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This show was a bit crazy for us. First of all, it was the closest to our home town and everyone and their mother (literally) wanted to be on the guest list. It’s not easy telling friends they can’t come see your experience at such a show, but what can you do? There was talk at the last show of Sheryl maybe singing a song with us and we were all really excited by that prospect. When sound check came around she was there and ready to give it a try. Evan’s and Sheryl’s voices sounded great together and she was a lot of fun. Mike, her keyboardist, sat in on Rhodes too. The two brought our song “Hold on to You” to the next level (I’m not sure where that exactly is, but I think it’s up). The Verizon Amphitheatre was huge. There were a lot of seats and the lawn seemed to go up for a long time and it was all so steep. Another sound check with the sun in our eyes (Sheryl’s too). We were all a little giggly when Sheryl came out. Her voice sounded great immediately on the song, like a pro’s does. It’s been hard staying mellow in such a professional environment. It’s constantly moving from the time we arrive to the time we leave. We all have to have a moment to reacquaint ourselves and get some perspective. That may sound lame, but it’s important to roll with it on tour and not fight or bicker. Either LA people are laggers or traffic just sucks, but most people in the assigned seating were really late. It was the least attended show yet, I’d say. A lot of empty red plastic seats. The lawn people are always there early to claim their stake in the grass, but I wish they were closer. Some of our friends were stuck in their cars and didn’t make it. Sheryl sounded great and told people to buy our album or she’d hunt them down. (Unfortunately it didn’t work.) Mike sounded fabulous. We all had fun and that’s the point. We hung out with all our friends and families afterward (and some industry people- remember it’s LA).

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The warehouse that we stayed in last night was pretty incredible. Scott’s dad is really into Burning Man and spends money and time making things here to bring to the festival. It’s a hang-out as well, with a full-sized Jacuzzi and a balcony filled with coaches, a drum set (with a double bass pedal), keyboards, refrigerator, freezer, a fluorescent painted homemade bar and large pictures of Burning Man on the walls (and a computer or two pieced together by the genius himself). Soon it will have a shower installed and his electric-powered space carriage stored there will have iron wheels instead of small rubber tires. The venue is very close to Mike’s place and we drive back to give him a key and eat a homemade breakfast. My beautiful young wife, Nikki, came up yesterday from LA to help take photos and such. It was nice having her around. She’s a love. This show meant a lot to Scott because he grew up around here seeing shows at this venue. The Shoreline Amphitheatre has an amazing feel to it. The stage, backstage and part of the bleachers are covered by an amazingly huge tent that goes very high above it all. The light still comes through the thick white material. It sort of feels like a little village in the middle of the woods. On the backstage perimeter there are huge props made by Bill Graham for an early 80s Grateful Dead New Year’s Eve show. Such a great place to play and hang out. The dressing rooms are all in little villas with fake stained glass windows and a common courtyard. There were free video games and two free pinball machines right outside our dressing room. The catering rocked, the weather was perfect, and the crowd was thoughtful. We had a blast playing this show. Evan brought a new song unrehearsed into tonight’s set: “Songbird.” We had a long space jam at the end that freaked out the crowd but we loved it. Sheryl Crow came on after to do “Hold on to You” and gave us a look like “what was that?” A great night. A lovely way to make up for our last show.

