Part 1

Part 2

Our last stop of the tour brought us to the birthplace of the blues and rock-and-roll, Memphis, Tennessee. It was in Memphis that Elvis Presley recorded "That's All Right (Mama)" at Sun Studio in 1954, and it was where W.C. Handy introduced the world to the blues. Richard Kriehn, Peter Johnson and Gary Raynor visited Sun Studio and walked the famous Beale Street -- a riot of juke joints, blues halls, neon lights, catfish po' boys, liquor and ribs.

In the spirit of Beale on Sunday night, the band paid homage to the great hits of Sun Studio -- "Great Balls of Fire," "Love Me Tender," and "That's All Right (Mama)." It was a memorable end to the Summer Love Tour under the moon and the stars. A great thank you to all for coming to the show, we'll miss all of the fans and the beautiful music every night. The folks in Memphis aren't the only ones with the blues.

Our Summer Love Tour brought us to Tuscaloosa, Alabama on Friday, an antebellum beauty. We knew we were in the heart of Dixie, surrounded as we were by southern hospitality: sweet potato pie, bacon-wrapped steak, and gravy as a condiment at every meal.

The Tuscaloosa Amphitheater is right next to a huge, dark M&O wooden train trestle. It was built in 1898 and looked mighty rickety to our eyes, but the locals assured us that freight trains still crossed it daily. But the only train we heard Friday night was coming from our sound effects man, Fred Newman. Garrison and Sara Watkins sang some powerful duets under a nearly full corn moon, and Sara joined Richard Kriehn for a fiddle medley that fired up the chilly night. Almost Fall, the evening air has a real bite to it, but Indian summer lingers on and we have Chattanooga, Tennessee ahead of us.

Great show in Kansas City, especially once it hit dusk and the big Missouri sun settled down a bit. I didn't get a chance to eat any of the famous KC 'cue, not that I would have because I'm the token vegetarian of the group, but surely the thick, sweet sauce would complement mock duck or other soy based meat analogs quite nicely. We're on our way back to Minneapolis for the weekend for the State Fair show, so the tirelessly working crew and performers will have a chance to sleep on a bed that isn't perpetually in motion. I have to say, though, there's a lullaby quality to the the hum of the highway and shifting gears whilst being rocked in a contained dark cradle-like bunk. The occasional rumble strip massage adds a soothing effect. I haven't slept better in years.

Lest you think that it's all work and no play on the Summer Love Tour, Monday was our day off in Alaska. Some people went on a plane ride to Denali, while the rest of us steamed ahead to Seward, AK by train and then hopped on a whale-watching cruise. We got some great shots of marine life -- otters, puffins, humpback whales, orcas and sea lions -- before heading south to Kansas City.

We did our show Sunday afternoon from the Alaska State Fair in Palmer, Alaska. The grandstand was beyond oversold, the rare Alaskan sun shined down on us, and the performance was magnificent -- the twin powerhouses of Heather Masse and Sara Watkins blending with Garrison Keillor to make exquisite trios and Fred Newman's sound effects echoing off the purple mountains all around us.

The main events at the Alaska State Fair are the vegetable weigh offs and they are quite hefty -- I saw a 74-pound head of cabbage as big as a border collie and I was told that there would be a 1,700-pound pumpkin rolling into the fair on Wednesday. How does the biggest state in the U.S. also grow the biggest produce you ask? In this 'land of the midnight sun,' the crops get about 20 hours of light during the summer, so vegetables turn titanic and the grass and trees glow neon green with all that extra chlorophyll.

The fair was dizzyingly crowded for a state that's otherwise devoid of people (1 person per square mile to be exact), and the Alaskans were parading their fried foods around like prizes. They chop up their baseball bat-sized zucchini here and deep fry it, I tried deep fried peaches over ice cream, and golden halibut nuggets, a chili-covered corn dog, a bbq chicken parfait (better than it sounds), raw beet juice (as bad as it sounds), glazed donut burgers, and a bucket o' mini donuts. We stocked up on enough grease to last us the winter, or at least until we make it back to the Minnesota State Fair on Friday.

Wine is to Saratoga as beer is to Chico, evidenced by the endless parade of neon signs, sidewalk chalkboards, and banners promoting the amount of craft brews on tap at any given establishment. It's a college town, but there is a lot more to this NorCal city than the shade-wearing, longboard-riding, beer chugging undergrads. There are the trees, for one, which are enormous and everywhere and provide necessary solace from the midday sun; the gorgeous, sprawling municipal Bidwell Park, with its variegated terrain contrasted with the ample trees and flatness of one side and the rock formations of the other, and the gorgeous Chico Creek running through the middle of it all.

The show took place in the auditorium of the university but the recently arrived students must have been busy studying, because the audience was moreover composed of of-age Chicoans, who sounded like they were having a lot of fun. It was a change of pace being indoors, but a welcome one for the nice acoustics that the musicians' ears are more accustomed to.

