THE WEST COAST

(1.26.07 - 2.8.07)

1.25.07 - Detroit to Bellingham - Travel Day

It was very nice to be back on the West Coast - that's where family and my heart is (no disrespect to the Midwest). Freestyle wanted to visit a friend of his in Vancouver, BC after we landed, which I was in support of. So, we headed to the border after landing in SeaTac where I was just going to drop him off and turn around to head back to my friend's apartment in Bellingham. No dice. Once you approach the border, there 's nowhere to turn around, which isn't too awesome because a) you have to go through customs, and b) customs take a looooooong time. Especially on the "going into Canada" side.

It's amazing what kind of questions the border guards ask, and I couldn't help but laugh at some of them (which, now that I think about it, probably wasn't a good move). So after spending a while in customs around midnight, I was finally able to turn around and head back to my best friend's crib and crash. Best night's sleep I'd had in probably 10 years.

1.26.07 - Bellingham, WA - Nightlight Lounge

Bellingham is a cool city, and I suggest that anyone that visits Washington check it out. There are a lot of hippies and a lot of college students, and in many cases hippie college students. I love it up there. If you're looking for food in the area, I suggest checking out the Pita Pit.

I also suggest checking out the Nighlight Lounge, because that is one of the most beautiful and laidback venues I've ever played. The show was rockin, thanks in large part to the fresh energy of Lightheaded (Othello, Braille, and Ohmega Watts). If you've never seen those guys live, do. You won't regret it. Anyway, BHam had a great crowd and a really friendly staff. Much love to everyone involved in this show. Plus my dad and stepmom came out and taught the zip-up hoodied hip hop kids how to really get down at a hip hop show. And thank you very much to the STAND chapter at Western Washington University for promoting the show with hand to hands at the university.

1.27.07 - Seattle, WA - Nectar Lounge

Seattle's long been the spot to be for a lot of musical goings-on. Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Nirvana, Alice in Chains, and Temple of the Dog in the 90's, and now it's starting to emerge as a forerunner for hip hop in the 00's. And the show at the Nectar did not disappoint, though I must say I was a little nervous at the beginning of the night. Here's why:

The show was supposed to start at 9, soundcheck at 8. But when we all (and by "we all" I mean myself, lightheaded, grayskul, sleep, visionaries, mudvillians, freestyle, and pegleg) showed up, there was a 50th birthday celebration going down. Now I'm all for birthday parties, especially those for the grown up kids, but when there's supposed to be a hip hop show at the same place that could make for quite the awkward experience. But hat's off to the Nectar and Obese for making a smooth transition between the two events. By the time the first act took the stage, it was about 1/4 full. By the time Peg was up, it was 1/2 full. And by the time I took the stage, it was pretty much packed out, and of course it only got more full as the headliners took the stage.

Also fun seeing a lot of my good friends from growing up in my roots of the Northwest.

1.28.07 - Portland, OR - Hawthorne Theatre

Maybe it's because I have a softspot in my heart for the NW, but Portland has got to be one of the most down to Earth and beautiful towns in America (or the universe). It's not the most fun city to drive in, but every neighborhood has a ton of character and awesome places to eat.

Met a lot of good people at the show at the Hawthorne: a man who was actually going out to Darfur in the upcoming weeks and, if he's over there, I hope things are going well for him and that he is safe, a slough of high school kids that just wanted to see a good hip hop show, good producers and rappers, and many, many people who were spreading awareness about Darfur in their own way.

And P.S. Hawthorne is also a pretty amazing venue, which is not adequately done justice in this picture:

1.29.07 - Eugene, OR - Taboo

Freestyle and myself both got a great night's sleep at my mom's cousin's house, who also happens to be the co-host for the nationally syndicated Thom Hartman show. I hadn't met her since I was a fetus, and she's pretty much amazing. The only other thing equally amazing was the food at Braille's beautiful house. Braille, Ohmega, and Othello invited us over for a dinner of spaghetti, salad, and great conversation. It was the first actual dinner I had in about 2 weeks, and it tasted great.

