Tour
Journals
April 2007
4/4/07
Tusla, OK
Tulsa, or "the city of dance" (as referred to by me), was founded on the principle that the Salsa dance and the Tango should no longer be rival dance moves, but an amalgamation of sweat, dance, and pasión. Hence, the Tulsa dance was born. Soon after, a city comprised of devout students and teachers was established.
Tulsa, or "the city of dance" (as referred to by me), was founded on the principle that the Salsa dance and the Tango should no longer be rival dance moves, but an amalgamation of sweat, dance, and pasión. Hence, the Tulsa dance was born. Soon after, a city comprised of devout students and teachers was established.
We were additionally psyched about our forthcoming reunion with Sherwood. I didn't realize that being away from them for over a week was going to be so difficult. By "so difficult", I mean relatively "easy as pie", of course. However, Nate did crack out the Bocce Ball set, and cordially invited John Warne, Matt Hoopes, Ethan Luck, and myself to play. We had a blast. We played game after game, and then Aaron Marsh from Copeland joined up for a match. We said "Hows about a bout!?". He said.................. "Yes!". Aaron won his first and only game to date. Grrrrrrrrr. I didn't do all that great. I kind of botched up my bocce.
Matty T.
4/5/07
Oklahoma City, OK
Mae wasn't able to be with us again today, so we had our good friends Run Kid Run and The Wedding play in their stead. It was a somewhat uneventful day (aside from another several games of bocce ball), but the show was a good time (as usual).
I think McDonalds has the worst advertising of any business that advertises on TV. I'm including local commercials as well. Yeah... even the car salesman that just HAD to scream about his "Deal of the century" in his own low-budget commercial is better than watching Mickey Ds' crap. "Looks like somebody missed snack time!?" there's no logic in any of those commercials! How does that make it onto the TV!!?!?! David Faustino from Married With Children and Jeremy Miller from Growing Pains spewing out thoughtless puns for "The Dollar Menunaires!?!?" AWFUL AWFUL AWFUL. It doesn't even make sense to use those actors. The writing is beyond terrible. The actors should've turned down the gig as soon as they read the script. If not to avoid self-embarassment, they should've refused to recite that TRIPE as a favor to the rest of the United States of America. Please don't make us dumber. It makes me sick. McDonalds is one of the biggest corporations in the world, and they can't afford to hire an ad company that can do their job? Ronald must've been forced to give the gig to his nephew as a family favor or something. Ugh... I hate clowns.
Matthew Thiessen
4/6/07
Arlington, TX
I've been awakened by screams more often than I can recall. I think almost every time that this has occurred, the shrieks have been coming from a roller coaster ride that my bed had been parked beside. We had a good day today. it was chilly in Texas, which I don't like. But we were at Six Flags Over Texas, which I do like. House Of Heroes played with us this evening. And those guys... well... I love em. We rode a pair of roller coasters with the Sherwood and HOH boys. Fun stuff. Sherwood also presented us with our very own Bocce Ball set. For this, they shall be placed on a pedestal and showered with compliments. "Hey Sherwood. That pedestal looks nice on you...I mean... you on it? Whatever... ThanksI don't know if I've talked about it on here before, but we have a rule that whenever we're playing an outdoor show in inclement weather, we're not allowed to mention it from stage. We do this so we're not up there complaining about how cold, rainy, windy, or whatever it is. Its rock and roll, not the RK whiny hour. The penalty for breaking this rule is twenty push-ups on stage. Tonight, the weather was frosty. I could actually see my breath when I was singing (I had a fun time pretending that I was our fog machine). Cold weather makes it hard for fingers to play the piano, drums, and guitars. It also makes guitars go really out of tune very quickly. At one point in the set, Hoopes was complaining about how his acoustic was really out of tune. In an attempt to get him to do some push-ups, I kept inquiring as to why he thought his guitar was especially out tonight. He wouldn't bite, so as an apology to the crowd (for wasting their time with an inside joke while they too were freezing) I explained our little rule. Of course the explanation put me in breach, and I ended up doing the calisthenics.
