Memphis, TN.

I was in Memphis for less than 24hrs but I definitely made the most of my time there. Memphis was an unplanned stop. In scouting out the drive time from Austin to Nashville, I decided that 14 hours was little too much for me in a day. I remembered at the last minute that I have a friend of a friend (who is now a friend) that lives in the heart of Memphis. He's a journalist, and BBQ lover. I knew he would make a great guide to show me around a few of the sights in town.



I arrived in Memphis around 7pm on Wednesday, February 18th. My friend Toby told me to meet him at the Red Rooster bar right off of Beale street. Toby was hanging out with a few co-workers when I arrived. We were the only people in this bar. It wasn't a small place and it felt very empty. We were there for an hour or so before anybody else walked in the door. Three girls and a guy walked in the bar and stood together in the corner. I didn't pay much attention to them until the guy approached our group and asked us if we wanted some "dip". We all said no and he asked if he could take some pictures with us for a website of the dip he was marketing. We agreed and the three girls took off their coats (it was brutally cold in Memphis when I was there) and were in matching Kayak (the brand of dip) outfits.

I had to take the opportunity to be featured in a dip marketing campaign, right?

Toby looking sexy with his girlfriend and a can of grape Kayak

This guy oozes male model

One of Toby's co-workers, male Kayak model, and husband to woman below
(forgive me as I forgot some names!)

Another Kayak pose. We should have been paid!


Kayak stacking... the kiddies love this game... and the grape flavored chew(!?)

Lamps at the red rooster

The following day, Toby and I met up for lunch. Being in Memphis, of course I had to get some BBQ! I had asked a few folks at The Red Rooster what the best BBQ in Memphis was. Many said I had to go the the legendary Rendezvous and eat the dry rub ribs.


Toby and I tried to eat here but all they were serving was ribs, nothing else. I wanted to taste a few different items aside from ribs and Toby wanted some BBQ nachos. We were going to try to hit up Central BBQ, which is supposed to be amazing but Toby forgot how to get there. We ended up at The BBQ Shop, "Home of the Dancing Pigs."




Toby got the BBQ nachos and I got the 1/2 and 1/2 BBQ pork and BBQ spaghetti. Twas amazing! Never had anything like the BBQ spaghetti. I'm sure you can imagine what it is... here is a picture to tempt your (and my) taste buds.

Some of the best BBQ I've ever had. I miss them dancing pigs!

Austin--->Memphis (647 miles)

Day 11 (Tuesday, Feb. 17th) Lanny, Christina, Jade, and I headed out to a attempt to play an open mic at a really cool bar/venue/coffee shop called Ruta Maya in Austin. This was the first time in over a week that I have given any energy to thinking about music, which has been a nice mental break. I was really hoping we would get a chance to play a bit because both Lanny and Jade Day are two of the finest and most talented vocalists I know. They are both incredible song-writers as well. I hope that you have a minute to check out their music.

Lanny Boyer
Jade Day

I've known Lanny for 4-5 years now and have played music off and on with him over that time. Lanny's album, "I'll Shine" is due out sometime in the next few months, I'm very much looking forward to the album finally being released as it's been a loooong project, spanning the entire time I've know Lanny... plus some. I performed on 5 or 6 tracks and I must say that I'm very happy with the way everything turned out.

In May of '08 Lanny was brave enough to accept my invitation to pretend he was Thom York for a night. A incredibly daunting task that no person should ever be asked to do once, much less do it again, which I've asked him to do. Here is a video of Lanny killing "Exit Music For A Film" from Trima's (my band) reconstruction of Radiohead's landmark album, "OK Computer".



After we were unable to hit the stage at Ruta Maya (impossible!) Jade suggested that we check out the Elephant Room(?) Austin's best jazz club. It looked like what a good jazz club should look like... a little seedy, dark, dank, and cramped, with just enough glow from the neon signs behind the bar to shade everybody's profile in a mysterious red hue. The band was smokin (of course--it's Austin) and it wasn't until we left the club and headed back to Lanny's place that I learned the drummer was JJ Johnson, who spent some time as the drummer in John Mayer's blues trio.

I tried to get an early start on Wednesday morning as I had a 10 hour drive ahead of me but I was having difficulty getting the Honda to fire up. After trying unsuccessfully for a couple of hours, I waited until Lanny woke up and asked for some help as I was pretty clueless on what to do. He obliged, came outside, popped the hood, blew the condensation out of my distributor cap hoses and the car started right up. Lesson learned. Thanks Lanny.

