...18 years ago...

Wake up at 4PM and get cleaned up. Eat at the "Tasty World" restaurant at the Days Inn. SLOW service. Go to Chapel Hill and arrive at the "Rhythm Alley" at 7:30. Small place but comfortable. Set up. Sound man is slow in setting up mics. Lee takes Rod and Joe to radio station. Dave B., Dan and I check sound. OK but the monitors don't work. The guy is fixing them.

"Tasty World" was anything but. Rhythm Alley was a small club that was originally called the Cat's Cradle.

After sound check I take a walk - others tag along. I run into Jon Wurster on the sidewalk. We talk to some kids who have come to see the show. He's down here recording some demos with "The Right Profile". We go to a convenience store. He's having dinner with Faye Hunter (from 'Let's Active') at a restaurant down the street. We talk to kids some more then Lee and Dan show up. (Dan is road manager and sound man this tour. Dave R. is staying at the home office for most of the trip. He'll meet us in Chicago, LA and Austin to help coordinate the recording of our third record. We walk back and stop in restaurant. Rod and Joe are taking to Jon and Faye. Dave B. and I stop and talk for a while.

Our connection with Jon is well documented. I had met Faye years ago at a 'Let's Active' show in Philadelphia.

Back to the club. some people have arrived. We put Jon and Faye on the guest list. Dave B. makes set lists and we go on about 10:30. Rod is losing his voice on the spot, the monitors are feeding back and all hell is breaking loose. We end "Tarantula" and try and fix the monitors - no success. Rod's voice is really gone. We plow through the rest of the set (an hour!). Jon plays the fast part of "Bitchin'". Rod has several members of the audience sing parts of songs for him. A crazy, sloppy show. Crowd didn't seem to mind so I guess our embarrassment won't last too long. Dave, Joe and I go on again and play instrumentals and our cover of "Rocketship". We stop and hang out. People talk to us. We pack up and leave. Get a case of beer to take with us and go back to the hotel. I write - others read. We go to sleep at 3. Hope tomorrow proves to be better as far as the gig goes.

"Rocketship" being the 'Daniel Johnston' song.