Dear all –
As we so often start these posts, its been a while. The band has been on a mini hiatus while we sorted out some ugly legal business, and generally got our lives in order. Dan and I spent the bulk of our time in NYC doing some part time work, while McKenzie and Jon hung out at home.
But all this is behind us – as of June 17th were out on the road for the ENTIRE summer, which is great! This will be our longest ever continuous run on tour, but we pretty much know what to expect. Fun, adventure, music, weirdness, a complete lack of privacy, and some epic overnight drives across America. We also meet a lot of nice people, eat way too much fast food, and enjoy some blurry, boozy evenings. Performing every night is so much fun though, and we always have something to look forward to even during a 20+ hour hellride.
Lineup for this tour is Spill Canvas, Ludo, Steel Train, and ourselves. It’s a great package of bands, because everyone is doing something different and cool than the normal rank and file. Steel Train is five amazing instrumentalists and singers, with a catchy songs and a classic rock vibe. Ludo was once described to us as “Queen meets Weezer”, which is pretty accurate. Rock virtuosity and theatrics in an endearing, nerdy package. And Spill Canvas brings it home every night with their soulful and rocking hotness.
A few highlights from our travels:
Finally playing the big room at the Masquerade in Atlanta
Having a Texas police officer hand me his loaded service weapon when I inquired about its weight
An intense full court basketball game with Ludo and Steel train, where those skinny music nerds showed us up!
A BBQ pool party at Ludo drummer Matt Palermo’s parental estate.
Having many, many whiskey drinks with the newly party-prone Spill Canvas.
Meeting my brother at midnight at the border patrol checkpoint in the middle of the desert.
Watching tour manager Daryl casually pull the hottest girl we’ve ever seen, putting every band dude to shame.
Gang members in black bandanas threatening Ryan to remove his own non-gang issued black bandana.
Deadly dances with nature – hail, lightning, tumbleweed tarantulas, coyotes, Cujo following our car.
Being forced to improv “singing the blues” in order to be released from captivity on a party bus.
Being caught in a lie in Truth or Consequences, NM, and suffering no consequences.
More to come I’m sure. We’re now burning through the desert towards Tuscon, paying 4.00 a gallon for gas. Those bastards. Immediately after this tour we’re hitting the road with Boy George, which may or may not be postponed due to Visa issues. Ech!
Keep in touch.
Matt
Liam and Me
www.myspace.com/liamandme
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Happy 2008! A Long Overdue Update…
Feliz 2008 from all your friends at Liam and Me, Inc.! We’re frighteningly close to the end of the decade, when we’ll certainly have to endure VH1’s “I Love the Aughties” and pretend it doesn’t sound very strange.
We hope everyone’s 2007 was stellar and memorable. Rest assured, 2008 will definitely be either significantly better or significantly worse. I’ll give you all a quick update on what’s going on in our world, and then recap how the end of the year played out for us.
The end of 2007 was a little rocky for the band. We had a dispute with our label over some critical points in our contract and the way that some business was handled. The process of sorting this out was expensive and time consuming, holding up progress with the record and life in general. In addition, on the last day of a great tour with Shiny Toy Guns, we were robbed in Montreal. Only 20 minutes after loading in our gear, opportunistic scumbags smashed our window, reached inside, and got away with three laptop bags. We felt violated, careless, and shitty. Granted it could have been worse, but losing 8k in hardware and some invaluable information was a big hit. We filed our police report, and had no choice but to keep smiling and take the stage only a short time after. A room full of beautiful Montreal denizens certainly put us in a better mood. The 7 hour drive across the frozen tundra with cardboard over the window dampened it.
HOWEVER, it’s a new year and things are back on track. We’re very close to resolving our issues with the label, and soon we should be able to provide you with a proper release date and some fully mixed preview tracks! In the meantime, the band is taking a little break to write, record, and get prepared for a serious onslaught.
Also – as our Christmas present to the world, Liam and Me is starting its own advice column! Its high time we start applying our wisdom to telling other people what to do. Feel free to write us with any type of problem you may have. Please be concise, informative, and interesting in your questions. Its 100% anonymous, so please include your code name of choice (i.e., Sleepless in Seattle, Jilted in Jakarta, Belittled in Buffalo). For seriously heavy shit, we may recommend you seek professional help.
Blog hosted at: liamandmeadvice.tumblr.com
Write to: liamandmeadvice@gmail.com
Quick recap on our recent adventures:
9/17 – 9/19 – CA TOUR WITH THE SOUNDS, UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF GIANTS
Liam and Me returned to California for a quick run of shows with two of our favorite bands. The Sounds sold out all three shows in Santa Monica, Santa Ana, and San Francisco. The Sounds have an ass kicking and energetic live show every single night, and we got a really positive response from their fans. We were very happy to be reunited with Under the Influence of Giants, and I highly recommend that everyone checks them out. Tour highlights – a spectacular show and experience at the legendary San Francisco Fillmore, where our dressing room came complete with balcony DJ, and foxy dancing girls. Also this one bar in Huntington that’s staffed almost completely by naked girls.
9/25 – 10/13 – EAST COAST TOUR WITH NEW ATLANTIC, HOLIDAY PARADE, BETWEEN THE TREES
New Atlantic, some of our favorite dudes on the planet, invited us to come on the road again and reminded us why we love them so. It was a very pop tour, and we filled out the dance rhythms component. Tour highlights - our return to Philly, the ATL, our many, many drunken nights at various highway motels (ask Jon what happened), and this one show in Naples Florida where no one came but we all rocked and had the best night ever.
10/19 – CMJ AT VIPER ROOM NYC, FONTANA’S BAR
A delicious rock and roll party with free drinks and shoes. Sex, drugs, rock and roll, guest lists. That’s how we do.
