Monday, Mar. 31

An early morning to get out the door in time for our 4 hour drive yesterday, not including stops, and we were on our ways after loading the cars and cleaning up what messes we made at Mike's. The van stopped for food and we ended up behind the car, arriving just in time at 3pm in La Honda, through a very windy forest drive on 84. Apple Jacks luckily had food for those of us that didn't eat, and an excellent bartender who was the one that booked the gig with me in January, Angela. Just before the fellas started, Richard's folks walked in the door to surprise him, and a nice surprise it was. I got to fill his mom in on the tour thus far just as they began their three long sets to fill the 4-8pm slot. There was great response all around, and some recommendations for future gigs at a nearby startup business.

Leaving just after 8:30pm, we headed toward the coast to get the car some gas, stopping into a local taqueria for some sustenance before making the 2.5 hour trek back to sac. I was leading the caravan of cars, with Terri & Renee in line as well, and decided to avoid the city despite google maps' recommended path, and took us over 92, through my hometowns of Hayward and San Lorenzo and up 880 through the East bay to 80 straight home. We dropped off Phil at his house and unloaded his drums before meeting the other two cars at the house to sort through the rest of the luggage and head our individual ways, so happy to see our own beds again! A long four days with many hours of driving, but another enjoyable trip to the beautiful 5-cities area, a place we hope to continue to visit regularly.

Sunday, Mar. 30

Another gratefully lazy morning on Saturday, we all did our own things until about 2pm. This includes climbing half a mountain, working on setlists, writing this journal and sleeping. Can you guess who did what!? =) 3 of us unloaded the van into Mike's living room and set up all the gear to have a rehearsal. Tyler and Phil ran through some songs before Richard joined in and they played through the evening's setlist for a couple of hours. Renee and Terri pulled up just as they were finishing. We loaded all the gear back in the van as Mike started working on the tri-tip over his mesquite bbq (I think that's what it was?) that Richard had picked up for a bit of a family dinner. The ladies prepared salad and bread in the kitchen and we all enjoyed the cool, clean ocean air (and I the tofu they got for me) in Mike's front yard before grabbing some needed rest prior to taking off to Paso Robles.

On the road about 6:30, we got to the new venue run by Rabid Fiddlers' Noel Monteleone in an industrial area of Paso near a favorite local brewery. We had a gig booked at his Morro Bay location on our October trip but that location closed before our date, and when I booked this trip, I was under the impression it had opened in early February, but as we found out when we arrived, the night before was the first night of music! We were preceeded by the wonderful Rancho Deluxe, who we ended up going to see down the highway at Pine Street Saloon after our shows. Very fun and very danceable band we hope to play with in the future.

Back to the gig... got distracted there! We were greeted by very friendly folk and the easiest load in, possbly ever! A roll up door leads directly to the stage that's already equipped with great mics, lighting and a killer sound system (and a huge bass amp next to the stage that they were all checking out). The place has comfy chairs, couches, cool interesting lighting strung overhead, and a lot of neat ambience. The trio played two sets, both video taped by Noel and myself, to a very interested group of music lovers. If you're ever in the area, check out this new room. They've got a huge beer selection, wine, and bottled specialty sodas, and just a lot of good folks involved in the new venture.

Saturday, Mar. 29

Able to sleep in Friday, thankfully, we all took our individual times getting up in the morning (late morning!), grabbed some breakfast snacks and started poking around the area nearest to Mike's house. Phil stayed to rest while the rest of us headed to Montaña de Oro to check out the ocean. SOME of us went running for an hour, while some of us just jogged for a few minutes and walked around before spending the rest of the time enjoying the seascape. Several horseback riders passed by- quite a sight to see such beautiful creatures with the ocean as the landscape. As the marathoners returned, I noticed a bird chillin' in the sand, who on approach appeared spooked before we all realized he/she had a fishing line wrapped all around its body, weight on its leg and we think a hook in its mouth. The ladies started calling anyone we could think of, 411, 911, ranger stations, etc. before Richard got a swiss army knife from a guy in the parking lot and tried to cut the line himself. The bird was too spooked to comply, but a follow up phone call from the 911 folks let us leave feeling assured that someone was on their way to help the poor creature.

