slo-mo espresso and acoustic piano

Sally Lieber (of Vicious Fish) picks me up around 7pm and we pop over the Golden Gate Bridge. The clouds are all jaggedy and malevolent out over the Pacific. We interpret these meteorological portents to mean there will be a great sunset--but not for us to enjoy--cuz we gotta get to Cafe Divino in Sausalito for our evening gig.

When we get to this wee, funky Italian eaterie there is a teeny bit o' confusion with the owner-- are we playing? Are we not? Where's Judea? (It's our lovely buddy Judea Eden's gig, though every time she has Sally and me come sit in/ and trade sets. But tonight her car is outta commission. ) It's all a miscommunication. My midde name is "Miss Communication". No major tears are shed, no overly rash words are spoken, and then Sally & I start trading sets.

I settle in at the Young Chang (yes a real piano--yes). Its fun to do. After a few songs I open the lid. LOUDER LOUDER!! MMMMMMM hmmmmm. Inspired by this 7 foot grand, I play all my songs about Knoxville in a row. After my set Sally starts in on her rockin set.

I go sit down with my pal, filmmaker Chelsea Walton. I start eyeing her dinner. Oh! A taste--well, ok! She's eating some succulent roasted veggies with garlic, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar--yum. And gnocchi. Oh, yeah, a taste of that too, Chelsea? Ok! Yum. The obliging waitress, Letitsia appears with my very own veggies, foccacia...and an arugula salad. Sweet! (and savory)

Some new attentive folks wander in for wine & tunes. I start up my second set. For some reason, the brand name of the espresso machine catches my eye:

FAEMA

I point this out to the crowd, pronouncing it: "FEMA" Could it be a sideline of that certain organization much maligned (with good reason) of late? & Sally quips:

"You'll order your espresso, but you won't get it for two days."

Aye.

Eli for president

My nephew just won the post of 6th grade vice president! In his speech he told the 6th grade classs:

"If you think I am using the office of 6th grade vice-president as a stepping stone to the Whitehouse--you're right!"
He told his class he wants to offer them unity, equailty, and freedom from bullying. And he said that if they had ANY problem at all they could come to him personally and he would bring it up with the school administration "You can rely on Eli". Wow. It does give me hope hope hope!! In just a few years--well, thirty four, we can look for a real leader.

However, right now we hafta contend with (and survive) mad King George and his mom Marie Antoinette...

So, why do I call her that? Did y'all hear what she said about evacuees in the astro dome? Something like--and I paraphrase: " ..the poor are doing pretty well--they didn't have much to begin with..."

How very vile.


That guy on tv
tells a shocked nation
that we should believe
he deserved that vacation

Mr Pres, truth's self evident
please don't come back
let's make it permanent
what you deserve is the sack

Where am I? Tatooine? Dagobah?

So. It's noon.

Kinda early for us rockers.

(& I am kinda short for a storm trooper.)

We get to 303 Folsom. I mean, Folsom & third, I mean 303 second at Folsom...Eeek. Traffic sucks on Coruscant--I mean, San Francisco.

Where the hell are we playing? Mapqest can't help you now Boba Fett clone army. You're our only hope Gary-Wan-Hobobie? Hmmm. He's as confused as me! Two weeks of no sleep does indeed have that special magic of killing brain cells. Gone. Goodbye.

Anyhoo we finally get to the gig & play, and all is well. We have the lovely Keith Karloff (of the BONEDRIVERS) sitting in on drums--Andrew's still nursing that hangover up north in Tacoma. The fountain is turned off, the sun beats down & we sing & play to bemused onlookers who are contentedly chowing down on teryaki bowls and gulping restorative lattes.

The other big news I itch to speak of:

Yes. It is here: the SEAWORTHY CD RELEASE PARTY DATE:: nov 10th at RED DEVIL LOUNGE

HOPEFULLY, the awesome, spine-tingling wondrous SF quartet GRIDDLE will be joining us...standby for confirmation of them facts. And other acts.

