Showing posts with label Music. Show all posts

Thursday, October 1, 2015

Salt Lake City- Delta's Velvet 360

Posted from Hollywood, en route to hooking up with the fam in Australia…

After leading hikes and other outdoor adventures for NW Wilderness all summer, I would’ve normally already flown overseas a couple times this fall. Being a Delta Airlines employee, quick international trips are a regular thing for our family. In fact, I’m currently attempting 1 of 2 back-to-back overseas family trips, on three different continents.

The steep Devil’s Peak hike I led Saturday before I flew out was scaled back from my original 15 mile routing, but the roster was ANYTHING but scaled back. I relaxed my usual limit of 10-12 hikers to allow a whopping 18 people attend my hike. And over 30 people RSVP’d!

Posted en route to Australia: The massive hiking group I led to the top of steep Devil's Peak over the weekend

A photo posted by Garth Hamilton (@garth_hamilton) on Sep 30, 2015 at 3:13pm PDT

But the big event of last week was Delta’s Velvet 360 event in Salt Lake City. I was very fortunate to be selected to represent our PDX station (see the two links to my posts about running in the Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon in 2014, and also my latest from 2015).

After I worked late into the wee hours of Tuesday morning (we were short-staffed), Delta flew me to SLC on Tuesday and put me up in the AAA Five Diamond luxury hotel Grand America. The swag bags were gone by the time I arrived, but I landed just in time to catch the opening night festivities.

Enthusiastic "Velveteers" greet us at the SLC airport with our motor coach

Grand America courtyard: Before getting dressed up for the main event(s)

The courtyard was the setting for Tuesday night’s party: Prizes, exquisitely prepared food and appetizers, drinks, music, and dancing. D.J. Nunzio was on hand later that evening to get the dance floor hopping.

DJ Nunzio warms up the dance party at the @Delta Velvet 360 event here in Salt Lake City.

A photo posted by Garth Hamilton (@garth_hamilton) on Sep 24, 2015 at 3:25pm PDT

Day 2

After a very late night with some new friends, Wednesday morning breakfast arrived rather early

(7 a.m.!).

But Velvet 360 was just getting started.

An all-star lineup of Delta’s executive leadership team (including President Ed Bastian) took the stage throughout Wednesday to share with employees the Big Picture, a 360 degree view of Delta’s business.

Gil West, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, was one of many featured speakers from our Delta executive leadership team

At times, Velvet 360 was refreshingly less like a conference and more like an energetic, entertainingly-produced U2 concert. Prize giveaways, cinematic short films, comedy skits, and the enthusiastic “Veveteers” kept the energy levels up during the transitions between speakers.

The jubilant Velveteer prize patrol whisks away yet another winner up to the stage

Lights, camera, action: A 180 degree view of Velvet 360

Amidst the flashy production values, the message was clear: Delta is actively involved in investing in the successful future of our customers, shareholders, and employees.

Props to Delta Airlines for a job well done at Velvet 360. And thanks for sending me!

Bonus Vine video:

Hit the unmute button to hear audio of us getting our groove on to Bobby Brown the night before.

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Photos: Baby Levi's first week alive

Jumping ahead: A more recent pic of the newly expanded Hamilton 4.

Levi's first Sunday at Aloha Church of God: Daddy, Peggy, Aunt Jamie, and Larry proudly admire the newest Hamilton, four days old.

This photo dump from January is yet another "catch-up" post. So many blog-worthy adventures have happened recently... but those can wait until after we share a few moments from our baby boy Levi's first week in this world.

Here are some pics:

Grandma and Grandpa Eason capture the moment as Lena excitedly reaches out to hold baby Levi, for her first time ever.

Note: See Part 3 of my "Birth of Levi" posts from a few weeks ago for more precious photos from their initial sister/brother meeting!

Levi's first night at home

Lena holds her new baby brother

Outtake: He's mine!

