Tatsuno & Friends: Spokane to San Fran, Part 1 (written 3 days ago)

8 November 2008

Hello Internet

It’s been a long week. We headed into our last show in Eastern Washington and found ourselves setting up in the Spokane Center for the Performing Arts. It just so happened to be Halloween the first night we rolled into town and after scrounging up some quick costumes Kyle, Evan and I hit the town.

Our road crew manager dropped us off at the first bar of the night, which we also found out was the location of the Corona after party following the next evening’s show. Lindsey, the Corona rep and master of all things party had put our names on a guest list for some big Halloween bash and Kyle and I were amped up for the occasion.

Little did we know, but our foresight in picking costumes matched the turn of events for the night. Dressed up as Forrest Gump, both Kyle and I had pieced together some bargain bin clothes to look like the cross-country running Forrest from the movie. It was the perfect costume set for how our evening went: just a lot of running around. The dirty mustache and long-haired wig must have had an ill-effect on the ladies of Spokane, as I found myself wandering aimlessly throughout the bars in search of conversation. The wandering never stopped, and spent most of the time checking out everyone’s ridiculous costumes.

Meanwhile, outside the bar, gunshots were fired in the parking lot as a response to some argument and one unfortunate soul lost his life. Unbeknownst to us, the whole thing went on while Halloween revelers packed the streets in search of a good time. I guess that’s what everyone meant when people told me to watch out for myself in Spokompton.

Luckily, our little crew made our way back to the hotel without incident. The next day brought a brighter mood as we prepared to do our last show in the great state of Washington. Across the way from the auditorium, a ski exposition was going off, replete with a jibfest for the local riders to play on. I walked in to see what was going on and walked back out almost as quickly; everybody’s talk of skiing was a little too much to handle for me, as I’ve still got a few more weeks on the road before I can play that beautiful, pure white snow again.

On my way out of the convention center, I spotted a regional ski magazine with a picture of a brightly colored skier on the cover. Recognizing the mug of my fellow ski buddy, Matthias Giraud, I quickly took a picture of the cover for my phone and sent it to him as a text message. Within the span of about 30 seconds, my phone started ringing and Matthias was on the other end. It turns out, his wife is currently attending graduate school in Spokane and they lived just up the street from the convention center.

He hung up and ran down the block and a half to give me a high-five; it was the second such timing of high-fives as three weeks prior, Matthias ran up to the TatsVan’s window at an intersection in Twin Falls, ID. I had missed my turn towards Salt Lake City, on I-84 and was minding my own business at the stoplight on the Twin Falls side of the Perrine Bridge over the Snake River, a popular spot for BASE jumpers, as the bridge is one of only a few legal landmarks in the US for jumping. He quickly invited me to follow his caravan of cars to their next destination: the side of the cliff overlooking the riverside golf course at the bottom of the Snake River canyon. But, that’s a story for another time.

After the Spokane show, I opted out of attending the Corona after party; I didn’t need to be pushing my luck in such a crazy town. Instead, I stayed up late chatting with Matthias and his wife, Meryl, about all the crazy adventures that keep us bumping into each other along the open road.

The next day, our four-man road crew packed up and left for our last night in Portland before shipping out on the next leg of the tour. The San Francisco Bay area – our home for the next three weeks.

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