This last Memorial Day Weekend, I took a personal road trip through Washington, Idaho and Utah, playing several shows along the way. Many were the miles, but so too were the smiles.
Here’s a brief recap of how the Memorial Day Weekend tour went.
THE RENTAL CAR:
To start things off, despite their motto of “we’ll pick you up,” I ran three miles to the nearest Enterprise rental car facility, as a way of pre-stretching my legs for the long-haul ahead. Upon arrival, I lucked into the free upgrade of a Prius — a small gift that was worth its weight in gold. I tell you, I’m a believer. I rarely had to stop for gas!
PULLMAN, WA:
As the first leg of the trip, anticipation was high. In my typical road trip fashion, the radio was never touched — instead, I used the time to write songs, as I do best, in my head. I finally completed the last verse of How Bright and put the finishing touches on two brand new songs, Good Comet and Middle Daughter. A perfect way to pass the time.
Pullman was swell. I was invited to play a very cool singer-songwriter series in a lovely listening room called The BellTower and, in all truth, it was the kind of gig you dream of — a quiet room, filled with new faces you didn’t have to exchange your pride to promote to. My hosts were all kinds of gracious and the new faces of the audience were warm. Thank you.
Bright and early, and already running low on sleep, I set out for Boise. For five hours, underneath “intermittent rain and shine, where the sky restarted six or seven times” (Josh Ritter), I traced the banks of the Salmon River, occasionally darting across farms and fields and mountains, only to return to the river again. Not a bad way to spend a morning. Not a bad way to spend a life.
BOISE, ID:
Boise held for me two shows. The first was a “day gig” at the Riverside Hotel resort where I played my music for a lunch crowd with frequent turnover. Nobody was really listening, but that’s not what they were there for. I know that. These are the moments I latch on to the few, dear faces that are paying attention and supplement the other’s lack with the comfort that I’m singing in the open air and strumming my guitar by the river — and getting paid to do so. Not a bad way to spend an afternoon. Not a bad way to spend a life.
The night gig was much more of what I love. In front of a full house at the Flying M Coffee Garage in Nampa, I enjoyed another silently attentive room like the night before. My stories were heard and a mutual love was shared. Not a bad way to spend an evening. Not a bad way to spend a life.
And then the cold, harsh reality …
My Boise show wrapped up around 11pm, but I had to be in Salt Lake City (five hours away) at 6am for my performance on KUTV2 morning news. When you book a tour that takes you away from your home market, you take any promotional opportunity that presents itself and do the math later. In this case, the math didn’t quite add up. I would need to drive through the night and there would be no remainder for sleep. No way to spend a night. No way to live a life.
That’s when the best man on the planet stepped up to the plate.
In second grade, I had to write about the “most inspirational person in my life” … and I chose to write about my brother-in-law, Kim, the most generous human alive. He’s always been there for me and my family and this, the darkest hour of my tour, was no exception. You see, he lives in Boise and attended my show, but more, when he found out I’d be driving through the night, he wasn’t having it. Instead, the saint insisted that he would drive for me, while I slept in the passenger seat. I fought it for one second before realizing he wasn’t backing down.
I never really slept too deeply, but being able to close my eyes for a long while allowed me to not be a total zombie on the morning news (at the least) and may have saved my life (at the most). Thank you Kim, for driving me through the night and everything else.
SALT LAKE CITY:
Arriving in Salt Lake City at 5:30am and reporting for sound-check at 6am, it’s safe to say, the morning news was a blur. I remember everyone being very kind … other than that, I’ll rely on the photo and video below to tell the story.
KUTV MORNING NEWS CLIPS
Then I slept.
That night was the final show of the tour — Velour Live Music Gallery in Provo, UT — and a fitting finale it was. My, my what a special night. It was nearly a capacity crowd, dead silent, so magical and better yet, I got to share it with my lovely little sister Austi, as her band Aspartame Sunshine opened the night in a brilliant manner. I left there floating and owe a debt of gratitude to all that showed up in support. Much love.
HIGHLIGHTS FROM VELOUR
“THAT I’LL KNOW YOU…” (FULL SONG)
ON THE ROAD AGAIN:
And then the long, two-turn road back home to Portland. In all, I covered over 1900 miles in just four days and spent a lot of time to myself, scheming my next move. I don’t hit the road as often as I use to, marriage will do that to a man, but after such a productive trip that filled my heart to the brim, the Prius and I might need to venture out again, when the gas light starts to glow.