Welcome to Jane's Journal, our digital tour diary. The following entries and pictures are collected from our first official out-of-state tour that took us to colleges and clubs across most of the Western US. The road was good to us, as were all the great folks we met along the way. We hope to see you again, and thank you all for your support as we ventured to share what we love. Click on an image to see a larger version.

3.23.04 - Day One: Sleep Deprivation Studies 101

Rule #1: Wait until it’s dark on the night before you leave to start packing so that you can stay up all night!
Rule #2: Rent a van that has almost enough room for everything you need to bring.
Rule #3: Spend five hours finding and attaching a storage rack that will not be used, and subsequently removed two days later.
Rule #4: Book two shows back to back, in locations relatively far from each other so that you can spend the day rushing, unpacking and packing. Repeat.
Rule #5: Take long, winding country roads instead of the direct highways-- just for fun.
NOTE: Sleep deprivation maximized when rules executed in the dark.

But seriously, can a day have 36 hours? After running around all day Monday doing last minute shopping and tying up loose ends (and killing the battery on each of our cell phones), it was time to pack the van. (Insert trumpet fanfare)Dun dun dun! Becky’s parents cooked us some delicious food to fuel our good attitudes and we began the puzzle --one which we would have the opportunity to re-work two more times within the next 36 hours. Surprisingly, everything fit in our 2004, GMC 15-passenger van, provided by Advantage Car Rental (thanks Jonas!) Despite all the efforts put into acquiring and installing a roof rack and storage unit, we realized it would be of no use even if we went with Becky’s brilliant plan of only parking under balconies so we could reach it. (Yes, we tried Chaska on a ladder, on her tippy-toes wearing platform shoes.) By 11 p.m., the van was loaded and we each headed home to pack our personal belongings. Oops. Mai and Becky tied for the most sleep that night: one hour. Ouch. We hit the road on schedule at 6 a.m., heading north to Cal State Fresno.

CAL STATE FRESNO (Show #1)

We played outside of the student union, on a cement stage in “the pit” during the lunch hour. It was a sunny day…the crowd came and the crowd stayed. We weren’t sure what they thought however, until the end when many people stuck around to chat (and they bought lots of CDs!) Amazingly cool people, supportive and…they helped us load up! Shout out to the frat boys in front and the girls on sound (Dearly and Aurora). Thanks to Kristy for bringing us out!

CAL STATE STANISLAUS (Show #2)

Three hours later, we’re unloading again! This is when the sleep deprivation started to really kick in. We were supposed to be playing for a barbeque, but the student leaders decided to just order some pizza instead. We set up on the sidewalk in front of some classrooms that were in session…huh? Students listened from afar, as we played until the sun set… Thanks go to Patricia and Claudia.

We loaded up the van for the third time that day (biceps bulging) and headed out to the hills of Santa Cruz where we would spend the next two nights in the comfort of Chaska’s family’s home. Now, we’re not sure if it was due to exhaustion or anticipation of the soft warm beds that awaited us, but the “jaunt” over to Santa Cruz ended up being the unexpected pilgrimage of the century. Here’s where the country roads come in… always take the highway!!! There’s really no reason you should make a two hour trip four hours, especially when you’ve been awake for 36 hours!

But at last, we reached the end of the saga, arriving safe and sound at the welcoming red doors of Chaska’s family residence, where a sign taped to the door read: “Rest here, ye weary rock chicks!”



3.24.04 - Day Two
THE CATALYST: Santa Cruz, CA (Show #3)

We awoke happy and well-rested. Well, almost. Feeling a bit jet-lagged, we spent the day grazing on delicious home-cooked meals and ayruvedic chai (Thanks Rox!), and took a hot tub overlooking the beautiful mountain scenery. Pretty. Wonderful. Pretty wonderful.

That night we had the awesome opportunity to play the main stage at the Catalyst. (Mai reminisced on her college days at UCSC, where she saw some of her favorite bands play there – like Toad the Wet Sprocket.) We walked in through the back door and five minutes later were happily surprised to see our good friend, Miss Stephanie Joynt, appear carrying an over-sized duffle bag on her back. Apparently, she managed to talk her way into a taxi ride all the way from San Jose Airport. Did we mention she missed the van from LA? Well, she persevered, and is jumping on board for the next two weeks of the tour as our roadie/documentarian/merch girl/attitude-adjustor.

