P.S. Must remember - immigration form to passport control and customs form to "nothing to declare"

5th August
Now in a bit of a quandary about whether or not to take my guitar. If I take it, I will need to buy a signal booster and have all the hassle of carting it to Atlanta. If I don't, I need to buy a pickup for an acoustic over there. Now, I haven't heard any decent pickups on our local scene and am wondering whether it is worth the expense. Will need to look into it. Grant says to get a Fishman Rare Earth Pickup.

6th August
Off down to Edinburgh for a gig in Ryan's bar with Emma Christie and Ellie and Andrew Mulhern. Left at 1:45 so hopefully get time to mill around for a bit beforehand.

9th August
Well, Fridays gig was quite fun. We arrived pretty much bang on time after stopping off at Mo and Pete's for a cup of tea. Mo showed me what she had been doing with my web site and then we were off again.
Ryan's bar is a strange shape with a central area and various nooks and crannies, so the sound was never going to be top notch. It worked out OK though. I had to borrow Andrew's guitar as mine was too quiet due to the pickup being passive. I had to snip a bit of my dress off to attach my guitar strap to the guitar which amused the bar staff no end!
After the gig I had a few (too many!) drinks with Richard and Vic before we headed home. There was a big mist north of Dundee so the journey took ages and I finally got home about 3:30.
Saturday was spent mostly spent recovering! Woke up about 9 then after breakfast, I went back to bed ‘til about half three. Sunday- went to the international market in town and bought some nice teas and some trousers.
Papercuts and Lime consignment arrived today. Finally!

13th August
Rick has bought a pickup and preamp for me over in the States so I don't need to get one here and take it over. They both look pretty cool. A Fishman Rare Earth Humbucker Pickup and a Yamaha AG Stomp. Lots of fun to be had! Doing a radio show in Edinburgh next week and a Drummonds gig, so need to practice!

18th August
Well another date has come up, the Gypsy Moon in Asheville. So I'll be kept busy at least! Sent the CDs away to rick brother in Atlanta, hopefully they will get there in time.
Gig tonight in Drummonds. Last chance to practice before and nerves kicking in...

20th August
Well, Wednesday's gig was pretty cool. Sabai, a girl duo, were support and they were very good. I played well, apart from a couple of screw-ups and afterwards I stayed back for a few drinks and ended up not getting home ‘til after three. Had spent an hour in a taxi queue in the pouring rain. There was a big lightning storm and some very drunk students who were somewhat annoying! You'll have to excuse the writing as I am yet again in the car with Stuart. We're heading down to Edinburgh for a slot on the Festival Radio Station. Should be fun! My little cousin Cluny and my aunt and uncle (Susanne and Colin) are coming up today so I'll need to remember to be quiet in the wee hours when I get home!

25th August
Late night last night and a VERY early start this morning! All packed up by midnight, I had 4 ½ hours sleep before getting up and showered for the journey, The flight to London was fine and I had a couple of hours spare to buy books before boarding. I got: Crime and Punishment, Baudolino and Lords and Ladies - a fascinating blend of authors...
The inflight movies include, The Day After Tomorrow, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and I have an MP3 player so I will be able to keep myself occupied for nine hours on a noisy plane.
We are currently below Iceland on our way to New York, and it is -58 degrees at an altitude of 38000 and 4683 miles to go. We are headed to New York and then down the coast to Atlanta!

Later: We arrived in Atlanta about 4:15 and I was bursting for the loo. But first, I had to get through customs and immigration. It took AGES and there was no loo to be seen, so the queuing felt like an eternity. When I finally got my bags through I couldn't find Rick, so I went outside for a rollie and checked my phone before going back inside to seek him out. I found him, and we headed off to the car. I was totally disoriented by then, so I guess I didn't make too much sense!
We got to his brother's house and met Alison, Chris (Rick's brother) and Jack the dog. The houses are very cool here, all different colours. Alison and Chris have an excellent shower and I took one to revive myself but was still very sleepy. We made an executive decision not to do the open mic at the Red Light Café. We went to Billy Goat's for tea and I had some enchiladas and a chocolate pot, which was essentially a cup of chocolate goo and some biscuits. It came highly recommended by Alison so I tried it out and it was delicious!
We wandered back to the house and I had to say my goodnights as I was so tired I could barely keep my eyes open. I slept ‘til 6am and read a little, dozed off and didn't wake up ‘til 10 - so I slept for pretty much 13 hours.

