Oregon, Last Show

Today is the last day of the tour, except for tomorrow which is just a travel day, getting us back home to L.A. We're on highway 58 in Oregon, driving from McMinnville to Klamath Falls. It's so beautiful. It's sunny and warm and dry, and we get to spend hours driving through central Oregon, not on I-5 but the smaller roads, which takes us through many small towns, farmlands, easy hills and forrest. We drive by rivers and lakes and trailer park homes. Today we even - this is a first - had to ferry across a river! Hilarious. I have strong memories of this environment from my childhood. My family took a road trip from LA to Canada when I was in elementary school. And in the sixth grade, I did my state report on Oregon.

Where am I? I am in Seattle.

It seems as though, at about day 30, I lost track of my life and stopped blogging. From what I remember, I had a series of days (which seemed to extend to weeks) that took me away from my computer for one reason or another, and then I just got out of the blogging habit. I had a string of long and draining show days: I was either doing a show, driving, or trying to catch up on sleep. At the same time as all this, I reached a point of feeling really burnt out and tired of being on the road. I started to become irritable and I noticed that the whole band was becoming more moody. It makes sense, a month is a long time to be connected at the hip. I definitely reached some sort of tipping point, like my organization and habits all went out the window. My personal belongings - all stored in various bags, suitcases, bins - became scattered and disorganized, I lost track of what day and date it was, a couple of times for a split second I actually didn't know where I was.

Currently, I am in Seattle. Today we were supposed to play at a college just outside Portland but they canceled. I desperately need the day off, I have a long list of things to catch up on. I have three shows left, one in Washington and two in Oregon. I'll be home in L.A. in less than a week.

Walla Walla

Time off between Caldwell, ID (Boise) and Spokane. So we decided to spend it in Walla Walla. Ate dinner tonight at T. Maccarone's. Excellent Italian owned by a fabulous gay man.

Day 29: Tattoo

Matt's birthday tattoo. It says "Know Thyself" in Greek.

Photos from Willy P. mini-tour

Three days of rehearsals.

My sitar / toy piano corner. Willy asked me to play toy piano on one song, and it's the exact same toy piano I had as a little kid, which I still have at home.

Radio appearance on the local public station WUWM.
The next day, a live performance on the TV morning show "Morning Blend"

Our first time on TV.

The Hyatt in Milwaukee.

Soundcheck at The Pabst.

During the soundcheck at Martyr's in Chicago, I discovered this feather (about eight inches long) inside my pant leg along the seam near my calf. So strange! I can't figure out where it came from and how it got in my pants.

Onstage at Martyr's

The Apple Store in Chicago - awkward and corporate-y but kind of cool too.

NYC PHOTOS 3/3: People (for the most part)

Post-outdoor movie, trying to get a cab.

There was a third guy in the same outfit on the other side of the tree but you can't see him in this picture.

The same place with the pickle bowl which I can never remember the name of.


He drew me a map of how to get to the Williamsburg Bridge from where we were: Egg.
Baby Fuad.

Ruba and bread at Rockland Bakery.

Nigel

The best bathroom wall graffiti I've ever seen.

Day 28: Day off in Coeur D'Alene, ID

So needing a day off! Today I get to catch up with laundry, email, post office, fixing my blog entries, sykpeing to Kuwait, and even getting in a work out. All in a nice new Hampton Inn, in the setting of beautiful resort town Coeur D'Alene. It's gorgeous today although looks like a thunderstorn may be pending. And right across the street - a gold mine: Starbucks, a movie theater, and a Red Robin! There are actually good places to eat and real places to get coffee but it still feels like a boon to have these nearby, as opposed to a Waffle House and Subway.

Last night's show at North Idaho College was really good. We played in the gym and a bunch of people from the community showed up, not just students. Also a lot of people who saw us play in Spokane with Sara in the fall.

Day 27: Coeur D' Alene, ID

Early mornings and long hours of driving every day. It's hard to ever
feel rested although doing better now. Monday was brutal. I was so
tired and had to be on for so long, I think I lost my mind a little.

Today is Matt's birthday. I have tomorrow off - very, very happy about
that.

Day 26: Billings, MT

Rocky Mountain College. We played at a coffee shop, sponsored and paid for by the school. They took us out to dinner at a Mexican restaurant afterwards.

Day 25: Sioux Falls, SD

Left Madison at 1:30am and drove all the way to Sioux Falls, 7 hours. Now at the hotel with three hours downtime before heading to the college. The school has hired a professional video crew to film our performance and hopefully create a live DVD item we can sell. Not a good idea to not have good sleep before being filmed but oh well! We just have to make the best of it. We're beyond exhausted.