The huge stage, sound, lights and reputation of the Catalyst made the show a blast for us. We had a dressing room with a fridge stocked with Budweiser and water (ahh… now we’ve made it.) We opened for Gene Loves Jezebel and Extra Large (thanks for the backline!)



3.25.04 - Day Three
SANTA CRUZ to SAN JOSE to SAN FRANCISCO

Today we headed out from Santa Cruz to San Francisco with a stop off to visit Mona’s family in San Jose -- and to remove the extraneous roof rack and empty storage bin (Thanks Uncle Homayoon!) With our lightened load, we cruised over to the Tavakoli residence and we enjoyed salted oranges and naps on the comfy couch. We pulled into San Fran around 9 p.m., where we’d spend the next two nights with more of Chaska’s family. Thanks Serena and Milton!



3.26.04 - Day Four
THE PARKSIDE CAFÉ: Stinson Beach, CA (Show #4)

We started the day with some serious girl time at Macy’s Brow Bar in downtown San Fran. Becky managed to escape by way of her Hometown News editorial deadline. Once we were all “done up” (ha ha) we headed out to Stinson Beach for a three-hour set at the Parkside Café. Our drive took us over the Golden Gate Bridge, through the woods, and down to the quaint and secluded beach town of Stinson. Though it was yet again a long and winding road (not conducive to sardining in a 15-passenger van), we managed to get there with our stomachs intact. We rolled in and were happily surprised to see posters for our show up on every telephone pole! It was a really warm welcome for a night that would keep getting better.

As we set up our new PA (which was working great ---thanks Andreas) the chefs of this gourmet café cooked us up some fine food. We stuffed our bellies with delicacies such as steak in truffle oil and seared halibut cheeks, and then got started on our marathon set. We started things off nice and mellow (like the romantic fire burning next to us), and by the end of the night we had the whole restaurant enthusiastically singing along to “I Love Rock and Roll.” The crowd just kept filling in and everyone seemed to leave with a CD or a shirt. There was even some panty-signing in this little hippie town! And how could we forget, the glow-in-the-dark-multi-frisbee-tossing party in the parking lot after the show? We love you Stinson! Special shout out to Jeremy for making it possible.



3.27.04 - Day Five

Dear mum,

Today we made bets on how long it would take us to drive from San Francisco to Portland. We passed Mt. Shasta, and stopped at a crazy hillbilly truck stop where there was a mannequin in a bathtub in the bathroom, a rattlesnake in a cage and guns mounted on the wall. Becky won the wager with an estimated arrival time of 12:30-1:00 a.m., equaling a 12-hour journey. We stayed the night with good friend and rj super fan Gulgun (Googles McGee). Portland rocks and is beautiful.



3.29.04 - Day Seven
PIERCE COLLEGE: Puyallup, WA (Show #5)

We set up acoustic in a common area as students registered for classes and ate free pizza (yes more pizza). Two 45-minute sets later we were out of there and headed back to the hotel to nap. Thank you Ryan and Allie for arranging the show. We then hit up Kinko’s, and went to see Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, which was a great flick.



3.30.04 – Day Eight
EVERETT COMMUNITY COLLEGE: Everett, WA (Show #6)

Everett is about a 40 minute drive north of Seattle. Our venue: the “multi-purpose” room. The fluorescent tube lighting may not have been flattering, but at least we had a sound system and sound engineer (thanks Craig) provided for us, not to mention 12 vocal mics set up on stage, evenly spaced. They thought we were an acapella group so we packed up and went home. Just kidding. Thanks to Sheryl for booking us and for your enthusiasm in the front row! We played for about an hour and a half, as students went to and from classes.
That night we stayed at the Howard Johnson in Everett. At about 10 p.m. we drove around the “city” looking for food. Not much was open so we ended up eating at Denny’s, which turned out to be a great decision since they served $6 pitchers of MGD, and we had coupons to get a free dinner and dessert. Score. Atkins here we come.



3.31.04 - Day Nine

No show today, just fun in Seattle - home of Starbucks and grunge! We perused the beautifully-flowered and fishy-odored market at Pike’s Place, ate fish & chips, drank coffee and pranced through the streets of this charming city. By chance we found a great local guitar shop called Emerald City Guitars and initiated an impromptu jam session. Dinner with the Paranjpye family was off the hook – home cooked Indian food = yummy!



