What's In A Name?....
Sooooo as I sit here looking out the panoramic window of my hotel room almost hypnotized by the constant activity of Atlanta airport's runway, my mind is flooded with ideas about what to title and what to include in my first ever blog post. I'm not sure why it took so long to actually start composing anything other than the usual excuses; laziness, lack of inspiration (which is a lie), my underlying and ongoing technophobia (thank you brother Cornell CCHS for instilling that which I can't seem to shake), my ever so easily distracted mind when on my laptop or just plain apprehension. After all who would really give a damn about what I have say about anything I think to myself at times. There is already an overload of noise pollution on the internet. Maybe I, like most of you just need to get shit off my chest and maybe I will experience a therapeutic effect from it all and hopefully some of you will be entertained and/or enlightened. I will try not be be as loquacious as I have been told I can be...
So why the name "Ain't Love A Bitch"? “ALAB” as I will refer to it from here on out (I’m too lazy to type “Ain’t Love A Bitch”) is the name that made the most sense to call this blog for this particular format for various reasons. Too much relevance was in that name for me to pass it up. I had thought of “I Was Only Joking”, “Every Story Tells A Picture”, “This Blonde Has More Fun” among other options that were somehow related to a Rod Stewart song title. After all a great song can inspire, motivate... and it seems many people live their lives through song and "ALAB" is one that all can probably relate to. You haven't truly lived if your heart hasn't been broken at least a few times on your journey.
Long time Rod Stewart fans will immediately get the name connection. For those fair weather Rod fans who usually only request “D’Ya Thnk I’m Sexy” or “Maggie May”, ALAB is a cool song penned and recorded by Rod and is featured on his “Blondes Have More Fun” release from back in the raucous late 70’s. I literally heard it every morning from the back seat of my Mom’s car as I was being driven to St Phillips of Jesus grade school in San Antonio, Texas not via 8-track tape but over the popular KTFM radio station air waves. It was that song, “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy” and “You’re In my Heart” that introduced me to Rod but more on that later.
Much has happened since those days when I actually was a kind of a Rod hater ironically but that's another story and I feel it's time to recollect and jot down some retro thoughts and memories and present day observances, opinions on matters of much more than just wine, women and song like my Facebook and Twitter posts seem to represent my mind and persona as..
Long time Rod Stewart fans will immediately get the name connection. For those fair weather Rod fans who usually only request “D’Ya Thnk I’m Sexy” or “Maggie May”, ALAB is a cool song penned and recorded by Rod and is featured on his “Blondes Have More Fun” release from back in the raucous late 70’s. I literally heard it every morning from the back seat of my Mom’s car as I was being driven to St Phillips of Jesus grade school in San Antonio, Texas not via 8-track tape but over the popular KTFM radio station air waves. It was that song, “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy” and “You’re In my Heart” that introduced me to Rod but more on that later.
Much has happened since those days when I actually was a kind of a Rod hater ironically but that's another story and I feel it's time to recollect and jot down some retro thoughts and memories and present day observances, opinions on matters of much more than just wine, women and song like my Facebook and Twitter posts seem to represent my mind and persona as..
Anyway that is the what and how about the ALAB name. It's realization was a eureka moment very much how when the Vic Vaga (pronounced Vega) moniker was born. Where "ALAB" took but only a few paces and minutes, the adoption of VV was a bit more highly involved. The question of why VV was chosen has been presented many times. I've never responded until now. I sold myself with these points... :
- the act I was in was called the Vagablondes
- Vagablondes was inspired by Rod Stewart’s “Vagabond Heart” cd
- Vaga sounded like Vegas and that was important
- Vaga was more marketable than RODriguez
- Vaga still sounded a bit hispanic and I didn’t want to stray too far
- Vic Vaga rolled off the tongue smoothly
- Vaga is easier to recall
- Vic Vega is Mr Blonde in the “Reservoir Dogs” movie
- a vast majority of successful show biz people changed their names
- Vaga has Old Norse origins and I’m all about vikings…
The fact is that it has been a good decision for me. It has worked. I believe "ALAB" will work also.
This is an endeavor I have been wanting to take on for quite a while in the hopes of not only generating traffic towards my online efforts but also waking up a creative spark that needs to be tapped. There are many stories I’d like to paint a picture of and pictures I’d like to tell a story about. Hopefully it will get my creative juices flowing enough to pen a song or two to record. Rest assured that it will be all told as seen and felt from the experiences of this rock-n-roll excitement seeking rebel with the ever so interesting job who has some sort of cause.
This is an endeavor I have been wanting to take on for quite a while in the hopes of not only generating traffic towards my online efforts but also waking up a creative spark that needs to be tapped. There are many stories I’d like to paint a picture of and pictures I’d like to tell a story about. Hopefully it will get my creative juices flowing enough to pen a song or two to record. Rest assured that it will be all told as seen and felt from the experiences of this rock-n-roll excitement seeking rebel with the ever so interesting job who has some sort of cause.
Congratulations on making it through my first ever official blog entry. Thank you for putting up with this entry about stuff many of you already know about when it comes to the right name... If you still don't, I’ll let Rodney (not Roderick) explain until next time…
