Headachey and tired, back in Champaign, IL for the second time this trek. Drove last night to get here from St. Louis where some preliminary mixes of our Portland recording sessions awaited us. An odd process: pouring over a set of seven mixes we had not much to do with, isolating aspects we like and dislike about each one, figuring which version to live with. Doing it on a borrowed home stereo, no less, and more often than not with the typical Dark Meat gabfest a-yammerin in the background. Gave me this headache – that and the lack of coffee. We found one that works well, I think, and it'll sound ace once its mastered.

St. Louis reunited us with BP and Sara J. Fresh blood for the last leg. We actually played two shows yesterday – an early instore at the very-boss Vintage Vinyl, where I pantomimed my vox ofttimes behind a series of life-sized LP-cover faces. The best was the cover of Gil Scot-Heron’s greatest hits package: gave me an insolent pout and a jeri-curl. Hoo-yah.

Last night was rowdy as all hell. The kids went bonkers, with the Quiet Hooves acting as rodeo clowns and BP and SJ goading us to new sonic heights. It was boss, for sure, even if we only made 60 bones at the door.

St. Louis surprised me by having a star on its downtown walk of fame for William H. Gass, one of my favorite novelists. There he was, right alongside John Goodman and Dan Dierdorf: a modern master of mimetic atmospheric prose and a prime American meta-philosopher. Turns out, he's a favorite son of Missouri. Shame on me for implicitly expecting less!

'Bout to head to a beer-soaked cookout at our booking agent's house. Could be one of THOSE shows; first time we played Champaign, Seth had a bar-tab for us in celebration of his new boys' first appearance in his hometown. We overdid it on a legendary level, as only we can. Sounded like Keiji Haino fronting Budgie, but backwards, and nowhere nearly as cool as that might imply. A hot mess, and us oblivious to it all.

We’ll burger and beer it up, and listen to these mixes in their natural habitat: half-lit, at a party.

Tomorrow, we play with the Flaming Lips, and after that it's back to Chicago, to Detroit for the first time this tour, and then Dark Meat hits Canada for the first time ever! Stoked!

Jim McHugh