continued….



March 27

We checked out of the hotel and after breakfast at the Pig Stand, we walked over to a flea market thingy going on in the lot next door. I didn’t see anything of interest but Exene found a couple of things and bought them.



The trip to Houston was a little over 3 hours but seemed longer. It might have had something to do with the head cold that had started to brew up in my brain. I was stuffy and my throat was feeling pretty beat. It certainly didn’t help that every time Exene lit up a cigarette in the car, so did Raven, and vice versa.

I know, smoker’s rights and all that bullshit but fuck it, I care about my lungs and throat more than I care about the rights of someone who has a an addiction to gross-ass cigarettes. I probably should have worked all that out before agreeing to do this tour but what the fuck, I can hack it for 3 and a half weeks.

Can’t I?

I did the first 3 hours of driving and I did good. I’m a driving motherfucker and travel alone so often these days, I’ve had to get even better with my driving skills and not killing myself or someone else on the road. I’m always cautious, observant and I automatically assume that everyone else on the road is a sucky driver and i plan things out, accordingly. Exene asked me to not drive over the speed limit (fair enough) and stay in the far right lane unless passing (no problem) but she seemed to have her eyes on me and my driving the whole way and that made me a little nervous. Maybe I’m just paranoid but it sure felt like that.

We got into Texas and went straight to a big house owned by a guy named JB who was a friend of a woman named Kelly who has been a friend of Exene’s for years. JB does dog rescue stuff and actually has 6 foster dogs in his care and every one of them was adorable and affectionate, with very distinct personalities of their own. Apparently, Kelly couldn’t offer to put us up at her place so she set us up at JB’s which was pretty fucking nice, if you ask me.



We hung around for a few hours until it was time to head over to the club. Exene turned on the news but only seemed interested in reports on the recent earthquake/tsunami/nuclear disaster situation in Japan. She really seems affected by it. Maybe even a little obsessed?

After a nice big meal at a local mexican restaurant, we headed to Walter’s On Washington. I played here once before, when I was on the Revival Tour a few years back. It’s a cool club and the staff is nice.

The evening’s turn out was pretty small. On top of that, the club had set up tables and chairs for the crowd and there was sizable empty space between us performers and the folks who were watching/listening which threw things off a little. At least it did for me.

After the 2 opening acts, I went on and tried revving things up as best I could. I got the feeling that the crowd liked my stuff but the weird distance between me and them and the sitting down thing made everything a little weird and impersonal. After, I sold a good amount of stuff and chatted with folks.

Exene had complained earlier about not feeling very good due to the MS and said that her arm was feeling a bit numb. During her set, she said that she was even having trouble with her strumming arm. Overall, she seemed a little frustrated over the night and maybe the trip itself and I felt for her. 50-something and doing this stuff for 30 plus years. It’s gotta be rough. I can’t even begin to relate…..

Oh, Wait…..um…..

Got back to JB’s place and once everyone was relaxing, Exene started to seem like she was in better spirits and maybe felt better. Raven and I talked about a bunch of stuff before we fell asleep in the big living room, her on the loveseat, me on the big boy couch. Raven’s a nice woman. I’m glad we’re starting to gel.

to be continued……