Music Heals.

This week was rough. I wake up every morning with an ache in my heart when I think about the way the country. . . this world is headed. Why most people don't chose love over hate and fear is beyond me. But we trudge on. Josh had a show booked on Sunday that we had put on the calendar many months ago and I was looking forward to it. But when it was actually time to hit the road, I was hesitant to go because I didn't want to leave our little bubble of compassion and sympathy here in Madison. I know that spreading love through music and connecting with friends and strangers is the only way to heal, but it seems so much easier to wallow from my couch, with a pint of ice cream in my lap.

Silently we drove the 5 hours to the tiny town of Pomeroy, Iowa in one straight shot. Yes, it's a bit crazy to drive that far for one gig, but we had been told great things about this venue and are of the opinion (lately. . . after 5 years of doing this) that it's better to have one great gig than a whole tour of less-than-great gigs. So even though Iowa is perhaps the most boring state to drive across, we managed to get through it with lots of enlivening podcasts (carefully avoiding the slew of political- focused ones that had come out this week).

Pomeroy, Iowa may not even be a one stoplight town. It's a collection of houses amidst miles and miles of farmland. The tiny downtown has one strip of older (turn-of-the-century?) buildings that are mostly empty. . . except for Byron's. From the outside it looks like any other Midwest dive bar, but as soon as you walk inside the impression is that this is a very special place.  Immediately we were greeted by Byron himself - a man who could be compared to Santa Claus in his appearance and disposition, but wearing tie dye and overalls. "I'm a hugger" Byron said as he gave both Josh and I a friendly squeeze. He proceeded to show us around the one-room establishment. Covering every wall (and even the ceiling) are posters of shows that he's hosted at the bar, photos and music memorabilia that he's collected and most prominently- Grateful Dead gear. If you can think of a type of merchandise that the GD has put out, he has it. Dancing bears hanging from the ceiling, concert posters and artwork, photos of Jerry and much more. A huge tie dye tapestry hangs behind the stage, featuring a GD bear and a guitar design.

The show was to start at 5:00 and we didn't arrive until after 4:00. So quickly after we got there, it started to fill up. Clearly all of the patrons knew each other and I understood that what Byron told us was true, "This is my extended family". I felt like we'd stepped in to a secret club house. Everyone wanted to meet Josh and thank him for coming out to this little town to share his music. But once the music started, the rowdy crowd settled down and listened intently. They took in every line of every song and were especially receptive to Josh's stories about the songs and about life on the road, his childhood in ND, etc. It was clear that these folks were having a rough week as well, and that this evening of camaraderie was helping them heal.

It always amazes me when we find a venue like that, tucked away in the most unexpected place. I know how incredibly hard it is to get people to care about live music- to tear themselves away from all the distractions (jobs, kids, television), pay a cover (even if it's only $5-$10!) and try something new. But the successful places are always spearheaded by someone like Byron- a true music lover through and through. He's not in it for money, like most musicians, and that's why it works. The people that come back there every Sunday are a part of a real community that has been forged through a love of music. It's a beautiful thing.

pulling up to Byron's

    

the man himself

Roadtrip!

Whoa, I can't believe this is my first post of the year! Shame on me! It has been a very busy and eventful year so far. . . traveling around the country a lot, planning events in Madison, and working on various projects. I'll get into that later, but for now I'm sitting in a hotel room in Tulsa, OK.
Josh and I are on a mini-tour through a part of the country that I really hadn't spent much time in before. Two nights ago we were in St. Louis and had a great time with some musician friends. Yesterday we drove through some pretty intense weather in Missouri and into Oklahoma (right now we're crossing our fingers that a tornado isn't heading this way). I forced him to pull over when we passed through Springfield, MO because I knew the Red Velvet Vintage boutique is there! I've been following their blog, A Beautiful Mess for a long time so was very excited to see the brick-and-mortar store. It was very cute and well-merchandised, full of very nice, reasonably-priced pieces but not so packed that it's hard to look at everything. I have always said that if I ever open a store it will look like Urban Outfitters but be filled with unique vintage pieces. The RV boutique definitely fits that description! It actually reminded me a lot of a smaller version of the Blitz vintage "department store" in London.

Turns out, downtown Springfield has several vintage shops (and not much else). . .but unfortunately, we were in a hurry to get to a gig in Tulsa and didn't have much time to rummage. Ah well, next time!

