Today, we are headed down the coast to San Diego for a show with our old pal from Camper Van Beethoven, Jonathan Segal. We are also excited because we got the radiator on the van fixed and, AND, it’s Jeff’s Birthday today! The Kid is turning 25 and when we arrive at the club there’s a package from his girlfriend with some new clothes and presents. I’m sure he’s had better birthdays before and after this one but Jeff was not one to let anything get in the way of a good party. Let’s see….25 plus 30 equals……
But before we play, we have to drive back up the road to do an interview on local alternative radio station 91X and pretend that everything is going great and the record is a big hit. it’s a Friday night in San Diego so the crowd is decent, and it’s good to see Jonathan again. He had recently left Camper so we trade major label stories and remember the good old days (actually, less than 2 years ago) when we toured together. I’m glad we get to re-pay the kindness that CVB showed us in our early days.
The best part about being in California is seeing all of our friends who have moved out here for the good life. I’m really jealous of them, and I’m dreading going back to Boston where 3 decades of freezing winters and steamy summers have worn me out. I’ve tried unsuccessfully to convince the band to relocate to a warmer clime (even going so far as writing a song chorus about the pain of ‘The North’). I remember trying to get everybody to relocate to Las Vegas, but only managed to convince Christmas.
Meanwhile, I’m picking everyone’s brain about what it’s like to live in California. Thanks to all the TV shows and movies, I feel like I grew up here. San Diego is especially gorgeous, and I don’t know why I have to live in New England when paradise is a 5-hour flight away.
Tomorrow: Long Beach, although we don’t get to see any beaches, just a lot of oil refineries.
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