Idaho

Writing to you from the back of the van as we roll through Montana headed to Spearfish South Dakota for a show tonight. Listening to Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side Of The Moon to block out the din of the van. I’ve been listening to this album on and off since I was about ten. It still sounds intriguing and mysterious to me all these years later. And there’s not too many albums these days that start with fourteen-seconds of silence! If you are listening to music in 2010 and you hear fourteen-seconds of silence it’s time to recharge the ipod!

We started day one of our month long tour yesterday quite early (or late if you happen to be a night person) in Vancouver. I had the van, that had been in the shop for a little TLC, so i picked up Chris downtown at 4 a.m. Then we drove out to my hometown of Ladner to my parents house to pick up the trailer. They have a nice big driveway to store the rig and it gives me a chance to get in a little visit when we are leaving or returning. Jason had stayed overnight as he has a 90 minute drive from his home in the valley. Rebecca lives near the border so we picked her up next. I greeted her and her sleepy parents at the door. It’s not everyday you get to see Barry in his boxer shorts. That’s rarer than a wolverine sighting in Montana! Or a parking spot in Manhattan!

The border was a breeze. No traffic and a friendly border guard. We stopped in Ferndale to load up all of our cd’s and t-shirts at our storage locker. They had recently put a sensor on the door so the security guy came to check it out fearing a burglary. But happily all he found was a bunch of cheerful Canadians that greeted him with Timbits and a fresh cup of coffee! Seattle traffic was “slower than the biscuit train to molassesville”* as per usual. We had to go right downtown to Capitol Hill to pick up a speaker that Adam from the Crafty Bastard’s had fixed for us. And we were off to the Interstate 90 to get to our afternoon gig in Coeur D’ Alene. That’s a tough town to spell. And I took french in elementary school. That place needs a nickname. Maybe they have one already. Tyler met us there with his dad Rod as he had been spending a few days luxuriating in Lewiston. Massages, drinks by the pool, mini golf…You all know what goes on in Lewiston. I gave Tyler his present. Ten years of Clumsy Lovers live recordings in a five gallon bucket that he is going to put on his hard drive for posterity purposes. We arrived in CDA with plenty of time to haul our gear down the never-ending dock. Did i mention we were playing on a ship that sails around the lake for a private party? It was hot. For September it seemed really hot. And no wind. How hot was it? Even Jason was sweating. He hardly ever sweats. The last time that happened was November of 2002 in Jacksonville Florida!The ship set sail at 4 and returned around 7:30. It was spectacular to be playing on the deck with all that beauty around us. The organizers were super nice and the buffet was awesome. Tyler figures he masticated 6000 calories worth of tasty goodness. After a speedy and somewhat hazardous pack-up down the steep stairs and dock in the dark we were on our way to a hotel in Bozeman. Chris and Tyler swapped out behind the wheel and we arrived at our destination at 2:50 a.m. Coming up on 24 hours since we left. It had been a long day but we’ve had much more extreme scheduling in the past and it had felt like a productive and full day. The rooms only had one bed each so it became  a bit of a Clumsylover sleepover minus the fun, the popcorn, the soft drinks and the When Harry Met Sally videocassette…

*Sojourners quote