Thursday, October 18, 2007

THE REDWALLS TOUR BLOG

I moved The Redwalls blog to it's own page, so it's not mixed among my personal stuff. Here's the link:


The Redwalls Tour Blog

Saturday, July 14, 2007

Navigation Proclamation!

I apologize for the lack of updates… Internet has been scarce. And even when we do get it, it’s usually fleeting or leeched in some way… I promise this will be a long one.

I’m currently sitting in the passenger seat next to Brandon on our way down to Boise for our show tonight at the Neurolux. It being around a nine-hour drive, I decided to knock out a super post. We just pumped some gas, and it was only $2.91 a gallon. Not bad for flatland cow town. The air has an overwhelming stench of pies here. Cow pies. The past few days have really been incredible, and it’s going to be hard to remember everything I want to (only because there’s so much!), let alone forget the experience. Rewind a bit…

San Francisco is cold.

Very cold. It’s so cold it’s deceiving. I mean we were hitting temps in the 50’s or something in San Fran, and once we drove over eight hours north, it was back up to 100 or so. Wasn’t expecting that. That was probably the worst car drive I’ve ever been on. I mean, being in legitimate fear of a heat stroke is never a good thing.

A few things dominated our San Francisco experience… Wii, general over expenditure and two mediocre shows. We’ll go in order. I had no desire to play Wii at first until I saw the kind of excitement it provided Ryan with, who really gets into the game and throws arms around as if he were bowling in real life, and not in a simulated game out of the comfort of a living room. But I started to bowl and boy was that fun. A flick of the wrist could change everything, and I definitely saw a few turkeys… Damn the Binns! He defies the laws of nature by getting better as he gets increasingly drunk. It’s some sick exponential relationship…

I spent too much money. I need to learn a new dance move… the old reach, pull and pay is getting tiresome, not to mention expensive. Most of it was for stupid things, so now I’m trying to budget myself a little better and keep things down to $12 a day. It’s hard. I like beer.

The shows were interesting. The first was at the Make Out Room. That was a cool place. The stage was on two levels, so I was raised up and if my feet had eyes they would be looking at everyone else’s heads. I didn’t really like it. But the show went fine. I wasn’t satisfied with my performance, even though the crowd seemed to have fun. I just wasn’t happy with San Francisco shows in general. That place is unforgiving and confusing and many times unwelcoming. Who the hell starts a street on one side of the city, stops it abruptly, and starts it again in an entirely different section? It seemed like the people that lived there didn’t even know where they were going. Worst direction givers ever.

In the day of rest we had between the two shows, we went and explored Haight Street. It’s kind of overdone now, but still a cool place. I met a sarcastic old bum who said, “isn’t it funny how this used to be the Mecca of peace and love and now you can’t even get a bit of change from anyone, funny right?” all whilst laughing and pointing his cup towards me. Ryan and I also bought this horrible hip-hop record from a guy that free styled for us on the street. Talk about a waste of $5. Amoeba Music is sweet, and it was nice to see what everyone talks about. Right outside of the store we ran into a few guys who were also touring, but from New Zealand! They’re called Malenky Robot, and the conversations lead to us realizing we’re pretty much en route to the same place. Seattle… dur.

The second show was at the Edinburgh Castle Pub, which would have been awesome had people shown up. We ended up not charging at the door and just letting everyone in for free, which was perfectly fine. The other two bands we played with were incredible. There was a two-piece called Planets similar to The Locust and Hella, with just drums and bass. Both were fantastic players. They wore all white spandex suits with white sheets behind them, a white spray painted drum set, and random video footage displayed over them. I thought it needed fine-tuning. But it was a cool idea nonetheless. It was their first real show, and for that I give them two thumbs up and a kick in the ass for being so good. The second band that played was Chairlift from Brooklyn. Now those guys were great! It sucks that their EP is shitty. The live show was really captivating, and Caroline the singer has a fucking gorgeous voice. I can’t wait to see them again. How do I feel about our set? We played like shit. But who cares. I can’t really tell what the hell’s going on from behind the drum set anyway.

Oh I almost forgot! Ruby’s friend Andrew from San Fran, who’s been to the Binns’ Inn several times, just randomly showed up at the show! He didn’t even know we were playing, and came for Chairlift, but it was a pleasant surprise. We had no way to contact him, so coincidence/fate hooked that shit up.

I was content with leaving San Francisco. It’s not a place that I enjoyed very much… It’s the third time I’ve been there. I’d be willing to give it another chance though.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Sunday, July 8, 2007

Accident Prone...

