West coast tour diary: May/June 2011

Welcome to the West Coast Tour. I will try to update this blog at least once a day.

Friday. June 3 2011. Seattle, WA.
We woke up in Seattle. Here is Todd and Howard the fish. Howard lives in a tank in the hotel lobby.


After breakfast Bobby and Todd took a trip to Wave Hound surf shop where Bobby sold his surf board. If you're a surfer in Seattle please know that it's a good board.


In the afternoon we went to the Columbia City Theater. It's a beautiful venue with great sound.


Below is the view from our hotel room window. (strong language)


We are now on our way to the venue. After tonight's show we will pack up for an early flight back to NYC.

Thank you all for joining us on this tour. Our next shows will begin at the end of the month in NYC. We'll post the dates here.
Thank you again,
Cory

Thursday. June 2 2011. Olympia, WA.

We woke up in Portland, OR at the home of our good friend Howard Arron. We ate breakfast and hit the road. Below are some scenes from our journey to Olympia, WA.






We had a great time performing at the Northern where we met some very nice people. Among them was the band Romanteek who we shared the stage with. After our show we were given a tour by lead singer, Ruby Valentine and guitarist, Matt "Le Matt" Buscher. They showed us a well in the middle of town. We all drank from it.


At the end of the tour they invited us into their studio for wine and chocolates. Here is a look at the kitchen.


We left in the early AM and drove to Seattle, WA.

Wednesday. June 1 2011. Portland, OR.

We woke up in Coos Bay, OR. Here is the view from our hotel room window.











We drove to the ocean where Bobby put on a rubber suit outside of our van for surfing purposes.











The water was difficult, but Bobby was still able to catch a couple of waves. Here he is returning from the ocean.


We drove for hours on our way to Portland. The drive was beautiful.




We were late for soundcheck, but our friends at the Woods in Portland stayed in contact with us through the afternoon and did a fantastic job when we arrived. It's a great venue. Not long ago it was a funeral home.

Tuesday. May 31 2011. DRIVE DAY. CA to OR.

I woke up hours before Bobby and Todd and went out for a diner breakfast. This is how most days begin. Below is the view from my seat at the counter.

We drove through Yeti and Paul Bunyan country. Here is a picture of Bobby standing near a talking Paul Bunyan statue. The hand, head, and one of the eyes moved.

We entered Oregon in the late afternoon. It was a beautiful drive.

We ate at a fish place next to the ocean and kept driving north until midnight.

Monday. May 30 2011. Eureka, CA.

We woke up in Oakland, CA and drove through San Francisco. We passed a couple of my old homes. Here is where lived during my final few years in SF as seen from the freeway. It's the Hotel Utah Saloon. This is where I wrote the final draft and created the storyboards for The American Astronaut.

We drove North across he Golden Gate bridge. I once walked across this bridge. It takes a very long time and there are no bathrooms.

We stopped at a general store in the hills of Healdsburg, CA. It looked like a barn, but with fancy foods. Below is a photo of their salt assortment. It included (left) Northeast Alder Smoked Salt, Cypress Mediterranean Black Salt, Maiden Sea Salt, and French Salt.

We met our friend Caitlin at the store and drove to her house. Caitlin has taken many photos of BNS throughout the years. This is the view from her yard.

Caitlin showed us a collection of Tintype photos that she had recently created.

Her husband Richard was the editor for our 1994 musical film, The Ketchup & Mustard Man. Below is a clip of Richard introducing us to the chickens in his bathtub.

Below are 5 short clips of their dog. I took these as we said our goodbyes.










We drove a long, rainy evening through the mountains of Hwy 101 on our way to Eureka.

Thank you all who braved the rain to join us at our show at the Alibi. We had a great time.

Sunday. May 29 2011. San Francisco, CA.

We started off our day with a visit to the beaches of Capitola, CA. Bobby surfed while Todd and I drank coffee and watched. Here is a clip of Bobby catching a wave.

We were met by our good friend, legendary surfer and board shaper, Michel Junod.

We then drove to our old home town of San Francisco where we shared our 4th and final evening with the lee Vilensky Trio.

Below is a photo of Lee and Bobby playing together before soundcheck. Lee was one of the original members of the Billy Nayer Show. He performed with us for 5 years. A character in our film The American Astronaut was named after him.

Bobby's surf board remained on stage during our performance. Here is a short clip of Bobby during soundcheck.

Here's a clip of Lee Vilensky during Bobby's drum soundcheck.

Thank you Lee Vilensky for joining us these past 4 nights and thank you all for coming to our SF show at the Bottom of the Hill. We had such a great time. The Billy Nayer Show is now on the to perform in Eureka, CA and beyond!

Saturday. May 28 2011. San Diego, CA.

We began the day at a motel in Camarillo, CA. Here we are loading the van and making decisions.

We stopped for lunch at the historic Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo, CA. The table sugar was pink and there were sweet pickles on my burger. It was extra fancy.

Here is a short clip of Bobby and Todd readjusting the surf board straps on top of the van.

Here is the view from the van interior as Bobby and Todd readjust the surf board straps on top of the van. Some would call it a "win-win situation."

Here we are approaching the Alternative Cafe in Seaside, CA. It was a great evening and our hosts were most gracious. We will be back.

Friday. May 27 2011. Los Angeles, CA.

Below is a photo from soundcheck at the Downtown Independent in beautiful Los Angeles. During our performance my pedals and amps picked up mobile phone and wireless transmissions. Rewiring my gear became part of the performance.

Thursday. May 26 2011. San Diego, CA.
Below is the morning view from our hotel room window.

After breakfast Bobby bought a cheap surfboard, or "beater board" for the trip. He will sell it in Seattle. Here he is loading it into our van.

Below is a clip of Bobby surfing at Tourmaline.

Here is tour manager Todd after a swim.

We returned to our hotel to find the Lee Vilensky Trio playing stickball in the parking lot.

Later that evening The Billy Nayer Show, the Lee Vilensky Trio, and our friends of the musical group, Roxy Jones performed at the Soda Bar. Below is the poster that the venue created.

More soon.
Cory
For movies, music and more www.corymcabee.com