LA: Taix, Louis CK, Pumpkin Pancakes and Lorazepam?

Dara and I did a duo gig in LA at Taix last Friday night.  Oh man did we have fun.   Doing the duo thing has been real fun and touring with just two people is a breeze in a lot of ways and WAY cheaper.  However, I really missed the camaraderie of my band and come show time, the full metal jacket of pure Felsen rock and roll would have totally crushed that room. Crushed it I said.

Armed with only acoustic guitars and a glockenspiel, we represented Felsen pretty well.  We had a slightly rocky start and I was a wee bit nervous facing a loud room of peeps, nearly all were felsen newbies.  We sang well.  Dara played a little bit of acoustic guitar (her first with Felsen), we sold some CD's, 

 

drank a few drinks (full disclosure, ever-incorruptable Dara drank a Shirley Temple) 

and were then completely BLOWN AWAY by Greg Franco and Rough Church. Wow.  Los Angeleans, please patronize this band.  Kinda Pixie-esque. but heavier and funkier and tighter with a better rhythm section.  Great songs.  Wow.  Yes please.  

After the gig, I sat on a bench  outside of Taix with an old friend.  It's been a few years and to put it mildly, she's had a pretty rough time.  I got nothing on her.  She said the comedy of Louis CK single handedly helped her through the last year. Respect. Word to that. On her IPhone we watched a clip of Louis in action. We sat and talked til 2 am.  Dara and I finally got out of there at 2.30am and proceeded to get lost, I had an argument with Siri, calling her a beeyotch (not her fault 110 west was closed) and we proceeded to take surface streets all the way to Santa Monica, arriving at 4.15am at Foxxy Kim's house, where we've stayed before.  Her adorable kids, age 4 and  7 woke us up around 7.30.  "Where are the other two guys?".  (Art & Shane).   Kim made us vegan pumpkin pancakes. In exchange, we gave her and some of the neighbors an impromptu house concert.  "Mommy, what's  Lorazepam?".  

Dara dropped me off at El Segundo International Airport where the good people of Skywest Airlines DBA Delta Connection punctually flew me safely home. Coincidentally, I was seated near my old pal Danny Eisenberg who's a genuine rock star.  He's played keys with Ryan Adams, Shelby Lynn, Counting Crows, the Mother Hips and was in LA for a show with Christopher Owens.  We hogged the aisle and talked shop from wheels up to wheels down.  Our flight attendant, Donna Diamond, (that name is songwriting gold--don't even think about it you vampiric opportunists) asked, "are y'all in a band?".  "well, m'am it's complicated." many bands we said. many bands.  I was informed that she and her coworker were looking for something fun to do on their Oakland over nighter as I was handed an apple juice (my inflight beverage of choice).   "Can I take BART to your concert?".  I was due back to play drums that night with Danny Click and the Hell Yeah's at The Sleeping Lady in Fairfax. Sadly BART doesn't make it all the way to Fairfax. Yet.  Her coworker told us that the Captain, also her husband, plays guitar in a metal band.  "And you let him fly this thing?" said I. Not funny.  Note to self: Don't joke about the captain's flying ability mid-flight as it makes the nervous flyers nervous.  But most significantly, never joke about heavy metal.  NEVER. 

Felsen Does House Concerts

It's been too long. We're going back on the road.  

Except this time 'round we're aiming to do more of an intimate, low volume show...IN YOUR HOME.Yikes. Did I just read that correctly?  In our home?  What?  How could that be possible? How do we get this loud, crazy rock and roll band in our living room?  What will the neighbors think?

 Answer:  We'll play these things...

...and you'll get this lovely, intimate and unique experience in YOUR HOME.

"Felsen is a band you want to invite to dinner to meet your family; well mannered, well fueled and full of heart!" Paul, Fremont, CA

This type of concert is, for Felsen, the perfect venue for die-hard music fans to get to know us, allowing audiences to really listen to the lyrics and hear the stories behind the songs.   Keep it local, personal, up close and intimate.  

We’ve had some amazing experiences doing house concerts as a full band...

duo...

and even AG solo...

We’ve tailored our rock and roll antics to fit your living room, driveway, basement or backyard.  We’ll be on our best, most professional behavior and will work with you to make the show unique and fun.  No venue too small.  No need for concerns about “will they be too loud?”  Nope.  Quiet is the new loud.  You’ll hear a pin drop!

