Home Again

Well, 24 days, 15 shows, 3500 miles, and 6 states later, we're home.  We've actually been back for 6 days now (the date above says May 30 because I typed about 2 sentances on that day, saved it, then finished it today, June 4), but I would've been more productive in a coma over the last few days, so I'm just now getting around to posting a new blog.  Example: I watched 3 entire baseball games today.  Granted, the 2nd game of the Giants' double header was called in the 6th due to rain, but they still got the win so I'm counting it as an entire game.  

We have a local show tomorrow, a show in Auburn (20 mi.) on Saturday, and then we have a couple days off before we head to Colorado for 8 shows in 10 days, and maybe 1 in Utah or Nevada on the way home if we can pick something up last minute.  Then it's another 2 days off (and 1 for driving) before we head South for 3 shows before the we play at the Sammies Awards Show on Sat. June 27 - don't forget to vote for us at www.sammies.com!!  

Originally, we were going to make our way from CO through NM and AZ before our SoCal stretch, but we had troubles booking in the Turquoise Circuit states so we just kept picking up dates in the Centennial State.  However it ended up, though, we have 14 shows in June (plus one tentative show) so we're happy.  July is going to be a little light in the first part of the month (4th of July & etc.), then we're hitting a NW tour that's going to be very similar the one we just finished.  We're hitting a lot of the same venues we did in May, but a lot of new ones also.   

I don't have any relevant photos to go with this blog, so I'll just leave you with this:   

Steak 'n' Eggs

We're in Medford, OR right now, at Jonny's parents' vacation home in a senior mobile home park.  Got our first showers since Sunday (today's Thursday) and we're feeling pretty good about it, though Violet (the bus) still has a pretty funky odor going on.  We had 3 days off in a row in Oregon (Sun, Mon, Tues), which seems like 3 weeks when you have nothing to do and not a lot of money, but we made it through.  I bought a new cell phone, one that gets internet, and I'm currently using it as a modem and typing on my computer since there's no internet available where we are - a very clever feature that helped convince me to buy the phone!

One of the reasons we're not very fond of Oregon (and we're not!) is because it's hard to find a place to park our bus for the night when we don't have a show.  Any Wal-Mart in the country will let you park overnight except for the ones in Oregon.  We constantly get waken up in the middle of the night or early morning and told to move along, like the vagrants we sometimes are.  On Tuesday we went to a mall in Springfield to kill some time, and got hassled by a rent-a-cop in a golf cart who told us we had to park behind the mall in BFE.  Later that day, as we were leaving, we threw a bag of trash in a mall dumpster and were about to add another when he caught us red handed!  As he raced up to us in his golf cart with his lights-a-flashing, we just drove away and he chased us all the way to the front of the mall.  As we turned on to the street and took off, he kept pursuing us, but from the mall parking lot and a few hundred yard behind us.  It was absolutely hilarious!!

We had a show last night in Sutherlin, OR and did O.K. for a weeknight in a one-horse town.  The only sure thing we ever encounter on the road is that things are going to get weird in Sutherlin!  That aside, we had a good time.  At the end of the night, I ended up taking a shot of tequila and 2 Jager-bombs, courtesy of some generous fans, and that on top of 3 Busch tall boys made me a little tipsy.  When we parked the bus for the night, it was next to a 24-hr. diner, and I went in and had the steak 'n' eggs for a modest $7.50 - the special for the night.  Then I went back to the bus, told the guys about the great breakfast I had and crawled in my bunk to go to sleep, but I soon heard Ben telling Ty that he was hungry.  So I leaned out of my bunk and said, "steak 'n' eggs for $7.50".  He said he didn't want steak 'n' eggs, so I repeated myself, using more volume and a stern tone.  He replied with some generic derogatory statement that I normally would have ignored, but the Jager-bombs from earlier had made me spry, and I decided to try and convince him to get the steak 'n' eggs by using force (it seemed logical at the time).  Anyways, Ben & I ended up grappling at the front of the bus (in a playful manner - there was no real anger involved) and after going back and forth a few times I shoved Ben up against the door, with my left hand hand behind his back somehow, and when he hit, my hand broke the window!  That pretty much ended our little tussle, and we had to tape up the window to keep it somewhat together until we get home on Saturday.  And after all of that, Ben still didn't get the steak 'n' eggs!!

