Location: Lawrenceville, GA (The Singing Bean)
Date: Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Time: 2:13 pm
Here's the second part of the synopsis of our past week.
Part 2 (of 2)
3.6 Lynchburg, VA - Chattanooga, TN
We made sure to leave the "vacant" apartment as soon as we woke up. We took to the highway only to shortly pull off for a more than decent breakfast at The Koffee Kup. I was a little surprised it was not The Kind Koffee Kup, konsidering we were in Lynchburg. But that was in poor taste, so I apologize. And we did have a nice meal. We all got the same thing. Lew and Mike with the bacon. Peri minus the meat. I with the bologna and a side of gravy to share with Lew.
Peri had brought up a couple days before then that, "three weeks ago today we embarked on this tour." We all gave a hearty, 'good call.' It was during this breakfast that we did a mid-point retrospect. Best shows? Jamestown, Northampton, Allston, Baltimore/DC. Best food? Cheesesteaks and veggie chicken cheesesteaks with Kam and Lindsay in Philadelphia. Also Curtis's comfort food. Actually, Amy's Place. Amy's Place.
The seven hour drive went by surprisingly fast, we all agreed.
Chattanooga was a treat. Our contact was Cole, who we got hooked up with through Will Staler. By flabbergasting coincidence, Cole's live-in girlfriend was the same daughter that was talked of a couple of weeks before tour. Upon a routine visit to the Monroe County Public Library I was speaking with long time known librarian Mark Blackwell. He's a fellow musician and was wondering where the tour was taking us. I told him Chattanooga and he let me know his daughter lived there and he'd give her a heads up. So when we first met up with Cole at his house he told us he lived there with his girlfriend, Emmy. "Emmy Blackwell. You might know her father, Mark Blackwell." I let out an audible, "Shit!" I was amazed that we managed to end up at her place, staying with her for a night. Emmy has become a librarian as well, which I think is a great line to continue in.
We played at Sluggo's North where we kindly met Daniel, a dead ringer for Piper, of Bloomington. This warmed the cockles of his heart. She lived in Chattanooga at one time and they were good buds, so he used to get this a lot.
3.7 Chattanooga, TN - Auburn, AL
We rode the carousel and made a movie. They rode electric bikes and we twisted. We went to Candyland and compared pizzas. Lupi's won by a long shot. But at Pisa we discovered pesto and pineapple to be delicious. Cole knew it all along. We got books on CD, now on iPod, from Emmy from her library. Marian McPartland's Jazz World and Born Standing Up, written by Steve Martin and read by the author. We've started that one and it's real good. We finished everything off with a quality trip to Big Lots. We got Dave Chapelle's Block Party, Rock The Bells, and Volumes 1 & 2 of Spin City ($12), 4 6-packs of Roxanne water ($3.52), a metal bottle ($4), and a spindle of 10 blank CD-Rs ($3). Thank someone for Big Lots!
3.8 Auburn, AL
Oh, the time we had in Alabama with Ms. Laura Walter. What didn't we do? We had a real nice, leasure walking tour of the campus, provided by Laura. We got some apple fritters from Daylight Donuts. We looked at the lemonade in Toomer's Drug Store. We got the hook up at Moe's. And we played to all of Laura's super friendly friends at Momma G's. A good day indeed.
Oh, and of course the traditional Walter-guided sex shop tour.
3.9 Auburn, AL - Decatur, GA
Mexican food was followed by more button making. That was fun. And more than one person was amazed. Laura left us for work and we left for Atlanta. Or Decatur specifically. Before the show, we did some interneting at a cafe. We were followed back to our car by a man who told us, "the women behind the counter thought you took a CD (which were for sale)." I then produced a flyer from my pocket as proof of my innocence. The man then apologized and walked off. What a sucker. He should've checked all my pockets.
The show was at the Cat Cave. We played in the basement. People were jazzed. We drove to Lawrenceville where we stayed with Brandon and Matt. Both very nice folks. They gave us a great place to sleep and set us up with a bunch of food. We appreciated it all.
And now you're caught up. Let's see if we can keep up.
Editor's Note: I haven't quite kept up, but I'm continually sort of trying/ consistently thinking about. Stay tuned in!?!
