Back in 2010 when I went on tour, I played a super fun house show in Tucson, AZ and made some great friends. It was nice to get together again, this time at Skrappy’s, for a staggering number of bands on a schedule that, well, stayed on schedule better than any three act bar show I’ve played. There was also a photo booth, face-painting, basketball, and frozen fruit treats. The amazing planning and organizing skills of Logan, Mullarkey, and the rest of the BSF team as well as the performers cannot be ignored. (The previous sentence, if it is ever read out loud, should be read in a booming and powerful voice.) Seriously, these people are amazing.

I made it into Tucson on Saturday afternoon, with enough time to watch the last act of the afternoon show and the evening show, including Great Job, who performs once a year, though you’d never know it; a young, promising, and talented Beanpod Race; and the Seattle punk goodness of TacocaT.

Playing in between Pretty Faces (garage punk) and Rise Like Lions (hardcore) added a dynamic I can really appreciate. The Tucson crowd is a nice crowd (not to mention all of those who traveled from all over to perform or attend), and we all had a good time; my set was pretty mellow, and everyone was attentive, respectful and, impressively, present at a 12:30PM performance on a Sunday afternoon. Even though Arizona does not participate in Daylight Savings Time, I took the opportunity to play “Your Hurt Knees,” written on and about that day. I did a very low quality recording of the show, and I am trying to clean it up a bit so I can share it with you.

I’ve been hearing about The Kris Special for a long time (mostly from the awesomely friendly people of The Busta Crack Shack), and not only are they on the nicest bands ever list (along with all the bands in this post), but their performance was honest, fun, and energetic. The new line-up of Rumble Rumble (check out their bandcamp too!) rocked my face off, although I am excited to see what Niall’s next musical project will be. Experiencing Hug of War is very much like a hug, and, like a hug, should be experienced first-hand; the split cassette/digital album with Run-On Sunshine does the job, though. Run-On Sunshine is also like a hug, maybe like a big, cuddly hug from a cat.

So wherever you are, plan on going next year.

Run-On Sunshine at Brootal Sun Fest

Hug of War at Brootal Sun Fest

Photo courtesy of Jake Cunningham

Some of the nice folks at the show

Some more of the nice folks at the show

Don't ask

You’ll definitely want to get it in vintage compact disc format, if only for the album design by the ever-amazing Amanda Hawkins of Ahhh-Design.

For now, you can preview three of the songs from bee a bear right here (new song just added!):

Of course, this album will be available for digital purchase and mail-order at the fabulous rushmore beekeepers bandcamp, so don’t fret if you’re not going to be there. (If you are going, though, be sure to get your Bröötal Sun Fest tickets early!)

Check out Mullarkey’s blog entry on the history of South by Meow West as well as the entire line-up at the Bröötal Sun Fest website.

Happy Holidays and all that!

And what’s this? Why, it’s the free rushmore beekeepers christmas mini-album you haven’t downloaded yet!

Local poet Harry Fagel performed as well, spoken word full of sometimes serious and sometimes hilarious observations, with much of the material coming from his experience as a police officer. His delivery (and his work) is strong and honest, and he is also a great guy.

The art display itself was fantastic, featuring the works of locals Keri Schroeder and Gilbert Hernandez. The awesome dedication of Alternate Reality Comics to devote a section of their store to an art display is inspiring and encouraging in a city where art fights hard to be seen. If you live here or visit, you should go there and be amazed. The store has anything you could ever want (if not, they always have great recommendations in any genre), and you will always be treated like a friend. Oh, and did I mention Ralph proposed to his wife Kate in the comic book Preacher? How cool is that!

Oh, I almost forgot; you can watch my performance and pretend you were there, thanks to Punks in Vegas:

If you are making a digital scrapbook of everything RB, their blog entry is right here.

Shortly after I finished my set, I went to thank Ralph and he grabbed Daytripper off the shelf and said “I want to give this to you, I think you’ll really like it,” in his super nice voice and demeanor that is guaranteed to make you want to give him a big hug and bawl like a little baby at the genuine unconditional kindness that somehow exists in the world. He was right about Daytripper; it is thoughtful and beautiful, and you should read it.

If you’d like to compare, which I always find interesting, here’s the band-sounding album version:

At some point, Carrie discovered the Joshua Tree Inn; Gram Parsons not only had a dedicated room, but it was also the room in which he died. For my birthday, she reserved us that room and planned a weekend trip out there. It’s an amazing place; still the desert, but different than the desert we’re used to: Joshua Trees with crazy arms growing in wild directions, rocks that look like skulls, and the most threatening cacti I’ve seen.

After telling a visitors center employee our reason for the trip, he drew us a map to Gram’s cremation site. I hadn’t planned on being able to visit it, so this was incredibly exciting to me. We stopped throughout the park for short walks and pictures; after passing it a couple times we found Cap Rock, the site of Gram’s cremation. It was quite an experience being there; the messages in the rock had been recently sand-blasted into oblivion and the altar was moved to the Joshua Tree Inn, but just being there was amazing. As the nice visitors center guy said, it was the perfect spot to set a body on fire and keep it out of the wind.

(Let’s take a moment, recognize this may be considered slightly morbid, and move on.)

The innkeeper, Marsu, was incredibly nice and had all kinds of information about the area and the things we should see; we went to Pioneertown, which looked exactly like you’d imagine, and met some nice people who did amazing woodwork and small crafts. We saw a fantastic San Diego-based alt-country band called Sara Petite and the Sugar Daddies at Pappy and Harriet’s, the last of the great pioneertown bars, with great food and iced tea in mason jars.

Gram’s room was kept as I’d picture it in the 1970s, while decorated with Gram Parsons posters, relevant newspaper articles, a string of white Christmas lights, and an amazingly enormous guestbook. The door to the back patio was “gold-plated,” just like the door in The Flying Burrito Brothers’ “Sin City.” The altar from Cap Rock had been relocated a few steps outside our room, and it was nice to see it every time we opened the door.

I wish I had a cool ghost story to go along with this.

Gram's Altar at the Joshua Tree Inn

"A gold-plated door won't keep out the lord's burning rain."