By the by, the terms: "San Francisco" and "Science Fiction" most significantly share intitials. (i.e. SF) Ooooh. But I have a taboo about Naboo.

Cuz, gentle reader, these are the droids you are looking for.

FREE Concert at Noon Today- note address clarification!

Howdy folks!

A little clarification on the location of today's FREE noontime show- part of the Market St. Association's People In Plazas series-- the concert will be at

303 2nd St @ Folsom St (view map)

The address had been previously given out as being at 303 Folsom, or 3rd & Folsom.

See you there!

wild goose chase

Well.

Who can resist a roadside eatery ON THE WAY that has GREAT FOOD? Not us. So we end up back in Ashland at the WIld Goose.

We have dinner at 10pm at the wild goose. Me: wee fried oysters...and I say: yum. Gary: angel hair pasta with tiger prawns. Also yum.

The very friendly waitress named Jaimie tells us to book a gig nixt time we are in this neck of the woods. Yes yes yes. This will be such a beautiful thing. Music food. Food music.

If music be the food of the gods-- eat on.

A sonnet to the tour after-party

Green beans with bacon by Gary
Andrew's Thai chili-sauce fish
Asiago and mascarpone are very
Delicious mixed into the dish
We raised our glasses in hand
To new fans who made true every wish
For crowds who would dig our band
From Eugene to Portland to Vashon
We cooked such a decadent meal
After gigging & mailing out flyers
We should score an endorsement deal
With the grocery franchise of Fred Meyers

It's not a party 'til the drummer is soused
Thank goodness that this is his house

The Matrix

One pill sends our sci-fi Alice
Down a worm (in lieu of a rabbit) hole
One pill makes Laurence Fishbourne
Do martial arts in slo-mo

one pill can make an actor
just like Keanu Reeves
seem like he has something
more significant up his sleeve

But no--wait!

It's not that Matrix--it's the Matrix Coffeehouse, a GROOVY venue in Chehalis, WA where we played tonight. A very nice room with a cool stage and vibe. Moon and Rick, the proprietors are about the sweetest humans on earth. Good eats and fun were had by all. We all had delish curry for din din, though some like it hotter than others. Me: mild. Gary & Andrew: spicy & spicy...ouch, that's hot, but that's not hot enough! They like their eats spicy yes they do.

The Matrix was the last official gig of the 1st Pacific Northwestern Leg of the SEAWORTHY TOUR. Tomorrow we are hanging with some friends, cooking grub (and maybe playing some tunes--natch!) On monday we head back towards California--we do have a gig in SF on Thursday, after all.

So.

We will hafta bid buh-bye to Washington with its odd juxtaposition of George Washington's head in silhouette on the highway signs incongruously next to all those Native American words, like: Puyallup, Seattle, Tacoma. Did those twain ever really meet...? The original Americans and our famous 1st president/ interloper? I guess Captain Cook did have some contact with Pacific northwest tribes,,, and of course, Lewis & Clark, but George Washington? I dunno.

I will hafta read up on that...

There's more to know--always more, gentle readers.

Sunset on Vashon Island

Beautiful, no? Click on the picture for a high-res version and enjoy.

I do love living in San Francisco, but this place has something we often miss: Cumulo Nimbus. Those puffy white things in the sky. You know, clouds. I'm not talking about the high wisps of cirrus that we get in the Bay Area, but these enourmous cotton-looking things against a bluer than blue sky that are like constellations. You see amazing things in there. The other day Margrit saw a dromedary, I believe, being ridden by Jabba the Hut. (Me, I saw a ducky and a horsey, but heck, that's why Margrit does the writing.)

Props to the staff at Cafe' Luna, all of whom made us feel most welcome & appreciated & warm & cozy 'n' stuff.

Tomorrow night (the Matrix in Chehalis) is the last night of this leg of the tour. It's been a real cool ride, especially with Andrew & Heathers hospitality, which makes it a far cry from your standard R 'n' R tour. We are a pretty tight sounding little unit at this point, and I'm really looking forward to bringing the show to home base for Seaworthy's record release party!

