Gypsy Life: Volume Two

I've always enjoyed riding the bus. There is something really romantic about it. Listening to music, looking out the window, watching the people get off and on, trying to guess what their lives are like, having the occasional interesting or awkward conversation with strangers, watching the city go by... It always plays out like a music video or my own personal scene from a movie.

Today, I was riding the bus with my dog, and I didn't have my earbuds in like I usually do (to prevent those uncomfortable conversations that can come up -- especially when you have a cute dog in your lap). And so, today I met Lloyd: a 70-something, semi-delusional, rambling old man who took a liking to my dog and wanted to tell me about where he was born, and how the city has changed, and all the places he had lived in his life, and all the jobs he'd had, all the while pointing out the window at random buildings and houses and claiming to know the people who worked and lived in them. He talked about how his "body's been halfway around the world and back" and how he's "got a lot of memories" and doesn't just want to "sit around doin' nothin'." He also talked a lot about how he wondered what had happened to his friends in different parts of the world, and that he assumed they "were gone." He said he's survived so many illnesses and surgeries that he reckons "the man upstairs isn't ready for" him yet. He said a lot of other things that I couldn't quite make out, and I don't think he even heard my "Oh really?"s and "Wow, that's amazing"s. He got off the bus about fifteen stops before downtown Seattle, which is where he had claimed he was going, to "have coffee and visit the people who know" him. I watched him fumble for something in his pocket as the bus drove away.

Meeting Lloyd today, of all days, was very fitting, since today is the day I announce plans to put my stuff back into storage and head back out on the road for a few months (or more) of the gypsy life. Listening to Lloyd talk about his many adventures, jobs, and trips around the world (true or not) -- and his current frustration with "sitting around doing nothing" -- I was reminded of how precious youth is, and how easy it is to take it for granted until it's too late and you can barely muster up the energy to get on the bus, or the cognizance to know where you're trying to go. Even at my age, not quite old but no longer young, I still feel like I need to make up for lost time. Today, Lloyd reminded me that it ultimately doesn't matter if you make a lot of money or buy a house or do any of the things we think we are supposed to do by a certain age. What matters is that, when you get to be Lloyd's age, you feel like you made the most of the time you had on this planet, while you had the physical and mental energy to do so.

So, with that anecdote, I present to you THE GYPSY LIFE: VOLUME TWO.

Next month will be my last month in my Seattle apartment. I'll be selling whatever I have left to sell, on eBay, Craigslist, and even a yard sale next month. I'll be putting the rest into storage, and hitting the road with my dog and the incredibly talented Chris Staples for a two week tour that we have affectionately coined "The Migration Tour," which will take us down the west coast and across the south, to a small beach town near Pensacola, Florida, which will serve as my winter retreat and home base between the following tours:

South Florida Weekend (Jan 12-15)
Gainesville, FL
Tampa, FL
Miami, FL
Orlando, FL

East Coast Tour (Jan 20 - Feb 4) with SPECIAL GUESTS TBA
Jacksonville, FL
Savannah, GA
Myrtle Beach, SC
Richmond, VA
Baltimore, MD
New York City, NY
Danbury, CT
Boston, MA
New York City, NY
Philadelphia, PA
Pittsburgh, PA
Cleveland, OH
Chicago, IL
Indianapolis, IN
Louisville, KY
Nashville, TN
Marietta, GA

...and then? Who knows!

In NEW ALBUM news: we are in the mixing phase right now, while I sort out where and how to get the album mastered. If all goes as planned, I'll have the final master copy in my hand sometime in mid-November, to send to the Kickstarter Backers who claimed the advance copy reward. I'm not sure how I'll release it after that; it will take some time to get it into iTunes, but I think I'd like to put it out through my own site and/or Bandcamp, digitally, for free or donation first. I'll be making some handmade copies of the album for my shows, until I can afford to press the album for real!

THE MIGRATION TOUR will kick off in Seattle sometime in November (we are working on a date and venue), and I think I'm going to put together a band to play that show! We set up a separate Facebook Page just for the tour, where you can RSVP to your local show and get the latest info about the tour. If Chris and I do any touring together on the east coast this winter, we'll be using that same Page. There is also talk of us teaming up on a few cover songs together! We made a Tiny URL for the Page at tinyurl.com/themigrationtour, so we don't have to commit to a Facebook URL just yet.

Lastly, I just want to say thank you to my employers at Perfect Copy & Print in Seattle, who hired me in January and have supported me and my crazy schedule, from the EIY Tour to recording my album. They've always been understanding and encouraging about my music, even when I gave them the sad news that I would be leaving Seattle (and my job) for the foreseeable future. That awesome little print shop has been one of the few consistent things in my life this past year, and I'll miss it -- and my co-workers -- dearly! ♥

Now, it's time to start the engines...

Love,
Sarah