Binge Cafe: July 2010

Rob on WQFS with members of Mr. Free & the Satellite Freakout & Silver Bullet in the background.

For the past eight years, though I've been working, it has been largely part time since '02 when I left HR management to travel with Rob for six months, and, following this, formed Beloved Binge in '03.

Since '06, we've been touring every year and have met so many different bands and musicians that I cannot keep track of them all, except for our CD collection, pictures, and of course my spotty memory bank.

We have, however, made friends throughout the US which I refer to as band cells. It's a tight network of people that you can call on when you need something in their town and vice-versa. Just last week we received a CD from an Omaha musician we met on our '08-'09 tour, and we regularly keep in contact with another guy in Ohio we met at WE Fest in Wilmington. And more.

The band we played with last night, Mr. Free & the Satellite Freakout, knew the space we played in their hometown, Tucson, as well as the band we played with. There is little explaining. I can tell ya, there is nothing like finding good people and knowing you have a cell.

I cannot think of many other situations where you meet up with complete strangers, hang out for 8 hours (or overnight) trade music you both made up, then part until you may or may not share the floor/stage again for months or years to come in maybe a different city. Another great thing about touring is you get to visit people you care about and have QT, which makes it a fun way to tour and travel.

Now that I'm looking for full time work again, I am going to miss being on the road for extended periods. We're still planning on regional tours and of course can take vacation to tour. Somehow this feels different than giving up stability to barely sustain yourself, then to meet others doing the same thing. What other career asks you to commute 200 miles, load and unload heavy equipment up stairs or in the heat, play for 30-45 minutes to, at times, three people, load out again, stay and watch others, then, a few hours later, accept $0 - 50 divided by 10-15 people, then maybe sleep on a floor? This job description requires a unique mix of perseverance, hope, and imbalance.

Speaking of, Beloved Binge have one more mini-tour coming up in August. We're excited to be playing with L. Brown Odessey again, this time in Charleston, SC, then returning to Club Drink in Myrtle Beach. After that, we're not scheduling anything for the Fall so we can develop our new songs and release our fourth album. We're taking our time. It's going to be Bouzoukied all over the place and we hope you will find it playable.

In the meantime, we're excited to announce a split 7" -- OK -- not announcing it officially yet, but more to come.

Back to last night. We played in Greensboro. Starting out our evening we met members of the three other bands and drove to WQFS radio for an on-air appearance around 5 pm.

As one of the members of Mr. Free asked on air, "Is anyone going to ask why this man is wearing a toga?"

Following the radio show, we went out and ate a falafel pita wrap with Danny of the Raving Knaves. We first met Danny when he ran house shows at the Elam House, and we played there back in '07 or '06. Super nice guy who does sound and used to be in Boxcar Bertha.

The space we played CFBGs is a small gallery with an awesome foosball table. Lately I've been challenging people to random tennis and mini-korg duels with little to no hope of actually winning. It was in this spirit that I trash-talked both a random attendee and a Mr. Free band member then challenged them to a duel. Though victory is important, it is not critical.

That night Mr. Free & the Satellite Freakout began the show with a foaming from the mouth singer who posed in strange statue positions for parts of songs: