WEST COAST TOUR #2 WITH LINDSAY WEIDMANN - Friday, 6/25 - Roxyann Winery - Medford, Oregon.

"Inspired by the Rogue Valley’s natural beauty and bounty, RoxyAnn Winery was founded in 2002 at the historic Hillcrest Orchard in east Medford that has been bearing fruit for over 100 years." - www.roxyann.com

Tonight Lindsay Weidmann and Jeremy Facknitz were blessed to bear their fruits of song to the appreciative wine sippers at Roxyann Winery. The sunset, a gentle breeze and the rolling hills of southwest Oregon were also in attendence this evening. The touring duo crooned while those in attendance swooned. Specifically, the rolling hills and the couple at the table stage right were most appreciative of the duo's efforts.

Having been compensated with two bottles of wine and nice check, our fearless folkers drove off in Lindsay's prius and headed north, bathing in the warm summer glow of the moon.

Tomorrow, Portland.

WEST COAST TOUR #2 w/LINDSAY WEIDMANN - Monday, 6/21 through Thursday, 6/24 - FOLKIN' IT UP FOR ASHLAND, OREGON

MONDAY, 6/21 - LIQUID ASSETS

After a swell meal and even "sweller" night's sleep in Crescent City, California Sunday night, we packed up our guitars along with the remnants of our fatigue and made our way to the beautiful state of Oregon. We stopped along the way for ice cream. Chocolate. My diet on this tour has run the gamete. I have good-boy days where I'll consume veggies and fruit, and bad-boy days where I'll live off of milk shakes and gas station donuts. It's not always easy to eat well on a budget with no fridge as well as the overwhelming temptation to eat crap looming everywhere. Either way, I'm still here, still folking and I'm not hungry, so I applaud myself. Clap clap clap clap clap...

Tonight, Liquid Assets (thanks Olivia!). My second time performing at this wonderful wine cafe in downtown Ashland. It seemed as though the most attentive of audience members were also members of Olivia's family (thanks Olivia X2!) as they tapped their tables, chairs and toes to our Monday night sounds.

We took advantage of free wine. The Merlot is most excellent. It has good legs and a hint of chocolate.

TUESDAY, 6/22 - DAY OFF

Kara Rosengren is my sister. She runs a non-profit dance company known as "Against The Grain" (www.againstthegraindance.org). She's quite gifted. She has also had the fortune of landing a good husband in my brother-in-law Ken, who is a pilot for Delta. Sissy (as I call her) can fly for free pretty much anywhere she wants to go, so she decided to come see big brother in Ashland.

Unfortunately, she must fly stand-by, which can be tough when you're traveling with kids out of school and your destination is the tiny airport of neighboring Medford, Oregon. It took her 20 hours, but she arrived to the Roadway Inn as bright, sweet, chipper and effervescent as ever! That's my Sissy!

She took real good care of us, and I can't thank her enough for her support in my endeavors.

While she was fighting her way across the country from Chicago, Lindsay and I worked... booked shows, blogged a bit, played guitar. Lindsay is now joining me on "Vaguely Alamosa" and "Better Than Us" and improving the live delivery of these nuggets immensely.

WEDNESDAY, 6/23 - TEASE

I love window shopping. I'm rarely tempted to buy things I don't need or can't afford. For this, I am thankful. Sissy and I walked around Ashland during the day sipping coffee, munching on Cinnamon rolls and talking about Jarod Facknitz behind his back while Lindsay toiled away on the laptop. Lindsay's a go-getter. I felt a twinge of guilt but I'll get back to "me" come Friday. I welcome my sister's visit and shall use it as a valid excuse to turn into tourist for a few days.

Thanks to Julie who booked us, and Allan who volunteered to take money at the door. Tease is a new business here in Ashland... rather posh but without pretentiousness. Me and my clothing ensemble of faded jeans/cowboy shirt felt quite at ease inside of Tease.

We put on a great show. We know this because we have proof; Sissy attended and filmed a few songs for us, some of which I'd love to post on blogger but I don't have the 67 years it takes to download a video on blogger. What's that? Will they be on Youtube soon? Hopefully. I will keep you posted. Thanks for your interest!

THURSDAY, 6/24

This day will live in infamy.

Although I'm still getting to know her, I'm sure Lindsay Weidmann has made many discoveries throughout her life. But I trust they pale in comparison (in my mind, anyway) to the discovery she made as the sun hit the side of my face just right on Thursday, June 24th 2010 at 7:23pm pacific standard time and brought to light another reminder that I am not a child, nor will I live forever.

An ear hair.

I have a hair growing out of my ear.

This is not a big deal. Just as everything poops, everything also grows old, grows hair in odd places and dies.

