I’m going to just finish off the tour blogging at once here, so hold with me or skip around to your cities of choice…this could be a long one.
PHOENIX: Although it was a long drive over to Phoenix for one show, it was definitely worth it. River Jones Music label, a fresh new indie label in Phoenix had contacted me a while back about coming down to do a show in the area. River, the owner of the label helped connect us with the show at Modified Arts and was very hospitable and welcoming to us. It seems like there are some cool things brewing in Phoenix with music. It was great to see a scene that I had never seen before and some new bands outside of my sphere. My favorite band that played with us through the night was called POEM, they had some pretty sweet tunes and even brought in their own upright piano.
On our drive back to LA I swear we passed through the place where they filmed the part of Romeo and Juliet where Leonardo Dicaprio is in the desert at the sketchy trailer park. Talk about beautiful scenery.
COSTA MESA: Back in Orange County country we played a show at the Krochet Kids headquarters. They have a new warehouse space the they operate out of. They even built their fancy new conference/office space area just in time for us to turn it into a stage for the show. Gospel Swamp, some local coffee roasters came out to brew for the crowd and the college kids came in droves! There was probably around 70 kids mingling and having a jolly time throughout the night. They didn’t pay a ton of attention to the actual show, but it was cool to see so much flannel and toms shoes in one room. Scott Ryan also played a set that was really fun and Krochet Kids raffled off a bunch of beanies and shirts to some lucky attendees.
SANTA ANA: Next day I was feeling pretty worn out and under the weather so I slept in and took a nice long nap. It was good preparation for our two sets we had planned in Santa Ana. The first was at this cool art walk and the second was at the Gypsy Den. The first time I was in Orange County, my friend Shannon took me to the Gypsy den and I was in love. It was cool to play there because the atmosphere is so bohemian and cool. There was a mix of people there, some for the show and some who just happened to be eating dinner. A big group, a family or something was in the middle of their meal near the front when we started. I was afraid we would shoo them away with our louder songs, but they really got into it and stayed for the whole show. I love it when that happens. Scott Ryan and his band played at this show with us also, which is always awesome. I never tire of hearing them play.
LOS ANGELES: Sunday was supposed to be our show in Santa Cruz, but it got canceled so we were left to be creative with our day. My dad suggested we get ahold of his friend Deb who helps run a pretty funky church in downtown LA. He thought we might be able to do some music at their Sunday night gathering. They were down, so we stayed an extra day in So-cal and boy were we glad. It ended up being the best night of our tour. We played a short set during the church service, a few of my more contemplative songs and a few hymns and gillian welch spirituals that I jotted down on some notepaper for the band. After the service we had so many requests for more tunes that we played a whole other set.
Those moments in a performance setting where you just know deep down that the words you are singing were cosmically prepared for that exact situation and those exact ears…this felt like one of those moments. We all connected so well with the group of people and felt so welcomed. It was hard to leave not knowing when we would see these new friends again.
SAN FRANCISCO: As you may have noticed in previous blog entries this year, I have made it clear that booking shows in san fran has been the bane of my existence. But for the first time in all my trips to the Bay area, I got connected with a good venue, some rad musicians and got to play in front of a crowd of neat folks. Alana Sveta really made it happen for us and was so welcoming. It’s been awesome to see her play every time I’ve gone to San Francisco and amazing to see how much she’s grown as a songwriter and musician. She’s quite talented and unique. Another amazing little songstress played a solo set before us named Emily (something?). She was a crazy fusion of Marissa Nadler and Devendra Banhart, channeling all of the freak folk movement with her vocal affectations and doing it with natural ease and smart lyrics. She even tasefully covered “Scrubs” by TLC. Total highlight. The show was a great exclamation point at the end of a great tour.
I feel good and satisfied about our shows and the amount of cd’s we got rid of and the amount of money left in the band pot after burning hundreds of gallons of gas into the atmosphere. So, thanks friends, thanks band of beardies, thanks Melani bear for putting up with the hard floors and fast food, and thanks west coast for continuing to prove to me that you are the best place in the world I have explored as a musician thus far. Until next time…
