photos by Paul Plescov
We left South Dakota, after a minor car fire, with a warm goodbye from our new friends and headed back through minnesota, and then on to the cheese laden motherland of Wisconsin. I bullshitted with Paul about visiting a cheese factory for shits and giggles, so we pulled over at the first one we saw. Apparently we were 3 minutes late, and were promptly not let in. Now that's hospitality for ya! Cheeseless and irritated, we lit up a fatty to ease the pain, and just then, a state trooper who was parked on the side of the highway, pulled out and got behind us. A million things crossed my mind…. we had overcome so much to get here… and never once was I worried…. I saw the car catch on fire with all my music and computer inside, and I didn't stress…. but being locked up in an alien state and eating hologram meat sandwiches didn't sound like the business at all and it rattled me.
Calmly we drove forward, and the trooper miraculously disappeared, and unlike my brothers in la banda del carro rojo, we made it into chicago with no challenges or no police shootouts. Thanks, lucky stars. In Chicago, we were greeted by our good friends at m13 graphics with dinner and a tour of the factory. It was like the scene from Scarface, where Tony Montana goes to the cocaine manufacturing plant….but with pretty little rave flyers and posters of an upcoming club night with the guy from Jersey Shore dj'ing. Sounded like a fist pumping good time, but I think I'll pass.
I got my first gaze of the windy city, shortly after dusk, and it looked like infinite neon stacks of casino chips for as far as my eyes could see. It was glorious. A city teeming with life, chocked to the brim with tough guys and six million ways to destroy your arteries. I called it chi-clog-o due to every establishment serving cheese fries and italian beef. I could see how a guy could easily start a couple rackets here, setup shop, gain 300 pounds, and become quick with a tommy gun out here. So much to do and see. We took two solid days to ourselves to ride the crowded L train, see the giant mirror bean, smoke pot on the 96th floor of the hancock building, and various other acts of pure jackassery. I loved it. One day at sunset we went to the shore of lake Michigan overlooking the city, and blasted off on Deemster. While watching the sunset over the city, seeing the sun go to bed, and the city come alive with a galaxy of streetlights and neon signs, I just got the vibe that god was telling me "look what we did here, son" . man can do anything when he applies himself. 2 nights later, we were on the road again. I love chicago, such a cool city.
We landed in duluth and played a wicked party at an old steel mill, and were treated like hawaiian kings by the lovely people of Duluth, Minnesota. Amazing people, and an amazing time. I can't wait to go back there someday. The next morning we made our way to Fargo, North Dakota, the drunkest city Ive ever seen, and played a small get together in a basement. It was a good time and the people were super grateful. We hit the road in the morning, bittersweet about the tour ending.
After a quick stay in montana, and a night at a bar full of high proof slushy machines, the tour was over. As we speak, we're headed west to california at light speed. I'll be honest, I'm gonna miss it. I'm gonna miss waking up to J.R. and Paul playing angry birds in the middle of bumfuck nowhere. I'm gonna miss smoking blunts and looking over the prarie, just like sitting bull once did. I'm gonna miss people not afraid to tell you about their hopes and dreams of having something to do every night like we do in california. I'm gonna miss all the high calorie, wisconsin dairy-laden food. I'm gonna miss it all. Life on the road is great, you get to to be yourself, and learn about who other people are. You get to sleep in strange places and wake up in even stranger ones. If anything, this trip solidified my love for people, and my patriotism for this great country. I don't give a fuck about the shifty government, America is a beautiful country, chocked to the brim with good people everywhere, just like you and I, that are all just trying to survive and keep their heads up, whether or not they get to dance in front of a laser as much as they would like to. America, fuck yeah. Land of the free, home of the brave. I hope we showed some of America a little bit of California love. Cheers.
