7.27.2004
Acoustic Tour 2004: Portland, OR
Friday, July 24, 2004 - Touchstone Coffeehouse
We started out at 6am to make our 10-hour trek to Portland. We knew it was gonna be a long drive so we grabbed some morning grub and settled into our respective seats. We crossed the Oregon state line and made a quick gas stop where we learned about the full service gas law. Laney got out to start pumping when a station attendant intervened saying that he would do it for her. When she asked if she had parked at a full service pump, he explained that it was simply a state law – in Oregon, no one is allowed to pump gas except for station employees. We also learned that there was no sales tax. A $4.25 sandwich was $4.25. Simple. I like that.
We arrived in Portland a little behind schedule due to a back up on the freeway so Laney drove me over to Touchstone Coffeehouse to start my set. Monica, the magnificent barista, showed me around and hooked me up with a nice tall iced caramel mocha. Touchstone is a little pink house with cute little reading rooms and a large back porch area decorated with beautiful flowers and artistically painted planters. My 2-hour set was nice and mellow. I met Amy and Mary, both Touchstone patrons, who were super nice and chatted with them between songs. Before I knew it, my set was up and it was time to go. I thanked everyone, said goodbye to Monica, and jumped in the car to grab some dinner. We ate some late night subs at Subway ($4.25 = $4.25) and went to the hotel.
A Note on NW Heat: When we were driving up from San Francisco, we noticed how hot and humid it was and hoped that it was just rural heat…the kind only applicable to the land surrounding the city. (Hah, silly girl!) It wasn’t. It was hot all over. And to add to our perspiration, our hotel didn’t have air conditioning – I guess they only need heaters for winter and hot summers like this one aren’t a common occurrence. So we sprawled out and opened the window to cool off. Thankfully, the setting of the sun brought a significant drop in temperature and we relaxed into the northwest evening.
The next morning, we grabbed breakfast at a cute little café named the Cameo Café. Hee. Of course we had to:) Afterwards, Johna exclaimed that they had the BEST WAFFLES EVER. She even went as far as to say that they trumped the Mickey Mouse waffles at Disneyland. And she LOVES Disneyland so this was a heavy compliment!
We left the Cameo Café, stuffed with carbs & coffee, excited to make our way up to Seattle. I’m gonna miss the no sales tax though!
More soon…
We started out at 6am to make our 10-hour trek to Portland. We knew it was gonna be a long drive so we grabbed some morning grub and settled into our respective seats. We crossed the Oregon state line and made a quick gas stop where we learned about the full service gas law. Laney got out to start pumping when a station attendant intervened saying that he would do it for her. When she asked if she had parked at a full service pump, he explained that it was simply a state law – in Oregon, no one is allowed to pump gas except for station employees. We also learned that there was no sales tax. A $4.25 sandwich was $4.25. Simple. I like that.
We arrived in Portland a little behind schedule due to a back up on the freeway so Laney drove me over to Touchstone Coffeehouse to start my set. Monica, the magnificent barista, showed me around and hooked me up with a nice tall iced caramel mocha. Touchstone is a little pink house with cute little reading rooms and a large back porch area decorated with beautiful flowers and artistically painted planters. My 2-hour set was nice and mellow. I met Amy and Mary, both Touchstone patrons, who were super nice and chatted with them between songs. Before I knew it, my set was up and it was time to go. I thanked everyone, said goodbye to Monica, and jumped in the car to grab some dinner. We ate some late night subs at Subway ($4.25 = $4.25) and went to the hotel.
A Note on NW Heat: When we were driving up from San Francisco, we noticed how hot and humid it was and hoped that it was just rural heat…the kind only applicable to the land surrounding the city. (Hah, silly girl!) It wasn’t. It was hot all over. And to add to our perspiration, our hotel didn’t have air conditioning – I guess they only need heaters for winter and hot summers like this one aren’t a common occurrence. So we sprawled out and opened the window to cool off. Thankfully, the setting of the sun brought a significant drop in temperature and we relaxed into the northwest evening.
The next morning, we grabbed breakfast at a cute little café named the Cameo Café. Hee. Of course we had to:) Afterwards, Johna exclaimed that they had the BEST WAFFLES EVER. She even went as far as to say that they trumped the Mickey Mouse waffles at Disneyland. And she LOVES Disneyland so this was a heavy compliment!