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Late Update
Location: Auburn, AL (Laura's apartment)
Date: Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Time: 11:46 am
I know, I know. It's been a week. Here's a synopsis to catch you up:
Part 1 (of 2)
3.1 Cliff Wood, NJ - Baltimore, MD
After a night of really stand-up punk rock provided by Disaster Us, we were guided to Liberty Bagel in Newark. Delicious bagels is what we had. It reminded of days when my family would make the trek to visit Uncle Johnny and Joyce and George. I was wrapped in nostalgia. I kick myself for not demanding we get a pizza before we took off. We did get a half dozen bagels (half onion/half everything) that didn't hold up so well. But toasting cures all.
That night we played a super show at Charm City Art Space. Izzy, of Izzy Jarvis fame, put together the show for us. It marked the first time we shared a bill with Spoonboy, who is a tremendous artist and a great individual. The after party had us playing an advanced version of cartoon quick draw where the character's original image is never seen and you vote for the best and worst drawings. Then the drawer of the best likeness of the character tattoos, in permanent marker, the worst likeness on the person that drew it. We got some sweet tats thanks to Patrick.
TAT PHOTO
3.2 Baltimore, MD - Washington, DC
In the morning we just hung out at Jack, Patrick, and Randi's. We got to see the glory that is Patrick's collection of jawesome stuff.
PHOTO
This included a mass of toys from my childhood, neato cereal boxes, and a few random masks, including one of Ed Grimley, Jr.
PHOTO
We headed to Washington, DC to meet up with Emily Roberts, hometown hero. We were sans a Peri since she was off visiting her beau in NYC. Took one of them new-fangled Bolt Buses with the power outlets and TV screens and why fy?. Emily made us a fantastic veggie General Taos chicken with brocolli and asparagus, two of my favorites. We had this dinner with three of Emily's buddies and eventually Cat, one of Emily's housemates. I found out that Cat is a big fan of bluegrass and plays the fiddle and guitar herself. It was a shame that she fell under the weather and couldn't see us play at the Dollhouse.
3.3 Washington, DC
I treated myself right by showering and doing laundry while Lew, Mike, and Emily checked out the White House, the Washington Monument, and the Lincoln Memorial. Emily snapped some sweet pics and Lew got me a sweet button.
PHOTO
They all met up with Peri at her bus stop and then I met up with them and then we all met up with David "Spooby" Combs. He took us to a tasty tasty falafel joint, Amsterdam Falafel. They only sell falafel and fries, with good reason. That is all they need to offer. Nothing could be as delicious.
We all ended up at the Dollhouse where we shared a bill with Spoonboy for the second time. The show was just as David described it. There was a receptive, appreciative audience and it was a delightful house. We had a heap of fun.
We capped everything off with a late night visit to Ben's Chili Bowl, where we had chili fries prepared two ways. Lew, Mike, and I shared chili cheese fries, delectable, and David shared with us his special concoction, which is the vegan chili fries with generous amounts of ketchup and hot sauce, which is a strange, lovely dish. We got one more chance to socialize with Jack, Patrick and Izzy. They came down to the show and then beat us to Ben's. It was a real pleasure. Patrick told us he's a big fan of Chattanooga and said there is a cooler than cool candy shop there.
3.4 Washington, DC - Richmond, VA
We started the day with a beautifully prepared breakfast from David, Christine and Phil at their house. Pancakes, potatoes, and soysage comprised the morning meal. Phil let us know that the people in Klessa, when he was in New Paltz, "invented" Silver Double Stuff Pancakes for him, too. What a bunch of no-goodnicks, those crumb-bummin' hosers. Two nights before then Mike, Lew, and I played Bananagrams for the first time. The game is enjoyable. Christine is too good and therefore won numerous times.
Eventually we said our goodbyes to Emily. We were off to Richmond, VA to spend some quality time with our aquaintances in The Great White Jenkins. We got down to the city and made a major journey for some grub. We were in search of soup, first and foremost, since Peri had developed a cold thing. We found an abundance of quality premade food at Ellwood Thompson's. Search for the "roll" when you're there. It's a lotta sandwich for only a three dollars. Cheap.
We retreated to the house to eat our goods. Just as we were waiting for Antiques Roadshow to begin (Peri's never seen an episode?!) Pinson came through the door. He's a slender, dark haired, dark- dark-auburn bearded, bespectacled gentleman. If you can imagine that lead from the first season of Lost with an illustrious beard and glasses, you'd have Pinson. Anyways, we all caught up since the last time we had seen each other, which was at a Russian Recording studio show in July. We found out that Pinson and Matt's main focus for the past nine months or so has been their structured free jazz band, Fight the Big Bull. They are a delight to listen to. Seek them out if you can. Lew said, at least of the recording, that they're the best modern big band that he's heard. I say they use hand claps exceptionally well.
