his way. He played awesome music, made us great drinks, and showed us cool websites. It was such a fun night and one of my favorite nights of this year. We caught our plane our the next morning back to Denver.

Napa, CA swimming

May 

Meow Wolf

Grand Canyon a place I never thought I would have to chance to visit. That notion was corrected when Kim and I visited it this month. We planned a trip from Denver to Santa Fe to Grand Canyon to Lone Rock to Arches National Park. This trip was absolutely astonishing and incredible we had the opportunity to visit all these places. The story goes Kim and I drove down to Santa Fe as our friends Courtney and Steph were going to meet us down there. We all met up in the center of the city and got lunch. The four of us explored the down town and took in the joy of Santa Fe. That night we all went to Meow Wofl!!! What an amazing experience this was. Meow Wolf is the most insane fun house for adults and music venue. We all had an absolute blast that night running around checking out all the art in this place.

The next morning Kim and I made our way to Arizona. It was steamy hot and was much different than what we're both use to since we both grew up by water. We made a pit stop to use the bathroom and the town we stopped in was one I knew too well. It's called Knife City, Arizona. I was stuck out here in the middle of nowhere when my greyhound bus caught on fire in 2013 a week after I won The Price Is Right. It was thriller to be back in a place where I had a horror experience turned into an awesome road trip. We continued our ride and started seeing formations of boulders, rocks, the landscape. It was all so very gorgeous. We stopped in Flagstaff for dinner. It's a little mountain town that has a lot of charm to it. We continued our drive to our campsite which was 5 minutes outside of Grand Canyon. As we were setting up our tent our car battery died. Two European guys gave us a jump and it got our car some juice again. We drove around to keep the battery flowing and made our way back to the site to go to sleep.

Grand Canyon

It was time for us to finally enter Grand Canyon. It was the best time ever! The views, the scenery, the mountains, boulders, everything about it was mind blowing. We drove around for hours and walked around the canyon forever. Many hours later we started planning our way to Lone Rock Campground which is on the boarder of Utah and Arizona. We arrived and the camping ground was like being on another planet. There was a lake with huge rock formations standing tall inside of it. We drank a few beers, listened to music, and had a great experience. The next morning we drove to Moab, Utah. We went to Arches National Park for a little while and setup camp at the same place we stayed at earlier this year. Kim and I went back to the town and checked out a thrift store, got dinner, took pictures, drank beers and played Uno before dark. The trip is unforgettable and one of my the best road trips of my life.

Lone Rock Campground

DPR Youth Sports Medal

Within the month I did many of other cool things that I want to share. Kim and I visited Denver Art Museum on my Mom's birthday. It was a nice way to celebrate a day of a person I never really got know due to her passing. The two of us also donated a pint of blood each in the honor of my Aunt Lisa that has to get blood every month due to a rare blood disease she developed after surviving cancer. I received a wooden medal for coaching a little league football team. It was really special working with the kids and mentoring them as well as being a sports coach. It's definitely something I never thought I would ever do. Lastly, my friend Joe visited me this month in Denver as he was driving across country to move to California. We went Red Rocks, Overlook Mountain, and caught up. It was a fantastic month and I was excited for what was to come.

Denver Art Museum

June

A new chapter had begin in my life and it is called Met Media. While being jobless and uncertain what to do with my life I decided to create a flyer that read something like "Hello reader, I'm interested in working for you. My passion in life is entertainment, but I'm really good at marketing, email me" etc. from there I was reached out from by Metro State Universities media department. They introduced me to their editorial in magazine and newspaper. I also met the television station hosts and radio producer. They were impressed by my bold flyer and previous experience in entertainment and offered me to host my own radio show at MyMetMedia.com

My Radio Show: Archives

Kim and I selfie w/ Cut Copy

This changed my life especially in Denver. The radio helped me create my own unique identity by being who I want, talk about what I want, and host any guest that I want. During the first two episodes I made playlist of my favorite musicians and introduced myself so the listeners could have an idea on what to expect. The third episode of the show I interviewed Tobias Krause, the coordinator of The Underground Music Showcase festival. This interview made an enormous impact in my life. Tobias was educating me about all the amazing events that take place in CO. He then offered me a media pass to Westword Music Showcase Festival. He also added Kim and I to the media party pre-UMS the following month. Lastly, him and I became friends which I feel is most important.

