Thursday, November 29, 2007

Grind. Back To It, That Is...

For those of you steaming over the last few posts that I’ve neglected to put up yet, I will appease you with an update!

I landed in Chicago at 6:02 last night.

That’s right folks, I’ll be joining The Redwalls on their ten day headlining tour with The Whigs and Jonathan Rice! I’ll be hoping to see a handful of familiar faces and a plethora of new ones. Don’t be frightened to come say hello, I’m a friendly guy, and I’ll sell you merch too.

We woke up around 7:00 this morning to get moving, so as I battled the holy-crap-it’s-cold-18-degree-weather while loading some stuff into the trailer, I began to get excited…

We finally left and picked up a frail and bundled Justin who is just getting over sickness before reaching the practice space and grabbing the rest of the equipment and guys. First to arrive was Andrew, then Rob and Logan with Mitch. One thing I was glad to see is Logan now has the smallest suitcase. His last one had to be around 100 pounds… and bright red.

Oh and the new posters are really cool, too. Peter Mars, the artist who designed and screen printed the cover of the most recent Redwalls release, did a series of screened poster specifically for this tour, hand numbered and all, making each one one-of-a-kind. I’m going to pick one up, and I suggest you do too.

Maybe the guys will even sign it for you.

So now we’re on the road towards Pontiac, MI. It’s weird, almost like I never even left, went back to Philly for a week, crashed some classes, worked a few days, played SNES, pet a cat, closed a bank account, ate at Wawa (if you don’t know what it is… well, I just feel sorry for you), slept in my own bed with new flannel sheets applied, and wrote a new song. I said almost.

You’ll be hearing from me frequently, I promise, so keep up with it! And comment this stuff with questions and thoughts, I will do another answer post in the next week or two. If you want to see something, don’t hesitate to tell me either. You’re just as big a part of this as me, why would I write this is no one is reading it? And why not read what you want to read? That one’s hypothetical, but I look forward to hearing from you kids!

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Apologies...

For not having the remainder of the blogs up sooner, they really should be. I'm honestly taking a day or two to relax here at home before I get the rest of the stuff up here.

Some updates:

The absinthe is awesome.
Jalepeno chips are awesome.
A Redwalls fan named Lisa and I hung out in Philly.
I am going on the headlining tour with the boys... tentatively. I haven't acquired a plane ticket yet, but once that happens I'm on my way.
My favorite ninja turtle is Raphael.
I just realized how unfriendly Philadelphians are upon my return. It's extremely disappointing.
Unfortunately, I won't be present at the gallery thing. Please come to the Metro so I can meet all of you anyway?

Saturday, November 17, 2007

The Little Black Box

You guys want a picture of my little black box? Well it’s going to be another day or two before I can put it up, but maybe I’ll make some sort of contest out of it or something. Keep your eyes open.

Green Gahd-Damn-Delicious

New York. New. York. What a wonderful way to close out the tour for everyone. Actually we have one more show before it’s completely over with, but having this towards the end was a good idea. There were almost 2000 people at this show, and that’s quite a good amount.

When we first got there we encountered an angered BMW owner who came and broke into our van to yell at me. Actually he just opened the door without knocking. The band was yelling to lock it, but seriously, who opens a door without knocking on the window? We were parked in front of the exit to this tiny parking lot. The nut was trying to enter the exit. Durrrrr man it’s an exit! Instead of buying BMW’s maybe he should look into anger management… I just told him it wasn’t a big deal and smiled. So essentially we were having some parking trouble, and the venue was having difficulty providing us with adequate space for the van and trailer. Unfortunately none of the surrounding lots would accept our outfit for less than a ridiculous amount of money and it seemed we were going to get a little screwed by that city. Luckily Rono pulled out his little bag of tour manager dust (don’t worry, it’s nothing illegal) and sprinkled some on the sitch. Oh wait, maybe he used his Jedi mind tricks… I can’t remember. We ended up with this pretty cool film license that allowed us directly outside of the place. Score!

TERMINAL 5
November 16, 2007
New York City, NY

As I said earlier, the show was large! The merch was rushed several times, and I used my merchandising expertise to help out the Rooney kids as much as possible while still regulating my universe. There were a good bunch of Redwalls fans there, you can tell because you’re always smiling! And you’re older than twelve!