We've played all kinds of house concerts.  Some folks want the full band rocking in the backyard by the pool..

 

or in the rec room

And then there's the folks who want to keep it on the mellow, strumming and singing in the parlor. Ahhh a breath of fresh air indeed. So...we've loaded up the video camera and made a few promo vids of the Felsen Acoustic Duo doing that thing we do so well.

And just in case you want AG solo in your kitchen...

"Everyone I was with the night we hosted Felsen's house concert went gaga for their music, we couldn't get enough."  Laurie, Alameda, CA

I’d like to host a House Concert! How do I get started?

First of all, anyone with enough space to seat 25-30 people, and an interest in presenting music in a listening room environment, can host a House Concert. There’s no secret handshake or initiation ritual! If you haven’t already been to a House Concert, we recommend attending a couple different House Concert venues, to get an idea of how hosts set up the concert. We would be more than happy to talk to you about what has worked well for us and what we’ve learned over several years of performing house concerts. Also take a look at Concerts in Your Home, an online resource dedicated to helping hosts set up House Concerts and connecting performers to hosts. They have put together some very good videos about how to get started.

A few quotes from the press about dear old Felsen to whet your appetite.

“Marvelously witty pop”, East Bay Express

“Felsen strives to ensure survival of rock 'n' roll”  San Francisco Chronicle

“The band’s most potent and thought-provoking album yet… Powerful songs." Palo Alto Daily News

“Felsen has its insightful finger on the pulse of a harried, busy generation.”  Tahoe Daily Tribune

“Straight into my top 10 for the year” americana-uk.com

“Truly one of the best kept secrets of the Bay that deserves to be parroted, played as loud as possible, and shouted out to all corners of the world.”  Impose Magazine

“Felsen keeps the listener engaged with smart lyrical tales.” thefirenote.com


From a hardcore felsenista, and house concert presenter: Someday, far off I hope, I'll stare at my last sunset.  When that fateful moment arrives I will recall the glorious pure joy of Felsen playing in my living room on my 50th birthday.  I won't be the only one.  Months have passed since that night and I'm still hearing about how much people loved the party and how they now have the Felsen catalog on heavy rotation.  As Andrew told the crowd I am a True Believer and now they are too.  What could be better than my favorite band in my house playing for me and my favorite people?  It could happen to you.  In preparation for the event Andrew and I worked out a neighbor friendly set list that remained uncompromising for the Felsen faithful.  The show started early and the band played two hour long sets of electric music.  When it got too late for the local noise ordinance he and Dara settled down for a third set of acoustic gems taking requests from the assembled crowd which at that  point was sitting in a tight circle on the floor.  They finished with a cover of "Cinnamon Girl" with many signing along, filled with the utter magic of the whole evening.  As we shook hands to say goodnight Andrew said, "Lets do this again next year." It won't be my last... 

You should do it too you won't regret it you won't forget it.  

Edwin, Richmond, CA. 

Yes?   OK. So go ahead and CONTACT FELSEN:  felsenlovesyou at gmail.com

AND visit us online

felsen.bandcamp.com
facebook.com/felsenlovesyou
twitter.com/felsenlovesyou

felsenlovesyou.blogspot.com

reverbnation.com/felsen

And thank you!  

xoxo

Felsen.

Summer shows and KFOG news

My fellow Americans:

Hello.  We've missed you these past few months of summer vacay.  We're back now with news and gigs to pimp and photos to share and oh so much more.

Where to begin?  How bout the lovely house concerts we did the last weekend of July, our first shows since May.  We played two very unique and beautiful events in the east bay.  The first night was at the Niles Home Concert Venue in Fremont, CA.  Our hosts were Paul & Jana Welschmeyer and Matt Hayden.  They've created a one-of-a-kind top notch music venue in Paul and Jana's backyard.  Very pro: stage, lights, PA. Doesn't get any better than this.  The local paper even gave us a little write-up. We had a very groovy acoustic-y opener, Misner & Smith who set the tone on the mellow with some very beautiful stuff. Sitting in that night with them was local Fremont'er, Bruce Kaphan on pedal steel and guitar (google him). Not quite knowing what to expect from this audience of total Felsen newbies drinking wine by candle light, we eased in with some of the kinder, more gentle felsen repertoire. How can we better serve you? Do we rock or do we soft rock? We put on the full Felsen charm attack and they eventually caved. (booze+felsen=fun.) I beat them down about their cell phone usage and their social inhibitions, I dragged them by the hand to the foot of the stage for dancing and by 9.15pm they belonged to Felsen. From the very first downbeat though, they were an absolutely great listening audience. Many of them had been to Paul and Jana's casa for concerts in the past, true blue die-hard music fans. Hooray for that. And Hooray for Paul, Jana and Matt for creating a venue out of thin air simply because they felt their beautiful town needed a proper place to go to hear and support local musicians. They are indeed true believers. We dug deep and gave it all we had. We ended the night in typical Felsen form, out in the audience, busking for the love of it. Breaking up With Loneliness. Thanks again Niles Home Concert Series.