Rocky Mountain National Park

Pelvis Presley performing at Pre K

June 17th, was the 1 year anniversary since I hosted The Last Hostel Show Ever! (at HI-Baltimore). That night was without a doubt one of the best nights in my entire life. Kim, Courtney, Cynthia, and I all went to Red Rocks and saw Phoenix, Miike Snow, and The Lemon Twigs. This was my first time seeing a Red Rocks concert and wow! What a show that was, seeing 3 great bands in one night. It hailed on us before Phoenix started playing, but overall it was a great show. Kim and I hiked Rocky Mountain National Park we were on the trail for over 4 hours. It was cold, icy, and wet in the summer time. We saw lots of beautiful wild life including a beaver that basically laid on my head. I played in a DIY space previously a Pre-school that my friend lived in. I performed as Pelvis Presley and put on an amazing show. Lastly, I reviewed Westword Music Showcase Festival. I got into the festival for free and had a blast seeing all the musicians. I mainly watch local bands perform which was great, but I also got to see Cut Copy and they had the best performance all day. The month of June was solid and much more adventures were yet to come.

July

Adam and I at Artscape

Artscape is the largest free art festival in the United States of America every year. It's held in Baltimore, Maryland and I knew I had to be there. I didn't have much more money saved up, but I bought a ticket back to my home town anyway. I got on my plane and after a short layover in Charlotte, North Carolina I was finally back home. I didn't get much sleep on the plane and was booked to play an unofficial pre-Artscape show that night. I slept on my families couch for a few hours and caught up with them. I made my way to Joe Squared to play as Pelvis Presley on a stacked lineup. KnifeCrime, Pelvis Presley, Terror Pigeon, Domino, Real Dom all performed. The show went over very well and many of my friends came out. I also got paid door sales, free beer, and a free pizza. It was fantastic partying with everyone and being in the moment. The show was also reviewed. Check it out here!



Joe Squared, Show Review

The rest of the weekend had begun! Many of my friends bands played the festival this year. Some of them include Bloomer, Them Animals, The Lushpockets Raindeer, PLRLS, as well as many more. The weekend was legit packed with friends, family, happiness, and music. I was at my happiest being around all the people I love the most in my hometown. My last few days I spent with my family and relaxing. It was wonderful being with them. I was also interviewed by my local newspaper The Dundalk Eagle about coming closer to exceeding my goal of visiting all 50 states by the age of 30. It was nice being recognized for something that means so much to me. The time came as I said goodbye to all of my friends and went back to Denver.

Dundalk Eagle Article that I was featured in

Dundalk Eagle, Article

Land lines at UMS

The rest of the month was very exciting as well. I had the pleasure of Kim and I attending UMS Press Party at the Museum of Outdoor Arts. The event had unlimited free beer, pizza, and a live acoustic performance from Brent Cowles (which I'm a huge of him). The last few days of the months UMS happened! It was a really cool event and a lot of great local bands performed. I got to see 4 days of free music. The showcase hosted over 350 musicians and did an excellent job of coordinating the event. Some of the bands that I loved seeing were  Dirty Few, Colfax Speed Queen, Vinyl Williams, Parallelephants, The Baltic, GVgrace, Grass, Brent Cowles, Land Lines, The Outfit, KITTY CRIMES, Whole Milk, Slow Caves, Vic N' The Narwhals, Benjamin Booker and more. I also got to interview GVgrace which one of the members in the band is part of another band called Inner Oceans. IO has a song called "Call Through The Wire" I think this is the best song of 2017. I interviewed them and asked the vocalist how he wrote the song. It's really good and I highly recommend anyone reading this to check out the song.

Another cool thing is I got to interview Baltimore band PLRLS immediately after their Artscape set and that was a blast. The vocalist owns Ottobar, the bass player was a television star on Ace of Cakes, and their original keyboardist worked for Natty Boh for 9 years. They were really supportive and nice to work with. The radio interviews just kept coming this month as I got to interview Christoph Hochheim of (The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart/Ablebody). Him and his twin brother were opening up for She-Devils, and Beach Fossils. That was show was so damn good! It was one of the best shows I've ever seen live and Beach Fossils put on such an amazing performance. Christoph was great to interview and a very friendly guy. Lastly, I was working a freelance marketing event this month and two guys approached me offering me $50 in cash to shave my arms on a Latin television show, so I did it.

