The last few days have been so eventful and awesome I feel like there’s no way I’ll be able to do them justice in writing on my phone from the road. I will however make my best attempt.
DAY 9
The drive to Redding was slow to start. I woke up early, showered and packed for the long journey, but I waited til almost noon to be picked up by Josh and Chris and Jesse. Packing the car was a slow ordeal as well. We had to figure out how to fit all our equipment and clothes and ourselves into Jesse’s little Toyota Matrix, which was almost impossible. By about 1:30 we had found a configuration that left just barely not enough room for Jesse and I in the back seat and were on the road. We swung through Berkeley so Chris could pick up his paycheck from his boss, whom he caught just as he was leaving for home. “You lucky, man, damn lucky.” Perfect timing. Just another good omen for this trip. We were a bit pressed for time, and took a couple of wrong turns, but we managed to get to Redding right on time. We were booked at Barista’s Roasting Co., a cool little coffee shop with a patio. I didn’t quite know what to think about this show at first, the space seemed small and ill suited for a loud full band performance. I wasn’t sure if anyone was going to show up to this place. My mind was somewhat put at ease when the other two bands, March of Buffalo and A.M. Logic, showed up and started to unload. They were very friendly and chill people, they told us they’d both played there before and expected an alright turnout. At that point the owner, Caitlin, started giving us delicious sandwiches. While not quite as delicious as the sandwich we got at the Queen Bean in Modesto, I didn’t hold that against her because A) these were numerous and free and B) no sandwich in the world could ever hold a candle to that monument to deliciousness that we were lucky enough to have the privilege of experiencing on that glorious day. That’s a challenge. Universe, I dare you to prove me wrong.
As March of Buffalo presented their mellow folk/rock/country set with refined proficiency, the venue started to fill up. Their guitarist threw some particularly impressive solos in a southern rock vernacular. Our set went off without a hitch. The sound was surprisingly good on the outdoor patio. We learned that a couple members of A.M. Logic were about to move away to college, so they brought out a bunch of their friends, plus some people just passing by on the street began to stop and accumulate. All in all it looked like about 40 or so. During our set, we were joined by Oakland homies Margaret, Olga, and Navek, to help us celebrate Josh’s birthday. They would stay with us for the next several days, and follow us to Nevada City, but I’m getting ahead of myself. After the show, John of March of Buffalo invited us to a bar downtown. He told us his story, and we shot the shit with the other band members a while, such awesome guys, and they suggested we come back to Redding in early September to play at the bar we were in. The space was nice, we agreed, and since the owner of the place knows the M of B guys, we were able to book it right then and there. We’re making so many connections on this tour that we’re booking more shows while we’re on the road! That night we headed to a campground by Lake Shasta to sleep. This place was not incredibly stoked to receive us. The campground was full, but the night watchman said he’d let us park in the RV lot if we didn’t disturb the hyper-sensitive xenophobic maniacs that frequented the lake. We pulled up alongside an RV, and got out to find a place to set up our tents. We hear a door open and a voice from the darkness bellow, “Get outta here!” Jesse, unfazed, explains that we paid to stay the night here. Apparently there have been some thefts, we learn, but since we prove ourselves to be honest freaks, our startled neighbor agrees to let us stay. We walk up the hill several yards to bed down behind a bush, just so we don’t wake up surrounded by asphalt.
DAY 10
Beaming sun, glittering lake, and my brilliant new friend Navek holding a bowl of hash greeted my consciousness as the dreams receded. We immediately got our bathing suits on and readied the GoPro (handheld waterproof HD video camera) for its first underwater excursion. Jumping in Lake Shasta is the most awesome thing to do first thing in the morning! The water was perfect, and full of fish. Once we were exhausted by diving, we loaded up the car to make the drive to Nevada City. I had no idea that we were in store for yet another paradisiacal adventure there. We find our venue, Cafe Mekka, a dim little space with victorian furniture and a slightly haunted feel. Downtown Nevada City was a quaint snarl of curvy cobbled streets and ornate architecture. It’s situated in a green canyon, with a river running through it. It was a beautiful gem that I was not expecting to find.
So many of our Oakland friends came out to see us in Nevada City, thanks to you all (you know who you are) for traveling so far! You guys totally helped make this one of the best shows of the tour. Nevada City local Dylan Rodrigue opened for us, and totally blew me away. Such thoughtful, sophisticated songwriting. I knew I was in the presence of some serious talent. His vocal melodies wound whimsically through his adroit guitar harmonies. When we took the stage the audience pretty much went ballistic. This was such a fun set! There were two rockin’ little kids there with their tattooed dad, and he told us that we gave his sons their first rock concert experience. Chris signed a broken drumstick and gave it to them, and Jesse gave them his pick. They seemed too stoked for words, it was really cool. The craziest coincidence happened after the show. I had noticed a tall-ish guy with dreads come into the venue halfway through our set, and afterwards I started talking to him. He said he lived mostly in Albuquerque, and I realized he was wearing a Bruddah Project T-shirt! We knew some of the same people, including Rich and Cheyenne. He was such a nice guy, he gave us a film can full of Headband for the road. This has been a crazy trend throughout the tour: people being ridiculously good to us and giving us stuff. We can’t express how much we appreciate it all. On the road, we have no room to carry any kind of luxury or extravagance, and have no money, so every little bit means so much.
After the show, we drove up to Jesse’s friend Mira’s hideaway up in the mountains outside the city with our posse. This was one of the more ridiculous afterparties that we’ve had. We had so many old friends from home, combined with all the new friends we had made that day, all creating a huge ruckus out in the woods. Another hit of DMT opened up the world, and I shared a moment of ackowledgement with metaphysical beings in a courtyard of perfectly geometric plants and living architecture. We reveled in the endorphins of the day until about 4:30, then passed out.
