We are in sunny sunny California and it is lovely.
We left Portland and drove to Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park near Crescent City, CA. We were mesmerized by the vast red trunks looming over our seemingly miniature minivan as we drove the windy roads along the coastline. We camped in Mill Creek Campground, recommended to us by Kimberly, the wonderful sound woman of Darlingside. We each opened a beer and went for a short hike near our campsite. As we ambled along through the woods, I was overwhelmed with how wild and wise the forest felt. It was incredibly quiet, like all the animals had known we were coming and had hidden themselves away. I felt like we were being watched from all angles. Not in an unfriendly way though, just a curious one. It was dusk, and getting dark quickly, so we only walked for 30 minutes or so and turned around. We did not think to pick up firewood or food before we had arrived to the middle of the woods, so we ate what we had - chips, salsa, carrots, hummus and dilly beans (a bday present from my mother!), and promptly went to bed shortly after 8pm.
In the morning we drove to Berkeley, CA, which was a good 7 hour drive along the coastline. A beautiful journey, and once we got to the city, we were shocked by how steep the hills were. As we followed the directions up into the mountains it felt like we were going to tip backwards! We got to seemingly the top of the city and we still had to go up the steepest driveway I've ever seen. We all got out to ease the weight in the van, and Dave drove up cautiously. The house was a 4-story co-op with 10 people living in it and the most beautiful view of San Fransisco and the whole Bay Area, with the sun just starting to set. Everyone was very welcoming to us, even though we'd never met anyone there. I couldn't even remember how I was connected to this house in the first place. Turns out it was my friend Eliza Edens. She had played at this house a while ago and had hooked me up with Shanley, who lives there and likes to put on shows. A perfect place to do so! We were given an entire huge room to stay in with multiple beds and a couch and our own porch to watch the sunset from.
Maya Elise is an artist from Oakland, and she started off the night. There were around 30-40 people there lounging and standing around the large living room looking out at the sparkling city lights and listening to Maya's beautiful sounds and quirky stage banter. We were excited to play to this room of strangers, and they did not disappoint. I had a very fun time playing music with the boys and singing with Elisabeth in this very intimate setting, and everyone seemed to be engaged and very there for the music. I said some dumb things in between songs, but ohhh well. Sometimes you got it, sometimes you don't. I really enjoyed chatting with the people after, and had multiple mutual friends with a few people. It's a small world gosh. One person there visits Searsmont Maine every summer and we figured out that he saw us play in Belfast, ME at Summer Nights in August! People seemed to especially want to talk about the lyrics and storylines from the songs, which I really appreciated, and lots of merch was sold. Everyone had left before 10pm, and we were happy to go to sleep early all snuggled up in a California king bed watching SNL.
In the morning we were off to play on the Sonoma County NPR station. We left all our gear at the co-op, because you can't leave anything in a car anywhere in the Bay Area because it is more likely to be stolen than not (which I learned the hard way a few years ago when I got my backpack stolen in SF). We made our way down the steep steep hills, and the breaks started smelling very bad.. The rotors were apparently overheating and were in danger of warping, so we stopped for some quick breakfast to let them cool down, and then made our way an hour north of Berkeley to Rohnert Park, to play on Northern California Public Radio..
I met the host of this station, Brian Griffith, in Nashville at a party put on by Yep Roc during Americana Fest, and he had invited us to come play on the radio. To start off the segment, he played the album recording of Gold (first radio play!). He is a very comfortable host, and very good at his job, so we had a nice carefree interview/conversation, and then we played Red Neck Yaught Club live on the radio. We chatted some more, then played Cass's Song live, and then he played the album version of End Of Your Song. It was all very fun and satisfying, and I was so happy we went a bit out of our way to do the broadcast. Some times those things are weird and a bit of a waste of time, but this seemed very legit and exciting, and Brian was just the best radio host I've ever interacted with, so we left happy and rejuvenated.
Then we drove all around Berkeley and Oakland because we had to get the best tacos, drop Elisabeth off to hang with her college friends, and then drive all the way back up to Grizzly Peak to get all our stuff, and then back down to Emily's house, where we were staying the rest of the time in the Bay. Emily lived on North Haven a few summers ago and worked with Maria on Turner Farm, and she has stayed at my house in Camden because my roommate Elena knows her from her time in San Fransisco, so we had a lovely reunion and she showed us her epic wooden tower house that sorta reminds me of the "The Burrow", the Weasley's home. This is probably because Dave and I watched Harry Potter in the car a few days ago... But seriously this place is so cool, with a huge mound of dirt that has been structured into a swirling garden of herbs and veggies. There is an outdoor bathtub and a shack with a bed, and fruit trees galore. Her house mates are away, so we get to use the upstairs unit and it is absolutely beautiful. Everything is wooden and artfully curated to be minimal but lived-in feeling. We soon went to a Pho restaurant, and then met up with Emily's friends, Rachel and Hunter, and went to a bar. Dave and I ordered the worst margaritas ever, and we had a nice evening. Slept soundly.
This morning we drank coffee in the sun, Dan and Maria took an outdoor bath, I ate a pear from the pear tree, we walked to breakfast (I walked back to that taco truck!) and soon we will drive into San Fransisco for the evening.
Show at The Chapel tonight! Very excited because almost everyone we have met here has told us it is one of the best smaller venues in the city.
Comments
Post a Comment