Thursday, October 9, 2008
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Louisville
I felt like a fool today for not grabbing my camera while I was searching for food this evening on 4th at Liberty as I walked with my eyes fixed on none other than Colonel Sanders himself. Sometimes, being a small unit on the road means taking whats given...and we got it that night. The general sentiment was to get the hell outta dodge, but, that night, being in Louisville, KY, I had to protest that I would not leave until I saw Colonel Sanders. So you can imagine my surprise and disappointment when I spied the fast food celebrity in his matching white hair-goatee-suit combo shaking hands with passerby. I had stumbled into a sort of Disneyland for grown-ups. In fact, I was carded on the street before I was allowed to enter and found my hands each marked with a big black 'm.' I found a cantina that I hoped would have a burrito on the menu. So a walked into this place was made completely of shiny plastic that had been molded and painted to resemble cartoonish wooden boards. I found my way to the bar and grabbed a menu.
Earlier, I had noticed the bartenders at Coyotes. Each of them was in their own personal bartending gear that exposed generous amounts of thigh and cleavage, wandering around the floor, smoking cigarettes and helping each other tie back their shirts to show off a little more skin where possible just before the doors opened. But even after witnessing that little dance I was surprised to look up from the menu to see Brandi at the cantina. She took the cake with her camo panties over the wide-diamond fishnets into the motorcycle boots. She wasn't exactly repulsive, but her choice of wardrobe wasn't helping her cause. So I tried not to laugh out loud and asked her if the restaurant was paying her extra to look that bad as I ordered my play-doh-like beans and sprinkle of rice wadded in a tortilla.
With my dinner in hand, I was happy to be leaving the 4th street promenade. It wasn't even 7:30 and there were tons of girls with unfortunate senses of fashion and dudes with unfortunate amounts of gel in their hair (if they had enough hair) all of whom had unfortunate drinking habits. I felt like I was becoming intoxicated just by being in the same airspace with these people.
Haha, and I think I'm getting sick. Tomorrow is a new day.
Earlier, I had noticed the bartenders at Coyotes. Each of them was in their own personal bartending gear that exposed generous amounts of thigh and cleavage, wandering around the floor, smoking cigarettes and helping each other tie back their shirts to show off a little more skin where possible just before the doors opened. But even after witnessing that little dance I was surprised to look up from the menu to see Brandi at the cantina. She took the cake with her camo panties over the wide-diamond fishnets into the motorcycle boots. She wasn't exactly repulsive, but her choice of wardrobe wasn't helping her cause. So I tried not to laugh out loud and asked her if the restaurant was paying her extra to look that bad as I ordered my play-doh-like beans and sprinkle of rice wadded in a tortilla.
With my dinner in hand, I was happy to be leaving the 4th street promenade. It wasn't even 7:30 and there were tons of girls with unfortunate senses of fashion and dudes with unfortunate amounts of gel in their hair (if they had enough hair) all of whom had unfortunate drinking habits. I felt like I was becoming intoxicated just by being in the same airspace with these people.
Haha, and I think I'm getting sick. Tomorrow is a new day.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Walk From Greenroom--Dallas, TX
I got tired of writing. I'll get back to it soon. Plus, I got my camera back. I'll try to think of some cool shit to do with it. In the meantime, here's what it looks like walking to the stage in the House of Blues.
Monday, September 15, 2008
On The 8th Day, God Created Montana
Last night was our last acoustic show of the tour. We played at the Edmonton Events Centre in Edmonton, which is located in the largest mall in the world. I didn’t have much of a chance to explore the mall, but I doubt I would’ve seen a third of it if I’d been there all day. On top of the huge venue where we played to the best Canadian crowd of the tour, this mall had an entire floor of food courts, a bowling alley, a billiard room, an arcade, a water park AND an amusement park—on top of about a million stores. You could probably fit three or four Malls of America inside this joint. It was pretty overwhelming.
After the show we hauled ass back to Calgary where we stayed with some New Zealanders who were living in Calgary studying ballet. I loved the accents they had. I learned a couple of native En Zed phrases which I will share with you: “Kia Kaha”—which means “good luck” or “stay strong” and “Aroha Mai”—which means “I love you.”
