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Jewel Tones Midwest Tour 2022Jewel Tones Midwest Tour 2022
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A 20-day adventure by Jewel Tones Travel Blog Read more
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  • TravelerJewel Tones Midwest Tour 2022
    Day 1

    Day 1 - Florida to Lafayette, IA

    July 5, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 35 °C

    Today I woke up at 5am and was out the door by 530 with the guys in the van. Very long drive day; nothing too eventful but nonetheless long. I only slept a few hours total and mostly watched the scenery or rested my head. We also did the first Panera stop as we’re all members of the Sip Club. I got a half green goddess salad with Caesar and half a Turkey sandwich.

    We made a few stops here and there, the only really worth mentioning is Joyland in Nashville. It was cool to briefly go back to that area as it’s right where I used to go visit all the time. This place is a burger place that some famous chef opened and apparently uses special methods to get the temperature just right. I got a “Crust Burger” which is essentially a smash burger but even the buns are smashed. Pretty good, I’d have it again at some point. The curly fries were okay, nothing special and probably the froze Oreida ones.

    Afterwards we drove several more hours and landed up at a Marriott in Lafayette Indiana after Doug took a bunch of wrong turns finding the place. They messed up the booking so we got two rooms (I’m with Doug). Best part is it’s like a suite so it has a separate bed room and everything so I get to be alone a bit.

    Tomorrow is a short drive to Fioras in Geneva, Illinois. Tomorrow should also be the day I get the new Victoria Tremolux. It’s also the day we try a new rectifier in my Bassman…hopefully it powers on without blowing a fuse!    Read more

  • TravelerJewel Tones Midwest Tour 2022
    Day 2

    Day 2 - Fioras (Canceled)/Moe Joes

    July 6, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    Today was very eventful. Waking up late, we left the hotel and headed to Geneva when we were called by the manager of the gig. They informed us a huge storm had hit and we were canceled. So we started heading towards Naperville to pick up my amp. Meeting Mark Baier was very cool and he was a very nice guy. The amp sounds fantastic and better than I imagined. It’ll be a good part of my amp collection. Overall the Bassman is my favorite, and with the new rectifier Mark put in makes it definitely get a good sound. Props to Doug for being so forward and saying “got the Bassman in the van, maybe we should just check it out!” The Tremolux has “the sound” but of course not as loud. It’ll be amazing for small gigs and recording.

    After Naperville we headed to Joliet to meet up with Steve Fazio of Vero amps. Right when we got there he informed us Mondo got us a gig at a local Cajun joint so we hung out at his place for a bit trying his guitars and an amp he built using the Bandmaster circuit. It may have been one of the best amps I’ve ever heard and somehow sounded nothing like my Bandmaster (maybe because it was 1x12 instead of 3x10???). Steve after hearing quietly asked Doug why I keep trying amps because that one sounds great! After we headed to Moe Joes about 25 minutes away in Plainfield, a really nice area.

    Surprisingly a lot of people showed up to see us alongside the regulars, including our friend Jeff Burgos (he’s in the picture) and Mondo Cortez. We all had Jambalaya then played. We had a great time and it all sounded good. Mondo eventually sat in, then Bri Backman sat in on drums and I played harmonica. She was a very loud drummer but good regardless. Surprisingly the Tremolux was capable of handling the volume, but that was the peak. We almost never get that loud regardless.

    After the gig we drove to Nick Moss’ place while we ate leftovers. All in all it was a really good day and I’m looking forward to Summerfest tomorrow!!!    Read more

  • TravelerJewel Tones Midwest Tour 2022
    Day 3

    Day 3 - Summerfest!

    July 7, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    Today was a really great day. We hung out at Nicks and then headed out around noon or later. We stopped for the daily Panera and made our way to Milwaukee. When in the city we had to get gas and stopped at a gas station that had two Payday candy bars on the ground with a condom on them…very strange place.

    It took us quite a long time to find where to go for our gig…we found one guy who seemed like he didn’t speak any English and he gave us directions. When we found the place they loaded our amps and random gear to the site of the gig. They told us they had back line, but only actually had one fender twin for amplifiers. Drum wise they had a nice Gretsch Renown kit with super nice light Zildjian Ks (the 15” hi hats were ridiculously nice). We did a sound check and then went to our trailer.

    The gig was a lot of fun. It was two staggered sets so we wouldn’t be competing with the giant stage next to us. We constantly had a good audience and lots of people were stopping to watch us. When we were finished we loaded our gear in and then packed our van then went back to the festival grounds. We managed to see almost the whole set of John Fogerty, missing the first and last song. I actually snuck back some to hear a little bit of Proud Mary while the others were in the bathroom. It was an awesome concert.

