Ethan J Perry And The Remedy Band
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Monday, July 27, 2009
Fast Heart Mart
We played a show put together by Fast Heart Mart of Albuquerque. They are one of the most inspiring bands that I personally know. A die hard touring band, they get around the country on a VW bus that runs on vegetable oil. They are environmentally conscious, cool, people, and great musicians. They have the vision. They also put us up at their place, where we sat around the camp fire with a few brews, underneath the New Mexico stars, talking music. The other awesome thing about this show: I got to hang out with an old friend who also headlined, Doo Crowder. I used to play in his band, and we've know each other for years from Denver. I knew Doo when I was a budding songwriter back in the day when no-one in their early twenties and thirties were into the indie-americana thing, when the un-named pioneers of this music still walked the street into the oblivious darkness with only a dim street lamp here and there to illuminate the situation, clinging to cult heroe legends who had gone before us. Doo is one of the most un-recognized great songwriters around these days. If you catch one of his shows, he's doing this crazy electronic loop set, his brilliant songwriting intact, and his stage presence glowing like never before. Doo Crowder is certainly a diamond in the rough! Well, we all sat around the campfire, and had a great night, and slept undeneath the stars. The next day it was a hospitable New Mexican breakfast, a walk along the Rio Grande, and back on the road... this time to Santa Fe. Here are some shots of Fast Heart Mart.
Albuquerque, NM
A mural on the wall of the venue we played, The Albuquerque Center For Peace And Justice
Late For the Train Cafe, Flagstaff
Before we left for New Mexico, I had an excellent cup of coffee or two at the cafe across the street. Outside on one of their tables was a very basic and generic map. All of it with the exception of The Grand Canyon, outlines our Arizona portion of the tour. How nice.
Flagstaff
Flagstaff is one of my favourite stops on the tour. The town is hip. You can walk the whole thing in less than 30 minutes. It's not congested or pretentious. The infamous, Hotel Monte Vista, infamous for it's haunting and para-normal activity, reported even by the likes of John Wayne in his day, put us up. This is where we played, too. We didn't get any shots of us while on stage. It slipped our minds to ask somebody in the audience or the other band. I've already forgotten the other bands name, and where they were from. Their music wasn't anything memorable I suppose, though I do remember their crazy light show and video projection screen, and their plethora of merchandize. Our show went well. We played our set to the rowdy Flagstaff crowd. Despite our shoegaze down-tempo, folky, sensitive set, they seemed to like us quite a bit! Here are some perimeter shots, and some we took leaving the next day for New Mexico. The strangely dressed, top hatted fellow in the shots is Joe, the ever cool bar-tender and music-phile. Attested by Joe, alone, the hospitality that the Hotel Monte Vista shows musicians is grande, and the ghosts didn't bother us in the night. Though, I don't know if you'll have the same luck! On a side note, we stayed in the Jon Bon Jovi room, room 307. If anything is haunting on this tour, it's Jon Bon Jovi. I saw his bumper sticker on a car leaving Phoenix, we stayed in his room in Flagstaff at the Hotel Monte Vista, and he repeatedly keeps coming up in conversation, & not by my instigation. I have failed to crack any connection between the tour's happenings and doings & Jon Bon Jovi, and I admit, I am no fan. The hauntings of Jon Bon Jovi must presently remain an unsolved mystery in my mind. I find comfort that the hauntings are light, and have not reached any level of obsession, or focality, at least not the sort that cloud the day. For this I am thankful.
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