We finished our show in Tama last night at 10, and drove all night to Colorado, with Scott and I doing the bulk of the driving. We visited Molly and Richard Fisher in Stapleton for some much-needed sleep and a shower. Now we’re making the 70-mile drive from Denver to Colorado Springs for our show at the Front Range. Except for a nasty rainstorm in Iowa, and a member of the band having night terrors while I was driving, everything has been smooth thus far.

Here’s a gallery of camera-phone pics from Nebraska and Colorado.

My throat is holding up OK so far. More later.

Every bassist needs a hobby. Mine just happens to be building basses. My latest release is ready just in time for some of our summer out of town shows. I started down this path several years ago when I was thinking there must be a better way to get myself and the bass from point A to point B. So I built the original “Suit Bass” from a vintage plywood suitcase. This was a great idea because I could remove the neck and put it inside the body. The trouble was that it had a flat fingerboard and no clearance for a bow. That’s when I came up with this Summers “Howitzer Shell Bass” The neck is still removable and it has a shaped bridge and fingerboard that lets me play with a bow.