The tour is winding down and although we've had a great time, I'm pretty sure we're all anxious to be in our own houses and beds while going about our daily routine - be it work, school, or unemployment. Sorry we haven't been updating this as much as we should, but there isn't as much time to do this as you might imagine - or we had hoped.
The last time we wrote we had just finished in Portland (which was one of my personal favorite stops, and the show was great). Seattle was also very fun for different reasons: We got to hang out with Kate Pugsley (who does all of our artwork), and we got to play with Minivan, and Commodore Duchess, who thoroughly impressed me. In all honesty, a lot of the shows are running together at this juncture and it's difficult to separate days.
There were a lot of Cleveland connections at our show in Denver where we played with Sleeper Horse, whose drummer, Ryan, was once in a band with our very own Sean Sullivan. A few of our old friends as well came out to the show and it was nice to see the familiar faces. It's pretty cool seeing people you know from Ohio along the way. We stayed with Charlie's cousin Sarah and her husband Bob who were very gracious hosts who made us a brilliant African vegan stew for dinner. Of all the places we stayed, this is where I felt most at home.
Skipping a few days ahead, we're now driving to our last stop in Chicago. The plan was to drive straight through from our last show in Burnsville, Minnesota, but we had some mechanical problems with the van, so instead of arriving around 8 am, it's now around noon with about 2.5 more hours of driving. On the bright side: at least we'll be missing the morning rush hour. We have Friday off and I think we plan on doing some of the things I love doing while in the city. Craig and I want to do the Shedd Aquarium and Adam is interested in Navy Pier. Hopefully we can get some of these things accomplished before our show on Saturday evening, after which we will drive back to Cleveland.
This will undoubtedly be my last diary entry for this tour, so for posterity let me just mention how much I've enjoyed this trip, no matter how bumpy the road was at times (both literally and figuratively). Three weeks is a long time to spend with five other people in a van, and over that amount of time I've come to have newfound respect, admiration, and love for each and every one of my band mates. I wouldn't want to do it with anyone else. Here are my semi-public, semi-private thoughts on of my individual fellow travelers:
Adam: It was a strange, interesting few days there, and I'm glad we were able to work through our different opinions and views. I'd definitely go out on tour with you again. You had some pretty big shoes to fill behind the drum kit and you did so admirably. Thanks for taking the time to go on tour with us.
Charlie: You're one of my best friends and have been for years. Touring with you was even more fun this time around. I appreciate your easy going nature and it helps keep me at least a little bit more relaxed than I would be otherwise.
Craig: Besides being the funniest person in the van, you're also one of the best listeners. When you're not making me laugh until I almost pee my pants, you're one of the most sincere people I know - even if you don't let people see that sometimes. I'm grateful that you are always willing to talk, give advice and in general just be a great friend.
Rachel: Your positive outlook on nearly everything is amazing. We can be playing to three people and you're still the same ol' sunny gal. I probably don't express it, but I admire that very much.
Sean: You weren't able to come on our last tour and I have to say that having you in the van this time around was much better than I had hoped for. I'm very appreciative to have gotten to know you better. You are a brilliant photographer (as I'm sure anyone who's seen the blog can attest), a talented bass player and a genuinely good human being.
Slings: The four or five days we spent with you on tour could not have gone any better. Every single one of the people in your "posse" was delightful. Thanks for taking us to the beach, having pets to entertain us and getting us into restaurants after hours. While California is much more beautiful, I hope you will make it out to Cleveland to play more shows with us in the not-to-distant future.
Signing off ...
Jared
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