Tour Diaries: Days 34 - 44

Day 34: ACL

Cleveland OH to Austin TX

Up early to catch a flight from Cleveland to a muggy Austin for the Austin City Limits Festival. Basically immediately upon arriving in Austin, we were whisked away to do hours of press and radio interviews to promote our ACL appearances. I opted not to stick around to watch bands because I knew I would see them the following week. Instead, I left the festival to go watch the Georgia vs. Tennessee game, which was an epic ball game.

Day 35: ACL

Austin TX

Hell of a day at the Austin City Limits Festival. We played for a great crowd. I also got to watch The National from right in front of their stage. Incredible performance from one of my favorite bands. I also danced my ass off to Phoenix. Second time I've gotten to see them this year.

Day 36

Austin TX to Indianapolis IN

Our flight left Austin in the afternoon, so we did not have to be at the airport ass early. Imagine that. And then we were left with a night off in Indianapolis, which we spent watching Monday Night Football and drinking in a shitty sports bar. I think we were the only patrons in the place. So that was awesome.

Day 37

Indianapolis IN

Day 38

Indianapolis IN to Des Moines IA

First time in Iowa (besides just driving through it). Pretty ho-hum of you ask me.

Day 39

Des Moines IA to Kansas City MO

We did some major van and trailer cleaning today. Feels great to have a clean home again!

Had a fun night off in Kansas City. Went to a restaurant and some bars with the guys in a cool part of town called Westport.

Day 40

Kansas City MO

After a radio performance this afternoon, I spent most of my afternoon back in the Westport area. I was surprised at how much I ended up enjoying Kansas City. I splurged on some clothes and even got a hair cut. I think it was the first time in my life I have ever paid my own money for a haircut.

Tonight we had a big goodbye. We all became good friends with James Bay over the past seven weeks. He is an amazing singer and songwriter, and I really hope he obtains all the success with his music that he deserves. Such a great guy. We will miss him. But that's just another part of life on the road. A seemingly endless strand of goodbyes.

Day 41: ACL Round 2

Kansas City MO to Austin TX

Pre-sunrise flight to catch. That old song and dance. But you can't complain when you're going to the Austin City Limits Festival. Once we arrived to the festival, it was the other old song and dance of radio appearances, interviews, and other press rigamarole.

After the work part of the day was done, I did go see to amazing live acts in Wilco and Kendrick Lamar. I think I've seen Wilco more than any other band, and it had been a few years since I had seen them. Yes, they did “Via Chicago”, and I almost lost it. And yes, Kendrick Lamar did “Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe” and I did lose it, but in a completely different way.

Day 42

Austin TX

After a truly wonderful night's sleep to the Texas rain barraging the roof under which I slept and the earth outside, I awoke to a very strange text message. It was our manager. No show today. The park is flooded. ACL is cancelled. Immediate mixed emotions. On one hand, that's so fucked. Our show last week was incredible, and this one would prove to be even better. Then again, that means we get an entire day off, something that rarely occurs (we have not had one of those since the ZZ Ward tour began 7 weeks ago). So I just went back to sleep.

However, we ended up playing a last minute secret show with The Lone Bellow at a tiny bar in Austin. The word got out about the show. There was a line of people wrapped around the building an hour before they opened the doors, and the place remained jam- packed to capacity as soon as the doors did open. A loud, sweaty show. Drunk rowdy people. Fuckin Austin.

Day 43

Austin TX to St. Louis MO to ? Illinois

Zombies in the airport as dawn cracked our skulls. Probably should have stopped drinking and gone to bed at a decent hour. But that's not easy to do after you just set Austin on fire.

Barely being able to stay awake as we get to St. Louis and get ready for the show. Somehow we did manage to get our asses in gear and put on a great show. Though we could not relax after the show and just go to sleep. Instead, we had to drive a handful of hours through the night, just so we can leave wherever we end up staying by 8am so we can be in Chicago by 11am.

People often ask me if I get tired of all this running around. Sure, it can make me tired. But no, I never get tired of it. If I got tired of it, I would not do it. You have to love this if you are going to do it. There is no way I could live this way if I did not love it. And I do love it. Despite all the crazy schedules and distances and constantly moving and not knowing where I am or where I will be or when anything happened or anything will happen. Despite all the goodbyes and the ones I never got to know. Despite everything I left in the long road behind me. I fucking love it.

Day 44: To Be Continued...

Somewhere in Illinois to Chicago IL

Don't know where I woke up today. Don't really care. Just a few hours, I was barely there anyway. And being barely there is a normalcy now.

Another busy day. That's good. It's important to stay busy. If you're gonna do something, then fucking do it. And we are fucking doing it.

I'll call this day 44, though it's actually more like day seventy- something. It's been about eleven weeks since we left Nashville after spending three weeks there, a significant amount of time off. When we left Nashville, the leaves on the trees were vibrantly green and alive. The next time we return there, those leaves will be wilting on the cold ground. Eleven weeks of living on the run and out of a suitcase. But for me it's been so many months of living out of a suitcase now that I can no longer remember when it actually started. Since I no longer hold an actually residence in Nashville.

That concludes this tour. Though we are not going home. Another tour begins tomorrow. And another after that. Then another. Either that or it's all one tour. I'm just out here now. This is where I live. This is what I do. And that's right.

The road behind me that I've rolled over is long. Yet not as long as the road ahead of me. So let's set our course and make that endless drive. And when we get there, let's do what we do. With everything we have. Every ounce. We still got heart, let's play it out. Like it's the last time. Like it's the first time. Like it's the only time.