10/30 – HALLOWEEN SHOW IN NJ
We dressed as bicycle cops. We were told our legs looked great.
11/27 – 12/9 – EAST COAST and CANADA DATES with SHINY TOY GUNS
We’re very grateful to the Grammy nominated Shiny Toy Guns for taking us out. It all came together last minute, and we loved it except for the night when our window was broken and bitches stole our shit. Tour highlights – an awesome show in North Carolina with a fake French band. Getting everything on our rider at Walter Johnson in MD. Dancing at a proper club in Quebec City. Freezing our asses off in Drummondville, QC on the coldest night ever. Picking up Brian Migliore, now our very good friend, on a whim in New Jersey and taking him on the whole adventure.
12/16 – 12/21 NORTHEAST TOUR WITH ACTION ACTION, THE HIGH COURT, KISS KISS
Our last tour before Christmas was a pretty wild time. The bands were different and great, the venues beautiful, and the weather atrocious. We drove ¾ of the way to Cleveland in a Blizzard, only to have the show cancelled. The drive back was so perilous and icy that we had to call it quits and wait till the road was ploughed. Note: A two wheel drive van and trailer is not the ideal winter transport. Tour highlights: Getting pushed out of a parking lot by a snowplough. Getting down and working the lights in Lancaster, PA. Watching The High Court work it in different area codes. Woo!
There you have it. New photos up soon, more info to come, and watch for that advice column!!!
Happy New Year to all. Here’s to everything working out for everyone.
Matt
We hope everyone’s 2007 was stellar and memorable. Rest assured, 2008 will definitely be either significantly better or significantly worse. I’ll give you all a quick update on what’s going on in our world, and then recap how the end of the year played out for us.
The end of 2007 was a little rocky for the band. We had a dispute with our label over some critical points in our contract and the way that some business was handled. The process of sorting this out was expensive and time consuming, holding up progress with the record and life in general. In addition, on the last day of a great tour with Shiny Toy Guns, we were robbed in Montreal. Only 20 minutes after loading in our gear, opportunistic scumbags smashed our window, reached inside, and got away with three laptop bags. We felt violated, careless, and shitty. Granted it could have been worse, but losing 8k in hardware and some invaluable information was a big hit. We filed our police report, and had no choice but to keep smiling and take the stage only a short time after. A room full of beautiful Montreal denizens certainly put us in a better mood. The 7 hour drive across the frozen tundra with cardboard over the window dampened it.
HOWEVER, it’s a new year and things are back on track. We’re very close to resolving our issues with the label, and soon we should be able to provide you with a proper release date and some fully mixed preview tracks! In the meantime, the band is taking a little break to write, record, and get prepared for a serious onslaught.
Also – as our Christmas present to the world, Liam and Me is starting its own advice column! Its high time we start applying our wisdom to telling other people what to do. Feel free to write us with any type of problem you may have. Please be concise, informative, and interesting in your questions. Its 100% anonymous, so please include your code name of choice (i.e., Sleepless in Seattle, Jilted in Jakarta, Belittled in Buffalo). For seriously heavy shit, we may recommend you seek professional help.
Blog hosted at: liamandmeadvice.tumblr.com
Write to: liamandmeadvice@gmail.com
Quick recap on our recent adventures:
9/17 – 9/19 – CA TOUR WITH THE SOUNDS, UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF GIANTS
Liam and Me returned to California for a quick run of shows with two of our favorite bands. The Sounds sold out all three shows in Santa Monica, Santa Ana, and San Francisco. The Sounds have an ass kicking and energetic live show every single night, and we got a really positive response from their fans. We were very happy to be reunited with Under the Influence of Giants, and I highly recommend that everyone checks them out. Tour highlights – a spectacular show and experience at the legendary San Francisco Fillmore, where our dressing room came complete with balcony DJ, and foxy dancing girls. Also this one bar in Huntington that’s staffed almost completely by naked girls.
9/25 – 10/13 – EAST COAST TOUR WITH NEW ATLANTIC, HOLIDAY PARADE, BETWEEN THE TREES
New Atlantic, some of our favorite dudes on the planet, invited us to come on the road again and reminded us why we love them so. It was a very pop tour, and we filled out the dance rhythms component. Tour highlights - our return to Philly, the ATL, our many, many drunken nights at various highway motels (ask Jon what happened), and this one show in Naples Florida where no one came but we all rocked and had the best night ever.
10/19 – CMJ AT VIPER ROOM NYC, FONTANA’S BAR
A delicious rock and roll party with free drinks and shoes. Sex, drugs, rock and roll, guest lists. That’s how we do.
10/30 – HALLOWEEN SHOW IN NJ
We dressed as bicycle cops. We were told our legs looked great.
11/27 – 12/9 – EAST COAST and CANADA DATES with SHINY TOY GUNS
We’re very grateful to the Grammy nominated Shiny Toy Guns for taking us out. It all came together last minute, and we loved it except for the night when our window was broken and bitches stole our shit. Tour highlights – an awesome show in North Carolina with a fake French band. Getting everything on our rider at Walter Johnson in MD. Dancing at a proper club in Quebec City. Freezing our asses off in Drummondville, QC on the coldest night ever. Picking up Brian Migliore, now our very good friend, on a whim in New Jersey and taking him on the whole adventure.
