(r)ocktober Tour Diary

(r)ocktober: a month-long tour of Nebraska and Kansas with Arturo Got The Shaft

#1. WEEKEND AT KANSAS. that was the weekend that was… besides the music, i have to say that the highlight of the weekend was giving The Shaft a sound defeat at 2-on-2 Ultimate Frisbee in the vacant lot next to the bar. whatever else you might think about us, scott and i are hell to beat on the Ultimate Frisbee field (at least now we know that). or maybe the chicken fried steak in manhattan was better than even the sweet sweet taste of victory… either way, when it comes to playing music we mean business and kansas had to learn that lesson the hard way. Driving back to Crete for church on sunday morning was no treat either, caffiene is a drug and its good to stop driving in thunderstorms (we learned that one the easy way, and i’m damned happy about it). plus opening up the tour at home was a special treat – there is no better way to begin anything than with family and friends. i have only today really felt back from the first weekend, and i have a show tonight with Shacker, and we’re off again to lincoln and omaha. hope to see you soon. -h

#2. THE KNEE OF THE CURVE. this has been a monster weekend… in addition to the (r)ocktober shows, i played last wednesday and again friday with shacker. a bit of an implosion on friday night late, what with the place under police watch and all. saturday in the park with all the skater kids was some of the best fun i’ve ever had in music. and the rediscovery of “long train” in 6/8 and 4/4… simultaneously! and saturday night up in the old market… forget dual EP, this is double-live with AGTS and h&s. for those of you who missed omaha this weekend – what you missed indeed was three brothers, two bands and one energy that spun the whole night around. sunday choral concert here at the college, and trashed voice + all we made it thru. last night (mon) at church, in the A.R.C. which is one of the more beautiful rooms we’ve ever played. can’t wait to see you westerners on fri/sat and have a little break from class! all we do is go to class and rock anymore, it seems. time to cut class. -h

#3. GO WEST, YOUNG MEN, AND ROCK. arrival in Hastings to a rematch of band ultimate frisbee and buffalo burgers on the grill… chill in the air and we hit the Blue Moon for a rocker. thanks to all who came and saw Rob’s rockstar guitar switch. i spent the night with rob’s fish (pillow – don’t interrupt!) and we mastered week #2’s recordings all night and all day. finished with a party of a show. highlights include scaring the socks off a couple of stoner kids with a from-hell version of “happy happy joy joy.” drove that night further west to Holdredge (accompanied by mini OREO’s) to be with some friends and take a little break. all in all, a great visit. its always nice to see a band in their hometown. -h

#4. LEAVE A DUSTY POST-NUCLEAR AFTERMATH AND JACKET. only one show this final weekend, but we packed it with quality rocking like naught before. 10 minutes before Fiber Optic Pumpkin (myself and Rob playing Shaft songs and covers and being funny) went on the show looked pretty slim… but a bunch of friends walked in and the energy shot thru the roof. sorry for the confusing ending to those in attendance – it came to me at the moment, and i thought i’d try it. driving home thru wahoo so rob could pick up his jacket we left there earlier that afternoon. the revolution begins anew… major and minor, the band plays on. -h

-h, 2011