Killer

It felt really good to get out of the city this weekend. I realized how long it had been since I'd been gone for more than just an afternoon. This weekend of shows came at a perfect time; things had been getting a tad claustrophobic around here. Fresh air awaited. We loaded up the car and headed down to Indianapolis as I was set to play as part of the Midwest Music Summit.

Note: My car usually sits in a state of hibernation, except for the occasional jaunt to the suburbs or to the Jewel when I really need to stock up. My car has no stereo/radio or air conditioning. This wasn't the coldest weekend of the summer either.

But we're troopers. And we're tough. And we know what good conversation is and how to create it. So, we got over it, as we had no other choice. We bounced into Indianapolis and met up with all-around amazing guy Jason Pierce. Jason helps run one of the best record stores I've ever been in, Luna Music and is in charge of their in-house label Recordhead. We did some dinner and met up with Luna/Recordhead Major Honcho Todd Robinson. Todd and I got dorky and talked about Tobin Sprout 7"s ,Todd's 20+ years in the business of selling and releasing music and why it makes total sense to turn the phone's ringer off when you get home. I was schooled by his knowledge. It was super cool to catch up with these guys whom I hadn't seen for a couple years. And yes, we are all very pretty.

Oh, and I can't forget to mention...it was very fabulous running into some old friends that I'd toured with years ago. I shared the bill with Columbus, Ohio's finest Tiara. And, was super excited when I was approached by Aaron and Dan from The Buddyrevelles! They were in town playing in Sunday Runners. It's like 1999 all over again. Where's my Chevy conversion van and where's the next show?!

We kicked it at Jason's apartment and the next day we were off to North Manchester, Indiana. Where? Never heard of it? Me either! Population just over 6,000, Northern-Central Indiana. A few years ago some local kids applied for a $30,000 grant, got it, and opened an all ages live music club in an old Firehouse. The shows are free and the bands get paid with money that the volunteers have collected through fund raising. I have never experienced a better-organized Do It Yourself venue. They took care of and fed all of the bands (whom were all on tour) and the kids danced (not to my set, that might be hard). It was a really empowering night and proved youth in small-town Midwestern America (in the heart of a conservative state, mind you) can pull together and make something really fucking cool a reality. Thanks Jabin!