Fast forward to just a few weeks ago. My friend Bruno (in snowy Michigan…wait…is it still snowing there? I can’t remember) sent me a package. Two years ago, Dan Worley and I had the pleasure of recording Bruno’s band, Collateral Damage at the Good Noise Studio. After much (much!) pestering, I persuaded him (finally) to send me the latest iteration of the record so I could have a listen. A couple weeks ago, I get a box (not an envelope, a box) with the “in process” CD enclosed. With packing peanuts. And, a small slip of paper.

This requires a little explanation. You see, a couple years ago, I started running live sound at this dive bar in Ypsilanti Michigan called TC’s Speakeasy. And there was this guy, a real hard case, who went by (like Madonna, and Prince, and…) Only One Name, the name of Bruno. And there was this one time, when I had (maybe) had a little to drink, and was in conversation with Bruno near the bar. Emphasizing my point (whatever it was), I went and poked the guy’s chest.

[Freeze]

Collective intake of breath. Beer, whiskey, wine, midway to lips: stop. Eyes turn toward us. Eyes turn away…what’s going to happen?

Thank God. [Exhale] Everybody laughs. And…a good joke is born.

Getting this package in the mail (well UPS actually)? Totally made my day. I laughed a long time.

Yes, I shaved my Van Dyke. Yes, I am letting my hair grow. Just don’t call me a hippie.

Yep, that Harry Shearer.

Harry was at Mississippi Studios last night, supporting his lovely, talented and also very funny wife, whose name is Judith Owen.

I was there because I had heard that Harry was going to be opening for Judith, which turned out (rumors being what they are) to not be quite the case. He was there primarily to play bass as she sang and played keys, although we did get to hear two of his newest in the middle of the set.

The band that opened for them is called Brandon Chandler and the Revival, who were fabulous. Kind of an updated white boy Motown soul thing.

Judith is an amazing performer, and a lovely person. She has an incredibly versatile voice that just leaps and dazzles all over the place. Fabulous. One comment I will make by way of mild critique is that, musicianship and (FUCKING SPINAL TAP FUCKING MONTGOMERY C BURNS JESUS!) Harry Shearer aside, her concert felt like a therapy session! She as much as said that music is a form of therapy for her, and she was very blunt and forthright about the process that led to many of the songs. This made for great song stories, told in a very engaging and guffaw-inducing way…but…damn. My head kinda felt shrunk afterwards!

Anyways. I learnt me a few things last night:

One, Harry Shearer is not as tall as one might expect.

He is also very funny, warm and engaging. He was wiping away tears during one of Judith’s songs! How sweet is that?!

He has a new record of political satire coming out soon, called “Songs of the Bushmen”. Everyone in the administration gets the Harry Shearer treatment! Whee!

Also (VERY IMPORTANT), as Harry and Judith were leaving for Seattle, he divulged (drumroll please) that Tap will almost certainly be touring again! Can you believe that? What a hoot…I hope they come to Portland.

And now I will wrap this here blog up with (what is to me anyways) an amusing anecdote…

Judith opened the show saying that she always opens and closes her concerts with “total crap British pop songs”. In the case of last night, she used Smoke on the Water by Deep Purple to open, and Eye of the Tiger by Survivor to close. She actually does a very credible job of rescuing, re-purposing and breathing new life into both of those old chestnuts, believe it or not!

This of course opened the door for me to tell my Survivor story (click for a link to a previous blog on the subject) to both her and Harry after the show. I think they were amused, I know I was.

I mean, given the contents of Spinal Tap, and Survivor’s dubious place in the rock pantheon…and their current status playing smalltown summer festivals…do I need to draw you a picture?

Now, Paige wouldn’t have known this, because she hardly knows me, but this is just the kind of photo I would take if I were the one doing the shoot…

Yep, that’s bourbon in that glass. So, I guess it’s not entirely “empty”…

This is my “ah shit did I screw that up” face.

Anyways, a friend of mine by the name of Paige came by the other night and used my newly cleaned Canon EOS 20D to take some photos of me playing guitar. Not that this kind of thing has really been the focus of these posts (at all) but…you know, what the hell.

And I tagged this with “Rockstar Photography”. HA!

They aren’t perfect, and god knows I’m not that big a fan of my own image, but I think they’re pretty ok in spite of my self loathing.

While I did bring my camera, my first priority was to just experience the trip without too much emphasis on capturing everything on pixels. Thus, there are less photos per day on this trip…but there are still some good ones I think.

The photos in this first post are not going to be in any particular order.

Here is sunset on the third day of my trip, as seen from the Redwood National Park scenic coastal drive, near Klamath CA:

Here’s what I did according to Google Maps:

View Larger Map

If you click the “view larger map” link right there at the bottom left, you will see my route.

You people are totally going to think I have an obsession. Yes, I saw yet another herd of elk. The sun was on his way down, so this critter was kind enough to pose during the “golden hour”:

I stayed several days at the International Hostelling “Redwood Hostel“, which is right across the Pacific Coast Highway from the ocean. I had been meaning to do this for years, so finally got one more check mark off the list of things to do before I die! There are several fun “oh my god where did this person come from” stories from that time. But additionally, there are a lot of great hikes that are readily accessible from this place. One of those hikes was in what’s known as “Stout Grove”. I thought when I heard the name that it was referring to the girth of the trees…but no, this grove was named after a guy called Stout.

A photo of me, standing in the Stout Grove. This was taken by a German woman (whose name is escaping me at the moment) who was staying at the hostel. I kept running into her and her friend at several different hiking locations.

Big trees! Hooray!

I went on a long hike that same day during which time I didn’t take any photos at all…well, no keepers anyway. I took four of a woodpecker that didn’t turn out. Ergh. Carried the damn camera 2 hours in and 2 hours back, and turns out I coulda left it behind. But, good news is I got the idea for a new song during that hike…which was part of the idea behind getting out of town anyway.

And one more, this one of the lovely Klamath River. I took a different route down to the redwoods this time, and most of the third day’s drive was a lovely winding road along this river. I think it’s called the Klamath River Highway.

There are some good stories from this trip…those will be coming soon.