Four score and seven years ago, I met one of my best friends for the first time. She’s always been one of the coolest people I’ve ever known and oh man, I’m so excited to introduce her as a new guest contributor here at SOUNDS LIKE FEELS LIKE.

Wow, I have been way over-hyped. Hello blog! I’m Eden Arbogast, a 2017 Pepperdine grad living in sunny Los Angeles. I’ve had a passion for live music in particular for as long as I can remember. My goal is always to enhance the shared experience that live music creates and to allow others to experience live music in the same way I do. Years of my mom driving me and my friends to shows has quite literally turned into a full-time job in the industry. I handle Artist Relations for the rock band, KISS. Yes, the band with the guy with the long tongue and the platform boots; No, not 102.7 KIIS FM.

My therapist told me I need to stop describing myself based on accomplishments alone (hello, fellow enneagram 3’s), so I’ll also say that I’m a big fan of boxing, painting, trashy reality TV, and Trader Joe’s. Oh, and I’m SO excited to be a part of SLFL. It’s an honor and a privilege to share my thoughts with you.

Now one thing we’re gonna do here is try to tell the story of how we met and how our fabulous friendship has turned into a creative partnership.

So, picture this: It’s the Summer of 2014. You’re wearing a skater skirt with fishnets and Oxfords, and your hair is in a sock bun. The 1975 is on repeat. Your style and your music taste is superior to everyone else’s because you’re *different* and *alternative*. Life is good. But how will you ever find a roommate who shares your elite taste in music? Chaos ensues.

In a post that can probably be dug up but isn’t worth the second-hand embarrassment, I made a desperate plea on the Pepperdine Class of 2018 Facebook page. I was looking for a roommate who liked all the same artists that I did, and that’s all that mattered. I’d like to note that I’ve since had many roommates and can confirm that there is an entire list of things that are more important in a roommate than what kind of music they listen to. 

I, meanwhile, was in post-high school burnout mode and not even thinking about the implications of finding a good roommate. Seeing all these random girls basically post the junior version of a dating profile made me realize that it would be a good thing to be able to get along with the person I’d be living with. So lowkey, I was only paying attention to the girls who shared a love for music like I did. Sorry not sorry sports and horse girls, but I was not about to pretend to be interested in your hobbies for a year. 

Then along came Kelly, who had essentially made the exact same post. Instant soulmates. It was love at first sight, and we started chatting via Facebook. It didn’t take long for me to pop the question: “Do you want to be roommates?”

Oh God the thing that sealed the deal was when I made a dumb joke about something being humorous and I sent a picture of the arm bone, the humerus. When I saw that Eden got it, I was like “Oh my God, this is gonna be fun.” Why are we like this.

Let’s not forget how we literally shrieked and ran into each other’s arms the first time we met.

Omg yes: Eden and I had the most DRAMATIC first meeting. It was July 30th (I only remember the date because I saw a Facebook “On this Day” recently lol) and Pepperdine was hosting an on-campus party/meet and greet for prospective students. Eden got there early like the queen she is and I was running late because a major pipeline burst at UCLA and created THE WORST traffic going towards the Westside. How late? I came 2 hours late (RIP). But when I finally got there, Eden had told everyone that she was waiting for me and we ran into each other’s arms like a goddamn movie scene in Malibu. Ugh, it really was too cute.

And They Were Roommates…

So then yeah, Eden and I were roommates. We lived in a triple with another girl named Jenna and my God, sharing such little square footage between 3 girls is something you only do in college.

Sharing a college dorm room with 2 other people is something I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. I remember Kelly had a storage bin on the floor in the middle of the room that we kept our snacks in, but the bin also doubled as “seating” when we had “guests”.

Lol, I still have that ottoman, and I can assure you nothing important is in it now…not that the giant carton of Goldfish was. Omg Eden, I remember seeing you decorate your lofted bed with posters and concert tickets and just thinking you were the coolest person ever. Literally like you knew about all these indie bands that I hadn’t heard of because I was just getting out of my “musical pick me girl” phase lol. I think you’re low key the reason I started to embrace indie music in college.

I really love how we bonded over “traditionally uncool” things at the time, like our Jonas Brothers/Disney Channel obsessions and doing show choir and musical theatre. It never stopped being cool in our minds tbh. We still love all that stuff.

A Friendship Hiatus/Admiration from Afar

So then the good times came to an end as we ended freshman year, but I could tell that Eden and I were still gonna be friends in some way. It wasn’t a goodbye; it was a “see you soon friend!” I wasn’t about to let such a cool friendship end.

I jetted off to Shanghai, China for literally a whole year where I had the privilege to travel in China plus visit Japan, Vietnam, Taiwan, and Thailand; learned Mandarin; changed my major to Journalism and Marketing; and took forever to get over a boy I had liked. Eventful, yes. Transformative, also yes. Easy, absolutely not. I missed all my friends I had made in freshman year and had done a terrible job keeping up with most of them. 

