Had a great show in Los Gatos the other night at the Outhouse with the Matches. It was totally packed, and super fun. I had the full band rocking with me in Los Gatos (Greg on Drums, Shannon on Bass, and James on Farfisa and second guitar.), so it was a rush to play. I love having James rock with us! There’s certain songs that we only play when James plays with us... Like “They’re Talking,” so it feels good to switch things up and have a really full sound.

The next morning after Los Gatos, Shannon, Greg and I hit the road early and drove from Santa Cruz to Arcata. We were all psyced because Shannon and I just boutght a Toyota Camry station wagon so we’ve got a brand new touring machine!

Well sort of brand new. It’s an 87, but it runs really great, and we managed to squeeze all three of us and our gear into it. It’s been years since i’ve been up to the Northwest, so getting to tour up that way felt really fresh. I think the last time I was up that way was in 96 with the Blue Meanies? I don’t know. Maybe it was with Skankin Pickle. Either way, it was a long time ago.

The gig last night in Arcata at the Clothing Dock was super fun. Big thanks to JM and RBS and the nice lady who lets her nice clothing store be transformed into an all ages punk rock venue at night. What a cool place. When we pulled up for the show, we were wondering where bands would set up, but when we got back from grabbing something to eat, they had move all the clothing racks into a corner of the store and had brought in a really good PA. The show went well, and there were about 75 -100 people there or so

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Afterwords, we went to the plaza for a few drinks and asked some people where the nearest hotel was. We wound up staying at a dirty motel with a toilet that didn’t flush. What’s really weird is that I think they turned the water off to the toilet at night, I guess to save water, because in the morning, Shannon heard it filling up with water, and then it flushed in the morning. (Just in case you needed an update on my on-tour toilet experiences.)

Right now we’re on the way to Stockton. We’re playing at the Caffeine Den. I’m in the back seat typing with a bass cabinet next to my left elbow, and sleeping bags stuffed up around my head, while Shannon and greg are in the front seat playing some kind of celebrity name game. It smells like we’re passing a factory farm right now. Uggghhh! I really hope that smell isn't coming from someone inside the car!

I’m really excited about booking more weekend trips with Shannon and Greg now that we’ve got a car to tour in. It’s fun touring in such a little vehicle, and it gets really good gas milleage. We drove from Santa Cruz to Arcata on $20 worth of gas! That totally rocks. Vans suck, WAGONS RULE!