26th August
Rick and I went to Rob Gal's studio. Rob is cool, and has a great sense of humour, so we got on well. We had lunch at a pasta place. I think I may be charged extra baggage with all the weight I will have put on by the end of this trip! After we listened to some songs at Rob's studio, Rick and I headed up to his Mum's in Dahlonega.
It's really lush here, full of trees and kudzu, a mad plant that grows over EVERYTHING.
There are crickets, hummingbirds and strange rattling things that make noises in the woods. Rick says his Mum and her husband Fred were visited by a bear recently! I hope I get to see one too! We went to Turner's Corner for tea and I had Shrimp Creole, which was lovely, but the portion was far too big! I am now sitting on the porch in the dark listening to all the strange noises. The woods are totally alive with beautiful sounds. Oh, I forgot to say that Rick and I had our very first jam together - it was strange playing with someone I had never really met, but it worked out fine.
Tomorrow, we go to see Tennessee and play in the Crimson Moon in Dahlonega. I have my first international press as well, complete with photo in the Dahlonega Nugget!

27th August
Had a great night's sleep and headed for Tennessee this morning. For those of you who don't know, in Easier Said Than Done, one of the places I had never been was Tennessee, so we drove up to the state line and I had my picture taken. We went to Ducktown where I had catfish, hushpuppies and curried beans.
It was great! So I just need to tick off Lapland, Russia, Vietnam, China and Rome!
We drove back to Dahlonega to practice and my fingers are SO sore. I think it might be the humidity as the calluses on my left hand are peeling away. On our way back, we saw a sign advertising "Christian Plumbers" which is a new one on me! We went to a pharmacy to pick up some allergy pills. It was huge and had all sorts of weird and wonderful things. I bought a mobile phone lighter to complete my "buy something rubbish" part of the tour. It rings when you light it though so it will be very annoying in the long run. Tonight is the Crimson Moon gig and I am quite nervous, mostly because my fingers hurt, but also because I'm not sure how my sense of humour is going to go down. We shall just have to see I guess!
The pickup and preamp are very cool by the way.

Later...
What a fantastic gig! The Crimson Moon is a very cool venue. It wasn't packed out but everyone was enjoying themselves and I sold heaps of CDs! I tried Sam Smith's Oatmeal Porter beer but I didn't like it too much. I had Cheerwine instead, it was very nice. Fred and Sheila came down and filmed the whole thing. Afterwards, it poured with rain later on, and there was thunder and lightning. We sat around outside for a while chatting, and watching the rain.

28th August
Set off for Asheville after a brief stop at Rick's Gran's house. We stopped in Helen, which is a crazy town all decked out in a Bavarian style, very touristy. There were lots of people in swimming costumes launching into the river in inner tubes. As I was watching this, I got stung by a baby Yellowjacket, which is a kind of wasp thing. It was very sore! The swelling went down really fast though, so it was OK.
For lunch, we stopped at a barbecue place. I had a pork basket, which consisted of shredded pork in a bun and some chips. There were heaps of bikers and one of them had an insane motorbike car contraption - Rick took my photo next to it. I'm glad the owner didn't take offence!
We headed up to Asheville in some very wet weather although it had calmed down by the time we arrived at Mark's house. I will be staying with Mark and his flatmate, Anna for a few days.
They have a house up on Richmond Hill, with a balcony and lots of trees outside. They have two cats by they haven't really bothered me. I'm in the spare room on the floor, with a couple of sleeping bags and a pillow. Sounds uncomfy, but it suits me fine.

Once I got settled in, Mark and I headed down to the town centre to meet Rick and Randy. We stopped at a French Café and I had some pitta bread with spinach and artichoke dip, which was very nice.

