Show 9 Atalanta

Show 9 Hot-Lanta Georgia.. 

#ih112209

It was a beautiful sunrise as we drove through the countryside towards Atlanta..somehow the truck stops looked so dreamy in the crisp morning air. By the time we got to The Variety Playhouse i had fallen asleep again. I slept through load in and part of the set-up. I ran in to find the wonderful crew hard at work. I started to set up feeling very giddy for some reason, It was going to be a good day. We continued through the routine as usual. I love the stillness of soundcheck. It's such a good opportunity to tap into the higher energies that go along with music. Sometimes the soundcheck is the best part of the day for me because i can totally open up to the stuff that gives me the chills..  

Such a immense theater the Playhouse. A grand floor below and a massive balcony above. Before i knew it the doors opened and the public started flooding in. We had a very fun time backstage talking and chatting. Everyone was in good spirits. The guest Cellist Yoosung was a great character. He has us all in hysterics showing us pictures of his Chihuahua. Once again, It was show-time. I played, it felt good to finally be comfortable playing for 1500+ people. Things seemed to go off without a hitch. For the last song "the war is over" i jumped down into the crowd again and danced with the crowd. Oh what fun. Tim went up again with a dazzling display of DSP mayhem. I think the average music listener may be a little frightened about his unique and innovative display of talent, but there are others who will be inspired and changed forever by his amazing-ness. 

We took a short break before Immi took the stage. Its nice to feel like we're in somewhat of a routine. The show process holds us together like glue in a slightly volatile world. Without the shows we would be just nomad without purpose. Immi took the stage again with her wine glass and sang the Lyrics "bodies disengaged, out mouths are fleshing over"..such a beautiful line. The crowd adores her. She continued on through the set until we joined her. We played our little hearts out we did. YooSung even added a rocking Cello spin move during aha!..it was pretty sweet. What a fun night.. I think the saying "Southern Hospitality" is true. Everyone is warm and engaging. The show ended on a beautiful note and Imogen singing "bye bye bye bye" and just as quick as it started, It was over..I look forward to my return to Atlanta..

to all my friend and family. I am grateful for you and I miss you. Happy thanksgiving...

xoxo

Shows 7 and 8, Nashville and Knoxville

Nashville Show 7:

We arrived in Nashville after another night of bus dancing. It was very nice out and i felt charged for the show. We arrived at the Exit-In to set-up and soundcheck. There was a large wall listing some of the famous artists who had played there. I felt honored to be on the same stage as them. My dad came into town from Phoenix to see me play so i was able to let him backstage before the show to hang out. He was excited to see the production in action. I took him on the bus to meet the rest of the crew, Derek- our tour manager, Rob- our visual/lighting guy, and Tom our Front of house. My dad is a guitarist as well (a much better one than I) so he could appreciate all the work that went in to the show.. 

Show-time came without fail once again and Imogen introduced me with kind words once more. I played for the sophisticate and warm Nashville crowd. I have to say it was a little intimidating playing in a city with such extensive music history. Some of the best songwriters and musicians in the world still live and work here. This town has a heavy hand in shaping the climate of the music industry of yesterday and today. All in all i think it went over pretty well. The crowd seemed to enjoy it. Tim Exile followed doing his mixture of glitch improve future music. I think he is doing some of the most inspiring music around. He is really on the edge of music production techniques. 

Imogen took the stage with grace once again to an enthusiastic warm crowd. Playing with her has become one of the great joys of life. She is a beautiful talent. Staring out at the crowd is like a strange meditation. Everything is moving, there is sound coming out of everything. I look over at Imogen, at Tim an Chris Vatalaro without much of anything floating through my head. Just emotion and energy pass through as we dance this movement. I imagine it is somewhat similar to playing basketball or ballet. Things just flow. Occasionally thoughts or concepts enter, good or bad. They can either improve or derail what is happening so its important not to attach to deeply to them. Just look at them for a sec and decide wether to let them in.  Then in the blink of an eye its all over. I'm left spinning once again. I say goodbye to my dad and before i know it we're off to Knoxville....

