Day 9 - Put it in the Donut Whole - or – Wichitalkin’ about Kansas?

We woke up cold. But that didn’t stop us from facing the prairie sun cheerfully. Coffee, eggs, steaks, and biscuits rolled off of our Coleman stove and down our throats. 

We packed up with Military speed and hit the highway for Wichita. Now, we’ve been back and forth across Kansas on I-70 before, and the view is pretty. But this I-35, north to south highway was amazing.

Rolling amber hills stretch to the horizon, to meet an enormous bright blue sky. The trip went very smoothly but for one instance where we forgot to fill up, and a short, white-knuckled drive to a distant gas station. 

<-- it made it all the way down to 0!

Soon the horizon sprouted a few tall buildings in the distance.

Wichita is a city of wide clean streets and old buildings. There are lots of classic cars and more motorcycles than you can count. On one street we saw three custom cycle shops. The city also had a charming old town section with brick streets and buildings, housing a number of shops, restaurants, and bars.

The Donut Whole (our hosts for the evening) is a creative donut shop that’s open 24 hours and features a small stage for music and comedy. In this fine establishment, Blythe got to fulfill a dream. She had a real, true to life, bacon donut.

“It had bacon on it! The bread could have been more bacon-y. It was like breakfast cake with dreamy maple frosting.”

-Blythe Crawford, New York Times

After a walk to Old Town Wichita, we loaded in and prepped for an evening of music. We were a little bemused to see the place completely empty. From all accounts we had heard that Fridays were quite busy there. However, after a tune or to, some audience members flowed in to manifest a small and quietly attentive crowd.

We were pleased to play for about two hours for these folks, who gave us very nice compliments and even bought a couple shirts. At the end we played a little “Happy Birthday” for Olivia, at her friend Desiree’s request.

After the show, we blasted back to I-70, and slept at Ottawa State Fishing Lake. It had been a long day, and we were pretty tired, so we passed out without dinner, spread our brand new sleeping pads on the tent floor, and fell asleep warmly. It was an oddly normal and sober day for us really. Perhaps more debauchery to come in the next few days.

Thanks to Andrea, Frea, and Donny for hosting us, and to Michael Taylor, Olivia, Desiree (and the rest whose names we didn’t get) for hanging out.

Tomorrow…  Colorado Rockies, Longmont (the ultimate suburb), old friends from New York, and maybe all work and no play.

Day 8 – What to Do in Missouri With a Day Off - or – From Clean Linens to a Kansas State Fishing Lake.

The alarm went off at 6. Why would we get up at 6 on a day off? So we can eat free hotel breakfast of course. This was a good one. Many hotel breakfasts are cereal and fruit. Some have some lumpy gravy and rubbery biscuits. Even the best usually just have a crusty waffle iron jammed in a corner. This one had it all. There were eggs, sausage, French toast, fruit, yogurt, waffles, and the rest. We ate like crazy and sat on the computer a bit.

We dragged our feet packing up, just to soak up all the comfort we could get. Outside, a dreary wet wind beat feebly on the four stories of glass on the front of the hotel. While staring at the shifting grey sky, we pondered whether or not to investigate St. Louis a little. On checking the weather, the choice was clear. 65 and sunny in Kansas, 37 and raining in St. Louis. We had to go.

We stopped by to see Mandi at the school and pick up our check. She wished us well as we ran for the car, ducking against the chilly wind. We hit the highway as soon as we could get there. Blythe drove as I wrote, then I fulfilled her usual role and nodded off in the front seat.

Soon after a lunch of leftover fried chicken, Kansas city peaked up over the highway. The sun had come out, and the van warmed cheerily. In minutes we blew through Kansas City, and rode the softly rolling hills of Kansas.

We stopped early to set up a comfortable campsite at Leavenworth State Fishing Lake. Soon we were roasting kabobs of steak, peppers, onions, mushrooms, and squash over the fire. We toasted up some bread we got from The Black Feather, and washed it all down with a IPA we picked up on the way. This was a good night.

If you’re ever in Kansas and need a place to sleep, the whole state is dotted with these fishing lakes, and all of them feature free camping. The sites are always well kept, often with picnic tables and fire circles. Sometimes they even have water and bathrooms. There’s no beating the night sky in these places. The Galt Line endorses Kansas State Fishing Lakes.

We finally curled up in our giant sleeping bag, shivered a little, and listened to the owls and coyotes until we slept. From time to time, a truck full of drunk teenagers drove through, playing weird country music in the night.

