1.  9

     
    dearbennichols: I’m calling this week’s post from Adriana Adriana’s First Time, because I would equate the epicness of the first time one has sex to the epicness of meeting Ben Nichols for the first time, but maybe that’s just me…. Well this is probably the story I should have started with. The one y’all are dying to hear, right? Here it is. The story of my first time talking to Ben Nichols. See that pretty girl up there on Ben’s left? (Your right) That’s my baby sister. She is taller than me, but I’m still meaner. But I owe her one. Without her, I never would have talked to Ben. Katy lives in Detroit. She and I were both dealing with our shitty break ups and I was driving up to see her just about every weekend. This particular weekend, the Revival Tour, before it was the Revival Tour, rolled into town. Chuck Ragan, Ben Nichols, Joshua English. Yes, please! It was at this amazing place called The Magic Stick. It’s a bowling alley downstairs, and upstairs it’s a pool hall/venue. Awesome, right? Anyway, at this point I was full on head over heels for Ben and just thinking about speaking to him broke me out in a cold sweat. Katy kept pushing me to “just go say hi, you asshole”, but I was petrified. Who the fuck was I? What the hell could I possibly have to say to Ben Nichols? I AM SO LAME AND AWKWARD. Sister to the rescue. That bitch. She walks up to him, sitting at the bar, and tells him that she knows Brad from Cincinnati (of my tattoo artist fame), and he did a pretty sweet tattoo on her sister and he should go say hey. She walks back to me with the smuggest look I have ever seen on another human being’s face. I hated her. But I knew what I had to do. I walked up to the bar, and ordered a beer. I took a deep breath, and a deeper swig. I turned to Ben and said, “So…I heard you met my sister…” He breaks out in that big grin and says he did, and introduces himself to me. LIKE I DON’T KNOW WHO YOU ARE, BENJAMIN NICHOLS. He asks about Brad and what he tattooed on me. Umm, well…I lift up my shirt (on the side, you pervs) and show him my ribs. There, in all it’s 3.5 hours of excruciating painful glory, is my Nobody’s Darling tattoo. He starts nodding his head and says, “That deserves a high five.”I melt. We chat for a few and I tell him to have a good show. And he did. And for the record, Chuck Ragan was pretty damn amazing as well. Being there with my sister was just the fucking cherry on top, you know?So there you have it. It was definitely not the last time Ben and I spoke, or even the funniest. But it was such a sweet, little thing. 

    dearbennichols:

    I’m calling this week’s post from Adriana Adriana’s First Time, because I would equate the epicness of the first time one has sex to the epicness of meeting Ben Nichols for the first time, but maybe that’s just me….

    Well this is probably the story I should have started with. The one y’all are dying to hear, right? Here it is. The story of my first time talking to Ben Nichols. See that pretty girl up there on Ben’s left? (Your right) That’s my baby sister. She is taller than me, but I’m still meaner. But I owe her one. Without her, I never would have talked to Ben. 

    Katy lives in Detroit. She and I were both dealing with our shitty break ups and I was driving up to see her just about every weekend. This particular weekend, the Revival Tour, before it was the Revival Tour, rolled into town. Chuck Ragan, Ben Nichols, Joshua English. Yes, please! It was at this amazing place called The Magic Stick. It’s a bowling alley downstairs, and upstairs it’s a pool hall/venue. Awesome, right? Anyway, at this point I was full on head over heels for Ben and just thinking about speaking to him broke me out in a cold sweat. Katy kept pushing me to “just go say hi, you asshole”, but I was petrified. Who the fuck was I? What the hell could I possibly have to say to Ben Nichols? I AM SO LAME AND AWKWARD. Sister to the rescue. That bitch. She walks up to him, sitting at the bar, and tells him that she knows Brad from Cincinnati (of my tattoo artist fame), and he did a pretty sweet tattoo on her sister and he should go say hey. She walks back to me with the smuggest look I have ever seen on another human being’s face. I hated her. But I knew what I had to do. 

    I walked up to the bar, and ordered a beer. I took a deep breath, and a deeper swig. I turned to Ben and said, “So…I heard you met my sister…” He breaks out in that big grin and says he did, and introduces himself to me. LIKE I DON’T KNOW WHO YOU ARE, BENJAMIN NICHOLS. He asks about Brad and what he tattooed on me. Umm, well…I lift up my shirt (on the side, you pervs) and show him my ribs. There, in all it’s 3.5 hours of excruciating painful glory, is my Nobody’s Darling tattoo. He starts nodding his head and says, “That deserves a high five.”

    I melt. 

    We chat for a few and I tell him to have a good show. And he did. And for the record, Chuck Ragan was pretty damn amazing as well. Being there with my sister was just the fucking cherry on top, you know?

    So there you have it. It was definitely not the last time Ben and I spoke, or even the funniest. But it was such a sweet, little thing. 

