new famous friend :)

Right after finals, I sat next to a very nice man on a plane from Salt Lake to Denver.

As is my custom, I asked, “Are you leaving home or going home?”

“Neither”

“What were you doing in Salt Lake?/why are you going to Denver?”

You know, normal airplane chit-chat.

“I was here for a concert”

“Oh! The Mormon Tabernacle Choir concert?!” I knew several friends who went; that’s the world I live in.

“The what…?” he responded.

 I might have guessed that this bling and chain-clad fellow didn't fly in to Temple Square to hear the Mo-Tab.

“Um… never mind”

“No, I was in a concert.”

“Oh! Cool! What’s your name? Would I have heard of you?”

“You might have. My name’s Sloan Bone. The band’s name is ‘Bone Thugs and Harmony’”

I may be the last person in the world who would have heard of them. To fully appreciate the reality of this scene, I have to give you a background of my musical history and knowledge.

I grew up in show choirs, singing Broadway oldies and pop songs from the 60s; step-touching and snapping to the beats, in bright, cheesy, and often pleather costumes, and we would perform in places like amusement parks and retirement homes.

In high school with my Concert Choir, I sang Schubert’s Mass in G, and a very complicated choral arrangement of, “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.” I was in the Colorado All-State choir, where we sang a Debussy piece, "Nuit d'Etoiles"in the Denver Capital Building.

 My high school musicals consisted of dancing to "Shoeless Joe from Hannibal, MO,"



being the Fairy Godmother in Cinderella,





and directing a musical about women pioneers.

Right now, I am a member of the BYU Women’s Chorus, where we buzz and trill our way through warm ups, so we can sing Sanctus after Sanctus, and some Beatles’ songs...with ukuleles.

The worst part of this all is that it's true.

If you put my ipod on shuffle, the first few songs that come up are: “Cooties” from Hairspray, “The Picture Show” from Parade, the overture from the Gilbert and Sullivan Opera, The Gondoliers, and a Cello suite performed by Yo-Yo Ma. I literally have no artists on my itunes that have been on the radio within the last 15 years.

I am the girl who didn’t know the artist of “I kissed a girl” until at least 5 months after everyone inadvertently knew every single lyric; and I didn’t know who Justin Beiber was until his movie came out.

The only rapper I’ve ever heard of is Kayne West and only because of his debacle with Taylor Swift at that one awards show that one time. And the only rap song I’ve ever heard more than once in passing was “Where is the Love” or if you count the middle of “Baby.” Which, I probably shouldn’t count that.

In other words, I clearly know very little--probably nothing actually-- about the popular culture music scene.

Bone Thugs and Harmony is a very successful rap group. (Some of the other band members' names, just for a fun fact: Layzie Bone, Flesh-n-Bone, Bizzy Bone, Krayzie Bone, and Wish Bone.) 

Sloan has been performing for 20 years; he’s given sold-out concerts both with them and as a solo artist. He was at that moment flying to L.A. (via Denver) to give a concert that night at midnight. (You know what I was going to be doing at midnight? Sleeping.)

His band had worked closely with Easy-E and with artists like 2pac, The Notorious B.I.G., and Big Pun. (For anyone who knows anything about pop culture, those are quite famous people). According to Wikipedia: "The editors of About.com ranked them #12 on their list of the "25 Best Rap Groups of All Time", and MTV called them "the most melodic hip-hop group of all time".

"Bone's style can be described as melodic, yet rapid-fire and gangsta. Their flow is often interwoven at a high-speed Chopper style, melodic pace or slow, harmonic pace... They often describe their style as the 'flip flop flow'" 

So I looked them up when I got home. Check out their Grammy-award winning song: 
THA CROSSROADS 

I told him a little bit about my pathetic musical history, and I expected him to laugh. He told me there was nothing wrong with my complete lack-of-pop-music knowledge, but he was a little surprised that I’d never heard of Easy-E.

“So do you play any instruments, or just Rap?” In my head I’m thinking, oh no, should I have said sing? Was it offensive to assume all he does is rap? Oh shoot! Is it offensive to think that rapping isn’t singing? Is it considered singing? Dear goodness. Shut up, brain.

Luckily, like I said, Sloan was very nice, and understanding of my ignorance. “I just sing, and write. I wanna learn how to play the piano though. Like legit play. You should teach me!”

Here was a Grammy-winning artist, a man who’s sold over 50 million records, and he’s asking me to teach him how to play the piano!

That's worth at least 10 points of coolness. 

We talked for the whole plane ride. My life has been full of cheerful, corny costumes and musicals, and he has been through more than I could possibly imagine having to deal with. A few of the stories he told me: both his parents passed away when he was young, he was once shot 5 times; he’s seen an audience-member get hit with a mic during a concert (that one was more funny than tragic); he stopped drinking to help his brother quit. And he whole-heartedly believes in God. A famous artist for most of his life, and yet a wonderfully humble and kind man. 

He said he uses his music as a way of telling truth.

The world is full of all kinds of music. I think we can all learn from each other. 

As a gesture of friendship, when the plane started its descent, Sloan told me his real name. I feel privileged  to know such hidden information.

He said, “You can tell people:
‘Ya, I know Sloan Bone. But to me, he’s just Damon.’"