Indianapolis, IN

We pulled in about a day ago, had today off, and don't open until tomorrow. usually, we open on Wednesdays...

So, a little extra time off is great, however, it'd be more great if I wasn't sick!!

at this point feel free to feel sorry for me.

there's been a little cold bug making it's way through the show. A few of the band guys have had it over the course of the past few weeks, so i suppose it was only a matter of time before i caught it.

On, the brighter side, it's given me a chance to catch up on some reading and music.

I found this interesting book called "My Lobotomy" by Howard Dully.
the title pretty much says it all. it's Howie's own account of his search as to why his parents gave the go ahead for this procedure to be performed on him when we was 12 years old! Interesting to say the least. His mother and the doctor who performed the operation have passed away at the time of the book, and the only one left is his father, so we'll see how that turns out!

my current listening has been "the Remainder" by Feist , and "Till the Sun Turns Black" by Ray LaMontagne
and I simply CAN NOT stop listening to these albums. I t should be noted that when i find a new artist i like I tend to fixate on them for quite a while until I find a new fix, but for now these are satisfying me just fine!



A couple of things that stand out are their unique voices. Feist's is so small at times, and burst out unexpectedly but not overwhemingly. her writing is magnificent! from playful, hopeful sing-a-longs that make you wanna dance and clap along to melencholy, soothing songs of love.

those who talk to me regularly have heard of my recent purchase, but the others, i'll share it here.

i recently bought a talkbox effects box for my keyboard! the easiest way to explain it if you don't know what it is is to click HERE! it's a video of the one and only Stevie Wonder using one back in 1972. So, if you haven't clicked that yet, do yourself a favor and go back and click it!

I've been playing with it here in my room and am pretty giddy about it. it's definately a new skill to learn, but it'll definately be a fun new source of sounds.

*sniffle* that is all

projects in progress

people have been asking me to put more pictures up, and, well, they're in the right.

i apologize for the lack of fun pics, but that is soon to be rectified. see ... i lost the USB cable for my camera somewhere in kentucky, so i've got a whole mess of pics sitting on my camera and nowhere to dump, and, consequently no room for new pics.

i ordered a new cable over a week ago, so hopefully it gets here soon. i also ordered some interesting books from amazon, but thay have nothing to do with cameras or camera accessories.

once that happens you can expect a virtual buffet of photographic documentation!!

---

some of the highlights shall include the following :

- some of the world famous "WONDERS" of Houston, TX!!

- step-by-step photo instrucitions on how to put on your very own circus!!

- a man in campflauge pants standing on a picture of a horse!!

- some great shots of countryside we seldom see!

- the much requested shots of my tiny train room!!

- a bearded man pulling mail out of a mailbox made of BEER CANS!!!

- and other FANTASTICAL THINGS TO AMAZING TO MENTION HERE IN PRINT IN ANY FONT!!!

---

in other news, i've started several songs while here, and i'm quite excited about them. I'm posting them on MySpace page. The plan is to rotate them out and get some feedback on different songs, and, ultimately release something on itunes or some other interStore sites.

also, coming soon to the blog, in addition to the many fantastic photos i will be posting videos!

yay videos!

so that's exciting right? yes.

what a wonderful world

and what an interesting life it's been ...

one of the first times my boss talked to me on the phone, he said "Don't think of it as a gig, think of it as a lifestyle change." Well, truer words were seldom spoke!

I'm here in Moline, Ill right now, and if you've you've never heard it there's a reason why. There's not much here. The claim to fame is that it's part of the "Quad Cities" Moline, Rock Island, Davenport and ----- and it's also home to the John Deere museum - no joke. I checked it out and fought the urge to buy a yellow & green camoflauge cap or commerative John Deere dartboard.

But I digress, i guess this blog has turned into a travel blog more than a circus one, and it's easy to have fun - seeing new places - which I've been doing, and it's been great. All the while, however, I guess I've been adjusting to a different life that I've been plugged right into with little warning.

I live in a 6x8 room. Yes, it's small, but it seems to suit me fine. It's imparitive to make one's room, no matter how small, "HOME." That's the 2 big issues here, I suppose: Space and Time. very little space, and almost too much free time.

Space, you can't do anything about. Mine is actually one of the mid size rooms! I have the luxury of being able to actually spread my arms out and not hit a wall.

I like my room - it gets nice and cold, I've got a nice window which is great on train runs, and room enough for my books, speakers, keyboard and guitar, microwave and food - There's really not much more that I need.

The space around the train yard is a unique element. We live on a train, yes, but trains live in train yards, so, therefore, WE live in train yards. Sure, it's not the most exotic of locales, but it's all functional. You spend your time in the city, in your room, or at the arena ... (now, that I think about it, I guess i do miss sitting on a couch, but the beds function as such so, it's a fair trade I think.)

Train yards are plain, full of other trains, and uneventful. Little if no grass, in fact, most times - ROCKS & GRAVEL. lots, and lots, of Rocks and Gravel. If we're lucky civilzation is a short walk away - I've found that's the usual case. Otherwise there's the bus.

