Day 19 - March 30th 2009
http://myspace.com/boywonderrocks
I woke up later than usual on my air mattress in the non cat allergy room at Bryn’s mom’s house in the Buffalo area. It was a bout noon and she made breakfast. I am totally in favor of just staying at people’s houses on this tour.
The guys from Leslie as well as Alex and Dan (Sound guy/tour manager) wanted very much to go to Niagara Falls today. As soon as I found out not going was an option I was like “Yeah I don’t really care it’s just water” and they all left and I stayed and did laundry. I got a chance to talk to Bryn’s parents who are extremely supportive. I think it takes a certain kind of person to be a rock and roll parent. It requires that one be long on grace and patience. They reminded me a lot of my folks. Letting their son pile large amounts of dudeness in their basement as he chases something that very few catch.
Bryn had to cancel the Cleveland show and the fans there didn’t seem to happy about it. Hopefully the band will make it back there at some point.
I got a copy of the press release that Marc from Range did for me for the show in LA. Hopefully it’ll help me draw a slightly bigger crowd. I also got an email from bill Butler in reference to developing a business plan for Boy Wonder moving forward. I have to get section 1 done by weeks end. Someone else is interested in bringing me back to LA sometime in May. It’s really crazy how all this stuff has been happening lately.
We noticed that everyone had been gone for quite some time and were wondering what might have happened to our Niagara expeditionists were. Bryn would eventually get a call saying that they had found themselves in Canada, made a U turn, and were stopped by US Border Patrol for an hour. They made it to the falls and gazed upon it. Jason Fox (who’s idea this was in the first place) had a great time, I was glad cause it would have sucked if after all that he hated it.
I got to watch a pretty cool episode of house starring Mos Def and then the guys got back, we piled in the car and headed to the halfway point between Buffalo and Lexington Kentucky. I try to talk as little as possible to rest my voice. We hit the rooms, I blew up my air mattress, and went to bed.
I make my first trip to Kentucky tomorrow, the bands really gelling and I think it’s going to be an awesome show
The Police's Invisible Sun...one of my favs of the new tour
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Monday, March 30, 2009
Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 19
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.
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.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 18
Day 17 - March 28th 2009
http://myspace.com/boywonderrocks
I was particularly excited this morning Bang Camaro was taking the circus to Ithaca New York and my friends were finally gonna see the band in person. I was pretty stoked.
I’ve been talking about home a lot lately, I apologize for that. There may be a portion of you that read this that may view me as generally ungrateful for the experience I’m having. Nothing could be further from the truth. You couldn’t ask for better people than the 12 guys I ride in van with everyday. But I do believe that if I truly want you guys to know me through these words on a computer screen then Philly has to be a part of the conversation. We’re talking about a place where we threw snowballs at Santa Claus at an Eagle’s Game, Philadelphia does not suffer fools gladly, so if something sucks my people will pull me aside and tell me straight away. So I was especially nervous about this particular show.
We piled in the van and left Allentown around noon. They mentioned that they’ve been on-time pretty much the whole tour which is new for them. I left a CD, Bryn’s Pillow, and some food in the room when I came down. “There’s a moral to this story.” Morgan says. We pull off and I’m told we’re gonna be goin to Guitar Center, the kid in me is jumping for joy, you know the part of you that wants to go into a place and touch everything. We get there and the first thing I do is pick up a strat. Bryn sits near me and starts shredding his balls off laying the smack down on my candy ass. I missed playing electric guitar too much not to play so I strummed along my merry way playing some rhythm stuff while Bryn played over me.
Some guy showed me this Digitech Vocalist Live Pedal. Basically you plug your guitar into it and it analyzes your chord progression, you sing into it and it gives you the proper harmonies. Be a nice thing to have for someone like me that’s had trouble with background singers, I file this in the back of my mind. I start singing 3000 Miles away through it and Glen tells me we have to leave. I totally could have made us late if left to my own devices. I bought some strings and we were on our way.
We listened to some great boggie rock on the way, I’m not sure who’s Ipod it was but I wanna get some stuff off them before tour is over.
We meet up with Nick Given (Bang Camaro Vocalist) on the way there. I hadn’t seen him since Boston. He was the singer there for my audition, really nice guy, 6 foot forever, the kinda guy my little ass is taking with me to a bar fight. We got to the club for sound check and Dan (Sound Guy/Tour Manager) plays the usual Radiohead song. Sean asks me “If this is another band you don’t like or understand” I start to laugh as I answer yes. For those of you who don’t know here’s my official stance on Radiohead
I’m not a fan. I don’t like Tom Yorke’s voice or lazy eye, the music itself does nothing for me at all on any kind of level. Kid A actually makes me yawn sometimes. Are they excellent at what they do? Of course they are. Yorke’s probably some kind of genius. But it wasn’t my cup of tea , I like a certain type of viscerality (pretty sure I just made that word up) in my music and they don’t give it to me. I was happy to just let it be, as a consumer I don’t have to buy it or listen to it. The loathing came from fans of the band trying to convert me. The Radiohead faithful that I’ve met remind me of Jonas Brothers fans, actually that’s an insult to Jonas Brothers fans, those 12 year old girls are too busy enjoying the music to try to force me to do the same. Actually they’re a lot like Jehovah’s Witnesses they knock on your door with their pitch and then get all pissy when you tell them no. Alex and Sean are going to try to convert me here too, they’ll have better luck with John Lennon. lol
Some time passes and we noticed the sound guy wasn’t there. Dan’s tryin to call the manager of the club and he doesn’t get the sound guy on the phone. Dan fires up the PA to try to get sound check goin and then a car comes barreling down the street and whips into a parking spot a la Ace Ventura and the sound guy walks in, gets pissy and leaves Dan to do everything himself. Real professional on his part if you ask me. We check and everything is sounding great.
Sadler starts talking about a movie idea I had and the rest of the guys and I were assisting him in working out the plot. It really made me think about my unfinished feature and the unproduced screenplay I have sitting on my desk and how I might wanna get to work upon my return home. The guys and I talked about just hitting the reset button on the idea and making a better version of it which is definitely possible now but I remembered how much I hated doing anything past the writing stage. Directing and Editing is a true first class pain in the ass.
I ventured to a restaurant for dinner, where I got a few phone calls from some friends who were really encouraging, telling me to stay the course, sing some sweet bang Camaro Tunes, and have fun. I ate my prime rib and got back in time to catch The Everyday Visuals, sweet band. I met a few of Sean’s friends, they seemed like great guys, I would expect no less, someone like Sean would keep really good company.
Leslie was on fire as my buds walked into Castaways. It was awesome to see them. I was complimented on the blog and bought drinks. I realized as the set approached I may have had one too many. Great, how professional is this shit? Doing an entire set with booze coursing through my veins. We warmed up and the Conan intro came on and as Thunderclap ended I prayed to God that I’d be able to get through it.
By the time Out on the streets was over my body and burned all the alcohol anyway and it was ass shaking time. We encourage the crowd to come up front and we commence to rock their faces off. Jason Fox (Leslie Bassist) seemed to have everything down which is awesome. The band is really starting to gel and it’s really sounding great. I enjoy the on-stage banter, they’re slipping some of the Paul Stanley stuff in there (Bryn has about an hour and a half of banter by Paul Stanley from Kiss on his Ipod, hilarious stuff) all in all I think it was the best show so far musically. My friends enjoyed the show and the spectacle of it all, but said they’re looking forward to my homecoming.