Night 2 was at 27 Powers in Alameda.  Our host was Laurie Wagner.  Laurie has a really lovely home  tucked away in a hidden corner of Alameda.  It's like Shangri La inside of Brigadoon. She's a writer and a writing teacher and her home and yard has hosted many concerts, poetry readings, writing classes and now, God save her, Felsen.  Our own Gal Pal Numero Uno, backing vocalist and Go Go Dancer extraordinaire, Dara Ackerman opened the evening up with a few of her finely crafted tunes.  

Alameda is my home town.  Lots of friends and family were there.  AND my main man, my son Levi was in attendance and he rarely gets to see Felsen--we're normally playing in a bar waaaay past bedtime.  He was pumped up and got to reunite with some old friends from way back...from day care.  Laurie created a really beautiful space for us to perform.  The deck of her writing cottage (everyone needs one) acted as our stage.  She put up some colorful twinkling lights, chairs and couches for peeps to sit on, lit a fire in the fire pit and served wine, booze and snacks (all for a very reasonable price I might add).  Laurie is a bonafide artist and it was nice to be among another of our ilk, another refugee from the land of misfit toys.  She gets it.  She lives it.  She made us feel very at home.  

This crowd was easy.  Again, we started kinda chillax and then slowly ramped up the energy and vibe.  Soon enough it was time for the full-on audio assault squad Alameda Backyard Style.  Better Thoughts will keep you happy and alive!

The bunny visited us, nearly caught himself on fire in the process, but once again took the show from 4th to 5th gear.  Thank you bunny--you know who you are. 

We ended the night again busking sans electronic amplification.  Take Me Back.  And we played Water Fit For Babies, which was especially fun to sing as I had my son standing near me.  I wrote it when he was just a wee little thing and he has a starring role in that tune.

Fun times in rock and roll.  

We’ve been honored by SF’s KFOG radio to be part of their local scene compilation volume 11.  You can download a copy of the compilation via the KFOG website.  All proceeds go to Music in Schools Today.  MUST is a non-profit that supports and develops music education programs.  KFOG has invited us to perform a Free Happy Hour show in Sausalito on Thurs Aug 21.  DJ Renee Richardson will MC the event.   We have a few other great local shows coming up.  We’ll be at our fav east bay hang, The Starry Plough and we’ll be returning to a new fav in Benicia, the Rellik Tavern.  AND we’ll be back in the historic Niles  district of Fremont for an outdoorsy show in the town square come early September.  More details on upcoming shows here.

Lastly, rest in peace dear Robin Williams.  You are very near to our hearts.  

Love, 

Felsen.  

Summer Vacation

Hello Dear Lovelies:

Ohhh we had a rowdy good time last week in Benicia at the Rellik Tavern.  Dear Rellik staff and patrons.  I sincerely apologize for standing on the bar top.  Twice.  Rock and Roll is my enabler, it makes me do reckless and stupid things in service of the audience’s need for a sacrificial lamb/village idiot. Also, apologies for excessive volume.  The bar man came up with his OSHA issued dB meter and informed us that we were registering around 110 dB (about as loud as standing next to a lawnmower in use.  oouch.  sorry bout that.)  As I’ve mentioned, we’re gonna be taking some time off.  I guess the spirit to throw down mightily one last sweet time was strongly with us that night.  The good people liked it though and that only acted as a further enabler for reckless musical behavior.  

(photos by Erinn Terry)

OK so now that it’s summer vacation, I’ve been thinking about you.  If we were in high school, I’d make you a mix tape.  So…here goes.  How bout a few tunes to listen to while the band is on holiday? It'll be like being in our van barreling down the highway, each band mate getting a turn at being DJ.  My turn. Arthur, look at those horsies out there!

