Jeremy Porter Road Blog

Road Blog: Thursday October 17, 2024 - Spokane, WA

Road Blog
October 17, 2024
Spokane, Washington

I was greeted by 35f temps and snow-covered mountains when I stepped out of my motel in Bozeman yesterday morning. The rain had subsided, thankfully, but there was a fall/winter chill in the air, and I couldn’t be bothered to listen to TrooperGirl22’s advice when she told me I might want to bring a jacket last week, so I pulled on my flannel, loaded my rental, and headed west towards Washington.

The drive got pretty intense, pretty quick, as I ascended into the mountains and some pretty serious snow squalls, rainy areas, and patches of dense fog. These are steep, winding roads, and there were patches of ice and very low visibility. I did my best to stay cool and catch what scenery I could, and got the occasional respite in the valleys that lie on the other side of each mountain. I dealt with all that for about 4 hours before it cleared up as I crossed through northern Idaho and back into Washington. That’s stretch of I-90 though northern Idaho is amazingly beautiful, even with some limited visibility.

First stop in Spokane was Go Records where I thumbed through the new arrivals and chatted with the owner for a bit. He was nice enough to give me a record box to either send or protect the records I’ve purchased on this run on the trip back to Detroit. After about 15 record stores since I hit Portland last week, I am a bit done with it for a bit, and I’ve got a pretty good stack from this run and my September runs that I still haven’t listened to, so I should be good for a minute. Well, there is one in Vancouver near the venue…

I parked the rental at Overlook Park and checked out the panoramic view of the creek and amazing bridges carrying commuters into and out of the city. I called TrooperGirl22 who was heading out for drinks with a friend, and got caught up about things back home and filled her in on the Bozeman show and drive to Spokane. I got caught up on my phone for a bit, snapped a few pics of the canyon, and headed back into the city.

I stopped at Guitar Center to return something I bought in Salt Lake City and didn’t need and don't want to fly home with, and as I was walking up a dude ran out the front door with a guitar and broke into a sprint around the corner. That’s odd, I thought, then as I was waiting in line, the manager on duty was giving the thief’s buddy and probable accomplice hell, but he didn’t seem too concerned about the whole thing, surprisingly, and the accomplice knew he wasn't getting in trouble. These dudes looked scruffy and strung out, but it seemed like a pretty simple operation, to be honest. Still, thieves suck, even when it’s against a corporate giant.

I pulled into the Jackson St Bar and Grill and asked myself what the hell I got myself into. This bar is a few blocks off the main drag…off of any main drag, behind some warehouses, sitting alone on an abandoned dark block. I walked in and it got quiet as everyone turned and looked, then casually resumed their conversations and pool games. I introduced myself to the bartender, who called the sound guy, Shane, and put in for a burger and some cheese curds for me. There was a weekly pool-night thing going on, and that was clearly the focus of the room. The crowd were clearly locals, and it seemed like the last thing they’d want would be some aging punk rocker from Detroit singing some sorry-ass songs about cats and hangovers, but I was there, and they fed me, so I was resigned to doing my best.

Shane, the sound engineer, got me dialed in quickly and it sounded really nice up there. I got right into it and people were quiet at first, but by song 2 they were applauding and digging it. My pay was a door deal (for civilians, that means people pay a cover charge and the musician gets whatever comes in, or a percentage of it, for better or worse. No guarantee or anything), but there was no door person, and these kind of places usually don’t charge regulars anyway, especially when they’re there for the pool night, so that pretty much crushed any hopes of walking out a wealthy man, but I put out my Wal-Mart jack-0-lantern tip bucket and hoped for the best. One lady named Pam put in a fiver, then a couple songs later got pissed off to see that was all that was in there, so she gave me a wink, said "I got this." and held up the bucket and berated her friends, who promptly dug into their wallets and tossed a decent pile of cash in. THANKS Pam!!

One dude walked in with a big Koffin Kats patch on his jacket, and he seemed to be digging it, and we had a good chat after the set. Jeff is a good dude who knows the Kats and has booked them out there before. We traded some road stories and agreed to stay in touch. He’d seen the post that the bar put out about a guy from Detroit playing that night and that was enough to get him out. The same thing happened in Boise a week ago. It seems whenever a venue actually helps promote (novel idea), it helps attendance.

A guy named Gray came on stage between songs and started telling me a lengthy story about how he used to party with Sly Stone in the 70s and what his (and Sly’s) drugs of preference were. Yeah, you can probably imagine. Dude is in his 80s, a real character, and seems to like spinning a yarn so I just smiled and took it in while I waited for the opportunity to play my next song. Someone yelled “Gray – your shot!” from the pool table and I continued my set.

The show was actually pretty fun, way better than I thought when I first walked in, the crowd was generous with their tips, and I left feeling pretty good about things. I said goodbye to Jeff and Pam, Shane and the bartender, and continued west down I-90 to Moses Lake, Washington, about 90 miles west of Spokane. The scent of cow manure is intense, to put it mildly, and it was dark so I couldn’t see what was going on, but I even checked my shoes to make sure I didn't step in anything and was tracking it around.

So thanks to The Jackson Street Bar and Grill for a fun night! Today I am driving to Vancouver, BC to play at Trees Organic Coffee and Roasting House, and that includes the always-stressful border crossing. Tomorrow is the last show of the Dynamite Alley Fall 2024 Solo-Acoustic Tour in Seattle, at Blue Moon with Joe Reineke, Mike Spine, and Laurent Chavez Moving in Slow!

I am tired. Xx