I met Bryn’s mom and step dad, very nice people. I was a tad plastered by show’s end though and wasn’t much use for the load out. I napped in the van until I was awoken to a game of Movies vs. Candy. I like this game I’ve yet to come up with one though. The best one I heard was Ghostbusters vs. Sour Patch Kids, that’s a tough one.
With no microwave at the Ramada, Rod and I ran to a supermarket and grabbed some hoagies. While in the store I heard Rod on the phone go, “Does this religion need a pope” “ I guess I could be pope” I don’t even wanna know. Sadler was right behind us. We got some stuff then ran up a steep hill back to the hotel. There was mention of Calzone but I was passed out before that went down.
Goin to Buffalo tomorrow. There’s talk of Niagra Falls in the AM. Very excited.
http://myspace.com/boywonderrocks
I was particularly excited this morning Bang Camaro was taking the circus to Ithaca New York and my friends were finally gonna see the band in person. I was pretty stoked.
I’ve been talking about home a lot lately, I apologize for that. There may be a portion of you that read this that may view me as generally ungrateful for the experience I’m having. Nothing could be further from the truth. You couldn’t ask for better people than the 12 guys I ride in van with everyday. But I do believe that if I truly want you guys to know me through these words on a computer screen then Philly has to be a part of the conversation. We’re talking about a place where we threw snowballs at Santa Claus at an Eagle’s Game, Philadelphia does not suffer fools gladly, so if something sucks my people will pull me aside and tell me straight away. So I was especially nervous about this particular show.
We piled in the van and left Allentown around noon. They mentioned that they’ve been on-time pretty much the whole tour which is new for them. I left a CD, Bryn’s Pillow, and some food in the room when I came down. “There’s a moral to this story.” Morgan says. We pull off and I’m told we’re gonna be goin to Guitar Center, the kid in me is jumping for joy, you know the part of you that wants to go into a place and touch everything. We get there and the first thing I do is pick up a strat. Bryn sits near me and starts shredding his balls off laying the smack down on my candy ass. I missed playing electric guitar too much not to play so I strummed along my merry way playing some rhythm stuff while Bryn played over me.
Some guy showed me this Digitech Vocalist Live Pedal. Basically you plug your guitar into it and it analyzes your chord progression, you sing into it and it gives you the proper harmonies. Be a nice thing to have for someone like me that’s had trouble with background singers, I file this in the back of my mind. I start singing 3000 Miles away through it and Glen tells me we have to leave. I totally could have made us late if left to my own devices. I bought some strings and we were on our way.
We listened to some great boggie rock on the way, I’m not sure who’s Ipod it was but I wanna get some stuff off them before tour is over.
We meet up with Nick Given (Bang Camaro Vocalist) on the way there. I hadn’t seen him since Boston. He was the singer there for my audition, really nice guy, 6 foot forever, the kinda guy my little ass is taking with me to a bar fight. We got to the club for sound check and Dan (Sound Guy/Tour Manager) plays the usual Radiohead song. Sean asks me “If this is another band you don’t like or understand” I start to laugh as I answer yes. For those of you who don’t know here’s my official stance on Radiohead
I’m not a fan. I don’t like Tom Yorke’s voice or lazy eye, the music itself does nothing for me at all on any kind of level. Kid A actually makes me yawn sometimes. Are they excellent at what they do? Of course they are. Yorke’s probably some kind of genius. But it wasn’t my cup of tea , I like a certain type of viscerality (pretty sure I just made that word up) in my music and they don’t give it to me. I was happy to just let it be, as a consumer I don’t have to buy it or listen to it. The loathing came from fans of the band trying to convert me. The Radiohead faithful that I’ve met remind me of Jonas Brothers fans, actually that’s an insult to Jonas Brothers fans, those 12 year old girls are too busy enjoying the music to try to force me to do the same. Actually they’re a lot like Jehovah’s Witnesses they knock on your door with their pitch and then get all pissy when you tell them no. Alex and Sean are going to try to convert me here too, they’ll have better luck with John Lennon. lol
Some time passes and we noticed the sound guy wasn’t there. Dan’s tryin to call the manager of the club and he doesn’t get the sound guy on the phone. Dan fires up the PA to try to get sound check goin and then a car comes barreling down the street and whips into a parking spot a la Ace Ventura and the sound guy walks in, gets pissy and leaves Dan to do everything himself. Real professional on his part if you ask me. We check and everything is sounding great.
Sadler starts talking about a movie idea I had and the rest of the guys and I were assisting him in working out the plot. It really made me think about my unfinished feature and the unproduced screenplay I have sitting on my desk and how I might wanna get to work upon my return home. The guys and I talked about just hitting the reset button on the idea and making a better version of it which is definitely possible now but I remembered how much I hated doing anything past the writing stage. Directing and Editing is a true first class pain in the ass.
I ventured to a restaurant for dinner, where I got a few phone calls from some friends who were really encouraging, telling me to stay the course, sing some sweet bang Camaro Tunes, and have fun. I ate my prime rib and got back in time to catch The Everyday Visuals, sweet band. I met a few of Sean’s friends, they seemed like great guys, I would expect no less, someone like Sean would keep really good company.
Leslie was on fire as my buds walked into Castaways. It was awesome to see them. I was complimented on the blog and bought drinks. I realized as the set approached I may have had one too many. Great, how professional is this shit? Doing an entire set with booze coursing through my veins. We warmed up and the Conan intro came on and as Thunderclap ended I prayed to God that I’d be able to get through it.
By the time Out on the streets was over my body and burned all the alcohol anyway and it was ass shaking time. We encourage the crowd to come up front and we commence to rock their faces off. Jason Fox (Leslie Bassist) seemed to have everything down which is awesome. The band is really starting to gel and it’s really sounding great. I enjoy the on-stage banter, they’re slipping some of the Paul Stanley stuff in there (Bryn has about an hour and a half of banter by Paul Stanley from Kiss on his Ipod, hilarious stuff) all in all I think it was the best show so far musically. My friends enjoyed the show and the spectacle of it all, but said they’re looking forward to my homecoming.
I met Bryn’s mom and step dad, very nice people. I was a tad plastered by show’s end though and wasn’t much use for the load out. I napped in the van until I was awoken to a game of Movies vs. Candy. I like this game I’ve yet to come up with one though. The best one I heard was Ghostbusters vs. Sour Patch Kids, that’s a tough one.
With no microwave at the Ramada, Rod and I ran to a supermarket and grabbed some hoagies. While in the store I heard Rod on the phone go, “Does this religion need a pope” “ I guess I could be pope” I don’t even wanna know. Sadler was right behind us. We got some stuff then ran up a steep hill back to the hotel. There was mention of Calzone but I was passed out before that went down.
Goin to Buffalo tomorrow. There’s talk of Niagra Falls in the AM. Very excited.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Boy Wonder: Professionbal Musican 17
Day 16 - March 27th 2009
http://myspace.com/boywonderrocks
We left West Virginia headed for Allentown at about noon. Driving around I recalled that this was the place where my Dad was born and spent a portion of his childhood. My parents ad I are pretty close so it was cool to see where my roots are. My great grandfather was a coal miner here. I’ve always found it astounding that my dad the grandson of a coal miner walking around West Virginia in bare feet grew up to be a guy who got 6 academic degrees, and became and accountant and Baptist minister. It’s something to live up to. I often wonder if I’m meeting expectations.
