So tour begins…
Still feeling pretty tired. Coming up close towards 3 months of sobriety now, and other than the occasional freak out day, I’m actually really enjoying it. Doesn’t mean I don’t like the party atmosphere though. Threw a house show Saturday, which meant spending the day prior cleaning my house for 12 hours, then waking up at 8:30am the day of the party to get an early start on errands before the party started at 2pm.
Had a 10am appointment at Canopy World to get a new lock installed on my canopy, and got new hydrolic lifter thingys for the back window as well. Not bad for $65.70. Pretty stoked, got back to the house in time to finish up cleaning and throw a party, passed out some time around 3:30am or so, then got up at 8:30 the same morning (day 1 of tour) to make breakfast for the my household, and the 13 other people who were still crashed out at my place. Got a head start on cleaning so Dan didn’t have to do it all alone, then packed up my truck, and was out the door by 5pm to pick up John.
The drive to Portland was how it always is. I love touring, but the downside to this tour is that I’m not leaving the NW, so other than a couple clubs I haven’t played before, the scenery is all the same, and a little boring, but still feels good to be out and back on the road.
Got to the Red Room in Portland 10 min. or so to 8pm, loaded in, and discovered one of the bolts on my tailgate is now broken. A smile crept up on my face, and I started laughing…now it feels like tour. Pretty sure I just need a bolt to fix it, but I think I’m gonna do that tomorrow.
The show had a pretty intimate vibe. Maybe 10-12 people, including staff and bands, but still a fun show. I love playing the Red Room, kinda feels like home away from home, but I seem to be collecting quite a few of those these days. Joe(Club Manager) keeps telling me he’d like to get me down for a show where people can actually see me, but either way is just as good to me. John and I are meshing more musically as we play, and it’s nice.
Aaron Baca opened up the show, which was pretty incredible. I really enjoyed his set a lot.
This was one of my favorite songs from his set. Not really sure what the title was, but it’s really pretty.
This version of “Let’s Play isn’t exactly my favorite, I think we went a little too fast on it during this performance, but I kept laughing when watching the way John and I both ended the chorus with our strumming, so I thought I would share. We’ve got the unison picking down lol. Now all we need to do is turn sideways and rock back and forth in unison.
The last band of the evening was a lot of fun as well. They are called ‘Go Ballistic’.
I was stoked that Amanda was able to make it out to the show. We crashed at her pad last night. John has been fighting over personal space with her cat, Argyle…and I just keep smiling because the last time I was here, I was the one kitty wouldn’t leave alone.
I still need to work on my after-show people skills. I generally like to just pack up my gear and smoke a cigarette before socializing, my sets usually take a lot out of me. Aaron Baca tried recruiting me for his other band, and I laughed at the idea of what the look on Dan’s face would be like if I told him I would be having band practices in Portland. I’m Zebrana Bastard full time anyway these days. Nothing against Aaron, but I’m done with trying to be in any serious projects outside of Z.B., this project is my heart, and it’s where I need to be. It feels right, and the pieces will all fall together in due time. I’m not patient with very many things, but when it comes to finding the right people to join me, I’ll find them along the way. Tag…you’re it. You can’t catch me…
If you want to chase me around the world, then come on and let’s go, because I’ve got a solid plan of going where ever my bliss takes me, and that’s the only thing that’s really certain. You’re more than welcome to come with me, and you can take leave whenever you want.
Tomorrow, we’re playing at Dante’s for the ChuckNbucK show. It’s a comedy variety show type of thing, and I’m pretty stoked, because I have never been a special guest musician for anything like this before, and as with any other new experiences, I’m thinking…BRING IT ON! 🙂
I’m in a mutha fuckin’ space suit! lol