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It was nice to be back on the road. We left LA kinda late for a drive but it was only a 5 or 6 hour drive. We decided to stay at Scott’s dad’s house which was an hour and a half away from the venue. We arrived at 3:00 a.m. and Scott’s dad, Mike, woke up and hung out with us for an hour or so. We should all be so lucky to have a dad like that. He was so sweet letting all of us stay there and even acquainting us with his hot tub. We crashed on the floor and woke up semi-early and left for the gig. The drive up was really nice. We went from a suburb out into rolling golden California hills with lone trees scattered sporadically. Up in one of these hills was our venue. It was a real laid back atmosphere besides the fact that there were baby rattlesnakes to look out for. Everyone in the crew seemed to be happy to be in Northern California. Maybe because they knew they’d be staying in San Francisco for four nights with one off. The hills surrounded the backstage area and made it seem more park-like. Nothing to complain about. A fine venue, a fine show. Some of Scott’s family came and we hung out in our under-stage dressing room for a good portion of the night. We went outside to meet people and a few said “hello.” There were not that many people in their seats when we played, but the people who were there really seemed to listen well and that made us happy. It got cold at night; the water from the bay moved east with the breeze and we all bundled up. After the show we decided to drive to the next venue and find a hotel nearby. Artie and Evan drove. We got into town late around 2:30 a.m.

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Tonight we were all reminded how sweet life can be. It’s been a while. The two days leading up to this moment were filled with accidents and disappointments. Birmingham is a great place but unfortunately, due to lack of planning, our trip was darkened. We were to have two shows on the same night: one at the good ole amphitheater and another at a hip club in Birmingham. We had to rent a trailer to do this, which we discovered two hours before we were due at the “official” sound check. I called 411 and got the address of a place near the venue and that actually worked out pretty good. We got the trailer for a lot cheaper than we estimated, but now we picked it up much earlier than we expected which means worse gas mileage, worse handling of the van and parking the thing is a bitch. The sound check was late again because someone’s (I won’t say whose) sound check rolled over into our time. So our’s was rushed and incomplete. During the sound check, I noticed that Artie was obsessively attempting to fix the camera he was supposed to be taking pictures with, the same camera I bought for $300 + to take pictures of this tour with. Turns out it accidentally fell in the toilet for 5 seconds with the case on. It’s now broken. He is supposed to buy me a new one tomorrow. So hopefully I will be able to take pictures of tomorrow’s gig for y’all. We’ll see. After that, we all ran around doing random stuff. I was doing this blog and uploading photos for an hour or so and Scott came in while I was out and undid this long upload that was almost finished. That was another piss off. Then we played to a crowd that was barely there (besides a row of overly enthusiastic teenage girls). Jayson accidentally ended a song in the middle and we still ran out of time. Afterward, we loaded all our gear into our new trailer and went to get something to eat at catering where we picked up the fliers of a new artist. We started to poke fun at them, not knowing they were eating right behind us. I left, and Artie and Evan made nice with them. They had a coincidental New Jersey connection: Evan and the band’s singer were born in the same hospital. After the show, we were to be at the other club by 9 p.m., but we were stuck waiting for a second attempt at an upload for another hour. It sucked. Everyone was waiting to leave in the van while the timer’s little green bar snailed across the screen in tiny jumps. We finally left and took a new unknown way into downtown Birmingham in the dark, late. We got to this amazingly cute and tasteful indie club: The Bottletree Café that is artist owned-and-operated. We loved all the employees as much as the venue itself. There were original works of art on the walls, vintage lunch boxes around the bar, vintage 60s couches with a stack of indie zines on a coffee table and clever paint schemes on all the walls. It was strange to be back in a club after so many shows of the sound going out into a big manmade canyon. It just sounded so different. Everything was more in your face and raw. We made an announcement during the big show about our Birmingham performance and a few people from the club came out to hand out flyers for it. In the end, only five people came out to the show. We felt like shit about it because we had a guarantee which we needed for gas and no one was there to make it for the club. They were so sweet