I was told by Sean and Alex that they were going to convert me into a John Lennon lover before the tour is over. If they can get me over the very sound of his voice than they will have accomplished a great feat.
I knew we were playing in Allentown tonight. This would be the closest Bang Camaro would be to Philadelphia for this leg of the tour. I was homesick for the first time since we left for Austin. Just talking to people from home, a few minor problems with the HYPE!, and a pic message of my nephew in an inflatable rubber duck tub, made me miss home. Don’t get me wrong I am having an amazing time and wouldn‘t change it for the world, but I miss the tight circles of family and friends I left back at home. I kinda wanted to isolate myself but I knew that would make it worse. I did throw on The Police: Certifiable and sleep in the van on the way up.
I awoke in a valley of suck, and realized that we must have arrived in Allentown. In my current state though I was happy to see it. So much of it reminds me of home. Bad attitudes, Flyers shirts, people walking aimlessly through the streets. We pulled in front of the famous Crocodile rock, known to the Philly music scene as one of the places to avoid. You’ll definitely shed it if a better club calls you for a gig.
We loaded in and did sound check and went to the green room. I was surprised to see Richie (Vocalist) in the green room, he had driven down from Boston which was fantastic. We only had five singers since he left after Austin so Jason Fox (Leslie Bassist) filled in, he did a good job but havin someone who has a command of the material is always going to be better. I felt like it was going ot be an awesome show.
I did a bit of walking alone, probably not good. The general dim day didn’t do much for my mood. I ran into some of the guys and walked a little with them. I got an email on my phone in reference to another spot in the LA area that is interested in me playing in May, I would have probably left for Philadelphia by then and will have to find a way back out there if I decide to take the gig. It’d be awesome to get a foothold in LA, I’ve always had an affinity for the place. I really hope people come to the show in April.
I grabbed some water, watched Leslie, talked to this girl, and it was showtime. I was pretty confident going in. The crowd was a bit small like the Atlanta crowd but no less enthusiastic. Maybe Allentown doesn’t suck as much as I thought it did. For the first time I felt like I had a real command of the material and was comfortable shaking my ass. I put my fist in the air too early on Bang Camaro and almost fell off the side of the stage but other than that it couldn’t have gone better. I thought the band was on fire tonight looked good (and more importantly) sounded good.
Upon walking off stage I was treated to compliments on my dancing, a kid told me Bang Camaro was his favorite band ever, that was pretty awesome and made me feel like I actually do contribute something to the band which felt pretty cool. The venue double booked the room and a hip hop show was jockeying to get in to start on time. They entered as we were loading out and one guy was furious when he came in. ”I’m bout to punch people in they fuckin mouth!” He says as he sets up equipment, Allentown begins to suck again.
We achieved a perfect pack of the trailer and were able to fit everything in the trailer (including Roxanne, she’s self conscious about her weight) we got back to the hotel and for the first time in a while I went to bed early. I am a horrible rockstar, but we’ll get to that later.
Tomorrow is Ithaca and I’ll get to see some of the Squad Deep Crew. It’ll be interesting to see what the Boy Wonder faithful think of Bang Camaro.
The Concept Video of Who You Been....?!
Check it out and enjoy
http://myspace.com/boywonderrocks
We left West Virginia headed for Allentown at about noon. Driving around I recalled that this was the place where my Dad was born and spent a portion of his childhood. My parents ad I are pretty close so it was cool to see where my roots are. My great grandfather was a coal miner here. I’ve always found it astounding that my dad the grandson of a coal miner walking around West Virginia in bare feet grew up to be a guy who got 6 academic degrees, and became and accountant and Baptist minister. It’s something to live up to. I often wonder if I’m meeting expectations.
I was told by Sean and Alex that they were going to convert me into a John Lennon lover before the tour is over. If they can get me over the very sound of his voice than they will have accomplished a great feat.
I knew we were playing in Allentown tonight. This would be the closest Bang Camaro would be to Philadelphia for this leg of the tour. I was homesick for the first time since we left for Austin. Just talking to people from home, a few minor problems with the HYPE!, and a pic message of my nephew in an inflatable rubber duck tub, made me miss home. Don’t get me wrong I am having an amazing time and wouldn‘t change it for the world, but I miss the tight circles of family and friends I left back at home. I kinda wanted to isolate myself but I knew that would make it worse. I did throw on The Police: Certifiable and sleep in the van on the way up.
I awoke in a valley of suck, and realized that we must have arrived in Allentown. In my current state though I was happy to see it. So much of it reminds me of home. Bad attitudes, Flyers shirts, people walking aimlessly through the streets. We pulled in front of the famous Crocodile rock, known to the Philly music scene as one of the places to avoid. You’ll definitely shed it if a better club calls you for a gig.
We loaded in and did sound check and went to the green room. I was surprised to see Richie (Vocalist) in the green room, he had driven down from Boston which was fantastic. We only had five singers since he left after Austin so Jason Fox (Leslie Bassist) filled in, he did a good job but havin someone who has a command of the material is always going to be better. I felt like it was going ot be an awesome show.
I did a bit of walking alone, probably not good. The general dim day didn’t do much for my mood. I ran into some of the guys and walked a little with them. I got an email on my phone in reference to another spot in the LA area that is interested in me playing in May, I would have probably left for Philadelphia by then and will have to find a way back out there if I decide to take the gig. It’d be awesome to get a foothold in LA, I’ve always had an affinity for the place. I really hope people come to the show in April.
I grabbed some water, watched Leslie, talked to this girl, and it was showtime. I was pretty confident going in. The crowd was a bit small like the Atlanta crowd but no less enthusiastic. Maybe Allentown doesn’t suck as much as I thought it did. For the first time I felt like I had a real command of the material and was comfortable shaking my ass. I put my fist in the air too early on Bang Camaro and almost fell off the side of the stage but other than that it couldn’t have gone better. I thought the band was on fire tonight looked good (and more importantly) sounded good.
Upon walking off stage I was treated to compliments on my dancing, a kid told me Bang Camaro was his favorite band ever, that was pretty awesome and made me feel like I actually do contribute something to the band which felt pretty cool. The venue double booked the room and a hip hop show was jockeying to get in to start on time. They entered as we were loading out and one guy was furious when he came in. ”I’m bout to punch people in they fuckin mouth!” He says as he sets up equipment, Allentown begins to suck again.
We achieved a perfect pack of the trailer and were able to fit everything in the trailer (including Roxanne, she’s self conscious about her weight) we got back to the hotel and for the first time in a while I went to bed early. I am a horrible rockstar, but we’ll get to that later.
Tomorrow is Ithaca and I’ll get to see some of the Squad Deep Crew. It’ll be interesting to see what the Boy Wonder faithful think of Bang Camaro.
The Concept Video of Who You Been....?!
Check it out and enjoy
Friday, March 27, 2009
Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 16
Day 15 - March 26th 2009
http://myspace.com/boywonderrocks
Today was 13 hours in a car from Georgia to West Virginia. In a van with 13 people inside you find ways to cope. For me it was DVD’s, the internet, and my ipod. For others it was sleeping a lot. It was pretty quiet considering the noise these guys make on a daily basis.
