SKIP ALLUMS

Well, summer is drawing to a close… and school starts for me tomorrow! This will probably be the last summer until I graduate where I don’t take summer school, so I definitely got the most out it, methinks.

The tour with Maggie Morris went pretty well, despite some logistical obstacles. All told, we played 12 shows and covered around 2700 miles. The full story can be found on the tour blog I updated pretty fairly frequently during the 3 week stint: Photograph That City… which is named for one of my favorite of her songs. I also posted TONS of photos, both from my Leica and Holga (I left the Lubitel at home, as its a little bulky). There’s around 10 videos from the road posted here: other bands we played with, animals we encountered, and some of  our delirious shenanigans.

This was basically a primer for my camping trip in Yosemite, which starts on Labor Day. I’ll be up there for a week, hiking, biking around, taking photos and probably writing music…. just un-plugging for awhile. I’ll be attempting to re-create some of my father’s photos of Yosemite from September 1968. He visited Yosemite alone for a spell, just after he returned from Vietnam. I’ve done some research on Flickr, trying to nail down some of the locations Dad captured, so we’ll see how it turns out. I’m beyond excited to unplug for awhile, especially after the year I’ve had.

Lots of stuff happening with my own music these days. A lot of writing. Played a few last minute shows during the tour (in Chico, Stockton, Oakland, Sacramento)… sort of road-testing new songs. I’m auditioning for a drummer and a bass player this week (having already formed a new bond with my v-ball pal Sam for pedal steel duties). I think I’ve narrowed it down though, so we’ll probably spend the next few months rehearsing and maybe recording.

PS. the title of this entry comes from one of my favorite Yo La Tengo songs – Yo La Tengo – The Summer (live on KEXP)