The first stop was Bingen, WA, where we were scheduled to meet up with the team in the later evening. GGF had just performed two days earlier at the Oregon City Records Shop in downtown Oregon City, so most of the gear was loaded up already, so we utilized Sunday to tie up loose ends, and pack up clothing and amenities. Monday, as well, we had most of the day before we had to hit the road.
A central focus of the tour is what is called the “Search and Rescue” mission portion of each stop. Now, if you’re a touring artist, there might be a certain way of seeing this. As though this would be some form of street PR, to spread the word about an event. To be frank, that is not Search and Rescue. In most cases, the event is the last thing on our mind, as it is the most tenably spiritual portion of the eXtreme Tour itinerary. To explain, it is a chiseled out stretch of time that is spent in every tour stop, that is usually spent taking care of personal business, shopping for necessities, doing laundry, what have you. Only, before we go out, we’re given an outline on the qualities and intrinsic characteristics of the community so that as we go about our day, we can do so with intention, keeping an eye out for every opportunity to engage and interact with people. So for us, in Bingen, this consisted of a trip to Hood River, just across the bridge over the Columbia River in to Oregon, then some time skating at the Skate Park back in Bingen, then a night out on the town looking for folks to bump in to.
Event day was Tuesday, and by this time, we had had thoroughly acclimated to the environment. There was a decent response from the community, and the host contacts were very engaged with what was happening. One of my personal favorite things to see, from place to place were how much each host at each stop had so much love for their communities. To really provide something for them that gave them a lift up, and a way out. It’s quite the landscape out there in the Washington, Oregon, California countryside. Plenty of poverty. Many old towns that appeared to have stood with glory and dignity at some points in history, only now to be found as the weathered ruins of some ancient fallen empire. As close to home with truth as that may be, with plenty of explanation as to what factors may have woven that timeline in to the fabric of these places, there is a hustle and bustle that lives on, in spite of the apparent decay. It is that residual motion of the will of Life itself to keep things moving forward. It’s that energy that would be a resounding motif through the tour.
Here’s how the schedule played out for the event:
Skate Comp w/DJ Corey Foxx 5-600 Engage: Good God Father 6-620 Engage/Connect: Idiomz 620-640 Skate Comp Finals w/DJ Corey Foxx 640-700 Connect: Micah Ryan 7-720 Relate: P1lot 720-740 Reflect: GR8FRT 740-800 Tampico Challenge 8-820 Ministry: Dorrian Bridges 820-840 Award Ceremony 840-850 Celebrate: Plushie 850-910
Most all of these moments were captured in this stream.
Eamon particularly enjoyed his new role on the team for the Tampico Challenge.
