After spending a couple of days hanging out with my parents, brother, and DJ TJ in northern Iowa, I began a grand adventure.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 28th - VAUDEVILLE MEWS - DES MOINES, IA (EARLY SHOW)

My dad dropped me off in front of the venue in Des Moines, then promptly fled.  The doors were open, and the bar staff had arrived.  I loaded in my gear, then went next door and had an amazing bowl of soup.  When I got back to the club, Petit Mal had arrived.  We exchanged greetings, and awaited the arrival of The Teddy Boys and Nuclear Rodeo.  After setting up our gear, we headed next door to get a cup of coffee.  I was quite impressed at the quality of the soup and coffee at this place in Des Moines, (Java Joe's, I think)?  After getting amped on caffeine, we headed back to the venue.  The Teddy Boys were setting up when we got back.  I hung outside in front of the venue for a bit, trying to sell 7 inches to people walking by on the sidewalk.  My good pals Chuck Hoffman and John Pemble both showed up around this time, much to my delight! 

Nuclear Rodeo showed up, (two members short), and were quick to set up.  Then, we were off.  I can't remember the order, but it was something like Petit Mal, (awesome set), Nuclear Rodeo minus bass and other guitar, (also awesome), Teddy Boys, (always awesome), and The Bassturd.  I didn't have time to set up my lights, so the set was pretty stripped down.  Nonetheless, it was a helluva lot of fun.  My friends Abbey, Heather, (plus her two daughters), John and Chuck all came out.  It was amazing seeing these folks, and a grand pleasure to once again play a poorly attended show in Des Moines.

We quickly loaded up the van when we were done and headed north...

FRIDAY, AUGUST 28th - BALI SATAY HOUSE - AMES, IA  (LATE SHOW)

Same line-up, but different order.  I think the order this time went Petit Mal, Teddy Boys, The Bassturd, then Nuclear Rodeo, this time with the full band in tow.  The load-in was a painful one, (a winding flight of concrete stairs).  I had tons of people come out for this show, including my brother and his wife, my cousin and his wife, some old friends from high school, and one from college.  This was the first show of the tour where I was using my lights, so a great deal of prep was required.  After arriving, I retreated to the back to set-up.  I felt like the show went well, although the sound at this place was horrible, (mono-system and a sound-guy who could have cared less).  At the end of the night, the owner told me they hadn't made enough money to pay bands, even though I counted over 50 people that had paid a $7 cover.  I started pressing him on how much he had to cover in expenses, (door, sound, etc).  He got frustrated and just tossed me a couple of twenties.  Bands beware.  If you play this place, it might be best to negotiate terms of payment, and get that shit on paper before playing.

After the gig, Petit Mal and I stayed at Nuclear Rodeo's house.  When we showed up, there was a huge party going on.  We stayed up very late hanging with the party people.  It was a very fun party, and everyone there was super nice.  I crashed out on a futon with Grace and Rachel.  We awoke the next morning to a house still littered with party guests.  We ate some eggs and toast, and potatoes I think, then headed out.  I want to give mad props and thanks to Nuclear Rodeo for having us.  They were super nice, and a great band to boot.  Can't wait to play with them again.

SATURDAY, AUGUST 29th - BARLEY STREET TAVERN - OMAHA, NE

It was a beautiful morning.  We headed out of Ames around noon.  We stopped at a truck stop on our way out and scored some coffee, beer can holders, and candy.  The ride to Omaha was awesome.  Chris Ford played a bunch of "Weird Al" Yankovic songs I'd never heard before, then we checked out "Angel Dust" by Faith No More in its entirety.  On the way, another truck stop break yielded this very cool score.  It's an LED fan that allows the user to program four messages.  I quickly programmed it to read THE BASSTURD, and used it at almost every show on the tour. 

We showed up in Omaha and headed to our friend Noah's house.  Noah is a member of The Yuppies, and also lives with Kevin, (Yuppies drummer), Dave and Mike, (from The Prairies).  These guys had an amazing selection of records to listen to.  We checked out some music, played some Nintendo, then headed to the record store.  After the record store, we went to Barley Street Tavern.  Upon arriving, we were informed that Rachel couldn't come in because she was only 19.  it was negotiated that as long as Rachel left right after the gig, she could play.  Petit Mal opened the show with a great set, then proceeded to hang out in the parking lot behind the bar.  I played for a handful of people.  Mitch Jordan joined me on "Bling Ballz," and my pal Kathleen showed up, which was cool.  She'd just seen Neil Hamburger, and said he has a wealth of new material now that Michael Jackson has died.  Can't wait to see his new set.

The Yuppies closed things out with a brutal assault of very loud RAWK!!!  After the show, we scored some beer and headed back to Noah's place to drink it.  It was a blast.

SUNDAY, AUGUST 30th - DUFFY's TAVERN - LINCOLN, NE

We woke up to another beautiful day.  It was Chris Ford's birthday.  We went out to eat breakfast at this diner called "Leo's."  It took us a while to figure out exactly where to go, but once we'd settled on this place, we went in full force, (I think there were ten or eleven of us, maybe even twelve).  We scored the huge booth in the back.  I noticed at some point during breakfast that Chris Ford was the furthest person from me at the table.  I told the people on either side of me to start singing "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" on the count of three.  They passed the message along, and then we all, in near-perfect unison, busted into a boisterous rendition.  By the end, the whole diner was into it, cheering and yelling "HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!!"  Chris looked horribly humiliated.  I felt bad at first, but then this really cute waitress came up to the table and asked who the birthday boy was.  Chris hesitantly raised his hand.  She wished him a gushing happy birthday.  I'm convinced she was into him.

