Thanks so much to everyone who booked us, everyone who played with us, everyone who came to see us perform, everyone we met, and everyone who welcomed us into their homes as guests. That’s a lot of everyones… You all know who you are, but we hope you know how much we appreciated your support during our musical travels. We enjoyed ourselves immensely, and we look forward to hitting the road next summer.
After Fort Ashby, we had a day off, so we spent it by driving for eight hours before hitting a cineplex that was showing the lovely Toy Story 3. There were a couple times during the movie when I started tearing up, but then I chuckled upon realizing that I was on the verge of crying over computer-animated toys. At the end, though, Tricia and I both left the theater shamelessly with grin-stretched faces and watery eyes.
The next day, we had a relatively short drive to Fairmount, so we killed some time by driving to a small town nearby and playing music in the shade of a tree. Passers-by grimaced at us, so we thought it safe to assume that we’d stumbled upon some sort of Footloose town. We got out just in time for the show at Sleepy Creek Vineyards.
If you haven’t been there, Sleepy Creek Vineyards is an absolutely picturesque place. You come off a country highway onto a gravel road, passing row upon sun-soaked row of perfectly spaced grapevines. Once you reach the lot, you see a beautifully-stained, woodsy building with a few scattered picnic tables in the shade and a swinging love-seat outside by the pond, which seems to always have a happy-looking couple in it. Upon entering the building, you’re immediately greeted by Joe and Dawn (the couple who owns it) with smiles, modest remarks about the changes in the place, and delicious wine (or a wine slushy). Mmmm…
This was the first and only show on the tour that both of us weren’t on the bill, so unfortunately I didn’t get to see Tricia play that night. She did back me on one tune mid-set, though… Here’s a video of “To Coast,” complete with a strangely delivered falsetto line and what sounds like a couple of gavel strikes prematurely judging it.
After a quick break, Ben Bedford and his wife Kari (who live in Springfield, IL) took the stage. They were the perfect musicians for Tricia and I to see before we headed home to resume “normal” lifestyles, especially since music is what Ben does for a living. In a previous life, Ben was a history major at the University of Illinois with aspirations to become a college professor, so it was fascinating to hear how he used his knowledge of the American Civil War and other historical events to construct his narrative lyrics. For about an hour, it was one poignant folk song after another, all in the melancholic vein of Townes Van Zandt or Nebraska-era Bruce Springsteen, and it never got old. There was a profound warmth about the set, perhaps enhanced by how close we were to the stage; on occasion we’d see the little waves Kari gave to her daughter in the audience or hear Ben’s wedding band graze the fretboard as he changed chords. Watching and listening to them was all a pleasant reminder that we each have room to grow as musicians and performers, and conversing with them in between sets and afterward gave us the encouragement to do so. They invited us to stay with them in Springfield, which we’ll probably take them up on sometime (if you’re reading this, Ben and Kari, I hope you’re okay with that for real). The video below is a song Ben wrote for a homeless woman who tracked him down and told him that her husband had wanted Ben to perform at his wake. For obvious subject matter-related reasons, it reminded me of “The Rebel” (which I’ve had some serious problems remembering during this tour).
After the show, we picked up a bottle of wine for each of our parents, and Tricia drove most of the way home while I slumped over in the passenger seat, half-asleep.
-Carl
Spinning during the drive home:
Liza Day and the Northbound Trestle Singers – Liza Day and the Northbound Trestle Singers
The Jealous Sound – Kill Them with Kindness
St. Vincent – Actor
Butterfly Assassins – Sylvia
After Brooklyn, we headed about an hour out of the city into New Jersey. I’ve heard mixed reviews about the entire state in general, and since that reality-TV show Jersey Shore has caused so much ruckus, anyone I mentioned Jersey to as a stop on this tour gave me a scrunched up, confused look. I’d really like to set the record straight for the state, though.
