Selected Suede Chain recollections as compiled by bassist Brian Hunt (Chicago, IL) Bumpin elbows at the Elbo Room. Began road testing new songs. Old friends showed up to make it a night of reacquaintance. Krumm experiences Twilight Zone-like episode when two different persons come up to him and say, "Are you an Aries" Yes, he says. Later, one of those persons tells him his exact birthdate: 3-24-71. Omigod. (Champaign, IL) Time for a hometown show; We played for The Gypsy's one year birthday party. Eric J., the spontaneous opener for the show, was rumored to have driven straight to Champaign from New York via motorcycle, guitar strapped on his back; a truly rauchous image of rock and roll. It was at this show we acquired some cool straw cowboy hats that amazingly made it through the tour and currently hang on the walls of the Suede homestead. Krumm's Twilight Zone episodes continue as a young man insists on kissing him repeatedly. He was reportedly "shrooming." Kansas City here we come! (Kansas City, MO) Home of great BBQ, so what do Jake, Krumm, and I go eat when we arrive?, PIZZA at TORRE'S Pizzeria. The incredible weather seemed to be following us everywhere we went. Once again we were able to visit with some old friends. Before the show we were able to catch some of the Emmy's. Later we were able to feed the TV fix with Brenda Starr, a cheesy but delightful Brooke Shields movie. We left town before Krumm had time to lose his temper and burn the entire city down, as do many musicians who play at the infamous Hurricane. Yet another Zone episode for Krumm at the said venue when a concertgoer utters, "This band is really good, but that chick playing the guitar sure is ugly!" (Lincoln,NE) We played the Lincoln-branch Hurricane bar. Ran into 3/5 of the now defunct rock band The Millions. Krumm made the clothing score of the tour at the Lincoln Salvation Army. Two groovy polyester shirts for 70 cents. After the show, I slept in a closet, one night I even hosted a small dinner party in my lovely transient pad. I also bought a new amp. (Cedar Falls, IA) This bar (STEB'S) claimed the top prize for "Outstanding Interior Decor for a Venue of Medium Size." Where else can you find a ceiling mural depicting the trials and tribulations of Elvis melding with scenes of drunken North Woods bounties. A small but appreciative crowd cheered and yelled until we did a total of two encores-a Suede Chain first! Later, an interesting moment involving Dr. Seuss'"cat in the hat" placed a perplexed smile upon our faces. [The cat in the hat was a tattoo on a girl's butt, by the way--Editor's note.] (Charleston, IL) A cozy show for a cozy room. The heated billiards competitions began. (Carbondale, IL) Nashville's Stella opened the show in fine style. Jake continued his pool improvement, "we'll have him playing 'non-slop' pool by the end of the tour." Krumm continued to leave his intials on every video game he came across. (When playing a video game, look for the initials BMK, you never know.) (St. Louis, MO) Once again, The MRMF proved to be a gathering of great bands and fans. Matt broke a string halfway through the opening song Daisy Dawn and continued on like a trooper. I think Jason may have also broken a stick. Later, St. Louis' the Urge furiously jammed and stagedove and towards the end of the night, Champaign power trio Menthol took the stage. (Chalreston, WV) One of many state capitals we visited on the tour. Thorndike, a miniature greyhound was one of the many cool pets we encountered on the tour. Learned many interesting tidbits about the capital like, it's the second tallest capital in the US behind the nations capital. (only 2 inches shorter). The bar we played at was The Empty Glass, not to be confused with Chicago's Empty Bottle. By no means did Krumm puke after this show due to all the free drinks that were generously bought for him. Krumm also did not spend the next afternoon recovering in an apartment above the bar. (Athens, OH) Who knew Ohio was so beautiful? Out in the middle of rolling hills, small towns and a river sat the kind town of Athens. The first and only near incident with the law after the owner of a video store said she was going to call the police if