Paleoverb Project, Part Two

Sunday, April 20, 2025
We’re on the road to Hays, Kansas. From Oklahoma City north to interstate 70 and on to Hays to the west.

Rain storm in Oklahoma.

About an hour into the trip, we got hit with a pretty substantial rainstorm. Really big drops, lots of water on the road and tons of trucks around to kick more water up. It’s probably an understatement to say that it got a little dicey for everyone, but we’re all very good drivers and knew how to be safe. I’m still pretty thankful. So much can go wrong and it’s always good to keep your eyes peeled and stay on alert during those times. That sounds obvious but it’s easy to let your mind wonder and not think about what’s coming up and how to address it. Anyway, about three hours of rain and we came out the other side into a beautiful blue sky and Kansas state line.

That’s when I really started to get goosebumps and feel like a kid just about to arrive at Disneyland.

The thing is, I’m the only one that’s ever been there out of all the artists who came. They’ve all been taking my word for it so far. I’m sure there were lots of questions in their minds, especially when they were hitting the road and going through the journey. I can’t imagine what kind of trust it takes to follow a hippie into the desert. They all did it with huge smiles on their faces. I’m still completely amazed by all of that.

So, I was nervous; I couldn’t wait for the moment when we all arrived and the others took a first walk through the room to hear what I heard when I was there the first time.

We got to town and checked into our Airbnb. Marlo found us a really cool place to stay in Hays. A quaint little house with a huge basement. There were like nine rooms and three bathrooms. Laundry and a big kitchen!

Lauren went shopping and bought a bunch of really good food and became our chef for the next three days. I honestly can’t even tell you how good it was! Seriously restaurant quality, killer food. All real food and really good for us! I have no doubt that it was a huge part of how things went the next few days. Thank you, Lauren! Thank you, Marlo! Joshua may have had something to do with finding the place and cooking stuff as well, so thank you, Joshua!

We got all checked in and met the nice woman who took care of the house. Her name is Tina and she did a great job! She even warned us about the cops in Hays and said that they are not very nice. I’m not sure why she would’ve just said that out of nowhere, but I suspect it was because of a certain aroma in the air. What a nice lady.

We got checked in and had a snack. It was delicious. Then I headed over to start setting up at the museum.

The control room.

Reese Barrick is the museum director and he’s just about the nicest person I’ve ever met! This guy agreed to do this crazy project and trusted me even though he’d never even met me. He didn’t charge us; he donated the facility to make sure the project could be done. Not only that, Mike, the custodian, and the rest of the staff were unbelievably wonderful to us! They let me start setting up before the museum closed. They were lenient about letting us have drinks and even food in the museum and we never even spilled one drop! They provided a big rolling table, so I didn’t have to tear down the mic, Pre’s, converters, and all of the “control room” kind of stuff.

I set up just outside the cave, bringing a 100-foot snake with me so I had plenty of room to get away from the microphones and performance, space enough to be able to really hear and not bother them. I brought some really great headphones, but they aren’t tight pattern mics, they’re very open and you can actually hear the playback pretty well from the other room. I didn’t want any kind of bleed from that. These mics are extremely sensitive and they’re pretty hot for this application.

Lauren Leigh inside the dome.

The underwater cave room itself is quite amazing. Think of standing inside a cement jellybean. Add wooden pathways in the middle laterally with entrances on either side. The entrances are sort of around corners, so as you enter you feel like you’re underwater. I was able to set up the close microphones right in the middle. This is where the artists stood and sang into one omnidirectional mic; I had the instruments mic’d up as well. I brought some really groovy old ribbon mics as well as some beautiful tube mics to catch the reverb. I was able to place the reverb mics out on the edges of the jellybean. That’s where the sound was reverberating around the cement, rounded wall area on either side. I stood the musicians facing each other so that they were also each facing their opposite reverb space. That just means they were each facing the opposite ends of the room so that I could capture a left and right reverb.

Hannah, Veronica May, Will Stucky, Lauren Leigh, part of the recording team.

Just as I finished setting up, Veronica May and Hanna Brown arrived. They were on the docket for the first night. Not long after them, Stucky Leigh and Please Ask for Paul arrived. They all took a walk through the space. I followed closely behind them to see their reactions when they first sang in the room.