We stayed with a friend of mine that I met while I was in Paris, Vicki (the same Vicki from the Brooklyn post). She lives with her parents at the moment, in a cute two story condo type place with a nice front yard and a few cats running around. Even though Carl and I seem to be cat people, we bonded with her bearded lizard, Raja, more than with the cats. The cats seemed to be anti-social, or maybe just uninterested. For dinner, her parents made chili – and they served it with rice. We were a little shocked at the rice, but considered it a brilliant addition to chili that we never would have thought of, and now can’t have chili without.
We sat at their dining room table and chatted the night away, then passed out from exhaustion somewhere past midnight. I think Carl started falling asleep at the table; I saw his head bob a few times
The next morning, Vicki took us to the “best bagel place in town,” Bagel Nosh. The bagels were pretty darn good – a little thicker than Illinois bagels, but just as tasty. We chose to go with the breakfast bagels which had egg, cheese, and bacon on them; and oh was it just delish! We parked ourselves on a bench outside, devoured our bagels, said our thank-yous and goodbyes, then headed towards West Virginia.
The route was pretty perilous. We braved mountain passes, crazy compact cars, terrifying trucks, confusing GPS directions, and torrential rains to get to Fort Ashby, WV. We arrived too early (as we are wont to do), and explored the town a before meeting up with the guy who set up the show, Alex. There wasn’t much we could find, but we didn’t mind too much – the view of the mountains was enough. I could have sat on a hill and stared for hours.
We found a little “cafe” in town, and after trying in vain to check our e-mail, we headed to the venue to see if anyone else was there. Alex pulled up with other band-mates and some friends of his, and insisted we head to his house for some pizza before the show.
His house was on a hill overlooking a gorgeous valley in the Appalachians. The view was breathtaking. I couldn’t stop staring out the windows. I wanted to have the show outside, in his backyard, so I could just keep looking at those mountains.
We ordered pizza and headed over to the Community Center where the show was going to be. They set up the P.A., and the show began.
Carl was first. The crowd was mesmerized. The crowd was incredibly attentive to all the acts, actually. It was so nice to be truly listened to, but also a little nerve-wrecking!
I played second. The moment I stepped in front of the mic, I heard someone say, “Hey, girls don’t play guitar!” I think he was kidding, but still – ouch, bro.
The next band was the other touring act, Signals Midwest. They’re an indie-punk band from Cleveland, with a whole lot of energy. All of the lights were turned off during their set, so our footage is a little hard to see:
Dogjaw, a local band, was second to last. They were a punk band with a singer who seemed like he had some sort of professional vocal training.
The last band was called I Forget. Clever. They’re a pop-punk band with a female front-woman. It totally reminded me of my own pop-punk band I had in high school. Nostalgia in Fort Ashby; I never would have thought.
After the show, we headed over to one of the local band members’ aunt’s house. She introduced herself as Cris, and had us follow her up the mountainside to her house with the members of Signals Midwest close behind. She seemed to be the fall-back lady for bands passing through with nowhere to stay, as it seemed routine for her to have a caravan of band vehicles following her.
Cris was definitely one of the coolest ladies we’ve met on the tour. She seemed to love music, was an active advocate for human rights, and had a few music festival projects and plans up and running. She had quite a life story full of tragedy, but was still optimistic and kept trying new projects. She gave us some great apple pie, sweet-tea, and watermelon too
The members of Dogjaw and I Forget showed up sometime after the apple-pie was gone, so we spent the night on the floor with a bunch of other musicians spread out wherever they could find space. We went to bed pretty early compared to everyone else (around 2 or 3 AM), and found ourselves awake before everyone else. We left a thank-you note, tiptoed through the house trying not to disturb the others, and made our way out of the mountains toward Illinois.
