Those of you not at the Open Mic last night really missed out, we had some great talent there. I am always astounded when I see local talent with singing/songwriting capabilities that blow me away, I have a hard time comprehending it. When you follow a band through their transition from underground to big-time (as I'm sure you're seeing almost every day these days) it's easy to have a sense of detachment. You may meet them or hang out with them or even have known them your whole life, but watching them on stage or tv is almost this surreal experience. When they're playing, all of a sudden they're not just the people you know, they embody so much more than that. They become this idea that is completely interpretable by everyone in their own way.

This detachment is exactly why local talent (see what I did there? I stressed the word talent) is so amazing to me. These are everyday people that you or I see sitting around with their friends when all of a sudden they step on stage and you get to see this transcendence in front of your eyes from just another person to total realization of their musical integrity.

Just such an event happened for me last night. I was enjoying a couple drinks after a hard week (yes, I'm aware that it was only Wednesday) with a good friend when this trio hit the stage that impressed me enough to put down my martini and stand by the stage and bob along. Their talent was enough to imbue the spirit of this entry, but the fact that really shocked me was that they were 15 freaking years old. What the hell? Can someone please explain to me why tweenagers are out-rocking Heidi Montag (and while you're at it explain to me who the hell she is anyway and why she's be famous)? If you've never heard of The Ghouls, I'll try to recount their tale to the best of my knowledge. They're a side project of Kingdom Cloud to keep them busy while their singer is off fulfilling his great responsibility (as can often come with great power) as Spider-Man or stopping poachers in the Congo or something, I'm not entirely sure of all the details (if you are they, please let me know more about you so that I may stop the lies), so please bare with me. They're this three piece outfit that I (maybe not you, but you're not writing this blog) would describe as 80's-B-Movie-Elect-zombie-rock-nica, which is frightening from kids who shouldn't know who Dario Argento is (unless their name is an homage to Goblin) and I'm not sure can even answer the question "where were you in '92?".

They played a tight set. So much so that I came to the great and powerful interweb of OZ this morning clinging to the hope of finding their myspace (for either band) or perhaps a bedroom/basement recording of one of their songs to illegally download. Sadly, this didn't happen. Don't feel too bad for me though, I was prepared mentally for this and usually feel bad stealing from minors anyway. I'm only making these mean-spirited pokes at their age because I'm so impressed that they not only can play this music (from an age assumed to be before their time and which I can claim to be at least partially acquainted), but they play it well, and in their own unique way. I haven't heard Kingdom Cloud, but I seriously recommend anyone that sees either of these two powerhouses at any up and coming event to check them out, these kids are going to be big. b.