Road Report: The Mynabirds Embark on Their First U.S. Tour

The Mynabirds have just set out on their first official U.S. tour in support of their debut album, 'What We Lose in the Fire We Gain in the Flood.' The soulful, 60s-influenced record is the solo effort from former Georgie James member Laura Burhenn.

Over the next two weeks, Burhenn will be checking in from the road with personal stories and photos of their cross-country trek. In her first entry, the Mynabirds reflect on the drive to Cleveland, and talk about the launch of the tour. Find out what songs have made the soundtrack to their journey thus far, after the jump.


On day one of our tour we collectively decided it'd be nicer to tour the U.S. by train -- more eco-friendly than the highway and certainly more of a breeze for a 14-hour Omaha-to-Cleveland drive. But until someone sorts that out and gets us back to the romance of the railway (or the future of a bullet or magnet train), we'll be more than content in our silver bullet van, Mustang Sally ("All you wanna do is ride around Sally -- ride Sally, ride!").

Well hello there. We're the Mynabirds. And we're happy to meet you. We're gonna take you with us around America these next two weeks on our first proper tour. We've got a lot of fun ahead of us (our first show in Cleveland tonight, a homecoming of sorts in DC and a Tiny Desk Concert with NPR's Bob Boilen, Brooklyn's Bell House, a bill shared with Cyndi Lauper in Philadelphia, and a meet-up with Josh Ritter for some shows down south after the Do Division Fest in Chicago), but are trying not to speculate too much. Happy surprises are better than spoiled expectations, for sure.

As we drove east, the sun spinning over the blue horizon behind us, we talked about hitchhiking and played each other some of our favorites: Dylan's 'Highway 61 Revisited,' the Velvet Underground's 'Loaded,' Neil Young's 'After the Gold Rush.' And I couldn't get Simon & Garfunkel's 'America' out of my mind:

So I looked at the scenery, she read her magazine,
And the moon rose over an open field...
They've all gone to look for America

'Til next time, do send us recommendations (@TheMynabirds on Twitter) for good local flavor and vegetarian eats on the sides of the highway.

xo
Laura.
(The Mynabirds)