Nima and I are eating our hosts' food this week (thanks Andy & Lawry!), but every other day we eat out. We had Korean last Thursday. Yesterday, Chinese.
Our cookie fortunes both encouraged patience.
His: "Your relationships could be under stress, sit back and wait." Mine: "Don't be hasty; prosperity will knock on your door soon."
Weather's been great. Tomorrow or the next day we drive south.
From Boston to Vineyard Haven to D.C. to Richmond to Philadelphia to Manhattan to Brooklyn and, this afternoon, back to Boston--without a tour vehicle. Our mission of making it to all of our east coast shows is accomplished.
Both the Philly house show--for my friend Troy's 40th birthday party--and the Brooklyn bar gig were successes, more or less.
Tomorrow Nima and I will search for a dependable and affordable station wagon, so that we can journey south.
Some days I feel like we're a couple of modern-day hobbits in search of a magic dragon turd.
Sandman 10:01 AM
Super fun D.C. show last night at the Velvet Lounge. Today is an off day. Tomorrow Hana's father, Walid, and his girlfriend, Terrie, will drive Nima and me to and from our Richmond show at The Camel.
Sandman 9:20 AM
"Goodness Godness Agnes," as Gramps sometimes says. It's been quite a couple of days.
Nima and I more or less hitchhiked 700 miles in the last two days. Yesterday our friend Elsa drove us from Boston to Falmouth, where we caught the ferry to Martha's Vineyard for a show. This morning a gal named Treather drove us from Vineyard Haven to Boston, where we restocked our merchandise. And tonight Jeff and Senayit drove us from Boston to Washington, DC, for tomorrow's show at the Velvet Lounge.
Now we need rides to Richmond on Thursday, Philadelphia on Friday, Brooklyn on Saturday, and then back to Boston, where we'll attempt to purchase a new tour vehicle and head to Florida!
The Che's Lounge show on the island of Martha's Vineyard was pleasant. Afterwards, Nima and I stayed at my friend Gretchen Baer's parents' place. Gene and Jackie Baer are both artists. Gene, who is also a terrific writer and piano man, gave us an epic tour of their house and its wonders. Someone, someday, ought to make a Baer family documentary.
Tonight, from Martha's Vineyard at Che's Lounge--Sandman & Samimi!
When I say Martha, I ain't talkin' 'bout Coakley Who lacked the chipotle to get enough votes, see I don't mean Martha Stewart nor Nancy Pelosi I'm talkin' 'bout the Vineyard, y'all rock like Lynnrd Skynrd My name's Sandman and even though Che's dead There's a riot goin' on from Nantucket to Gay Head We'll be loungin' at Che's Lounge, cold chillin' like K-Fed Stupid as Scott Brown, but sexier nay-ked Time to catch the ferry....
If you want to get better, or at least more expansive, tour updates than I've been offering, I recommend that you bookmark my tour companion Nima Samimi's blog:
I've known Mr. Samimi for about ten years now, and he's become one of my very best pals. He's never been on a music tour before, so it's been refreshing to get to view each show through his eyes.
Nima proposed joining me on a tour a few years back. It took until this winter for him to finally save enough cash to afford time off from his job as groundskeeper at the Arnold Arboretum (owned by Harvard University). In a very loose sense, Nima's like a real-life Will Hunting. Wicked smaht!
I should add that ladies love Samimi. He's a class act, though, and chooses not to break more hearts than necessary. Another one of Nima's virtues is that he has a healthy perspective on rock & roll. We exercise each morning, steer clear of alcohol and junk food, and strive to get enough rest. Thanks to him, this could be a first for me to arrive home in better shape than when I began.
Sandman 2:35 PM
Tour's goin' swell. Stayed with Senayit and her family in New Hampshire for a couple nights. Rocked Langford Street Cafe in beautiful Montpelier, VT, two nights ago. Enjoyed a midday coffee house gig organized by Daniel Hales in Greenfield, MA, on Valentine's Day. Stayed at friends Dan and Beth's cottage last night here in Maine.
My new CD, Chemicals in the Wheat, finally made it to the manufacturer. In two or three weeks I'll have a thousand copies.
Sandman 1:28 PM
Here's a clip from last Sunday's Radio8Ball gig in Seattle. I sang "Trucker Song" for the first time. My performance is a little sloppy; you'll notice Andras holding the lyrics for me to read.
Sandman 11:44 AM
A Radio8Ball show is always a unique and, in my opinion, wonderful experience. It has elements of a game show with much audience participation. There's a spinning wheel and space-age technology involved. You'll see.
Rumor has it that during the show a clip from the new Sandman documentary, Roll Out, Cowboy, will be shown on the theater's screen. I'm nervous to find out which clip Director Elizabeth Lawrence chooses! Follow the film on Twitter.