I’ve gotten into the habit of listening to entire albums in the van, tonight it was Sara Barellies’ Little Voice. Other than the fact that she’s cute like the kinds of girls I dated in college, there’s just something about the sound of her voice, truth with a bit of pain underneath. I find that a lot of my songwriting and vocal influences have been women; Carole King, Annie Lennox, Yolanda Adams, Joan Jett, The Bangles, Mary J Blige, Teena Marie, among others. Someone (I think it was Prince) said “Women haven’t gotten a chance to rule the world yet, so they still have the blues in their voice.” I’ve always gravitated to them. They have an advantage of being able to display vulnerability without a bunch of questions being raised.
As we were riding and I was checking my email the coolest thing happened, I was asked by Jay Tinsky to play a Boy Wonder show in LA the day after Bang Camaro plays the Viper Room, two days after Kimmel. I had emailed him a little while back and he finally responded to me and asked me when I would be in town. Everything fell into place so I’m gonna be rockin Molly Malones in LA Boy Wonder style at 8PM. It’s gonna be a sweet gig. I have a bunch of friends in LA few west coast fans I’ve never met so that’s gonna be an amazing experience.
We ended the night in West Virginia, the birthplace of my father, but I’ll probably talk about that more tomorrow. I blew up my air mattress and am now going to bed.
We head out tomorrow for Allentown to play the closest show to Philadelphia on this tour.
Some adventures in Mississippi courtesy of Leslie
http://myspace.com/boywonderrocks
Today was 13 hours in a car from Georgia to West Virginia. In a van with 13 people inside you find ways to cope. For me it was DVD’s, the internet, and my ipod. For others it was sleeping a lot. It was pretty quiet considering the noise these guys make on a daily basis.
I’ve gotten into the habit of listening to entire albums in the van, tonight it was Sara Barellies’ Little Voice. Other than the fact that she’s cute like the kinds of girls I dated in college, there’s just something about the sound of her voice, truth with a bit of pain underneath. I find that a lot of my songwriting and vocal influences have been women; Carole King, Annie Lennox, Yolanda Adams, Joan Jett, The Bangles, Mary J Blige, Teena Marie, among others. Someone (I think it was Prince) said “Women haven’t gotten a chance to rule the world yet, so they still have the blues in their voice.” I’ve always gravitated to them. They have an advantage of being able to display vulnerability without a bunch of questions being raised.
As we were riding and I was checking my email the coolest thing happened, I was asked by Jay Tinsky to play a Boy Wonder show in LA the day after Bang Camaro plays the Viper Room, two days after Kimmel. I had emailed him a little while back and he finally responded to me and asked me when I would be in town. Everything fell into place so I’m gonna be rockin Molly Malones in LA Boy Wonder style at 8PM. It’s gonna be a sweet gig. I have a bunch of friends in LA few west coast fans I’ve never met so that’s gonna be an amazing experience.
We ended the night in West Virginia, the birthplace of my father, but I’ll probably talk about that more tomorrow. I blew up my air mattress and am now going to bed.
We head out tomorrow for Allentown to play the closest show to Philadelphia on this tour.
Some adventures in Mississippi courtesy of Leslie
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 15
Day 14 - March 25th 2009
http://myspace.com/boywonderrocks
We left the comfort of Glen’s moms house after a couple of nights of relaxations and camp fires and music to play our 4th show on this tour. The ride over was more festive than usual, sharing funny stories of the previous nights. We stopped over at Guitar Center to get a new head for fix Pete’s busted drum from the SXSW Show and it started to rain. I’ve been having such a great time with these guys I literally forgot that it rains sometimes. We hopped back in the car to go to the gig.
We arrived at The Masquerade at 3:30 and unloaded the van, we immediately proceeded to the dressing room, the biggest one of the tour so far. We all had our laptops up soaking up the free wi-fi, we were there for a while and then someone wheeled a cooler full of adult beverages into the room. Ah the sweet taste of free. Bryn mentioned that there night be some food but I had no idea what would be waiting when a gentlemen peaked into the dressing room and said dinner was ready.
The spread was one fit for a king, grilled chicken, mixed veggies, corn and pasta, the sweet taste of free. The itus came over me again as I tried to take nap but people took the couches (curses) so I caught up on my House and Smallville before going out to see Leslie rock out. I know I keep talking about them but these guys are the real deal. Devil Ain’t Ready is a hit record if I’ve ever heard one.
Then finally it was our turn to go up. Due to our lack of vocalists Jason Fox (Leslie Bassist) joined us on stage and rocked out. This was the first show I felt like I had a handle on things. The songs were soundin pretty good and I’m pretty comfortable as far as my movements on-stage. There were some kids near me and I let them sing into my microphone, I was having the time of my life. The coolest part was when the lighting guy turned out the lights when we sang “Lights Out!” in Rock Rebellion. We had a few fans jump up on stage and sing with us as well. People being that into the music is pretty cool
I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the post show stuff. The fact that people like this music enough to want an autograph or a picture is really an amazing thing, I’d had some extremely limited experience with it back home but not on this level. The coolest thing were the little kids rocking out and singing a long. I’m not jaded yet and I hope I never become that. They had some fans from the Simple Man Cruise they went on and they all decided that they wished to go to The World Famous Claremont Hotel. The Claremont is a strip club and this would be the first time I’d ever been inside of one….sorry mom.
This place was obviously where strippers go to die. I don’t think any of em were under 55. The first one was about 4’11 230 pounds shakin it like there was no tomorrow geeze. Then a sistah steps up to the stage she definitely seemed a bit more put together from the neck down than the previous one (neck up’s another story) but to be honest I wasn’t sure if she was a dude or not. She danced to hey ya and would stomp her feet every time she felt like the crowd wasn’t into it, how could you be when you look like all to be damned.
So far so good right? It’s relatively harmless, tits poppin out but nothing major, until this country song plays and this bovine of a woman approaches the stage, it was pretty gruesome as she exposes boobs that clearly lost it’s battle with gravity. She takes her booty shorts off and just when I thought I had sufficiently chewed back the puke, this chick gets totally, completely, ass naked, with all her things jiggling in all the wrong places. I needed to go to the bathroom.
I came out and what do I see, some 6’6 chick hittin the stage to shake her shit. Her boobs are sitting up perfectly and she’s got the biggest legs I’ve ever seen. Upon her turning around it was pretty obvious…yeah…Dude. This tranny (with a choker to hide her Adams Apple to boot) is getting more dollars than everyone I’d seen so far. She got naked too (why?!) looks like she had a good surgeon. Someone gave me a dollar to hand to it, I am clearly much to square for this shit
Then they all rotated again (most notably the bovine shaking it to Prince’s I Wanna Be Your Lover, I would have welcomed him coming in with Watchtowers at that point) before (what had to be) the main event of the evening. Another sistah pops on stage in a brown cotton dress, I thought she was a patron, I couldn’t have been more wrong. She gets down to only the glow it the dark writabnd she haqd around her leg to get money (rather resourceful these old strippers are) and she proceeds to do what might be the damndest thing I’ve ever seen. This chick took a beer can and crushed it with her ass cheeks. She put it between her ass cheeks, clapped her as once, and crushed it. Then she turned around and did it again. After a few shots we peaced out and went back to the hotel.
