Hey Guys! I’m back from New York and I wish I could tell you I arrived in New York in complete glee, strolled by the water while gazing at the statue of liberty, was surprised with a fabulous make-over at a fancy French salon, and got to sit two inches from Gavin DeGraw and then jammed out to one of the most brilliant concerts I have ever experienced…oh wait, I DID ALL THAT!!

Winning this contest was one of, if not the coolest experiences I have ever had. I brought along my childhood friend Catherine. She was at the Atlanta concert that was brutally interrupted due to what I would like to call a natural disaster. We arrived in New York around lunch and were picked up at the airport by the Ourstage crew—AKA Dean, Alyssa, and Andrew. If the rest of the employees at Ourstage are anything like these 3, I may have to move to Boston and start a new career path. I’m not sure the experience would have been the same without them.

When I entered this contest, I really had no idea what I was in for. I am typically a very outgoing person and I rarely meet a stranger. I have a degree in Anthropology because I love PEOPLE! Well, it turns out, when you put me in front of a camera, I turn into a complete Goober! Holy Moly was I nervous!

Anyway, moving on! I had been to New York once but played with friends too much and never really got to do the “touristy stuff.” So, the crew surprised me with a visit to the Statue of Liberty. Okay people, is it just me or is she a lot smaller than you expected? Okay, maybe it’s just me! :) Speaking of surprises! Ourstage gave me a mini make-over! They took me to this cute French salon called Beguine (nope, you’re pronouncing it wrong) and they blew out my hair while giving me a manicure and then Ms. Sophie did my make-up. SO MUCH FUN! So, ever wonder what happens when a country girl goes into a French salon? Not too much, but you get a lot of huh’s!

After the salon, we grabbed a quick but delicious bite to eat and then headed to the hotel to finish getting ready. The hotel we were staying at is called the Novotel. It really was one of the coolest hotels I have visited. It was very modern and everyone was French! It was a stones throw from Times Square and they had a sunbathing deck overlooking the streets. We don’t have those here in Florida! So we finished getting ready and walked down to the venue to meet the Ourstage crew.

AND here is a funny story about that! I am from a town with one caution light. I can barely name 3 streets in the town I lived for 19 years. We give directions using people’s houses or a church. So, Catherine and I walk to the venue and get a little lost. I called one of the crew members and he told me I was on the wrong street. Okay, why name streets with numbers?! You’re completely screwed if you are one off! So, we are running late and Catherine and I are doing a 40-sprint down the streets of New York. I see the street we are looking for and immediately head in that direction. As we are running, I see two of Gavin’s band members walking in the opposite direction. Instead of thinking..oh we should follow them, I’m concentrating on getting to 64th street! As we pass them (and they look at us like we are crazy) I hear some men shouting at us. I yelled to Catherine and told her to keep running, “I’m so tired of strange men hollerin’ at us!” Then, I stopped. “What did he just say? How does he know my name?” I turn around to Dean and one of the guys from Sony running down the road screaming for us to stop! haha.

So with that, we finally made it to the venue!

GAVIN TIME!!!

We are sitting in this little room trying to get ready for the interview between Alyssa, Gavin and I and unexpectedly, Gavin walks in. I went from calm cool normal Leigh to a blubbering fool! What does one say to a person when introduced to that said person as their biggest fan?? NOTHING! haha! I didn’t say anything! He sat down beside me and I felt my face turn red and I couldn’t make myself say anything. I know…Good job Leigh!

Soooo… other than that, the meeting went well. I found out later that Gavin had just came off of a 21hr video shoot and that explained why he seemed so tired. The poor guy was such a trooper. I would have ditched the interview and went back to bed.

The concert was amazing! I’m not sure how he pulled it off, but he did! One of the guys from RCA gave us passes to the VIP section so we went to the balcony level and enjoyed the concert with less crowd and a much better view. We went to the national underground (Gavin & his brother’s Bar) afterwards and enjoyed drinks with Paul Freeman (a fellow artist on Gavin’s label) and had one of Joey DeGraw’s famous burgers.

We had a phenomenal trip and, although it was short, it is definitely one for the books. Thanks so much to Ourstage for providing me with this fabulous experience— I will forever support you and your cause!

Check back soon— I will be posting pictures of the whole experience!

Feel free to check out even more pictures at www.myspace.com/leighleigh21

AND… here is a quick clip I recorded from the show…sorry it’s sideways… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMXwYT6m7IU