Last night's show with FOS was a fun show with a good group of people but today I was tired and not quite ready to embark on a three week trip. After settling some things done I head out towards Marysville, the town of my first stop on the tour. I get there a bit late because the traffic of a Friday evening is unbearable. Before I actually make it to the gig I have my first thought of "why am I doing this" when I stop for gas in Olivehurst. There are a group of about 20 guys that are feeling a bit feisty and yelling, cursing fighting amongst themselves in front of burned down trailer homes. They started harassing the people walking by and it seemed they were coming to a boil. Needless to say, I wasn't going to stick around and see what happened next so pumped my gas and sped away. A close call for this here urban cowboy but I escaped unscathed. Marysville itself was a lot better. It looked like it had been preserved in the Old West and nobody bothered to update anything. It would be fun to go back there and look around a bit more.

My being late was no problem for anyone because apparently there was a fair in town and everyone was there so the bands are going to be playing to just a handful of people. I started at about 9:15 and played about 5 songs before Estereo
jumped up on stage and rocked it softly. They played about 6 songs in less than 15 minutes, the cafe was closing, and they weren't even playing fast stuff. An amazing feat in itself but I loved the singer's, Skip, voice and the melodies were sweet. Overall it was a good show and I left merrily with food in my stomach and coffee in hand.

After last night's show I traveled the 2+ hours back to SF because I had some unfinished business to take care of that couldn't wait until I got back. I left the city at 2pm and it took me close to 3 hours to even get out of the bay area because the traffic was far more horrific than the previous night. I regret not getting all my stuff done before because I could have skipped all that nastiness and made it to Portland in a timely manner rather than sit in the car for 12 hours. Along the way I passed some beautiful sights though. There is a bridge on I-5 that crosses Lake Shasta for a little stretch and for a few seconds the water is all around you and the mountains beneath you. It was a majestic moment, I must say. If you have ever driven through Oregon then you know all about the vast acres of trees that align the freeway. I always forget that I am even driving during that part because it so beautiful. Hopefully you all will get the chance to experience that once, at least. Back to the story...

I was to meet a friend, Stephanie, in Portland and she was going to find me a place to stay but I was trying to get there early enough to hang out a bit and help celebrate her birthday. I didn't make it and rolled into a small town just outside Portland. I had to be coached in from there due to the pitch black night. Eventually I made it and we went to a Denny's-type-place and ate some interesting food and met some good people. I met a couple of new friends who were kind enough to offer me their couch. I slept great because I was so tired despite being larger than the average human on a smaller couch.

This morning I got a little earlier than usual for the trip, about 10:30am. After cleaning up a bit I went and checked out what Seattle Weekly calls "the best breakfast." Glo's is a tiny little place on Olive Way that serves up good portions for good prices and Glo herself is the one giving it to you so you know it good. It is not quite the village grill but I haven't had their pancakes yet so only time will tell. You know how I love breakfast so you know I will be back in line waiting for grub on Saturday morning. Tomorrow morning I will be enjoying the sweetness of the Original Pancake House in Portland, the home of the best breakfast I have ever had, ever. That should be fun and then it is back to Seattle to play a house show that I was invited to play. Exciting and I will see how Ballard does it.Oh ya, tonight's show...I played a happy hour at the Red and Black cafe in Portland. It is a very cool cafe but most people were just passing through. it is ridiculously hot so people are in the streets going nuts. A fire broke out next door but it seemed to be tamed shortly. Overall it was fun and I played just about everything in my catalogue right now, 14 songs. And for those keeping track, this waitress narrowly beats out the girl from Marysville as hottest waitress on tour. Marysville has the exotic look going but portland has got the smile. Her smile is huge. I don't know it could be tough to beat. I'll keep you posted. I am off to enjoy some good distant friend hospitality. Keep it on the rizzle my nizzles in the 1-twizzle.

Tonight's show was a last second addition after a kind gent from Monday's show suggested I gave his friend Harry a call. Harry has a store front/apartment in the SW side of Seattle. He has bands on Friday nights and there is no admission. There was about 30 people there to see the Plaintiffs.I was able to jump on after them and my acoustic styling was able to rock on because it was getting close to quiet time and I was what they needed. I had a ton of fun, maybe the most fun so far. It was short lived but worth it all the while. One more night in the area and then I head off towards NYC. Tell your peeps that the alternacoustic is coming and they better be ready. Grrrrrrrr!