So after the show The Polyphonic Spree was having an after party at the Beauty Bar and it was an open bar… cabbed it and we were there in a jiffy. Which is an actual measurement of time.

I hung out with Genevieve and her roommate and friends. She brought me some tasty Thai. Mmmmm. I don’t know what happened to the rest of the guys though; they ended up disappearing to some other bar or something. I stayed at the place and enjoyed freedom until it was time to go back to New Jersey and sleep. Ah what a good night!


Like a small worm, we burrowed our way into the big apple.


Andrew backstage. Cool picture by me.


Dressing room... mirror standing on floor?


The view from right outside the dressing room. Like a hawk!


Stage shot.

Friday, November 16, 2007

It Was The Pitts…

Eh, not really. I love Pittsburgh. It’s another gorgeous city that fits up there with Portland for me, but why do they both have to be so cold?! It actually snowed while we were there. We had to get there pretty early to claim our reserved parking space, and when we finally arrived a white car was pulling up into our spot. Rono leaned his head out the window and said, “Hey brother, you can’t park there.” If you ever meet Rono, he will call you brother at least once. The guy was kind of wild eyed and looked like he was thinking a lot, but he yelled back, “No! I’m the guy that pays you! I park here!” to which we were all like whoa! We weren’t expecting that response to say the least. Later we got a good laugh with the guy out of it though. Ah, sweet misunderstandings!

I also met a girl named Lauren who wanted to go to Drexel for music industry, she was very cool, and shadowing venue people already. I wish I had gotten started that early… Marcy and Terry you may remember her, she was in the summer program.

The street that the venue was on was called Carson, and it was full of things to do. A pizza shop that was amazing, a magic shop (where the hell do you find those now a days!), tattoo parlors everywhere, a costume shop, a culture shop with silver and handmade clothing and some cool trinket type stores with those silly t-shirts that say you have voices in your head.

REX THEATRE
November 15, 2007
Pittsburgh, PA

The show was great. There was a crowd of Redwalls fans that showed up, one with a sweater that he made with iron on letters sporting the band’s name. The whole time the guys were on they would chant between songs and scream “Redwalls!”

My favorite part of the show was when Tim from the Polyphonic Spree did an impression of Scotty, Rooney’s tour manager.

“Right Scotty? Seriously, hey. Seriously. Hey. Seriously… hey.”

When we got back to the hotel Justin asked if Rono and I had created our own language of gibberish to which I replied, “Waaaaaaah.”


Yo Ron-O!


View from the hotel.


I liked this building.


Rob and Andrew.


Close up.


Look at the smiles on their faces!


Snowy Pittsburgh.

Home, SWEEEEEEEET Home!

This was a quick tease for me. I got to come home for a few hours, sleep in my own bed, see the people closest to me, and then leave at seven the next morning again. It was so nice to see familiar faces though, and I even met a few new ones! Hey Lisa!

Me and this weird kid named Steve (Hey Steve!) went over to McD’s to grab some food and catch up proper. It was nice to see him, I’ve known him since the 6th dang grade! We even got the same meal. Cute.

It was really cool being at the Troc on the other side of things. I’ve always been there to see shows, wondering what was backstage, how they ran things, etc. Now I know. I was a part of it.

THE TROCADERO
November 14, 2007
Philadelphia, PA

Once again, I was left out in the lobby to handle the merch. But I was amongst friends, colleagues, maybe some enemies. In which case I destroyed them accordingly.

From what I heard the show went well, maybe the bass was a little low. Or the vocals could have been louder in the mix. But honestly, The Redwalls never disappoint.

My best of friends kept me company for the extent of the evening until it was time to go home, and then we did just that. I stopped at a hotel to fax some sound scans out and after that I was bound for torn leather couches, dust and cinnamon incense! Oh boy, oh boy! We spent a good while hanging out in the living room before I realized I still had to get up at 7 the next day and I went to sleep.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.


Since I didn't get to experience Autumn in the traditional sense, I got an accelerated version driving up the coast. It was really gorgeous to watch the leaves change hour by hour.


The view from our hotel room.


Merchin' it.


Logan with Lisa and Erica.


Rob is always doing something like this.

