Whirlwind

I should know better. I’ve been here before. I know what the energy is like. 2 days in NYC with the band and I feel like I’ve been up for 4 days straight. We pulled into Manhattan on Tuesday afternoon. A run up to Inwood to pick up backline for the show and then downtown to the venue. Load in. I hop a cab and go to 48th street to get a part for my new bass. (I needed a thumb rest). Got that done. Ate sushi next door to the club and then played a 3 hour show. Oh yeah,  did I mention that I drove the van up from Baltimore that day with a stop in Philly for lunch? Have you ever driven in south Philly?

After the show, which sounded pretty good, I dropped the boys at their hotel and proceeded uptown back to Inwood where I parked the van and stayed with my good friends Felix and Lisa Hendrickson. Felix and I met in New Jersey in the 80′s and moved to Texas with our band, Heavy Weather. He’s a fine drummer and one hell of a cabinet maker as well as being a great human and one of my best friends. He gave Ray his drums to use for our time in New York and found us some amplifiers for our Tuesday night show at Rodeo Bar as well. We played alright. Not our best work but people seemed to dig it. So I get the boys settled, the van parked and finally shut it down around 3 a.m. At 8. a.m. I awoke to the sound of someone drilling a hole into the outside of the wall. Repairs to the building. Argh. Very tired. It seemed like no time at all and I needed to catch the 1 train downtown to meet the boys and Jessie Scott for our appearance on Sirius Radio’s Outlaw Country Show.

When they told me it was an hour long show I knew I was in trouble. I was tired and grumpy so I asked for some coffee and ended up having a good old time wondering the halls of Sirius Radio on my way to the break room. With french roast in hand I plugged in my guitar and put on my headphones for the show. It was a blast. With a view from the 36th floor, we played a few songs and talked a bit for a show to be aired sometime in September. It really was fun, but by the end of it I was totally spent and all I could think about was getting a nap. Luckily Felix was already downtown and picked me up so I didn’t have to ride the train back up to Inwood. NYC, traffic, etc. No nap. Just a beer (the first of the day; tastes like true love), a bit of food and then change of clothes, pick up van, drive to venue, load in, eat a bit more, set up, drink another beer, say hey to all the great folks who have come to the show from all over the place and then play.

We had a good set. Hill Country on 26th street in NYC is right up our alley. It’s a good place for us to be and we had a bunch of folks come out to see us. (thank you all!) They have really good food (the brisket is for real), a great sound system, and more of a Texas vibe than even the Lone Star had back in my day in the 80′s. We played well. It felt good, but I have to say I was delirious with exhaustion. Maybe that helped me play well, I don’t know. Load up the van and off to Inwood and bed. I got a bit more sleep last night and had a nice morning with my friends. Then fought traffic to pick up the boys and meet our record company owner for lunch. After, I drove the boys out to Jersey and showed them the house I grew up in. We arrived in Kingston New York tired and dizzy. The great spinning, ever moving energy of New York City is just now beginning to fade after a few beers, some good Italian food and a really fun hour long webcast where we played and sang mostly for friends and family back home. What a great way to reconnect with our world when we’re so far away.

-El Guapo