When I moved to Chicago, I thought I'd be performing there constantly. The music scene there is really good. Unfortunately, honestly, other aspects of life became too much for me to concentrate on music. I decided, after 6 months of the windy city, to quit my job and go on tour. I did it responsibly because it's important to me. I gave 2 months notice, and I even did some telecommuting work for a few weeks after leaving (a total of maybe 40 hours) to make sure my old company could afford to lose my services.

From April 16th until July 11th I lived a surrealistic dream life. It wasn't the life of a rock star. I never once paid for a hotel. I either crashed at random friends' houses, family members' houses, or slept in my car at rest areas. I often ate on less than $5 a day, and towards the end of the tour, I was eating on $1.25 a day. My dreams have never been about money. They have been about doing what I love, which is making and performing music. I met some tremendously talented musicians along the way, reconnected with friends I hadn't seen in years, and took the time to smell the roses.

All told, I had 14 full shows, and approximately 20 open mics in 3 months. Included in those shows was my Orlando debut. This show was very important to me, as I learned to rap in Orlando in 1992, but I had never been able to book a show there previously. While I was there, I visited my old high school, which I hadn't been in since 1994, and I grabbed the rim of the same basketball hoop that I grabbed the day I met BJ, the kid who taught me to rap. During that show, I performed the same 30 second freestyle that got me started doing hip-hop. Watch the video here:

The stresses that came along with my life in Chicago caused me to gain 30 pounds in 9 months. Going on tour caused me to lose all 30 of those pounds in 2 months. I haven't stepped on a scale since, but I do know my low stress diet on the road has lead to me being happier and healthier. It is truly amazing what love can replace. For the last few weeks, I was eating less than 1,000 calories a day on average because I couldn't afford to buy more food than that. The amazing thing is, I was almost never hungry because I was so happy.

I rarely had big crowds. Most of the time I played for about 5 people. It didn't matter. Sometimes those 5 people were people I hadn't seen in years, so just getting to see them made touring worth it. I made maybe $300 in 3 months. It didn't matter. I kept driving until I was down to my last $5 in cash, and all of my credit cards were maxed out. I then went back to Papa John's in Oxford, hoping they could give me some hours. I left on great terms, and I knew they'd take me back if the work was there. I went back to working there in mid-June, and still had a handful of tour dates left. The Papa has always given me the flexibility to continue to pursue my dreams. That's why I've been with them so long. I will likely be there for 2 more years as I finish up "31 Hours Til What?" properly. I will go to a professional studio to record the vocals, and have it mastered.

I did have a few shows canceled, the last of which was the Brooklyn show that was supposed to be the end of the tour. I will make it back to NYC some day. What turned out to be the last show of the tour was a benefit concert in Toledo. I was originally slated to play at 4 pm, but I agreed to switch to 9 pm so a band from Oregon could play early and then leave. The extra 5 hours gave me time to write, so I wrote the song "I'm Going Home" and performed it that night. I also recorded that performance. Watch the video here: