#karasflowers

i'd only heard good things about it! but it was always praise for the romance or horniness to the point that it was sounding like that's the bulk of the movie. and i like mr. bong joon ho's work, so i'd been a bit sad that i was either going to be bored by it or spare myself by missing out.

18 years. That’s how long I have known many of these gals since I moved to LA in 2000, fresh out of college. Whenever I introduce them to people, I always say “You know - from my Maroon 5 circle.” Such a funny thing to say - but, well, it’s just part of the story.

These people (and, the guys not present for our ladies’ holiday) became an integral part of my LA story through my best and, only friend when I moved there - Sarah Brower/ Sarah Jane Morris - who introduced me to them.

My first few years in LA consisted of rehearsing and playing shows as a lead singer with my band, Hawkeye, and many nights supporting our guy friends “in cool new bands” - like Rooney, Phantom Planet, and this young band called Kara’s Flowers, which would soon become Maroon 5. Good nights were dancing in the front rows of The Roxy and The Troubadour with girlfriends, great nights were when we got on “the list” to do just that and the nights I remember most were nights like Steph Farrar’s birthday party at Tangier, dancing on the bar with Sarah, Stephanie Eitel Farrar, and Bliss Ellis Knapp Schwarzenegger while Kara’s Flowers was the House band and I tried to look as cool as possible - which seemed almost impossible for me, I felt.

That’s what I remember about this group in my 20s - that they all seemed so cool and thin and effortless and beautiful, and I always felt so awkward - like my dance moves were slightly off and so was my body & style - not to mention my confidence.🙄

These are the stories we tell ourselves in our 20s - that everyone else has it together and we’re just trying to shuffle along to keep up, trying not to fall off a proverbial bar.

In the 18 years since then, I have had candid conversations in which I’ve realized that we all felt like that - or, at least our own versions of that - & yet here we all are past the awkwardness and in a place that feels more like a warm hug whenever we get together.

To see these strong, smart, stunning women go after their dreams, thrive in their careers, marry the loves of their lives & raise families is just one of the sweetest things I’ve known.