Cut-Resistant Slip-ons: A Missed Market? (or Bloody Feet Aren't Fun Feet)

The Empty Pockets like to play to a dancing crowd. There's nothing better than a bunch of people boogieing down, cutting loose on the dance floor and really workin' it hard to some crunchy jams. Folks like to dance in all sorts of ways, and the ladies of the crowd often find that the dressier of the shoe choices lead to aching feet during a dance-marathon, so they (wisely) choose to remove them. This is when disaster can strike.

Dance floors get packed with people and people bring on dust and debris, but that's all fairly harmless on the feet. What can get you barefooted boogie-bots is broken glass, the enemy of barefoot enthusiasts everywhere.  It happens by sheer accident: A crowded dance floor gets cleared when someone drops their drink, causing a ripple of people moving away from the shattered glass and slippery liquids until it can (hopefully) be fully cleaned of any dangerous particles.

The enemy of bare feet and good times

This very thing happened this past weekend at the wedding of Dennis and Lindsey in Cincinnati. Everybody was getting their groove on and a glass got shattered on the dance floor, causing a small ruckus and a slight boogie interruptus for the dancers. The highly competent staff at the Western Hills Country Club managed to get the dance floor cleaned up and safe for everyone's continued enjoyment, which they did with GUSTO, I might add.

But all of this got me thinking: What if there was some sort of solution that could allow barefoot boogieing to continue unabated and unconcerned with dangerous particulates?

What about something like a Kevlar(tm) or similar half-sock. You know, kind of like the sock they give you at the department stores to try on shoes with? Can these be made of some sort of cut-resistant material? Every sock that's commercially available which is made of some sort of cut-resistant material is marketed towards the seriously tough jobs, rugged outdoorsman, or hockey players of the world. They are thusly built with aesthetics as an after-thought, and rightly so. But what about a dainty, unobtrusive-yet-stylish sock made of cut-proof material for all the barefoot dancers of the world? 

I can't think of anything better than something that would improve the crowd's enjoyment of dancing barefoot with the knowledge of the safety of their tootsies. Imagine the reckless abandon that would be shown on dance floors worldwide. Now all we need is something to stop people like me from stepping on the toes of our dancing partners. (Aha, I think those are called dancing lessons. D'oh!)

Mayhaps we should get someone to sew up a prototype and start an Empty Pockets brand cut-proof slip-on. What would we call them? "Safe Slips"? "Boogie Bottoms"? "Pocket Protectors"?

Bringing 'Safety Dance' a new meaning,
-Nate Bellon(bass)

Happy Van-Time Listening (or Lock The Gates!)

The Empty Pockets get their travel on. A lot. From the West Coast to the East Coast, we drive our van and play our tunes here, there and everywhere. That leaves a lot of time in the van to do all sorts of things like reading, sleeping, or a hybrid-activity I'm working on called Sleading. (It's pretty difficult so far, but let it never be said I'm not up for a challenge.) We also listen to a lot of different musics and a variety of podcasts. One of our favorite podcasts to listen to in the van these days is a wonderful piece of brilliance lovingly crafted by this man.

Marc Maron: POW!

His name is Marc Maron and his podcast is "WTF with Marc Maron"  [ link ] wherein he converses with comedians and other working professionals (writers, actors, etc.) about their career, the ins-and-outs of the business, life and generalities, both brilliant and banal. Each episode invariably includes Marc explaining his early dislike for the guest or checking to see if their relationship is in a good place, which it almost always is. The show itself is a poignant look into a business that seems to mirror the Music Business in a variety of ways and thus delights us to no end and the Empty Pockets all find relate-able material throughout. Sometimes the interviews are touching and sometimes they are uproarious, but they're always fascinating. The live shows are always a hoot and a half, such as this one with another band favorite, Maria Bamford: (NSFW: Adult Language Ahead.)

So, to wrap all this up into a nice little package, "WTF with Marc Maron" is an excellent podcast that the Empty Pockets thoroughly enjoy listening to on the road. It involves real moments of honesty from people whom we respect and enjoy and it's a true boon to have it readily available. You can subscribe to WTF on iTunes of course, and we highly recommend you check it out.

We're on the road to Cincinnati this weekend for a private event and you can be sure we're going to listen to a few of the WTF's on our way to and fro. Maybe the recent one with Amy Sedaris? Or maybe the one with comic legend Jonathan Winters? Who knows. The possibilities are endless. So thank you, Marc Maron, for making the Empty Pockets road experience that much more joy-filled. You rock, sir.