We then headed to the place where Randy works to pick up the PA. Randy, Mark and Rick are all in the same band. Randy works in this great antique furniture shop with some very cool, but very expensive wares! Their rehearsal rooms are above the shop and are huge. The main room reminds me of a dream I once had, which was strange and so it felt very familiar.
From the main room, you can get out onto the roof, so I took a picture from there.
We headed down to the Gypsy Moon to set up. It looked quite nice. I even got ID'd, which was great, as I am 6 years over the legal limit here!
James (the support act) arrived and he's a really nice chap. We all took a wander round town before James went on to perform. He was very good, and received a warm reception, even though there weren't very many people there.

Then it was time for me and Rick to go on. The first set went over well but the audience left in dribs and drabs over the course of the second set as it was so late, and soon we were playing to about 6 people who didn't want to hear us. We were contracted to play ‘til 1:30am and although I would have happily taken less to finish early, they held us to it. I think they were cutting off their nose to spite their face somewhat. We had a few drinks, and put it down to experience. We got paid $100 to practice and that's fine by me. I won't play there again though! Apparently Cat Power got the same response so I can take heart!

29th August
Up at 8 to shower and dress for whitewater rafting! Rick and his friend Trip picked me up around 9am and we headed down to the Nantahala Outdoor Center near Bryson City.
We got our equipment and went to the safety briefing and it totally put me off going!
However, I decided "nothing ventured, nothing gained" and got on the bus for an 8 mile trip upstream. I watched the river as much as I could. We put in and started a bit of a paddle. Rick was steering and I was the engine for the day. The first rapid came really fast and I was absolutely terrified! However, we rode through it and I found that it was quite fun. Halfway through, and I was powering into rapids and laughing like a madman. It was very enjoyable. At the end, rafters were given a chance to come out and check the last rapid to see whether or not they want to do it. I decided I might not get back in if I did that, so we pushed on!
We hit the first part quite calmly and then hit the big one. Totally soaked - we ran right down the middle of it! Fantastic!
I definitely have a new sport!
Rick, Trip and I had lunch there. I tried fried green tomatoes with some sort of sauce. They were delicious. We all shared a brownie and then I went to buy a t-shirt to commemorate my day. I fell asleep in the car on the way back as I was so tired.
Once I got back to Mark's, I found that he and Anna had bad colds, so steering clear! I had a long chat with Anna's friend Lyndsay about the differences between the UK and the USA.
I then retired very early to my room to write up the diary, do some reading and get a good night's sleep.

30th August
Had a long sleep, the rafting really took it out of me! Mark and I will be going into Asheville town centre to pick up a postcard for my Nana and to find a suitcase for taking on the plane, as it is likely I will be leaving with more than I came with. Probably will pick up some clothes as well.
Rick picked us up about lunchtime and we went to Cats and Dogs - a catfish and hotdog place - for lunch. Then Rick went back to work and Mark and I went to look for a suitcase.
We found a cool yellow one in an antique store for $12, so I got that. We dropped it into Randy's work while we wandered round a bit. We went to where Mark works - a chocolatier called the Chocolate Fetish - and we got some free samples! Delicious!
We had a cold drink at Beanstreets before going up to Rick's work to get a lift home. I've got quite a sore back, and so Rick has sent me to a masseur that he did some work for while he finished work.
The massage was excellent, and just what I needed. After that, Randy, Mark, Rick and I went to Mellow Mushroom for some pizza before they had a band rehearsal. I bought a couple of dresses at Ingo and then we headed up to their rehearsal rooms. I still think that place is brilliant - I would love to do it up as a flat.
I read some more Crime and Punishment while they practiced and when they were finished, Mark and I had a wee battle of the drummers (they have 2 kits). He won, of course!
We went back to Mark's house to do some recording for Rick's song "All I can Afford". Rick's friend, Harold, a keyboardist, came round with some recording equipment, decent mic etc.
I am sitting very quietly in the kitchen while Rick does vocals.
I don't know what I am doing tomorrow, but it will include writing a postcard to my Nana and finding an Asheville sticker for my guitar case.
I have to say that thus far I have been having a wonderful time. Everyone I have met has been so welcoming, it would be difficult not to feel at home.

