tour highlights & lowlights:Sting, Toronto Film Fest, flat tires
dear you,
has it really been july since i last wrote? you must think i’m the slackest of slackers. i’ve been meaning to write for a long time and have even started letters to you three or four times and haven’t finished. by the time i got back to them they felt outdated. i’ve been just a bit busy…since mid-august i’ve been touring like mad, playing something like 40 dates in over 16 states and Canada. with the change of seasons in addition to admiring the fireworks-display of leaves along the roadside on the east coast while i’ve got the chance, i’ve been trying to decide whether to re-highlight my hair or head more in the lowlight direction, something more along the auburn line. i know, really weighty decision. autumn has me leaning towards auburn but i know when i get back to the perennial summer of LA i’ll be all about the blonde highlights. anyways, in between debating the merits of highlights vs lowlights i figure i could fill you in on some of the highlights and lowlights of my tour.
highlight: speaking of Canada…playing at the Toronto International Film Festival was amazing! i had my first real red carpet experience as i was photographed on my way to my show. (see the gallery page for a photo) i was laughing inside the whole time, being the sub-famous* rock star that i am. (* i once overheard a guy in a coffeehouse telling his friend that his brother was in a band. when asked if they were famous he said no, they were more like “sub-famous.” his friend was impressed by this much cooler and indie-cred-friendly designation and i got a kick out of it and have been using the term ever since) i got to spend a couple days in Toronto and really fell in love with the city and the vibe. i had the best hot cider ever with pears, fresh ginger, cinnamon and other yummy stuff at a hip healthy eatery called Fresh. now that i have my geography straight and know that Toronto is just north of upstate NY i’ll definitely be returning on an upcoming tour. oh, and on the way back to the states i stopped by Niagra Falls which was more stunning that i could have imagined. it’s totally impressive and the eternal rainbow over the spray is charming but i was most mesmerized by watching the edge of the falls. there’s something elusive and meditative about that instant between the rush of the current to when gravity takes over. i could stare at it all day…
lowlight: got a flat tire on my way to my show in Charlotte opening for Danish singer-songwriter Teitur (www.teitur.com). it came after a long day of traveling that included getting up at 4:30am after 3 hours of sleep and catching a flight out of NYC’s Laguardia only to be delayed in Atlanta so arrived in NC with barely enough time to take a shower and hit the road to the venue. i chuckled when i heard the tire pop, it was so predictable on a day that had already become ridiculous. embarrassingly i didn’t know how to change a tire so my amazing guitar player and friend, Alex McKinney, came to my rescue and showed me how to put the spare on. this night actually turned around to a highlight once i got on stage and took a breath to sing and was reminded that despite the occasional outrageous day like today, i adore what i do and wouldn’t change it for the world. Teitur then went on to blow me away with his beautifully understated voice and songs and trio with Mets on drums and Mikel on upright/fretless and electric bass. (i know i butchered the spelling of their names but wanted to mention them because they moved me with how they complimented Teitur.) you should really check out Teitur’s record “Poetry and Aeroplanes.” oh, and Teitur came up with a name for my most recent new song (you may have heard me say i have commitment issues with naming my songs). i think it’s going to be “all i’ve got”…see below for the lyrics.
super-platinum-highlight: opening for Sting and Annie Lennox back in September in my hometown of Raleigh, NC. so what if i was on the side-stage? so what if i didn’t get to meet either one of them because i wasn’t willing to flirt with security and i’m too sub-famous to have VIP access? i can’t tell you what a thrill it was to play before Annie Lennox and then run over to the grass and hear that sexy alto-mama sing “no more i love yous”, “pavement cracks” and possibly my fave song from the whole night “wait in vain”, a Bob Marley cover. then i ran back over to the sidestage, threw on my guitar and played another set, amped up on Annie and the hundreds of people who had been milling around getting beers and tour t-shirts and were now listening to me. when the lights started flashing i finished up the song i was on and then ran back over to the grass for “seven days”, “desert rose”, “if i ever lose my faith”, “roxanne”…the brilliant songs just kept on coming. i adore Sting…from the mix tape my first college boyfriend made for me that started with “mad about you” to my current sweetie whom i at one time caught playing bass along to Ten Summoners Tales in his boxers, i will always associate Sting with romance. aforementioned current sweetie met me in NC for that concert presumably so he could see me but i know seeing Sting was just as much on his mind and i hardly blame him. 
i can’t imagine much of anything more romantic than cuddling on the grass on a September evening in North Carolina to “fields of gold.”
lowlight: i slept in my car for the first time ever. it was one of those nights that i only had a few hours to sleep before i had to catch a flight so i didn’t want to pay for a hotel. it pretty much sucked but at least i have the advantage of being pretty small so stretching out in the back seat is kind of possible. i sleep curled up in the fetal position anyway so it really wasn’t so bad. and i felt pretty rock and roll the next day when my plane touched down and i got off unshowered, looking like i had slept in my car, which i had. (huh…i felt all rock and roll until i ran into a friend at the airport i hadn’t seen in years and then i just felt really unattractive and bummy) i made the mistake of telling my grammy about this adventure and she of course made me promise never to sleep in my car again so i won’t be sleeping in my vehicle again until i have a full-fledged tour bus!
highlight: i have tonight off, it feels like such a luxury. i think i’ll go take a hot bath and finish this book i’ve been reading “So You Want to be a Rock & Roll Star?” by the drummer of the band Semisonic, Jacob Schlichter. (remember that song “Closing Time”?) maybe i’ll get some good tips on how to make the leap from sub-famous to famous.
promise to write again soon…
love,
kyler 
ps all in all the highlights definitely outweighed the lowlights…guess i might be sticking with blonde…
new song lyrics: “all i’ve got”
standing here alone while the daylight is fading
over a thousand miles from home and still you keep me waiting
even on my own, i never used to get this lonely
now i can’t let go, you’re the only one who knows me
you’re all i
you’re all i
you’re all i’ve got
you’re all i
you’re all i
you’re all i’ve got
i’m not holding my breath but somehow i can’t breathe
if you’re gonna let me down, could you let me down easy?
i would just walk away if i knew what was good for me
but i can’t let go, you’re the only one who knows me
you’re all i
you’re all i
you’re all i’ve got
you’re all i
you’re all i
you’re all i’ve got
what’s taking so long
do i mean anything to you?
did i read you wrong
was i a fool to let you see inside me?
you’re all i
you’re all i
you’re all i’ve got
you’re all i
you’re all i
you’re all i’ve got