Matthew Thiessen
4/7/2007
Houston, TX
So I really, really wanted to work in "Houston, we have a problem" to this tour journal in a new and fresh way that nobody had had the insight or inspiration to use before. After hours of being neither inspired nor insighted, however, I was forced In the end to make do with explaining how I at least tried. There it is.
The only "problem" of the day for me was finding out that the Chipotle Eric and I had our hearts and stomachs set on was closed Saturdays and Sundays. Apparently Houstonians' appetites lie dormant on weekends. Mine does not, and so to accommodate for this my friends Justin and Whitney (who I do outdoorsy activities with in Denver to work up healthy appetites and, incidentally, were in Houston for the weekend) took me out to Buffalo Wild Wings for some Spicy Mango wings. Although the wings hit the proverbial spot, I've never understood why Buffalo Wild Wings is abbreviated to BW3's. "Buffalo Wild Wings, we have a problem... with counting W's."
John Warne
4/9/2007
Albuquerque, NM
Boy was I in for a surprise when I walked into the Sunshine Theater in Albuquerque, NM. Upon opening the double doors I was greeted with the majesty of the midday sun in all his glory. Golden rays shot into all the corners of the theater bringing things to light in a manner unimaginable to the human intellect. Great waterfalls cascaded from the balcony into giant cauldrons of roaring, bubbling chaos. Myriad rainbows danced forth in an ecstasy of joy at being so created. No roof cramped the theater; instead it was adorned by the majesty of the heavens and the gleaming celestial orbs in their ponderous and stately cosmic dance. Great in number were the angels singing praises in the shimmering rafters, the notes of their transcendent songs visible to the eye and to the soul as they poured like living, vibrant fluid gold from their blameless lips.
What an aptly named venue.
John Warne
4/10/07
Tempe, AZ
Today was awesome. We got to go to the Phoenix Science Museum and hang out with our friend Logan. It was a nice break from the routine. Other than that, nothing too crazy happened today. We had a really fun show, and met some really fun folks. My good friends The Transit War opened up the show in style. Whoo hoo.
Matt T
4/11/07
San Diego, CA
The venue was in a basement today, and unfortunately our celly phones didn't work. It made for an interesting day. I finished up the audio portion for Episode 2 of Woodland Forest. Hopefully we'll get the animation done soon, and get that posted. We've got a few "shorts" in the can as well, so when Episode 2 is done, it shouldn't be as long between updates. We had a really good time playing the show... I told a joke.... I'll share it with you now. "Why shouldn't you eat your toasted breakfast waffle on the beach?" ......... "Cause you'll get a sandy Eggo!" Jon Schneck didn't get it. I don't get him. :-) Tonight we realized our cover of Weezer's Surf Wax America goes over better in California. Thats good. It must be because there's an ocean upon which San Deigians can surf. Catch a wave and you're sitting on top of the world.
Matthew T.
4/12/2007
Burbank & Anaheim, CA
The first part of our day we spent in Burbank at the NBC studios making another appearance on the late night show "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno". For some reason (and this sounds weird) it felt sort of "old hat". We had played Leno a year or more before, so this time going in we already knew where our dressing rooms would be, the path to the stage, etc. It was kind of nice. Not to say that we weren't nervous; it's still nerve-wracking trying not to screw up too horribly in front of a camera. My favorite part of our time there (aside from getting a much-needed haircut) was being across the hall from Don LaFontaine. He's that announcer guy from the movies that's been on some Geico commercials recently as that announcer guy from the movies. He would at times be on his cell phone with his wife or whoever saying things like, "And when you get peanut butter at the grocery store, get smooth" in that awesomely and dramatically deep voice.
The second part of our day was much more relaxed. We played at "The Grove" in Anaheim to a very small percentage of the number we had played for earlier in the day, and we all felt at ease. Ethan was in his element, being from the real OC and all, so he played Sadie Hawkins on Schneck's guitar with us. He performed admirably.