04.01.04 – Day 10

Still in Seattle, we had a lackadaisical morning and didn’t really get to the things we had planned: the EMP (a museum dedicated to rock n’ roll and designed by Frank Ghery, emulating Jimi Hendrix’s smashed guitar) and the Space Needle. Instead we took a walk around Lake Washington and fed some ducks. Later that day we drove to visit some of Becky’s relatives, in Covington, WA, where we ate some delicious and very spicy Indian food. Then we drove back to Portland.



04.02.04 – Day 11
OREGON INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY: Klamath Falls, OR (Show #7)

It was a six hour drive to our next show, in Klamath Falls, Oregon. So we left Portland early to get there. Again, our drive took us by so many beautiful sights – winding roads, forests, lakes, trains, waterfalls, rolling hills, snowy peaks. And on top of the visual beauty, the weather was still perfect. Our only real stop on the way down to Klamath was a restaurant in the middle of nothing called “Melita’s.”

With all the driving we’re doing in our beloved white van, we spend a lot of time looking at the inside of it, particularly the middle dashboard area. In an effort to add a little personality and inspiration to this mobile “home,” we have created a mini-alter on our dashboard, consisting of a small Buddha, pine cone and leaves and orange lei.

That night our show was held in yet another cafeteria setting – large room, tile floor, huge glass windows and a high ceiling. Pretty much horrific circumstances for live music. Not only did the sound check take about two hours, we started the show without any lights. A couple of songs in, work lights were brought in. The event we were hired for was a civil engineers convention. Our audience consisted of about 200 civil engineers from different nearby schools, who were participating in a “concrete canoe” competition. In between our two sets, power tools were given away as door prizes. Our double set went over pretty well, we just had to ignore the bad sound and play our best. Thanks to the Student Activites Board for the catered dinner, and to Slide for doing his best with the sound.

Later that night, four of our five-woman team went out to a billiards bar to hang with the locals. Mai stayed in the hotel and re-learned some Sheryl Crow songs. Before we left, however, we took a few minutes to do some interpretive dance in the hotel room. What’s up to the Corvalis kids for fun and pool at Black Dog.



4.03.04 – Day 12

On our drive back to Portland from Klamath Falls, we stopped at Salt Creek Falls where we enjoyed an amazing, gorgeous and inspirational 286 foot tall waterfall. If only we could bottle up the fresh air and bring it back to L.A.

Several miles of windy roads later, our van momentarily wigged out - the steering wheel started to shake – just for a few seconds. We stopped the van, walked around the car, looked under the hood and found nothing wrong (because we have such extensive car mechanics knowledge), so we continued driving. In the next (small) town we found a AAA-approved car mechanic and went in for a check-up. There we met two very kind and helpful mechanics who checked out the car and told us it was okay, the rattling was probably just from the brakes getting too hot while driving down the mountain. Both men told us stories of bear hunting and salmon hatcheries while they serviced the van.



04.04.04 – Day 13

Yay! We’re back in Portland. We spent the day scoping out club venues and dropping off press kits in Portland and catching up on other business. Our van got a good servicing at Jiffy Lube: new oil, new air filter, and even some vacuuming.

We’ve been purchasing some CD’s and DVD’s on the road, tending towards the folky (road-trip appropriate). Here’s what we’ve acquired so far: Ryan Adams – Love is Hell pts. 1 & 2, Jackson Brown – Greatest Hits, Jeremy Tobak (Chaska recently bought a used flight case for her guitar amp and his name was on it, then we randomly found his album in Portland so we had to get it), Joni Mitchell – Woman of Heart DVD, Ani DiFranco – Educated Guess, Indigo Girls – Perfect World, Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Third Eye Blind – (Becky’s guilty pleasure), The Beatles – White Album, The Beatles – Hard Day’s Night DVD.



04.05.04 – Day 14

For our last day in Portland we trekked out to a tulip farm where the tulip festival was in full bloom. Mai felt very connected with the flowers and the earth and her last name (Bloomfield). We took advantage of the gorgeous and colorful scenery and decided to do a photo shoot. Picture us frolicking through the rows of flowers singing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.”



04.06.04 – Day 15
LOWER COLUMBIA COLLEGE: Longview, Washington (Show #8)

We drove from Portland just over the border to Longview, Washington. On the way, Mona got pulled over by a motorcycle cop who was standing on the inner shoulder of the freeway, and pointed at us to pull over. Yes, he pointed, while we were going 70 in a 60 mph zone.

