Touring Tales With Ish

Day 7 - Feb. 25

Ashville, we love you.

We played at a little cafe called Gourmet Perks. We set up our stuff and our traveling light show (yes, light show. it's documented. check it out. Kiss has nothing on us [ ok, so it's only three lights, but still...]). Anyway, it was kind of empty at first and then out of no where this crowd trickles in. Trapdoor played first, with an awe-inspiring version of "Song for Hooch and the Priest." That song's feeling really good these days. Rob and I have got that syncopated rhythm down really well, and Alex is always great of course. It is his song after all. And the second half of the song where it gets soulful and Motowny is amazing. I feel a little weird complimenting our playing like that. But just know I'm not trying to be big-headed in the slightest. Collectively, it was good. Anyway, with vocal parts a la Sean Padilla, we all start singing behind Alex. And the song ends with all instruments fading and giving way to our voices blending in an a cappella chorus vamp. The crowd came forward and stood a couple feet away from us. It's so cool to have people so near.

The Balmorhea set went really well too. We started with "Limmat" into "Soft Rustling." I think "Baleen Morning" was after that, followed by "Process." Somewhere in there "Show Me" was played and was awesome. I just remember people clapping so hard. And this kid in a red shirt sitting up front, burying his face into his hands and shaking his head, and when I saw his face he looked so into everything. We thought we were ending with the "San Soloman" reprise, which was dedicated to Austin Dupree, but at the song's end, they clapped and clapped annnd didn't go anywhere. They just sat there, staring at us. And as you know, that's the international sign for hey, you better play another song. So we played the new untitled one, and people clapped again. The sound of energetic clapping is so nice to hear. Some guy screamed out, "Why wasn't that in the original set??"  

We put up our things and this girl came up and told us how she loved our music and how it touched her. That was so sweet, and she seemed so honest and grateful. Then this other guy was so so excited about everything. He had beautiful sincere compliments. I got a short interview from him for my project and man, he'd never heard of us before, but he just loved the show so much. This is so bizzare to me. I mean, I picture people saying that to hugely famous musicians playing some huge venue or something, not to me, the 20-year-old girl, meandering through life with only half a clue, this timid-natured girl who comes alive when no one's looking, who thinks and thinks and selectively speaks. I can't even break my own walls down to be myself completely at all times in my own life. Sometimes, I feel like I could barely make a flame shiver if I blew at it. How could I be apart of something that brought that look of joy to this girl's face?

Music always just blows me away. I'll never understand what it does to people, how sounds can change us so much. I'm just very glad for this, probably more than I show.

We're listening to Zookeeper and driving closer to Lexington tonight to stay in a hotel. Tomorrow we get to play on a live radio broadcast. Ha, and just think. Two and half years ago, I'd stopped playing my violin.