vacationing in rock bottom, back again

Greetings from the Land of Enchantment-

It’s been a long while since I’ve been to Santa Fe and I’m thrilled to be checking in from backstage, briefly escaping the dry, 88 degree day. This tour has been a fun one, starting off at Newport Folk Festival where Mavis Staples told me both that I looked 19 and that she liked my glitter bikini (among many other wise and warm and quotable gems) and included big cities and small towns, support gigs and extremely exciting headline shows too. It's been a buffet of little experiential delights which at this ripe age and point in the album cycle, I’ll take it!

I’ve been really tuning in to my relationship with my dogs lately. I’ve always loved dogs, always had them growing up and rarely been without a dog in my adult life. We played a show last week in Bloomington, IL and while there I thought a bit about David Foster Wallace who lived there for a decade and taught at ISU. Before you rejoice as a fan or admonish as a critic, I’ll say that I hold all my feelings about DFW with a pretty measured and clear-eyed grip. As I walked the quiet, whimsical, small town Midwestern streets of Bloomington with my dogs, I found myself thinking about dog people, which Wallace seemingly very much was. There’s this sweet, soft depth of connection with my two dogs and I often feel it the most when we’re on the road. I think for introverts or artists dogs provide a magnanimous type of passive, easy companionship. They create a sense of structure in lives that are often set up to be open and untamed. Their expectations aren’t rigid or challenging but they consistently depend upon you to show up.

My two dogs’ personalities are so distinct, in many ways they’re total opposites. Ernie (the elder) is stubborn as a mule but so dependably calm, I can truly take her anywhere and trust her to charm anyone she meets. I’ve thought about training her to be a therapy dog. I think she’d be so good at it. Rootbeer the puppy is either wild and crazy or she’s curled up like a baby lamb, as physically close to me as she can be. She breathes through her mouth like a little kid on the playground, occasionally pees on the bed because she can’t quite tell the difference between soft surfaces and is so deeply sweet and eager to please. In the last few years it’s occurred to me that I really love being alone which is counter to some idea I had about myself when I was younger. Like a true Capricorn, I keep my friend group small and close and I actually think I’m a bit shy. Dogs are perfect for me in that I feel alone and accompanied at the same time when I’m with mine. I speak to them and although they don’t speak back I can tell they understand me. They make me laugh all day long. We have our own little language. I’m sure fellow dog people will relate to this. They’re simply the greatest friends on the planet.

Through sheer luck I’m finding myself in a lot of cities I really like on this trip. Santa Fe, Boulder, Salt Lake, Portland, Seattle, the list goes on. I’ve procured some treasures as always, some Astier De Vilatte incense (Tucson is my flavor), another Deiji button-down for my growing collection and a dress that sort of looks like something a creepy Victorian babydoll would wear. Today Ellie and I bought the same Apiece Apart trousers for 30% off at Spirit of the Earth, had a coffee from 35 Degrees North and tonight I plan to consume as much green chile-smothered food as possible without making myself ill.

It’s been a blast to have my pal Brennan Wedl along opening up some of these shows. We’re covering “Six O’Clock News” by Kathleen Edwards together. It's so fun to harmonize with her “immediately iconic voice”, as Kevin calls it. We’ve got a few more shows with Brennan and then we’re off to the PNW to do some shows with Foxwarren. As a self-described Shaufhead I am very excited.

In about one month we’ll join up with the Outlaw Tour and in October we’re doing Shoalsfest and then 4 shows with Rilo Kiley in California. Perhaps I’ve already said this here but remember the meme of Miley Cyrus front row at Britney Spears’ Vegas residency? That’s me literally any time I’m at a Jenny Lewis show. I’m going to be giving Miley seeing Britney in a big way whilst opening for RK. If you see me crying, well, I guess just let me cry!

That’s about all I have for you my beloved Substack readers! At Newport I met the lovely Hayley Williams who told me she reads this thing. Hayley if you’re reading : I love your new songs.

More soon. XOXO.

KC