Passion

Today's list: The most hardcore thing each of us have done on tour:

Tony: Using the bar as a stage even after he fell off on the first attempt.

Tom: Going for six days without a shower.

Hillery: Surviving the absence of her true love, while also surviving the smelly, loud nature of her band-mates, who are consistently prone to delving into the intricacies of scatological humor.

Aaron: Running into a plate glass window.

Spencer: Going the whole without a cell phone in an act of rock n' roll self-denial.

We recently found out that if you're ever locked out of your vehicle, Santa Anna is the place to be. Almost every male who passed us on the street as we were trying to break in to our van offered some knowledge or a tool. We had coat hangers, flashlights, Slim Jims, and most importantly, techniques. They must teach this stuff in their school districts. But you have to understand that this is more than just something these people know how to do. It's a passion for them. At one point we had three strangers helping us out, and one guy, who was out of suggestions, stuck around to learn how to do it. "I want to get in on that s***, man," he said, grinning ear to ear from the sheer joy of learning.

After rescuing our instruments from van prison, we took them into open mic night, which Ghost Town Jenny helped us find. It turns out that if you bring drums and a megaphone to open mic night, people think you're pretty cool and let you play a few more songs. It was actually a pretty eclectic open mic night. There was a Steely Dan jazz solo guitar guy, a girl who sang about dying rich and keeping all your toys, Ghost Town Jenny, and finally the night rounded out with Josie, a transvestite who sang Christian death metal songs unplugged, and apologized in advance if the audience saw any "nipple action" due to gravitational pull on her top.

Can Elizabethan Report officially endorse someone opening a Trader Joe's in Utah? Mormons are health conscious, right? Mormons are cheap, right? What's missing from this important cultural leap equation?

Last night we got into San Diego, and after dinner from Trader Joe's and a short trip to the beach, we played at Joe n' Andy's Hole in the Wall. We met Jessie, a lightly toasted, friendly guy who was really into knee drumming. "Hey...check this out...did you ever do this in high school?" [Jessie drums his knees] "Check it out!" ER: "Oh yeah, man, that's cool." [ER starts knee drumming too] Jessie: "And what's freaking me out...is you guys already know it!" [everyone drums knees, smiling at each other] Jessie: "I talk to drummers from San Diego...they don't get it, man. They don't get it!" After meeting Jessie, we walked back into the bar to play another set. Aaron: "I don't know why, but I love that guy." Tom: "Yeah, I'm IN love with him, and I don't know why."


If anyone was wondering, here's the story behind the spelling of Hillery's name. When she was born, there was a family acquaintance named Larry who was not very popular in the Hathaway household. Feeling strongly that Hillary was the right name but not wanting to be reminded of Larry, the Hathaways named her Hillery. So there you go.