A Full Day

We began our day with breakfast at the Tudor house, served by Alvin. Alvin and June bake their own bread, and Alvin collects honey from bees right on the property. Needless to say it was delicious.

Russ had some business stuff to take care of, so Aaron and I headed to Smiley's Flea Market, "the South's Largest Garage Sale". It was indeed huge, and proved to be more than we could take in in an hour. We wandered around aimlessly for a while, then headed back to collect our bandmates and head to Charleston, SC.

We were making good time, somewhere on I-26, when the wobbling we'd been feeling from the van suddenly escalated into a full-fledged tire blowout. We were trying to get Susan to a radio interview, so Russ called ahead to say we'd be running late and we got to work changing the tire. It was hot on the side of the road, and it took us a few minutes to figure out the jack contraption, but a kind policeman stopped and offered to "try and make sure no one runs over you". After changing the tire we were all sweaty and filthy, so we stopped to wash our hands and fill up our spare.

We weren't sure what to expect at the radio interview, and were surprised when we pulled up to an old house in Charleston. Stephen, our host and interviewer, greeted us and invited the boys to a dip in the pool while he interviewed Susan. Shangri-La! He even had a snack spread for us, complete with water and beer. We discussed WeAreRadio.com, his excellent internet radio site, and many charitable organizations he works with. We lingered as long as we could, but eventually had to head out.

Before soundcheck, we stopped to visit friends Joe and Mary Beth. Joe and Russ are old friends, and Joe had a surprise for Russ. He had painstakingly restored every part of Russ' bike that was all but destroyed in Katrina, rebuilt it, and presented it to Russ along with some new bike shoes and clothes (as I write this, Russ and Joe have just returned from a morning ride). It was a pretty touching scene, and Russ was as happy as I've seen him.

Our soundcheck at Home Team BBQ went off without a hitch, and the show was rocking. The food was the real star though, the ribs were about the best I've had anywhere. We were treated well by the staff, and we had a great time playing, but I was exhausted by the end of the second set. We stayed with Joe and Mary Beth last night, and I slept like a drunken baby.

Charleston is a beautiful town, full of great people, and I look forward to returning soon.

Forgot IOTA

Oops, I forgot to mention IOTA, a great club in Arlington, VA where we played Thursday night. We'd been there on our last go-round, so we anticipated it being an oasis of rock-friendly people, and it didn't disappoint. We love the IOTA, and I didn't want to leave it out. Great club, good people, nice crowd. Love it. There, I've said it.

Fletcher, NC

We're at the Tudor House Bed & Breakfast in Fletcher, NC. Alvin and June, the delightful English couple that own and operate the place, have taken great care of us and we just finished a delicious breakfast.

Our show last night was at the Feed & Seed here in Fletcher, and it was every bit as charming as it sounds. The Feed and Seed is an old mercantile, now an historic landmark, filled with church pews and antiques and a small stage.

It's a live room, with lots of wood, and our audience included folks of all ages, so we played very quietly and left the Judas Priest-y bits out. I didn't think the show suffered for it, in fact I loved being able to hear everything so well. Pastor Phillip that runs the place was very kind and seemed genuinely excited to have us.

We drove through the Appalachian Mountains to get here, and though we were on a tight schedule I asked if we could stop at an Appalachian Trail crossing on the way to the gig. My nature-loving bandmates were only too happy to comply, and it didn't put us too far behind schedule.

Today we're off to Charleston, SC, but not before we stop at Smiley's Flea Market in Fletcher. There was talk of a visit to Sliding Rock, a giant natural water slide, but it's too far off the path, so we'll save it for next time.

Only 2 more shows before I fly home on Monday. It's been another great tour, but I'm looking forward to heading home to my family and bed.