John Warne
4/13/200
LA, CA
Today was chock full of "work" for us. I use that term lightly since, on average, we do a whole lot less than the typical 9-to-5'er (although our crew are all hard workers). That being said, we had our work gloves on from early in the morning till late into the night. We started with filming a video for "The Best Thing". To be honest we're still a little confused as to what the video's exactly going to turn out like since it will be slightly effect-heavy. We're crossing our fingers and toes that it'll be ok. And arms occasionally. And some streets, too, I suppose.
Tonight's show was at the Avalon in Hollywood, one of our favorite venues that just so happens to be right across the street from our record label. The Avalon apparently has a very rich history, and some believe it to be haunted by a number of ghosts. Personally I believe the idea to be quite silly, and I was ridiculed quite soundly by some of those who heard me scoffing. My favorite ghost that haunts the place has to be the lonely accountant. How spooky. Before the show some of us met a quasi-celebrity. During the show we met a bunch of radical fanatics. And after the show we (individually) met with H2O and soap in the 2nd best shower in the world.
John Warne
4/14/07
San Francisco, CA
Today was the third day in a row that we had to get up and do something "extra" before the show. We played an acoustic set at the Apple store in downtown San Francisco. A ton of folks showed up, and we couldn't have been happier. Unfortunately I was pretty tuckered out from our super busy week. The performance could've been a lot better, but we're thankful that nobody threw any broken iPods or rotten apples at us. Which brings me to the fact that they don't even sell apples at the Apple store! Thats like not selling barrels at Crate and Barrel! ... Oh wait... do they sell barrels? They do not. However, this place does.
Anyway, the show was awesome... We played the Fillmore... just like Hendrix and The Grateful Dead had before us. Sherwood played a great show for their "hometown" crowd, and Mae nearly brought tears to my eyes with their beautiful rendition of Tears In My Eyes by Dwight Aaronson. Right before we played In Love With The 80's I asked this dude Mike (who was in the front row) to go to the senior ball with Laura (also in the front row) per her request (request was made before the show). Mike said yes, and there was much rejoicing (and a nice little hug between the couple). I think I'm done now... Yup... pretty much... DONE.
Matthew Thiessen
4/16/07
Seattle, WA
--Grunge and Hashbrowns-- There are few cities that come to mind when I think of places I would have loved to live in the mid nineties. The one in the forefront of my heart and soul, would definitely be Seattle. I won't go into how much the music that came out of this city shaped and changed my life, because that would be boring for anyone except me... However, I will tell you a story that will both bring tears of joy, and sadness to your heart. I'll start from the beginning. We played a show at the Showbox that was very cool. The venue is set up with more width than depth, and the floors are definitely caving in. With every hop, skip, or mosh of the amazing patrons that attended the show, we could feel it in the form of a trampoline on the quaint stage, which was flush with hundreds of kids, as there was no barricade between band and fan. In fact, they were so close, two girl kept swiping pics off of my mic stand... I didn't really mind though, I had enough to get by. Anyway, we played the show, and had a great time. The energy coming off of the crowd was just amazing. Once the show ended, we packed up the trailer, and headed over to a hotel to take showers. The next few minutes were a blur, as I heard the word "diner" and ran off the bus to follow the crowd. Ethan, our guitar tech/lap steel player led us several blocks to a place that will forever be etched in my heart of hearts... the "Five Points Cafe." I'll get the sad part over with quick. Our lighting director Will, after walking to the establishment, found out that you must be twenty one to enter because they serve alcohol, and like the great friends we are, wished him well on his way back to the bus. Apparently this restaurant has been around since the beginning of Seattle, and still has the original menu inserted with the updated version. I ordered a meal called the "deck hand" which consisted of two eggs, two bacon strips, two sausage links, 2 huge hot cakes, and the largest plate of hashbrowns I have ever seen. Did I mention that the hashbrowns were unlimited? I can't imagine the glutton that would endure more than one plate of these hashbrowns, but I'd sure like to shake his hand. This was of course the glorious part of the evening, that will surely bring you tears of joy, and probably envy. We ate, we conversed, and we rolled ourselves back to the bus. What is the moral of this story? Make sure you are twenty one before trying to order a "man's" plate of unlimited hashbrowns at 3 in the morning in Seattle, or you will have a lonely, lonely, hunger pained walk to a dark, and sad corner of an empty bus... Love ya, Seattle. js
4/17/07
Vancouver, BC
We've only played Vancouver twice before, but today was far superior to the previous two experiences. It was actually one of my favorite shows from the tour so far. I don't know if kids like us more in Canada because I'm Canadian, or what.... but whatever it is, crowds like today's make touring even better than it already is. We didn't really do too much today, but when we were crossing the border back to the states, not only did we not leave John Warne, but the customs guys knew our band and wanted autographs. In case you don't know, customs officers are usually pretty stern and operate with a fist of Canadian or American iron. These guys were nice, and didn't even make us get out of our bunks. You can click HERE to read John's accounting of his border experiences from March.
