Damion Wolfe

BOOMERANG TOUR 2010:

The translucence of the sun in Encinitas, CA is like visiting with a long lost friend. The vista of riding up and down the 101 is almost worth the cost of the tour alone. Saturday I had the privilege of performing at E Street Cafe in Encinitas. I'd heard of this place for a while, so I was glad when they accepted my solicitation to perform here. As seems to be the course of the tour so far, not an abundance of people, but the peeps I met were fab. I enjoyed playing on the big stage and meeting everyone. I also felt connected with my music again these last couple of nights. It's been refreshing to have a couple of days off to be able to reconnect. Re-discovering energy for these songs, even the new ones, every night can be challenging yet a superlative adventure. The set list of that night was something as follows:

LITTLE TINY
OPTION OUT
GET UP GET OVER
CARRY ME
MERCY SWEET GIRL
BEAUTIFUL BETHANY BARISTA GIRL
OLD GUNS
WRAP YOU UP/SHE DRIVES ME CRAZY
BE YOUR MAN
TREASURE
DO THE MATH
CHOOSING MATTER
CARRY ME (again)

On Sunday I spent more time dollying around SoCal beach towns. That night I'd bound myself to attend an open mic down in San Diego at Java Joe's. When I arrived I couldn't find the place at first, but then after driving around I saw what looked to me like a sign that said "Java Joe's". I rolled in asking about the open mic and the barista, Aaron-a tre-cool dude, told me that he didn't know of one but said I was welcome to set up and play. So this was an unexpected surprise and so I get to set up right at the edge of this open air, sidewalk cafe and play a set! It was extremely nice that Aaron offered. He gets the "Coolest Barista" Award of the tour so far. Again, not much of a crowd there, and honestly not my best performance, but still grateful I had the chance to play. So after the show was over I was conversing more with Aaron when I realized that cafe was actually called "Java Jones" (not "Java Joe's"), so then of course, my usual course, of sheepish-embarrassment kicked into action, but Aaron didn't seem to care. It was a good time and refreshing to meet such a great guy while on the road.

I've been on the road now for almost 4 weeks and I must admit that I'm missing friends a lot. Usually by this time in my tours I've been able to connect with folks I know more frequently, therefore making the road bumps a little more docile. So as you might imagine I'm looking forward to re-connecting with some friends in O.C. and The Bay Area this week....I hope I don't drive them nuts! So special thanks to everyone who've been staying touch. Feel free to drop me a line at damionwolfe@hotmail.com or facebook.

Thanks for reading,
Damion

-w/Aaron at a surprise show at Java Jones in downtown San Diego

- w/Adam at E Street Cafe-Encinitas, CA
I feel extra dorky in this pic.....

-w/Alex and Jade at E Street-Encinitas, CA

-w/Jim-one of the owners of E Street Cafe

SUNNY

The trip to Monterey was extended but laden with perennial beauty down from NorCal. The rain still seemed to follow me from the Northwest and by this point I'd had enough. Fortunately it cleared on Wed.and the sun came out to play. The show at East Village Coffee was good. Again, not many people out but very nice. This coffee shop really shows a lot of respect to its musicians in the sense that you have your own separate room and stage to perform on....even a light show!

Wednesday I got to putz around the area and see ocean beautiful. From there I rolled down to the elegant Santa Barbara. To keep things simple, I ended up not performing that night. But in retrospect I realize that it was for the better as I was exhausted and needed the time to re-coup. It was great. BTW, I'd mentioned that I was going to keep a list (for fun) of the comparisons I get from people. Narsala at East Village said I reminder her of Keller Williams. So far it's been Mraz, Williams and Phish.

I awoke with some fresher energy for Friday's performance at Kashtan's. It was great to be back and see Tom and Kristen again. It was also great to meet a bunch of new folks: Arthur, Madison, Jeff, Theresa, Mario, Mike, Dune, egg-shaker Asher, Victoria, Seth and Mike. Didn't get as many pics from that night as I hoped but I had a great time and they were a great crowd! I always love playing here.

Here is my latest addition to the "Tips" section of the blog:

TIP # 3

I read an article a few months back with a very well known singer-songwriter and he was sarcastically poking fun at having to stay in Red Roof Hotels earlier in his career. Well Mr. So and So, a Red Roof would be heaven for a lot of us traveling who sleep in otherwise less "posher" locations. So TIP # 3 is to be grateful when you have, and can afford, a decent place to lay your head and shower. Just as long as you don't leave with a strange fungus on your ass or head-lice, you're good to go.

*I want to take a second to mention my friend Beverly Brown from Southern MD, who has been super-cool in setting me up with some discount rates for some hotels during the trip. Thanks Beverly!

Thanks for reading,
Damion

-Monterey (I forgot to take people pics)

-San Diego-Kashtan's Bistro with Jeff and Theresa

-San Diego-Kashtan's Bistro with Victoria and Kristen

ROLLIN', ROLLIN', ROLLIN'...

Saturday I kicked around Portland a bit before west-bounding it over to Hillsboro. Insomnia Coffee is a real blessing of a cafe, tucked away in a peaceful little corner of suburban Oregon. I had a great time playing here, as it was a bountiful crowd and they seemed to be receptive to the music. It was great to see Adam, Deb and then all of the new folks I got to meet-Tyler, Jordyn, Rebekkah, Jessica, Aaron, and Stacy. I feel like I clicked with my set that night and really had a chance to open up and rock out a bit. I appreciate that Stacy made a list of the songs she really liked-always good for the artist's ego!