Tomorrow… Wichita, The Donut Whole, Another night Camping and “How long until Colorado!?”

Day 7 – Fun with Institutional Money - or – How to Wreck a Hotel Room with the Power of Sex and Vodka.

Golden sun washed across the Wal-Mart parking lot. A quick stop for a tube of toothpaste, and we were ready to hit the school. Soon after the brilliant sunrise, dense grey clouds rolled in, bringing with it an icy-wet wind. We huddled against the weather as we toured the property. The campus is modern and clean, with gleaming glass buildings. The room we were playing was a high ceiling, glass fronted café.

We began setting up when Mandi appeared. We met Mandi when we came out to the St. Louis area last time. It was the first, and a very impromptu WarlickFest. She was very kind to book us to play a lunch time set at the St. Charles Community College. It was a sweet gig. There was a simple set up, good pay, and a hotel room. Mandi is the best.

We rolled smoothly through an acoustic set, playing to people who were mostly eating lunch. The crowd seemed a little surprise to have us stomping and yelling at them. The faculty seemed the most interested, though there was a young couple dancing in the back.

After the set, we sat down with Mandi for lunch. She told us about her job as a Student Activities Coordinator, and about nightmare phone calls with talent agents asking for huge sums to book acts that we’ve never heard of. She remarked that often the talent themselves are usually perfectly reasonable, its just the agents and managers that make things difficult.

Next came our hotel. This was the true payment. We stayed at a Drury Inn, which features a pool, free food, and three free drinks a piece. We were very pleased. We hurled our bags onto the bed, undressed as fast as possible, and dove into the shower. We had endless hot water and fresh clean towels! We got so damn clean you could eat off of us. But please don’t, that’s weird.

We met Chris Warlick and his lady Mary Jo, at Trailhead Brewery for some drinks and conversation. They put us up last time we were around, and were kind enough to trek out to the school to hear us this day. We also had some awesome mushroom strips. Blythe recommends the malty Missouri Brown Porter. I had the Red Ale.

When we returned to the hotel, we set ourselves up in the lobby with our free bourbon and sodas and did a little computer work. All the while I was enjoying the incessant strangeness that all hotel lobbies have on display. Travelers of all sorts will congregate around alcohol, and it’s the privilege of anyone observant enough to be treated to a hundred stories told in snippets of conversation and tiny details unknowingly revealed in a singular moment of repose.

After catching a little buzz, we hit the pool and lounged in the hot tub, all too happy to see some of the tangible fruits of our labor. When back in our room, we rinsed off and fired up the television. Blythe was so excited that we had our own space that she ecstatically passed right out.

I spent the evening drinking the rest of the vodka, watching cable TV, and writing blogs. It was a very nice night.

Tomorrow… St. Louis is cold, Kansas City, State Fishing Lakes, and the prairie sky.

Thanks so much to Mandi for getting us the show, and to Chris and Mary Jo for coming out. Thanks to Joe for our short interview, and we can’t wait to read the piece.

Day 6 – Dry County but not a Dry Soul - or – Adventures with Police for Jesus

We took a long time getting up, sinking into a soft bed and alternately reading chapters from “On the Road”. Slinking groggily, we slide out of Curse’s house, with its every surface covered in symbols and statues of Baphomet. We collected up our unfinished vodka and pizza before we went, sure we’d need a recharge somewhere along our route.

The road to Berea from Lexington is clean and straight, lined with horse farms and small towns made for truckers to pass through. Once in town, we rolled through the old town, watching from a distance the movement, like ants, of people in and out of a dense row of boutique craft shops. After a lunch in the car and a short nap, with the breeze pressed through the open driver’s side window, we settle in McDonald’s for some free WiFi.

This little Berea Barn Rat popped up from under our table while we were working in McDonalds. No matter how many fries we threw at him, he wouldn't go away. So we tied him up with old straw wrappers and left him in the lost and found.

While plowing through some band business, we noticed some activity on the Facebook event for the evening. “There is no alcohol permitted at this event!” it shouts. We were struck with a moment of righteousness. After contemplating for a moment, we figured on an answer. Dry County? We’ve met with this hellish concept only once. For your enjoyment, a short flashback.

After visiting in Memphis with Catherine, touring Sun Studios again, and basking in the afterglow of a very relaxing trip back from New Mexico, we found ourselves on the road to Lexington. The evening wore on, and we thought to claim it for ourselves by grabbing a hotel room and a case of beer and watching local cable commercials until dawn.