-Tricia
Spinning during the drives to Fort Ashby & Fairmount:
Okkervil River – Black Sheep Boy
Wilco – Wilco (The Album)
Coheed and Cambria – In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3
Damien Jurado – & Now that I’m in Your Shadow
M. Ward – Hold Time
Death Cab for Cutie – Transatlanticism
Nick Drake – Five Leaves Left
Dawes – North Hills
The Mountain Goats – Get Lonely
Iron & Wine – The Shepherd’s Dog
Bowerbirds – Hymns for a Dark Horse
The Antlers – Hospice
Beth Bombara & the Robotic Foundation – Beth Bombara & the Robotic Foundation
Glowing House – The Annual Demise of Every Aspen
Sufjan Stevens – Avalanche: Outtakes & Extras from Illinois Album
After watching the US beat Algeria with a clutch goal in stoppage time, we successfully navigated the subway to the Bowling Green stop on the southern tip of Manhattan before walking up to Times Square. Over the course of the afternoon, we sampled the choicest of New York’s selection of culinary crowd-pleasers, such as the bagel, the hot dog, and the pizza (I won’t trash talk NYC pizza anymore after that delicious slice).
Check out some of our sightings below.
-Carl
The view from Brooklyn
Watching Germany vs. Ghana in a storefront window
He tried to walk as far as we did, and here's how he ended up...
Between Ohio and New York, Tricia and I spent a couple days in Pittsburgh with my sister, my brother-in-law, and their adorable baby daughter. They cooked us a couple of fantastic dinners, Karen took us on a walk through her neighborhood and park, and I won a game of Solarquest that went on much too long. Plus, we got to spend plenty of quality time with my niece. When you’re around a baby that cute, your face starts to hurt from smiling so much. Trust me.
That is a LOT of Federation Notes.
We entered Brooklyn around mid-afternoon with the windows down and Beastie Boys blaring from the speakers, flying through the streets like the parking attendants in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. I should probably disclose that everything from that description is true except the parts about the windows, the Beastie Boys, and the driving.
The drive was actually a tedious venture over bridges and through tunnels, the climax of which was a game of automotive Tetris on Manhattan’s Canal Street. The challenging part about this game, though, was the feature where crazed men ran out into the traffic, so perhaps it was more like Frogger than Tetris…
After loading into the Knitting Factory, we went for a short walk and it wasn’t long before we saw a helmetless biker get hit by an opening car door, which sent him into the side of a passing truck, which sent him back into the offending vehicle. Upon witnessing this, Tricia’s friend Vicki, a New Jersey native, immediately said “Welcome to New York!” As both a fire truck and ambulance arrived, Vicki’s friend Anthony, a nursing graduate, diagnosed things from afar, declaring that the biker probably just had a concussion. Tricia’s and Vicki’s mutual friend Miranda, also an Illinoisan, just stood there with her mouth agape, much like I did.
Back to the Knitting Factory, though. Contrary to popular belief, the Knitting Factory is not a Mecca for arts and crafts enthusiasts, but one could say it’s a destination of sorts for indie-rock enthusiasts, especially given its relatively new Williamsburg location. (Brooklyn = a breeding ground for some of the most exciting and creative musical groups today). The space itself is similar to Chicago’s Metro, but without the balcony and high ceilings. Needless to say, we felt privileged to play there as two out-of-town solo acts.
Tricia opened the night playing to a good-sized crowd that funneled in slowly after the fake start time that’s designed to sell more liquor. I have to take this chance to express my incredulity about how quiet the crowd was for most of her set. The combination of an out-of-town musician and an availability of alcohol usually means that there will be a disheartening level of crowd noise, but this was different, if only for a little while. Here’s Tricia’s beautiful cover of Land of Talk’s “Troubled”:
After my set, Brooklyn trio Pearl and the Beard took the stage with an acoustic guitar, a cello, a toy glockenspiel, a floor tom and snare, and a wonderful set of vocal cords. From the first note of the set opener to the encore, an unplugged performance of “Voice in my Throat” in the middle of the crowd, their set was spellbinding, and they made plenty of new fans that night, including us. Not to detract from their album “God Bless Your Weary Soul, Amanda Richardson” immediately after calling myself a fan, but their recorded material simply doesn’t capture the sheer amount of energy and fun that was overflowing from the stage during their live show. My guess is that it won’t be long before these guys blow up, but then again, I usually base my “guesses” off an assumption that the music world is just, and that’s just not the case. Anyway, they’re coming to the Dark Room in Chicago on July 15th, so be sure to check them out if you like what you hear.
