When looking at the lead guitarist's face you'd think it must really be painful to hit those notes so perfectly. The bass player has a look about him that says he's the smoothest cat in New Orleans. At the break don't be surprised to see steam rising from the drummers head as he steps outside. These guys are pouring out their souls on stage - and the locals flock to these joints like moths to a light. The music was so good even I wanted to dance all night.
Just before the show they lined up 5 tables and dumped several pots of shrimp boil on them for the crowd to devour and enjoy. Everyone was standing around these tables peeling shrimp, attempting to wash away the fire in there mouth with large gulps of beer, and sniffling their running noses with their recently cleared sinuses. All you can eat shrimp and wonderful music for an $8 cover. As you walk towards the back you'll see an artist inspired by the musical notes hitting his ears and with his canvas illuminated by his headlamp he goes to work creating his next masterpiece in the back of the bar he lives across from. There is just no other place like this in the world.
The house I'm in has massive ten foot solid wood doors. The ceilings of all three stories are 12 feet high, and many of the rooms throughout the house are haunted by very active and rambunctious entities. The 100+ year old floors creek just as you would assume. I'm in a castle made of stone - rare amongst the many wood and brick homes that are native to this area. With 13 bathrooms throughout the house almost every room is vacant and when taking the initial tour I definitely felt the strange electricity in the air... a sense that we should've ended the tour before opening the last few rooms on the third floor. As much as I like doing things that make good stories you won't find me staying up there overnight.
It's an amazing house though, as I'm typing this I'm looking out the window by the desk. I'm looking down at the swimming pool of the Real World New Orleans house. Just beyond that is St. Charles Ave, a famous route for several of the Mardi Gras Parades. Every 10 minutes the street cars screech to a halt before accelerating past Loyola and Tulane Universities ending at Canal Street and the French Quarter. Horse drawn carriages roll by continuing the guided tour of this historic area.
Just this morning I heard someone walking in the living room towards my bedroom... I'm a deep sleeper and it was loud enough to wake me up. I figured it must be Joe so I called his name and the footsteps stopped. I thought haha he's hiding behind the wall connecting the living room and bedroom so I got up to catch him. No one was there. This was a bed and breakfast for a while and there have been many documented accounts of paranormal activity here. Google "The Castle Inn of New Orleans"
I've never lived in a city before but New Orleans is so different and unique that I'm considering moving here. The food, music, festivals, family, and saints games are very enticing. Not to mention I sort of work here in the summer time. It's tough because I don't think I'd be able to find such an amazing group of friends as I have up in Washington. Time to roll out though...
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Monday, November 1, 2010
Life in St. Louis
For those of you who know Joe, you must know I'm on the craziest road trip of my life. He's the kind of character that can captivate crowds with his charm, personality, and endless stories. Extremely quick witted - he's rarely outmatched by any verbal exchange. He joined me at the end of 2006 for a road trip from Seattle to New Orleans via St. Louis and this trip is sort of a ride down memory lane for us.
We made our way across Kansas on I-70 stopping in Hays for a night of debauchery... somehow trouble finds us. I'm finding it very difficult to get people to believe me when they ask what I do. That night we were stars in such a small college town... at one point we decided to change bars and we drug almost everyone with us for some dancing and drinks at a club up the street. The after party always ends up at the road house - and sleep is a luxury that I'm learning to live without while on the road. Waking up the next day we realize we can't leave until we recovered Joe's debit card which he has a knack for leaving at bars. Of course that bar didn't open until 5PM so we spent the day at the Wal Mart parking lot emptying and repacking every storage hatch to get a little more settled in.
I knew when we arrived at St. Louis that we'd be spending a lot of time with Joe's family - and it turns out he's rubbed off quite a bit on his younger brother and younger cousins. They really look up to him and have tried to prepare for a crazy few weeks while we're here. St. Louis is just about lawless when it comes to drinking - Pops is a bar that serves 24/7 and we're here in the midst of Halloween season... The roadhouse is equipped with all kinds of crazy wigs and costumes and I'd find myself wearing almost all of them at some point during my stay here.