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Oh, Oh, Oh!

I didn't know what to name this post.

We’re nearing the end here, folks. What are you ever going to do without me? Well, I may be back in some time, for the future holds many uncertainties! On this home stretch of home stretches we’re beginning our deceleration at the cradle of cats in North Carolina. Not to say we’re slacking at all, definitely not, but I miss my cat for one, and my friends too sometimes, I guess. I miss cheese steaks, I miss the skyline, I miss not having anything else to do all day but lay around on couches, I miss Sopranos with Kemp, books with Cris, Lost with Cort, Taco Bell with EJ, Brandon’s incessant noisemaking… I even miss class and work. Now, I’m not THAT homesick, but I think we’re all going to be extremely happy to get back to home base. Philadelphia, how I feel for thee.

THE CAT’S CRADLE
November 13, 2007
Carrboro, NC

This venue was a little different than most of the places we’ve been. It wasn’t a theatre; it wasn’t a large-scale place. It was one of those cool clubs that’s made a name for itself in a location where there isn’t much going on other than what they’re putting together and can somehow snag all the cool acts that come through. Hoots and Hellmouth are playing there in a couple weeks. Hey Biff!

I was located on a kind of pedestal, where I damn well should be. Seriously I was raised off of the ground, I guess it was more of a platform, but I didn’t have a chair. Enough of this!

The show went wonderfully, and the guys grabbed plenty of new fans this time around. Two girls came to interview them, and a bartender that was playing their CD in his bar earlier in the day showed up too thanks to Rooney letting him know they were coming through. The Spree ended late, even after they had shut the water off, and we left to go to this bar built between two rail cars. I think it was called the Southern Rail. It was a nice little location for an after show drink, and then we transported a few Spreesters back to the buses and went to the hotel.

The end of a long day came with Justin asking why he had to sleep next to my creepy and dusty black box that I bought at the Texas Junk Co. Now that he mentioned it, it is kind of creepy. It smells a little funny too.


Mmmmm Canon color swap.


I spy a Christianna...


Ghoul!


Rob.


Zee stage.


My corduroid legs?


Hanging by the merch. Justin and Andrew with Carrie to the right.


Road trip.

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Wax On, Day Off

Oh boy, another long drive. How long? Just as long as the last long drive, maybe longer. Though length can sometimes be relative and determined by moods and how awake you are and etcetera. I was pretty average, so the drive was probably about as long as it should be. Anyway, guess who drove the whole thing again. You got it! Me!

I mean Rono, he’s intense.

What did we eat, you ask? Well first was Chick-Fil-A, where a woman questioned us about being musicians, to whom Logan said we were just on holiday. Her little boy was a trooper; he tumbled down the whole spiral staircase in the playpen and got right back up to climb again.

That was the end of that and then the next place we ate was Outback where we had large steaks and bread and a blooming onion and Logan and Justin shared a sundae.

The end of a long day happened in a hotel room with the six of us squeezed in, and free wireless internet. None of that $10 a day crap, I won’t have it I tell you!

The next day we passed this place called South of the Border that I stopped at with my Mom, brother and sister once. They had a bathroom for pets, like a fake yard with Astroturf and a cartoonish white picket fence. It brought back memories...


Walking to dinnaaaaaah.


Awwwww.


This place! Looks out of place!

Back To The Grind

We moved on to St. Petersburg, and joined up with the Polyphonic Spree and Rooney once again. It was nice to see those guys after a few days off of the tour. Before the show I ran down the street to this place called Angie’s CafĂ© at 1st Ave. and 2nd St. right next to Jannus Landing where Chiodos happened to be playing, and grabbed my first cheese steak in over a month. I just couldn’t resist any longer; thankfully it was good.

THE STATE THEATRE
November 11, 2007
St. Petersburg, FL

The show went well, and we even got to see some friendly faces from the night before! It’s always nice to meet fans that support the band like that. I hung out at merch, and met another person who reads my blog. Her name was Michelle and she recognized me. I love it when that happens. Turns out she’s moving to Portland, so we had a bit to talk about. Why? Because I love Portland, that’s why!

And then I found a cigarette case and Jackie the merch girl said my white hoodie was stylin'.

Afterwards we stood out back and talked for a while with the Polyphonic Spree before finally deciding to get some fast food because it was like 3am.