We left the Cameo Café, stuffed with carbs & coffee, excited to make our way up to Seattle. I’m gonna miss the no sales tax though!
More soon…
7.25.2004
Acoustic Tour 2004: San Francisco, CA
Thursday, July 22, 2004 – Sacred Grounds Café, San Francisco, CA
We rolled into San Francisco on Thursday afternoon with the clouds hovering so close to the earth, I thought I could reach up and touch them. I felt the history of the city in the cool mist I inhaled and for a moment I thought it was 1969. After orienting ourselves to the street angles and elevations, we arrived at Sacred Grounds Café and checked in with Todd, the host for the show. Sacred Grounds is a cozy little corner shop off of Hayes Street with 2 large windows that passerbys can peek into to see who’s performing. The small room is peppered with large comfy recliners and couches, all turned towards the 2 corner windows which, Thursday through Saturday, transforms into a performance area.
We sat down and watched as the other performers took the stage. I watched as Todd worked the room with his passionate renditions of classic folk tunes, then a singer/songwriter named Matt Swindells got up and played some of his original tunes. He's a one-man-band of sorts with a breathy blues voice that morphed into different instrumental accompaniments for the break parts of his songs. If you closed your eyes, you’d swear Miles Davis was in the room, adding a nice fuzzy trumpet line to his already ingenious compositions. It was a real treat.
When it came my turn to take the stage, I hopped up and started into Pages of Green. Now, I’m going to have to back track to my previous blog entry when I mentioned the importance of a good sound system for a good acoustic performance. This still holds true, but only when you have a sound system. This performance was going to be a new challenge for me because it was acoustic in the purest sense of the word - no PA. I had never attempted performing a gig without some sort of amplification and I was nervous about dynamics and projection. To my surprise, my nervousness helped me project out into the room, which was filled with familiar faces who had stopped by as well as some new friends I was to meet after the show. The unplugged nature of the performance gave me the freedom to move around, letting me turn my head in every direction and sing to everyone in the room. And my guitar - I never realized the natural volume of my guitar - it boomed and shimmered at the perfect levels making me appreciate it’s versatility and beauty. I continued through my set, now confident in my delivery, singing out in way I had never done before. It was really theraputic and I ended feeling more energized than I ever had after a show.
We hung out a while afterwards and talked to Zee (the cafe owner and very cool guy) and Todd (exchanging CDs - thanks Todd!) then headed over to a local pub where we caught up with friends and discussed what we'd be doing the next day (day-off) in the city. Asian Art Museum. Castro District. Fun!
Thank you to Zee & Todd at Sacred Grounds Cafe! I hope visit again soon:)
We rolled into San Francisco on Thursday afternoon with the clouds hovering so close to the earth, I thought I could reach up and touch them. I felt the history of the city in the cool mist I inhaled and for a moment I thought it was 1969. After orienting ourselves to the street angles and elevations, we arrived at Sacred Grounds Café and checked in with Todd, the host for the show. Sacred Grounds is a cozy little corner shop off of Hayes Street with 2 large windows that passerbys can peek into to see who’s performing. The small room is peppered with large comfy recliners and couches, all turned towards the 2 corner windows which, Thursday through Saturday, transforms into a performance area.
We sat down and watched as the other performers took the stage. I watched as Todd worked the room with his passionate renditions of classic folk tunes, then a singer/songwriter named Matt Swindells got up and played some of his original tunes. He's a one-man-band of sorts with a breathy blues voice that morphed into different instrumental accompaniments for the break parts of his songs. If you closed your eyes, you’d swear Miles Davis was in the room, adding a nice fuzzy trumpet line to his already ingenious compositions. It was a real treat.
When it came my turn to take the stage, I hopped up and started into Pages of Green. Now, I’m going to have to back track to my previous blog entry when I mentioned the importance of a good sound system for a good acoustic performance. This still holds true, but only when you have a sound system. This performance was going to be a new challenge for me because it was acoustic in the purest sense of the word - no PA. I had never attempted performing a gig without some sort of amplification and I was nervous about dynamics and projection. To my surprise, my nervousness helped me project out into the room, which was filled with familiar faces who had stopped by as well as some new friends I was to meet after the show. The unplugged nature of the performance gave me the freedom to move around, letting me turn my head in every direction and sing to everyone in the room. And my guitar - I never realized the natural volume of my guitar - it boomed and shimmered at the perfect levels making me appreciate it’s versatility and beauty. I continued through my set, now confident in my delivery, singing out in way I had never done before. It was really theraputic and I ended feeling more energized than I ever had after a show.
