It's a long ... long drive from Kansas City to Albuquerque, NM. We left the Black Dog Coffee house loaded up on coffee and chili at about 11:00pm and arrived in Albuquerque at about noon the next day. The drive went well... Kansas is boring and cold at night. 28 degrees to be exact. Oh... and factory meat processing plants smell like death... even in the cold... I can only imagine what it's like in the summer heat.

We ahd one close call where we were driving through the New Mexico desert at 8:00am, with about a hundred miles left in the tank, and every "town" we came to either had closed gas stations, or were completely boarded up. Not sure how it happened, but we finally got to a gas station in the middle of the desert with "7 miles" left in the tank according to the estimate computer in the van. 18.25 gallons immediately and gratefully went into the tank... at $2.95 a gallon mind you... into an 18 gallon tank. Do the math.... but you got to love it, and respect it, when fate smiles at you like that.

After checking in a scouting both venues, and finding them both much to our satisfaction, we did a little supply shopping and headed to a park on the Rio Grande River. This place was awesome. We spent the day hanging out, grilling and enjoying the beautiful weather.

Both shows were well received by those who were there, and both had drastically different clientele. The owners of both venues were vary hospitable and gave additional amenities and/or cash to help us out. We met some interesting people with stories of all kinds.

We decided to drive to Tempe, AZ after the show, leaving Albuquerque at 2:00am. We were all exhausted except for Jaime. She's a trooper. She drove us the full 8 hours to Tempe. And here we are.. a little dirty, probably a more than a little smelly... but we have met up with an old friend, and relaxing at his place and reviving our tired selves.

Tonights show sounds like it will be a good time... more tomorrow.

So we're doing it... the first Absent I tour has begun and has been aptly named "MiniVan=MegaFun." Today we packed all of our stuff into the glorious purple Chrysler Grand Voyager. It's a good thing we don't have any more shit between the four of us, because I don't know where it would fit...

We left Minneapolis at 10:30 this morning, and managed to drive through sunshine, rain, sleet, and even a hint of snow on our way to Lenexa, KS. Iowa smelled like pig feces as usual with its flat bad self. It's almost a little surreal that we drove through 4 states in 7 hours. We arrived at Blackdog Coffee House at about 6:30 and were warmly greeted. The Chai Tea and Strawberry Coconut Italian Sodas were extra tasty, not to mention the sandwiches they made for us upon request.

We had to spend 20-30 minutes fixing the house PA with a screwdriver and a little ingenuity, but we got it working. At roughly 8:00 we played our 30 min set, and were warmly appreciated by the small crowd that just happened to be at this coffee shop on a cold and rainy Tuesday evening. It's always a little re-encouraging when a couple people get up mid-set and ask to buy a CD of our music. 

We decided to play a second set at about 9:15 after about 20 people walked in from some obvious social gathering of some sort. Some were maybe 12 or 13, but the majority 50+. We honestly werent really sure what to expect, and Im not sure if they did either. Pretty sure there were some concerned faces when we prepared to start playing. But our concerns, and their concerns appeared to be in vain because the set went great, people bought CDs, and even engaged some friendly conversation. And our assumptions were correct: Church Choir. Oh the irony. I guess the hippie language is universal.

End of story: Coffee Shop shows are fun.

PS: If you are ever at a coffee shop in Kansas and you see an item on the menu called the Chai Charger beware... oh and the ride to Albuquerque tonight is going to be interesting considering three of us ate large amounts of Chili. It was damn good chili too.

We'll have our first line of merchandise including T-Shirts, patches, and a 4-song CD sampler of music for sale... we'll have some beer too for you folks over 21!

The Absent I demo CD track listing:
1. Sail Away
2. For You
3. On My Mind
4. Shades of Grey

Come on out and help us raise some money so that we don't starve on the road!

7PM - ALL AGES WELCOME - $5

MAPQUEST DIRECTIONS TO STUDIO Q

1224 Quincy St. NE, Mpls, MN 55413

and here's a little preview for you from the Somnio Artist Group house hard at work getting these babies made for us! Aren't they pretty?