Washington DC

The Nations Capitol. (talk about a windy city full of empty promises)
We played at a club called the Rock N Roll Hotel in Washington DC. The neighborhood was pretty rough but the club was great. The owner was there to great us upon our arrival. The staff were really friendly and helpful through out the day. The club was small but we packed it with around 350 people. The band put together a really good set list with no lulls in it. The crowd was really receptive as well. It's nice when everything goes well. The band played until 1:30 am. By the time I packed things and had them loaded up it was almost 3:00 am.

The club used to be a funeral home, a long, long, long, time ago. The stage was where they actually viewed the bodies. The kitchen to the place was where they embalmed the bodies. Upstairs where there used to be several smaller viewing room, private bars were constructed. The place was actually really cool, kind of creepy, but cool none the less.

I have taken to checking the guitars before the band takes stage with little Grateful Dead riffs to see if anyone in the audience is paying attention. It's funny some of the looks that I get. Hey, I gotta keep myself entertained. I check the clean sound with Sugar Magnolia, The Flange Pedal with Crazy Fingers, I also check the Electro Harmonix with Set the Controls for the center of the Sun by Pink Floyd. Sometimes I tease the Who, other times The Beatles.

I am really starting to get used to this schedule. We are pretty much tired all of the time. Touring is crazy when you don't have any days off. A large portion of me is just set on auto pilot.

I cannot express how the things I take for granted I now cherish. To a degree losing a bit of what you have can be a good thing. Showers, solitude, sleep, are currently at the top of my list of things to try and not take for granted. Then there is you, my friends. When you aren't surrounded by like minded people it really makes you realize how wonderful the people that you choose to surround yourself really are.

We are all getting along famously out here and barreling through this together. Tomorrow, we are playing a morning radio show in Boston for St Patty's Day. That should be interesting. We are loading in at 5:00 am. Mind you our show in Albany tonight ends about 12:30 or 1:00 with two hours to tear down and prepare to leave is going to leave me with about an hour and a half of sleep before I have to wake up and get the guitars ready for the radio show tomorrow. Luckily it's an acoustic performance. My friend Matt Bayliss may come out to visit me. He is the first Masshole that I ever met. He may be one of the funniest people on the planet so I do hope that he is able to visit.

Boston should be interesting on St Patrick's day. It's like a real holiday there. Car Bombs in the Morning Laddy's. The folks here on the East Coast have been sporting their green gear all weekend.

IT has been nice to visit the east coast, but brothers and sisters let me tell you, there is no place like the west coast. The West is truly the Best. Jim was right. There is so much tension and aggression seething out of the streets here on the east coast. I'll take happy go lucky hippie dippy, politically correct, I'm so smug I can smell my own farts west coast any day of the week. The west coast hast the right idea, there is no doubt about that. I'm not dissing the East Coast, it's just not my style, speed, or temperment.

It's getting cold as we climb north towards Albany. It's grey and cloudy outside today. After Boston we head up to do the boarder crossing to get to Montreal, French Canada. There's no Canada like French Canada, poodles, cigarettes, and a whole lot of whine. I'm really looking forward to Montreal and Toronto. I have always loved Canada.

I'm going to catch a cat nap for the next few hours.

I miss you all and hope that you are all well.
Big Hugs all the way around.