Uncle Mike and Aunt Summer finally meet their 2 day old nephew

Levi's first breakfast with the family

Grandpa Bo plays with his two grandkids

Levi's first Sunday morning in church

Our church family gets their first peek at Levi, four days old.

"I love it that it's Levi's first Sunday to be alive, and he's in church."

-Pastor Tim, from the pulpit

"YOU sing, Daddy!"

-Lena, trying to steal the spotlight after church... and then wanting to hand it off.

Coming next week on Garth's Blog...

More never before seen Levi photos:

Showing off Levi around town, visits from family and friends, and getting Levi out on the hiking trails!

And coming in April...

Snow play, more outdoor fun, and overseas hijinks!!

Monday, March 17, 2014

Mama's got a brand new blog

En route to Ireland last weekend: My beautiful wife Kathy is a good sport. She lets me drag her anywhere! Wanna hear her point of view?

Pardon the funky James Brown sacrilege of my title. This is an oh, so important announcement about something that broke loose during last week's trip to Ireland (link):

Kathy started her own blog!

She's calling it The Hamilton 4.

Click on the link directly above, or type in this URL: www.thehamilton4.blogspot.com.

Here are the Top 5 reasons to keep up with Kathy's new blog:

5. Quality- This one's obviously not a concern for this main site, Garth's Blog. Anyone could maintain a better blog than this one, right? Seriously, though, Kathy's got what it takes to be an excellent writer.

4. Family emphasis- There's a reason why I only sparingly upload photos of our beloved Lena and Levi to Facebook that lack any adult context: Kathy does such a thorough job of posting those photos herself! I highlight the milestones here on "Garth's Blog" (and feature pics of Lena and Levi in almost every post) but my focus is often more on the adventure-type stories that I would personally want to read. For almost everyone else we know, Kathy is the one who is more likely to let readers in on our everyday family life.

3. Spirituality- The mainstream channel of "Garth's Blog" shoots mainly for lighthearted adventure and entertainment value, though I contribute more spiritually oriented (and sometimes controversial) content to my other blogs and around the web. In contrast, Kathy's inspiring faith in Christ is front and center in all of her writings.

2. The personal touch- Kathy doesn't censor or tone down her emotions and convictions like I typically do on my main site. She tells it just like it is, with her heart on her sleeve.

And the #1 reason to follow Kathy at www.thehamilton4.blogspot.com is...

1. The amazing author- Two words: Kathy Hamilton. Need I say more?

My Ireland travelogue from last week will be coming soon to Garth's Blog. But today is St. Patrick's Day, and live Irish music is calling our names tonight.

No matter how many Irish bands we barge in on around town tonight, we'll try our best to not let THIS happen:

The Onion: Irish-Americans Gear Up For 'The Reinforcin' O' The Stereotypes'

From The Onion

Happy Saint Paddy's Day!!

Saturday, January 25, 2014

Unproductive: Reflections on paternity leave

Mommy naps at home earlier today, holding our 11 day old Levi.

This is another share from my other blog, originally posted on Thursday. I'll try not to make a habit of this, but I just haven't found the time to complete any new updates to the "Garth's Blog" site recently.

My belated family Christmas post is almost ready. And pictures from baby Levi's birth last week are coming soon!

Our newborn baby Levi turned one week old yesterday [Read: Wednesday]! Yet the week zipped by so quickly that it seems like Levi was born only a few hours ago.

After confirming that my mom was available to care for Kathy at the house today, I felt confident enough to return to work this morning. Let's hope I made the right choice.

Think returning to work after vacation is tough? Try returning after paternity leave.

Kissing Lena and Levi goodbye several hours ago, I tore myself away from domestic bliss in the middle of the night. So many memories from this past week brought an irresistible smile to my face. But I also chuckled while suddenly remembering the list of things I expected to accomplish during my paternity leave. As if.

Now, I don't typically aspire to be Mr. Super Productive. That title belongs to my amazing dad, Doug Hamilton. But I DID have over a week off from work, right? And even the most travel-starved husband/ father would never dream of dragging his wife, daughter, and newborn son onboard a series of international flights during this time.

