2/7/03

Dear Diary,

So there I was, last Friday afternoon, just sitting at my desk working/surfing the net, when my telephone rang.

Is this Jarrod Keith Nesbit? the voice on the other end of the phone asked.

Yes, I said coyly.

Jarrod, this is Kyle Ellefson.

Yes Diary THAT Kyle Ellefson! The lead singer/resident loudmouth of The Diggs! Oh my God! Be still my heart. It was almost as if I was living an episode of MTV’s Fanatics! Kyle had somehow gotten my number and called me. What on earth could a rock star like him want with an everyday guy like me?

" 'the fuck do you want?', I politely inquired.

"How were you planning on getting to tonight’s show?", Kyle asked. "I mean, I can give you a ride if you want. I’m going to go a bit early and hang out with the band at Loyola, but you’re welcome to catch a ride and hang out with us if you want."

Oh my God! I couldn’t believe my ears. I was being invited to hang out with The Diggs! This is every rock journalist’s dream. It’s the whole reason we get in this crazy business to begin with!

"So do you want a ride or what?", he asked.

"Yeah, whatever dude", I excitedly chimed and quickly hung up the phone.

I couldn’t believe my luck. That night I would be hanging out with The Diggs! All five of them! Kyle, Joey, Dave, Eric and um there’s one more, right? Kyle, Joey, Dave, Eric and um the other one they were all going to be there!

I already knew then that this night was going to be an incredible adventure and not only was Kyle Ellefson inviting me to partake in the adventure, he was even offering to give me a ride. What a guy.

Kyle picked me up at 7:15pm. When he rolled up in his beautiful 2002 Honda Civic, my eyes nearly popped out of my head. Diary, I can’t even begin to tell you what a nice ride Kyle has so I won’t even try. Besides, I’m sure you’ll get a good look at it in a future episode of MTV’s Cribs (cross your fingers!).

At about 8:00 p.m. we arrived at Loyola (Where It All Started!) Marymount and we immediately headed over to The Diggs' rehearsal hall. Okay, so everybody knows that The Diggs are a great band, but did you know that they are also great people? Yep, apparently when The Diggs aren’t using their rehearsal hall, they’ve donated it to be used by underprivileged LMU students as a theatre department. My God, how big can one band’s heart be? Beat that, Bono!

Once we entered The Diggs' Rehearsal Hall/LMU Theatre Department I got to meet and mingle with the whole band. It was one the most nerve-racking moments in my life. I was SO nervous. I was standing next to my life long heroes: Kyle Ellefson, Joey Aucoin, Little Davy Scales, Eric Wensman, and um... damn it, what’s the other guys name? You know which one I’m talking about the nerdy one with the sideburns. Anyway, he was there too.

While at the rehearsal hall I was able to see how the members of The Diggs interact with each other on a day to day basis. They were totally regular guys! They acted just like they were just a bunch of normal guys (if those normal guys were pompous, arrogant, self-indulgent jerks who for some reason felt that the world owed them something for the blessing of their presence). Yeah, what guys! Oh, but I wasn’t allowed to make eye contact with them. Kyle and the sideburns guy spent their time at the rehearsal hall discussing that night’s setlist while Little Davy and Wensman hashed out a new song tentatively called "Go Down On Me". It’s going to be a good one!

At 9:03 p.m. the band loaded up the cars and got ready to leave for the venue. Again, I was blown away by what Regular Joes they were rather than having roadies load up the cars, the band members did it themselves.

At 9:24 p.m. the band arrived at the Westchester Sports Bar. Yeah, that’s right THE WESTCHESTER SPORTS BAR commonly known as the Carnegie Hall of the Inglewood-adjacent area. At 9:28 I began to walk through the doorway when the bar’s bouncer, whom I believe was cologned with Calvin Klein’s Body Odor, grabbed my sleeve and pulled me back outside.

"Where do you think you’re going, junior?", the thug snarled.

I sighed and prepared for the wedgie that undoubtedly was about to follow when I heard an oddly high pitch voice.

"He’s with us!", said Sheppard. SHEPPARD! That’s the nerdy one’s name! F. Jason Sheppard.

"Whaaaa?", asked the bouncer as he rubbed his fists into his bewildered eyes.

"You heard the bearded man!", exclaimed Eric Wensman. "He’s with the band."

I felt a tear slowly fall down my face. I was with the band. Never have I felt so important. Never before have I felt that I belonged. This is what it must feel like to own a Members Only jacket.

At 10:15, The Diggs took the stage. At 10:16, somewhere in the world, the members of Journey shit their pants. Steve Perry and friends where no longer the Kings of Rock. That title was now bestowed upon Little Davy Scales and his Band of Merry Men.

Highlights from the show included a mediocre cover of Traveling Wilburys' Handle With Care (I just love a band where half the members are dead and the other half look like they are), and a lightshow performed by the Westchester Sports Bar running crew/drunk guys with pool cues.

After the show I was sitting in the bathroom, reviewing my notes and trying not to come down from the high...not so much the high from the show, but the high from Wensman’s weed...when Kyle walked up to the urinal next to me.

"Looks like you’ve got quite a story on your hands", he observed.

I looked down at the volume of paper I had compiled over the course of the night.

"Will you do us just one favor?", Kyle asked. I saw a vulnerability in his eyes that he normally reserves for his conversations with girls or the second stanza of October.

" 'the fuck do you want now?", I quietly inquired.

"Just make us look cool."

With that, Kyle shook his shaggy head of hair and walked out of the bathroom and out of my life forever until fifteen minutes later when I ran into him in the parking lot and asked him for a ride home.

Um that’s it. I’m done.