Jeremy Porter Road Blog

Road Blog: Saturday May 05, 2018 - Bowling Green, KY

Road Blog
May 5, 2018
Bowling Green, Kentucky

Before we left Knoxville we stopped into one of our favorite stores there – Raven Records & Rarities. They’ve always been nice to us and carry our records. We each bought a couple things, checked out a nearby vintage store and tea house, then headed towards I-40 West, passing a large homeless tent-city on the way. I was at the wheel, The Strokes were on the stereo, Patrick was riding shotgun and Gabriel Doman was in the back. Before long we were back in the hills and mountains, enjoying the scenery and the music, when it started raining. It was a fairly substantial downpour, making visibility limited. My driving makes the boys a little nervous so I was diligently trying to drive conservatively and leave plenty of space. We took a right and headed north somewhere just east of Nashville and stayed on a back-country two-lane road into Kentucky. We stopped for a quick leak and celebrated Cinco De Mayo in our own special way at a gas-station Taco Bell. I’m into the beefy nacho griller these days. It was pretty awesome. Patty got a couple chicken strips at the gas station, a decision he’s going to have to live with for the rest of his life. The regret was eating at him this morning.

We pulled into Bowling Green and checked into our hotel. There was a kid following up about a job he was after, but he’d blown off his interview a couple days earlier, so they weren’t having it. Get your shit together dude. For the next couple hours we chilled around the hotel. I fixed the AC jack on my Spaceman Effects Saturn V boost pedal, which I just had to do in Toronto a couple weeks ago. Spaceman was kind enough to offer to fix it, but I think a locking washer will do the trick. I just have to find one and put it on there.

We headed into town and stopped at Mellow Matt's Music & More, a cool store with our poster hanging in the window. You can pick up our new record there now if you want! There were a couple twin guys in there, younger dudes with matching metal tees and identical faces, and they each picked up a record from us as well – thanks guys! Nice to be a few bucks up before you even get to the venue!

The A-Frame is, you guessed it, an A-Frame. It’s a cool room with a lot of wood and concrete floors. The stage sits on the end of main big room with an entry area/room off to one side and small back area. The bar is off to the side, boxed in with windows, sorta like a ticket booth. The owner Alex met us with a big Kentucky smile and that old Kentucky “I don’t really know what the deal is, man, but it’ll all be cool!” approach to show-night logistics. It’s not good for my OCD, but it’s part of the charm of Kentucky culture, and the truth us that it always does end up cool. He fed us some empanadas that are made by a couple old Mexican ladies out of a Mexican grocery store across town. They were KILLER. We ordered beers as the first band was setting up.

The show was a benefit for Kentuckians For The Commonwealth, an organization that works really hard to protect democracy and freedom and voters rights and voices of the oppressed. They’re focused on the November election and, like us, are very interested in changing the road our country is currently on. Our role in the benefit came up late, and we were booked to play last. The DJ, Jeremy, was playing cool soul music and funky classic rock before and between the bands. Just after 9pm, Spirit Week took the stage and played some quieter indie-pop. They were great musicians and had a solid set. Next up was Former Friends of Young Americans. These guys were a bit more rock and roll, with cool keyboards and reverb drenched guitar. Nice folks too! Waco Bell (pronounced `Wah-ko`) played third, with a rapper over a bass guitar and Moog keys and drum machine. They had great energy and it’s something I think would go over very well in Detroit. We played last as the room was thinning out after the long benefit and auction that preceded the show. The faithful few were having fun, and the sound was great, so we had fun too. We wrapped up our set, loaded out and said goodbye to the great people at the A-Frame.

Patty’s friend Cindy was there and after the show she took us over to the other music venue in town Tidball's where we checked out the band and had a drink before calling it a night. She’s a sweetheart and a great tour guide! 2am was comparatively early to the last couple nights, and I was looking forward to some quality sleep.

This morning we took advantage of the hotel breakfast bar and climbed into the van at 9am. The boys dropped me off at the Louisville airport, where I am now, waiting to fly to Atlanta, then Germany for a couple days of work. I told them I expected them to keep my place in the standard rotation of music in my absence, and even offered to give them a list of albums to play, but oddly they didn’t embrace the idea. They kicked me to the curb and drove off towards Cincinnati, and then North to Michigan.

This was a fun run. Not the most people we’ve played to, but it was a success in most ways. We got some of our records out there, made some new friends, had a few laughs, and saw a new city and venue. Thanks to all who were a part of it, and thanks to you for reading. See ya in two weeks, Chicago, Iowa City and Dubuque. Be good to each other!