I had designs to meet up with the guys
in Baby Baby while I was in Carrollton to do an interview for
Afropunk, but when I got up I still hadn't heard from them. I
puttered around Johnson City for a bit killing time (these are the
rare moments when I do wish I could check e-mail on my phone from the
road...). Made an angsty mix, because putting literal distance
between yourself and stuff you don't want to deal with and shouting
along to Frightened Rabbit in the car is how real grown-ups deal with
problems. Finally gave up and hit the road (singing along to
Frightened Rabbit, natch), now with a bit of extra time for an
adventure. Driving through South Carolina I passed a sign for the
Paris Mountain State Park. There was a sign that said hiking. Hiking
you say? Sold. I pulled off the highway down a winding local road.
Parked the car and set off. This is Pen Pen and the real reason I'm
on the road so much.
It was warm like the beginning of New
England spring. Evidence of the recent mild winter was everywhere.
Dead leaves on the dirty ground. Patches of snow waiting to melt. I
always enjoy the weird etiquette hikers follow when they pass each
other on the trail. Everyone looks stupid when they're hiking so you
don't make eye contact until the absolute last second when one of you
has to decide to move over to accommodate another person on the
trail. “Afternoon.” Eye contact. “Afternoon.” Look back the
trail. Moving on. “Howdy,” “Howsitgoin,” and “Hey” are
all acceptable alternatives in the event that it's not the afternoon.
This is Pen Pen not seeing his shadow, which I think means winter's
over?
I played Alley Cat back in December on
my last tour and made a bunch of friends in town. The bar has a real
community feel. It's a regular hangout with it's own rituals and
traditions. (Crazy hats. Clown noses. Scrabble.) The show was kinda
similar to Saturday, where the crowd filtered in and out. Sometimes
they were listening. Sometimes they weren't. Sometimes they sang
along. Sometimes they didn't. But whatever, I don't think even I
could watch me for 3 hours straight, and I'm pretty self-involved.
After the show a bunch of us stayed up until 6 AM playing Cards
Against Humanity, which is basically Apples to Apples for terrible
people. It was awesome. This is Pen Pen with the best bathroom graffiti ever blushing and saying “aw
shucks.”
This is a song I wrote one time. You
should download it and share it with your friends.
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