POW!
-Nate Bellon(bass)

Getting the Most Out Of Your Hotel Breakfast Buffet ( or Warren, Jimmy, Hotel Breakfast)

The Empty Pockets stay in a lot of hotels these days as we travel hither and yon about this great big country of ours. One question seems to emerge at every hotel, big and small: "What time does breakfast close?" You see, most of the hotels we stay at offer a complimentary "breakfast buffet" that opens at some horridly early time in the morning and closes just slightly earlier than a reasonable musicians wake-up time. That being said, the breakfast buffet is often worth rising early for, as it can provide much needed energy for the day and be quite a boon on the old pocket book. But after awhile, you can become bored with the standard fair of fruits, grains, dairy, meats and juices offered by anything but the most modest hotel buffet and crave something more substantial. Well fear not, for the Empty Pockets have a sure-fire way to get the most out of your next hotel breakfast buffet experience. Read on, MacDuff!

A standard bit of morning deliciousness.

Beginners Tip: The Parfait

Everybody's got to start somewhere, so why not start somewhere delicious, like the breakfast buffet parfait? It's a healthy morning treat, super easy to make and nearly every hotel buffet, small to large, has the components to make a tasty parfait. Have you ever met a person, you say, "Let's get some parfait," they say, "Hell no, I don't like no parfait"? Parfaits are delicious!

Step 1) Get some yogurt. Often there will be a few flavors to choose from, my favorite is strawberry, but you can use whatever you would like.

Step 2) Get some fruit. The easiest to obtain and slice for parfait usage is the almighty banana, but you can use any fruit if you're willing to put in the effort to slice it up small enough with those silly plastic knives that are often the only utensils available.

Step 3) Get some granola or granola-type cereal. If the hotel doesn't offer a granola cereal, you can use corn-flakes. (Pro-Tip: Frosted Flakes may sound like a great idea.... because it is.)

Step 4) Combine all of the ingredients in a cereal bowl and enjoy! You've just created your first breakfast buffet parfait and hopefully not your last. Mangia!

"Parfait's gotta be the most delicious thing on the whole damn planet!"

Intermediate Tip: The Breakfast Sandwich


The breakfast sandwich is a delicious way to mix up the offerings of your hotel breakfast buffet into a new flavor sensation. It's a classic breakfast treat and is fairly easy to make. Most hotel breakfast buffets will offer more than one option as well, so customize to your heart's content!

Step 1) Get a bagel and slice it open. Alternately, you can also use an English Muffin, or if it's offered, a buttermilk biscuit. Toast to taste.

Step 2) Locate the eggs and add as many of those as you think you can handle to your sliced and possibly toasted grain base. Be careful, they're going to squish out the sides whilst you enjoy your tasty treat, so take less than you think you should. But only a little.

Step 3) Add your meat option to your burgeoning sandwich. Often, hotels will offer bacon and sausage and sometimes they offer both a sausage patty and sausage links. The sausage patty is basically designed for this use as a sandwich meat, but do what you feel. (Pro-Tip: Only sausage links available? Slice those suckers down the center for a no-roll meat-option.) Vegetable-tarians can skip this step, of course!

Step 4) Add cheese. Some breakfast buffets won't offer cheese at all, so this may not be an option. But if it is, may I recommend you exercise your right to dairy? You'll thank me for it. (Pro-Tip: Slap that sucker in the available microwave for 15 to 20 seconds to get the cheese melty.)

Step 5) Combine and enjoy! Delicious sandwich goodness is the spoils of your victory of over the boring breakfast buffet blahs. All alliteration aside, enjoy this tasty bit of breakfast heaven.

If you could have this, why wouldn't you?

 Expert Tip: Improving Bad Sausage Gravy


Bad sausage gravy is a terrible thing, something I wouldn't wish upon my worst enemy. It's flavorless goop that only serves to make breakfast a sad state of affairs, especially if you were expecting deliciously good sausage gravy. Well fret-not, because here's an easy, sure-fire way to improve the quality of the sometimes lacking hotel breakfast buffet sausage gravy. (Side note: Not all buffets will offer sausage gravy and not all sausage gravy offered by breakfast buffets is bad. When in doubt, check the gravy. If it's white rather than grey and has no discernible bits of sausage in it, it could probably use some help.)

Step 1) Get your biscuits and place them on your plate or in a bowl, whatever your preference.

