Tuesday, April 29, 2008

A Case of the Monday's

Monday was a bit of a rest day. We spent most of it repairing equipment, changing strings, and generally recouperating from the prior 4 days. In a strange way, it makes it somewhat difficult to throw in a leisurely off-day like this. When I'm going at it day after day, I begin to get used to the grind of each day. I get less emotional over a singular show (if it was bad/good/sparse), and more atune to keeping a solid effort towards what needs to be done for each show (loading/playing/selling merch/packing up/getting someplace to crash). An off day like today - while awesome in its own right - knocks me out of that groove, and it's really hard to get back to it.

Well, it's not like I won't have enough shows to get back into the 'groove'. We head to Santa Barbara tomorrow, then a couple dates in LA (you need to check out the LA weekly that touts us as a 'rock pick' for our show at Molly Malones) before heading to Scotland's hometown of San Diego. Finally on Sunday, we play at Pappy & Harriet's in Pioneer town (where we met Victoria Williams last fall) It will be a great week of shows - come by if you are in the area.

We also were mentioned in a Tom Green segment simply by walking down to Pier 39 on Saturday. You can find us around the 35 minute mark in the above link.

cheers,
DF & SBSD

Sunday, April 27, 2008

San Francisco Rays

Not many people can actually say they came to San Francisco and got a sunburn. But, we aren't normal people. While busking down on the Embarcadero at Pier 39, we all got a little bit scorched. It was 80 degrees and not a cloud in the sky. Just a wonderful day to be out in the city. Busking went okay, after I managed to find a parking spot. Lot's of people out and about due to the weather. We also happend upon an Irish fellow who bought a CD and then came out to our show at the Plough & Stars. Bit by bit, we're taking over the world.

The show at the Plough & Stars was excellent. It was nice to have some ability to turn up and rock out a bit. People were quite receptive to our brand of Americana, we had a blast. We also played with the Robber Barons, which is always a treat. They are the nicest guys in the world, not to mention a fine band in the own right. Closing out the night was Sorrow Town Choir. They reminded me a bit of Jerry Joseph and Tom Waits. It was a mellow sort of groove, but not without energy. It was good night of music all the way around.

Today we head back into the city to play Thee Parkside. It's an early show for the Twang Sunday crowd. We've played this quite a few times, and it's one we enjoy quite thoroughly. It's a mellow event and we all have a good time enjoying the afternoon plying our craft and enjoying some company of our friends.

Till next time, take care! Be sure to take a gander at some of the photos (the picasa link to the right)

Dr. Finkelstein & SBSD

Friday, April 25, 2008

Old Ironsides

First night of the tour - playing Old Ironsides in Sacramento. We last played here in September of 2006, and we are happy to be back in the 'Sac' again. It was a good show and we had fun, but we were all a bit van-lagged from the trip down. We took naps at varying parts of the day, some of us up to three hours. After we rubbed the sand out of our eyes, we made out okay.

The opening guy, Chris Anaya, was a mellow introduction to the evening. At one point he invited a gal up to sing a song with him that I rather liked. This was offset by inviting another person up to sing harmonies and the guest had no idea what the lyrics were. They ended up not doing the song. You rarely see this - a trainwreck. A band/performer/artist/singer will do anything and everything to just finish the damn song - no matter how awful it is. To actually cry 'uncle' and just punt is a spectacle (and cringe-worthy). I saw it happen to Billy Joel one time on "Goodnight Saigon" (Billy started in one key, the band came in on another) in the Rose Garden, so this isn't an idictment on this artist. It happens to us all...

The Stilts featured three guitarists, creating a huge wall of sound. The star of the show was easily the lead guy. Straight out glam-zines of the 80's, this guy had all the great moves, struts, and pouted his way to my heart. At one point, he ripped off the guitar strap and was flying the guitar around like an airplane. Well, until he stopped (midflight) and kept it between his legs, lurching and heaving with each note he was playing leaving little to the imagination what his night was to be filled with. What can I say, I was impressed. He wasn't just glam either, he could play as well. Good times, I say.

***

The weather here is amazing. It's pretty wonderful when you can actually scrape the moss and mold off of you and know that it won't be growing right back. Don't get me wrong, I love Portland...and I'll love it more when I get back in June, but I've had all I can handle of rain and miserably cold temperatures for the year. I need my sun!

As always, you can find pictures here. Bookmark it and check back often. We'll always be doing something. Hell, I might actually learn how to take a decent photo at night...

One show down - thirty more to go!

cheers,
Dr Finkelstein

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Longest Drive - Complete!

Hey folks! Just got into Davis about 3 hours ago. I've spent the morning setting up this blog and associated Picasa photo album for all your Slow Drag fans to ogle. And yes, that really is sunshine you are seeing in the photos...it actually exists, Portland!

Stay tuned for more - until then you can bookmark the photo album and see us as we barrel down the highway.

cheers,
Dr. Finkelstein & SBSD