Stop tripping up my good vibrations

"Stop tripping up my good vibrations"

Dear readers,
Summer in San Fran is in full swing. Let me start by saying it has been a long week and so dull. I couldn't wait to get to Friday and just forget about everything that has been fucking my good vibe motto. It's been stressful, so stressful. It's funny, a year ago we were at on a tour of the De Young museum learning about badass bitches. I never thought I would be the person I am right now, one year ago. Courtney and I have grown so much and put a lot of different experiences under our belt. Time just flew by faster than we could imagine. Last month on the day before my birthday, I was kinda fed up in Virginia and couldn't wait to just escape for a moment, a moment for myself. So as I was  scrolling through instagram, I saw my favorite band Winnetka Bowling League announced they are going on tour and making a stop in Berkeley. I didn't even question anything. I just pulled my credit card out and bought the tickets. I totally forgot that I haven't been to a concert since Miley and that infamous night that led me to Glaucoma. It didn't hit me til I got the receipt in my email. Anyways, I didn't even ask Courtney. I just bought the tickets and sent her the info and basically told her she's going with me, lol. I'm happy she was able to. I wouldn't want to dive back into the live concert world without my sister, aka the queen of concerts. She goes to so many shows, I have lost count. She knows how much I love Matt Koma's WBL. I swear this band came into my life at one of the most fruitful times. Last year I heard "On The 5" and "Feeling California" for the first time. They were listed under artists I should check out on Apple Music. So, I did... and I fell in love with the vibe they were giving. It was just good vibes and nothing less. Matt has this clever way with lyrics that I just love and respect so much. When their debut ep dropped in the fall, a song on the ep called, "Are You Okay", really carved a corner in my heart to become one of my all time favorite songs. It did something to me. The lyrics really felt like a friend reaching out to me, knowing what I go through behind closed doors. Before I left to New York they dropped a new single called "Kombucha" and I swear to god I blasted it on the subway, on the streets and all the way back to the plane. It hyped me up to have the confidence to walk amongst people who don't know me, in this new scary setting. Stop tripping on my good vibrations. A lyric in the song and a motto to live by. I was just settling back to California when their 2nd ep dropped in April. A song called "Something in the wind" was apart of the set. It flew right into my life at a time when I need it most. As I said, it has been a stressful week. It has been dull and life is testing me. I'm just trying to do my best to keep on moving forward, so I can move forward. This song has been a staple in my life for the past 2 months. It has been helping me sort through these feelings of uncertainty that keep pulling my heart. There is a lyric in the song, "it's the push when you need hope to keep you going". That song has been a push to keep me going. It really hit me hard back in April, as I sat alone on my floor listening to it as the rain poured outside. I knew that when I bought those tickets for the concert, I would be hearing this live and be in an atmosphere where these lyrics were coming to life right in front of me. I just couldn't wait to get to this Friday. For someone who is having hell pour around him lately, I have been having really happy and memorable moments in between. I got off my train too earlier. I was on the phone with my mom and didn't know what stop I was at. I haven't really been to Berkeley since I worked on my album here. I'm glad I got off on the stop I got off at. I was able to walk around town and see things I haven't seen in so long. Courtney was stuck in traffic for over an hour. Yes it is over the bridge, but it can still take a million years to get to Berkeley. So I had some time to myself to just explore. I've spent some time here in this town, it's just been a long time since I really walked around and saw things. It was like seeing it for the first time again. I got to go into Amobea and Rasputin and just be a music and film fan admiring the history that was surrounding me. By the time Courtney got there, we grabbed dinner and headed on over to the concert. There is a cute vintage bookstore next door to the venue. The streets were loud and rowdy due to the Warriors game. Which btw, i'm so disappointed they lost. I'M STILL ROOTING FOR YOU CURRY. Yes, I watch basketball every now and then. And yes, I STAN Steph Curry. Anyways, we walked around the bookstore for half hour before the doors opened. It was surprisingly not so cool in the bay. It had a little warmth. I guess WBL brought the SoCal heat that I miss from home, along with them. A band called Ufo Ufo opened for WBL. They were so chill and I love the vibe of their music. This is the kinda songs that I fuck with. Everything about them just screams good vibes and in the vein of WBL. It was so good to hear live drums again. I don't know why, but that is the one thing I missed about concerts. From my own shows, to other shows like this. It just gets me pumped and puts me in a natural high. By the time WBL came on stage, I could just feel the happiness arise within me. I'm here with my sister, watching a band that I love, in a town that I have rich history with, in a venue that just felt familiar, yet new. As the lights went down, Matt and his bowling league stepped on stage opening with "Daydreamer" and I couldn't take off or fake the big smile on my face. I sang along to every song. And as all these lyrics that I've grown to know, love and vibe to, over the last year, as they came alive, every little bit of stress and uncertainty faded around me. Courtney could tell I was happy. I know she could. I just felt so uplifted and closer to home. By home, I mean the stage, the music, the atmosphere, every little thing. I just didn't want it to end. I haven't felt this high off happy, this kinda happy, in so long. As I looked around at the crowd grooving and dancing to these songs that make you feel something, that's something I didn't realize I missed until I saw it with my own eye. After the show wrapped, I got to meet Matt and WBL. I wasn't expecting that. I'm so glad I did get to meet them though. Matt is just so cool and they were all so nice and genuine. They are the kinda people you just root for and want the whole world to treat them with love and kindness. Matt as a writer, performer and overall musician, god, I want to learn from him. Keep learning from his lyrics and pray to god I can be blessed in his presences again, one day soon. He just gives off this fantastic attitude that we can all use a little bit of. Through their songs and the words he has written, they really help my heart get through some of the most uncertain times, like now. All I can say is, i'm so thankful for last night. I will never forget my first concert post Glaucoma diagnosis. I made it out alive and with the sight I came into, so that in itself is a HUGE plus. This will always be a special memory for me. I'm so glad I got to share it with my sister and i'll forever replay it in my head when i'm feeling like I need something to pick me up out of the hole I tend to fall into. I genuinely felt so happy and so high off happiness. I left that concert wanting more. Wanting more in life, my career and every little thing in between. I left with a little more love and a lot more hope from the push of the lyrics in the music and the magic that flew from the wind, Winnetka Bowling League, brought with them.

​Love, Dom  

Photographer: Courtney Johnson ​​​& Dom Baza

What I'm Wearing: Jacket - US Polo Assn, T-shirt - H&M, Pants - Good Fellow

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Every post I will include the song that inspired me to build a post around it's title

Page 137
​Stories From My Life - CHAPTER 15

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