Yesterday I woke up from a peaceful sleep in San Luis Obispo and began preparing myself for the day. We shook everyone from their slumber and began loading up the van. The whole time B was shooting tabs down from the second story with incredible precision, and actually made one into the passenger side window of a moving vehicle.

So then we left and got gas and I did the driving up to San Francisco. It wasn't bad... while most people slept I admired the scenery. I like it better every time I go there. We made it to SF with time to spare, so we went to have a BBQ in Golden Gate Park. I had delicious hamburgers and six layer dip and it was nice to fill up on good food before a show. At 6:00 it was time to leave for the Make Out Room, because we didn't quite know where we were going and the show started at 7:30 and we received directions from a drunk girl. We piled into the van, which Jake parallel parked with skill beyond his years, and began to pull out but hit a Russian woman's Civic! The ass of the car was almost two feet out into the street and it was parked unevenly, but we ended up taking out a headlight and leaving a bit of paint behind. This set us back about half and hour, and luckily EJ navigated us to the venue in reasonable time.

When we got there Sir Salvatore was waiting outside for us, and generously provided us with a giant parking space right in front of the venue. The stage was a double level thing, but I don't think I like being raised above the rest... it diminishes eye contact. We were kind of rushed along, so I wasn't happy at first, but then we got some drink tickets, made some money and apparently the crowd responded nicely towards us. I cheered up after that.

I slept in the van again last night. #2! I'm done for a while. Now we're all sitting in the living room of an apartment right off 19th street and we're thinking about leaving for some food. Bacon, egg and chee? Though I don't doubt I can find one... none compare to Philly!

Friday, July 6, 2007

Pro-Spection

Right now it's 4:30 in the morning and I'm somewhere outside of Los Angeles at one of the pimpest houses I've ever been in.

I'll start this story at the Che Cafe, where our new merch guy, a hitchhiker from PA named Eric, offered me some kale, chard and spinach to munch on. He asked to accompany us up to northern CA/San Francisco area, so we obliged, picked him up at the Che where he had been sleeping on an couch outside for the past few days, and now we have a guy to keep an eye on our stuff!

The drive up to Long Beach was an easy one, and will hopefully spell out how the rest of tour will go for us. But, the first 15 minutes into driving Mr. Hanks, it started smoking and smelling like burnt rubber. I freaked a little inside, thinking that it would all end there and none of the work was worth it. But it turns out there was just some excess gas fluid on the new brakes we just had installed.

We played the Prospector tonight in Long Beach, like Snoop Dogg Long Beach... the LBC baby. We showed up at the time they told us to, but when we got there another band was already loading in and they told us we had to close at that point since the next two bands were sharing equipment. It was kind of a one band in-one band out type of place. Teeny. But the stage was really cool and we had this weird oil light shining on us the whole time. They made all the young ones stay outside until is was time to play, which was pretty lame, but understandable. So we were allotted something like 25 or 30 minutes to play, did a 5 song set, and I think a pretty damn good job of attracting the remaining attention from the audience and workers. The people accumulated rather than dissipated.

I think the most exciting parts of the night occurred on the street right outside the band entrance directly before and after our set. As we were waiting for the band right before us to finish, Bill, one of the guys that worked there, came out and informed us that the bassist in the band (Highway) was Peter from the Dandy Warhols. Having just watched Dig! again, it was pretty mind blowing. And then he said that Anton was supposed to DJ tonight, but flaked out because he's not very reliable in general. At one point, EJ stated to the crowd, "I wouldn't stay for your set if I were the last Dandy on earth!" It was classic, and several audience members adopted the hand to mouth "no he didn't!" gesture. During our set Eric got kicked out for being young, and decided to take a walk. He came back as we were loading back up and worrying that he left permanently or that we lost him. There was this bum guy trailing behind him who Eric had just spent time talking to and sharing cigarettes with, without the intention of bringing him back. The guy followed anyway and began to harass us for change! We all said no, finished loading as fast as possible, and took off to where I am right now. Evan/Nave's house. His older brother does artwork for Ed Templeton, which is siiiiiiiick!

So as for tonight, I can rightfully say that a Dandy Warhol opened for us, a bum tried to close us down, and right now I'm about to pass out in this La-Z-Boy.

Here's what we played:

Dinos
Sword In Hand
Lindsay Lohan
Cowardly Cobra
I Want A Girl Who Knows HTML

Wednesday, July 4, 2007

The Che Cafe Cha Cha Cha

Tonight in three words...

Rock and Roll. Or maybe...

