Greetings from the road! I have felt compelled to document this tour, perhaps because it’s so massively long that I must dissect it into digestible portions.
We’ve got some new tricks up our sleeve this time.
Cameron’s brought his harmonica
And I’ve got my tambourine and shakers in tow:
Show 1- Albuquerque, NM (Winning Coffee Co.)
We weren’t sure what to expect, since we’d never seen the venue before, and the venue doesn’t normally host concerts, but man were we pleased with the results! The owner essentially let us convert the coffee shop into a venue, and a full house turned out to see us play! (And naysayers tried to tell us Albuquerque is dead in January!)
This was an absolutely fantastic start to the tour, and a special thanks to all those who brought friends out to see us for the first time!
Show 2 – Kansas City, MO (Main Street Café)
The venue was difficult to find, but once we found ourway inside this converted icehouse, we were amazed to find a huge, beautifully decorated, high-ceilinged performance space. We shared the night with 3 other bands, and were treated to an audience of around 100. A great venue with a great cause, we hope to return there sometime later in the tour.
Show 3 – Lawton, OK (Cameron University)
The entire programming board wore vintage neckties with show info puffy-painted onto them to spread a buzz about the show that day!
They took great care of us here, and we even got to sign our first acoustic guitar after the show!
Show 4 – Tyler, TX (UT-Tyler)
Noon-time shows are notoriously difficult to grab people’s attention at, with food being around and all. However, this was probably our best-ever lunchtime concert. The performance space was bright and sunny, and people sang and smiled with us all the way through.
Plus we got onion rings. What more could we ask for?
Show 5 – Walla Walla, WA (Whitman College)
This one took some work to get to…3 flight segments and a 3-hour drive in a rental car. However, it was more than worth it when we stepped on stage to find an enthusiastic audience of 150 people. Walla Walla, knows how to love on acoustic music. This show really meant a lot to us, and we will certainly be back. They give us big heads.
We hit the road at 5:30AM the morning after the show to catch a flight to LA to attend the NAMM music trade-show. However, at about 6:15AM, and at about 60mph, a deer ran across the road right in front of us, and we had no chance of avoiding it. We collided and spun off into a ditch. The deer flew about 25 yards in the opposite direction. Fortunately, aside from some backaches, we are okay. The rental car is probably totaled though.
I’m left remembering how the rental clerk persuaded me to upgrade the vehicle to a size larger, and how that may have very well made the difference in the outcome of the situation for us. We missed the trade show, and we’ve been forced to slow our pace down for the weekend, which feels good. We’ll pick everything back up again on Tuesday in Kansas!
Tenaciously yours,
Ryanhood