We hung out a while afterwards and talked to Zee (the cafe owner and very cool guy) and Todd (exchanging CDs - thanks Todd!) then headed over to a local pub where we caught up with friends and discussed what we'd be doing the next day (day-off) in the city. Asian Art Museum. Castro District. Fun!
Thank you to Zee & Todd at Sacred Grounds Cafe! I hope visit again soon:)
7.23.2004
Acoustic Tour 2004: Los Angeles, CA
Tuesday, July 20, 2004 – Tuesday Night Café, Downtown Los Angeles CA
Amazing. I couldn’t have wished for a better group of people to hang out with. Wow. We pulled into the parking lot of the Union Center for the Arts and walked into the Aratani courtyard where I was to do a quick sound check before the show. Tuesday Night Café is a variety show of sorts with a perfect mix of spoken word artists, comedy sketches, poets, and music – all organized by founder Traci Kato-Kiriyama, a performance artist & writer herself, and hosted by her friends (and partners in zero3) Edren Sumagaysay and Kennedy Kabasares. I’m always nervous about new situations and new venues – mostly because I want to give a good performance. For acoustic music in particular, this usually starts with a smile and a good sound system. I had no idea of the extent to which I was to be spoiled. I met Glenn Suravech, the soundman with the midas touch, and he hooked me up. I can’t emphasize how much this helps a performer. To have a sweet sound system, soundperson, and a monitor makes you wanna sing gospel music (ALLELUIAH) ‘til dawn. Thank you Glenn, thank you!
The bueno-ness didn’t stop there. Our friends (and generous hosts) Gertie and Jenny had assembled a group of friends to check out the show and my Kauai-sistah Kaliko and Cali-grrl Liz brought their aloha as well. Performances by local comedy improv group Cold Tofu had us rolling in our seats and spoken word artist Melinda Corazon Foley wowed us with her cadence and passionately direct poems (this woman is fantastic!). But the evening was not without it’s embarrassing moment. One of the open mic poets was named Camille. Now, I’ve never found myself jumping up to someone else’s name (My name is pronounced kuh-mee-oh, with an emphasis on the “ee”) but that night I did, flustered and anxious, thinking “This is it, I’m up!”. I grabbed my guitar and took a leap towards the stage when I noticed another woman standing at the mic. For a split second, I thought this woman was going to take my spot in the show. Bewildered, I slowly took a few steps backwards where Kennedy was waiting to tell me that I didn’t go on until later and showed me Camille’s name on the schedule. *DOAH* Camille. I felt like a COMPLETE idiot. So I tried to act cool and casually stepped to the side to turn and stroll to the parking lot to practice. Unfortunately, I also had a 10-foot instrument cable in my hand (wouldn’t need that in the parking lot!) which I tried to roll up with one hand (my other hand gripped my guitar). Strolling, juggling, and bright-red, I tripped over to our rental car and calmed myself with a couple practice tunes.
Ah. Much better.
So when it was my turn, I looked both ways, then stepped up to the mic, plugged in, and began my 3-song set. The audience was great. I saw them keeping time with their heads and feet with smiles for miles. I even got an encore! After the show, we all went over to Weiland’s, a local watering hole, where we enjoyed chicken quesadillas, beer, and awesome conversation. It all came together wonderfully. We were sad to leave such cool company but when Thursday morning came, we packed up the Cavalier (utilizing the ancient engineering technique “squish-untilitfits”), said our see-you-again-soons to Gertie and Jenny, and hit the road. Thank you to all who came to the show – you made us feel right at home:)
San Francisco, here we come!
