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| in Brooklyn with Nathan. . . seems like an eternity ago |
We just pulled into Atlanta and crossed the 26,000 domestic mile mark on the way(the last UK/Europe trip was an additional 7,000 miles). 10 1/2 months, 38 states, 6 countries, two traffic tickets, and and Lord knows how many bags of dry roasted peanuts. The food co-op in Boise is still awesome but the salt bar at the co-op in Mt. Vernon, Washington is amazing. I mean really, 20 different salts to choose from. The breakfast bar at the co-op in Putney, Vermont will always hold a close place to my heart but JD McCliment might be part of that scenario. JD is an incredible individual. The bookstore in Bushwick with the wine/beer bar and Tom Bianchi's open mic every Monday at the Lizard Lounge in Boston are both giants in their own right. Laurence Scudder, Jon Wigg, Trevor Krieger, Ariel Luckman....how can that many amazing fiddle players exist? Hummus, I love you. The taco truck in Storm Lake, Iowa is fabulous. Maybe not as great as the taco truck in Bushwick where the lady working hated me for not being able to read the menu but still pretty fantastic. Oh wait, that taco truck in Eugene, Oregon where we had a killer meal for $4! That may have been so great partly because we were flat broke but I think it was still pretty good. I can only assume that cop in Avondale Estates, Georgia is still an unhappy schmuck. Pueblo, Colorado is dismal. Poor Old Shine, you guys are great. That new Jason Isbell record is &*#%ing unreal. Really.
Arkansas and Pope made for one of the best weekends I can recall in recent memory.
Alright....focus.
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| with Ben Bedford in St. Louis |
We've been all over the U.S. in the last 6 months and it's been great. Daunting at times and often a bit overwhelming but overall, it's been a great trip. Recently we were in Fayetteville, Arkansas for the Roots Festival. Oh, it was also 98 degrees with about 80% humidity. The first night at the Greenhouse Grill I met John Fullbright and his manager Greg who are both wonderful guys. The next day just before my set at the Walton Arts Center I met Jerry Douglas in the hallway! Luckily I had my Kenny Rogers t-shirt on so the ice breaking part went super well. Chris Plowman (and his lady Jennie. . .and their cat, Olive) met us for the festival and after we finished our shows we headed to his moms house out in the Ozarks for some down time. We had a few fires, built some saw horses, glazed the windows and I even got to climb a ladder about 30 feet in the air and sweep the chimney. Did I mention heights without any kind of guard rail scare the hell out of me?
We also met Pope. Not the Pope.....Pope. Pope is the executive and founder of Windemere which is the homestead Chris's mom, Tina, lives on. Windemere doesn't allow bad shit. Bad vibes, toxins, GMO's, pesticides, TV, drugs or alcohol. We did get a waiver for the latter as it was an event with Chris coming home and his sister making a surprise visit. Pope even had a beer. Pope is an old soul, wise in the ways of wisdom, knowledge, and also in people. He taught me a lot in a really short time.
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| Jess & Jennie swimmin' in a river in Arkansas |
I need to be in Switzerland in a few days and I have a months worth of work to do before so I'd best get my nose on the grindstone. Be nice, practice being better, listen to more Mark Knopfler and take care
Josh
p.s. Omaha....you're growing on me. The last time I was in Omaha I was with Hayward Williams on a 3 band bill. David Rawlings and Gillian Welch were playing two blocks down so we all decided we'd each play two 30 minute sets as to each have an hour to go the David & Gillian show. There were 4 people at our show and one of them came to the stage during my set, took the microphone and started singing Toby Keith in the middle of one of my songs. This time was better.
p.p.s We went to Yellowstone National Park. Holy shit that was awesome.
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| Yellowstone |
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