Following that traumatic but essentially harmless experience we played our show, yes in a cafeteria. Despite the undesirable sonics of the caf., we think we sounded pretty good. Thanks to Dan and Ashley for your support at the show, and Robert for sound. P.S. please send us our bright orange 50-ft extension cord labeled “raining jane.”

After the show, we were scheduled to check into a hotel in Longview, but we instead felt inspired to keep on driving to the next stop: Boise, Idaho. It was a LONG haul, 12 hours driven by Mona, but totally worth the views of the Columbia River Gorge. Mona and Mai bonded over McDonalds fries and apple pies, wishing they were still fried and not baked, and we killed a lot of time playing 20 questions. Around the region of eastern Oregon, we discovered an alien base camp / secret government factory in the dark and desolate hills of eastern Oregon. Once we got to Boise, at about 2 a.m., we attempted to check into four hotels before finding a vacancy. For some reason Boise was packed with visitors, who knew?!



04.07.04 – Day 16
OPA BAR / CAZBA: Boise, Idaho (Show #9)

Today was incredible. First of all, none of us had ever been to Idaho before, so it felt like we were finally beginning to venture into new territory. To be honest, we were not expecting much more in this state other than a glorified truck stop. Our expectation was totally turned around as we found the most warm and friendly people in this cute little city.

We slept in until noon, and then found our way downtown to Main Street to grab some grub. We walked down the strip checking out menus here and there before deciding on a Greek restaurant called Cazba. We sat outside and ordered some falafel pitas, Greek salad and of course hummus and baba ganoush. Mai enjoyed a pint of Alaskan Avalanche. As our waiter (Mohammad) delivered the goods, we noticed was wearing the same bracelet as Mona. Upon discovering they were both Persian, an enthusiastic conversation in Farsi (the language spoken in Iran) broke out and before we new it we were having lunch with Mohammad and his brother Max, who owned the place. When Max learned we were a band and that we didn’t have a show in Boise, he exclaimed, “you must play here, tonight!” Without hesitation, we agreed and set off to Kinko’s to print up some posters. We set up outdoors on one end of the Cazba patio which was attached to a bar called “Opa,” also owned by Max. There were about 20 people having dinner when we started. As the night progressed and the music filled the street, so did the people. They trickled out of other restaurants and cafes and from overlooking apartments. By the end of our second set, the patio was full and spilling onto the sidewalk and into the street. Max (who was runner up for Mayor of Boise) gave an endearing speech, about our chance meeting and the joy that this spontaneous night of music brought to the town. We then got an encore, but had already played everything we knew so we made up a song about the night including a call and response with the crowd singing “opa opa opa!!” After we chilled with the fine people of Boise for about an hour, we were pleasantly surprised with a table full of the most delicious food. (Thanks you Max and the Cazba crew!) We loaded the van and continued on to “Boogie Woogies,” the dueling piano bar next door. The kick-ass musicians on stage welcomed raining jane to the bar and invited us up to sing a song! The four of us shared a mic and a copy of the words to “Tell Me Something Good” by Chaka Khan, having too much fun. Mona was asked to play drums on a few songs which she had never heard before, and then…we met Mai Bloomfield’s alter ego: Axel. Inspired by the song “Sweet Child O’ Mine” by Guns n’ Roses, Mai tied her red scarf around her forehead and jumped on the dance floor, swaying side to side, lip-syncing the words, bringing this unforgettable night to an outstanding close. Mona played the role of Slash.



04.08.04 - Day 17
IDAHO STATE UNIVERSITY: Pocatello, ID (Show #10)

On our way to Pocatello, Idaho, we stopped for lunch at Twin Falls. Unfortunately we didn’t have time to check out the actual waterfalls which supposedly are something like Niagara Falls. But we did see some really cool geological formations, a river and an IHOP. Next door was a Best Buy where we acquired more CD’s: Cat Stevens - Greatest Hits, Madonna - Immaculate Collection, Gillian Welch – Soul Journey, Garrison Star – Satellites and Airstreams.

