Tour Journals
June/July 2005

Wednesday, June 01, 2005
Charlotte, NC

today we played our last show with simple plan. it was a bittersweet day. it was really nice touring with them and meeting everyone in their crew. ill tell you what i wont miss though, them blasting lionel ritchie love songs every day to "warm up." our show was of course in Good Charlotte north carolina... matty managed to include the words good charlotte in the set 28 times. count em. theyre all there. we also had to say goodbye to our interim monitor engineer. His name is ted, and he was a great sport to put up with us for all those shows. thanks for everything. especially the spanish lessons... or should i say gracias... heres to you, and yours.... love, jon.

Thursday, June 30, 2005
We Gotta Catch Up!

So...in case you haven't noticed, we've been trying to get back to a situation where we're not posting tour journals from over a month ago. After Jon S. finished Charlotte, we're going to make the jump to the Warped Tour shows. As long as the journal stays functional, we should be caught up in no time. Thanks for the patience. We played a bunch of festivals between the Noise To The World Tour and Warped. All but one was with our good buddies in Switchfoot. It was good to see them again, and their shows were incredible. Their new record is also AMAZING, and I advise that you all pick it up in September.

Wednesday, July 06, 2005
Pomona, CA

Well...As of today our summer will be consumed by the Warped Tour Machine. How exciting and intimidating. When we got up this morning, it honestly felt like our world got flipped upside-down. We had to get up at 830am to go take pictures for our tour passes. Too early to be up. Too early to pose for a tatooed lady with a Polaroid. Shortly after that, it was time to push our gear to the stage. Seeing as we've been a touring band for over 5 years, we've aquired a substantial amount of gear. This came into play when we had to push all our crap literally a half of a mile through dirt, uphill, and worst of all....grass. We were all sick to our stomachs with the thought of this being a part of our daily routine. After the gear was in place, it was time to go wait in line to eat. The line was about a 45 minutes, but it was well worth it. I had one of the best banana's of my life. Gwen would be proud. We were a little apprehensive before the show, because it was our very first warped tour appearence, and because we had to go on after Thrice (which is probably the best show on the tour that i've seen). Our set went as expected. With a few hitches. First show of tour = frowny face show of tour. Afterwords we got to go to the MLB batting/pitching cages. Dave and I had a pitch off to see who could throw the fastest fast ball. We tied at a pitiful 65mph. We hung out with a lot of great homies, and at the end of the day, we came to the conclusion that this Warped Tour thing is gonna be ALLLRIGHT. matty t.

Thursday, July 07, 2005
Marysville, CA

Marysville, CA We were close to Sacramento on this day. Out set time was right after Billy Idol. Years ago, Billy Idol went on right after us. Neither time did this make any sense. As Billy was leaving the stage, we were all rebel yelled at to get out of the way. I guess Billy hates to be in close proximity to other people. That sucks, cause Dave was really banking on getting a hug after his show. The RK show itself was neat. We all had a swell time playing rock and roll songs that we've recorded previously. After the show, I met a girl Katie that asked me to sign a scar that was created by a doctor that wanted to remove one of her kidneys. I love kidney scars. I signed the word "rockscar" on it. I felt that to be appropriate. Goodbye. Matty T.

Friday, July 08, 2005
Nampa, ID

I wanted to say "We da Relient K, and you da Idaho" from stage today. But then I realized that saying that would sound completely ridiculous. So instead, we just did our normal thing and had a good time doing it. While we were setting up to play, The All American Rejects were playing on the other half of the stage. They were excellent. Tyson (their singer) told a wonderful tale of how he did a report on Idaho in his younger days. He said the number one export of Idaho was potatoes, and the number two export of Idaho was potato bags. This caused me to laugh. It had been a while since we'd been to Idaho, so it was good to get to say hi to a bunch of new folks. At the end of the day, we got a fish-tank, two fighting fish, and pitted them against each other in, what we thought would be, an epic battle. Turns out that it was a lady fish and a man fish, and they just kissed on the lips the whole time. Love is a mystery than can only be grasped by the weak and vulnerable. Matty T.