On to Memphis...

Revisite: Tucson in pictures

I just got these pictures from Victor last night. These were from a "rock" party on Tuesday, Feb. 10th

School is out! Victor and Adam. This picture should be accompanied by music... 80's sitcom music like Charles In Charge or Silver Spoons.

A Wrestling match ensued after being let out of school

Victor and our Australian friend, Marcel

Adam, me, and Victor, clearly tired from all the hard work

Drum circle, brah!

Someone likes being the center of attention...

I taught them all a lesson

I let the woman behind me play my pandeiro. She wouldn't give it back to me. She loved that tamborine--and her white gloves

Adam, Marcel, and me.

This is Nikki. Nikki is, um, interesting. Nikki came to Victor's warehouse from his Dad's rock show across the street. I spoke with Nikki for a few minutes. Here is an excerpt of the conversation

Me: So, where you from?
Nikki: Northern California
Me: Oh, cool. I was just up in Napa Valley
Nikki: Yeah, it's nice there
Nikki: Where are you from?
Me: Denver
Nikki: Do they have trains there?
Me (perplexed): Yeah... they have Amtrak that runs from Denver to northern Cali. It's a great trip, I've done it before. Beautiful.
Nikki: No... like, um, freight trains?
Me: What?
Nikki: You know, like the train you hear in Tucson, with the horn?
Me: Yeah, sure we have freight trains. Why, you gonna hop one to Denver?
Nikki: No. Do you have Union Pacific?
Me: Well... I don't know. I think we have BNSF?
Nikki: (long pause) I like trains.

(End of Conversation)

Vic and Adam. Picture says everything

Day 8: El Paso ---> Austin

Sunday (2/15/08) I helped Victor in Tucson for half a day before heading East. My original plan was to camp outside of Carlsbad Caverns and checkout the caverns the following day. I chose to bypass that and a trip further south to Big Bend National Park for a night in a bed, at a hotel, with a TV and shower. It was a great decision. I don't have the cash to be throwing around for hotels every night but this was a special occasion (a week of hard work... do you feel the pain?)
I drove the short 4.5 hours on I-10 east out of Tucson toward El Paso, TX. I arrived, showered, and hit the sack early.

Monday, I headed out of town toward Austin, TX, a little over 570 miles or about 8 hours. I was a little concerned about this portion of the trip because I haven't really tested the Honda for a prolonged period at high speeds/rpm's, and, if you've ever driven through Texas, you understand that it might be 100 miles between "towns" that have "repair shops".

I made it to Austin unscathed after a rather uneventful trip. I was starving and I knew the right man to call, my low-end brethren and cohort in The Adam Stern Trio (henceforth known as AS3), Mike "Spanky" McClure. Spanky is a born and bread Texan... I try not to hold that against him. He's proud of his state, his Cowboys football, his college football, and his BBQ. Before I headed out of town, Spanky hooked me up with a little cash and a request, "Get you some BBQ, boy!" I pulled into Austin on hwy 290 and hit the first place I saw, Donn's Texas BBQ. Donn's happened to have a featured spot in a great BBQ documentary I saw a few weeks ago called, "Barbeque: A Texas Love Story" I pulled into the parking lot and found it to be completely empty, always a bad sign in my book. I was wondering if the place was even open. I went inside to find a pretty modest, clean place that was, for the most part, unimpressive... so was the service. I ordered some brisket, which, I've been told is the thing to order in Texas. I got some mac 'n cheese and baked beans as a side. They asked me if I wanted sauce (a strange question, I thought) and I accepted. Sides... boring. Sauce... boring. Brisket... wow! tons of flavor, moist, perfect coloring, good enough to eat without sauce, a concept that is completely foreign to this mountain dude. I love my sauce! Not the best overall BBQ I've ever had, that award goes to Moe's BBQ in Vail, CO but it could have been the best brisket I've had.

This restaurant was featured in a great BBQ documentary called Barbeque: A Texas Love Story

The sides were unimpressive, the sauce was bland, the brisket kicked ASS!

After I ate entirely too fast, I met up with my friend Lanny Boyer and his fiancee, Christina. They treated me to a few $1 Lone Star beers at the BS Cantina, a cool little watering hole in downtown Austin with a great patio that was dog friendly.

