You Say Potato, I Say Potatoe. Issue #12

Last Thursday night TJ Sherrill my hetero-lifemate, his wife Jess, and I embarked for a six hour journey to Idaho for a Friday night show. It was funny because we originally had three shows booked, but two canceled a couple of weeks prior. Still, we decided to make the trip for what was my first time playing in what the kids call "The Gem State". I realize as I can see the year ahead of me and tours we are planning that I need to get WAY better at riding in the car for long periods of time. I'm kinda like a nine-year old, and easily get a little stir crazy when confined. My wife is always saying I'm a little autistic and this might just be another indicator. The nine-year in me did like this though...


When we got to our destination, I found we were staying at their couple friend's house who were in Africa for a month helping orphaned children find families (insert feeling of needing to do something THAT GOOD here). The husband's name was Zack, and I immediately loved the guy without having met him when I saw how cool his paintings were, and wished I had his skillz. Their house was full of them, and I hope someday to be able to purchase one for mine. Until then, I will try to create knock-offs...


On Friday we did a little sight-seeing and got to check out Coeur d'Alene (where we were playing) and tried out a few of the local eateries. This really is almost my favorite part about traveling, getting unnecessarily really excited to eat a bunch of food that I don't have here no matter if it's good for me or not. Score of the weekend was The Pita Pit which was basically Quizno's in a pita but REALLY GOOD and fresh tasting.


That night we played The Barrel Room, a wine-bar that has some of the best wine I think I've ever tasted. Also a little strong from how I felt the next morning after not having that much...

TJ's friend Chris Has opened up the evening and I followed. It's pretty fun, and also pretty hard to play in a new town where no one knows you. The challenge is to get people to want to stick around in the first song when they probably have plans after seeing their friend/family member plays earlier or right before you. Unfortunately, the days of "lets just go see some new music" are pretty well gone with so many things competing for your entertainment dollar. This will make you learn really quickly what works and what doesn't when trying to keep a crowd interested in an artist they don't know. I felt I performed well, and made some mental notes on how to approach the situation next time where live music is not main focus of the venue, but still a fun place to play. Also, this trip shows me a little preview of the good time that TJ and I are going to have when we head out for a week in October. Like I said before, hetero-lifemates need to be travel compatible...

It's my last week to finish my E.P., and asked Patrick Porter to come by and lay some sweet-sweet Patrick licks on a few songs. He's a master of pedal-steel, and I can't wait to hear what it adds to a stripped down number I have on the album. Oddly enough, last week I exchanged a song that was meant to go on it for a new one I just wrote that I knew I would regret if I didn't record right away. It ties the overall lyrical picture together though, and I think I'll be glad I didn't let it escape...

Enjoy some classic Mitch Hedberg to get your week going right!



-Kyle