La Luna is Full

We rush to the ferry to Vashon Island--and miss the boat we expected (or attempted) to catch--but no matter! Another ferry chugs on up and we drive the truck with all our gear right upon it and disembark our wee vehicle to enjoy the breezy late aftenoon salt air of Puget Sound from the deck. We see a log float by. There are gulls. And abruptly--we are on Vashon Island--it's close.

We get to Cafe Luna--and it has changed since I was here with Stephanie in 2002. They have remodeled, tearing down the odd wall here or there, and erecting a fancy tea display! It's herbal heaven for you leafy connoiseurs of such.

We set up, but before we can play a note we are selling and siging CDs--WOW! We like that! And as for the show: it is a super fun rollicking good time with much love and rock thrown about with these Vashonites ( both young and not-as-young), who know how to enjoy a tune--or twenty.

I gobble a melty grilled mozzarella panini sandwich after the gig, and for dessert Gary & I share a buttery heavenly brownie made right here at Cafe Luna,

You know, True Margrit has played at THREE different Cafe Lunas: one in Sacramento, one in Sante Fe and this 'un. OOOOh.

The proprietress, the dandy Sandy Sheldon has the Cafe on the Market , but she will only sell to a buyer who will keep it a cafe with live musica. Good. Cuz this is a great place. Sandy reminds me that my show with Stephanie in 2002 was one of her first shows! Now, Cafe Luna is a Friday night destination for Vashonites (for the Vasoneze..?)

We miss our 10:45 ferry so we go to a local pub where Andrew annoys the patrons by taking photos. We leave. On the Ferry home the moon is quite bright, though it tries dodging unsuccessfully behind clouds--but we see you moon, we do.

Once again Heather & I are smashed in the rumble seat. Andrew is taking pix of the moon and we are making up a fairy tale about Gary and his Golden Dice to keep him awake. Soon we will be in warm beds and the moon can go about its business.

Good night moon.

Where did I leave my volcano?

Gary scampers off to Fred Meyer for omellette fixins whilst I am phoning various & sundry folk trying to pin down our San Francisco CD release party date for SEAWORTHY--- oh, where? oh, when? you may ask..soon deets soon! BUT, it will be a doozy, oh yes it will, once that grand day comes and we celebrate the album in our beloved hometown with our sweet peeps all around and the glory and the trumpets. Holy moley, I can't wait-- I do tremble in antici...pation.

Anyhoo, Gary makes some FLUFFY superb spinach/ mushroom/ red pepper/ onion/ gruyere. And I am compelled to yell:

"FLUFFY"
in the duck voice

You may well ask what I mean by duckvoice... well.

For those in the inner True Margrit circle, y'all naturally know about THE DUCK--an alternate persona who sounds remarakably like Donald Duck, but who has a penchant for cursing like a sailor ( yes, I am afraid the duck is keen on fowl language--but saying the word "FLUFFY" is at the top of the list even before swearing). When Stephanie Haffner & I came up to these Northwestern parts for our first tour in 2002, we hardly knew one another, but we soon discovered that we both can speak in the duckvoice--an oft neglected (and perhaps maligned) talent.

Anyhoo.

After fluffiness, we head off to see The Big Volcano Mountain. But alas, thwarted by rain, mist, and running out of time we are beaten back by brute nature. No one will be summiting in our party today. Back to base camp! We must avoid frostbite in our extremities. Oh but we will be back! And we will reorganize the Sherpas...and try again. Why?

Because it is there.

On the way we stop at a little trailhead named, Model Forest which we thought would be a demonstration of new pruning techniques, or hi-tech ultraviolet hydroponics, or some other such horticultural display . But no, it is a minature of the region--a wee model of the nearby highways and wooodlands. Very damned cute.

It got pretty rainy at that point and we head back to the car --not without a longing backward glance or two at the adorable teeny railway tracks. But we must get back to take proper showers before getting on the ferry for the Vashon Island gig.

