WAPL Rocks Christmas

Kelly and I were supposed to get to the WAPL 105.7 Christmas party together this evening. The perils of having to pack for 3 nights in St Louis for the entire family, coupled with a teeming headache made the thought of going out for Kelly almost impossible.

We were invited along by Rick and Len, co hosts of a really cool show called the “Rick and Len Show”. (That was my attempt at humour. Believe me, these guys are 1000 times funnier). I have been fortunate to talk to these guys every Monday morning since being here so getting to see them at the show and have a chat without a live audience was something I was very much looking forward to.

The party was in Appleton, Waverly Beach to be exact and I, of course, had no idea how to get there. In saying that I got there quite easily so I was very chuffed with myself. Seems we’re finding our way around town quite nicely now.

Parking was a bit of a bother. I ended up quite a long way from the entrance and I hadn’t really dressed for a 500 yard walk in temps of the low 20’s (-5c). That being said I tried my best to get inside as quick as I could. Are you ready for another stupid “Aussie-ism” when referring to the snow and the effects on the human race? When you run, into a wind that is already piercing your skin you actually get colder alot quicker.

In my efforts to avoid the cold, running into the wind made my eyes water, teeth chatter and legs go weak at the knees. In essence, I was twice as cold as I was when I was walking.

I tried to take a short cut through some bushes and over an old train track. I figured why walk around the track for 400 more yards when I can cut across it and be there in just a couple of minutes? As I started to walk through the snow, in my sneakers I might add, I noticed it getting a little deeper. This was because the train track was set higher than the rest of the surrounding land. Conscious of my socks and having to spend the next few hours in them I sped it up a little only to fall knee deep in snow just a few steps later.

I was literally knee, sneaker, sock and jeans deep in snow and I was only a quarter of the way into my short cut. Quick thinking had me wondering what Ryan Grant would do? Would he cut back, go behind the bushes and find the long way to the door or would he power through, knees raised giving all that he could?

I powered through. Heck, I was wet now. Why be wet and go the long way aswell? As I ran, my visions of Ryan Grant, the Packers new Running Back sensation faded. They were replaced with visions of David Hasslehoff, bursting through the shallow waters of the Pacific on his way to another rescue. You know, knees lifting higher the deeper the water gets. Legs spreading more the further he goes. By the end, just before he dives under the first wave he’s looking more like a duck than a lifesaver? That’s how I felt, only the life (clothing below the waist) I was trying to save were my own.

Suffice to say I made it. What an adventure my first 5 minutes had been.

Now for those that don’t know, WAPL is a rock station. Why I thought this was going to be anything other than a hard core rock concert I don’t know. My expectations of a low key, Christmas carol styled holiday event couldn’t have been further from the truth.

There was a huge hall, a stage, some 1500 people and a whole lot of black. Black leather, black boots, black belts and Harley Davidson shirts seemed to top the list. Second to that was any other type of band paraphernalia, so long as it was a shirt and so long as it was black. Going nicely with the above were tattoo’s of any shape, design or size. The preference was for big, rock styled big ones in that order.

I was wearing a white Abercrombie and Fitch sweater underneath my Packers jacket with baggy blue jeans, wet up to the knee and white sand shoes that people were calling moccasins. What can I say?

I was a little quiet at first. I mean seriously, when you stick out like I did, not too much needs to be said. Once I warmed up a little and my pants began to dry I started to enjoy myself. I spent a little time on stage with Rick and Len as their favourite Aussie Packer Backer, spoke to a ton of people once they realised I was “that Australian guy” and not somebody lost on his way to the mall and it was all good from there.

The bands on show were Fahrenheit 420 to start and Jackyl as the feature performance. Pardon my ignorance but I hadn’t heard of either until tonight. I’m glad I was there though ‘cause both of them totally rocked and won me as a new fan. You can download their music from iTunes if you don’t have it already. They were seriously good, both of them.

The night finished alot later than I had anticipated and getting home to pack my side of the suitcase was tough. I managed to get most of it done though and was down for only a few hours sleep with an alarm at 5am to look forward to.

For better pics of the party you can visit http://www.wapl.com. Thanks again Rick and Len, you guys rock a whole lot more than just “the Apple”.