With only two weeks left in the tour (a statement that is hard to believe), our trusty bus Saunders needs some attention. She requires a couple new tires in front, some brake pads, and an oil change to get us home. It seems her front shocks are unhappy, which has created uneven wear on the front tires. At the mechanic's this morning, we saw the alternating bald spots on the tread and couldn't believe we hadn't noticed it before. Isaac, the mechanic our friends Landi and Ayman recommend, gave us his diagnosis, and we got the work done this morning. It's a relief to have that completed, and without too much hassle and expense. It's been a long haul for this tough bus.

 

We've also had a switch in line-up since the last post. After Amarillo, which was a mild affair, we headed further west into New Mexico, and quickly the land transformed into the picturesque Southwest desert. Our first stop in Santa Fe was a fun evening at the Santa Fe Brewing Company. We were competing with yet another debate, which we caught part of on the bar's TV. The performance area and stage were in a separate room, and were among the best we've played on in terms of sound and lighting. We enjoyed playing for ourselves at the very least, and had a good handful of people enjoying the show. We camped out in the bus in the parking lot, and the morning sun pierced our eyelids open at an early and chilly hour. So we headed north to Taos, on one of the more lovely drives that I've been on this whole adventure. Swooping vistas, red and orange and burnt, bursting rust colors all across the mountains and rocks. The Rio Grande met us halfway up and we stopped to test the temperature. As expected, colder than an arctic worm.

 

We got into Taos, which is up on a high plateau, in time to fully experience our hunger at full throttle. Our mission: huevos rancheros. We were anxious to find the right spot, because no one wants a disappointing meal that's been floating in our minds for the past couple hours. We succeeded at a humble little restaurant called Ricky's. Beans, eggs, hashbrowns, and green chile sauce on tortillas. Mike and Tom cleaned their plates, and I wasn't far behind. This held us over for about 8 hours. After that, we enjoyed a long day of perusing the city's central plaza. It's a very touristy little town, but it didn't bother me too much, since it was still so rustic and homey. We spent a long time in the sun, however, which made us quite sleepy and worn out later on. Tom and I played a couple songs on the solar-powered KTAO, which was fun, and we found an odd and slightly entertaining pawn shop to walk into and run out of. People can be strange. I really hope that some day I can sit down to write a book, there are so many characters we run across that are endless fodder.

 

The show at the Adobe Bar was fun, albeit long and tiring. It was a cozy and charming hotel bar, with a nice flow of people in and out throughout the evening. It was also our last show with Mike on bass, and it seemed fitting that the length of the show required us to cover most all of our repertoire. We hit the road that night to get the miles under us that we needed before Mike's plane departure the next morning. His friend Nate in Albuquerque invited us to crash at his place, and after our arrival at 1a.m. and a how-you-doin with him, we hit the hay. Thanks, Nate.

 

So we pulled into the Albuquerque airport (called the sunport) and said our good-byes to Mr. Mike, who has been a truly enjoyable road buddy. Thanks for the memories, the notes on the 4-string, the observations shared, the dangerous whiskey, and all else. We'll see you soon with your stove-top hat.

 

We pulled away from the airport and headed a few minutes across town with the view of about 40 hot air balloons in the morning sky to the north. Balloon Fiesta time. I hadn't seen that many in the air since I was a kid. After a coffee break and a grocery run, we headed over to pickup Ms. Aimee Tubbs, who had arrived with Moe P. at a friend's house after their trip down the coast hitting a festival and a few gigs. We chatted a bit and then hit the road to Flagstaff, where Chad's plane would be touching down in a couple hours. The drive was a bit long and windy, the same as it has been lately, and we were excited to finally pull into town in front of the gig at Mia's Lounge. Reuniting with Chad was awesome, and it seemed full circle had come to pass, with the two troubadours joining us from the beginning of the tour. We enjoyed the afternoon on the back patio, shared stories and news, then had a delicious Thai dinner before the show. The show was fun, and we shared the evening with Missouri songwriter Cindy Woolf. Afterwards, we went along with her crew to a camping spot up in the trees. Some of us hit the hay, some of us stayed up around the campfire, and the morning arrived with a bright sun showing the many millions of pine needles on the ground and the acres of trees on this part of the Colorado plateau. We fired up some breakfast, and broke camp, heading down through Sedona, and on to Prescott where our next show was. This was when we started to feel Saunders really pulling to the right, and a vibrating noise up in front. Luckily, we wouldn't have to go much further before getting her serviced.

 

Prescott was a really great show. We had the afternoon to get settled in a hotel room, with its clay pot roof and somewhat abandoned look. We don't always opt for the hotel, but it's nice when we do and we can relax for a few hours. The Raven Cafe was our venue for the evening, and it's a super nice restaurant/bar with a huge beer list, and yummy food. The staff and manager (Brian) and sound guy (Kerry) were so very kind and hospitable and welcoming. We opened the night and played for about an hour to a great crowd, and following us was Portland-er Nick Jaina and his 4 band members. They were thoroughly enjoyable and awesome with a Tom Waits-esque, chamber folk collection of ballads and rompers featuring upright bass, clarinet, trumpet, violin, drums...etc. Great stuff, and they were cool, cool guys to boot. That's always pleasing.

 

We ended the night with a full meal and a brew, and then headed back to hit the hay. We slept. And then we woke up again. We were still on tour. It's becoming a feeling of permanence, though I know it's not.

