Sunday, December 6, 2009
Saturday, November 7, 2009
tour is over again
November 3rd – Tallahassee, FL
If we were going to make a DVD about this tour, the first thing the very first thing you would hear over a black screen before anything else happens would be a sound clip of tonight’s soundguy saying “I’m just going to forget about micing the amplifiers because they are loud as fuck.”
November 4th – Outside Prattsville, AL
10:00am: Wake up in the bus in Tallahassee, FL. Feel sick.
10:45: Stop at Burger King. House 1st BK Veggie Burger of the day.
11:00: Start drive to Birmingham.
1:30pm: Stop to investigate smoke coming out of rear passenger side wheel well. Chalk smoke up to overworking breaks with such a heavy load.
4:01: Bus loses all engine power. Pull over. Regardless of gear, bus wont move. Call Triple A.
4:15: Kyle and Chris decide to hitchhike to finish tour. Start walking with a sign reading only “BHM” attached to their bag.
4:18: Within eyesite, Chris and Kyle get picked up and are on their way.
5:00: Matt gets things worked out with Triple A, it will take two tow trucks to get IZ to Smyrna. 1 to get from mile marker 191 on I-65N to Bremen, GA, and another to get from Bremen, GA to Smyrna. We are told the first truck is on its way, I decline my parents offer to come pick up myself and Jeff Claxton.
6:15: Matt gets a call saying the first two truck drove past us and said he couldn’t tow IZ because of its size. We never saw this towtruck.
6:30: I call Albert and ask him if he would be willing to pick Jeff Claxton and I up from Bremen, GA, in order to make things a littler easier for everyone. He agrees to.
7:15: Towtruck arrives, IZ gets lifted and we all pile in and leave mile marker 191.
7:50: Stop at a truckstop so TowTruck driver and fill up of fuel. While getting out Matt notices more smoke from rear tire well. They investigate while I eat my 2nd BK veggie burger of the day.
8:30: We stop again to investigate smoke. Matt states that he would like for IZ to be on a flatbed as opposed to rear wheel towing. While they talk, I deicde to walk off the side of the road to take a piss. Admits the pitch black side of the highway I fall into a 3 foot deep creek on my back, soaking my jeans, wallet, cellphone, hoodie t-shirt. I change into workout shorts and a new t-shirt in the bus. Forcibly restrain meltdown.
9:15: We pull over, yet again and stop at a gas station to get lubricant for back axel. First store didn’t have any, second store did.
10:00: After aquiring and applying grease to back axel, we get back on I-65 N.
10:25: There is a very loud pop coming from the bus. We pull over, tons of smoke keeps piling out of the rear wheel well.
10:30: After a fire extinguisher makes an appearance, we determine that a tire blew, which was caused because of the problems we have been having with the back axle. Towtruck driver wants to take us to the next exit, Matt refuses. I change into my backup jeans in the bus, pack everything into my bags.
10:40: Borrow Matt’s cellphone (mine is dead) and ask albert if he will pick us up somewhere south of Birmingham. He agrees and gets on the road, I tell him I’ll call him within an hour and a half with a specific location to get us.
11:20: IZ is off the towtruck. A flatbed is called in. Towtruck driver offeres to take Claxton and myself up one exit (exit 238, meaning out whole travel was just shy of 50 miles).
11:40: Claxton and I are dropped off at a Waffle House. Order Coffe, Diet Soda and hashbrowns. Charge cellphone. Wait.
12:45: Albert picks us up from Waffle House.
3:00am: Arrive at Albert and Claxtons house in Decatur.
3:15am: Adri picks me up from Albert and Claxtons
3:30: Arrive at Adrianna’s house.
Matt didn’t make it to Smyrna until 3 in the afternoon.
Tour is emphatically over.
If we were going to make a DVD about this tour, the first thing the very first thing you would hear over a black screen before anything else happens would be a sound clip of tonight’s soundguy saying “I’m just going to forget about micing the amplifiers because they are loud as fuck.”