The show in Madison was my best of the three shows with Willy, because I finally got to a point of feeling really confident about what I was playing. Confident enough to take a sitar solo during Willy's song "Mystery." When he threw it to me, I shook my head no, and then I did it anyway and it was great. I was hesitant because the song is in a key that's a half step higher than how my sitar is tuned, and I just don't know where all the notes are that would work. I had a few though, and decided to just go for it. And afterwards there were tons of complements. That was a breakthrough for me because I struggle with feeling musically incompetent. It was really really good to finish the mini tour this way. I wish we had more shows together so I could continue to be pushed and continue growing. The band, all nine of us, achieved a perfect balance of knowing the music and knowing what to do but also being open to improvised moments, and a certain amount of looseness that made it all very live. It's like, more rehearsals would have killed the excitement.

Day 24: Madison, WI

Tonight our last show with Willy. Sad times, the band is so good together. We're at the Majestic Theater, a half a block from the state capitol building. Tonight Jason's playing at a huge arena in town, about three miles away. At one point our show was going to be cancelled because a local promoter was worried about the two shows competing. We're on at the same time but planning to meet up with J and Tricia after. Everything we're doing with Willy - touring and being his backup band, and recording our voices, cello an sitar on his record - is originally what Jason said he wanted to do with us. They both had a similar vision of collaborating with us, and while we did do a lot of songwriting with Jason (which we haven't done with Willy yet), it's all happening with Willy.

First time on TV

Today we played a morning show in Milwaukee, "Morning Blend." It was our first time on TV! We played backup band for Willy on two of his songs, in between segments about cat adoption and gardening. Real cats! Very fun. We've done radio appearances for the past two days, first the local public radio station and then a rock station. I've gotten used to early mornings!

Tonight we play the Pabst Theater, one of the best venues around. Have I mentioned that too much yet? We open with a 45-minute set and then we join Willy on his set. It's going to be a long day and a long, glorious night.

NYC PHOTOS 2/3: Food

Pickles at Spitzer's

Gnudi from Spotted Pig
Bacon wrapped prune wrapped poached pear at Spotted Pig
Ramps at Diner
2pm Manhattan at Harlow & Sons
Rockland Bakery
Bagel closeup
Bagel birth
Baguette in the gutter outside of Rockland Bakery

NYC PHOTOS 1/3: Walk Across Williamsburg Bridge

Day 20: Milwaukee's where I found it

A few days in Milwaukee to rehearse with Willy P. and then play the Pabst (one of the greatest venues I've ever played) for his cd release party. This might be the coolest and most soul-feeding thing I've ever done. Willy P. is one of my musical heroes; I've been a fan for ten years. His level of musicianship and artistry is stimulating and inspirational but also very challenging. I'm blown away that I get to do this.

Milwaukee is a great city. Eat at the Bean and Barley, Public Market, Waterfront Deli. Drink at the Swinging Door and Spy Bar. See music at the Pabst Theater. That's only the little that I know so I'm sure there's tons more. Beer, cheese, meat. Good times.

Day 18: Chicago for four hours

Really Chicago for 21 hours, but four hours of free time. So far this has been the only way I've experienced this great city. I took a walk down to the aquarium and platenarium. Didn't go inside, just enjoyed walking and the nice weather.

Day 17: Sturgis, MI

Today I mindlessly checked out in the van for hours and hours as we drove from Nanuet, NY towards Chicago. My day actually began in Brooklyn. I stayed at Ben's. In the morning I took two trains to Penn Station, then due to a change of plans beyond my control, I had to take two more trains to Grand Central. Then I took an actual railway to Tarrytown, where Ruba picked me and Mona up to go back to Nanuet. We got in the van and started the 16-ish hour drive to Chicago and I fell asleep in a hot sweat (because it was a hot day) before we reached the freeway. I took a driving shift going west on I-80 for a few hours, taking us from Pennsylvania into Ohio. After that I read a pretty but poorly edited magazine called "Diner Journal" which is related to the yummy spot I ate at yesterday called Diner, then watched The Godfather. We've been checked in to our hotel for a couple hours now and I only just realized that we're in Michigan. Sturgis, MI. I generally am aware of where I am and what day it is, etc. But once in a while I let go of being in touch with that sort of information and I do feel a kind of addictive sense of freedom from it. I love that about what I do but it doesn't seem sustainable either.

I have tons of pictures of all the food I ate in NYC that I'll post asap!

Day 16: more food

*Diner (and the place next door which I can remember the name of)

Midnight Moon cheese

Beer place with amazing sausage, sourkraut, mustard, fries plate.

*Photo updates coming soon

Day 14: nyc food

Egg: breakfast in Williamsburg. Very good but kale too salty and bad service. Loved the candied grapefruit and the candied bacon.

