Fell of the blog-wagon there for a while. . . Much has happened in the last week. We had some great shows in Montpelier and Post Mills, VT. We'll be returning to Montpelier on May 16th and will be announcing dates for that Northeast tour in the next few weeks. After these shows, our mid-tour vacation commenced with some hard-core skiing at Jay Peak. While Chris tore up the Black Diamonds, I snowplowed my way down the mountain in Beginner Zone (just for the first day!)We did two days on the mountain and cheerfully endured some of the worst weather conditions (7 degrees before wind chill--and boy was it windy!) that 10 miles south of the Canadian border has to offer. With most of our limbs still attached, we headed back out on the road to Binghamton, NY returning to Cyber Cafe West. Our friend David, who we met at the beginning of this tour by happenstance, was at the show last night taking pictures, which we'll have posted shortly.
In two days we've gone from feet of snow to no snow and in one more day we'll be back in the sunny South with 50 degree days. Last stop: Pittsburgh, PA!

This evening we were in Portland, ME at Geno's, a storied good-old rock club, playing with Shy Green and Giraffe Attack. Melissa got to chat violin with the Josh from Shy Green and Chris had fun his first time in the state of Maine. We wrapped up the show just as a Big Storm started dumping snow.
As I've been typing, at least a half inch of snow has fallen and all of the plows and salt trucks seem to be on the other side of the interstate. . .

So we played an awesome show in Providence, RI this last Saturday at Tazza Cafe. Providence is home to some cool people and some great music; incidentally, it is also home to something very familiar to us. Hmmm... I wonder if it's the same? That guy was an enterprising S.O.B.


The Providence show wrapped up a whirlwind of shows spanning from Eastern TN to RI in nine straight days. We routed a little time off in Burlington, VT before we pick up again this Thursday. Got to spend some time with Chris's family and enjoy the wonderful town of Burlington, VT as mere civilians and go to a few shows strictly a spectators. Here's Chris's cousin Charlie, doing his thing on the viola. The kid can play a mean Iron Man by Sabbath like no one's business and we're working on some other tunes while in town.


And then there's this guy...Thanks for the advice. Chris's cousin Simi had an "Informance" as they call it and we got to be spectators at that as well. Unfortunately, Chris can't stay out of the spotlight and made his way to front to challenge the kids with some enforced improvisation with 1/4 and 1/8 notes. They did fine though. Also, notice the sweet bald spot in this pic... my apologies to you, random guy, whose bald spot we have unintentionally posted on the world wide web.
Nothing like a little R&R while on tour. We'll be back on the trail this Thursday in Portland, ME. Now, it's time to sleep in a real bed.

Last night we returned to Goodbye Blue Monday in Brooklyn, NY. After three times driving into and out of the Big Apple, we finally found a way to leave and not have to pay $8 to cross a bridge (we still had to pay the $8 on the way into the city though. . .) Even with the expensive bridge, we had a great night last night. We love playing at GBM and Steve is always awesome and so welcoming. Thanks to Marc Edwards of Marc Edwards and Slipstream Time Travel for taking this shot:
One thing that's so much fun about Goodbye Blue Monday is the stuff that's everywhere. It feels like a very comfortable, lived-in garage sale with a stage, so I guess it's not too surprising to see familiar objects. . . and this is all just behind the bar. . .
Today we left the country's largest city for the smallest state. . .big change. . .

Last night we played in Bath, PA which is right near Nazareth, PA, home of the Martin guitar company. During the day we went and explored the place where Chris' acoustic guitar was born.
Chris got to go into the "high-end" guitar room and play all of the fancy guitars. Here he is playing the Elvis model prototype.
It was pretty cool to get inside the factory and see all of the guitar parts everywhere and the special individualized workstations where one person works on one small step of prodution on all of the guitars that are made.

Chris got all Ansel Adams with the point-and-shoot camera outside the venue last night; notice the juxtapositon of nature and industry. Hmmm. . .

On to Brooklyn!

Last night was our last show in Philly (until the next tour) and we were thrilled to take the stage at the Tin Angel with local songwriter Andrew Lipke and our pal Shackamaxon. The Tin has had many great artists grace its stage; their press photos line the double flight of stairs up to the venue.
As you enter, you're greeted with a list of rules; we especially like the "kindly refrain from conversation which may annoy others" and the big shiny "please turn off your cell phone" sign above.
The show last night was so much fun. We played it acoustic, partially due to the double flight of stairs (not that we won't haul gear up a gazillion flights of stairs if we have to!) and partially because of the intimate nature of the Tin Angel. Shackamaxon was kind enough to get up close and personal with our camera.
In Eastern PA right now the winds are blowing and the colder air seems to be moving in, unfortunately right as we're moving north. . . Tonight we're in a suburb of Allentown then tomorrow we tackle another huge downtown--Brooklyn!

We made it up to Philadelphia yesterday to play at the Khyber, a fun, grungy rock bar right in the middle of downtown. Our urban adventures were complete; parking was a fiasco, dressed-up people walking around everywhere, and two ladies specializing in late-night hospitality even attended our show. We enjoyed playing again with Philly friends Chris Schutz and the Tourists and A Leo Soundwave. In all, it made for a pretty fun Tuesday night!


Rest in Peace, Dolly Campbell, the best dog of some of our best friends. We love you!

On our way to DC last night from Roanoke we drove up through one of the most historic areas of the country. It was great to see all of the historical markers, old buildings, and other remnants of days gone by. One of the perks of being on the road (and allotting plenty of time to drive from show to show) is being able to take in the sights. It kind of makes up for sleeping in the back of the car. . .
We arrived in northern VA with a few hours to spare, so we stopped at the Mananas Battlefield. It's very interesting to see the different way that the civil war is portrayed by folks in the south versus folks in the north. I got to try to fire a confederate cannon before we headed out to finish the drive to DC.
We had a blast last night returning to the Red and the Black in DC with Whiz Bang Three. The DCist featured our show in the weekly picks section; we played a few newer tunes and tried out a brand new one and in general had quite a bit of fun! We're looking forward to getting back to the DC area in a few months, so keep an eye out. . .

Yesterday on our way to Roanoke, we went exploring on some backroads
and finally found the trailhead to McAfee's Knob, the most photographed spot on the Appalachian Trail. After four miles of uphill hiking, we got there.


We enjoyed the unseasonably warm weather and the outdoor solitude; today it's on to more urban points north.

Today marks the newest chapter in our road journal. I know we haven't been on top of the road journal for the last while; we've been on a bit of a hiatus working on new songs and getting to know some new gadgetry. But now it's time to put all that work to good use and go back out on the road.
Tonight we played at the Acoustic Coffeehouse in Johnson City, TN. We were glad to see some familiar faces and get some sketches done of ours:


Shanon Heart did these drawings while we were playing and was nice enough to let us photograph them so everyone could see them. We enjoyed playing with Brant and Lindy of Rockwoods. It's always fun to be paired up with other pairs. . .

Much love, we'll chat later.