::: sunny madison, wi :::

Do check out the new single "four-thirty" ... and let me know what you think! It's the first track from the new CD, which hits Canada on August 24 and the US on August 31.

Also, you can request to hear it on folk radio stations in the Northeast US, Ontario Canada, and in Honolulu & a few places in Alaska. List of stations/djs coming soon. This sort of thing really helps (requesting a song).

Look for yet another streaming track from the new CD toward the end of July...

xox
lis

::: madison, wi :::

Lately i feel lazy, no matter how many lyrics get written or shows get added to the schedule. Seems so heartless, though, to blame that on the heat and blue skies. So I won't... but I'm considering blaming it on Congress. Before I get into it - serious thanks to my Madison friends & fans. My residency at the hearty Great Dane Pub downtown is an oasis of relaxation every Wednesday. I've even learned a couple Tom Waits tunes to play in the garden. Still looking forward to getting back on the road in August, though. Canada first, it looks like. Then Joe & I will descend on the Northeastern US, bodhran, djembe & guitars at the ready. By the end of September, I will (finally and truly) be on the West Coast again.

On to the real source of the lazy cloud... helplessness. Sometimes it's easy to get bogged down by injustice, and your own individual inability to correct it. Effecting change takes immense effort and constant activity. And voice. Big fat, squeaky-wheel vocals. For example, take Mr. Bush & Congress & their flirtation with bigotry. A constitutional amendment to federally strip certain Americans of their right to marry. How does one combat such an obscene suggestion, without Michael Moore-ing the issue into the ground?

commitment/love versus Man/Woman. Which is more essential to marriage? Clearly, the former is more important for the stamina of a relationship. I wonder what husband & wife out there would be pleased if their holy union were reduced to a mere pairing-off of opposite sexes by a constitutional amendment.

Marriage becomes a conversation topic when two people want to make their partnership a sacred one - not when two people realize that they are of different gender. (Can you imagine? "Hey, you're a man! I'm a woman! Should we marry?" And so on.) And if matrimony were really so base as to prioritize the pairing of any man with any woman over such things as commitment & love, people wouldn't be spending an average of $27,000 US on sentimental parties to celebrate the latter. So why invite bigotry into the US Constitution with this proposed amendment that bans women from marrying women and - horror of horrors, in this homosocial-homophobic world - men from marrying men? For ages, marriage has been defined primarily as an act of devotion & passion - not an act of chromosomes. And if we're to keep the "all men & women are created equal" clause, there can be no exceptions in the case of matrimony.

Get to MoveOn.org if you have something similar you'd like to say to your representative in Congress. Alternatively, bigots should feel free to google up a similar website where they might argue for the removal of civil rights for gay Americans.

I think I'll go for a walk now. Note to self: when feeling lazy and helpless, try speaking your mind. :)

xox
lis

::: madison, wi :::

I’m just about to take off for my nightmare tour – and I couldn’t possibly be feeling more optimistic. (Danger, Will Robinson – I am so superstitious about getting too excited for things. That’s usually when the roof caves in.) Oddly, in spite of the ridiculous trek I’ve set out for myself (it makes the daily mileage of the old 50 State Tour look like a quick walk through Central Park), I can’t wait to get on it.

Philly tomorrow night – the Tin Angel! A legendary club that has clearly lost its stuff, if they’re booking the likes of me. I’m opening for Maia Sharp, a talented writer from Hollywood whose 2002 album I’m enjoying right now. And then it’s on up to Quebec for a quick afternoon opening set at a wildly exciting Canadian club, the Black Sheep Inn (there’s a pun in there somewhere, but let’s press on) – before the Ottawa Folk Festival “finals” that night at the National Art Centre. Can’t wait to catch up again with Ottawa, land of calm stray kitties and cafes filled with French-speaking school children. If Canada is the Kenya of our continent, then Ottawa is absolutely the heart that tugs us, inexplicably, home. At least it is that way for me. Then it’s on the road again at 5 am the next morning to get to Boston for Club Passim’s Campfire. Set at 4pm. !

I love all of these cities. I love looking forward to the long drive and the time to myself. However cramped and on-a-schedule I may be, it sure gives me time to remember who I am. AND I love the new weather outside; finally the sky has taken a step back to survey the bust-out that’s going on down below. Don’t know about you, but we’ve barely been keeping our noses above the flood waters out here. Now the greens and ferns and critters are retaliating with a full-blown tet offensive of color.

