So this weekend I've been rocking the Southwest by myself. I flew in to Alburquerque on Friday, and got a ride to Santa Fe from Alex ( I heart Metal). Thanks Mr. Alex! This super nice guy named Ryan set up a show for me at a place called the Warehouse. It was a really cool place for a solo show, because it was really tiny, and everybody sat on the floor and was super attentive. I went PA-less. I like when it's possible to do that at a venue, because I don't feel tied behind a mic and I can move around a little when I playing.

The show was really fun, and I stayed at Alex's house. (I heart Metal) There was a party that night at the house I was staying at. they were busting some freestyle rap. Alex and Noah were both amazing! I was too chicken to try it myself. I have a hard enough time remembering and singing the words to songs that I write myself! I know I would start rapping and somewhere in the middle of my second line I would get nervous and blow it and just freeze up!

On Sat.I played at a place in Tempe called the Clubhouse. It was a fun show, but kind of weird. It's a bar, but they have half the place (in front of the stage) sectioned of for people who are under 21. There were a good amount of people there who knew the words to all the songs and requested lots of songs. One drunk guy kept heckling me, but other than that the show went really well.

Sunday I played at a record store called Stinkweed's. It was a small turnout, so I went PA-less again and did all requests. It was fun and super short. I only played for about 25 min.

Big thanks to Emily and Billy for picking me up from the airport and driving me around. Thanks to Billy's mom too for letting me spend the night and taking me out to lunch. you guys rock! I'm excited to come back through NM and AZ, both with MU330 and by myself.

WOODSTOCK, IL

So the show in Woodstock went OK. It was a little strange to be playing acoustic while people were skating, but there were definitely some people there that were really into the show. I stayed in Elgin at this guy Eric's house. Him and his wife were super nice. Thanks for letting me and Rick sleep on your couch/floor!

When we got back to their house, I started talking to them, and figured out that my friend Robbie lives downdstairs from them. I was super psyced because I've done lots of touring with him and we haven't gotten to hang out in a long time. Rick and I went downstairs and hung out with him and his girfriend, and played the kid's version of trivial pursuit. I am terrible at trivial pursuit. Even when it's the kid's edition. I came in dead last. I missed some pretty embarrasingly easy questions, but I won't bore you with that here!

IOWA CITY

In the morning, Robbie made Rick and me pancakes for breakfast. Yum! Then we drove to Iowa City for a show at Gabe's Oasis. We opened up for a band from Philadelphia called the Pernice Brothers, who I had never heard of. They sounded a little bit like Guided By Voices, I thought. I played a pretty short set since I was opening up, and I didn't use the PA. I just walked down to the tables and played where everyone was sitting, so that was fun.

Iowa city was the one night that Rick and I had to get a hotel. We stayed at the super 8 that is at the I 80 truckstop exit. We watched a little bit of "Escape from LA." We both like the part where he gets in the submarine and with an early attempt at computer animation, they have a funny looking shark swoop up and try to bite the submarine. Funny!

GALESBURG, IL

We had a short drive to Galesburg the next day, so we got in at about 1:30 or so and went and played disc golf. They have a really good course in Galesburg. That night we played at the Gizmo, which is like a little fast food lounge/ restaurant on the campus of Knox college. The show was really fun, and Heather the promoter was really super cool and took us to a great chinese restaurant where if you ordered over $25 worth of food, they gave you these donuts that were right out of the fryer. HMMMMMM, Donuts!

That night we stayed at a fraternity house. I think that's the second time I've ever stayed at a frat house on tour. The first time was kind of frightning, but this wasn't scary at all. They were really nice. The couches were a little scary, but the guys at the house were really nice. One of the best things about the frat house was that in the bathroom, they have a urinal. Someday I will instally a urinal in my own house. I would like that.