After a blueberry pancake brunch, we hit the 2 south back to the states. Those ‘cakes put me to sleep until we hit the border. Once again, we were fucked with at customs, but not as badly as coming into Canada. The dialogue went something like this:
Carrick: “Hello. How’re you doing today?”
Officer Redneck: “Where’re you boys coming from today?”
C: “Calgary. And Edmonton and Vancouver. We’re in a band, we were playing some shows “
OR: “You bringing anything back with you?”
C: “Just this water that the club gave us.”
OR: “Just the water? You boys don’t have anything else? No food or fuel?”
C: “Fuel? I mean, just what’s in the van, but we’re almost on ‘E’—check it out”
OR: “…..So you DID bring in fuel? Alright, I’m gonna need you to step out of the vehicle and leave the doors open. Stretch if you need to, but stand in front of the van and keep your hands out of your pockets.”
Haha, so it went on like that for a bit. Not quite the rigmarole that we went through getting into Canada, but definitely the kind of BS one has to put up with when confronted with a bored authority figure. What was most notable about this particular customs experience was that ours was the only vehicle that happened to be passing through this particular port of entry. Once we stopped the car and the officer shut his yap, the silence surrounding us was amazing. I’ve spent to much time in cities, at shows, on freeways, in places with muzac playing, around other people that I so rarely get a chance to be somewhere that’s truly silent. Sometimes, silence really is golden.
Luckily, we were in and out of customs within a few minutes of that conversation and on our way to one of the best restaurants I’m sure we’ll go to on this tour. Just past the border of Canada, where the 2 becomes US89 is a little town called Babb, MO, which is near Glacier National Park. In Babb, just before you drive into St. Mary, MO, there’s a fun little diner called Two Sisters. As soon as we walked in the front door, Big John, the husband of one of the owners greeted us by shouting “Hey Everybody! The band’s here! Oh yeah, look at these California boys!” It was great. I had some amazing lentil soup while the dudes munched on veggie burgers and we all had delicious chocolate hazelnut shakes to top it off. I was really surprised by how friendly everyone was and how nice the vibe of the place was. It was like they knew we were coming back home to America after being away and were acting as our own personal welcoming committee. We got some advice on what the best trails at Glacier were to hike, what the best Babb nightlife was and even where to find the kind of special something a long-haired hippie like myself likes to unwind with every now and again. Everyone who goes to Glacier National Park should definitely check out the Two Sisters Café in Babb and tell Big John we sent ya.
Right now, I’m kickin’ it in a sweet cabin under a gorgeous Montana full moon. Soon I’ll be heading to Charlie’s Bar with the boys where there promises to be a refreshing Montana micro-brew, beautiful girls and a bar fight or two.
Man, it feels good to be back in the states.
After the show we hauled ass back to Calgary where we stayed with some New Zealanders who were living in Calgary studying ballet. I loved the accents they had. I learned a couple of native En Zed phrases which I will share with you: “Kia Kaha”—which means “good luck” or “stay strong” and “Aroha Mai”—which means “I love you.”
After a blueberry pancake brunch, we hit the 2 south back to the states. Those ‘cakes put me to sleep until we hit the border. Once again, we were fucked with at customs, but not as badly as coming into Canada. The dialogue went something like this:
Carrick: “Hello. How’re you doing today?”
Officer Redneck: “Where’re you boys coming from today?”
C: “Calgary. And Edmonton and Vancouver. We’re in a band, we were playing some shows “
OR: “You bringing anything back with you?”
C: “Just this water that the club gave us.”
OR: “Just the water? You boys don’t have anything else? No food or fuel?”
C: “Fuel? I mean, just what’s in the van, but we’re almost on ‘E’—check it out”
OR: “…..So you DID bring in fuel? Alright, I’m gonna need you to step out of the vehicle and leave the doors open. Stretch if you need to, but stand in front of the van and keep your hands out of your pockets.”
Haha, so it went on like that for a bit. Not quite the rigmarole that we went through getting into Canada, but definitely the kind of BS one has to put up with when confronted with a bored authority figure. What was most notable about this particular customs experience was that ours was the only vehicle that happened to be passing through this particular port of entry. Once we stopped the car and the officer shut his yap, the silence surrounding us was amazing. I’ve spent to much time in cities, at shows, on freeways, in places with muzac playing, around other people that I so rarely get a chance to be somewhere that’s truly silent. Sometimes, silence really is golden.
