Uncommon

after a beautiful night of sleep where I almost melted, cos KG turned the heat on full blast (and wears like 5 layers of clothing and two blankets), my shirt was somehow removed some time during the night, though I can't recall when... I woke up earlier than usual, cos like I said, I've been sleeping quite efficiently lately.

**OH, let me tell you about this debocle that happened when we checked in**
So I walk in, and I got a couple great deals on the hotel rooms for this trip, cos I had points saved up from my prior touring and hotel stays. so I walk in and what I'm expecting is: I walk in, give 'em my name, and they give me the room keys. But what happened was, I walk in, give 'em my name, and she says, "yeah we had you a room booked for last night." Oh boy... the stupid woman on the phone who I booked the rooms with, booked me a room in Winona, MN for the same night as the first room that I booked in Des Moines, IA. two states, one night... what the hell? I can't believe what I'm hearing, plus I used up my valuable points which are not reuseable in an instance like this... they're gone!! So judging from the expression of frustration on my face, the girl at the desk, Robin, totally hooked it up and made things right. I mean I only stay at choice hotels when I tour, and they just can't fu*@ me like that... So super kudos to her. I actually called her later on at the front desk and offered her a drink or two or anything for saving my ass, and she politely declined cos she had another job early sunday morning... dang... yes she was cute too...

So that was the debocle... but anyway after a nice night's sleep, I awoke and headed immediately to the Perkins 24-hour restaurant connected to the hotel, I didn;t even have to go outside! upon check-in I got a coupon for $3 off breakfast so how could I pass it up. I had an surprisingly good turkey and asparagus eggs benedict dish with a muffin... totally hit the spot. and while I was doing that KG was hitting a spot on the throne in the room (it had been days I tell you).

So we had another little detour between Winona and Chicago. Due to our early start, we had a little time to make another stop. This was (oh boy) at the Jelly Belly factory in Wisconsin. You know... the jelly beans?? the best ones int he world?!? I've got to get these pics so I can post them and show you all how I achieved a life goal... (it was a young goal, but achieved nontheless).

We met KG's friend and her family there and did a tour and bought candy, and saw Santa, and it was all pretty keen. I have like 15 pounds of defective (discounted!!) jelly beans still in my car. Someone needs to take them off my hands....

On to Chicago... we arrived in plenty of time, even though we didn't have directions. I was somewhat doubting my navigator's skills for a few moments when she panicked and started calling friends who had internet. But we grew some balls and just drove in the direction we thought it was at (I mean chicago's not that big a city, right? we'll find it) and we did. Once I found an illegal parking spot which I didn';t receive a ticket for, i loaded in, hung out in the basement of this place to warm up my voice a bit, cos the throat was seriously taxed from the first two shows... and then a cup of green tea w/ honey later, I was on. The show actually is archived on the Uncommon Ground website. You can do a search for jimmy atto and I think listen to all the shows I;ve ever played there... it's a great system they have. I've been itching for a recorded version of "return" for a while and since I couldn't afford to do it in the studio, I guess the live one will have to do for now, I may post it up on MySpace pretty soon...

I did a little rocking out, sweated a bit, because it was the culmination of the weekend, final show yadda yadda yadda... so I let it all out and it was fun... especially the post-show escapades. A friend of my brother (whom I had never met before) came out and we ended up having drinks at the bar along with KG, my pal and tennis partner from h.s. Marc and his new fiancee and Brendan from WMU. We munched on some of the great menu from UG and had a couple drinks and some did whiskey shots... whew! Brendan passed by the MARS Cheese Castle in Wisconsin (which we considered stopping at earlier in the day) and he told us all about it. talk about your all-time regrets.

After all the reminiscing went down, we had to leave to get back home to MI before sunrise, so KG and I hit the road... said goodbye to the windy...

I drove most of the way, but KG sucked it up for a good hour or so while I took a nap about mid-way back, cos I was about to doze off. then I kicked I-94s ass from K-zoo home (a very familiar route for me). back in my bed by 4am, and that does it.

Pictures will be coming soon from the trip, I hope to have another one soon...

thanks to everyone who came out to the shows, and who entertained us throughout the miles, cos there were many. In fact, I need an oil change... thanks for reminding me...