we did not move our van from her parking lot. Jake yelled at her, but she deserved it. So there! (New York, NY) We were blessed/cursed with time off in the cathedral of all that is great and all that is horrible. There are many highlights from NY, only some of which can be mentioned. We stayed with friends Dan and Gil in Hell's Kitchen. Krumm was fortunate enough to pose for a picture with Rupert of Letterman fame (you know, the "Hello Deli" guy) I on the other hand was lucky enough to be aggressively propositioned by one of NY's many "ladies of the night," at least I think she was a lady. Have you ever had someone greet you with a handshake while both of your hands were busy?...you figure it out. Other highlights: the very loud Chavez at The Cooler, the uptown bars The Snug and Jake's Dilemma, drugs in Central Park, the Metropolitian Art Museum, open alcohol on the streets, the Hell's Kitchen Bar & Grill (no joke!), a Boyz 2 Men sighting at Fez, the club we played at, and of course the thrill of a NYC cab ride...are sidewalks legal roadways? (Washington DC)This was a pitstop on our way to Richmond. We hit town at sunset, just in time to experience the granduer of our nation's capital. I personally went through two rolls of film in about 2 hrs in this city. We visited the Lincoln memorial, the Vietnam memorial, and The Brickskellar, home to over 500 brands of beer. We gave it our best, but were only able to sample about 300-450 flavors. (Richmond, VA) We had 2 more days left before we returned to world of smokey bars, music, and living out of the van. We spent the last two in a reportedly haunted, pre-civil war estate owned by a friend. We spent two relaxing days and nights at the place talking about the Confederate gold rumored to be buried on the land, the family cemetary, the bomb shelter, and the cows that woke us in the morning. At the bar we played, Twisters, Jake and I were schooled at pool by a couple of locals. Krumm, Jake, and I "accidently" walk into a topless bar. Well, we're here, we may as well stay for a beer or two...or three. The set that night was definitely the lowpoint of the tour. Advice to aspiring sound engineers: do not play video games when you are supposed to be mixing, and always have microphones and cords that work. (Lexington, KY) A quick bite to eat at the Rose Bud, and then a tightly squeezed set of music at Wrocklage where we opened up for the slamgrass outfit, Leftover Salmon. Nice guys, but don't even joke about stealing their Mayor McCheese, even though they stole it from its rightful owners at McDonald's. (St. Louis, MO) Cicero's: the land of great pizza and basement bar music. Now, if only people would have showed. What happened to the Cicero days of old? (Champaign, IL) Homecoming. Hit the Blind Pig at full throttle and played the tour's second second sold-out show. Them Champaign folk like us, I reckon. Semisonic, featuring Dan Wilson and John Munson of Trip Shakespeare fame, actually opened for us... Definitely a highpoint of the tour. (Minneapolis, MN) We played at 7th Street Entry-the side bar connected to First Avenue. You might have seen the place in Prince's movie, Purple Rain. After we set up, and did sound check, we walked over to the main bar and watched the kids go nuts to the sounds of Blind Melon. (Two weeks later Shannon Hoon, the bands lead singer, would be dead of an overdose.) We opened for Rex Daisy and Semisonic and had a good set. Highlights of the set: a merchandise purchase mid-set and a coin toss to decide the last song played. The next day, 1/3 of the gang went to the Mall of America and rode the indoor rollercoaster. There's nothing comparable to whizzing past a Foot Locker on a rollercoast...INSIDE A MALL! The mall is Minnesotta's third largest city. 2/3 of the band headed for the record store/hip clothing stores/bookstores/hip bars district. Krumm even got a chance to stop by The New Power Generation, the artist formerly known as Prince's lil' shop with nuttin but Prince stuff! Yippee! (Deluth, MN) This marked the northernmost point The Suede Chain has ever played. Pretty cool, eh? At the Cheese Chalet somewhere in Wisconsin, we took a moment to reflect on this moment with a piece of cheddar.