PERSONNEL:

Name: Hot Pocket, Two Fists
Age: 25
Background: Bass, double bass, triple bass
Specialties: Double fisted sword fighting, runner, war games
Quote: "What do you have that's not too spicy?"

Name: Morning Wood, Red Snapper
Age: 24
Background: Dancer, keys
Specialties: Diplomacy

Name: Lispy, Sickle Sconer, Toxic Avenger
Age: 25
Background: Weapons master, seaweed head, lap steel dancing
Quote:: "That's probably some toxic government shit. You better drive faster."

Name: Coyote
Age: 28
Background: Voice-overs, beats
Specialties: Shape shifting
Quote: "ahoo"

Name: Jonbone, The Kid
Age: 22
Background: Mahler, fanfares
Specialties: Flame throwing
Quote: "Pull my finger."

Name: Feminine Mystic, La Jefe
Age: 24
Background: Communication, placement of parts
Specialties: Multi-tasking

Name: Private Eyes
Age: 24
Title: AV action
Background: CIA, NBA, CBS, ILM
Quote: "You can take the picture as long as you don't put it up on the Internet."

San Francisco. Coordinating the pick-ups-packing-departure. The New Red Ghost, The Red Rocket, Big Red. Steve Adams and Dan Lebowitz take the highway to Marin County. Shyam and Allie. Zach and Jessica. Jon Jones. Matt Powers. Converge upon the Caf� Amsterdam, Fairfax. Great jams from the beginning. Hava Nagiliah Hava, the dance with Zach and Brian N.. There Will Never Be Another You. The first great and slow Lonesome Cowboy. Questions and Answers. "Does the drummer sing?" Some old and new faces, Flori, Otis Scarecrow, E-Start-Up Solutions, the Napa crew. The 7-11 stop. Looking for some nourishment, Steve invests in a Hot Pocket dinner, which proves days later to have been a deadly decision. Back to Sleepy Hollow for sleep. Jenna Dahm sneeks in the middle of the night.

Wake and shower. Pack the Red Rocket. MP takes off for a day of work. Zach records some piano music for Berkeley. Good-byes to Jessica. Steve begins to feel stomach and body pains, Dan questions the hot pocket. Jenna, Shyam, Steve, and Dan take the RR to Truckee. Jones and Gill hop into the Bonemobile and make a couple of stops in Berkeley, then off to Tahoe then Truckee. We meet at the Tahoe Taps. Danielle Stuart. Soundman/booker Monty running a little late. "So, you guys need some sound tonight? Oh I left all the Mics and shit back at my house, I'd drive but I have a bunch of DUI's." Jonbone drives Monty to his house to get mics. Gig begins without missing mics; warm yet strange reception. Hot Pocket hits Steve and he calls a break half way through the first set. Zach insists on a couple more tunes, believing that some good soul music might restore his friend. Steve endures the pain and stomach fatigue and finally rests during the set break. A call for a new diet. A man with a corn dog has some nice things to say. "You guys are good. I don't really like your genre but you guys are tight!" Ed the Flash artist. Back to South Lake Tahoe and crash at the Jones. Before leaving Tahoe Taps A Garden burger "gets the best" of Dan. Due to the terrible injury on the right side of his tongue he becomes known as "Old Lispy or Lispywitz".

Sleep in. Hang out at the house for great food all day! Rest and relaxation. Amazing hospitality, Mitch and Nancy Jones treat us like we are relatives, great people, thank you. CD assembly party. Zach Discloses that the opening verse of his song The Lonesome Cowboy refers to a Gay Ranchero and not a Gay machero. Jon Jones is shocked, and pleased. Rob Binkley arrives, yes! He announces that a CD has been burned of the 1998 Nashville Bluebird Caf� BLAG Buffet show, amazing two years later the BLAG Across America tour is finally coming to fruition. Rojo's Tavern The Gig. Show is fun, but the set up is a little awkward for Zach and Lispywitz. Matt Powers of Powers Philms, shows up with camera in hand and the filming begins. Rob B and Company, The Thomas, Kelley Moore, DJ Motion potion and crew dancing. Yes!