My initial reaction was disgust. Followed by panic, then sadness, then acceptance. This all happened within about 37 seconds, but I felt this is something you, dear reader, would find interesting.

We performed for a few lucky patrons and the beautiful staff at Culture Works in Ashland, Oregon. Chris was kind enough to feed us with sandwiches and salads.

I love Ashland. I love the people here, and the way I'm received and welcomed as a performing artist. I will return, probably sooner than later.

I just hope I get over the whole "this is where I discovered my first ear-hair" thing.

To hear all this from Lindsay's point of view, and expose yourself to a higher quality of writing, visit www.lindsayweidmann.blogspot.com!

ALSO! ORDER JEREMY'S SOLD OUT CD "GIMMICK" (just a few copies left!) OR DOWNLOAD THE ALBUM AT www.cdbaby.com/jeremyfacknitz!

WEST COAST TOUR 2.0 WITH LINDSAY WEIDMANN – SUNDAY, 6/20 – UNITY OF THE REDWOODS – EUREKA, CALIFORNIA

We literally drove through the night, leaving Santa Cruz at 10:35 pm for Eureka. We had about 10 hours between performances and half that would be spent driving - a daunting task in daylight, an extra dose of daunting over night. We stopped only for fuel for the car as well as our sleepy heads. We tried desperately to make each other laugh and stay alert, and we succeeded until about 4 am when we couldn’t even do such things for ourselves anymore (and that's saying something, since we both find ourselves wildly entertaining).

We arrived in Eureka shortly after 5 in the morning. We slept for 2 hours as well as we could in the car, myself in the front seat, my tour partner on top of our belongings in the back. We awoke, cleaned up, and played our hearts out for Father’s Day. We napped on the beach afterwards. Drove through the Redwood Forest. I stepped inside a “tree of insight”. It was beautiful. We drove to Crescent City, scored a cheap mom and pop hotel, rented “Singing In The Rain” and went to bed early.

Now, I am exhausted and completely devoid of wit and pith.

That’s all I have to say about that.

WEST COAST TOUR #2 WITH LINDSAY WEIDMANN - 6/19 - ASANA TEAS

We still don't know how to pronounce "Asana". We would like to say "AsAHna", but the polite gentleman behind the counter reminded us it was "ASSana", which I think sounds... dangerous?

Gail was great. Thanks so much for booking us, Gail! Asana Tea's is a lovely shop with even lovelier food in Santa Cruz, California. I highly recommend eating food there. I'm sure the tea is swell as well, but I stuck to water.

I'm a violent tea-drunk.

For a small yet appreciative crowd we folked our way through our trade-off set. Next to our stage area, there were two large "temple doors" for sale at half off. As you can see by the picture above, it was priced to move and it was a bargain I had a hard time passing up. Damn you, Toyota Prius! If only we had a larger vehicle to transport such a bad-ass souvenir from Santa Cruz, why, those doors would be mine right now and I could walk through them whenever I damn well pleased.

Tonight, a 5.5 hour drive after the show to Eureka, California for a church performance tomorrow morning. Coffee? Check. Chocolate gas station donuts? Check. Indigestion? On it's way.

WEST COAST TOUR #2 WITH LINDSAY WEIDMANN - 6/17 and 6/18 - THURSDAY'S CANCELLED SHOW, FRIDAY AT ZELDA'S!

We left the hot springs and headed back east 40 minutes or so to Reno for our show at 4th Street. Upon our arrival to the major metropolis, Lindsay noticed she had received a phone call from the venue. The owner said that the local opener had backed out, and typically people don't come to this place unless you can pull a draw in Reno, as it is primarily a music venue. He suggested we call the whole thing off.

If we weren't looking at throwing down $60 for a hotel room in Reno that night, we might have done the show anyway - rolled the dice and gone for it - but we've been doing this long enough to heed such advice from venue owners. We called back, cancelled the gig and headed back west... this time with the intention of driving all the way to Lindsay's old friend Gersh's house in Santa Cruz, California.

I wasn't prepared for this. Typically, I like to know when I'm about to sit in a car for 6 hours. I mentally prepare myself, do some half-assed yoga and get to it. No matter, really. It was a beautiful evening. We stopped along the way to treat ourselves. Lindsay purchased fruit, I a chocolate milkshake from Burger King.

Gersh housed us Thursday night and walked us up and down the boardwalk Friday morning. Thanks to Gersh.

Friday night we played Zelda's On The Beach, my second time go-round (I played there in March with Teresa). Zelda's is a restaurant/bar on... wait for it... the beach. It seems that typically, at Zelda's, we start off the show in front of a packed dinner crowd. A few stay, a few leave - those who stay tend to get pretty drunk and enjoy the hell out of you. This scenario suits me just fine. After years and years of playing the bar scene in the mid-west, this is my element. This is where I thrive.