CHICAGO, IL

The next night was the fireside bowl with Zolof the Rock N' Roll Destroyer, another band from Philadelphia. They were a cool band they sound a little bit like ahigh energy, punkier Cars with a girl lead singer. They Rocked and were really nice. I was psyched that my friends Jenny and Dirl came out to the show. Rick and I stayed at there apartment and I got to meet Luna, their recently adopted Chi Chi/ Pug mix. What a sweetheart! We also got to hang out and eat pizza at their apartment that night, and in the morning, Dirl was making omeletts and I insisted on him letting me try to flip it without the use of a spatula. This was a mistake. I wasted some eggs.

ST.LOUIS, MO

Fredrick's was small, but one of my favorite shows of the tour, mainly because so many friends came out. People kept asking for songs, and I played easily the longest solo set I've ever played. I was on stage for at least an hour and a half. Crazy! That night I slept at my friend Steve Smith's house. It was good to see my old neighbors Ralph and Lil and hang out with Skavanaugh and Jock Boy. (Sorry Matt, I couldn't resist!) I used to live with Steve, and I wound up sleeping in my old room, which was weird, but odly comforting.

LAWRENCE, KS

Lawrence the next day was really fun. This was another no PA show. I came out to the bleachers where the "crowd" was sitting and played the whole show within spitting distance. MU330's old booking agent, Steve Ozark came out to the show with his son Sterling. It was funny, because the last time I really hung out with Sterling, he was just walking and saying a few words, and now, after my show he comes up to me and says, "Hey man, that bracelet is tight!" Funny!

Big Thank You's to everyone who put on shows, everyone who let Rick and I sleep on their couches, and everyone who came out to the shows. Check out the new tourdates Am I coming to your town? If so, please come out and bring some friends! Thanks! Love, Dan P.

I'm in Woodstock IL at Warp skate Park. Something happened with the show in Elgin, and the show got moved to Woodstock. I'm thinking that this is going to be a weird show for me. Everyone here is super nice, and there's definitely people here to see the show, but it's going to be tough I think to sing over all the noise. It's a huge echo cave in here, and the PA is pretty tiny, and there's lots of people skating and it's super loud. I wish I was here with MU330! It's an amazing place for a rock show, but I'm not sure how it's going to work solo.

Yesterday in Grand Rapids, the venue was perfect fo a solo show. It was a really tiny place with wood floors and brick walls, and I didn't need a PA at all. It was really fun. I played with Parkhurst, which is Colin from Mustard Plug's band. They totally rock, and Egg, Mustard Plug's old bass player- but he'll always be an alto sax player to me- plays guitar in Parkhurst too. Amzing. They were really good and played lots of fun covers. It was awesome to see the Mustard gang out at the show and catch up a little bit. I found out that Dave has another baby on the way in August. How amazing would it be to be able to say, "My daddy is Dave from Mustard Plug!" What a lucky kid!

Rick and I are on our way to Laporte IN. No fistacuffs yet. We barely argue and fight at all. This is only day 4 though. Time will tell. Today we went to Play it again Sports where Rick works, and bought a couple disc golf discs. We're going to go play in Lansing tomorrow on our way to the Grand Rapids show. Then we went back to Rick's parents house and made tuna steaks.

Maybe I should talk more about the shows, and less about tuna steaks and disc golf. OK, so the show at Rhino's was... well.. intimate. I think there were about 15 people there that weren't in the bands. I was a little bummed at first, but it turned into a really fun show. There was an amazing moment during the first band, "Santa Maria" from Indianapolis, when the singer jumped up onto the stacks and hit his head super hard on an overhanging speaker, and his whole body just reversed directions, and he bounced back onto the stage and kept dancing. It totally looked like something I would do. During my set,in between each song. I tried to meet everyone that was at the show. It turned out to be my favorite show I've played in a while.

Last night in Muskegon I played with The Wack Trucks, and Ricky Martin, but not the Ricky Martin that you know. this Ricky Martin is a solo rapper who brings his freestyle rhymes to the Punk Rock dominated Icepick. Very brave, and the crowd was really receptive. Ricky's got guts.

