Today is November 16, 2008. I’m sitting in a shitty diner (perfect for me), called Dee’s Diner that I’ve longed to stop at for years. It’s the first time.
I like touring as a one man, one driver band. I can take my time, do what I want…it’s good. There’s an old jukebox in here with a shitload of country music. Unfortunately, it’s a lot of ‘80’s music. I tried to play some CCR and Neil Young, but it wouldn’t take my new city dollar. I think it’ll only take gnarled buck-hunt-blood crusted bills. I wish I had one. It’s a dollar extra for breakfast. Why hate breakfast? It’s just eggs, man.
So, Friday night. I arrive in Athens a little behind. I don’t think I’ve ever been there right on time. I drive directly to Ben’s house as he is usually the one to give me directions to whatever new venue they have in Athens. This time it’s at an old church, called Arts/West. We leave the venue to buy some beer. We aren’t allowed to drink it inside, so we take it to the Saturn in the parking lot. We overlook the whole town-it’s almost a make-out spot. But, Ben’s not my type. I’m just not into beards, I guess. The entanglement is what really discourages me. I play first at 8:50 pm. I play a pretty short set. It’s a little strange in the church. I mean…there are pews and everything. It feels weird. I made sure to cuss a little extra in between my songs. I’ve never been free to swear that much in a holy/ex-holy building. Whatever…I play and then Barn Burning from Rhode Island play. They’re good. Brian O. said they were and he’s right. I hope to play with them again. The sound was a little fucked up and the bass player was apparently just filling in (which is pretty amazing). She Bears played afterwards and were pretty good. It was an Aqua Bear legion showcase. Brian was super nice as usual and gave me some gas money. Thank you Brian. So, off to go have a few drinks. We stop by Ben’s and feed the dogs and then head to Tony’s Bar. It’s the local dive bar across from Casa. We have a few beers, then stop at Betty’s? Hot Dogs. Damn…I get a chili-cheese dog. Mmmmm tasty. Then we stop at a pizza place. Mmmm…not as good. Ben shows me the game Space something on the xbox 360. He says it’s addictive. It’s on his big-screen tv. I play it for 6 hours straight. I finally sleep at about 5am. Jesus. My eyes are bleeding.
Saturday, November 15th.
I awake to Ben making me an amazing breakfast or coffee, eggs, and spinach artichoke dip toast. Fuck yeah, Ben. He shows me his basement, he makes me some records, and Winter Makes Sailors buttons. Then around 5:30 I leave for Charleston, WV. It gets dark really fast. It’s raining, the roads are winding through mountains, and I’m quite tired. I finally make it to Charleston but miss the exit and drive right through it. I find where I’m going eventually and find the bookstore. Charleston has a cute downtown and an incredible bookstore called Taylor Books. I show up a little late and Sean and Karen (Tofujitsu)
are already playing. They are a two piece with acoustic guitars, a hand drum and a small drumset-snare and cymbal. They are both great. When I set-up to play there are two people under the age of 50. Crazy weird. But then a few of Tofujitsu’s fans show up and there are maybe 20 people in and out when I play. I sell a couple of records and make a few friends. We leave to go to the next show at the Empty Glass. It’s a really cool shitty bar. I love it. Tofujitsu plays first, I’m second and I have a $20 draft tab at the bar. So, I try the Mountaineer Brewing company pale ale. Fucking good. I play a pretty good set. When I took the stage there were about 30 people that just didn’t give a shit. It was a biker/rock n’ roll crowd. Fuck it. I played pretty well and most people liked it. I got a whoooo from a table of girls and a boo when I said “this is my last song” and sold a couple records. We took our money and left when Blues Hammer clones played. Wow.
We got back to Sean and Karen’s house and partied a little more. Karen is not only an amazing singer, but also a hell of a cook. Homemade chicken quesadilla and black bean soup. We talk for a couple of hours and Sean talks of his trips to Japan and their recent trip to Maui. I remember his story of Japan how the island of Tokyo smells like Monkey ass or something. He said that during a taxi ride, a monkey jumped in the window and starting freaking out. The driver pulled over and Sean tried to jump out but saw 5 rabid Monkeys trying to chase him down…they jump back in the car and the other crazed monkey jumped out. Fucked up. Fuck japan, man.
November 16, 2008
Today again. I’m finishing my lunch/breakfast/dinner now reflecting on the trip. Still at Dee’s diner. Sean made me a shake and sent me on my way this morning. I stopped in Nelsonville at Rocky Boots and bought some new highly needed winter boot/shoes. At Dee’s two truckers came in just to get black coffee and custard pie. So, I thought I’d try a piece. I don’t know if it’s good or not cause I’ve never had it before. I don’t even know what it really is. Custard. It’s eggy and cold and jiggles like a fake breast. I don’t like it. But, I don’t want to offend them so I’m trying to kind of swallow quickly.
Alright. Until next time…
Kisses.