We sold CD's, we made the most money we've made all tour up until now. A man named Ryan came up and gave us $10 to play "Brown Eyed Girl" so he could sing it. That's lunch man. Hell yes I gave him his "Brown Eyed Girl" and I even sang back-ups for him. After the show, he joined us on the patio and the two of us sang the theme song to "Punky Brewster" as Lindsay looked on in confused horror.

A night at Kathy's guest house in Watsonville closed the best day of the tour thusfar (in this author's humble opinion). Thank you Kathy, Ernie and kids for your hospitality and for showing us the secret tree.

Also BIG thanks to Eddie and Zelda's. My favorite bar in California!

WEST COAST TOUR #2 w/LINDSAY WEIDMANN - Tuesday and Wednesday, 6/15 & 16, 2010 - 2 shows at SIERRA HOT SPRINGS - SIERRAVILLE, CALIFORNIA

I've never slept so well on the ground.

I think all this touring is toughening me up. The soft, sandy grasses of the Winnemucca RV park felt like a Serta mattress compared to the cramped, hard floor of my Honda hatchback.

We awoke at sunrise Tuesday morning - not on purpose, as I never wake up at sunrise on purpose if I can help it - and made our way to Sierraville, California for a free stay at the Sierraville Hot Springs and Resort. In exchange for peace, sunshine, naked hot springs and snacks, all we had to do was set up our equipment in the main lodge and play songs for 90 minutes Tuesday and Wednesday night.

Aside from the shows, it was not all dips and exposed flesh. Other work got done. While one of us labored on the laptop booking shows or promoting, the other would hike, or write songs, or dip in the hot springs with exposed flesh. Who am I kidding? I'm sorry. This is a great, great life. It just is, and no, actually I'm not sorry. This is a beautiful spot... a fantastic refuge from the road, and if you're ever coming through this area I highly recommend staying here for 9, maybe 12 days.

The shows went very well. In the two nights we folked the main lodge we earned enough money (and then some) for breakfast tomorrow morning (Thursday) at the local cafe and a hotel room in Reno tomorrow night.

WEST COAST TOUR #2 w/LINDSAY WEIDMANN - Monday, June 14th - DRIVING TO NEVADA, NIGHT OFF

BUY JEREMY'S NOW SOLD OUT DEBUT CD AT CDBABY.COM! THE ONLY PLACE WHERE YOU CAN STILL PURCHASE A COPY! WWW.CDBABY.COM/JEREMYFACKNITZ2!

WEST COAST TOUR #2 w/LINDSAY WEIDMANN - Sunday, June 13th 2010 - Salt Lake City, Utah - SLCSL

Church gigs! Church gigs! I love church gigs!

The Salt Lake Center for Spiritual Living was a warm and welcomed sight for our tired eyes. Even though I had just rehearsed parts for Lindsay’s songs “What Else Have I Been Missing” and “This Is Easy” yesterday, Weidmann was confident that I was ready to join her on stage in front of 100 people and strum out “my compliments”.

Big, big thanks to Rick from Farmington Hills, Michigan the SLCSL. What a beautiful bunch of warm, open people… we played both services, Lindsay sold a boatload of CD’s and much to my surprise I sold a carton or two myself. It was such a change from the atmosphere we had experienced the previous two nights in those fine watering holes. They are indeed fine watering holes, but we are songwriters and songwriters are best received by “listeners”.

After hugs and goodbyes we made our way to an internet café, spending a few hours napping on the couch, emailing venues and sipping coffee. We then circled the city for 45 minutes trying to piece together Salt Lake’s grid system on 5 hours sleep. Salt Lake City is a city where you can find a Dee’s Restaurant at either the corner of East 300 North Street and West 2100 South North Southwest Street, or at North 700 East South Avenue and South 1400 South Street. After suffering stroke from frustration and pissing myself – OH, and stopping to pet puppies for sale - we arrived at the doorstep of Renee and Rex Strother (pronounced “STRAH-ther” like father) who took us out to the Blue Plate Diner for dinner.

Tomorrow, we drive to a campsite in Nevada, where we hope the roads have names. Our next show is Tuesday in Sierraville, California. I wonder why there aren’t any songs about California…

For all this from Lindsay Weidmann’s point of view, visit www.lindsayweidmann.blogspot.com

WeST COAST TOUR #2 w/LINDSAY WEIDMANN - Saturday, June 12th 2010 - Salt Lake City, Utah - The Woodshed

Ah, a day of songwriting, snacking, jamming, hiking, and frozen strawberry’s in glasses of champagne. It isn’t always car sleeping and toilet water!