So – whatever. It’s coffee and laundry this morning, the post office and writing before I go. Someone smashed up my touring vehicle earlier this week, so I’ll be traveling incognito in Troy’s. Wish me luck! He has no registration stickers and no A/C. Please, please, Canada, live up to your cool reputation… I’m counting on you.

xox
lis

::: pittsburgh, pa :::

What an incredible city. It's muggier here than anywhere else in the country, and the flowers are falling all over themselves to get up and out. Spring on ecstacy.

Ithaca was lovely and peaceful... and before that, Burlington was a surprise - an audience showed up! Third time's a charm, I guess. Burlington's another incredible place, with the mountains spread-eagle and the lake a mirror for all the friendly smiles. I stayed with the beautiful Mary Burst and watched her cook an Indian feast for 18 fox hunt enthusiasts. (I'm not making this up.)

Ottawa was cold as hell - I slept in my car on the side of a little residential street. I put my tent up in back, which made for more privacy and a slight boost in insulation. The latest spin on car-camping? What a beautiful city, though - I shall call it the poor american's London. A few dollars gets you a fine meal and affordable parking. Took a long walk in the morning and saw these stray cats to one side of the parlimentary tangle... with little houses built to shelter them and tins that obviously get filled once a day with food. So thoughtful, that little sanctuary for feral kitties. Canada won my heart with that gesture, for sure. At Rasputin's Folk Cafe I met a few cool cats - the ethereal Lindsey Ferguson and genius/spaz Dave Carmichael. Not bad for my first trip to Canada as a performing songwriter. The crowning moment was being forced to speak French, badly. (Total fun!)

And of course there was Albany - special thanks to the Berman clan and Dave & Amelia, for rocking that show. And Unity, Maine, on 4-20 (quite appropo). Unity always manages to get my heart up into my mouth at some point. Love that place.

Now it's off to play Club Cafe. Will I see you?

xox
lis

p.s. I haven't heard it yet, but one of the singles for the new record is back from Gateway. I'm going to sit down with a box of tissues and listen as soon as I get home. (Wednesday? Thursday? I have a day off in Madison, I'm sure of it.)

::: on tour :::

Not much to report yet. I'll be in the studio in Exeter until Tuesday.

Check out what everyone had to say about the Peeps story from the last newsletter. Got your own story? Weigh in.

xox
lis

::: at home :::

Just finished updating the website - what day is it? Computer doesn't like me so much. I think I coerced it to perform one too many illegal operations, and now it's cross.

Made some new tshirts, as well - if you want one, let me know. The front looks like this:


The back just says "lis harvey - tour 2004." The colors are all mod blues and maroons. The cheaper ones are girly v-necks, which look totally cute over long sleeves (very skater-girl chic).

Went to an open mic last night in Madison, run by poet & dj Jeff Black. Played the new song and no one threw things, so I figure it's worth going on.

I was going to write a little musing here about Tim and Jeff Buckley and Bruce and Brandon Lee, and Frances Bean - what will be her legacy? But you know, there's no need to get morbid on the 16th day of Spring. Let's go play in the new grass instead.

xox
lis

::: home studio :::

Sniffles and black currant tea. Woke up at 5 and put myself back down again with a swig of something sticky and cherry-colored. Roba-dryl, something or other. I left the wrong burner on for half an hour while trying to heat up some more water. Padding around in my sweats, noticed a temperature change... It's strange how warm one little burner will make the air smell.

Almost finished with a new song, kind of for my dad. He started it all by telling me this little rhyme from his childhood:

One bright day in the middle of the night,
two dead boys got up to fight.
Back to back they faced each other,
drew their swords and shot each other.

So the new song is full of dichotomy, power chords, and how we push each other away when we are desperate for more time together. Etcetera.

Outside it is a brilliant day, can't believe they are promising snow weather again. Maybe I can stop sneezing long enough to pounce around on the grass.

xox
lis

::: at home :::

I've always wanted to try foie gras. It's one of those totally "high society" foods you hear about in movies and from people who use the term "well-to-do." Don't know why, but it's always held an air of mystery for me. And, what with the universal, gourmet promise that all French food inherently holds, I've really looked forward to trying it. All my life. Figured it had to be incredible, in spite of the whole goose liver thing.

Anyway, last night before the Oscars started, we went to a ridiculous place for dinner, and I finally ordered foie gras.

Word to the wise: don't.

xox
lis

p.s. The Oscars totally made up for it. I'm such a sucker for all that blather.

::: madison, wi :::

Played for a Sierra Club Benefit last night... lovely...

