Ethan BassfordJun 18, 201915 minEurope 2019: MannheimIn Mannheim, we play our first festival of the trip, Maifeld Derby. It turns out to be a racetrack and the surrounding grounds. The green...
Ethan BassfordMar 25, 201912 minTreefort, part 2Our next stop is the Knitting Factory to see Yamantaka // Sonic Titan. Where is there not a Knitting Factory these days? Back in my day...
Ethan BassfordMar 24, 20199 minTreefort, part 1The flight to Boise leaves at 7 AM, which means waking up around 6. I always pack in two stages, attempting a complete pack and allowing...
Ethan BassfordSep 30, 201811 minMoon 2r: Part 7Mahall’s is a bowling alley with food and a bar as well as shows, and it is huge. Upon arrival we are greeted with the most attractively...
Ethan BassfordSep 20, 201811 minMoon 2r: Part 6The Chicago show is at the Hideout, where I am told we played seven or eight years ago. It feels cozy and lived in, like a neighborhood...
Ethan BassfordSep 18, 201815 minMoon 2r: Part 5We stay at Chris’s place in Knoxville. It is a nice big place and he owns it, which is nuts to me. We’re the same age! I wonder if I will...
Ethan BassfordSep 15, 201810 minMoon 2r: Part 4In Atlanta, we sleep late and I am drafted to make breakfast. The house has a beautiful giant kitchen with every possible knife and...
Ethan BassfordSep 13, 20189 minMoon 2r: Part 3The show in Richmond is at Gallery5, a favorite stop of ours. Openers Haybaby and Dazeases are fantastic. Haybaby we know from New York,...
Ethan BassfordSep 12, 201810 minMoon 2r: Part 2In Boston, we wake up to bagels and coffee. We eat quickly and without relish even though the bagels are quite good. I don’t think anyone...
Ethan BassfordSep 10, 20186 minMoon 2r: Part 1I fully intend to sleep in on the first day of tour, but I’m wide awake by 9:30. I finish packing and have a leisurely breakfast, a bacon...
Ethan BassfordJan 29, 20173 minOn BendingI had been working on a post on and off about different types of bass strings I like, and some extra-geeky minutiae about work I’ve done...
Ethan BassfordSep 16, 20169 minA recipe of sortsThere’s a lot of loose talk out there about how long it takes to caramelize onions. It takes an inconvenient amount of time, during which...
Ethan BassfordNov 17, 20157 minA Brush with HistoryI am at peace in Richmond. We have just finished playing a show with our friends and colleagues Manatree and Lucy Dacus, and now we’re on...
Ethan BassfordJun 1, 201512 minSpring 2015 Tour: More Bad StuffWe leave Weimar in the afternoon. I make a quick stop at Brenner’s to get some barbecue. I have now eaten at all three non-chain...
Ethan BassfordMay 24, 20158 minSpring 2015 Tour: Not Schiller’s Weimar, The Other OneCarlos and I wake up at the crack of dawn to go to the mechanic, which opens at 7:30. It is a mile or so of walking along I-10. We are...
Ethan BassfordMay 14, 201513 minSpring 2015 Tour: Good New Orleans and Bad New OrleansNew Orleans is consistently one of my favorite places to visit, and as always I feel a sense of peace descend on my mind as we roll...
Ethan BassfordMay 13, 201510 minSpring 2015 Tour: Misadventures in SavannahI remember Savannah from a few years ago, when we did not play but stopped to eat. We went to Wall’s Barbecue, a tiny shack-like building...
Ethan BassfordMay 11, 201510 minSpring 2015 Tour: WildlifeOur show in Richmond is at an art gallery. It is the senior show for an art school, which means we are surrounded by interesting fashion...
Ethan BassfordMay 5, 201510 minSpring 2015 Tour: In Which I Discover SardinesOur show in Philly is at the Pharmacy, a coffee shop with a tiny and oddly-shaped stage. I order an espresso, which hits the spot. We are...
Ethan BassfordMay 1, 201513 minSpring 2015 Tour: In Which I Purchase Another Unnecessary PedalAs usual, getting out of the city takes longer than expected. I have to retrieve my laundry, which entails waiting for the B54 bus for an...