XO,

Jess

Well, we're back in the good ol' US of A! Been home almost two weeks now and I think the jet lag has finally worn off. . . although, I've been sick for almost a week now, so maybe my body hasn't totally adjusted. Unfortunately, I don't really have time to take it easy, though. I'm crazy busy getting ready for the "holiday season"- I'll be doing two Vintage Madison one-day sales before Christmas and a sale/party at my house. Which means I need to stock up!
Earlier this week we spent a few days in South Dakota for a belated Thanksgiving with Josh's family. As usual, we ate a lot, drank a lot, went shopping at my favorite small-town thrift store, and then we took pictures. This time Josh's brother and his girlfriend came with, so I had someone to "model" for me, and Josh's little sister got in on the fun too!

Every time we're there, I become more and more fascinated by the landscape of this strange, remote place. . . It's so incredibly different than where I grew up in the suburban South. The light in South Dakota is the most amazing of anywhere I've been- around dusk it's impossible for me to not be outside taking photos!

XO,

Jess

Ireland

Today we're leaving Ireland on a very nice passenger ferry that could pass for a B-grade cruise ship. We spent the better part of a week exploring the Emerald Isle. It was lovely. The weather was up and down (from clear, blue, sunny days to the typical rain and gloom), but we had a great time. The people here are so kind and genuine and we were very lucky to have friends that put us up for a few nights.
We entered the country through Belfast (by boat from Scotland), and we spent the first night there. I really did not know what to expect from Northern Ireland-- 15 years ago I never would have thought to visit that part of the world. But it's a fascinating place. We stayed in a lovely part of town near Queen's University and Josh found a pub that had an open night so we headed there and ended up staying the whole night. We met lots of friendly folks (kind of crazy folks too, but lots of fun).

 sailing into Belfast harbor

 nice weather in Belfast

After Belfast we took a (very scenic) bus ride to Dublin. I immediately got a good vibe from the city, but unfortunately we did not have a lot of time to explore that day. Josh played at a pub in a very cool part of town, but it was sort of a bust- basically an open mic type gig that allowed him to play only 5 or 6 songs as part of a 6-person line up. And then, he was supposed to play another Dublin gig but found out (rather last minute) that it was canceled. Oh well, we still love this town.

The next part of the trip was my favorite- we rented a car and drove into the center of the country to County Tipperary. There we spent 2 nights with our friends the MaGraths- relatives of our Irish friend Tim, who lives in Madison. Kay and Donie treated us like family, and their gorgeous house in the country overlooking Lough Derg was a very welcome change from the dingy hostels and couches we'd been sleeping on. We spent both nights that we were there at this wonderful pub called Larkins- just down the hill from where we were staying. Friday night Josh had a proper gig (which was kind of sparsely attended, but loads of fun) and Saturday night we went back for Brendan O'Connor's 50th birthday. It was quite the event- the entire town was there to celebrate. They set up for a band, which Josh ended up leading (he went up to play one song but they wouldn't let him leave).  

beautiful scenery in County Tipperary

 

After Tipperary, we had a few days off so we drove sort of aimlessly south. We ended up spending a night in Killarney (which was touristy, but nice) a night in Cobh (pronounced "Cove")- an adorable seaside town right outside of Cork, and a night in the small town of Kilcullen (about 45 mins from Dublin). Finally, we made it back to Dublin for one more night. This time we got to spend several hours walking around- stopped in a pub in the Temple Bar area for the requisite "trad music" session. And now we're back on a ship heading towards Liverpool for a (very promising) gig tonight!

 Cobh, Ireland

By the way- if you'd like to hear another perspective on the trip (plus info on his shows and videos) check out Josh's blog!

XO,

Jess

London

After a week of hectic travel back and forth across England (Josh's tour schedule isn't as practical as it could be), we finally had a couple days off to hang out in London. We met up with an old friend of mine who I studied abroad with in Italy 9 years ago (I can't believe it's been that long!!), and she and her husband were very gracious hosts.

 We spent a good amount of time yesterday walking around the Brick Lane neighborhood. It's a very hip part of town that used to be the industrial corridor, but now all the old factories have been converted into trendy coffee shops, bars, Indian restaurants and load of vintage shops! There were so many, I did not get to go into all of them. . . but Josh was a very good sport, letting me drag him into a good number of shops.
My main objective was to check out Blitz- London's first "vintage department store". I had read about it several weeks ago, so was excited to see it for myself. I have to say, I was a bit disappointed. It was big, but not huge-- about the size of most Urban Outfitters. And they had some nice things, but (like all of the vintage stores in London) it was very pricey and carried mostly 70's, 80's and 90's casual-wear (polyester day dresses galore!). I guess I'm a bit spoiled by vintage shops in the States. . .

Well, now we're heading north-- we'll be in Scotland tonight!

