Colorado was great to us as usual!  The drive out leaving the state into Wyoming was beautiful to say the least.  We were welcomed into Jackson with a nice write up in the local paper. Check it out here: http://tinyurl.com/jacksonarticle. We are resting up today in town for our show tonight at the Silver Dollar Bar.  From here we head up to Montana for our return to the Filling Station with Plucking Fastered featuring Emilie formerly of Flatt Cheddar.  We played with Flatt Cheddar years ago (2012 to be exact).  The recording of that show can be found here: https://archive.org/details/GL2012-11-30.bozeman. 

Well we got off to a late start but wasted no time getting into the fun in Boulder on Sunday.  The drive was a grueling 14 hours Minneapolis to Boulder, but we got to the gig in time for a nice casual dinner, a quick nap in the van, some black tea and then show time.  First set was a little rough working out the van cramps and the altitude change.  By end of the first set we were playing well and getting the folks dancing.  Second set was a hoot as well.  Continued to polish up some of our newer material as well as explore some new tunes.  Overall, a great start to the tour.

Tonight we head down to Denver for a set or two at Quixote's.  As is true deadhead fashion, the official line up and set times are still in the works, but no matter - every night at the Dead bar is a good time!  From Denver we head up into the mountains for our first stint in Frisco, Colorado at Barkley's Ballroom.  Very excited to see what this new spot has to offer!

At the end of fall tour we played in Winter Park, Colorado.  The venue was nice enough to put us up in a nice big warm ski lodge.  The lodge itself was not open to the public because it was out of season.  So essentially we were housed in an empty 150 room mansion.  We took full advantage and the result is our first attempt at film.  Enjoy this D list horror short!  We are performing this weekend in Grand Marais at the Gun Flint Tavern for Halloween.  

The drive from Moscow to Boise is unlike any other.  South on the 95.  If you have never made that drive, I highly recommend it.  Some of the most breathtaking sweeping vistas I have seen on our travels.  Unfortunately, no pictures from the drive this time through...maybe next time.  

We got into Boise late afternoon and headed down to the venue shortly after.  I was greeted by Todd (pictured below with me and a couple of his Cajons).  A little back story.  Last time through Idaho, my Meinl Cajon crapped out on me unexpectedly.  I was worried that I wouldn't be able to find a suitable replacement because I had been playing the same model of Cajon for nearly six years and I have become rather particular to the sound I am looking for.  After calling around to a few shops, one shop on the north end of town mentioned that, yes, they do carry the meinl cajon I was looking for but they also carry some local made cajons that I should check out.  I agreed to head that and gave lip service to the fact that I'd check out the local wares, though in my head I was already set on picking up my Meinl that I was used to and moving on.  I have seen a lot of small shop cajons on our travels and have never found one that is better than the model I was used to.  Well, all that changed that day in Boise.  I played around on the different cajons available and the Chavez cajon was by far the best sounding cajon of the bunch.  Needless to say, I picked up the drum that sounded the best.  Once I got back from the tour, I reached out to Todd to thank him for the excellent sounding drum and requested a custom build that mimicked the larger body size I was used to.  He was more than happy to accommodate and built me a great sounding drum that has the low end punch that I have come to expect from my cajons.  

Long story short, I had the pleasure of talking cajons with another man that is as enthused about these drums as I am.  He showed me some prototype ideas he is working up (nothing that I can share with you here) and we exchanged ideas and feedback.  I will get a picture of my cajon posted up here soon for y'all.  In the meantime, head over to chavezcajon.com and check out what Todd has to offer.  These are definitely some of the best American made cajons I have had the pleasure of playing

We had a great time last night with Ricky Powell and Acoustic Laboratory and Humbucker at Nectars. Great musicianship throughout the evening. It was nice to get a flavor of the different Americana happening in Seattle. Pictured here is one from our set as well as a couple of Humbucker.

It was an easy drive to Moscow (Idaho not Russia). A foggy morning through the Cascade Mountains spent cruising in neutral down the hills.  We are staying at our usual dive, the super 8 but got some very unusual attention from the staff. Somehow they got the impression that we are a Christian band and stopped by our room inquiring about the band. This was slightly disconcerting because I only told them two of us would be staying in the room to dodge some fees but when they stopped by there were most definitely more than two road weary grumpy grown men to greet them. They didn't seem to notice however.

Hanging down at Johns Alley now. Lou just took the stage for his first opening set of this run.

Here are a couple photos from the drive in to the show last night.  First one is the foggy mountains as we left Seattle.  The last three along the bottom are from downtown Kennewick.  Once we cleared the foggy pass, we drove along the Columbia river and through a lot of orchards and vineyards.  Once we got to Kennewick, we were greeted by a statue of the grapes pictured below.  The downtown section of Kennewick is predominantly historic buildings with sculptures on each corner.  We played the Roxy.  The tiles leading to the door are pictured below.  Fun evening with Tumble Down Badger!  Off to Portland tonight for a gig with Wooden Sleepers at Hawthorne Theatre.

The drive was long but it was beautiful.  We routed through South Dakota and the Black Hills.  Stopped in Billings and stayed with our friend David.  He's a mover and shaker on the Billings scene with a new album that just came out.  The band is Satsang. Great catching up with him and kind of refreshing to just hang out without a show involved.  From there we finished the last thirteen hours straight to Seattle but were sidelined about 70 miles outside of town due to rock blasting on the Sasquamie Pass (spell check might be in order).  After killing about an hour and a half in Easton, WA we finished the drive into Seattle.  A couple of days of relaxation in Lower Queen Anne and then a drive today into Kennewick for our first show in Washington EVER and the first of this leg of our fall tour.  Opening up the night tonight for Tumble Down Badger.  Tomorrow we are heading into Oregon for a show in Portland with Wooden Sleepers.  Both of these are new markets for us and I am excited to see how we are received. 

Loading the van and starting the long drive to Kinnewick Washington today.  Excited to get into a new area and see how they respond to our brand of Americana!  Also we are very excited to announce our involvement in the Denver Greenway Festival.  This festival is an urban sustainable living festival.  Find out more information via their facebook page https://www.facebook.com/GreenWayFestival.  We will be performing at this festival from 2-330 in the afternoon before our show at Quixote's.   

Well it is that time of year again - Fall Tour!  Some of the nicest weather no matter what part of the country you find yourself in.  We are excited to unveil the first leg of our fall tour schedule with a handful of brand new tour spots for us.  This will mark our first visit to Washington with stops in Kennewick and Seattle.  We are pretty excited to bring our brand of improvisational americana to the pacific northwest.  I'll be sure to check back soon as more dates along the coast come in.  Hop on over to our "Tour" tab for a complete list of show dates.

Its been a minute since we checked in - sorry to neglect.  The album has been available for about two months now and has been getting some great attention!  Lots of good radio play from New York to Oregon and lots of places in between!  We've had some great write ups from press all over the country to!  Check one review out here (http://tinyurl.com/o7nbanx).  We even had a write up from a blog in Sweden!  Needless to say but we are very excited as we move forward into the summer months.  We've got a great run of shows coming up in June which will cover South Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, and Colorado.  Check out tour page for the full list of dates.  Check back in soon!