In May we were in full stride on the new CD, so we held touring to a minimum. A week of dates in the Chesapeake Bay region were on the books before we started the album, so we took a break in the midst of the sessions to say "Hi" to our friends in Maryland and Virginia.

Of course, the first half of the month we were neck deep in recording the new record. Our tracking dates had been completed and we were on to the laborious task of overdubbing. We finished the six new songs, which were added to the five we cut last year, and will attack a seventh in early June -- provided we finish writing it, of course.

We've tossed around several ideas for album titles, with "Scratch at the Door" being the current front runner. "Avalanche" and "Blessing" have also been bandied about, but seem to be losing steam with us. And our early favorite, "Three Wishes" is but a memory by now.

The days between the May 15th and 27th were spent finding a new bass player and drummer. Bassist Robbie Harrington withdrew from our tour to take a job with another band, so we called upon our old friend Moose McMains to fill the void. Most of last year we used Nick Kitsos, drummer with the BoDeans, to fill in on our road trips. Since he was unavailable this time, we asked Mazzy Jones, our drummer from 1994 to mid-1995, to join us this time. He has spent the last three years playing with Atlantic recording artist Poe, but she's currently on hiatus preparing material for a new record. So all in all, it was old home week for us at the end of May.

Our first show was in Harrisburg, PA, on May 28. We had a crowd of 150 or so at Zee's, where we played last summer. Zee's was also the first place we ever played in Harrisburg, in 1991, so there was still more of the old-home feeling to the gig. The show marked the first public performances of most of the material from the new record, and we feel the songs were very well received.

After the show, we packed up and drove 90 miles to Baltimore, arriving at 3:30 AM. We caught two hours of forced sleep before awakening to appear on WJZ-TV's Morning News at 6AM. We were not quite alert and not quite blithering idiots, but managed to sprawl ourselves somewhere in between. Luckily, the news anchors, Don Scott and Marty Bass, were fun and generous in their interview. We sang "HBD2U" and chatted about the new album.

Later the same day, we headed to Lake Braddock High School in Burke, VA, to speak to an assembly of music students. The guitar, voice and composition classes asked intelligent questions on the realities of surviving a career in music. We gave them as sage advice as we could, considering that no one ever really knows exactly how to crack the music biz. We performed five songs and headed to our hotel for a much needed evening off.

Saturday May 30 was our 13th visit to the Birchmere in Alexandria, VA, home of some of our greatest shows. For the first time since the club moved to larger quarters a year ago, we sold the place out. Our band, still not 100% at home with the songs, performed brilliantly, especially on the new songs. Opening the show was our dear friend Gretchen Peters, a writer of impressive cachet and exceptional insight. She leveled the Birchmere crowd with her finely spun songs, such as "On A Bus To St. Cloud", "Picasso & Me", "Circus Girl" (Eric's fave) and the Martina McBride hit, "Independence Day."

We moved on to Baltimore the next night for our first performance at Fletcher's in Fell's Point. Feeling much like our old haunt Max's on Broadway (now a brew pub), our audience stood shoulder to shoulder in the black-walled humidity. We rocked out and delivered our first performance of "Own Way Of doing Things" before closing with a 15-minute TFA from the middle of the audience.

Monday was our day off, and we spent it wisely, loafing like hounds and paying a visit to Orioles Park at Camden Yards for a game between the O's and the Seattle Mariners. Baltimore pulled out an eighth inning rally to win, so we had a blast.

Tuesday we drove 60 miles to Walkersville, Maryland, for a low-key no-cover-charge gig at the Village Tavern. Proprietors Dennis and Liz Murray treated friends and strangers alike to an evening of up-close-and-personal, which is something we don't often get the opportunity to do. We did our normal two hour set and, well, partied like it was 1999. Thanks to Dennis and Liz for a truly swell time.

Wednesday the 3rd was the last night of the tour, and we finished in style with a sold-out show at The Ram's Head in Annapolis. It had been four years since we played in Annapolis, and our first time at this club. Annapolis had been the site of many of our earliest triumphs between 1990 and 1993, so it was particularly good to be back. Running sound was our buddy Tim Smyser, who had been with us for many shows at the Birchmere. The club itself is beautiful and it made for a lovely evening. Gretchen Peters opened for us yet again; it's our hope that our audience will embrace her and her riveting songs. Our old buddy, WHFS DJ Neci, showed up to support us. We played and sang until we could do no more, evidenced by the crippling giggle fit Dan fell into during the TFA. It seems Eric made a guitar mistake and stared at his guitar doing his best Gomer Pyle impression. Joy + Beer / Fatigue = Hahahahahahahah. I guess you had to be there.

We got home thrashed and dropped ourselves into photo sessions, mixing sessions and final album cover designs. But that's another story altogether.