Sweaty Dress Debauchery. Or maybe...

Jesus Fucking Christ. And in that case...

The Second Coming.

I had a blast. It was the best show that could have happened to kick off the tour, and I heard that it was a favorite Da Bears experience from several people. The entire day was just epic, with the video shoot and loading up and all the excitement leading to this one hour long opportunity to say both hello and goodbye to all those people that stuck around to see us.

I'm in a strange mood right now. It's mostly because I'm tired, but I think I'm a little intimidated by the fact that I have to do this 35 more times (potentially) over the next two months. Actually, I'm just really fucking excited. I've waited to do this for so long, and I cannot wait!

Another thing I noticed tonight is that right after the show, I really appreciate the quiet time I have while breaking down my set. It's nice and contemplative.

More to come tomorrow when I feel like typing. And maybe some pics too.

Tuesday, July 3, 2007

It Was An All Out Brawl!

Let me lay it down for y'all.

Practice today began with a meager push and shove, but it escalated to fists and bottles and snare drums and mic stands and cowbells and oh so many percussion instruments and a cloud of dust reminiscent of Wile E. Coyote and that craaaazy road runner (see figure 1).


(Figure 1)

But then we all hugged and played music.

The photo shoot went well. I was amongst much debris, and the vertical nails were abundant. One went through my shoe, but I caught it before the bastard poked me. Even GALF came out for the fun and sun (see figure 2).


(Figure 2)

So then we went and hung out at Chel-C’s for a while, and swam in a salt-water pool, which was amazing and very pleasant. But her canine Hara is a freaking spaz. Tazo iced teas are incredible.

I finally went and picked up directions, which are fatter than the latest Harry Potter novel.

So right now we’re about to shoot a music video for Sword In Hand, and afterwards is the first official tour date at the Che CafĂ©. It’s our San Diego going away show, and I really cannot wait to see how it turns out. Unfortunately the re-release isn’t going to make it in time, so we are going to sell some buttons and t-shirts I think.

Tomorrow is our annual 4th of July BBQ, hopefully our friends The Bee Team from Philly are going to make it to provide some entertainment… but they’ve been slacking on answering the phone.


Come to the show if you can and say goodbye to us!

Saturday, June 30, 2007

Garage Bands and Garbage Cans

Basura. That's how I feel right now. But only because we just loaded back into the house and I'm weak and a little queasy. Maybe a little dehydrated, too.

Last night was pretty cool, let me tell you. We played in this tiny garage in Temecula for a meager crowd of people who seemed timid, but still exerted a good vibe. The Daisycutters were fun, and I can totally see a Q and Not U influence in Devin's drumming. Ryan pushed me into the middle to dance, but since I don't know how, I just kept walking and ended up hugging some random kid I don't know who was much better at dancing than I. The police showed up right before we started playing and said "We got a noise complaint that the drums were too loud and obnoxious and seemed out of tune." And then they drove away. Interesting? Oui.

(Ryan was still sober at this point)

I think we need to have more fun performing. That will make other people have fun. We played well, but the performance was definitely lacking. The California flag I taped above my head fell down on me at one point. I wore it like a cape until gravity collapsed it's final attempts at waving. Apparently you're supposed to burn the CA flag if it touches the ground. I wouldn't do that though. Throughout the whole set, there was this little dog that looked like a bear circling the drumset and dancing with EJ. Her name was Zeppelin.

(Ryan remained sober)

Afterwards we left and went to this fucking gorgeous house on a lake, and began consuming. Soup, bread, beer and vodka... blegh. The cops showed up again and broke up the party, unfortunately, which made me feel old, being legal and all. Everybody else was freaking out. So we hung out for a bit and the kid's mom came home and told us about how her neighbor is a crazy bitch and murdered her husband by poisoning him. I wish we got that one on tape.

(Ryan is wasted and is punching me telling me to punch him back, to which I refuse)

So then we left and went to another house in Temecula, on this big horseshoe street called Del Ray. Confusing as hell... This house was just as amazing in it's own right. It was on a ranch, with a giant backyard and horses right beyond the fence. There were tons of cats hanging around, three of them kittens who wrestled in the grass and climbed through the tire spokes of bikes with flat tires. Their names were Parsley, Sage and Rosejerry (previously Rosemary, until they found out it was a boy). Parsley perched on my shoulder for a good while, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The inside was a mix between brand new kitchen/dining room/living area and a hippie den where there were multiple couches, a hammock hanging from the ceiling that attracted a lot of drunken attention and Pink Floyd's Live at Pompeii playing in the background. I thought of Kemp, an ex-bear of a giant's stature, with an appetite for Pink Floyd to match. There was a hookah, and it was damn heavy. Burning my throat and making me cough, though not unpleasantly.