Saturday, July 09, 2005
George, WA

The Gorge in George- I can't tell a lie: I think George, Washington was rolling around in the grave today. Having hitherto only played the Gorge at Creation Fest, it was a little weird playing with a bunch of dirty punk rock bands and not the traditional Butterfly Kisses fare. More moshing than arms uplifted, really. But the only bummer was trying to follow The Offspring with their myriad hit songs. Oh wait, one more: no cherry trees. John W.

Sunday, July 10, 2005
Portland, OR

Not too incredibly much to tell about today. We needed to leave to catch a flight to LA by 3, so it was darn lucky we got to play at 11. For having to watch us play so early on so sloppily wet a day, the Portland RK fans really shone. I wish we would have had more of a chance to hang out. And I really wish I would have had a chance to fly a kite. John W.

Monday, July 11, 2005
Burbank, CA

About 4 days prior to this one, we found out that we were going to have the opportunity to play on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Crazy. We met Jay in the afternoon when he came into our dressing room to ask us to join him for a game of air hockey. He said that he wagers a minimum of 5g's a game, so we politely bowed out. Tom Arnold and his ex-wife Rosanne (I don't remember her last name) got in a food fight with us in the cafeteria. Then, after the show, we all had a good laugh about it. We played Be My Escape. A lot of people called me and said that we did ok. I had to agree to disagree with them. :-). I was nervous, and Jay was watching me from the side of the stage. He had a rotten tomoato, and kept pump-faking it at me. If you noticed a flinch or two during the second verse....thats why. I just looked back a realized that most of this tour journal is filled with pure lies. I do that a lot, don't I? Matty T.

Tuesday, July 12, 2005
Vancouver, BC

So last night, after playing The Tonight Show, we flew back into Seattle so we could drive to BC for today's warped date. We didn't actually get to see our Leno perfomance due to the fact that we were traveling. Its funny though, a lot of our friends had just watched it as we got on the plane, so as we were about to take-off, all of us were on our phones and the flight attendant had to yell at us to turn them off. The show was pretty fun. We'd never played in Vancouver before, so we used that to our advantage. John Warne called me the Prime Minister of the stage. And because of that, I passed Canadian legislature that said everyone was required to have a good time at our show. Mounties on horse-back were appointed to enforce the new law with the utmost discipline. Matty T.

Thursday, July 14, 2005
Calgary, Alberta (I don't know that abbreviation)

Canada is a lot of fun, but our cell phones don't work. This is good if you enjoy 'ringing' up a $200 tabs on your phone bill. Bad if you hate that. Today was another fun show, and our first in the province of Alberta. All the warped tour dates have been typically quite warm, so it was nice to see the cliche igloos and stereotypical 6 feet of snow in front of the stage. After we played we hunted down a chocolate moose, and dipped him in some milk that we got out of a plastic bag. Then, in a rash act of civil obedience, we set fire to Alberta. There is now flooding in Montana. Matty T.

Saturday, July 16, 2005
Salt Lake City, UT

Today was good. We haven't played in SLC in a LONG time, and the last time we did, it was a really tiny show. We were really encouraged at the amount of people that watched us today. It was really hot, so the fact that people were willing to melt into fleshy puddles while we played our rock and roll songs, made me smile. I got to hang with my buddies in Simple Plan today. I'm stoked that they're out on a few of the dates... David from SP played guitar with MXPX today, because my buddy Seth (from MXPX) had to go to a wedding. Crazy. David did well. I made a paper airplane big enough for a pony! matty t.

Sunday, July 17, 2005
Denver, CO

Today was CRAZY. We woke up to our tour manager telling us that we had to go on stage in a half an hour. We jumped out of bed, wheeled our gear to the stage, and set up as quickly as possible. It was insane. I was SUPER groggy, and tried to sing the best i could. A big thank you to all the kids who watched our set and supported our early morning attempt at rock and roll. After the show we hung out with kids at the myspace tent for a couple hours. We definitely met way more people than saw our show. After the myspace hang, a few of us flew away so we wouldn't have to be stuck on the bus for the two days off. I rode on the airport train behind Travis Barker. He gets a lot of stares from people. I'm glad that there isn't a Meet The Thiessens show on MTV. I guess that'd be Meet The Thiessen. Cause I only live with one of me. Either way...that'd be a boring show. Matty T.

