Down On The Freeway

I might be late, but I'll be there

I was raised with the line “if you’re not 10 minutes early, you’re late” engraved on my internal clock. It’s never been a real challenge to meet this standard anywhere in the world except for Los Angeles. It seems that no matter how much time I give myself to get somewhere I’m always speed walking from the 1/2 mile away I parked my car to reach the appointed place on time.

This used to give me an immense amount of anxiety until I learned that no one ever seemed to bat an eye at my unpunctuality. In fact, if I ever do make it on time, I am usually waiting a good 15 minutes watching water circles grow on my paper coaster until my date arrives, coolly, with no apology.

After over ten years of living here, I’m finally starting to get it. What’s the rush. One hypothesis I have about this laissez faire approach to time management is that it’s due to LA’s lack of truly distinct seasons. There’s a general feeling of timelessness. People don’t even really seem to age. And without the natural markers of time why would we even think to do so. It seems utterly irrelevant.

I remember my friend once saying that she believed the reason her husband, a drummer, aged more slowly than normal people was because when he plays music he keeps his own time, outside of common time.

“You create time as you create any other physical experience, through your beliefs and your expectations. The illusion of time is formed by your focus on it. If you wish to experience more time, you can focus your attention differently.” - The Seth Material

The tempo of this song isn’t very Californian. It’s the tempo of an east coast neurotic weaving through lanes of stoners & lollygaggers . It’s the blade of one hand striking the palm of the other. Chop chop.

“Time is an illusion created to allow you to experience the necessary learning process in your world. It is a convenient and flexible system, but it is not an absolute. Time allows you to focus on events in a particular sequence, but in reality, everything exists at once.” - Seth Speaks

I’m leaving California in 2 1/2 weeks and my intention is to take this concept of time as an illusion with me (hoping to transfer it by resonance to my perpetually rushing parents) while still making it to the shows on time.

+ Altogether Stranger Tour +

Thu. Apr. 10 - Los Angeles, CA - Zebulon*
Fri. Apr. 25 - New York City, NY - Public Records*
Fri. May 02 - London, UK - Rough Trade East
Sat. May 10 - Dublin, IE - Workman’s Cellar *
Sun. May 11 - Belfast, UK - McHughs *
Wed. May 14 - Lausanne, CH - Le Romandie*
Thu. May 15 - Dijon, FR - La Vapeur *
Fri. May 16 - Paris, FR - Le Hasard Ludique *
Sat. May 17 - Brussels, BE - Les Nuits Botanique
Mon. May 19 - Amsterdam, NL - DOKA *
Tue. May 20 - Hamburg, DE - Nachtasyl *
Wed. May 21 - Berlin, DE - Kantine am Berghain *
Fri. May 23 - Copenhagen, DK - Huset
Sat. May 24 - Stockholm, SE - Echo Three Fest
Tue. May 27 - Bristol, UK - The Louisiana *
Wed. May 28 - London, UK - Omeara *
Thu. May 29 - Manchester, UK - YES Basement *
Fri. May 30 - Newcastle, UK - Cumberland Arms *
Sat. May 31 - Glasgow, UK - Hug & Pint *
Sun.Jun 08 - Guastalla, IT - Handmade Festival
Thu. Jun.12 - Luxembourg, LU - Rotondes *
Sat. Jun. 14 - Hilvarenbeek, NL - Best Kept Secret Festival

* support by Entrance