Pearl and the Beard
Pearl and the Beard ENCORE!
The headliner, a Brooklyn indie-rock group called Balene, had a tough act to follow, but they pulled it off quite nicely. I had originally contacted Limbs about playing the show, but Jeff and Casey informed me that the band was now defunct and that they were in a new band that would be up for playing. For a band only playing its second show ever, they put on a great one. At times it seemed as if the sextet was striving for a certain wall-of-noise grandiosity like that churned out by Arcade Fire, but the most enjoyable parts of the set, in my opinion, were when certain instruments dropped out and other parts of the mix were allowed more room to breathe.
Balene
After the show, Tricia and I looked at each other and said, “Hey, we just played at the Knitting Factory.” Then we crashed pretty hard and prepared for a long day of walking around NYC.
-Carl
Spinning during the drives to Pittsburgh, Brooklyn, & Waldwick:
Frightened Rabbit – Midnight Organ Fight
Postal Service – Give Up
Shipwreck – Rabbit in the Kitchen with a New Dress on
The National – Boxer
Shearwater – Rook
Phosphorescent – Here’s to Taking It Easy
Various Artists – Dark Was the Night Disc Two
Weezer – Blue Album
Dirty Projectors – Bitte Orca
Pearl & the Beard – God Bless Your Weary Soul, Amanda Richardson
Remover – Remover
Blackwater Valley Songs – Blackwater Valley Songs
Before diving into this post, I must correct a mistake in the Indie-anapolis post; I stated that Christian Taylor and Homeschool’s set turned into a jam session of covers, when in fact, they were all originals. I had heard someone in the bar say that they were covers, and everyone in the bar seemed to be singing, so I figured that they were covers of songs from bands that I didn’t know. In any case, I feel I really need to set the record straight on that, because if everyone in the bar was singing Christian Taylor and Homeschool’s songs, that is definitely something to write about – that’s essentially the goal of every true musician, to play things that people connect with and remember enough to want to sing it themselves when they hear it. I truly am sorry, Christian and Homeschool!
And so, onward with this tour.
We had another night drive from Youngstown to Navarre, Ohio, after the show at the Lemon Grove Cafe. Our arrival time was somewhere around 2 AM early Saturday morning. We felt really bad about waking our host up in the middle of the night to let us in (as we usually do when we end up arriving so late), but Dan Blackwell greeted us outside his corner apartment with praises, groggy but still ecstatic to have his musical idol arrive at his apartment.
Dan has been listening to Carl for about four years now, so Carl figured we should head his way during this tour. After contacting Dan about a show near him, Dan took the reigns and set it all up himself. He was a great host, and we (namely me and my coffee-addicted self) were really excited to play at the café he scheduled the show at, Muggswigz Coffee & Tea Co. – they have a reputation for great espresso.
After a restful sleep and a morning movie viewing (Boondock Saints 2, not sure if it made me proud to be Irish or not…), we headed out the next day to see the sights of Navarre with Dan. We hit up the local Wal-Mart, returned a DVD with Dan at a DVD/tanning facility (best commercial combination I’ve ever seen), then had some dinner at Applebee’s right before heading over to the venue.
Muggswigz was on a city corner in Canton, which reminded us a little bit of Youngstown. Both cities seem somewhat deserted and run-down, but both have very scenic surroundings and cool looking brick buildings everywhere. The café was adorably decorated with dark wood and dark green walls, with white and yellow ceilings, giving it a comfortable East-coast-den feel. They had a bean roaster right in the store too, with burlap sacks filled with exotic beans sitting next to it just waiting to be heated up and ready to brew. It was definitely my kind of place.