though. We had a blast talking to them and listening to old Bee Gees records and drinking, but we felt really guilty and disappointed in the end. Our set was pretty fun, though. We played some songs we’ve never played together and those were the thrilling ones. The bartender requested “Empty Room” after we finished and we got back up and played that for her. We didn’t get out of there until 4 a.m. and we started to drive to Florida. The way to the freeway was unknown and the directions didn’t feel right so it was a uneasy feeling. Eventually, we realized we were on track and drove into the deep South as the light crept in. The drive was neverending. There were a lot of empty construction zones and cops out. The scenery was interesting and a bit foreign at least. I think everyone was feeling the drudge of the last 24 hours. In the morning, Evan, Scott and Artie ate at a broken-metered gas station with a small diner attached. Next door was a “Western cowboy” store with dusty cheap souvenirs, nice hats, Levi and wrangler jeans only, western shirts, suits and new cowboy boots with an old white man behind the counter in front of glass cases of knives and belt buckles. The waitress was “sweet as pie” and the food seemed homemade. I ate nothing and floated between the wood-panelled, local-filled diner and the barren, humid rural parking lot. Most us spent a decent time trying to get that horrible post-beer morning breath out of our mouths with toothpaste and mouthwash. I stopped in Tallahassee for some American-chain Mexican Baja grill food and then the Guitar Center across the street for a gear fix. Scott and Evan got magazines for the van at Barnes and Noble and the we were back on the freeway. Our directions led us to a toll freeway where we got charged double for having a trailer for a grand total of $26 just to drive on the already existing road. After that, we could only stop at toll road “plazas” to eat, pee or get gas without getting charged extra. We drove until 9 p.m., then reached the hotel that Jayson’s nepotism got us. A neighbor’s uncle manages a Hilton “resort” on the ocean in West Palm Beach, FL (our next gig). He got us half off Oceanside suites. We were all feeling groggy and uptight by the time we arrived. A shower, a swim in the warm ocean, a glass of wine, room service and an old Low record will relax any sane person. After being pampered, we are all remembering just how fortunate we are. Tomorrow’s show should be good.

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After the Vancouver show we drove back to the US of A and crashed outside of Seattle at a beautiful home owned by Susan. She was gracious enough to have us and let us do our laundry too! We played her piano, ate some cereal and played with her sweet dog. Evan went to lay by the side of her road for his back and to get some sun and these people drove up to ask if he was alright, very sweet. That would not have happened in LA. We got a late start waiting for the laundry to be done and we were a little stressed about time. Seattle’s traffic sucks too. We rolled up just in time for sound check. The venue was your standard amphitheater. It seemed new, so everything was still in good condition. By now I’d say we are getting used to these stages. The crew is great at making us feel like it can be how we want it. Artie discovers that one of Sheryl’s guitar techs, James, is actually an old high school buddy of his. They used to hang out and all. James is awesome. He’s been helping us with out guitars. The musicians on this tour are top-notch. It’s pretty amazing some of the resumes around here. Robbie McIntosh is just a legend: The Pretenders, Talk Talk and Paul McCartney, to name a few. Our show was pretty good. Not as many people there when we played as the other nights. Artie has been taking 8mm film and pictures. He is going to expand into recording the shows with audio and actual video too. I guess I forgot to mention that earlier on in the tour we started going out to the merch booth and meeting the crowd a little bit. We started doing it at Red Rocks. I think we felt that it’d be good for people to see us more and remember how they felt about our set (and maybe buy some merch too). It’s been pretty fun. Sometimes we’ll get that drunk guy who thinks that we are in John or Sheryl’s band, but we just roll with it. There has been some confusion about just where we meet. At some of these venues there are as many as four merch booths but we didn’t know this! So Evan is saying meet us at the merch booth after the show but we just go to the first one we see and sometimes the audience is as confused as us about where we will be. We are going to have to start scoping out all of the venues before we play now. Friends came back stage and we had a laugh and a smoke. A good time was had by all. After the show we crashed at another friend’s house who we actually stayed with on the way to Vancouver. They let us sleep all over their living room and made us breakfast in the morning. Pretty amazing. More than we would ever had asked for.

