Side By Side: Wayne Coyne

Me & Wayne Coyne. 2011.

Sitting side by side next to the man who gave life to my favorite songs is extremely overwhelming. Next to Wayne Coyne, lead singer from The Flaming Lips, I was utterly stoned to the core fathoming to concept of how honored I was to take up some of his time talking about love, the marriage of life and death, and the incessant cycle of human wonder. For some fans, it seems as though it is but a distant dream. For me, by some sort of sheer luck, I was able to meet Wayne after the "Dark Side Of The Moon" concert on the 15th of June and be personally invited by him backstage. While talking to him, he confessed to singling me out of the crowd and singing the second verse of "She Don't Use Jelly" to me. Feeling incredibly flattered and the blood rush to my cheeks...I had to give this jolly, eccentric 50 year old, singer/songwriter a hug!

Me, Andy Dick, & Wayne Coyne.

One of his stage crew members gave me the set list for that night of the concert which he took in to his own hands and personally autographed. Oddly enough, while me and Wayne were talking about the night, Andy Dick appears out from the shadows of the stage and joins in. Epic.

Backstage, me and Wayne sat and continued talking. Laughter filled the air. "This is what life is all about," said Wayne, "you have to take advantage of every moment you get. Seize the moment! We have one life to live before death takes it away from us. If we don't live fully, then we could never be truly content with ourselves." I finally knew what he was trying to convey to me all along. Minutes went by, and still we sat. "I don't want to continue taking up all of your time. I know all these other people are here to talk to you as well," I said out of respect. Wayne gently put his hand on my knee an said in a soft endearing voice, "Don't worry. Your not taking up any of my time." We smiled. Pictures were taken and then goodbyes were finally said after a couple more minutes of inspirational talk.

Wayne singing "Money"
by Pink Floyd.

If I had the chance, once more, to converse with Wayne again, I would thank him for all that he told me. At that moment, I knew the spark had finally bled.

Thanks Wayne.