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