Step 2) Get your sausage gravy and place it in a separate bowl, as it's about to get modified. Grab a spoon for mixing and serving purposes.

Step 3) Get the local sausage offerings. Patties are easiest, but you can also make links work. Chop the sausage up into the smallest bits you can. (Pro-Tip: If links are the only offering, you can slice them down the center and scoop the ground sausage off the skin.)

Step 4) Add the chopped sausage into your sausage gravy and mix furiously. If everything is not pipping hot, place it in the microwave for 10 - 15 seconds and then mix again. Good sausage gravy is made with the pan leavings from cooking sausage, so you're goal is to get your chopped sausage as thoroughly integrated as possible. (Pro-Tip: For the Paula Deen method, add some butter while it's in the microwave. She's always adding butter to stuff.)

Step 5) Add your slapped-up sausage gravy to your biscuit and enjoy the luxury of not eating below-standard sausage gravy. Dee-lish!

The breakfast of champions.

The possibilities are limitless! Just use your imagination and the hotel breakfast buffet can be a gastronomic wonderland ready for your plucking. Hell, if you have any favorite breakfast buffet combinations or tips and tricks, send them our way. The Empty Pockets always appreciate a bump-up in the food department.

With visions of biscuits and gravy dancing in my head,
-Nate Bellon(bass)

Space Taxis ( or Funk in Atmo )

Very few things are as fascinating to me as space. Inner space and Outer space both are incredibly interesting and I try to keep a decent handle on both.  Which brings me to an article I was reading earlier last week.

NASA has recently had a bit of a conundrum to deal with. The famous space shuttle fleet was retired over the summer with no replacement waiting in the wings and the International Space Station still in need of supplies and staff. So the space agency did what anyone who wants to go into space but doesn't have the means of conveyance would do: they went to the Russians. [ link ]

There were recently some concerns over the safety of the Astronauts when contact with Soyuz capsule was disconnected over several minutes. NASA has "unveiled a plan that will allocate $1.61 billion to private companies that will transport U.S. astronauts to the International Space Station and low Earth orbit." [ link ] A space taxi, of sorts. I APPROVE OF THIS.

Just imagine how much more exciting space travel will be when the Space Shuttle is no longer involved. A yellow space taxi arrives at Cape Canaveral, where the Astronauts will be waiting with their space baggage. They'll know it's the right taxi because of the cool demeanour of the space cab driver, the cranking bass coming from the neodymium 18" speakers in the trunk, and the fact that the whole thing FREAKING HOVERS. It will then ferry them safely and funkily into orbit where they can perform their awesome space duties to the best of their abilities. Also, there will be sweet vocoder solos.

1.6 Billion? What a steal!

So let's get on that, NASA. And let me know if you need any space taxi drivers. I think I may know a crew of cats that are totally up for the job. (Did I mention The Empty Pockets also are fully certified space taxi drivers?)

We're going straight to Mother Earth to make it funky,
-Nate Bellon(bass)

Shake, Rattle and Roll ( or Etch-A-Wretch! )

By now, we've all heard about the earthquake that stuck on August 23, 38 miles outside of Richmond, Virgina. It's a geographic anomaly described by the news organization Reuters as a "once a century" occurrence. The quake registered at a 5.8 on the Richter Scale [ link ], which is described as "moderate strength" by the USGS [ link ] and was felt as far away as Indianapolis and Detroit. Thankfully, there are zero reported fatalities but structural damage was reported in numerous places including the Washington Monument, which is currently closed. [ link ]

Reports of property or retail damage are varied and numerous, but no one is reporting on one of the more unfortunate cases of destruction wrought by the unexpected earthquake: The one-of-a-kind Etch-A-Sketch art installation at the Toys“R”Us® Times Square location in New York City, New York.

Edward VanDerMeek III, Etch-A-Sketch art curator

Edward VanDerMeek III, prestigious art dealer and Etch-A-Sketch collector/enthusiast said of the tragedy "the quake came on so quickly, it was terrible. All I could do was watch as the horrific shaking destroyed my only love: the beautiful Etch-A-Sketch art that was on display, hung with care and pride from these once gorgeous walls."

The unfunny after-math of a 5.8 earthquake.

"It was terrible," Mike Hearthwick, Toys“R”Us® Times Square employee said. "It was jibbling and jabbling, this way and that and then all of a sudden, I heard VanDerMeek yell 'Oh, me Etch-A-Sketchies!' and go running up the stairs to the gallery, tugging at his hair and screaming. He really freaked out the customer I was helping. He's a little strange. What's the big deal, you can just draw them again, right?"

