The 50 State Tour Lis is on may be the greatest publicity venture ever. She deserves it, though, because she's good.
Want proof?
She got reviewed in the Washington Post.
I have been remiss not to mention this before. My friend and fellow musician Lis Harvey has begun her record-setting tour of the fifty states. Fifty states in 60 days, folks, and she's driving (except for Alaska and Hawaii).
You can find out the specifics of her schedule on her web site, as well as read her tour journal.
It's a very cool thing she's doing. If you happen to live in one of the fifty states in the U.S., you should make a point of going to see her. If you live here in Chicago, you can see me play with her at the Elbo Room on September 10.
Lisa and I spent most of the afternoon on our bikes today, riding down to Lake Michigan. We probably rode 15 or so miles down to the shore, downtown, and back. It was a lovely day today, not even 80 degrees I would guess, and the lake was gorgeous. It looked almost Caribbean it was so blue. I'll have some pictures up here soon.
We'll have a real bed tomorrow if all goes according to plan. Bed shopping, while a good thing when you're sleeping on a borrowed futon mattress on your floor, is a pain. Comparison shopping is difficult because every store's mattresses have different names, and there are all these different quality and cushioning levels within and between brands. We ended up not doing as much shopping around as I had thought at first, mostly because it wasn't fun, but also because the guy at the Bed Store was eager to "stop us from shopping around to my 47,000 competitors." We knew what a good price was, and he gave us a good bed for our money. Hopefully we'll have it tomorrow afternoon.
Meanwhile, Euchre Weekend is happening in Ottawa this weekend. We're looking forward to whatever it is. Two people there will be meeting each other for the first time: an actual blind date. I can't wait to see the sparks, or kitchen utensils, fly.