(Ryan is legally insane, attempting handstands to the point of shattering glass tables and running into stationary objects)

I decided to sleep in the van for the evening. We need curtains... or something. I felt like a taquito in my sleeping bag once the sun started baking the van. This morning was spent drinking water and pondering the distance relative to a human that the ants ravaging the garbage can would have to travel to bring their bits of food back home. I said four miles.

So today we're going to do a silly but potentially sweet photo shoot up at this house that some people decided to move. Literally. They cut the house in half, and drove it away on a truck. But they left a couple couches behind, and the back half of the kitchen, so we might go set up our equipment there and pretend to play. I need to get directions for the whole country tomorrow or Monday. Other than that, I'm playing the waiting game.

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Paper and Papers

The band (partially) is en route to Guitar Center today to try and stock up on some necessities, and maybe indulge ourselves a little in equipment heaven. $100 for sticks? I guess I'll see if they can cut me a deal. Part of coming across as professional, is looking professional, and maybe feeling a bit professional too. I think nice equipment helps. I've never been in a position to spend lots of money on instrumental purchases for a reason, so I'm excited about this trip.

We also spent a sad amount of time in Bank of America today trying to open a few bank accounts.

It seems that keeping organized is a learned skill. In a sense, the paperwork continues piling up, and I don't want to be responsible for losing anything of value. Maps and directions, names and phone numbers. Ah!

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Bed and Breakslow

It takes me forever to get up and get moving. My stomach has been yelling at me for an hour, and still I lay here, enthralled in my powerbook and trying to think of things to do. We had a little mini-show on my birthday where it was basically like a live practice. It really exposed our flaws, and shows we are not nearly ready to head out on the road. It was a good mix of mistakes that we made, none too serious, that reinforced some of the topics I've wanted to discuss with the band. Also keep in mind, that from the beginning of the night to the end, the amount of time between "audience" decided shot-breaks decreased exponentially. It was vodka too... blegh.

I'm not used to having nothing to do. I think it actually makes it harder to get out and do the few things I'm supposed to be taking care of. If I had a car, these tasks would be done immediately. But since B and I are left in the original Binns' Inn all day with nothing but peanut butter, Fatty Klaxon and the Undeclared dvd's, we sit around and let time waste away into the San Diego dusk and dawn. There is plenty of whiskey involved.

Today is a Mexico day, I think. I would like to initiate some practice before we cross the border and hang out with our favorite Tijuana bartender Gloria for the evening, but it seems there's a rift! We will see if this is one more day thrown away or if we/I make some use out of it.

I just heard Fatty whine, and that super chunk honey roasted peanut butter seems to be calling my name. One last thing, "Scent of a Woman" is an incredible movie. I'm glad Ryan wouldn't stop talking about it until I finally watched it. Now I want to see it again.

It's hard to argue that this isn't the fucking life.

Sunday June 24th

The first few days I've spent in San Diego so far have been both exciting and promising. Before I even stepped foot off of the plane we already had a van bought and (almost) ready to go, which was all of our biggest concern. Our first day of practice was the 21st, and as fumbled as it was, it remained fun. I think we all get together with this idea of what tour is going to be in our heads, and we kind of focus on that above all else. It's just this presence in the room, for me at least, that in a week we'll be heading out on the road to play more shows than any of us ever have before. There's so much potential for every emotion you could ever dream of that it's really hard to predict exactly what we're going to be experiencing. Anger, frustration, joy, anxiety, excitement... I think we're all concerned that maybe someone will end up in prison somewhere. As much as I'd hate it at the time, it would do nothing but pump more hot air into our story for when we get back, and for the rest of our lives. It feels incredible to start doing something BIG.

As far as things left to do? We've got plenty! We hit up a swap meet the other day to look for costumes, and instead bought a bunch of trinkets for ourselves instead of cohesive group things. I like the idea of decorating amps and personalizing your part of the stage... it gives people more to look at, and people like to look. I did get an extension cord, and a bundle of 100 of the most amazing incense to ever grace these nostrils (cinnamon!). I also got the tour book started, and as it continues to grow in pages my smile gets bigger and bigger.

