Day Thirteen Goodendum

I’m sitting inside the Gramophone In St. Louis right now, enjoying some great rock music and some, well, disgusting absynth. I mean, I really really want to drink it, but it tastes like black licorice and I hate black licorice. I am eager to find out how it affects me, but I’m such a seasoned drinker, we’ll just have to see. We’re also trying to drive tonight, so we have to be extra careful. Idunno, I don’t feel like being careful. Curtis drank his like a shot, so he’s down for the count already. Rachel may have to drive tonight.

Is it too Ernest Hemmingway of me to write while drinking this disgusting concoction? Mine’s mixed with champagne and I can still barely manage to allow it past my teeth. Indulge me…

As bizarre and tumultuous as this tour has been, I’m really sad that it’s over. I feel a real connection with the boys in The Story Changes. I love traveling. And now I regret that I spent so much time moping and not enjoying the sights and opportunities that this tour has offered. Wait, that’s not really true. I really have enjoyed the tour. Being in some great towns, meeting some great people, I hate to think that what I’ve expressed here might be interpreted as indicative of my general feelings while ON tour. I think I’ve already said that day to day, I’ve shared my more positive feelings. It’s mostly on this blog that I’ve revealed the more potentially sad sides of my perspective. That’s kind of what this blog has been for.

Idunno. The show is over now, so I need to get to work. Let’s just say that I have a choice as to how I want to look at this stuff. For now I’m choosing the positive.

Day Thirteen

^Kansas City^

For the first time on tour, I woke up to an overheated van. It was only 50 degrees outside, but it was the first time there was enough sun to actually make a difference. And within two hours, it’s already raining again. I really hope it’s warm when I get home. I’m looking forward to seeing my puppies. I look forward to hanging out with friends.

We were kinda holding out for a last minute show in Knoxville, and I guess if we were to pursue it, there might be a chance that we could play. But then we heard a few days ago that there was a giant landslide in western NC and that I-40 is closed for a good while. We checked out the details of the detour and they look painful. So we decided to skip Knoxville altogether and make road for home after the show tonight.



This development pleases me greatly! It’s about 12 hours from St. Louis to our beds, and if we knock out a few hours tonight, we can get home tomorrow with enough time for me to hit up trivia with this kickass mustache. It goes away Thursday morning, so I have to enjoy it while I can.

Thursday is crazy busy, another reason why we decided to skip Knoxville. We have to be at the studio at 1 for “sessions at studio B”, then a WKNC interview at 7, then the last show of our tour at Tir Na Nog. I think we’re going to throw down something fierce. I don’t have to be at work until Monday, and I have wedding festivities on Friday and Saturday. Sunday is going to be a fantastic day. Rest and relaxation.

I’m ready for this wedding. I think my general sense of optimism is beginning to pick me up. I would certainly never do anything to bring anyone’s party down, and life’s too short to dwell on my insecurities. There are very few options left. I have a bigass hotel room to myself for two nights. I will be surrounded by friends. Alcohol will flow. My suit is cleaned and pressed. I think I’m going to have to tear some shit up.

St. Louis is all the way across Missouri from Kansas City. I finished my book days ago and didn’t bring anything else to read. My kingdom for some damn Sudoku.

ALL...DAY...LONG

Day Twelve

I have always enjoyed visiting Omaha. Having been on a record label from this town, Omaha has always been a Midwestern oasis, a place where I knew I would see some familiar faces and I would have a good time. This visit has been a little different. Most of my old school Omaha friends have moved away or were out of town. Others just didn’t come out. One friend from NC made it and hooked us up with lodging which we greatly appreciate.

The point of all of this is that in the absence of old friends and familiar faces, I made NEW friends and now have a whole new group of familiar faces that I can look forward to seeing down the road. The show was fun, the venue was nice, but the camaraderie is what helps me wake up feeling good. And if I’m good at anything, it’s camaraderie.

I feel like I have developed a fondness for this band The Story Changes that I haven’t felt in a very long time. I’m not sure how to put it into words, but they brought me out of my tour shell to a great degree. Somewhere along the line I realized that I don’t have a lot more time for this kind of thing. I mean, in a year I will either be done altogether with Serious Rocking and Rolling, or I will be travelling in a tour bus or some shit. So my time of chilling in the van, hanging out after shows, getting to know friends of friends, that’s all very limited. I need to take advantage of the opportunities when I can. Even when I was in Sorry About Dresden I shied away from getting out there and hanging with people. It’s not too late to make up for it!

