NWRBC Travels Pt. 1

So, yesterday I was up at about 5:00 AM Central time... Caught a flight from MSP to Boise, ID. Chilled in Boise for about 2 hours (board out of my mind) and then caught my final flight into PDX... Home! Anyway, I got in about 1:45 and it's been non stop craziness ever since. My afternoon included catching up with Phuong at the Albina Press. Then I moved onto Crema for one of the amazing double chocolate croissants. Finally, the caffeinated portion of my day ended at The Annex, catching up with Jeff and sipping on some amazing pre-production Guatemala Finca El Injerto...

Lot's been going on since I left. Venues have shut down, bands I love have broken up, friends have moved away. Hell, even Joe Raines is leaving Lava Java! Much change, but coffee is continuing to grow and take over Portland, and that makes me stoked!

My friend Joey and I stumbled downtown last night and wandered by the DT Stumptown. It easily became apparent that this is going to be a fucking radical weekend... The party was very chill... it was a smaller group compared to what we'll probably see tonight at The Press... but many of my heroes were there... It's always good to see people like Duane, Steven Vick, Andrew Barnette, Zander, Grady, Liz, John Lewis, and many more... Oh, and major thanks to you Duane for the Sierra Nevada Pale Ale... Such a good beer! It's great to be back in the NW...

I finally got my ass out bed about 7AM and made my way over to the Wonder Ball Room... Where I am now. Thanks to the wifi here I'll probably be updating this often while I'm here. Competition starts in about an hour and a half and things are well underway. From where I stand I can see Billy Wilson and Ryan from Paradise rocking their practice times... In fact, I'm thinking it may be a good idea to scam a shot from BW...

Let me first describe the space... Wow. This IS Stumptown. First off, we're in a music venue. The floor space in front of the stage is where the machines and tables are setup. The sides have curtains thrown up where the competitors tables are hidden. Zander and company have a Clover setup in the back of the room and are brewing coffees left and right. Jen Prince is running around helping out her two Japanese friends... who will be competing out of region today. I really don't think this weekend's events could be any more punk rock. Oh, and of course Klaus is in the house! He's chilling in the balcony right now going over his cards... Yes, that's right. The World Champion... AKA King of Baristas! Is Emceeing today!

Well, I am gonna go steal of those shots if I can... more later!