Thursday, June 22, 2017

The Adventures of GirlChild

A guest blog by GirlChild. Like what you read? Follow her on Instagram.
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Do you think I asked for this? Do you think I asked for ANY of this?
Okay, for those of you that know me and know what I’m on about, it probably does seem like something I asked for. For those that don’t know me; what you’re about to see, you may not believe, but I promise you with every ounce of my being that it is.


I am Girl Child. My mom has written about me before, but never to the extent that I am about to go into myself. It’s not her story to tell, it’s mine. I’m in my 20s, Wisconsin born and raised. I lived in Florida for two years, moved back to Wisconsin for almost two years, and then one day at the end of summer 2016, everything changed.


You see, I’m a huge KISS fan, and if you know anything about non-casual KISS fans—you know, the ones you see depicted in movies or TV—we will do almost anything for those boys short of murder. Actually, come to think of it, some KISS fans might commit murder if doing so gave them the opportunity to rub shoulders with Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Tommy Thayer, and Eric Singer for the night. Either way, not the point. The point is we will do a hell of a lot for the opportunity to be so close to greatness.


One night last summer, I was at a KISS concert… not a surprise. I was hanging out with someone I’m proud to call a friend afterwards (if you’re reading this, love you dude), and decided I was going to fly to New York City for another KISS show the following month. Remember when I said we’ll do a hell of a lot to be so close to greatness? This is just one example. I did as planned, and it was a great time. But here’s the kicker:


I never went back to Wisconsin from that trip.


I just said screw it and stayed in New York. A week and a half after arriving, I got a job at a restaurant in Brooklyn. A week and a half after that, I got a phone call from another friend. You see, when I moved out here, I started a blog about what it was like leaving Wisconsin with a couple hundred dollars, no job, and no house. This friend had seen it, and thought I was a fantastic writer. She then expressed to me that she does concert photography for a music website, and was wondering if I would be interested in her passing my information on to the editor of that site so I could possibly do CD reviews, concert reviews, and artist interviews. Of course, I said yes. Why wouldn’t I, right?


The editor contacted me and everything was quickly squared away. I told him there was a concert I’d planned on attending anyway, since they were going to be on the KISS Kruise, and asked if I could do a review on the show. He promptly said yes and that right there was the beginning of the end.
Since that night, I’ve become friends with that band, started working for that band, and my god… are they ever picking up steam! I’ve rubbed shoulders with some of the greatest in rock n’ roll. I even just got back from KISS’ European/United Kingdom tour, where the boys I work for were the supporting act.


It is truly amazing how quickly you find your life running in an entirely different direction than ever planned. It is even more amazing how quickly that different direction can snowball you into a lifestyle you never imagined yourself legitimately living, despite wanting to.
If you told me a year ago today all the things I would accomplish by this time the following year, I would’ve laughed in your face and told you I needed to get back to work. But it’s real, and I own it.




My life is not for the faint of heart.

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