Wake up to get ready for the Tahoe Airport gig. Yes Jonbones parents arranged for ALO to play at the vacated Tahoe airport, so that they and their early rising friend would get a chance to hear the band. THE AIRPORT. Gig turns out to be a blast, the band is on, the crowd is into it. Debbie, Benny, Tinker, Mario, Santa, Cristi lead the Animal Liberation Orchestra in a dance frenzy. Emotional times. The airport staff and locals really seem to enjoy the music and the show turns out to be a birthday celebration for Benney's 59th Birthday, Appropriately Benny is wearing a derby hat in the shape of a frog. After the Show Benny makes a moving speech thanking the band and all his friends for their love and support. What a wonderful moment. Jon Jones puts on a festive and enthusiastic personal show for the camera at the vacant airport. Mulligan's. in the evening after another huge feast at the Jone's estate Our Airport friends come back for round two. It's them, the bar owner putting back some drinks, a few bar regulars, Steve's parents, and two Latin lovers. The atmosphere of the venue and the overall fatigue of ALO unleash a raw energy in hot pocket and Lispy. At the end of the show Steve gets physical with a little child named time out Tyler, A slow dance, and a serenade by the fire. Crash out at Kelly Moore's house to some TV yoga and great conversation. It turn's out that Matthew Powers and Kelley Moore have met before through college friend's in Los Angeles ...small world.

Kelley and Zach go out for a long walk in the morning and talk about all the fun they used to have on the set of "Saved by the Bell" Sprouts for brunch. Hugs and thanks and a safe travels to Jon Jones. Off to Reno. Arrive at the Zephyr a little early. Enough time to browse through the local bondage and sex shop and grab a bite to eat at the Blue Heron. Thanks Tracey! The Zephyr. Cool clown flyers, Steve the Photographer, piercings. High energy gig, long spontaneous jams, fast tempos, smiling faces. We meet Adam, Josh, Amy, and Angel. Birthdays and some hoola hoops and then off to 74 Vine St.. Adam welcomes us and offers a bed to sleep for each of us.

Sleep in and wake up gradually. ALO, MP, & JED. We get to meet the remainder of the housemates. Rori, Peter, Amy, and Adam. We head out to the Pneumatic Caf� for a wonderful brunch and the Bomb cookie desert. Maytan Music excursion. Kinko's errands for Steve and Shyam. Nice to see new entries at the Guestbook and the few new animations and interview footage of Shyam at lagmusic.com. Ice-Skating. We reunite at the house and then head down to the Buruka Theater for the first Bohemian night featuring Amy and Adam (guitar and voice), Peter (spoken chapter from his novel in progress), various guitarist singers, an improv comedy troupe, a speaking Mime, spoken words, music, and ALO acoustic bluegrass. What a cool night getting to know this artist community. Late night at El Dorado's Trivoli Terrace. We are surprised to find ourselves eating dinner at 3am. Our lives are changing. Back to the house for more sleep.

Shyam heads off to Kinko's to submit a second draft of his story. People gradually awake. Dos gran nez for brunch. A stop at the house and then off to Pyramid Lake for a late afternoon excursion. Pass the Indian Reservations, homes of various shapes and sizes, a manic bus driver fleeing the Willows. The Pyramid off in the distance over the view of the Lake. The crew finally arrives at the destined and mystic site and park the van at the foothills and descend upon the Willow Grove and down to the shoreline. Hot Pocket, Morning Wood, Coyote, The Toxic Avenger, Feminine Mystic, and Private Eyes feel one with their new cohorts Amy, Peter, Tiger, Adam, and Rory. Together they enter the sacred grove and tune into the time and space of this new adventure. Peter leads the construction of an eager bonfire, seemingly waiting lifetimes to finally breathe once again. We are told of the water baby sacrifices that were part of the ancient native Indian customs as we all breathe and give our respect in voice and song to the earth on which we stand. Adam and Rory share a story from the past about a friend who drowned in seemingly shallow water near this spot. The Pyramid Lake is indeed very mysterious and very powerful.

A battle breaks out, only the beginning of more to come. Red Snapper vs. Two Fists. The fight is interrupted by the sound of machine guns off in the distance. A shiver of fear runs down Red Snapper's neck as he contemplates Three Questions: Why are Machine guns sounding off in the distance, why has he not seen Coyote for over an hour and Where was the mysterious Native American woman in the school bus coming from. Sickle Sconer sees his window of opportunity to enter in and the battle turns into a three-way. Red Snapper throws down his weapon and leads the three in a reluctant union. The three warriors feel the strength in the power of three and clutch each others' hands more confidently, accepting each others peace but also accepting the struggle such an alliance will no doubt reveal over time and growth. Meanwhile, Coyote has slipped off to go confidently in the direction of his dreams. Others slip away. The Feminine Mystic, Peter the Elder, Amy the Poet and tiger the carrot shiter. The darkening sky begins to creep in. Unusual sounds off in the distance and the eiriness of the Willow Grove upon the Lake provoke Private Eyes to head back to the van to prepare for departure. Everyone finally returns to the fire with the same sensation of it being time to go, but Coyote is nowhere to be seen. Puzzled. Worry begins to set in. Private Eyes makes his trek with Hot Pocket close behind. The fire is put out and the party heads back up the hill. At the van there are no signs of Coyote. Fear begins to kill the mind while the mind fuels the fear. A search party is organized to head back down to the grove. The sky is dark and our bodies' tingle with question and fear, realizing the power of the Lake, the sky, the earth and the mind. The worst possible scenarios cross fade through the party's collective conscious. The search party continues down the hill as we periodically check back to the van with our voices for any sight or sound of Coyote. Nothing. And the voices seem to fade the further down the hill we go. Separations, insecurities, fears, paranoias. Wash over our heads. The Lake has taken the best of us. Red Snapper hopes Hot Pocket can bring back Coyote through the use of a telepathic connection. Hopes, lessons, tuning. Past, present, future. From the outskirts of the Willows, Peter the Elder sights a faint red light inside the grove. Has the fire rekindled itself? Has Coyote restarted the fire? A yell echoes down from the van. Very difficult to make out "What's that?" "We got him!" Excited Red snapper and Hot Pocket sprint up the hill to confirm the reunuion. Peter decides to lead Sickle Sconer and Rori back into the grove to investigate the red light. Indeed, the fire is blazing.

