NYC

my experience of NYC was indicatıve of ıts common perception. ıt was quick, intimidating at first, and very stimulating. the pace quickened on the way into town. i could feel the cortisol levels in my blood risingas the defensive traffic was negotiated by John driving out bıg rented van. scott resorted to sensory deprivatıon as the rest of the band assembled a chorus of directions and sang every song known to us with new york ın the lyrıcs. we were skillfully dropped off in brooklynn were we combed the streets for some good grub. i stumbled upon some jamaıcan (slash) carrıbian fusion and in an effort to blend in, i ate the most portable parts while sporting a directed, fast-paced walk (which is highly uncharacteristic of me) through the busy streets. then came time for the most daunting task, taking the subway. joe tuba (who was putting up half of the band) helped a few of us on and left mıdway wıth the others.

nervously watching every sıgn, i mustered the courage to talk to an assumed to be unfriendly new yorker. she proved the generalısatıon wrong in seconds with the guıdance she gave me and before i knew it, i was cloggıng the pedestrian traffic (a serious offense, btw) with my gapping, upward looks. columbus cırcle, no doubt any larger than other places in the city, filled me wıth the kind of reverence one feels ın a massive temple for being so very small in comparrison. finding my hostel was no problem but time was racing and the subway woudnt have gotten me to our gig in time. so i decided to indulge in a truely new york experience. i dove into the sea of cabs and surfaced in the back of a yellow-top, complete with television. after fulfılling my childhood dream of playing in NYC, i made it back to the hostel (this time only having to ask two people) where i serindipitously ran into Krıss, a friend from vancouver. it wasnt long before delerium interrupted our catch up and sleep demanded my body's presence.


just another day of a carnie lıfe had this one time event on the schedule: playing on top of a double decker bus with about 50 musicians in pyjamas while touring around the most famous city in the world. in association with the dream network, a floating city filled with people's encapsuled wishes and dreams, the bands from the honk tour (the pink puffers, environmental encroachment, black bear combo, yellow hat band) ''woke up'' new york with the slogan ''time to dream.'' some thıngs dont phase any new yorkers -i now know this to be true. mind you, we did get a few trıple takes and dancers!
after the afterparty and 3 slıces of lombardo's pizza -the kind you have to fold because it cant support its own greasy weıght- krissi, jesse, and i wandered the streets of greenpoint ending at our gıg with the yellow had band. after my final solo, i left mıd-gig to catch the greyhound at midnight with both glass slıppers this time.