Today I'm outside of Philadelphia. I've been doing the radio show now for 11 straight days, played two shows in Cleveland, writing code on the train rides. Stayed in Pittsburgh with Burr & Natalie Settles Sun/Mon and visited the Carnegie-Mellon and Pitt campuses.

The part of these tours that I truly enjoy the most is when I get to have these cool discussions with artists and thinkers along the way. I've discovered from previous tours that the best discussions generally last about three hours each, and cover topics like artist lifestyle, faith, or the process of creating art or some other craft (like software for example).

This tour has been no different as I've been lucky enough to have these types of 3-hour discussions with Christine Flore-Cozza & Brandon Seyferth in Chicago, Greg D'Alessio in Cleveland, Burr ans Natalie Settles in Pittsburgh, and Michael Aschenbach outside Philadelphia. I'm looking forward to the next ones.

In Chicago Christine, Brandon and I discussed songwriting and the "hobo everyman" concept represented most famously by Woody Guthrie. Christine wanted me to take my writing in that direction, to represent the "good" men of America who may currently be struggling but are not "bad" men, they're just men out of work, looking for a way to support themselves and their families.

In Cleveland Greg and I discussed the artist's role and the type of work that an artist chose to do. Greg being a composer, he mused on the ideas of musical compositions and performance. For example, if he writes a piece for orchestra or for string quartet, how often will that be performed live? If it's written on spec for a specific buyer, perhaps once only, or on the outside, perhaps 25 times in his lifetime. This led into a fascinating discussion on how kings and queens 200-300 years ago commissioned works, but who did that now? The universities? Were universities the new kings? And if they're state universities, does this mean the government is actually the new aristocracy?

In Pittsburgh I had some of the most interesting and compelling discussion on faith with Burr and Natalie. I've been actively struggling to understand, grow, and define my relationship with god and faith, and this discussion at points had me openly weeping. However, in a bit of an epiphany I discovered I may have been looking to the church to "cure" me, like a drug, rather than to truly commit to a spiritual journey. Wow. That's self-revelation to be sure.

Michael here in Coatesville (just outside Philly) is one of the most profound thinkers that I know, if not the most profound, and we have continued with more discussions on faith and learning that included a visit to his fellowship honoring the teachings and life of Bawa, at his Sufi Shrine nearby. When we got out of the van and walked the grounds I could hear a very specific melody or song in my head, as if it was seeping out from the earth. It was a waltz. When we got back in the car and drove away it was gone.

What awaits me on the next stops? Or even, on the next rides? I love touring.