Cheers,

Jess

So we've been in England for a few days now, and unfortunately I haven't had as much time to blog as I thought I would. . .we've been traveling so much! We spent our first night in London, then drove up to Chester for Josh's first show, then the next day down to Dorset for his second show. In effect, we've already driven across more than half of the country! Yesterday, we were on our way back to London from the South and stopped (very briefly) in the city of Winchester. What a fortuitous stop it was because they happened to be having a vintage fair! The open-air arts/crafts/vintage market led up to this gorgeous old building that housed several dozen more vintage vendors. I was in heaven! Unfortunately, though, we could not stay long because Josh had to be in London for a radio spot. So it was bitter sweet. But I did get to chat with one of the vendors a bit who said that most of their clothing is imported (in bulk) from the States. She was very jealous of all our thrift stores and flea markets. . . funny.
My Vintage Madison friends and I have often talked about hosting a vintage fair in Madison so I found this very inspiring!

I will post more photos soon. . . but now we have to get back in the car and drive North to Sheffield!

XO,

Jess

British Invasion

This Tuesday we're finally embarking on our much-anticipated five week European tour across the pond! Wednesday morning we land in London and are spending the first week hopping around England, before moving on to Scotland, Ireland and (fingers crossed) Paris and Amsterdam. I started packing today, and couldn't help but think of all the "classic" British styles that I wanted to emulate. So here's a little tutorial (a refresher course, I'm sure) on some of the more popular fashion trends that have emerged from Merry Ol' England.

MOD-1960's
Design characteristics: bright colors, geometric patterns, short a-line shift dresses, knee-high boots, bold eye make-up
Fashion icon: Twiggy

 Sunglasses and Shoes for sale on Etsy

Punk- beginning in the 1970's London music scene

design characteristics: denim, leather, band tees, "bedhead", lace-up boots, studs
Fashion Icons: Sid & Nancy, the Clash, the Ramones, Vivienne Westwood

Leather jacket for sale on Etsy


Prep-School
design characteristics: plaid, tweed, blazers, ties, tailored suits, oxfords, trench coats
Fashion Icons: Kate Moss, Burberry models

red plaid skirt for sale on Etsy

Ok, now I have some serious packing to do!

XO,

Jess

Tourist in My Town

So, this past week we have had a lot of family visiting us. First, Josh's Mom, Dad & little sister came to Madison for the first time ever (he has lived here for 8 years)! And then, coincidentally, the same week, my parents made their yearly trip up north. So after being together nearly 4 years, our parents finally met each other! It went very well- I'll spare you the details, but let's just say I have breathed a huge sigh of relief.
The great thing about having people come visit (especially if they've never been here before) is that we get to be tourists in our own town. Josh and I never go to the zoo or the gardens or inside the Capitol (well, unless we're protesting political injustice), but when out-of-towners are here we get an opportunity to take a break from our day-to-day life and enjoy the beautiful city we call home!

 

Henry Vilas Zoo (it's free!) 

the view from the top of our Capitol dome

 Olbrich Gardens (also free!)

Bowling at a Clean Water Fundraiser

taking the boat out on Lake Monona

XO,

Jess

Well, I just got back from a much-needed 4 day vacation. . . where did I go? Hawaii? no. New York? uh-uh. even better- Fargo, North Dakota! Now, it wasn't my first time in Fargo-- far from it. My honey, Josh, grew up there and began his music career there. This was sort of a homecoming for him-- his new album is finally out (so exciting!!) so he was back to play a show. We only spent 2 days in Fargo, then headed south to Josh's parents' farm.

Every time we go to Fargo it seems to be more and more mature than the last time. Now it seems to have fully blossomed into a pretty cool little city. The main drag, Broadway, has numerous funky shops, restaurants, an old theater and a historic hotel. Our first night in town, we had dinner at the Hotel Donaldson-- a lovely renovated hotel with a beautiful bar and rooftop lounge (complete with hot tub!). Then we went across the street to the Ecce Gallery & Yoga Studio to see an intimate show with our friends from Storyhill.  The gallery was in one of many historic buildings on Broadway that have been well-preserved.
The next day, we did some shopping-- of course! There were so many thrift stores in the area, we didn't have time to hit them all. However, I did have good luck at the ones we went to. . .My favorite find was this pair of orange suede wedges.

Also, I discovered a vintage store right off the main drag that I'd never seen before. Revolver is a very nice little shop with very reasonable prices-- I highly recommend stopping in if you're ever in Fargo.

Later that day, we had a late lunch at the Plains Art Museum- another beautifully renovated old factory building. They have a little cafe inside with the absolute best turkey sandwich I've ever had.
Finally, Josh had his show-- at another art space/ yoga studio/ music venue. It was great to see him in his "element" with all of his old friends and fans!

 

Just goes to show that there are so many places to see in this world, and in this country. And sometimes just passing through a town or city isn't enough- you need to really get to know a place before you can judge it. 

Happy Travels!

XO,

Jess