Westward...

Well, Danny Schmidt and I are one week in to our "World Tour of the West." It's been eventful thus far. We left Austin last Tuesday and headed to Lubbock. Driving through west Texas might not be the most exciting thing ever, but we managed to entertain ourselves by counting dead skunks for a good four hours. I know, it sounds like a dumb game, but you wouldn't believe how many we counted......26!! We also listened to one of my Favorite Woody Guthrie tribute records (Till We Outnumber them). It seemed appropriate, as we were driving through a very windy west Texas. It felt like the dust bowl....

Our first show of the tour was in Lubbock at LaDiosa Cellars, a great little wine bar in the warehouse district (at least I think that's where we were). We played the gig with local Lubbock artists, Violet Lea and Anthony Garcia....they were fantastic. Oh, and LaDiosa makes their own wine, and that's always fun.

Day two consisted of a very long drive to Taos, New Mexico, where I used to live. We played at the historic Taos Inn to a great crowd of folk. After the performance, we headed out to The Alley Cantina for a little Whiskey and blues (The Cullen Winter's Blues Band....a Taos favorite, for sure). On Friday we headed toward Colorado and landed in Carbondale, where we played a show at Steve's Guitars. It was incredibly intimate and lovely. Anyone that lives in Colorado and is able to make it to a show at Steve's should do so. He has a killer line-up and a comfortable listening room for folks that enjoy listening to singer/songwriters. It's worth the drive to Carbondale to meet Steve and visit his space.

From Carbondale, Danny and I made the trip to Steamboat Springs, Colorado (another place I used to live). I must admit, it may not be the smartest time to be traveling through the mountains of Colorado. With record snow and with no four wheel drive, we've had a few stressful moments (I'll get to that in a little bit). Our show in Steamboat was at Perry-Mansfield Performing Arts School in a beautiful Pavilion with acoustics to match. Had a fun show there despite the wacky snowy roads.

Super bowl Sunday was a day off from playing music. It started with an early morning sledding trip and ended with martinis by the fire. In between consisted of a car accident and meeting up with old friends. The meeting up with old friends was fantastic. The car accident sucked. BUT, everyone involved is fine. No whiplash or anything of the likes. Just a little bit of the shakes and upset stomachs. Oh, and a dent in a car we don't own (sorry Donna and Phil). EEEEEEEK.

We're now in Denver in a very cozy home. We'll be playing in Boulder tonight at the Laughing Goat and then will head to a few other parts of Colorado to finish out the tour.

Welp, it seems this is another long blog. If I would just write everyday like originally intended, it'd be a lot easier to deal with.....

I hope ya'll are doing well. Take good care and don't forget to vote!