4617. Imperfectly precise. That is the number of miles I have traversed in various vehicles in the last 3 weeks. Moving very quickly while staying mostly still. Close quarters with various comrades. Hurry up and wait. New languages of insanity. This is the life of a band on the road. In late July I spent a week playing shows with Mercury Falls. We made our way up and down the left coast- as far south as LA and up to Vancouver. One of my favorite aspects of touring is the meeting and hanging out with new, great folks. We had plenty of that on this one, especially in B.C. where we played a couple of shows with The Inhabitants. They were impressive and inspiring and Skye and Karma were kind enough to host us at their idyllic home in the country, as we fortified ourselves for the punishing non-stop trip back to California.
After a brief trip to SD to spend time with family and celebrate Bomma's 89th b-day, I flew to Chicago to begin another mad-cap run with the Dina Maccabee Band through the Midwest and Northeast. The characters change but the script is strangely similar: in the first 24 hours, a secret language of references and gestures is developed. This will be the glue that binds us together when the road shows it's teeth and showers are sorely missed. Music is shared and gives added meaning to the monotonous or beautiful landscape. The vehicle starts and stops but mostly just goes and goes...We arrive just in time for load-in and then wait, wait, wait. Jargon is flung about: strike, check, wedge, downbeat. Then find a place to crash and start it all over again.
Amazingly, I almost always come away feeling inspired and renewed despite being roadworn and sleep-deprived. Generous people, seeing new cities & lands, getting to know your cohorts more completely, and playing music every night is a beautiful thing. When do we go again?