With the weather absolutely positively disgusting, I walled myself within Bryon’s walls and composed. I wrote a “diddy”. That’s all I can call it at this point, but I will nurture it, love it, and we’ll see if it grows up into a beautiful tune.

The Woodshed in downtown Salt Lake City is a place where I could spend 7 hours sitting on it’s cozy couches, playing fooseball, watching the “Back To The Future” trilogy on plasma television’s (with the sound down), co-writing songs with my tour partner and folking the masses. We did most of that tonight. We avoided the fooseball, seeing as how we have 26 days left on this tour and we’d like to like each other as long as possible.

Lindsay and I traded songs for an hour and a half. I joined her on songs that I probably should not have joined her on, but she seemed happy with the way they turned out. She added vocals and other various spectacular spices to songs like “Better Than Us” and “The 70’s Sitcom Medley”. We gave away a party favor or two… tissue paper-wrapped Dum-Dums and Jolly Ranchers with a piece of paper that describes our intentions to get out of the bars and into people’s living rooms. House concerts, that is. They’re big money makers for folkers like us. We’ll see if it works.

After “Hecklin’ Jive” closed their set (both Lindsay and I were quite impressed by their sounds), we climbed back up the hill to Bryon’s place in Park City for a quick 5 hour nap before the alarms would go off at 7 for our church gig at the Salt Lake Center for Spiritual Living.

For all this from Lindsay Weidmann’s point of view, visit www.lindsayweidmann.blogspot.com.

WEST COAST TOUR #2 w/LINDSAY WEIDMANN - Friday, June 11th, 2010 - Park City, Utah - The Downstairs

Saying goodbye to Colorado is never easy. I have to admit that sometimes, when I see that “You Are Now Leaving Colorful Colorado” sign at the border, I’ll exhale a somewhat sad “aww!” and make a frowny face. This behavior may better explain the reason you don’t hear stories about Jeremy Facknitz banging groupies and tearing up hotel rooms on the road. I’m more likely to spend an evening out for a walk, pausing to smell the lilacs, then writing a song about the lack of sunshine while downing a few shots of throat coat tea before it’s off to bed at 9.

We left Colorado and it’s colorfulness Friday afternoon for Park City and our first show at The Downstairs, opening for Bryon Friedman. Bryon has a new pad in Park City and was so kind to let us crash at his place. Rather than give us a key, he decided to just leave the door open. This was a great idea, until Jeremy or Lindsay, deciding to head back to the house early, locked the door before bed leaving Bryon no choice but to bang violently on his new place at 2:27 in the morning to wake them up and let him in.

The Downstairs is downstairs. That makes sense. I’m pretty excited to see Lindsay’s show every night. She tends to call dibs on the opening slot before I do, so her “badassery” pumps me up for my set. After we folk-rocked the masses as they filed in, Bryon and his band folk-rocked the rest of the night away while Lindsay and I hung out behind our merch table, selling nothing. There’s always tomorrow.

We crashed around 2 and slept well (minus the door-locking fiasco). Cold, rainy and rumors of snow tomorrow, at which point we will head down the hill to Salt Lake City and a show at The Woodshed.

For all this from Lindsay Weidmann’s point of view, visit www.lindsayweidmann.blogspot.com.

WEST COAST VERSION 2.0 TOUR with LINDSAY WEIDMANN

Yes, the thought has crossed my mind to let Lindsay toil away on her blog and merely send my followers to her clever writings while I sip coffee and write songs.

I won't do that.

But to get the skinny from her point of view, peep your peepers on www.lindsayweidmann.blogspot.com... and buy her new E.P. while you're at it. It's the bees knees.

We left Thursday afternoon for Carbondale, CO. The show in Salt Lake isn't until Friday night but we figured we could chop off a few hours Thursday and prolong our goodbyes to the beautiful state of Colorado. I ask you, dear reader, what better place to do that than in Carbondale?

This second tour of the west and northwest is my attempt to see what impact I made out there in March. My gut, which I trust implicitly, has whispered more than once that I will be successful out there. So I head back, confident that I'll see some familiar faces, confident that I will have forgotten their names, and hopeful that I will be forgiven for doing so.

The goal as a business man is to move forward and see progress... to sell more CD's than I did in March, make more money, and reach more "clients". The goal as a performer is to "let 'er rip" so to speak, to step out of my head on stage and trust my talent a bit more. My goal as an artist is to continue writing - or rather, transcribing - what the muse sends me. My goal as Jeremy is to have a boatload of fun.

More soon.