DAY 11
There’s no show today, but Tom, Olga, Josh, Jesse, Chris, Margaret, Navek, Nathan, Dylan and I got up at 10:30 anyway to go jump off rocks into the Yuba River. Heading to the cliff area, we had to pass through the domain of an old prospector left over from the gold rush. He heckled absolutely everyone who passed on the trail about motherfucking chickens and disneyland and not stealing his gold. We saw him follow us to the water with his panning equipment and get to work while we made our first few jumps. We didn’t quite know what to make of this old character until we realized (somewhat hilariously) that he must be finding at least some gold out there. It looked like he made a fair living, he had a whole makeshift hut complete with vegetable gardens and chickens. On the scale from zero to winning at life I’d put this guy ahead of most city-slickers.
The rock jumping was so fun! We were capturing the plummets with the GoPro, getting EPIC aerial to underwater footage, when we lost the camera in the water for about ten minutes. We honestly thought it was gone forever, lost to the rapids of the Yuba, and that the whole rest of the trip would have to go unfilmed. Just when all hope seemed futile, Chris saw a gleam and made a desperate leap into the swirling rapids. In an epic moment of triumph he burst from the water and held the GoPro, suspended from its head mount, high above his head and let out a primal roar.
At about 7:30 we headed back to the cottage to shower, then into Nevada City to have dinner at an awesome mexican place called Amigo’s. They served FAT tacos for $3.50 each and had a deck that overlooked the river. Navek and I stepped out and discovered a little nook under the deck by the river, so we collected Dylan to come smoke a hash bowl in the cool starlight by the rushing water. Too beautiful and chill for words. The most inexpressible thing in this blog is the gratitude I feel for meeting so many incredible new friends. You are all so brilliant, and no matter what happens to me after this, will keep me from ever regretting coming to California.
After dinner, we spent a chill evening talking on the back porch over some wine, then let sleep overtake us.
DAY 12
Up early to pack for the trip to Ashland. We never manage to get on the road as early as we want to, but we had a lot of friends to say goodbye to. The whole hometown crew had to head back to Oakland, so from now on Dear Indugu would be going it alone. We took a wrong turn out of Nevada City, so we ended up arriving at our venue, Paddy Brannan’s Irish Pub, about an hour late. The place was pretty empty anyway, it only started filling up towards the end of our set. Oh well, that’s the way it is on the road sometimes. The bartender was very good to us–she made us dinner and gave us two rounds free of charge even though she was the only one working that night. We had to surrender the stage to karaoke at 9:00, so we figured we might as well sing a few. We hung around til 1:00, when we took a tip from one of the dudes running karaoke to check out a place to stay called Jackson Wellsprings. We arrived at 2:00, not knowing at all what to expect, but found a field by some cottages to camp in. We unrolled our sleeping bags underneath a huge old sycamore and went to sleep.
DAY 13
When we awoke, we discovered how lucky we were to have stumbled upon Wellsprings. It’s a spa and healing center built at the site of a natural hot spring just slightly outside of Ashland, complete with pool, hot tub, sauna, steam room, spirit garden, and goddess temple. Every person we met in this place was so friendly and chill, they made us feel completely at home. Grail, the woman who runs the yoga studio, gave us the rundown of the place, and when we told her we were musicians on tour she replied, “You have to play your instruments for us while you’re here.” We knew instantly that yet again, the fates had led us directly into the right place. We decided to stay another night. While we were checking in we asked Jennifer, the event coordinator, if we could use their awesome stage for a performance that night. They were so laid back about everything! Since no other event was scheduled that night, she said, it was fine if we wanted to set up and play. We hung out the rest of the afternoon exploring the place and getting ready, letting people know there’d be live music soon. The vibe was so relaxed, we took our time and jammed a lot on stage. Since it was so spur of the moment, we were just playing for the people who happened to be there, roughly 15, but they were dancing and obviously enjoying it. Everyone was so appreciative after the show, no one was expecting to get to hear any live music that night. Jennifer said she wanted to book us if we were ever coming back through, and would help us promote it to give us a proper turnout next time. After the show, we took a long soak in the naturally heated spa to relax out the tension and detox a lot of the pollution in our bodies that we’d accumulated so far in the tour. That night I slept more soundly than I have since we left home.
DAY 14
I woke up so refreshed. A few nights ago, at the afterparty in Nevada City, Josh had put his face into some poison oak while in the throes of a DMT trip, and the effects were starting to become evident. He received a natural remedy from Silver, the high priestess of Wellsprings. She informed us that the spring water had healing properties, so we spent the afternoon lounging in the spa, eating homemade tamales that some amazing lady was selling out of the back of her truck, and hanging out with the awesome Wellsprings characters to get more of a feel for the place. Some people just happen upon it much like we did, and end up staying for months on end. I definitely could feel the pull of the vortex, but we had to leave for Eugene to play at Luckey’s that night. The drive was awesome and beautiful. I was falling in love with Oregon already. Luckey’s is a cool bar that’s been around for 100 years. Jesse, our sound guy, was awesome too. We don’t have any kind of draw in Eugene, but still the turnout was less than we had hoped for. The other band playing that night, Garden Goat, brought a handful of friends, but still the bar was pretty empty. Nevertheless, Garden Goat turned out to be made of awesome people. They invited us to go chill with them after the show, and let us crash on one of their floors. It was another late night of getting to know yet another great group of interesting people. I LOVE musicians!