So many things about this show were ideal. Jean, our booker and contact person for the show, has been one of the easiest and most enjoyable people to work with. The venue was a ballroom, with a real stage, full sound and lights. We arrived early, with plenty of time to sound check and get ready. Even our hotel, the Holiday Inn, complete with free high speed internet, pool, spa and workout room, was the bomb. Yet this was a difficult show to get through. Only about 15 people showed up, in a huge ballroom. It was challenging to focus in and vibe together with these awkward circumstances. After the show, we realized that we did do well with the people who were there which is all that really matters anyway. They invited us back for the summer, when apparently it’s a lot easier to draw an audience.

After packing up we went out to the local bar, “Goody’s,” to hang with Jean. Playing pool was fun but we were beat and the smoke indoors was way too much for us California gals. Speaking of smoke, we’d like to congratulate Steph, our tour support person and documentarian, for quitting smoking while she’s been on tour with us.



04.09.04 – Day 18

We’re back in Utah! Who ever thought we’d return so soon? It feels like we were just here. Thanks Rhiannon for directing us to an awesome Japanese restaurant, “Ko Ko Kitchen.”

Tonight we finally got to play some music in the hotel room for ourselves. We worked on some new stuff as well as some silly songs that may or may not ever be publicly exposed.

Almost every show so far has consisted of two 45-minute sets. Set one: Fashionable, These Walls, Something, Window Song, Deep In My Pocket, Turn Your Lights Down Low, Invisible Spoon, Brave Face, Birthday Malaise (with Seven Nation Army), Are You That Somebody (Aaliyah). Set two: Diamond Lane, Both Hands, War, Long Pause, Baby Bird, Somewhere Over the Rainbow, Summer, IM Love, Big Girl, 80’s Medley.



04.10.04 – Day 20
CLUB NAKED: Salt Lake City, Utah (Show # 11)

Tonight we played at Club Naked in SLC. We had a very fun night, with a good crowd of people, making a very enjoyable show. Part of the joy came from the fact that for the first time ever we were able to set our complete sound system, with everything working correctly and sounding great. Many thanks to Hyrum (of the band “Mona”) for setting up our PA, and teaching us how to work it. Playing with us at Club Naked was the fabulous Debi Graham Band – great musicians and great people. Hopefully they will tour to L.A. so we can do a show together. Thanks also to homies Mary and Tasha for all your support, and Rhiannon for the photo shoot at the show.

Earlier that day we had a very unique and interesting experience – we visited a specialist of Chinese herbology and acupressure. We originally went because Mai wanted to pick up some herbs to treat a minor sty on her eye. We ended up staying longer than expected and making a return visit later that day, because the specialist spent a little time with each of us diagnosing our physical problems and giving us tips on how to be healthier. The over riding theme for everyone was that our digestive systems aren’t good and that we’re eating too much French fries, which we already knew. The man was able to diagnose problems just by looking at our tongues and checking our pulses. He even had a whole book of human tongues describing the differences in color, texture, etc. Eeew, gross. Luckily much of the visit was recorded on video. It was actually a very mesmerizing and moving experience.



04.11.04 – Day 21

Happy Easter! Our morning was spent taking our attitude adjuster and super duper jane sidekick Steph Joynt to the airport. It was time for her to return to Los Angeles and get back to obligations at home. We sent her off with a stuffed Canadian moose toy and too much insider information. Thanks Steph for all your hard work and enthusiasm, we really really, really appreciate it and will miss you.

To celebrate Easter we had a yummy brunch in a hillside café called “Ruth’s Diner.” We sat outside, got nostalgic and enjoyed musical entertainment provided by Maggie Beers and Julie Mark.

Then we drove to Grand Junction, Colorado, breaking 4000 miles (and a lot wind).



04.12.04 – Day 22
MESA STATE UNIVERSITY: Grand Junction, Colorado (Show # 12)

Our show today took place outside in the school’s quad. The weather was beautiful – sunny and warm; picture students playing hacky sack and chilling under trees. Despite being late, our sound crew turned out to be awesome. A highlight of the show, and of the tour thus far, occurred when Chaska invited a guy walking by with a saxophone to come onstage and jam with us. He ripped it up on “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” and now we’re determined to add a horn section to the band. Thanks to Elizabeth, Megan, Brandon, Julie and Snob Productions for everything.



04.13.04 – Day 23
THE GOLD PAN: Breckenridge, CO (Show #13)

The first of two last-minute shows booked for this great little ski resort town. Thanks to Merlin (Chaska’s high school boyfriend) for hooking that up and being such a great host and professional chef. We definitely hope to come back to this land of snow-capped mountains and refreshing air. Note to travelers in high altitudes: drink lots of water.

