year of a thousand roommates: "thanks for doing such a great job."

i'm still not sure exactly why this happens, but people often thank me for a job well done. please realize that i, under normal circumstances, would greatly appreciate this, except the situation here is that i'm sitting behind a table selling people things they want, or reading a book. i'm not convincing anyone they should pay for things they don't want or entertaining them at all. and, it's really not that hard to hand someone a shirt and a five dollar bill in return for their twenty. even greater/more ridiculous though, is when the above comments are followed by drinks, as happened last night. a girl came over with a guinness, handed it to me and thanked me. the weirdest part: i'm not sure i dealt with her once the whole night. i don't remember her at all, other than when she handed me one of my favorite drinks for free. sure, i can understand if someone asks to try on three different shirts in two different sizes and then buys a cd instead, then thank me for being nice and patient, which i am. that's totally understandable and appreciated. but, when you give me money and we exchange pleasantries, sure that's wonderful, but you needn't then go out of your way to tell me how great of a job i'm doing. it's kind, don't get me wrong, but i feel like there's something else involved, perhaps a misunderstood sense of hierarchy. like maybe they think since i'm on tour with a guy they love that i'm somehow special as well or more important than they are. but that's not the case at all, you know? sure i happen to ride on the bus with dudes they like but i'm just a guy slinging merch, hustling every day to play shows, sing songs, drink beers and generally avoid traditional responsibilities. but, if you want to by me beer or tip me, of course i have no issues with this at all. it's just weird i guess. but i do appreciate it. so don't stop. ha.

this is the fourth day of the tour and it's going pretty well. there are 12 people on this bus, which if you've ever been on a tour bus before, you realize that's pretty much it's limit. that's how many bunks there are, sure, but when everyone is awake and on the bus, it feels packed the gills. boo hoo, the bus is full. yes, i know, the complaints of a tour bus. seriously though, i love van touring, and while there are so many perks of being on a bus, i can't wait to get in the van in a few weeks with my boys in Let Me Run. we're headed down the east coast spreading trouble for the month of june. it's going to rule.

but texas is treating us well. i'm in dallas right now and i love the weather. i'm sure i would hate it here over the summer, but being here in the spring is absolutely gorgeous and i am happy to be alive here.

and now for a further photo update:

one day i'm going to by this car for dave. USA! USA!!

on the flight down. it's a bit blurry, and i don't like advertising, but that's a pretty great slogan.

this is the park where jac and i went to drink joose.

shovels and rope, an awesome country duo of lovely married folk.

ponderosa. think lynard skynard and love your life.

we had a day off in monroe, LA. since the two opening bands did not get to play the first show in atlanta, the drummer from Ponderosa, darren (who's also in butch's band) decided he was going to dip his toes in the DIY pond and called a local bar asking if his band and the other opener, Shovels and Rope, could come play a set. the bar said they couldn't pay them but would let them drink for free. bad idea. so, after eating a meal at olive garden we headed down to the bar and watched a great set by both bands. the locals loved it, they sold some merch and i'm sure drank more than their fill at the bar, so i say well done.

a side note about the olive garden:
at this point just about anywhere i go outside of new jersey/new york, i get asked if i'm in a band. so you can only imagine what it looks like when seven dudes with tattoos walk into a family restaurant in rural louisiana. the family at the table next to us sent over their teenaged daughter to ask us if we were in a band, and since we all feel awkward about dealing with this question, we answered in odd, unsavory, confusing ways. this poor young girls discomfort was palpable and she eventually crept back to her table feeling just as weird as we did, i'm sure. after the meal a slightly more talkative friend brought the lot of them over and probed the issue further and we were more prepared for it this time. the conversation went more smoothely and luckily the folks and grandparents appreciated it and we felt we'd evened things out. on our walk back to the bus to grab the kids some cds an SUV came screeching by, and a girl threw the door open, almost tumbling out, to scream, "ya'll think you're rock stars, but you're ugly!" the thing is, none of us recognized her, so we were just plum confused. why so much animosity towards us? we didn't do or say anything to her. we later found out from a guy who did magic tricks for us in the bar (really? seriously?) that when we were walking around the mall the general consensus by the mall folk was that we thought we were too cool and it spread like wild fire in the underground mall circuit. wow. that's ridiculous. anywho, we called a cab and six of us hopped into what was both the weirdest and most expensive cab ride any of us had ever been part of. understanding the cab driver was like trying to fight through sea weed infested waters to talk to a fish. man, that was some accent. then when we got out he charged us 5 dollars per person. i've never heard of that before. usually it's a flat rate plus a per person extra charge, but not that much. we ended up getting a ride back from him as well, so with tip the guy made about 70 bucks off us to drive us about six miles round trip. oh, and the best part about him: he pointed out a strip club and when someone asked if it was any good he said, "no, not really." guess where he spent the evening while we were in the bar. exactly. "actually man, i think it's improved a little, want to come over and check it out?" no, thanks man.