9/7/11 Lawrence, Kansas

Following my first week in Colorado, I searched the Vail valley for a day time job. Car insurance bill came up and landed me flat ass broke in the ski valley of Colorado. Summer has come to a wrap and there was no work to be found in the area. With the money from playing the awesome venues not coming in for another week I gathered what I could and made my way to Denver. While still unable to find a job in the state, I went back to what I have been doing for the past 6 months as I set up at an arts & crafts show downtown to pick the banjo. The Taste of Colorado started off by making great money busking while I left for the Phish shows each evening to make some more. After a stressful week, the weekend turned everything around and had such a great time with my friends on lot outside of the Phish weekend show. It was an awesome surprise also to see my cousin Kyle who drove all the way out from Michigan to make the weekend show.

It was yet another incredible weekend with the people I love as I got to see many old friends that I haven't seen since the east coast. There was Phil, the food vendor I worked with on Futhur tour, go figure at the Phish weekend festival selling burgers and pizza left and right. It was also pleasant to see the friends that I saw in Miami and Atlanta about six months before. Three crazy nights spend on Phish lot as I would walk 100 yards from the venue to crawl into my truck and sleep for the night. With tons of music in the venue, and more musicians jamming in the lot outside, it was yet another fantastic time being able to playing music with new folks.

After the madness outside of Phish, I started the Labor Day hung over playing the banjo once more in the Taste of Colorado. During the whole weekend, the tie-dye vendor Krista was trying to convince me to join her to the next event in Kansas, setting up at the vendor tent for a week while jamming with bluegrass musicians for two weeks, to celebrate the upcoming bluegrass festival. Never have I ever seen myself spending time in Kansas but so far I have seen the best of it with much more to come. By hearing the bands and stories of past times, it sounds like this is going to be one hillbilly, hippie, buckled knees drunk, bluegrass jamming, absurd week.

Cheers to the best of the Midwest.