A man said I reminded him of Richie Havens from the Woodstock videos.

::: more from last night... :::

Super strange President's Day. Had a sushi luncheon with a friend and local radio personality, then met Carole King in someone's living room just a few hours ago. (Just listen to me - "sushi luncheon." Where's the folk in that? And why do I persist in risking my life with raw fish in Wisconsin?)

In all seriousness, though, it is a little astounding to go to a political rally at a modest suburban household in Wisconsin, only to be regaled by Carole King (what?!) on the family's upright piano. There were probably close to 70 people crammed into the house, but still... I got the queen of pop music to sign my purse. (I know, I know... I'm also weirded-out by the fact that I have a purse. I can tell you it was not intentional. I acquired said purse in a very pure and exceptionally unintentional manner... and without stealing it, thank you.)

Ms. King spoke about presidential hopeful Senator John Kerry in a way that made him sound like a through-and-through champ. The Wisconsin primary is tomorrow, so she answered question after question about meaty political issues. Then she played "I feel the earth move" and "Safe Again," and there was much singing along, and tears. Carole King! In someone's living room. Tonight. And I was there! It was a miniature Carole King house concert, and I still can't believe it. I mean, she's a GOD. Her music is like The Mothership, you know? Songwriters everywhere are constantly getting sucked in by her tractor beam... and what a fine beam it is.

Did I mention I was in NH last month for their primary, and got to see Max Weinberg (from Conan O'Brien fame) in a smokey bar the size of my pinky nail? He sat in with my friend Bob Beal's band, The Screen. (Bob, aka "the Sith," guests on my new record - elec. guitar and a little vocal action.) Famous people. They're suddenly everywhere. What's that about?

At any rate, happy President's Day. Rah rah rah, white men in power...

xox
lis

::: at home :::

Been writing a bunch lately, little abbreviated songs that I really like. Almost can't wait to be done with this record, so I can start the next. (Talk about being a glutton for all kinds of words that start with 'p'...)

It was so cold today I didn't even notice it was nice out. Clearish skies, not too windy; the whole tolerable bit. Still had to take a nap to warm up - under three blankets, fully-clothed, and wearing a wool sweater. Was still shivering when I woke up. The cat had curled up next to me for warmth, not that she got much. This is without a doubt the coldest winter I've seen as an adult. Had I not gotten a wash at the gas station the other day, my station wagon would still have the thick car-bra of ice it picked up on the mini tour to Kansas (almost three weeks ago). Now the car fairly bounces over frost heaves, it is so much lighter.

xox
lis

Be still my heart! You have called and I am finally answering... with a new journal entry. Look for one this week. Now I'm off to the Matt Nathanson/ Leona Naess concert. I love you for reading this!

xox lis (post V-day but still very lovey)

p.s. you should know that I have been writing journal entries all along, with the intention of stuffing them into this blog at some point, but that point has yet to come. Back blogging... it's daunting. Maybe when my fingers thaw, in March.

::: minnesota, day sixty :::

(10/13/02) So - this is the last day of the tour. Am I thrilled? Yes. Am I looking forward to this last show, in Minnesota? You betchya! Do I want champagne in my hotel room afterward? Of course.

Except that it's Sunday, and Minnesota has this 2-3 law (?) that won't let you buy anything stronger than beer or wine coolers on this ONE DAY OF THE WEEK. Now, I guess I should interrupt the story here to shamefully admit that I've gotten a little used to getting what I want on this tour. More accurately, I've had fifty-nine, directly prior days of practice in making the seemingly impossible happen for me. So... I take a gander at the map. I am heading east on Rt. 90 from Sioux Falls to St. Paul today. It's out of the question to backtrack to South Dakota and risk them telling me Korbel can only be purchased on weekdays. So Iowa is my only hope.

And, miraculously, there is an Iowa phone number programmed into my cell phone! I dial up Cup of Joe's in Cedar City, Iowa, and ask "Robert" about the Iowa law on liquor. Would you believe he tells me it's like any other day, that in Iowa, you can buy six cases of Jack Daniels at 9 am in the morning, if you want?

So, blessed with a bit of extra time and a relatively short drive from last night's show to the final destination on my tour route (Ginkgo's on Snelling in Minnesota's capitol city), I dipped down to Spirit Lake, Iowa, grabbed a couple bottles of champagne, and managed to make it to the St. Paul Hotel with enough time to order up a fridge and some extra hand towels.

