mike & roxie's place - kings mountain, NC 4/19

we got in late and slept hard.
mike howard, one of j's friends, took us out for barbecue. it was delicious.
we drove around a lot, fixed renn's amp and arrived back at the trammell house to a home cooked meal and more birthday cake.
we all did some laundry. while waiting for it to dry, we told stories about the first time we were exposed to dirty magazines. pretty classic stuff.
some things i learned:
-fat hank wanted to fight some other kid from kings mountain high behind the win dixie but the cops rolled up in time to stop it
-jason's nickname was cornbread in high school: "forget cornbread!!!"
-pool sticks are great for air guitar and whiffing
-mike howard's real name is kermit
-the news is still pathetically depressing
-apparently the van doesn't drive like renn's porsche

the cave - chapel hill, 4/18

we started off the day with a stop at waffle house, where jay played night moves twice on the jukebox and our waiter pushed t-bones and chocolate pie on us like there was no tomorrow.
oh man. chapel hill.
we arrived to SUN!!!!!!!!!!!
we walked around and ended up at a roof-top brewery overlooking the streets. we drank some white beers with orange slices, sun on our faces.
a good start to an awesome night.
around 6 we made our way to the cave: a very narrow stairway, wedged between two clothing stores, leading down into darkness.
we were told to load in from the back. we did so, ordered some $1 PBR bottles and chatted with the bartender, autumn.
the cave has been there since 1969, and it is exactly what it's name implies. really low ceilings, painted and shaped to appear rock-like. it was the perfect amount of dark and low light, cozy. we felt right at home.
caverntavern.com - Cave TV
check it out, see what's going on there this very second if you like.
we were broadcast live on the web, and the shows they record play on the chapel hill public access channel whenever there is dead air. amazing...
we both played our sets to about five regulars and the bartenders. they were all SO incredibly nice it was crazy. we were like one big happy family. a hat was passed around for tips. we made some money, sold a cd or two, drank a few more beers.
autumn's shift ended. this dude named hoppy took over the bar and played some benji hughes, whom none of us had ever heard. he kinda blew our minds. hoppy gave us a copy.
we had offers for places to stay, but we had to hit the road.
emails were exchanged, as well as hugs.
we were so very sad to go.
i can easily say the cave is one of my favorite bars of all time.
andy turned 24 at midnight, on our way to kings mountain.
ahh, to be young again... ha haaaaaa...
we have the next two days off.

richmond, VA - 4/17

woke up at 9am to just a crack of blue sky.
fell back asleep for two hours.
never made it into the larrabee hot tub. next time.
i drove today, jay rode shotgun.
it's a beast and pretty much has a mind of it's own. if it wants to go one way, it will, forcing you to white-knuckle it a lot of the time.
the sun came and went and came again.
as we drive south, things get greener. amen.
we went out for amazing vegetarian food and the waiter looked like my dad's long lost brother.
the venue was a mish-mash of all kinds of places: a coffee bar in front, an oxygen/liquor bar behind that, a giant theatre in back and a hip hop club after hours.
it reeked of fried food and cigarettes.
the sound guy immediately started mic'ing the drums, and wouldn't hear anything about not doing so. he smoked the whole time he set up.
jess and andy's set sounded great.
the mic fed back a lot for our set. at one point, the sound guy actually came onstage and whispered in my ear to "get right up on the mic". hilarious.
but the crowd was great and we had people buying cd's, so nobody cared.
renn's amp seems to be sick again, even after changing out some of the tubes.
and renn isn't feeling good either.
hopefully we figure out how to heal both the amp and the cheadle.
thanks emily, for the floor space and the number to papa johns.
ps. we got a new mascot for the van: dolphins, purchased by andy at this sports store that specializes in jerseys and hookahs.

meet the van

first fill-up: 75 crisp clean dollar bills.
damn.

please allow me to introduce...

L-R: miss jessica larrabee, molly d, renn cheadle, jay trammell & andy laplant in front

DC - 4/16

happy birthday jj
the wind into DC pushed the van around quite a bit, but jess stood her ground behind the wheel.
it was still raining.
we arrived at her parent's house, a true thrift haven: dishes, dolls, dresses, jewelry, shoes, instruments, tapes... you name it, they probably have it.
we rummaged for a bit and hung out.
papa larrabee took us out for dinner at woodside cafe. four of us ordered burgers, two ordered meatloaf. this place was wall to wall wood panelling and old pin-ups. perfect and filling.
we headed for the venue, checked out the washington monument and the capital on the way. 'MERICA!
load-in was easy.
the sound guy, gideon, played tears for fears while we set up.
i swear the kid was 16. he looked like a baby. he was drinking something he called a sip and slide.
he cracked us up a lot and actually listened and helped. best sound guy ever.
renn maybe possibly blew a tube in his amp.
jess and andy drew a nice crowd, and of course they killed it.
i wasn't a lick of nervous for our set.
we made $72 between the two bands, which will go straight into the gas tank.
arrived back at the larrabee's to a gigantic chocolate cake.
dessert at midnight, two days in a row!
we moved some of the thrift around, blew up our beds and climbed in.
i slept like a baby for the first time in weeks.

philly - 4/15

we finally got out of town about 3pm. the rain was relentless, which slowed us down quite a bit.
jay drove to philly. i rode shotgun.
at some point during the ride, jess had the stunning realization that she was wearing underwear.
we hit flash flooding right outside philly. the ben franklin bridge was closed, which forced us to take a detour & had jess on the phone with three different people looking for a new way in.
we took the walt whitman bridge instead, after driving around for a bit.
we quickly ate a philly-style pizza & headed to the clap it off house.
we found the house, knocked, introduced ourselves.
they were cooking dinner while we loaded in through the cellar door in their kitchen floor.
people came with beer. BYOB. we went & bought some tall boys.
dinner was ready. they all ate around the dining room table while we made ourselves at home & set everything up.
it was still raining.
they cleaned the dinner plates & came downstairs.
we turned on & played our first show on the tour to this crowd i could literally reach out & touch. we were face to face. it was close-knit & personal & unlike anything else we had ever played.
i was nervous as hell, but got used to it.
we all relished every second.
jess and andy killed it.
doom dub's guitar stylings melted jay's face off & serpants of wisdom rocked that shit, both solo acts with HUGE sound.
we loaded the van, said our goodbyes & thanked them for inviting us to their party.
it was still raining.
we got to our sleep destination & ate the entire apple pie. it was damn good.
big thanks to jill & nate for letting us crash at your house. ya'll are awesome.
bottom line: we love philly.
a lot.

huh?

some funny things i came across in the van:

-a homemade baked apple pie, made by jay's roommate
-a record player
-the pugilist, in case anyone gets out of line
-dried rosemary
-a bottle of dickel whiskey (not to be consumed in or anywhere near the van, so don't worry mom)