November 4th – Outside Prattsville, AL
10:00am: Wake up in the bus in Tallahassee, FL. Feel sick.
10:45: Stop at Burger King. House 1st BK Veggie Burger of the day.
11:00: Start drive to Birmingham.
1:30pm: Stop to investigate smoke coming out of rear passenger side wheel well. Chalk smoke up to overworking breaks with such a heavy load.
4:01: Bus loses all engine power. Pull over. Regardless of gear, bus wont move. Call Triple A.
4:15: Kyle and Chris decide to hitchhike to finish tour. Start walking with a sign reading only “BHM” attached to their bag.
4:18: Within eyesite, Chris and Kyle get picked up and are on their way.
5:00: Matt gets things worked out with Triple A, it will take two tow trucks to get IZ to Smyrna. 1 to get from mile marker 191 on I-65N to Bremen, GA, and another to get from Bremen, GA to Smyrna. We are told the first truck is on its way, I decline my parents offer to come pick up myself and Jeff Claxton.
6:15: Matt gets a call saying the first two truck drove past us and said he couldn’t tow IZ because of its size. We never saw this towtruck.
6:30: I call Albert and ask him if he would be willing to pick Jeff Claxton and I up from Bremen, GA, in order to make things a littler easier for everyone. He agrees to.
7:15: Towtruck arrives, IZ gets lifted and we all pile in and leave mile marker 191.
7:50: Stop at a truckstop so TowTruck driver and fill up of fuel. While getting out Matt notices more smoke from rear tire well. They investigate while I eat my 2nd BK veggie burger of the day.
8:30: We stop again to investigate smoke. Matt states that he would like for IZ to be on a flatbed as opposed to rear wheel towing. While they talk, I deicde to walk off the side of the road to take a piss. Admits the pitch black side of the highway I fall into a 3 foot deep creek on my back, soaking my jeans, wallet, cellphone, hoodie t-shirt. I change into workout shorts and a new t-shirt in the bus. Forcibly restrain meltdown.
9:15: We pull over, yet again and stop at a gas station to get lubricant for back axel. First store didn’t have any, second store did.
10:00: After aquiring and applying grease to back axel, we get back on I-65 N.
10:25: There is a very loud pop coming from the bus. We pull over, tons of smoke keeps piling out of the rear wheel well.
10:30: After a fire extinguisher makes an appearance, we determine that a tire blew, which was caused because of the problems we have been having with the back axle. Towtruck driver wants to take us to the next exit, Matt refuses. I change into my backup jeans in the bus, pack everything into my bags.
10:40: Borrow Matt’s cellphone (mine is dead) and ask albert if he will pick us up somewhere south of Birmingham. He agrees and gets on the road, I tell him I’ll call him within an hour and a half with a specific location to get us.
11:20: IZ is off the towtruck. A flatbed is called in. Towtruck driver offeres to take Claxton and myself up one exit (exit 238, meaning out whole travel was just shy of 50 miles).
11:40: Claxton and I are dropped off at a Waffle House. Order Coffe, Diet Soda and hashbrowns. Charge cellphone. Wait.
12:45: Albert picks us up from Waffle House.
3:00am: Arrive at Albert and Claxtons house in Decatur.
3:15am: Adri picks me up from Albert and Claxtons
3:30: Arrive at Adrianna’s house.
Matt didn’t make it to Smyrna until 3 in the afternoon.
Tour is emphatically over.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
fair is fair
October 29th – Gainesville, FL
Pre Fest at 1982. Nothing interesting to say at all. I am glad the Fest only happens once a year
October 30th – Gainesville, FL
Adrianna made it safely into town and I am incredibly excited about Girlfriend Fest. I think I am going to like the idea of being showered and asleep every night by two AM. Getting too old for the Fest.
October 31st – Gainesville, FL
When I get home I will start a band called Burners. We will play one show and record one seven inch. I will do vocals and facewalk the whole crowd.
