It was a beautiful drive down south with a quick dinner stop at a place called Sharky's in New Jersey, football on the TV, $2 Miller Lites, po boys and pizzas; a drive-all-night through the Blue Ridge Mountains and a sunrise breakfast in Crossville, Tennessee at the Triple D diner which was spectacular.
We felt very fortunate to be able to play at The Basement, the Nashville institution, with a couple great fellas. These guys are both supremely talented and worth checking out, for sure. Zach Schmidt:
And Mainer-turned-Nashvillian J.R. Wyatt:
The Preservation Pub in Knoxville is always a great hang, supplemented this time with the good vibes of 10th Mountain Division, our new buddies from Colorado. Knoxville is a beautiful town in a beautiful part of the country and we're always happy to get back there.
Big shout-out to the town of Alabaster, Alabama. We had a little wheel bearing trouble on the way through but the good people at Express Tire and Auto were able to get us fixed up and back on the road by morning. In the mean time we were lucky enough to find a place called Rio's Bar and Grill (voted best bar in Shelby County four years running!), where it just happened to be karaoke night and where we just happened to be the only people not from Alabaster, Alabama, believe it or not. A couple tequila shots and karaoke tunes later and we found ourselves rolling out to our new pals' place where we stayed up way too late and raised way too much hell. Crystal, Ralph, Chuck, Peter, Mama and the rest of the gang - thanks again, good times!
With the van back on the road it was just a hop, skip and a jump down to the Flora-Bama on the Alabama/Florida border on the Gulf Coast. If you're unfamiliar with the Flora-Bama like we were, words won't even begin to describe the place but we can tell you that we had an absolute blast. The weather was incredible, the hospitality was wonderful, the food was off-the-hook, the music was great, and the staff, crew and crowds all showed us the kindest southern hospitality. It was an honor to be welcomed in to the "Bamily" as they say.
Post-gig on Friday night we heard a hurricane was on the way so we stuffed our sweat-drenched selves into the van at 3am and headed west. A quick stop in Port Allen, Louisiana for some eggs and breakfast cocktails at the Court Street Cafe and on to Cottonwood in Houston, one of our very favorite stops when we're out on the road. It was great to see some familiar faces, including some fellow Mainers, the superb sound guy Henry, and Jordan and Levi, the young couple whose wedding we happened to play exactly 6 months ago to the day prior, which was the craziest coincidence in the world, so we did what we had to do and we celebrated.
At the current moment we're crossing West Texas and getting psyched about California. It'll be our first trip to the west coast as a band and we're feeling very lucky. If you're out in that part of the world here's where you can catch us:
- Tuesday 10/10 - Humboldt Brews (Arcata)
- Friday 10/13 - Big Easy (Petaluma)
- Saturday 10/14 - Bandit Town (North Fork)
- Sunday 10/15 - Hotel Utah Saloon (San Francisco)
We really appreciate all the kindness and support, and we'll look forward to seein' you out there. Cheers.
- TMBB