the end of the beginning
a tour check-in, a film of/for/by friends, an album review, a pothole hotline mix, a kiss blown, a hope revealed
writing you from opelika, alabama, on tour (again). there is a bunny in this coffee shop and it’s making me tear up?? started my period late.
covered bridges and golden hour fireflies and freshly mowed grass and a cat named turkey.
it is humid in a familiar and welcome way.
woke up yesterday in panama city - got a virgin piña colada from an arcade and drank it on the beach at noon, and now my ass is sunburnt and i’ve finally got a florida show under my belt
covered many, many miles this week — i’m admittedly tired of all the solo driving
made it from chicago to my hometown of lafayette in one day with a minivan full of my belongings but it took 18 hours because of a crash on the interstate. drove from 6:30 AM til 1 AM. ended with a lightning storm. 1,000 miles in one day is enough.
this phil elverum podcast on the making of the album ‘mount eerie’ by the microphones got me thru, plus an especially stunning mississippi sunset.
cannot recommend either enough.
took a pleasant piss where the dead end gravel met the tall grass and took it all in.
watched my youngest sibling graduate from high school the next day. filled up a 5x10 storage unit with the material extensions of me.
crawfish boil for lunch to celebrate no more grade school, big claws n big tails
leftover cold crawfish for breakfast the next morning, barefoot on the stoops steps in new orleans. always hard to go.
the end of the beginning festival
i come bearing gifts
“THE END OF THE BEGINNING FESTIVAL was a gathering organized by Nate Williams in May of 2023 in Lua and John's backyard in Chicago. They made this beautiful film to document it.”
tune in for belated fomo cuz you may have just missed the best midwestern backyard bash of last year - featuring sets by yours truly, then Jake Gets Off, Uncommon Rat, Rancid Nate, Patter, and Curtis
i played some short & sweet & moderately fumbly cover songs on a suzuki q-chord (knockoff omnichord) and this was the setlist:
kokomo - the beach boys
where the boys are - connie francis
hey, who really cares - linda perhacs
i remember - molly drake
lol
hot tip: watch the rancid nate set for new, refreshing, inspired ideas about how to cook an egg.
watch the uncommon rat set cuz it’s real good.
amen! – hemlock concert and EP review
heads up - sidney parish at Daybreak did a kind and thoughtful writeup of amen! and the recent full-band NOLA album release show.
here’s a selection:
thx sidney! and here’s a capture of the post-show sidewalk cookie cake soiree
<3
pothole hotline
and in case you missed it, here’s a link to the may mix of my monthly radio show, Pothole Hotline, on beloved radio. i put a lot of time and care into each of these hours of music.
(and here’s the link to the archive of all the mixes so far, in case you wanna dig thru)
this May episode features the second ever PORTAL REPORT halfway thru, a segment where a handful of my friends describe what they see out their window, serving as a POV point of connection that helps to bridge the gap of geographical distance
but more importantly, the entire tracklist highlights songs from a Palestine benefit compilation called Merciless Accelerating Rhythms, organized by HATETOQUIT and Brooklyn band Hiding Places. all proceeds to Palestine Legal and Palestine Children's Relief Fund.
i submitted a hemlock track for it that was written in a songwriting class led by chris weisman. the prompt was basically to lean into voice leading - moving only one or two notes of a chord at a time. but the comp is chock full of incredible tracks (Mount Eerie, Little Wings, John Andrews, Fust, h. pruz, and on and on and…)
here’s a peek:
FREE PALESTINE
still raising funds for esims via poppy prints on tour
cried talking about freedom in a living room at a house show last night
i believe in it
let us hold space, at the very absolute least
let us hold the line
see you soon?
5/22: gadsden, AL — @ coffee bar with mood room
5/23: water valley, MS — @ TIN.
5/25: fayetteville, AR — old friends fest at old friends farm
5/27: tulsa, OK — @ thelma’s with charlotte bumgarner and ramsey thornton
5/28: norman, OK — @ house show*
5/29: dallas, TX — @ good records upstairs with tex patrello & skirts
5/30: austin, TX — @ sanctuary* with plume girl and other vessels
6/30: chicago, IL — logan square arts fest
message if you need an address, or have a question. i may have an answer.
hope chest
closing, again, with an anonymous hope, collected along the way:
i’ll take the blessing. onward!
solidarity,
carolina
I think about that molly drake song every single day of my life