November 1st – Gainesville, FL
Our show was better attended this year than last, but the rowdy factor was turned down quite a bit. I offered to work as a “bouncer” during O’Pioneers!!!, Bomb the Music Industry and Defiance, Ohio because the kids were getting so rowdy. I am much more interested in authentic and positive DIY and spaces for bands to perform, and preserving these spaces from a bunch of drunk, stupid punk kids than I am about seeing bands I don’t particularly care for. I’m still glad the Fest only happens once a year.
November 2nd – Lake City, FL
The Motel 6 in Lake City , FL seems infinitely smaller that our bus. I walked a mile to Moes and sat there for half an hour talking to my mom on the phone just to get some space from my tour mates. Its not that I don’t like them, its just hard to have to spend every second with someone, it gets to the point where someone’s voice is enough to put you in a cranky mood. Tour is over in 5 days. Kinda happy about that. I’m almost 25. Not sure how I feel about that.
Pre Fest at 1982. Nothing interesting to say at all. I am glad the Fest only happens once a year
October 30th – Gainesville, FL
Adrianna made it safely into town and I am incredibly excited about Girlfriend Fest. I think I am going to like the idea of being showered and asleep every night by two AM. Getting too old for the Fest.
October 31st – Gainesville, FL
When I get home I will start a band called Burners. We will play one show and record one seven inch. I will do vocals and facewalk the whole crowd.
November 1st – Gainesville, FL
Our show was better attended this year than last, but the rowdy factor was turned down quite a bit. I offered to work as a “bouncer” during O’Pioneers!!!, Bomb the Music Industry and Defiance, Ohio because the kids were getting so rowdy. I am much more interested in authentic and positive DIY and spaces for bands to perform, and preserving these spaces from a bunch of drunk, stupid punk kids than I am about seeing bands I don’t particularly care for. I’m still glad the Fest only happens once a year.
November 2nd – Lake City, FL
The Motel 6 in Lake City , FL seems infinitely smaller that our bus. I walked a mile to Moes and sat there for half an hour talking to my mom on the phone just to get some space from my tour mates. Its not that I don’t like them, its just hard to have to spend every second with someone, it gets to the point where someone’s voice is enough to put you in a cranky mood. Tour is over in 5 days. Kinda happy about that. I’m almost 25. Not sure how I feel about that.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Pt. 2
October 25th – Fern Park, FL
Matt Mose hates vegetables and doesn’t like most meats (…). Kyle Knight will eat anything but bananas and watermelon. I don’t eat meat, but will eat a lot of different vegetables. Oliver usually prefers foods that aren’t meat and Chris doesn’t seem to mind any food that much. Claxton works at a Pizza place and likes things customized and complicated. Ordering pizza for the 6 of us is literally impossible.
October 26th – Sarasota, FL
For the record, and I am not going to say this again, but writing a record about Moby Dick is infinitely less silly that writing about Vikings. There is absolutely not way to argue about this, there is no debate, it is just a simple solid fact of life.
October 27th – Sarasota, FL
If I was interested in DJs and Dance bands and going to a venue to watch dancy pop bands and DJs perform, I suppose I would be a little bummed out by Mose Giganticus too.
October 28th – Sarsota, FL
The reason Paranormal Activity is such a horrifying film is because it takes all of the elements of the Blair Witch Project and Cloverfield that totally sucked (Never seeing the ghost or carnage or seeing the monster too much respectively) and fixed them. There is absolutely nothing you can do to protect yourself when you are asleep, especially from a goddamn ghost. Emphatically the most terrifying movie I have seen in the past decade, and I wish Adrianna was here to watch it with me, even though I know there is no way I could ever force her to watch this movie. Still the idea of her vehemently resisting seeing this movie with me is something I miss the hell out of.
I miss my dogs, too.
