10.20.12

Bellingham, WA —

I’ve  been at the Motel 6 off highway 5 in Bellingham, WA for the past few days. It’s not bad. Although I’ve come to realize that this particular chain of motels has a certain stigma surrounding it — and for good reason. I’ve definitely been to a few myself that warrant hatred and disdain.

It was so rainy when we arrived here, the thought of crashing in the van seemed miserable. A motel did not. So here I am.

The last few weeks has been a fun run as Andreas Sjöbeck and I have meandered through the two lanes linking Utah, Montana, Idaho and Washington. At this point the roads are becoming familiar to me. The coffee at the local cafes is memorable and I’m starting to remember the baristas. When they start asking me if I want a punch card in every city I go to, I start to wonder if I’m here enough to deserve the question. Or are they just following protocol. Either way, the towns are all blending together as my motion begins to melt the state lines into one another.

It’s beautiful to watch.

Being on tour is a good. The road is great. The shows, in my opinion, have been lacking though — both in terms of numbers and energy. But the sting of any disappointment has begun to dissipate as I’ve dug into how I’m going to evolve things moving into the future. Things in life run their course. It is nature. And in order to survive, one must adapt — so that’s what we are going to do. Keep on moving.

I picked up a some really great records the other day in Colorado Springs. The bargain bins can hold some true gems. In this particular case, each gem was only .98 cents. I picked out the most obscure covers I could find and ended up with close to ten new cds.

The two I’ve been digging into that I’m really enjoying are:

The Mint Chicks: Crazy? Yes? Dumb? NO! > It reminds me of a Death From Above 1979 bass vibe mixed with the off-kilter lyrics of a Nervous Return —cool noise and subtle pop-style vocals over jams that keep the shit moving.

Sun 60: Only I haven’t gotten into this one very far yet. But its great. I was trying to do some reading up on these guys online and actually was able to find quite a bit. I think it was one of those bands I just happened to miss the boat on in the early 90s because of my age and who was handing me music. — The lead vocalist Joan Jones has a beautiful voice. It’s part folk, part space and part light rock.

** both records are worth picking up.

I’m off to Seattle today for a show and then onto Oregon after that. It is nice to be back in the Pacific Northwest.

— JM