The Gold Pan is an old Gold Rush era bar, which you may remember seeing in the film Dumb and Dumber. A few hours before show time, we did a radio spot at the local station, hosted by deejay Stacy. We talked to Stacy, performed Window Song and Diamond Lane acoustic (cello, two acoustic guitars and cajon), played the Brave Face studio recording and of course plugged the show.

That night we set up our own sound system (so gratifying) and played three sets in this Western-themed local bar. As the night progressed, the (mostly male) audience got a little silly. Mona made a bet with a guy which ultimately resulted in the man appearing in front of all to see – only wearing the raining jane panties and a t-shirt. While men buying panties and wearing them over their pants happens every now and then, this is the first time they’ve been worn publicly at a show as actual underwear. The exposure was “brief” and hilarious, definitely ballsy.



04.14.04 – Day 24
SHERPA AND YETI’S: Breckenridge, CO (Show #14)

The morning after Gold Pan, we lethargically carried out various band business tasks: the usual cell phone booking calls, mass emails at the internet cafe, post office run, wash socks and underwear, etc. For dinner we ate the bomb tacos at Rita’s, where many people from the night before were also eating. Small town.

Sherpa and Yeti’s was a smallish club with a small stage, but cool. We opened for world music jam band Hamsa Lila, who were awesome. There was drama before the show, regarding a sort of unrealized “double booking.” After some negotiation, we managed to secure our spot, and decided to do a stripped down, more acoustic set to open the night for Hamsa Lila. Not too many people showed up in the beginning, but gradually they trickled in. It was an interesting change for us - to go more acoustic after all our big electrified shows. In the end, a couple of us thought it would’ve been even cooler had we not been plugged in at all. Maybe next time! We called it an early night so we could head out to Wyoming early in the a.m.



04.16.04 – Day 25
NORTHWESTERN COLLEGE “UN-FORMAL SPRING DANCE”: Powell, WY (Show #15)

Entering our 4th week, it seemed a bit of road fatigue was starting to kick in. But our spirits prevailed, and gave us that last bit of steam for the last sprint before our zip back to L.A. We drove through Denver, where we picked up the album “Get Away From Me” by Nellie McKay, all the way up to Powell, Wyoming.

The Wyoming landscape was so inspirational, Mai wrote a song while driving through the state. She wasn’t driving at the time. “I would describe the scenery as partly desert, then gorgeous… mesa formations, clusters of green and yellow brush, and majestic snow-capped mountains in the far distance,” says Mai Bloomfield.

A highlight occurred when we were faced with the mountain made famous in Close Encounters of the Third Kind. After sunset, we drove through the “Big Horns” said to be one of the most beautiful parts of the state. Too bad it was dark, we missed out on seeing all those unicorns and dwarf villages. We stopped for a chat a local billiards bar in Dayton, the only place open for miles, and got to know the local WY folk over a Coors and a game of pool.

At midnight we arrived at the Best Choice Motel (= Worst Choice!). Thank God it was closed when we arrived. Oh well, who knew the Super 8 could ever look so desireable?? Chaska started to get a little sick so we all stocked up on vitamins and Echinacea.

Now we’re finally at the actual day of the show (4/16). It was a school dance, called an “informal.” We threw in a few new covers and rocked that gym as hard as we could. Mona got to sit under the basketball hoop, which made her Window Song rap especially pertinent “dunk ya into my hoop.” One new cover (don’t freak out) was The Dixie Chicks’ “Wide Open Spaces,” featuring Mai Bloomfield on harmonica. If only she had the cowboy hat then, that she bought later in the trip…

The dance: they danced! Lots of formal dance styles erupted. “At Last” was a big hit for the slow dancing. Then there was the cowboy swing (not sure what it’s called) that seemed to work for most of our originals. Very cool to see so much couple dancing to everything. And very cool to see cowboy/girl fashion styles worn authenticly: tight jeans, cowboy hats and boots, tucked in shirts. The crowd fluctuated in size, but we had an excellent turnout. Shout outs to Matt, Henry, Mike, Michelle and Sean for being so great.



