Tag: music

Don’t Stop Believing: The Debut of rockNflow Yoga

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rockNflow logo

rockNflow yoga design by: Angela Tarantula

I heard the song Don’t Stop Believing by Journey at an impressionable age. Jonathan Cain’s first stroke of the piano key immediately hooked me and then the distinct vocals of Steve Perry. The lyrics of that song have resonated with me in different ways over the years in my love life and personal life, but the one constant takeaway has always been not giving up on a dream.

Parallel to that time, I watched a lot of PBS programming, drawn to a yoga show called Lilias, Yoga and You. I didn’t understand the depth of yoga back then; I just knew that I enjoyed watching Lilias Folan and mimicking what she did.

Yoga faded out of my life for a while, but music from all genres remained an integral aspect — entertaining me and teaching me life lessons through the lyrics. In college, my music spark thrived as I worked as a DJ at an alt-rock radio station.

Over 10 years ago, I started a blog called Gal on the Go and regularly hear from readers and followers how my actions have positively influenced them to get healthier, change their eating habits, and be more adventurous. I always wanted to start a business that was an offshoot of Gal on the Go, but I was unclear about my destiny and what direction to go. One day, I had an aha moment leading to a surge of business ideas for the merging of my passions of music and yoga organically to form Rock N Flow Yoga (Insta: rocknflowyoga)!

Through rockNflow I offer private yoga sessions to bands, artists, and their crews on tour. I also teach at outdoor festivals and lead workshops on protein nutrition and positive mindfulness in your life. Stay tuned because I have some exciting projects in the works that I cannot wait to share with you in the next month or so!!!! Also, I will be opening up a merch shop soon via Threadless.

The reactions from my friends have been overwhelming, rallying in support of me and my new venture. They have lent their unique skills to see my business succeed, which fills me with gratitude. I hope I can help their pursuits thrive along the way as we uplift each other. My creative friend Angela designed the custom font and logo for rockNflow (credit: Insta @angtarantula), my talented friend Lauren took photos of me (credit: Elle Three Photography), my omie Amanda has shown up to every one of my events, and others have generously given me their feedback and shared wisdom.

My soul is filled with optimism with the launch of Rock N Flow Yoga, a business that is truly authentic to me. I hope to use this new platform to bring mindful and physical health into people’s lives in a fun way one musician and festival attendee at a time!!!!

To book a session, DM me through Instagram @rocknflowyoga or email me at rocknflowyoga@gmail.com.

It’s All About You Followers

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Happy New Year! Thank you for taking the time to read about my adventures.

The main theme of Gal on the Go in 2015 was training and Spartan Races. I still plan on doing some races, but I’d like 2016 to be a year of mixed life experiences. I will be out of commission in March and April for medical reasons, BUT when I’m back and active, look out!

Your opinion matters to me. What are some adventures, activities or events you would like me to participate in/attend and write about this year? Enter your suggestions in the reply section of the blog or send me an email at galotgo@gmail.com. Wherever I go first, I will bring back the person who made the suggestion a souvenir. I can’t wait to hear from you!

Cheers,
Gal on the Go

T-Shirt Tuesday … Coming Soon

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Restless with spring fever, I went through my clothes and realized I had amassed a decent collection of band T-shirts over the years from concerts, festivals and as gifts from friends. Sooooo I thought it would be fun to create a feature on my Twitter feed called T-Shirt Tuesday! Every Tuesday night starting on March 25, I’ll randomly select one of my music T-shirts and post a photo of it with a mini blurb. If you want your band featured on T-Shirt Tuesday send me a tweet or WP comment.

Life Is a Dance Floor

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Jane

Jane at her first concert ever.

My friend Jane is 33 years old and she had never been to a concert – a scenario that was hard for me to comprehend!?! An avid music fan and longtime concertgoer, some of the greatest times in my life have come from seeing different genres of artists/bands perform at big and small venues throughout the world. It was my mission to take Jane to her first show. Knowing she likes gritty pop/R&B, I had the perfect artist in mind – P!nk. I thought her raw vocals, dance music and Cirque du Soleil style performance would provide an entertaining experience. Jane appeared to be having a good time dancing and singing along, but when the concert was over I couldn’t wait to hear her reaction. She said she “had a blast, beyond expectation!” On the walk to the metro after the show she was already talking about other concerts she’d like to go to next. Mission accomplished.

