The Asia Project: SOUTHERN COMFORT

Hours of open road. Living out of a suitcase and jumping hotels. Fast food consumption. Outdated GPS system. Truck stops and rest areas.

I've been touring poetry for a little over three years now and this is the life I lead when the colleges come calling with gigs. Funny part is, I haven't gotten tired of it yet. I love being out on the road- meeting new people and having somewhat of a rockstar status (without the salary, the hot girls, the groupies, the private jets, the sold out stadiums). Crap...maybe I'm not a rockstar after all.

I don't know why I enjoy it so much...I always end up missing my wife when I'm gone, I know I'll have a ton of crap to do when I get home, the hotels aren't always as nice and I get tired- really tired. But maybe it's the chance to do what I love for a living. Or maybe it's like some sort of vacation from the everyday grind and a chance to escape for a bit. Maybe it's the people I meet along the way and the new places I get to visit.

This time I took my brother-in-law and guitarist, Jollan. We had a blast. It was a good bonding experience for brothers-in-law to get to know each other better...like the fact that despite my warning him to stop taking so many pictures because we look like tourists in unfamiliar territory thus increasing our chances of getting mugged, he's not going to listen anyway. It's good he did though- because at least now we have more pictures to look back on. Maybe I'm just a wimp.

(Does a bathroom need double doors? Is that to make a grand entrance to the toilet?)

The tour started out with our 8 hour drive from our home in Ft. Lauderdale up to Savannah, Ga. We decided to make a stop in Jacksonville and hit up Mo's spot at SoHo. It was amazing...intimate crowd that made the noise the size of a stadium. Anyone ever wanting to stop in Jax should hit him up to get on the stage. Jax people really know how to appreciate poetry. Even better was I was able to snag a 4 star hotel in Jax through HotWire for $70!! That's pretty rockstar I guess.

(Thanks for having us Mo!)

Our next show was the following evening at Armstrong Atlantic South Univ. (thanks to David Warren and the rest of CUB for bringing us out!). To make the show even more spectacular, we were graced with the presence of Slam Charlotte who drove down from, well, Charlotte to be a part of the show (Carlos, Bluz and Q...we're taking over the world, ya'll). Together along with some students, we put on a bangin' show.

(That's pretty rockstar!)

(That's Carlos and Bluz from Slam Charlotte- they're special)

(That's the CUB crew...they're MORE special)

(That's David Warren...the one who brought us out...he's, like, the most specialest)

(Is that a rockstar moment??)

Next day we drove to Atlanta where I was able to snag another 4 star hotel through HotWire for $80 (I love pretending we got $! That is, until we find out there are no vending machines at 4 star hotels and you have to buy your Coke at the gift shop for $3!!)

(This is us trying to make "artistic" photographs with a non-artistic camera)

We had a day off from shows so we went around Little 5 Points and shopped for vintage clothes and Jollan bought a flannel for $12...I had to tell him it's not vintage if it came from Old Navy. Afterwards, we just HAD to go to Gladys' and Ron's Chicken N' Waffles. I've heard tons of stuff about the place and had to go. Any of you who have never had chicken n' waffles, you have to do it at least once in your life. It's AMAZING.

(Welcome to Atlanta...)

(Little 5 Points has GREAT thrift stores)

(You don't go to Atlanta and not eat here...you just don't)

Wednesday, our last day, we drove down to Barnesville for a 2 pm show at Gordon College (thanks to Sharon Lloyd for bringing us back!) I was apprehensive at first- I always am about noon shows because you never know who will show up or if you'll be stuck performing at the college cafeteria but it turned out great! We had an amazing turnout and it was done in their little coffee shop. Everyone was so attentive. I should also add that my old friend Acelyn drove down from Atlanta to watch the show.

(Thanks Gordon College for bringing us)

When the show was done, it was time to head home- a long long long drive home. 10 hours to be exact. All in all, it was amazing and I can't wait to do it again next month. Tennessee, West Virginia and North Carolina- here we come!

Oh yeah, we took some on-the-open-road pics too...