For years now, I have wanted to go on tour. I hemmed, I hawed, I did other strange things that started with the letter h, though mainly, I wrote an album and drove around in a strange old Mercedes that had no real trunk space. Flash forward to 2010 when I decided that enough was enough and that I was heading out on the road. Now equipped with an Audi aka The Spaceship and an almost done debut album, I struck out to visit friends and strangers up and down the west coast of the United States of America. Oh, such fun things awaited me!
First stop was a night in Marin to visit my sister, brother in law and niece on my way to Portland. This is what it looked like when you take a picture with an iPhone using your left hand while driving over the Richmond bridge.
Upon arriving I had the pleasure of seeing my niece Sabrina. If you do not think she is cute, you are clearly 1. not human 2. hate everything that is good in the world.
Soon, it was time for my very first trip through northern California all the way up to Portland. It’s embarrassing to admit that I never went on a road trip as a child or an adult really, so this was my first BIG DRIVE. Aside from Shasta and the woods that follow it, the top of California above the Central Valley seems rather extraneous to the time space continuum. However, all that empty space gave me time to clear my head, listen to new mixes and appreciate the modern wonders of the iPod shuffle. This trip was powered by Apple, apparently. There were also some hilarious signs and some of those views that I hear people call “scenic.”
I made it to Portland in about 9 1/2 hours which means that I was likely traveling at warp speed for a portion of the trip. It’s entirely possible that I just drove that fast because my butt was starting to get numb after hour 6 but I persevered. Once there, I settled into my dear friend Ryan’s house and we got veggie burgers and beer up the street. It was noted that Ryan looks disconcertingly like Ben Folds. For better or worse, Ryan is not in fact Ben Folds.
This is what my bedroom looked like on tour. Couches became my new BFF. However, I learned that my insomniac ways translate strangely to sleeping in new environments. I neurotically brought my own pillow and ear plugs but neglected to bring an eye mask to block out light (if that isn’t the most Jewish princess-y statement I have ever made, I don’t know what is.). Things went mostly well except for the night when I dreamed about going to a chocolate shop and awoke to discover that I was attempting to eat my own ear plug which I had removed from my ear in my sleep. I hope that none of you awake with a wax earplug in your mouth because it’s all sorts of confusing.
The next day I woke up bright and early by Ginger the adorable doggie who lives at Ryan’s house.
8am almost wasn’t horrible because it involved this moment.
After Ginger left for her walk, I promptly passed out again and THEN got up for real to go to birthday lunch with Samantha aka ShiverstheNinja. We stuffed our faces with pasta and all was well in the world.
That night I played my very first out of LA show at the Twin Paradox Cafe in Portland. It was an absolutely darling venue with a nice old upright and sweet staff who gave me delicious tea and let me webcast the entire set. They host an open mic every Monday so if you are in Portland, do swing by and give this spot some love. They hold a special place in my heart as my very first tour stop. Look how pretty it is inside! Go visit them now!
Before I drove up to Tacoma, I had the pleasure of spending some time at Powell’s Books and having a picnic in Cathedral Park. Couldn’t have imagined a more idyllic spot or better company.
Next stop, Tacoma. Having graduated from the University of Puget Sound, Tacoma has a special place in my heart. I knew I had arrived when it immediately smelled horrible and Radiohead came on my shuffle as if to signify yes, Tacoma still smells funky and dour music matches the scenery perfectly. Upon arrival, I went to Lele’s on Hilltop and was delighted to see that not only had they expanded but that they redecorated to look like some sort of deranged Tiki room from an alternate universe. Photographs do not do the space justice. Suffice to say their spring rolls and swimming angel were still amazing.
In the morning, I followed my friend Robert’s suggestion and went to Valhalla for coffee. Good god. It was divine. Following that, I decided to pretend I was in college again. Visiting the UPS campus made me feel like an old creepster but after being mistaken for a freshman in the cafe, I guess I must not look THAT old and creepy. I had the pleasure of seeing my thesis adviser and several of the honors program staff so I was feeling pretty hopped up on nostalgia when I arrived for my show at the Mandolin Cafe. They had a lovely baby grand and gracious sound guy who wasn’t phased by my strange coterie of instruments. I happily played songs for a bunch of friends and a rather befuddled dinner crowd as well as a few lovely ladies who heard about my show on this weird thing called the Internet. The highlight of that show was definitely the little boy who was mystified by the marxophone. He sat with his dad watching the set and then came up to say hello afterward. He cautiously pressed the tines on the marxophone and seemed ridiculously pleased with the results.
To wrap up my uber-nostalgic time in Tacoma, I stayed at my old house where I lived with my housemate Cheryl, who is now married to Erik and has an insanely cute dog named Lulu. I know musicians are supposed to take pictures of venues and stuff for all this promotion business but frankly, I just like taking pictures of awesome dogs.
Also, I went shopping at Vanity Vintage in Tacoma on 6th street where I found a gorgeous beaded dress from the 20′s that I wore for one of the house shows I played in Lafayette. If you are in Tacoma, GO THERE NOW. If you are not in Tacoma, check out their Etsy shop http://www.etsy.com/shop/melsvanity
for they are made of pure girlish frippery.
My next stop was in Seattle and I was so worried about traffic that I got there about 2 hours early. I must remember for my next trip that coming from LA, my sense of traffic is completely skewed so when someone in another region says there is bad traffic, what they mean is that cars may slow down for a bit and then things go back to normal, not THE ROAD BECOMES A PARKING LOT BEWARE FOR YOUR SANITY. At least I ended up on the most quintessentially Seattle street ever.
My show at the Mix was super fun and the audience was definitely one of my favorite crowds I’ve ever had at a show. There were omnichord enthusiasts and guys yelling “Yeah!!” after my songs so basically it was pretty fantastic. I definitely have to hit this spot again when I go back on tour.
It’s entirely possible that I am a masochist for I drove to Portland straight after my Seattle show and then drove to the bay area the very next day. My butt was yet again displeased with me. Remind me next time I tour to get into superlative shape so when I drive for hours on end, I don’t feel like I am slowly morphing into the Marshmellow Man from Ghostbusters. Once in Marin, I hung out again with my smooshy niece yet again and then it was off to Lafayette for my house shows with the incomparable Unwoman!
In case you are unaware, Unwoman is the ridiculously talented Erica Mulkey. You can check her out http://www.unwoman.com and indulge yourself in her lovely tunes.
The house shows themselves were definitely the most intimate shows of the tour. When I first opened my mouth to sing, it was so quiet in the room that I nearly swallowed my own words. It’s far easier for me to play in a room full of noisy people who I have to lure into my set than a room of silent, attentive audience members who are already there to be appreciative. The thing that quells my nerves when performing is the idea that no one is really listening (silly, I know, but effective) so I had to face these performances head on. Once I got into the swing of things, I had a wonderful time connecting with the people who gathered to hear us play and with the awesome webcast audience. It certainly helped that I got to see two fantastic sets from Erica!
I got to spend time with Miss Unwoman and her family, who were such gracious and fun hosts. We need to work on teleporting so we can spend more time together. Also, I need to invest in a corset because Erica is blinding me with adorable hotness and I look like the fabled Boob-leg. It is a mystery to me where the rest of my torso goes in photographs.
If you missed our sets, you can watch the show from Saturday here http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/9219724 and from Sunday here http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/9238926
Now I am back in LA, wrapping my album and listening to all the final mixes. Please sign up on my email list so we can keep in touch and I can tell you the latest news on “As We Are.” This tour was such a magical experience and I can’t even dream of what is to come…
