Well, here I am, writing another tour journal that I hope to turn into a book that will bring in some income towards my self employed artist career. Do people even read anymore? I hardly ever have time to read anymore. Mostly I watch YouTube videos for entertainment, education etc.. I should probably just live stream my thoughts onto YouTube like everyone else?        

     There is a saying that a journey begins with the first step. What about a journey beginning with the first packed bag? I guess a packed bag is a metaphorical step... Anyways, for me a journey begins with lots of preparation. All the bag packing and organizing that leads up to a journey is so much work that I'm usually exhausted before I even take the first physical step on the journey. I am fortunate to be traveling alone on this journey because that first step can be delayed severely when more than one person is involved. 

      I plan on traveling in the USA for the next two months playing music along the way to fund my travels. I never really know if I'm playing music to fund my travels or traveling to promote my music, but whatever it is, I tour about 2 months every year. I've always imagined myself a hobo and touring is part of my life's vision, so I do it. I started in San Diego, CA and the plan is to play music in New Mexico, then drive to Florida to see a friend and play some more gigs, then up to North Carolina to visit my favorite uncle and play some gigs, then up to Virginia to visit my parents and family and play some gigs, then up to Syracuse New York to visit my friend and play a festival, then on to Wisconsin to visit my bass playing friend and play some gigs with him, then on to Colorado to visit friends and play gigs, then to Montana to visit friends and play gigs, and then Eastern Oregon to visit a friend and hopefully play some music. 

      My journey took its physical first step on Monday June 28th at 6pm from San Diego, California. My first stop was 14 hours away in Taos, NM, where I was to play a show on Tuesday June 29th at 5pm. If you do the calculation, that is approximately 24 hours from when I left San Diego, so a 14 hour drive should be easy, right? Well, when you factor in at least 6 hours of sleeping, time for gassing up the car, using the bathroom and grabbing some food, that does not leave much room for error. I made it to Taos at exactly 5pm on Tuesday June 29th. 

      My friend Julie, who lives in Taos set up the concert at a cafe that is not yet open. The concert was to be outside in a courtyard-patio area. It had been raining in Taos for the past two days and the forecast called for more rain. I almost canceled the show as I drove through Albuquerque, but I decided it was best to drive the two and a half hours up to Taos just in case it did not rain out. I'm glad I drove up there because the concert went great! My musician friend Connor Correll opened up the show, then I played for about 45 minutes to the 10 or so people who came out to listen. Connor and I played "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" together for the grand finale. Connor and I made a few dollars and some new fans and so the show was a success. 

      I stayed the night in my car in Julie's driveway. I prefer sleeping in my car when I'm on tour, otherwise I'll wake up in the middle of the night worried about all my gear in my car. You wouldn't think sleeping in a Toyota Prius would be very comfortable, but I have no problem with it. 

      The morning after the Taos gig I drove back down to Albuquerque. I was completely tired all day so I just hung out in my car connecting with friends.