I apologize for my tardiness in getting this out. Perhaps it is a young person’s game after all. Came down with a nasty cold – as did my oldest boy – upon returning home from Iowa.

But I wanted to take this brief moment of social media space and time to thank everyone who came out to see us, supported us through our album making process, helped us get the word out to the world (our world), and just kept us motivated throughout this nearly two-year experience. You all know who you are. The three geniuses who lent their talents to making the album (Pat, Jeff, and Jacob). Writers. Artists. The friends that gave us their critiques. The families who gave us their patience as hours of rehearsal, conference calls, load ins and load outs gobbled up our time. Everyone who asked with genuine curiosity, “Where, when, how?” And a special shout out to our old friends at KUNI and those who booked us at their clubs and helped make all our shows possible.

So what’s next? Well, we should have a couple more videos coming your way and we’ll let you know when those are ready. We have a song we have to write for Emmeline, the wife of our past manager who donated a big 1k to our efforts as long as we penned a tune for his better half. And who knows… more shows here and there (as long as we can quandranglate from our four corners)?

And then…?

It’s interesting now. Things are different. There was a time when bands/musicians/bards would say, “Well, why continue to do it?” But with technology the way it is, with social media – though I hate it so – being such a great way to get the music to the people who want your music, if the inspiration is there, the real question is, “Why not continue to do it.” The pressure is off. The art is purer. The reason is inventible.

And that all goes back to you. Because we really don’t need to take any world by storm besides our world. We write and play music for the fans, friends, and freaks who dig Tripmaster Monkey. And, as long as they do, we will. The timeline is unknown but the throughline is always there.

Because as a very old wise man told me in Cedar Falls (sooo old), it’s not the new generations’ responsibility to appreciate the things – music and art – that we like, but it IS OUR responsibility to do so.

So there’s that.

At any rate, we finished our 4 shows in 3 nights with the great band Porcupine as our opener, at our old stomping grounds, Gabe’s in Iowa City. Their bass player was Greg Norton from Husker Du, one of our biggest influences. So yeah, we did it. We did it everyone, we went full circle. And it was awesome. THANKS.
J-