One of the ruined Etch-A-Sketch works

While there are currently no plans for reconstructing the destroyed art works, the Etch-A-Sketch's are being removed from the walls and are being replaced with a series of modern art pieces done by Magnique, a 7 year-old abstractionist who works solely in the medium of MagnaDoodle. The installation is slated to be completed at the end of August and will be on display through the months of September and October.

Making it all up,

-Nate Bellon(bass)

The Top Five (or Lincoln Hall: Come On Down!)

If are one of the fine folks on our mailing list [ link ] or you keep an eye on our Facebook page, you know that the Empty Pockets going to be playing a rocking show on Wednesday, August 31 at Lincoln Hall [ link ] in Chicago. We're pleased to be a part of the Chicago Roots Collective Showcase XX. [ link ] You should come out and rock with us, it's true, but perhaps you're on the fence, and need a bit more convincing. Well, in that case, feast your eyes on the magnificience that is the Top Five Reasons Why You Should Rock Lincoln Hall on August 31:

#5: Chicago Show

The Empty Pockets love Chicago like Nate loves cake. It's a vibrant city filled with tasty food and cranking tunage. Which is why we're excited to be playing a show in our favorite town, our hometown on Wednesday, August 31. It's going to be one of our few select shows in the City of Chicago this year, so you really shouldn't miss it. Smeriously.

# 4: History!

The building which houses Lincoln Hall first opened in 1912 as the Fullerton Theatre, a nickelodeon. Since then, the building has housed a garage and machine shop, the Crest Theatre and, most recently, the 3 Penny Cinema. In 1934, FBI sharpshooters were stationed atop what is now Lincoln Hall to prevent John Dillinger's escape from the Biograph Theatre across the street on the night he was killed. After 20 years as owner/operators of Schubas Tavern [ link ], Mike and Chris Schuba opened Lincoln Hall in this historic building. Earlier this year, The Empty Pockets saw legendary musician/comedian Tim Minchin [ link ] on this stage for the Comedy Central Just for Laughs Tour and fell in love with this historic piece of Chicago.

# 3: Great Bands

There is going to be some awesome talent at this show, sharing the stage with the Empty Pockets. Briar Rabbit [ link ] has "sensitive, soul-searching tunes that don't activate the cheese filters," according to the Chicago Tribune. Band Called Catch [ link ] brings the thunder with the over-under to sunder your plunder. Snow 'N Charm [ link ] will make your head bop and your heart move. And they're all going to be there with the Empty Pockets, rocking it all night long.

# 2: 18+ Show!

We know it's a drag being a young music fan sometimes. Sure, you get all the awesome technology but it's hard to go see old favorites and discover exciting new music if you're under 21. Which is why we're excited to bring to your attention, young music fans, that the show at Lincoln Hall on August 31 is age 18 and over! Yes! Finally, you can bathe your ears in sweet music without worry. Oh yeah!

# 1: $8 Tickets

What can you get for $8 these days? It's eight downloads from iTunes, or two Five Hour Energy drinks. It's around the price of a footlong Subway sandwich with chips and drink. But instead of a tasty snack for your stomach, you could use that $8 to get a delicious snack for your ears and a full night of entertainment at Lincoln Hall on August 31, starting at 8 pm with Briar Rabbit, Band Called Catch, Snow 'N Charm and the Empty Pockets! What are you waiting for? [ link ] Buy tickets online now at Lincoln Hall [ link ]

Keep it funky,

-Nate Bellon(bass)

Evergreen or Bust: Road Blog! (Day 8)

We awoke at our Ramada, ate a nice breakfast and started our way across Nebraska, heading back to Chicago after a sweet week of Colorado delight.

There's lots of these wind-generators in Nebraska. You can even see them being trucked across the country via truck. It takes one truck to haul each one of the blades and the tower is in three pieces, each hauled by it's own truck. Even at our greenest, Josh points out, we're still using a whole lot of fuel.

Allen drove for the first leg, we stopped to gas up and let Greg take over the wheel as we coasted into our destination for the evening.

We stopped in Des Moines, IA to switch drivers again (this time to the lovely Erika Brett) and decided to check out a local street fair that was going on off a few downtown streets. The only problem is, we couldn't figure out how to get in. All the vendor entrances were sealed up and we couldn't find any pedestrian entrances on our side of the river. So we just turned around and headed toward Davenport for our evening rest.

