LA has been nothing short of amazing; the weather is a perfect 70 degrees and sunny! We spend most of the afternoon yesterday laying out under the warm sun at the pool. Do I really have to come back to Normal? I heard it was snowing yesterday…

Well anyway, to recap on The Grammy Foundations “One Night Only”; the event on Thursday night focused on the importance of live music and the preservation of historical music and video. The night opened with remarks from CEO and president of the Recording Academy, Neil Portnow, sharing his experiences with live music and the importance of musical performance everywhere; from the local coffee shop to high school gyms to major concert festivals like Lollapalooza and Bonnaroo.

The hosts of the evening, Sharon Osbourne and Steve Vai, gave deep (but clearly scripted) insight into why the cultivation and preservation of live music is so important. The pair commented on the most powerful of music experiences in historical and modern day America. Sharon Osbourne shared how her passion for music, rock especially, led for her to be the founder of Oz Fest. Steve Via, having toured with groups such as Frank Zappa and David Lee Roth, spoke on his experiences as a live performer and of the power of the stage to transform someone to becoming larger than life. Unfortunately, Via did not perform.

Kristen Madsen, senior Vice President of the Grammy Foundation and MusiCares closed the evening by stating that we are all a part of the live music experience. She commented that all performances, from small gatherings for house shows to sold-out arena tours, have a significant impact on modern day music and deserve preservation and appreciation. She then went on to introduce the final performance of the evening by welcoming Brett Michaels to the stage who performed a few of his hits from the 80’s including ‘Ever Rose Has It’s Thorns’.

My favorite performance of the night was by newcomer L.P. (You may have heard her song ‘Into the Wild’ in a recent
commercial for Citi Bank). Last night she performed ‘Into the Wild’ as well as a cover of the Radiohead song ‘Creep’.

I can’t believe the Grammy’s are Tomorrow! Yesterday we took a trip to The Staples Center to pick up tickets and caught a glimpse of the MusicCares event honoring Paul McCartney as the 2012 Person of the Year. The gala last night to honor Paul McCartney raised a record setting $6.5 million dollars for the Recording Academy’s foundation that provides medical care to musicians in need.