Knoxville Show 8:

We arrive at the Square room to some really delicious Sweet tea and steak sandwiches. On the walls are some really nice large format black and white photos of local musical talent. I have a feeling this is going to be a fun show. The backstage is like a beautiful hotel room complete with bunk beds and a giant bean bag chair. We set up and sound checked as usual. This venues seemed fairly new and modern so it was cool to hear Tom tune the p.a. and get it sounding proper. Everything checked out good, the staff and promoter Ben were so nice. We waited upstage munching some food as we heard the doors open before we played. We could hear the crowd cheering already before we even played. This was going to be a fun one. Imogen brought me on stage nicely again and the crowd was super enthusiastic. It was one girls birthday and it seemed like the whole crowd was there to celebrate. We dance laughed and sang the set through to my finale of "the war is over".. I jumped down in the crowd to dance with the super fun fans. What a great time. Tim followed with his amazing wit and charm, winning over the heart and minds of knoxville. Immi was nice enough to hire a masseuse  for us for all the hard work we've been doing. Right after Tim started i ran up to a quiet candlelit  room where i proceeded to get an amazing massage to the sound of Tim's electro noise fun downstairs. It was like running a mile in 20 degree rainy weather then jumping immediately in to the hottest Jacuzzi you can stand. Such a contrast of energies back to back. I could hear Tim's set end as my massage was ending. Boy that was great. I was so relaxed and ready to go on stage. My body felt great. 

Imogen took the stage with her wine glass full of water, playing it like a beautiful glass harp. She sang her opening lyrics "bodies disengage our mouths are fleshing over".. the beautiful ambient hum of that intro mixed with her voice in those lyrics still give me chills.. before i knew it we joined her on stage for Headlock. Followed by Bad Body Double where i do a cameo as her Bad Body Double. The crowd loved it. After this Tim and i have a 3 song break so we headed to the basement below where the fans stood and watched. It was a wood floor above us and we could hear the crowd shift and sway to the songs above us. It was like a crowd of calm animals swaying in a tide pool to her songs. This was one of the most amazing thing i have ever heard. Feet scampering and swaying to Imogen's beautiful music. I could have listened to it all night, But had a set to finish. Things went off without a hitch. The crowd was so warm and i felt so relaxed and grateful to be having these experiences. We ended the set, left the stage, Imogen went out for the encore and finished the night once again. We met the fans and loaded out. A splendid night indeed. Thank you knoxville for your enthusiastic hospitality. I look forward to returning. 

Shows 5 and 6 in the Grand State of TEXAS!

We arrived in Dallas a few days ago on a wispy chilled afternoon. It was a beautiful evening that began with some some time in the gym followed by a relaxing dip in the jacuzzi with Cara, Chris, and Tim. Tom joined us a bit later for some pretty awesome tacos, so awesome in fact that i think the place should be named awesome tacos. The next day arrived without fail and it was time for our show-day routine. Get on the bus, drive up to the venue, the boys load in, set up, sound check, bring in merch, run through songs, warm up vocals.. etc etc etc...I like that its beginning to become somewhat of a routine, i feel like it gets into my bones and muscles. It becomes a part of me like walking or running. It requires a high level of presence; a meditation almost. The show went off without much of a hitch, i felt like my set went well, and Imogen sounded amazing as always. Everyone was completely lovely by the merch booth afterwards. Sandy help us with the CD and t-shirt sales. Before I knew it we were off to Austin.

We arrived in the beautiful city in the morning, where Tim and I grabbed some food at Katz's deli. Very delicious corned beef and Hash! Tim and i talked about his plans for artist based software development. I think his ideas are going to shape the future of music technology and music distribution. Again it was time to load in and set up. We had a very fun sound check, we finished in time to walk over to the bridge at Congress street to see some bats. We waited for a bit before the bats started stirring. They were a bit dark and hard to make out but with the illumination of a flash light you could see thousands of little furry buddies flying in circles just underneath the bridge. They generated small clicking noises that when multiplied, they sounded like a sea of glitchy insects sputtering about. Very cool. Cara got word that the cellist arrived at the venue so we rushed back to do the final sound check. He was very talented. 

Show-time sprung up like a bouncy ball once again. My set went pretty good except for "hookie".. I felt like it was playing an out of tune warped record for everyone. The timing was off, the mix was weird. It was flat out wonky.  Luckily we got through it without killing anyone. Afterwards I was a little in my head, i was struggling to stay present for Imogen's set. She went on to another wonderful warm crowd. When it was time for us to re-enter the stage I was a little off for some reason. I had a hard time staying in it. I continued to breath into it. There it was, the stillness i needed to play. Before I knew it we were playing the last song once again. We bowed, left the stage, then Imogen returned for another beautiful encore of "Hide and Seek"..  Afterwards I went out to the merch table to meet some fans. Once again, they were lovely. The guys from a great band called "Speak" were out there, I love their music. Our great friend Ryan Obermeyer was in the house as well. He has a way of bringing up the party standards. We retired to the bus and there was something in the air whispering "fun fun fun!!!" in a little elf voice. We started a party. A moving bus crazy funk dance party. Everyone was in rare form. I don't know how the right combination of things come together from time to time to create magical party moments but it was all there that night. I think i might have to write a song about how much fun i had. Everyone was so lovely. I had a grin on my face the entire next day (even though i was slightly hung over).. Thats one for the history books. Thank you everything for everything!!! 

oh and "Hookie" is now available on Itunes. See you in Nashville!