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After driving away from the last show we decided to go to Seattle straight from Denver. We had a couple of days to get there so we wanted to drive it straight and get there early to hang out for a day or so. And that’s what we did.. After the equipment left, we made a bed in its absence. It’s at the bottom of a valley of bags held to the sides by bungee cords. We are rotating benches, the bed and driving. Artie and Evan drove through the night, the rest of us did the best we could to sleep. Scott and Wayne drove as the light came up. It crept in behind us slowly, turning the clouds a dull hazy blue and then just became a light gray. We were tired and it started raining. We stopped at a big truck stop filled with big guys and a “country” restaurant. This place had clothes and CDs and every snack food you could think of. The best part of this stop was that across the street was an American flag memorial of the 9/11 attacks. It had a flag for every American who lost their life in the attacks. It was very windy because of the rain and all these flags were being whipped in the same directions. We didn’t know if we could walk in it or not, but we decided to go for it since no one was around. Jayson drove us to Boise where we had a 3-4 hour detour to a healthy restaurant, a used gear store and a huge Co-Op where we filled up with different natural products. We all liked it too much and it took some time away from our drive (which means we wouldn’t make it to Seattle that night). We stopped in Pendleton, OR at a Red Lion Inn. We opted for splurging on a nicer room and all crashing together. The hotel had a “nice” restaurant inside and since we arrived a little late, it was our only option. All of us eventually sat down and it was dead quiet with 10 other people in there.. no music… nothing. We got on the staff’s nerves and ate their overpriced crap. We dropped Artie off at his friend’s house in a beautiful area outside of Seattle near a river and it took a long time, but at least the scenery was great. We got to Seattle and hung out with old friends all night. We love Seattle and the people (besides creepy overprotective boyfriends). The next morning we had to be at the border of Canada between 12-2 PM. So we left early and stopped to get some apple cider at an apple orchard off the freeway. We missed the first exit and turned around only to discover there was no freeway entrance on the other side. Finally, we reached the place and got these exciting red apple juice containers with green flip up spouts filled with apple cider for 95 cents. We were all very excited, but ultimately let down because there were no fresh donuts and the cider tasted like the fake plastic apple container that was so aesthetically pleasing. Crossing the border was smooth. The officer was a dick, but that’s what they are paid for. We did not need work permits because of the venue we were playing so we got through painlessly. We got lost because the directions we had were not detailed enough and we didn’t pull out a map and double check them. We ended up driving along some canal filled with rusty weathered broken down boats and wood logs floating everywhere. Jayson’s patience was wearing thin, but he did a great job of keeping a good attitude. The arena was cool, literally, it was a hockey arena for the Giants. They covered up the floor with some big plastic thing. It was starting to get wet around the edges. This is the only covered show of the tour, and it’s an arena- another new experience for us. Arenas are a whole other ball of wax. Our dressing room was a small locker room painted bright yellow. It had benches, two bathroom stalls, that foam padding on the outside of ice arenas and a huge community shower. Very strange. The show was very strange as well. I enjoyed it though. The stage platform was very high and the lights were intense because the rest of the arena is black, so it felt a little isolating up there. The sound was huge. We all stared out from under the beams. When I looked into the audience I could only see little lights flickering in the distance like a canyon at night.

