So I was hoping to be out in the park by now, but it's not even 40 outside yet, so that may not even happen today. So I may as well . . . BLOG!

Since the age of about 15, I have never before had someone else do my laundry. However, the laundromat down the street does it for .75 a pound. There's a first time for everything. So with that out of the way, all that's left to do is to decide which clothes I will take with me and then to put the remainder into storage.

The tour is up to 21 shows. Hopefully we can land some more, which might be possible since our remaining gaps are now somewhat later in the tour. All told we will be playing in 7 countries: England, France, Germany, Belgium, Denmark, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. All first time visits for me. Now it's not like we'll have time to stop and do touristy things, but I will at least get a taste.

Yesterday I played at a coffee house in New Jersey with singer/songwriter Laura Maclean. It was a smaller venue than I am used to playing, but the audience was actually quite receptive. It's nice to play for people who actually want to listen. We also made $20 apiece, which I almost never manage here in NYC. Shows just don't really often pay much, if anything here. Plus, any chance to get out of the city, even for just a few hours, is fine by me (although a small town right off the Jersey Turnpike is a grey area, but I'll take what I can get).

Speaking of getting out of the city, my flight leaves in under 48 hours. Only a few more things to take care of between now and then, and I am realizing how fortunate I was that the lease on my old place was up at the end of February. It necessitated my taking care of most of the preparations for Europe about a month ago, leaving me with precious little to actually deal with now. Now admittedly the people actually ORGANIZING the tour are running around like madmen, and apparently we still aren't 100% positive that we'll have gear waiting for us in England, and apparently there are quite a few things that could go drastically wrong. Our drummer, with by far the most touring experience, said he won't be able to relax until we're on stage at our first show, with all the equipment we need. Me, I'm blissfully ignorant of all such things, and thank god for that.