The Last Leg - Familorado, Kansas and Home Sweet Home

I woke up this morning in an open field. I was in a borrowed sleeping bag and the couple that had invited us camping and their giggling friend Paul had abandoned the fire. Model Stranger and Damen, another gentleman whom had joined us on the 2 am adventure into the woods remained around the embers that remained. I felt revived and confused during my first breath of the morning air. The first thing I heard was Vincent mumble a bit about raindrops and soon realized it was time to roll. I picked up the bottle of Makers Mark that Kevin was grasping like a milk bottle and we were on to the next.

"Hello Cleveland"

Last night we were in Lawrence, KS. It was our third night in Kansas. Hays, Lawrence, and Good Ol Topeka were amongst the towns we hit. This was a lovely stay and we managed to meet some spectacular people along the way. No lie, our most devoted fans in the whole country live in Topeka and we love going there. We were fortunate to make some fans in Topeka from Lawrence whom came out the next night in Lawrence and proceeded to invite us to camp on some of their families land.

So imagine us on a gravel road searching for this campground and hitting a dead end... with the trailer attached. Unfortunately Vincent had to reverse a half mile down this road until we got to a driveway.

We ended up gaining a signal and were led in to the correct property. Allie and Martin led us through the forest down to this beautiful landing where their friends had started a fire. We grabbed sleeping bags and made sleeping quarters around the fire - talked about music, drank whiskey and looked at the stars. The open air and stars were a liberation from the familiar grey shades inside of our van and at one point, although my demeanor would have expressed differently (calm and collected), I contemplated taking my clothes off and dancing around like an Indian. I remember screaming "Hello Cleveland" into the darkness because we were in Cleveland, MO.

"Familorado" - The Heart of our Tour

We spent four days in Colorado. If there is one thing worse than alcohol, cigarettes and lack of rest that will weigh down on a vocalist (admist an 18 show in 18 day tour) it would have to be an elevation change!  This struggle for me started in Laramie, WY - which is 7,651 FT above sea level and continued for the next 4 days through Littleton, CO.

Amongst the Model Stranger camp we have friends and family spread across Colorado.. so at the heart of our tour we found just that, a much needed love and affection. We had the chance to visit with some family in Ft. Collins at the Cork Lounge and then again at The Open Tap in Denver. Our show in Boulder at The Dark Horse following our record store day binge was attended by my Aunt Nancy and Uncle Frank who took us in to their lovely home for three days fed us and let us shower as well. They brought friends, and a bunch of Boulder friends came out including some people we met at Radio 1190 during our interview there the day before. Lastly our Sunday show was followed by a visit from more family. At the Littleton, CO show at The Toad Tavern we were greeted with a pleasant surprise in 'Viretta', fresh from their high school prom, who put on a great set.

Long end short this was the section of the tour where we shopped, slept under a roof and focused on getting some rest and relaxation - even if it was only 4 hours at a time. In 4 days we spent 7.5 hours on stage with 4.5 of them being within 15 hours of each other. With commuting and our radio interview at 1190 we barely got the rest we probably required but we sold a lot of merchandise and made quite a few new fans in Colorado. More importantly we visited with family and enjoyed ourselves.

The elevation messed with me through and through. I was low energy and had to drink water by the half hour to keep hydrated. A new and unexpected challenge of the road that I now know how to combat. Rest and water. Noted.

Our Triumphant return to Topeka

Although there was no red carpet placed for our arrival when we showed up we felt good pulling into Topeka at The Boobie Trap. Shortly before we arrived we received a phone call from the Washburn Review. The local university were doing a piece on us and we spent a majority of our evening discussing our tour and music with Kate, a local journalist whom was tipped off by some local fans that she may be interested in covering us. Another reason for this feeling of worthiness was the two ladies that tipped off Kate, our biggest fans Leslie and Beth were communicating with us all the way in to the door step.

Throughout our raucous and loudest show of the tour at the we had photo and video cameras following us around the stage and had a decent crowd to perform for. This is where we met Allie and Martin from the campground.

The night was a blast and followed by us getting to check out the Calamity Cubes, a great Psychobilly band from the area that ironically knew some friends we had made on our previous tour who go by Larry and His Flask. We spent the rest of the night enjoying their set and visiting with Kate, Leslie and Beth.  They fed us and gave us a place to shower and sleep. Thanks!

Lawrence was a simple show with a quaint patio set at The Gaslight Tavern. We enjoyed this town very much. Despite a freakish "allergic eye infection" that Kevin developed, it was a great time.

Tonight we are in Kansas City. We have 2 days until we release the record to the Chicago market. Tomorrow we are sharing the stage with friends "The Branded". It will be nice to see some friends from home.

Well... Thanks for reading. And a special thanks to our family and friends throughout the midwest that took us in and lifted my spirit when I was feeling bogged out.

Thanks for reading!

Stephen Francis