Oh yeah, while we were in Des Moines, we saw this building. Some say it's the Capital Building, but we think it's the Iowa Vatican, housing the Pope of Iowa, ruler of all that is agrarian.

Our final evening on the tour brought us into the Ramada Inn in Davenport, IA, where we gladly rested after our day of driving and prepped up for our final day of driving, a short four hour stint back into Chicago and the conclusion of our run into Colorado.

Rippin' it up,

Nate Bellon(bass)

Evergreen or Bust: Road Blog! (Day 7)

It's always a sad day when you have to leave a place you've been at for a few days, and it's made especially sad when the area is so gorgeous and the people are some of the nicest you've met. We said our goodbyes to the Finebergs and thanked them for being so incredibly nice and hospitable. We had a wonderful stay! Thank you so much!

After I thanked Justin for buying me all the worms for fishing, we hit the road and headed off, leaving Colorado behind us and heading into the never-ending driving. We stopped for a lunch bite at Da Kind in Evergreen. Excellent sandwiches and really incredible soups. [ link ] Then, we drove and drove and drove some more. Oh, we also did some driving.

We stopped in Omaha, NE for some grub at California Tacos & More. Apparently, the chef who started the restaurant had no prior experience and just jumped in and started making tacos. They are fantastic, and one taco is big enough to be a meal. California Tacos & More [ link ]. Delish!

We pulled into our hotel (The Ramada Inn) in Kearney, NE and hopped into our rooms. We had poolside rooms for the evening, which proved to be pretty sweet when we wanted access to the pool and raised tiki-bar, but pretty noisy when the tiki-bar patrons got a little... rowdy. But we had to have a least a drink at the tiki bar, and then Dan, Allen and I got locked in the hot tub room with a handful of teenage girls, a dad and his two little girls and a few other little girls of indeterminate origin. It was fun until one of the little girls started crying, but Danny stepped in and kept the girl calm until someone walking by let us out. Then it was time for sleep and getting ready for our day of driving, destination Davenport, IA.

Bumpin it,

-Nate Bellon(bass)

Evergreen or Bust: Road Blog! (Day 6)

Friday, Day 6 began with some delightful sun and the beauteous landscape that Evergreen has to offer. The morning was spent reading, blogging, hiking, fishing and gathering the troops as we all convened for an excellent day finishing with a gig at the Little Bear. Excellent!

We headed out to the Red Rocks Amphitheater for some lunch at the Ship Rock Grille. It was delicious and we got to sit outside and enjoy ourselves in the majestic surroundings. After we finished lunch, we were hoping to catch a glimpse of the theater itself, but the officials of the park informed us it was closed due to a sound-check for a concert by Gavin DeGraw, Maroon 5 and Trane. Apparently, we aren't even allowed to peek. After some negotiations from the B-Sol and Erika, one of the employees let us peek in for a few seconds. It's very pretty.

We headed back to the Finebergs and hung out for awhile more, spending more time hiking, fishing and generally enjoy the outdoors while we have the time. Barry even fished and managed to catch a fish. Apparently, the fish spat the hook out before B-Sol could land it, but that's the way it goes sometimes. Speaking of fish, we headed into our gig filed with Sushi from the delicious Wildflower Cafe. As previously mentioned, they bring in a certified Sushi Chef in on Thursday evenings and serve tasty sushi.

After filling up on fish, rice and other various edible devices, we headed on over to the Little Bear for a quick sound-check and to get ready to rock Evergreen for a second night in a row. It was a great show and we would like to thank everyone who came out and supported us at our first indoor Evergreen show. Allen Cruz opened the night up and knocked it out of the park. The gentlemanly sound-guy and sassy-yet-sweet bartender were both delightful people to work with and we're certainly going to be appearing at the Little Bear again. So, if you're in the Evergreen area, expect us back. We love it.

We ended the evening eating pizza and partying a bit with the Finebergs before heading off to a much earned sleep. Day 6 was a successful wrap.

Free and easy,

-Nate Bellon(bass)

Evergreen or Bust: Road Blog! (Day 5)

Starting the day by waking up to a rolling creek passing by, swollen with water from the previous nights rain got me in a fishing mode, so I did a little morning fishing. The Pockets arose and gathered, preparing for the Summer Concert Series and keeping an eye on the weather. Danny and Allen hiked in the morning up the side of a nearby mountain and got some great shots. They even saw a fox in his or her native foxiness.