Rockin' the Brewery

Last night we rocked the Block 15 Brewery in Corvallis, OR in front of another good, energetic crowd.  After being on the road for a couple weeks now and playing constantly (last night was our 10th show in 12 days) we've definately gotten a lot sharper, and we're starting to focus more on putting on a great live performance.  We're also starting to see the snowball grow a little, as this is our 2nd trip through Oregon (we were here for a week in March) and last night we had some people tell us they've seen us before and drove several miles just to come to the show.The picture above is of Christen and Nick, owner/operators of Block 15 Brewery in Corvallis, OR.  I really can't say enough about the these 2, the rest of their staff, or their establishment as a whole; the beer is amazing (15 different beers brewed in-house), the food is some of the best we've had, and the everyone here (yeah, I'm still here!) is super friendly and accomodating.  I already feel like more of food critic than a musician, but this place is awesome!  10 billion stars!!  Visit their website at www.block15.com.

One from the road...

Last night was probably the craziest night of our bender...  I mean tour, thus far.  Ladies, Gentlemen, the following tale is one of epic heroism, and will not soon be forgotten.

Feb 26 - booking our May tour, we confirm a show at the Tonic Lounge in Portland, OR for Friday, May 23.

March 24 - we receive notice from Tonic Lounge that our show has been cancelled.

March 28 - we confirm a show with the Red Room in Portland for the same date through their talent scout, Jacquie.  Crisis averted.

April 7 - we negotiate 100% of the door at the Red Room, with one local act, The Mercury Tree, opening the show.

May 22...

10:00 AM - wake up.  Had a great show last night, and are looking forward to the show tonight.  It's tough suffering through weekday shows, but it's friday and expectations are high.  Ben is hungover.  Morale is medium-high.  

10:15 AM - we shower (Jonny's wife, Amy, flew up for a few days and rented a hotel room).

11:15 AM - Amy checks out of her hotel room.

11:30 AM - we head out of town.  Roughly 142 miles from Tacoma, WA to Portland, OR.

2:00 PM - 7 miles outside of Portland, we see a sign for Panda Express and exit the freeway.  Morale is high.

2:30 PM - the P.E. is awesome, but forces me to make a turd.  Morale is still high.

3:00 PM - we arrive at the Red Room, go inside and check it out.  It's pretty shitty bar in a pretty shitty part of town, but the only guy working at the time is very friendly and anxious to hear us.  There's a poster on the wall that reads:

The Slants

The Mercury Tree

Arden

The Livin's Easy

This raises some concerns, but we're not that worried about it.  Morale is medium-high.

4:30 PM - I lay down in my bunk for a nap.

5:45 PM - I wake up in a fairly large puddle of drool.  Great nap.

6:00 PM - I go inside to tap into the Red Room's WiFi (check my email, watch baseball scores, blog, etc.).

6:30 PM - I meet the manager of the Red Room and ask him about the The Slants and how we lost the headlining slot.  He tells me Jacquie was fired 2 weeks ago and he doesn't care about the agreement we had with her, he booked The Slants becasue they're local and have a draw, and he's going to give them the door.  I ask if we can get $100 for fuel and he says no.  I'm disappointed.

7:30 PM - I tell the guys what the manager told me (they had left the club while I was using the internet and I waited for them to get back).  Morale is low.

7:45 PM - Ty talks to the manager and tries to make sense of what's going on.  We ask for 30% of the door (our original agreement was for 100% of the door).  The manager leaves to discuss this with his boss or the other bands or someone we're not aware of.

7:55 PM - Jonny upper decks the toilet at the Red Room (for those who don't know, that's when you poop in the tank and the turd floats around in there until someone discovers it and has to fish it out).  Morale is medium.

8:00 PM - the manager counter offers us 1/3 of the door after the first 40 people.  We decline the offer and walk out.  Morale is low.

8:15 PM - we discuss our options and hit the phones.  Morale is medium.

9:15 PM - we confirm a show across town at a small restaurant/bar and negotiate a small guarantee, but probably more than we would've made at the Red Room if our original agreement had stuck.  Morale is high.