04.17.04 – Day 26
ROCKY MOUNTAIN COLLEGE: Billings, MT (Show #16)

Montana was a great show, set up outdoors in a field, festival style. It was great fun to again play outdoors, compared to the many multi-purpose rooms we’d done before. Students brought out blankets and soaked up the fickle sun. The saying in MT is “if you don’t like the weather, wait 5 minutes, and it’ll change.” Throughout the show, that’s exactly what it did. The possibility of rain was like a looming danger throughout the sound check and the show. But somehow the spirit of “raining” jane managed to keep the storm at bay until we were done playing. Immediately after the show, strong cold winds picked up and sprinkles began to fall. We were grateful for all the awesome, generous help of the students activities committee. A couple of the guys wrote panties on their heads all week to help promote the show!

Show highlights: “rain rain go away chant,” and side ponytails for the 80’s Medley (reminiscent of our UCLA Spring Sing extravaganza).

At lunch in downtown Billings that day, we were happily surprised to see our poster in the window, publicizing the show. Our hotel was sketchy - hairballs in the bathroom, and old soggy vitamins in the drawer – but it gave us perspective on how well we’ve actually been taken care of while on the road. Nonetheless, we’ll try to avoid more hairballs and the like in the future! Hi mom!



04.18.04 – Day 27

MONTANA > WYOMING > IDAHO > UTAH > ARIZONA > NEVADA: 6 states in one day.

Who knew our perspective of a “long” drive have such an incredible shift for us by the end of our trip. (Well, at least by this point in the trip as we head back home for our L.A. show). Somehow, the combination of our ambition and anxiousness empowered us to make the extensive drive across six states in one day. This was no straight shot either. We left the hotel before sunrise so that we could get some time in at Yellowstone National Park.

A couple of us had already been to Yellowstone when we were kids, but being there all together at this point in our lives was still an awesome experience. After waking at 5 a.m., we started our Yellowstone visit from the North Entrance around 9 a.m. We were told that they had JUST opened the roads for the season, and we felt lucky to be one of the first cars to head in since the snowfall began in early winter. The season however, still remained, and in turn cast a sort of magical wintery spell over the whole park. For our five hour drive through the wild surroundings (which we thought would be only two hours), we were in awe over the rugged landscape, the white blanket of snow falling lightly from the grey sky, and most especially, the stunning wildlife that inhabited the land. We saw hundreds of bison, and many elk, trumpeter swans, and mysterious hydro-thermal hot springs across the park. The bison were often found crossing the street in groups. We were warned to stay back from these creatures, as they’ve been known to “gore many tourists” who have gotten too close. So we stayed in our car and shot pictures every five minutes of the drive. We listened to Damien Rice, Tracy Chapman, and Becky’s sleep mix for our beautiful drive through the park. The adventure was topped off at the end with the viewing of the historic “Old Faithful.” The geyser has been erupting for over 100 years, and now spouts for about five minutes every hour. Though it continuted to snow outside, we braved the cold (with a brave face!) and huddled together outside to watch the massive plume shoot into the sky. It was incredible to witness the reaction of the earth’s molten core to the pressure of its crust and the heat that builds within.

After five hours in the park, we agreed we should be able to drive all the way to Vegas, baby, Vegas! Why stop anywhere else, right? So we just kept on driving, and driving, and driving. We finally finished Ellen Degeneres’s audio book, made up spoken word/rap songs on the mini guitar, and updated our journal entries in the car with our super duper power converter (thanks Faizal). In fact, we’re almost there! Becky’s driving, and she’s getting tired, so we’re gonna do a switch, and we should be there in no time. Look out Vegas, here we come!



04.19.04 – Day 28

And there we went…Vegas was sold out. (Only smoking rooms available for $300 = sold out to us). What? There was a broadcasting convention (NAB) that took up every vacancy, so we headed to Jean, Nevada. This town is 20 minutes outside of Vegas which has two hotels: Gold Strike and Nevada Landing. We went to Nevada Landing first - nothing. Oh my sweet lord, we might just have to drive back to L.A. making it 24 hours in the car. But no, we found a room at Gold strike and settled in at 3 a.m., setting the alarm for 9 a.m. to hit the road for LA.

Upon waking we all hit the shower (not together) with the exception of Mona. She threw her bags in the car and B-lined it to the black jack tables (she might have a problem).