BONUS TRACK: The surprise of the night for me was the opening band The Kin. I really liked their pop/alt rock sound. When I read that they worked with legendary producer Tony Visconti (David Bowie) and Nic Hard (Joey Ramone, The Church) I was like ahhh, that explains why I like their sound! Shakerleg, their percussionist, is SUPER impressive – he plays with intensity using his hands instead of drumsticks. I look forward to seeing them in concert again sometime.

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Paramore Unplugged … Literally

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My friend Heather and I went to see Paramore, a fun rock band that performs live based on the merits of their raw talent, no tracks. Their lead singer Hayley has a stellar voice, which is why it was a bummer that her microphone repeatedly cut off. I’m not sure if it was the venue’s fault, road crew or what? To their credit, the band played on each time it happened and the crowd stepped up and sang their hearts out. The band and audience coming together throughout the night made for an intimate and interactive concert experience.

Ending on a High Note

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The Cure put on a phenomenal show closing out the last night of Lolla. Robert’s pitch was perfect and his voice was strong. He was in a frisky mood — poking fun at the strict time limit they had to perform. He entertained with his signature expressions and quirky movements. Sadly, he appeared bloated. The trio of peeps standing next to my friend and I were cool. Special thanks to the tall guy who shot the video clip with my phone due to my vertical challenge. He felt bad for me because a super drunk chick in front of me kept pumping her fist in the air.

Set List: Plainsong, Pictures of You, Lullaby, High, The End of the World, Lovesong, In Between Days, Just Like Heaven, From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea, The Walk, Mint Car, Friday I’m in Love, Doing the Unstuck, Trust, Want, Fascination Street, The Hungry Ghost, Wrong Number, One Hundred Years and Disintegration. Encore: The Lovecats, The Caterpillar, Close to Me, Let’s Go to Bed, Why Can’t I Be You? and Boys Don’t Cry.

Lollapalooza … Then and Now

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THEN…
Date: August 7, 1991
Location: CNE Grandstand, Toronto, ON
Major Bands: Jane’s Addiction, Siouxsie & The Banshees, Living Colour, Nine Inch Nails, Fishbone, Ice T & Body Count, Butthole Surfers, Rollins Band, and Violent Femmes
Ticket Cost: $33.05 (paper ticket)
I saved my money from my part-time job at a local record store, piled in a car with a group of my friends, and drove up to Canada for my first music festival.

Lollapalooza Tickets

NOW…
Date: August 4, 2013
Location: Grant Park, Chicago, IL
Major Bands: The Cure, Phoenix, Vampire Weekend, Knife Party, Grizzly Bear, Major Lazer, Dog Blood, Two Door Cinema Club, Tegan and Sara, Beach House, Cat Power, 2 Chainz, Alt-J, The Vaccines, DIIV, Alex Clare, Baroness, Lianne La Havas, Wild Nothing, Angel Haze, Wavves, Alvin Risk, Jake Bugg, Wild Belle, Art Department, MS MR, Guards, Kill the Noise, Skaters, The Orwells, Palma Violets, Astro, Machines Are People Too, Yawn, Half Moon Run, The Mowgli’s, Nightmare & the Cat, Bear Mountain, O’Brother, and Makeshift Prodigy
Ticket Cost: $103.75 (wristband with micro chip)
I saved my money from my full-time job and hopped on a commercial flight to Chicago to meet my best friend from college for festival fun! More to come…

Night at the Strathmore

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I heard Metric was going to be in town and I was curious to see them perform live. I bought tickets and went with my friend Matt, who has a huge crush on their lead singer (and keyboardist) Emily Haines. These Canadian rockers did not disappoint. They performed two sets — mostly songs from their new record Synthetica and a few songs from their previous record Fantasies. The music was great and Emily’s voice was awesome — real singing, no gimmicks. I hope they tour the U.S. again in the future.