My set went pretty well, even though I was being pelted with beer cans the entire set. Only a few people were really heckling... the rest were just shooting off friendly fire I think

The Wack Trucks rocked it as always. It was great to hear them live, playing songs off of I Blow Up, after listening to the CD. We went out after the show, and it was good to hang out and catch up. We went to a party at this guy Nick's house, and he's got two cats, and for some reason I wasn't allergic. Yeah! Thanks for letting me sleep on your floor, Nick!

Right now we're driving right behind a gang of dudes riding Ninja motercycles, and they're totally purposly taking up both lanes and not letting anyone pass. Funny!

Last night was the first night of the midwest tour. I flew from San Jose to Chicago with my friend Max, who was randomly leaving on the same flight. He was heading to New York, and I was heading to St. Louis, but we both had a layover in Chicago. It was funny because Max wound up getting a seat in the row behind me, and he asked the woman sitting next to him if she would trade her window seat with my window seat, so Max and I could sit next to each other, and she refused to move. "It's too late. Everyone's already sitting down." Funny! Then she kept getting up in the middle of the flight to walk back and forth to the bathroom, and Max would have to get up each time she would get out of her chair, or want to sit down. Max told me later that when she came back to her seat one time, he really wanted to tell her, "Sorry, I can't get up. Everyone's already sitting down." But he didn't.

So Rick picked me up at the airport in St. louis, and we drove out to Sally T's and played with So Many Dynamos. The Dynamos are so good. They seriously rock. I can't wait to hear the new album they just recorded. My show went pretty well, I played "Perryville" which I haven't done in a really long time. I forgot some of the words, but managed to stumble through it, I think. Sally T is so nice. At the end of the night, she gave me and Rick a box of food to take on the road with us. Let me list just a few of the things that were in it. Cream of Chicken Soup, Black Beans, and Several packets of microwave popcorn. Thanks, Sally!

Tonight we're in Bloomington IN, at Rhino's. It is rainy and dark outside. Today there was a little bit of thunder, and the house shook. I forgot what that feels like. Not much thunder in Santa Cruz, at least not like in the midwest. I hope we don't see twisters today. I know Rob and Ted saw twisters one day when they were driving back to St. louis from Indiana. There's no place like home, there's no place like home.."

I'm on my way back to the SC. Las Vegas was a really good weekend. On Sat. I went to a really good vegetarian Chinese restaurant and had fake chicken. I love fake meat! After that I drove with Rene out to Red Rock which is this park outside of Las Vegas where the rocks are.. well.. red.We climbed around on the rocks and saw wild donkeys. The park is really beautiful and it was good to go to Las Vegas and see something besides the city and the strip.

Later that night we went to see the "new and improved" pirate show outside of the Treasure Island casino on the strip. It was truly one of the most bizarre things I've ever witnessed. The Treasure Island casino is evidently trying to sex up their image a bit and become a little more "hip." They've changed the sign outside and now call the casino "T.I." and the nightly pirate fighting show outside is now this weird mix of "Pirates of the Caribbean," a Janet Jackson video, and some kind of weird 80's bondage theme. Um.. I don't know how else to describe it. Strange. I love Las Vegas! Thanks to Rene for driving me around all day and taking me to the show at the Cooler.

Speaking of the Cooler, what a weird show. The Cooler Lounge is this club that's in a strip mall way outside of downtown. It was really a drag that it was 21+, because there was a group of 5-7 people outside that came to see the show and couldn't get in, so they stood and watched the whole show from outside, like total troopers! The worst part was that all the people outside were the people I stayed with the night before! Arrrgh.

The first band to play was called Over The Line, and they won me over with screaming harmonized guitars. Also, their drummer was easily one of the best drummers I've ever seen live. I played 2nd, and there were about 35-40 people in the bar during my set, most of them sitting at the bar with their backs to me. All of the people seated at the bar who didn't have their backs to me seemed to be constantly heckling and/or yelling obscenities. Fun! For some reason at bar shows, people like to yell out names of people that I look like.