    We then headed to Madison which took us a bit as the traffic getting out of the festival was iffy. The city does a good job and makes a bunch of streets one way just for the purpose of leaving so it only added maybe 20-25 minutes. We stopped at a Kwik Stop gas station which was like a better Cumberland Farms and got pizza slices, snacks, and drinks. They gave us sandwiches at the fest but they were gross. We then made it back to the hotel around 1 or so. We will be here for the night and the next night.    Read more

  • TravelerJewel Tones Midwest Tour 2022
    Day 4

    Day 4 - Red Rooster

    July 8, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    Today was very eventful. Andrew woke up and said he felt a bit sick so he decided to test for Covid which he popped up positive. Doug and I then left to get tests and we were negative. So after we walked to Culver’s and got some food, coming back with food for Andrew. Doug managed to find a sub for the night and the next few days under the advice of the promoter for these gigs. Before leaving for the gig we went to the gas station and grocery store with Andrew.

    Gig wise we used a guy named Ronn who wasn’t quite versed in blues but at least he was capable. He had played with Papa Jo Jones and Clyde Stubblefield, very cool notes on his resume. The venue had a really nice Rogers kit so I only had to use my own cymbals. I also used the new Victoria but quickly discovered my delay pedal was highly acting up and I think it needs to be sent for warranty repair unfortunately. I was really happy with the sound of my amp, it may be my new favorite!

    The gig went pretty smoothly and Doug and I played really well. It’s unfortunate Andrew wasn’t there. Overall there was a decent crowd and a handful of people were really excited about the harmonica thing including a guy named Bob who managed to survive multiple near casualty events in Vietnam.

    After the gig we packed up and got food. Doug got a Cesar and I got a chicken sandwich which was awesome. They have a seasoning that is ridiculously good and they put it in everything, even their salad dressing. We got back to the room and chatted with Andrew for a bit then went to sleep.

    Thienesville is up next!    Read more

  • TravelerJewel Tones Midwest Tour 2022
    2
    Day 5

    Day 5 - Baree

    July 9, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    Today was fun. We drove from the hotel and went to Cedarburg where we stayed in a bed and breakfast. Before checking in we went to where the Baree is at and went to “Daily Tacos” which is owned by the same guy. Really good. There was a really big motorcycle fest happening right down the road.

    After eating Andrew and I walked down the street to the local record store where he found some old blues and soul records. We then checked into our room, which was two flights of stairs up in the bed and breakfast. After checking in I went to walk around and check out the little town of Cedarburg which was really nice, similar to Hallowell. I stopped to get a coffee at “Fiddleheads” and also got a coffee cake muffin.

    The gig was awesome. Lots of people we knew came to check us out, including harmonica great Jim Liban. It was a real honor to have him compliment my harmonica playing and drumming. We also had Steve Cohen there who sat in. I also met a guy named Pinkerton who was there with his girlfriend; I felt bad for her as there was an insanely drunk woman constantly all over her. This same woman did the same to the bassist and we finally had to get her away when she somehow pulled the cord from his bass.

    The Baree was really cool and gave us each two meals. I got the Wagyu sliders (maybe the best burger I’ve ever eaten) and their spicy wings, which I have no idea what the seasoning was but they were good. We headed back to the Airbnb somewhat late after driving to get Andrew cough drops. It was a fun day!    Read more

  • TravelerJewel Tones Midwest Tour 2022
    Day 6

    Day 6 - Smiling Moose

    July 10, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    Well today was interesting. We made our way to a town right outside of Newton where the club is. We got some Panera (highly recommend the Thai chicken soup) then went to the room across the street. Doug and I left for the club which was in the middle of nowhere and possibly the whole town was there. As we began to set up people spoke to us including Al Dorn.

    The bassist was okay, could have been the best but he wasn’t very musically intuitive so he needed a lot of instruction. Doug was using the 2x10 Vero and it sounded horrible, the speakers were distorting. People were complaining we weren’t loud enough. Not to mention random giant explosions kept happening. So we finish the first set and Doug asks Al to sit in and for whatever reason he had his amp, three or so bullets, and his entire harp case. It looked like it was going to rain so we got up fast after the bassist showed up his 52 P-Bass.