I wasn’t ready for the emotions that followed. They were all just as moved as I was and started singing right away. I was flooded with excitement, relief, and confidence! I had chosen the right people and they did, too. It was in that moment that they realized what was about to happen and we all got goosebumps. That was the first time I cried. It wouldn’t be the last by any means.

We quickly set about getting the songs together. Everybody was there to sing on a couple of Veronica and Hannah’s songs. The first song we recorded was literally with everybody on the project all at once. We weren’t using headphones or overdubs or any kind of listening devices in the room. I had microphones set up everywhere so I could record what was happening in there. Just instruments, voices, and that room, all reacting to each other.

The performers immediately started to use the reverb as an instrument. That became another element in the band. They were letting the tempos breathe so that the reverb could decay during breaks and stops. They were using whispers and shouts. The sound coming through my headphones, made me ugly cry like only a dumb man can! Lots of snot and stuff! I was completely blown away. It was a hundred times better than I even thought it could be. You could really hear the ambient space and even a sort of din of air that I can’t quite describe. Probably a mixture of the giant space of the dome and the air conditioner in the building. lol. But like most noise floor issues, it adds to the overall ambience, depth, and width of the recording. In other words, we freakin’ lucked out!

We recorded that first night for several hours with all sorts of different configurations. Veronica did one solo, Hannah did one solo, they did a couple with everybody, and we all hung out and laughed and cried. The journey to get there and the relief of it all working was causing some real emotions. Beautiful.

I cleaned up and put away all the mics. We stashed all the gear in a storage hallway and Reese let us put the rollaway table in another hallway so I wouldn’t have to pack up and unpack everything.

Set up the first night took two and a half hours, whereas the next two nights’ set up only took about 45 minutes or an hour. Thank you, Reese!

Mural in Hays, Kansas.

The second night was Stucky Leigh. They also did a full ensemble piece, maybe two, if I remember correctly. Then they recorded four or five with just the two of them in that big expansive space. It was just incredibly magical all three nights! If you haven’t heard Stucky Leigh, it’s hard to explain the beauty of their harmonies and songs. Their lyrics speak to matters of the heart in a way I’ve never heard before. There’s a depth and authenticity to their words, melodies, and delivery.

Veronica and Hannah deliver a similar and equally as strong and beautiful dynamic. Words and melodies intertwine to stir your soul. It’s impossible to keep tears from flowing.

Please Ask for Paul has all of those things but deliver it in a completely different way. There’s a beautiful melancholy mixed with musical and lyric poetry!

They played the third night. They also ended up doing a full ensemble piece of a song they had all written together back at the Airbnb. I’m telling you, living together for the three days we recorded was priceless! So much fun and magic.

We recorded a couple songs with the ensemble and then the trio of Please Ask for Paul recorded six songs. Their sound leans into the reverb of the room in a way I wasn’t expecting. The guitars and voices lend themselves to rich, lush, and deep reverb. They were wielding the reverb like a magic wand! Beautiful harmonies from Marlo and Sean and beautiful melodies and words from Marlo. Joshua does this amazing swell-oriented guitar thing. Sean plays beautiful melodies on the guitar. They both had little amps and we just positioned them in the room where they sounded good. I put mics on those, but I bet I won’t even use them. This trio sounds like 10 people. It’s quite amazing!

After three magical days, I was pretty beat. I got a good night’s sleep after striking everything and loading it back into my car. This was the last night and everybody was feeling it. It felt like sixth grade camp was ending. We were all gonna be heading in our own directions the next morning and you could feel the reluctance to separate. Veronica and Hannah went home the night before and we all hit the road on Wednesday, April 23.

I had until the 26th to get to a show in Chico, California and then beat it home the next day to play a show in San Diego. Then, re-acclimate to home life for a while.

Rockies on the left; prairie on the right.

I decided to go up and around Colorado and visit my daughter in Salt Lake City! By up and around, I mean up I-25 to I-80 through Laramie and the high prairie. The Rockies on the left side and the prairie on the right. It winds down until it hits the Wasatch mountains in Utah and Salt Lake City on the other side. It’s a beautiful drive! You can really start to picture what it must’ve been like to see millions of buffalo running free across those planes.

