This weekend found us in Iowa.  Friday night we were at Gabe’s in Iowa City and on Saturday night it was Headliner’s in Ames.  As usual, Iowa treated us well.  The most exciting part of the shows was the emergence of two new originals into the rotation: “Something’s Gotta Give” and “Rock My Dee-ock”.   The latter could be a fluke, but the former should be a staple for a long time running, so keep your ears out for it.
Quick anecdote: As we were packing up to leave Headliners, with literally two things left to pack, an epic storm erupts on us.  Like Jurassic Park style.  The van was maybe 10 feet from the door, and in one trip running to the van and back, I was dripping wet.  The band and some hop-ons (you’re gonna get hop-ons) piled into the van.  We pulled up some random address where we were staying and started following the instructions of the automated British woman’s voice.  Once we got going we realized we couldn’t see anything through the windshield.  We were going maybe 10 – 15 mph, probably less, and still could see virtually nothing.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen rain like this.  To go along with that, there were 60 – 70 mph winds and some righteous lightning.  We had to avoid countless trees, entire trees, and street signs in the road.  I’m pretty sure a cow went flying past us at one point.  Since we couldn’t see anything, we ended up in a construction site, swerving around bulldozers and mounds of rocks.  To get out of the construction, we had to jump a huge lip in the road with our van packed with pianos and people.  After a few unsuccessful tries, we all rallied together, yelled “GO!!” as loud as we could, and willed ourselves to victory.  Can you picture Washington crossing the Delaware?  It was a lot like that, just in a creepy purple van in the middle of a tornado.
Next weekend we’re back in Iowa, this time at the Redstone Room.  Be sure to listen to all our new songs posted on http://www.facebook.com/timstoptrio.  We’ll be playing them there.  Talk to you soon.
TS