Original Song Lyrics (without audio)

I chatted the other evening on Facebook with my first ever girlfriend (funny how Facebook can do this too you) and it reminded me of a nostalgic song I wrote at a time when it looked like I was going to be forced to move back into my parents' basement. I avoided that by finding a job in Georgetown, but that's another story entirely.

So, I'm going to go with an experimental approach and post some original song lyrics here.

Hope you like.

"HOGAN ROAD"

(C) 2009 By Kent Kimes

At times it would be so silent

At the house with the funky door

But when the boys were racing

You could hear those engines roar

I'd lay in bed for hours

Pretending to be asleep

The world kept passing by me

Right down our little street

Hogan Road

Where did those memories go?

The circle brings me back

To Hogan Road

Hogan Road

Is paved with love and sadness

Couldn't wait to leave

But now I'm going home

Caught the bus on the corner

Before the sun came up

Fighting in the church yard

You know I had some decent luck

Got my first kiss on the playground

A couple of blocks from home

We snuck down by the creek side

And she slipped me a little tongue 

Hogan Road

Where did those memories go?

The circle brings me back

To Hogan Road

Hogan Road

Is paved with love and sadness

Couldn't wait to leave

But now I'm going home

(BRIDGE) 

Tales of a misspent 

And wasted youth?

No, that ain't 

half the truth

No guns and mobsters

No stabbin' steely swords

The simple fact remained

I was completely bored

On Hogan Road...

No Carolina Line on U2's Horizon?

Just got an email from U2's Web site about the band's upcoming 360(degrees) Tour and can't wait to see how close they'll come to li'l ol' Myrtle Beach.

And the answer is...

There are only four North American dates announced so far, and this thing looks to only be hitting massive stadiums: Soldier Field in Chicago on Sept. 12, Rogers Centre in Toronto on Sept. 16, Gillette Stadium outside of Boston on Sept. 20 and Giants Stadium in the swamps of Jersey on Sept. 24.

Ticket on-sale info isn't available yet.

You have to figure more North American shows will be announced, too.

So what's our best bet?

Williams-Bryce Stadium in Columbia?

Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh, N.C. (Just saw a rumor that says the tour will come to this venue on Oct. 3.)

Death Valley in Clemson?

Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C.?

Brooks Stadium in Conway?

BB&T Coastal Field in Myrtle Beach?

Carolina Entertainment Complex in Marion?

Myrtle Beach Speedway?

Grand Strand's Best Bests for March 13-18

FRIDAY

While Mudvayne’s metallic sound and devilish stage costuming has smoothed out a bit (as evidenced by the chart-climbing single ``Do What You Do’’) since its breakthrough song/video ``Dig,’’ Friday night’s gig at the House of Blues is sure to be a bone-crunching affair no less. Nonpoint and In This Moment are also on the bill. Doors open at 7:30 p.m.; music starts at 8:30 p.m. Tickets are $24-$63. House of Blues is at 4640 U.S. 17 South, Barefoot Landing in North Myrtle Beach.  Call 272-3000 or visit www.hob.com

SATURDAY

St. Paddy’s Day isn’t until Tuesday, but that hasn’t stopped the forward-thinking folks in North Myrtle Beach from partying hearty a wee bit early as the northside burgh’s annual Celtic-themed bash is set for Saturday. The 21^st annual St. Patrick’s Day Festival kicks off 9 a.m. Saturday with a parade down Main Street in Myrtle Beach, followed by the street festival featuring food, drink, arts and crafts, a play area for lads ‘n’ lasses, and live music on two stages. The shindig lasts until 4 p.m. The best part: admission is free.Main Street is off of U.S. 17 N., North Myrtle Beach. For more information, call 280-5570 or visit www.StPatNMB.com.

