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Monday, July 11th, 2011

Box of Luden's

July 11, 2011
On the road from Kill Devil Hills to Charlottesville, VA

We played WVOD (99.1 The Sound) radio in Nags Head, North Carolina this morning at 8am. Jess and I chatted with Matt (DJ and all around good guy) about the new record, the tour, and swimming in the Atlantic the day before. Then we played Wide Open World.

Let me tell ya.

Singing in the AM is a hit or miss thing at best. Some of the notes of that chorus this morning were T-E-N-U-O-U-S. But we pulled it off, frog throat and all. Still, it’s very cool to perform live on the radio, every time.

The WVOD studio is situated directly on Roanoke Sound. Umm… Holy Shit. Gorgeous. Seriously. I’ve been in a few radio studios, and some very cool ones. But Matt’s view is stunning. You look out the window and you see reeds and marsh grass and then Roanoke Sound stretching around you in every direction. Sky into water, water into sky.

I want to go back in the winter and see it. I’m weird like that. I prefer beaches in the winter. I think that’s a byproduct of growing up near a beach (Pensacola, FL) – you get picky. It’s irrational and completely senseless, but it’s true.

I’m typing this in a van traveling at 81 miles per hour. We’re listening to a Louis CK standup routine right now. We had breakfast at a Cracker Barrel. Wow. That joint got the right name.

This blog entry is losing focus rapidly… Trees are whizzing past. The van keeps rolling over cracks in the concrete. It’s like a mantra, that loping rhythm. I keep staring at this half-eaten, half-crushed box of Luden’s cough drops someone jammed into a tiny cubby space in the dash of this 15 passenger van. I’m staring at it as what it is: a randomly chosen, yet oddly consistent object in my life. I realize that we are forming a relationship, this box of Luden’s and me.

Psychologists say that one of the single biggest factors for creating and maintaining a healthy, long-lasting relationship with someone is consistency. It’s reassuring when someone repeatedly shows up in your life as the same person. It’s comforting when our expectations are met time and again. Most people will unconsciously choose the predictable option over the arbitrary. They’ll lie and say otherwise, but how else can you explain movie sequels and Dave Matthews?

I’m sure it's some biological imperative tied to our fight or flight system connected to some adrenal gland tied to some deep urge for our DNA to dominate and win connected to fucking and propagating tied to some primal species survival mandate. Or something.

See, the world can be a random, haphazard Cuisinart of a place. We don’t actually control anything. One day, the AC doesn’t work in the van, the next day, your dog forgets you. Every once in a while, you play a genuinely great gig. Then you climb back into the van, drive for 8 hours and collapse into a bed that grabs you like a cheap taco in some in bland, depressing motel with carpet that makes your head hurt when you stare at it. Then, you fall asleep, dreaming to the rhythm of 81 miles per hour over cracks in the highway.

So… I’ve come to identify with this half-eaten, half-crushed box of Luden’s cough drops that's shoved into a cramped cubby hole in the dash of this 15 passenger van. I keep staring at it. We get each other. It’s consistent.

Posted By John Common at: 11:07 am 1 Comment

kate obrien-meyer

July 12th, 2011 5:07 pm

JC, I'm so hooked on your written word, even if you're brain dead @, what was it? 81 mph. Love to all of you. Kate

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Monday, July 11th, 2011

Box of Luden's

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