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During the Morning Room tour, every moment of every day was filled with meaning, value, and purpose. Almost all of my friends and family members live along the California coast, which also happens to be my favorite place on earth. With that in mind, it became difficult to justify living 900 miles away in a cold, rainy city and so I have returned to the Golden State.

Last night I drove all of my belongings away from Portland. Based on the number of people photographing my car on the I - 5, I expect my loaded little wagon to be spreading across the internet as we speak. In case it doesn't make it to your facebook feed, here it is:

This is everything I own (except for my camera)

I'm in Humboldt now, and by next week I'll be settling in to San Luis Obispo. I'll be calling that home for at least a few months. A new EP is in the works and will hopefully be ready to release in July. I'll be playing all around the state during summer and into the fall, so expect to see some tour dates listed soon.

As a final announcement, I am thrilled to present the music video for To Follow Winter.

My cousin Willie Witte put this together for me and I think he did a beautiful job. 

Watch, enjoy, and understand why I want to live there:

Travelogue

This is exactly how I feel.

I got to enjoy some more of California's coast between SLO and Santa Barbara. A guy could live here y'know?

I'm even writing again. Good.

Some music that packs a punch:

Grand Lake - Soft Lake 

Low - The Great Destroyer

Radiohead - Amnesiac

 

Travelogue, Someblurryday

Holy shit California! So good it hurts. San Luis is full of family and friends and Montana De Oro is full of perfection. 

Sally Loo's hosted an excellent show and a little (a lot) too much fun was had afterward. Where did all the whiskey go?

Always more coffee! One day off from shows so I got to work on a music video!

 

I don't want tour to stop.

P.S. SNOW IN MORRO BAY!!!

The only thing I got to listen to all morning, and the only thing I wanted:

Gold Dusk - Mourning Tonight 

Rod Stewart - His voice is heaven

Travelogue Day 4

San Francisco was good to me. I played a fun show at Revolution Cafe and got to visit with old friends (and a new beard). Then today was spent relaxing in what may be the coziest apartment in the bay area. This was necessary, as the road is starting to tire me out. After many cups of coffee, I took Hwy 1 to Santa Cruz and spent some time with my old love:

I'm sorry I left you, baby.

Holy smokes, listen to Acorntribe! They played beautifully tonight, and provided the most accommodating home to boot. I get to sleep in a bed tonight!

Dizzy and Delirious Coastal Music:

Animal Collective - Feels

The Magic Numbers - The Magic Numbers

Jeff Magnum - Live at Jittery Joes

Acorntribe - Before You Go (I mean it, listen)

Travelogue Day 3

A lovely Arcata day. I spent a lot of time sitting and staring at trees. It's calm and beautiful and harder to do in the city. This one was particularly good to me.

 It probably won't have the same effect, but try staring at it for a while in silence.

So after that relaxing time, I played at Missing Link with Colin from Strix Vega and Phil from the Little Still Not Big Enough. They both killed it! It was a lovely evening hosted by the best decorated vinyl shop in California. Look at that jackelope!

Today I will have coffee for breakfast, so that I can drive to Oakland and maybe see some sunshine. Don't let me down California!

Rainy Redwood Driving Music:

Belle and Sebastian - Storytelling

John Heart Jackie - Women and Money EP

Cranberries - Everyone Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We (Yeah that's right, don't pretend you never sang along to Linger.)

Travelogue Day 2

After my delayed start yesterday, it was great to get on the road.  The first sunset of a road trip is one of life's most magnificent sights.

That is the view that guided me to the covered bridge capital of Oregon, where I saw some damn fine un-covered bridges.  I met some exquisitely kind Cottage Grovers and had a fun show with Utah's Battleschool. Then on the road again for a looooong night drive.

Road delirium set in quickly.

At 2AM I made a new friend!

He told me that it's easier to stay awake if you fill your shoes with snow.

With his advice I drove until 3:30. Other tricks used to stay awake included rolling down the windows, yelling, and hallucinating.

Music to keep you awake on a late drive:

Meatloaf - Bat Out Of Hell

Electric Light Orchestra - On The Third Day

Flaming Lips - iTunes Originals (Wayne Coyne talks about things like Porn and Cat Stevens!)

Tour Travelogue, Day 1

The Morning Room tour was officially going to begin tomorrow at Missing Link in Arcata. I packed the car today, bought a burrito, and drove almost to the I-5 when my phone rang. I pulled over to answer safely and found myself speaking to the man in charge of booking at Cottage Grove's, Axe and Fiddle. As a result of our conversation, tour will begin today! I will be opening for Battleschool at 8PM, then driving all night long to Arcata. Less than an hour in and I'm already having happy surprises. This is going to be a good week!

Today's music for the road:

David Bowie - The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars
Charlie Parr - When The Devil Goes Blind
Sigur Ros - með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust