Grammy Night "It was the Best of Times, It was the Worst of Times"

OK, I'm at the Grammy's. I cannot complain about anything, but it was a rollercoaster of a day. I had lunch with some good friends (Diego Lopez and his beautiful wife) then got ready for the big night. I don't wanna brag (yes i do), but damn i looked good. Thats kinda rare. I might even post a picture for the first time ever. We'll see how they come out. No promises. So, due to events completely out of my control, i actually arrived about ten minutes late to the awards, which meant instead of enjoying the red carpet (green actually) we sprinted across it. I arrived with fellow nominees Just Blaze, Brent Kolatalo, and Ryan West (alot of talent in that bunch). It also meant i missed performances from Maroon 5, Gwen Stephani, Black Eyed Peas, and Franz Ferdinand, and Los Lonely Boys. That really sucked. I wanted to see all of them. (this was part of "the Worst of Times"). We did get to see Alicia Keys bring the house down. OH MY GOD.

My other favorite performances of the night were (well, all of them), Green Day, Joss Stone and Melissa Etheridge, (who was bald from chemo-therapy), Kanye West was amazing and a half, Usher & James Brown (wow!), and the several All-Star performances. I was truly a fan tonight, and awestruck by the talent amassed under one roof. Its a bit surreal to know that I was truly a part of it all. And we had floor seats, even better!

So, i arrived at the awards tonight already a Grammy winner. Usher won in the non-televised portion for "Best Contemporary R&B Album". After Kanye's memorable performance of Jesus Walks (featuring music I wrote and recorded earlier in the week), he accepted the award for "Best Rap Album" (Chalk up two wins for me!!). Kanye delivered the best acceptance speech of the night, maybe of the last several years. I was inspired and feel truly honored to get to work with him.

Part two of "The Worst of Times" was just around the corner. Finally, the last category of the night "ALBUM OF THE YEAR". I was nominated by name for two of the five albums, Kanye West, and Usher. Both worthy of not only the nomination but also the prize. I will not lie. It was an honor to be Nominated, but I WANTED TO WIN!!!!

i didn't. it hurt. alot.

Ray Charles won Album of the Year. Would somebody please explain this to me. How could Ray beat Usher? I'll vent in future posts, right now i'll spare you. I do feel truly honored to have worked on two Grammy winning albums. The entire experience was a dream come true. Really. Guys like me rarely get recognized for our work outside of our own small circles. This feeling is indescribable, and I hope i get to experience this again!!! Time to end the fairly tale. Tomorrow, after a long flight, reality will set in quick.