The show started after a few people trickled in, and Dan played first. He played extremely well for being in front of an idol of his! I know that if I were to have set up a show with, say, Annie Clark of St. Vincent, I would probably not even be able to move my fingers, or speak, let alone sing, any words. Here’s some footage of Dan:
I played next, then Carl was up. They had pyrotechnics, smoke machines, strobe lights, and even a professional sports announcer to make his grand entrance even more grand. Okay, I may be exaggerating a little bit, but honestly that’s kind of what it seemed like. Someone asked to take a picture of him, shaking a little with nerves, as if he were a platinum artist; I sold the most CD’s of his that I’ve ever sold during his set; random strangers who wandered in bought CD’s immediately and asked me who this guy was, commenting on how great he was – it was really weird, but really amazing at the same time Carl has a cult following in Canton. I say that’s pretty friggin’ cool.
We packed up quickly after the show, grabbing an iced espresso beverage for the ride to Carl’s sister’s house in Pittsburg, PA, and said goodbye to Carl’s fans. We followed Dan back to his apartment for a quick goodbye, which then turned into a surprise performance by Carl out on Dan’s roof. This particular song was played over speaker phone for one of Dan’s friends who couldn’t make it to the show.
We climbed back into the apartment, then down his long stairs into the front yard, gave Dan a big hug for making this all happen, then hopped in the car. Canton was wonderful to us, but it was time to fly. Until next time, Canton, Ohio…
-Tricia
6.26.10 – Fairmount, IL – Sleepy Creek Vineyards
8254 E 1425 North Road, 61841
8:00 PM; $12 cover
w/ Ben Bedford [no Tricia Scully for this one ]
We rolled into Youngstown city limits around sunset, with Bruce Springsteen’s under-appreciated The Ghost of Tom Joad providing the soundtrack for our hilly jaunt past weathered factory buildings with jagged glass edges where windows once stood. The city gained the nickname “Murdertown USA” in the 1950s and 1960s due to its literally explosive mafia activity, and its murderous reputation still remains today to some extent. Thankfully we were not murdered, and we never felt unsafe, so Youngstown can chalk up two tallies in the win column. To the city’s credit, we saw a lamppost banner declaring Youngstown to be one of the top ten cities for new businesses, but now I wonder if the banner had a source citation…
We loaded into the Lemon Grove Cafe to the sound of a pop-soul cover band fronted by a woman with some serious but earsplitting pipes. Unfortunately, our laid-back singer-songwriter fare would have to follow funked-up versions of everything from “Take Me to the River” to “It Was a Very Good Year.”
The Lemon Grove was a strange place to play because of its tunnel-like proportions. We were told that James Mercer was set to play there next month, but I had a hard time imagining how the audience in the back of the bar would be able to see much of anything at all without a telescope… Anyway, we must have played pretty well because the bartender wanted both of our CDs. I’m not sure if that’s an effective gauge, though.
The third act on the bill was Herring Bones, an indie-rock band from the Scranton, PA area (if you’re wondering, they don’t watch The Office). In addition to the nice melodic interaction between guitars, the solid drumming, and the Michael Jordan jersey, the band’s frontman offered some terrifically awkward stage banter to boot.
Washington D.C.’s Deutschmarks closed the evening with some bouncy tunes reminiscent of the limited selection of Vampire Weekend to which I’ve listened. After the show, the drummer invited us to a party put on by the local congressman’s daughter, but we had to pass. On top of the fact that we had a host waiting up for us in the town of Navarre, we didn’t really want to take our chances in Murdertown.
Coverage of Navarre/Canton is coming soon… In the meantime, it’s time to rest up for tomorrow’s show at the Knitting Factory! We’re quite excited.
