Day Two: Friends In Lower Places

Sunday, February 28th:

I woke up to this:



We got picked up by John's dad and Ryan and rode back to his place in Queens, passing Cypress Hill Cemetery which was breath-taking and immense, in that order. We joked, we riffed, and dropped off Evan at his Brooklyn apartment. His neighborhood:







We then went to Flying Machines' practice studio to pick up the remaining gear before they leave for tour tomorrow. Their gear included a megaphone (which I will be using to promote merch sales) and Ryan's new microKORG. But first, took some awesome pictures of the studio entrance, East River, and myself:







Oh, and then there was this posted on the inside door:



Then we had a drink at The Delancy and a slice of pizza at New Roma. I must say... shhh... Pizza My Heart has my heart. Moving on... We then met up with Ryan's friend Nate on the Lower East Side and took a cab (whose driver's last name was Butt, no joke) to Wicked Willy's (owned by Camryn and her husband - can you say free drinks?) on Bleecker and Thompson where I met a guy who had been voted off American Idol for singing a Josh Grobin song (he sang it for karaoke and I can see why he got kicked off). Anyway, this bar just so happened to be owned and operated by a friend of ours from high school's husband. We drank, we laughed, Ryan sang A-Ha. A very nice time was had:



On the walk to the subway came across two very well known venues. First was the Blue Note, home of jazz:



Second was Village Underground, where Velvet Underground played many a time:



I then came across IFC Center (I'm going back this week).



We then went to catch the F back to the hotel, but when it took too long, we decided to split a cab. Now, there's a language barrier and a language wall. Ryan tried to convey (through subtle hints) that he was a local and that the cabbie shouldn't screw us on the fair. This was taken badly. When we got to our stop and it came time to Ryan to pay, he pulled out a hundred-dollar-bill. The cabbie felt it, looked at hit, and held it up to the light, at which point Ryan asked, "Will that be suitable to pay?" The cabbie replied "Fuck you! Fuck you!" He then threw the legitimate bill back at him. I then leaned in through the passenger window and handed him a hundred only to have him promptly and accurately provide change and a smile.

If only this next week will provide as much good fortune and amusement.