From Boise to Salt Lake and then some....

On the morning of the 23rd in Boise, my breakfast/lunch plate was graced with a beautiful BLT sandwich. Fresh greens with thick sliced tomatoes and crispy bacon on two slices of lightly toasted wheat bread. Bacon baCoN BACON!!! Bacon is one of the best foods a man can eat on the road. I am totally convinced. Its greasy goodness coats the stomach and it is scientifically proven to help a hangover. No joke! Heard it on NPR.

Some Idaho landscape

Okay. Enough about bacon. I could go on for days about bacon. What I really want to write about is how much I love Salt Lake City, Utah. That’s right. I love Salt Lake City. The first time our old tour van, the notorious 1974 Ford Econoline Conversion van (bless its soul!), rolled into SLC I had reservations. I mean, it gets a bad rap sometimes because of the whole Morman thing. But Salt Lake City and especially inner SLC is a warm and welcoming place to us liberal folk from the West Coast. When I’m on the Road for a month there is nothing better than playing rock n roll in a town that is full of generous and appreciative music fans. It also doesn’t hurt that’s it’s a beautiful place with bountiful bike lanes. But, how the hell can anyone get around in this town? Salt Lake! Tell me please! 400 S, which travels east west, intersects with 400 E, which travels north south. And I know that it has to do with the whole Temple thing and all but…what the? Really? If it wasn’t for our GPS unit named Gwendolyn, all of Weinland would have a drunkards sense of direction 24 hrs a day.

But don’t worry SLC, I still love you. Just get your damn street signs fixed.

Now on to Day 1. House Show.

I’m sort of new to the whole house show experience and I’m starting to really enjoy it. Friday night’s show was played under a small carport in the backyard of a house on a clear and cold night near South Salt Lake. I know the photo on the left doesn't show it, but there REALLY were 30 or so people shakin' it to stay warm. I could see my breath with every word I sang. Glad I had a bottle of Evans Williams (on sale for nine bucks! Liquor? In SLC? Huh?) at my side to warm me up through out our two hour set. Don’t worry, Mom, I shared the bottle with the band. We won over the crowd by the end with an audience participation dance off under a roof that couldn’t contain the shredding heartbeat breakin’ rock that eventually got the cops called. That’s right. The cops were called on Weinland. They got five phone calls down at the station. I can check that one off the list.

A sweet merch tower

Day 2

In just these few posts (I'm new to the blogging world) I can tell there is a theme emerging other than rock n roll. And because I have a metabolism that is through the roof, food is very central in my life. Two breakfasts are usually followed by lunch, tea, dinner, supper and maybe a midnight snack. However, when I’m on the Road it’s a little harder to satisfy the constant hunger in my belly. No one else in the band eats like I do, so I got to go with the flow when we only eat two meals a day. Thank God for the food box under the bench seat. Other wise I may shrivel up and become a human raisin.
Yesterday, after our sound check at the State Room, my hunger was fierce. I needed to fill a growing void and there is no better place to satisfy a hunger than the Red Iguana. The authentic Mexican menu features seven different mole options, with a few signature dishes like chile verde, burriots ahogados and chile colorado. I chose the former and was pleasantly surprised to taste a rich, smoky and slightly spicy simmered beef with homemade refried beans and warm flour tortillas. This was a dream come true. Best food experience ever in Salt Lake City and could be encroaching on the Top 5 Thunder Saving Meals of all time! Unfortunately, I ate so much that when I stepped on stage I felt like the kid who turned into a blueberry from Willy Wonka and Chocolate Factory. It wasn’t my best show, to be honest. But sometimes life saving measures are needed even if they have sedative like side effects. Luckily, Adam was in prime form flattering the crowd and laying the ground work for Greensky Bluegrass. Greensky Bluegrass played some off the best bluegrass that I have ever heard. It makes sense that they won the Telluride Bluegrass Festival Band Competition in 2006. Fantastic musicians. They also have the art of road travel down with their stereo/cooler combination. Brilliant. A cold beer and tunes during load out! I like these guys.

Greensky Bluegrass on stage at The State Room