33% Work 33% Love 33% Play

That is the equation that a good friend of mine told me is the formula to life...
One of many quotes, formulas, philosophies, and cliches I've heard this year as I've finally opened my ears to the world. I know, it took 34 years and countless mistakes for me to grasp, but 2012 has been a remarkable (i loved that word, "to be remarked upon") year for me, and for Saint Rocke.

Saint Rocke. Lots of highlights, some lowlights.
Gavin Rossdale & Bush going old school and standing on the bar singing Glycerine, Bad Seeds coming full circle and playing the Beach Concerts in Hermosa, Black Crowes (Chris) playing NYE, Amos Lee & Mat Kearney inspiring, the girl who had cancer (see past blog) and came to see UL sending me a letter that she's in remission, seeing the Saint Rocke Staff grow, doing 100 live webcasts and having over 2,500,000 watch, taking a wild far fetched idea and making it a reality with IROCKE...great shit. All of it. The bank account is definitely not a marker for success in the music business, trust me. But these memories, and the stories I have to accompany them, are the currency we carry.

We also had some hard times this year -- we lost some key staff, we burned some bridges, got burned, and lost some friends along the way.  As a venue, we struggled to find our identity a little bit over the early part of the year with our booking, but luckily have rebounded and are now booking what I truly believe to be the best lineups we've ever booked. Additionally, in 2012, we have created a partnership that I believe will take music to a different level in the South Bay.

I was talking to another booker a few weeks ago, and he had said that we read my blog, and that he really resonated with what I wrote -- the music business being able to drain your will & motivation -- and that he felt some comfort knowing that we were all really in it together. And as I move into 2012, with another of wisdom under my belt (that makes me realize I don't know anything), that quick point is magnified by thousand : we're all in this together. Today you might be in the 1%, tomorrow you might be at Occupy, the next day terminally ill...you just don't know. So how do we all get by?  For me, I work, I play, and I love. For those that know me, they know I have the first two of those down, but the third has always been hard.

Never too young, never too old, never too slow, never too fast, to start today.
I hope everyone has a great holiday, enjoys their family the best they can, puts their differences aside, and realizes that in the end we're all in this together.

On behalf of the staff at Saint Rocke, Merry Whatever and Happy Holidays.