Amazing. I couldn’t have wished for a better group of people to hang out with. Wow. We pulled into the parking lot of the Union Center for the Arts and walked into the Aratani courtyard where I was to do a quick sound check before the show. Tuesday Night Café is a variety show of sorts with a perfect mix of spoken word artists, comedy sketches, poets, and music – all organized by founder Traci Kato-Kiriyama, a performance artist & writer herself, and hosted by her friends (and partners in zero3) Edren Sumagaysay and Kennedy Kabasares. I’m always nervous about new situations and new venues – mostly because I want to give a good performance. For acoustic music in particular, this usually starts with a smile and a good sound system. I had no idea of the extent to which I was to be spoiled. I met Glenn Suravech, the soundman with the midas touch, and he hooked me up. I can’t emphasize how much this helps a performer. To have a sweet sound system, soundperson, and a monitor makes you wanna sing gospel music (ALLELUIAH) ‘til dawn. Thank you Glenn, thank you!
The bueno-ness didn’t stop there. Our friends (and generous hosts) Gertie and Jenny had assembled a group of friends to check out the show and my Kauai-sistah Kaliko and Cali-grrl Liz brought their aloha as well. Performances by local comedy improv group Cold Tofu had us rolling in our seats and spoken word artist Melinda Corazon Foley wowed us with her cadence and passionately direct poems (this woman is fantastic!). But the evening was not without it’s embarrassing moment. One of the open mic poets was named Camille. Now, I’ve never found myself jumping up to someone else’s name (My name is pronounced kuh-mee-oh, with an emphasis on the “ee”) but that night I did, flustered and anxious, thinking “This is it, I’m up!”. I grabbed my guitar and took a leap towards the stage when I noticed another woman standing at the mic. For a split second, I thought this woman was going to take my spot in the show. Bewildered, I slowly took a few steps backwards where Kennedy was waiting to tell me that I didn’t go on until later and showed me Camille’s name on the schedule. *DOAH* Camille. I felt like a COMPLETE idiot. So I tried to act cool and casually stepped to the side to turn and stroll to the parking lot to practice. Unfortunately, I also had a 10-foot instrument cable in my hand (wouldn’t need that in the parking lot!) which I tried to roll up with one hand (my other hand gripped my guitar). Strolling, juggling, and bright-red, I tripped over to our rental car and calmed myself with a couple practice tunes.
Ah. Much better.
So when it was my turn, I looked both ways, then stepped up to the mic, plugged in, and began my 3-song set. The audience was great. I saw them keeping time with their heads and feet with smiles for miles. I even got an encore! After the show, we all went over to Weiland’s, a local watering hole, where we enjoyed chicken quesadillas, beer, and awesome conversation. It all came together wonderfully. We were sad to leave such cool company but when Thursday morning came, we packed up the Cavalier (utilizing the ancient engineering technique “squish-untilitfits”), said our see-you-again-soons to Gertie and Jenny, and hit the road. Thank you to all who came to the show – you made us feel right at home:)
San Francisco, here we come!
7.17.2004
Acoustic Tour 2004: Colorado
The flight: We flew America West airlines from Phoenix to Denver. There was an adorable and inquisitive 4 year old in the seat in front of me. He was sitting next to the window with his mom and grandma in the seats next to him. I noticed his cute little pudgy hands holding a soggy pretzel so I took this picture.
He peeked around the seat a couple times to glance me and I tried to prep the camera for his next peek but he was intent on asking his mom questions for the remainder of the flight.
Thursday, July 15th Caffe Sole (Superior, CO)
The first show of the tour went very well. It was the first time I’ve booked a show outside of Phoenix and although I’ve played coffeehouses like this many times before, I was uber nervous. Right before I started setting up there was a bizarre power surge that knocked out the A/C and lights. It was late afternoon so the lights weren’t an issue and the outlets still worked so I could plug in the amp and perform, but hokey smokes did it start getting hot in there! I was perspiring like crazy 2 songs into my set and I thought I’d be nothing but a puddle on the chair until miraculously, while was playing “Dedication”, (which I dedicated to the lonely nail tech sitting in the window across the street) the lights and A/C came back on. It felt heavenly and I was energized back into my performance zone. It was awesome to meet Meer and her daughter Katerina who came on down for the show. She’s a super smart, cool chica with an equally talented little girl! Many thanks to them for taking time out to come down to the show:) Laney’s folks Chuck and Carol were there too --- they bought the microphone stand I doofus-ly forgot back at the house and stayed for the entire 2 hour set – I am eternally grateful for their hospitality and support!