Tomorrow’s a wonderful day off, tell you soon!


The State Theatre.


Smiling Logan con fans. Spanglish.


What the hell?


Like a deer in headlights.


Spree party! Everyone loves spree beer. Spree admission? Are you catching on?


Adam on a bike.

Monday, November 12, 2007

Disneypants.

Orlando was wonderful! Well, getting there wasn’t all that great. We had a terrible drive that Rono completed by himself; it was 12 hours or something close to it, he’s crazy. After we arrived though, things changed. We checked in to the hotel and moved on to the venue, which happened to be outside. I thought this would be a downside to the show at first, but with The Redwalls there are no downsides.

Andrew, Rob, Justin and I went to look for some food and stumbled across a Subway around the block from the stage. Normally I hate Subway, but… wait a second. I still hate Subway. This experience didn’t help it any. The sole employee working treated us all like butterbrains.

Man: “Are you lost? Can I help you? What do you need?”

Tutti: “We’d all like sandwiches.”

Man: “The sandwich line starts over there please.” (Five feet directly right of where we were standing)

The group hesitantly shuffles over to the sandwich ordering spot.

Man: “What can I get for you?”

Rob: “Turkey.”

Man: “What?”

Rob: “Turkey.”

Man: “What?”

Rob: “Turkey.” (Rob doesn’t yell, he just slightly raises his voice when he gets a tad frustrated)

Anyway, the place sucked. And I think he damaged my self-esteem a little.

THE LODGE
November 11, 2007
Orlando, FL

The guys got a 40-minute set that night, and with a longer set comes prolonged fun! After doing a multitude of short ones I’m sure they love the length of a headlining slot. It also gives me the opportunity to hear other songs live, and all of them are just plain great. There were several Redwalls fans there, and as usual paid their respects with reverence. I got a picture with a few, check them out! One girl came up to me and said she read my blog, and then recited lines from it. Creepy? No, she was a very nice girl. I just told her I would call her creepy online.

Neil and Bob were also there and having a good time. Neil had ants in his pants the whole night. I understand that feeling, I was jealous that he had it! It’s really compelling to see people that really love the band.

The night ended in the guys hitting up a bar and me going out with my Aunt and Uncle, whom I haven’t seen in two years, until 4am at IHOP. It’s strange how you can be out of touch with certain family for so long and still have a great time together. I wish I had more time to spare, but at least I got to see them. My cousins are giants now, too. They just sprouted up like bean stalks. Weird.


This Pabst sign was gigantic.


Hanging out... on stage. You know, the usual.


The crew with Neil and Bob. Where the heck is Rob?!


Oh, there he is. He kind of looks like a giant in this picture.


Me and the creepy girls ;) JK JK! Geez!


The streets were alive with... women with abnormally large calves.

curlyrespondstosomethings

So this post is dedicated to you guys who leave me comments, because I do enjoy them, and also because I feel bad when you ask questions and I don’t answer them. So here are my responses to what some of you said or asked. All of them are meant lightheartedly, hope I did alright!

Hey, Mike...so jealous!! I have to sit and grade papers! Say Hi to the guys for me, and I'll look forward to reading about your travels....
-Marcy RW

Marcy, I heard you think I’m funny. I’m glad I can encourage giggles from remote locations across the US. I will definitely say hi for you, and I can’t wait to get back! Also, I was checking out my requirements to graduate, and I still have a bunch of ensembles to complete… is that going to be a problem? ;)

i'm not gonna lie, you played a big role in my decision to buy merch.
ahaha =]]
ferreal tho.
you did.
you had the most beautiful smile, ever.
i think i must've walked past the merch tables like 30483084 times. true story.
do you get a lott of people who spazz out 'cause of the free stickers, or was that just me, 'cause i definitely got way too excited.
ohmann, anyway.
basically, i'm incredibly envious of you and the fun you're most likely having with the two best bands on the planett.
that is all.
seeyahhh later && take care
:]
helena.

1) I’m flattered and didn’t actually think my smile helped until this comment. 2) You’re the only sticker spaz I’ve met so far. Helena is a wonderful name, by the way. I once met this little girl with the same name, whose father owned an island in Hawaii.