-Carl
Spinning during the drives to Youngstown & Canton:
Drink Up Buttercup – Born & Thrown on a Hook
Ticonderoga – Songs by Phil
Ticonderoga – Ticonderoga
Benjamin Riley – I Can See Glory EP
Mandarin – Fast>Future>Present
Modest Mouse – The Moon & Antarctica
Bruce Springsteen – The Ghost of Tom Joad
Bill Callahan – Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle
Pseudosix – Days of Delay
A.A. Bondy – American Hearts
6.24.10 – Fort Ashby, WV – Fort Ashby Community Center
Intersection of Dan’s Run Road & Water St., 26719
7:00 PM; $5
w/ Signals Midwest; Dogjaw; I Forget
We arrived in Portage, MI in the late afternoon and were greeted by the Zwiers as we unloaded the car. The Zwiers are my brother-in-law’s parents, so I know that it makes them my sister’s parents-in-law, but does that make them my parents-in-law as well? I’m not sure, but what I do know is that they’re wonderful people (and hosts).
They had snacks and appetizers waiting for us in their lovely sunroom porch, but we made sure to leave room for the delicious meal they cooked for us a little while later, a meal which included grilled barbecue chicken, green beans, and corn on the cob, topped off by strawberry shortcake. They dismissed it casually by saying it was “the usual summer fare,” but it didn’t seem “fair” to me; we’d been eating bagels and peanut butter for the greater part of three weeks…
We arrived at The Strutt in Kalamazoo a little before 8. Upon walking in, Tricia mentioned that it looked like the Hog’s Head in the Harry Potter book series, to which I responded “hmmm…” It may have appeared to her that I was pondering the merit of her observation, but I was actually thinking about how I’d only gotten through Goblet of Fire and how the movies had made fine substitutes for the two I hadn’t read. And I call myself an English teacher…
Anyway, The Strutt was a neat little street corner bar whose natural lighting, charmingly ragged furniture, and art/flyer-decorated walls gave it a unique coffee shop vibe. Tricia commented on its European feel, a sentiment which was corroborated by an employee who said the owner traveled around Europe taking photos of all the pubs he liked before designing the interior at The Strutt.
We sound-checked and read for a little while before the show began. Spitzer Space Telescope (a.k.a. Dan) kicked things off with an abrasively unique brand of loudly-strummed, vaguely narrative Irish folk music. As he heckled the audience, I wondered whether being a jerk was part of his act or not, but the fact that he didn’t seem interested in talking with us at all (or watching our sets) was telling enough.
We played a pair of pretty nice sets, if I do say so myself, and then Grand Rapids’ Benjamin Riley took the stage. I had just headed up to the bar to grab a drink, but my head turned involuntarily as Benjamin started singing an incredibly soulful acapella version of “I Can See Glory,” a tune from his new EP. We particularly enjoyed the slower songs of his set in which his made-for-gospel pipes (and long hair) seemed to rival Jim James or Ray LaMontagne. Check out the EP – it’s great.
Taylor Clark closed the evening with some subtly crafted acoustic looping and a falsetto reminiscent of Anathallo’s Matt Joynt. Unfortunately, Taylor had another musical obligation that night and was forced to arrive late, but he was very apologetic, and his set made up for it. He asked us to record “Wedding Bells,” which you can view below.
Overall, it was a solid show, and we met some very nice people, most of whom seemed to be really buff guys in black shirts… I should also mention that Pat was one of the best sound guys we’d had so far on this tour, because he seemed to actually care about getting it right, not to mention that he put on some fantastic music in between sets. I had to keep asking him who it was when a new artist came on. Perhaps he was tired of me asking, so he invited us over to his house afterward, where we chatted for a while as he burned us some driving music. It was nice to meet someone so passionate about music, and we would’ve liked to stay longer, but sleep beckoned.
We were more than ready for it when we got back around 2:30, and we slept until late morning. After we showered and got ready, The Zwiers cooked us a hearty breakfast of eggs, bacon, and cinnamon rolls, which we eagerly ate up before checking our mail and hitting the road. Destination: Youngstown. But more on Youngstown (and tonight’s show in Canton) later.