Sunday I did an afternoon show at one of the Forza locations in Tacoma. It was great to see Jill and her family as well as meet Eric and Matt. Later that evening I was back in Seattle for a show at the historic, funky, and a bit wretched on the olfactory, Blue Moon Tavern. This is a place where the likes of Allen Ginsberg would hang as well as a picture of Janis Joplin drinking a beer there. The crowd was nice and it was cool that Mindless Thuggs let me open for them. It was also cool that Mike Allen came out again, and it was great to chat for a while before the show. I was bummed that I didn't make a single dime that night and then I met a nice, but somewhat clueless fellow who told me that my music was great to have a conversation to....as he and the drummer from Mindless Thuggs were having a somewhat audible conversation right in front of the stage during my whole set. After a visualized bitch-slapping of this dude, I moved on. Afterwards I took solace in not one, but two bubble teas in the U District and started the trot to California.

Last night I had to stop off and catch the last two episodes of 24 and then catch Lost on Hulu...I'd already heard from next day reviewers a summation of what had happened, but wanted to see it anyway.

Before I head off I'm going to start doing tips for the road. Not that this will probably have much applicability to most readers, but if nothing else it's a good reminder to myself as I tend to forget the little important things sometimes.

TIP # 1-Always bring a hat. Yes, for those days that I don't get a shower in it's always the good ol' hat that seems to be a good cure-all.

TIP # 2-Bring lots of bananas, fruit, and almonds. After eating at McDonald's more than you care to admit you can always rationalize with yourself by eating a couple of these healthy feel-gooders.

Thanks for reading, and thanks to everyone that's been checking in during the tour.

Damion

-Aaron and Jessica at Insomnia Coffee-Hillsboro, OR

-w/Jordyn and Tyler at Insomnia Coffee-Hillsboro, OR

-Tom, Deb and rebekah after the Insomnia show

-w/Jill and Steve at Tacoma Forza

-w/Eric at Tacoma Forza (I was trying to beat-box but he wasn't having it!)

-What is Mary thinking? (Blue Moon Tavern-Seattle)

UP...DOWN...& UP AGAIN!!

On Wednesday I pointed northward and let the I-5 be my guide to Tacoma. Although it is beautiful up here, it has been raining an awful lot. Sometimes I wonder if I should be in a rowboat instead of a car. I performed at another Forza location that day and was once again delighted by the convivial dance of the barista staff. Wendy, who I met last week at the Seattle Forza, also came by and brought some folks. Thursday night I rolled back over to West Seattle for a return show at C&P Coffee....a great house that was converted to a cafe/wine bar by Pete and Cameron. It was a very light night but the crowd was super cool...I got to meet Mackenzie, as well as see Anthony and Lauren again, who I met last fall when I played at The Chai Spot. I also enjoyed performing that night a lot. It was far from flawless, but I felt able to really connect again with my music. The set was something like this:

WRAP YOU UP
OPTION OUT
HERE COMES LOVE
DO THE MATH
OLD GUNS
3 AGAIN
WORLD WAS BETTER
CARRY ME
CHOOSING MATTER
BOOMERANG DREAMER

That night I began the drive back to Portland for Friday night's hoedown at Fly Cat Coffee. Flying Cat was a really cool cafe with one of the nicest guys I've ever met in the barista biz-Zak. Sadly it was another light night as I only performed to 3 people (4 including Zak)...nonetheless they were 3 extremely nice people indeed! Michael (another acoustic performer), Krystal and Ryan. Ryan came all the way up from Salem. He's a great guy I met thru Curtis Earth in Orlando, FL. Afterwards Ryan kindly treated me to some din-din. Based on my track record here (in Portland) so far, I haven't found the opportunity to connect with a lot of folks through my music. Still it's a great city to come hang.

Tonight I'm going out to Insomnia in Hillsboro (right outside of Portland). Tomorrow it's a short Sunday afternoon show at Forza in Tacoma (Union and S. 12th) then up to Blue Moon Tavern in Seattle to open up for "Mindless Thuggs".

One or two people have asked me how it is re-connecting with my music again on this tour....when I say "my music," I mean my original stuff. It's great and challenging at the same time. It's great in the way that I'm granted the opportunity to perform mostly whatever I want on any given night from my cache of material, with the chance to showcase and modify new material, as well as find a footing in the old material (lots of "material"!). It's challenging in the sense that the energy and connection has to be maintained night to night, regardless of how tired or grumpy I'm feeling; and I can't hide behind the good ol' cover material I've performed in bars for years. On the other hand, the bars and covers have served me well for years, yet it's time to close that chapter in my life (at least for a while) and focus 100% on my writing, composing and performing (more on that later, though). One of the new songs I've really been enjoying is "Old Guns." It's a detour away from some of the subject matter of other material...it's not poppy and commercial, yet it's the kind of song I love writing as much as any of the others as it addresses our world's continued threat of nuclear destruction. Yes, it's heavy.

On the fluffier side of things I've been enjoying finding a new enjoyment in my very, very old song, "Carry Me" lately. This song is umpteen years old now, yet thankfully still finding a place with some new listeners. WWW.PARADIZERADIO.COM has been giving it a lot of spin as well as a few nice mentions over the last few weeks. Honestly, I'd distanced myself from it over the years, not being totally happy with the lyrics, and hearing people complain that it's "too abstract," etc. I'm not sure how it morphed around into my enjoyment zone again, but it's been nice for a change to re-connect with the song, and I'm thankful that there's still a place for it.

Well that's it for now. Thanks for reading!

P.S....want to say thanks to Webmaster Mike for keeping the site updated.