Back in the States

As October begins, I'm forced to face a few realizations:

1) I haven't updated this blog since nearly a month ago.

2) I haven't done the best of job taking pictures over the past month...whoops.

As it turns out, there's significantly less to photograph when travelling in the US. When abroad, I very much felt a sense of responsibility to take bunches and bunches of photos. But here in the US, we don't do as much sight-seeing, so there aren't very many remarkable things of which to take photos. Plus, much of our time is spent travelling in vans, at a venue, or in hotel rooms.

However, this past month has provided me with some interesting happenings, and the opportunity to connect with some friends on the road.

When we arrived back in the USA, we played our first show in Great Neck, NY. The venue was pretty incredible (the stage was on the edge of a lake, so the audience saw a lake behind us as we performed), but the best part was getting two days off in NYC. As this was my first time to NYC, I was quite excited to see the things I've heard about for so many years (i.e. Times Square, Central Park, Juilliard, etc.).

The first day off in the city was quite overwhelming, seeing as I've never really had the opportunity to function in a city where public transit (or walking) is the norm. Thankfully, Annette spent two years in NYC going to school, so she was able to show me the ropes of the subways, which were very confusing at first. I spent much of that day just walking around (with a map in hand), frequently stumbling upon landmarks. For instance, I had entered Times Square from a peculiar direction, so I didn't even realize I was in Times Square at first. I was looking around at all the tall buildings and signs thinking to myself, "Gee...this must be something important," when I finally recognized the iconic intersection for what it really was.

Later that night, Andy, Sarah, Charlie and I went to go see "Spring Awakening" on Broadway, which won the Tony for Best New Musical a few years ago. Not only was it an absolutely incredible performance, but it just so randomly happened that Sarah had a high school friend in the cast. We're sitting in the audience watching the show, when she leans over and whispers, "Oh my gosh...that's my friend Morgan from high school!" Afterwards, we met Morgan at the stage door for a few minutes, and then it was off to hang out with one of Sarah's other friends from high school, Cory. In another most random of occurences, it just so happened that Ben Bailey, comedian and host of Cash Cab on the Discovery Channel (one of my favorite shows on television), was performing at the comedy club beneath the bar in which we were grabbing a bite to eat!

Carnegie Hall.

Times Square.

Juilliard.

Radio City Music Hall.

Sarah and Morgan after "Spring Awakening."

With Ben Bailey at some random bar in the city (thanks to Cory for taking the picture!).

Outside "Tom's Restaurant" from Seinfeld (Mom and Dad, this picture's for you!).

The other neat thing that happened in NYC on the second day off was reuniting with my violinist friend Nick Pappone, whom I met back in the summer of 2002 at the Idyllwild Music Festival in California. Nick was my best friend at camp that summer, and though we only were able to hang out for two weeks, we've been trying to meet up for multiple summers since then, with no luck. Now that Nick goes to school in Manhattan, we were able to meet up for the entire day, and he showed me all around his life in NYC. It was a pretty wonderful reunion, seeing as it had been 6 years in the making!

With Nick and his friend Grace at a Thai Restaurant in NY.

With Nick on top of Rockefeller Center late at night.

I definitely had a great time during my first visit to the city, and hope to go back soon!

Since NY, there have been three really memorable points of the tour back in the states, thus far.

First: getting a day off in Pawleys Island, South Carolina, which was spent sitting on the beach (it's important to note that this was my first time touching the Atlantic Ocean). The night before, we were also able to go see Sam Bush in concert--it will certainly go down in my books as one of the most amazing concerts I've ever attended. If you ever get an opportunity to see Sam Bush, go.

On the beach on Pawleys Island, South Carolina.

Second and third: I've had quite a few friends come to the show! Ashley Scheffer, one of my best friends from ASU, wins the award for "First Friend to Come See Me Perform in Barrage." Afterward, I got to hang out with Ashley and check out her new apartment near Ohio State University, where she currently attends medical school. Then, in Annapolis, Maryland, two other ASU friends, Matt Cicinelli and Emma Krebs, came to the show! And not only did they come, but they also brought (to my surprise) two other friends from ASU, Julie Johnson and Alan Clifford! (Julie also brought her boyfriend, Derek, who so kindly took the picture of me and the four others--thanks Derek!) The four of them are all currently working and/or going to school in Washington, D.C.

Needless to say, it was great to be able see some of my friends on the road!

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To end this post, I'll share a few facts:

Days on the road: 58 (since Aug. 8th)

Shows performed in the USA (since Sept. 1): 18

States in which we've performed: NY, WV, MI, SC, IN, OH, CT, NJ, MD, GA, TN and AL

Objects signed other than programs, posters, CDs, and DVDs: 3 violins, 2 cello cases, 1 violin case, 6 or 7 arms, 2 stomachs, 1 chest, 2 treasure trolls, 2 pairs of jeans, 1 digital camera and mulitple t-shirts

New foods I've tried since joining Barrage (that I can recall offhand): Indian, Thai, Lebanese, Persian, Korean, Indonesian, Greek, schnitzel, seafood (i.e. mussels and crab)...and probably more that I can't recall at this moment

New favorite food craving, which was developed on the road: dumplings