Charlotte NC- Myrtle Beach SC

Charlotte is great because of a few things.

1.  Wes Kent.

2.  Elvis is alive and well.

3.  The Evening Muse.

Wes Kent is that kind of guy who is down.  "He's on the level", as Lera Lynn might say.  For realsies.  And he's in chef school.  And he's quite possibly as much of a Chipotle enthusiast as Ben Lewis and myself.  But he doesn't have internet so it was impossible to write about him yesterday.

Evening Muse is cool.  I love the idea of having early shows and late shows.  That group was crazy fun, and we were blown away with how many of you came out.  Wes and myself partied until 3 AM listening to iPhone music and chilling by his pool.  Come to think of it, we were in Charlotte for 20 hours, and I went to the pool three times.

Myrtle Beach is cool because of a few things.

1.  They let us play on the board walk.

2.  Mike McDonald dances.

3.  I love ferris wheels.

We did two sets and in between, Lera disappeared and me and Ben were preparing ourselves to get on stage without her and perform a skit.  It would have been mostly improvised but the general arc would have been that Ben is a sheep and I'm a shepherd.  And then handstands.  But Lera showed up just in time and we'll have to wait for some other lucky audience to watch our theatrics.

Wes Kent and Lera.  Maybe the greatest picture of all time.

Elvis Aaron Presley.  

We played next to a ferris wheel.  The beach is directly behind us.

 

Mike McDonalds.  His face almost looks like a mask, and I mean that in a good way.  Best dancer in Myrtle Beach.

Wilmington NC

We've stayed the night in some pretty nasty places, but this one takes the cake.
But first, our first night ever in Wilmington, Soapbox Laundro-Lounge, wonderful club, awesome sound guy, awesome owner and awesome crowd.  Steve came out. Mrs. Leigh's Mom and Miss Leigh's sister came and surprised us... the evening was just really great.  You, or at least I wouldn't think that a music venue/ actual laundro-mat wouldn't work, and we'd be wrong.  That place is crazy rad.  Our first of many shows there I hope.
And then we decided that it was a good idea to try to drive to Charlotte, and ended up in a Budget Inn in the middle of nowhere.
Upon entering said motel, it was clear that I wouldn't be sleeping underneath covers.  We pulled the covers back anyways just out of curiosity I suppose and the bed was full of hair.  But that's probably the usual when instead of a bed frame your mattresses are just on top of bricks.  Lera put on a pair of my suit pants and one of my shirts- popped collar- to ensure that none of her skin touched the sheets.  Ben Lewis attempted to hang a hammock in the room from the front door to the bathroom door in hopes of not touching a single piece of the room.  And me... well I took the bass out of the soft shell case, and slept for three hours in my case.  Then I move outside to find that the entire motel is booked with migrant workers who were outside waiting for their rides to work, so I have a cigarette with them, and then try to fall asleep in the van as they wander around in the parking lot.  They laugh.  I laugh.  I admit to myself that there's no way I'm going to fall asleep.  I fall asleep.
But I'm serious when I say, I love doing this.  Upward and onward.  Charlotte NC tonight.
Good.

If you need a postcard, just send us your address.  Leralynnband@gmail.com

Ben will even write you one as he drives.

Hammock attempt.  

Lera's bed.  Tile floor.  Bricks.  Mattress.

Chinese magic traps bought to celebrate not being murdered last night.

Ye Olde Chuck.

Charleston, South Carolina.  This is where America played its first game of golf.  This is where America opened it's first museum.  This is where the opening shots of the Civil War were fired.  So yeah... it's pretty hard to concentrate on playing music when you are aware that you're in a city that breathes history. How am I supposed to concentrate on playing Wolf Like Me when I'm too busy thinking about the fallen comrades in the Battle of Fort Sullivan?  I'll tell you how... by being a pro.  Which I'm not.  So South Carolina had 12 casualties while the Brits had 200+.  Not exactly a bad showing for early America.  I sort of payed attention in history class.  Or, Wikipedia is a free online encyclopedia.  So all of those facts might be wrong.  Because their content is user generated.
Lera is pretty convinced we saw two small tornadoes yesterday... in South Carolina, which according to Wikipedia is the tornado capitol of the world.  Well, at least it's about to say that on Wikipedia.
Good.
I need a burrito.
Sending off another batch of post cards today.  Just a reminder, if you want a post card, just email us at LeraLynnBand@gmail.com.  And ultimately you'll get a post card.  Or something.  Hopefully.
Good.

You decide.

New reading material. 

Ben Lewis sleeping.  Like the Indians did.

We Record.

We are recording a record.  This is nice because it allows us to also go to the pool sometimes in the afternoon.  And isn't that the point of the whole thing anyway.  

Big things have happened.  Ben and I both received hair cuts.  Lera showed me kneeboarding and pontoon boat drinking.  And I graduated college.  The last grade I received... B+.  That's above average in the traditional American grading system.  

Isn't it a wonderful feeling, graduating college and using ones degree to pretty much ride around in a van and do "something" for thirty to forty-five minutes a night.  

To all who have applied for post cards, they have or should be arriving any day.  Well done.  I love sending post cards.  I haven't decided if I'm going to send one to Blake Davis.

Recording bass.

