Blood & Toothpaste
Just got done knocking a few layers of dirt off my ass via constant hot water with steady psi in a dimly lit stall. I’m gonna soak up this two days of luxury all that I can. Although, I’m thinking it might be a good idea to try to brush my teeth every day from here on out. I’ve got degenerative gums hitting me from both sides of the family and after brushing, it feels like someone took sandpaper and a razor blade to my bottom lip. Could be the result of always chewing on my pick before and after I play, but I’m gonna try the brushing my teeth every day before I stop chewing on my pick…that’s a 15 year habit I just ain’t ready to quit yet.
This is day 3 of the official tour, although I left Tacoma last Saturday afternoon. Tomorrow signifies a week on the road, and I don’t want to kill anyone yet, so I’m thinking it’s a good thing.
Princess Pammy can be a bit difficult to deal with at times, as she’s still going through mood swings from being off heroine the last 3 months now, and dealing with having all 4 wisdom teeth removed the day before we left. Quick to anger would be an understatement, but I can still see her making progress, and long as she keeps working on herself and don’t do nothing to jeopardize the tour, I’m willing to keep her on board. I love that girl a lot and see a lot of myself in her…lack of patience, sharp tongue, rarely thinks about what she says before she opens her mouth, and causes a lot of road blocks for herself because of it. Still trying to make sense of the world around her, and her walls are huge…although I’m thinking the harmonica I gave her when we first started this tour could’ve been the best choice I’ve made in a long time. She loves that thing, and she’s busted a stitch playing it and keeps going for broke. She’s also taken to the washboard quite well.
Despite the crappy mindset she gets into at times, she is pretty rad and hilarious. I think she’d make a great actress with all the different faces she makes and characters she creates. Definitely a talented diamond in the rough. At her core, she’s quite the beautiful young lady when she’s willing to let the world see it.
Speaking of awesome harmonica, we had the pleasure of meeting a man named Billy Joe who was 89 years old, and claimed he had written a song for Hank Jr. called “Never Trust A Woman Who’s Been Scorned”. He pulled out an old, folded up piece of paper from his wallet that he showed to Jeff, claiming it was the original that he had written. I’d believe it. Billy didn’t seem like he had anything to prove, just stating the facts. He sold us 3 harmonicas and 2 microphones for $150. Each harmonica is worth more than $150 a piece, and he told us that before he sold them to us. He had a tag on his wrist dated for that day and told us how he’d just gotten out of the hospital, and that he was too sick to play. I almost started crying. He had one harmonica he said he would never get rid of because it was his favorite, and “they don’t make them in boxes like this no more, everything is plastic these days.” He also talked about an old hallow bodied Gibson he let go for $250 not too many days before.
I can’t imagine getting to that point in my life where I would sell all of my precious treasures, it was both a heartbreaking and joy-filled, humbling experience. He knew full well the value of what he had, and seemed happy to let them go into the trusted hands of other traveling musicians…it’s these kind of moments in life that I live for, and it’s also these kind of moments you would never come across any place other than the road.
Last night was the first night I saw stars, not as clear as what it will be when we get into Arizona and New Mexico, but still beautiful none-the-less. I’m really looking forward to driving through the desert at night with a clear sky overhead.
I’ve noticed over the last few days that I no longer miss Aaron, I’m on my own adventure now…similar, but different.
We arrived at Der Hinterhof in Leavenworth around noon. Steve, the owner of the hotel we’re staying/playing at has been a most gracious host. He loves music, and his hospitality has been nothing less than incredible. We’ve got 3 huge beds, a mini fridge, a toilet, and downstairs a shower. He had fliers printed out for us when we got here, which we took to the street corner during an hour of busking. Even made a dollar while handing out fliers for the free show tonight.
He said, usually when they book artists, they get maybe 1 phone call inquiring the show. We had 7 calls. 🙂 Pammy played with us on the washboard while we were busking and passing out fliers, and plans on joining us for the shows. We play here tonight and tomorrow. Jeff and I will be playing our regular sets, then finishing out the nights with an open jam. I’m looking forward to hanging out with a bunch of music lovers and hanging out with my friends from the band, Play With Fire, who also live in the area.
Dealing with people can be hard…we all have our own quirks and little things that make us special, I’m excited to face the challenges that lie ahead, and tonight, I’m happy to not be sharing my sleeping space with the steering wheel.
Until next time…thanks for tuning in. 🙂
-Z