CMJ Tour Recap

I didn't keep a blog while on tour because hindsight is 20/20. So my faint memories of what tour was about, conventional wisdom claims, will be more accurate then if I wrote about shit as it was happening.(Either that, or I was too lazy to do it while on the road).

10/13- SLC
TOur send off was a hell of a time. Good turn out. Everyone seemed to have fun. The pie afterwards was very fun. I'm still not sure how I ended up going home alone though.

10/14- Driving.

10/15- Omaha
Really started off on an awful foot. This show was thrown on last second and was shit. BUT, we did get to watch the final Obama-McCain debate. Obama was clear. McCain seemed disgruntled. THe highlight was definately McCain talking about Palin. Who says they are "proud" of their running mate? SHES A FUCKING VP CANIDATE, NOT A SPECIAL NEEDS STUDENT!

10/16- Minneanapolis
The cock block. This night was the most horendeous violation of bar etiquet I have ever seen. After our show, I was talking to two (2) girls. Just chatting. Out of nowhere, Gardner, Jeff the sound man and Aaron the keyboard man swarmed (and that is the only word for it) our table. It was like a pack of socialy hungry wolves that needed to feast on the spoils of my kill. Being the team player I am, I let it slide. But then, when all us fellows went to get drinks, I offered the girls another round. Both of em. That's 3 drinks on Brandon's tab. When I got back from the bar with said drinks, these ass holes had actually taken my seat. The table was filled up. Making me a waiter. I dropped off their drinks and made my way elsewhere. This was th darkest moment of tour. I did have the last laugh though as eventually both girls left those assholes behind and came and found me.

10/17- Milwauke
I spent most the day lecturing the bus on bar etiquet, cock blocking, what it means to be a good friend, and why so many people die sad and alone.

10/18- Chicago
One of the best nights of tour. The show was smashing. But what was most important was the reunion of me and another former Center for American Progress intern, one Adam DeDent. Adam is 6 foot a lot of inches tall. He used to look like a white Lebron James but has since grown his hair out a bit. We got right back into our old act of injecting politics with completely irrational scenerios and arguments that no one else can, or wants, to follow. I would vote for Adam.

We may release I live EP from this show. We'll see.

Pre show action.


10/19- Day off in Chicago
Me and G-Rad saw a squirrel fighting off two (2) crows for left over Chinese food. It was intense.

10/20- Richmond
Show got cancelled because the promoter of the show was, for lack of a better word, douchetastic.

10/21- NYC (Day 1)
Got registered for the festival and went to a show at the venue we would be plaing the next night. One of the acts playing was Levi Weaver, who we played with in Park City. Levi is a good singer song writer that goes back and forth between sentimental stuff that I don't care for and outlaw country blues (see Johnny Cash) with a loop pedal that I tend to love. His cover of Radioheads Idioteque is amazing. At the show I met Marie, a half Austrian half French actress who was at the show being alarmingly gorgeous. I gave her my card (I have cards) and invited her to our show.

10/22- NYC (Day 2- Our Show)
New York City loved us. There were a score of people from Utah at the show, some we knew some we didn't, but it was an incredible show. The response was electric. It should be noted that we played ridiculously tight this whole tour. Marie came to the show and we set up a date for the next night. I was happy about this.

10/23- NYC (Day 3)
On days 2 3 and 4 I went to seminars and learned about the music business. Turns out most people don't agree on how to approach it. Fun eh? Went out with Marie this night. We went to an awesome art exhibit on animal rights that she should be sending me pictures of, then a jazz club called Fat Cat. I highly recommend spending at least 9 hours of your life in that club. Marie spoke some French and it was, as they say, hot.

10/24- NYC (Day 4)
Went and visited Eden and as luck would have it, Brittadear was in town. Eden and Britta, along with friend Cali, make for an awesome time. We went to a party in Brooklyn that was about the most cliched thing I have ever been to. But not in a bad way. It just felt like everyone their really really wanted to believe the Velvet Underground were playing. They weren't. The punk bands were barely listenable. But I am pretty sure that was the point. The apartment it was in had no business having a band in it to begin with. I had a new H&M shirt stolen as well as a hat Madi made for me and a scarf I bought for my mum. This made me very upset. The rest of the night made up for it though...

10/25- NYC (Last Day)
I had coffee with Ali Jarohmi. Very few people understand how significant this was and how much I enjoyed it. THose of us that knew Ali semi-well back in elementary school all thought he would turn out to be brilliant. He has turned out slightly above brilliant.

10/26- Driving

10/27- Columbus, OH
Ohio is the craziest place I have ever been. Adam went to school their. I would still vote for him though.

1- Columbus Rapping hobo. This guy was a hobo, and self proclaimed number 2 man at Ohio State. He never rapped about who number one was, but my money is on Beenie Wells. He would rhyhm everything he said and end the couplet with "help is on the way". He said he was on youtube, but I can't find him.
2- Lights out. We saw the ownener of a record store get in an argument with some preachy hippy ass holes from out of town, take them outside, and procede to take one right hook to the face which put him out. He stumbled back to his car and chased after these people and I am assuming it ended badly.
3- Its not that serious. There was ANOTHER hobo that was in Wendy's yelling at people who werent their. One of the employees thought that this mans threats to kill an imaginary person were aimed at her so the mnager phoned the police. The hobo spent about 2 minutes yelling "ITS NOT THAT SERIOUS" before vacating the Wendy's.

Help is on the way.

10/28- Lexington
The owner of the venue had 2 daughters. I played foosball with them. One was 5 one was 9. They were the smartest little things I've ever encountered. At one point the 5 year old said "whenever people ask me what religion I am, I say part Greek and part Tao because it confuses them". The 9 year olds favorite styles of music are "good rock and Celtic." My amp died after this show. Humbug.

10/29- Columbia
We met Bugsy. Bugsy was a guy who worked at our show with mental disabilities. He was so sweet and incredibly hillarious. HE would tell us riddles and dance like Mo fromt he Three Stooges. According to him, its the only dance you need. His love for music was amazing. He would stand in front of the stage smiling and search for the tempo by clapping a bit like Steve Martin in The Jerk. He later stole an entire bottle of Vodka from the bar. No one at the bar cared. Everyone loves Bugsy. After the show I bashed my knee nice and hard.

Check out Joe and Vicki Price. Incredible married couple that play some great blues.


10/30- Des Moines
LESBIAN ROCK!!!! Seriously, if you ever want to make room full of lesbian go nuts, play a Cranberies cover. Unfortunately, we dont know any of their songs. The bar tender couldn't get over me playing The Strokes for my sound check.

10/31- Omaha 2.0
Much much much better. This show was one of the best of tour. We had budget costumes so I was a Flying Japanese Sand Tiger. G Rad was Kobe Bryant. Ryan wore his clothes backwards. The others didn't get into the spirit. Pictures soon.

11/1- Fort Collins
This show was pure punk rock. I had to use my back up amp, which is a piece of shit. So I had to crank it to make it loud enough which made it sound worse. We all had colds so singing became a bit strained. We were, for a night, the Stooges.

That, in a nut shell, was tour. Any questions, ask my lawyer.

Help is on the way.