In November, I went on a six week tour with Grand Buffet, which Lord Grunge and I had been booking since we met on the Wounds tour. It was the longest run either of us had attempted. We did four weeks on the east coast, then flew to San Francisco and did two weeks on the west. We got shows anywhere we could… bars, houses, a high school cafeteria, a prospective students night at a college… If a bill was already full, we would ask if we could show up and play a few songs between bands. At the time, having no equipment was novel, and it made it possible to jimmy our way on to bigger shows.
Grand Buffet was incredible. I was touring with them right as they were blossoming into an unstoppable live act. We would be billed as separate acts, but sometimes I would just do a few of my songs during their set and leave it at that. I barely knew how to perform as a solo MC. My songs were tight but my set was less than dynamic, and it was better in small doses. I learned a lot by watching them every night. By the time we got to the west coast, I had put together a somewhat stronger solo set.
In GB, I met two people that were like older brothers. I admired them. (and I still do) They weren’t at all caught up in fitting into any scene or playing a part. They just wanted to do what they were driven to do, in front of anyone who would listen. They treated me as if I was cut from the same cloth. They knew what I was trying to do, because they were doing it.