48 Hours in Seattle
Alright, well that was a lot of fun!
SUSS just did a quick trip to Seattle and KEXP to do a Live Session with DJ Alex. In 48 hours, we loaded all of our equipment into a taxi, got to the airport, flew to Seattle, spent the night, woke up played the show, got back on the plane, got all the equipment back in a cab and loaded it back into the studio as if we had never left. And somewhere in the middle of all that we had an amazing dinner at Pike Place like real tourists!
But let's go back to the beginning. If you remember about 4 weeks ago, SUSS tried to get to Seattle, but ended up spending 3 hours on the tarmac and a few more in the airport lounge waiting for a thunderstorm to pass. Though we appreciated the time for extra beers and much contemplation, it appears that the pilots ran out of time and we were left stranded in Queens and had to head home.
But KEXP was quick to rebook us and back we went. This time we had a few weeks of gigs under our belt and were “battle-hardened" for our return to Seattle. We actually figured out a way to get all of our gear and the three of us into an over-sized taxi and now we think we can conquer the world.
When we arrived in Seattle we were ushered into the text-book version of a "Rock & Roll Hotel" - The Crocodile. It had a lounge and ambiance that came close to matching Jack White's "Blue Room" green room in Nashville- and that's saying something.
The Crocodile was just up the hill from the Pike Place Market, so we spent the evening at Matt’s Restaurant enjoying the best seafood stew and views that any of us have ever had. We were joined by Jonathan's old friends and bandmates from Life in a Blender, Don Rauf and Dave Moody. And having known these fine gentlemen for over 40 years, JG regaled us with classic war stories from the 80’s and beyond.
And then it was back to The Crocodile to find out why they call it a rock & roll hotel it turns out it is also a venue and the night we were there we were "entertained" by a hardcore Japanese hip hop act that kept our bathroom fixtures shaking long into the night.
The next day, maybe a little bleary-eyed, we loaded into KEXP with the help of our friend Blake Conley aka Droneroom, and were immediately greeted by some of the friendliest and accommodating folks we've met on this tour (and we've met a lot- thanks again Nelsonville Music Fest staff!). KEXP treated us like stars, but as far as we were concerned, the real star was DJ Alex, who we have come to know through his amazing weekly ambient music program- Pacific Notions. We’ve become so used to hearing his voice on the radio/internet that when we heard it actually coming out of a human, we were stunned.
Alex, thanks again for all the support you've given SUSS over the years, and thanks for inviting us out to Seattle and KEXP.
But the adventure wasn't over. We had to load our stuff back into the rental van, get it to the airport and on the plane, fly across the US, unload it from the plane, get it in a taxi, and then back into Pat's studio in Long Island City.
We did it- in less than 48 hours! Hey, it’s not like Phil Collins chartering an SST to play Live AID, but it may be as close as we ever get. And now that we’ve rested for a few days, if asked, we'd probably do it all again!
Talk soon,
SUSS
