Nick’s Beat
Idaho is a barren desert of potato crop and bush fires. NEVER VISIT. The asymptomatics performed in front of tumbleweeds and dust clouds. Did you know it hasn’t rained in Idaho for 40 years?
I drummed my hands off and you know what grew in their place? Potatoes. Muddy, fresh-out-of-the-ground, good-for-nothing Russets.
I've had the same itch since departing. That said, I've managed. We all have — but I'm stuck with curly fries for fingers! So be it.
Athens, and Idaho next summer, beware of the crinkle-cut kit crusher. New music out soon.
Jackson’s Beat
Birds chirping. Morning sun peeking through the blinds. I hear a familiar mechanical beep, one that god never intended to be heard. I check my phone. “Silver dollar Tuesday gig for $200, sounds like a lot of fun right?”. Breathe deeply, they can't hurt you. Eggs popping on the skillet, I can hear the coffee dripping into my mug before I smell it. Beep beep. “Got Flicker on a Thursday, 3 bands already in and they’re looking for a solid opener, any ideas?”. My ancestors never experienced the depths of this niche purgatory. Birds chirping…
Harris’s Beat
Chris, Nick and I watch as Maxwell disappears past the mountain bend after a courageous leap into the swift current. Nick and Chris decided to scale the mountain side for a quick evening rock climbing session (free solo). I, underestimating this river’s strength and overestimating the lasting impact of my water polo training (half a decade ago) decided to stick my leg in the river, quickly realizing keeping the towel around my neck dry was not my top priority; it was survival. The cold, very cold water shocked my system and the dusk sky didn’t help my nerves from slowing down. All I hear is sloshing. I’m panicked. BUT. I see Maxwell survived and is standing near the shore. Now waiting for Chris and Nick. Favorite memory? Stargazing after Ketchum show.
Zach’s Beat
Ideal Idaho packing list: guitar strings, guitar strings, guitar strings, and some extra guitar strings (for good measure). Bigfoot may not be real, but the creatures who reside in the Idaho forests and pre-break the strings of guitarists while they sleep have been confirmed to exist.
Chris’s Beat
While a chronological retelling would certainly give a good account of our trips events, I feel a broad generalization would best capture the spirit of this summers outing. There is something special about being welcomed with open arms into a community over a thousand miles from home. Waking up with a town, being immersed in the commerce and local culture with overwhelming hospitality, is something not many people are lucky enough to experience. It’s easy to feel like this was how people were meant to interact with each other.
Max’s Beat
A feeling you don’t fully understand until you get back in your own damp tumbling dyer routine of the day to day (exemplified right now by the swampy sunny south)- Getting off a rocky mountain river sore, soaked and burnt to eat pizza with your toes in the grass, and a bunch of cute dogs running around in the sunset never sounded so good! A 3-hour drive to pick up (scavenge) surprisingly amazing sounding dusty amp and drum kit and rewarding yourself with a Coors Banquet. Then getting able to stay, play music, and be housed & fed at the locale where you scavenged this equipment and it be one of the most beautiful areas in the entire world. Shout out to Jim at Kasino Club and prayers to Stanley, ID and the surrounding area fighting the Wapiti Fire. Not getting sappy, I don’t think any of these have been complete sentences…Damn, writing this makes me want to pack my bags and get out there. So yes, appreciating opportunities to get out there, be yourself, find yourself, find your friends, and want to do it again, again, and againnnnn.
The Band’s Beat
All in all, sharing these moments of occasional absurdities and unpredictability in this vast, surreal landscape provides a lot of perspective for a band of 13 people. Our problems aren’t as big as we think they are. If anything, they add color and variety to our group experience- and you realize that there is more than enough room in that big open space for all of it. We just need to remember that on stage.
You can’t go to Idaho without an Idaho adventure- and you definitely can’t come back without feeling a little smaller (and bigger) at the same time.