So just for kicks, here is a to-do list of tasks and fun stuff that I earnestly thought I would get started on (yet never touched) during my paternity leave's "free time":

Get some friends together to log a massive amount of climbing, hiking, and trail running miles
Carry Lena and newborn Levi on a flat, easy hiking trail that a recovering Mommy can join us on (rescheduled for this weekend!)
Design and begin my latest weight training program
Reevaluate my entire 2014 student ministry goals and vision
Submit another of the nine book reports due for my credentialing process
Study for my upcoming sermon on 1 John
Draft an agenda for our upcoming Alumni Council meeting at Warner Pacific College's Homecoming
Play some Uncharted 3 on the PS3, as 2 year old Lena always pleads for me to do
Delete dozens of rarely used apps on my phone, tablet, and laptop... But not before I:

Brush up on speaking the ol' español for our upcoming travels (Duolingo app)
Learn to play guitar (Gibson's Learn and Master Guitar app)

Laugh if you will, but I was dead serious about tackling every single one of these. At least I thought I was. In practice, I didn't even do the stuff I'd NORMALLY do in my free moments, i.e., drafting mobile updates (okay, I posted a few here) to this blog and it's mainstream counterpart, "Garth's Blog."

So was this a week of wasted opportunities? It certainly could have been, had I prioritized anything on that list over family time at home instead. Playing, praying, reading together, taking care of Mommy and the munchkins, getting to know my baby boy Levi, enjoying visits from family and friends, and helping Lena understand and deepen her relationship with our newly expanded family have all been more important than any part of that list.

It felt like the best week ever, spent with what now feels like the perfect family. And it was gloriously unproductive.

Sunday, December 15, 2013

How the Black Crowes got their groove back (Portland concert review)

The Black Crowes are back! For a reunion world tour, anyway. Last weekend's Portland show marked my 10th time to see my favorite jam band, and my third time to catch them at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. Since discovering their captivating, energetic live performances in college, I haven't missed a local Crowes show since 1995.

Readers: Garth's Blog has previously featured the Black Crowes, most notably in my uber popular post, Do the Black Crowes Needtobreathe? That blog link will seemingly live on as long forever, or at least as long as people continue Googling the Crowes' influence on Christian rock band Third Day.

Taking in the Christmas sights and sounds of downtown Portland, en route to the Black Crowes concert

Fans of the Crowes' most recent Americana/ folk leaning records (like me) were surprised to find that era completely ignored in last weekend's set list. No, this was a return to classic form. The Black Crowes were here to rock 'n' roll.

As seen the video below [Yet another video upload error. Thanks, Blogspot.], singer Chris Robinson was at his hyper, playful, and passionate best. Chris spun and danced around the stage as his brother Rich laid down rhythm (and occasional lead) guitar licks, backing vocals, and lead vocals on the Velvet Underground's "Oh Sweet Nuthin'." Original drummer Steve Gorman was flawless as always. Sven Pipien and Adam MacDougal were solid on the bass guitar and keys, respectively. And new member Jackie Green soared on the lead guitar while filling out the trademark vocal harmonies.

Every song on the set list was either an extended jam or a punched up, re-energized rendition of a fan favorite. The band charged out of the gates with rocking versions of "Sting Me" and "Twice is Hard," songs that most bands would save for an energetic finale. Huge hit "Remedy" was also played early on, as if to remind everyone that the Black Crowes' song catalog is far too vast for a predictable withholding of hits for an encore. Heck, I've been to previous shows where the Crowes have swapped out some of their biggest hits in favor of jamming away on fan favorite album cuts.