In Puyallup we notice a "55 and over gated community" across the street from a biker-bar/ tattoo shop named: "INFLICTIONS"

Who came first, we wonder, and how will it end... OH GOD!

It makes me wonder.

Night off at the Poodle Dog

well.

Happy Birthday ROBERT GELLER!!!

Today was most the most restful of days with a minimum of emotionally taxing activities (except for watching Bush speak--ick which taxes everyone except the rich) and a maximum of eating.

Department of things we ate in the a.m.:

French toast (in France it's called PAIN PERDU--meaning, "lost bread"--which REALLY means you find it anew on yer plate all eggified and good for breakfast)

Sing along! The french toast song goes:

I haven't exaggerated
that bread was egg-saturated
I cooked it in butter
my heart was a-flutter
in more ways than one
fluffy golden-brown & it's done

Heather & I went in search of the SEAWORTHY review in the latest Tacoma Weekly, and instead inadvertently went on a nice little tour of downtown Tacoma. We saw the cool glass museum and the Tacoma Dome.

Diploid, haploid
diploma aroma
altoids, paranoid
Tacoma Dome--ah!

Department of things eaten at nightfall:

MORE FRIED CHICKEN--oh yes we did & still, it's not quite gone.

Then we head out to the Emerald Queen Casino (in Fife, WA)

This is a bit of a disappoinment for us, but for those who know such places, you will smile wryly at our ignorance--casinoes aren't really so very glamourous, are they my precious?

What then does one get, you ask, if not glamour?

Well, very utterly smoky chambers filled with bored, dogged, penny & nickel gamblers with the glazed eye sheen imbued to these patrons of such establishments by prolonged exposure to detached desperation and video-screens in lowlit drop-ceiling environments. Inexplicably, in a far corner of the casino there are two stunningly beautiful clylindrical aquariums with a panoply of tropical fish and plants swaying and swirling in mildly vertiginous grace. I gaze in wonder, in particular at a magnifique lionfish which, we are informed by a security guard, has doubled its size in three months. Some species thrive even here. Some fish are lucky. Winner take all. Furthermore, Kansas is soon to play at the Emerald Queen, so put that in your Fife and blow it.

(& carry on wayward son)

We head hastily to the nearby eaterie: the POODLE DOG.

Dept of snack food shared by True Margrit (and Heather Carawan) at Poodle Dog:

Fish and chips, one blackberry shake, one chocolate malt, several servings of navy bean soup redolent with...you guessed it: BACON!!!

For tomorrow, we are planning a daytrip to that famous, very tall, and currently impressively icy nearby mountain and then we will head to Vashon Island for the next show...!

yabba dabb adieu
i love yew

SEAWORTHY is available from CD Baby!

Hey, it's here! As of, say, RIGHT NOW, our new album Seaworthy is available online at CD Baby -
along with our previous collection, Deceptively True! Partake and enjoy, enjoy!

This being our only full day off, we are now heading out to a casino, and hopefully will make it to beautiful Mt. Ranier before our trip to Vashon Island tomorrow.

Later.. after the show AND fried chicken

It's Order and it's KAOS.

(that is: 89.3 FM... if you are so motivated call 360-867-KAOS to request TRUE MARGRIT!!!)


We go back over to EVERGREEN STATE UNIVERSITY for our very last appearance ( for this tour) on KAOS radio on HUMPDAY HOEDOWN (this show was the original booking we had, before we got invited to two other additional shows) The staff at KAOS seemed bemused today with the ALL MARGRIT RADIO...they sent us home with KAOS bumperstickers and KAOS playing cards, saying we were the first band to play two days in a row... hee hee. It was fun. Our host, Guy is very patient with our utter punch-drunken, sleep-deprived, giddiness. We somehow get on this tangient describing touring as being like an "epic picnic" and Andrew keeps yelling from behind his kit:

"I can't get out of the meadow!"

