Something In The Graveyard Part 1: More fun…

…than a living person should have!

WTF am I talking about? Well, my dear friend E.J. Wells, who writes and performs amazing and wonderful music, decided to make a video for his song "Something In The Graveyard."  (SITG will be on his next CD, and it kicks some major butt.) He told me he was shooting the video in the graveyard in Virginia City, Nevada. We chatted online a bit about how cool it would be if I could come down there and help. Then we found out that flights to Reno are dirt cheap…well, the next thing you know, my tattooed white trash ass was on a plane en route to Reno.

Wednesday, June 10th

Warning: I am writing this down for myself. If there’s too much detail and blah blah blah for you, DON’T READ IT baybuh. Now on with our story.

I’ve been e-friends with EJ for a couple of years now. We’ve talked on the phone before, but I had never met him. I knew who some of the other band members would be, like V.C. Graves and Scott Shriner. But I’d never met them either. Yes, I was flying to another state to hang out with a bunch of people I had NEVER LAID EYES ON IN PERSON. (Yeah, I know, it’s not uncommon in the age of the internet. But dude, it was a first for me. And I don’t have a lot of firsts left.)

I was way excited. I’d worked on video productions before, but never a music video. And EJ had told me how beautiful and historical Virginia City is. I reserved a (really cheap) room at the Gold Hill, which is the oldest hotel in Nevada. It has no air conditioning, and no TVs in the older parts of the hotel. I was fine with that. It’s not like northern Nevada gets as hot as Vegas, and I figured I’d be too busy to watch TV. I figured right.

I’m getting ahead of myself. The plane landed in Reno, and the airport cracked me up because it was full of slot machines and video poker machines and other weird gambling devices. I threaded my way between them, picked up my rental car (which turned out to be a rather cute white PT Cruiser) and headed for Virginia City.

I had a street map, but it kinda didn’t say that Virginia City was on the other side of a MOUNTAIN. It was. The high desert was just gorgeous. I loved it the moment I saw it. Carefully, I made my way along the twisting highway (which was a lot like highway 49 in Oakhurst, by the way). After I passed the summit, I started seeing signs advertising the "World Famous Suicide Table," which made me very happy. I love roadside attractions. And Virginia City is one big, beautiful, historically significant roadside attraction.

The downtown area, called the Boardwalk (for its wooden sidewalks) is amazing. Yeah, sure, it’s a tourist trap, but what they’re trying to trap you into seeing is the real thing. The Red Dog Saloon was there in the 1860′s, and it’s still there today. Same with the Washoe Club and the Opera House and just about every other building in town. I was enchanted. But I wanted to get to my hotel before I went exploring.

The Gold Hill Hotel is on the far side of the Boardwalk. I loved it the minute I saw it. The people were friendly, and my room was all tricked out 1800′s style. (Okay it was really, really pink, but I could live with that, because it was supposed to be haunted. More on that later.) I freshened up in the old, slightly lopsided but utterly cool bathroom, then flopped on the bed. Comfy! (And not 150 years old, which is a Good Thing.)

My phone rang. It was EJ. He was expecting his friend John and family, but he was driving around his old stomping grounds while he waited. He said he’d come by and pick me up. Woot!

There was a funny moment of disconnect when I saw EJ in person. There’s just something bizarre about seeing a person in the flesh when you’ve only seen him in pictures and video. But I got over it fast and gave him a big hug. I think he was kind of bemused by me in person. I’m, um, kind of a lot to take in. But if he was horrified by my purple hair or tons of tattoos ,he was polite enough not to say anything.

We drove around the area, looking at old buildings and ruined mining structures and cool rock formations. Then we went to the cemetery. OH. MAH. GAWD. It was beautiful. Ornate iron fencing, carved marble stones, twisted trees and all. We wandered around (I was taking pictures like a fiend) and EJ told me about some of his graveyard adventures. Heh. He was every bit as sweet and funny and just all-around awesome in person as he was on the e-mailnet. I felt very, very lucky to get to spent some time with him.

It was early evening by then. John (The dashing and delightful V.C. Graves) and his family had arrived. They were staying at the Ramada in Virginia City proper. Even that was cool. Even though it was a new building, it was decorated with historic fixtures and furniture. John, his totally wonderful wife Connie, their adorable (and hella smart) little boy Jack, EJ and I went out for (pretty decent) Mexican food.

Connie took Jack back to the hotel. John, Eej and I bopped around town for a bit. EJ showed me the World Famous Suicide Table at the Delta saloon. (It’s a faro table where three different idiots lost their stakes and then blew their heads off. I mean, how Deadwood is THAT?) It’s in a creepy/cool old saloon with wooden floors and pressed copper ceilings. Come to think of it, ALL the creepy/cool saloons in town sport those features. HAPPY HAPPY JOY JOY! Have I mentioned what an Old West history geek I am? Yeah…

The guys took me back to the Gold Hill. After checking out the (really pink) coolness that was my room, they headed for their hotel. I dimmed the lights, snuggled up in my comfy bed, and read a good book for awhile. I enjoyed the quiet more than I can begin to describe. I waited for the ghost (a lady of the evening named Rosie, evidently) but eventually nodded off. If she visited during the night, I slept right through it.

Dang.

To Be Continued…

See some thrilling photos here!

Stay tuned for the next entry, where Lorelei visits the Bucket of Blood, meets EJ’s staggeringly gorgeous wife, and learns the secret of Virginia City town dogs!