LOST AND FOUND NEWSLETTER, SPRING 2006 (Covering March 3 through Mid June)
So, school is probably out for you, or it will be soon. Unless, of course, you're already done with your schooling, in which case school is probably out for you. As for me, school is out and that means I couldn't find any more excuses not to write a little missive recounting the ceaseless journeys of the band, LOST AND FOUND.
Five Dollars to Good Home.
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When we last checked in, Michael and I were headed home from Wisconsin. Owing to the wonders of modern travel, we both made it home a long time ago. Then we headed to southern Ohio for the first of two consecutive weekends with Middle School youts from around the state. This first one was in Wilmington, which is kind of out in it, as it were. Over the break from the previous week, our rock had a litter of little rocks. And as anyone who's ever had a pregnant cat knows, you've got to sell those little offspring as soon as possible. So, many kind individuals stepped up and helped us out. Our friend Bob Lenz was the speaker at this event, so the fun factor was upped considerably for everyone. From there, we drove to a beautiful church in Lancaster, Ohio. Had a great time, as did those who came over to be subjected to our music.
You must be looking for someone else!
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Then we both went home until Friday, when we flew back to Ohio for the second of two consecutive weekends with Middle School youts from around the state. This one was up near Cleveland, home to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, of course. But we were nowhere near that place, really. As a trick on our friend Bob Lenz, Michael and I adopted a bit of an incognito approach while there. He was not fooled. Some ladies came over for the concert and weaseled their way into the Slide Girl song. Now that they've achieved their lifetime dream, we didn't have the heart to tell them that they should have aimed a little higher. But perhaps they'll think up something loftier. After that fun gathering, we drove on over to K-a-l-a-m-a-z-o-oh what a gal, which is in Michigan. The kind folks helped us load in, and drew quite a crowd, and we therefore enjoyed ourselves mightily.
Then we had a few days off, since some weekdays followed Sunday that week, until we traveled to Houghton College, which is in Houghton, New York, which could not be a more perfect town for that college to be in I tell you. The folks who invited us were putting on quite a big deal gathering of youts from around that state, and we were all appropriately awed by the skateboard guy, whose name I did not catch because he did not throw it. After that, we flew back home, making for a weekend of just one day. But that turned out to be good, because the following weekend we passed the ultimate milestone. And I think you know what I'm talking about . . .
Wyoming!
And as those who have been following along at home know, Wyoming was the one state we had not yet played in. Well, no more. We have now played the home state of Pete Obermueller, Dick Cheney, and Jackson Pollock. Yep, rootin' tootin' high falutin' son of a gun from old Wyoming ragtime cowboy Joe. Right? As you can see from the photos we got to drive through quite a bit of the Equality State, and it was certainly different from Manhattan or Los Angeles. We were scheduled to play in a town called Sheridan, which we did. Had a great time, and drank some great coffee made by actual Wyomingans. The hosts had a special raffle using the tickets for that night and the grand prize was won by this young lady in the photo. One thing for sure about Wyomingans, they're practical.
But, then we had to head out. And off we flew to Denver so we could return to Longmont. Had another great concert in this church, and saw lots of people we haven't seen in a long(mont) time. And then, the next day we flew to Washington so we could play in Tacoma. If you were thinking we did some serious travel this weekend, you were thinking what I'm thinking. Still, it was loads of fun, and to top it off we then got to fly back home. Next up we flew to Minneapolis and drove up to Grand Marais, Minnesota, which is closer to Thunder Bay than it is to Duluth, which is why we flew into Minneapolis. Yes, I know. But we were warmly welcomed with pizza, and had a great time with the folks who braved the dangerous wind chill. Afterward, we headed way down south to Duluth where we slept at Troy's mom's house.
The next day, we drove down toward the Metroplex and played in Cottage Grove, which I thought was a Doobie Brothers' song but was incorrect. You know you're in for an unusual night when a gorilla comes up and stands in the front of the room. We had an unusual night in Cottage Grove. The next night, we returned to Bethel College and were once more allowed to play for a large and enthusiastic crowd. Had a great time, but had to high-tail it out of there in the rain to make our flights, which allowed us to get home yet again.
