California--Great American Music Hall

Photo credit: Jake Thomas

Listening to Buck Owens in the van now on the way to San Diego. Driving through Bakersfield where my mother grew up. I must have something of the west coast in my blood and I’d like to think it’s the sunshine, but just now I’m thinking that it might be the smog. I’m not tired, I just have smog in my veins.

We played the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco. It was magnificent.
Everybody was very nice to us—they made us all a wonderful dinner, they have a great lighting person, an excellent front-of-the-house sound man, and an attentive monitors man with beautiful eyes. Above is a photo of the venue before the show, and then three photos of us on stage being hella cool. Obviously.
The atmosphere is the best thing about the Great American. Try to imagine the most decadent party you could have gone to 100 years ago and this is the place. The colors are red, gold, and magic. For musicians, this is the Sistine Chapel.

Upstate NY

Just driving through Albany area, listening to the Breeders. Is this not the perfect pop song in the end of everything?
Spitting in a wishing well.
Giorgio has been driving the whole trip until now. Matt just took over and there was a back and forth about cruise control. Some people are for it. Matt’s against it. It got quiet for a while and we were all just looking at the hills when Giorgio said, “I like cruise control because sometimes my foot gets tired.” Matt said, “Yeah, that’s how it is with pussies usually.”
Josh left the tour to go home today like he’d planned on doing. The plan was that he’d just go for a week but by the end we all realized that he’d have to come back and at least do the west coast with us. So he’s going home to normal life for a little while and we’re going to Canada. He said he’d have to email the “tips” address at Pitchfork that The Rosebuds’ merch guy “Is going to do the west coast after all.”
Are we the only band that has a merch guy that people blog about? I’ve read about Josh in blogs—about how nice and funny he is. When we play shows without him, people who have seen us before ask about him.