Leaving Kansas and heading west on Interstate 70 toward Denver, there was a huge, freak hail storm. Probably not so freaky. I bet they happen a lot, but the hail was really big, and I swear to God I thought the windshield was gonna cave in. It lasted about 20 minutes and then blue skies again.

On my way through Denver just after turning north on I-25 I was in a bit of an accident. Going through a construction zone I was going the speed limit, which is kind of rare. About three cars ahead was a big flatbed truck. The truck had two, giant, 600-pound generators on the flat bed. Somehow, they fell off the truck and started sliding across the highway like they were on ice. I managed to avoid one of them, but the second one hit me head on. There were cars all around and I just couldn’t avoid it.

My pony got wounded.

It caved in the whole front end of the car. I was going 65 or 70 and managed to keep from hitting any other cars or the walls on either side. You know those walls they put up during construction that completely close in the lane? That’s what it was like. I felt like a pinball trying not to hit the sides. Anyway, the truck driver was hugely apologetic. I’m sure he must’ve felt really bad to have an accident like that happen. Who knows why the generators fell off the truck.

Unfortunately, there was no time to linger. On a tour, you gotta get back on the road. My car is still in Colorado, at a mechanic. With Keebs fast phone action, I got back on the road in a rental and headed north to I-80 and then west to Utah! Thank goodness for Keebs! She made it all work! She speaks insurance!

The beauty of the prairie was so much more profound to me that day. Feeling so grateful to be alive and still on the road and on schedule to make it in time for my gig in Northern California. I had a wonderful and relaxing night in Salt Lake City. A great visit with my brilliant, brave beautiful, bad ass daughter, Dakota.

I got to bed early so I could get up the next morning and hit the road to Reno. I had about 650 miles to cover. Thankful for the good night’s sleep and good energy level!

By now it’s Friday, April 25, on the road to Reno.
The road from Salt Lake City to Reno is unbelievably majestic and beautiful. It’s also a little weird. All sorts of volcanic energy and salt flats and the great Salt Lake and the Pilgrim Trail.

Donner Pass.

The Pilgrim Trail is the trail that the Donner party used and all of the pioneers that had to cross the Sierra mountains would use. One had to lit out west from the desert before it got too late in the fall. If you left too late, you’d get stuck up in the mountains during winter, which is what happened to the Donner party. Honestly, this drive is one of my favorites in the country. You get to go through Winnemucca and all sorts of little desert towns that you swear you could live in.

Approaching the Sierra mountains at sunset is breathtaking. There was also a bit of a rain storm and a rainbow to boot. No gig tonight but I do have a nice hotel in Reno and will get a good meal and a good rest. After about an eight-and-a half hour drive, I arrived in Reno, unloaded all the gear and carted it upstairs with the help of a really great bellman. When I offered him a tip, he said it’s on me, buddy. I’m a musician as well. He left the room and said break a leg. That’s never happened to me before. I’ll stay at that hotel every time from now on. It’s called The Nugget and it’s in Reno if you’re looking for a place.

I found a steakhouse because I was craving a steak. It was delicious with asparagus and a salad. I love people watching and my table had a great view. I got to sleep that night pretty early and was up early on Saturday, April 26!

When I opened the curtains of my hotel room, everything was white! There had been a snowstorm during the night, and it was still snowing pretty good. I immediately checked out the roads and everything was wide open.

I got ready, had some coffee, got the bell service to help me back down to the car and was on the road. Things were a little slippery, but not too bad. It was that weird combination of snow and rain for a while and then once I was up on the mountain, it was just powdery white snow. Just unbelievably breathtaking. I stopped and breathed in for a bit. I had plenty of time to get to Chico.

I was looking forward to my radio interview at KZFR as well as my gig at the Johnson House Concert in Chico. I’ve been playing this one for a lot of years and they’re always wonderful hosts and the people that come to their show are really sweet! They’ve really tapped into the San Diego scene and have Lisa Sanders and Veronica May as well as others there. It’s about halfway between San Diego and Seattle so it’s a great gig! You make a little money and get lots and lots of love.

I got to the radio station and met up with Mark Johnson. He was the host of the house concert and helped put together the radio interview for me.