 

 

SATURDAY

Local slasher flick production company Kluckin Films hosts the March Madness Movie and Music Festival on Saturday at Crazy J’s in downtown Myrtle Beach. On the docket are screenings of Kluckin’s flicks “Kill Syndrome’’ and “The Bleeding (Day of the Leakers)” along with performances by The Majora and Awake in Khaos.The throw-down is from 7:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. Saturday. There’s a $2 cover charge, plus a donation of a non-perishable food item, which will be given to Helping Hand of Myrtle Beach. Crazy J’s is at 819 Main Street, Myrtle Beach (in that triangular-shaped building where Main Street splits off from U.S. 501). For more information, call 461-5550 or visit (if you dare) wwww.kluckinfilms.com. There's an anti-crack public service announcement on the site that is a must-see.

SUNDAY

How long can he go on? The Redheaded Stranger rides again, as iconic Americana artist Willie Nelson returns to the House of Blues for a gig Sunday night, with up-and-comer Jamey Johnson also on the bill. Doors open at 7 p.m.; the show starts at 8. Tickets are $40.50-$96. House of Blues is at 4640 U.S. 17 South, Barefoot Landing in North Myrtle Beach.  Call 272-3000 or visit www.hob.com.

Despite Nelson's penchant for lighting up the wacky tobaccy, Sunday's show is non-smoking event inside the venue.

 

MONDAY

Why is everybody saying eh, eh? The Grand Strand rolls out the red carpet to our visitors from north of the border for the Canadian-American Days Kickoff Celebration Expo from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center. The festival will include performances by Nickelback, Rush, Alanis Morissette and Anne Murray. OK, we’re kidding about that last part, but Monday’s kickoff event includes exhibitors giving out free stuff, live performances and food and beverages. And admission is free. Myrtle Beach Convention Center is at 2101 N. Oak Street, Myrtle Beach. Call 626-7444 or visit www.canamdays.com.

MONDAY

Rapper Flo-Rida is riding high again with the popular iTunes download “Right Round’’ based on the late `80s Dead or Alive track ``You Spin Me Right Round (Like a Record)” and brings his skills to Club Kryptonite for a performance on Monday.

Doors open at 10 p.m. Tickets are $20.

Club Kryptonite is at 2925 Hollywood Drive, off U.S. 17 Bypass in Myrtle Beach next to Planet Hollywood. Call 839-9200 or visit www.club-kryptonite.com.

 

TUESDAY

Tuesday is officially St. Patrick’s Day, a time for everyone to don the green and proclaim to be Irish - and call in sick on Wednesday. Every bar in town will be Irish, so just pick one - and make sure you have a designated driver.

 

Why Banks Suck, Part XVI

Why are these people getting bailouts?

Yesterday, I learned from my tax preparer that if we wanted to receive our refunds via electronic deposit rather than paper check, that the bank would charge $30 per transaction - that's a total of $60, because of state and federal returns.

Say what?

So, I quickly got on the horn and called my family's main financial institution - which so happens, thankfully, to be a credit union and not a corporate money-skimming bank.

The nice lady at the credit union kind of laughed and assured me that there would be no charge for having my tax returns deposited electronically.

To which I replied, ``that's why I belong to the credit union.''

Unfortunately, I also have a couple of accounts with some McBanks that I'm going to finally withdraw and close.

Bail that!

Best Bets for the coming Week

FRIDAY

Off-kilter pop crooner Morrissey is back, and with a new album no less, “Years of Refusal’’ which dropped in February, and a return engagement Friday at the House of Blues. Doors open at 7 p.m. Friday. Tickets are $29.50-$74. House of Blues is at 4640 U.S. 17 South, Barefoot Landing in North Myrtle Beach.  Call 272-3000 or visit www.hob.com

 

SATURDAY

Are you ready for some baseball? The Myrtle Beach Pelicans hope so as the advanced Class A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves host Fan Fest on Saturday at BB&T Coastal Field, featuring behind-the-scenes guided tours of the stadium, a scavenger hunt, and a chance for kids (and wannabe ballplayers) to play catch out on the field. And all you hams out there, the Pelicans organization will also hold tryouts for national anthem singers and P.A. announcers so get your pipes warmed up. Fan Fest is free. But what would a baseball stadium sans a baseball game be without hot dogs and other concessions? They’ll be on sale Saturday for $1. Gates open at 10 a.m. Saturday and event will go until about 2 p.m. BB&T Coastal Field is at 1251 21^st Avenue N., Myrtle Beach, at the intersection with Robert Grissom Parkway. Call 918-6000 or visit www.myrtlebeachpelicans.com.