My debut on Latin television


August



After the past few months of traveling and exploring the US. I decided to take it easy this month. I was featured in a local Comcast television show called MSU Denver Laughs. It's an improv comedy series that has a similar plots to Who's Line Is It Anyway? I found out about audition for the show from some friends in the radio department. I got the part and was part of a fun cast with a lot of hilarious moments of improv. The show eventually aired on local broadcast network channel 58 in Denver.

MSU Denver Laughs

Pelvis Presley performing at Ursa Minor

I played a couple of shows this month as well. I performed as Pelvis Presley at a brand new local DIY space called Ursa Minor. I opened for Whole Milk, The Amphibious Man, HairClub. Vic and The Narwhals. The show was a blast and everyone did a great job. The next evening I played at Lost Lake Lounge as a guest tambourine player for Whole Milk. The guys and I all wore Hawaiian shirts and grooved to the jazzy sounds of the band before their big move to Chicago.

Sprague Lake, Rocky Mountain National Park

Denver Mayor Hancock and I

Kim, Courtney, and I hiked Sprague Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park this month. It was astonishing views and driving around the park was very pleasant too. Kim and I celebrated our 1 year anniversary by going to see The Rockies vs Atlanta Braves. This was our first regular season baseball game of the season. It was fun night and overall good time at the Rockies stadium. My friend Cynthia and I watched Death Cab For Cutie in a parking lot. They were performing at Velorama music festival and were the only band her and I cared to see so we enjoyed all the classic emo-indie hits from afar. My friend Chris Campbell reached out to me as he was driving through to go to Oregon to see the solar eclipse. He crashed at our apartment for the night. It was very unexpected to see him and fun catching him. He has one of the most unique life styles out of all my friends and I admire it very much. August came and went fast!



September

Grand Tetons river

Our campsite outside of Yellowstone

Grand Tetons is my favorite park out of all National Park Services. Kim and I planned a long weekend trip back to the park. It was magical being back there. It has a special spark to it that makes the park my favorite NPS. We hiked, took pictures, relaxed in nature, and had an excellent time. We also drove to Yellow Stone National Park and sat around the famous geysers of Old Faithful. It's a surreal moment being from a small town in Maryland and having the opportunity to visit all these superb places. The campsite Kim and I stayed at is legit one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. I don't remember the name, but if it ever comes back to me I'll update this. We saw wild life, rivers, and felt natures cold air surrounding us. I bought a bandanna that has a 1996 map of Yellowstone. I enjoy this bandanna very much and am so glad we went on this awesome trip.

Mountain Goat on Mt Evans

Mt Evans was another place we visited this month. The mountain is part of the 14ers aka some of the largest mountains in the world. The drive up the mountain is breathtaking and what some like to call a Kodak Memory. The roads going up are VERY narrow and if someone got into a crash on the mountain I'm sure their car would fall off a cliff easily. We hiked up the touristy areas of the mountains and took photos of our journey. Mountain goats surrounded our car as we were driving back down. Do these moments really happen to people? It really feel sentimental to me to voyage around these magnificent places.

Mt Evans Mountains

Santa Fe Thunder Half Marathon

I won a ticket to see Minus The Bear this month. I saw them and it was weird, but kinda cool maybe. I guess there was a tiny bit of nostalgia to their early 2000's tunes. I also won a guest list spot to see Ty Segall in October in Boulder. I hadn't seen Ty since 2011 in Baltimore. I truly feel his music has been going down hill for years, but hey it's free so why not? I won two tickets to see The Rockies vs The Dodgers. Kim and I went for a fun night of baseball. It was cool going to another game being how much I love baseball and we wore our Orioles shirts! I took a position for an ad agency that paid very well. I only worked there for a month, but was fortunate enough to save up to nice paychecks. I took the money and paid off the remainder of my portion of rent for the year and bought a trip to Hawaii to visit my friends Kristine, Thom, and James during my birthday week/end in December. Lastly, I woke up on a Friday morning and decided to signup for a half marathon in Santa Fe, New Mexico. I hadn't trained nearly as much as previous years. I've also been running in the same shoes for way over a thousand miles. Although, I did it anyway and came in 200 something place out of 1100 runners. The run was sweaty hot and different than anything I've ever experienced, but I'm very glad I got to experience it. I also received a medal for completing the race. The rest of the day we walked around outstanding town of Santa Fe. We also stopped in Meow Wolf's gift shop for cool novelty items to take home.

