And still more!

More photos...

Photos!

Back from the Dead! Tour Blog March 3-7

Hello there!

Lots to report for the last five days- we've been busy!

Friday, 3/2
Had a morning show for 588 Weed-ite kids who, although they screamed like they were being murdered when the lights went out, but then gaves us their undivided attention for the duration of the show. The show itself was about as loony as it gets, with no major disasters, but lots of minor ones, including:
-the janitor deciding to vacuum the theatre during sound check
-Jackie having to leave stage to get a drink becuase her voice vanished while her mic pack fell out the bottom of her pants while Tyler started the suitcase routine with the wrong suitcase
-the key mysteriously disappearing after preset
-Jackie decided to sing pieces of Elizabeths solos in "Ladies of NJ"
-the endings or beginnings of multiple songs were rocky at best
-the river sound cue came in during the Kyselka scene
-Elizabeth kicked the fog machine in the last moment of the show
-After the show, a sound technician came in and completely unpatched the

We handled all such difficulties with aplomb, however, and the kids went crazy at the end. We had a break between shows, which we spent resting at the hotel before our evening meal... The theatre provided a spectacular deli arrangement (consisting of coldcuts, veggies, and American cheese) for our dinner, had a great show for over 450 people, including a group of Big Steve's relatives, eel fisherman who described how they now put socks on their hands to catch the slippery buggers, and a family that had lived in Scott Valley for 7 generations, just below Ruffy Gap. We loaded out without problem, and hit the hay.


Saturday, 3/3
We drove up to Portland accompanied by Adrian's bodily gases, compliments of the chorizo burritos he made a couple of days earlier, and the comic musings of David Cross & Dane Cook. Aside from an emergency Dutch Bros. stop, it was smooth sailing all the way to the Echo Theatre in Portland. We loaded in with the help of DoJump's AWESOME TD, Sam Kusnetz and Carlos Alexis Cruz, and then headed off to see a performance by "Keep Your Fork, There's Pie," the bluegrass band with Amy Jo, alum from '03 . We were also joined by Louise Peck, Ben Clifton, and Jessica Gleason, visiting from sunny Blue Lake, in addition to Betsy Cross and Will Cervarich, and Jessica Wallenfels. After some raucous carousing over drinks, we headed off to our separate homestays. However, the housing for Jackie and I fell through at the last minute, so we ended up (Scandal!) sharing a bed at the Portland Hostel for the night.

Sunday, 3/4
After a morning filled with light focus and sound check and lunch at a Thai place around the corner, we did the show for a small but appreciative crowd at the Echo Theatre in Portland, OR (where the dressing rooms collect the delicious smells from the restaurants next door). Then it was strike, pack and off for dinner with the in-town Blue Lakers at a delicious Indian restaurant, and making plans for the next day.

Monday, 3/5
Since we had 3 days off, we decided to take advantage of our close proximity to the mountains, and headed up to the Cooper Spur Lodge and our own private log cabin on Mt. Hood (all except Odile, who decided to stay in town for to do some much needed homework and tango-ing.) Dan Stockwell (aka "Stock the Rock") found us a great deal- a cabin complete with kitchen, outdoor hottubs, mountain view, fireplace, and four lift tickets for only $190! After some grocery shopping, we hot tubbed, drank, ate, played cards, and relaxed reading books late into the night.

Tuesday, 3/6
Since we had the four lift tickets, we headed to Mt. Hood Meadows Ski Park around 9am, and the Dans, Adrian, and Jackie hit the slopes until 3 as Elizabeth and I lounged in the winter landscape and read our books, napped, and offered wise advice to skiers who passed. The weather was warm and sunny- perfect for skiing/snowboarding, so we stayed until about 4pm, and then headed back into Portland for a dinner of BBQ, and then to a concert by the one and only George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic at the Crystal Ballroom, a gorgeous perofrmance space in the middle of downtown Portland. We're talking the father of funk here, and the show had it all- 1,000 people watching, a guitarist wearing a diaper, an older portly gentleman who played the maracas for 2 hours straight, all the classic Geroge Clinton hits, including "Funkintelicky," "Flashlight," "We Got the Funk," a rockin' cover of James Brown's "The Big Payback" and a whole host of others. We finally crashed around 1am.

Wednesday, 3/7
Today was a leisurely day around town- shopping trips to Powell's books and other shops, and then hanging out at the Bagdad, the local bar/diner/movie theatre. Tonight we're off for Indian food, and tomorrow we had north to Kirkland!

Day 1- Travel & Load-in: Weed, CA

Howdy!

After meetin' up in front of Dell'Arte at 8:00 (with everyone relatively on time), we hit the road. The Dans & the truck got a bit of a head start on us, so we were riding solo. We chewed the fat about every which way- porn studios in San Francisco, etymology, family dynamics, as well as exlpainin' a couple of parts in the show that were unclear to the Frenchy in the cast. Saw lots of snow up'n the hills, but 299 was clear as my head on Easter mornin,' and in Redding were greeted by the unofficial sponsor of the tour, Dutch Bros. Coffee, complete with nubile college servers. We got into Weed, a bootiful little mountain town, in the shadow of Mt. Shasta, an hour before load-in, checked into the Hi-Lo Motel- a Mom & Pop place with a delicious American Diner connected, and then headed on over to College of the Siskiyous, for load-in.

We loaded in the set without much trouble from the locals- a couple of them (Keith, their TD, and Liz, who's a snowboardin' teacher at Mt. Shasta) even helpin' us out... After 2 hours, the actor-types headed off, and the Dans kept workin' on lights and sound. The Hi-Lo Diner called our name, and we answered with a vengeance. Odile ain't never had good ol' American food b'fore, so she ordered a good lookin' fish dish, I had myself a nice plate of liver'n'onions, and the rest of'em had the daily special- Texas toast topped with meatloaf topped with mashed potatoes 'n' gravy topped with onion rings. Hot dang they know how to eat in Weed! Adrian, Elizabeth 'n' me did a little explorin', procured ourselves some Aquavit form the local watering hole (a tribute to my Herndehoovian friends) then went back to the theatre for an antic-filled cue to cue. After all that, we rendezvoused at the Hi-Lo for a night cap before tuckin' in for the day...

Learnin's of the day...
Folks listen more when yer a foreigner.
Don't feed Adrian chorizo- all will suffer
Snowball fights're fun. 'specially when it's 3 against one...

Adios!
Kyselka

Grasshopper Tour Blog Set-up!

Hello there!

Got a good friend named Flyin' Pig who let me use this here compooper to keep y'all updated on happenings in this year's tour of "In the Land of the Grasshopper Song," so keep yer eyes on this here blog for daily updates on hap'nins, startin' March 1!


Watch out fer panthers after dark...
Mr. Kyselka