9:45 PM - we arrive at Cactus Jack's in Portland, OR.

10:15 PM - karaoke finishes and we load in to a tiny corner of the bar (the previous night in Tacoma we played on a 30'x12' stage).

11:00 PM - we start our set, determined to leave the 25-30 people in attendance with the best, most personal show they've ever seen.  Morale is very high.

1:45 AM - we finish playing for the night.  The people love us, the owner (apparently a former NFL QB, Jack Stanley) loves us, we got numerous free shots & beers, Ty took a shot out some girls cleavage, and some guy that looks like a WT version of Bret Michaels calls us the greatest band he's ever seen.

1:55 AM - Jack (owner) is hammered & makes us tacos from the kitchen.  Morale is still very high.

2:00 AM - we break down, load up and get paid.

2:15 AM - on his way out, WT Bret Michaels hands Amy (Jonny's wife) a fist full of cash (he thinks she's our manager), tells her that he loves our band, gets into his Porsche with some really hot chick, and drives away.  The money he gave us doubled what we made for the night!  Morale is extremely high.

2:45 AM - we search for Ben so we can leave.

3:00 AM - we leave.

3:15 AM - stop for fuel.  Buy a box of black & mild cigars.

3:40 AM - park for the night outside of Amy's friend's house.  We recount the evening and party.  Morale is at an all-time high.

4:00 AM - Ben pukes.

4:45 AM - we go to bed.

10:45 AM - wake up and start over...

Notable Quotable: "I just do what I'm told, when there's tits involved."  -Ty

 

(picture: the staff at the Red Room.  The bartender was cool, the guy on the left was a douche, & the guy on the right was the one that refused to pay us anything.)

(picture: this is Jack, the owner of Cactus Jacks.  He looks a lot more like Gerald than the photo indicates.  He apparently played QB for the Redskins and the 49ers in the '80's)

(picture: this was our "stage" for the night.  Kind of cozy, huh?)

(picture: this was our crowd.  Not huge, but a good crowd, and loved us.)

(picture: if I could use a photo to show the level of morale at the end of the night, this would be it.)

(photo: Ben has a tummy-ache.  Poor little guy!)

Headline: "Burger Changes Man's Outlook on Life"

So we had a slow night in Seattle on Tuesday, had a night off, then had a great show in Tacoma last night - there was a good crowd who loved us, we were tight and made no mistakes, we sold a bundle of merch, and we made a wad at the door!  And on top of all of it, we were comp'd food and drinks and I ate a cheeseburger that changed my life.  Topped with grilled onions & jalepenos (w/o tomatoes - I hate tomatoes), slathered in pepper jack cheese that oozed through every crevas, and served on a roll instead of a traditional bun, this burger (nicknamed the Ass-Fire burger) made me a better person and the world around me seem without flaw.  I wish every day I could feel like I did for 15 minutes while I experienced what a burger must taste like in heavan.

(picture: our bus outside Hell's Kitchen in Tacoma, WA - home of the Ass-Fire Burger)

(picture: the marquee at Hell's Kitchen - generic, but sharing it with Dick Dale, King of surf guitar!)

(picture: the space needle from I-5)

That's it for now, just a little update.  I'll let you know how the weekend goes.  Peace!

VOTE FOR US!!!!!

For the 2nd year in a row, we were nominated for a Sammie (Sacramento Area Music Award)!!  We won our category last year and would love to take it again (after 3 wins, bands get inducted into the hall of fame, joing the likes of Cake, Oleander, and The Deftones).  

Go to www.sammies.com, click on "Click Here to Vote" at the top of the page, and follow the instructions - we're in the category of Outstanding Reggae/Ska/Funk/Jam Band.  Voting ends on June 14.

Thanks for your support!!

Win some, lose some...

We had a less than ideal show in Couer D'Alene, ID, but made up for it with a great show in Bellingham, WA the next night.  We played only our original stuff with 2 other bands on the bill: Ballyhoo! (www.ballyhoorocks.com) and The B Foundation (www.thebfoundation.net), both great bands that are really successful, have been touring together for about 6 months and are a really good fit for us.  The club we played at (The Wild Buffalo) is also a really good venue that supports touring bands and we scored a last minute gig for the next night (Sunday the 17th) with our Sublime tribute set and made a fair chunk of dough that we wouldn't have otherwise.