Next, we went to a place in Pennsylvania called Selinsgrove. (This one I knew was not a Doobie Brothers' song.) We played in the morning and in the evening and had a good day hanging out in between. The next was Palm Sunday, and we played a concert for some folks who wanted a Palm Sunday concert in Freedom (which is a song by George Michaels, and also by Ashanti, and also by Rage Against the Machine, whom John McCain once called "The Machine Which Rages on"). Had a great time, and I was able to fly home that night, though as I recall no one living on the west coast got home that night. The next week was Easter, and we played exactly nowhere, making it the first weekend off in longer than we could remember. My family and I went with some friends up to the local Six Flags, which was not exactly local, and had a total fun time. Ahhh . . .
Then the next weekend we were back at it. In this case "it" being Maryland. Also in this case we were far out on that other part of the state, in a town called Stevensville (though there was some dispute as to which town we were actually in). A fellow named Sam Hensley opened the evening, and he was quite good. And the hosts had candy bars, which were also quite good. Afterwards, we visited some friends who live near "the bridge," and then drove on out toward the airport so that we could fly to Detroit in the morning and get our van. That night we played in Auburn, which is somewhere north of Saginaw (which is mentioned in a famous Paul Simon song called "America"). We played in a gym at the school there. I took a picture of this desk because I wanted to check with you about this. I always thought table tennis was kind of like pingpong. But apparently these folks have a completely different version of table tennis. Have you ever played this game? It seems kind of dangerous to me.
Anyway, the next night we played closer to Detroit in a place called Bloomfield Hills (which in Dutch means "close to Detroit"). On the way, we passed through a lovely neighborhood that included the Cranbrook School. The campus was so idyllic, I thought, "I wonder if our children could go there someday?" I direct your attention to this link. Go ahead and scroll down to the table at the bottom. Exactly. Nonetheless, we had a great time in Bloomfield Hills, but I had to race out the door afterwards to catch a flight home to do a little schooling of my own.
The next weekend, it was back to Minneapolis to get the van so we could drive it down to Cedar Rapids. The actual town was called "Hiawatha," which is Native American for "Essentially Cedar Rapids." The place we were playing was called "The Zone," and is supposed to be an indoor soccer field. The part we played on was the basketball court section of the indoor soccer field, the floor of which was purchased on e-bay from the University of Jacksonville. Oh the tangled web we weave. Some folks there made their own shirts. The front said LOST AND FOUND, but check out the back. Pretty clever, eh? Of course, there are some who would claim that 105mph is not really speeding, but I am not one of those people. (Unless I'm in Germany.) Had a great time, and then drove off into the south so we could get to Union City, Tennessee. The last time we played that town was . . .well, the last time we were in the newspaper because we arrived on bicycles. So, all you need to know is, it wasn't yesterday, okay, Nosey Parker? On the way there, we passed through Metropolis, Illinois, and took the photo that everyone has to take when they pass through that town. But once we arrived in Union City, we found that the hosts had made a real cool banner that they let us take with us when we left. When we did leave, we drove over to Memphis, where we left the van for a long time.
Eventually, Michael flew to Memphis and drove way over to Charlotte to pick me up so we could play in Mooresville, NC. This night, our old pals Alathea opened up the evening. They have regrouped as a duo (which I guess is really downsizing, now that I think of it), and they are as awesome as ever. From there, Michael and I headed northward to play in a town called Sabillasville, MD (which sounds like a tv show from the 70's). Turns out, the camp where we were playing was on a hill right next to Camp David. Yeah, that Camp David. Quite a view behind us, which probably made the experience a whole lot better for the folks watching the concert. And then, we drove on up to Western New York, our old stomping grounds as they say. (You know, the place where you were stomped into the ground, right?) Not only were we in Western New York, but, we were in Clarence Center. I know that means nothing to you, but, see the building in this picture? This is where Mark Records once had its studio, and Mark Records is where we recorded the very first album back in . . .well, let's just say it was long before Union City, Tennessee, okay? And don't get any ideas that Mark Records was the first business to occupy the building. I'm sure it was some kind of blacksmith's shop or something before we used it. Anyway, back to the concert. We played in an awesome church, which was recently renovated to be extra awesome. We had a great time, and both our sets of parents came over and took us out for food after the concert. Some things never change I tell you.
Then, the next day we both flew home and are lounging around in a b-i-g long pre-summer break. Things will pick up again toward the end of June, and we'll be seeing some of you at various youth gatherings and stuff, which will be more awesome than a renovated church building in Clarence Center, New York!
Until then, you can look at pictures of various crowds in the Photo Phrenzy, and you can go and download Slide Girl recordings from selected nights. (In this case, "selected" means when my selective memory reminded me to bring the equipment and turn the stuff on properly.)
Until then,
later on people,
george
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