Kingtone

(I’m gonna skip a few entries I had planned to make about my drive from NYC to Baltimore, Washington DC, Pittsburgh and Cleveland, in lieu of this breaking news item….i’ll post the others soon.)

I played in Cleveland last night at a cool little place called the Barking Spider, run by Martin and his daughter Jenna. Pat Spurgeon and I played there on our 2001 Reverend and Phantom US Tour (w/ a bunch of crazy music and visuals). The BS was nice enough to book me at the last minute knowing it is always better to play than not…

So 7pm on a Wednesday. 5 or 6 people there. Nice room, nice sound system, lights. I don’t have a theme for the tour yet and not sure what I want to present. I decide to just make some experimental noise and play some melodic bits on guitar. Start the show with my aluminum pan lids soundscape. Soon enough, some crusty old guy at the bar grumbles ‘what is this, Buddhist music?’ Next tune, it being CLEVELAND, I decide to mix in some monster rock riffs, make up a song about Brad Delp (the recently passed away singer from the band BOSTON), pacify the masses and start back into the Buddhist music….success. 7$ in tips. 7!7!7!

When on tour, a theme usually presents itself rather quickly (evidence the User Error Tour w/ Rob Price and David Grollman). Today, on the shore of Lake Erie just northwest of Cleveland on US Route 6 - where 1/3 of homes are for sale and not selling - I found one. After a refreshing dip in Lake Erie, I ran into a couple of people with ‘Impeach Bush,’ ‘Stop the War’ signs and the word ‘Peace’ masking taped to their chests. Turns out they are helping a fella who is walking from Chicago to Washington DC to protest the Iraq war and make some noise about Impeaching Bush and Cheney - the growing army of Mario Penalver’s, March of the People. Mario is gathering folk along the way and seeking places to stay, etc. Apparently, many churches they contacted are not helping out, as the cause is ‘too controversial.’ Couple this with my revelation this past Tuesday am, standing in front of the White House in Washington DC and not seeing a single form of protest anywhere and we have….(drum roll please)…………….The ‘DESTROY ALL APATHY PROTEST TOUR.’ The theme and the vibe I hope to set for every show hereafter.

Tonight I play in Ypsilanti, MI at a music/art/puppet place called the Dreamland Theater. Three other bands on the bill, me second. My set will reflect the disbelief and frustration with all the apathy - about many things, from our happy car culture and all the resource and energy issues associated with growth and population explosion to environmental degradation and wars due to all of the above.

I think it will be some pretty harsh noise. Maybe I’ll detune a string and attempt to play something pretty…I’m going to make myself uncomfortable and perhaps it’ll catch on.

Go Mario.