A rainbow on the New Mexico/Colorado boarder

While we were exited New Mexico and entering Colorado a rainbow shined right by our car. It was so close we chased it for miles and pulled over on the side of a road and ran into a field. The rainbow was in a corn patch less than 20 feet away from where we were standing. There is something special that I adore with New Mexico. It shines a light and gives me a spark every time I'm there.




Radio show! I interviewed Matt Struck and then Becca Waugh. Both of these individuals host their own television show on Denver local broadcasting network. They film their shows in Denver Open Media a brilliant space for local artist to put their ideas to life. It was cool interviewing them about DOM and their television shows. I also had the pleasure to interview my friends bands Whole Milk and Bourgeois Girl both those interviews were very fun too. It's cool having this show so I can help give spotlight to local musicians within the scene of Denver.

This month, Thom sent me a text that went something this...

October

Councilman Clark and I

The power of hosting a radio show showed itself this month to me. After interviewing Matt Struck last month he invited me on his late night talk show. We discussed my radio show; music, acting, and my The Price Is Right win. This was all in front of a studio audience at Denver Open Media and my episode will be airing on Comcast local broadcasting channel. Besides that I also reached out to Denver's Museum of Contemporary Art about reviewing Neon Indian's Dj set at Sports Castle (a beautiful historic building). I was granted free entry and unlimited drinks. The party was absolutely insane! The wealthiest people were there buying art upstairs as part of an auction. Everyone was drunk including me and Neon Indian went on from midnight till 2am. It was a wild experience and I reviewed the set on my radio show the following day.  I had the pleasure of interviewing local band GALLERIES that played UMS this year and was interviewed in AXS. I interviewed the founder of 7th Circle Music Collective which is a DIY space that's been open for several of years and has their shows promoted in Denver weekly newspapers. I also interviewed my Councilman Jolon Clark. Jolon and I discussed the history of the city of Denver and constant changes the city sees.

The Shaky Experience

Rocky Mountain NPS

Thom flew from Hawaii and visited Kim and I in Denver for two weeks. It was interesting to say the least. We've both changed a lot since growing together in Baltimore. Thom has become more of a hippie and I have become something else. During his time here we hiked Rocky Mountain National Park in 19 degree weather. It was freezing, but some of the best views in the state during winter. We drove along Rocky Mountain Wild Life Refugee and saw lots of wild animals including buffalo. We drove to Sulpher Hot Springs and dipped in the hot springs during the coldest night. While we were driving back it snowed hard and we were sliding down Arapahoe National Forest. It was scary, but we made it home safe somehow. My favorite thing we did while Thom was here was perform a Halloween party as The Shaky Experience. This was our 7th year in a row performing live as The Shaky Experience. It felt special because it reminded me how fast time flies and how much we've changed since we first started playing together. Thom's time in Denver was a great learning experience for both of us and it was good seeing him again.

Thom and I in RMNP

During the month I got to see drum & bass duo Bachelors of Science. I've been a fan of their music for years now and to finally get to see them live was incredible. I saw Ra Ra Riot and Hoops perform a free show sponsored by Fader Magazine. After seeing Hoops I became an instant fan, check them out. I won a guest list pass to see Ty Segall. He was terrible and has really let himself go. I use love his music and stage performances, but now he's washed up. It feels like he's trying to sound like a "punk" version of The Beatles. I won two tickets to see Com Truise and Nosaj Thing at The Black Sheep in Colorado Springs, both their set were really terrific. I love Com Truise and his new album was great. The Go! Team announced a new album called Semicircle which I'm stoked about! I use to have them as my ringtone in my early twenties. I celebrated my 11th year anniversary as vegetarian. I started when I was 16 and I plan to continue to not eat meat for the rest of my life. Lastly, I performed stand up at Voodoo Comedy House. I thought I did great and I got a good crowd reaction. Comedy isn't my number one form of entertainment, but I love to do it from time to time.