We were on a break! Kelly’s Sophomore year was much more exciting than mine, but yes, much to my wallet’s delight, I graduated a year early. In 2017, Kelly came back to Pepperdine after being abroad for a year, and I was trying to finish up school so I could graduate. 

Ugh yeah, literally why was the latter half of college SO much. I felt like that Mr. Krabs meme my entire Junior year. I was playing catch up with my major, figuring out how to run a Bible study, and dedicating my life to the pursuit of journalism. Lol no lie, I literally lived in the newsroom. That reminds me, please don’t ask me about the web news show I was trying to do, I had no idea what I was doing and it was really bad quality.

We hardly even ran into each other. I figured the spark Kelly and I originally had was gone and assumed we’d just be acquaintances after college. Boy, was I wrong.

Wait, You Worked for KISS, Too?

Can you believe the power of Gene Simmons brought us back together? 

Thanks, Gene!!

In 2018, Kelly and I made plans to grab dinner and catch up. I was working for a different company at the time, but Kelly was interning at the company that manages KISS. I thought “Huh, I didn’t realize they were still around” and didn’t give it a second thought. 

We can all thank my dad being an Uber driver for KISS’s marketing guy, Mark, and talking me up for that one. What a time. I remember wanting to know what post-grad life was like and you were the only person that had the insight that actually applied to me.

Less than a year later, I found myself with a job offer from that same company. I reached out to Kelly for advice about my new job, we reconnected for a second time, and the rest is history.

Oh man, I remember when you called me about that job offer. I was driving home after my first job with Juliette and in disbelief of how small the world was. I still think it’s one of the funniest things that once you started that job, Mark literally disappeared. Do we know where he went?

Wouldn’t you know it – I’m actually working with Mark again.

Really?! What a wild man lol.

What really sealed the friendship deal for me was our trip to Vegas in 2019. Between the buffet at the Wynn, the couple’s massage, and the Chainsmokers show that left us with more questions than answers, that Vegas trip bonded us for life.

Seriously, there was basically no one else I could’ve had that much fun at a “work event” with. Especially being bougie at that couple’s massage — we made the guy I had been dating at the time jealous lol.

On a more serious and sappy note, Kelly is one of my best friends, and I know it’s not a coincidence that we were brought back into each other’s lives by pure chance. She’s a boss lady extraordinaire, and her work ethic and passion for everything she does inspires me every day. I’m lucky to know her.

Girl, don’t make me cry — I’m lucky to know you! There are very few people in my circles that understand my profound love of music and how I see life through that lens. Eden is one of those people. She just gets it. The way our paths have always been grounded in a love of music is something so special, and I cherish this friendship so deeply. Being able to share the building of this brand with another boss lady who I love and who gets it is such a privilege. 

Already, Eden’s had such great insight to the places we can take SOUNDS LIKE FEELS LIKE. When I tell y’all that between me, Joe, and Eden we’ve got a hurricane of awesome stuff coming, I’m telling you to be on storm watch, y’all. It’s gonna be so cool.

Eden and I have picked a few songs that remind us of the various stages of our friendship, as well as songs that each of us have shown each other. 

Highlights

L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N – Noah and the Whale

E: From the album that got me through high school. A possible teaser for my debut solo post on SLFL, perhaps?

K: This Noah and the Whale song was Eden’s way of opening the floodgates to the world of indie rock for me. Also I hear that post is coming next month? Ooh bestie, I’m excited.

Oceans – Hillsong Worship

K: We can’t reference the fact that we went to Pepperdine in 2014 without bringing up “Oceans.” Eden and I love JC.

E: I love this song, but I think we can all agree that “Oceans” has become the Christian Rickroll. A classic, nonetheless.

No Limit – G-Eazy, A$AP Rocky, Cardi B

E: This song has a special place in my heart. We were in 110 degree heat at a day club in Vegas; Kelly was well on her way to a third degree sunburn. In the distance, G-Eazy performs maybe 4 songs before leaving the stage, never to be seen again.

K: Oh God, KAOS. The club’s name was KAOS. It had this ridiculous statue of the god of chaos and it was only open for seven months. KAOS was really the perfect name for it. RIP.

Only Time – Enya

K: Ok, we’ve got a funny story about this one. So a few years ago I booked a Sunday night show for our mutual friend Kyle Rogan at the State Social House on the Sunset Strip. The band after Kyle kept playing the only part of “Only Time” they knew in between songs. 

E: That night was literally a fever dream. I had come straight from Zumba and was embarrassed to be in my workout clothes. Little did we know my outfit was the least absurd thing we would experience.

fuck, i’m lonely (with Anne-Marie) – Lauv, Anne-Marie

E: Kelly and I saw Lauv together at the Wiltern. We were SUPPOSED to see him again in 2020, but Miss Rona got in the way.

K: Damn, we were so excited for that show – it was gonna be at the Greek Theatre. At least we got to go hard to this song at the show we did go to. Also, love the fact that we got those tickets through an industry contact. Are we so LA or what lol.