Spotted Pig: dinner west village. Awesome food and ambiance but overall the meal was too heavy and rich. We overordered, and had too many intense flavors. Again sensitive to salt level. Very good wine pairing. Definitely would go back, order lighter. I took pictures of all the food which I may post later. I've eaten pickles at three meals since I've been here, and today ate bacon at every meal. So oversaturated with fat and salt.

Momofuku Milk Bar: dessert. Amazing cookies. Soft serve not like ice cream, more like a rich frosting. Had a few bites of the chocolate donut soft serve and threw the rest away. Not really into it. Cookies would be even better with milk, which I didn't try but they offer a few different flavors of. Infused milk I guess.

Tomorrow we're supposed to try to be healthy.

Day 15: New York City part I

Being in NYC is totally amazing as always. So many reasons why. Not sure if the allure would remain if I actually lived here. Which has been a topic of the day, I guess because Ben lives here, it's a natural question. It is tempting to move here but i think that's one fantasy that might serve it's true purpose by never coming true. The tension of blowing in for a few days and then leaving wanting more is kind of nice. I would hate to ruin that.

Day 13: Fairy Houses

A day off in Portland. We stay at a home in gorgeous Cape Elizabeth. Today ventured out to a nearby tiny island (can't remember the name). All that's on the island is a school for the deaf, some walking trails and beaches, trees, and a community of fairy houses. There's an area of the woods where people go and (kids and adults) build miniature homes for fairies using anything found in nature: sticks, leaves, branches, shells, feathers, rocks. This patch of woods is incredible! Little homes everywhere! There must have been a hundred of them. Some a haphazard pile of wood, others meticulous, artistic, adorable. Here are a few:

Day 12: Portland, ME

This is a picture of the inside of one of my favorite places to play, in one of my favorite cities to visit. The North Star Music Cafe, in Portland, Maine. Vanessa T. on stage opening the show.

New York Times April 16-30, 1949

You never know what you might find in the lobby of the Comfort Inn, Berlin, VT...


"News of Food" who thought of that?
Less irritating. Definitely less irritating.
See how many names of amazing actors you can find in the showbiz ads above. Technicolor was such a big deal.
It's totally like Mad Men!
And my favorite. Why is Spokane on there?

Day 11: Pirates / Vermont / I'm Tired

Once in a while, our path will cross with the headline news of the day. For instance, we were in Massachusetts when the Red Sox won the world series and John Kerry lost the election to George W. Bush. In case you don't remember, those two events happened very close to one another. Sort of bittersweet and extremely emotional particularly for MA, kind of like when Obama won and California passed prop 8. (I think my dad might have actually framed the L.A. Times front page from that day if it weren't for the part about prop 8. Both news items made the front page in very big letters). Today while I was driving us through Vermont to our next show in Vermont, I listened to NPR and their story was that the captain that was saved from from Somali pirates had just returned home - to Vermont!

And today was rough because I was really tired. And like every show day, I had to load in and set up and play a show and be social and act friendly and nice and break down and pack up and load out. But I'm finding it harder and harder to do it while tired. I used to be able to make it through and ride the exhaustion. Now I just go directly to extremely irritable. It's not fun. And I'm tired because the schedule is so wacky. Sleep happens and odd times and in patches. It's all a catchup game. I think I'm getting old.

Day 10: spring fever

This time of year is the ugliest. The whole country is brown. Every tree, shrub, blade of grass is grey-brown, stiff and lifeless. Mile after mile after mile after mile. Spring hasn't quite sprung. But the sun is out and it's starting to be warm. Tanktops and flip flops are dusted off. The college students are equally unattractive. Pale from the winter but freshly, awkwardly blotchy red from the first burn. Put them under flourescent lights and it's a horrific scene.

Day 9: Driving and Babeville

Driving day: Ohio near Cleveland to Easton, MA. And we stopped in Buffalo for a meal (Merge - a delicious veggie friendly restaurant downtown on Delaware St.), and a quick visit to Babeville. Babeville is an old church converted into a music and arts venue, and headquarters of Righteous Babe Records, Ani DiFranco's label. Kind of a Mecca of sorts for us.

Day 8: the old lady who checked us in

Last night I checked us in to a Hampton Inn outside of Minneapolis at about 1am. Every so often, the person working at the front desk will become inquisitive, ask where we're from, why we're in town, etc. This leads to a conversation about the band and further questions. On this particular night, none of this questioning occurred. I didn't tell her we're a band. The only clue "Sherry" had as to our identity was the business name on the credit card. She must have googled it and done further research because in the morning, we found this note slipped under the door.