-Carl
Spinning during the drive to Kalamazoo:
White Rabbits – Fort Nightly
Dr. Dog – Shame, Shame
Pink Floyd – The Final Cut
Wilco – Sky Blue Sky
The Tallest Man on Earth – Shallow Grave
Before heading to Indiana on Wednesday, Carl and I decided to cook a nice dinner for his mom and brother on Tuesday night. Don’t worry mom, your dinner is next. Carl searched and searched allrecipes.com for something including edamame, chicken, and pineapple, and he found a great salad and entrée pairing: Healthy Garden Salad and Pineapple Pepper Chicken. If you have a pound of edamame in your freezer that you have no idea what to do with, I highly suggest the salad recipe. Phenomenal.
We found Indianapolis an hour earlier than we should have, so we spent some time checking out the premises of The Melody Inn, and found it as endearing as its name. It was one of those crap-on-the-walls places (kind of like TGI Fridays, but it sure wasn’t a restaurant). The crap on the walls at The Melody Inn was all music related, and way janky, which made the place way cool. There were even little stars made from PBR cans hanging above the stage.
Sponsored by Coors Light
We started off the show around 10 PM. The crowd was a bit rowdy but there were a few intent listeners (which is always appreciated). The next band that played was a band from Muncie, IN called The Bonesetters. This Dr. Dog inspired 5-piece was one short that evening, their saw player had a prior obligation, but the 4 that were present put on quite a show. They were really nice guys too, even after a conversation about Ayn Rand, which often turns those who have read Rand into narcissistic jerks with the very mention of her name.
The Bonesetters
Next up was Holy Ghost Canyon – hillbilly rock at its finest, with occasional hints of blues. They had a girl drummer. The main singer stripped down to his undies right after we filmed a song of theirs. One of the band members poured beer all over the main guy’s face. It was a blast to watch.
Christian Taylor & Homeschool closed out the night, and made sure people were there to close out the bar (Homeschool was the cellist, who was actually home schooled and got stuck with that nickname). Christian Taylor & Homeschool are fantastic musicians, and I’m not just being nice. Christian knew exactly what to do with his sparse jazzy guitar, and Homeschool knew exactly how to complement and support the sparseness that Christian provided. Christian’s guitar had a little reverb, a little overdrive, and a whole lot of soul. The beginning of their set was just stunning. Tayor’s gruff but higher-pitched vocals cut through his beautiful guitar work, and Homeschool’s cello swells pulled just the perfect tones over everything. The end of their set started dragging on a bit though. It eventually turned into a jam session where Christian started pulling people in the bar up on stage to play whatever he wanted them to. While it was pretty cool to watch what happened, it was way past my normal bed-time. I’m a terrible rock star.
The show ended around 2:30 AM, and we were planning on making the four-hour trek to Portage, Michigan to stay with Carl’s sister’s parents-in-law. We were dog-tired at that point, and not looking forward to another night drive with 64 oz cokes from the local gas station to keep us awake. Luckily, Dan from Bonesetters offered us some couches at his place for the night. We gladly accepted.
Dan lives in Muncie, which is about an hour Northeast of Indianapolis, but we didn’t mind the drive after having mentally preparing for a much longer one. We got to Dan’s house at around 3:30 AM. Carl grabbed the CD case and brought it inside, which sparked hours of conversation about all of our current favorite artists. Dan gave us a few albums for our next long drive, and the music sharing finally died down around 5:45 AM.
We woke up around noon to a small crowd just outside the house. Right across the street, we spotted caution tape and cameras, and immediately assumed a pretty serious crime had occurred while we were sleeping. We packed up quickly and ran outside to see what was going on. It was only an amateur camera crew filming some bit on a fictional crime. The main actor wasn’t very believable, so we stopped staring and packed the car, trying not to make too much noise as we shut the doors. The camera crew kept glaring at us as if we were dragging metal cans behind us as we walked and slamming the doors with all our might. We smiled, nabbed a picture, and sped off to the Michigan.
