THE REAL WORLD SHELTER ISLAND
8-5-05 POST RATED: Cojo, Doc Coyle, Godforbid, Jain, WZZO, Tracy
Seven strangers, picked (by JAIN) to live in a mansion, and have their lives photographed with camera phones, to find out what happens when you don't have a TV, but do have a shitload of alcohol, and a few days of good weather. . . THE REAL WORLD. . . SHELTER ISLAND.
My girlfriend TRACY and I were invited by JAIN to come on vacation with her for a week to her summerhouse on Shelter Island. Seven of her friends all together, none of which we had ever met, so it seemed like if there were cameras there it would make for a decent reality show. Jain was driving, after she picked us up at my parent's house our next stop was to pick up Doc Coyle. Doc, if you haven't heard of him is the guitarist for the heavy metal band GOD FORBID. God Forbid has a huge following and are on the head bangers ball shows, Ozzfest, and MTV shits all the time. They are one of the only, if not the only mainstream heavy metal band where the majority of their performers are black.
I am not a head banger by any means so I had never heard Doc's music before but Jain had mentioned him before being that they used to date back in the day and have a good history.
Doc piled his acoustic guitar and a bag into the car and we were on our way. We didn't know what to expect of the place other than it had a pool and a view of the Long Island Sound but four hours, a couple tolls, some bridges, and a ferry ride later we arrived. It was nothing shy of amazing. It had about 15 bedrooms with almost 30 beds. Two kitchens and huge living and dining rooms, a pool with lounge chairs, and an amazing outdoor patio. It's not one of these McMansions everyone has these days, it's old world cool, like the house of the seven gables, but more gables.
The mansion had been built for a duke or a count or something (some royal of some sort- can't remember) in the late 1800's and had been a vacation house hosting lavish royal parties with the social elite of the era. It had been in Jain's family for half a century and now was playing host to us, whatever you want to classify us as. A motley bunch of successful super-creative 20 something's.
But even more impressive than the house itself was the view of the sound. The pool's deck looks out over a cliff to the water.
Tracy and I moved our stuff in to the last bedroom on the third floor. It was an octagonal room that had windows on 7 out of the 8 sides, while the 8th side was the door. It was a hot day but with all the windows opened the room created an amazing cross breeze. There was also a massive dollhouse in our room, which was odd, but not spooky like the one in that shitty flick Amityville dollhouse (though we did pass the real Amityville on the way to Shelter Island. Tracy had a headache so I threw on my trunks, grabbed a MIKE'S and hit the pool while she grabbed some zzzz's. 
I'm one of those tall pasty white city guys who are out of shape, burn in 3 minutes, and yet for some strange reason love pools. . . I wouldn't last a week in California.
Soon after we arrived another car pulled up with Jain's friend Alexis and Jain's other friend Ethan, and Ethan's buddy Cole. Jain, being the common thread among all of the guests, none of whom had met before. The premise had the makings for a really interesting vacation, and it was.
We chilled by the pool for a while, drinking and whatnot, and then the sun started to set. Taking in a sunset with a panoramic view of the sound, Long Island, and Connecticut all at the same time is one of the most amazing and relaxing natural experiences you might ever get to enjoy on the East Coast.
Over the next couple of days I was in a constant state of various levels of relaxation and inebreation. I considered drawing a few times but was just too zoned out to pick up a pencil. Doc pushed the stereo speakers up to the patio window at one point and played GOD FORBID's soon to be released album for us, which was really cool (editorial note: GOD FORBID's IV: Constitution of Treason opened in the Billboard Hot 200 chart at 119).
That night we went to a great restaurant on the island called PLANET BLISS for dinner. After a lavish meal we came back to continue our drunken debauchery.
We were hanging out in the kitchen the next night when one of the girls suggested skinny-dipping. Five minutes later we were all in the pool nude, drunk, and loud.
This was truly a rock star vacation.
I won't bore you with all the details. For the most of the next few days I shot the shit in the pool with the other guys while the girls spent most of their time catching rays. Doc's stories of being on the road in Europe touring with all these crazy metal bands were fascinating, and he also was a big movie fan so we had a lot in common. He demonstrated for the camera how to execute a tequila shot- ARTSUCKS.COM.
The problem we found in hanging with a successful rock star is that since the band has so many songs that are hits on their own, Doc really didn't know how to play many covers. One night Cole and I were wasted and Doc, as per usual, was strumming away on his acoustic as we were all chatting on the porch. Cole is a real southern, Deep South, really into the Blue Collar comedians and was quoting them ad nauseum type dude. Anyway, Cole started riding Doc to play something we could sing to.
After tossing out a million and one songs that Doc didn't know how to play we finally found one that he could. Weezer's SAY IT AIN'T SO. Now I know I can't sing for shit. I admit this. Cole couldn't sing for shit either. But it didn't matter. We sang the fuck out of that song. We sang the whole song over and over and over. The girls went to sleep, everyone went to sleep and we kept singing that song drunk off our asses deep into the night.
Over the course of the week Jain and Doc talked so much about Music industry, the DJ radio world and all the strange politics and shit that goes on with DJ's and music on the radio (not that that helps me any, although oddly enough I do have A THEME SONG). It was a nice sneak peak into behind the music, behind the scenes radio station type thing.
It was hard to leave Shelter Island and get back to the world of deadlines, paint, and pencil dust, but that's the world I love. Maybe we'll make it out there next year. Thanks Jain!
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REAL WORLD SHELTER ISLAND 2006
Jain can be heard on weekends on 95.1 WZZO (which is also on the web), and also hosts her own show LIBERATION FREQUENCY if you are in a band that is unsigned, or just not getting the exposure you want- contact her and send her your shit. Doc Coyle's band's website is GOD FORBID.COM here is their TOUR SCHEDULE.
