We first fell in love with Mount Righteous after the band wowed us with their performance at Good Records' eight birthday bash. Since then, we've taken in their debut disc, When The Music Starts, and we've interviewed 10 of the band's 11 members for an upcoming story on the disc's release--which won't officially take place until after the band returns from it's 13-day tour. In the meantime, band member Justin Spike (guitar, accordion, vocals) has agreed to document the band's tour with a daily tour diary exclusive to DC9. Enjoy.

Most of the band stayed up until sunrise, imbibing with some friendly Lubbockites. Friends or friends of friends kept managing to get in touch with us and came over to where we were staying, prolonging the night past any reasonable hour.

In the morning, we set to work on remedying the stolen trombone situation--that is, we went to a music shop looking to buy a new one. But like all the pawnshops, the music store was closed as well, dashing our hopes of seamlessly replacing the horn and being ready for the next show. It began to look like Santa Fe would be one horn short.

So we drove toward New Mexico through the last remnants of the vast, flat plains and slowly began to ascend into foothills, bluffs and mountains. Together, we crossed the New Mexico state line, the first time the band had ever ventured out of Texas.

Upon rolling into Santa Fe, we stopped for food and made our way to the AD Collective, an artist’s space in the center of town. They were in between exhibitions, and there was plenty of space to stretch out and have some needed quiet time. After a while, people began to show up to see us play. We were the only band scheduled--AD Collective doesn’t have live bands often--so I played a short solo set to start the show.

The audience was small but attentive, seemingly made up of mostly students finishing up their schoolwork before heading out of town. We played in the smallest room in the collective, hoping to amplify the sound and draw the crowd as close as possible. After playing, we hung out at the space for a little while before heading to the nearby home of Ann Gaziano, an artist who works for the collective.

Most of us were excited to have a night that ended relatively early. Both Derek and Allison are ailing from respiratory maladies and needed the rest, so we took the opportunity to stay quiet and enjoy the cool mountain air.

Today, we’re making the long drive to Phoenix where we suspect we’re in for another chaotic night. --Justin Spike and the rest of Mount Righteous