We got Allentown on Friday, the closest show to Philly on this tour. Pretty stoked.
http://myspace.com/boywonderrocks
We left the comfort of Glen’s moms house after a couple of nights of relaxations and camp fires and music to play our 4th show on this tour. The ride over was more festive than usual, sharing funny stories of the previous nights. We stopped over at Guitar Center to get a new head for fix Pete’s busted drum from the SXSW Show and it started to rain. I’ve been having such a great time with these guys I literally forgot that it rains sometimes. We hopped back in the car to go to the gig.
We arrived at The Masquerade at 3:30 and unloaded the van, we immediately proceeded to the dressing room, the biggest one of the tour so far. We all had our laptops up soaking up the free wi-fi, we were there for a while and then someone wheeled a cooler full of adult beverages into the room. Ah the sweet taste of free. Bryn mentioned that there night be some food but I had no idea what would be waiting when a gentlemen peaked into the dressing room and said dinner was ready.
The spread was one fit for a king, grilled chicken, mixed veggies, corn and pasta, the sweet taste of free. The itus came over me again as I tried to take nap but people took the couches (curses) so I caught up on my House and Smallville before going out to see Leslie rock out. I know I keep talking about them but these guys are the real deal. Devil Ain’t Ready is a hit record if I’ve ever heard one.
Then finally it was our turn to go up. Due to our lack of vocalists Jason Fox (Leslie Bassist) joined us on stage and rocked out. This was the first show I felt like I had a handle on things. The songs were soundin pretty good and I’m pretty comfortable as far as my movements on-stage. There were some kids near me and I let them sing into my microphone, I was having the time of my life. The coolest part was when the lighting guy turned out the lights when we sang “Lights Out!” in Rock Rebellion. We had a few fans jump up on stage and sing with us as well. People being that into the music is pretty cool
I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the post show stuff. The fact that people like this music enough to want an autograph or a picture is really an amazing thing, I’d had some extremely limited experience with it back home but not on this level. The coolest thing were the little kids rocking out and singing a long. I’m not jaded yet and I hope I never become that. They had some fans from the Simple Man Cruise they went on and they all decided that they wished to go to The World Famous Claremont Hotel. The Claremont is a strip club and this would be the first time I’d ever been inside of one….sorry mom.
This place was obviously where strippers go to die. I don’t think any of em were under 55. The first one was about 4’11 230 pounds shakin it like there was no tomorrow geeze. Then a sistah steps up to the stage she definitely seemed a bit more put together from the neck down than the previous one (neck up’s another story) but to be honest I wasn’t sure if she was a dude or not. She danced to hey ya and would stomp her feet every time she felt like the crowd wasn’t into it, how could you be when you look like all to be damned.
So far so good right? It’s relatively harmless, tits poppin out but nothing major, until this country song plays and this bovine of a woman approaches the stage, it was pretty gruesome as she exposes boobs that clearly lost it’s battle with gravity. She takes her booty shorts off and just when I thought I had sufficiently chewed back the puke, this chick gets totally, completely, ass naked, with all her things jiggling in all the wrong places. I needed to go to the bathroom.
I came out and what do I see, some 6’6 chick hittin the stage to shake her shit. Her boobs are sitting up perfectly and she’s got the biggest legs I’ve ever seen. Upon her turning around it was pretty obvious…yeah…Dude. This tranny (with a choker to hide her Adams Apple to boot) is getting more dollars than everyone I’d seen so far. She got naked too (why?!) looks like she had a good surgeon. Someone gave me a dollar to hand to it, I am clearly much to square for this shit
Then they all rotated again (most notably the bovine shaking it to Prince’s I Wanna Be Your Lover, I would have welcomed him coming in with Watchtowers at that point) before (what had to be) the main event of the evening. Another sistah pops on stage in a brown cotton dress, I thought she was a patron, I couldn’t have been more wrong. She gets down to only the glow it the dark writabnd she haqd around her leg to get money (rather resourceful these old strippers are) and she proceeds to do what might be the damndest thing I’ve ever seen. This chick took a beer can and crushed it with her ass cheeks. She put it between her ass cheeks, clapped her as once, and crushed it. Then she turned around and did it again. After a few shots we peaced out and went back to the hotel.
We got Allentown on Friday, the closest show to Philly on this tour. Pretty stoked.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 14
Day 13 - March 24th 2009
http://myspace.com/boywonderrocks
Woke up in Glen’s mom’s house in Waco Georgia to the sweet smell of breakfastness. Biscuts, Home Fries, Sausage and gravy…mmm I was told not to get used to this. While the other guys were watching the Stax Documentary I got some time to sit on a deck and I had another idea for a song. The words aren’t coming as quickly as they usually would mainly because I need to address a certain subject that I promised I wouldn’t, I may have to go back on my word a bit to be able to move on. We basically putted around all day until dinner time when I went with Glen to help shop for food. We found some Yuengling which I was pretty excited about, a little taste of home never hurt anyone.
Upon my return I was handed a BB Gun and told to shoot the can. It would be the first time I’d fire a weapon of any kind, my mom wasn’t so into guns. I hit nothing, After a while dinner was ready, it was a pasta dish with veggies prepared by Jason Fox (Leslie’s Bassist) apparently he was some sort of chef /cook pre rock and roll and it shows. It was pretty good. I had the itus after the meal (and Yuenglings) I tried to explain to them what the itus was, but they looked like they didn’t have a clue what I was talking about.
Then we started jamming, there was a bass amp so Jason, Sadler, Rodrigo, Alex, John (on spoons) Pete, Doz, and I were getting it in we played for a while (jamming on Beatles tunes…I’ll have to reveal my secret sooner or later) and then we played for a little while longer by the fire. These guys are pretty badass.
We play at the Masquerade in Atlanta tomorrow and I’m pretty excited about that.
My buddies the Absolute Zeros got signed to (Hawk Will) Never Die Records a few days ago so congratulations to them. Also happy birthday to my buds Julie and Angie.
Some Old School BW for ya
(I Think We Should) Breakup From Wild About Philly
http://myspace.com/boywonderrocks
Woke up in Glen’s mom’s house in Waco Georgia to the sweet smell of breakfastness. Biscuts, Home Fries, Sausage and gravy…mmm I was told not to get used to this. While the other guys were watching the Stax Documentary I got some time to sit on a deck and I had another idea for a song. The words aren’t coming as quickly as they usually would mainly because I need to address a certain subject that I promised I wouldn’t, I may have to go back on my word a bit to be able to move on. We basically putted around all day until dinner time when I went with Glen to help shop for food. We found some Yuengling which I was pretty excited about, a little taste of home never hurt anyone.
Upon my return I was handed a BB Gun and told to shoot the can. It would be the first time I’d fire a weapon of any kind, my mom wasn’t so into guns. I hit nothing, After a while dinner was ready, it was a pasta dish with veggies prepared by Jason Fox (Leslie’s Bassist) apparently he was some sort of chef /cook pre rock and roll and it shows. It was pretty good. I had the itus after the meal (and Yuenglings) I tried to explain to them what the itus was, but they looked like they didn’t have a clue what I was talking about.