Today looks like it could seriously be sunny for more than an hour or two. We need to find a self serve car wash so we can get all this Des Moines mud off the van and get it good and cleaned out. We return it in just a few days. Also, today the Lemmy goes away. Today is the day of the handlebar. Nicknaming contest forthcoming…


^Des Moines^

Well, the van is now cleanish. We got the Des Mudnes off, managed to get all of the caulk and adhesive off the side where the window repair douchebags left us a nice mess. We’re still trying to get our headlight replaced, as the ford dealership wouldn’t take us in or let us borrow the special tool you apparently need to do it. Ugh. No worries though. We got to Kansas City and I ate some KC Barbecue. Not bad, but I miss home!

Tomorrow, St. Louis, then we drive home and play Raleigh on Thursday. I can almost feel my bed. It’s so nice! For the time being, WINDFARMS!

Day Eleven

Wow, the weather hates us! I did see a quick bit of sun yesterday in Minneapolis, but it went away quickly and gave way to more overcast skies and chilled drizzle. We made great time to Des Moines and pulled up to Sleepy Hollow. It was absolutely amazing. Four separate haunted attractions, hot pumpkin cider, bunches of kids roaming around, etc. This place had a cast of at least a hundred people, and they spared no expense giving people a wonderful way to spend a Saturday night. The only downside is that it was 45 degrees, rainy, and the show was outdoors.





I don’t know how it is possible that I can sweat as much as I do regardless of whether I’m inside and it’s 75 degrees or if I’m outside and it’s 45. But I sweat. If you know any ladies who love a sweaty mess, direct them to this here blog!



Last night I decided to splurge on a hotel room for myself. I thought I would last longer, but I had consumed more than the recommended daily dose of southern comfort out there in the cold, my back was kinda tweaked from sleeping in the van so much (remember, I’m 36), and I wanted to treat myself. I’m sitting in my room right now listening to 100.3 The Bus. We don’t have radio anywhere near this good at home. Straight-up rock. It’s weird how geography affects this stuff. Out here in the Midwest you hear a lot less southern rock on the rock stations and a whole lot less beach music on the oldies stations. I like southern rock and beach music, but it’s nice to get away from it. I’ve enjoyed the queen, zeppelin, stones, bruce, john cougar, the who that Des Moines has served up for me.

I’m afraid to look out the window, and I will resist the urge until after I take a shower. Another overcast day and I might just freak out! We head to Omaha today for a show at a place called PS Collective. I am expecting a great time. I’m hoping to get there in time to watch some of the Steeler game, but I doubt I will. I also need to do laundry. Urgently. We will see how it goes.

Day Ten

This is what touring is supposed to be like! Great towns, great audiences, friends with floors. Minneapolis is such a fantastic place, and when I woke up this morning, the sun was actually shining. Granted, it was colder than when I had gone to bed, but by the time I got showered and dressed, it was just gorgeous outside. Got some breakfast in me, got a lamp to replace the burned out head light, and we’re on our way to Des Moines.

There’s something about towns I love. I mentioned yesterday that I know of a handful of towns that I just feel right in. Usually, this feeling manifests itself in an excessive display of gregarious behavior mixed with drinking. Last night I drank liquor for the first time on tour, and I did not hold back. I only had three gin and tonics, but they were pretty big and pretty strong and I hadn’t eaten in some time. It felt like home in so many ways! Joe drove the van back to the house.

Tonight we play a fun park. As far as I know we get free rides and free access to one of potentially several haunted houses. The only downsides are that it’s an outdoor show and we can’t swear from stage lest we receive no compensation. Having played a church already on this tour, I have no philosophical problem refraining from swearing. I feel as though I’ve done an OK job keeping this blog somewhat clean. I do however have a severe discipline problem which I learned because I already played a church on this tour. If I mess up, we might not get paid, and I’m not sure if I can handle that pressure. Yet one more creative use for gaffers tape.

It feels like the home stretch of the tour now. Six more days. I found my checkbook and wrote a check to the band in exchange for some cash, so the financial issues are at bay for the time being. I’m seeing old friends in Omaha tomorrow and a relatively new friend in Des Moines tonight, hopefully. All in all, I do feel like the worst is behind us. I know that this is a drastic tempting of the fates, but I am not a superstitious man. Maybe I should be. For the moment, I’m thinking of what life is going to be like when I get home.

