June-Swoon (part 2 of 2)

I've spent the better part of today trying to fix the many glitches with our new website.  I announce with pride that I've FINALLY figured out how to make the backgrounds stretch with the browser window, getting rid of that annoying white bar forever and ever.  Turns out the instinctive and very easy solution will be available with the next version of CSS but I'm screwed for now so I had to find a fakey backdoor tactic.

But before I plunge back into code-land, I'm gonna tell you about our post-Wonderland Ballroom month.

On Saturday, June 26th, we got to play at one of my favorite places in the whole wide world: Cugini's.  It's the best pizza place ever run by some of the best people ever.  If you haven't been there, get up and go because it's some of the best pie you'll ever have.  And the cheesy bread?  Don't get me started.  And now they have a bar and live music pretty much every week- never a cover.  It's awesome.  It was also my first and favorite job :)

We played for almost 3 hours straight to a steady stream of awesome people.  We played lots of new songs (brand new- mostly learned that afternoon :D) including Poor Boy John and Blood on the Saddle, both of which featured banjo (first time!), and the now-notorious Night of 1000 Cats (the link is to a facebook video clip!) performed by bassist Brian, whose high-kicks and snarling visage put Jack Black to shame.  Please note the hysterically-undersized sweatshirt:  a priceless Poolesville Thrift Store number featuring an oversized cat face on an undersized black background.

The story:  Willie and I were getting our car fixed by the dirt mall in Frederick when we found this incredible movie in the bargain bin:

 So we took it to Brian and MK's house with some serious booze and somehow managed to sit through all 63 minutes.  It was the longest hour of our lives but most definitely worth it in the end, as it sparked the spontaneous and ingenious birth of our new favorite song.  It exploded out of Brian and Willie with such passionate force that MK and I almost left the kitchen.  But instead I recorded it on my phone, we dictated it later, rehearsed it never, and the rest is history. 

We got to hang out with so many spectacular people at the Cug- it really was one of our best shows ever.  We also had our home-made screen-printed shirts available for the first time and sold out!!!  Woo hoo!!

Just a few days later came Bar Monkey in Frostburg on the 29th.  We weren't exactly sure what to expect since neither of us has spent much time in Frostburg, but that town blew us away with awesome!  The bar is actually set up in the downstairs of a house, so it's got the greatest, coziest atmosphere.  The outdoor area is huge and beautiful.  Cushy grass, freshly-carpeted stage with primo equipment, dance floor, grill, horseshoe pit, the list goes on and on.  And the people are so welcoming and wonderful.  We're going back in July and September and we cannot wait!  Pictures don't even do it justice, but here's one anyway.

A local legend came by and was dancin' some seriously fancy footwork through at least half of our set.  His name is Swamp Fox and he generously insisted on giving us these amazing hats of his.

After the show, we hung out for a long time in the warm summer night, meeting lots wonderful people and eating bbq that's making me hungry even thinking about it.

Then we made our way up the street to Dante's, another stellar Frostburg bar, where we did an impromptu set to a brilliantly toasty crowd (we fit right in :D).

Eventually we stumbled back to Bar Monkey and slept under the stars on their comfy stage.

We woke up at 6:45am *blecch!* to me hacking my lungs out- I had picked up a gross cough earlier that week that fortunately settled down when I sang.  Mornings are not our strong suit but some kind folks had told us of an Amish breakfast buffet down the road, so we set off on a quest for Penn Alps.  Much to our chagrin, it didn't open for another 3 hours, so we continued on to Thomas, WV where we were playing later that night.

We were set to play at The Purple Fiddle, one of the coolest places in the Allegheny Mountains.  Thomas is a beautiful mountain town and The Purple Fiddle is set up in an old general store turned restaurant/bar/music venue.  It is eclectic and cozy, run by awesome people and covered with posters of all the bands that have played there.  They also have this delicious beer on tap that's made right up the street at Mountain State Brewing Co.

Well, we were still running early when we got to town so the Fiddle wasn't open yet.  We napped in the car for a bit and then wandered around Black Water Falls after a mouth-watering cheeseburger and country-fried steak sandwich.  We had a hot and lazy day spent at some of the best overlooks in the country.

We had a great time during our set that night and would've loved to have hung around for days.  Alas, Willie had to work the next morning so we drove through the misty mountains until the wee hours.  It was a breathtaking drive until the very end when we tragically tried and failed to avoid a suicidal skunk who has left an unyeilding stink-cloud of death around our poor van.

Well, that's pretty much it for June.  July just opened with a killer weekend at New Deal Cafe and Piratz Tavern but the website's calling me back, so more on that later.  Party on, Wayne, and party on, Garth.