2004-04-23 - 10:55 a.m.
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We’re off for Seattle in the morning. Its another hell drive and then play. We have to be at the ferry to Vashan Island by 4 pm and it’s ten hours away so we’re out of our rooms by 7 am. We pass the site of the infamous buss fire (see a prior journal entry) and this time, after we make the winding drive down into Pendleton, we head over the mighty Columbia and into Washington. It’s farm and vineyard country out on this side of the state with well manicured grape vines marching in line up gentle hills. On our approach to Seattle we drive through a number of National Forests that are stunning. At one point we were driving along at about 5000 feet beside a beautiful lake surrounded by mountains when it starts to snow like a bastard. The snow was of the sticky variety and as it stuck to the trees it made the whole scene look like a model train set, complete with spray on snow. Finally we reach the ferry to Vashan Island where we’ll be performing at Bishops. It’s a beautiful ride across the Puget Sound with a fabulous view of the city to the north. We should able to see Rainier to the south but clouds obscure it. Carey gets a verbal reprimand over the intercom for smoking on the aft deck. He has a look on his face like he’s been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Vashon Island is absolutely beautiful. It’s amazingly rural considering it’s a hop, skip and a jump from the city. The island reminds me a little of the Sag Harbor area of my old stomping grounds, Long Island, New York. At the club Alex Anderson, the promoter, greets us. He seems to have everything together including lights and a beautiful backdrop that his lovely girlfriend Kim has painted. It’s a small club. They have 2 Golden Tee 2005 golf games. I watch a guy playing a great game and try to pick up some pointers. When he’s done we strike up a conversation. He tells me he comes in every afternoon after work to play a few games of golf, have a couple of beers and unwind. I play him 9 holes and we wind up tying at 3 under par. I have to admit that I stole some of his moves and even had my first hole in one! I was prompted to give my address and the company supposedly is sending me $25! The gig is packed. Alex and his crew have got a slamming green room for us. He really knows how to do it and we have a wonderful time. After the show we all go back to Alex and Kim’s house in the woods. It’s an amazing house! It rambles on with rooms that seem at random. Most nooks and crannies are filled with some interesting piece of artwork or decoration or another. There’s an A frame shaped great room with a cathedral ceiling and a loft like bedroom at the very top with a window that looks out on the great room. It’s way in the middle of nowhere and we party until the wee hours. The next day Amanda and I try to go to town and shop at the Pike Street Market but we miss the only ferry that would work for us and settle on checking out the little town of Vashon. There’s a nice bookshop but I pass on some books I might have read.
The Tractor Tavern is up next. It’s located in the north end of the city, a couple of blocks from the sound in a neighborhood that seems to imminently about to be groovy. I’ve been telling our manager that we should play at this club for years because my friend Alejandro Escovedo plays here all the time and loves it. It’s a cool club and the show goes well.
When you’re out doing shows night after night, one of the challenges is to make the show fresh each time. Changing the set list all the time is one way to do it. It’s a little like re-inventing the wheel every night but it's what you have to do. For my part the challenge is to make my solos seem new by thinking of new ways to approach them. Soloing is kind of like speaking a language. As you get more proficient you add more vocabulary. Then it’s a matter of assembling the words in such a way that conveys the emotion of the song or the emotion that you are feeling or channeling. Each night I try to rearrange the words in my vocabulary and even invent some new words. In this band we seem to have discovered the lost art of conversation; we're able to speak while listening and to then respond sympathetically. In this way, sudden windows can open revealing new mysteries within the music.
Our first play in Oregon will be at the Milky Way in Forest Grove. We’ve played there before and they put us up in a really cool hotel called McMinnamin’s Grand Lodge. It’s a funky old Masons retirement home that has been redone to the max. There are paintings and murals everywhere and most tell the story of the former residents or the history of the home itself. It’s really trippy. The gig is lightly attended but thanks to Alex, Kim and the Happy Brigade, the stage looked great. There’s a significant East Coast posse present and we all made some noise. We’re all staying at the same place. Since it was an early show the downstairs bar is still open when we get to the hotel. Of course we take it over. The bartender makes great margaritas so we let the drinking begin. It’s a wild ass time but after the bar closes I’m beat so I head off to bed. After breakfast I wander the halls to check out all the art. Even some of the sprinklers on the ceilings are painted like serpents or just ornately painted in a Middle Eastern style. The place is really cool!
Next up is Portland, but first we do a radio show on the local community radio. It goes great. John Schroeder and his lovely wife Mary Beth have been filming us for a DVD here in Oregon and they film the radio show as well. They’ll be with us for the rest of Oregon. After the radio show most of us go to the Portland Saturday Street Market. There is numerous who ha to be had. I just eat some Nepalese mo mos and wander around looking at stuff. It’s a beautiful day and it’s great to get out of the van for a while.
The Mt. Tabor Inn is a converted old movie house in a neat little neighborhood. We’ve played here a few times and we’ve had a good time. The place is absolutely packed. There’s an auxiliary little theater that Alex has set up as the green room. He, Kim, Lee and Hillary have out done themselves. Hillary has her set up her massage table behind some curtains and Kim and Lee have prepared Thai food for us. It’s wonderful to be treated like that. The Jersey posse is on board for the show. They would stay through California. It turns out to be a hoot! The last play in Oregon is at the WOW Hall in Eugene. Eugene’s a town I haven’t been able to figure out. It’s a big college town but I haven’t seen many students. There seems to be more homeless people. And they seem to be the dangerous drifter/transient type. Once again the hall is decorated to the max as well as the dressing room. Mary Beth, the videographer’s wife, is positively beaming as she dances in front of me. She may very well be the happiest person I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting. The show is under attended to say the least. My old friend Ben from Chester, NJ came down to the show. He summed it up pretty well when afterwards he said, “Yeah, this is a city of 100,000 stoners who just can’t get off the couch to make it to a show.” It was our last show with Alex and Kim and poor Kim had to spend it in the van with her daughter Sierra who had suddenly taken ill. Alex and Kim are the kind of people who dance their way around ordinary life while surrounding themselves with extraordinary people. I hope the days are short ‘till we work with them again.