Back at the van, Coyote has returned, wondering why we didn't just honk the horn of the van to summon him. Peter, Rori and Sickle Sconer return from the fire. Had a trip not been made back to the fire, it may have burned the entire grove down. This lake definitely can take care of itself. Snapper starts the van, backs up, and suddenly is stuck on the hill, the rest of the crew gets out to lighten the load. Free at last the crew speeds down the dirt road back to the high way towards Reno. Releif, safety, gratitude. The lake got to us, or was it all in our heads. So many questions, so many different answers, so many degrees of fear.

After the lake we went out to Thai food and feasted, later that night we watched a very disturbing movie, maybe you shouldn't see it maybe you should. Finally we slept, many dreams, many thoughts and many sounds haunted us throughout the night.

8:00 wake up call, becomes 10:00 breakfast, and an 11:00 departure time, oops we loose an hour going into Utah, we are actually leaving at 12:00. Gas, Driving, Flying J rest stop bull shit. Zach wants to get naked. We can see it, feel it, understand it. Cross the Nevada border into Utah. Begins to snow as we hit Salt Lake City. Car conversations drift to topics of relationships gone awry. Yes yes love can be a fickle beast, some times. Snowing harder as we head through the treacherous mountain pass towards Park City. Traffic is moving very very slow, wind and snow screaming down the pass, no one is speaking everyone is deep in thought, self-realizations, loss, and redemption. Snow lightens, exit for Park City one mile, Thank God. Snow stops, as we pull into Park City. Everything is SO WHITE here. We arrive at the bar, J.B.Mulligans.

Upon arrival our contact Karl, tells us that our Thursday night show has been cancelled, due to noise complaints from the Marriott Hotel. He apologizes and tells us that it will not affect our pay. He then proposes that we all go out to a club down the street where the legendary Merl Saunders is playing. After the grueling drive every one is glad to have the night off. We head down to the club and enjoy a night of new faces, band promotion, and good vibes. After the show we head back to Karl's place. What a great house! We meet Karl's housemates, Jean and Fred and it turns out that Shym, Karl and Fred have some mutual friends from Florida. Small world? Our hosts fire up the hot tub and Zach, Matt, Shym and Jenna take advantage of the opportunity. What a great night, we feel very welcome in Park City and everyone sleeps well, with plenty of blankets and soft bedding.

The day starts late for most of the ALO crew, except for Matt powers who gets up early for a snow board adventure. We cruz around Park City for a while admiring local art and inviting people to our show. After showers and a light snack we head over to the club, for sound check and dinner. We set up our gear and order some food, while we are eating and old LAG friend from high school Lindsey Dosch appears. Another Reunion, She tells us that other old friends may be attending the gig tonight including Brad Chapman, Sebastian Gladney, and Brian Katzman.

A little before ten we start, soon we are joined by old BLAG Percussionist Robert Binkley and his father. Perfect addition. The set goes well, people seem receptive although they are not dancing the way we were expecting them to. Later it is deduced that our tempos may need to be slowed down to accommodate the soar bones and muscles of the Park City kids, we will adjust. Gig ends and everyone is pleased with us, we make lot's of new friends, Chilly, the New York Bagel distributor and Mary Beth to name a few. We head back to Carl's and stay up late into the morning listening to His DJ friend Chang. As the last of us fall asleep the clock reads 5:30 a.m.