A random day hike in October

November

Slices of Death

The year was starting to come to a close and I still had a few more things on my annual bucket list to complete. One of them was to act in a film. I auditioned a for spooky comedy 1980's style slasher film. I was picked for the lead role and we filmed this crazy movie. I was thrilled to have the chance to work with other actors in front of a camera. It felt natural for me to be doing this and what I believe is one of my callings in life. The film is called Slices of Death and the link is down below.



Slices of Death 

This month of The Shaky Experience (radio show). I had the pleasure of interviewing The Three Leeches, a local theater production company that makes productions affordable that don't suck. CRL CRRLL, he was voted Denver Westword's 2016 DJ/Producer of the year. He's also performed at SXSW and Treefort Festival. And, Don Chicharron, a local Latin American band that sings in Spanish. 2/9 members of the band previously lived in Baltimore and founded Single Carrot Theater, one of the cities most well known theaters. Lastly month, I interviewed the founder of 7th Circle Music Collective. He invited me to play a last minute show opening up for a local band and a band that was on tour. This show was extremely awesome and the best crowd reaction I got to any Denver show. After my set a few girls in their early twenties came up to me and asked me if they could "Like" me on Facebook. I was very gracious that people liked my set that much and the next day I released a music video for my song Native Hands (which was filmed in Mt Evans)

Denver Mayor Michael Hancock as the guest bartender.

Kim and I on the cover of Rooster Magazine

The Drums is a band I've been dying to see forever. I bought Kim and I tickets as a birthday present to Kim to see them and Methyl Ethal. The show was fabulous and both bands put on exceptionally great performances. The vocalist of The Drums, Johnny Piece is one of the best stage performers in the business in my opinion. He has everything and more going on for him and his band. Kim and I got to meet him after the show. He was really nice and everyone was freaking out to meet him, including me. A few days after the show my photographer, Nikolia Puc informed me that Kim and I were featured on the front page as fan goers at The Drums show. It was pretty being I'm such a fan of both bands and having our picture in a magazine was nice. This month was great for me and many surprises! The last surprise was Denver Press Club was hosting an event where Denver Mayor Michael Hancock was the bartender for the night. All the money in tips would go to a charity of his choice. It was fantastic to meet the mayor again, but this time have him as my bartender was something I never thought would happen. He was friendly and glad to see us all come out. I feel blessed for all these opportunities that have came my way.

December 

My time has come, it was my birthday month. I started it by celebrating my 28th birthday in my favorite bar in Denver, Pon Pon. A lot of friends that I made this year came out. It was nice, having drinks and laughs with friends before my big trip to Hawaii. My bartender that night was my friend Andy, he was the vocalist of one of my all time favorite bands, Gauntlet Hair. He put the tab on him and it was as good of a birthday I could have had in Denver.

North Shore, Hawaii

Hawaii was 7 hours away the next morning for me. I flew from Denver to San Francisco and then to Oahu, Honolulu. Hawaii. I made it and I couldn't believe, it's still unreal to me. I had stepped foot in my 49th state in America. This is something I planned to do, but was never sure if it would actually happen and it did! My friends James and Thom picked me and drove me to North Shore where we were camping out. We ate pad thai and drank on the beach next to the cabin we had rented out. The guys surprised me with a birthday cheesecake with candles to blow out, it was sweet. This moment was paradise and I really was experiencing this. The next morning we picked up bags of fruit for $5 and ate it by Pupukea. We met up with Kristine and there we all were. James, Thom, Kristine and I were all together in Hawaii when we're all originally from Baltimore. We took pictures and hung out, afterwards James, Thom and I all went to Sandy Beach Park and climbed up a mountain. It was steamy hot so we made our way back down and dipped in the ocean. Relaxing on the beach for hours we drove around the island. The most notable stop was Heeia State Park which was basically a park for cats to roam free. There were over 50 cats there relaxing in the park, we snapped some photos and made our way back to the campsite.

The best and most surreal moment of my year.