12/16 – 12/21 NORTHEAST TOUR WITH ACTION ACTION, THE HIGH COURT, KISS KISS
Our last tour before Christmas was a pretty wild time. The bands were different and great, the venues beautiful, and the weather atrocious. We drove ¾ of the way to Cleveland in a Blizzard, only to have the show cancelled. The drive back was so perilous and icy that we had to call it quits and wait till the road was ploughed. Note: A two wheel drive van and trailer is not the ideal winter transport. Tour highlights: Getting pushed out of a parking lot by a snowplough. Getting down and working the lights in Lancaster, PA. Watching The High Court work it in different area codes. Woo!
There you have it. New photos up soon, more info to come, and watch for that advice column!!!
Happy New Year to all. Here’s to everything working out for everyone.
Matt
Monday, October 1, 2007
Canada Part Deux
We’ve had some exciting adventures on the road since our last recap. We finished up a great Canadian run with Dragonette, and flew out to California for an epic three-day, sold out tour with The Sounds and UTIOG. I’ll just dive right into the recap, yes?
QUEBEC CITY / OTTAWA
By far the most French city we visited, it was a beautiful place with a beautiful club, Le Dagobert. As Martina commented, it was what we all imagined strip clubs to look like before actually visiting one on our friends 18th birthday. All Mirrors, sparkles, poles, and track lighting. We met some lovely French-Canadiennes, learned a few useful phrases, and got a completely incomprehensible parking ticket. Great. Our Ottawa show at Zaphod’s was cool as well. We had our first helping of Poutine (fries with gobs of cheese and gravy) which knocked us out by the end of the evening. I finally finished the remaining uploads for our album edits, which was a tremendous pain in the ass and a tremendous weight lifted.
MONTREAL / TORONTO
Montreal was possibly our favorite stop in all of Canada. We played a cool, intimate show at the Campus club, did an interview, and than partied in town with our new friends. Nevermind that we had to sleep in a Walmart parking lot the night before, and that we were sick as dogs. The city more than made up for it, and our heavy dosing of Robitussin helped us through. Plus, the place is packed to the hilt with the most stunning women in the country. Nice!
Our return trip to Toronto was for a myspace secret show at the Mod Club, a huge space that evokes visions of the Bowery or Irving Plaza in NYC. Its fun to play on a huge stage with a disco ball and flashing lights. That particular area of the city has a London vibe, lots of pubs and cafes with well styled and attractive young professionals hustling about. Our Canadian booking agents later took us out for huge plates of nachos, which put us all to bed.
KINGSTON AND HOME
Our triumphant return to Kingston (only one week later) was amazing. We did the town, reconnected with some new friends, and had an opulent dinner on Dan’s brother in law’s tab. The Queen’s Grad club staff took great care of us, and the five of us squeezed on their tiny stage to rock out up close and personal. Tea, sushi, and open bar was provided. Lovely ladies and gentlemen were in attendance. The band gave a drunk and inappropriate interview which actually turned out to be pretty funny - http://youtube.com/watch?v=fWCxM40KSsw
We said our tearful goodbyes to Dragonette at about 2am and started driving back to Philly. It was great playing with them. Great musicians and people, who have grown to love the absurdity of life on the road. Not to mention a raunchy sailor's sense of humor that could even make us blush. Customs were cleared with no problem (we were only 20 minutes behind the Genesis tour bus) and we got back home at about 9am. This gave us about 20 hours to regroup and sleep before heading to Newark airport for our LA flight.
I’ll post details of our CA adventure shortly.
Matt
QUEBEC CITY / OTTAWA
By far the most French city we visited, it was a beautiful place with a beautiful club, Le Dagobert. As Martina commented, it was what we all imagined strip clubs to look like before actually visiting one on our friends 18th birthday. All Mirrors, sparkles, poles, and track lighting. We met some lovely French-Canadiennes, learned a few useful phrases, and got a completely incomprehensible parking ticket. Great. Our Ottawa show at Zaphod’s was cool as well. We had our first helping of Poutine (fries with gobs of cheese and gravy) which knocked us out by the end of the evening. I finally finished the remaining uploads for our album edits, which was a tremendous pain in the ass and a tremendous weight lifted.
MONTREAL / TORONTO
Montreal was possibly our favorite stop in all of Canada. We played a cool, intimate show at the Campus club, did an interview, and than partied in town with our new friends. Nevermind that we had to sleep in a Walmart parking lot the night before, and that we were sick as dogs. The city more than made up for it, and our heavy dosing of Robitussin helped us through. Plus, the place is packed to the hilt with the most stunning women in the country. Nice!
Our return trip to Toronto was for a myspace secret show at the Mod Club, a huge space that evokes visions of the Bowery or Irving Plaza in NYC. Its fun to play on a huge stage with a disco ball and flashing lights. That particular area of the city has a London vibe, lots of pubs and cafes with well styled and attractive young professionals hustling about. Our Canadian booking agents later took us out for huge plates of nachos, which put us all to bed.
KINGSTON AND HOME
Our triumphant return to Kingston (only one week later) was amazing. We did the town, reconnected with some new friends, and had an opulent dinner on Dan’s brother in law’s tab. The Queen’s Grad club staff took great care of us, and the five of us squeezed on their tiny stage to rock out up close and personal. Tea, sushi, and open bar was provided. Lovely ladies and gentlemen were in attendance. The band gave a drunk and inappropriate interview which actually turned out to be pretty funny - http://youtube.com/watch?v=fWCxM40KSsw
We said our tearful goodbyes to Dragonette at about 2am and started driving back to Philly. It was great playing with them. Great musicians and people, who have grown to love the absurdity of life on the road. Not to mention a raunchy sailor's sense of humor that could even make us blush. Customs were cleared with no problem (we were only 20 minutes behind the Genesis tour bus) and we got back home at about 9am. This gave us about 20 hours to regroup and sleep before heading to Newark airport for our LA flight.
I’ll post details of our CA adventure shortly.