Luckily, we were in and out of customs within a few minutes of that conversation and on our way to one of the best restaurants I’m sure we’ll go to on this tour. Just past the border of Canada, where the 2 becomes US89 is a little town called Babb, MO, which is near Glacier National Park. In Babb, just before you drive into St. Mary, MO, there’s a fun little diner called Two Sisters. As soon as we walked in the front door, Big John, the husband of one of the owners greeted us by shouting “Hey Everybody! The band’s here! Oh yeah, look at these California boys!” It was great. I had some amazing lentil soup while the dudes munched on veggie burgers and we all had delicious chocolate hazelnut shakes to top it off. I was really surprised by how friendly everyone was and how nice the vibe of the place was. It was like they knew we were coming back home to America after being away and were acting as our own personal welcoming committee. We got some advice on what the best trails at Glacier were to hike, what the best Babb nightlife was and even where to find the kind of special something a long-haired hippie like myself likes to unwind with every now and again. Everyone who goes to Glacier National Park should definitely check out the Two Sisters Café in Babb and tell Big John we sent ya.
Right now, I’m kickin’ it in a sweet cabin under a gorgeous Montana full moon. Soon I’ll be heading to Charlie’s Bar with the boys where there promises to be a refreshing Montana micro-brew, beautiful girls and a bar fight or two.
Man, it feels good to be back in the states.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Calgary
Canada is like nothing I’ve ever seen! I wish I had my camera so I could take some pictures to post, but I won’t be able to snap photos until I get to Salt Lake City. Right now, I’m in the van on the TransCanadian highway listening to Scott McClellan’s “What Happened”. The audiobook hasn’t really gotten juicy yet, but, Cheney’s not in the picture yet. My bandmates and I are all happily snacking on ice wafers and lovingly hand-crafted peanut butter and honey sandwiches made for us by one of our new friends in Chilliwack, a place I hope we can return to someday.
* * * * * *
Okay, I’m returning to this blog after a good nights sleep. That Scott McClellan book was putting me to sleep in the van. Last night, I could barely stay up past midnight for some reason. I woke up early today, all geared up for a chilly Canadian run in the quaint little town of Golden, AB and not 1 1/2 miles into it, the rain starts pouring down. I don’t mind running in the rain as long as it’s a warm summer rain. This was an annoying cold rain, but Chris Brown, M.I.A and the Sugababes got me back to the hotel feeling good. After a quick stop at the local grocery store, where a local asked us if we were in an “emo” band, we hit the road for Calgary. The boys and I had the good fortune of driving through the Yoho and Banff national parks in broad daylight. Canada is so beautiful. Right when we left Golden, we saw a huge pack of mountain goats literally on the other side of the highway shoulder divider. They were enormous! Must’ve been twenty goats just kickin’ it next to the high way.
All the water we saw—streams, rivers and a lakes—was a cool blue. I’m so used to the average American brown-hued bodies of water, so seeing this color everywhere was truly breathtaking. I wanted to jump right in! The highway that took us through the national parks was laid over and between huge mountains. Some black and craggy, other’s tall and covered in snow and all of them enormous and covered in trees--absolutely beautiful beyond description.
So now I’m just hanging out back stage at the MacEwan Ballroom, looking forward to a great show. I’m sure it will be!
oh, haha, and here are a couple pics I took with my iSight camera in the van...
* * * * * *
Okay, I’m returning to this blog after a good nights sleep. That Scott McClellan book was putting me to sleep in the van. Last night, I could barely stay up past midnight for some reason. I woke up early today, all geared up for a chilly Canadian run in the quaint little town of Golden, AB and not 1 1/2 miles into it, the rain starts pouring down. I don’t mind running in the rain as long as it’s a warm summer rain. This was an annoying cold rain, but Chris Brown, M.I.A and the Sugababes got me back to the hotel feeling good. After a quick stop at the local grocery store, where a local asked us if we were in an “emo” band, we hit the road for Calgary. The boys and I had the good fortune of driving through the Yoho and Banff national parks in broad daylight. Canada is so beautiful. Right when we left Golden, we saw a huge pack of mountain goats literally on the other side of the highway shoulder divider. They were enormous! Must’ve been twenty goats just kickin’ it next to the high way.