Eric is Joe's younger brother and on his days off we kidnap him as our newest roommate driving off to give him a taste of the road. He always arrives with his rent; a suitcase of beer and shots at the bar of the night. I've never laughed this much in my life and if you want to see the best dance moves of any white kid ask Eric to bust out his invisible frisbee! Every time we walk into a place we seem to be the center of attention - but maybe it's cause we're all wearing sports coats and at random times in the night someone yells "SWITCH!" and we make a big scene of trading our jackets. What can I say we're fashionable guys... I like that we manage to make every ones night around us better. I was given a silver coin when I was out diving and I've attached it to a silver necklace that I bought - but at the time I fully intended to wear it under my shirt just as a nice reminder of how much fun I had out there; but it has now taken a life of its own when we're out making me look like a cheesy porn star who claims to be a treasure hunter... haha at least we're entertaining!
Joe's cousin Zach is about as shameless as they come and he knows how to have a good time. He's an equal opportunity employer of his dance partners and doesn't disciminate in any way... With "Call G Ma" written on his hand in permanent marker you immediately get a sense of how kind hearted he is, however he's notorious for getting kicked out of every place he goes... what can I say he knows how to drink.
I love everyone I've met here in St. Louis, they've truly taken me in as family and I'm sure a few will be life long friends. I just don't think I could keep a job if I lived here. My liver is crying and I feel like everyone here is waiting for the Road House to pull out so they can get back to their day to day life. With our extended visit reaching an end we'll head south to Tennesee for a quick stop before driving to New Orleans for some more crazy adventures with my friends and family.
Peace and Love,
Jon
PS... If you've never seen a Micro Wrestling Federation match I highly recommend it! These midgets brawl WWE style smashing trash cans on each other and flipping off the top rope of the ring - it's totally worth the cover charge at the gentlemen's club they'll be at.
We made our way across Kansas on I-70 stopping in Hays for a night of debauchery... somehow trouble finds us. I'm finding it very difficult to get people to believe me when they ask what I do. That night we were stars in such a small college town... at one point we decided to change bars and we drug almost everyone with us for some dancing and drinks at a club up the street. The after party always ends up at the road house - and sleep is a luxury that I'm learning to live without while on the road. Waking up the next day we realize we can't leave until we recovered Joe's debit card which he has a knack for leaving at bars. Of course that bar didn't open until 5PM so we spent the day at the Wal Mart parking lot emptying and repacking every storage hatch to get a little more settled in.
I knew when we arrived at St. Louis that we'd be spending a lot of time with Joe's family - and it turns out he's rubbed off quite a bit on his younger brother and younger cousins. They really look up to him and have tried to prepare for a crazy few weeks while we're here. St. Louis is just about lawless when it comes to drinking - Pops is a bar that serves 24/7 and we're here in the midst of Halloween season... The roadhouse is equipped with all kinds of crazy wigs and costumes and I'd find myself wearing almost all of them at some point during my stay here.
Eric is Joe's younger brother and on his days off we kidnap him as our newest roommate driving off to give him a taste of the road. He always arrives with his rent; a suitcase of beer and shots at the bar of the night. I've never laughed this much in my life and if you want to see the best dance moves of any white kid ask Eric to bust out his invisible frisbee! Every time we walk into a place we seem to be the center of attention - but maybe it's cause we're all wearing sports coats and at random times in the night someone yells "SWITCH!" and we make a big scene of trading our jackets. What can I say we're fashionable guys... I like that we manage to make every ones night around us better. I was given a silver coin when I was out diving and I've attached it to a silver necklace that I bought - but at the time I fully intended to wear it under my shirt just as a nice reminder of how much fun I had out there; but it has now taken a life of its own when we're out making me look like a cheesy porn star who claims to be a treasure hunter... haha at least we're entertaining!
Joe's cousin Zach is about as shameless as they come and he knows how to have a good time. He's an equal opportunity employer of his dance partners and doesn't disciminate in any way... With "Call G Ma" written on his hand in permanent marker you immediately get a sense of how kind hearted he is, however he's notorious for getting kicked out of every place he goes... what can I say he knows how to drink.
I love everyone I've met here in St. Louis, they've truly taken me in as family and I'm sure a few will be life long friends. I just don't think I could keep a job if I lived here. My liver is crying and I feel like everyone here is waiting for the Road House to pull out so they can get back to their day to day life. With our extended visit reaching an end we'll head south to Tennesee for a quick stop before driving to New Orleans for some more crazy adventures with my friends and family.
Peace and Love,
Jon
PS... If you've never seen a Micro Wrestling Federation match I highly recommend it! These midgets brawl WWE style smashing trash cans on each other and flipping off the top rope of the ring - it's totally worth the cover charge at the gentlemen's club they'll be at.
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