Matt
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Losing our Canadian Virginity
Dear all -
After a fun and low key mini tour of South Jersey, we're back on the road and it feels great. We're out for a total of seven dates in eastern Canada. These are our first shows in Canada and our first shows outside the US for that matter, upgrading our status from National Phenoms to International Megastars. Please update your address books accordingly.
We have two new additions to our travel entourage. Ryan Petrillo, the AC Slater to Dan Larkin's Zach Morris, is joining us onstage playing keys, guitar, and singing backing vox. This fattens up the live experience, and frees me up to work the mic solo on a few songs. Its really improved our show, but I feel naked without my keyboard and I'm still trying to figure out all the right moves. Give me a few weeks and I'll find that perfect balance between Freddie, Mick, and myself. We also have talented youth Mr. Jeffery Hiltner on as crew / merch man. He's been quite helpful, and can play practically every song every written on guitar from memory. Seriously.
Other news - the album has been delivered for mix. The revisions by remote process has gone on for quite some time now, and our list of portable studio setups now includes cities across American, canada, in the van, hotels, back rooms, parking lots, offices, and an abandoned restaurant. Everything is sounding sick sick sick, better than we could have imagined. The producers did an amazing job, and now its being sent out to one of our favorite mixers ever, Mark Endert (both Maroon 5 albums, The Fray, Liam and Me). Not too shabby.
So here's our Canada recap to date.
KINGSTON, ON - Queens College
We rocked a really cool show at Queens college with Metric and We Are Scientists, mostly for the incoming freshman class. We got luxury treatment and hospitality from the staff, with our rider reqests (diet cherry vanilla dr. Pepper, dentyne, beer, batteries) largely being met. It was our first show with Ryan onstage, and despite a little sloppyness from our nervous energy the crowd was into it and we had a great time. Kicked it with the Scientists and the student body, and went to bed early as we had all pulled all nighters the previous evening.
TORONTO VIRGIN FESTIVAL
The Virgin festival was quite an adventure. A huge, professional, no bullshit rock show with all the amenities. It was an event we all would have paid to attend as fans, and we got to play! V-Fest was held on Toronto island, so all of our gear and personnel had to be taken across on the VIP artist ferry. We played our set on the Budweiser side stage, but we had the same treatment (pretty much) as all the big bands. We watched bands all day, ate some nice food, drank free beer, and met some great people.
After the show we after partied with some of our new friends, even grabbing a few drinks with members of the Killers and Smashing Pumpkins. We're heading back to Toronto in a few days, and we're looking forward to reconnecting with everyone.
That's it for now. Enroute to Quebec city for our string of dates with Dragonette.
More updates soon.
Matt
After a fun and low key mini tour of South Jersey, we're back on the road and it feels great. We're out for a total of seven dates in eastern Canada. These are our first shows in Canada and our first shows outside the US for that matter, upgrading our status from National Phenoms to International Megastars. Please update your address books accordingly.
We have two new additions to our travel entourage. Ryan Petrillo, the AC Slater to Dan Larkin's Zach Morris, is joining us onstage playing keys, guitar, and singing backing vox. This fattens up the live experience, and frees me up to work the mic solo on a few songs. Its really improved our show, but I feel naked without my keyboard and I'm still trying to figure out all the right moves. Give me a few weeks and I'll find that perfect balance between Freddie, Mick, and myself. We also have talented youth Mr. Jeffery Hiltner on as crew / merch man. He's been quite helpful, and can play practically every song every written on guitar from memory. Seriously.
Other news - the album has been delivered for mix. The revisions by remote process has gone on for quite some time now, and our list of portable studio setups now includes cities across American, canada, in the van, hotels, back rooms, parking lots, offices, and an abandoned restaurant. Everything is sounding sick sick sick, better than we could have imagined. The producers did an amazing job, and now its being sent out to one of our favorite mixers ever, Mark Endert (both Maroon 5 albums, The Fray, Liam and Me). Not too shabby.
So here's our Canada recap to date.
KINGSTON, ON - Queens College
We rocked a really cool show at Queens college with Metric and We Are Scientists, mostly for the incoming freshman class. We got luxury treatment and hospitality from the staff, with our rider reqests (diet cherry vanilla dr. Pepper, dentyne, beer, batteries) largely being met. It was our first show with Ryan onstage, and despite a little sloppyness from our nervous energy the crowd was into it and we had a great time. Kicked it with the Scientists and the student body, and went to bed early as we had all pulled all nighters the previous evening.
TORONTO VIRGIN FESTIVAL
The Virgin festival was quite an adventure. A huge, professional, no bullshit rock show with all the amenities. It was an event we all would have paid to attend as fans, and we got to play! V-Fest was held on Toronto island, so all of our gear and personnel had to be taken across on the VIP artist ferry. We played our set on the Budweiser side stage, but we had the same treatment (pretty much) as all the big bands. We watched bands all day, ate some nice food, drank free beer, and met some great people.
After the show we after partied with some of our new friends, even grabbing a few drinks with members of the Killers and Smashing Pumpkins. We're heading back to Toronto in a few days, and we're looking forward to reconnecting with everyone.
That's it for now. Enroute to Quebec city for our string of dates with Dragonette.
More updates soon.
Matt
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Warped Tour Dates in Florida
Dear all –
I’m writing this as we drive to Charlotte, NC to our fifth of six Warped Tour dates – Four in Florida, NC, and NJ. Mr. Dave Weisse is joining us us our tour manager / merch handler / procurer. Our GPS tells us, in her sexy British accent, that we’ll be arriving sometime around 5am. Load in for the show begins at 9am, so it appears we’ll be sleeping in the car tonight.
