Live And Extemporaneous

We arrived in Lafayette, Louisiana about 6 in the morning just as the Harris household was rising for their rigorous routines. The sun was taking a peak from its eastern bed. The air was thick with the moisture of swamp terrain. Clouds loomed thunderous on the horizon. After greetings we crashed. Eight hours later we devoured bowls of gumbo. Boudin and cracklins followed. Louisianans make you one of theirs with a smile, a wink, and a bit of twang. It was soon time to go to Sadies for Eric’s hometown review. We couldn’t have had a nicer reception. Everyone was elated to see their hometown hero doing better than ever.

Next day was New Orleans. The Big Sleazy. We were in a dirty, dank, but optimistically gentrifying, corner of town far from the girls going wild. The Hi Ho Lounge is a punk bar where the squatters hang outside and drink beer listening to the bands inside they can’t afford to see. We played with Donkey Puncher and The Pall Bearers who sang songs about raping the statue of liberty and other cool shit like that. Shout outs to LANEY for making indestructible amplifiers.

Back to Lafayette with some days off. We were invited to a cookout at Mista Dane’s house and it is agreed that the man is a master chef. Some of us had daiquiris the size of a fat baby in order to save up our energy for our night out at Cowboys, a country/western bar where the beers are cheap and life is cheaper. Andrew got stuck in a massive line dance and Scotty had to rescue him. That’s when the band on stage said that Gypsyhawk from Pasadena, California was gonna get up here on stage and play a couple their diddies. Being the pack of Huckleberries we are we grabbed our guns from the trailer, saddled up, shot first, and asked questions later. “Rock N’ Roll Hoochie Coo” and “Defenders Of Good Times” got all the fillies in heat and kept the beer frosty. Much obliged, it was eventually time to hit that ol’ dusty trail.

Didn’t I tell y’all to never sleep in a hot van in a Wal-Mart parking lot? Well, that’s where we woke again two days later in Gainesville, Florida. It was Saturday so Orange and Blue were strutting proudly through the streets ready to party. Florida clouds show you just how big the sky is with the vast depth they create. Spread everywhere beneath was dense green reaching up from any crack in the landscape it could find. We got to the Wayward Council around 8. Played to a nice mix of Gator jocks, Tampa youngins, and Everywheresville crust punks. Anyway you want to slice this shit everyone likes a guitar solo now and then. Or over and over again. Ad nauseum. Afterward we checked out their squat and partied til dawn. Really cool kids. Go hang out with them if you can.

3 days until we’re in Columbus, Ohio.