Then we started jamming, there was a bass amp so Jason, Sadler, Rodrigo, Alex, John (on spoons) Pete, Doz, and I were getting it in we played for a while (jamming on Beatles tunes…I’ll have to reveal my secret sooner or later) and then we played for a little while longer by the fire. These guys are pretty badass.
We play at the Masquerade in Atlanta tomorrow and I’m pretty excited about that.
My buddies the Absolute Zeros got signed to (Hawk Will) Never Die Records a few days ago so congratulations to them. Also happy birthday to my buds Julie and Angie.
Some Old School BW for ya
(I Think We Should) Breakup From Wild About Philly
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 13
Day 12 - March 23rd 2009
http://myspace.com/boywonderrocks
We left Shreveport heading for Waco Georgia at about 9 Am, spent pretty much the whole day in the car.
We arrived in Mississippi and I have to admit my butt clinched up just a tad as I could just smell the racism in the air, the jokes came fast and furiously. My top 2 were Glen wanting to hide me in the ceiling like Anne Frank and Sadler’s
Sadler: Hey Andre this scenery is really beautiful you wanna get out and take some pictures
Me: Nah Doc…too many trees around
Before folks get up in arms these are just jokes if I thought these guys were even remotely racist in any way I wouldn’t have taken this gig or killed them where they stood. They did a great job of not making me feel as tense as I might have otherwise. I do worry about being in the south sometimes, although I haven’t encountered any kind of racial B.S. since I’ve been here. Besides I’m rollin like 13 deep.
We stopped at this Gas Station and as I got up from my ten pushups (we do ten pushups at every rest stop so we can be jacked for Kimmel) a woman said, “Andre are you a singer” “Yes Mam” “ Sing something” so I sang Amazing Grace, it’s my default song. It was then I noticed I was losing my voice a bit. I thought it might be from all the singing I did in Austin but upon further smelling around I noticed I had the kind of cough I get when there’s a lot of pollen in the air…damn allergies. She called Sadler in so he and I did Black Water together, we should work on a repertoire.
We stopped at a Ruby Tuesdays and got a real meal…sweet Asian Salmon and Shrimp and hit the road again, was kinda relieved when we pulled into Alabama. I watched Superman/Doomsday a quality DC Animated movie. We kept on truckin until we got to Glen’s moms house in Waco, Georgia where there was beer and fresh homemade pizza waiting for us. This tour is sweet!
We watched some Old Grey Whistle Test Clips before I went to bed. I mentioned I don’t particularly care for John Lennon. Alex and I are supposed to discuss his merits in the morning
I couldn’t help but think about home. This would be the first Philly Rising I’ve missed since taking over in 2008. People think I’m insane for missing Philly at all (I am a lot less home sick than I was a week ago) but Philly Rising was something I cared about pretty deeply. It gives artists an opportunity to shine that might not otherwise have it. I heard Josh Park (Old school Philly Rising guy) took over and did a great job. I did get some emails from people saying they missed me tonight which felt pretty good. That job can be thankless so it’s nice for people to tell you they appreciate what you do.
I had an epiphany while I was waiting in the hotel room. I think I should attempt to write a sweet Bang Camaro song and see what the guys think. I’m not sure if I’m ready to do another Boy Wonder record but I would like to start writing songs again. I’ll keep you posted on how that goes.
An off day in Georgia tomorrow, wonder what we’ll get into.
http://myspace.com/boywonderrocks
We left Shreveport heading for Waco Georgia at about 9 Am, spent pretty much the whole day in the car.
We arrived in Mississippi and I have to admit my butt clinched up just a tad as I could just smell the racism in the air, the jokes came fast and furiously. My top 2 were Glen wanting to hide me in the ceiling like Anne Frank and Sadler’s
Sadler: Hey Andre this scenery is really beautiful you wanna get out and take some pictures
Me: Nah Doc…too many trees around
Before folks get up in arms these are just jokes if I thought these guys were even remotely racist in any way I wouldn’t have taken this gig or killed them where they stood. They did a great job of not making me feel as tense as I might have otherwise. I do worry about being in the south sometimes, although I haven’t encountered any kind of racial B.S. since I’ve been here. Besides I’m rollin like 13 deep.
We stopped at this Gas Station and as I got up from my ten pushups (we do ten pushups at every rest stop so we can be jacked for Kimmel) a woman said, “Andre are you a singer” “Yes Mam” “ Sing something” so I sang Amazing Grace, it’s my default song. It was then I noticed I was losing my voice a bit. I thought it might be from all the singing I did in Austin but upon further smelling around I noticed I had the kind of cough I get when there’s a lot of pollen in the air…damn allergies. She called Sadler in so he and I did Black Water together, we should work on a repertoire.
We stopped at a Ruby Tuesdays and got a real meal…sweet Asian Salmon and Shrimp and hit the road again, was kinda relieved when we pulled into Alabama. I watched Superman/Doomsday a quality DC Animated movie. We kept on truckin until we got to Glen’s moms house in Waco, Georgia where there was beer and fresh homemade pizza waiting for us. This tour is sweet!
We watched some Old Grey Whistle Test Clips before I went to bed. I mentioned I don’t particularly care for John Lennon. Alex and I are supposed to discuss his merits in the morning
I couldn’t help but think about home. This would be the first Philly Rising I’ve missed since taking over in 2008. People think I’m insane for missing Philly at all (I am a lot less home sick than I was a week ago) but Philly Rising was something I cared about pretty deeply. It gives artists an opportunity to shine that might not otherwise have it. I heard Josh Park (Old school Philly Rising guy) took over and did a great job. I did get some emails from people saying they missed me tonight which felt pretty good. That job can be thankless so it’s nice for people to tell you they appreciate what you do.
I had an epiphany while I was waiting in the hotel room. I think I should attempt to write a sweet Bang Camaro song and see what the guys think. I’m not sure if I’m ready to do another Boy Wonder record but I would like to start writing songs again. I’ll keep you posted on how that goes.
An off day in Georgia tomorrow, wonder what we’ll get into.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 12
Day 11 - March 22nd 2009
Some video Leslie took of our trip to SXSW
Back on the road again.
We left Austin headed for Atlanta around 2 PM, the woman who was hosting us at the fantastic house we stayed seemed very happy to see us leave, seeing as though I broke their house days earlier.
There would be some different things this go round, most notably the fact that Bang Camaro and Leslie would be riding in the same van for the duration of this part of the tour. So when we pulled off from Austin there were 13 people in the van. Let me say that again there were 13 grown ass men in one van. That’s a lot of people. To say it was crammed was an understatement. That’s why it’s so important that you like the people you make music with because being on top of people you don’t particularly care for would suck big time. The jokes were fast and furious, I try to curb my laughter as much as possible, I’m a person that enjoys a good chuckle, any excuse and I’m ready to let one go and once I get goin it’s hard for me to stop.
It took forever to get from Austin to Dallas. We stopped at this Taco Bell/Rest stop where the toilet was clogged up and full of more crap then a record executive. I swear the hairs on my nose have been permanently singed off. We got down on some Taco Bell and headed back to hit the road. The bathroom would have been horrific enough but the best was yet to come.
We were playing a game called movies vs. candy (not the exact name) in the van as I was looking out the window. I was looking at an attractive brunette with her cowboy boots resting on the windshield and I almost missed it.
