These guys, am i right? Zach Ryan Parkman and Juels Bland performing at Teavolve in Baltimore, MD.
Sunday June 4th found us all getting to go out and SEE a show for a change – and we went and caught Kipyn Martin (one of my favourite voices) coupled with David Glaser (one of my favourite guitarists) at Awkward Pause House Concerts in Baltimore, MD. Here we all are posing with ducks. Cause ducks. It was a great show surprisingly ended out with a Foo Fighters cover. Because I Love these guys.
I-70. Again. I Love this road. It’s a symbol of freedom. I’ve written about it before. From here if we drove to visit Heather where she’s competing in Telluride, CO right about… now?… we wouldn’t have to take an exit for another 30 hours – almost 1800 miles of this highway. We’re connected.
Meep! The Excorcist Stairs – wandering Georgetown we realized that very fit people run u[ and down these stairs. We are aware that this would kill us.Wandering around Georgetown before our show at Gypsy Sally’s Vinyl Lounge (Washington DC) Heather and I were greeted by this warning. We figure the writer has mayhaps not been to Baltimore.
It’s weird to have shoved Joey in the backseat for this trip but I’m excited about it. Strange to be learning about someone else’s road habits, how to get them moving, what sets them off. Of course, we’re less than an hour into the drive and with only 5 days before we pick up Heather in Saint Louis and fly Joey back to DC we won’t REALLY dive too deep into those things, but it’s a first step.
People at Teavolve were expressing their pride in me that I was “really doing it” and reminding me that I really haven’t been on the road much recently – it’s frustrating to realize that my self hasn’t been Living up to my self-definition recently – so much so that people are acting like it’s special that I’m on the road. It IS special… but I realize suddenly how much it’s not been part of my Life recently and I hate that.
No matter – Heather’s quit her hateful position in the Baltimore school system, we’re on the road and rolling – and maybe, just maybe – things will feel “right” again soon. It’s been two years of question marks and worrying about work schedules. Ironically, with the elimination of that stability, maybe we can feel stable.
Greetings from I-70. Glad to be able to say that.
A quick run North finds us spending way too much time in a car on I-95 – but we’re rewarded with a great show at starlite gallery in Southbridge, MA on June 9th. Great room – fun gig.Hee! MERCH MAN! We’ve got t-shirts and pins and CDs oh my.Waking up in Putnam, CT, watching Dave’s dog vomit pebbles, catching caterpillars – it’s a good morning (ready for Particle Accelerator on Saturday June 10th…)Truth! Putnam, CT – 74 degrees and sunny for Particle Accelerator 11!We’ve always been impressed by the way Victoria Station Cafe levels up every time we come to town. This time its focaccia. Amazing focaccia.Particle Accelerator in Putnam, CT has moved up to Main Street! And we’re finally not driving up day-of so I got to go down and catch other friends – like Joe’s band – which I’ve never seen Live, only as a solo act! June 10th, 2017 at Particle Accelerator 11.The stunning African (Senagalese?) act Mamadou on stage at Particle Accelerator on June 10th, 2017. Great percussion, great jam.Shane Hall giving some locals a definite WTF moment at Particle Accelerator 11 in Putnam, CT on June 10th, 2017. He’s a really great hip hop artist – but anyone who doesn’t know what’s happening to them has got to be somewhat unnerved by being approached by a rapping monk.Particle Accelerator celebrates all SORTS of different arts and between ilyAIMY and solo sing songwriters and Papa Joe DeMaio’s rock band there are metal acts and hip hop. It’s a pretty broad community centred on suicide prevention and the celebration of Life. In between musical sets there were bike stunts and joyous chaos. Dude… just DON’T get between the CONES! (June 10th, 2017)It is indeed time for us to celebrate the Pork Tower. For dinner between our appearance at Particle Accelerator and playing at Victoria Station in Putnam, CT – Dave (VSC’s owner) took us all out to dinner at the Italian restaurant that now occupies what was once the space of the original Victoria Station Cafe). It was somewhat strange to sit where we’d once first met this whole crew surrounded by the smells of tomato sauces and wines rather than coffees and pastries – but the pork tower was delicious and mighty to behold.ily-Selfie in preparation for the day in Putnam, CT. I’m wearing a Muppet shirt specifically to honour our good friend Russ Minneau who is so integral the music scene up here. We’re sad that this will be our first Particle Accelerator without the sound ministrations of Uncle Al – who died of cancer this past year – Life is long and time is fleeting… and though our hearts both stout and brave… etc.Heather taking a solo moment on the stage at Victoria Station Cafe on June 10th, 2017 in Putnam, CT. Playing to a great crowd after a crowded day – I Love this place.Faerie doors all over Putnam, CT – Statler and Waldorf watching Guardians of the Galaxy in a TARDIS. Now THAT’S a damned faerie door!!!!The Tappan Zee Bridge continues apace. It’s just getting bigger and bigger!Wednesday June 14th saw Rowan and I checking out the Gypsy Sally’s open mic in Washington DC. It was a brutal drive into the city, and weirdly, stuck in traffic I looked up in my rearview mirror thinking “will I EVER get there?!?” and realized my friend Ray was sitting behind me! When I’d finally hooked up with Rowan we realized there wasn’t THAT much going on, but it was good to hang out and play a couple of tunes and generally blow some minds… above: the owner of the bar playing cajon with one of the performers.Packing our drummer Joey in the car gives a welcome jolt of enthusiasm as we depart from Baltimore on Thursday, June 15th. He’s good at this car selfie game!Sigh – this sort of bullshit terrifies me… unless the interior says “…. are completely unrelated” and then has a lot of other nonsensical partnering like “fish in the desert” and “rob and sports ball” it really should only be allowed in bookstores with a clearly demarked “children’s fiction” section.