Our latest show was here in Seattle last night and it was another shakey one (every night seems to be hit or miss, and you never know what you're going to get!).  It's tough to get a crowd on a Tuesday, especially when we're competing with the season finales of American Idol and Dancing with the Stars (strange, I know, but a lot of people would rather see their favorite TV shows on a weeknight than go out & see a band).  However, our next 3 shows hold a lot of potential and we're excited about them.  Right now we're holding up at Ty's aunt & uncle's house, who live in one of the 'burbs and were kind enough to put us up for a few days.

We've been booking a lot of shows at the venues we are currently palying at.  It's becoming very common for us to talk to the owner/booking agent the same night we play a venue and put another date on the books.  This is very good for a few reasons: it's way easier to book in person than by making 20 calls & emails, we can negotiate quicker & more easily, and it means the talent buyer likes us (a testimate to our music & ability).  I've added a few more dates on the calendar - be sure to check it, as we're venturing closer & closer to the midwest and we may get within striking distance of your town!  Sorry I don't have any pictures up this time, I promise I'll take some more at the next few shows.

Hanging with our new Idahomies

We're about a week into our tour now, and I'm currently in a Starbucks in Couer D'Alene, ID. We haven't had a real chance to seek the precious internet since my last blog, which is my excuse for not posting one since we were in Boise. By the way, we ended up spending 3 days in Boise with our new friends, who were very hospitable, lending us their showers and even cooking for us! Our show in Idaho Falls went well for a Tuesday, but the next night in Butte was pretty much a bust. The lady we booked with wanted to do an all ages show in a room attached to the bar, so we played for 4 teenagers while there were 30-some people in te bar next door! Last night we were in Moscow, ID (home of the University of Idaho) and had a great show in a great bar with a great stage and a great sound system. We definately want to make it back to John's Alley!

(picture: our new Idahomies in Boise)

Already in the tour we've encountered a lot of crazy adventures. The weirdest perhaps, is when Ben's wallet was "traded" at the old Idaho State Penitentary, which is now a museum. We were taking the self-guided tour when Ben crawled in an old washing machine in the laundry so we could spin him around. It must have fallen out of his pocket when he crawled out, but we never found it, so instead just informed the ladies at the front desk. A few minutes later, one of the ladies came up to our bus with a lost wallet that wasn't Ben's, but had all of the contents from Ben's wallet. Some dude found his wallet, put all of Ben's stuff in his own much shittier wallet, and turned it in! Ben was pissed, but happy he had his ID and credit cards!

(picture: Ben - angry, but relieved)(picture: Ben's "new" old, shitty wallet)

(not pictured: Ben's "old" new, awesome wallet)

Aside from the craziness that insues after a show, we're finding out that touring is mostly driving and loading/unloading. It's like we're a group of talented truck drivers. ...well, more talented than most truck drivers, probably!(picture: Idaho, from our perspective)

Tour is underway!

So I'm posting this blog from a coffee shop in Boise, ID.  We played a place called The Reef last night, after a show in Ogden, UT on Friday night.  Both were good shows and we made good money, which is nice because we needed a little cash to operate with.  We were comp'd a motel room last night (our 1st showers of the tour) next door to the venue and tonight we'll sleep in the bus again.  We're going to stay in Boise today and most of tomorrow, as it's a very nice town and our next show isn't until Tuesday in Idaho Falls, which, from what we hear, is somewhat desolate.  The Reef and our motel (temporary HQ) are right down town between the college (Boise State, with the blue turf) and the State Capitol; very neat part of town.  

The barista here at the coffee shop, Jen,  is a comedienne (I believe that's the female version of comedian), relocated from NYC a year and a half ago and is very friendly.  She invited us to her roommate's show (also a comedian) tonight and is getting us in for free.  Jen also has a lot of good advice about traveling and saving money on the road, since she's been doing comedy for 10 years.  

Well, I'm going to wrap it up, because Ben & Jonny are A.D.D.-ing me into a rage, and we have to go load up equipment in a few minutes anyway (something we opted out of last night becasue we were drunk and the venue's up 2 flights of stairs).  I'll leave another post the next time we find free interent.  Peace.