I always get excited whenever I see you guys live. And it's awesome that you're from Chicago, since Milwaukee's just a second away. If you can, you guys should come back up here after the show at the Metro w/ Jonathan Rice in December. That would be INSANE.
Take care, and lots of love,
-Sarah

I can’t promise anything, but I bet it would be asylum-worthy. There was a lot of Pabst in Milwaukee. Beeeeeeeer. The Redwalls are the Chicago boys, I’m a Philadelphian!

Anonymous said...
So, you were the guy that looked at my husband like he had three heads when he bought the cd. :)

I am confused by this comment. Is it a cynical strike at my confusion? Yet the statement is followed by a colon and closed parenthesis indicating playfulness. You got something against three heads, lady? Let me tell you something, three heads equates to three times the brainpower and potential sophistication! Get it right or pay the price! ☺←------ indicating playfulness ☺←------ indicating playfulness ☺←------indic…

Anonymous said...
ha ha ha, yes San Diago discovered by the Germans in 1904 and means a whale's...
nice post title, made me chuckle.

Beard of Zeus, I love that movie. I salute my shorts to you!

DOVE, you look less than cynical. It was wonderful meeting you, and maybe we will cross paths in the future. PS - get off your cell phone!

Anonymous said...
i love that manchovies picture like none other.

I felt pretty clever after that one. I also felt especially clever after my Houston picture caption “Analogan”. BANG!

Neirbo said...
Nice blog. I've been to just about every single Redwalls show in the Chicagoland area. Can't wait for the Metro.
Any idea when the Modern Diet video is coming out?

Hey Neirbo, you seem like a dedicated fan, so show yourself at the Metro and I’ll put a picture of you up here! I can’t wait for the Metro either, it should be huge. As far as the video is concerned, you should be seeing it shortly.

Just an FYI, the red castle-like building is the Old Dallas Courthouse. Glad that ya'll seemed to enjoy your time in Dallas. It was good to meet you at the show.
~Sarah

Thank you Sarah! Dallas was wonderful, especially the people. Now I can harbor that knowledge until the next time I see the building, and then whip it out as if I were omniscient!

cara said...
here's that radio performance you speak of...
http://www.kut.org/items/show/10472
yeaaaah!

Cara is totally on top of this stuff. Everybody check this out.

evan said...
what movies did you guys watch, and should we watch them too or avoid them at all costs? :)

Hey Evan, the first film was one I just bought at Waterloo called All My Loving. It looked intriguing, but ended on a really strange note. I think it tried too hard. They would hopelessly drag on these musical segments and flip-flop from the generally feel good music of the time to pretty horrific scenes of the political landscape. More disturbing than anything, but maybe that’s what they wanted? The second was Club Dread by Broken Lizard. I love those guys, but I heard bad things about this movie. I should have learned by now not to listen to anybody else’s opinion on films. It did have its slow moments, but overall I’m glad I saw it. If you like Super Troopers and Beerfest I’d say this is a go.

Jade said...
I loved everything about the photos. 1. Cowboys boots. I wear them a lot; 2. Rocko?! I haven't watched that in ages. 3. Junk. I . . . just like junk.

Jade, someone told me I have to wear boots to get with the program. And then the next day someone told me the opposite. Give me some direction here! R-E-C-Y-C-L-E recycle! Conglomo? Junk is one of my favorite things. There’s just so much cool junk! Go to that place, I’m sure you’d love it.

Brendan said
RONO!!!

Who be this? I will pass along this exclamation.

for Narnia!!
And I'm kinda jealous about the green fairy drink you guys got.
-Justine

Justine is awarded ten points for knowing Narnia, but she did have a hint! Still, kudos for remembering. I haven’t even opened the bottle yet. I’m going to wait at least a couple more weeks and just look at the thing for now. I really can’t wait to try it though.

Sunday, November 11, 2007

NOHHHlans

So far, it’s been solely Redwalls fans coming to the shows, not to say they haven’t grown their fan base at all. Every city provides several people who are enamored once they’ve seen them. But this is overall a growing experience for the band. Last night was the first headlining show they’ve had on this whole tour. It was booked because their support tour was taking a break for a day or two, so why not fill that space with a show?