Matthew T.
4/18/07
Portland, OR
Today was either the third or fifth time we played the Crystal Ballroom in good ol' Porty-central. Maybe the fourth. Anyway, the people in attendance were, as always, a joy to sing and play songs for. During the show, we attempted to ignore, but instead endured, some technical problems on the audio front. It seems to me like that's happened every time we're in Portland. I wonder if everyone there thinks I'm a jerk cause I'm always scowling in the direction of feedback. I'm not a jerk. Promise. Two really awesome girls gave us some peeeeiiiimmmmp (pimp) boxing gloves as a gift. I don't know what we did to merit such a jaw dropping (and perhaps dislocating) present. But thanks!!!!
I've been really getting into Phil Collins and Genesis lately. I guess that can't be all bad. Or it could. Who knows? I don't think Phil minds. In fact, I used a special thought-materializing camera that not only captured his image, but photographed his thoughts as well. Check it out...
Matty T.
4/20/2007
Salt Lake City, UT
We really haven't played Salt Lake City a ton of times, which is why we're so shocked and awed whenever we do come and people show up. And good gosh, the people. You guys were hanging from the rafters Blues Brothers style! It was a sight to behold. We started our set when it was still light outside (which is very odd and not rock 'n roll), but towards the middle of our performance the sun set (skipping both bump and spike) for an altogether more pleasurable experience. We tried out our cover of Sloop John B (for the first time live) in the chill part of our set and were uncertain as to both pitch and the crowd's reaction. No beer bottles or produce were thrown at us, so we took that as a good sign and plowed on through. After our set we put on our spurs and chaps and jumped into the saddles of our horses, riding off into the sunset in a blaze of glory and saddle-soreness.
John Warne
4/21/2007
Denver, CO
Boy was I glad to play a show in Denver today. That meant a number of good things: I got clean in my shower, gave my wife a big fat smooch, and I played with my kittens. That happens in no other city.
Before our show I hung out with Reese Roper who also happens to live in Denver (he was the singer of Five Iron Frenzy). My buddy Josh Abbott was also at the show, so with our guitar tech Ethan that meant that 80% of the short-lived Guerilla Rodeo was assembled together. Phenomenal.
The show tonight felt long-winded for the other guys (being non-Denverites) because they felt so short-winded. That will happen when you're not used to being a mile up where the oxygen is scarce. Not me, boy, I'm acclimated. Before one of the songs I looked down on the stage and found a quarter that happened to be minted at our very own Lucky Denver Mint. After the show I took that quarter and called someone who cared.
John Warne
4/23/07
Kansas City, MO
Today was the last day of the 2cnd leg of this tour. Basically we're taking a week off and then starting up again. It was kind of like the last day of camp or school... you clean out your cabin or your locker, finding things that you thought were lost, but in reality, they were just placed in places that they did not belong... "I found my Stephen Baldwin Bio Dome Decoder Pin!!!!!" If I had a dollar for every time I lost that thing. Anyway, the show was a mixed bag. Two parts fun, and one part debacle. My microphone wasn't working too well, and during Which To Bury... everything kind of went to crap. From the crowd's perspective, it probably looked like we were playing our first show ever. It was not. I apologize for that. Its kind of funny in hindsight. After the show, we hung out with some nice folks that said they enjoyed the show (despite the weird parts), and then Dave, John, Stephen Baldwin and I headed to the airport hotel and prepared to wake up at 4am.
Matthew T.