About an hour into our hang session, Matt showed up and turn it into a recording session. He's been recording various friends of his in his attic for a while now and has a sweet set-up for it. He has a current track that needed background vocals so he enlisted our help. We gladly obliged him and it was a hoot. Lew, Mike, and I did a bunch of three-part work and I would say produced some entertaining stuff. It marked Mike's entrance into recorded vocals. He seemed to enjoy it thoroughly. ARTIST'S NAME?
PHOTO from PINSON?
3.5 Richmond, VA - Lynchburg, VA
Matt had to drive off to North Carolina to see his brother so it was just Pinson, Andy and us for lunch. Yes, Andy of Andy Jenkins of The Great White Jenkins. We ate great vegetarian sandwiches and vegan salads at Ipanema. I had the ceasar salad with grilled tofu. It far surpassed it's reputation. We traded tour experiences. We told them about Lewis's guitar battle in Austin at the Blind Pig. Andy gave us a loaf of bread. We bidded each other a kind farewell.
Lynchburg greeted us with free food which can always be nice. We listened to Bobby St. Ours at the Starlight Cafe until we took the stage. One table in particular was smitten with us. We heard that our contact for the show had a friend who owned a vacant apartment building that we could stay in. The apartment building (we entered through the back fire escape) did have heat and running water and some electricity. But when we walked in we were 'welcomed' by a woman who seemed to be unbalanced. She was insisting that you don't need to buy the cheap toilet paper but instead the generic cheap toilet paper. The not Scott-brand TP. "it will rub you raw but you can just put some salve on down there." Mike countered with, "But you have to pay for the salve. Either way you're paying." She could not pay attention to this. We were then offered beer and weed. We passed on both and instead, went to bed. They warned us to not let in the young, beer clad men who were living above the room we were staying in; for once they got in they'd be stirring up a raucous all night. We woke to find our contact not sleeping around us. Peri says, "No where to be found." This was strange considering her sleeping accoutrement was still untouched from where she had placed it the night before. And then we saw her car was gone. So hopefully, after attending the bonfire, she had the right sense to get a hotel. But who knows.
Date: Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Time: 11:46 am
I know, I know. It's been a week. Here's a synopsis to catch you up:
Part 1 (of 2)
3.1 Cliff Wood, NJ - Baltimore, MD
After a night of really stand-up punk rock provided by Disaster Us, we were guided to Liberty Bagel in Newark. Delicious bagels is what we had. It reminded of days when my family would make the trek to visit Uncle Johnny and Joyce and George. I was wrapped in nostalgia. I kick myself for not demanding we get a pizza before we took off. We did get a half dozen bagels (half onion/half everything) that didn't hold up so well. But toasting cures all.
That night we played a super show at Charm City Art Space. Izzy, of Izzy Jarvis fame, put together the show for us. It marked the first time we shared a bill with Spoonboy, who is a tremendous artist and a great individual. The after party had us playing an advanced version of cartoon quick draw where the character's original image is never seen and you vote for the best and worst drawings. Then the drawer of the best likeness of the character tattoos, in permanent marker, the worst likeness on the person that drew it. We got some sweet tats thanks to Patrick.
TAT PHOTO
3.2 Baltimore, MD - Washington, DC
In the morning we just hung out at Jack, Patrick, and Randi's. We got to see the glory that is Patrick's collection of jawesome stuff.
PHOTO
This included a mass of toys from my childhood, neato cereal boxes, and a few random masks, including one of Ed Grimley, Jr.
PHOTO
We headed to Washington, DC to meet up with Emily Roberts, hometown hero. We were sans a Peri since she was off visiting her beau in NYC. Took one of them new-fangled Bolt Buses with the power outlets and TV screens and why fy?. Emily made us a fantastic veggie General Taos chicken with brocolli and asparagus, two of my favorites. We had this dinner with three of Emily's buddies and eventually Cat, one of Emily's housemates. I found out that Cat is a big fan of bluegrass and plays the fiddle and guitar herself. It was a shame that she fell under the weather and couldn't see us play at the Dollhouse.
3.3 Washington, DC
I treated myself right by showering and doing laundry while Lew, Mike, and Emily checked out the White House, the Washington Monument, and the Lincoln Memorial. Emily snapped some sweet pics and Lew got me a sweet button.
PHOTO
They all met up with Peri at her bus stop and then I met up with them and then we all met up with David "Spooby" Combs. He took us to a tasty tasty falafel joint, Amsterdam Falafel. They only sell falafel and fries, with good reason. That is all they need to offer. Nothing could be as delicious.
