Day Six. Throat Fire.

This entry is coming from the backseat of tiny silver, my Honda civic we are using as transportation on the first leg. I’m currently watching Kyle and Nick “dance it out” as some would say. I-5 is terrifying.

Now down to business. No one has blogged since our Soquel show. We should probably catch up. We have had some wonderful experiences in the last few days. Car sleeping and an impromptu house performance in Davis seem to stand out in this brain of mine.

First things first: Car Sleeping. There is an art to this that we have not yet discovered. Kyle made a woman out of my steering wheel by straddling her Indian style. Classy. Nick propped his ribs up with a can of beans. Trombone cases make wonderful pillows.

By morning we were recharged and headed north to Davis, California. Our Sacramento show had been cancelled, so with no plan, Nick called an old friend who graciously offered us his home for the night. He and his roommates managed to organize an impromptu house performance. The evening started off with a few local musicians throwing down on some bluegrass tunes. Bearkat joined in. Nick Sweet is one glorious bluegrass trumpeteer. The upright and I were reunited. It was a good feeling. A warm and slightly fumbling feeling, but good nonetheless. Following the bluegrass, we played a 45 min Bearkat set. Everyone was so receptive and met us with open ears and hearts. It was beautiful. Nothing will ever be able to beat the feeling of a captivated audience. Needless to say we slept like babies that night. It might have been the whiskey in our blood but I’d like to think it was the warmth of the people. Thank you Davis for showing so much Bearkat love and for having more bicycles than cars.

My throat has started to heal: Honey. Silence. Iced Water. Whiskey.

-Katy (stay tuned kittens).

An Introduction

After waiting for several months, the tour is here. We're headed up the coast and couch surfing to the best of our abilities.

To those of you wondering what's been going on, here's a recap of the last few months:

Back in 2007, Katy and Bootz began recording music at the studio of Yuval Ron. We tracked for songs and were feeling good about it. Then came 2008, when I, Kyle(Bootz), jaunted back to Boston to finish up school. While I was gone, Katy became Bearkat, and the album took on a life of its own. With the help of Frank Charlton, Martin Cooke, and a myriad of guest performers, the tracks piled up. Some time passed, and I headed back to LA with my banjo, trombone, and accordion.

We finished the album, recruited a third band member, and booked a tour.

To anyone interested, the album will be available in just a few more days, or as soon as we get the box of rock back from the CD press.

We're happily on day 3 of our maiden tour.

Night one gave us your standard Los Angeles friend-rock show at Tangier. A good way to start, indeed.

Night two brought us to Mai's Cafe in Ventura, CA. We played with the beautifuls of Judy Valencerina, Jeremy Kaufman, and Paul Starling. We drank Alaskan Amber, sang standards of the 70's and 80's at a Denny's, and gratefully accepted the hospitality of Judy.

Night three led us to Soquel, CA right around Santa Cruz. The Ugly Mug Cafe is known for their active open mic night, which we were happy to crash with two sets of Bearkat. After an altercation involving a homeless man and a man with a large three eyed kitten button(mesmerizing in all of its horrifying beauty), we offered up a mellow, ukulele and brass driven counterpoint. After all of this, we gladly accepted an invitation to food and couches back at Danjo Dan's house. There was campfire, guitar, banjos, music, and generaly merry making going on. Our first visit to Soquel was a great experience. Its the kind of city you hope exists after living in Los Angeles for so long. A small town filled with nice people who are just happy and relaxed(minus the angry book throwing homeless man).

Today we keep heading up the coast, looking forward to the day off to help sickly Katy recover.

We'll all be trying to post here periodically. And I'll try not to let my writing get to boring. I'm a banjo player damnit.