We had a great show at the Bluegrass Cafe in Tama last night. We had a large, appreciative crowd, and played two pretty decent sets. Afterward, we retired to a little bar down the street with some of Ryan’s relatives.

We entertained ourselves with $1.50 Amber Bock drafts and a video game that simulated deer hunting. Paul dominated on the latter. Whle Billy Oh and I were scarcely able to hit a rock, Mr. Wargaski was a cold-blooded killing machine. I, however, remain undefeated in intraband foosball play.

We’ve been slowly jacking up the tempo on a fiddle tune medley we’re planning to record: The Takeup Reel/ Cold Frosty Morning/ Grey Eagle. In practice, we’ve taken it as high as 160 bpm, live, we’re generally around 145 or 150. We’ve also been playing a new instrumental called ‘Mississippi Trashboat,’ which is starting to come together.

We stayed at a farm house in Zearing, Iowa, as guests of Ryan’s cousin Jill and her two small dogs. Everyone got their own bed (always a plus), and we slept well. Tonight we’ll be piling 5 into a hotel room in Lawrence.

There’s a chain of truckstops called ‘Kum and Go’, the most thoroughly indecent franchise name I’ve heard since ‘In and Out Burger’.