South Dakota
Hello friends and fans! I’m in South Dakota. No. I’m not playing a gig- I’m just taking a little vacation for me! I really love going new places, so I decided to take a little (huge) detour from my tour to go to Mount Rushmore. ‘Cause I’ve never been to South Dakota, and when am I gonna get another chance?
My gig in Chicago was pretty fun. There wasn’t a big audience but the people who were there were unusually attentive. My parents, brother (Dan), and some of my mom’s friends came, so I got to sing my songs about boobs and vaginas and sex for my parents yayy but I’m a rockstar whaddaya gonna do? Danimal sold 2 CDs- a record for me (since my CD release, at least). Neither of them were full price (I offered “sliding scale”), but I’m just happy to sell them. It makes me happy!
Yesterday I played in St Paul, Minnesota. It was pouring rain the entire time, and there was an insanely huge football game on- Packers-Vikings- the farther North I got the more I heard about it on the radio. So there was like nobody there. A bunch of people who worked there, and a couple people watching the football game. There was a local guy playing after me and he sat through my whole set, but decided to bail on playing since there was like no one there and the people who were there were just watching the game. I played an extra long set just to practice ’til my fingers started to hurt. Dammit, why aren’t my callouses better by now? Oh well I still played for well over an hour. It’s good practice for me. St Paul-Minneapolis seemed really cool except it was pouring the whole time so I didn’t really see much of it. I tried today but was thwarted by the rain and by parking meters that only take quarters. wtf parking meters. Nickels and dimes are money too. What, are you going to do my laundry in my car while I’m gone? sheesh.
So today I drove across South Dakota. The rain ended somewhat early on and after that it was a pretty nice drive! No traffic, open skies, peace and quiet. I stopped for dinner in Wall, where they have that famous drug store. My friend Arlen had recommended I go to the drug store, though it was largely closed by the time I got there- like, there was a souvenir shop section open, but the cafe was closed, and I was really hungry, so I went to a bar across the street and had a really good quesedilla. Met some locals. Tried a beer called Moose Drool. It was a really fun little break.
Then I drove the rest of the way to Lead, where my hostel is. It’s more of a European-style hotel than a hostel- shared bathrooms, but largely private rooms. It’s a beautiful house, gorgeously decorated. Best part? There is snow on the ground! Fluffy white snow! It’s so pretty! I generally do not like the snow, but I haven’t seen any since like February so this is like the first snow of the year for me. Plus, the town is charming and historic, and the snow looks so pristine and storybookish. Yes! Happy.
Tomorrow is my day off to enjoy the Black Hills- see Mount Rushmore, maybe hike or something if the weather looks nice, there is gambling here too, in Deadwood, that’s not my thing of course. Then Thursday night I go to Fargo to play a gig. And then it’s back to Chicago with me!
As for my cold, I’m getting better. I feel a million times better, but my voice is still screwed up. I’m trying to coax it back- I’m singing Suor Genovieffa next week so I have to be in good shape.
I’m gonna run but I’ll talk to you all later. Love!
Album release and tour
Heyy! I’m in Des Moines waiting to play at Mars Cafe. The guy who works here doesn’t know how to set up the PA. There’s not many people here, but I’ve had worse.
The album release went pretty well. I had fun of course and we played well. I was planning for it to be the biggest show of my life so far and it definitely did not come out that way. I only got a fraction of the audience I expected to, and only sold a fraction of the albums I expected to. Even a lot of my friends didn’t buy them. I know times are tough, but that’s why admission was free, you know? But I was very happy about the people who did come- reduced in number, but you know, you find out who your real friends/fans are.
My tour: my first gig, in Madison WI, was cancelled. Lame! I had really wanted to go there. Then last night I played in Omaha, Nebraska. I couldn’t find anyone to stay with so I used CouchSurfing.org and found some random person and stayed on his couch. It was pretty fun. Now I’m in Des Moines. I’m sick. I feel like the flight to Chicago is what made me sick because already when I woke up the next morning I could tell I was coming down with something. I’ve drunk so much espresso today that I can barely finish the one in front of me.
Omaha seemed like a cool city. I got there a couple hours before the show, and went in search of coffee, and accidentally stumbled upon a poetry reading. It was kinda fun for me ’cause I don’t go to stuff like that, but it was really dragging on and I had to sneak out the back door.
I was the headliner at the gig- fancy! I so do not belong as a headliner in a place I’ve never been where nobody’s ever heard of me- only a few people stayed to hear me. Being the headliner largely means two things: you play last, and in some cases, you’re in charge of the money. So the owner gave me all the door money but it was my job to dole it out to the openers. So in the end I made almost enough to pay for the gas, but I was really depressed that I didn’t sell a single CD or t-shirt, even though I did a really good job. I mean I know that’s kind of normal, but like, when you go reeeeeeeeeeaallllly out of your way like this, you want some kind of tiny payoff. Like that show I played in Austin- if it had been a nearby show and I had been in-and-out I would have been ok with making no money, but as I’d driven 15 hours for it and stayed around for like 4 hours just to get paid and didn’t, I was pissed. But anyways the bar, The Barley Street Tavern, is cool, it’s got a sweet little room that’s kind of like somebody set up a living room lounge in an unfinished basement.
Tomorrow I get to drive back to my parents’ house in Chicago and go to bed. (Tonight I’m staying with another couchsurfing person- a girl and her sister.) Then Sunday I play in Chicago. If I’d had less on my plate I coulda-woulda-shoulda sent a press release to my hometown newspaper, ’cause it’s always nice to be in the paper. But yeah things have been crazy of course. OK so then after Chicago I go to Minneapolis (St. Paul actually) for the first time ever! I’ve been to Minnesota before but not there. Excited! Then what i THINK i’m going to do is go to Mt. Rushmore, if I am feeling better and it’s not going to rain the whole time like it has so far. That will be my little vacation for myself. Because I’ve never been and I don’t see myself having another chance to go but here I am driving around the Midwest so it seems like a good time! Then on the way back I am playing a gig in Fargo, North Dakota on 10/08. My original intention in going to Fargo was to audition for their opera company, but when the Madison gig got cancelled I wanted to make up for it so I added the one in Fargo. I’m still supposed to audition but we’ll see how my voice is- you know how it is, with the being sick business.
Highlights: Western Iowa is really pretty (windmills!), CouchSurfing.org works, random poetry slam, the State Capitol of Iowa is impressive, DayQuill works, I have almost memorized Zerbinetta in English.
Better go, ttyl!