Happy Holidays... dont forget "harder to leave" aka "holiday song" is on the Low Carb LP. buy/steal it for a loved one for a stocking stuffer...

peace. JA

perceptive are we?

if you hadn't noticed, yes this blog is posted on the same day as the previous one, however this one has entirely different content... I mean, including Iowa and Minnesota in the same blog would be like, eating peanut butter with your salad, would it not? (Note: previous analogy excludes thai cuisine)

So we drove up to Winona but before we got there I made a quick stop for some Chipotle with my friend Gale. And she brought her friend April who coincidentally went to Winona State for college and was very fond of the acoustic cafe and their grinders (and also chooses Chipotle over Qdoba any day of the week). So we had some good eats and cool treats and departed from the holiday inn parking garage in st. paul out to winona...

...we got to the hotel in some good time and I had just enough time to get showered up, go to the acoustic cafe, and set up (we almost had a scare where no one knew where the PA was). So I set it all up, went back to pick up "kitty-kat" (as she's known in some circles), and we were off...

Winona is a special place. It's among the first places I ever played. I don't even know how I found it, but each of the several times I've played there, there's been at least one good memory. The people of the town are so nice, the workers at the cafe, the crowd is always very receptive, and then I've got my own little fan club there. They've been continually prodding me to come back even though it had been like 18 months since my last visit. Thats true devotion right there. so I felt I owed it to them to come out, and that was the true reason for the trip in the first place. I just decided to set up some other shows to make the trip more efficient.

Afterward I met up with all the crazy babes and I think there was a guy or two in the mix, and we did some pictures (which I'll hopefully ad to this post at a later time) and chatted it up about the local hotel bars in town and about Michigan's economy... Julie and Val helped me carry out some of my crap to the Element (which still needs a nickname) and KG and I got some hoagies to go for "next day's function / high class luncheon / food is served and you're stone-cold munchin" (reference anyone?)

Had a nice little drink or two at the hotel lounge with the bartender, Bobbi. She told us a bit about Winona, and we told her a bit about ourselves and which one of us couldn't poop for the last couple days, and then I took a couple photos of flowers and red bull and I can't really remember much else... oh Bobbie told us that in Winona (or anywhere else) once the alcohol comes out, any female can instantly turn into a lesbian for a night. and on that note... we past another note... then turned in...

catch me up

So last time you heard from our heros, they were in Iowa somewhere sipping on wine... well that didn't stop right away... let's pick up from where we left off...

So we made our way to Java Joe's in the surprisingly dry and not-too-cold Des Moines. I was the only attraction for the night, and there was a come-and-go (or should I say KUM - N - GO) crowd throughout the long set. Per usual I didn';t take a break and my voice was worse for it. I dont know why, I just don't like taking breaks when I play long sets, unless it's somehow over two hours or something, but who wants to perform for that long (w/out a band at least)?

So I realized that they sold wine at this place and musicians get a wicked discount. So I nursed a couple of glasses of a merlot and some water in between and jammed des moines for the 4th time in my history I believe. I sold a couple of discs, but the set was so long that I didn't really get a chance to speak with any of the interested patrons cos I was up there playing for so long, and when I was done, whew damn did my ass hurt. two hours in the same positions without moving much, I paid for it.

Jess and the crew over at JJ were great, they made us some great food, and I ended up pawning off the only frisbee I brought on the trip to a nice stranger as they made their departure after paying me some kind of compliment.

On to Winona... birthplace of Winona Ryder I believe... so they say...

Here in IA

So. yeah here we are, my friend Katherine and I, in Des Moines. We decided to split up the drive from the D to Des Moines, so we left last night and made a little pit-stop for the night in Chicago. We both know plenty of people there, so finding a nice, comfortable couch was no problemo.

I spent the night next to this tiny kitty who wasn't feeling well, so she didn't really move at all. She did make her way over to me (and my down throw) in the morning and set up shop. Pretty nice sleep. I've been sleeping really well lately. Every night I wake up in the middle of the night (some time between 2-4am) and I look at the clock feeling refreshed like I've had a full night of sleep, and it's so early, so I just have what feels like two nights of sleep in one.

So we had tons of snacks in the car. and have been snacking while driving the last couple days. popcorn, trail mix (Katherine is CEO/founder of Urban Trail Mix Co. ) and vegetables, and focaccia bread all kinds of good stuff. excuse the punctuation here...

So the first show is tonight, at java joes, and we're about to head out. just sipping on some cabernet franc in a nice plastic hotel cup and taking a load off after a failed mission to find swimwear for the hotel. Just poor planning on both our parts. the hotel tomorrow night has a pool also, so I'm sure we'll be searching if we have time. It'll be worth it, I'm in the market for some new swim trunks anyway...

Update tomorrow...