Warped is a lot of fun. Tons of people, bands, oddities, promotional giveaways, and sunstroke. For a band traveling in a van with no crew, however, the scheduling can be brutal. We’re playing the Hot Topic / Kevin Says Stage, a solar powered setup with a really nice sound system. Here’s how it works pretty much every day:
9:30 am – arrive at the venue, battle for a parking spot
10:00 am – carry your gear and merch a quarter mile across a field in the blazing sun, check in
10:30 am – find out what time you’re playing, modify posters, fliers, picket signs, and other promotional materials accordingly
12:00 pm – Work the crowd, pass out fliers, try to get people to come see you play. The lineup for the Hot Topic stage isn’t posted on the big board, so it requires some explaining.
1 – 5 pm – Sometime in this range, we play our set. It changes every day. Up until our set starts, we try to promote as much as possible. When we’re finished we’re soaked with sweat and smelling delicious.
6:00 pm – Grab some dinner. Catering is surprisingly good, varied, and balanced.
6:30 pm – Carry all our stuff back across the desert and pack up.
7:00pm – Hit the road to the next destination. If we can get there early enough, we often have a place to stay. Today it ain’t happening.
Not that we can really complain. We’re reaching a lot of new people, and getting to know some really good bands. The production managers are very helpful and accomidating. Some bands even show up without a show to play, just wandering around in the sun, promoting and trying to sell CDs. Those guys are warriors with a work ethic we could never touch.
The highlights so far:
- Playing next to the ocean with a cooling breeze as dolphins lazily swam by in St. Petersburg (sounds like an airbrushed t-shirt you get at some trashy boardwalk)
- Meeting the cast of the film Superbad up close and personal in Miami
- Checking out The Automatic (Automatic), K-os, and a few other cool acts on the tour
- Sleeping over at our friend Emily’s house
- Kicking it with The Box Social, The Urgency, and meeting an endless stream of crazy people
- Huddling under a tent with six other bands trying to protect our gear from a flash flood
Progress on the record is good, and you can expect some new tracks to be posted soon. We’re shopping for an album mixer with some exciting prospects in the lineup.
Updated celebrity encounters: Michael Cera, Bam and Missy Margera, Jonah Hill, “McLovin”, Michael Rappaport, Rupert Grint, Paramour, Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, NFG, blah blah blah.
Night.
Matt
I’m writing this as we drive to Charlotte, NC to our fifth of six Warped Tour dates – Four in Florida, NC, and NJ. Mr. Dave Weisse is joining us us our tour manager / merch handler / procurer. Our GPS tells us, in her sexy British accent, that we’ll be arriving sometime around 5am. Load in for the show begins at 9am, so it appears we’ll be sleeping in the car tonight.
Warped is a lot of fun. Tons of people, bands, oddities, promotional giveaways, and sunstroke. For a band traveling in a van with no crew, however, the scheduling can be brutal. We’re playing the Hot Topic / Kevin Says Stage, a solar powered setup with a really nice sound system. Here’s how it works pretty much every day:
9:30 am – arrive at the venue, battle for a parking spot
10:00 am – carry your gear and merch a quarter mile across a field in the blazing sun, check in
10:30 am – find out what time you’re playing, modify posters, fliers, picket signs, and other promotional materials accordingly
12:00 pm – Work the crowd, pass out fliers, try to get people to come see you play. The lineup for the Hot Topic stage isn’t posted on the big board, so it requires some explaining.
1 – 5 pm – Sometime in this range, we play our set. It changes every day. Up until our set starts, we try to promote as much as possible. When we’re finished we’re soaked with sweat and smelling delicious.
6:00 pm – Grab some dinner. Catering is surprisingly good, varied, and balanced.
6:30 pm – Carry all our stuff back across the desert and pack up.
7:00pm – Hit the road to the next destination. If we can get there early enough, we often have a place to stay. Today it ain’t happening.
Not that we can really complain. We’re reaching a lot of new people, and getting to know some really good bands. The production managers are very helpful and accomidating. Some bands even show up without a show to play, just wandering around in the sun, promoting and trying to sell CDs. Those guys are warriors with a work ethic we could never touch.
The highlights so far:
- Playing next to the ocean with a cooling breeze as dolphins lazily swam by in St. Petersburg (sounds like an airbrushed t-shirt you get at some trashy boardwalk)
- Meeting the cast of the film Superbad up close and personal in Miami
- Checking out The Automatic (Automatic), K-os, and a few other cool acts on the tour
- Sleeping over at our friend Emily’s house
- Kicking it with The Box Social, The Urgency, and meeting an endless stream of crazy people
- Huddling under a tent with six other bands trying to protect our gear from a flash flood
Progress on the record is good, and you can expect some new tracks to be posted soon. We’re shopping for an album mixer with some exciting prospects in the lineup.
Updated celebrity encounters: Michael Cera, Bam and Missy Margera, Jonah Hill, “McLovin”, Michael Rappaport, Rupert Grint, Paramour, Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, NFG, blah blah blah.
Night.
Matt
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Second tour ends, back home for a bit
After wrapping up our tour with We Are the Fury and Rookie of the Year, we’re back at home for a few weeks of home cooking and regular beds. Its nice, but we’re already itching to get back on the road. We do need this time to touch up the record, catch up on logistics, and get our van fixed. Its also nice to have some privacy and time apart. Everyone got along famously in close quarters, but we’re not dying to hang out with each other on our off days. Strange, but unsurprising. Here’s the recap!
