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*(add picture here)*

*Hear the song inspired by the 3/29/08 Lost Ocean gig right here:*

*Sinkin’ in an Ocean of Sound*
Dr BLT
Words and music by Dr BLT copyright 2008
http://www.drblt.net/music/SinkinDemoO3.mp3

*Hear the song inspired by the Phantom Tollbooth Rock n Role Model interview here:*

*Lost and Found*
Dr BLT
Words and music by Dr BLT copyright 2008

http://www.tollbooth.org/2007/features/losto.html

It seems like wherever I go these days, I find Lost Ocean.

I first found Lost Ocean at Starbucks on Rosedale Highway in Bakersfield, California--- just before Thanksgiving, 2007, and was fortunate enough to land this interview with the band as a result of that important discovery:

_http://www.tollbooth.org/2007/features/losto.html

I found the band again, more recently at Borders, on Stockdale Highway, where I had taken my wife and nearly-two-year-old daughter to find some new books for her to read (and I do mean read).

When Lost Ocean performs, they like to give their all, and they like to do their best. That’s why they take such a long time to do the sound check.

When I perform, I plug in and play, but, most of the time, it’s to my own detriment. Success as an artist is a simple formula, really: Preparedness meets opportunity. When you perform, always be prepared! Lost Ocean is. The question is: Is the world prepared for them? Lost Ocean is, in fact, ahead of their time, so anytime they perform, it’s a good time to check them out.

These guys are consummate professionals. Their commitment to perfection shows in their shows. As far as bands go, Lost Ocean is one of the most creative and one of the most professional-sounding bands to come out of Bakersfield, California in a long, long time.

The band’s style is cutting-edge, and they are all in their early 20s, if that. But they are so tight, they are so crystal clear and, their delivery is so seasoned, that it sounds like they’ve been rehearsing together for decades.

Connecting the band to the Bakersfield Sound would be a stretch. No, they are not the next Buck Owens, but they are the best thing to happen to Bakersfield, and the biggest thing to happen to this town since Korn.

On this particular otherwise sleepy Saturday night, the boys from B-towns biggest band since Korn, played and sang their hearts out.

They performed songs from their self-titled debut album, and they pulled a Dr BLT, performing songs so fresh, and so new, that they had to bring lyric sheets. As with the less new songs, they performed these brand new songs without a hitch, like they had been rehearsing them for decades.

On this particular evening, I found myself mesmerized by Skylar’s keyboard skills. But the passionate, crisp vocals, the deftly-delivered drum beats, also played a huge role in sinking me in a sea of sound. Bret’s bass, the guitar parts, and the whole shebang sank me further, and I’ve never loved drowning like this before.

The forever fresh, eternally hip Dolly Parton would perform a “live” version of her latest hit,/ Jesus and Gravity,/ on American Idol the very next week, and, as I reflect upon the Lost Ocean gig, I think about the significance of the song as applied to this phenomenal performance. They pull you under, while taking you to a higher, spiritual place. It’s no use trying to struggle against the undertow. You will drown, but you might as well surrender to the sea. Instead of dying, you will live, and you will live more abundantly.

Like I said, I’ve been finding Lost Ocean almost everywhere these days. The day after the performance, which also happened to be the day I had the singular opportunity of recording the final page of the final chapter of the old Buck Owens Recording Studios,

http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/blognroll/24151

I found them (or, at least two members of the band) at another Starbucks, the one on Stockdale Highway and Coffee Road. Who knows where we will meet again, but I’m sure it will happen again, and, when it comes to Lost Ocean, it could never be too soon.