sweet sweet chattanooga - 4/26 & 4/27

chattanooga was so rad it's going to be hard to write about it, cause you know, you just kinda/sorta had to be there.
i'll summarize as best as i can:
we left asheville in a light rain. the clouds were pregnant, looming and huge. it was pouring by the time we hit tennessee.
we arrived and went out for mexican food, where i stuffed my face to the point of a food coma.
the venue, jj's bohemia, is basically an old saloon, kegs for barstools, both bathrooms out of order, porta-john's in back, and a tiny little stage toward the front. we fell in love with it.
reeve hunter opened for us, a solo act, key-tar and all. he killed it. red, red hair and adorable. we stayed with him and his room-mate, beth, who andy went to school with.
aphids played next, a wall of sound which hung like a painting, as jess described it.
EVERYONE stuck around for she keeps bees and TLS. they all stood right at the stage, nodding their heads, totally into it, loving it, incredibly receptive.
i broke a string for the first time ever.
we made the most money we've made so far. almost two tanks of gas!!!!
once the show was over, everyone stuck around and chatted us up. we all decided to head back to beth and reeve's for an after party.
let the dancing begin.
we GOT DOWN until about 3am, when the neighbor showed and told us to shut up (in a really nice way.)
we all sat around and shot the shit for a bit longer. the floan record came up. turns out the kids from aphids had been listening to it for years.
crazy.
we spent our day off walking a footbridge in the sunshine, hanging out on the porch and eventually ended up at america's thrift. this place was massive. i got an amazing shirt for 59 cents and a dress for $1.48. andy found a brown dior sweater for $3. the prices were insane.
on the drive back to the house, j busted out the portable record player and we listened to some of the 45's he had just bought.
we chilled for the remainder of the evening.
it was a fantastic two days.
water everywhere, surrounded by hills, trees galore and big sky.
chattanooga is a beautiful place to be. at one point or another, we each talked about living there.
our favorite show yet, vibe-wise, people-wise, etc.
ps. we introduced everyone to red ribbons. oh yes, we most certainly did.

asheville, NC - 4/25

asheville, tucked sweetly into the north carolina mountains.
home of the hillbilly gutter-punks, hippies, pierced faces and tattoos too.
i couldn't quite grasp what exactly the scene was.
but we all loved it.
we ate vegetarian for dinner, which was EXCELLENT.
the best part? they had oberon in bottles. i couldn't believe it.
raith took care of us at joli rouge. he hooked up the show and tended bar and everything in between.
it's a goth bar, apparently. a huge space, painted black and red.
j's parents made the drive to see us, along with some other kings mountain kids. and renn's buddy chad and his wife virginia showed too. renn and chad hadn't seen each other in seven years.
it was a mixed crowd, though small... a good show overall.
we had nowhere to stay, so we ended up at a hostel. the owner showed us around, a can of pbr in his hand. he was half tied, at least.
we made waffles at 2am and ended the night in our bunks, laughing like 12 year olds at camp, trying to abide by the "quiet after 10pm" rule, making fart noises and being totally immature.
it was awesome.

sidenote: i bought a unicorn lamp for $1 at a goodwill on white horse road.
sweeeeeeeeeeet.

a few interesting points of conversation

-chrystal beth & skelatore dundee
-bright eyes & billy goats
-http://youtube.com/watch?v=-nHGGAmJCYI

jesse & gabe, our hosts in HOTlanta!

so darn glad to know the both of you.
GOOD GOOD GOOD PEOPLE.
xoxox

bruce flea

we love you bruce flea.

11:11 tea house - 4/24

started off my day drinking really strong coffee, which gave me the jitters and a headache.
my vision went crazy on me at lunch, flashing lights, crazy shapes and blind spots.
it scared the SHIT out of me.
jesse said it sounded like the beginning of a migraine. she did some reflexology on my feet, which literally blew my mind and relaxed me to the point of near sleep.
thank you jesse. i don't know what i would have done without your healing hands. for real...
we relaxed for the remainder of the day, hung out on the front stoop with gabe & jesse's awesome dog, bruce flea.
headed to the tea house around 8:30.
penny owns it and lives there.
the spot consists mostly of concrete and glass, so we tried to tone down our sound/noise a little bit. it took a minute to get used to, but we got through the set with no real problems...
it was really mellow, no alcohol, just lots of tea.
really good tea.
the crowd was teeny tiny. really, it was perfect for how i had been feeling all day.
we used jess' guitar amp for a PA.
ended our night drinking lemon-grass, ginger and nettle tea. thank you penny...

ATL

HOTlanta!
arrived on monday evening.
jesse, our DARLING host, rounded up six bikes and we rode them to dinner. thai/japanese fusion. i had a giant bowl of miso soup, full of noodles and vegetables. perfection.
we came back to the house and sat around the chimenea in the front yard, listening to 45's on j's record player.
good times.

thank you julio...

for hosting.
we miss you already...

how we spent the rest of our time in savannah...

guitar bar - 4/21

woke up to cuban espresso shots and a breakfast fit for kings.
julio might go down as the best host along the way...
we just barely made it to our interview at SCAD radio. we were too busy chillin' on the porch, i guess.
we basically sat around in this tiny room with these two young kids (houston and chase) and shot the shit on air. it was fun.
we both played a song and then took off to walk the squares.
we ended up at vinnies for some beer, salad and a slice.
i was feeling really nervous and jittery. wasn't sure if it was the espresso or just butterflies.
we relaxed on the porch while the sun went down and then headed out to load in.
lots of people showed up: old SCAD friends/professors of j's and renn's and quite a few randoms.
my uncle ed drove in from hilton head island. i hadn't seen him in years and almost cried when i saw him coming up the stairs. almost.
and my boy keith was in town, which worked out, because he ended up running sound for us.
we were LOUD, really LOUD, but it felt good, really good.
we sold some t-shirts and lots of cd's.
otherwise we made no money. the bar charged us full price for all of our drinks and didn't tell us until AFTER everyone had arrived that we were supposed to run the door. DUH. oh well...
i ended my night walking the streets of savannah with the man i love.
what more could i ask for?
(sidenote: i swear that is the cheesiest this blog will get)