Big Easy, Big Win
First off, I'm not as much of an NFL fan as I used to be. Every Sunday I would always join my dad to watch every game and ask questions about plays and strategies. My favorite team was the San Francisco 49ers during the Young-Rice era. At some point down the line, I began to lose interest in professional football but this year it was tough to ignore the underdog story brewing in the Big Easy.
Like everyone else in America, I'm a fan of the underdog and if you follow this blog enough you know that I basically live my life as the underdog. Between being in a DIY hardcore touring band and starting two small businesses with my friends, I enjoy giving my life the challenge of working towards something bigger and better.
In the summer of 2006, my band Dear Life booked and promoted our own full US tour and one of the dates we had was in New Orleans. Only a year before, the city had been devastated by one of the deadliest hurricanes in US history. Visiting this city was one of the most memorable parts of any tour we ever did and I can remember every second of it. We arrived in the city in the middle of the night and ended up parking on a random residential street to sleep until morning. When we woke up, we had some time to kill and decided to visit the local mall and hit Bourbon St. as any tourist would. That's when everything got real.
While driving through the city, we noticed that all the buildings had a strange horizontal stain across their walls. We were wondering what it was and why it was on all the buildings, and soon enough the tragic reality had dawned on us. We were looking at how high the water had reached in the city due to the flooding of the hurricane. Some of the water lines were even taller than us as we explored the streets of New Orleans.
Instantly, a wave of empathy for the city washed over us. The city was a wasteland and most homes were uninhabited. Businesses were closed and buildings boarded up. The local people we encountered were all very melancholy and a little somber. It felt like we had entered a ghost town. The only sign of life was a solitary man and his saxophone playing the trademark sound of the south: the blues.
Finally, it was time for us to play our show but as we arrived to the small local venue, a strong thunderstorm rolled in and soon even the venue parking lot was flooded. Luckily, the venue is called The High Ground and for good reason. We loaded up our equipment to the second floor of the venue in the rain to avoid the flooding. As we lugged our heavy amplifiers and speaker cabinets up the flight of stairs, we noticed that not very many people had shown up to see us play. The experience of being in the Big Easy was becoming a big bummer.
Just as we were about to start our set, a group of 20-30 fresh-faced youngsters rushed into the room and one of them came up to me and asked, "Are you guys Dear Life?!" and as soon as I saw the excitement in his eyes, I knew it was going to be a great night. It may have not been the biggest show of our career, but these few kids that braved the storm to come to our show made that entire tour worth it. They went nuts for us and each one ended up buying a piece of merchandise to support us on the road. We ended up hanging out for hours outside the venue after the show just talking to them about what happened in their city. Even the rain had cleared up and some of them brought out their boards to skate with some of our guys. I'll never forget the night we truly experienced southern hospitality.
Now you may think that the city of New Orleans and football don't really have much to do with our experience as a streetwear brand, but I think otherwise. Events in my life like this have shaped me to be the person that I am today, and I just want to thank and congratulate the city of New Orleans for being an inspiration to our nation as a whole. Yesterday was a lot more than just a football game.
Also, a big shoutout goes to Traffic Boutique, one of our newest retail accounts out in New Orleans, LA. Party hard! You deserve it!
- Vince
(Additional photo by Braedon Photography)
Like everyone else in America, I'm a fan of the underdog and if you follow this blog enough you know that I basically live my life as the underdog. Between being in a DIY hardcore touring band and starting two small businesses with my friends, I enjoy giving my life the challenge of working towards something bigger and better.
In the summer of 2006, my band Dear Life booked and promoted our own full US tour and one of the dates we had was in New Orleans. Only a year before, the city had been devastated by one of the deadliest hurricanes in US history. Visiting this city was one of the most memorable parts of any tour we ever did and I can remember every second of it. We arrived in the city in the middle of the night and ended up parking on a random residential street to sleep until morning. When we woke up, we had some time to kill and decided to visit the local mall and hit Bourbon St. as any tourist would. That's when everything got real.
While driving through the city, we noticed that all the buildings had a strange horizontal stain across their walls. We were wondering what it was and why it was on all the buildings, and soon enough the tragic reality had dawned on us. We were looking at how high the water had reached in the city due to the flooding of the hurricane. Some of the water lines were even taller than us as we explored the streets of New Orleans.
Instantly, a wave of empathy for the city washed over us. The city was a wasteland and most homes were uninhabited. Businesses were closed and buildings boarded up. The local people we encountered were all very melancholy and a little somber. It felt like we had entered a ghost town. The only sign of life was a solitary man and his saxophone playing the trademark sound of the south: the blues.
Finally, it was time for us to play our show but as we arrived to the small local venue, a strong thunderstorm rolled in and soon even the venue parking lot was flooded. Luckily, the venue is called The High Ground and for good reason. We loaded up our equipment to the second floor of the venue in the rain to avoid the flooding. As we lugged our heavy amplifiers and speaker cabinets up the flight of stairs, we noticed that not very many people had shown up to see us play. The experience of being in the Big Easy was becoming a big bummer.
Just as we were about to start our set, a group of 20-30 fresh-faced youngsters rushed into the room and one of them came up to me and asked, "Are you guys Dear Life?!" and as soon as I saw the excitement in his eyes, I knew it was going to be a great night. It may have not been the biggest show of our career, but these few kids that braved the storm to come to our show made that entire tour worth it. They went nuts for us and each one ended up buying a piece of merchandise to support us on the road. We ended up hanging out for hours outside the venue after the show just talking to them about what happened in their city. Even the rain had cleared up and some of them brought out their boards to skate with some of our guys. I'll never forget the night we truly experienced southern hospitality.
Now you may think that the city of New Orleans and football don't really have much to do with our experience as a streetwear brand, but I think otherwise. Events in my life like this have shaped me to be the person that I am today, and I just want to thank and congratulate the city of New Orleans for being an inspiration to our nation as a whole. Yesterday was a lot more than just a football game.
Also, a big shoutout goes to Traffic Boutique, one of our newest retail accounts out in New Orleans, LA. Party hard! You deserve it!
- Vince
(Additional photo by Braedon Photography)
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