Friday, July 16th Caffe Sole (Boulder, CO) The Birthday Show
This was a great show as well with a slew of former Phoenix residents in attendance as well as new friends and family there to hang out and listen. I saw Georgia, Joe and the newest addition to their fantastic family, Max (QT!). My super talented and inspiring friend Karen was there too (wow, I remember helping her move to Colorado 9 years ago!) Good friends, good times:) Heather, Don, Lisa, Tracy (sp?), Chuck and Carol, and Georgia and Joe’s friends --- thanks so much to all of you for coming down to the show! Lisa, Tracy, and Heather brought Laney and I out to Jax for a post show birthday celebration and I sipped wonderful french martinis ‘til midnight. My brother Mike called me on my cell to wish me a happy birthday and I was in tears from the emotion…I couldn’t have wished for a better birthday!
Be sure to check out my flickr account to the right for pics from the tour. There you can sign up for your very own flickr account where you can upload pictures and meet new people from all over the world -- I've already met many cool and very friendly peeps. Next stop for the tour will be Los Angeles on Tuesday, July 20th. More soon!
He peeked around the seat a couple times to glance me and I tried to prep the camera for his next peek but he was intent on asking his mom questions for the remainder of the flight.
Thursday, July 15th Caffe Sole (Superior, CO)
The first show of the tour went very well. It was the first time I’ve booked a show outside of Phoenix and although I’ve played coffeehouses like this many times before, I was uber nervous. Right before I started setting up there was a bizarre power surge that knocked out the A/C and lights. It was late afternoon so the lights weren’t an issue and the outlets still worked so I could plug in the amp and perform, but hokey smokes did it start getting hot in there! I was perspiring like crazy 2 songs into my set and I thought I’d be nothing but a puddle on the chair until miraculously, while was playing “Dedication”, (which I dedicated to the lonely nail tech sitting in the window across the street) the lights and A/C came back on. It felt heavenly and I was energized back into my performance zone. It was awesome to meet Meer and her daughter Katerina who came on down for the show. She’s a super smart, cool chica with an equally talented little girl! Many thanks to them for taking time out to come down to the show:) Laney’s folks Chuck and Carol were there too --- they bought the microphone stand I doofus-ly forgot back at the house and stayed for the entire 2 hour set – I am eternally grateful for their hospitality and support!
Friday, July 16th Caffe Sole (Boulder, CO) The Birthday Show
This was a great show as well with a slew of former Phoenix residents in attendance as well as new friends and family there to hang out and listen. I saw Georgia, Joe and the newest addition to their fantastic family, Max (QT!). My super talented and inspiring friend Karen was there too (wow, I remember helping her move to Colorado 9 years ago!) Good friends, good times:) Heather, Don, Lisa, Tracy (sp?), Chuck and Carol, and Georgia and Joe’s friends --- thanks so much to all of you for coming down to the show! Lisa, Tracy, and Heather brought Laney and I out to Jax for a post show birthday celebration and I sipped wonderful french martinis ‘til midnight. My brother Mike called me on my cell to wish me a happy birthday and I was in tears from the emotion…I couldn’t have wished for a better birthday!
Be sure to check out my flickr account to the right for pics from the tour. There you can sign up for your very own flickr account where you can upload pictures and meet new people from all over the world -- I've already met many cool and very friendly peeps. Next stop for the tour will be Los Angeles on Tuesday, July 20th. More soon!
7.07.2004
108 and no A/C
Yesterday morning the A/C went out. Laney called the repair guys to fix it and lucky for us, they said they’d be able to stop by and fix the problemo the same day. We would have about a 5-6 hour wait before they arrived but I thought “no biggie, we can hang”. I learned very quickly just how significant a role A/C plays in my life and how thankful I should be to have it. By noon, the cats, who are usually curled up in their favorite positions throughout the house, were sprawled out like Gary Larson’s boneless chicken farm, desperately touching every square inch of cool vinyl floor. I had awakened to a wicked case of corvette-cramps and the ensuing heat was frying up my last nerve (no A/C + cramps = evil). I started worrying about the computers, my acoustic guitar, the pets, my sanity…the paranoia had set in. I decided to make a shower to cool off. It worked, but only for about 15 minutes, then I began to feel the perspiration drip from my forehead again and I was back to square one. Luckily, the repair guys showed up soon there after and switched out the bad capacitor (flux?, heehee…) Within a half hour, cool, sweet air was circulating and the kitties, the dog, Laney, and I came back to life. And just in time. Another hour and I woulda been out of marbles!