Show Number 4 in boulder CO

We Arrived in boulder on friday the 13th. It was the opposite of spooky, it was quaint and warm. We arrived before the snow. We had a night off so we retired to our rooms and prepared for debauchery. Tim suggested earlier that we play a game called "I have never". I consists of one person stating something they have never done, and whoever has done that thing, standing up ad taking a drink of their beverage. For example: "I have never stepped foot in Texas." says Tim, the rest of us immediately take a drink following this statement indicating that the rest of us HAVE been to Texas. As you can imagine, we didn't stick to tame subject matter for long, a few drinks later we we divulging deeper darker secrets. The game went on for a blurry while then we walked to get some delicious Mexican food where the secret telling continued. This made me realize that i am inherently a little shy and reserved even in these extraordinary circumstances. We headed back to the Boulderado for the evening of quiet rest before tomorrows show. 

I walked to the Fox theater around Noon. It was a beautiful walk through a park by a creek. The weather had turned a bit chilly, it looked as if it may snow. The Fox is a beautiful 700 person wood theater in the middle of a little downtown area in boulder. The crew was very nice and everyone seemed in good spirits. I felt a little winded from the altitude but otherwise excited to play. Tim and I weren't  originally scheduled to perform because there was a strict curfew for a Metal show directly afterwards but Immi and the crew were nice enough to let us squeeze in a few songs each. Before i knew it the doors were opened and it was time to play. I think it was surprise for everyone for me to be up there so it took a bit to get the crowd warmed up. It was a short but sweet set for a slightly sleepy but warm crowd. Tim exile follow with a few USB glitches in his rig but he handled it amazingly well. Most people would choke under those circumstances but he handled it with grace and humor. Then the Imogen took the stage stage to a very warm roar again. She played an amazing set. Little by little the songs come together in new and exciting ways. It is an energizing evolution to say the least.  Then again like everything else does, It ended. It's almost like a small birth and death each night. After pack up and load out we all headed to the hotel for a good movie. We all gathered in one room and chose to watch Bruno. I fell asleep and started to snore through the film. Sorry guys. 

The following day was solo show for Immi at the Boulder theater. The boys and I had a day so we were slow in getting up for the day. Once we did we had a wonderful walk into the mountains. It was so nice to feel the stillness of the sow covered mountains. Tim and Chris are good buddies. I look forward to the rest of the tour with them. Afterwards we snuck into Immi's solo show just to catch the last few songs. It was the first time i've seen Hide and Seek from the crowd on this tour. It was completely beautiful. Brought me to tears in fact. She finished the set with her rendition of  "We Will Rock You"  that ended with a wicked key-tar solo. It was amazing, she is a true bad ass. We retired to the bus for the 16hr drive to Dallas that i am still on. I think we only have 2 hours left. So whoever is reading from Dallas, we'll see you soon. Thanks!

Show 3-Salt Lake City..

Oh boy! I'm sitting in a comfy bed in Boulder Co. right now thinking back on my last couple of days in beautiful Salt Lake City. We arrived Late morning and a few of us had a craving for some exercise after a long ride on the bus. So Imogen, Cara, Tim and I got geared up and headed out on the SLC streets for A nice Jog. Tim was sporting a beautiful peach, purple and green jumper circa 1985 that made him look quite sporty. Cara found some directions to a canyon nearby by so we weren't wandering aimlessly. We passed the beautiful temples in downtown and some really cute little parks. Our intuition (and map) guided us up into a beautiful canyon preserve just outside of the city. For some reason about a mile and a half in i stopped running, it triggered a chain reaction and suddenly we were all on a nice walk in the woods. Immi noticed a small trail that led uphill so we trekked upwards for a better view. It was very pretty. Nice to be in the stillness of nature after several months of hustle and bustle. We continued on to a fairly high point where we could see the luminescent glow of SLC. It reminded me of Phoenix in its expansive out-streched grid. It wasn't long before we realized we should probably make our way back. We saw no return trail ahead and we were too deep to turn back. Luckily a biker passed and Immi asked directions out. We were told that we were better off turning back seeing that it was almost dark. We weren't having it. We decided to go straight down a fairly steep hill. Some light slips but no falls and we were back on level ground headed toward the city again. Seconds later a few deer trotted by then stopped to observe us just as we were observing them. Quit a special moment. It took us some more downhill jogging (some of it backwards) to get back to town just before dark. We wandered around the beautiful temple nearby and noticed a dreamy Christmas light covered tree.  What a nice journey on our day off...

