Day 8 - Minneapolis, Minnesota

Yesterday was our first day with out having to travel to another city because we played in Minneapolis two days in a row. Most of our free day was spent sleeping, but we also went to "lunch" (I don't think it counted as lunch in the traditional sense) with a band leader who lives in the area, Robert Bell. Robert was a great guy.


The dance was pretty late at night at a venue called Social Dance Studio. The venue said they broke their attendance record with a total of 322 people. This was definitely the highest energy, "craziest" gig we've played yet. It was much different from to last night's blues gig- we played a lot of fast, up-beat tunes. Though, I think we really swung both nights, just in different ways.

So far the most interesting and strange part of touring for me is stepping into a tight knit community of dancers for one or two nights, hanging out with them, then moving to the next town. It's kind of like the airplane "single serving friend" phenomenon, but instead of just sitting next to them on the plane you get a much deeper picture of their life. The couple hosting Glenn and Kevin, Shawn and Chelsea, made us an incredible meal the first night consisting of grilled pork chops marinated in Minnesota maple syrup, awesome mashed potatoes, and local beer.


We're now driving to St. Louis. I'm really looking forward to the next few days. I think Alex and Tiffany Schmidt are going to come to the dance and we're going to hang out after too. And on Saturday we'll be going to Chicago and I'll get to spend most of the day with Jesse and Brittany Stanton! It rained the other day while we were driving through Iowa and it made me a little homesick for Seattle and my Seattle friends and family.

The inside of the van: iPad, empty Starbucks cups and swing music blasting.

Joke of the Day

Did you guys hear about the fire at the circus?
(joke compliments of Jillian "Bean" Skeen)

Day 7 - Minneapolis, Minnesota

Yesterday we drove from Iowa City to Minneapolis.


We had lunch/dinner at a Mongolian Grill just outside of Minneapolis. When our "grill-master", Tom, heard that we were in a touring band he wanted our autographs. Of course, we obliged and gave the man our signatures.

Tom, our "grill-master" at BD's Mongolian Grill, Minneapolis.

After one week of traveling with the piano it had begun to get out of tune. We got a local piano tuner to meet us at the venue about an hour before the gig and he fixed it up for us.

Piano tuner's evil eye.

Last night we played at a dance venue called the "Four Seasons Dance Studio." It was a comfy but crowded place with a great ambiance; it had lot of couches, dim lighting, and cool art on the walls. We were playing for a blues dance, so we took a lot of our tunes down tempo and played more saucey, slow dance songs. I'm sure there were a lot of factors, but between having a tuned piano, having a room and acoustics where we could hear each other, and getting into a groove after seven days of playing together, we sounded really good. It's definitely been our best show yet (I'm sure I'll say that again though).

The alleyway just outside the venue looked European.

We be jammin'.

Day 6 - Iowa City, Iowa

Yesterday's gig was in Iowa City at the University of Iowa. The dance was in an old brick church that was constructed between 1856-65. It was aptly named "Old Brick."

The building was very beautiful. The room we were in had stained glass windows and an organ but it was so echoy and live that it made it very hard to play. The rhythm section was still pretty tight, but the overall sound was muddy.

By request, I'm going to give you guys a short tour of "how the heck do we fit 4+ guys, a piano, a drumset, and a whole lot of other crap in a van." Short answer: trailer. I forgot to take pictures of the inside of the trailer so that'll have to come tomorrow.

We've also started our own bug collection on the front bumper.

Which brings us to the...

Joke of the Day!
(as always, hover over the joke for the answer)

What is the last thing that goes through a bug's mind as it hits the Syncopators' bumper?

Day 5 - Omaha, Nebraska

We drove from Denver, CO to Omaha, NE yesterday. It was a long drive, but I'm starting to get used to it.

The Famous Nebraska Corn Field

The drum set that I'm playing on is made of all vintage Slingerland drums and Zildjian cymbals. The bass drum is from the 1920's, the floor tom is from the 1930's, the snare is from the 1950's and the cymbals are from the 1910's.

Vintage Slingerland Drums

Swinging Out (instead of "rocking out")

So far in the trip the four of us (Glenn, Solomon, Kevin and me) have been traveling and hiring local musicians for each gig. We picked up bassist Steve Pikal for this gig and he'll be traveling with us for the next three gigs. Steve is the best bassist I've ever played with and last night was the best the group has played yet. I'm looking forward to the three other gigs with Steve. We also got a local reed player for just Omaha, he was a real nice guy but isn't traveling with us.

Solomon, Steve, and me with a funny face

Omaha treated us very well. They gave us homemade soup, free drinks, they had a green room for us to hang out in and they put us up in the Quality Inn for the night. The hotel was especially nice because the drive to Ohio City is a little less than five hours so we got to sleep in.