LA to Kansas City, MO -
We had a nice lunch with the Thrive staff (with more hot women added to the roster daily), and then got our characteristic late start leaving the city. We had to haul ass across America (again) to make it to Kansas City in 48 hours, but that didn’t stop us from a Grand Canyon stop. We made it on time, played a really cool show opening for Kill Hannah, and then partied with our friends and their four dogs. You have to check out the photo of the dancing Spongebob guy in our photoblog. This guy apparently comes to every show in full regalia and dances. Oh, and he’s married and has a kid.
Cleveland -
Our first contact with Rookie of the Year and We Are The Fury. We’d played a few shows with Rookie in the past, but had never really got to know the guys. All three bands immediately got along, however, setting the scene for much debauchery. The first show was low key and fun, but the after party was completely absurd. We went to an abandoned house in the burbs (with no power or furniture) and had a wild party in pitch darkness. Everyone slept over and woke up in a funk. Brandon from Rookie woke up with a massive laceration on his eye from a drunken faux pas. Fun times!
Boston –
Rocked a show with no monitor speakers, ate spicy ethnic food, bought weapons at a military surplus store, and had a sleepover party with some of our good friends. Fake moustaches were drawn. An intense game of “Red Rover” spontaneously generated during our set. Strange.
Portland, ME –
Met some cool local opening bands and reunited with some of the Boston show crazies. The spoiled rotten Furies ate lobster. We had Subway. After drinking tequila with a wasted Texan, and watching a drunk girl punch her own car window out (her keys had been confiscated by the bartenders) the group split up. McKenzie and I ended up sleeping in the van in a parking lot to be woken up by the police, and the rest went to a hospitable fan’s house for a slumber party.
New York –
The whole tour played with The Higher for our first sold out show of the run. It was a great set for everyone, but things got pretty chaotic at the Knitting Factory. The room was too small for the show, and many people got turned away at the door. NYC is our favorite place though, and we stuck around late night to hang out with some friends.
Baltimore, MD
Our happy return to the Ottobar. A tremendous amount of attractive girls were in attendance, including our favorite heavy drinking soccer moms. We spent the next two days relaxing in luxury at the Leon household (Dan’s girlfriend’s parents). They fed us steaks, wine, and Trader Joe’s finery, and let us lounge around and watch terrible movies. Good times.
Virginia Beach, VA
So far Virginia Beach has always been a disaster for us. Last time we had car trouble and were so late we missed our set. This time we miscalculated drive time and got there so late that we almost missed our set. Larkin was still parking the car as we were setting up on stage. When we finally got going, the power onstage cut out, cutting down our set time by a few songs. The rest of the bands played without issues. At the end of the show, we briefly parked outside to load out. As everyone said their tearful goodbyes, the VA Beach bike cops rolled up and gave everyone a series of ridiculous tickets and a really hard time. The only place to load out was the “trolley only lane”, and we were fast and efficient. Then these guys show up and held everyone up there for at least a half an hour, blocking more trolley traffic than we ever would have. Way to capture the spirit of the law. Hopefully we’ll see everyone again soon under happier circumstances.
So now we have a few one off shows to keep us going. Philly, NYC, etc, then another mini tour. More updates soon. Check out the photoblog!
Matt
LA to Kansas City, MO -
We had a nice lunch with the Thrive staff (with more hot women added to the roster daily), and then got our characteristic late start leaving the city. We had to haul ass across America (again) to make it to Kansas City in 48 hours, but that didn’t stop us from a Grand Canyon stop. We made it on time, played a really cool show opening for Kill Hannah, and then partied with our friends and their four dogs. You have to check out the photo of the dancing Spongebob guy in our photoblog. This guy apparently comes to every show in full regalia and dances. Oh, and he’s married and has a kid.
Cleveland -
Our first contact with Rookie of the Year and We Are The Fury. We’d played a few shows with Rookie in the past, but had never really got to know the guys. All three bands immediately got along, however, setting the scene for much debauchery. The first show was low key and fun, but the after party was completely absurd. We went to an abandoned house in the burbs (with no power or furniture) and had a wild party in pitch darkness. Everyone slept over and woke up in a funk. Brandon from Rookie woke up with a massive laceration on his eye from a drunken faux pas. Fun times!
Boston –
Rocked a show with no monitor speakers, ate spicy ethnic food, bought weapons at a military surplus store, and had a sleepover party with some of our good friends. Fake moustaches were drawn. An intense game of “Red Rover” spontaneously generated during our set. Strange.
Portland, ME –
Met some cool local opening bands and reunited with some of the Boston show crazies. The spoiled rotten Furies ate lobster. We had Subway. After drinking tequila with a wasted Texan, and watching a drunk girl punch her own car window out (her keys had been confiscated by the bartenders) the group split up. McKenzie and I ended up sleeping in the van in a parking lot to be woken up by the police, and the rest went to a hospitable fan’s house for a slumber party.
New York –
The whole tour played with The Higher for our first sold out show of the run. It was a great set for everyone, but things got pretty chaotic at the Knitting Factory. The room was too small for the show, and many people got turned away at the door. NYC is our favorite place though, and we stuck around late night to hang out with some friends.
Baltimore, MD
Our happy return to the Ottobar. A tremendous amount of attractive girls were in attendance, including our favorite heavy drinking soccer moms. We spent the next two days relaxing in luxury at the Leon household (Dan’s girlfriend’s parents). They fed us steaks, wine, and Trader Joe’s finery, and let us lounge around and watch terrible movies. Good times.
