In exactly one week, I'm getting on my bicycle and heading out on tour! I'll be on the road for eleven days, playing five shows in four cities—plus a church gig, a restaurant gig, a recording session, a rehearsal, at least one jam session, time with family and friends, and who knows what else?
My tour schedule, as it stands:
Thursday, April 25th @ Cellar Cat in Kingston, WA
Solo show • 7:00 to 9:00 pm • No cover • 21+
Saturday, April 27th @ The Royal Room in Seattle, WA
The Jonas Myers Trio • 4:00 to 5:30 pm • $20 tickets • All ages
Wednesday, May 1st @ a private residence in Portland, OR
Solo house concert • 6:00 to 8:00 pm • $20 suggested donation • RSVP for details
Thursday, May 2nd @ Rose City Book Pub in Portland, OR
Jonas Myers & Peter QB • 8:00 to 10:00 pm • $20 suggested donation • All ages
Saturday, May 4th @ Honey Moon in Bellingham, WA
Solo show • 8:00 to 10:00 pm • No cover • 21+
And here's my poster! (I had fun making it.)
Truthfully, it's not as extensive a tour as I first imagined. I pictured a poster stuffed with dates and venues. I saw myself playing shows nearly every night, in towns perfectly spaced for half-day bike rides. I tried to book shows in Tacoma and Olympia and got close a couple times, but eventually I decided to just allow the trip to be more open. I'm focusing on Seattle, Portland, and Bellingham. I'll cover the larger distances by train, then get around each town on bicycle.
A big challenge with planning this tour was being limited to venues with decent pianos. It turns out they're somewhat few and far between. (On that note, I'm working on compiling a regional directory of such venues; if you know of any, especially in smaller towns, please get in touch!) House concerts are often a better bet, and I scheduled one on this trip, but I'm still a long way from having the extensive house show network I've been dreaming of putting together for the better part of a decade.
Once again, I'm learning about the importance of adaptability. I envision a project, a trip, an experience, a future, and set about to create it. Reality intrudes. If I am too rigidly stuck to my initial vision, I can miss the wonderful alternatives that come along. I'm trying to remember that, while nothing happens exactly as we expect it to, what happens instead can often be as good or better—if only we allow it to be.
This is also an opportunity to practice patience, faith, and long-term thinking. This tour is only the next iteration of a lifelong experiment. My experience as a writer has taught me that a story must go through many drafts before it has that tautness, that electric quality we expect from published work. This tour is my next draft, far from final. With any luck, I'll have many more such adventures ahead.
Here's another truth: nothing happens if you don't put yourself out there. Time to venture forth and see what happens.
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In other news, I'm getting back into Patreon. If you don't know it, Patreon is a site that connects artists and creators with patrons who support their work via a monthly pledge. Having steady monthly income can make a huge difference for self-employed artists, for whom income is often wildly variable. I've had my Patreon account since 2020, but I mostly stopped posting to it or telling people about it in 2021.
Recently, though, I was inspired by my sister Lily's Patreon page. She offers her patrons audio tarot readings, poems, virtual yoga classes, and more. (I just received my first monthly two-card reading—it was fantastic!) Her ingenious use of the platform has got me thinking more creatively about how I might use it myself. I have some preliminary thoughts, but I also wanted to put it to you: what offerings would you like to see? Here's a partial list of what I've come up with so far:
One-on-one and group music lessons
Custom songs/jingles
In-depth feedback on your creative projects
Regular video updates about my projects
Early access to my new songs
On that last note, I recently went into the studio to record my song "Dive Bar." You can hear a preview of the song now, and if you become a patron, at any monthly amount, you can hear the whole thing!
