Motel 6 at Grant’s Pass…homemade quiche in land of fast food….nowhere….
We slip into the sweltering hellish heatwave that has overtaken Portland the one day we are here. Both Will and I sweat out our songs – it is like hot yoga with a guitar. Some folks I met in Mexico come out to watch and we survive until the sun goes down….
I am a road warrior….enveloped now by the thick, quiet mystery of the redwoods in Humboldt….Stopping in Arcata in search of an open mic. Only one is a women’s night – “Menstrual Mondays,” the other is canceled, so we press on into the night to get as much driving done before the drive to Portland tomorrow.
Bathroom break on the 101 North…
>Home Sweet Home. We have the great pleasure of being guests on Rusty Gates’ show Free Range Pickin on KWMR before our gig later. We get to play a few songs and talk about the tour. If you couldn’t tune in, check the whole thing out here:
Sleeping Lady….Camera and video camera both run out of batteries, but luckily the “smart” phones come in handy. I am off kilter tonight for many reasons. But feel very loved by all our friends that come and stay until the late hours of the night. My favorite moments are after midnight when we get out the shakers and the tambourine…my friend Gustav gets up to play some songs and music gets back to feeling easy and fun.
>Santa Cruz…my old stomping grounds. I am full of nostalgia and contemplation here…reminded of a sweet time in my life when I lived here ten years ago…I visit the ocean and walk downtown for hours before the show…I don’t know any one here anymore, but feel at home none the less. At Asana Tea House, I am made the tastiest hot chocolate I have ever had in my life, and we play our songs as the sun goes down.
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The day is punctuated by a mistake exit into downtown Santa Barbara and a foot and a half long strudel Will bought there.
Linnaea’s is a cute cafe with a little stage in the back room. Lots of college folk here, and I am reminded of that feeling of having to “figure out” your life…glad it isn’t so heavy with me any more. 
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While I loved staying in Santa Monica, seeing the ocean, and getting a taste of SoCal, I have never been happier to hit the road…
Playing at Room 5 in LA…
Sparkling Delight….my undying love for the pacific ocean…(in Santa Monica before the gig)
>LA Impressions: freeway, driving, lost with out iphone maps, hugeness of billboards, yellow tan, homeless man (yelling: “have fun in the eternal fire”) 3 inch teal heels, swelter, sticky, sweat, restless sleep, restaurants, more restaurants, open mics are not free(!), songs about cougars and beavers, pineapple fried rice alone, love’s great plan. love’s great plan.
>Day 1 – San Diego: Too many details, work, logistics, flight changes, press, emails, follow ups, more details. and more work. My music self felt stifled and disjointed days before leaving…(forgeting why.) I fly above the fog and cloud cover over tha bay, popping up above it all into the clearest sky and softest cloud structures…(I remember…)
Any remaining tension our first show seems to clear…in the rounds at Lestats with Will and Nathan Welden, (a dead ringer for James Taylor….) I play a new song “Here,” feeling the words especially: “We grow not older with the years, only newer every day.” I am loving the newness and movement of travel….on to LA tomorrow…
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 is sweet and clear and I feel like it gives me wings to do vocal acrobatics...Below the strange ... ){kind=link}