"BLAH, BLAH, BLAH, BUDDY HOLLY!!!"

"BLAH BLAH BLAH, ELVIS COSTELLO"

I used to think that people would yell out anybody's name that wore glasses, but last night in Vegas, somebody yelled out, "BLAH BLAH BLAH BILL NYE THE SCIENCE GUY!" stretching the "people that I look like" category from just "all people with glasses" to "All Nerds."

There were actually a group of people standing towards the stage who were really into the show and were shouting out requests, so it wasn't all bad.

The heckling didn't bother me too much though. I think after being in Sweden last week and getting heckled by a bunch of angry, Nazi skinheads, a room full of drunks in Las Vegas seems like a holiday.

The last band to play after me was GDB who were great. They played a mix of Reggae and some Ska. Their guitar player totally shreds, too!

After the show I played a set outside for the people who couldn't get in. There was this guy at lathe show who was super drunk, and he dropped a $20 bill into my case, and demanded that I drop and do 20 push-ups with him. I made it to 18 and collapsed. I just froze and couldn't do the last two. I am still sore today. the show outside was actually my favorite part of the whole night. I played a bunch of requests that I never ever play.

After the show, I stayed with some guys who were at the show. I feel really bad because I can't remember their names! They were really nice. Almost unbelievably nice. After staying up till about 4 in the morning, one of the guys actually set his alarm for 8:00 AM and drove my butt to the airport.

So, that was my Las Vegas weekend. Big thank you to Michael for making it happen. I hope to come back soon. -DP

Yesterday was fun. I took a plane from San Jose to Las Vegas, and then rode a city bus into downtown Las Vegas with all my stuff. City Busses are crazy. I love watching people on the bus! It makes for good stories when I play. I need to write some songs about people on the bus. I think that would be an amazing album if I could write an entire album about people that I meet on the bus.

I was really just guessing which bus to take and where to get off, but I managed to land luckily within a couple blocks of the club, the "Iowa Cafe." Big thanks to Mason for the free Tuna sandwich. "My name's Mason and you can't miss me. I'll be the guy with the cowboy hat!"

It was a free show at this cafe that was decorated with all sorts of Iowa paraphernalia. I guess there were about 65-70 people there by the time I finally started playing, and I felt really good about the show. I met some nice people at the show and they let me sleep on their couch. Thanks to Chris, Rene, Dan, Dano, and Rey... hope I didn't miss anybody. Oh wait, thanks to Kyle too for kicking everybody's butt at Mario party.

This morning when I woke up, one of the first things Dan said to me was "Good morning. Do you want some Kool Aid or some chips?" Dan is a genius! We wound up eating these weird peppermint patty chocolate things for breakfast that are shaped like pringles, but there's nothing that even slightly resembles a potato chip in them. Weird.

I'm waiting to get on a plane to Vegas. I'm playing two shows this weekend. A free all ages show on Friday at the Iowa cafe and a 21+ show on sat at the cooler lounge. It feels weird to be getting on a plane and leaving so soon after getting back from the UK. I'm hoping the shows go well. this will be the first time I've played Vegas since the Ska Summit. There were thousands of people at that show, so it will be interesting to see if some of those people come out.

I had band practice last night with Shannon and Greg. It felt good to play with a band again. We're all super psyched, because Buzz in Brighton is starting to book a UK tour in July for the Dan P. trio. Shannon and Greg have never been to England, so it's going to be super fun to introduce them to all the UK freaks that I've met on past tours with MU330 and by myself.

I'm hoping to schedule some recording time with the three of us really soon, so that hopefully I'll have something new by the end of summer. We've got about 8 new songs worked out with the band that I haven't recorded yet, and then I've got about 15 others that I've written that could be recorded with just acoustic guitar and vocals or worked out with the band. I'm really feeling like recording is overdue. I need to get some songs down on tape so I can move ahead with writing some new material.