Wednesday, July 20, 2005
Indianapolis, IN

So, everyday we push our gear to our stage around 10am. Some days its rough. We have to go long distances through gravel, mud, uphill, and grass. Today was great. Smooth pavement, slight uphill grade, but just a short distance. Easy load-in. Unfortunately, around 1130am, we were told that we were playing on the OTHER main stage today. That stage happened to be as far away as possible from where our stuff was (while remaining on planet earth). The other bummer was that all the warped tour attendees were already forming their usual 'crowd' in front of the stages. Moving our gear was absolutely brutal. A big thank you to the kids who helped us out. We played Sadie H Dance just for you guys today. The rest of the day was good. I hung out at the 93.1 RadioNow booth and helped pass out Mike & Ike's. I also got to talk on the radio. For free. Then, I watched The Matches and a bit of Thrice. Both shows were EXCELLENT. Our show was fun, except for my in ear monitors cut out during the last two songs. It was tough, but we got through it. The moon was orange tonight. Kinda exotic yet creepy looking. Zach (from Mae) and myself tried to capture it VIA photograph, but it was not a photogenic orange moon. Boo. Matty

Thursday, July 21, 2005
Cleveland, OH

Uh oh. The hometown curse was back in action. I guess Cleveland isn't technically our hometown, but we like to consider it that. Today we were told that we were playing at 1145am. This was kind of a bummer already, cause none of my family members that were coming were going to make it in time for our show. So then, we're at the stage ready to go out a half hour before we play to do our sound check. All of a sudden we find out that there was a scheduling mix-up, and that we were going to have to go on in FIVE MINUTES! It was crazy. I felt sick to my stomach trying to set up and get going so urgently. Then, we start our show at 1120am or so (not a lot of people even got in yet), and two songs in, my in-ears go out again. Boo! Such a crazy set of happenings. A few hours after we played, I went to eat with my siblings...and that was cool. Then, at night, a bunch of us went to the late showing of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Weak flick. I met the guys from Atreyu after the movie, and had a hot cup of talk. Those guys are super great. Three cheers for them. Hip hip ____, Hip hip ______, Hip hip __________________!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! matty t.

Friday, July 22, 2005
Cincinnati, OH

Nothing too crazy to report today. We had a fun show. We saw two rams get into a dispute over a girl and battle each other with their horns. We named them Ram Slam, and G. Ram Cracker. They were awesome. However, that ewe was totally not worth the bloodshed. I took a shower later in the day. What a treat. I tried to keep it to less than 3 minutes because of the long line of 'dirties' (people who haven't showered yet). Around 7pm we went over to this club and watched Mxpx, and Hawthorne Heights play additional sets. Mxpx did all covers...which was cool. We went back to warpedville after that, and I met the singer from The Matches that looks like a pirate. matty t.

Saturday, July 23, 2005
Chicago, IL

Today was probably our favorite date so far on the tour. I guess the whole thing was sold out, so most bands were pretty happy at the end of the day. After our set we hung out at the MLB booth again. Dave and I tied again with our measly 64mph fastballs. The Starting Line has a song called "Inspired By The $", but Kenny called it "Inspired By The Relient K" today. I giggled like a school girl at the reference. I try not to geek out in front of those guys, but I'm a huge fan of their new record. Around 5pm, I went on a date with a girl to McDonald's. It was a hit. I guess I have a way with the ladies after all. It was a good day, mates. G'day mates. matty t.