Thursday May 1st

Two more dates have been added to the schedule:

7/20 - Oleaver's - Omaha, NE
8/16 - Red Room - San Antonio, TX

Sirens Sister is not interested in playing the SSMA date, due to the lack of a national headliner. I don't know their exact situation, but a one-off in their home town on a Friday night doesn't look like that bad of an opportunity. They could draw a good amount and make some money and really help us out in the process. But oh well. It's disappointing.

Thursday April 26th

Added three more dates to the tour this week:

7/9 - The Hell House - Chico, CA
7/22 - Otto's - Dekalb, IL
7/23 - The Note - Chicago, IL

In addition to these, I really want to add Sirens Sister (Seattle based ex-Vendetta Red pop troup) to the 7/13 show at the SSMA. I think they would be fun to play with, and also benefit the draw through being a well known Seattle local. Waiting on a response from their agent.

Thursday April 19th

Started initiating phone calls this week. It seems that the majority of the booking community, much to my dismay, relies mainly on telephones. I guess it's just one of those things that takes getting used to. Making phone calls isn't that bad after all, and seeing the benefits to the tour that it can bring, I'm much more willing to do it. I think at this point we're entering that 3-month window where buyers really start to book their venues, so we really need to keep moving to make sure we're first on the list for our specific dates.

Thursday April 12th

The past week has been a wait week. Sirens Booking have sent out plenty of emails to people all over the country, and are waiting for either responses or to follow up in due time. The dates we have secured as of today are as follows:

7/6 - Fresno, CA
7/13 - S.S. Marie Antoinette - Seattle, WA
7/14 - Neurolux - Boise, ID
7/16 - Muse Music - Provo, UT
7/21 - The Reverb Bar - Cedar Falls, IA
7/31 - The Cake Shop - New York, NY
8/7 - Spazzatorium Galleria - Greenville, NC
8/13 - Super Happy Fun Land - Houston, TX
8/20 - Hollywood Alley - Mesa, AZ

Friday, June 22, 2007

Da Bears Summer Tour Preliminary

As I was attempting to go to sleep last night, EJ drunkenly stumbled in and we started talking about aspects of the tour, mainly the tour journal. Brandon, EJ and I are required to keep one while we're out on the road in order to receive credit once we get back to Philly. EJ brought up the idea of keeping a blog instead, and making it accessible to everyone. I like it. So I decided to steal it and start posting my stuff up here. I think it'll be fun, because if the three of us do it, you'll get several different perspectives of what's going on out there, and we can all read each others and get in fights over the content and gossip. So keep checking back for updates!

Friday, April 27, 2007

RADIO

The radio industry never fails to impress and intrigue me with it's ever changing adopted formulas for success and the reaction of the generally dull (or so the playlist reflects) public that listens to and calls in requests from a twenty song-long rotation.

I had more faith in people than this.

TANGENT WARNING:
The most surprising aspect, to me at least, is that at the same time that I feel an uprising amongst many eighteen to twenty-somethings towards better music recognition, there's a sudden backlash of a larger majority who are happy with the bling bling producer and capitalist executive driven array of artists that continually poke their heads out of the polluted ocean called the music industry only to get a cramp and drown right back down again after half a years stint of wading in the muck. And then, instead of realizing that these jellyfish are fleeting, stereotypical representations of society and people and only contribute to the degeneration of many youthful minds, they get reincarnated into a weaker and duller strain again... and again... and you guessed it... again. If you want proof of evolution (or devolution) people, just take a macroscope to the recording industry. God didn't create Britney Spears... A lack of Darwinist progression has since sustained life forms that wouldn't survive if put to the test of nature.

Back to radio. Earlier I was only referring to the small amount of generic stations that control the major markets. I know that hoards and HOARDS of stations exist out there that are run on integrity and have made a great effort towards moving the industry back into a better direction (including podcasts and the like). Unfortunately, the ones with the money are the ones that can touch the most ears, which in turn gives them more money, which means more ears, and the more ears they touch before you do, the more ears you lack and the more ears are forced to listen to formula after formula. Just ask Clearchannel. Do they even care about music?

That's wrong of me to say, because I know that most people in the recording industry are there because of a passion for music, and if they had their way, would saturate the market with legitimately interesting and new artists. But they have to answer to Mr. Boss who is wondering why the budget has been cut $5 billion this year... What a stupid idea, to alienate your listeners because of money. They wired their own time bomb!

Maybe it's because of my position as a music industry major that I encounter more people with what I think are better ideals. Maybe I'm a biased bastard because I hate all that other crap. Maybe I'm not. Either way, I'm hoping the wave of digital growth will result in the majority of music listeners realizing that they don't have to rely on being spoon fed anymore. Radio has a long way to go in this overhaul.