When we get in the car we get a message that our radio show on Vashon Island is cancelled. Whoa! a day off? will we be productive, will we make it to Mt. Rainier? Will we be good and answer emails & fix up the website, etc, or will we end up at the casino, sodden with liquor and lamenting spent nickels?

We hit Fred Meyers (the Northwest's answer to Krogers or Safeway except more Walmart-ian in scale) around 6:30 hunting and gathering for the making of an epic dinner. Gary makes chili-pepper-infused cornbread and nutty stir fry, I make scalloped cheese & garlic taters, Heather makes a baked apple custard, and Andrew fries up a bunch o' chicken in his namesake lipid: BACON FAT. The band that cooks together is gustatory.

Yea verily.

And in the beginning there was the darkeness upon the waters, and LO! the waters were transmaugrified into bacon fat in which chicken was to be fried. And it was good. The diners smiled as they patted their swollen bellies.

And so, my fair readers, here's to fowl weather and pigs---a match made in Tacoma.

Sept 14 Enough about us

Some less narcisisstic and more sober thoughts occur to me...like these.

Deptartment of the old Chinese curse:

"May you live in interesting times"

And current events are rolling in, literally, in waves of brackish water. But, I dunno. Rather than being interesting, these events have a sick familiarity going way way back...some images pop into my head of 1660's London and its fires and I picture the monarch shrugging and saying to let the rabble burn. And then, tediously, century after century, the scarcity of bread is always met with metaphorical cake, and so on and on, down the line from one blindingly entitled inheritor of power to another from Marie Antoinette to Barbara & George Bush and their spawn (with his exhaustingly ill-equippedness to lead women and men into any kind of sane future).

Please, deliver us from this sort of scene repeating again & again.

amen.

And now one has got that off the old chest...

True Margrit activities for the day: Once again we are heading out soon for ANOTHER RADIO SHOW at KAOS radio. This one is the HUMPDAY HOEDOWN.

After that, the big event:

ANDREW'S FRIED CHICKEN
yum yum oh yum. I am pondering making some garlicky potatoes to go with--and Gary will make some of his excellent cornbread.

Happy Birthdays on sept 14th:

Dwight Van de Vate III--happy returns, bro!

and Eugene Eichler-- think of you always.

More Olympia Notes

The Hookah Lounge is immediately amongst the odder places we have played. Not quite like the Hawaiian Princess Schooner around Alcatraz at Sunset, where Margrit, Chris Martin, Chris McGrew & I played what felt like a combination of a Tilt-A-Whil and a log-flume ride, but fun nonetheless... It's like a big living room, couches & throw pillows everywhere. And since a hookah vaporizes the tobacky, there is surprisingly little smoke. Very young crowd, a very good gig.

If you're in Olympia and want a good organic meal, try The Souphouse. Excellent homemade soups and salads. I had a field greens salad with lots of stuff & a lemon tahini dressing w/ an incredible red lentil soup, and Adnrew opted for the Pazole, a spicy Mexican chicken and pork soup. Probably the healthiest meal we've had on this trip.

Miraculously, we have thus far avoided a single visit to any fast food places (weel, if you discount the Ezell's Famous Chicken Margrit and I succumed to in the Fred Meyers' parking lot near Andrew's house the other day. Not bad, as good or better than Popeye's and certainly better than that "other" national brand.

Sept 13, 2005

This will go down in True Margrit histoire as The Very Very Long Day......

We get a call from the Tacoma Weekly from a writer needing the song titles to help him in writing a review of SEAWORTHY!!
Always quick to help someone helping us, we jet over to their office--which makes us late to our radio gig at KAOS radio on D'Land's THE WORLD IS FUNKT show. We barely make it with any moments to spare, then we go into town (Olympia being the town in question now) and drop gear off at tonight's venue and then catch lunch & then I head back to KAOS to do the RADIO 8 BALL show with Andras Jones (radio 8 ball is very cool!-- it's a call-in-divination-show where the callers' questions are answered by the magical mystery of pop music) . Michael Penn is the other guest (via phone)--we keep passing like ships in the gig harbor: we played Music Millennium on sept 11 & Michael Penn played there on sept 12--ooooooh)

The show is done at 8 and then I head back to the venue for a two set gig that ends at 11 pm

YOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!