I first heard this tune via CAKE's cover version.  This song makes me real sad.  Not sure why. Maybe it's all those many miles I/we have driven all over the country far from home.  I like the sad songs the best.  I'm that kid who arrived at the party with the Joy Division record and took the needle off the Cyndi Lauper album.  You'll probably laugh, but here it is.

The story goes that Don Gibson wrote this tune the same day that he wrote “I Can’t stop Loving You.”  Not a bad day's work!  Neil Young reinvented the tune and added a whole other layer of sad. You can't fake that.

The groove on this one is so laid back and woozy. It feels like you're on pain medication. It kinda makes you feel bad in a good way AND it sounds great in the car. Extra Loud.

This guy is my hero. Jon Brion. I Heart Huckabees soundtrack. You're welcome.

Radiohead has been sounding really good in my Honda lately.    So creepy. 

Warren gets the last word. Raking leaves with Liza.

OK Lovelies.  See you 'round the clubs.

Ooops.  My ride's here!

AG

Magical JuJu for a Roomful of Monkeys!

I’ve been enjoying the simplicity of doing some duo gigs over the past month. I love the band, but it is a heavy weight to carry.  Getting people’s schedules to line up etc…has been a lot to manage over the past five years here in the Peoples Republic of Felsendom.  And rock and roll years are like dog years; five glorious years can feel like 35!  It exacts a heavy toll on your central nervous system.  The duo has been a welcome diversion: one car, one tank of gas and just one other person.  But here’s the BUT:  I do very much miss the big rock and roll extravaganza that is Felsen.  I'll get another crack at that this upcoming weekend.

I was recently out doing a drum gig with my pal Wesley Morgan at a dance studio on University Ave in Berkeley.  Specifically this was a gig at an establishment where one goes to learn the lively art of pole dancing.  Yup, you can actually study that.  I think this was their graduation party and Wes was providing the music; I was their drummer du jour. Not a bad gig.  (The view from behind the drums was quite nice I might add.)  On the set break I wandered around University Ave and stumbled upon the Monkey House, which I've been hearing good things about for the past few years.  Head monkey, Ira Marlowe, recognized me from seeing one of Felsen’s many Starry Plough gigs.  He invited me in and showed me the room.  It's small and only seats 54, but oh so very cool and vibey.  Does size really matter? I immediately thought this would be a good place to play solo or with the Dara. So...I put together a show, invited the Dara to do her thing (which ended up being her long-overdue CD release party for her fab new CD, Skyland) and Ira did an opening set.  Dara worked like the dickens promoting, single-handedly selling out the place to her growing legion of rabid east bay fans and friends.  I played drums during her set.  Also on board in her band that night was multi-instrumentalist, singer songwriter and all around musical loose cannon, Scarth Locke.  AND the ever-lovely Joann Demars on cello and electric bass.  Wow cello!  Far too classy for this hoosier.  Dara’s audience ate it up.  Next up: Felsen duo night singing all the hits.  Much of the show you could have heard a pin drop.  Shivers.  That’s a very flattering feeling for a songwriter, getting the rare opportunity for people to really listen to the lyrics and hear the stories.   Dara sang backgrounds, wore a boa and played glockenspiel.  Who could ask for more? Truth be told we employ equal parts Glock UND Spiel.  (You can’t have one without the other.) Ira has a hard 10pm volume lock down to keep the litigious neighbors happy. So...at 10pm we came down into the audience sans electronic amplification.  To me, this was the very best part of the evening. I loved being on stage playing drums with Dara and of course later singing my own tunes, but when we got off the stage, turned up the house lights a bit and surrounded ourselves with audience, things turned magical.  The audience was so attentive, I milked it and played extra quiet at times.  The quieter I got, the more focused they became. Quiet is the new loud.  

It felt really, really good to reconnect with the songs; some of which I haven’t sung in a while. With the big rock and roll juggernaut that is Felsen, sometimes the really quiet, pretty stuff gets axed to accommodate rockin. (Forgive me in advance if I ever play that stupid Smoke on the Water riff again!)   

