So Radio The Ape just had the opportunity to fly to Los Angeles and perform on Santa Monica for the International Day of Peace music festival.  The fest is put on by Roots & Shoots, a program started by the Jane Goodall Institute intended to mobilize worldwide youth to carry out service projects for the betterment of humanity.  Pretty lofty, and pretty awesome.  The guys played a great set (shorter than we thought it was going to be, but totally worth it)... I'll get to that in a minute.  First, a little journey:

I left Montreal Friday evening to LA with a layover in St. Paul.  I decided to get some coffee...

So as I walk to my gate, not 200 yards away from the first starbucks...

Wow.  I mean, at this point this shouldn't come as a surprise, but it stiff baffles me how a business can compete with itself at a distance of only 200 yards.  Ok, back to the important stuff.

I get to LA at about midnight local time, meet up with the band, and then we head to our host's home.  It was really nice.  But not until the next morning was I able to appreciate how nice California really is.  It's hot but not too hot, not too humid, and sunny.  It's also a little hazy (air pollution?).  I also was really liking the Cypress trees everywhere.

So we spent all day Saturday running around and procuring equipment.  Special thanks to Anne-Marie Sullivan for arranging a SWEET drumset and a great amp for us to use.  We drove around like tourists and took some cliché photos.

Sunday was the big day.  We arrived at the pier and got ourselves acquainted with the sound guy and stage manager.  It was really hectic, because there weren't any sound checks or run-throughs.  The guys just set up and played.  Marvelously! 

Here's a back-stage shot.

The guys got to meet Pierce Brosnan, Cary Elwes, Ricki Lake, and a whole slew of other interesting people.  All in all, a very cool trip.  I hope to return someday...