I have two good friends who are getting married on Halloween. Actually, I have four good friends who are getting married on Halloween, but I can only go to one wedding. I went to a wedding back in August, and I had a really weird time. It was in many ways one of the coolest weddings I’ve ever attended, but I also found myself scoffing at times. It was a clear indicator that I am not in a very good place emotionally. I’m scared of how the wedding a week from today will affect me. There is a definite shame spiral that I seek to avoid.

It goes like this: I am a happy dude most of the time. I like to smile. I try to be a source of joy and comfort for others, and I never hold back my positive feelings about them. So I feel like it isn’t fitting of me to feel jealous or skeptical of love in general or two people’s feelings for each other specifically. Even though I know that healing is a long term process and that I’m pretty far along as things go, I get upset at myself for allowing those feelings to creep up, even in minute doses, and they have certainly crept up on occasion over the past year. I get mad at those who betrayed me for their role in my BEING in this situation. And then I get mad that I’m still getting mad. And then I get depressed because more than a year after the whole thing went down, I’m still going through this process. And then I get scared.

I have been separated from either the part of me that is capable of feeling that level of affection from another person or the part of me that is capable of recognizing those feelings when they occur. In a lot of ways, it’s like the car keys I lost back in Grand Rapids. Most of the time when I lose something like keys, glasses, my wallet, or whatever, I don’t ever see them again. Finding my keys in Chicago was a rare blessing but also an anomaly. I’ve lost some part of me, and it’s not something I can even look for, not just because it’s intangible, but because even if it were tangible, I wouldn’t know what it looked like.

Or maybe it’s like my ATM card. I know it’s somewhere but I don’t have it. I know I will get it back but I don’t know when, and I’m going to have to endure some hardship before I get it back. Regardless of which analogy fits best, it’s time spent waiting and suffering, and I’m by no means unique in experiencing this.

Perhaps the thing that binds me most tightly to my circle of friends is that to some degree we are all trapped in the same place. No matter how the circumstances differ, the frustration is similar. And it is my friends, my incredible, glorious friends who keep me as centered as circumstances will allow. From band mates to my people at home to my family, my peeps are my strength. It’s the reason I don’t live in that spiral of negativity full-time.



Have I mentioned on this trip that I feel a spiritual connection with wind farms? I feel a spiritual connection with wind farms. I took some pictures of windmills, but they didn’t turn out.

Day Nine

DAMMIT.

DAMMIT.

DAMMIT.

I found out last night that my ATM card never got sent ahead on the tour, so now I’m without a means of getting my own cash for the duration of the tour. I will figure it out, but Idunno, I was really hoping to get the card back. Also, my cell phone battery was dying so I turned it off. Then it wouldn’t turn back on again. So for several hours I was convinced that I would have to stop by a Verizon store five months short of my renewal period and just pay for a damn phone. Luckily, it eventually came back on again, but it’s still messed up. It’s on old phone, but come on...

THROW ME A BONE HERE.

Driving north from Ames, IA to Minneapolis, it has dawned on me that I will not see the sun again on this tour. In fact, we are experiencing our first snow of the trip. Cars are careening all over the place. John would rather I take the wheel, and so I will. John is a freaking CHAMP of a driver, the only band mate I’ve ever toured with whose driving habits never make me uptight. Snow is not his bag though, so I’m gonna take over because well, I love it. It’s really coming down now, huge flakes, which means it probably won’t last long. One might think that the emergence of this snowstorm would further depress me, but as those closest to me know, this is my element. I do wish I had brought a heavier coat though…

I was right, and the snow didn’t last long. We made it to The Beat Café in good time, and it is here that I now sit, enjoying the best mocha I’ve had in a long while. I love Minneapolis. I’ve only been here maybe four or five times, and always on band business, but nonetheless, when I look out the window of the van or stand on a street corner, I just love where I am. There are maybe four cities that I can name off the top of my head that affect me this way. Pittsburgh, Portland, Minneapolis, and of course Durham.



Have I mentioned yet that one of the headlights in our van is burned out? One of the headlights in our van is burned out. We don’t even care. That’s like, hell, someone farting in the van. It’s like fate isn’t even trying anymore. Famous last words?

Here's Flipside in Ottumwa:

Day 8

The rest of Day Seven was pretty basic. Eating, napping, taking care of personal business, calling the insurance company, the credit card company, the rental place, etc. We ate at a surprisingly great place called Buona Beef, and afterwards, Curt, Joe, and I hit up Hooters for some beers to round out the night. Yes Hooters. It was the closest bar to our hotel, so there you have it. It was also the perfect proving ground for my new look. Tana our bartender liked it. She agreed with a friend of mine who claimed they would LOVE this look in Iowa because it makes me look exotic. That and the fact that I’ve seen the ocean are supposed to make me irresistible to the ladies. It all sounds great. On Paper. Communism sounded great on paper.