That being said, the night was chocked full of crowd pleasing moments. Some of the Crowes' best ever jammed-out renditions of "Hi Head Blues," "Ballad in Urgency," and "Wiser Time" (over 15 minutes long!) were punctuated by their more radio friendly selections. Though the sheer quantity of Greatest Hits-type selections was uncharacteristic for a BC concert, we fans showed nothing but adoration as we danced straight into their final run-up of mega-hits "She Talks to Angels," "Thorn in My Pride," "Soul Singing," "Jealous Again," and a joyous mash-up of Otis Readings' "Hard to Handle"/ Deep Purple's "Hush."

The Crowes encored with a double header of Rolling Stones tunes: A laid back, countrified cover of "Torn and Frayed" (Blue Mountain's version is one of my all-time favorite covers) and a fun update of "Happy," featuring Jackie Green on the vocals. Chris Robinson never stopped dancing. Neither did we.

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Notably missing from that evening: The Crowe's ever-evolving "My Morning Song" jam (a concert highlight, typically clocking in at 10-20 minutes long). Kathy also lamented that the Crowes' soulful backup singers were M.I.A. on this tour.

And it was a bummer to lose guitarist Luther Dickinson, who ended his stint with the Crowes to return to the North Mississippi Allstars (link to my review of one of the NM Allstars' previous Portland shows). But there's always a silver lining:

Portland Waterfront Blues Festival: Lena I met Luther Dickinson and his brother Cody backstage this past summer, after the North Mississippi Allstars' electrifying set on the main stage.

Bonus Trivia, Concert Tour Edition-
Question: Besides Luther, who is the only other musician who has toured with not one but TWO of my five all time favorite live bands?
Answer: Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page, who shared a stage with the Black Crowes throughout a stadium tour featuring all Led Zep songs. Double wammy! If only Bono had made an appearance...

Coming up on Garth's Blog...

Surfing, pumpkin patching, and dairy farming!

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Video: Dance war!

1, 2, 3, 4... I declare a dance war! Our Delta Airlines dance crew has a new challenger.

Poke the play button above to watch us dance in our 2012 "Delta Wanderland" Christmas music video.

Our choreographed dance routine for last year's "Delta Wanderland" Christmas video was a novel idea at the time: encourage actual Delta employees to audition, send the finalists (myself included) to L.A. to learn the dance moves, and shoot the music video all night on location at the LAX Airport. As an actor, it was a change of pace for me to rehearse dance moves rather than block action and memorize my lines from a script.

My blog offered a series of behind the scenes looks at shooting our music video last year. Three of the four most the popular posts from that series are listed below. Here are the links:

Behind the Scenes in LA Pt. 1- Dancing Near the Stars
Choreographing our dance moves at L.A.'s International Dance Academy on Hollywood Boulevard

Behind the Scenes in LA Pt. 2- On Set: Delta Wanderland
Stories and production stills from our all night video shoot at LAX airport

And of course...
Bonus Documentary: "Delta Wanderland: Behind the Scenes!"
Sharing our official behind-the-scenes video, including a rare, brief clip of me busting some moves during our freestyle dance off!

We were proud of our production. Our Delta music video even beat out companies like HP to receive a trophy this year, winning an OMMA award for best Online Media, Marketing, and Advertising!

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But a few weeks ago, Virgin America challenged us on our own turf: the dance floor. Their creative new safety video features professional dancers (unlike us) and pizazz to spare. Clocking in at a whopping 5:00, readers may want to skim through the clip:

I'll concede, our Delta dance troupe seems to be out-sassed on this one. But does our 2012 "Delta Wanderland" music video stand on its own merits? And is it fair to compare our one night production using authentic, non-dancer Delta employees against a professional music video? Personally, I think it's impressive that we pulled off "Delta Wanderland" on such a tight shooting schedule last year. Our team did such a great job! Readers can be the judge of that.

We may have barely lost this dance battle, but not the dance war.

Coming this weekend on Garth's Blog...

Yesterday's day trip to Noordwijk, Netherlands: An almost daddy-daughter visit!

And then....

Cold water surfing in Oregon with the fam!

Friday, April 26, 2013

Huge Anniversary: Celebrating the Big 1-5!