All the water we saw—streams, rivers and a lakes—was a cool blue. I’m so used to the average American brown-hued bodies of water, so seeing this color everywhere was truly breathtaking. I wanted to jump right in! The highway that took us through the national parks was laid over and between huge mountains. Some black and craggy, other’s tall and covered in snow and all of them enormous and covered in trees--absolutely beautiful beyond description.
So now I’m just hanging out back stage at the MacEwan Ballroom, looking forward to a great show. I’m sure it will be!
oh, haha, and here are a couple pics I took with my iSight camera in the van...
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Seattle and Vancouver, BC
Hey Hey Kids! I'm chillin' out in the Commodore ballroom typing to the sounds of Hanson's sound check. And without any further ado, here's my Seattle Tour Update:
After taking of from my Grandma and Great Grandma's place in Olympia, WA, we rolled up to the Moore just in time to take The Walk with Hanson. It was my second so far and I look forward to many more. I had the opportunity to chit-chat with some folks and enjoy the wonderful late-summer air. After the walk, Carrick and I grabbed some burritos and headed back to the venue to prepare for the show. The crowd was bunches of fun, even if they did give poor Mikey a hard time for not changing his shirt. Haha, what do you expect from us dirty rockers on the road?
After the show I was very lucky to receive an impromtu massage from a professional masseuse and her apprentice as I mingled in front of the venue. It felt SO good--apparently i'm a little tense. After we said our goodbye's and scarfed down a Veggie Dog at Shorty's, it was time to get some shut eye.
The next day, we decided to get a head start on Vancouver. On the way out, we all ate a super-good vegan restaurant in Tacoma called Quickie TOO. Best tofu sandwich i've ever had. I spent most of the trip reading a book that a friend recommended to me called "Snow Crash." So far it's pretty cool; just the kind of nerdy Sci-Fi pleasure-read that i'm into.
When we pulled up to the border, we were looked as suspiciously (nice boys like us--suspicious?) and asked if we could please pull our van to the side. we got out of the can and headed into the customs office. Once we were inside, we were jerked around a little, told to start doing some paperwork and prepared ourselves for a long stay in commercial customs. While we were entering our information into an ancient computer, we asked customs officer 10165 (they're all numbered, not named), a middle aged gentleman with a quiet, confident demeanor, whether our t-shirt's "country of origin" meant where they were made or where they were bought. He took out his glasses and looked at us sympathetically then asked us a few questions about how much merch we had with us and how much of it he thought we'd sell, punched some numbers, pulled out a stamp and -BAM- gave us passage and told us to forget about the paperwork. it was amazing. we had been in that soulless government office for nearly two hours before we found this saintly and merciful gentleman.
If any of you ever cross the Canadian border and run into officer 10165 in customs, please thank him on our behalf.
Mmmm, i just ate a yummy dinner of Thai curry veggies, corn and rice and I'm ready to rock the Commodore! There's a HUGE dance floor here--i hope everyone dances! I love it when the audience dances...
After taking of from my Grandma and Great Grandma's place in Olympia, WA, we rolled up to the Moore just in time to take The Walk with Hanson. It was my second so far and I look forward to many more. I had the opportunity to chit-chat with some folks and enjoy the wonderful late-summer air. After the walk, Carrick and I grabbed some burritos and headed back to the venue to prepare for the show. The crowd was bunches of fun, even if they did give poor Mikey a hard time for not changing his shirt. Haha, what do you expect from us dirty rockers on the road?
After the show I was very lucky to receive an impromtu massage from a professional masseuse and her apprentice as I mingled in front of the venue. It felt SO good--apparently i'm a little tense. After we said our goodbye's and scarfed down a Veggie Dog at Shorty's, it was time to get some shut eye.
The next day, we decided to get a head start on Vancouver. On the way out, we all ate a super-good vegan restaurant in Tacoma called Quickie TOO. Best tofu sandwich i've ever had. I spent most of the trip reading a book that a friend recommended to me called "Snow Crash." So far it's pretty cool; just the kind of nerdy Sci-Fi pleasure-read that i'm into.