Ck is a sock-no shoe kind of guy.  Which is ridiculous. 

My hair is way shorter now.

Post Osborne Tour.

I learned how to play the stand up bass in two weeks.  And then I played it for the Punch Brothers.  Dammit.  Mistake.
Going over the trip now.  Had a blast and met one gazillion cool people.  Mr. and Mrs. Leighs parents were outstanding hosts.  They even treated us to after show ice cream and booze.  That's one step away from just flat out throwing us a surprise party.  AND they sent me my boots after I forgot them.  I guess I need to send Sallie some mixes or CD's or something.  Oh, wait.  A postcard.
I'm going to take time right now to say, if you'd like a postcard from the band while we're on the road, just email us your address.  Leralynnband@gmail.com
It's not a guarantee, but it increases your chances.  Stamps aren't free, but on the main page, our cover of Ring of Fire is.
The best thing that can happen is when we laugh on stage.  During a song.  During the final song.  And we can't really finish.  You're welcome TV on the Radio.  Miss Lera and Myself caught a case of the giggles about thirty seconds to early in Knoxville.  No matter.  We got it back together in Nashville the next night at 3rd and Lindsley.  Our booking agent took us out to lunch just to prove to us he doesn't like chickpeas.
I used to think about how cool it would be if I knew the way a song went and then went to the bands show and then the singer would be like, "Oh no!  Our bass player can't play this song tonight!  Can anyone please help?!?!" and I'd get pulled up on stage and then I'd show Joe Perry a cool backup vocal for Sweet Emotion that they never sang before and he would do it every night for the rest of time.  Well, Ben got to play mandolin for Joan Osborne the last four nights of tour, and that was pretty rad.  See you in Davenport.

Mr. and Mrs. Leighs parents insist on only owning the coolest of things.

Why is North Carolina so pretty?

Bennet Lewis playing a weird tiny guitar with Joan Osborne.

NPR Mountain stage.  More people were there than what it looks like.

New York to raLEIGH

New York.  Terrytown.  Old timey.  The venue held 840 people, and coincidentally, 840 people came to the show.  The good people of Terrytown are just wonderful people. Could be my favorite show of the tour so far.  Could be.  And its right next to Sleepy Hollow.  Yeah.  That's right.  Sleepy Hollow is a real place!  Ichabod!
Side note.  Quiozno's on the New Jersey turnpike is awful.  I couldn't eat mine and Ben was upset that he ate his.  We're officially a Subway band now.
Then New York City happened to me.  And Ali.  What a delightful person.  What a laugh.  And she's one of those people who laugh at the fact that they're laughing and it just goes in a circle.  Me and Lera got in a fight with a guy who runs a karaoke bar.  And then we ran away and got separated and I got lost in Manhattan, which turned into a big ordeal.  And now I have a bruise on my arm.
Sent post cards.
Got up at 5:30 AM, so that I could sleep in the van while Ben drove us to raLEIGH!  Leigh runs Raleigh pretty well.  She keeps the city clean.  And she makes waffles.  Maybe.  I'm watching her try right now.  Actually enough time has passed now to confirm.  She does indeed make waffles.
The good news is that soon I'll get to see Mr. and Mrs. Leighs' parents.  The sad news is that we're about to Leigh-ve her and head on down to Charlotte.
The good news is that my girlfriend gave me a cd with The Welcome Wagon on it.
The bad news is that Lera has a cold.  Watch out.
"It's so hard to sing when you have a cold, and then it takes like two weeks to get better."- Lera Lynn

My easter celebration.

Team NYC

Leigh painted this art for Ben.

Look at Leigh.  Trying to make waffles.  

Alexannapolis

Alexandria vs. Annapolis.

The first two shows as a trio are complete.  And my fingers are covered in blisters.  This upright bass is a monster.

Typically, Alexandria would win this due to the fact that Hotel Monaco has robes and is one block away from where I enjoyed my post show Chipotle burrito.  But, Roy went to the Naval Academy, so that really swings things the Annapolis way.  I'm just not sure yet.  

Oh my gosh!  We're on tour with Joan Osborne.  And she's on tour with Richard, who gets my vote for best bass player on this tour.  Everyone in her band is just amazing.  And they're cool.  It's all working out just fine.  But CK isn't here, so we're writing post cards to him.  

This is interesting- every time we order food, I'm glad that I got what I ordered instead of what Lera ordered.  It never misses.  No matter what city, restaurant, bar, club, gas station, food cart, grocery store... I just order better.  I believe I've mentioned it before, but the secret is to as often as possible, get the BLT.  I cannot stress this point enough.  Because it's not even really filling.  It's light, but it's bacon.  And often it's on Rye.  

We drove through the nation's capitol yesterday.  Lera's first.  We showed her where government is made, tried to find the White House and found the Arlington Cemetery instead, so we decided Lera wouldn't get to see where Obama lives.  And also, Lera will believe just about anything you say about history or government if you say it with confidence so I also showed her the underpass where JFK was shot.

Onward.  Tonight we storm Philly.

Alexandria vs. Annapolis or what is commonly cited as the Roy vs. Chipotle debate.

Hotel Monaco.  Lera looking famous.  Ben looking rad.

"That's it?"- Lera Lynn.

Hello Ck.