Tales From The Eastside. Issue #61

I fired up the engines this past Saturday for a short weekend trip to Spokane to perform @ CATERINA WINERY. It was the first time I had made the trip back there since the mini-tour last fall and being long overdue I was anxious to get back. Matt Edington accompanied me on electric guitar as I wanted to try something new by having him create soundscape textures behind the stripped down acoustic versions of my songs. A trusted Garmin GPS in hand we set forth across the pass that morning stopping only once for lunch and a piece of lemon-meringue pie. You can probably guess from the lyrics to "Thicker Than Leather" that I kinda have a pie fetish and the decision between what to get from the cornucopia-esque assortment proved to be the most stressful part of the trip...


After arriving in Spokane around 4:00-ish and having a few hours to kill we got to walk around downtown (where Caterina is located), and check out some local spots. I found a new venue that I would love to perform at and had a chance to check out the infamous "Merilyn's Comics". The sign on the outside said that it was "gamer day" and after stepping inside to be greeted by the stench of unwashed fanboys I completely believed it. Much bigger than my local shop but nowhere as good. COMIC STOP 4 LIFE.

After stopping back at the hotel clean up and pick the bugs out we departed for the show. Upon walking into Caterina I remembered something I loved so much about it. THE SMELL. Oh excuse me, I mean the "AROMA" if any connoisseurs are reading. The same vibe I get when I walk into a brewery; the feeling that GOOD THINGS are made here. I'm not going into a wine based description (would sound totally ignorant) but just trust me to stop in if you're ever around that way.


Some folks sharing the bill with me that night were SHANNON CURTIS, and DAVE HANNON BAND. Shannon was on the last leg of her 5 week tour and let me pick her brain for a good while on what that has been like since I'm moving in that direction. She treated the crowd to her beautiful voice and very well written songs. Dave Hannon was also a nice surprise in the fact that he was one of the nicest musicians I have ever met. We hope to do a mini-tour together in the beginning of the next year here and that's going to be really fun. Head of booking at Caterina is Patrick Kendrick, a busy, busy man who has worked very hard to make Caterina one the the fastest growing venues in Spokane. All booking agents should follow his example and it's always a pleasure to work with professionals like that as it just makes the whole night better. Matt and I had the middle slot of the evening and I felt a little extra pressure to put on a good show since I was following Shannon's crazy good vocals. I felt the show went well, enjoyed the different animal that was just Matt and I, and decided that that was something I wanted to explore more of in future shows.


After leaving the show we grabbed some late night eats close to the hotel and found myself ending the evening with a dish of "Wasabi-Apple" ice cream. Yes, "Wasabi-Apple". What did it taste like? Well, I'd tell you but my simple brain cannot come up with a description of what your mouth feels like when it's on fire and freezing at the same time. Truly unnatural and another omen of the end times only this time not found on FOX News.


Before I go this week please note that COLLIDER will be performing this Wednesday, August 6th @ The HIGHDIVE in Fremont. The show is +21 (oh man!), $6 at the door, and will be the only show of the summer as we continue work on the new album. This show is also our bass player Mark's last show with both COLLIDER/KYLE STEVENS BAND so come out and give him a proper send off!


Be Well,

-Kyle