We pulled out of Chico around 11:30 pm and hit the long dusty trail for to Bend, Oregon. After what felt like 15 seconds of sleep I awkwardly unfurled out of my bunk to a completely empty bus. It was eerily quiet; the scattered Oreo cookie wrappers and empty bags of popcorn looked jarring in the early 7 am light. Was this all a dream, or I was suddenly in the plot of a post-apocalyptic zombie movie? Something made a ghastly groan from a bottom bunk--a pale, corpselike hand pushed out at my feet. I stood ready to wield my 4-wheeled briefcase and send this thing back from whence it came, but out rolled our sound man Tony Axtell, who was apparently just as dazed as me. Only two days on the road, but all this living has left me dead tired. Time to rest in peace until we have to be up in a few short hours to prep for tonight's show in Bend.

The crew made a perfectly timed exit out of New York and swapped the East Coast for the West before the earthquake, which should have heightened any paranoia about being in tectonically shifty California, but it's hard to find fault in a land so beautiful. We also traded personnel (me for Ella) and acquired new motorcoaches, which shall be our faithful steeds for the next leg of the tour.

The winding trip up the steep narrow road to the Mountain Winery in such a large and top-heavy vehicle makes a flatland dweller with a fear of heights appreciate living on monotonous terrain. My temporary terror was totally worth it once we arrived at the top -- the far reaching view of the Santa Clara Valley and the surrounding Santa Cruz mountains from the winery grounds was more stunning than remembered from last year. Like the fine wine it produces, Saratoga seems get better with age.

It was a perfect night; the air was cool and still, and everyone was swaying to the music, unless that was just the bottomless cups of wine working their magic. Probably both. Heather Masse's fellow chanteuse and bandmate from The Wailin' Jennys, Nicky Metha, was at the show and came up on stage to harmonize on "Bird Song" and it was absolutely lovely.

Surprisingly, all that vino and feel-good music didn't put people in the mood to buy any of Fred's nose flutes, but so it goes -- on the whole we departed the Mountain in high spirits from the good energy and good people of Saratoga, but you better believe at least one of us held on tight the whole way back down to solid ground.

Portland, Maine is a very strange town, and we loved it. It's a city that has old world charm but really embraces youth. Upscale boutiques next to tattoo parlors next to fine art galleries next to nightclubs, and so many of the buildings are historic. We had the day off before the show and some people took whale-watching tours, or sailed around the bay, went thrift store hunting, or checked out a lobster pound.

The show on Friday night was just as exhilarating, Fred Newman got a standing ovation after playing a sound effects-laden tune on his mouth harp and The Guy's All Star Shoe Band earned another one for bringing down the house on the Powdermilk Biscuit Break. It was almost midnight before the tour buses took off down High Street, and we were all tired but happy. For our next stop we head to the "Capital of Cape Cod," Hyannis, Massachusetts.

I traveled with the tour for the first week shooting video for the website, which will hopefully give fans who can't make it to one of the shows a chance to see what the tour is all about, or let anyone who was there relive their favorite moments.

I've found watching the show from behind a camera every night means I get to experience them a bit like an audience member -- except I know what's coming and have to pay attention to the evolution of things show-to-show, since that usually determines the video I'm going to post the next morning. "Pat's guitar solo had three more notes in it tonight. Those three extra notes make it perfect for the Internet." That sort of thing.

I think Portsmouth provided the most unexpected example of this so far. Being that it's home to a major U.S. Navy facility, and being that the venue was right on the harbor, we were treated to official-sounding airhorn blasts every half-hour or so. It made for some interesting interruption. Listen for it in the "Professional Organization of English Majors" video:

Greetings from Gate City -- Greensboro, North Carolina. Yesterday was our first day off, some of us did laundry at the hotel, others went for a hike around the gorgeous green hills, or ate smoky pit-cooked barbecue for dinner. North Carolina has got to have the best food -- hot biscuits, grits, cheese straws, fried bologna sandwiches, bread pudding, and coleslaw on your hot dog -- what a state.

Everyone was excited for Heather Masse's first show with us and the weather was picture perfect. Tonight we're on the road to the Old Dominion State for tomorrow's performance in Portsmouth, Virginia.

Andra Suchy spent her childhood on a farm near Mandan, North Dakota, the daughter of two talented singers. She and her husband, Andrew Pierzina, make their home in Minnesota, where Andra sings with Andrew and with several Twin Cities groups -- including the all-girl trio The Dollys. She has also worked as a jingle singer on commercials for White Castle, Target, and more. Andra's solo CD is called Patchwork Story. She recently signed with Red House Records.

When did you first know you wanted to be a singer?

I don't think it ever hit me, it was just something that I'd always done. It would have been weirder to take on a different job.

What is your favorite duet to sing with Garrison?

"Bramble and the Rose." It was one of the first ones that we ever did together and I think it suits us and it has some sentimental value for me, too.

What did you miss back home?

I missed the annual Suchy Bohemian Hall Festival, a.k.a Suchy Fest. Our family festival. It happens in Mandan, North Dakota, on the Saturday evening closest to the full moon in August, which was August 13th. This year there were over 600 people.

Will we be hearing you in any new commercials?

I'm on the Stella commercial. I'm also doing the voice over for the new McDonald's strawberry lemonade campaign.

What was your favorite memory of the tour?

Waking up to my view in Louisville. The botanical gardens in Michigan were beautiful, too. But my personal highlight was being able to spend so much time with everyone -- the music and the laughing.