Rosco Bandana

10-25

Well, the second leg of our tour has been a great success so far! Not only have we gotten great reception from our show- goers, but we have gotten to do some pretty cool touristy things along the way. The West is gorgeous. It is easy to feel much smaller over here, what with all the gaping skies and mountains. We are actually on our way right now to view the famous Grand Canyon!

First stop was Houston, where we were given the opportunity to open for an amazing band, Sons of Bill . They were all really nice guys. After that show, we drove through the night to our next destination, Oklahoma City. This was one of our favorite shows, mainly because of the opening band. If it is possible for a band to collectively have a soul mate, this band was exactly that. They were called The John Calvin Band. They were great musicians and really fun people. It was almost scary how much the lead singer had in common with Jason. For those of you who will be going to our local shows over the holidays, keep your eyes open for them. They may be opening for us soon.

Kansas was the next stop. That was a fun ; we made new fans and met another awesome musician who opened for us, Jenny Wood. But I must admit, one of the most memorable KS memories involves food. One of the coworkers of the bar we played in brought us HOMEMADE pot roast. Talk about hospitality.

Next stop: Denver, CO

10-30

Denver was amazing. Full of friendly folks, tasty food, and beautiful sites. The Hi-Dive was a fun little dive bar. We got to hang out with a couple of friends, former residents of Ocean Springs, and they were kind enough to let us crash on their living room floor. In between shows,we were able to do some shopping and site seeing. (side note- Happy Coffee provided us with the best coffee drinking experience.)

After the show, on our way to Phoenix, we stopped alongside a forest and got in touch with our natural sides. We found some icy brooks and streams, and even saw snow! It’s funny how, after being raised in MS, all it takes to excite us is a tiny patch of snow.

Next stop: Phoenix.

11-4

Phoenix was a fun show. We were warmly welcomed into a Hardrock Cafe and were received well by the crowd. We saw one of our old friends from high school who allowed us to crash at her place. Seeing familiar faces on tour is always refreshing. On the drive to Phoenix, we saw tons of sand dunes. We stopped to check it out, and saw saw some four wheelers and mopeds going at it on the dunes. It was like a Westerner’s version of muddin’. It got pretty hot in the desert after about five minutes. Pretty crazy to think we were just in the snow.

Cali was our next stop. On the way there, we made a stop at “Four Corners,” the only place in the US where four states physically meet: Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado. It was amazing. We got to take some touristy pics and visit the Indian booths that were set up.

The first city we played in was San Diego. Of all the cities we went to in CA, San Diego is the city we became best aquatinted with. A friend of Jackson’s mom opened her home to us and treated us all as if we were her own. We played at this posh little bar called the Griffin. Although our show went amazingly, the band that played before us, Zach Waters, was one of the most memorable moments of the night. They were full of energy, and we couldn’t help but dance to their music. The next day, we had a few hours to spare before the show. The house we stayed in was about a block from the beach. We all walked there after eating at this tasty little Mexican restaurant. The beach is gorgeous there- and the weather? Impeccable. The sand is a type of soft that can’t even be described using adjectives. Oh- and we saw Jackson surf! (He represented us well.)

LA was our next stop, where we played at The Mint. We were opened by a pretty big jazz band, along with a more indie- rock style band. Our high school friend, Gloria, welcomed us into her home and provided us with tasty treats. She had so much fun that she even decided to be our roadie for a day. She rode with us to San Fransisco, a six hour drive from LA. We played at a pretty cool bar there and saw some family friends. It was a quaint, understated little stage, which was cool. It allowed for an intimate show where we were really able to connect with the audience. The only downside of that night was driving back to LA right after the show. It was about six AM when we arrived back to Gloria’s to sleep a few hours before our next journey. When we left the proceeding day, it was five PM and already dark outside. Because our next stop was Austin and because it was about a 20+ hour drive, we decided to drive through the night. Provided the necessary amount of Zzz-Quil and slim-Jims, we managed to make it to our destination- although we were, and still kind of are, in a zombie-like state of mind.