Brothers

The next morning we went to Hale'iwa, it's a beautiful town close to Pupukea. We got delicious breakfast and smoothies. Afterwards we met with Kristine to go for a hike near the Rainbow House Art Gallery (Food Land Pupukea). We hiked for over an hour there and an hour back. My legs were sore, but the trees, vines, leaves, everything about that hike was magical. Afterwards, James, Thom, and I all stayed at the Hyatt in downtown Waikiki which I think is one of the largest buildings in Hawaii. We stayed on the top floor thanks to James' credit card points. We cleaned up, showered, and got ready to go out for the night. We went to a bar called Suzie Wong's. The guys shot pool and I got mystery beers that came in a paper bag. A weird guy came up to us telling us how he was raped by ghosts. It was creepy, but it happened and he wouldn't leave so we talked to him for awhile. James and I bar hoped the rest of the night as Thom walked around smoking weed with a group of people he randomly met. We all got pretty messed up to say the least, but we made it home safely and called it a night.

Waikiki 

That morning, James drove us back to Pupukea and spent his last day in Honolulu by himself. Thom and I laid in the sand close to the tent he lives in. I ate sushi at the grocery store next to Food Land and spent the rest of the day relaxing and played basketball with Thom. That night, Kristine's boyfriend drove all of us to a spot called Down To Earth. We all got vegan hot bar food and caught up. The next two I spent sleeping in a tent at Rainbow House art gallery and it was unique. Kristine, Thom, and I all hung out on the beach for those two days. I went snorkeling briefly which is something I never done before. The last two nights in Hawaii I stayed at Hosteling International - Honolulu for free. I was comped because I was a previous employee of HI and had a good recommendation from my old boss. I explored down town Waikiki and went to the markets. It was a blast! I left Hawaii and with a short layover to SF I was back home in Denver.

Once I was back in Denver and settled it was time to host my last radio show of the year. My guest was Pictureplane and I seriously couldn't believe it. He's huge and has a massive following. He came to Denver to visit family and friends for the holidays. He also played my friends DIY space Ursa Minor while he was here. It was such a pleasure interviewing him. He talked about how he use to play shows with Dan Deacon, Future Islands, Lighting Bolt, Crystal Castles, Grimes, etc. It was pretty unreal, but overall he was a nice guy and the interview went really well.

Pictureplane and I

Merry Christmas, giving is better than receiving

While, I was in Hawaii there was a student film festival at Harkins Northfield Movie Theater 18. Two of the movies I had roles in this year were entered to be apart of the showing. Unfortunately, neither made the cut, but will be screened next month somewhere. I will update where that will be, but it's still really exciting they tried and was great working on both of those films.The movies are called "Halves and Quarters" and "The Perfect Life of Janie Jones".

Christmas 2017, Kim and I woke up to FaceTime my Aunt and Grandmother as we all opened our guest. It was nice spending Christmas with my family, even if it was through a computer screen. Later that day, Kim and I went to Civic Center Park and handed out homemade tamales to homeless people. They were very grateful we gave them food on such a special day. Afterwards, Bailey, Kim and I went for a hike around Idaho Springs. It was snowy, slippery, and beautiful. That night, our friends Vic and Emily came over for our Christmas dinner as we sat around the table and had a wonderful night. This was my 2017.

Idaho Springs

THE END!

Top music picks:

Music

Albums of the year:

1. Beach Fossils - Somersault
2. The Drums - Abysmal Thoughts
3. Thieves Like Us - Thieves Like Us
4. Cut Copy - Haiku From Zero
5. Inner Oceans - I Don't Mind

Tracks of the year:

1. Inner Oceans - Call Through The Wire
2. The Drums - Blood Under My Belt
3. Beach Fossils - Sugar
4. The Killers - The Man
5. Thieves Like Us - Broken Mirror

2018 plans! 

Smoke and Mirrors. Thank you 2017

My plans for the new year is to move back to Baltimore and put things in place to make a big move back to LA. My passion in life is to entertain and I'm really good at it. I believe I could act, play music, do comedy, and everything else in that field for the rest of my life. I will have my biggest moment next year, I'm not sure what it is yet, but it will come. I want to spend more time in New Orleans next year and explore the culture of that city for an extended period of time. I will exercise and run more than I ever have in my life next year. I'll continue to progress on my mindfulness and eat healthier than ever before. Next year I want to have the most positive memorable moments of my light. Lastly, I will go to Alaska next year and meet my goal to visit all 50 states by the age of 30.