June 16, 2007

So we left LA this morning. Even though we've "technically" been on tour since the House of Blues, Sunset gig on the 9th, we've been anchored in LA going back and forth to the gigs. And, since the last two shows were cancelled, we had two extra days in LA which turned out to be a blessing in disguise to give us a little more time to prepare (even though I STILL left without grabbing my usb plug for my camera…very important).

So we all met at my house around 10am this morning, had a band meeting with Derek our tech and Jimmy (management) to go over details for the trip. Then we packed up the van and left LA at noon. The van is nice. A big maroon Ford something-a-rather 15 passenger van. I had the guys take out the back bench and I made a really comfy back area cubby hole thing. It's like my little hide-away area, equipped with two foam mattresses, a feather comforter, pillows, my snack bag and all my car belongings (books, computer, ipod, crossword puzzle, etc). I also got a little fan that clips on to the handle on the back door since the air conditioning doesn't circulate back here on the floor. The fan is heaven sent. It was well over 100 degrees on the way to Arizona today. We stopped in Coachella for gas and I just about fell over from the heat. I know I'm going to have to get used to that feeling since we'll be in the hot hot heat all summer long on this tour from Texas to the East coast.

I'm really excited and looking forward to it, and looking forward to sharing it with all of you guys. The Tesla guys and crew have all been really amazing to us and the fans are really digging our show. It's such an amazing feeling to go into a packed house of thousands of fans that have never heard you, win them over, and end the night by signing ticket stubs, cd's, t-shirts, body parts ;-) etc. PLUS, I am so thrilled to be in a band with such cool people and get to hang out with them 24/7 all month. It's like a dream come true.

So right now we're just hitting the Arizona border. Other than being hot as shit, it's beautiful outside. Blue skies, huge mountains. I'm loving seeing the country this way. Stopped in Blythe for some Denny's and have a few more hours until we meet our tour manager, Kyle, at his house in Scottsdale. I've slept a bunch already this today. I put my ipod (which is my very first ipod so I'm all excited) on shuffle and before I fell asleep the last time, here are the songs that came up…it seemed to be perfect at the time:

1. Imarobot "Talk Turkey"
2. Creedence Clearwater "Hey Tonight"
3. GNR "Since I don't Have You"
4. New York Dolls "Subway Train"
5. Madonna "Get Together"
6. Operation Ivy "Freeze Up"
7. Red Hot Chili Peppers "If You Have to Ask"
8. Kinky "Again and So On"
9. Tommy Lee and DJ Aero "Work This Floor (Blend)"
10. Allison Krauss "Blue Trail of Sorrow"
11. T.REX "Solid Gold Easy Action"
12. Snoop Dog "Gin and Juice"
13. Darkness "Love on the Rocks with no Ice"

Then I fell asleep. We're all listening to the Thieves right now in the van. Randy is driving, Domo is reading, Dave is sleeping, Derek is keeping Randy company and Hal is reading. We miss you guys and we'll be in touch every day. Make sure you come say hello to us on the page and read the blogs. We'll be updating things everyday.
All my Love
Sally Hope