Virginia Beach, VA
So far Virginia Beach has always been a disaster for us. Last time we had car trouble and were so late we missed our set. This time we miscalculated drive time and got there so late that we almost missed our set. Larkin was still parking the car as we were setting up on stage. When we finally got going, the power onstage cut out, cutting down our set time by a few songs. The rest of the bands played without issues. At the end of the show, we briefly parked outside to load out. As everyone said their tearful goodbyes, the VA Beach bike cops rolled up and gave everyone a series of ridiculous tickets and a really hard time. The only place to load out was the “trolley only lane”, and we were fast and efficient. Then these guys show up and held everyone up there for at least a half an hour, blocking more trolley traffic than we ever would have. Way to capture the spirit of the law. Hopefully we’ll see everyone again soon under happier circumstances.
So now we have a few one off shows to keep us going. Philly, NYC, etc, then another mini tour. More updates soon. Check out the photoblog!
Matt
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Hauling Ass Across America
Internet access is sparse. Sleep is deficient. Hygiene – don’t even think about it.
After a sold out blowout at the El Rey in Los Angeles, our first national tour is officially over, and now we’re driving straight across the country to Cleveland, OH to pick up another mini-tour with We Are the Fury and Rookie of the Year.
For the LA show, Under The Influence of Giants were back on the bill and the show was completely sold out. The El Rey was the largest and nicest venue on the tour with a capacity of about 800, a fresh remodeling job, and a top of the line sound system. It was a little disconcerting, actually. During this tour we got really comfortable rocking out those smaller clubs, and it was a little surreal to step out on that huge stage. The show was great though, and afterwards we said our goodbyes to Young Love, Play Radio Play, and UTIOG. We’d only been together for a month, but we saw those degenerates everyday. We’ll miss them terribly.
After the El Rey show, we played a second show at The Echo for our friend Heather Peggs’s birthday. We started late at 1:15, but we turned it into a wasted dance and make out party by last call. It ruled. After an unsuccessful attempt at taking the van and trailer through a drive through – horrible idea - we returned to our hotel at 4:30, thoroughly burned out but satisfied.
The label folk took us out to a nice lunch, gave us some energy drinks, and sent us on our way the next day. Getting out of LA was tough with all the Memorial Day traffic, but we made it to the Grand Canyon and got a hotel. The next day we did some responsible tourism, and then had a 24 hour straight drive to Kansas City. It sucked.
A quick recap of the latter half of the tour:
ATL / Florida –
We had a smashing good time in ATL, and met some of the finest people of our entire road experience. We’re still in regular contact with them via the internet. Florida however, was largely a bust. Without Play Radio Play or Young Love, we played for about 10 people at the 550 capacity Beta Bar in Tallahassee. The sound guy was great and gave us an epic light show, and we had a really nice time with the few audience members. Our Jacksonville show was cancelled due to wildfires and other factors, unfortunately we didn’t find out until we’d already driven there. We left Florida more broke than ever.
Texas –
Home turf for Young Love and PRP, the Dallas, Austin, and Houston shows were very satisfying - packed houses and great afterpartying. In Dallas we shared a venue with the Deftones, and everyone got to check out the show from backstage and meet everyone. Dallas seems like a nice place to live, and it was nice to explore a bit. In Houston we stayed at our very hospitable friends’ gorgeous mansion and had a relaxing day at the pool. In Austin we played a huge show at The Parish on 6th Street, then partied at the Beauty Bar with the Trail of Dead guys and Cedric from Mars Volta. Late night we tried to throw a 4am hotel pool party with the ladies and band members of Austin. This was naturally a bad idea. Though we kept it pretty quiet, it led to the ejection of every band member from the hotel by the police and an irate shirtless hotel owner.
AZ –
Another brutal 22 hour all night drive from Houston to Phoenix. Largely our own fault, for dawdling in luxury at our Houston mansion. The highlight of the drive was our stop at the border patrol checkpoint in Sierra Blanca, TX, about an hour from El Paso. My brother is a border patrol agent who was working there at the time, and we were greeted with federally demure fanfare. Thank god no one set off the drug dogs with some residue from nights past – second hand, of course. It was an exciting day to stop there, as they had just intercepted 1.2 million dollars of weed coming across the border. It was sitting there in a huge pile of black duffel bags on the sidewalk, protected by the national guard. We took pictures in front of it as if it were the Eiffel Tower. The AZ show was fun too, and we met a troupe of lesbian bondage and fetish dancers. Wicked.
Vegas –
With all the Young Love party boys egging us on every night, we knew this was going to be bad news. Exploring the city during the day was nice. We had a 10 dollar steak dinner and I lost 50 bucks in blackjack. The show was an 21 + outdoor party at the Beauty Bar. Good drinks, fun people, real Vegas residents and not tourists. Where else can you rock out with Cirque du Soleil acrobats? The night ended at 6 am. Larkin had to sleep in the car because we were too passed out to open the hotel door. I left my camera at the black jack table at 5:30am, only to wake up, panic, and recover it four hours later from the same casino staff at 9:30. Feeling lucky, I lost another 40 bucks. We also met the band The Higher, who we’ll see again in NYC. On this night, Young Love showed up with an arsenal of cheap airsoft guns that would terrorize the rest of the tour, especially poor Eric.
California –
All the Cali shows ruled. In San Diego we played with two great locals – War Stories and The White Apple Tree – and the show was a great big dance party with lots of enthusiastic screamers. Loved it. Later we hung out on the beach with our high school friend Dave, then drove to Santa Barbara to crash with our friend Kevin.
San Francisco was a packed show at Bottom of the Hill, where we encountered many of our upwardly mobile professional friends in the most eastern of the west coast cities. Britt Daniel from Spoon showed up to see Young Love, and yet again we partied late into the evening with some fine ladies and gentlemen. However – I had never seen so many forward homeless dudes and prostitutes in one neighborhood in my entire life. We drove through the night to LA, and couldn’t check into our hotel until 2pm, only two hours before load in. I hadn’t slept, and took a little power nap. We had a double header that day.