Matt Mose hates vegetables and doesn’t like most meats (…). Kyle Knight will eat anything but bananas and watermelon. I don’t eat meat, but will eat a lot of different vegetables. Oliver usually prefers foods that aren’t meat and Chris doesn’t seem to mind any food that much. Claxton works at a Pizza place and likes things customized and complicated. Ordering pizza for the 6 of us is literally impossible.
October 26th – Sarasota, FL
For the record, and I am not going to say this again, but writing a record about Moby Dick is infinitely less silly that writing about Vikings. There is absolutely not way to argue about this, there is no debate, it is just a simple solid fact of life.
October 27th – Sarasota, FL
If I was interested in DJs and Dance bands and going to a venue to watch dancy pop bands and DJs perform, I suppose I would be a little bummed out by Mose Giganticus too.
October 28th – Sarsota, FL
The reason Paranormal Activity is such a horrifying film is because it takes all of the elements of the Blair Witch Project and Cloverfield that totally sucked (Never seeing the ghost or carnage or seeing the monster too much respectively) and fixed them. There is absolutely nothing you can do to protect yourself when you are asleep, especially from a goddamn ghost. Emphatically the most terrifying movie I have seen in the past decade, and I wish Adrianna was here to watch it with me, even though I know there is no way I could ever force her to watch this movie. Still the idea of her vehemently resisting seeing this movie with me is something I miss the hell out of.
I miss my dogs, too.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
FestQuest Pt 1 of.....
October 19th – Atlanta, GA
At what point does a band stop being from Philadelphia and start hailing from Atlanta?
October 20th – Greenville, SC
Club Escape either once was, or might currently still be a strip club. There are cages for GoGo dancers on either side of the stage and no less than three stripper poles. This is what my life has come to.
October 21st – Athens, GA
We nickel and dimmed our way into about 30 gallons of decent grease. Being able to travel for free certainly has its disadvantages that no one really considers…when you fill up your car from QuickTrip, their isn’t just a huge bucket of gasoline that you have to suck out, filter, and put in your tank all the while getting it all over yourself, your clothes and every last possession you own. On top of that, the band Music Hates You just made me feel like the biggest poser ever. Some gnarly dudes getting some brutal sounds out of some bullshit amps. Its like in all those kids sports movies where the shitty underdog team takes on the real polished team, and even though they might not always win, at least the underdog put on a hell of a fight. That’s kind of how I feel about their amps versus my amps, and I am incredibly sad that I have put this much thought into a metaphor involving goddamn amplifiers.
October 22: - Charleston, SC
4:00am: Arrive in Atlanta. Pack, process oil.
4:45am: Arrive at Ethel St. Kiss girlfriend, cuddle, set alarm to wake up at 8:50, plan to hit the road at 10:30
5:15am: Sleep
9:35am: Awake. Drink soda, drive to Smyrna, load bags in IZ, awaken travelers.
11:30am: Leave to pick up Claxon and Kyle
12:00ish: Pick up Kyle and Claxton, head towards Charleston
6:50pm: Arrive in Charleston. Find Upperdeck Tavern, which is down a narrow hallway and up a large, narrow flight of stairs.
7:15pm: Sigh profoundly. Start loading in gear, fully knowing that within an hour it all has to come back out
7:45pm: Mose Giganticus
8:15pm: the Emotron
9:15pm: Load gear back into bus.
9:20pm: Start looking for oil
11:45pm: Actually score some oil, after making several stops and destroying a roof rack in the process
1:15am: Shower
2:30am: Sleep on a couch about 6 inches too short
October 23rd – Jacksonville, FL
The King of the South, Big Dunn, is a majestic creature. His band sounds like what Latterman would have sounded like if they decided to not use those pesky guitars and basses and simply settled for keyboards. I actually don’t know why I would use the word pesky in that situation…two dudes playing posi-punk on keyboards is a much more daunting task than on guitars.
