Editor's Note: J. Tom Hnatow from These United States is writing a tour diary for DCist chronicling the band's latest national tour. In this entry he discusses breaking in a new drummer with the same name as his last drummer, and the the importance of car insurance.

July 23, 2007

We hit the road from Indy to Lexington, KY, making a brief stop to pick up Jesse's ladyfriend Kimberly from the Louisville airport. I'm normally opposed to having significant others anywhere around while on tour — its one more distraction among too many other distractions — but Kimberly is one of the coolest, most laid back people I've ever met.

Lexington is like a second (third? fourth?) home to us. TUS has played here a few times, and added to the time I've spent with local heroes The Scourge of the Sea, it's a comfortable town where we're well taken care of.

In addition to being an amazing bill — Cartright, us, Six Parts Seven, Richard Buckner — the show goes well. The crowd is completely into it. There are even people dancing, which is strange for us D.C. kids to see at a show. Kimberly takes some great pictures. At the end of the night, Cartright (Ben) has disappeared. We search high and low and can't find him. Eventually, we just head off to Robby's house and crash.

July 24, 2007

In the morning, we discover Ben at the house...turns out he went to his car to take a nap after our set, and fell asleep until the morning. He remembered the address, somehow, and made his way there. Our new goal is to drop Ben at random places in various cities and see how he does.

It is an absolutely beautiful day. We make the drive up to Louisville, listening to Dylan. We drop Kimberly off at the airport and head to the venue, the 930 Listening Room. It's a beautiful evening and we're in great spirits.

And then…

While backing our "all-blind spot" rental car up to load in, I nick a pole with the door, which crumples and renders it unable to close. So -- the fun of the day is over, for me. I spend the next few hours on the phone with my insurance company and Hertz. Our car is towed away. Eventually, Kevin from the 930 Room drives us to the airport, and we've got a new car. I have no idea what the damages are going to be –- no good will come of this, that's for certain. Apologies for not taking pictures of the door…I wasn't quite in the mood.

This is all something that is survivable. I have insurance, the car swap was easy, etc. And its something that happens given all the thousands and thousands of miles we travel. Nonetheless, I'm a bit heartbroken about the whole endeavor. And, to add insult to injury, the new car doesn't have GPS…so we've lost Christa, our stalwart companion. An extra special thanks goes to Kevin Janes, not only for driving me to the airport, but for bringing me my glasses which I left in his car.

The show goes well. The 930 is a beautiful listening room with great sound and the local headliners Chemic play gorgeous, mellow Wilco-esque pop. It's our last show with Lexington Robby, so I do my best to stay focused and not brood. After the show, we all go out to eat in Louisville, make the hour trek back to Lexington and grab a few hours of sleep. This ends leg 1 of the tour –- tomorrow we pick up a new rhythm section and hit a new area of the country…in our new car.

July 25, 2007

An early start for us. We get into Columbus, OH and immediately meet up with the Staebler brothers, Jason and Robby. They play as a guitar and drum duo called the Barn Owls that we met on our last trek into town, and are accompanying us on the next four shows. So, back into rehearsal. We set up and spend the next few hours teaching Jason and Robby some tunes. For those keeping track, this is indeed the second drummer in a row named Robby.

The show at the Rumba Room is a fun one. Despite it being basically a bar gig with original music, the audience and the staff seem really into it. I sit in with the Barn Owls for their entire set, which is fun –- the pedal steel fits well with their spacey psychedelia, and I have a fun time trying new things on the instrument. And they back us up on four songs –- it sounds great. The next four shows with these guys are going to be a lot of fun.