     

    Ben Nichols Lucero fuckyeahaltcountryboys Adriana Adriana Sandberg adriana_hearts 

  2.  25

     
    dearbennichols: Adriana Sandberg runs fuckyeahaltcountryboys and is… Well, AWESOME. Not only has she seen me through some tough times recently with her stabby wit (yes, “stabby” - you’ll see) and tough-love advice, but she’s also a Lucero fan. And not just a casual fan either, but a super-fan, like me or you, which is why I asked her to start writing for DBN. Which she agreed to do. Every Tuesday. Naturally, I squeed, and I think y’all will too, once you get to know her. Also, look how pretty she is. Without further adieu, I give you the lovely Ms. Adriana: Hi. My name is Adriana and I have a Lucero addiction. (Hello, Adriana)In all seriousness, if you’re here, reading this…you probably have one too. So how did it start? Well, waaaay back in 2007 when I was a wee lass of 25, I got my heart stomped on a bit. Ok, A LOT. I did the normal things you do in these situtations; I stopped eating, sleeping, and I cried. A lot. I got a tattoo, as you do, and it was that sitting that lead to my discovery of Lucero. You see, I have the best tattoo artist in the world. Yours is probably great, too…but Brad is my therapist. And he knew that in my state of misery and wallowing in self pity, I needed some Ben Nichols in my life. It was a casual introduction. Remember, this was back in the days of MYSPACE. Remember that shit? Oh I do. Because I lived on the Lucero page. I started out with Lucero. And then…then I discovered Tennessee and my life was forever changed. I drove all over the back roads of Ohio, half bawling, half singing along until it dawned on me. SOMEONE ELSE HAS FELT THIS SHITTY, TOO. OTHER PEOPLE HAVE HAD THEIR HEARTS BROKEN. STOP BEING AN ASSHOLE. So I sucked it up and got a giant, Lucero inspired tattoo on my rib cage. That was the best thing I ever did for myself. I got over the idiot who shit on my heart and I went to see Lucero. Alone. I was terrified. I was so sure I was going to be a mess. Instead, I rediscovered myself. I lost myself in the music. I never would have been brave enough to do something like this pre-heart break. Instinct kicked in, and I knew I could do it, and it would be perfect. I saw Ben for the first time, in person, and that night gave him a head nod on the way to grab a beer. It was that moment when I knew everything was going to be ok. Oh, ya know, just re-blogging an awesome piece written by the awesome Adriana Sandberg of fuckyeahaltcountryboys for my awesome Ben Nichols/Lucero fan site. NBD.

    dearbennichols:

    Adriana Sandberg runs fuckyeahaltcountryboys and is… Well, AWESOME. Not only has she seen me through some tough times recently with her stabby wit (yes, “stabby” - you’ll see) and tough-love advice, but she’s also a Lucero fan. And not just a casual fan either, but a super-fan, like me or you, which is why I asked her to start writing for DBN. Which she agreed to do. Every Tuesday. Naturally, I squeed, and I think y’all will too, once you get to know her.

    Also, look how pretty she is.

    Without further adieu, I give you the lovely Ms. Adriana:

    Hi. 

    My name is Adriana and I have a Lucero addiction. 

    (Hello, Adriana)

    In all seriousness, if you’re here, reading this…you probably have one too. So how did it start? 

    Well, waaaay back in 2007 when I was a wee lass of 25, I got my heart stomped on a bit. Ok, A LOT. I did the normal things you do in these situtations; I stopped eating, sleeping, and I cried. A lot. I got a tattoo, as you do, and it was that sitting that lead to my discovery of Lucero. You see, I have the best tattoo artist in the world. Yours is probably great, too…but Brad is my therapist. And he knew that in my state of misery and wallowing in self pity, I needed some Ben Nichols in my life. 

    It was a casual introduction. Remember, this was back in the days of MYSPACE. Remember that shit? Oh I do. Because I lived on the Lucero page. I started out with Lucero. And then…then I discovered Tennessee and my life was forever changed. I drove all over the back roads of Ohio, half bawling, half singing along until it dawned on me. SOMEONE ELSE HAS FELT THIS SHITTY, TOO. OTHER PEOPLE HAVE HAD THEIR HEARTS BROKEN. STOP BEING AN ASSHOLE. So I sucked it up and got a giant, Lucero inspired tattoo on my rib cage. That was the best thing I ever did for myself. I got over the idiot who shit on my heart and I went to see Lucero. Alone. 

    I was terrified. I was so sure I was going to be a mess. Instead, I rediscovered myself. I lost myself in the music. I never would have been brave enough to do something like this pre-heart break. Instinct kicked in, and I knew I could do it, and it would be perfect. I saw Ben for the first time, in person, and that night gave him a head nod on the way to grab a beer. It was that moment when I knew everything was going to be ok.

    Oh, ya know, just re-blogging an awesome piece written by the awesome Adriana Sandberg of fuckyeahaltcountryboys for my awesome Ben Nichols/Lucero fan site. NBD.

     

    fuckyeahaltcountryboys Adriana Adriana Sandberg dearbennichols DBN 

* ABOUT ME
* ASK
* DEAR BEN NICHOLS
* EMAIL ME
* MUSIC WRITING
* SOME THINGS I KNOW FOR SURE
* TWITTER