Day 18 - March 29th 2009
http://myspace.com/boywonderrocks
Damn!
I thought very loudly to myself as the sun hit my face at 7 this morning. Not only did I miss Calzone but I had a wicked headache from drinking one too many last night. The wheels kind of came off (as my new band mates would say) last night. I very rarely drink in any kind of music/work situation. In my own band I’m in charge and am usually the one who has to count money so being drunk isn’t useful. I was functional last night and the show was good, but I know I’m not as good as I am when I’m clear. That won’t happen again. As I showered I realized that today would include a snap back to reality. I will not let excess ruin the opportunity I have been blessed to have.
Today was an important show, we were playing Buffalo, Bryn’s hometown. I was pretty certain we would be playing to quite a few people so I wanted to do the best I possibly could to make sure I contributed to a good show. The ride up the band was busting my balls about the way I type when I’m on the laptop, I’m pretty heavy handed and was so engrossed in what I was doing I was probably getting on their nerves a bit. The funny thing was I actually considered going into the hallway and typing there, probably should have. As a result of this band I’ll probably be a more thoughtful and considerate person when I return home in May, which can’t be a bad thing. We missed Niagara Falls.
We piled in the car and a funny thing happened, we were listening to some music and I whipped out a notebook and wrote four lines. They sucked but I wrote them. The songwriting muscle is something that needs to be worked out on a regular basis, which I haven’t been doing as actively as I would have in the past. I really wanted to focus on the album I had just put out and then needed to focus on making things tight with Bang Camaro. I wasn’t feeling particularly good either, my hangover (if you want to call it that) generally results in me being in a down mood all day as opposed to the headaches and nausea that other people experience. We’ve gone from the border of Mexico (Austin, Texas) to the border of Canada (Buffalo, NY) in less than two weeks and the change in weather was starting to get to my voice, which doesn’t make me feel any better. I do not want to blow this.
We pulled up to the club and it didn’t look like much (the good ones never do) when we walked in I saw the set up and the stage and I felt right away that this was going to be an awesome show. The bathroom was horrendous though, even by Punk Rock Bathroom standards so a few of us went walking around looking for something cleaner to drop our business in. I was surprised how pretty much everything was closed on Sundays. IT was a ghost town, you could have filmed I Am Legend there and saved yourself some CGI Money.
I spent most of the pre-show playing jewel quest trying to talk as little as possible to rest my voice, (I haven’t been treating her well) as opposed to socializing something I’ve taken to during this tour. I’ve been so comfortable with the band and fans that I can’t seem to stop running my mouth whether people want to hear it or not. Alex picked up on my mood “I don’t like seeing you like this” he says. I told him the truth about my voice and he got it.
The Everyday Visuals killed it, I don’t catch them as often as I should on this tour but the vocal harmonies are on point. That was followed by Leslie who also killed it, they make the wheels in my head turn. Then it was time. I found Sean and we warmed up together on the corner outside of the club. I was as ready as I was going to be.
As the show started something weird happened, this stuff is starting to click hardcore. I am very slowly gaining a command of the material I reach of the note and it’s there 90% of the time (hopefully it’ll be 100% when my voice comes back) I’m harnessing the big voice I never knew I had and I’m singing properly. I’m riding the groove and my hips are moving. I’m hearing other voices instead of being worried about my own. I’m trying to blend better, do my part to make this as good as it can possibly be. The crowd was really into it, shake rattling and rolling for an hour. We just kept hitting them and wouldn’t let them up for air. This in my opinion was the best crowd so far on the tour. Buffalo knows how to get down.
We hung around for a while afterwards getting to know folks which was fun. I was having a good time until I heard a large dog barking. My general fear of dogs caused me to jump right out of my skin. The dog kept barking and I began to wonder where it was and how bad it would kill me if it saw me. I was loading out equipment very slowly as I see Jon Carman (Leslie Drummer) barking like a dog through a orange parking cone. I promised to mangle him in his sleep. I will deliver on that promise. He seemed to think it was funny as hell.
Glen and Nick would be leaving the tour after tonight which kinda bummed me out. They’re both mad cool and it kinda blows to see them leave, we’re going to be shorthanded. Bryn took us to the old pink (I think that‘s what it was called), an indy rock bar in Buffalo we took a couple of the folks that came out to the show with us, they had some drinks, shot some pool (which I suck at, sorry Jon), and played some darts as I found myself soaking in the conversation Doz and Bryn were having about band business and life on the road stuff.
We left and went to a cheesesteak place, Jim’s Steakout, I was curious so I bought one, big mistake. It was horrible. I had one in Boston that was pretty good so I had hopes, they were dashed straight away.
The evening ended with my bandmates and Leslie chasing a rabbit in the street on the way to the van. Why? I have no flipping clue. The rabbit, obviously too fast for them got away. Had they caught it could have been a pet, we also could have eaten it so it was unfortunate fluffy got away. As we pulled up to Bryn’s mom’s house I noticed something falling from the sky, a disoriented Alex (who had just woke up form being conked out in the van for half an hour) puts his hand out to protect me, I realized it was just snow. I’m not a fan of snow or cold weather.
Alex, Doz, Dan (Sound Guy/Tour Manager) and I spent another few hours talking about everything from the state of the business, the tour, Lil Wayne’s new rock album, growing up, and girls on the road before retiring to our respective beds.
We have a day off tomorrow before we travel to Kentucky so I’ll get a chance to rest my voice.
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