Show 3. The day began like most show days. A 12 o'clock call to the bus (11:45 according to Derek our tour manager)..A short drive to the venue where we parked and began to load in. The Venue in SLC was closer to the crusty rock clubs i'm used to playing. There is a layer of bar grime on most things and the downstairs green room has a beautiful black and red motif the says the words "just party, nobody cares"...I felt rather good about the nights show seeing that I had just gotten passed two of the most nerve wracking shows of my life. Everything went as planned through sound check. Tom our FOH guy helped tune in everything with laser precision. Before I knew it, the doors were opened and i could hear the footsteps of the crowd above as i sat in the green room in the basement. I hung with tim and chris chatting away about life and such. Show-time came again, and Imogen gracefully pranced on stage to a roaring crowd to introduce me. She mentions I record i had done years ago with japanese vocalist Coppe'.. I remembered how grateful i am to have worked with her and all of the crazy opportunities doing that record opened up for me. I walked up and began to play. The crowd was warm. I felt more relaxed this time. It was easy to talk to the crowd and open up a bit. This made it quit fun. I started "Hookie" with my Electro Harmonix looper. It was crazy hearing that much low end coming out of the subs. It made avery tiny variation in volume seem huge, like kick drums through a magnifying glass. This made the process of building the loops a little shaky but at least i did it once. I'll just have to keep it up to get it tighter. Then the last song, "The War is Over".. this was fun because its kind of a no brainer. So much fun in fact that i began dancing a little bit too much to offer me breath to sing. I became very winded and lost a bunch of lyrics, but oh well. It was fun to say the least. Before i knew it my show was over and it was time for the genius Tim Exile once again. The crowd seemed to love it. The night was going well. 

  Then came the main attraction. The beautiful talented Imogen Heap hopped on stage to a roaring crowd once again. She commanded the vibe of the crowd despite some loud drunk chatters in the back. One of the audience members yelled "Shut the Fuck Up!!" to the noisy chatters.. Imogen responded "I couldn't have said it better myself.." this inspired a great laugh from the audience. The show seemed to be going the best so far. The club was a little strange in its layout, it had seating up and behind imogen which must have felt strange. We played, getting off and on stage following Imogen's lead. Before I knew it the last song arrived without too much of a hitch. I was grateful once again to be sharing a stage with such talent. Imogen ended with a wicked Key-Tar solo for the pre encore ending. The crowd loved it. Tim, Chris and my work on stage was done for the night. Imogen re-entered the stage for the encore. She played the beautiful "hide and seek" to a dripping crowd. They hung on to every note like monks praying at mass. It was beautiful. I walked out to the merch table to meet some of the concert goers. Imogen played two more to round out the show. The crowd cheered a final cheer to end the night. Sitting at the merch booth i encountered some of the loveliest complimentary fans i have ever met. People love my music and bought cds and shirts..it was amazing. What an energy booster. A group of people drove all the way out from Phoenix to see imogen and they loved it. What a grand time. I must have signed 50 cd's by the end of the night. I had never done this before. I admit i didn't mind the appreciation at all. As good things must pass so did this. The fans left and it was time pack up. What a night. I love Salt Lake City now. I look forward to coming back.  On the bus we watched Batman Dark Night as we drove in the dark night. I fell asleep before the end with a cup in my lap. Somehow i managed not to spill it. Imogen awoke me so i could stumble into my bunk for the night.. then i slept.. and now i am here. thank you everything for everything. 