Sunday, July 24, 2005
Minneapolis, MN

Today's show was in my hometown of Minneapolis. I can't tell you how good it was to be back other than the fact that it was blisteringly hot. It started off well, though. Hoopes and I, along with my buddies Josh and BJ, went golfing again. Today the hustler became the hustled. We put down 18 million dollars on the game and I shot 18 under par while Hoopes shot a measly 10 under. I think I'll buy a lifetime supply of golf balls for him to replace the ones he lost today. After that I took them out to Culver's and promptly blew Hoopes' mind with the mouth-watering, finger-licking taste of Butterburgers™. My family met up with me at the show and stood on stage watching li'l Johnny shake what he got. Afterwards some of us even went to my parents' house for BBQ and hi-speed internet. I got on the State Wide Web since the world variety of the web was down. All in all a good day. John W.

Tuesday, July 26, 2005
Buffalo, NY

Today we didn't find a fiberglass buffalo in an alley. We scoured the area, but no dice. Wait - we did find some 11-sided dice, but no buffalo. This was all before the torrentious (spelling by Thiessen) rainfall obscured our vision and we had to abandon the search. Pity. Random fact: North American buffalo are really bison. Now you know, and knowing is at the very least 50% of the battle. John W.

Wednesday, July 27, 2005
George, WA

This is The Gorge Part II, but a much tamer and less smelly part. We flew from NY to Seattle and boy were our arms... plum wore out. Schneck had to get himself an Ace Bandage while Dave got by with just some minor chafing. We arrived at the Gorge just in time to get a quick soundcheck and some tacos. My very favorite part of the afternoon was our free rein over the ice cream cart. I tackled the orange creamsicles with much rejoicing. Thiessen dove in and came out with icing lips and bubble gum eyes. And there was much rejoicing. John W.

Friday, July 29, 2005
Montreal, Quebec

Today is the last day we will have to haul our gear to the stage absurdly early in the morning (hopefully). We finally got our gear on the production truck thanks to some homemade Thiessen brownies. So what will we do with our newfound free time? Sleep in? Absolutely not. We've concocted a fiendish scheme involving the hostile takeover of Corporate America as we now know it; expect shorter lines at your neighborhood grocery store. That being said, the show was fun today. We were the last band, and since we played in a predominantly French-speaking area we decided to try out our mulitlingualism from stage. I figure we were about the 70th band to do it today. But we were the best at it. Un deux trois quatre! John W.

Saturday, July 30, 2005
Barie, Ontario

I wish we played Barry in Ontario. Like in darts or something. I'm somewhat of a pro dartist, I must say. But alas, we played Barrie, Ontario. I got to watch my favorite band on the tour Millencolin again today. I'm from Minnesota so I'm used to hearing that funny northern accent (long O's, dontchya know?) but these guys are from Sweden and they're over the top. They're so Scandinavian and they don't let up. After the show some of us went out to eat. I went to a Subway because, contrary to popular opinion, I like to eat fresh. It was funny hearing all the kids' Warped war stories while I was in there: "So dude, like, I was moshing, and this big dude..." and the like. The only thing I think I don't get is the fake bleeding goth eyes on some girls. I would think that would be a turn-off, but maybe that's just my old age speaking. I'm older than dirt. John W.

Sunday, July 31, 2005
Pontiac, MI

We had a really fun show today. Got a good time slot... 430pm or so. Detroit is good. I came to a conclusion today. Our band is from Ohio. But the physical object that our band was named after was created in Michigan. The conclusion I drew was that our band is technically originally derived from Michigan. OH and MI don't get along that well, so its nice to establish some neutral territory for RK. We're kind of like lake Erie. Actually we're a LOT like lake Erie. So many things in common. We're both responsible for the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald (consult your history books). We both like rock and roll. We both have names of lakes or cars in our names. And we both know how to take something that wasn't funny in the first place, and stretch it out in a ridiculous fashion in a futile attempt to make it more humorous. The Suicide Machines played today. Despite the scary picture their name creates in my head, the band is great. I'm a fan. I met some really cool people today too. Jaclyn, Emily, and Mama J. A big thanks to those hotties for showing up and brightening my Sunday afternoon. matty t.

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