Mat d. and the Profane Saints:

With the trailer loaded we set off for Mitchell, South Dakota; the first stop on the American Roadhouse tour. Merle and I made a few stops in Sioux Falls on the edge of the state border, 75 miles north of our home base in Sioux City, IA. Headed east on I-90 to the town of Mitchell nearly 70 miles west- home of the world's largest and last Corn Palace which at one time was constructed entirely of corn and has become a large auditorium decorated with corn from head to toe. A sight to see. Across the street stood the husk of what used to be the Doll museum which I found during the show had been closed for some time. On the way we passed the world's largest Longhorn sculpture, a landmark that stood like on of the infamous Easter Island faces with a redneck sort of flavor. Patches of snow collected in the ditches- glued to the dead grass like a dying lover clinging on for dear life- a strange sight to see in 60 degree weather on a spring afternoon. Road kill was everywhere, scattered on the shoulder and the broken lines of the interstate. We had an interview on KMIT Hot Country as soon as we reached town. About ten minutes from reaching the city's gates Laurriee calls and says she's got us booked back to back with another radio station across town. Cool. We were off to a great start at 2:45 in the afternoon.

With Bob and Jeff still a few hours behind us. Kurt and I along with crew member Merle pulled into the radio station. Merle stood in the parking lot for a smoke and I got the guitar together. We walked on into the radio station and were greeted by some of the nicest people we would meet that weekend. The radio station was large and wide open, a rarity drawing from past experiences in other stations. This was the largest one I'd ever had the pleasure of visiting and one of the friendliest. After chatting with a good looking gal working the phones up front we were greeted by the great Big J who looked like his call sign- Big, bearded and very accommodating. We were led down the hall to a corner studio. A few minutes later Laurriee, Jimmy and another young man scheduled to open the show that night joined us and before we knew it we were on the air. After a quick interview I performed "Bikini Bull Riding" live on the air. We posed for a few photos and we were off to station number a two, a top 40 pop station downtown. We were greeted by another very friendly DJ, had another quick interview and I wondered what the hell a flyover country songwriter would perform live on air for a Top 40 audience. Time was money- so I flew through a quick rendition of "40 Watt Moon" and tried to sound as accessible as I could.

With Laurriee and the boys heading to the club, Merle, Kurt and I called crew members Monty and Kelley who had already checked in at the Motel. We drove back across town and checked into something that resembled many of the fictional locations in my songs. We checked into room 112, a cold tiny space with two beds that smelled of combination diesel fuel, B.O. and a porta-potty. So this is motel Americana...hello you sweet, dear, dirty old girl. Got word Bob and Jeff were getting close so we all hauled ass to the club and proceeded to unload the gear. The owner Jimmy was a friendly man from Memphis Tennessee, all the way from Memphis to Mitchell. Cool. Before we had even set up he was beaming from the radio slots..."I want you back and you haven't even played yet." We were off to a great start.

Jeff and Bob rolled in, we got the rest of the gear in...everything was set up and the dinner crowd started showing up. Food...what's that? Hadn't eaten since the turkey and ham sandwich in a zip lock bag since that morning- it was damned near 7:30pm. We jumped in the truck and headed through a charming town winding up at a local BBQ dive that featured an all you can eat seafood buffet. Being almost always in the mood for old fashioned BBQ and a good piece of fish we parked the car, proceeded in and found out that the buffet was only $23.00 per person. Damn. Yeah- I'll take one of your smaller, combo meals. After a $9 serving of delicious BBQ in airport cafe portions, we headed back to the club for final sound check. I found out that the young man scheduled to open the show had never performed live before. He hit the stage and did quite well for his first go at it. A good set of lungs. Next up was local mainstay Jimmy Isburg who strummed a strong set of his own rootsy originals and was joined by new band Jade Monkey on his last tune. It was now time to take the stage- we thundered through 28 songs with me filling in with about a dozen acoustic numbers. The crowd was at times very enthusiastic, at other times looking at us like "We're aren't used to this." Only complaint we had was a gal smoking a cigarette outside that rambled " Why don't they play something we know???" Lori, Bob's wife replied "Buy one of their CDs and get to know their songs." It was either true love or total confusion. All I knew was that at the end of the night- Mitchell knew who Mat D and the Profane Saints were.

Before we knew it was 1 AM. We had gone on at 10:30pm...I hadn't left the stage...no breaks. I unplugged my guitar only to hear Laurriee's voice from the dance floor saying "You're booked till 1:30 darlin. You aren't done. In the contract. Get back up there"...wore out and covered with sweat I took the stage and played a few covers till time was up. Dance floor full- I sangJohn Hiatt’s "Crossing Muddy Waters" and a slow take on June Carter‘s "Ring of Fire". 1:30 came on like hammer. The crew tore down and I sat and visited with Laurriee, a friendly bartender and the owner.  One of the nicest things to see is the owner wearing one of our T-shirts greeting his guests. They want us back for Rodeo week. Cool. Mitchell South Dakota was another small success. The seeds had been planted. We headed back to Motel for beers and early morning conversation. Hit the sack at 3:30 AM. First night down. The morning came on fast with Sioux Falls calling us back. We hit the highway...snow gone...bodies of fresh raccoons stinking to high heaven. Just another day on the concrete prairie.