So I just got back from the gym watching, as I always do, my less intelligent, but no less entertaining, old episodes of America’s Next Top Model on MTV (it’s probably the 50th time I’ve seen Naima do her cheetah pose, but I just get too riled up watching the news when I’m pretending to elliptical up a mountain). During commercial break who do I see but Crosby Loggins staring back at me on a trailer for an upcoming episode of Rock the Cradle–an American Idol type show featuring famous musicians’ children.

I paused on this program a few nights ago as I watched Olivia Newton John’s daughter (her mom was the woman who played Sandy in Grease and sang Let’s Get Physical) get reamed by some judges. I wasn’t impressed and headed back to the travel network to watch that bald guy eat something weird in Guatemala (Top Model wasn’t on).

Here’s the thing that had my jaw dropping. I went to high school with Crosby Loggins–son of Kenny Loggins (think Footloose and the Top Gun soundtrack). We didn’t know each other directly–different circles, he was older–but he dated a closer acquaintance of mine for a long time, and was good friends with a number of my artsy, musically inclined, folk-singer type friends (all incredibly talented people who I now know, thanks to Facebook, are currently singing opera, attending Juilliard, teaching music, etc.). I do remember him playing his guitar at school outside on the lawn. His younger brother played volleyball like me and his dad was at a lot of games. I wasn’t native Santa Barbara and the star-sightings always got me excited…my friends would tell me that, no, I couldn’t go ask him to sing Danger Zone. That would have been uncool.

I “friended” Crosby’s music page on MySpace a few years ago–his band is very good. Anyway, thought I’d share my weird, hey-I-sorta-know-that-guy moment. That’s Santa Barbara. One minute you’re sitting next to a famous person’s kid at Santa Barbara High, the next, he’s famous himself. Much to his credit, and as he attests to in the video below, he never tried to rest on his dad’s laurels. And personally I think doing the MTV show, and managing very well at not looking as ridiculous as some of the other contestants do, is a very clever way to get some serious exposure.

Seriously though. Very cool guy. Very talented musician.