Minnesota Invasion

I’m sitting on the tarmac of the Minneapolis airport as I type this, which is great. My flight to JFK was already delayed an hour and now we- the other people on the plane and I- have just been told that we’ll have to sit out here for another hour before our “wheels up time” (wheels up time, I have discerned, is what the pilot-types call the time when the plane goes in the air. That’s when they take the wheels up into the plane so they’re not sticking out anymore and no one dies. It all makes sense if you really think about it, which I just did). There are a couple of bears sitting in front of me who don’t seem to be taking news of the delay very well. One of them told the flight attendant to “shut the fuck up” under his breath once word was handed down. I point all this out not to suggest that bears are a naturally feisty bunch (being so totally not gay it’s not even funny, I really wouldn’t have any idea)- it’s just that these two bears in particular seem to be getting pretty fired up and since it’s the only source of entertainment I have at the moment I just thought I’d share it with you.

As for me, the delay isn’t bothering me all that much. I’m actually kind of enjoying the Dave-time, just sitting here typing and listening to music (I recently unearthed my copy of Soul Asylum’s “...And The Horse They Rode In On” and loaded it into my computer. It came out in 1990 it’s their last seriously rocking album before they became MTV stars and shortly thereafter fell off the radar. They just released a new album though and I’m hoping they got back to rocking). So there is that.

Anyway, after less than 24 hours back in NYC, I got on a plane to scenic Minneapolis yesterday to make some more exciting television. I’m not supposed to talk about it on account of the unofficial show business code of silence but this much I can tell you- it is going to be on BASIC CABLE. Can you feel the magic? Yeah, I thought so. Shit. Fuck. Piss. Damn.

As places go, I like Minneapolis a lot. I have been here a bunch of times before playing in rock bands. Whenever we played at First Avenue or 7th Street Entry, we’d eat at the Chevy’s down the street because we weren’t afraid to throw a little money around. I’m generally against chain restaurants but I have to admit they’ve got a way with a fish taco at that place.

Also on the Minneapolis front, some of my favorite bands/musicians of all time are from here- the Replacements, Husker Du, Walt Mink, and Prince, for example- so this town holds a special place in my heart. I came here for my cousin’s wedding a few years ago and that was good times too. I still owe him and his wife a present. I gotta get on that shit. I’ve always wanted to send steaks in the mail. I’m told they ship them in dry ice. Maybe it’s time.

Since I’m not Steven Seagal or anything, I didn’t have my own trailer while shooting here in Minneapolis and- as a result- didn’t have my own bathroom either. I did have my own water and coffee though, so after a while I had to go super bad, so I snuck off into the woods near the street we were shooting on. In the interest of full disclosure, it had been a while since I took a leak in the woods. And you know what? It was just as exciting as I had remembered.

Along the way too pissing all over the woods, I stumbled upon the treehouse in the photo above. I always wanted a treehouse when I was kid but empty refrigerator boxes in the neighbor’s driveway was as close as I ever came. Still, that was pretty magical in its own way too. It’s just nice to get away from the folks every once in a while I guess.

Dave Hill