My post-tour celebration secured, I went through the routine of getting ready for the show - for the last time on the Fifty State Tour!

Most of the audience that showed had heard either the Car Talk where I fretted about my oil, or the All Things Considered interview on Minnesota Public Radio - so they were a jolly, listening bunch. The most I could have asked for, and certainly the best audience with which to close out the Fifty Stater. Thanks especially to Bob Jensen, who really made the last show a smooth affair.

And now... I haven't seen Troy for over four weeks, so you'll excuse me if I sign off. ;) Sure am glad I went the extra forty miles for that bubbley. The tour is over! I'm still alive! Thank you to everyone who has listened, read, emailed, and spoken to me for the past two months. When I eventually get out of bed, I might have some intelligent and pithy observations to share with you - about the overarching themes from the tour, the incredible universalities between states, the metaphor of the earth's landscape - but for right now, I'll just stick with thank you.

p.s. How fun is it that my last three states rhymed? North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota - that's my quota! (OK. Time for bed.) ~
_________________________________________________________________________________



::: south dakota, day fifty-nine :::

(10/12/02) OK. On the way back down this Rt. 29 I've been traversing for the past three days, I see a truckload of odd objects. Are they pigs' feet, or turnips? Still don't have a verdict. Maybe I was hallucinating, but it was certainly more interesting than the average farm equipment and grass I'm used to.

Am heartbroken I didn't get to stop at Laura Ingles Wilder's Home, or the Corn Palace. State number 49, South Dakota, is the Mt. Rushmore state - but it's also home to Wall Drug, Crazy Horse, and the Black Hills. Tonight, I play my second-to-last state and show, at Great Plains Coffee in Sioux Falls (the largest city in South Dakota, and home base for US Senator Tom Daschle). As if that weren't enough to make the day special, I'm also scheduled to give perhaps the most important interview of my life - my dad's high school class is having their 50th reunion tonight, and I'm going to talk to them via speaker phone. :)

Last night in Fargo was wonderful - I just love the northern accent. The gentle "o" sound - as in "O Holy Night," not "Oh, Holy Night" - that presides over all speech up there is kind of like a little hug. The movie, Fargo, doesn't represent how gentle and wholesome that accent really is. Anyway, great audience, great show - and the best article yet in Fargo's Forum, complete with a little USA graphic that showed the cities I played, in order of my tour route! Scroll down at
http://new.in-forum.com/entertainment/ ~

::: north dakota, day fifty-eight :::

(10/11/02) I'm all a-flutter with nerves and excitement; I found out yesterday that I'm going to be on All Things Considered, the daily NPR show that literally keeps my eyes in focus while I'm driving during early evening hours. Yay! Listen in, if you can on such short notice - the program airs in the late afternoon on most NPR stations, and though I think I'm going to be on tonight (Friday), I have no clue when. Check out NPR.org for more info, perhaps.

Tonight is my show in the Peace Garden State. That's North Dakota's wacky nickname - just as elusive as the Beehive State. (Incidentally, the best explanation for the latter - Utah - is that their state motto is "industry." And we all know how industrious is the busy beehive.) I love Fargo - though I know not why, exactly. Played there just under a year ago, at North Dakota State U. Nice people... cool weather... plains...

Last night in Nebraska was nice - Lincoln seems very similar to my hometown (Madison) in collegiate and capitol fortitude. Loads of undergrads out in scanty, sequin-spotted gear... good newspapers... good times. I think I've had pizza too many nights in a row, though. I'm starting to dream about leftover crust.

Thanks to the guys who invited me to play pool at the Haymarket Hideaway - I managed to sink the eight ball! On purpose, for a change. ~

:: A little later on 10/11/02... ::

OK. I have just experienced a dream come true. I was interviewed for NPR! Maybe it seems very simple and silly, but this is like IT for me. Just shoot me now. I will float away in a little puff of happy joy. Special and eternal thanks to the Public Library of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, for letting me use a spare phone in a quiet office for the call. Nice librarians! They are not so few and far between as we had feared.

Can you believe this tour is almost over? I know - that's rhetorical. I cannot. What am I going to do with my life? Maybe I should think about getting a real job...

At the very least, I should get a haircut. ~


::: nebraska, day fifty-seven :::

(10/10/02) Caught a glimpse of the Loess Hills in Sioux City on my way down to Lincoln this afternoon; a Loess hill is a rare topographical feature that resembles a large, grassy sand dune. It's a hill made of silt presumably dropped there eons ago by moving glacial entities. Rock climbing is not advisable.