The most notable landmark on our way to Michigan:
Cooper's Castle
-Tricia
Spinning during the drive to Indianapolis & Muncie:
Delta Spirit – History from Below
Pinback – Summer in Abaddon
Anathallo – Canopy Glow
Margot & the Nuclear So and So’s – The Dust of Retreat
Colour Revolt – Colour Revolt EP
Jose Gonzalez – Veneer
Tennessee showed us her most beautiful side during our early morning drive to Nashville, which most likely was what helped us stay awake (but I can’t be sure, as I was in a daze from the night before and its roaches). There were hills upon hills of thick green forest, and we drove right through them as the sun was coming up. Aside from the intense fatigue, the trek through the night was worth it.
We stayed with the Bruners, family friends of mine (Tricia’s) who had moved down to Nashville about three years ago. Their house was absolutely gorgeous, and surrounded by the residences of country superstars – was that Carrie Underwood across the golf course? Yep. No biggie.
We awoke from our bed of clouds around noon, and went to lunch with the Bruners. We were taken to a cute little restaurant “Puckett’s Grocery” in Franklin, TN. For the novelty of it, the restaurant had little shelves with a minimal stock of soft drinks, bubble gum, batteries, eggs, etc. to sell to anyone who wanted to say they bought groceries from Puckett’s. It was pretty charming, which was standard for the Nashville area, we came to find.
Our show that evening was in a small town just outside of Nashville called Greenbrier. It was hard to spot the venue at first, but we finally found it in a tiny run-down strip mall on a semi-busy road. The outside was a little rough, but the interior surpassed that of our previous venue. The walls were raw wood paneled (definitely not the tacky old-type wood paneling one might find in a great-grandmother’s den), the sound system was huge, and the stage was pretty sizable. The floor was painted like a topographic map – parallel semi-squiggly lines from one side of the room to the other, but no real slant seemed to be present, thankfully. Best of all, there were no cockroaches in sight.
The owner, Franklin, was a middle-aged man dressed in business casual, and greeted us with a handshake and a few quiet words [Carl's note: he looked like Uncle Rico from Napoleon Dynamite, sans the mustache]. He caught us snooping around in the record store next door, and explained to us that he had just acquired the space. For the time being, he set up two shelves of CD’s (some used-looking, some of bigger acts from decades past, and some from bands that had passed through his venue), a few used bikes, some old tape deck equipment he was selling for a bargain price, and a lost tom from a drum set, on sale for $5. I almost jumped at the used tom, but Carl seemed more interested in some intense-looking alt-country CD from the 80′s…
We unloaded our stuff and introduced ourselves to the other bands. Setting our things up in front of a drum set equipped with a full rack and two floor toms, we got our self-made, toilet paper earplugs ready for the evening. Then we sat down for some chess. Carl schooled me twice (despite some pretty stupid mistakes on both our parts), and then we played some music.
This is footage of Dark Harp, the third act of the evening. Their guitarist was pretty sick (in the talented way):
This is Affliction Asylum, the last act of the evening:
The next day we headed back to Champaign, IL for our Taste of Champaign show. The drive went smoothly, until I started driving.
That’s my scared face. Funnel clouds decided they should appear from the green sky the moment that I got into the driver’s seat. It was terrifying but awesome at the same time – I’ve never seen lightning like I did that day. By the light of the crackling skies, we pulled into Champaign safely that evening.
The next day was so humid, we were pretty much swimming through the park to find our stage to set up on. Aside from the heat and humidity, it was a pretty fun show. We played in a gazebo to an attentive, middle-aged bunch of taste-goers, and Carl and I switched off every song to make it more interesting.
Angie Heaton and The Gentle Tamers played right after us. We were both pretty excited to catch some of their set.
Seeing as the weather was just too hot to handle, our friends Tracey and Scott insisted on grabbing a cold brew. We walked right on over to the new Blind Pig Brewery. Carl and I decided to maximize this rare opportunity to try different micro-brews, so we got two samplers and split them. Not only were they pleasing to the taste buds, but the aesthetic appeal of those cute little glasses and their holders coaxed the couple behind us to grab two samplers of their own. We’re such trendsetters.
We drove back up to the Chicago land area that evening, where we are now recuperating before the next two-week string of shows – Indianapolis, you’re next!
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