I still love to do terrestrial radio as often as possible! KZFR has played me, Berkley Hart, and Tim Flannery for years and years. They also love Steve Poltz and have been very supportive to the whole San Diego community over the years. I’ve played all sorts of different places in Chico and had a great time!

The radio show was really fun. It was a specialty, singer-songwriter show so I fit in real well. I did a couple brand new songs that I have never done on radio before, and we all laughed for an hour while we sat around and talked. I met six or seven people that day and I’m afraid I don’t remember which name goes with which face but everyone there was unbelievably kind and generous. I can’t wait to go back. I still love radio, even though it’s not as popular as it used to be.

From there, Mark and I headed over to the House Concert to get set up and do a little soundcheck. On the way, I stopped at a Whole Foods and grabbed a couple morsels of good, healthy food since I hadn’t eaten yet that day. I also stopped at Starbucks. I have my morning coffee cup and then I have another cup of coffee at noon and then that’s all I allow myself these days. I sleep much better than I used to.

Soundcheck went great, and we all visited before the show. Mark and his family are wonderful. Usually the show is in the backyard; people bring lawn chairs and everybody has a great time, but it was raining that day so Mark changed plans. He set me up just inside the garage, under the overhang door. He put a big backdrop behind me that made it look like a stage and set up lights. The patrons all still came and sat in the driveway, on their lawn chairs, with umbrellas and hoods. I couldn’t help but think of Southern California and how any little bit of rain would have canceled the show, but these people are used to it, and they were just fine!

They even asked for a couple encores, even though it was still raining. I did a bunch of brand new songs and had a very triumphant solo show. I love playing with my bands, but there’s something so rewarding about a solo show. It’s a huge collaboration between the artist and the audience and getting everyone’s hearts to align is so much fun! We hung out until pretty late and then I hit the road. I had to be back in San Diego the next night.

I drove an hour and a half to Sacramento and a cool hotel that I know there. I got checked in and loaded everything into the hotel room with the help of a bell cart. I crashed out pretty quick and got a great nights sleep.

Sunday, April 27. Last day of the tour.
I woke up in Sacramento and went through all of the morning stuff. Coffee, loading gear and getting gasoline. It was early Sunday morning, and Sacramento was pretty dead. It was a beautiful post-rain, sunny day and the trees seemed a little more green or something. Sacramento is a beautiful city; they call it the city of trees.

I lit out south on Interstate 5 toward home. Jeff Berkley & the Banned had a show at the Holding Company, that evening, for a fire benefit put on by our buddy Spike Mike from the Spice Pistols!

This stretch of road is very familiar to me. I could recite every exit, in order, in either direction, from Sacramento all the way to San Diego. No problem. I could tell you what’s at that exit as far as gas food and lodging goes. I’ve been on that road 100,000 times. I still love every mile. The grapevine is amazingly beautiful and so is the desert!

It’s about a nine-hour haul if you’re lucky. Sometimes you can hit LA at the wrong time, and it’ll add a couple hours. I lucked out and got to town just in time to stop at the studio (Satellite) and unload all the mics there. Then I headed to load in at The Holding Company in OB.

My buddy Sean Hutchinson had all my electric guitar gear and met me at the gig. He also helped me load in my stuff and set up. I was very thankful for that because I was exhausted. Not that kind of physical exhaustion from working hard but that mental exhaustion from driving hard. Also, all of the days of the tour and everything that happened were with me and I was feeling tired.

As soon as we hit the stage. Me and the Banned dove in. It was on! We went all sorts of different places in the universe on every song! The Banned can jam! I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, it’s like driving a Ferrari! That Banned handles like it’s on rails! The set was epic and loadout was easy. I saw lots of friends and told lots of stories of the road. I packed up and headed home.

Honestly, I’ve been a bit spiritually, emotionally, and even a bit physically exhausted since the trip. It was all an unbelievable life experience. I would do it all again in a heartbeat! This trip was what life is all about. We took risks and made real, powerful, magic! The magic was more powerful because of the risks we took. Take chances and follow your guides!

I’m currently mixing the Paleoverb tracks and they’ll be out a bit later this year. Thank you for coming along on this ride with me. I love you all!