I’ve been really pretty weighted down with other life stuff for the past few months and just have not had my head in the music so-to-speak.  I missed the songs.  They’re like my children. They’re like old friends I get to visit every now and again.  "Hey I remember you!  I loved you a long time ago.  Do you remember me?  Have you forgotten about me?"  I sang Breaking up with Loneliness, a song about my then-newborn son, the vastness of the cosmos, embracing life, overcoming death, letting go of fear and anxiety.  whew….that’s a lot in that 4 minute song.  The real high point though for me was singing Honolulu.  I think this might be the best song I’ve ever written.  It’s about that magical and terrifying moment when you’re getting wheeled into the operating room for a surgery and you’re feeling like you’d rather be just about anywhere else. How bout some place tropical?  (An oft-overlooked topic for a rock and roll song IMHO.)  The first verse of the song.  “When are you going to Honolulu? Pilot of the skies to a bluer island blow on a tailwind.”  Not a bad opening line if I do say so, but the second verse…. ahhh...that’s where it gets heavy and can have a very jarring effect on an unsuspecting audience (that is, when they’re paying attention--thankyouverymuch bar room drunks).  “Surgical wires, while the doctor smiles.  He reassures me.  Pray my soul to keep while they wheel me down to sleep on a gurney.  In my dreams I’d rather be with a wave crashing over me…”  Honestly, singing that on stage that night at the Monkey House in Berkeley, CA was powerful juju for me.  Maybe you attentive monkeys also felt the juju? Hope so.

Guess what? We’re putting the band back together with scissors and tape.  Yup.  All hands on deck. All 5 of us just like old times.  We’re rocking it quintet style.  We’re polishing the dust off and giving a concert in the wee-sized city of Benicia, CA this weekend.  It’s an all night affair.  We’re playing from 9 til 1.  Pretty much blowing out our entire repertoire.   We’re getting it all out of our system in one fell swoop. Come join us this Friday, MMKAY?   It’ll be a sweet, lovely, drunken send off as we’re taking a few months off for summer vacation, a hiatus of hibernation, a marathon of exorcism. The ever-impatient sheriff awaits!

Signing off,

AG

California: Felsen Love You Long Time

California is a big lovely state.  I have a lot of Cal pride.  One thing that's a joy about living in such a big state is that there's always something new to see and when you're in a touring band, you get plenty of opportunity, as we did this past weekend traveling for two shows in So Cal: Friday in Hollywood and Saturday in Long Beach. We took a different route down south this time.  Departing from Art's house in Pacifica and heading down to meet up with I-5 near Los Banos.  We were hungry and found a one man Taco Truck.  I highly recommend him.  Not quite the artist as that genius in SLC near Burt's Tiki Bar, but El Brother is real good. I think he was parked on highway 152 somewhere near Gilroy. Reason #147 for my love affair with California:  abundant high quality Mexican food.

A little further down the road, we came across Casa de Fruta near Hollister.  It's a giant fruit stand with perhaps the largest selection of dried fruit I've ever seen.  Reason #423 for loving California:  the produce.  This is the type of intense nerdliness that is Felsen: while other bands are talking drugs and porn, we're get excited about dried fruit.  Really excited. The people at Casa de Fruta knew they were onto something and have therefore expanded their roadside biz to include Casa de Burrito, Casa de Coffee, and Casa de Cho Cho for the kids.  Kinda kitschy, but kinda charming.  I didn't wanna leave.  Ever. But Hollywood was calling. Specifically, The M Bar for Friday night's show.  Back to the 1-5 for all the usual--cowschwitz and then over the grapevine and heading into all that lovely 101 traffic in LA. Hollywood on a Friday night.  Big time.  Big time headache.  Reason # 496 I don't like LA: Valet parking everywhere.  That turns it into a pay to play situation for me and that aint cool.  Free parking is my blood sport and my divine birth right.  We branched off for dinner upon arrival:  Me and Dara for vegan food at Doomies  and Art and Shane off in search of meat on a bun. Yummy vegan food kinda made up for my issues with the valet man. Still I had a chip on my shoulder.  Note to self:  don't walk out on stage at a gig in Hollywood and greet your audience of 13 with "Good evening Scientologists!"  It's probably not funny to them.  Friday's gig was kinda lack luster by Felsen standards. Not promoted at all by the other local band.  They were good though.  