Pete: Did you see that girl?
Me: The one with the cowboy boots?
Pete: No, look
It was a pretty hefty young woman with her pants around her ankles diddling around down there. We end up ahead of her speculating about what she could possibly be doing. She catches up to us again and
Entire Car: OOOH!
She appears to be grimacing
Sean: She’s probably changing her tampon
That’s pretty disgusting I thought as she got behind us again. We’re driving a bit taken a back at what we’ve just seen. Everything sort of calms down and then She catches up to us
“Look, is that a bottle?!”
Entire Car: OOOH!
She was clearly taking a piss inside of a bottle while driving. Now I’m beyond horrified. She pulls behind us one more time and we all try to catch our breath. We start talkin about music and other general stuff and then she catches up to us one more time.
“Is that a napkin?!”
Entire Car: OOOH!
This heifer wiped herself with a napkin and threw it out of the car. Sick. lol
After the madness was over Sadler (Leslie Guitarist/Singer) implored Jonathan (Leslie Drummer) to play Candy Licker by Marvin Sease. This was the nastiest shit (sorry mom) I think I’d ever heard. It was followed by “I Ate You For my Breakfast” which was even worse. All I could think of was why I hadn’t found this stuff earlier…lol. I will no longer buy the “In my day singers weren’t all nasty like they are now” stuff that my parents are always tryin to sell me.
We decided to stop at a hotel in Marshall and grab some food at an IHOP nearby. The manager seemed to be yelling at the kitchen staff quite a bit. That’s what I love about IHOPs you can see that stuff as it happens. I always wanted someone to do a TV Drama like ER that takes place in an IHOP. No particular reason other than I thought it would be amazing.
After IHOP I went to the room and grabbed some shut eye
We keep on forward to Atlanta in the AM.
A little Marvin Sease
Candy Licker
I Ate You For My Breakfast
Some video Leslie took of our trip to SXSW
Back on the road again.
We left Austin headed for Atlanta around 2 PM, the woman who was hosting us at the fantastic house we stayed seemed very happy to see us leave, seeing as though I broke their house days earlier.
There would be some different things this go round, most notably the fact that Bang Camaro and Leslie would be riding in the same van for the duration of this part of the tour. So when we pulled off from Austin there were 13 people in the van. Let me say that again there were 13 grown ass men in one van. That’s a lot of people. To say it was crammed was an understatement. That’s why it’s so important that you like the people you make music with because being on top of people you don’t particularly care for would suck big time. The jokes were fast and furious, I try to curb my laughter as much as possible, I’m a person that enjoys a good chuckle, any excuse and I’m ready to let one go and once I get goin it’s hard for me to stop.
It took forever to get from Austin to Dallas. We stopped at this Taco Bell/Rest stop where the toilet was clogged up and full of more crap then a record executive. I swear the hairs on my nose have been permanently singed off. We got down on some Taco Bell and headed back to hit the road. The bathroom would have been horrific enough but the best was yet to come.
We were playing a game called movies vs. candy (not the exact name) in the van as I was looking out the window. I was looking at an attractive brunette with her cowboy boots resting on the windshield and I almost missed it.
Pete: Did you see that girl?
Me: The one with the cowboy boots?
Pete: No, look
It was a pretty hefty young woman with her pants around her ankles diddling around down there. We end up ahead of her speculating about what she could possibly be doing. She catches up to us again and
Entire Car: OOOH!
She appears to be grimacing
Sean: She’s probably changing her tampon
That’s pretty disgusting I thought as she got behind us again. We’re driving a bit taken a back at what we’ve just seen. Everything sort of calms down and then She catches up to us
“Look, is that a bottle?!”
Entire Car: OOOH!
She was clearly taking a piss inside of a bottle while driving. Now I’m beyond horrified. She pulls behind us one more time and we all try to catch our breath. We start talkin about music and other general stuff and then she catches up to us one more time.
“Is that a napkin?!”
Entire Car: OOOH!
This heifer wiped herself with a napkin and threw it out of the car. Sick. lol
After the madness was over Sadler (Leslie Guitarist/Singer) implored Jonathan (Leslie Drummer) to play Candy Licker by Marvin Sease. This was the nastiest shit (sorry mom) I think I’d ever heard. It was followed by “I Ate You For my Breakfast” which was even worse. All I could think of was why I hadn’t found this stuff earlier…lol. I will no longer buy the “In my day singers weren’t all nasty like they are now” stuff that my parents are always tryin to sell me.
We decided to stop at a hotel in Marshall and grab some food at an IHOP nearby. The manager seemed to be yelling at the kitchen staff quite a bit. That’s what I love about IHOPs you can see that stuff as it happens. I always wanted someone to do a TV Drama like ER that takes place in an IHOP. No particular reason other than I thought it would be amazing.
After IHOP I went to the room and grabbed some shut eye
We keep on forward to Atlanta in the AM.
A little Marvin Sease
Candy Licker
I Ate You For My Breakfast
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Boy Wonder: Professional Musican 11
Day 10 - March 21st 2009
It’s funny how the universe balances itself out. How one day you could be having the worst day imaginable and then next you are having an experience you will never forget.
Yesterdays was the first time I had to do back to back shows with Bang Camaro, it would be the first real test to see if my voice could take the pounding that a Bang Camaro show inflicts upon you. I woke up with some pain in my leg having to recount the falling down a well story to some of the folks who hadn’t heard it. My band mates seemed more interested in my well being than laughing at me about what happened. We had another early load in so we departed for The Beauty Bar around 9 or so.
We pulled into the Beauty Bar at 10AM and got our gear to the outside stage. The party was sponsored by Sparks and Miller (more on that later) and it was actually catered by a local BBQ spot and boy did we take advantage of that. Beef, Ham, Sausage, salads and Iced Tea. I was in Heaven, and it was all free. I watched the band (with Rodrigo) do an interview for the website, another chance to watch and learn. They all seemed comfortable doing it.
I sat with Theresa the merch girl for a while and then traveled up 6th street to check out Leslie’s show. I will go on record again and say I dig that band. Those guys are the real deal. My time watching them was cut short as I ended up having to talk to one of the guys that’s running the HYPE! in my absence. Apparently things aren’t going as smoothly as one would hope when it comes to our dealings with certain people. I basically walked back to the beauty bar all riled up.
Shifting my focus back to living in the present moment, I walk into the beauty bar and hit the bar for the first time. Cute black girl with curly hair standing behind the bar offers me a Sparks, it’s free she says. I say sure. Bryn has been throwin these back since I got to Boston. Sparks is an alcoholic energy drink, and if you want my opinion it is not the right combination of stuff for someone to be messed up on. It hit me hard and it hit me fast. I wasn’t as much drunk as I just plain didn’t feel right. Like I had smoked like 12 crack rocks. I found Bryn and told him that I felt wrong and needed to walk it off. Bryn chuckled as I left to walk down 6th street.
I walked all the way back to where Leslie was playing (think of it as walking from Broad and South to Temple) to try to get myself together. I ran into Alex’s friend Matae (I’m probably spelling that wrong) on the way. She’d slept at the house with us last night, nicest girl (this operation seems to be a magnet for great people) we had briefly discussed my falling into the well at the house this morning and now here I am, my black ass lookin all cracked out. She strung some words together that created sentences but all I could think about is how I felt like my skin was going to explode. I ran into Jason Fox (bassist) from Leslie and we walked back to the Beauty Bar. Fortunately for me I was in good enough shape to perform.