I woke up this morning to a phone call. It was my auto insurance company, USAA. They decided to cover the damage done to our van, minus my $500 deductible. This is great news. And while I was on the phone with Lovely Rita, Insurance Adjuster, the Ford dealership in Naperville called to say the van was ready. So Joe and I high-tailed it out there and picked up the van, which surprisingly was fixed but still filled with glass. Amazing. We were in a hurry, so instead of driving back to Naperville, we found a self service car wash and vacuumed the van thoroughly. We sucked enough glass out of there to make a small window ourselves. While I worked, Joe called the dealership just to let them know that they suck, a move which I appreciate greatly.

If I may, I would like to take a moment to praise Joe. He was there every step of the way with this van issue. Dude’s got his shit together. He has also taken the van loading torch from me, something that simultaneously makes me sad and happy. For 12 years I was the guy who one evening had more people watching him load the van than had watched his band perform. But I was also the guy who was the last line of defense against losing something, and the way I’ve been losing shit, it’s good that I don’t have that responsibility anymore. So on the one hand I feel like an old horse put out to pasture, and on the other I feel like I deserve the rest.

We are on our way to Ottumwa, IA, home of Radar O’Reilly. Iowa itself is also home of the Kum & Go convenience store chain, so it’s time to stock up on lighters. Tonight we play a venue called Flipside, a tattoo parlor-slash-performing arts space. I adore the DIY aesthetic, the non-traditional performing spaces, but sometimes I wonder if the band we’re touring with even tried bars! No matter, this is going to be a load of fun, and without The Story Changes, this tour would really really suck. They’re the nicest guys ever, and they work harder than any band I know. Also, their music is great. It’s an honor to be on tour with them, and we owe them everything.

While I’m writing in the van, three hours from Ottumwa, I want to bring something up. We’ve been through our share of states so far, and in every state through which we have driven, we have encountered some road construction. Each state, or maybe it’s the federal government, but someone has gone out of their way to point out that the funding for the construction came from the ARRA, a bill passed by President Obama back in March. So for those of you out there who lean towards dissing our president for shelling out taxpayer money to improve infrastructure and create or save jobs, suck on it, and when I argue with you about the value of a social safety net, just know that I have more first-hand evidence of the good it’s doing. So watch out.

Also, before I forget, I have a note for Chuck Klosterman. Shut up, man. Dammit. I’m reading Killing Yourself to Live, and I’m roughly 59% through it. I feel like it would be rude to not finish, but holy crap, I DON’T CARE. You’re not that funny. Your life isn’t that interesting. Yes, you have some great insight, I’ve enjoyed much of your writing in magazine form, but I’m having a visceral reaction to this book. I don’t care about the women you fell in love with as if you begin to grasp the concept. I don’t care about your internal dialog. I don’t care about your Sherman’s March-esque romp across America to write about something that is so subjective and ultimately meaningless that even YOU can’t bring yourself to come through on it. I will finish your book, but it had better stop sucking AND SOON.

No More Bullshit

Yep.

Day Seven, AM

Everything has worked according to plan. Good thing today was another day off. Joe and I left the hotel at 6:45 so we could get to the service station by opening time, 7AM. We only sat in the waiting room for about ten minutes before our loaner vehicle was ready:



We puttered our Ford Focus back to the Red Roof, Joe went back to bed, and I updated the blog. This is where I am now. Everyone is asleep and not only can I not go back to sleep after I wake up, but I now have no van to chill out in. Yeah, woo. So I’m hoping that I’m not waking up the kids by typing, but screw it, it’s my room too!

SO, I’ve decided. No more Mr. Nice Guy. I’ve pulled through my absent-minded phase, I’ve come through in a crisis, but I’m spent. I’m sore, my hand is cut up from glass removal, I reinjured my already scarred and scabby knuckle and bled all over my jeans. I’m wearing the same clothes I played in last night. I got two hours of sleep and woke up at 6:30 to handle business. I need a change of pace. So, ladies and gentlemen, it’s time for my metamorphosis. Today the beard begins to disappear. Phase one, the Lemmy. This is what I’ve looked like for the past year, more or less:



I will keep you posted on my progress. The Lemmy is going to be nearly impossible to pull off, but maybe I will feel badass for a day. More to come, as it is only 9:15 AM right now.

