Tour Blog

Well I'm back from my first mini-tour...

and I totally FAILED at Blogging ~~

I don't even have many photos or videos from the trip, but I have some great memories.

Here's the basic rundown:

Phoenix was gorgeous --- I played at the Pride Festival with a great drummer and bass player that were recommended through a friend. They were really groovin and the set was awesome - then I wandered around the park, met up with friend Ryan Pinkston, and generally lived it up at Pride.

I drove my rental across the desert to San Diego, where I stayed for a few days with good friend Tori Roze. I performed on a bill with her band, Tori Roze & The Hot Mess, at the Ruby Room in San Diego - I wasn't totally comfortable because of some issues with the keyboard I was using, but it turned out ok and I met some cool people.

The next night I played at the open mic at LeStat's, great venue in San Diego. However, the next day, after taking a Bikram class, I started feeling really ill. I stayed in that night and rested all day Wednesday before my gig at Portugalia in Ocean Beach - I rented a keyboard for my Portugalia gig, and I felt comfortable and it went well - had some friends from San Diego come out to see me, and saw Tori's brother and sister again and made some new friends. However, after the set, I started to feel ill again and went home. The next day, I could barely swallow, and I just had a feeling I had strep throat.

I went to the doctor, and sure enough, I had strep - they gave me antibiotics and a steroid to help the swelling go down - and by that evening, I started feeling good again.

Friday, I drove up to Los Angeles, where I stayed in Hollywood with my friend Tyler Parks. I had a good day of taking dance classes & going for sushi. I rented a keyboard for my LA gig, and found someone to touch up my design - also made it to Room 5 Lounge for a few performances, including my incredibly talented friend Jen Hirsh, and Annie & The Beekeepers, who I saw for the first time - even though she actually lives in Brooklyn.

My gig Monday night at M Bar in Hollywood went great - they actually had a grand piano in good shape which I used for half of the show. I had Wesley Cole on bass and Enrique Lara on drums (both from Berklee), and invited Jen Hirsh up to sing with me on "Seed." Audience was great, including some friends I hadn't seen in YEARS - was great seeing them along with some new faces. Was a great way to wrap up the tour.

Now I'm back in NYC - and I have to say, part of my heart definitely belongs to NY. I can't wait to tour more and go back to LA, but NYC will always be a home to me.