Briar Cliff University is a Catholic Franciscan school, originally founded by nuns who thought the prickly cliff and remote locale would be a righteous place to build an Iowan women's college. I quickly got over my terror at playing such a virtuous-sounding venue, and once folks started abandoning their air hockey pursuits to listen to my show, I actually had quite a good time. This was the last student union show on my tour. It's all bars and coffeehouses from here on out.

Tonight I backtrack to Nebraska, state number 47. I actually drove through Lincoln on my way from Laramie, WY to Sioux City, IA yesterday, and I'll have to drive back up the same route - revisiting Sioux City again - on my way to Fargo tomorrow.

This part of the tour was not planned very well. I feel like a human Etcho-Sketch, whose knobs are being spun this way and that to trace and re-trace a line, a corner, another line...

I wonder, when all is said and done - will my face reflect some sort of meaningful object or pattern? ~


::: iowa, day fifty-six :::

(10/9/02) I am half dead from the drive today from Laramie. Forgive me if I don't write much... I overslept this morning and lost an hour somewhere in the middle of Nebraska, and there are no more fun Senate debates to harken to in the car. I almost fell asleep about eighty times today. But I am here, in Sioux City, Iowa, for the show in state number 46. Hurrah. I even have time to shower!

My hotel is packed to the gills with aging white men - part of a club called the "Jesters"? They are occupying the entire second floor of the hotel, have purportedly hired strippers for the night, and are going out early tomorrow morning to hunt for pheasant. No one ever said you couldn't have a good time as a 59-year-old white male Iowan. Heigh-ho. ~


::: wyoming, day fifty-five :::

(10/8/02) The word of the day is "unfettered." Anyone listening to the Senate debates over whether or not to grant Bush total rein in the realm of war declaration (I call this the "please-let-me-declare-war-on-Iraq-without-your-input" resolution) has heard that word upwards on five dozen times today, alone.

If it weren't for the unfettered coverage of the Senate debates - miraculously audible to me throughout the long drive from Helena, MT to Laramie today - I would probably be asleep and/or dead in a ditch on the side of the road. Somehow, the three-to-five minute speeches were just stimulating enough to keep me alert until Casey.

Then I got a flat. That woke me up for good.

Suffice to say that, thanks to Bill from Kansas and his lovely wife (Angie?), I was able to get the damned bolts undone, and the tire swapped for the spare. I barely made it to Laramie - Sweet Melissa's Cafe - ontime for my 6pm show, only to find out that the posters all said 8pm. So I kind of played from 6:15 to 8:30... and had some kickass vegetarian soup and stuff.

The only real disappointment of the day was finding out that Ft. Laramie is about 80 miles north of the city of Laramie. So I didn't get to stop there and relive my wild days as a fourth grader, hunting for food while my covered wagon stopped at the Fort to gather supplies. (More of the Oregon Trail obsession.) ~


::: montana, day fifty-four :::

(10/7/02) I was on the local NBC news! My first tv appearance this year, at KTVH in Helena, Montana. Thanks to Casey, the amazing producer who made it happen... I have no idea whether or not I looked stupid, but I'm keeping an open mind.

In other fun Montana news, I had $1 sushi at the "Wok and Roll" on Euclid. Troy thinks I'm an idiot for tempting fate and eating sushi in land-locked Montana, but who can resist Yellowtail Nigiri for $1?

State number 44 is kind of special to me, because I've always wanted to have a commune here. It's a dream I conceived in college, when first faced with the implausibility of keeping all of my friends in one place for the duration of my life. Also, I once had a friend who moved from New Hampshire to Montana. I think that was the first time I heard of the state's existence, and it has held a mystical place in my brain ever since.

So - Helena is a very friendly and quaint little city. And the capitol! I'm going to have a very impressive list of capitols to add to my lipstick case when this tour is through.

Now it's time to start the trecherous drive to Laramie. Thank god there doesn't appear to be any snow. In fact, the Seattle chocolates that I deliberately bought in Spokane (thinking it was safe to buy meltables in the certainly cool mountain terrain) melted today in the car. (sigh) ~


::: washington, day fifty-two :::

(10/5/02) Ok. Had an amazing day off yesterday - or what I could salvage from it, what with the enormous drive from Reno to Seattle that had to be accomplished by this evening. The day began with a World Championship Chili Cook-Off festival in Reno. I got to walk around a bit in the "Biggest Little City in the World," and sampled some delicious Miner's Chili (full of big, lean chunks of pork) from the vendor outside the Silver Legacy Casino. Hey - I also picked up what might be the coolest (and cheapest) souvenir of the whole tour: a deck of cards used for two hours on the casino floor. One buck! What a deal.

