I’m back in Los Angeles from Dead Things first 30 day tour, supporting Saving Vice throughout the United States. This was also the first tour that our tour bus, Ruby, that we built ourselves hit the road. As with all tours there was an emotional arc, a series of triumphs and failures, epic highs, and epic lows.

We left Los Angeles a few days before Thanksgiving, bound for Texas. We had purchased the mattresses the morning of our departure and I was confident that installing them in the bus would be the most arduous task I faced. That was, of course, until I realized I had left my wallet at home. My incredible partner Nikki drove from Los Angeles to Riverside to bring it to me (thankfully we didn’t get too far) – but I think it serves as an excellent metaphor for two things. First – the best laid plans can go to shit at the blink of an eye and number two – don’t underestimate how intense things can get.

The weather was awful. Throughout New Mexico and Texas winds raged at 40-50mph. This caused two different bus accidents to happen. The first one, in New Mexico our roof blew off.

Only because we are incredibly resourceful people were we able to make repairs and prevent tragedy. Then again, due to wind and rain our awning fell off and became a sail, pulling us off a rural Texas highway at 4am. The trip was laden with weather related issues. Pipes froze in 2 degree weather as we traversed through snow. Our refrigerator and microwave broke in the first week. The issues reminded me heavily of my experience sailing and living on Tianna Marie. It didn’t cause me panic it reaffirmed my life.

The tour really kicked off in Texas with our first show in Ft. Worth. We had a chiropractor show up who gave me an adjustment before I hit the stage. It took a little to get into the groove and of course a million things went wrong the first night. First shows are always rough. I don’t know what it is, maybe the first show jitters or maybe the curse of Dead Things, but they always leave something to be desired. Both bands we were on the package with were amazing and the crowd was full.

The next few days saw us getting through Texas before Dispositions dropped off last minute. It was around this time I started hopping on stage with Saving Vice nightly to contribute guest vocals. The weather was rough, the road was hard but every night for 30 minutes I had the time of my life.

We continued through the country, with the added benefit of seeing various family members state to state. The shows were good, and each show we were tighter as a unit. At times the month seemed to be flying by and at other times I was acutely aware of the distance I had from home. Still, there’s something to be said about exploring and that undying desire to see what’s out there. The world is so vast, and filled with so many stories.

I feel fortunate to be able to contribute in some small way to the cultural zeitgeist, and I’m reminded of how important music is as I meet new people on the road and here there stories. Music is this beautiful, uniting force that transcends culture, age, and all of the other barriers we make to separate ourselves from each other.