We play at Fire and Earth: a very chill hookah bar (how chill you may ask? Their sign for the show stated: "True Margrit 9ish")

The air was thick with tobacco and melody. A grand time was had by all-- and not just because I had on my favorite socks AND favorite bra. Our new friends from Melon Baller quartet and Feedbackarach were there-- which was damned nice since they heard us just on Saturday!

palindrome spelled backwards is emordnilap

able I was ere I saw olympia

Sept 12. 2005

Well, now. We are so very fancy-schmancy now, cuz we justt dropped off our "stock" (that is, CDs) at our distributor, BURNSIDE DISTRIBUTION CORP!!! and then we dropped Cds off at CD BABY too!!

yowza

SEAWORTHY is out and about on the town. Git git get get gat begat ye one.

lapse of time....

Dept of shows that were great, but you were never totally sure if they were gonna happen:
Mississippi Studios! A super-duper-nice venue, yessirree BOB (bob spelled backwards is bob)

It was a real joy to play at a real live listening room. We open for Jenna Mammina whose lovely appreciative crowd welcomes us into their bosom (not literally, ok? I just mean they dug us and gave love right back as we played our hearts out)

The show was never exactly confirmed until a week before we left SF, so we were a wee little bit nervous, but upon further examaination we do see "True Margrit at Mississippi Studios sept 12" in the current Willamette Week-- a nice hint that all is on.

Mississippi Studios shows silent movies in their back yard and for that alone Gary & I love them. It is a rather a magical-ish experience all-round (although we do so miss Andrew at our duo gig, dammit).

We trio, we three
How can one be three
When one is short one
or cups overflow with quintets of oboes
flugelhorns & cellos?
Octets of tympanis?

nay!
just we three are one
piano, drums & bass please.

After gig we head out got Tacoma & get here around 1:30 am-ish. I am trying to read GOD EMPEROR OF DUNE. Very weird & affecting brain. Will report further.

sept 11, 2005

Yodelay hee hoo
&
doo bee doo

Today we pop down to Portland for an in-store thingie at Music Millennium. A pretty pretty drive down yonder yes indeedy.


We arrive...and lo and behold: we are on the marquee in big bold CAPS (and I like the font)!!!! (Gary longingly lamented the lack of marquees late last night...and then I wrote of it alliteritively).

Lovely it is to see my splendid family and their smiling faces in Portland! My brother Dan and his wife Karen and their son Elan are all there, and some friends, including members of Elan's hip hop band: the State of Mind Crew (you can check them out on myspace!)

Spookily, the sound man's name is Gary and the consignment guy is Andrew... so our other Music Millennium hostess, Amy, accommodatingly agreed to change her name to Margrit. Too kind, because I wouldn't wanna be wthout my very own personal doppelganger. All the other kids have doppelgangers..& It could be very useful...hmmmm. Maybe they could book the next tour.

They have a kick-ass setup with a nice new stage & PA and also they give us t-shirts and a discount on merch. Lovely & SWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET. I get a new sticker for the keyboard and presents for a special someone. (shhhh)

We go and devour pickles and a variety of deli sandwiches and salmon hash at Kornblatts and then chill with the famille.

Altogether it's a day that's stunning and thrilling-- two words which mashed together make: "shrunning" -- a word that should really catch on (if we try).

oh let's try.

The Road to Bellingham is paved with fish

Saturday, Sept 10th

Heather & I are squished into the "rumble seat" of the truck and we are stuck in traffic and we are stuck maybe being late to the gig... we'll see... At least we have the Griddle CD to enjoy! And before that, the Vicious Fish CD! yeah! And before that we indulged our vanity and listened to the podcast SEATTLE AND BEYOND that featured : True Margrit! Not just once but twice with more promised! Thanks to Ken Clark!!! You do rock!!!!!!!!!!

