D.C. delivers, Chapel kills...

... after Philly phlopped. Sunday's show in D.C. was a rolling success. After searching neighborhood backstreets for a few hours or so we found the Rock and Roll Hotel, a venue which, at only one month old, is still a newborn to the area. It didn't seem like that when we got there. Downstairs is a big standing-room-only hall with a bar lining the left side and a raised stage, but upstairs is the real experience. Apparently the venue is a converted hotel, so the upstairs hallway is lined with all of these rooms that were decorated thematically: the Presidential suite, the Valentine room, etc., but all with the soul of a music venue. The Presidential suite, for example, was lined with furniture appropriate for the White House, but on the wall are inauguration photos with faces of rockers pasted onto the Presidential heads... like Ace Frehley as Nixon during his "I am not a crook" speech. Awesome. Here are some photos:






The crowd was about 50 deep and showed love for Mr. I. We also need to give a HUGE shoutout to the bartenders and employees of the Rock and Roll Hotel - these guys were exceptionally hospitable to all of the artists involved and some even ducked out from behind the bar to purchase our CDs from the merch table. It seems like it's increasingly rare to find actual fans of music working at music venues, so this was a welcome surprise. The venue ended on an unexpected note - I played a few records while One-Self politicked with the crowd after the show and eventually the hang devolved into a full-out dance party. Hells yes.

I'm going to take a little detour here to tell you a story about Scott Blackwood. If you remember from the last entry, Scott got a speeding ticket almost immediately after we got in the road on the way to our very first show in Philadelphia. In Washington, D.C., we had a hard time finding the venue and we pulled into a CVS to ask for directions. Scott had just put his cell phone in his lap. He opened the door and stepped out of the car. His phone left his lap, fell onto the pavement, slid downhill for three or four feet, and fell into a drain. BLOOSH. It had been raining for like four hours before we got there. Hopeless. Mind you, this was the only drain in the entire vast wasteland of the CVS parking lot. Here is a portrait that dramatically recreates the despair of that moment:



Scott's OK. I feel bad for the dude though.

Seez Mics of Educated Consumers hooked us up with a place to sleep for the night and we slept hard. Woke up late, got sandwiches and coffee and the "Ray Sings, Basie Swings" CD and rocked it on the drive toward Charlotte. And that drive wore us OUT, son. By the time we got home we were all about ready to pass out... but we were greeted by the Blackwoods and chicken and dumplings. Instant redemption. We took another few hours in Mt. Holly to remaster one of the live beats and finally split off to sleep at our homes.

10-09 - Chapel-Chill son. Our show last night in Monday went down at the Local 506 on Franklin Street in downtown Chapel-Hill and it was probably our strongest yet. The bar came through and took care of us, and the sound in the venue was nicely balanced - projected a good vibe for everybody, and the lighting was dope.



I need to give a shout to Matt I and Erin W who put school on hold to come hang out at the show, and Scott I, who let me and Jason stay at his place in Raleigh. Scott took a grip of pictures at the Chapel-Hill show, so hopefully some of those will end up here.

Tonight's show is in Atlanta (SHAWTY!) home of Criminal Records and the Potassium Slappium. I'm skipping a recap of the the Mt. Pleasant SC show just because we have to soundcheck right now and I don't have time.

We are having fun. For real.