Four hours later we rolled into Westchester, welcomed by Becky’s parents with open arms and a delicious tamale pie (Mama Z’s invention) and fresh salad! We re-stalked our merchandise bins, did some faxing, picked out digital pictures from the trip to add to the website and of course…ate! We parked Mu (the van) for a 36 hour rest, got into our cars (which seemed extremely tiny after driving the big mama for the past four weeks) and headed to our apartments to rest, read our mail and sleep in our most delightful beds.



04.20.04 – Day 29
The Temple Bar: Los Angeles, CA (show #17)

Well, maybe we set our hopes a bit high for our one day home. Relax? Catch up? Enjoy? Not really. Mona woke Chask up by running into her room, out of breath, (picture her with a bird’s nest in hair, one tooth, one sock on, baby in arms and dirty apron), yelling “where’s your suitcase”?! Chask, confused, pulled out her ear plugs and said, “what? It’s in the car.” Apparently not. At some point during the night, someone decided that all of the clothes/shoes/scarves/everything she took on tour, would look better on them. Sad. Veronica, Mona and Chask proceeded to walk down the alley where the car was parked, finding pieces of clothing that had fallen out of the suitcase during the getaway. They followed the trail for close to two hours before realizing there was no red Swiss Army suitcase at the end of the rainbow (call us if you find it). However, they did find Becky’s car with a parking ticket on it. So far, not so good to be home.

Another bummer, Saba B. who was scheduled to open for us at the Temple Bar cancelled last minute due to illness. We practiced for three hours at the studio and headed to Santa Monica for an early sound check so we could have some down time before the show. That would’ve been nice. We ended up with 30 minutes to change/eat/warm-up and then we were on…

Finally, good to be home! It was wonderful to see so many familiar faces and to play for the fans we love so much. We played some new songs and some old, feeling good and having fun. We debuted our newest song, written by Mai while driving through Wyoming, appropriately named “Wyoming Sky.” Thank you to everyone for coming out to the show and for always being so supportive of our vision, endless banter, outfit choices and over-shares of stinky feet in the van. Oops, I did it again. Also, a big thanks to the wonderful Temple Bar staff for making it a sweet homecoming and to Steph and Mike for video taping all up in our grills. Veron you are the bomb won’t you come along.



04.21.04 – Day 30
Cal State San Luis Obispo Polytechnic (Gallery): San Luis Obispo, CA (show #18)

Parking ticket #2 (this time to Mona) and time to leave L.A. With the addition of Oriana (Chaka’s sister), we were back in the van, at capacity and “on the road again.” We planned to make a stop in Santa Barbara for a walk on the beach, but again, not enough time. Oh, where does it go? We continued on to SLO where we set up for a two hour acoustic set in their student gallery. Not a big crowd, but a nice one. We played our favorites and had Ori up to sing “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” with us. The three part harmony was angelic.

Then we went to Woodstocks and picked up a pizza before heading to the Sycamore Hot Springs Resort. Yeah, that’s right! Time to take care of these ladies! We stayed in the “yearning room” which was a two bedroom suite with a fireplace and our own personal hot springs tub outside under the stars. I don’t know what else we could have been yearning for at this point. We filled the tub with fresh mineral water from the spring (we just had to turn a knob) and sat and soaked. Ahhhhhhhhh.



04.22.04 – Day 31
Cal Poly (such a nice abbreviation) UU: still San Luis, CA (show #19)

Mona woke up a 6:30 a.m. to draw up a fresh hot tub. To her dismay, it took an hour to fill up (it seemed faster last night when we were eating pizza and watching the Cosby Show). We jumped in for one last taste of “ahhhhhhh” and then packed it up.

Back on campus we set up outside in the main quad for the lunch time show. It was a gorgeous day and we were happy to be part “Remember Week” at Cal Poly. The week was dedicated to raising awareness about violence against women, while promoting healing and community building. This was one of the biggest crowds we’ve played for on this tour and there was a ton of support. A huge highlight: Belle (another one of Chaska’s sisters) surprised us and showed up with Rox (one of Chaska’s moms) for the show and to take Ori home. What an absolute treat to see family when you’re on the road. No pressure to the rest of you ? Also, thanks to Liz and Liza for bring us out and making our two days in SLO so smooth and enjoyable. We can’t wait to come back…May 29th: The Frog and Peach. See you there!

After loading for the 20th time (not including luggage every morning), we are driving north, back to Washington!