October 24th – Fern Park, FL
I speant this entire off day at my computer, telling myself I need to write more and wishing I could read Chuck Klostermans new book. All day I named the first book I want to write several times, never really settling on anything (Stay Negative: Essays, Stories and Memories from a Bitter Asshole is the best I can come up with). I have been awake for 15 hours and these are the only words I muster before going to sleep and inevitably have Matt Mose snuggle a little to closely to me before I wake back up
At what point does a band stop being from Philadelphia and start hailing from Atlanta?
October 20th – Greenville, SC
Club Escape either once was, or might currently still be a strip club. There are cages for GoGo dancers on either side of the stage and no less than three stripper poles. This is what my life has come to.
October 21st – Athens, GA
We nickel and dimmed our way into about 30 gallons of decent grease. Being able to travel for free certainly has its disadvantages that no one really considers…when you fill up your car from QuickTrip, their isn’t just a huge bucket of gasoline that you have to suck out, filter, and put in your tank all the while getting it all over yourself, your clothes and every last possession you own. On top of that, the band Music Hates You just made me feel like the biggest poser ever. Some gnarly dudes getting some brutal sounds out of some bullshit amps. Its like in all those kids sports movies where the shitty underdog team takes on the real polished team, and even though they might not always win, at least the underdog put on a hell of a fight. That’s kind of how I feel about their amps versus my amps, and I am incredibly sad that I have put this much thought into a metaphor involving goddamn amplifiers.
October 22: - Charleston, SC
4:00am: Arrive in Atlanta. Pack, process oil.
4:45am: Arrive at Ethel St. Kiss girlfriend, cuddle, set alarm to wake up at 8:50, plan to hit the road at 10:30
5:15am: Sleep
9:35am: Awake. Drink soda, drive to Smyrna, load bags in IZ, awaken travelers.
11:30am: Leave to pick up Claxon and Kyle
12:00ish: Pick up Kyle and Claxton, head towards Charleston
6:50pm: Arrive in Charleston. Find Upperdeck Tavern, which is down a narrow hallway and up a large, narrow flight of stairs.
7:15pm: Sigh profoundly. Start loading in gear, fully knowing that within an hour it all has to come back out
7:45pm: Mose Giganticus
8:15pm: the Emotron
9:15pm: Load gear back into bus.
9:20pm: Start looking for oil
11:45pm: Actually score some oil, after making several stops and destroying a roof rack in the process
1:15am: Shower
2:30am: Sleep on a couch about 6 inches too short
October 23rd – Jacksonville, FL
The King of the South, Big Dunn, is a majestic creature. His band sounds like what Latterman would have sounded like if they decided to not use those pesky guitars and basses and simply settled for keyboards. I actually don’t know why I would use the word pesky in that situation…two dudes playing posi-punk on keyboards is a much more daunting task than on guitars.
October 24th – Fern Park, FL
I speant this entire off day at my computer, telling myself I need to write more and wishing I could read Chuck Klostermans new book. All day I named the first book I want to write several times, never really settling on anything (Stay Negative: Essays, Stories and Memories from a Bitter Asshole is the best I can come up with). I have been awake for 15 hours and these are the only words I muster before going to sleep and inevitably have Matt Mose snuggle a little to closely to me before I wake back up
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Happiness isn't writing on your phone, that's for sure.
Sometimes I wonder if their is no such thing as happiness. Maybe happiness is something that exists for most people in the world, but as I get closer and closer to being "old," I'm starting to think that the only feelings I am able to feel are simply raw passions. I understand hurt, because I know how it feels to be hurt...all I have to do is think about one simple thing and I instantly understand hurt. I know sadness too, because when I think about sad things, I instantly feel sad. When I think about things that would normally constitute as something that should make me feel happy...I feel nothing.
