On June 16, the champ, his band and 150 plush toy monkeys set out for a two-week tour from Venice to Seattle and back in "Old Yeller", the champ's trusty 1974 VW Thing, pulling a derelict U-Haul trailer.

Old Yeller "hitched to the plow"

The band had 12 confirmed gigs; but two club closures, one electrical fire and one conversion to a DJ later, eight gigs were left...

• Tue., June 18 Club Cocodrie - San Francisco, CA
• Wed., June 19 The Cat's Grill & Alley Club - SF, CA
• Fri., June 21 Icky's Teahouse - Eugene, OR
• Sat., June 22 Cafe Paradiso - Seattle, WA
• Sun., June 23 Thee "O" - Portland, OR
• Tue., June 25 The Lake Union Pub - Seattle, WA
• Thu., June 27 Gibson's - Seattle, WA
• Sun., June 30 Toe's Tavern - Santa Barbara, CA

The band at Club Cocodrie

Leaving San Francisco, cracks in the band's resolve began to appear...

Following the homeless, junkie, punk-rock nightmare that was Icky's Teahouse, the nails were, more or less, in the coffin...

After the first gig in Seattle, the bass player announced that he was going home, "because it was not worth his time."

The next day, the drummer had his mother fly him home, leaving his drums behind, claiming that "it was not working for him musically."

These reasons smelled fishy to the champ, particularly since they both wanted to continue playing with the band after returning home. The fact that they are Los Angeles natives added to the champ's suspicion; he may have heard several "love you babe, let's do lunch"'s during the discussion. He guesses that; between Old Yeller, Road Monkey, the road and the champ himself, they broke. The champ then hand-lettered the back of his shirt and wore it for the remaining week of the tour. He pulled out his acoustic guitar, played the last four gigs solo and drove back with all the equipment..."

The champ at the Lake Union Pub, after the break

Undaunted, the champ returned home, began looking for new musicians, and began planning...

The champ's Sordid August 1996 East Coast Tour

The champ played these gigs:
Pictures coming soon!

• Wed., August 14 "13", New York City
• Thu., August 15 Nightingale's Bar, New York City
• Sun., August 18 Luna Lounge, New York City
• Mon., August 19 The Kendall Cafe, Cambridge, MA
• Tue., August 20 Phoenix Landing, Cambridge, MA
• Fri., August 23 The Khyber Cafe, Halifax, NS
• Wed., September 4 Bunker's Peanut Bar, Sydney, NS
• Thu., September 5 The Ultra Sound Show Bar, Toronto
• Sun., September 8 El Mocambo, Toronto

Thanks to Rod Gale at CAPR, the champ also did a live performance and interview on CJCB radio, Sydney, on Sunday, September 1!

Thanks to all who helped and hosted:
Rob Gallivan, Dave Towers, Pete Veru, Kurt Iiams, Clark Adams, Bim, Ed Sylvester

Upon returning to Venice, the champ has begun the process of getting a new band together and trying to find a job.