What I've Been Up To on the Road...

So I know that I still have a few more posts to finish up from the Europe Trip, but I thought that you might like to see what I've been up to on my month-long Spring Tour out west. I am currently in Los Angeles, and heading up to San Francisco today, but here are some pictures from where I've been so far...The first stop was Chicago, and I got to share a show with some good friends of mine, Flame Shark. We did a radio spot at WNUR before the show, and the picture above shows Justin Jahnke of FS and myself preparing to infiltrate the Chicago radio waves.

Driving through Kansas I decided it was time for a clean-up, so I shaved off most of my facial hair and got a haircut in Emporia, KS. It was the longest haircut of my life, the old guy used only scissors, but he did a bad-ass job.

Palo Duro Canyon outside of Amarillo, TX. I stopped for a bit of hiking on my way through, as my brother and I had enjoyed this canyon last summer on tour. I believe that it is the 2nd largest canyon in the U.S. after the Grand Canyon.

I spent a weekend playing shows in New Mexico: at a roadhouse in Madrid and then a house concert in Placitas. DeeDee (pictured above) and her mom were kind enough to put me up for the weekend as couchsurfing hosts, and they threw one hell of a house concert/party on Saturday night. Here is DeeDee modeling a Mexican wrestling mask AND a John Statz t-shirt. Yes, we both ended up with masks (see my Facebook profile picture).

The house concert in Placitas, NM. I really had a good time and met tons of fun people. Thanks DeeDee and Michelle!

Ljubljana - Pt. 2

A view of Ljubljana from the castle.

The Julian Alps of Slovenia. The next day I rented a car and drove up into them, but you'll see that in the next post...

Enjoying a nice day by the river in downtown Ljubljana.

Some REALLY creepy installation art in Metelkova, another squatter's locale.

My second and last gig in Ljubljana, at a club called Jalla Jalla in Metelkova. I was seriously singing through a karaoke mic, and my guitar was plugged into a huge electric guitar amplifier. It was fun as hell.

Ljubljana (Slovenia) - Pt. 1

The main square in Slovenia's capital city, Ljubljana. It was a bit cold and rainy the day I arrived.

There is this famous architect that designed like half of the structures in Ljubljana, including this bridge, and I can't remember his name right now. Well, he's famous for Slovenia...

Some awesome graffiti, there were several like this.

This is where I played my first gig, at a squatter's localed called Tovarna Rog. It used to be a bicycle factory, but since that shut down its been taken over illegally by squatters who have made it their home. All electricity is powered by generators, and as far as heat goes, well, it was chilly.

Across the three bridges from Ljubljana's old town and castle.

Vienna: The Gig

Radio appearance on Austria's state radio station earlier in the day. Klaus is sitting closest to the camera, he is the most awesome dude who booked this most excellent gig for me.

I was opening for Mark Geary, and Irish songwriter raised in the U.S., think Damien Rice or David Gray. He has really wonderful lyrics, and I've been listening to his cd a lot since he gave it to me. Check him out.

Playing my opening set

I handed my camera to someone in the crowd to take these pics.

Mark in motion

Budapest Pt. 3

If there is ONE thing you do when you visit Budapest, you have to visit one of the thermal baths. I'll admit, it was a bit intimidating at first to think of hurdling the language barrier involved in buying the entry ticket and swimming with a bunch of Hungarians, but once I got in it was pure relaxation. Budapest is all about the good life!

Performing at iF Kavezo. It was a really fun concert, and thanks to all of the couchsurfers that made it out!

Adam and his home recording studio. We recorded four songs one morning, and he is going to "eastern europ-ize" the tunes for me.

Laying down some vocals.

The Parliament building again, this time from across the Danube. This shot gives you a better scale of how massive this building is.