Another late morning wake up, plans to go skiing, Ice Skating, sledding and snow boarding all go awry as the evening creeps up on us. Zach has contracted a cold; others are exhausted from the long nights. Gig time 9:30 laxed environment, building momentum, energy is there, Impromptu rendition of Michael Jackson's Billy Jean with Bill Pidwell (another Buddy from high school) and his dance troupe providing choreography and amazing visuals. Set break, a shot of whiskey, a little dance session, mingle with the locals. Begin the second set with an impromptu version of Riders on the storm into Chameleon. Energy building, dance floor starts to bump, midnight hits, Crowd is getting dense people are dancing, lots of smiles, wow this is a lot of fun, Park City is Rockin. Ah yes sweet release, the animal has been liberated, soul spasms and shouts of approval. Playing music is a lot of fun.

The last gig of the tour is over and it is time to pack the van. Matt Powers has collected amazing video footage throughout the entire trip and we are all pleased. Our new Park City friends, Chilly, Sophia, Tony, Kelly and everyone else, plead with us to stay, Steve and Matt Seriously consider this option. Everyone here has been so nice to us, offering up their homes and food to us, we feel a deep sense of gratitude for the graciousness of the Park City People. However the van, the mighty Red Rocket must be returned to the thrifty car rental agency. (In retrospect I think maybe we should have stayed, but how could anyone have known what terrors awaited us on our return journey home).

The car is packed, by 2:30 a.m. or so, we take some pictures with Karl, Jean, Fred and their little black lab, Trykster? Jenna secures a few Red Bull Beverages to keep us up for the long drive. And we are off! Lebo and Jenna take the first Shift, The rest of the crew fades in and out of sleep, a stop in dell, an argument over stereo volume, a testament to the power of the Red Bull Beverage, eight hours later an energetic Dan Lebowitz arrives in Reno, Nevada having driven relentlessly through the night.

We pull up at 75 Vine Street, the home of our Reno friends Adam, Rori, Peter, Amy and Tiger. Zach left his journal here a few days ago. Zach retrieves the journal, Jenna orders some breakfast for the band and Adam turns on the weather Channel. It looks like ALO is in for some nasty weather. It is decided that we will need tire chains to get through the Tahoe summit pass. We cruz to a Grand Auto (which have just been recently merged with Kragen). After a few attempts, we purchase the chains, pick up our food, and hit the road. We are only three or four hours from home it is a little after 11:00. About fifteen miles outside of Reno, it starts to snow, people are pulling over on the side of the road to put on their chains, but we are still hoping to make it home without using them. As we cross into California, it becomes obvious that this will not happen. We pull over and pay a guy 20 dollars to put on our chains, it is snowing heavily and the wind is shaking the car and the surrounding trees, I have never been in a snow storm this big, I am so glad we have the chains. Just before, Trukee, the traffic gets really think and slows down to ten miles an hour. It will be many hours before we get out of this. The red rocket clunks along the icy road, past the Donner lake exit where the legendary Donner Party made their final stand. Up over the summit and we are gliding carefully down the right hand lane of the treacherous mountain highway. All around us there is carnage: accidents, broken chains, cars that just can't make it. Only 12 more miles and we'll be out of the worst of it. Careful, no abrupt stops just lightly pump the break and follow the contours of the luge-like road. We are almost there just around the ridge and we'll be out of it�oh no�we're sliding, Crash! We just hit a bronco, we need to pull over, but we're still sliding, can't seem to get control. Oh man. Finally get over and take the Soda Springs exit. The car we just slid into is waiting for us. We exchange info and try to figure out what to do next.

We pull off and realize the driver side door is crunched shut. Zach, Dan, and Steve get out and meet our unfortunate victims. They are nice and understanding which always helps these kind of situations. Everyone is fine and safe and the cars are driveable! We exchange info, donate a "One Size Fits All" CD to our new friends, and sit in the car and think for a moment. Our desire to be lifted out of the Tahoe hills seems a bit out of reach. We sit a little longer and think a little longer. Steve offers to take the wheel. His cautious side comes out as he slowly takes Big Red down the on-ramp. He discovers a good technique that gets him to the bottom, back on the freeway, without any slipping or more wreckage. Slow movement, letting off the brakes when trying to turn, and experiments with the turning radius. Soon enough, we are cruising again. Some slips and slides but minor compared to the first pass. We finally are out of the worst. We pull over to remove the chains and they seem to be stuck! The Baroness (a.k.a. Feminine Mystic) comes out of nowhere, braves the heavy traffic, dives under the van, and undoes the knot in the chains. We are all happy to leave the mountains in one piece and back on a solid road. Cruising in the sunset, Red Bull in hand... Steve leads the pack to Davis where we find comfort and satisfaction in a nice sit down dinner. The journey is just about over. We take Private Eyes MP to his car parked at the Greyhound, his intitial departing location, and say goodbye. Across the North Bay to Sleepy Hollow. With Zach safely home, we give our thanks and Dan, Steve, Shyam, and Jenna head back to the big city.