Speaking of dogs, the photo at the top is of Lanny and Christina's dog, Maya. I got really lucky with this picture as I have a digital camera with the slowish delay between when I hit the picture button and when the camera takes the picture (how do you like that technical explanation?)

Day 5: Tucson Hike

I'm still having a good time with show related events and I have more pictures on the way but beyond the show, I don't dig Tucson a whole lot. This city has a weird "vibe" and I can't quite put my finger on it. It has a major University (U of Arizona) but it doesn't feel like a college town. It's surroundings are beautiful with mountains rising up from the desert floor, circling the city, but the city itself is drab and dirty. There is road construction around every corner, making a maddening drive for any trip, short or long. The people I've encountered here (outside of the show)are not particularly friendly... it feels very tense. Perhaps it has something to do with being 60 miles from the Mexico border? There seems to be a large transient (hippie) population here, though, they're not the Boulder "trustafarians" I'm used to. They seem to be genuinely poor and they don't seem very happy. People have told me that some of these folks were given one way tickets from Los Angeles or San Diego to Tucson. I'm not sure if it's accurate but they don't seem to be adding much to the community from what I've observed.

Yesterday, I was able to get out of town for a bit and take a great 5 mile hike up in the Coronado National Forest which is north-east of the downtown area. It was a decently maintained trail that gained several thousand vertical feet in a short distance. Very unique (to me) cactus and desert plants... I'll let the pictures do the talking.





I met a very nice couple from Michigan who have recently retired with a paid off home and no debt. In these woeful economic times, it's nice to bump into people who aren't concerned about the economy because they have been responsible consumers. In fact, I told them I was headed to Nashville and they suggested that I listen to Dave Ramsey when I get there. I laughed when they said that because I have been a huge Ramsey fan and have learned a lot about fiscal responsibility from his methods that he teaches.

On Friday night (2/13/09) Vic and I went out to the 4th avenue district of Tucson. It's a hip area of bars and cafes. We checked out a club called Plush, which looks to be a really cool bar/music venue catering to emerging indie rock/college rock bands. We hit up an Irish themed bar called McCallahan's... or something to that affect. We saw a sign for $2 Guinness beer, and each had several. I learned the day after that it was the 250th anniversary of Guinness and there was a "world wide toast" for the entire day. I also had Fish and Chips, something I never eat and have hated since I was a little kid. My pallet has changed quite a bit so I thought I'd give it a try. Pretty good... got a side of malt vinegar and the tartar sauce was decent. The fish were a good size and didn't have any of that awful off (fishy) taste that bad quality fish can put off. I also tried a Peruvian dish that contained tripa (cow stomach). Decent... it wasn't an overwhelming flavor and the texture reminded me of calamari.

I don't have any pictures from Friday night because the batteries have run out in my camera and I haven't had a chance to replace them. I know it sounds like a big party all the time but I am working 8-10 hours a day, so it's hard to get time to write, post pics, run errands, and maintain the fun quotient

I'll be heading toward Austin, TX this afternoon and meeting up with my buddy, Lanny when I get there on Monday night. I'm in the mood for some BBQ!

A sculpture I liked at Electric Park, or, as I renamed it, "Tent City"

No explination needed...

Pics from the road

These pics are in reverse order of the trip...

Here is the route I took to get to Tucson, AZ


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Looking West in Arizona

The top of Emory Pass, east of Silver City NM

Love the name of this NM town

Sunset on hwy 285 in northern NM

Great Sand Dunes National Monument

Tucson, Here I Come

My great friend Victor Piccarella has really stepped up and lent me a hand during this transitional period. I met Victor as a freshman at Ft. Lewis college in Durango, Colorado, one of my favorite places in the U.S. At the time, Vic was having his own struggles as a freshman... the freedom that being away from home for the first time can do that to you. I ended up moving to Tennessee to continue my education and I lost touch with Victor. I'd see him when I visited Durango occasionally but we didn't' keep in touch. When I moved back to Denver in 2002, I found out that Victor worked at a bar just down the street from the apartment I was living in.

We started to hang out and catch up with what each other had been doing over the last 5 years or so. Not only did we instantly 'click' again, we got to know each other on a much deeper level than just being "drinking buddies". When I was in Denver for a couple of weeks after being in California, I needed a place to stay and Victor kindly offered his warehouse...

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Not glamorous but a place to sleep nonetheless.

Here's the thing, the crazy, irresponsible Vic I knew as a freshman has turned into a crazy, responsible adult who is slowly taking over the family business. He imports rocks and artisan carvings and many, many other things from Peru.