...

I just heard. It’s going to cost over $1400 to fix the van. They have to replace a seat belt because the old one is jammed with glass. They have to remove the side panel and clean the whole thing out, and then they have to replace the glass. This tour is officially screwed. I am officially screwed. I am at a loss for how I am going to remain sane on this tour. No joke.

Update: The rental people were supernice. We handled everything exactly as we were supposed to. I called my insurance company to file a claim, and since we are using the van for business purposes, they’re likely not going to cover any of the damage. Also, the van might not be ready by checkout time tomorrow, so we might be stuck in a parking lot with all of our gear. I’m beside myself right now. And I try to put things in perspective. I know my problems are not huge, but whatever they are, it’s awfully difficult to find the strength to keep going when there are these forces that seem to oppose every move we make. I’m not fighting the Taliban over here. I’m just in my corner of the world, and you know, shit’s tough right now. Joe told me yesterday that this is character building. I told him I’m 36. I’ve had enough character building. I would love some time to enjoy the character I’ve built up to this point.

Day Six, BAD-DENDUM

Well, wow. Day six sucked. Really sucked. We got to Chicago pretty early and parked near the venue. Everything was fine. Joe called up a friend who directed us up Milwaukee Ave. to a trendy coffee shop where we could chill and get online. It was really nice.





While we were at the coffee shop, we checked out a map of the city and decided it might be nice to head down to Humboldt Park and pass the time. We played with ducks. It was pleasant, even if I did have to remove a used syringe from the pond.




Then, we walked back to the van. It was around 5PM, and we figured Ronny’s would be open by now. After all, what bar would choose not to be open at quitting time? Ronny’s, that’s what bar. No time for sitting around bored though, because this is what we found when we returned to the van:





I pride myself on being a good crisis manager. And this was no different. No one freaked out. We called the police, called the rental company, called my insurance company, took care of all the details from that angle. Then, I sat outside a free internet café that was closed, found a Ford dealership in what appeared to be in an area far enough out of the city that we could feel safe parking our injured baby, told them to expect us, and booked a hotel relatively nearby.

We stayed by the van so no one would try to steal it, and when Ronny’s finally opened, we loaded our gear in and proceeded to remove as much glass as possible from in and around the van. We made sure there was someone to guard it all night, and we went about our business. Had a good time at the show and a better time eating 24 hour Mexican food and drinking with our friend Fangs. He made it all better. At 3AM we drove the 30 minutes to our hotel in DOWNER’S GROVE, IL. Yes Downers Grove. Guess who booked it? The plan was to go to bed at 4:00 and get up at 6:30 to get the van to the dealership with the hopes that they can fix it in a day. Then, maybe get a loaner and chill out.

Oh, on the plus side, while we were clearing out the van, I found my keys! Redemption at last, but at what cost?

Day Six

OK, woke up at 9. Got all my shit worked out by 10. Showered, packed, organized. Cleaned the trash out of the van, did a quick once-over with the Febreeze. I’m ready, focused. The turning point is now. Starting today, I keep it all together. We head to Chicago in about an hour. We play Ronny’s tonight. I played Ronny’s back in 2007 with Erie Choir. I’m not sure how to put it. So given the context that I love any unlikely advocate of indie music, this is one of the weirdest venues in which you will never consider defecating. We will be performing in a converted service station, adjacent to a Latino bar. The drinks are cheap, the staff is friendly, and the people who put on the show are generous and easy-going. We may freeze since the performance space may not be climate controlled, but we will have fun and we will entertain!


I have a few friends in Chicago, and I really hope they come out. This isn’t a shameless plea because I will likely be posting it after we play. Nonetheless, there are people who I miss in my current destination city, and I feel happy right now when I think about seeing them. Seeing old friends is better than hooking up with new girls. This is what I will be saying tomorrow.

Day Five

I woke up this morning ready to shed my bumbling ways, and then I locked the only remaining set of keys in the van. So today, our day off, become Hep’s Redemption. We decided to stay in Grand Rapids because it’s cheaper and we don’t have to be in Chicago until tomorrow. After a quick visit from the fine roadside assistance people, we stopped by Home Depot to get a new key made. One mistake redeemed. Then we had to go back to Guitar Center because yesterday I bought a 13” head for my 12” drum. Woo. I swear, it’s out of my system now. Until I mess up again.

Other than that, we went Halloween Costume shopping. My costume is almost done.