Joke of the Day

(hover over question for answer)

How can you tell if a stage is level?

Day 4 - Denver, Colorado

Sleeping at the hotel in Salt Lake City was very nice. It was good to get a decent amount of sleep. It was also pretty cool to see the landscape change from arid rock/sand formations in Utah to rocky tree covered Colorado mountains.

The drive to Denver was a little more than 9 hours long. The only event was seeing the Mystery Machine at a gas station in the middle of nowhere. I was really hoping to find Daphne there. But I think she was getting in to danger somewhere.

The venue, Overstreet Dance Gallery, was a little outside of Denver and a little smaller than the previous gigs. There were probably less than 40 people there.

Somewhere near Denver in Littleton the price of gas was really $3.39. Also, it's been really nice weather over here recently. It was above 80 yesterday in Denver and probably around that in Salt Lake too.

Quote of the Day

(both quotes seemed very topical)

"Bow ties are probably the best way to go ahead and let everyone know you're better than them."

"Velma was the only one in the whole Scooby Doo gang who had a freaking clue."

-ProdigalSam (on twitter)

Day 3 - Salt Lake City, Utah

The latest news in Syncopator Escapades:


Once again, we had a long drive. This time it was from Bozeman, MT to Salt Lake City, UT - a nine hour drive.

Morning landscape in Montana

At one point in this journey we drove through Idaho. The typical speed limit on Highway 15 is 75. We went through a city so the speed limit lowered to 65 for a few miles. I was driving and didn't notice the speed change. Naturally, I got pulled over and got a ticket. The office was generally nice, but I now owe the state of Idaho $85. I didn't get a picture of this... it didn't seem like the right time to pull out my camera.

After we were done setting up; before the dance started.

My favorite part of this gig was the "Polygamy Lindy Hop Contest." The basic rules are: every lead starts with two follows. After they all dance to a song, the judges eliminate half of the leads and their follows join the remaining leads. This happens until one lead is dancing with all of the follows. I wasn't able to get a picture of it, but the winning lead looked real good out there.

From Left to Right: Solomon Douglas (piano), Dave Brown (bass), Glenn Crytzer (guitar), Mark Ribera (drums), Kevin Woods (trumpet), Tad Calcara (clarinet)

The people of Salt Lake treated us very well. I guess this just reinforces the "Mormons are really nice" stereotype. They put us up in a hotel and had sandwiches waiting for us when we got there. That may have lit a fire under us because we really rocked/swing it for them... definitely our best playing yet. The principle of clarinetist of the Utah Symphony, Tad Calcara, played with us. It seemed like he is a local hero in the swing scene. He was a very excellent player and a really nice guy.

Quote of the Day

"Then there's Snoop Dog, who is a head and a shoulder above all of them."

-Glenn Crytzer

Day 2 - Bozeman, Montana

Dear diary,


Yesterday was an event filled, crazy first day on the road. After leaving the Seattle gig at the Russian Center, Glenn, Solomon, Kevin and I headed back to Glenn's apartment to load the van and trailer. This included moving an upright piano through tight doors and down an elevator and putting it on casters with just three guys at 3:00+ in the morning. After loading everything we hit the road at 6:00am and started our 12 hour drive to Bozeman, MT. We took turns sleeping in the van and sleeping at the wheel. It was a fairly uneventful drive save this sign we found in Mullen, MT.

I was driving as we got closer to the venue in Bozeman. We had a choice of routes. We decided to take the shorter, but slower route to save on gas. Bad choice... this route included a extremely bumpy gravel road that no doubt put our piano more out of tune. Right before we turned down this unfortunate path, I got pulled over. Turns out it was just the front left head light was out.

The police lights in my side view mirror.

Here are some photos from the dance. The final head count was around 100.

We stayed in guest homes last night. Brian and Amanda were quite hospitible.


We're now on our way to Salt Lake City, UT! And we've had very scarce cell service and internet.




No jokes today... I'm too tired.


Over and out,
Mark

Day 1 - Seattle, WA

Friends!

I am embarking on a two month tour playing drums with a swing band called Glenn Crytzer and his Syncopators. You can check out the band at here and you can look at the updated tour schedule on facebook here. 

Tonight, September 22nd, we'll be playing a send off gig at the Russian Center at 9:30pm. Come out and dance! This will be the first of about 45 gigs in the next two months around the country and into Canadia for a few days. 

I'm planning on doing a post in every city we travel to with a picture, funny story, something exciting or a stupid joke. I'll see you around Turkey-day, Seattle!

Joke of the Day

(hover over question for answer!)

What do you call a triangle using the bathroom on an airplane?