We persevered thorough our set.  attempted shenanigans including me sitting on the lap of one of the actors from 30 Rock.  (Seriously that really happened.)  It was probably the low point of his recent life. If you're gonna make omelettes, you're gonna break some eggs.  And by broken eggs I mean, some unwilling, unsuspecting audience member who gets sat on while I'm playing the guitar.  I did manage to corral about 10 people on stage for the final number.  We haven't done that gimmick in a while.  It's always fun and makes the band and audience feel connected.  We sold the CDs, said a few nice words to the kindly people there and watched the band after us.  They were good. Gear packed, we needed a late night waffle and found the IHOP in Hollywood, then headed to our lovely hostess's home in Santa Monica for some much needed sleep.  Well...about 4.5 hours of sleep. We awoke to the joy-filled sounds of a 6 year old and a 3 year old.  I didn't mind though as I can't sleep past 7 no matter how late I go to bed.  The little girl loaned me her bedroom for the night.  Very pink.  Very quiet and I slept like a baby floating on a magical cloud.  A pink fluffy cloud.  Our hostess Kim was so nice to us and fed us a really wonderful breakfast.  LA has great bagels.  We lingered around her house, told war stories (she's a musician as well) and then headed out to the Sportsmen's Lodge in Studio City for a swim in the pool.  Man that was Heavenly.  Perfect weather.  I hung out with my old friend and touring compadre from way back, Duff Ferguson and his daughter, sister and bro-in-law. Later we headed over to Long Beach and Dara and I found more vegan food (the hippy salad please) and then eventually arrived at the Prospector for the night's gig.  

Saturday's gig more than made up for Friday's kinda lame experience.  This one renewed my enthusiasm for Rock and Roll.  Great crowd.  Our Long Beach street team provided a strong contingent of friendlies and the newbies were open and willing to give us a shot.  We threw down mightily in the true Felsen spirit. Great crowd interaction.  They were mainly a rowdy bunch, but we were able to debut a new real quiet tune that's kind of a stark contrast to the rest of the high volume, high energy vibe we were channelling.  The tune is called "Poor In A Wealthy City". Amongst other things, it's about my years living in Chicago and feeling so, so out of place with the great disparity of wealth on display in that city.  Out of place is my native environment..it's what I do best. But hey, who doesn't feel out-of-place sometimes?  It's starts with just me, strumming and singing. Shane, in his infinite vast wisdom, reminded me to play even quieter as I was starting the tune. The quieter I got, the more the room simmered down. You coulda heard a pin drop on a ball of cotton in the forest. Shivers.  I love those moments.  "Tonight I'm poor in a wealthy city/prosperity towers high above me/inhaling the exhaust wearing duct-taped shoes/ imagine Muddy Waters singing the blues."  That felt really good to sing those lyrics.  The rest of the set was more rocking.  Tokyo Electric, Lorazepam, Better Thoughts, Don't Turn your back on Me Today and Gunfighting at Dawn with a Smoke on the Water teaser.  A girl came up to me and said Felsen reminded her of Weird Al Yankovic. I'll accept that.  

It looks like were praying to Shiva, but were just doing some soul claps on "All You Gotta Do is Smile".

 I look mad in this one.  Maybe I was.  It's not you...it's me.  Lorazepam.  I think.

After us were our musical hosts and brothers from the road, State To State.  I love these guys.  Trust me, it feels really, really good when you're the out-of-town band to have a local band on your side, rooting for you, helping you out, loaning you gear, setting you up a gig, PROMOTING IT, and to hang out with too.  On top of that, these guys are the real deal musically speaking.  Los Angeleans, please, please patronize their shows.  You will not be disappointed. They have a very cool Raidoheadesque vibe to their music and their singer, Shay is one of the very best singers I've heard.  It makes me envious. It makes me want to practice more.  Beautiful songs too.

We were all pretty tired post gig and had to make it a somewhat early night.  So no late night post show shenanigans this time. I did however manage to trade a few CDs and a t shirt for a cool new used jacket. We drove to our host Todd's home in Echo Park.  We climbed this immensely tall stair case to the front door.  We were all laden down with gear and belongings.  Each of us were completely winded, tired, and spontaneously started laughing at some point.  That Staircase was no joke. We got up early, headed back down the stairs,

passed this car,

found a diner,

and got on the I-5 where I found yet another cool red neck hat at a truck stop along the way.

This was our first road trip since the arctic quest to Portland, OR in early December. God willing, this will be the first of much travel over the next year to promote our most recent album, I Don't Know How To Talk Anymore.  We're currently incubating another larger national tour for later this summer and fantasizing about getting on a plane for the east coast.  Does anybody have some extra air miles? The good drummer's waiting at SFO.

Meanwhile, we're gonna hibernate for a while.  Hope to see you April 22nd at our next Bay Area Show. Should be a fun one.