We weren't supposed to have the day off. We had a show in Indiana, but apparently the guy who put the show together is in jail now. Tough racket, I tell ya.

Not much else to report. We’re gonna chill for the evening and hit the road again tomorrow. I think my ATM card issues have been resolved. I’m hoping to be reacquainted with it in Omaha.

Day Four

I slept in the van for the first time of the tour last night. The temperature here in Grand Rapids at night has been in the low to mid twenties, which is right where I like it. We got to the hotel by 1:30AM, and by two I was out. It was wonderful! With a little help from Zolipdem, I got a full 8 hours of sleep and woke up refreshed and ready to go.

We just got back from lunch at Hooters. None of us really like Hooters all that much, but it was the closest place to the hotel where I could catch some of the Steelers game. It was straight out of a movie. You have the grotesquely overweight manager dude clamping down on the disinterested, semi-attractive young women who spend their shifts watching slovenly dudes suck on chicken wings and stare at their chests. Part of me wants to be depressed, but I am not one to question what other people do to get by, and honestly, I prefer to focus on the notion that somewhere in that scenario there is a story arc that results in a great triumph over adversity. The beer was cheap and the Steelers won, so yay!





Grand Rapids is very similar to how I figure Durham will look in a few years. You have a downtown that has gone through the standard decay caused by the decline of industry which has then been followed by the takeover of bohemian culture. Good local record stores, art and dance studios, and this here rock club, The Mixtape Lounge. In ten years here, I figure there will be hotels, conference centers, and chain restaurants. You can’t stop progress I guess, but you can sure as hell enjoy the short period of time when it suits your tastes. Meanwhile, Durham is in the infancy of its revitalization. I look forward to seeing the progress there, and at the moment I miss it so much.

On a personal note, since this is supposed to be some kind of bear-all blog, I’m still about as confused as I’ve ever been, but if you know me you know that I'm not THAT confused, really. Still, I don’t have it in me to just go around and pick up women, and it’s becoming more and more obvious to me that I will forever be relegated into the category of “nice guy”. This doesn’t bother me, as I’ve known for some time that any attempts to behave in a lecherous manner do not coincide with my personality. In the last year I have managed to come out of my shell a great deal, but you really can’t change who you are, and honestly, I don’t want to. I’m going to have to realize that who I am trying to be on this tour is never going to be who I really am. Funnily, this is what most of my friends tried to tell me on my way out, even though I think many of them are still waiting to hear of “Behind the Music” worthy rock and roll conquests. For them, I will continue on!




On a sad note, I lost my keys during load-out tonight. I left my ATM card at a bar in Athens as well. I’ve been feeling lately like I’m losing my mind. I have been feeling kind of out of balance, and now I’m losing things. This is a significant step back, and since I’m usually a go-to person in this band, I feel like a different person altogether. IWTDI and The Story Changes are currently enjoying a late-night meal at IHOP right by our hotel, and I don’t even want to go in there. I don’t know who I am right now, but tomorrow is another day. Can today end please?

Day Three

Last night we played in a church. It reminded me of the lock-ins I used to attend when I was a pious young high school student. Every Friday night after the Athens High football game, the nearby Methodist church opens the doors of its rec room and gives the local kids an alternative to sin and decadence, specifically a rock show, perhaps the greatest living model of sin and decadence, even on our small scale.

Irony aside, the kids were enthusiastic, fueled by pizza, candy, and sugary drinks.
Being a church show, everything ended early, and I got the chance to throw down in Athens some more. The night before homecoming, the entire “strip” was packed with drunken college students. Naturally, I was completely out of my element. I opted to forego my pursuit of informal romance so that I could spend more time with Curtis, Joe, and our most gracious hostess. Beer in Athens is remarkably cheap! It was surprisingly difficult to leave this morning.

It’s about a five and a half hour drive from Athens to Howell, MI, where we are about to play what is most easily but not necessarily most accurately described as a high school hallway. I found my way into the gym earlier and did my best Judd Nelson impersonation, thinking about trying out for a scholarsheeeeeeeeip. As usual, the kids are super nice and accommodating. It should be a good time. The whole show will be over by 11, so we’re left with a very good chance of a decent night’s sleep. Dare to dream!

After we finished playing, I did some more exploring. Apparently this is the OLD high school. It had been turned into a community center with lots of rec rooms, a working auditorium, a senior center, etc. We explored and took lots of pics (all of which you can find here.)















Show tonight in Grand Rapids, then a day off before our three hour drive to Chicago.