Sandman's Journal

Under the weather slightly today . . . gives me pause to think about this current music tour.

In some ways my 2010 tour with Nima has been made up of many tours. First there was the New England Two-Step, starting and ending in Boston. Then came the East Coast Hitch-Hike, where we had no vehicle but still managed to get to all our seaboard shows before taking a bus back to Boston. After two weeks dancing the Boston Limbo, we did the Southbound Boogie, which put us at last in New Orleans. From New Orleans we rolled to Dallas, where began our Waltz Across Texas tour. This ended prematurely, as did our potential Southwest Twist.

Nima, meanwhile, is keeper of the flame. He solo-explored Big Bend National Park before angling east to El Paso and north to Santa Fe. Soon he'll pass through Denver and Spearfish, and finally, on Thursday, he'll arrive in Dunn Center. On April 22nd we'll resume our journey, with seven western Montana sock hops. We've saved our last dance for a May Day show in Spokane. Originally we'd planned to go to the Pacific, but other projects interposed.

Top seven tour highlights:

1. Escaped frigid North Dakota winter.
2. Finished new CD--Chemicals in the Wheat.
3. Thanks to Nima and Hanon, I have two fresh new YouTube vids.
4. Made new friends and visited old friends along the route.
5. Recorded, with Nima's help, a gang of songs for next CD.
   
6. By tour's end we'll have played a respectable thirty shows.
7. Getting to know Nima better.

In New Orleans Nima and I renamed our tour. Everything east of the Mississippi River was the "Peanut Butter & Jelly Tour." This leg was filled with poverty, vehicle breakdowns, and unease. Everything west of the Mississippi became the "Me & My Brother Tour." This side was/is hallmarked by prosperity and comfort. Nima gained confidence. We collaborated more. We found bigger audiences. Our earnings quadrupled. Nima's pickup didn't implode. The weather improved. Nima's amazingly generous Uncle Craig bought me an airplane ticket to Minneapolis for Dale's Farewell Gathering. Hana flew back to the States . . .

Ah, Hana. . . I'll meet her in Spokane on May Day. God speed!