Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Lexington

In Lexington we found art:


a side by side project in a free gallery downtown, a prominent lexington artist pairs up with a local young aspiring artist for and 8 week class. Kids learn lots about art, but more importantly, about themselves. Both artist, young and experience have a piece displayed at this particular gallery, along with a piece they did together. It was pretty awesome. 


this one is called "arky"

up on the wall, beneath that weird hole thing there is a pencil scribble that says,

 "Arky can't save us"

on the blue handle pointing towards you there is a metal label, "arky"

and it can't save us

this was chad's favorite... i think because each horse was most obviously a stallion.
(from behind)



this one was my favorite




then we took to the streets.







oh yea, and we played a show too


it was pretty good.


on the way home there was some spectacular lightning. we had a really good argument about the possiblity... probability of photographing lightning...

take that chad

Monday, July 27, 2009

Kentucky

What would we find in Kentucky.

      I had never been to kentucky and yet i was drawn...
 
  what would we find indeed:


Americana at its finest, thats for damn sure.








Our first stop on friday night is the very small town of Nicholasville, just outside of Lexington, but a good ways from a major highway, these kinds of places are always fun, always unexpected... always... slightly uncomfortable and unfamiliar, sometimes weirds. But in this case, everything... all night long was just slightly more out of place than usual. Like when you are dreaming, and you just accept the things that are way out of the normal... 

"oh yes, of course i have two left hands, it has always been this way... how else would i maneuver my rocket car?"  and so forth. 

Usually things on tour are deliciously random and strange, full of adventures, even danger. Nicholasville, certainly wasn't dangerous, unless you expected pick-ups coming in from the surrounding countryside to respect a crossing pedestrian. It was... pleasant as punch. but just a little off, everything just a little, ... off. 

We played at Main and Maple, a pretty large, mostly wooden coffee shop. good food, awesome friendly personable staff. Strange to think i even found a place to play in a small town far away, off the beaten tour path defiantly. Our crowd was small, very small, but attentive, actually, it was one older gentleman... quite obviously a preacher or pastor at a church, doing some research with the good book, wearing a name tag with cartoon crosses on it and just a big grin across his face. He actually came from the back of the room and sat closer... and THEN called some friends to come and see the rest of the music... a really nice young couple that liked our music so much they bought cds and even a screen printed t-shirt...  this is weird in itself. sometimes we dont sell shit. 
and the coffee was amazing...
see what i mean, everything was just kinda ... off.


as we are setting up, we notice across the street there is a fancy wine bar, and a very young dark looking kid hauling amps and instruments inside... one of us.


He comes over to see some songs, he's super nice. Recognizes us as... 'two of them'... musicians always know each other. Confidently out of place... chad puts it sometimes. 
After the show, this little ghost took us home, said we could stay, hang out, so nice,...  weird.


He lives at his parents house, well of course, he's 19 and home from school. This is weird, but we get there, he's like, "mom, these are some musicians I found, they're tired road worn, they're gonna stay here."

Mom says, "oh... hi, pleased to meet you"   yea... i know, small town. they even made us breakfast in the morning, and offered turkey sandwiches the next day too, i had to turn them down, i felt like i was cleaning these people out. the father of the house makes movies, in LA, he had just come home from a shoot... he even had the directors chair...

So Samuel Lockridge... our little musical ghost takes us to his music play room... he has a sitar, and all these other weird instruments.


little ghost



before we went on our way chad started his new project. 
samuel lockridge will be the first musician to record (on chads portable 4-track) for the tour compilation. yeay! bits of music from strangers far away in a time capsule. these will be available on the merch table for a dollar or so once we have collected a full disc... we already have 2 tracks.


sam had met one of our friends from Foley Alabama, Kevin Bacon connections are always nice. We would be seeing Sam again, he goes to school in Cincinnati, so hopefully we could make a show happen at the end of september when we go through there.


sweet guy... "pig"


the next day would be lexington.. what would we find in the city-side of Kentucky?



it would be very different



Sunday, July 26, 2009

Greensboro







no, i dont have permission to post these pictures... but, no one reads my blog that will tell Jason... plus... they're too good to keep to myself.

These were hanging at the Greenbean, we played in Greensboro on the 21st with our friends Our Horse Jethro.

As the sun went down, a new bass player came out of nowhere and set up amazing sound... look at this huge stage! 


This is Emily, I'm kind of obsessed with Emily. not in that way... but if I wrote a book, she'd definitely be in it just as she is.


look at the shoes she was wearing.  not so crazy i guess. she has a collection of a million head scarves. she has most interesting voice. she plays so many instruments with so many strings. The whole band is amazing. I just happened to have bonded with Emily more. a girl thing i guess. 


these girls were great too, they were working the coffee side of the Greenbean while we worked the music side... they were also really pretty.  and just as nice to. I love when people are like that.


ghosts set up our merch



After show open mic night at the FlatIron


sepia tone!

this pictures says so much. first of all, this is Kymber, Chad's friend from Pensacola, and now, my friend Kymber from Greensboro. That guy in the back, thats ben. ben just got signed. bed bought my spot at open mic night for 2 vodka sodas... with lime....  ben.



Matty Sheets!!  One of those myspace personalities that you're 'friends' with, but doesn't actually respond to you ... because you're just someone on myspace trying to get a show somewhere... but then you see these people... and you try real hard not so say, "Matty Sheets! I know you from myspace! whoa! now we can really be friends!"
I managed not to say it...  and now we're REALLY friends....  right matty?


Marshal!
(morning after)


We left for Asheville... 

and then we saw it...


it was beautiful....


it was so simple... 

4 kinds of vinegar...


so.. yellow, and greasy, and wonderful...


it had everything...

and lots of it.