Cicada Omega - Bug Blog

Nashville was a real treat. First we just had to stop by the Ryman Auditorium, the home of the Grand Ole’ Opry. Man, that was cool. Salim interacted with a few of the locals. Then we went to Robert’s Western World for a beer. They Still have a wall of the most fantastic boots for sale. Barry was excited. “Booooooooots.” Dave and I made a quick visit to Ernest Tubbs’ Record Shop. Then off to the gig. Really nice stage at the 5 Spot, though we don’t really prefer the drums to be on a riser. My mic stand had a drink holder on it. Ahhh, the south. So many friends showed and supported, although only a few of you guys danced. I remember some times in the past… never mind, the secrets are safe with us. Anyway, these folks pretty much cleaned us out of merch. It was a hell of a reunion. And we had a ton of help loading and unloading. Thanks everyone.

I am sorry, we didn’t catch the name of the band that played before us. Joey from Creech Holler plays guitar for them. We really enjoyed your set. Thank you so much for playing.

That night we headed up to Cadiz, Barry’s home. His folks, Carol and Jimmy put us up. The next morning Carol made us a nice breakfast and then showed us her skills on the hula-hoop. It was 90 degrees in the shade.

We drove through Land Between the Lakes to get to Murray. Stopped at Devil’s Elbow. (Kaebel we took some special photos just for you, man.)

Murray. Let me take a sec. to remind the readers that Murray is where Barry, Salim, and I met about 15 years ago. This is really where it all started. Uncle Boshnie and the Groovis Review, The Naguals, Rubber Band, Bumble, The Big Spider Tribe. We made so much racket when we were there, (college years) and this town put up with it, at least most of the time. So it was an absolute honor to come make a bunch of racket again.

The Big Apple used to be down in Puryear, Tennessee, where it was legal to serve alcohol. Now that Calloway and Marshall counties in Kentucky have gone “damp” (they can serve, but there are still no liquor stores) the Big Apple came up north into Murray. The city has grown really fast, in some good ways, and in some ways that are less comfortable. (Does any community anywhere need a Super Walmart across the street from a Super Kroger?)

I took a few photos at the Big Apple Cafe’ but not too many. There were so many people there that we hadn’t seen in far too long. Single names only here, Janelle, Shelly, Jon, Jeff, Jeff, Eyore, Mike, Clark, Sion, Steve, Carol, Hyphield, Jamie, Dale, Jerry, Lynne, Cheryl, Margaret, Jack… with one notable absence. We couldn’t help but miss Darren Pucket. Damn it.

We played well, better in the second set. Jamie and his friend played a short set in between ours. That was a nice mix up. We had one final jam with others joining in, Sion doing some spoken word over our grooves.

We are now almost completely out of shirts to sell. The folks at The Big Apple were really sweet to us. Very generous. No wonder our friends in Th’ Legendary Shackshakers enjoy playing there so much.

Anyway, Scott put us up for the evening, but only after an after hours gathering. Hyphield and Scott discussed the state of a collaborative drawing they were working on. A real treat, in the middle of all the hubub, Scott played Chopin’s Nocturne in E minor on an out of tune piano. It was incredible. We slept a little, showered and headed of to the Hungry Bear for breakfast. It was “closed for vacation.” Needless to say, Martha’s and the Cracker Barrel were really busy since no one in town could go to the Hungry Bear. While we waited for the grub, we played those little triangle golf tee games. (I could only leave 2, so it is confirmed that I am “Purty Smart.”)

We are on our way up the Western Kentucky Parkway to Louisville. This is the road that I drove a thousand times to get home from school. Except for a Walmart, it doesn’t seem to have changed a ton. If you are ever in the area in the fall, this is a great drive. This many deciduous trees all turning the brightest colors…. Hey Todd, check out this cloud. It even has Monkey’s Eyebrow and the Jackson Purchase on it.

Notes: The ipod has been on random for the past 2 days. Somehow, it keeps hitting the right songs at the right time. We have come to call it R2D2.