Sitting in a freezing bar in Morgantown, WV. I’m a little nervous about the show tonight, both about playing through Josh’s amp before their set, and about playing in between the opener and them (to say nothing of the rest of the pickup gigs ahead of me) but, man, is it great to see ‘em. I had just pulled in to a parking lot close to the club and was walking in to find out what was going on, having spent the whole drive with one eye on the road looking for the bus, when who should pull up? Mark rolled down the window and we all awkwardly grabbed hands through the window, then someone said “get in” and I did.
We went to a coffee shop and immediately launched into a quick-speaking conversation about the usual crap, how things had gone in NY, what we had been up to since the last show together, how everyone’s gear was holding up, what new stuff we had. At one point Josh said “You want to use my amp?” and I said “Would I?” referring to an old joke, sort of an inside joke with myself, and Mark Owen, without missing a beat, opened his mouth for the first time since they pulled up. “Hair lip,” he said, smiled, and turned the page on his newspaper. I continually feel like I ask too much of these guys, but every time I feel like I overstep my bounds, they counter by offering more. Man, it really feels so great to be restored to my friends.
Mark Owen, who has the burden of being one of the smartest dudes I know and also one of the most inarticulate, tried to put it into words one night outside of Sine. I won’t try to quote him, but he said that we had a special bond together, because we understood what everyday life was like in NY, and we also understood what it was like out on the road, in the middle of some small bullshit town in some boundless state, which for all the human contact you have keeping you grounded, could be the surface of the moon. As usual, he’s right.
Last night ended up being pretty ridiculous. Jessi, the waitress from Cedar’s who helped me set up the show and her friends showed up and we all watched Bush’s State of the Union address and heckled. After noticing a senator dressed in a pink blazer, I got off a good ‘Senator Mary Kay’ joke. Then I played, to about four people and only a polite smattering of applause. One of the owners of Royal Oaks gave me ten bucks, mostly out of pity, I think. Still, God bless the Kennedy brothers at Royal Oaks, I’ve never failed to get overly compensated for playing there.
We proceeded to Jessi’s house. I loosened up a fter a couple of drinks, darkened only by the presence of a hilarious, radiant baby-faced young guy with a suitcase full of funny stories who kept referencing his felonies and his time in prison. Man, what a nice guy to be saddled with such a dark burden. I fell asleep on the couch watching Family Guy DVDs and woke up with a crick in my neck. Discovered a small painful lump at the base of my junk when I was in the bathroom. Doesn’t strike me as herpes or genital warts, probably just a plague from a righteous and wrathful God.
Youngstown strikes me as a pretty ill place to live. Jessi seems really nice and mostly at peace, but other times she strikes me as just heavily sedated. She does seem to have some unfocussed ambition, but lacks any real options. Thank fucking God I got out of New Hampshire.
Looks like I landed another show in Norman, Oklahoma, and a write-up in North Carolina. Fantastic progress. Great conversation with Josh tonight about booking. I have an interesting relationship with Josh, I continually find myself competing with the rest of the world for his attention. It usually doesn’t bother me, or it shouldn’t, as I wouldn’t be so interested in talking to Josh if he wasn’t so interested in the world. Mark is quiet, as usual, but happy enough to talk once we get to the club. Chad’s punchy and chomping at the bit in every direction, ready to rock, ready to nerd out about gear, ready to scrap. Derek’s mind appears to continually be sitting on a porch somewhere or icefishing. He is such an easy-going methodical person, it’s quickly apparent how valuable a character he is in a band called The High Strung.