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The show was actually just above Portland, OR in the state of Washington, but Sheryl kept calling it Portland and she’s an official of some sort, I think. Today was a fast one. We drove to Portland from a vegetarian restaurant in a hippie-ish northern neighborhood in Seattle. I got lost in a record store while I was supposed to be “looking for soap” but it’s the record store’s fault, not mine. It shouldn’t have been there. During breakfast we were on the internet looking for Home Depots nearby to get a plastic pipe for our banner. That’s right folks, we’re stepping it up a notch: we got a banner with our name on it. Nothing too fancy. I know it might be cheesy in theory, but you try reiterating the name of your band to every single person who talks to you after the show. Seriously, people. NO ONE knows how to spell it or what it is. That had to be taken care of quick. ‘so what is your name again?’ ‘how do you spell that?’ ‘what does it mean?’ ‘what is that?’ So that being said, Krystin made a simple yet elegant handmade drawing of our name and you will be able to see it in the back of our photos soon. So we had to get a plastic pipe to help hang this thing and we just couldn’t seem to make the time to do it and it was stressing us out. Finally, we paid a runner to go get it. (Did I mention we are musicians?) When we got to the show half of us went on a run around the venue. We’ve been running before every other show (or other other show) for at least 20 minutes. It’s sort of necessary when you are sitting in a van most of the day. Also there is a lot of pseudo-yoga around here. People stretching in half yoga / half improv poses attempting to work out all the knots and avoiding a masseuse (which we can’t afford). You might wonder what we make on a tour like this, but it’s not what you’d think. It is better than a club though, usually. We had a good show. Some friends came out. We met a lot of cool and interesting folks from these parts. I’d say the people were the most personable so far. We brought out some posters and gave them to people who talked to us. The “interesting” people had the most character and were stimulating to talk to. It’s funny the types that come up to the band and talk to them. I feel like there are set types of people and scenarios that always happen. We had fun. We all like the Portland area.

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We took a small interstate highway from Austin to the venue in Houston. It was frustrating because the speed limit would be 65 and sometimes 70 mph and then there would be a long stop light where rural traffic could cross the highway. East Texas is more beautiful then I remember and much more green than I remember. There were nice little ranches with groomed rolling lawns, white wood fences and happy cows under trees. Once in a while we passed a ranch that looked very wealthy. All in all it was actually a nice drive through the countryside but it took a while. The venue was in a yuppie area near a big lake with big houses and new condos surrounded by new malls and complexes. At least it was still sort of in the countryside. Our dressing room was very colorful and comfortable. It had two blue chenille couches that were some of the softest I’ve ever sat on. We had nice big tiled shower and a big TV on the wall. A lot of these big venues have laundry facilities, so we sought them out hoping no one else was in line already. This time they had three machines, one of which had a moldy old towel in it that no one bothered to take out. We were going to, but it smelled too bad so we closed the door (like everyone else whose encountered this stinky machine). Some of the crew was extra nice to us today and it made for a strange show. We were all a little out to lunch during the performance. It could’ve been great or it could’ve been off. We couldn’t tell but we had a good time, I guess. It was nice to be back with the tour. We had 3 or 4 days off and it was starting to feel like it was all over. The people in Houston were great. The audience was very responsive and a lot of fun. After the show more of Scott’s family (if you can believe it) came back. There were 10 or so of them. This kid’s got more family around the country than we do friends. We hung out for the rest of the show and decided to drive straight to Nashville, TN through the night. We stopped to use the restroom at a gas station but they all close their doors at midnight. One of them had a Wendy’s next door. We walked around a little bit and got mad dogged by a couple of guys in the parking lot. In line at the drive-thru, we watched a police car come up and arrest one of the mad doggers. I guess North Houston isn’t the best neighborhood. Artie and Evan (the night crew) plowed into the morning. They had a great drive through New Orleans. On one side of the sky the sun was rising and on the other a full moon. I wish I could’ve seen it (I was sleeping). We stopped by the side of the road in Mississippi to rest for a few before I took over the wheel. Jayson realized he lost his cell phone around 9 in the morning. It must have fallen out the door in one of our late night roadside pee stops. Jayson has never lost a cell phone and was very unhappy about his mistake. He was quiet all morning. I listened to early RCA Elvis for 2 or 3 hours and drove through the rest of Mississippi and into Alabama. Finally we stopped in Birmingham for some food. After a quick try downtown, I drove straight to the university district to find some healthier food. It was a score. We found a healthy grocery store, a smoothie place, a hippie pizza place and some guitar stores. Evan bought a pedal and we played a lot of amps. We stopped by the club we are playing on Monday to say “hi” and check out the venue, and then drove to a hotel in Tennessee after.