Tyrus, myself, and Brandon at Archimedes Gallery, Cannon Beach, OR
Not long before Tyrus and I moved to Tillamook, visual artist and musician Brandon Boyd announced on Facebook that he would be stopping in Cannon Beach for an intimate Q&A session, along with a book signing and photo ops. That's only an hour north from Tillamook along the beautiful Oregon Coast. As many of my close friends and my sister can tell you, I've been an avid fan of Incubus and Brandon Boyd himself since I first saw their "Pardon Me" video way back when. I think I had to read his post a few times before my brain could actually comprehend that this was in fact going to happen and not just a dream. As I write this, I still cannot believe that we were there, but I'm sure glad we were.
In the late afternoon of Friday, October 3rd we drove up the coast to Cannon Beach, not sure what to expect on a beautiful Friday evening in a popular coastal town. We walked around the main avenue to find Archimedes Gallery, where the event was to take place. As I looked one way and Tyrus looked another, I saw someone three feet away who looked very familiar although I knew we had not met before. We locked eyes and gave friendly smiles and both went on our ways with our partners hand in hand. Brandon Boyd sure has a great smile.
We decided to get a bite to eat before the event and found a quaint little pizza parlor across from the gallery, although we just snacked on salad. Arriving a bit early to the gallery, we got our seats in the front row of metal fold-out chairs, shocked that these seats were still available.
A piece of Brandon's artwork hung as the backdrop of where he sat for the Q&A.
In usual musician fashion, the guest of honor arrived from his trek around Cannon Beach a bit late, though no one seemed to mind as the room was filled with excitement. The host announced the arrival and entrance of Mr. Boyd and we all welcomed him with a round of applause and smiles. I kept reminding myself to breathe.
He sat there in front of us welcoming and thanking everyone for coming, and asked how we all were. Many responded with joy and out of nowhere I spoke up and asked casually how he was doing. I couldn't believe I was saying it as I was speaking. He turned his attention to me, smiled and said he was doing great; that this was his first visit to the Oregon Coast and described how beautiful it is. I responded to him all smiley describing how we had just moved here two weeks ago and are also amazed at the beauty of it all. To my surprise he continued the conversation by asking where we had moved from, and of course I responded. I continued to ask myself, "Is this really happening?" while remaining calm on the outside.
During the Q&A session we were invoked by Brandon to ask him anything. People asked him all sorts of great questions. They seemed prepared. I had to no idea what I was going to ask him until someone else's question resulted in a very loud epiphany as if God himself was yelling it from the heavens. So I raised my hand. He turned my way, flashed another great smile, and said, "Yes?" in his continued cool and friendly manner.
As I started to ask my question I prayed I wouldn't forget what I was asking as I was speaking, nor that I should fumble my words -- something I'm known to do when I get nervous. In one perfect sentenced I managed to ask:
"As an introspective and creative person, what advice can you give to people like me and my husband who are also introverted and creative, who have a hard time finding their place in the world?"
Dear Lord, I cannot believe such an amazing question came out of my mouth. This very well may be my only opportunity in life to ask him a question and I freaking nailed it!
Stock photo from the internets of Brandon working on one of my favorite pieces by him.
I listened intently and with a smile while he told me that he understands what I mean. It's difficult for people like us to be heard or noticed. Sometimes it feels hopeless, that we fear we may never find our place in the universe. But the single greatest thing he said to me was this:
"Just be you."
He went on to say to me to be myself because soon the tables might turn and people who are introverted will probably be the new trend. We both smiled and I replied, "That might be a good or bad thing." He laughed shyly and said, "That's very true. Good point." I thanked him for his time and finally allowed someone else to ask a question.
After the Q&A session, we all stood in line for the book signing and photo op. Tyrus and I didn't wait long, although it was long enough for Tyrus to generate a great question to ask Brandon about the universe. Tyrus prefers to keep this conversation private though because it is quite personal to him, so it's just between the three of us :) Needless to say, Brandon understood the question, having experienced the same thing himself. We chatted for several minutes, laughed, and had many pictures taken thanks to the great staff of the Archimedes Gallery.
Suddenly he reached over and poked by shoulder and quietly with curiosity said, "Oh..." I was wearing a sheer white top that hung off my left shoulder with a tank top underneath. He spotted a bit of my tattoo on my left arm. I replied, "Oh yeah! Do you want to see it?" And with a tone of excitement he replied, "Well, of course!" So I proceeded to take my arm out of the sleeve and extended my arm towards him. Not knowing that one of the staff of the gallery was taking pictures at this moment, we later found out he caught the perfect moment and Brandon's killer reaction to the artwork on my arm:
After a few awesome minutes of studying my tattoo and some great compliments from THE MAN himself, we thanked him for his time and went on our way in disbelief and awe.
He is an amazing soul who is very humble and grateful for his achievements. I always suspected he would be a down-to-earth person, and he truly is. Although I was very excited to meet him, he was very easy to talk to -- like talking to an old friend. The three of us really connected on some cosmic level and I have often wondered since if perhaps we knew each other in another life. That is not to say others at the gallery did not have similar experiences, but that was ours and it was extraordinary.
"Not Ebola."
I asked him to draw a doodle after he signed, which he did. He then said his doodle looked like Ebola, so he wrote "Not Ebola" with an arrow pointing at the doodle. The three of us obviously thought that was hilarious.
Having the opportunity to meet a musician and visual artist that I have admired for almost half of my life is an experience I am truly grateful for. Meeting Brandon Boyd was absolutely phenomenal, though that word -phenomenal- does not even begin to describe how it truly felt. I thanked him for his superb answer to my question, although I may never really be sure that he knows just how much his words mean to me and that his kindness and introspection has truly changed my life forever.
Dear Brandon, I truly hope we all meet again, if not in another gathering to admire your creative genius, than to just shoot the breeze about the universe and all its wonderment.
Me and my hero.
