I’m rather fond of these cuts.
92 JAMZ
I just got done doing a radio interview with Blondy from 92 JAMZ in Colby. It was an hour long and I doubt that much more than about three minutes will make it on, but you can look forward to excerpts being posted here on the site. She let me plug the Page show as well as this website, which was good. Our manager was pretty hard on her on the pre-interview call, but things turned out OK. Peace comes from yeast. Later.
Outdrank by Trevor’s girlfriend
After hours
Sitting here at Candace’s house. After hours in Colby. Rock.
We just got out of our first back-to-back combo show. Awesome times. We came over here last night after the show and jammed for about two and a half hours until the hotel would let us get Mike and me two nights for the price of one…about 5:00am.
We had a $102 bar tab tonight. That’s for sure a record. A four-piece band drinking that much isn’t healthy. It sure didn’t show, though. Very solid. Later.
Too loud
The MMB show last night–you guessed it–rocked balls.
I was joking with the PWAC crew before the show about how I was going to see the prophet. I was going to go bearing gifts, probably something other than frankincense or myrrh.
“What does Traffas have to confess for? Drinking and driving?” –Chris Day, PWAC employee
I forgot to mention what happened last Friday at our, as McClure would say, Vallentine’s day massecre. Ron Clark and I played some bluegrass, folk, and gospel music for the Manhattan Circle of Death Senior Center. It was a very fun show, all-in-all, and as we were loading out, we saw an ambulance, lights a’flashing, in the parking lot. I didn’t think anything of it. As we came to find out, a man who didn’t like loud music and was too incapable of telling that we weren’t playing loud music had crawled under the secretary’s desk and wouldn’t come out. They had to call the paramedics to extract him from his hiding place, all the while explaining to him that we had gone.
I think I may have found something for which to confess.
Anyway, I’m loading the Tour Mazda Limited Hot Wheels Eddie Bauer Edition for the show tonight at Colby. We’ll see if the people who were requesting Divide last time are there again. If they are, it’ll be a good couple of nights.
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Well we’ve come a long ways in three weeks. Three weeks ago, I’d never heard of Doc Nelson or Michael Kisner. Two weeks ago, they had both been given 60 songs to learn in less than a week. A week ago, we had played an absolutely incredible show at Big Dogg’s in Junction City, KS, and were hungry for more. I know I was surprised at how good we sounded–before we had officially practiced. Folks, these guys are good.
We’re headed to Colby this weekend for a Friday-Saturday, one-two combo show at Twister’s. Looking forward to going back there with the big guns. Then we’re headed to Hays to play at The Page. That show is going to be packed, so come early to get a standing space.
I spoke with Shawn at Gumby’s last night about bringing us back with the full band. He wants to do it, and so do I, but we’re currently negotiating price. Look for a Friday at Gumby’s, Saturday at Big Dogg’s combo sometime in March or April.
Don’t forget the weekly Trevor Burgess / Aaron Traffas show in Salina tonight or the Mike McClure Band show tomorrow night at Shotz in Manhattan.
Reset
Well I got through it.
Mike’s Sports Bar in Medicine Lodge, the place where I had my CD release party for Coffee Grounds, is now a private club. I went in and instead of the family-oriented drunken atmosphere I was expecting, there were a bunch of fat guys with beards whom I’d never seen before. The place was kind of a dump to begin with, but now that they’re serving hard alcohol I have no desire to ever go back.
The wedding went well. I got to see a bunch of old friends.
It was all my tour Mazda Hot-Wheels edition could do to pull my loaded trailer back from Sharon as part of the Great Equipment Migration to Northern Kansas.
8 hours of sleep…out of 48
Got back from practice last night at 3:00am. I’m running a little low on sleep. 10 hours on the road yesterday and another 4 coming up today. You’d think I’d get tired of this stuff. Doc rode with me yesterday. Man, that guy has some stories. Everything from Vince Gill walking up and asking to sit in before Vince was popular to wild times had on tour with, among others, Alan Jackson, Wynona and David Allen Coe. Doc certainly has “been there, done that”. Why is he playing with us? I can’t figure it out. I do know one thing: I’m glad that he is.
I have always wanted not to think about getting bigger than we are. I always want to take things one step at a time and not look more than six months ahead. Damnit, after nights like last night, it’s hard not to.