When we pulled up to the border, we were looked as suspiciously (nice boys like us--suspicious?) and asked if we could please pull our van to the side. we got out of the can and headed into the customs office. Once we were inside, we were jerked around a little, told to start doing some paperwork and prepared ourselves for a long stay in commercial customs. While we were entering our information into an ancient computer, we asked customs officer 10165 (they're all numbered, not named), a middle aged gentleman with a quiet, confident demeanor, whether our t-shirt's "country of origin" meant where they were made or where they were bought. He took out his glasses and looked at us sympathetically then asked us a few questions about how much merch we had with us and how much of it he thought we'd sell, punched some numbers, pulled out a stamp and -BAM- gave us passage and told us to forget about the paperwork. it was amazing. we had been in that soulless government office for nearly two hours before we found this saintly and merciful gentleman.
If any of you ever cross the Canadian border and run into officer 10165 in customs, please thank him on our behalf.
Mmmm, i just ate a yummy dinner of Thai curry veggies, corn and rice and I'm ready to rock the Commodore! There's a HUGE dance floor here--i hope everyone dances! I love it when the audience dances...
Monday, September 8, 2008
PDX
Portland 9/7
Well, the fist day of the tour went off without a hitch! We all woke up on time, I got a little exercise and then we hit the road. We’re big on books on tape—or audiobooks, I guess is the updated term—and listened to George Orwell’s “Animal Farm” on today’s drive to Portland. We got to the club at about 4 and there was already a line around the block. We loaded our gear into the Aladdin, a venue famous for screening “Deep Throat” for two decades, then jumped into the van again and headed to Wal Mart for some random supplies.
I haven’t been nervous to perform on stage since my first open mic about 4 years ago. I remember it pretty clearly. I had one song to play. It was fairly new, but well practiced, so I wasn’t really afraid of screwing up so much as I was afraid everyone would think I sucked. Twenty minutes before my name was called, I began to feel very jittery—all butterflies and visions of everything that could possibly go wrong going wrong. My body seemed to be bracing itself for an extreme threat, a terrible, inevitable danger. Dread filled me. But I got up, played, and about a half hour after that I was able to calm down. Now, years later, the essence of that uneasiness was poking around inside of me. It was a little puzzling to me as I was pacing around backstage.
Luckily, once I stepped out on stage and heard the enthusiastic screams of the audience, those butterflies in my stomach vanished. It was such a fun show! The crowd was so much fun. Everyone was smiling, dancing and clapping along. To be honest, I thought it would take years of corralling loyal fans before we’d hear an audience clap along through a whole song, but tonight, tons of folks were clapping along all night. It’s so much fun when the audience let’s you know they’re involved.
I’ve always loved going to Portland, and this trip was fantastic! I really look forward to my next visit. Thanks to everyone for all the memories!
Well, the fist day of the tour went off without a hitch! We all woke up on time, I got a little exercise and then we hit the road. We’re big on books on tape—or audiobooks, I guess is the updated term—and listened to George Orwell’s “Animal Farm” on today’s drive to Portland. We got to the club at about 4 and there was already a line around the block. We loaded our gear into the Aladdin, a venue famous for screening “Deep Throat” for two decades, then jumped into the van again and headed to Wal Mart for some random supplies.
I haven’t been nervous to perform on stage since my first open mic about 4 years ago. I remember it pretty clearly. I had one song to play. It was fairly new, but well practiced, so I wasn’t really afraid of screwing up so much as I was afraid everyone would think I sucked. Twenty minutes before my name was called, I began to feel very jittery—all butterflies and visions of everything that could possibly go wrong going wrong. My body seemed to be bracing itself for an extreme threat, a terrible, inevitable danger. Dread filled me. But I got up, played, and about a half hour after that I was able to calm down. Now, years later, the essence of that uneasiness was poking around inside of me. It was a little puzzling to me as I was pacing around backstage.
Luckily, once I stepped out on stage and heard the enthusiastic screams of the audience, those butterflies in my stomach vanished. It was such a fun show! The crowd was so much fun. Everyone was smiling, dancing and clapping along. To be honest, I thought it would take years of corralling loyal fans before we’d hear an audience clap along through a whole song, but tonight, tons of folks were clapping along all night. It’s so much fun when the audience let’s you know they’re involved.
I’ve always loved going to Portland, and this trip was fantastic! I really look forward to my next visit. Thanks to everyone for all the memories!
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