Cave City appeared on the horizon. It was the home of several roadside amusements based around some caverns and giant foam dinosaurs. After checking in, and lubing up with a little whiskey from our ever present flasks, we gather the moral strength to make the cold walk to the corner convenience store for our evening’s imbibements.

After a few moments wandering the lonely fluorescent aisles, a growing uneasiness became too apparent to ignore. No Booze! NONE. Not a tallboy or hip flask in sight! We walked a good way to check some other stores, but to no avail. Very disappointed, we marched indignantly back to our room, no beer or whiskey in tow. A short moment of research confirmed our suspicions. We were in Barren County KY, barren not just in name, but in state of inebriation.

Berea exists in once of these fabled counties. It was confirmed for us by Aaron at The Black Feather. In fact, our description of the event (Food, Booze, and Dancing etc.) had given cause to one good citizen to call the Sheriff’s office to investigate. One wouldn’t want the sincere offer of alcohol by a disembodied facebook event to be fulfilled by the Black Feather, which does not serve any alcoholic drinks. The Galt Line thanks this citizen for their concern.  

Since we were not familiar with the restrictions of a dry county, and it was hinted by Aaron that check points may be set up, we thought it prudent to secret away our stores of homemade cider.

Since the amount is considerable, I must remark that we were quite ingenious in our smuggling. However, we discovered later in the evening that it is not illegal to possess, or even drink alcohol in these dry counties, but only illegal to buy or serve it. Lesson learned.

The show was very good. Mateo Steiner made the evening with his Amigos de Mateo project, an ever-morphing collection of musicians who play Latin flavored scorchers. This night it was Matt, “Griz”, and Matt’s mom. They tore through a set of these hot Latin tunes with simple ease executed with effortless passion.

We got up and played a sweaty set to Mateo’s friends and family, and a number of very curious passers-by who kindly stuck with us through the whole set.

What followed was a torrential drive across three states, fueled by “Nos” drinks, energy shots, and diet soda (with consistent nourishment from day old pizza and nuts). In seven short hours, the neon skyline of St. Louis loomed.

With hours until the show and temporarily homeless, we jerked into a spot at the back of a Wal-Mart parking lot and slept fitfully, niacin pumping in our veins, at intervals watching the tangerine sun climb over the warehouse façade.

Thanks to Thomas, Aaron, Alexis, all of the Steiner & Brock families.

(Check out Thomas’ awesome punk band Eco-Bombs!)

Tomorrow… Morning show at a respectable institution, Chris and May Jo, and our very own room, not to mention 3 free drinks.

Day 5 – Day Off - or - Off Day

Waking up in the farm house was one of the most pleasant yawnings and stretchings of this tour yet. With birds chirping and sun shining, we sat and talked with Lindsey for a while, with steaming coffee mugs in hand. Soon Kyle and Brent of American Freedom Machine joined us. We hiked a mile long path they had cut through the woods surrounding the farm, then set off for Louisville to help Lindsey move into her new apartment. She just secured a beautiful studio space above the Highlands Art Studios.

Us Galt Liners grabbed some lunch, and sat in the sun and cool spring air in Cherokee park. After, we met them on Bardstown road, carrying heavy things up many narrow stairs. We put our shoulders to a mattress and box spring, a couch, a dresser, the usual. After some beers and cider, we parted ways. Since the drinks had made us a little light headed, we walked on down the street away, stopping to peruse the stock of a very nice guitar shop. Soon it was getting dark and cold.

With the illness of Tara, we had already decided to let the Maxey house alone, so as not to impede the healing of the sick. Unfortunately, we didn’t have a spot to sleep yet. Fortunately, Byron call right then, and we all hooked up at Curse Childers place. Sipping vodka and eating Hot-n-Ready pizzas was a real treat. We munched and drank as Byron and Curse ran through some Melodic Horizon tunes that they had started repurposing for a duo format.

It wasn’t long until the excitement was too much for Blythe, and she nodded off, pizza in hand. We called it a night there, and Curse kindly put us up in a spare room.

Tomorrow… Our 24 Hour Day, The Black Feather, Farewell to KY (sadly but finally), and a look at the Rock Star’s life from inside a Drury Inn.

Big Thanks to Lindsey, and Kyle and Brent from American Freedom Machine, and Curse for putting us up and all the kind words.