So Jesse, my manager, and I just got back from our midwest/east coast tour, and we wanted to share a few snipits with you....
- I found gasoline for $1.99 a gallon in Pennsylvania, as opposed to the current $3.30 in Chicago. Filled up my entire Saturn for only 22 bucks. Life is good....
- A homeless bag woman in Cincy, after telling her I was a musician and into jazz, starting scatting as loud as she could, for a period of time that felt like at least a minute and a half. The conversation went as follows:
Bag lady: "You got a quarter for me sugar?"
Me: "Oh, I'm sorry, I gave my last quarter to the guy over there (which was true) and I'm a poor musician with nothing left."
Bag lady: "You a magician?! What kind of stuff??"
Me: "Yes, I'm a MUSICIAN, and its kind of acoustic jazz."
Bag lady: "JAZZ!!!??? Oh, you cool if you into jazz!! Bop, Bop, Bop....boppity, boppity, bop. Bobbity, bop, bopin', bop bop!!!!"
And yes, that bopping went on for a minute and a half.
Best part was when Jesse walks out of the Walgreens he was in, and goes, "Did you hear that weird bopping sound?"
- Went to a movie theatre, cause we had the entire day to blow, payed for one movie, and definitely stayed for 4. (I admit, while this technically constitutes stealing, I bought overpriced soda and popcorn, so I can dismiss my actions no hard feelings. Lets go look up the dictionary definition of "rationalization.") Oh, the new Zach movie "Last Kiss" is utterly fantastic. Highly recommended.
- No offense to anybody that happens to have the misfortune of living in Cincinnati, but that city is kind of dirty, and has absolutely NOTHING to do. Again, if you live there, I'm just kidding with you.
Not really....
- One guy comes up to Jesse, says that he needs $4.86 for a fix a flat, and when Jesse is actually nice enough to give him a 5 dollar bill, the guy has the audacity to go: "You got a quarter more for sales tax?"
- Trying to sleep in a Saturn is not that easy. Sometimes I wish I had a van.
- Hung out with Rob Blackledge after his show with Matt Wertz and Toby Lightman. If you haven't listened to Rob, you should, and he's a cool guy to boot. Robblackledgemusic.com
- In Virginia, which is a very cool state by the way, I got to be a part of a couple getting engaged. Storytime...
This guy by the name of Darin wrote me a while ago, says that my song "I Don't Want to be Right" is his "song" with his girlfriend Kim, and that he wants me to play it for them so he can propose.
So I sit in this park, where apparently they walked on their first date or something, and after they have dinner, he suggests that they go for a walk, during which he leads her over to "the guy on the bench playing guitar that they should check out."
So they walk over, and I just start playing it, and she gets this fantastic smile on her face, and starts crying ( I love it when I make girls cry for good reasons by the way) and when I finish, he gets down on one knee and pulls out this huge rock, which only induces more tears and smiles from her....it was beautiful. I must admit I got the shivers for a second. It was like being a fly on the wall for this wonderfully intimate moment that you normally never see unless its on reality TV. And I even got to contribute to it. Good stuff...
So then, he turns my show that night in Fredericksburg into an engagement party, and all his friends and family are there, and we have a great time.
Darin and Kim, my new friends.....congrats.....
- I also learned that night that you can sing Blackstreet's "No Diggity" over Language of Hands, and that people love that song.
- I actually saw a Sonic, which for those of you who arn't plagued by their commericals, (they make you want their food so bad your body actually hurts when you realize that their isn't one anywhere near you) is a fast food restaurant. And thats when I began a little cursing spurt, as I had just finished my burger I bought at the previous stop, so I was categorically "not hungry." We then spent the rest of the trip trying to find one when we weren't full, and had no success....
Damn you Sonic....
- I drove for about 85 percent of the trip, not that Jesse didn't want to, I just enjoy driving. We have one of those radar detectors so that we can speed, and I most definitely got my little green Saturn, who's name is Jupiter by the way, up to 106 miles an hour. It starts to pull a little to the left once you break a hundred....
Anyway, I decide that I can't see straight anymore on our way to Indianapolis, and Jesse takes over. And about 5 minutes in, our radar detector, which had gone off pretty much every time a cop had to sneeze, decides to stop working, and Jess gets pulled over doing 96 in a 60. Ahhhh fate has a sense of humor.....
Aside from gut rot from Taco Bell, Jesse's car farts, and this girl in Indianapolis who sits right up front when I play, and wears short skirts with no underwear, we're pretty much up to date.....
Be well folks.
Chris