Joe Reno called me the day before asking if I could play second guitar for Contend for part of their tour. I considered staying in Santa Barbara but realized that the opportunities in life with greater unknowns are often much more exciting. This tour was sure to have plenty of unknowns, so I called Joe back and agreed to learn the songs and join the tour. Everybody showed up at my house in the afternoon and I spent about 45 minutes in my bedroom listening to Contend songs with the band. It was pretty clear that I didn't know the songs but I played anyway. The only other band that played at the Pink Mailbox with Contend and Distressed was a hardcore band from Oxnard called Crucial. They were much better than I expected. I was glad to spend my first night of the tour sleeping in my own bed knowing, of course, that I wo
uld probably not sleep in a bed at any point during the tour.December 28 - San Diego, CA at Che Cafe
There were at least 12 vegans on the road down to San Diego. As expected, we stopped at Native Foods in Costa Mesa for lunch. Colton is from Oklahoma and, like me, filled in on guitar for Distressed. Nearly everybody got the Oklahoma Burger at Native Foods, except for Colton.
I was really glad to play at Che Cafe. It's such a fun venue. It's like the SoCal version of Gilman St. in Berkeley. The only times I have been to Che have been to play with a band, never to just see a show. Abandon dropped off the show so the only other band playing that night besides Contend and Distressed was a Blink 182 cover band.
December 29 - Tuscon, AZ at The Living Room
The drive to Arizona always sucks. It's so long and, in my opinion, really quite boring. We stopped in the middle of nowhere and I took a snapshot of our Jeep and trailer. Apparently before the tour reached Santa Barbara Contend's van broke down so we ended up riding in a car and this Jeep pulling a trailer. 12 dirty vegans. 2 vehicles.
December 30 - Phoenix, AZ at The Slurp
December 31 - Day Off
January 1 - Oakland, CA House Show