Then I drove endlessly from Reno, over Donner Pass (which is helluva high up in the sky - my empty water bottles started to whine with the drop in air pressure), through Sacramento and up to Redding, CA, where I could not find a movie theater to save my life. I have been dying to see Sweet Home Alabama with the charming Miss Reese Witherspoon since... well, Alabama. But no luck. So I continued on to Ashland, Oregon, where I spent the night after enjoying a nice glass of Rogue Valley Pinot Gris (from the Fortis Winery in Oregon) in the lobby of the historic and newly restored Ashland Springs Hotel. There was a nice fire, leather tables and animal fur poofs, and plenty of stuffed birds for me to scrutinize. This may seem odd, but it was very comforting.


Anyway - the nice day off resulted in me being very nearly NOT on time for my show in Seattle at Mr. Spot's Chai House. The show was kind of a surprise, with folks showing up with all kinds of ties to me - from Madison, from Los Angeles, from Pittsburgh. And the chai there was pretty special - tasted kind of like a ginger snap cookie. You could buy growlers of it to take with you, but I thought it too risky to try to transport such a huge tankard of chai cross-country.

I've got another "day off" tomorrow - will try to make it to Helena in one giant sweep, so that I can rest up for the big drive from Montana to Wyoming. ~

::: nevada, day fifty :::

(10/3/02) The silver state! And day five-oh. I've had a superb time in Reno, ladies and gentlemen. Someone actually captured it all on video, so perhaps someday you'll be able to catch snatches of it online... we will see. And everyone here remembers that guy in the Guinness Book of World Records with the longest fingernails, further confirming the universality of that photograph.

I've now listened to Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban twice on this tour. It's time to visit Cracker Barrel. (Did you know they have a books-on-tape return system, nationwide? I found this out on the East Coast sometime last month.)

I've got a bit of time to fritter away, since tomorrow is a "day off." (It's a 14 hour drive to Seattle from Reno, and so I thankfully gave myself two days to get there.)

Think I'm going to head on over to this severely '70's-esque casino, across the street from my hotel. It's called "Circus Circus." Maybe I'll win some money money. ~


::: oregon, day forty-nine :::

(10/2/02) I've finally figured it out! My life. And it only took me 49 days, 41 states, and 47 cans of Slim Fast.

Was listening to wisps of NPR on the long, grand drive from Pendleton, Oregon to Portland, Oregon (just a sliver of the trip from Boise to Eugene today), and hear a "Talk of the Nation" on books that influenced your life's path. So I got to thinking... about Nancy Drew, and Julie of the Wolves, and Black Stallion, and Dove... and I thought about the adventures I've always sort of willed upon myself every week since age 9. (You know, like when the issues in your life dry up for a while, and you suddenly find yourself injecting little pieces of drama into your day-to-day, just to have something to chew on?) Anyway, I decided that, while I probably did read myself into some sort of wander-lusty stupor (which obviously translates into this singer-songwriter touring thing), what REALLY sealed my fate was Oregon Trail. The computer game.

I played it most as a fourth grader, in 1987, on those gargantuan beige computers in that tiny little broom-closet-turned "computer lab," in the forgotten elementary wing of Lincoln Akerman School in Hampton Falls, New Hampshire. And as I was driving west today along the Columbia River, Washington state passing me on the right and the velveteen yellow hills winking voluptuously at me through dips and swells of magnificent, earthy cleavage, I realized that, indeed, my life could be traced back to one simple, coveted floppy disk. One pioneering, pre-historic video game.

So there you have it. It was not books for me, but Oregon Trail - the little opportunities to shoot squirrels and deer in Colorado with the little up & down arrows on the keyboard, the agonizing decision in the beginning (to be a farmer or a banker?), and the fabulous,
once-in-a-while surprises in the covered wagon... like getting typhoid, or finding enough berries to add 25 pounds of food to your stash. That is what I have to thank for my career as a touring musician.

Last night, Boise was a charming place to play. Rebecca Scott played after, and was such a delight that I want to make sure I register my recommendation that you check out her website. This morning, however, I could not remember where I was. For the life of me, and for the first time on this tour, I was confused by my own mobility.

Tonight, Eugene. I will not be able to stop talking about fourth grade on stage, I just know it. ~