A surfing weekend at Seaside, OR to celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary

15 years of marriage. How is that even possible? How did I find someone who could put up with me for 15 years?

Some guys are fortunate enough to marry out of their league. Clearly, I married out of my species. It's hard to imagine anyone else on Earth that could tolerate my hyperactive and sometimes immature antics for as long as Kathy has. Seriously, she deserves a medal!

Case in point: Would any other wife allow me to drag her all over town on St Patrick's day (multiple gigs on a work night AND finals week, no less) as part of a 15th anniversary weekend that should be celebrating BOTH of our interests? I won't kid myself into thinking that Kathy appreciates late nights, loud music, and dancing as much as I do.

Don't worry, I delivered some more "Kathy friendly" anniversary surprises earlier (and coming up!)... hopefully that should make up for St. Paddy's night. And Kathy's characteristics that make her such a wonderful wife and mommy will be featured in next month's "Mother's Day" blog post!

Baby Lena got in on the anniversary festivities last month, too!

Before unstrapping the surfboard, Daddy and Lena snuggle in the back seat at Seaside.

The more family oriented moments of our 15th anniversary celebration included a fun weekend at the beach in Seaside. Kathy and Lena played on the sand while Daddy surfed the waves.

At night, we sought refuge from the chilly Oregon coast weather with a seafood dinner at Dooger's and a relaxing soak in our hotel room's jetted tub.

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Admittedly, the day of our actual anniversary ended up being a romantic disaster that then morphed into one long library study session for Kathy. None of my ideas to spice things up could salvage it. Lena and I barely even got to see Kathy that day.

To top things off, Kathy was stuck at PCC taking finals while Lena and I went hiking on some nearby trails.

But Kathy was eager to put that day in perspective. After all, why limit the Big 1-5 celebration to a single day when the fun can last all month long?

Happy 15th anniversary to the best wife ever, Kathy!! I thank God for you every day. You just made my last 15 years fly by like a week!

Coming next week on BlogSpot...

We conclude last month's story (link) from Milan, Italy!

And then...

Photos from the journey of Lena learning to walk!!

Saturday, April 13, 2013

Sunriver, Pt. 2: A Wild Wedding (feat. Kathy)

This morning’s conclusion to Kathy’s “A Wedding Countdown” post (link) is being served with a steaming side of déjà vu. Or maybe just a starting appetizer. My intro to Part 1 has been tightened up and recycled here out of sheer laziness… not to be confused with contempt for you terrific readers!

My opening words may be the same, but the rest is all Kathy. Feel free to skip down to the new stuff.

Presenting Mr. and Mrs. Brent Bishop… You may now kiss the bride!

Warming up the dance floor at the wedding reception!

What could possibly top our previous visit to Brent and Cheryl’s house in Bend for a weekend of Thanksgiving hiking, skateboarding, dancing, live music, great food, and family time?

Why, Brent and Cheryl’s wedding in Sunriver last month, of course, with snow tubing, hot tubbing, hiking, bicycling, dancing, and celebrating!!

Let’s turn over the rest of this post to my talented wife. In the words (in italics) of special guest blogger Kathy, the sister of the bride:

It was a weekend every girl dreams of, family, friends, fun, laughter and marrying your best friend. That dream became a reality for my little sister, Cheryl, on Saturday February 2, 2013, married her best friend, Brent Bishop in Sunriver, OR. I was excited for many reasons: a road trip, gaining a new brother-in-law, seeing my brother Tony who lives in Kabul, being with family and most of all seeing Cheryl so very happy.

After months of prep and anticipation, the BIG day was finally here. Decorating and rehearsal were all done before 11:00.

By 2:30 that afternoon, we were dressed and ready to go.

Then it was time. All the months of planning came down to this moment, to this hour. The bride was gorgeous and the flower girl was stunningly cute (but who’s bragging?).

Tobi's daughter Maddie, who was the flower girl at our own wedding nearly 15 years ago, walks 16 1/2 month old flower girl Lena Hamilton down the aisle.