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| I slept to the right. |
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| Our host's house there in front of the van. |
I started the day waking up on a covered porch/deck that was in the Fernwood Resort in Big Sur. The deck was protected on three sides and open on the fourth, but the flooring was super uncomfortable to sleep on. I have an old sleeping mat (Slumberjack) that I borrowed from a neighbor that pretty much fulfills my head and torso's need for cushion. But only barely enough to sleep on my back; laying on either side was pretty uncomfortable.
Fortunately, as guests of an employee of the resort, he gave us access to the employee restroom, which was, considering being out in the woods, perfect. Private, all the amenities (toilet/shower/sink), and plenty of room in which to do the Three S's (only I'm doing just two of them. Who shaves on tour?).
After getting cleaned up, Simon and I walked along the trail, which was filled with all sorts of people for the long 4th of July weekend. Some RVs, cars, vans, adventure vans (think Sprinters), and other vehicles. We got to a nearby bridge that overlooked the creek and admired the beauty. Though I am not a camper or outdoorsy type of dude, even I can see the beauty of the scenery of the California coast. It's hard to deny.
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| An albino redwood at Fernwood. |
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| Despite the cars, spectacular, right? |
Matt, our host, gave us some coffee and we chatted, then hit the road for Cayucos. Evidently the drive is usually spectacular down Highway 1 (or 101, I can't seem to get it straight), but due to a landslide, apparently it's been closed for sometime. I brought up the fact that I95 in Philadelphia straight up collapsed and they had it fixed in a week, but beyond that, I don't know the logistical challenges of either, so, just sayin'.
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| Enjoying Matt's coffee. |
The drive was uneventful save for the fact that we didn't stop for food and Peter did stop in the middle of nowhere to take a leak. He got one honk of appreciation and then we were on our way again.
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| Cloud obscured, taken from van. |
Schooners faces the street and you can walk straight through to a back boardwalk that then has the ocean beyond. The only time I ever see the ocean (I live just outside of Seattle) is when I visit my in-laws in San Clemente, CA, so it's pretty much just a yearly/every other yearly occurrence. Seeing it the past few days has been a privilege. As I mentioned, I'm not an outdoorsy dude and not an ocean dude, but I do love seeing the ocean.
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| Pier at Cayucos. |
When walking through Schooners, on the north side of the building is the restaurant/bar, with the band's stage upstairs. The left side offers two Airbnb rooms. As part of the deal, the bookers allowed us to stay in them, so each room would have two of us, which was pretty elite. Simon and I grabbed one, Miles and Peter in the other. This was after Peter used the "Popcorn" button on the microwave and torched his popcorn. I told him that the paradoxically named "Popcorn" is never to be used (as written on any microwaveable popcorn bag), and he learned something right then. Sadly, the room stunk of burnt popcorn, so Simon and I bounced for the non-burnt smelling room.
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| Popcorn room. |
A band called the Kerosene Kings played upstairs when we got there. Four piece with guitar/vox/Tele, lead guitar/Les Paul/Marshall, bass/Ernie Ball Stingray/forget the amp and a drummer who loved his triplets. They were a very competent blues rock band and very friendly after the gig. They played a handful of covers and really did a nice job up there. The BL, Gio, was charismatic, sang and played like a champion. The bassist, Tyler, played fingerstyle and took a handful of solos. To me, the music was decent, if formulaic and not super memorable. But I bet they pack the places on Friday nights.
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| Kerosene Kings through a porthole. |
After they tore down, we lugged all our gear up and proceeded to set up. The restaurant manager, Brendan, also wore the sound engineer hat and he was super nice. He helped us get the PA and mics up and running and before long, off we went.
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| My POV from the stage, ocean to the right. |
It was sunny and breezy when we started and as we went on, I started feeling chilly. Six shows in, I'm learning that in a band like this, I am a support player, so that's waht I'm trying to do. Keeping the bass parts basic, really keying in on the kick drum, and not worrying so much about "entertaining" and more about "performing."
It's harder for me; all the bands I've been in have been rock/indie rock bands and the music lends itself to both performing and entertaining. With this band, the music is chiller and Peter is not much for histrionics on stage, so it doesn't make a lot of sense for me to be bouncing around too much. There are a few songs that we play louder and rock a bit, so the body sways a bit more on those, and the entertaining comes out.
We did 3 sets, with a few of those same covers thrown in (Out on the Weekend, some country covers), and I'm finally able to play those without screwing up. I did have one of our original songs that I lost track of my count and missed a change and simply had to stop to listen. Peter was soloing and Simon was on the other side of the stage and hard to hear. I didn't get a big drum cue either, so none of my cues were in place. Eventually got lined up and we were good.
For the third set, I set up my phone on Instagram live and let it rip. Sadly, only about 7 people jumped on, but it was fun to play and have it out there now. By now, I had my hoodie back on and my hands were freezing. Since we were 100 yards from the ocean, with the damp air, my hands were damp and sticking to the strings. It made for some challenging playing, but ultimately I got through it.
After the show, we finally got down to eating. Up until then, I had had a small snack size bag of honey roasted peanuts and then a Costco protein bar (so glad I brought those; still have a few!), so needless to say, I was starving. I ended up ordering the halibut and chips and that was good stuff. Throw in a root beer and we were good to go. We ended up all hanging out in the restaurant and chatting. Since I don't drink, I always have a front row seat to shenanigans and it always amazes me about how alcohol equalizes people. They just start being fun/dorky/mean/sullen/obnoxious/chatty/etc. My mates were pretty good, but there were others getting out of control and just tearing it up.
I decided to walk down the pier for a second time. So cool to hear the surf booming in the dark. I called Marci and chatted about our days. The fog was sort of in and the night was obscured and I headed back and chatted with the boys a bit more before I just got too tired. I turned in shortly after and that was that.
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| Ocean at night. |
Quick notes:
- this is too good not to include, he just said it. Peter: "She had the face of Bach but the ass of Kim Kardashian." when referring to an old professor at Cal Poly (his alma mater).
- Cayucos reminded me a little of Grand Junction, with its old fashioned main drag.
- I know taste is relative, but man, I am having such a hard time listening to country, folk and 60s rock on this road trip. I might have to bust out the earbuds.
- Miles and I both snore pretty bad. Poor Simon was stuck with us the other night. Last night I offered him earplugs even though we were all in separate rooms.
- Miles has been getting over a cold this whole trip. He's been pretty congested and let's just say he's been leaving his DNA all over OR and CA. It's gross, but, well, whatever.
- Generosity of some unknown strangers/friends on TalkBass have been touching. All I'm doing is typing some words and people are finding it entertaining/fun/enlightning/whatever. I appreciate it.