We hung out at Dave, Kevin, Mike & Noah's place for the remainder of the afternoon.  Grace was going to be driving through the night, and thus wanted to catch a nap before the show in Lincoln.  Adam and I spent the afternoon playing Mike Tyson's Punch Out.  We got pretty far, but were defeated by Mr. Sandman, (I think).  Adam carried most of the weight.  I got my ass kicked by Bald Bull, then again by Piston Honda in the rematch. 

We headed out for Lincoln in the late afternoon.  A brief drive from Omaha, we somehow managed to overshoot our exit by twenty miles.  We arrived in good spirits.  Although I've played in Lincoln many times, I'd never seen the downtown in the evening before the sun went down.  Strange and hilarious vibes.  I ate a delicious sub, and then met up with Petit Mal at the gyro place across the street.  Then, off to Duffy's.

Dub, the dude that puts on shows at this place, is one of the coolest promoters in the midwest.  He's been very cool to me over the years, even inviting me back after I took a nasty spill off of one of the bar's tables.  They've totally remodeled the performance space, and it looks and sounds better than ever in there.  The shows are now free, which will hopefully more people in Lincoln out to see the cool and eclectic mix of sounds Duffy's brings through. 

Noah Sterba played a solo set to start out the night.  It was awesome.  It reminded me of seeing The Mountain Goats back when John was young and unrefined.  Petit Mal played their best show of the weekend.  I attribute this to the fact that they were ill-rehearsed for the first couple of gigs, but were operating as a well-oiled machine in Lincoln.  I can't quite remember how my set went in Lincoln.  I remember there not being that many people there, and I didn't sell any merch.  Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever sold any merch in Lincoln.  People in Omaha often note that they don't care none about music down in Lincoln.  I don't know if that's true, but it does seem that the home of the huskers is a hard crowd to win over.  The amazing AWKWORDS closed the night.  These guys are great!  Super tight rhymes, dope beats, and no ego-drenched hip hop attitude.  They had a couple of dudes down from Omaha on the bill as well, (but I'm forgetting their name).  They were a last minute addition to the line-up, and were super cool.  It was a fun show.  I thoroughly enjoyed every performance of the evening, which doesn't always happen.

We loaded up Claude Van Van, (Chris Ford's van), and drove through the night to Iowa City.  Petit Mal was an absolute joy to tour with.  I spent some time on the road with Rachel and Grace last fall when they were backing up Sam in the Boo Hoos, but hadn't traveled with Chris or Adam.  We got along fabulously, and had some super fun shows.  We'll likely do more gigs together in the future.  We rolled in to Iowa City around 5am.  The sun was coming up.  Grace let me use her computer, then I retired to the couch in Grace and Sam's living room for a brief sleep...

MONDAY, AUGUST 31st - BABA BUDAN's - CINCINNATI, OH

I woke up at around 10 am.  Sam was frantically packing up gear.  I rolled out of bed, loaded up my stuff into the van, and we, (Samuel Locke-Ward, Darren Brown, and myself), hit the road in my step-dad's old appliance repair van.  I was exhausted, having not slept well due to the long drive the night before.  I spent much of the first part of the trip asleep.  I remember eating a pizza hut pizza at a truck stop early in the day.  Also, I remember waking up somewhere in Indiana, stumbling into a gas station to use the restroom, and then buying a bottle of water and some snacks from one of the grumpiest gas station clerks I've ever encountered. 

We landed in Cincinnati around dusk.  We were a little behind schedule, and showed up as the first act was playing.  This gig was real low-key.  A Monday night stint at a coffee house with a bingo hall style p.a.  I always worry when I play through one of these smaller systems.  I've had instances in the past where the low-end on my backing tracks has blown similar systems out completely.  Luckily, we were charged with doing our own sound, so I set the levels accordingly.  It actually sounded okay, and the people there seemed to dig the set.  Samuel Locke-Ward vs. Darren Brown went on next.  This was my first time seeing Sam and Darren's set.  The mix was a bit compromised by the fact that the amps were turned up too loud and drowned out the puny p.a.  Despite this, the set went well and was enjoyed by all.  The night ended with a killer set by local badasses Clause 83.  They were loud and amazing!  If you live in the area, and haven't seen them, be sure to check them out.  Everyone at this venue was super cool.  The bartender even bought a cd from me, (which rarely happens.  if anything, they usually expect one for free). 

We loaded up the van, and then Sam drove through the night as I rode shotgun.  We listened to talk radio, then AM News radio.  We drove through Ohio, West Virginia, and much of Pennsylvania.  The mountains were beautiful in the early morning hours.  The valleys were filled with fog, and the peaks stood tall in the crisp morning sky.  I regret not snapping any pictures, as this was one of the more spectacular scenes of the whole trip.  By 7am, I had been in 7 states since the previous night's gig, (Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania).  Darren took over the driving duties, and Sam and I tried to catch some sleep...

...more soon.