We all ended up at the Dollhouse where we shared a bill with Spoonboy for the second time. The show was just as David described it. There was a receptive, appreciative audience and it was a delightful house. We had a heap of fun.
We capped everything off with a late night visit to Ben's Chili Bowl, where we had chili fries prepared two ways. Lew, Mike, and I shared chili cheese fries, delectable, and David shared with us his special concoction, which is the vegan chili fries with generous amounts of ketchup and hot sauce, which is a strange, lovely dish. We got one more chance to socialize with Jack, Patrick and Izzy. They came down to the show and then beat us to Ben's. It was a real pleasure. Patrick told us he's a big fan of Chattanooga and said there is a cooler than cool candy shop there.
3.4 Washington, DC - Richmond, VA
We started the day with a beautifully prepared breakfast from David, Christine and Phil at their house. Pancakes, potatoes, and soysage comprised the morning meal. Phil let us know that the people in Klessa, when he was in New Paltz, "invented" Silver Double Stuff Pancakes for him, too. What a bunch of no-goodnicks, those crumb-bummin' hosers. Two nights before then Mike, Lew, and I played Bananagrams for the first time. The game is enjoyable. Christine is too good and therefore won numerous times.
Eventually we said our goodbyes to Emily. We were off to Richmond, VA to spend some quality time with our aquaintances in The Great White Jenkins. We got down to the city and made a major journey for some grub. We were in search of soup, first and foremost, since Peri had developed a cold thing. We found an abundance of quality premade food at Ellwood Thompson's. Search for the "roll" when you're there. It's a lotta sandwich for only a three dollars. Cheap.
We retreated to the house to eat our goods. Just as we were waiting for Antiques Roadshow to begin (Peri's never seen an episode?!) Pinson came through the door. He's a slender, dark haired, dark- dark-auburn bearded, bespectacled gentleman. If you can imagine that lead from the first season of Lost with an illustrious beard and glasses, you'd have Pinson. Anyways, we all caught up since the last time we had seen each other, which was at a Russian Recording studio show in July. We found out that Pinson and Matt's main focus for the past nine months or so has been their structured free jazz band, Fight the Big Bull. They are a delight to listen to. Seek them out if you can. Lew said, at least of the recording, that they're the best modern big band that he's heard. I say they use hand claps exceptionally well.
About an hour into our hang session, Matt showed up and turn it into a recording session. He's been recording various friends of his in his attic for a while now and has a sweet set-up for it. He has a current track that needed background vocals so he enlisted our help. We gladly obliged him and it was a hoot. Lew, Mike, and I did a bunch of three-part work and I would say produced some entertaining stuff. It marked Mike's entrance into recorded vocals. He seemed to enjoy it thoroughly. ARTIST'S NAME?
PHOTO from PINSON?
3.5 Richmond, VA - Lynchburg, VA
Matt had to drive off to North Carolina to see his brother so it was just Pinson, Andy and us for lunch. Yes, Andy of Andy Jenkins of The Great White Jenkins. We ate great vegetarian sandwiches and vegan salads at Ipanema. I had the ceasar salad with grilled tofu. It far surpassed it's reputation. We traded tour experiences. We told them about Lewis's guitar battle in Austin at the Blind Pig. Andy gave us a loaf of bread. We bidded each other a kind farewell.
Lynchburg greeted us with free food which can always be nice. We listened to Bobby St. Ours at the Starlight Cafe until we took the stage. One table in particular was smitten with us. We heard that our contact for the show had a friend who owned a vacant apartment building that we could stay in. The apartment building (we entered through the back fire escape) did have heat and running water and some electricity. But when we walked in we were 'welcomed' by a woman who seemed to be unbalanced. She was insisting that you don't need to buy the cheap toilet paper but instead the generic cheap toilet paper. The not Scott-brand TP. "it will rub you raw but you can just put some salve on down there." Mike countered with, "But you have to pay for the salve. Either way you're paying." She could not pay attention to this. We were then offered beer and weed. We passed on both and instead, went to bed. They warned us to not let in the young, beer clad men who were living above the room we were staying in; for once they got in they'd be stirring up a raucous all night. We woke to find our contact not sleeping around us. Peri says, "No where to be found." This was strange considering her sleeping accoutrement was still untouched from where she had placed it the night before. And then we saw her car was gone. So hopefully, after attending the bonfire, she had the right sense to get a hotel. But who knows.
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