Friday

[What's In The Hat? - v02.d-12.12.08 - UPDATE]

***Internal/Administrative Business Only***
***Pre-production Notes***

Working Title:
Rich & Ty's Spring 2009's The Grand Escape Thingy

In The Hat to Date:

  • Florida (Ft. Lauderdale to Key West)
  • The Dakotas
  • The American Midwest (KC + go/circle or one-way)
  • Northeastern Cabin
Production Notes to Date:
Ah, Icelandia. Pints of beer, lava, and the whitest people in the world.

Anytime, brah. Whatever works for your schedule.

And there's always Burning Man which is very inconvenient as it's right when school starts but if it ever works for you...

Sent from my iPhone

this is what got me thinking about a trip with you:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/05/AR2008120501649.html

also:

i have the recording itch pretty bad. good for me.

All set on this end. I cleared it with the wife whose response was "That sounds great. I'll do the same thing with Meredith."

What are you up for?

I'm thinking spring. I'm on eastern cycles.

Dunno.

Meet in quintessential American city.
Visit someone we haven't seen in ages.
Road trip.
Canada.

I'll keep thinking.

What do you see in your mind?

In my mind, I see video and audio and perpetual documentation. I see the need for a mission. A quest. Where is less significant, though it would be nice to know some people and meet some others. Northern Quebec, Vancouver, the Maritimes, Key West, Mississippi, El Paso. We might want to trend southward if it's springtime. Who do you know in Texas? We could tour the post-racial South. Visit Uncle Don in New Orleans. Whatevers. It's worth taking some time to think about it. Scheming, planning, then just make it all up. Or whatever Jack says at the beginning of OFR.

We could find some ridiculously obscure band on a week tour of the Upper Midwest and we could just show up and follow them. There are many delightful ways to plan a trip. So many structures.

EXactly. I would say you read my mind, but we just think alike (and thus the need for a mission) so there are no huge surprises.

I do see automobile time (for music listening and philosophizing) but too much would suck. It's important to explore a place without having to move to place to place to place. I do envision corner time.

It would be good to know someone somewhere. Dave Wave in FL? Would be nice to have people to crash with rather than paying for hotels (maybe two nights somewhere swanky).

Uncle Don is brilliant. "Finding Uncle Don." Seriously consider if we should meet up with someone like Mickey or Aaron from Ween (if on tour, fine but backstage with them rather than as audience) or Blog or David Cross or something.

Fuck. Key West. Wasilla.

Exactly. Perpetual documentation is a given. But, yes, a purpose. A mission.

Our art is about process.

Dave Wave is an excellent suggestion. Consistent with creative theme, documentation theme, and meeting people theme. It's warm in FLA. Not everywhere is Berkeley.

We could start in FLA and head to Puerto Rico. Or Key West. Or New Orleans. Sleep on beaches. Where's Dave? Miami?

Dave is in Hollywood, FL (fly into Ft. Lauderdale).

Ft. Lauderdale to New Orleans is a gritty trip.
Ft. Lauderdale to Key West & back might make some sense. Keep that one in the breadbox.

Other paradigms. I'd love to introduce you to Ralph.

Dunno.

842 miles to NO. That is gritty.

191 miles to Key West. That's reasonable.

Yes, write Florida on a piece of paper and put it in a hat.

Good because I've been trying to get BDW to visit me. Action.

What's great is Florida sucks and I hate Florida. So it makes sense.

david choe and uncle harry but not hitchhiking.

and, fuck, dave wave has a car. duh!

of course, there's merit to meeting half way. the midwest is fascinating....

NO. Not Florida or Dave Wave or anybody we know. What's the point? It's time for new, fresh adventures and places. You and me. No sharing.

That's a purpose.

BDW presents a challenge of interia. The trip must be a journey and it's possible that a trip to South Florida would degrade into seven days of smoking Dave's pot, watching videos on youtube, and eating dinner every night at P.F. Changs.

The piece of paper stays in the hat. But we acknowledge the risks.

Exactly.

We'd never get to P.F. Chang's because we'd drive past the siren song of the Taco Bell.

Jimi Hendrix.

Agreed. Paper stays in hat. Love the idea of following obscure (but quality) band on tour. Must be good and we have to make a connection.

Christine had the idea of starting or ending at Jazzfest in New Orleans (April, I think). I went once before and loved it. Great music and even better food. Anyhow, maybe one more for the hat.

Starting in Jazzfest is an interesting notion. That's counter-intuitive.

Branding/Structure idea

Pick a state, say Texas, and our expedition is "Texas, What the Fuck?" Or WTF, Texas? WTFT? Or Florida, WTFF? FWTF? Or Mississippi River, WTFMR?

And we just spend the week trying to get to the bottom of what that state means.

Just brain storming.

"And we just spend the week trying to get to the bottom of what that state means."

Nice.

It'll be our own little Sufjan Stevens album.

OH, damn.

I've never been to Oregon, Maine, Washington, Alaska, or the Dakotas, FYI.

I'd go to any one of those. Just maybe not until late springtime.

I've never been to Alaska, Wyoming, Dakotas, Minnesota, Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi.

Fuck Alaska, first off. Hurray, we've both never been. Whaaaa....

That leaves, in the lower 48, the Dakotas that hasn't been visited by the Kingdom of Leisure/Otterfarm/Middlespace family of fine corporations.

"The Dakotas" goes into the hat. Who needs weed when there is plenty of liquor.

Not saying, "let's go to the Dakotas," but I nominate for the hat.

Yes. Put it in the hat.

A thought: I think I'm kind of sold on the American Midwest; the fly-over states, a place neither of us really know. I mean you're Philly and I'm LA. Maybe we don't schedule it at all. We just meet in, Say Kansas City and start driving. Maybe it's not that we're trying to find what makes a particular place tick or "find ourselves." Maybe we're just trying to do something different.

Will update hat.

It's now **OFFICIALLY** a project. Who wants in? "One Fine Ride" with "This is the New America" principles.

I'm all over the midwest idea. Mostly because I know nothing about the midwest. When I say I've been to Iowa, what I mean is I drove through it one day in 1994. Flyover/drive thru country.

My place is pretty small, but you're both welcome. Like I said Ty, you can sleep under the piano, and Rich can have the tub. It's either that or we all snuggle up together in my bed, but that might be a bit awkward, homo no?

Also, there is a cheap crack-type motel just down the alley (yeah, it's that kind of neighborhood).

We can make recordings and etc. As for Key West, I can't really picture that being the kind of place you'd enjoy.

Also, this sounds like a fun road trip you're planning, and I'd like to be more a part of it than just a stop-over on the way, if possible (job-wise, money wise, and all the other-wises).

The cabin is always available to you too. It has magical vibes, is old, simple, and has a canoe and rowboat, and no TV. Lake and woods. 10 miles from the Appalachian Trail. Unbearably pretty cow and farm country. Fields and tumble down barns. Diners. But also an hour and a half up from NYC. There's a train to NYC that runs fairly often about 20 mins away.
  • Kansas - lots and lots of steak and sunflowers in late summer
  • Nebraska - Sandhill Crane migration in March - half a million sandhill cranes all in 1-mile along the Platte River
  • Wyoming - buffalo, cowboys, mountains
  • Eastern Colorado grasslands - indian artifacts, arrowheads, peace, quiet, wind, wind, wind.

Something to consider: If we went in July, it would be the 10th anniversary of The Grand Escape.

Though whenever we go, we can call it the 10th Anniversary.


To Be Continued -- Input Welcomed