The bus is an old schoolbus and it takes us too and from the arena. Arenas are always downtown, down where you wanna be. the bus runs once an hour so you're never "stuck" anywhere. Free bus ride into town, do what you please. At least once, and usually twice a week there are what's known as "Market Runs," also done by bus. (everything's a "run" interesting ...)

Time is a different issue - there IS a lot of it, and, sometimes, seemingly, no clocks.

We did a 3 day train run from Dallas, TX to Lexington, KY a couple of weeks ago and it just seemed like we were in this other world. there's nowhere to be - no reason to be up or go to bed. You really find out what your body's clock is like, and what You'd Really do with no outside motivators.


I, personally LOVE the train runs. People like to watch movies, read, hang out - it can be very much like a college dormitory. And, of course, you can keep to yourself if you'd like. And, the rocking of the train can provide some of the BEST sleep you'll ever have!

It's easy to spend lose track of time standing out in the vestibules, with your head sticking out, feeling the great wind rolling through, and watching the countryside go by. It really is beautiful you know. We go where highways don't, where people don't. Think about it ... how often do you really see moving trains? At crossings, right? I've found that i love passing crossings - watching people watch back. Some folks have cameras and are waving. (the train has the Ringling name emblazoned across every car)

Of course, some are just waiting for us to pass so they can get to where they're going.

long hiatus - New Orleans

it's been too long, and i apologize for the break, but reast assured it was jusitfied ... kind of. Texas is my home state - I'm from San Antonio, and so, the majority of my free time was spent visiting family and friends. I won't be back around here again until late November, so - gotta do the rounds.


it's been 5 cities since my last post. I find myself using cities to measure time with. ex: "remember that yard with the nice grass, ya know that really clean one? i think it was like 2 or 3 cities ago." For the record, that yard was in Pensacola, FL. Usually the yards are a bit somber - lots of rocks and some graffited freight trains as neighbors, but that one in Pensacola was like an upscale hotel in comparison. This here are some shots of the train yard in Houston. That's a concrete making building of some sort. Glamorous, I know!

This is what I see in the morning - way off in the distance is our bus that takes us to and from the arena. It's just a repainted school bus, and it does the job. that creek you see there got pretty wide when it rained. And it's been raining ALL through Texas!

We were in New Orleans, Austin, and San Antonio, Houston, and Corpus Christi. Now, I'm from San Antonio, and Texas being one big happy family and all meant that I spent a lot of my free time visiting family and friends and what not. (hence the lack of postings)

New Orleans was New Orleans! What I mean by that is there was good food, little sleep, and lots of money spending! Here's a tip: Don't use Bourbon Street ATM machines - I paid a $10 service fee at one, I think the lowest was about $7. Now, for the most part "What happens in New Orleans stays in Orleans." But, I will say that there was good music, dancing and fun had by all.

The high points were the Tower of Power concert and the Habitat for Humanity day.

Now, if you you haven't seen or heard of Tower of Power - they're a soul/funk band most famous for their tight horn section. They played at the House of Blues down in the Quarter on Decatur, and luckily Eli(head sound guy) and Jonathon (guitar player) got to catch them after a show one night.

That place was PACKED! House of Blues venues are usually pretty good for shows. They got great atmosphere and good sound systems. This was my first TOP show and I loved it. These guys were amazing. The vocalist was a powerful tenor and the band was indeed tight and made you dance! I couldn't stop moving the whole night!
Their funk songs were kickin' and their ballads were powerful - it's tough to get a crowd that big wailing on a ballad, usually that's bathroom break time, but they sold it. these guys have been around for awhile and they showed they know what they're doing. Tower of Power - big thumbs up, great live show.

Ringling Bros. did a Habitat work day before we opened in N.O. There was a sign up sheet 2 weeks before the New Orleans dates, and I was surprised how many people signed up. I think about 70-80 people went from the show. It had been raining the night before so it was pretty muddy when we arrived far earlier than any of us were accustomed to being awake! We arrived still yawning, but ready to work. They handed out Habitat t-shirts and the work chief gave us instructions.

Now, our work site was in this neighborhood called Musician's Village, it's a project started by Harry Connick Jr. and Branford Marsalis, both NOLA natives, to provide housing for displaced residents affected by the Storm. Now, it's mainly intended for displaced musicians, but it's not limited to that, but most of the residents are, indeed, players from N.O.

We were set to work on the foundation for this bass player's house, and that involved a lot of wood carrying and stacking and some hammering here and there. It wasn't extravagant, but it was what needed to be done. Only problem was there was no wood . . . The delivery hadn't gotten there yet that morning, so we ended up just clearing the work site for about 2 or 3 hours until it did. Like I said, there was an army of us so all this moving stuff from here to there didn't take long - we were like ANTS!
a lot of the time we spent just sitting waiting for the wood to get there.

Not too glamorous, or productive...

BUT!

then the wood got there! and we got to it. Now, by this time it was noon and our bus was scheduled to pick us up at 3:00pm so we only had a few more hours left of work, but we made good use of it. Ants, I tell you - like ANTS!!