Back to the house to clean up, Richard and Tyler did a little rehearsal before we headed out to Boo Boo Records just up the street and over a block from the previous night's venue for an in-store performance in their back record room. It was a quieter set than usual due to our surroundings, but nice to be able to really hear the lyrics. I had walked down to my favorite eatery in SLO before their set to get a menu and after having everyone pick their orders, called it in so we could quickly eat before heading down 101 to Grover Beach. Ended up with 20 minutes to spare so we sat down inside and scarfed down our Natural Cafe cuisine (ok, 2 sandwiches, a burger and 2 tofu orders) before getting to O'Reilly's before 8pm. A third band, our sound man's group the Jim Townsend Blues Band had added to the bill since they're now establishing Fridays as Blues Night, and were a very fun addition to the bill, opening the night with a blues jam that introduced the bands even. Jimmy proved to be a super sweet guy with some great ideas for our next trip down. Red Eye Junction closed the night after our middle slot and we all kept the dance floor moving to their honky tonk flavored tunes. Fun times.

Friday, Mar. 28

We loaded up the cars and hit the road from West Sac about 10:30am on Thursday and quickly got separated on I-5 only to reunite after 4pm at our buddy Mike's house in Los Osos. We've been very fortunate and appreciative for his hospitality. He was gracious enough to host us in December as well, for the trip that we forgot to journal! Oops!

So we unpacked and got cleaned up and headed down the road at 4:30pm for our 20 minute trip into downtown San Luis Obispo to check in with the venue before the road closed for their famous Thursday night Farmer's Market. Realizing we didn't have to be there for hours and there was no where to put gear to load it in before the street closure, we turned back to Los Osos to grab dinner at a great Mexican restaurant we discovered on our last trip, then got some rest time in before really hitting downtown. Couldn't drive on the street yet so I parked the van around the corner and the men lugged all but one piece of equipment around the corner and up the block to Frog and Peach for our third gig and second Thursday night there.

After some technical difficulties (guitar amp not working) the fellas started a great set to a packed room. Amongst the locals were our friends Bo and Kathy, our host Mike and their friend Louie Ortega from the Texas Tornados, as well as Terri and Renee who made the trek together for this trip. Tulare's JD Goodwin and the Peacemakers closed the night with a rockin' set of covers. Finished loading the PA that the second band used and we were back to Mike's about 2:30am.

-kj

* * *
Monday, Oct. 15th, 2007

A barely-conscious call to my family decided on me leaving the fellas at this point to head up to the city early to belatedly celebrate my mom's birthday. A call to Richard as I left revealed that he'd hunted down a local coffee shop. From what I heard later, the guys all found some breakfast and took off to the city about 1pm, arriving about 4:30. After an opening solo act, the guys took the two-leveled corner stage and were very well-received. Sold 4 cds to one guy, and heard great things from a few other groups who came over to the merch table to inquire about the band. A lady came in with a large dog, maybe a shepherd mix of some sort, who was eager to have her tennis ball tossed to her, repeatedly and IMMEDIATELY upon retrieval, to the point that the guys had their first barking back up harmony track. Richard talked back to the dog in his big dog bark, played a few more songs, and rocked the hometown as wonderfully as always before loading up the van and heading for home, but not before the regular stop for burritos at a local favorite taqueria.

We were all sad to have it be over, but glad to be sleeping on our own beds (or beds at all for a few of the guys who floored it all weekend)!

Thanks to all the venues, owners/employees and musicians that made us feel so welcome in each of our stops. We made some great friends and can't wait to meet you all once again. See you next trip!

=) katie

Sunday, Oct. 14th, 2007

The first of the Motel 6 experiences left both rooms with some interesting stories. The fellas were treated to the sounds of a woman weeping all night in uncontrollable fits of emotion. Room number two was awakened about 8:30am to neighbors blasting rap music, the walls shaking from the over exhausted bass thumping on their clock radio (har har). A walk in search for caffeine and a knock on the guys' door a couple hours later with a fun morning greeting found a sleepy eyed Richard fully clothed, boots and all, stepping out so as to not wake the rest the remaining sleepers.

