Holy moly. I was really bad at all things social media this week, but SXSW was such an overwhelmingly great experience. We made countless new friends (Duggan Flanakin, Evan McCloskey, Midnight Cities, Time out Timmy, Marianne Toilet and the Runs just to name a few).
The band slept in tents (well, about four a night tops) in Duggan's back yard, ate delicious food, laughed, smiled, sang, played music until we couldn't...
Read MoreWe've been traveling for the better part of three days, leaving Boston, MA at 6 PM. We stopped for pit stops in Knoxville when the van had a new light demanding we change its oil, and Nashville, where we crashed our friends the Daltons once again. More Walker, more Moscow Mules, more hot chicken, and another round of goodbyes that happened much too quickly segued us into another brutal commute that led us to Keller, TX, some forty miles north of Dallas where we were welcomed into a friend's home...
Read MoreSaturday, 7 PM or so. I'm on the back porch of Shanghai Nobby in St. Augustine, at the very edge of The Bridge of Lions (easily the best bridge name in America). This side seems hipper than the touristy side of town, and or not. I was immediately met in an open arms from a helpful bar staff, who offered to help us in every way possible. They took damn good care of us; I could never recommend this place enough to another touring band...
Read MoreSarasota! Absolutely where Macho Man is from, but holy moly folks, Sarasota! Team Lonesome was limping into this show... spirits were down, we were hungry, we were tired. Just as beat as beat can get.
We weren't expecting much at first, until we decided tonight was our night. Merch Girl Amanda walked around the neighborhood before we played, inviting any and every one to come check us out...
Read MoreI can't sleep. I should be able to. I'm safe. Ive been well fed. I'm in a loved one's home. I'm tired.... but my brain is not.
The fan above me wheezes circular patterns, swinging along in its uneven dance, constantly threatening to finally give from the bondage of the ceiling. Instead of drifting, my brain is overreacting to the long term patterns that cycle through my life....
Read MoreWednesday, 5:47 PM. I'm so road worn already from the perpetual lack of sleep. Never enough, compounded by multiple days is clicking my brain into Tour mode - it's just moving in sloooooow motion.
We played our first show of the current run last night at Natura Tea and Coffee in Orlando. Really nice little spot. We were paid in free beverages and tips. I personally double fisted a caramel latte and a peanut butter porter, trying my best to get my money's worth...
Read MoreTuesday morning. I just spent the last hour walking around a Walmart parking lot hugged by palm trees, stretching towards the Florida sun, talking to my long lost friend Scott in excited short bursts of love speech. Scott and played in a band, Gunk, together through my college years. The fact that band never rose higher than where we got to is nothing short of criminal. Great songs, great bands, great singer. There is still definitely unfinished business there. (Secret side project? Stay tuned kids.)
Read MoreMonday morning. Side of the road, I 95 South, 80 something miles north of Savannah, GA. I just stopped for some road side relief. I was trying to catch some sleep in the bucket seat, while Sam took the wheel, and Andy rides shotgun. Unfortunately, I couldn't catch anything plentiful with a bladder full of coconut water....
Read MoreIs it Monday? I think it's Monday. I thought it was Wednesday for a long time. We are all tired at this point, but no one really wants to go home. Strangely, the van is starting to feel like home. I miss my cat, and we've been slowly losing things (my belt and deodorant in Nashville, my guitar picks on the piano bench in Charlotte, and countless things on the floor of the van). I've realized we packed too much. I could do almost all of these gigs with my acoustic, a small tube amp and a delay pedal...
Read More10:59 AM on a Sunday. Amanda and I are on a backroad in Charlotte, outside of the Airbnb. We're waiting for the band to come out, where they slept last night. Down to the dregs of our earnings, there wasn't enough to put all of us up, so we're taking turns sleeping in the van. Sam booked the cheapest room he could find ($62ish), and we thought of pleading with the gentleman to let us all just stay, but you could see the anxiety balloon across his face when we gestured towards our van...
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