On what turned out to be the coldest day of the year, I had the best bottle of apple juice I've ever had. Troy was already in Indianpolis when Barry, Monroe and I left frigid DeMotte for a none the warmer Indianapolis, our state capitol where more than one million citizens share in and enjoy the benefits of democracy.
It was cold, but the sky was painfully blue and sunny. The country side, as it streamed past was brown and dormant, but golden and amber in the afternoon light. The color of the land, the quality of light, the size of the sips, the quality of the juice, and the soundtrack of Wilco b-sides made for one gratifying apple juice experience - almost an orange, almost - which is saying a lot.
Monroe also played us some "Death of Fashion" from his iPod. They are a band who is doing quite well in New York city these days. Todd used to be their manager, before he moved back to Indiana. They formed at IWU in 2002. Their music is good and very hip in a contemporary sense. Troy and Monroe knew them when they lived in the mid-west. It's good to know people who are doing well in the business. But listening to them made me appreciate our band and Troy's song writing a little more. We are less classifiable..not easily catagorized. On second thought, "the industry" might not see that as an asset, but I kinda do 'cos I take great pride in who we are as a live band. My rock n roll self concept is intimately wound up in the range of my musical pallete. I'm rambling. But it made me proud to be from Indiana to hear their stuff.
The three of us ate dinner at the fountain square diner, which gets an A+ for ambience in a 1950s way, but a F for service. The food was mediocre. Anyway, when we got to the venue we were greeted by cool looking people in a cool looking room that smelled of patchouli. I'm refering to Radio Radio, the "hip" club for bands to play in in Indy these days. I was very very glad the club was non smoking. Smoking has lost it's appeal to me, for the time being. The smell repulses me, I hate the way it makes my mouth feel and how it either wires you but subsequently drains you of energy. Because the venue was smoke free and the air I breathed all night was clean, I felt I could stay awake and alert longer. The two hour drive home was not daunting in the least. My clothes did no reek and my eyes felt moist. I have no problem with a person's freedom to smoke and I don't know how I feel about legislation concerning it. I think it should be up to the bussiness owner, but man, it was great to not have to endure it this time.
Right after our sound check, I was approached by a couple sitting at the bar. They were early middle age and the woman wanted to see the pins on my jacket. She said her ex husband's brother was a tile layer at Johnny Cash's house in Tennesee. They really liked us. They had fun talking to me, but I felt a little sheepish.
Some great people came to see us, the Marion contingent especially, for me, Zika and Erik Fisher and Rob Swingle. It was great just chilling and talking to Zika, I really appreciate her no bull shit kind of insanity. Fisher gave me a CD of the Doves new album to listen to on the way home. I didn't get a good listen in the way home, but all week to and from work, I played the grooves out of it. It really grabbed me.
Another highlight was visiting with my friend Monica. We went to high school tohether and were very close back in the day. I hadn't seen her in person since 1998, so it was special. I was glad she enjoyed our music, I was very nervous about that.
In many ways, the air, the sound system, the packed house, the leopard print stage carpet...all rolled together, I feel like we played the best set in a long while. Definitely one of our best performances of our career - right up there with Purdue or Radio Tavern II.
But in the back of my mind all evening was a desire to get home as fast as possible. I will not get into it here, but Barry and I learned, via cell phone call, of a tragedy that hit our church community right at the end of our sound check. Through everything, it was there in my brain, while we played...while we mingled...while we loaded out. I knew Elizabeth would want to have me there. Barry and I prayed together in the alley behind the venue, all the while people were trying to visit with us and be conversant, but due to the nature of the sitation, it didn't seem right to tell them about it.
The drive home went quick. We had a light hearted interchange with the all night clerk at Arby's in Lebanon. But when we pulled into DeMotte, I felt like I was "driving into something" and indeed I was...