Where's the foundation?

Monday, 7 June 2010

Saturday, 5 June 2010

Lacey beating Octavian at Backgammon

It's a joy being in a home again after the solitary motels.

Lacey is a Labour Delivery Nurse and working the night shift tonight.
Octavian installs theaters

The best day of the tour so far. Without a doubt. No show, but I
borrowed a bicycle, bought a pair of cycling shorts ($150 you have you
have good ones) and went out of Everett into the countryside. Truly
joyous. The sun is shining.

The only downside is that I can never enjoy anything. I'm always
daydreaming about the next thing and whether I start touring by bike
sooner than next year, already in Europe. The booking has not gone so
well. In fact not much has come from my emails. Makes me wonder
whether I might have to join Facebook. That would be a sad day.

Friday, 4 June 2010

Couchsurfers took me out for dinner after the show

Steini wouldn't like Everett

The Anchor Pub - Everett, WA

Whenever a train goes by the Anchor beers are a dollar

Michael and me and Holly

Wonderful!

Delicious

She just made it up on the spot. If you go to the Anchor in Everett
ask for the Jack Pot Pie

Holly the Canadian owner

Michael a great local

The view

Coffee shops... I will have logged on in more than is imaginable by the end of this trip.

I am so tired of the booking.... I got a very poor response from my house concert request. And I've mailed thousands of venues in the last few days in Europe but little news.

I'm changing tactic and putting all the venues in a section of my mailing list and programming in different reminders that will go out each week. A drip drip until they unsubscribe or give in and book me. Doing with 4,000 venues... some should respond.

Motel day 3

Motels suck.

I just did three days in a motel in Seattle - some time of from couchsurfing - and I have to say it's depressing. I won't do it again.

I couldn't do this trip without couchsurfing. Not just financially, but also the social aspect. Staying with people stops any loneliness.

I'm on a guy's mailing list who I met in Tennessee who was going on a trip round Europe. I kept telling him to do couchsurfing but he didn't do it. It would have made for a completely different trip for him.

"Hi Hi,

I have been sick to my stomach for the last 5 days. This was probably caused by the soup I ate in Poland or maybe it was the water in Stockholm? I have eaten a whole pack of Imodium Plus and have finally regained some sort of appetite but am still pretty weak.

Stockholm is pretty nice looking city of what I've seen but very expensive with hostels in the $50+ US/ day range and food is $20 for a sandwich and a beer. Weather is on the cool side and it is light outside from 300 AM to 1100 PM.

I think I've lost interest in this whole backpacking Europe thing and will return to the US to where I can enjoy some golfing and where it doesn't cost me an arm and a leg. The hostels are filling up due to the summer tourist season and planning 3 - 4 days ahead isn't cutting it. It seems I am becoming less efficient in the planning/budgeting area and losing the netbook doesn't help. I have been here over 2 months and that is plenty of time to figure out that I know completly nothing about Europe.

Did I give up,

Paul"

Thursday, 3 June 2010

Posted

Australia here we come

I just got this email from Veronica, the girl I met in Seattle who's moving back to Australia and wants to start a booking agency there, with me as her first client.

It's the sort of email that puts me in a good mood for weeks! I don't get enough of them. It would be so fantastic having someone else booking me like this. I'd go for up to 4 months if there are enough shows. Fantastic news!

"Hey Jack!

So , I am thinking if you do an east coast in oz only you would need about 2 - 4 months. You would be probably best to fly to Western oz / perth ( as it is a little dot on the other side of the country and nothing much in between) and you could move up and down that coast, the west coast isent very populated but you could fit a couple of gigs in at perth.

Australia is pretty big , similar to canada with distances , bike would be a stretch I'm thinkin, but it would be a good workout for you!!. Prob best to bus it (greyhound) or rent a car , as there are a heap of little places along the coast and inland that I could find you gigs at.

Prob best to start in melbourne ( where I will be living) on the southern tip ( or you could start the other way roudnin the north / brisbane , but weather best from south to north as it would be turning to winter around april ish). I could get you a good 4 - 8 gigs in melbourne , big music town and heaps and heaps and heaps of venues, awsome little bars and the such and a very appreciative audiance. Up the coast heading north, 6 stops for possible gigs on the way to sydney where you could spend an entire week and even more and book solid ( and canberra too) , up to 10, I am thinking. Then heading north there are alot of awsome little places where festivals and what not will be on late march into april ( byron bay as an example) . Then Gold Coast where you could get up to and around 8 gigs as it s big strecth of populated coast, then brisbane which is another big city and where my family is from, another 6 or so and then you can even keep heading north, up the beutiful beaches of sunshine coast. And then from there its reef and islands galore and then cairns ( where its hot hot hot , winter time best up there).

There are tons and tons of venues in oz and I can look after that for you ( just have to re-ignite my old network), as well as some nice couch surfing.
The east cost trip would seem the most feasible , but if you really wanted to adventure ( even get into the rainforests up north and the big red rock in the middle ) then you would need another 2 months probably.

I have some awsome media contacts on the east coast still and can handle that aswell. I mentioned to you about a radio station that is huge in Oz , Triple J. Check thier site http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/

. If we managed to get you on there, then you would be totally sorted!!"

Wednesday, 2 June 2010

Open mic - Hopvine, Seattle

Remind me not to do open mics. This was one of the worst. Noisy bar
crowd. I did Soulseller but couldn't get anyone onstage, and Every
Day's a Joy, but should have gone Acapella with ADD to get some silence.

A typical day.

Get up with the sunrise (this rarely works), bit of yoga, token run,
spot of breakfast, then if there's no entertainment forthcoming, it's
out to find wifi, then an Indian restaurant for a great value buffet.

I found a good one in Seattle because it has organic food and wifi.
Top marks. $9 for all you can eat, which I try not to do as I'm not
hungry for dinner, and eating is one of my greatest pleasures,
because, being a renunciate, it's the only thing I can buy, or rent
really.

Then back to the wifi or for a walk or cinema or swimming or a gig or
driving or a chiropractor or whatever needs attention.

Today there's no show or driving so it's stay in the restaurant until
they kick me out.