Happiness is a short term emotion, it's something you strive for and work to maintain. If someone were to give me $100 I would not feel happy about it; The instant emotion that comes from positive aspects of life isn't happiness - they are simply joy or excitement. Happiness is a condition more than emotion, it's more like a state of being. When I was a kid and my parents got me every last gift I wanted, I wasn't happy, I was joyfull and full of Christmas cheer, but these things didn't make me happy. The older I get the more I start to think that happiness isn't something you can feel at all, it's more just inflated contentness.
My problem is that if I can't define something, I can't believe in it. The reason I wonder if happiness is real is the same reason I don't believe in God, Satan, or the 2009 Atlanta Falcons, and that is all because I have no proof that any of these things are real (and in the case of the Atlanta Falcons, I have no proof their Defensive Line exists, and, after all, offense wins games, but defence wins titles). I understand love, and I know the feeling I get when I think about the girl laying next to me is love, and I enjoy LITERALLY every secon we spend together, I'm not sure if having this in my life is happiness. Listen, I am not saying that I'm not happy, I am saying that I don't think happiness, the emotional idea of being happy for a long amount of time even exists at all.
I think I provoke myself into feeling upset about things simply because it's a raw, visceral emotional experience. I like to stay upset about things because then I am actually feeling something, and can usually quantify that experience (usually by how hard I punch my steering wheel or how many Park songs I may be listening to). But happiness just feels like nothing. Happiness doesn't make me feel good, but it doesn't bring me down; it doesn't give me hope but it doesn't make me want to strangle myself with my belt either. Happiness is just there and it's existence in my life is often pretty questionable.
Just like the 2009 Atlanta Falcons
Happiness is a short term emotion, it's something you strive for and work to maintain. If someone were to give me $100 I would not feel happy about it; The instant emotion that comes from positive aspects of life isn't happiness - they are simply joy or excitement. Happiness is a condition more than emotion, it's more like a state of being. When I was a kid and my parents got me every last gift I wanted, I wasn't happy, I was joyfull and full of Christmas cheer, but these things didn't make me happy. The older I get the more I start to think that happiness isn't something you can feel at all, it's more just inflated contentness.
My problem is that if I can't define something, I can't believe in it. The reason I wonder if happiness is real is the same reason I don't believe in God, Satan, or the 2009 Atlanta Falcons, and that is all because I have no proof that any of these things are real (and in the case of the Atlanta Falcons, I have no proof their Defensive Line exists, and, after all, offense wins games, but defence wins titles). I understand love, and I know the feeling I get when I think about the girl laying next to me is love, and I enjoy LITERALLY every secon we spend together, I'm not sure if having this in my life is happiness. Listen, I am not saying that I'm not happy, I am saying that I don't think happiness, the emotional idea of being happy for a long amount of time even exists at all.
I think I provoke myself into feeling upset about things simply because it's a raw, visceral emotional experience. I like to stay upset about things because then I am actually feeling something, and can usually quantify that experience (usually by how hard I punch my steering wheel or how many Park songs I may be listening to). But happiness just feels like nothing. Happiness doesn't make me feel good, but it doesn't bring me down; it doesn't give me hope but it doesn't make me want to strangle myself with my belt either. Happiness is just there and it's existence in my life is often pretty questionable.
Just like the 2009 Atlanta Falcons
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Things I Could Write About
- How Atlas, the new puppy, is much like having a young child
- The possibility of renting a loft with Adrianna
- Touring around the corner
- How American it feels to hate my job less than a month after getting it
- Some metaphorical bullshit about the Atlanta Braves
- Not booking for WonderRoot anymore and how the experience changed my view on punkrock/music.
- The Fest is around the corner, so there's that.
Things I Will Write Write About Tonight
- ............
- How Atlas, the new puppy, is much like having a young child
- The possibility of renting a loft with Adrianna
- Touring around the corner
- How American it feels to hate my job less than a month after getting it
- Some metaphorical bullshit about the Atlanta Braves
- Not booking for WonderRoot anymore and how the experience changed my view on punkrock/music.
- The Fest is around the corner, so there's that.
Things I Will Write Write About Tonight
- ............
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