I met my friend Lacey and her roommate for breakfast in Minneapolis and we ate and the Brent Lake Bowl, a bowling alley that serves really good food. I had amazing french toast and a whole lot of coffee. We chatted it up and I tried to find some local wifi but no good. SO then I rushed to get into ridiculous traffic trying to get out of St. Paul. After a bit I finally got out and stopped for gas and food. I tried A&W for nostalgia sake but my stomach would be mad at me later. Kept the driving up for a bit and swooped through Madison Wisconsin. They are rebuilding the entire down town area and so it looks like a ghost town. Very strange. Finally hit Illinois and the toll highways that you pay 50 cents at a time to pass. I was doing great until lI ran outta change and left a dollar instead. Somehow I think I didn't do what I was supposed to and now I am running from the police for a 30cent crime (50 cent got nothing on me). I finally got into West Chicago and I sold out to a buckle that is open until 1am. Crazy I tell you. I also feel a bit old for one of the few times in my life because this is very much the high school scene and despite popular belief, I ma no longer in high school. I am no longer cool. ;) I am off to another great evening of motel 6 madness.

Some other notable tidbits from the road so far:
Red highways in South dakota
The beautiful view is over. it has been just flat lands until I finally hit the lakes
I saw the birthplace of Dr. Pepper and wept like a baby for its almost angelic beauty.

After staying up virtually all night, I woke up at check-out time and quickly showered before getting thrown out by the maid. I was planning to hang out in downtown Chicago but it was pouring and the traffic was horrendous so I decided not to brave the madness. The saddest part was that the traffic kept going and going and going. The rain cleared up once I got out of the area but it returned when I got to South Bend (I guess they are not planning on a good season...at least not a parade). and going I stopped in Washakawa (spelling?) and grabbed some lunch/dinner and went to Guitar Center. It is funny how they can build the same thing over and over again and never get anything new in there. They even transported poorly educated kids to work there from San Francisco. ;) My favorite was a punk kid who was in the sound room in the drum section bashing out some pretty bad punk drumming that was annoying everyone there. When his friend asked what he had been doing there he replied, "I just came down to get a work out." I almost peed in my pants. I know it is probably snobbish of me but I just thought it was so funny. After I was down sneering at the masses of middle America (I am so bad) I got back on the road. I finally hit Ohio and got on the turnpike to get down to Akron when I pulled into the toll booth and it cost me $7. We can never complain about bridge tolls while we don't have to pay to use the FREEways. Granted most people probably don't drive as far as I did yesterday but if it cost us $2 to go to Serramonte we would all be screaming "Bloody Madness," and wouldn't go. That's basically the sitch here folks. I must finish my ranting and get to bed so I don't sleep through check-out again. Hasta el fin de semana. Lattes, nonfat double soy. ;)

Tidbits: I passed two military convoys that were guarding large trucks. A bit scary huh?
Why do malls (even ours) always put the nail care place next to the food court?

I did a bit better about getting up today and I got out of the hotel at about 10am. I was trying to find civilization nearby and ended up roaming around Akron for about 3 hours. I think I might have seen all of the city that day and missed my exit a few times. I swear I am not bad at using maps but I have had to do quite a bit of troubleshooting the roads on this trip. The construction is killing me. I drove for bit more and ended up in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania to find food and gas. I found both in that order (hah). I had some pizza that was not as agreeable later on in the trip as it was when I first slurped it down. I hung out at the truck stop with my peeps and got some wifi and then jumped on the road again. The ride from Ohio to New York was not as fun as other parts of the trip but it was the final leg of a long week so I buckled up and down and took it on. I hit New York and the mapquest directions I had seemed a bit funny but what do I know, right. I eventually went through the Holland Tunnel after sitting in line for 30 minutes and then preceded to meet up with a friend downtown. After driving in circles for a bit, I could not get myself back to where my friend was so I called my family in Queens and they directed me to their house. I was on lifeline with my uncle as he talked me down from driving off the wrong bridge. I wasn't that dramatic but it adds color to an otherwise unimpressive evening in Manhattan. I got home and was so happy to see welcoming faces, water and a place to stand. Standing is such a novel idea. I long for more of it. That was it, my day. I will have to pull myself away now so I can catch up on my Family Guy, I am a few seasons behind. Ciao, bonnanotte.

So after a few days roaming around and being bad I am now back at home and I am back to reality. It has been an incredible last few weeks and a trip I will not soon forget. I had so much fun and the driving by myself wasn't as bad as people made it out to be. For a guy who thinks too much, a bit of quiet time is good. My ipod saved me as well as the trusty cell phone and appropriate hands-free device, on my bid to stay awake. I have learned that I can drive up to 16 hours without endangering myself or others and that if I wasn't addicted to coffee before I am now. I put 10,000 miles on my car. Ouch! The country is beautiful, even in the desolate areas. Driving cross country is something everyone should do at least once. It looks like I will be heading back on the road in the winter but in the meantime I will playing a bunch around town. Come out and say hi and pick up the new ep. I feel as though I am writing in fragments. Hopefully I can tell you all the rest of the stories. As for all those who have supported me on this trip, I say thank you again and I love you. See you soon.

Tidbits: Mail trucks with blades on the bottom were used to mow down the grass in the divider on I-90 in South Dakota.
So many of the rap songs I have on my ipod have sirens in them so every time I heard them I slowed down and ducked for cover. Not good for late night driving.