OK, we are moving. We are concerned about getting up to Bellingham in time to make it to the yummy fish & chips restaurant that Stephanie Haffner & I went to last time we came up here to play.

lapse o'time...











We get to Bellingham in PLENTY of time as it turns out. Bay Street Coffeehouse was called Stuart's Coffeehouse when I was here with Stephanie. It was funkier (meaning: dirtier) back in 2003. Now they have a new wee stage and a rather nice PA (rather nice cuz it makes the vocals real loud). We start our set and instantly a couple appears from the street and commence slow dancing to our rendition of TOUCHING DOWN IN KNOXVILLE. They make it through over half of our set... even the time-signature-switching "margorhtyms" of VANITY LOVES COMPANY. Stalwarts! Aye.

I am afraid I don't get to have any fish & chips due to a weird tummyache--but the rest of the shore party samples the local fare at Boss Tweed's Fish and Chips Restaurant (why Boss Tweed!?? One reflects on the fact there's much to learn about Bellingham Histoire.)

AND not to be missed right next to the venue: the Museum of Radios and Electricity! We got a charge outta that.

& we head south...

Le Voyeur, Olympia

Friday, Sept 9th

Dept. of foods eaten by members of True Margrit on friday:
eggs, bacon, toast, fried chicken, cold pizza, black bean quesedilla, cheesecake.

Club played by True Margrit: Le Voyeur in Olympia. Newspaper blurb: the Olympian.

We met many splendid new musicians cuz we played with Feedbackarach and Melon Baller Quartet. The Voyeur has done some work on their acoustical issues so it is no longer a clangy concrete cube, now it's a concrete cube with some soft stuff on the walls which helps the sound. And the show? We came, we saw, we rocked. Veni vidi rock-ie.

And we met some splendid flk who wanna play SEAWORTHY on the radio too! and one lovely fellow (D'LAND!) invited us for another appearance on KAOS radio on his show "the World is FUNKT"

yay

Le Voyeur has some tasty food too. Ask Gary...

We head outta Eugene... well, we TRY to head out...

Dept. of Photo Ops due to getting lost:
Plaster sculpture Garden
Patrician Mobile Home Park






Dept. of It's a Sad Day When Gary Hobish is the Voice of Reason:
Gary is usually right (don't tell him)- so when he errs on the side of going 20 miles out of the way for the mythical $2.69 a gallon gas, well, we must give him shit. yes. BUT! then we saw the lovely sights we might have missed otherwise... yes.

Dept of misspellings:
Graffiti in the Key Stone cafe- "disexics untie" (yes I've heard that one, but perhaps it is funnier when it's "dyslexics untie"), and outside the Keystone Cafe a lonely piece of cardboard is inscribed with the enigmatic message- "Eugne..." Andrew & I decide with an umlaut it could be a Grateful Dead influenced Eugene Metal band... or not... In Salem we have a blurb in the paper which misspells the lyrics to Deliver Me (from SEAWORTHY) . The line: "the glamour in slavery is being chosen for delivery" is quoted as: "the grammar in slavery is being chosen for delivery..." HMMMM Iinteresting... it means something... but ? what? grammar is oppressive? well, I nevvver misxspell anythumg.

We have a nice mellowish set at the cafe in Salem and head out to Tacoma, beckoned by the comfy beds waiting for sleepers at Andrew and Heather's house. Around midnight we pass the gleaming seductive bridges and lights of Portland. Soon after we enter Washington State with its stylized George Washington-head-silouhettes with highway numbers notated where his brain would be if he were a living being. There are stars out, especially the big dipper. We pass the 45th Parallel & eventually we reach Tacoma.

and at last: we sleep.

Sam Bond's Garage, Eugene

Afternoon: We jam with Brad in his groovy studio. Professor Ngulu watches benevolently from the Hammond B3.