PS Harold just gave me a mic! We'd been talking about gigging mics and he just handed to me. I have named it Harold in his honour.

31st August
Today was a shopping extravaganza! Rick picked me up, took me into town, and went off for a meeting. I went to the Colburn Earth Science Museum (die-hard rockmonkey that I am). It was very beautiful, lots of stunning minerals and groovy maps. It's mostly set up for kids and the uninitiated, but I liked it.
I had a wander round then met Rick for lunch at Tupelo Honey, where I sampled grits for the first time. And probably the last time too! I much prefer the fried green tomatoes.
After that, we went to old Europe for a real cup of tea and Rick left me to my own devices.
I read for a while and then went gift shopping. It's very difficult to shop in Asheville if you want anything from America. It's such a hippie town that most of the shops are full of things from India, China, Nepal and other exotic places. I got a few locally made things though and also succumbed the buying myself a belly-dancing outfit.
Hopefully, I can finish shopping for present tomorrow. I went to a café called the London Bus, and it is indeed a london bus transformed into a café. Pity the sullen youth that served me didn't transform into a decent waiter. You can't have everything.
After that I headed to Rick's office and then we put the PA in the car (from Randy's work) and he drove me home to Mark's.
Anna is still full of the cold, poor thing, and I am beginning to feel the sniffles coming on.
Tonight, Mark and I will be doing some recording (the song that Rick wrote).

1st September
Drove down to Carrboro for the Open Eye gig. We're staying at the Hampton Inn. On our way down, we stopped by Rick's office and also went to Beanstreets for breakfast. I had a coffee and a cinnamon roll. I'm in the papers again! Quite a nice piece about the Malaprops gig, so hopefully there will be a few people there.
We headed down the road and went past the Billy Graham Training Centre - Billy Graham is an evangelist.
We stopped off for a Burger King and we continued on. There's just miles and miles of straight road.
We took some video footage of the journey, just to prove it's infinite monotony.
We found the hotel fairly easily. Our room is quite cool, a bit like the motel on the pilot of the X-Files but a bit more up-market.
I guess they pretty much all look alike.
The Open Eye is a strange little place where people go to drink coffee and read. We dumped our equipment off round about 6pm and I reckoned we wouldn't have much of an audience. And I was right!
We had a wander round town and into a CD shop called CD Alley. I asked if I could drop some CDs in and they agreed, so I am now US distributed in Georgia and North Carolina as the Crimson Moon took some too.
The gig was pretty dire, attendance-wise, although the people who were there seemed to enjoy it!
There weren't many sales and only one tip - a student town unfortunately!
After the gig,, we went to a sports bar for something to eat as everywhere else was closed. It was hideous! Wall to wall TVs showing different programs, while AC/DC played loudly over the speakers.
I had some vile greasy chicken chili thing in a bowl, which I didn't finish, and a glass of wine.
Afterwards, we crashed out, and I read some more Crime and Punishment. It's turning out to be a very enjoyable read.

2nd September
After a nice lie in, I had a blueberry muffin and a cup of green tea for breakfast, while watching the weather report on television. Hurricane Frances is on its way. I kind of half-hoped that it would hit Atlanta on Saturday so I could stay a wee bit longer.
Rick and I took a wander into town (Chapel Hill) for shopping and reading. Chapel Hill is a university town, full of fraternity and sorority houses, the kind you see in the movies.
They are very proud of their sporting achievements - they have entire shops dedicated to university sports merchandise.
Rick managed to locate a kazoo, which I bought for Stuart.
We had a glass of coke at a little café, read, and played with the camera a bit. The footage from this tour should be interesting!
We went back to the hotel and Rick went for a swim while I collapsed into a deep sleep for an hour or so.
Then it was gig time again. After dropping some CDs into CD Alley, we headed to The Cave.
The Cave is a great bar, dingy and underground with Christmas lights and weird paraphernalia all over the place. It's very dark. There were a few locals down there and Rick and I watched an anti-Bush comedy news program with them. It's not entirely unlike the 11 O'clock Show. It was very amusing and I'm glad I got a chance to see that Americans can be just as quick to condemn the president and his wily ways.
The bartender put on some Bach while Rick and I drank Monty Python's Holy Grail beer (very nice) and got set up.
There was a small, but appreciative, audience and despite my on-coming cold and allergy to the two dogs in the bar, we played a good (if a bit husky) set.
After we packed up, we dumped the kit at the hotel and went to get some food. We ended up at a Turkish restaurant and had a light snack and a bottle of wine.
Our taxi driver back to the hotel was very cool. He had been in the Navy and we had a good long chat, I gave him a CD as a present. I hope he liked it!