It was apparent that we were going to take advantage of our noon time check out, so I decided to go drive by my aunt's house that was just a few minutes away. Dialed the house to see if she was home and ended up going in to visit with her and my cousin for about 20 minutes. She'll be 90 next month but still pretty sharp, despite many physical issues that keep her mostly blind and walking most often with a cane for support.

It was hard to excuse myself, she obviously really loves company, but got back just in time find the fellas packing the van, and we headed off in search for breakfast. The fellas made friends with the Lompoc Cafe and we headed off to find a beach.

On recommendation from a local, we found ourselves at Avila Beach. A beautiful inlet just NW of Pismo, everyone got shoeless and enjoyed the sand and getting their feet wet. Richard went against lifeguard recommendations to stay out of the water due to a shark sighting at fairly nearby Morro Bay and (slowwwwly) got into the very chilly water to swim with the many seals we spotted while Steve and I broke into my softball bag and started tossing a ball and playing some fungo. Richard finished his swim when Steve started catching me throwing fast pitch underhand when he decided it would be a fun idea to bat. After Richard took a few swings, a random guy off the beach asked to take some cuts, amazingly enough, resulting in an odd attempt at a catch of one hit that left Mr. March with a pretty beat up foot. A few more swings by the limper and we were off to our second Motel 6 of the trip in Atascadero, about 20 or so minutes North.

Quick showers by all and we took the windy road down Highway 41 to the historic roadhouse that is Last Stage West. Greeted warmly by staff, we were suddenly staring at an electronic drum kit and house instruments. Despite the possible ease of using their things, we loaded in and Phil set up to the side of the stage as Tyler and I partook in some pre-show ping pong travesties in their beautiful back patio, not to be outdone by the later more official gaming by Steve & Richard. Had one table of entertained guests for a while, but being a roadhouse bbq joint without a real built-in draw, the establishment opted to feed us all after a bit. Satiated, we loaded up as the owner picked up a guit and played some cover tunes. Quick mini-mart run and back to the hotel for a 'championship card game' that apparently lasted past 2am in the boys room. Room #2 was asleep by midnight after a few amusing SNL skits.

Nothing like some laughter after hours of amazing music by great friends just before shut eye.

=) katie

Saturday, Oct. 13th, 2007  

So we left my bro’s after an afternoon of rest Saturday morning for the 2 hour or so drive to Santa Barbara. Hit some serious traffic but it cleared up and gave way to a rainy night as we made our way along the coast. Looking out the window just outside S.B. and seeing the brightly lit oil rigs way out in the ocean was sort of surreal…They look like big boats all lit up and framed against the drizzling dark, sort of a dramatic sight.

It was still raining when we got to the gig, a rare wet night in So. Cal. This place (Muddy Waters) was totally different than the Cinema Bar, similar décor to the old True Love Coffeehouse in Sac. Lots of original artwork and a very comfortable atmosphere, with micro brews on tap. (mmm, porter…) Very hip little coffeehouse. Again, the proprietors were very friendly and fed us homemade fresh veggie sandwiches ...Sort of a sparse crowd (we blame it on the rain, haha) but the other performers were very good and we were well received. Richard was especially impressed with the sound system and we performed pretty well, I thought. Our new friend Ted Hoagland, a fantastic singer songwriter in the Dylan vein (my fave) closed out the night with a hysterically brilliant talking blues (think Woody Guthrie, very early Dylan) all about the abuses and missteps of the current administration and we all laughed the whole way through.. Really great stuff…Tough to do a political song without sounding heavy handed these days but he pulled it off in spades. Before our set, as Richard and I were doing our vocal warm-ups in the van outside, one of the locals curiosity got the best of him and before I knew it he practically had his faced pressed against the passenger window with the look of a man observing a UFO landing…Had to laugh out loud and felt obliged to open the window to explain we weren’t doing anything funny... Don’t think he was convinced, but oh well… Drove an hour to get to the motel in beautiful Lompoc, Ca. (Much cheaper there than in SB) and pretty much crashed out after our all nighter Friday... on to Atascadero…