 

SATURDAY

Find out who takes home the title of Miss Myrtle Beach when the official preliminary for the Miss South Carolina and Miss America pageants invades Coastal Carolina University’s Wheelwright Auditorium on Saturday. The pomp and pageantry starts at 6 p.m. Admission is $25 (which will also get you into the Miss Myrtle Beach Teen pageant from 2-5 p.m.). Wheelwright Auditorium is on CCU’s Conway campus, between U.S. 501 and S.C. 544.

Call 446-6019.

 SATURDAY

Put your hands in the airrrrr, and wave ‘em like you just don’t carrrrre.That’s right, yo, another edition of the hip-hop flavored local showcase, Myrtle Beach Rocks – The Mic, is on tap for Saturday night at the House of Blues. Featured acts include L.I.D. Boys, Jim Snooka a.k.a. Dirty Dickens, 843 Boys, Turpentine and Neff and The Masterminds. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are a recession-friendly $5 each. House of Blues is at 4640 U.S. 17 South, Barefoot Landing in North Myrtle Beach.  Call 272-3000 or visit www.hob.com

 TUESDAY

Tuesday is 3-in-1 Day at Huntington Beach State Park’s Atalaya Castle – but get your mind out of the gutter. The event is a three-way celebration of the park’s namesakes’ birthdays and wedding anniversary (Archer Huntington and his wife Anna Hyatt Huntington were both born on March 10 and that’s the same day they were wed, too), and a mini-arts festival of sorts from 2-4 p.m. Tuesday. The shindig will feature local artists displaying their wares, tours of the Moorish-style castle, a live painting-in-progress by local artist Danny McLaughlin, and a cake and champagne toast. Regular park admission is waved for 3-in-1 Day participants, but there’s a $10 charge per person for the festivities, which benefit Friends of Huntington Beach State Park. Space is limited, so you must make reservations. For reservations, call 237-2162. Huntington Beach State Park is at 16148 Ocean Highway (U.S. 17), just south of Murrells Inlet.

 

TUESDAY

Indie rock darlings Modest Mouse (“Float On,’’ “Dashboard’’ and “Missed the Boat’’), which will Morrissey’s former Smiths band-mate Johnny Marr on guitar, also returns the House of Blues for a gig Tuesday night. Japanese Motors and Mimicking Birds are also on the bill. Doors open at 7 p.m. Tickets are $30-$32. House of Blues is at 4640 U.S. 17 South, Barefoot Landing in North Myrtle Beach.  Call 272-3000 or visit www.hob.com

 WEDNESDAY

Are you one of the growing ranks of gainfully unemployed – or simply fed up with your crappy job? Then make no excuses and hike your ass down to the Myrtle Beach Convention Center on Wednesday for the 2009 Job Expo, hosted by the Myrtle Beach Area Hospitality Association.  The job fair, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., will feature roughly 150 businesses looking for new employees. There is no admission fee or registration charge for job-seekers. Myrtle Beach Convention Center is at 2101 N. Oak Street, Myrtle Beach. Call 626-9668 or visit www.mbhospitality.org.

 

 

Resurrection

We're in the season of Lent, so with resurrections on the mind, I thought it was time to reignite this blog.

Wow, where have all the good times gone? (To quote Van Halen via The Kinks)

When last we met - or when I had the gumption to post something here, my now 18-month-old daughter Ava was still in her mama's belly.

And now she's got a sibling brewing in that same gastro-chamber.

But it's still early, so we don't know if Ava's getting a bro or sis yet.

I've got to keep this short, but just wanted my adoring readership to know that I'm planning to revamp this blog and getting it popping again.

I've got lots of stuff to post, from daily entertainment options along the Grand Strand to news items to a serial novella I'm working on which I plan to post in installments.

Please stay tuned.

- Kentavo