3rd September
We packed up and headed back up to Asheville. Stopped off at a REAL truck-stop. I had some confusion with the waitress who seemed to want to know if I wanted soup on my sandwich. Rick informed me this was not normal behaviour, so I said no. The food was OK, but the whole truck-stop experience was fun!
We arrived back in Asheville early, so I went back to Mark's for a change of clothes before heading out to dinner with Rick and his wife. Mark's flatmate, Anna, had Lyndsay over and also Carl who was up for the Labor Day weekend. I did a bit of filming - mostly of them all trying to fix a window, and then Rick picked me up. We went to a Thai restaurant and look what my fortune cookie had to say!

"You are soon going to change your present line of work"

With that token of good luck, we were all set for the Malaprops gig. Malaprops is a bookstore, with a café in it. I felt a wee bit of foreboding as it looked like it might be quite quiet.
However, the place started filling quickly, mostly down to the press I've had over there.
There was even a nice woman with a kilt on!
There was also a family contingent, so I had to tone down the patter and remove some of the more salacious songs from the set.
Rick and I had a great time in front of a very appreciative audience and I even signed some CDs! A nice gentleman even kissed my hand when he left! Very good manners...

After the gig, we went to see the drum circle, a regular Friday night event, where people turn up and just bang on things (sometimes drums, others had whatever came to hand) for a few hours. It was brilliant!
We then went to Akumi to see a band. Mark's workmate Chip gave me some chocolates as a goodbye present. Champagne truffles covered in gold dust. Yummy!
The band were OK, but a bit bland for me and as we were all quite tired, we said our goodbyes and headed home.
It was time for me to pack, so I did that before trying to get some sleep.

4th September
Goodbye day.
Rick picked me up at ten - Mark had had to go to work, so I had already said goodbye to him. We tried to convert my footage for Rick to edit, to no avail.
We got some breakfast in town, dumped off the equipment at Randy's work, and said goodbye to him.
Then we were off. We took some more footage of the road trip and had lunch in Dillard, Georgia. It was a quiet run, we both were a little sad that it was all over so quickly.
I dozed off for a bit before we reached Atlanta, and then took some more footage.
We got to the airport and I had a rollie before going in. I wanted to take a last look at where I'd been and take stock a little.
We checked in my luggage and went for a beer.
There was a guy playing sad songs on the piano and it summed up how I was feeling; too soon to say goodbye to the US!
Rick got someone to take a photo of us both, for posterity and we headed to the departure lounge. We walked past many soldiers loaded down with guns, headed off to places unknown. I gave Rick a quick hug goodbye and thanked him for everything. Then it was time to go.
The plane ride to London was fairly uneventful and I watched the Stepford Wives before getting some sleep.
After a quick dash to the Aberdeen plane, I was on the last major leg of the journey. On the plane I met a nice girl called Nadia. She does voluntary work in Belize and is studying at Gray's School of Art.
When I arrived at the airport, there was no one there to meet me, so I sat around for a bit before calling home. Turns out they thought I wasn't back ‘til Wednesday, so I got a cup of tea and waited for Mum to come.
When Mum arrived I took some more footage of the journey home.

The whole experience has been an eye opener for me. I realise that I love doing music, wherever I am, and that I still have a long way to go...

Thanks go to Rick, his wife Chris, his brother Chris and his wife Alison, Jack the dog. Rick's folks Sheila and Fred, Mark, Anna, Lyndsay, Carl, Randy, Chip, and Trip.