At the end of the day we were muddy, tired, hot, a little sunburned, and hungry, having constructed at least the begginnings of a foundation, but we were satisfied that we had done at least some good.

The Big Easy

We just got to N.O. yesterday after a very pleasant train run.
They call the commute between cities "Train Runs" and it's kind of an event. The Pie Car (dining car on the train, good food none of which is actually Pie. funny isn't it?) is open 24 hours during train runs and can become the closest to a hang out that we have here on the train.
Another popular thing is to hang out in the vestibules - that's the area between cars. That's become my favorite thing to do and has yielded some great viewing. Like I've said, that train goes where cars don't (and vice versa!) so we get to see some countryside unaffected by people. Lots of folk here love taking pictures, and I joined in on the tradition. unfortunately all those pics I took wouldn't load! I apologize for that. I got some of what I thought to be good shots of some bayous and beautiful lakes, but alas they are lost forever. I did retain some shots of some damage, but thought it tacky to post those only, if at all. We've all seen enough of that...

The train runs yield some of the best sleep I've ever had due to the gentle rocking of the train. the trains can't go faster than 55, so it's not a raucous ride by any means, still one does have to "crash proof" one's room before a run. All the cabinets in my room have locking hooks on them so they don't swing open and they provide rubber straps for securing T.V.s and whatnot. Of course the biggest chore is walking to and utilizing the facilities during a run. The development of "Train Legs" is a must as I'm quickly learning.

june15 - Pensacola, FL

We opened here at the Pensacola Civic Center last night. We usually arrive into a town on Monday evenings or Tuesday mornings. We closed in Lafayette this past Sunday and train heads out after load out. The TRAIN RUN takes about a day. Weird, huh? Why so long? Well trains don't travel 75 miles an hour - usually about 55, maybe 50 and they don't take the same roads that cars do so on one hand it take a bit longer, but on the other hand we get get to see some parts of the states that one doesn't usually get to see.

The Band

Allow me to introduce the guys in the band.
Shawn Elsbernd is our drummer and he's from Cincinnati, Ohio. This guy is INCREDIBLE and he'll be the first one to tell you he's not.One of the nicest guys you'll meet.

Wages Argott is our trumpet player from Alabama and he'll let you know that any chance he gets. He's a great player and even toured with a Motown revue. Check his page. He's a wealth of sports and Alabama knowledge. "Alabama beaches - best beaches in the world!"
Jonathon Blazer is a guitarist from the D.C. area. Fairfax, VA to be exact. He's quite the kooky character and most easily identified by his sizable head of hair.
Michael Mullan is our sax guy from New Jersey - great jazz chops and one half of our twin towers along with Wages - they're both 6'4'' which leavesme feeling even shorter than usual. Ryan States is the other keyboard player - yup, there's two of us - it's a synth heavy score. He's the veteran of the band, not including the director. He keeps to himself mostly - he's got a podcast and just realeased a CD on CDBaby.com

John Fulkerson is the baby of the group. He just came on in Lafayette last week and is the trombone chair. He's fresh out of New England Conservatory and learning the ropes along with most of us.
Mike Brown is the bass chair and he's quite the veteran. He's played festivals all over and has even studied with Victor Wooten

And, of course, there's our director, Tim Eaton. He plays trumpet and directs us through all shows countless tags and cues. He's been with the show for awhile, so he knows his stuff; and he's been real welcoming with us new guys. Blazer, John F, Shawn and myself are all realatively new. Shawn's been here about 6 months, Blaze - about 3-4 I think. This is my second and John got here, like I said, last week.

So, that's it, that's the band and charcters in my future stories.

june 8th - lafayette, LA

Well, last night was my first official SOLO show. We had sound check and rehearsal in the afternoon. of course, everyone was a bit rusting coming off the 3 week break, but it went alright regardless. I'm still getting a lot of the music under my fingers, but i'm sure it'll come along fine. it's a bit disconcerting to realize that all those people are hearing what we're doing - whether they're critiquing it or not. i get a little nervous about missing notes and cues, but an the moment of playing i'm just looking at the page and trying to watch the director. those two hours go by really quickly when i'm up there.

On a bright note, the Spurs won game 1 of the NBA finals last night! I am from San Antonio, Texas and very much a Spurs fan, as are the majority of my group of friends down there. Me and some of the band guys went to fast Eddie's, this pool hall chain, to watch the game. We went after the show and caught most of the 3rd and the rest of the game. Twas a very one-sided contest though the Cavs made a little run at the end. I called Spurs in 5 - and now I'm wondering if they'll win even the one.



We went to this place called Don's seafood Hut 2 of the past 3 nights here. Someone said if you find bas food in Louisiana, you've [done something wrong]. So, we put the aphorism to the test. We picked Don's out of a random list of places and loved it! We split a plate of fried alligator both nights (second night was better) and I had some of the best gumbo I've had in a long time.

So, Go Spurs and Go Don's!