The rest you know. More updates soon, and check out the photo blog for our pics. And we’re getting a wireless card for the van. Booyah.
Updated celebrity encounters: James Valentine from Maroon 5, Cedric from Mars Volta and At the Drive In, Jason and Conrad from Trail of Dead, Britt Daniel from Spoon
Matt
After a sold out blowout at the El Rey in Los Angeles, our first national tour is officially over, and now we’re driving straight across the country to Cleveland, OH to pick up another mini-tour with We Are the Fury and Rookie of the Year.
For the LA show, Under The Influence of Giants were back on the bill and the show was completely sold out. The El Rey was the largest and nicest venue on the tour with a capacity of about 800, a fresh remodeling job, and a top of the line sound system. It was a little disconcerting, actually. During this tour we got really comfortable rocking out those smaller clubs, and it was a little surreal to step out on that huge stage. The show was great though, and afterwards we said our goodbyes to Young Love, Play Radio Play, and UTIOG. We’d only been together for a month, but we saw those degenerates everyday. We’ll miss them terribly.
After the El Rey show, we played a second show at The Echo for our friend Heather Peggs’s birthday. We started late at 1:15, but we turned it into a wasted dance and make out party by last call. It ruled. After an unsuccessful attempt at taking the van and trailer through a drive through – horrible idea - we returned to our hotel at 4:30, thoroughly burned out but satisfied.
The label folk took us out to a nice lunch, gave us some energy drinks, and sent us on our way the next day. Getting out of LA was tough with all the Memorial Day traffic, but we made it to the Grand Canyon and got a hotel. The next day we did some responsible tourism, and then had a 24 hour straight drive to Kansas City. It sucked.
A quick recap of the latter half of the tour:
ATL / Florida –
We had a smashing good time in ATL, and met some of the finest people of our entire road experience. We’re still in regular contact with them via the internet. Florida however, was largely a bust. Without Play Radio Play or Young Love, we played for about 10 people at the 550 capacity Beta Bar in Tallahassee. The sound guy was great and gave us an epic light show, and we had a really nice time with the few audience members. Our Jacksonville show was cancelled due to wildfires and other factors, unfortunately we didn’t find out until we’d already driven there. We left Florida more broke than ever.
Texas –
Home turf for Young Love and PRP, the Dallas, Austin, and Houston shows were very satisfying - packed houses and great afterpartying. In Dallas we shared a venue with the Deftones, and everyone got to check out the show from backstage and meet everyone. Dallas seems like a nice place to live, and it was nice to explore a bit. In Houston we stayed at our very hospitable friends’ gorgeous mansion and had a relaxing day at the pool. In Austin we played a huge show at The Parish on 6th Street, then partied at the Beauty Bar with the Trail of Dead guys and Cedric from Mars Volta. Late night we tried to throw a 4am hotel pool party with the ladies and band members of Austin. This was naturally a bad idea. Though we kept it pretty quiet, it led to the ejection of every band member from the hotel by the police and an irate shirtless hotel owner.
AZ –
Another brutal 22 hour all night drive from Houston to Phoenix. Largely our own fault, for dawdling in luxury at our Houston mansion. The highlight of the drive was our stop at the border patrol checkpoint in Sierra Blanca, TX, about an hour from El Paso. My brother is a border patrol agent who was working there at the time, and we were greeted with federally demure fanfare. Thank god no one set off the drug dogs with some residue from nights past – second hand, of course. It was an exciting day to stop there, as they had just intercepted 1.2 million dollars of weed coming across the border. It was sitting there in a huge pile of black duffel bags on the sidewalk, protected by the national guard. We took pictures in front of it as if it were the Eiffel Tower. The AZ show was fun too, and we met a troupe of lesbian bondage and fetish dancers. Wicked.
Vegas –
With all the Young Love party boys egging us on every night, we knew this was going to be bad news. Exploring the city during the day was nice. We had a 10 dollar steak dinner and I lost 50 bucks in blackjack. The show was an 21 + outdoor party at the Beauty Bar. Good drinks, fun people, real Vegas residents and not tourists. Where else can you rock out with Cirque du Soleil acrobats? The night ended at 6 am. Larkin had to sleep in the car because we were too passed out to open the hotel door. I left my camera at the black jack table at 5:30am, only to wake up, panic, and recover it four hours later from the same casino staff at 9:30. Feeling lucky, I lost another 40 bucks. We also met the band The Higher, who we’ll see again in NYC. On this night, Young Love showed up with an arsenal of cheap airsoft guns that would terrorize the rest of the tour, especially poor Eric.
California –
All the Cali shows ruled. In San Diego we played with two great locals – War Stories and The White Apple Tree – and the show was a great big dance party with lots of enthusiastic screamers. Loved it. Later we hung out on the beach with our high school friend Dave, then drove to Santa Barbara to crash with our friend Kevin.
San Francisco was a packed show at Bottom of the Hill, where we encountered many of our upwardly mobile professional friends in the most eastern of the west coast cities. Britt Daniel from Spoon showed up to see Young Love, and yet again we partied late into the evening with some fine ladies and gentlemen. However – I had never seen so many forward homeless dudes and prostitutes in one neighborhood in my entire life. We drove through the night to LA, and couldn’t check into our hotel until 2pm, only two hours before load in. I hadn’t slept, and took a little power nap. We had a double header that day.
The rest you know. More updates soon, and check out the photo blog for our pics. And we’re getting a wireless card for the van. Booyah.
Updated celebrity encounters: James Valentine from Maroon 5, Cedric from Mars Volta and At the Drive In, Jason and Conrad from Trail of Dead, Britt Daniel from Spoon
Matt
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