Then, of course, you have to run the energy out of the dog, Buddy. The unfortunate truth of the matter is that Buddy is a mountain dog and we are a lowland people. This thin air tires us quicker than him.

We headed into Evergreen and ate some delicious local adaptations of Mexican food at the delectable Rio Del Sol. [ link ] I had the fish tacos and they were very delicious. Muy bien!

After a delicious lunch, we headed off to the Evergreen Lake House to start loading in for the Summer Concert Series show. It's a really gorgeous setting for a concert and we were happy to be back to rock out the residents of Evergreen.

If you watch closely, you'll see the sky start to darken. It had rained earlier in the day and we were hoping to dodge some of the weather. Mother Nature had other plans, however. The concert got a go to stay outside despite threatening weather and all the speakers were covered with plastic. It rained during a portion of the set of the opening band The Hooligans and they had tents set up over them. By the time we hit it had cleared enough to enable the tents to be removed. The tents were eventually re-involved as the rain came back for another taste near the very end of the concert.

We loved rocking out for the Summer Concert series and we hope to come back next year. We hung around afterward for a bit and met some fans, which is always a sweet time. Thanks to everyone who came out and sat through the tumultuous weather to enjoy the rock we laid out. You folks are great and we appreciate it so much. Thanks Evergreen!

Justin and Donny Fineberg rocked the night through with us and even traveled back to their fine casa in the Pocket Rocketeer, where we finished the fantastic night of with some awesome pizza and good times.

Here we go, turn the page,

-Nate Bellon(bass)

Evergreen or Bust: Road Blog! (Day 4)

Tour Day Four started with a sweet sunrise wake-up for Dan and I, having slept on the balcony for the evening. Followed by immediately falling back asleep. Sunrise is too darn early, man. The majority of the day flowed into hiking, fishing, and another dip in the creek before wrapping for lunch at The Wildflower Cafe, [ link ] a delicious spot with grandly unique flair.

Their hours tend towards the morning and early afternoon, but on Thursday evenings the restaurant brings in a certified Sushi Chef and serves fresh sushi. We're looking forward to a sample of the sushi spot of Evergreen. Yum!

The crew started setting up for our rehearsal at about 4 after having waited for some storms to move through the area. We suspended a tarp above the outdoor setup spot to ward off any further sprinkles and looked forward to playing to the Colorado wilderness.

The Empty Pockets went in for a series of meetings and to start prepping for rehearsal when the weather turned nasty and the heavens opened up, unleashing what can only be described as a torrent of water down into the valley and onto our equipment.

Can you see the rain in the above photo? It's the vertical white streaks. It was raining really hard. Thanks to the quick action of Empty Pockets crew Greg Grabowski and Crew Chief Allen Cruz, our equipment escaped with minimal damage. We hauled it all into a back room, disassembled the speakers and attacked them with a hair-dryer. We played for a bit on the amplifiers and the main speakers to test them out, but the monitors got the brunt of the damage and may be hurting. We'll see when we plug them in for a test tomorrow.

We partied with the delightful Finebergs and friends through the evening and went to sleep fairly early, with thoughts of the upcoming Evergreen Concert Series dancing in our heads.

Funkin' on the one,

-Nate Bellon(bass)

Evergreen or Bust: Road Blog! (Day 3)

Rolling out of bed and looking forward to rolling into Colorado had everyone energized in the morning. Josh was even up early enough to catch the tasty breakfast provided by the North Platte Holiday Inn Express.

I can't wait to see that car when they finally get those wheels on it! Finally, we pulled into the awesome sights of the mountains of Colorado and found our way to the uniquely beautiful Bear Creek Cabins of Evergreen, CO, where the crew will be staying for the next few days. Wow, is it picturesque and the folks staying there couldn't be finer or nicer. We're looking forward to seeing some of our new friends at the show in Evergreen!

While we were driving around Evergreen, we saw this interesting little store-front, offering a pretty specific service.

One of the gentlemen sitting on the bench in front the store said they called the particular establishment "Urine Trouble." Ha!

And now we're looking forward to enjoying Evergreen and the excellent hospitality of the Finebergs as we delight in the gorgeous surroundings and relax knowing we've reached our destination. A destination... of rock.

The water was incredibly cold, but after a bracing dip and a little hot tub action, we all felt better. A daily ritual ascribed by Nate Fineberg for all our aches and pains and it worked like a charm.

We're rockin' and rollin' and doing it like we only we know how,

-Nate Bellon(bass)