The Olympic Mountain Range can be seen crisp on the horizon. Croci and rhododendrons are poppin'. Meanwhile, in the nation's capitol, where my girlfriend Hana is this week, they are preparing for the heaviest one-day snowfall in nearly 90 years.
Hana meant to fly to Syria today, but will wait. It's snowing in Damascus, too, she tells me.
Sandman 6:51 PM
The Anacortes show went well, although I had to sweat and struggle through a couple new songs. The audience was sweet and supportive (sold $150 in merch!). Staying with the Lunsfords at their goat farm was nourishing, as always, as was a spirited political discussion with Phil, Genvieve, and Jason during breakfast in town.
Sandman 11:20 AM
Hello from Tropical Smoothie Cafe in Bunnel, Florida. Fox News just reported sub-zero temps across the north, but here it's already 70 F.
Hana grew up in the little village of Espanola which is eight miles from here. It's the sticks. We hiked around her grandma's property and saw deer, armadillos, and wild turkeys. Her uncle Mark reports that panthers, bear, venomous snakes, and alligators can be found, too. Only fifteen miles away is a sandy ocean beach where, yesterday, we saw dozens of dolphins.
Sandman 8:10 AM
I'm in Washington, DC, today, meeting Hana's parents. Auspiciously, President Obama is giving his State of the Union address here tonight and the pressure is on. Go 'Bama go! You can do it! Knock 'em out.
Tomorrow we fly to Florida to meet Hana's grandma.
Sandman 2:28 PM
My new CD is getting mastered this week. I'd originally planned to call it All the Things I Done Wrong, but now I'm going withChemicals in the Wheat. The cover artwork, an intricate paper cut by my friend Nikki McClure, is of a man in a field working under ominous skies. He has a pair of pliers in his right hand and appears to be disassembling a barbwire fence.
The songs, mostly guitar-driven electronic Americana, total over fifty minutes.
They are:
Corpse
Michael Jackson
Strange Medicine
All the Things I Done Wrong
Day's Wages
Buddha Chant
Pegasus (You & I)
Mister, I Can't Save Your Daughter
O, Tsunami
Your Mind is Mine
Swine Flu
Back story to the title Chemicals in the Wheat: My Grandfather Nick Herak, Sr., who died twenty years ago, was a very Catholic and Croatian cattle rancher/wheat farmer. The palms of his hands would sometimes bleed like a stigmata. He'd joke that his affliction was a gift from the Holy Spirit. I asked Mom about this earlier this month, and she pragmatically blamed it on "chemicals in the wheat" that he encountered through daily work out in the field.
Sandman 12:06 AM
Hello from Olympia. I'm workin' hard on the upcoming tour and the new CD.
Hana and my's trip from North Dakota was pleasant. We soaked in a couple Montana hot springs, visited a handful of friends, raided a few thrift stores. Weather was nice. Roads were dry.
A highlight of our trip was driving to Yellowstone Park to soak in the Boiling River. As we were leaving the Park we witnessed an epic bighorn sheep battle. On a practically sheer cliff, seven huge rams fought for the affection of one ewe. It was a harrowing spectacle to watch these super-ovine creatures fall and plunge down the mountain. Broad horns smashed and echoed across the canyon. Boulders clattered onto the road. The beleaguered ewe got the worst of it, it appeared.
Trucking has been keeping me busy this month. I just got off a six-day long haul to Minnesota, Calgary, and Vancouver. Tomorrow I leave for three more days. Next weekend my winter vacation begins. Hana and I leave for Olympia, WA, to drop Gilda off with friends, and then we'll fly to the Florida and D.C. together to meet her parents and Grandma. From there, she'll fly to Syria for four months to study Arabic. Soon after, I'll begin my winter/spring music tour.
I'm already beginning to miss North Dakota. All this snow has been fun to play in.
Sandman 8:55 PM
My winter and spring tour begins in February. Would anybody out there like to host a house concert? Other people's houses are my favorite kinds of venues.
Sandman 2:52 PM
Hana and I spent the last two days in blizzardy Killdeer town celebrating Christmas with the grand/parents. Look at these snow drifts that welcomed us back to our house in Dunn Center today!
When I say Martha, I ain't talkin' 'bout Coakley
Who lacked the chipotle to get enough votes, see
I don't mean Martha Stewart nor Nancy Pelosi
I'm talkin' 'bout the Vineyard, y'all rock like Lynnrd Skynrd
My name's Sandman and even though Che's dead
There's a riot goin' on from Nantucket to Gay Head
We'll be loungin' at Che's Lounge, cold chillin' like K-Fed
Stupid as Scott Brown, but sexier nay-ked
Time to catch the ferry....