Right from the beginning, we knew that travelling out to the midwest wasn’t going to be the smartest business plan in the world, and the fact that we’ve played half-a-dozen gigs and twice as many open mics belies the fact that we meant this was almost as more of a vacation than an actual part of the Trip. There IS logic to that statement.
When Heather initially mentioned that she felt that we had been doing a whole lot of driving but felt we hadn’t travelled anywhere – she wanted to feel like she’d gone some great distance… she wanted it to LOOK different.
So I figured, we’ve got friends in Colorado, let’s go there.
We knew we’d lose money on the travelling, that we wouldn’t play enough to make up for the gas used, and we knew that we wouldn’t be able to truly USE the contacts that we made on this Trip, because we wouldn’t be able to come out this way again… not TOO quickly.
So, we’d make the best of it, but mostly, it’s a chance to take Heather to a place she’s never been before, let her be amazed by what the U.S. REALLY has to offer… and remind myself how big the world is, how many different people there are… we’ve done better than I’d expected – a lot better – we’ll probably be coming back out in May – but we keep getting to remind ourselves that we’re just out here to have a good time.
I Love Jennie’s presence, I Love being around her cats – I Love the mountains and I Love the people in Colorado. It’s been a fantastic trip (I talk about it as if it’s over, we’re still here till Thursday morning) and we’ve explored mountain-sides and star-scapes and a WHOLE LOT of the special features on the Fellowship of the Ring and Two Towers DVDs. At the moment, we’re hunting for Easter Eggs.
Oh my God – hunt down Gollum’s acceptance speech for the MTV “best virtual performer” award. I knew Gollum and Dobby had some issues – the mouth on that ex-River-Hobbit is just… well, worthy of the bottom of the river.
Yesterday we went down to Chautauqua Park and met up with Sean – an amazing performer we’d met a couple of nights ago at Penny Lane. He did an excruciatingly gorgeous set a couple of nights ago, and we invited him to hike up into the mountains with us. Didn’t realize his sense of humour was sooo…. bizarre. Rare for a folky. He made me giggle.
Yay! Entrails. I swear my writing will improve once we leave Colorado. I won’t be watching the Lord of the Rings while writing my entries.
The hike up the mountain was exhausting, though I kept up my hippity-hopping kind of gait so as to not get too exhausted. I find that with higher altitudes (I think we were up at around 8000′) I can keep going pretty well, but as soon as I stop – I fall asleep.
Hrm, I’m trying a different JPEG compression on these photographs, and I thnk I’ve gone too far.
Just played an open mic at a grungy, tiny bar called the Cricket on the Hill. Despite our initial impression of the place, the night was awesome – my voice came back with a vengeance and we were… well received:
“Now I know how Jimmy Page felt when he had to follow Hendrix” – Jeff
“You are horribly, disgustingly talented.” – Tom Medina – the host
Wow, compliments like that make it all worthwhile. Tony, the host gives a movie review at the night, and proceeds to run the night with a DJ’s enthusiasm. He wants to get Denver on the map, musically – and he’s got a level of personality and enthusiasm that makes me think he might do it.
(listening to Danya River’s CD)
I’m amazed at the beauty of the people we’re meeting. Whether it’s the sheer kindness of Kyle from Omaha, or the exuberant energy from Tony (the Mexican) Medina, or the familiarity of Jennie… I remember in college once, I ran away for a while – hopped a train and left the city because I couldn’t stand the pressure any more.
I had just had a fight with my father on the phone – about completing college, I think – as I was so fed up with art and artists and was so sure I was doing the wrong thing – was so frightened of the debt I would graduate with, and just didn’t know what to do with my Life.
(listening to Alice in Chains – that three-legged dog album)
So – I grabbed my acoustic bass and planned to go and play in the secluded pseudo-wilderness of Johns Hopkins’ campus. But – to get there from MICA, you pass by Penn Station – so I got on a train instead.
I spent the night with a family I met that evening, and that morning there was a note pinned to the refrigerator telling me to help myself to anything and that the cereal was in the cabinet above the sink. I keep that note with me all the time to remind me how good people can be to strangers, and how grateful I should be to be among them. I need to scan it in before it disintegrates.
Good people.
I’m not sure Heather believed in them before we started the Trip. It’s done good things for her soul, I think, as well as mine.
I worry sometimes, that we’re getting away from our purpose – that playing for a Living will kill it. People keep asking us if we’re out for a record deal, or what it is exactly that we’re trying to do – and I must admit, getting someone else to do our booking and whatnot – that’d be awesome. But I’m not really ready for someone to be putting us up in motel rooms and taking away the sheer first person intimacy of our travels. I Love shaking hands and sharing hugs with people I’ve just met. I Love sharing the Matrix with Jennie, and even spending Thanksgiving Night driving in circles, looking for open restaurants and movie theatres – for the first time in a long time, I really Love what I’m doing, and I just don’t believe that there are that many people who can actually say that.
