The Human Condition goes to Portland

String band shenanigans! We were in the great state of Oregon for a whole 5 days...oh, the times we had!

People live well in Oregon. They also live safely and conveniently, as evidenced by this sippy-cup-inspired coffee lid.



More evidence of fine livin':



The Human Condition's first show in PDX was at Mississippi Pizza Pub, in the up n' coming, Hayes-Valley-esque Northeast quarter. Best part of the gig? Getting to hear Djangovitis, a rippin' gypsy-jazz trio. Second best part of the gig? Being given a soup-can microphone, handmade by one of the guitarists:



No trip to Portland is complete without Voodoo Donuts. I had the Raised Grape and Oreo N' Peanut Butter! Our buddy Phil went for the Bacon Maple Bar...classic.



Everyone in Portland is super into getting lots of tattoos...far and away the best one we saw was on this barista's arm at Peet's downtown. He says it's a "pugasus."



When it was time to leave, we were sad to go...but plenty of happy fun times awaited us on the road back to SF. Our infamous and mystical bassist, the Rev. Nate Harris, is always seeing signs...



We crossed the border back in to Cali just in time for some spectacular sunset action over Mt. Shasta:



We made lots of friends on the road, and we can't wait to take The Human Condition back to the Northwest. The last time we stopped for gas, just outside Winters in the Central Valley, we met this lil' lady, hanging out (literally) in the 4Runner's wheel well.

The Human Condition Hits The Road, or SoCal is Bearable In Small Doses

Some of you may be aware that I am the mandolin specialist in a neo-string band called The Human Condition.



We recently played 3 shows with the legendary Jerry Joseph and the Jackmormons in San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego.



After a rowdy night at Hotel Utah (never seen that many people there for a show!), we piled into the 4Runner and hauled ass down to The Mint in LA, where we learned that Bon Jovi pretty much ripped off his entire act from this guy.

As we left Los Angeles, we noticed that a ladybug had hitched a ride with us. She sat on the gearshift, occasionally crawling around the console to check stuff out...and ended up coming all the way back to San Francisco with us, where I carefully placed her on a plant in Nate's front yard.



Next stop: Winston's in Ocean Beach, which is basically the Berkeley of San Diego. Jerry's crowd was in full effect, and THC had the honor of being blessed by a 'mermaid' before the show. On the way through La Jolla, we spotted Mark's new favorite business concept:



After the set, we checked out the Jackmormons for a while and then hopped back in the truck and hauled ass back to SF in record time: 7.5 hours from San Diego to San Francisco!

Favorite part of the tour: Jerry Joseph's bitchin' Hamas t-shirt. It's so punk rock to buy things online that might land you on the Homeland Security watchlist!