Late Summer Classic

Starting to feel like I know this country pretty well. I certainly haven't been everywhere, but I've met a lot of people from every strata of life and the middle of the US is a great place to get to know the essence of America. The coasts: East, West and Dirty (my favorite and where I went to school) are full of bustling port towns. Even in a global society, it takes more time for outside influence to reach the interior of a country. For better or for worse, the middle of America is decidedly more "American" than even some of the populous coastal cities in our country. A touristy tour from Europe might bring someone from across the pond to New York and San Francisco which are very, very American cities, but places that share many traits with the European capital our bon tourist would have flown out of.

Let's bring 'em to Wichita, to Dayton or Sioux City or El Paso or Albuquerque. Places with Triple A baseball teams... that's the real America and if you don't believe me go talk to Billy at the truck stop in Wichita. He fixed the electric connection to our trailer for $20. He only charges us that cause "the boss man is here, otherwise I'd send ya on 'yer way!". Talk about good people...

We got pulled over for a burned out taillight last night, raising the tally to twice in 2011 that we've had to speak to the nice officers, and the eastern Colorado cop couldn't have been more cordial. I'm not saying we scream probable cause, but four hairy dudes in an RV are both intimidating for and a target of law enforcement. We don't keep any band related stickers on the outside of Bertha or the trailer and when police run our registration they typically get a chuckle when "Frogs Gone Fishin' LLC" comes up. Make any administrator laugh, and that's your ticket in life. Don't try to be logical, their job sucks as jobs are prone to suck, but make them smile during their routine day and you're free to continue down I-70 into the heat of the night and the smell of the Kansas air. If you can keep a positive attitude while inhaling some of the olfactory delight Kansas has to offer, my hat's off to you, sir.

This tour we are headed to Stillwater, OK and then on to four stops in Ohio. I've delicately dubbed this the "Big O" tour, hopefully inspiring some dirty jokes and maybe a tire sponsorship. Stillwater likes to party, that's for certain. So does Ohio but we'll see if Cincy and Cleveland can keep up with that Big 12 beer-bong spirit. I can't wait to find out.

If our route seems illogical, it is. The Oklahoma show was booked last minute because of aforementioned reasons, the kids like to party and seem to like us. If there is anything that's endeared me to small towns across America it is the fact that when a rock and roll band comes to town, it's on like Donkey Kong in 3D. In essence we are entertainers and go where people like to be entertained. Sometimes in a place like Chicago or New Orleans, there is so much entertainment it's hard to cut through. But pull Bertha into Stillwater on a Tuesday, and some people recognize her from last time, from the time we packed 16 people in after the show and drank High Life till dawn.

Ohio will be more of an experiment. We've hit Dayton and Cleveland before. Did you know if you're in a rock band, all you have to do is bring in a CD and they let you in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for free? My favorite are ZZ Top's fuzzy drums from the 80's. We'll be traveling alongside the hilarious and always energetic Revivalists from New Orleans. They rip it up so check them out online.

At any rate it's nice to get out of Colorado. July and January are always the craziest months for gigging musicians and this July was no exception. I spent a solid three or four nights out of the month at home in Denver and while I'm not complaining, I'm not a coal miner or a 13th-century rat catcher here, a change of scenery is always nice.

Colorado is heaven. The mountains never cease to amaze me and our fans and friends are nothing short of incredible, mobile, aggressively smart, fun-loving people. My idea of an amazing time is traveling in a car much lighter and quicker than the one I'm in, from Vail to Steamboat, friends on board on the way to State Bridge or some such divine slice of real estate unknown to much of the rest of the world.

But as the Revivalists so eloquently put in their blog after visiting us in CO:

"Colorado is sort of like the Ned Flanders to your state’s Homer Simpson. Its yard is cleaner, its family is nicer, and no matter what you do, it always seems so much happier than you. Everything is clean and healthy. Everyone is good-looking and nice.

It’s kind of annoying after a few days."

Now, I grew up in Colorado and went to school in Louisiana, the proverbial "Homer Simpson" in this scenario. The funny thing is, The Revivalist boys are right in their blog. Of course, they go on to mention that they are joking, but compared to CO, Louisiana is much more of a "real" place in terms of a mass of diverse humanity trying to get along together in one place. It's much more reflective of the rest of the world.

A global influence truly takes times to creep into the center of such a massive country. Traveling east to west it's easy to see, architecturally and culturally, how each city looks slightly less northern European. Cincinnati even has strong elements of Protestant immigrant culture and edifice. Make it to Iowa City and the buildings are akin to what you will see until you arrive in the west, where Spanish and much more modern architecture are present.

I love Denver but have always thought of it as a confused mix between Los Angeles and Lincoln, Nebraska. But in a way, the liberal free-thinking people you meet out there on the road in America are post-nationalist. They think of their community and jobs and families first and for better or worse, nation second. It might just be better that way. Norway is grappling with the manifestation of extreme right-wing nationalism in the wake of last week's deadly shooting. At least one European country has outlawed the construction of Islamic minarets completely. Can you imagine our government outlawing Catholic cathedrals for Mexican immigrants or Buddhist temples in San Francisco because of the overwhelming presence of one type of people in our country?

Here comes the cliche conclusion to my mid-western monologue. America is great because people focus on making themselves better. We are an individualistic society who despite the nationalistic lingo, jingoistic politicians and right wing Fox News nut bags, don't care as much for American hegemony in the world as even a few years ago.

I do feel like I'm getting to know the people in my own country better than ever. I see it all. We play in five star hotels and dive bars where no sane human should ever consider consuming food or beverage. I see people tripping so hard they can only lie in the grass for hours in hilarity and I see those so depressed by the weight of existing in this individualistic place they can barely breath or stand up on their own two feet to face the day.

I suppose that's why I like being an artist and my own boss. I am, by the very nature of my job, an observer. I enter the realm of luxury and poverty every single week. As I get to know the country better I realize we need two things, education and compassion. A smart populous will only care more about their brethren because we all learn that everyone is simply a victim of circumstance. The observers, the wanderers and nomads in this world are sometimes looked down upon by a society that values hard work, a wife, two kids and a mortgage. I want all of those things one day. But for now it's time to wander and observe and to figure out how we can help each other better.

FROGS GONE FISHIN' WILL BE ON TOUR UNTIL AUGUST. THE NEXT NATIONAL TOUR IS PLANNED FOR OCTOBER.