Currently, Vic is in Tucson at the largest gem and rock show in the world. Much of his business for the year is conducted during a month and a half stay in southern Arizona. He invited me down and offered to give me some work for a week in exchange for a much needed cash infusion. I didn't quite know what I was getting into but I'll tell you this, this show is insane.

The entire city is taken over by massive white tents that contain every precious rock, mineral and jewel you can possibly imagine. This industry has no regulatory board that sets standards for prices, location, and hours, so what you get is a free-for-all system of bartering, hawking, bullying, and partying :). In my three days of being in Tucson, I've met people from Peru, Morocco, India, France, China, Germany, etc... All of them speak two languages, and speak them well. Most of them speak three or more languages.... it's impressive--and disappointing to me, a native English speaker without fluency in any other language.

As I said previously, there is no 'system' for this show and it's not contained to a single location. Much of the business and displays are at hotels--in lobbies and rooms. The hotel operators have wisely transformed their establishments to cater to the rock dealers; constructing show rooms and display areas; even hiring security. It's big business for everyone involved.



Above is a picture of the Days Inn we are staying at.

Last night, there was a party for Victor's aunt Tula. We gathered in the hotel/show room and ate a ton of pizza and drank a lot of wine, whiskey, and beer. Most of the conversation was in Spanish, I picked up a little bit here and there but I never felt like I was excluded from the group. Very warm and welcoming people, Victor and his family are from Peru and are extremely sincere people who are full of life, love, and laughter.




I think that I may of indulged a little too much and I started to feel a little sick, I went outside to get a breath of fresh air and when I came back to the room, Victor had passed out and locked me out of the hotel room. I didn't have a key! I tried to call and knock to no avail... I ended up having to sleep in my trusty Honda.

Hitting the road, destination unknow.

After a great 10 day run in California which took me from the northern end of Napa Valley (Calistoga) down the PCH, to Venice, Anaheim, and back up the central valley to Sequoia National Forest, I returned to Denver to fufill several gigs I had with The Adam Stern Trio
and to wrap up a few loose ends before heading out of town again.

In the two and a half weeks I was back in Denver, I was able to enjoy a few days of snowboarding, a lot of hiking, and the company of some great friends. I also had the satisfaction of "finishing" two albums of music. One with The Adam Stern Trio called "Twang Shui" which was recorded in early January and will be complete and in my hands by April (a land speed record?)

The second album is actually a 5 year old project from my first band in Denver, Sensei. The "One Fell Over" ep album was originally recorded around December of 03 in Tom Toxby's basement. At the time, the band thought it was a decent recording and made an effort to get it into the hands of talent buyers around Denver. Unfortunately, shortly after finishing the CD, Tom Marsh (keys) quit to join a hippie commune in northern California. Evan Mellichampe (basses), Toxby (lead and rhythm guitar), and myself decided to terminate the project and move on to new things, which included a stint for the three of us backing a Denver based singer-songwriter, Angie Stevens.

In January of '09, Toxby and I unearthed the original tracks and remixed the CD. We're really happy with the way the CD came out and are excited to share the music again with our friends. Follow the Sensei link above if you want to check out some of the tunes.

The day before I left Denver (February 7th) I took a short trip down I-25 to The Garden of The Gods in Colorado Springs.






As you can see, it was a beautiful day and a great mini-trip before heading to Tucson, AZ for a week of work with mi amigo, Victor.

Everyone Has A Blog....

...So I don't blame you for not wanting to stick around here. I'm thinking of this as an exercise to rid myself of some demons that have been plaguing me for the last couple of years.

Most of you that will be reading this already know of what's going on in my life, a fact that I'm proud of because I've not been great about telling my friends and family what's on my mind, or, more importantly, what's dominating my thoughts. For those of you who care to read on, here is a quick synopsis (fancy college word)

I play music (drums). I love to cook. I love traveling even more. I have incredible friends. I have an incredible family that I am learning to reconnect with. I have an astonishingly amazing woman in my life who is stronger than I have ever imagined but might just be sick of my shit. I am jobless, without a home, broke, and climbing out of a nasty bout of depression.

My life is in chaos?

No.

I am taking my journey, trying to find out who I am and where I belong on this planet. I write out of sheer hatred for the craft (more on that later) but I feel a need to express myself. I am a performer and I require feedback. My friends and family are my saviors, the road is my partner.

I am a happy man.


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