7pm: Sam Bonds is like a very spacious nice- smelling well lit barn for music and tasty eats. Dan Jones opens with his sweet tenor voice and some bittersweet words. We play. WE charm, we love we share. And we debut the anti-epic: bob spells bob (only to be heard live for GOD's sake). Visible Men follow us with a sizzling set of their own piano pop. I hope we play with 'em again. My extra-special friends Lisa Haber, David Haber & Tom show up to my great delight.

Life in Eugene (Sept.6)

One might think from the previous post that this has been a restaurant tour thus far, but after a few tours you really appreciate quality food where you can find it!

The radio broadcasts have been loads of fun. We were on KWVA for a full hour this afternoon, playing 5 or 6 songs live in the studio and talking with Mr. Random (on his Armadillo show- Don't ask.) The contact was set up by my old buddy, the Rev. Marc Time (ex-drummer for the Jars). He has a streaming radio show from KWVA- The Sunday Morning Hangover that is well worth getting up at 8AM on Sunday for. (Did I just write that?) Back in the day, Marc and I were Djs at KALX together, and he was the first DJ in the Bay Area to play the Residents. (We both got fired for playing too much "punk rock-" this was early 1977.) He and his wife Barb- another old friend- joined us at Ring Of Fire and amazed everybody with their rapier wit and dogged insistence at referring to me as "Armin" all night.

BTW, streaming audio from this and future radio broadcasts on this tour (check our tour schedule) will be up on our website soon.

Our first actual gig is tomorrow night. Can't wait!

On the air in Eugene

Professor Ngulu's dander is wreaking havoc on Gary's immune system.

And so: we seek food. Brad leads us through the wilds of downtown Eugene. We eat fish sandwiches and drink root beer...

Lapse of time... Eugene, OR is above sea level- stay tuned for exact readings.

We play live on two radio stations: KWVA and KRVM. It's fun . Poor Andrew has to play in the hall cuz his kick drum won't fit through the doorframe.

And then we get down to business: Thai Food at RING OF FIRE. Big servings big flavors big bill. The star of the show: the appetizer beef satay with haunting smokiness and lemon grass and the Thai custard- creamy hot w/ coconut ice cream, yes yes Alpha & omega/ appetizer & dessert. Good night.

True Margrit's Pacific NW tour begins!

Monday sept 5, 2005:
Seaworthy tour 1st NW leg
San Francisco
sea level

departure planned for 9am
departure occurred at noon.

Gary has provided 5777 songs for the tour iPod. Whilst enjoying tunes I am re-reading Children of Dune. It occurs to one that Frank Herbert perhaps indulged in a lot o consciousness expanding substances. If you have read any of his books you know what I am sayin. out there.
anyhoo.

Department of today's top three iPod shuffle segues (don't try it at home- it's dangerous):
3) Somebody's Gonna get their Head Kicked in Tonight by the REZILLOS into: Mysterioso by the Carla Bley Band;
2) Down by the Sea by the Strawbs into: It's Nice to be With You by the Monkees
1) True Margrit's very own song Jamie (from OUR cd Deceptively True) into: Catch a Wave by the BEACH BOYS

Dept. of hunting and gathering on the road: If you time your trip to Oregon properly you will be lucky like us and stop for dinner in Ashland at the Wild Goose Cafe. I had the stuffed eggplant with red bell-pepper sauce- yes! oh yes! It came with buttery garlic toasts.

Little toasts! Oh! Little toasts!
Shining bright in the plates of the night
what clever hand buttered you in the kitchen of delight
little toasts shaped a bit like little boats

As good as my dish was, after I tasted Gary's pecan-crusted snapper I couldn't help but look longingly at his plate as the fish disappeared.

We arrive at our first destination (Eugene) around 11:30. Our good friend Bradley Erichsen is hosting us at his super-cool and comfy new studio (HARMONY STUDIO). He has a beautiful new orange fluffy kitten we have now dubbed Professor Ngulu Walter Mondale.