ONE EYED JACK’S
November 9, 2007
New Orleans, LA

Last night was awesome. We arrived in NOLA early enough to load in under no real constraints and for the guys to have a bit of a rehearsal, as well. Once that was over we had plenty of time to walk up the street and grab a bite. So we did! I ordered jambalaya, which was good, but nothing to write home about. Afterwards we went back to the venue and sat around until the night started to pick up a bit. The Polyphonic Spree showed up for a bit to help support, but bus call forced them away again too early. They did get to see some of The Redwalls’ set though. The first band that played actually had a previous Spree member in it, and they heckled away. Playfully of course!

The Redwalls’ set was long and diverse and showed a different side of the band that I had yet to see. Logan said that a half hour set is nothing every night, and that they’re just getting warmed up, not even breaking a sweat. This set was an hour at least, and by the end there was sweat present.

Because it was their first show in NOLA, they had no idea what to expect as far as turnout. They were pleasantly surprised when Redwalls fans showed up more enthusiastic then ever, and plenty of others made a purchase or two. It looks like New Orleans is a place to return to.

After the show we loaded out and went down to an absinthe bar, which ended up being closed, and then moved on to the river. We were having a nice little time sitting on the steps leading down to the water, until security came and recited his lines to us. Basically, get out of the park.

Oh I forgot! We all bought bottles of “real” absinthe to take home. They just passed a law in New Orleans about a week ago that permits the selling of an absinthe made with wormwood. For those of you that don’t know what that means, wormwood is not present in any of the other absinthes you can find in the US, or is so little that it’s almost nothing. This bottle was made the traditional way, and yes, I’m very excited to try it out.


Jack himself.


Redwalls poster, show specific.


Beerfinger.


Rob gazing into the abyss of the Mississ... ippi.


Andrew plus I have a soft side for street lamps. Ten points to anyone who can say why.


Funny positions.

Friday, November 9, 2007

House-ton (As the New Yorkers Do)

Another day off, but not by choice! Unfortunately the show at the Verizon Theatre was cancelled, which left us with nothing but a hotel room and more free hours than we knew what to do with. Luckily the guys had a friend in the Houston area, and they did a quick on air interview with him on his station before he began showing us around.

First stop of significance. Well, less of a stop than a slow drive by. We were on the campus where Rushmore was filmed, which also happens to be the nanotechnology capitol of the world. If you haven’t seen that movie get the hell on it! We drove past the walk that Max and Rosemary (I think) take whilst holding hands. See picture!

First was a really good taco place where I discovered Matt, the guys’ friend, lived in Philadelphia for a while! That’s always cool, to relate to someone who knows the city like you do but through an entirely different experience.

The first stop was Matt’s house where we dropped off our stuff and immediately left again. He knew exactly where I wanted to spend my time, and hopefully the guys agree. First was a music store that was probably the best one I’ve ever been to. It had tons of used equipment, rare finds and a great staff and just everything a music store should be. This was my first opportunity to actually sit down and play guitar on this whole tour. It felt so good. I can’t wait to get back to Philadelphia to grow my project more… lbss. Rob picked up a brand new cymbal to replace his recently cracked one, and Andrew snagged a pretty hard to find pedal called the Micro Amp that he’d been looking at for quite some time. I don’t think anyone else made any purchases, but I’ll tell you places like that put ideas in my head.

Nextly (not a word but it’s what came out) we went to this crazy thrift store full of cowboy boots and a ridiculous amount of other STUFF whose origins are lost in the dust. Mirrors, cassettes, jackets, typewriters, light bulbs, picture frames, suitcases and lastly what I was looking for, a nice sturdy box. Simple eh? Well I need some sort of travel case for the future, so it was an amazing find. I really had to dig for it too.

After that we headed back to Matt’s place, he headed out to a mustache meeting. Andrew, Justin and I sat down and relaxed to a couple movies before it was time to turn in, and that is just what we did.


WHAT!


Shhhhhh... we're on the air!


Rushmore.


The Texas Junk Co. (cr. Matt)


It eats your brain. Rocko's Modern Life anyone? (cr. Matt)


That would take a lot of feet! (cr. Matt)



Analogan. (cr. Matt) Haha.


It's a long trip... (cr. Matt)


Me! And the junkmaster. (cr. Matt)