Show 2, at the Fillmore in San Fran

disclaimer: i am bored of proof reading so please excuse any errors :D

I awoke the next morning in San Fran. I peered out the windows of the bus with a feeling of excitement and rejuvenation. What a strange process to sleep in a moving home and wake up in a new place. It reminds me the movie Alien, where the crew would sleep in suspended animation while traveling long distances in space. It enjoyed some good breakfast at a local spot with fellow tour mates Tim Exile and Chris Vatalaro. The day passed and before i knew it we were setting up onstage at the Fillmore. What a beautiful venue. Wonderful Zoe the Cellist came to accompany us onstage for some of Immi's set. I felt as if tonight would be cake compared to the uphill strides of last nights show. I was perhaps a little over confident. When doors opened fans started pouring in. The vibe was good. Imogen again with such grace and kindness introduced me on stage. I played. The first song felt good. I was more relaxed than the night before. I continued. After 2 songs i figured i would try "dream girl". Its a slow ballad that i do like a lot but i had never played it before live. It started rough. My looper was acting funny and I think i started one of the loops off-beat. I played. I felt the crowd yawn. It was a very strange feeling. Its like the audience was one being and they were getting bored in the conversation. Against all training I abruptly stopped the song before the bore went on. I immediately switched to "The War is Over". Thankfully this gained them back. What a relief. I had some good hi-5's with the kids up front and some dancers in the crowd so this was wonderful. I was done. Immi' immediately introduced Tim Exile who i think is one of the most talented musicians/performers around today. He started the set with looping himself eating chips. It was amazing. He continued with some drippy electro beats and then he gave the audience the microphone so he could sample them. Amazing. One audience member wasn't into this style of performance and spoke into the mic "this isn't music" just in time for him to sample and loop it. Also amazing. He finished to a roaring house. Such a great set. It was time for Imogen. She entered the stage again with such grace and confidence. The first 2 songs sounded great. It was our turn again to join her. It was so strange, it was like i wasn't there.. like i was on auto pilot. It felt like everything was happening around me and i was just the obserer. In between songs my head sent me to a near panic. "how can i be doing this and be so disconnected" i would think..along with other disabling thoughts. Luckily thoughts are just thoughts, they are not me, so I can operate regardless. The show happened like a distant blur. Imogen was amazing as always. Before i knew it , it all came to an end again. Just like the next 12 will. After the show i learned that the Fillmore crew had lost one of there bar-backs the previous night. He died by his own hand, this sent a shock-wave through me putting everything into perspective. I was not unfamiliar with this urge when i was younger. To be so uncomfortable and lost that the option of death seams better that another day of life, and to know that i once felt this way and now i was on the most amazing tour of my life. My heart broke for the poor soul who did not hang on one more day. My thoughts and regards go out to his family friends and co-workers. If nothing else comes of all of this i would at least wish to communicate to those feeling a deep longing for relief from the struggles of life that it is worth hanging on.
thank you everything for everything.

First Show with Imogen Heap and Tim Exile, Fonda Theater 11-09-09

disclaimer: I have not given this a proper proof read due to the fact that i am late checking out of my hotel room. Thanks for understanding.


Wow. My first night opening and playing for Imogen Heap was completely overwhelming. there was a strange sense of thrilling stillness before i went on stage. I felt completely under prepared and green before getting on stage but somehow I had acceptance that I had to get through this to get comfortable playing for that many people. Show-time came and Imogen kindly introduced me. I walked up to see 1700 little faces in front of me. I was terrified but somewhat still. I played. Thankfully I rehearsed enough so that my nerves didn't completely de-rail me, however there were a few times when my brain kicked in and threw me pretty far off kilter. It took moments to recover. Still I played. When i was done every step reminded me that i was about 3 feet off the ground. I still had to play throughout Immi's set. Even though i felt extremely under-rehearsed i knew Imogen's presence would ease the electricity in the air. As she walked on stage the crowd roared. Her eloquent explanation of the preparedness situation eased any insecurities. She played. The audience adores her. It was our cue to come back on stage, and as if there was some invisible force field between the observer in the crowd and the performer, we pushed ourselves through and became the watched. Stillness arose as the song began. No thoughts of failure or ability entered my mind at first. We played. At times i worried about hitting the wrong note, or whether i was worthy of sharing the stage with such talent. Luckily these thoughts passed just like leaves in the wind. We played. Before i knew it, the last song arrived. By then I started to feel comfortable with this arrangement. I knew i would miss it when it was over. We played, and then we bowed. Show was over. We walked off stage and i couldn't focus on anything. People were talking to me and it was like i wasn't ever there. I was peering out through this long tunnel of my awareness. I was in a distance place, somewhere outside of existence. I knew i had work to do, gear to tear down, merch to settle up. Still, I wandered around the giant theater avoiding interaction. I realized that i had forgotten to eat that day so my stomach began to ache. I answered the call with some dry sandwiches that had been delivered for catering much earlier. Slowly i returned to the earth. I had never felt so tired in my life. I could hardly keep my eyes open. We retired to the bus where i crawled into my womb-like bunk to sleep. I slept and awoke to do it all again....