 

We spent the morning walking along Whisky Row in Prescott near the square and the happening arts and crafts fair. We considered a little busking, but the wind was high and chilly, and we opted to head up to Jerome instead. We missed the turn though, and got a bit sidetracked. Mapquest led us astray, I'll have you know. 89 is not 89A. And that's the truth.No matter, though. It was one of those afternoons on the drive where spirits were mellow and content, and we were listening to the sneak peek of our friends Truckstop Souvenir's new album, "Under a Big Blue Sky." It sounds really great, and it was totally perfect for our drive in the high desert Arizona, under the big, blue, you know - sky. You should check out their new albu, which should be available shortly...truckstopsouvenir.com

 

So we back-tracked and found 89A and headed up into the high mountain area toward Jerome. Jerome is a famed ghost town with many stories of haunt from the mining days. It's wedged into the side of the mountain on  very curvy and steep roads. It's super cool. It happened to be the Ghost Walk weekend, so there were more people than usual, which was good for business. The wind was cutting, and we were all putting our extra sleeves and hats on. The view of the far canyon of Sedona was breath-taking. Our venue, The Spirit Room, was hosting an afternoon band, Los Guys, who were really great. We caught a honky-tonk piano version of Nirvana's "No Apologies." It worked. We tooled around for a bit, took naps and nips, and loaded in for the show. The room was a typical saloon style room below a hotel. The stage was quite accomodating for our 4-across standing line-up. Friends of my dad's showed up, and that was nice to chat with Judy and Marty, who were very cool and supportive. We had a lot of fun with this show, and Chad started us off with a short set of his tunes, accompanied by Aimee. It was a long show, and we pulled out most of our material and had a great time. We were the last ones in the bar, putting tunes on the jukebox and dancing off the evening. We had many people come up and chat with us, and one woman said we had pleased the ghosts of past musicians. Apparently, there was an old picture on the wall of a group of musicians who used to play in the room many years ago. It is said that if you look up at the picture when another band is playing, you can tell if they approve of them or not. We were approved of, we were told. There's nothing like pleasing the spirits in a ghost town.

 

We drove up over to a new parking lot and slept like birds in a nest. Though it was cold outside, we were warm. I awoke with a dripping nose as if I were in a room with 12 cats. I had to pee, too, and I somehow had to make my way over two seats and the sleeping bodies of Chad and Aimee. I've done it before, but somehow the tangle of sleeping bags and miscellaneous crap made it more difficult. Tom pointed to a couple spots to put my foot and soon I was splayed like a spider above them. They didn't wake, or at least pretended not to. Tom was next, and it was more than humorous to see him perched over the seats as if playing Twister in mid-air.

 

We walked into town in the early morning chill, there wasn't anybody around. It was like a ghost town. We sat outside the Red Rooster Cafe, and were let in a little early by the kind owner. The waitress said we knew how to get him, because he could never leave customers sitting out on the bench in the cold. Aimee drove the bus down to where we were, and we had an awesome breakfast and great conversation with the waitress, Liza.

 

Then we were off. We definitely knew Saunders was needing immediate attention, and it was only a 4 hour drive to Tucson that was left before that could be done. It was a long, but easy drive. We didn't particularly take to the sprawl of Phoenix as we drove by, it seemed endless. But soon enough, we were pulling into Tucson, and the home of my oldest and dearest friend, Landi. She and her husband, Ayman, have a 5-month old daughter, Noora.

 

That was Sunday afternoon. It's now Thursday afternoon, and we're about to head out of Tucson to Tempe. Noora is about asleep. We're watching her until Ayman gets home from work. Landi left a little while ago. I miss her already. It's been a truly lovely few days here, enjoying the autumn heat of the Southwest, catching up with friends, avoiding the wrath of Lulu the angry cat, and hanging out with the endlessly entertaining Noora. She's the cutest of the cutes. Ayman took us on a tour on 4th St in Tucson, and we caught the end of the sunset up at Saguaro National Park, which was lovely. The Saguaro cacti have interesting spirits, and I think at night they move around a bit. Landi and I had some wonderful quality time, and she was able to get a couple things done with all of us around to help. It really does take a village. I think Noora has come to think that the group of us are always in the next room, just waiting for her arrival to take turns playing with her.

 

It's very exciting to see a dear friend with her first baby. It's also really cool, because Chad is going to be a parent too! He and Maureen are due in June. We are very happy for them, and also convinced that their little one will be running Pro-Tools at 3 years old. They will be awesome parents.

 

We had our Tucson show last night at the very rustic and ambient Old Town Artisans. We played in the courtyard, surrounded by lit-up trees, a cool bar, and several shops. It was a nice crowd, and we met Dorothy and Henry who volunteered to run the door for us, which was very nice of them. Thanks! It's always fun to play outside, and we thank Beverly for having us there.

 

We'd also done a radio spot on KXCI and had fun meeting Mel and Ginger who work there. After the show, we hung out with Ginger and stopped by Plush, a posh and red room with a great jazz band. It's somewhere we'd definitely like to play sometime. We capped off the evening with a sandwich from down the street, and a final fitful sleep at Landi and Ayman's.

 

Today we're wrapping up our stay, taking care of Noora who seems not to want to be put down, and getting ready for our final Arizona show before we head to California and the Joshua Tree Roots Music Fest.

 

This is a long one, and after 4 sittings, I've finally completed it. Hope everyone is well, and we'll talk to ya later...

 

joy and the 'birds.