Red & Black Cafe in Portland I'm back from the Pacific Northwest part of my CD Release Tour, with a couple more bay area dates left to play. My friend Maia Papaya joined me for the first week playing upright bass and singing harmony at the shows, not to mention cracking me up in the car.
We took off on Tuesday and stayed the first night with Maia's family in Medford, Oregon. On Wednesday night we played at the Red and Black Cafe in Portland, where I got to connect with some old friends and make some new ones. I was really glad to get to play with Brenna Sahatjian again, and opener Christopher Buckingham of the Eventuals reminded me of The Mountain Goats, but more laid back.
We took off on Tuesday and stayed the first night with Maia's family in Medford, Oregon. On Wednesday night we played at the Red and Black Cafe in Portland, where I got to connect with some old friends and make some new ones. I was really glad to get to play with Brenna Sahatjian again, and opener Christopher Buckingham of the Eventuals reminded me of The Mountain Goats, but more laid back.
At the Portland show I met photographer Trevor McKee. He's friends with Coyote Grace, a band I know, and he offered to do a photo shoot with me the next day. So Thursday morning I went over to his house to take some pictures. I think he got some good ones! Click the image to see it larger.
From Portland we drove back down south to Eugene, Oregon. It was at this point that I realized I'd left the bag with my cables, DI box, cash box, fake nails for finger picking and guitar stand in Medford. Oops! I considered driving all the way back to Medford to pick them up, but decided that was a bad idea.
In Eugene we hung out with my friend Rachel Sanders of The Dirty Dandelions. She showed up around Maitrea, the eco-village where she lives. Check it out!
In Eugene we hung out with my friend Rachel Sanders of The Dirty Dandelions. She showed up around Maitrea, the eco-village where she lives. Check it out!
On Friday before our show Rachel took us on a long bike ride to forage for walnuts in an abandoned walnut grove in the middle of an office park. It felt good to get out and exercise after being in the car for several days.
That night we played a show at the Wandering Goat, a coffee shop with a green room that was actually green! Maia Papaya opened the show with a couple of her own tunes, and then the Dirty Dandelions played dancey newgrass songs. My favorite was their cover of Pete Seeger's "Garbage Garbage Garbage." Here's a picture of the Dandelions practicing in their home.
On Saturday we headed to Tacoma, Washington. This was the first stop on the tour where we didn't know a soul, but a local songwriter had setup the show for me. Metronome Coffee turned out to be a happening cafe with delicious hot apple cider. A local guy had even offered to film us playing and stream it live online using StageIt.com. Unfortunately I had gotten the time we were performing wrong, so only a couple of people were able to hop on early enough to see us, but I'm glad I had my first live streaming experience. The folks in Tacoma were really friendly. We share the stage with Forest Beutel of the Barleywine Revue, who played banjo and bass drum and harmonica all at the same time! Luke Stanton had a beautiful voice and wicked guitar skills. He doesn't have anything recorded yet, but watch out for that guy because he is a seriously gifted singer-songwriter. A number of people bought CDs and download cards and encouraged us to come back to Tacoma, which I look forward to doing!
On Sunday morning we stopped at a Goodwill so Maia could get a football jersey for her Halloween costume. Then we headed to Seattle, where we were playing at Empty Sea Studios. Empty Sea is a wonderful listening room venue, kind of like an intimate, professional house show with great sound and theater seating, or a tiny theater in a converted single family home focused on acoustic music. Michael Connolly who produced and played on my album At The Seams joined us for three songs, which was fun. Going into this show, we knew that only a couple of tickets had been sold as of the day before, but when we got there they told us they were almost sold out. Whew! I guess folks were just waiting until the last minute to keep us in suspense. Local duo Hitch the Pony opened and their beautiful harmonies had my smiling and tapping my feet.
On Monday Maia and I had some free time, so we explored the University of Washington Arboretum and ran around in the fall leaves. Maia got a coffee (because we were in Seattle, how could you not?) and we spent some time at a music store. We had some phenomenal vegan pho, and then it was time for me to take Maia to the airport so she could fly home to Oakland in time to get back to work and school.
That night I stayed with my friend Celeste, and on Tuesday I had another day off. I had tea with some friends of one of my best friends, stopped in at a tasty vegan bistro, visited the Frye Art Museum and took a hike in Discovery Park. It was a fun day of solo city exploring.
On Wednesday I took the short trip to Olympia and played at a house show at the Rose Home for Folk. I'd never been to Olympia before, but I met a lot of nice people in a cozy collective house. I forgot to take pictures at the show, but here's a kitty that greeted me from the window of the hotel where I stayed that night.
Thursday and Friday I spent on the road home. I got to stop back in with Maia's Medford family and hand out some Halloween candy to the neighborhood kids, which was a good way to end a day of solo driving. When I got home on Friday I collapsed on my bed, happy to be home.
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