The show in Eugene however? Mmm....not so great. And by not so great, I mean there were about 20 people there. Which is really, really disappointing and pretty much took the wind out of the sails of the tour that had been billowing with newfound confidence as a result of a string of really successful shows. Still, much respect to the fans that did come out (they were some great people), and to the artists who did their thing regardless. Had a really interesting conversation with JFK after the show, which caused me to snap out of a self-induced daze I'd been walking.

This was the last stop for Lightheaded and the documentary crew that was following them, and I was really sad to see them go, especially after a show that turned out like this. But I have so much respect for the way these guys handled themselves that night: with profession and compassion. Any promoter booking a tour would be lucky to have them.

1.30.07 - Travel Day - Eugene to San Francisco

As an aside, if you ever pass through Eugene, be sure to stay at the Valley River Inn. The staff they have there is incredible. I thank them for their gracious hospitality.

After a near disaster (the details of which I won't disclose out of respect to the involved parties), we were on our way down to San Francisco. Good conversations were had between Freestyle and I, ranging from music to women to politics to religion and everything in between. He's a dope dude. Because of our late start, we didn't arrive into San Francisco until about 5am, which wasn't very exciting, but at least we made it safely. On the drive down, I forgot my car phone charger and, as my phone was dying, I went into a Safeway, bought dinner (yogurt and a bagel) and charged my phone in one of the checkout lines. Nicest Safeway I've ever been to. Also had to pull over to a rest area to actually rest for the first time in my life. Sleep hit me like a ton of bricks.

1.31.07 - San Francisco, CA - Elbo Room

Awesome show. The club was filled beyond capacity and the crowd was pretty hype on seeing everyone there. Also, Tracy P is one of the most thurough promoters I've ever met. Props to her for holding everything down on her end. There was a fair amount of press types that turned out to the show, and I'd also like to thank them for their involvement in covering the show from a media standpoint.

Adante Hotel is one of the best places to stay if you are going through San Francisco for three reasons: a) it's right downtown and reasonably priced, b) the staff there is amazingly nice, and c) the rooms remind me of the house that I grew up in - that is to say, they are tiny and seem to have been built at the turn of the 19th century. It's also right next door to a string of about 50 chinese restaurants, which all smelled mighty fine.

Other notes: Aesop came out to the show, which was cool of him. And, of course, lots of fans flocked once they realized he was there. Bebo.com sent a lot of their representatives, and all of them were really nice and laid back. Meker Clothing also had a booth at the show, and their presence was incredibly positive.

2.1.07 - Travel Week - Back to School

The drive back down to LA was uneventful, which is a good thing after a trip like this. Free and I stopped at a couple I5 stands, were 2 miles away from running out of gas, and had more good conversations.

Being back at school was really strange. It felt like I'd already graduated. I got walloped with a pretty wicked cold, so I had to sit out the show on:

2.3.07 - Phoenix, AZ - Chasers

And since I wasn't able to attend the show, I really don't have anything to report here.

2.7.07 - Orange, CA - Memorial Hall

At this point of the tour, I had mixed feelings. I was proud that it'd been pulled off and felt a sense of accomplishment for having seen the baby I'd been working on since May of last year completed. But I was also fairly tired and ready to recharge my batteries.

That being said, the show at Memorial Hall was solid. A ton of local high school kids came out to see the Visionaries, volunteers from STAND showed up to disperse Darfur material, and the Associated Students at Chapman University (especially president Kelsea Ballantyne) really put a lot of effort into making the show a success.

2.8.07 - Los Angeles, CA - The Viper Room

The last show. A lot of good vibes and good times. A lot of whacky stuff happened, from Playboy representatives handing out goodie bags (as they were one of our key sponsors) to being offerend a menage a trois in the green room to Freestyle pulling up to the show in a huge stretch limo. The show was hyped up quite a bit, but only had a marginal turnout. But it's all good. The value of impacting one person at a time should not be minimized.

Plus, it was cool being on the marquee.





At the end of the day, the tour had a ton of obstacles to overcome as it was my first time out the gates as a manager, booker, artist, promoter, chauffer, travel agent, etc. A lot of things could have gone a LOT better, but a lot of things could have gone much, much worse. While not every goal was met, much awareness was raised for our brothers and sisters of Darfur. However, the work has just started. I'm humbled to be able to do what I love and (hopefully) make a positive difference.

Personal Note: Next time take more pictures.