    The same guy kept asking us to turn up which really annoyed Doug. We were doing what Al called a “Double Harp Attack” aka the end of Doug’s love for harmonica. We got through the set and people went nuts over it. As we were tearing down we heard thunder and lightning approaching so we quickly hurried up. We got most everything in the van before the downpour started and went into the club. Inside we checked out all the posters and ordered food. The server apparently didn’t hear Doug say it was to go, but Doug reinformed her after it can out and she obviously was mad as everything was randomly thrown into separate bags.

    We got back to the room with our food and Andrew’s; we all got the highly recommended “Moose Burger.” It was bigger than my face but legitimately not very good. I’d prefer McDonalds. We then went over to the Meijers and got Andrew cough drops.

    Pictured is the settings Madison Slim supposedly uses. Thanks Al.    Read more

  • TravelerJewel Tones Midwest Tour 2022
    Day 7

    Day 7 - The Alamo

    July 11, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    Today’s drive was a bit long. Around six hours. We started our drive and landed up at Steve Fazio’s again to pick up two amps Doug left for repair. We returned the 2x10 and Doug told him he didn’t like it, which we were informed it had the cheapest speakers possible with smooth cones not to mention it was wired for lower wattage. we then made our way to Springfield.

    Like last time in Springfield, we have two rooms at the State House Inn. Since this is the land of Lincoln the hotel has tons of pictures of him throughout including the rooms. We checked in and got ready as we needed to get to a restaurant to meet a blues society guy.

    We get to this little brewery/restaurant and this dude runs out and tells us he’s in their beer garden. The menu has like four things and we’re informed it’ll take 45 minutes at least. This is also when the guy says he already ate. So we went to their normal restaurant and all got baby sized salads and talked to him for an hour or so and then headed to the club.

    The show overall went great. Bob Keiser of Blues Blast was there and the crowd was good for a Monday. It was also good to have Andrew back and not random bass players. It was a really fun night. We did have a guitarist sit in, named T-Mo or whatever. Doug simply said to me “it’s my turn tonight!” Double guitar shred. During the set Doug’s amp he just got back started making insane noises (video below) so he had to swap for his big amp which he also just got back. That one was fine.

    After the gig we tore down and the guitarist said he had a ton of drumsticks which he gave me, all completely shredded up and no use. I tried to leave them but they kept getting handed back to me so I just threw them away. After leaving we wanted to get food and everywhere was closed, even Arby’s which Doug really wanted. We went to a gas station and they had nothing. We even went to Dominos and they wouldn’t let us order for some insane reason, so we finally went to McDonalds and waited in line for an hour.

    We finally got back to the hotel and I was exhausted. I pretty much slept instantly.    Read more

  • TravelerJewel Tones Midwest Tour 2022
    Day 8

    Day 8 - Austin Community Tavern

    July 12, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    Today was fun. Headed to Steger for a gig. On the way we met with Fazio again to deal with amps and he took us to Portillos where I got a Maxwell Polish and onion rings. We then headed to the Priceline Doug booked which as we went he found out it looked like a crack house. We drove by a roadside motel and laughed at how terrible it was, and got to where the motel was supposed to be. Nothing. Just a very bad part of town. We then found out Maps was taking us to the wrong place and the hilarious motel was where we booked. We left and decided to head to the gig and not stay there.

    The gig was great. Really nice room and great stage and nice drumset (Tama). Rodrigo and Gerry Hundt both came out plus some harp and guitar guys I know from various places. Gerry and Rodrigo both sat in. The food there was okay, I got “fajitas” which was just grilled beef chopped up I think. Another thing, was my amp sounded terrible. The curtains behind me were sucking up all the treble, but easy fix…just put the cymbal case out back of it!

    After the gig we headed back to Nick Moss’ place to sleep in the cold basement.    Read more

  • TravelerJewel Tones Midwest Tour 2022
    Day 9

    Day 9 - Fioras

    July 13, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    Today we woke up super late and went to a taco place Nick Moss likes. The carnitas was okay but they made a good horchata. We then made an impromptu Starbucks stop and then went to hang out at Nicks until the gig.

    We got to Fioras and set up; Andrew and I had grilled romaine salads. Tasted good, but not a fan of having to cut up the salad. We played and it sounded bad, the cement and outside environment just killed all amp tone and made the drums sound harsh. Nick’s old drummer Patrick showed up and sat in with us, not to mention lots of people came to see us from the area.

    On the way back we went through the Portillos drive-thru and got some hot dogs and onion rings (Doug got a salad to accompany his burger from Fioras). We then tried to find a gas station but many of them you couldn’t go in and had to let them get the stuff for you. Doug was annoyed by this.

    We then headed back to Nicks to call it a night. Decent drive to the next club!    Read more

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