HOLIDAYS:                           


      Holidays. The cause for a celebration. Usually in commemoration of some past feat or monumental event. Just recently, we celebrated President's Day, a day to silently muse about the past endeavors of our previous fathers of the nation, as well as get amazing deals at P.C. Richard and Son's and Sleepy's. Some holidays have become criminally overrated and overcommercialized  *cough* Valentinesmas *cough*. Other holidays fly COMPLETELY under the radar, and/or never even get the recognition they deserve. The one that upsets me the most is Arbor Day. Arbor Day has a legitimate reason, one that helps preserve our current environment and sees that the future's is somewhat better. I love the premise of it. I'm not some uber green thumb when it comes to "saving the planet," but I think as a wasteful, pollutant, slovenly American, celebrating Arbor Day is THE LEAST I can do to make it up to the world. And to my dismay, it is perhaps one of the most remote holidays of them all. Seriously, I'm starting to believe that only Nebraskans celebrate it, and that's chiefly due to the fact that they created it. I spent the day asking locals in my area if they knew when Arbor Day was celebrated, and not once did I find someone who actually knew (The correct answer, by the way, is always the last Friday of April, but can vary from state to state). This was disconcerting news to me. Surely, there was some way to get the word out about this celebration of our oxygen source.
     That's where my recent thoughts come into play. While discussing the lack of Arbor Day Awareness with Matilda, I had a slight revelation: If and when my Indie band were to form, start a decent following, and have a respectable line-up of songs, I know some key characters who might allow me to spread some awareness. I'm fortunate enough to say that I've made some connections with a few influential folk in the New York Indie scene, who could possibly help me get the word out. What I had in mind (and I know this quite a stretch) was to hold an Arbor Day Bash at Bryant Park, in which my hopefully-awesome-by-then band would hold an exclusive show for those who helped plant trees. The planting would start at noon and end at 4:00 P.M., and to get a ticket, you must clock at least 2 hours of arbor labor. From 4:00-5:00, the stage will be set up, and we'll do a 2 hour gig from 5:00 - 7:00, opened by some local Indie acts, and crowd favorites like The Static Jacks and Ritz Riot. And all of those who participated are welcome to join the aftershow party behind the stage and shmooze with the artists and fellow Indie fans and green thumbs. And this would be the beginning of an annual tradition that would be curated and headlined by my band, which would great for the planet and the fans. Maybe then, Arbor Day would get the recognition it deserves as an important holiday. Until then, I should REALLY work on forming a band. And mastering this bass, first. (Yikes!)