Everything is set. Daniel from the "can't keep em down" Rocket-Fuel will provide festivities in Chi-town. He's promised his attendance at a couple shows. Lacy K is handling Austin operations.

I've got to get out of work now. It's the start of a brand new vacation.

Good morning. Yes, it's me again.

We played every song we know last night at practice, a good hour and a half straight of sweaty rock. We're almost ready to leave, one week from this moment I'll be hunched up in a van somewhere near the Nevada border. Things have been a blur for the past couple of weeks, alot of watching bad Barbra Streisand and Bette Midler movies for sheer camp value, alot of emailing venues trying to get shows, and alot of trying to sleep but waking up to a loud train whistle that goes on all night. Due to a couple cancellations (Iowa would rather have karaoke than live music) we've moved early operations up to the Wisconsin/Minnesota/Central Illinois area to start the tour. I'm planning on leaving a present for Low in Duluth, Minnesota.

I had forgotten how much I like The Night Cabbie column. A couple years ago I stayed up late into the night reading the entire back archive, as well as reader email he gets. Perhaps because I know San Francisco so well the stories of the neighborhoods interest me more than most. I like the story about the guy at the top of Nob Hill who sits in a booth and works the stoplights all day. Being that guy is my new dream job.

MP3 of the week: Black In The Eye has always been my favorite Aspera Ad Astra song. It seems so, well, epic and layered and beautiful. Although it was released as a single, it is a far better song than anything on their Peace album. The first few lines give me the chills everytime, no matter where I am.