The venue was packed again as the band launches into Thunderclap. We hit the stage for out on the streets and I’m feelin pretty good, cause I have a monitor and I can hear myself sing. We’re getting through the set pretty smoothly and then I hear words that you never wanna hear together in a sentence during a show. “Does anybody have a bass drum?!” Pete had snapped the head on his stopping the show in its tracks. Unfortunately you can’t throw down without Pete McCarthy, it’s just not possible. Bryn and Alex were trading licks as we waited to see what was going to happen. Someone saved the day, brought in a bass drum and we got to finish. We didn’t get to do I Know You Like My Band, but the set was pretty much in tact. I’m shaking my butt back and forth noticing that I don’t exactly move on stage like the rest of my fellow vocalists. It’s a bit weird but it feels good. I spent most of the show tryin not to bump into Morgan. The crowd loved it just like yesterday. Doz and I even gave quotes to a college newspaper.
We loaded the gear into the van, said goodbye to Theresa and it was finally time to hit the streets in Austin to see if I could promote myself and possibly make some money. Alex made sure that I knew to keep in touch with Glen at all times while I was out (he promised my mom to get me back in one piece) I busted out with Ain’t No Sunshine first, that tune always makes me comfortable, then I start tearing into the Boy Wonder stuff and something strange starts to happen. People are stopping, they are throwing money in my case and telling me how cool they think my stuff is some are even buying records. When a corner would dry up I’d move on and do the same thing on another corner. I played for about 4 hours and around 9 o clock I ran into the Bang Camaro crew who had the idea of dispersing and coming back while I was playing and surrounded me to draw a crowd, it worked too. They told me how much they liked my stuff which meant even more. They were goin to check out the Everyday Visuals at a Boston Showcase across from The Beauty Bar so I rolled over there and grabbed the keys to put my CD’s and guitar in the car. I was a tad nervous when I was walking to where we parked cause 6th street started to look an awful lot like North Philly. I found the car and quickly returned back to the safety of SXSW.
Sean and I decided to check out Hot Legs, Justin Hawking (singer from The Darkness)’s new band. They were pretty cool. We got a call from Bryn saying they were headed toward the car. Sean had the keys so we waited for a while inside before they got there. The band was hilarious and full of life when they entered the van and we drove back to the crib. Rodrigo was missing from the fold. No one knows where he ended up I hope he’s ok.
It was about 2 am but it wasn’t the end of the night. “Andre play something soulful.” I played some tunes. Sadler woke up and then he started playing some Doobie Brothers. The we (Bryn, Sadler, Matae, Sean, Doz and I) kinda jammed till 5 in the morning. Passing the guitars off and playing tunes. Bryn doin the Bryn shuffle (moves pretty good for a white guy) twas a truly unforgettable experience especially Sean‘s sweet Led Zeppelin renditions. We all turned in after a rousing version of the Beatles Come Together.
Tomorrow morning will be our last in Austin as we head to Atlanta. I had an amazing time here and can’t wait to return in April.
It’s funny how the universe balances itself out. How one day you could be having the worst day imaginable and then next you are having an experience you will never forget.
Yesterdays was the first time I had to do back to back shows with Bang Camaro, it would be the first real test to see if my voice could take the pounding that a Bang Camaro show inflicts upon you. I woke up with some pain in my leg having to recount the falling down a well story to some of the folks who hadn’t heard it. My band mates seemed more interested in my well being than laughing at me about what happened. We had another early load in so we departed for The Beauty Bar around 9 or so.
We pulled into the Beauty Bar at 10AM and got our gear to the outside stage. The party was sponsored by Sparks and Miller (more on that later) and it was actually catered by a local BBQ spot and boy did we take advantage of that. Beef, Ham, Sausage, salads and Iced Tea. I was in Heaven, and it was all free. I watched the band (with Rodrigo) do an interview for the website, another chance to watch and learn. They all seemed comfortable doing it.
I sat with Theresa the merch girl for a while and then traveled up 6th street to check out Leslie’s show. I will go on record again and say I dig that band. Those guys are the real deal. My time watching them was cut short as I ended up having to talk to one of the guys that’s running the HYPE! in my absence. Apparently things aren’t going as smoothly as one would hope when it comes to our dealings with certain people. I basically walked back to the beauty bar all riled up.
Shifting my focus back to living in the present moment, I walk into the beauty bar and hit the bar for the first time. Cute black girl with curly hair standing behind the bar offers me a Sparks, it’s free she says. I say sure. Bryn has been throwin these back since I got to Boston. Sparks is an alcoholic energy drink, and if you want my opinion it is not the right combination of stuff for someone to be messed up on. It hit me hard and it hit me fast. I wasn’t as much drunk as I just plain didn’t feel right. Like I had smoked like 12 crack rocks. I found Bryn and told him that I felt wrong and needed to walk it off. Bryn chuckled as I left to walk down 6th street.
I walked all the way back to where Leslie was playing (think of it as walking from Broad and South to Temple) to try to get myself together. I ran into Alex’s friend Matae (I’m probably spelling that wrong) on the way. She’d slept at the house with us last night, nicest girl (this operation seems to be a magnet for great people) we had briefly discussed my falling into the well at the house this morning and now here I am, my black ass lookin all cracked out. She strung some words together that created sentences but all I could think about is how I felt like my skin was going to explode. I ran into Jason Fox (bassist) from Leslie and we walked back to the Beauty Bar. Fortunately for me I was in good enough shape to perform.
The venue was packed again as the band launches into Thunderclap. We hit the stage for out on the streets and I’m feelin pretty good, cause I have a monitor and I can hear myself sing. We’re getting through the set pretty smoothly and then I hear words that you never wanna hear together in a sentence during a show. “Does anybody have a bass drum?!” Pete had snapped the head on his stopping the show in its tracks. Unfortunately you can’t throw down without Pete McCarthy, it’s just not possible. Bryn and Alex were trading licks as we waited to see what was going to happen. Someone saved the day, brought in a bass drum and we got to finish. We didn’t get to do I Know You Like My Band, but the set was pretty much in tact. I’m shaking my butt back and forth noticing that I don’t exactly move on stage like the rest of my fellow vocalists. It’s a bit weird but it feels good. I spent most of the show tryin not to bump into Morgan. The crowd loved it just like yesterday. Doz and I even gave quotes to a college newspaper.
We loaded the gear into the van, said goodbye to Theresa and it was finally time to hit the streets in Austin to see if I could promote myself and possibly make some money. Alex made sure that I knew to keep in touch with Glen at all times while I was out (he promised my mom to get me back in one piece) I busted out with Ain’t No Sunshine first, that tune always makes me comfortable, then I start tearing into the Boy Wonder stuff and something strange starts to happen. People are stopping, they are throwing money in my case and telling me how cool they think my stuff is some are even buying records. When a corner would dry up I’d move on and do the same thing on another corner. I played for about 4 hours and around 9 o clock I ran into the Bang Camaro crew who had the idea of dispersing and coming back while I was playing and surrounded me to draw a crowd, it worked too. They told me how much they liked my stuff which meant even more. They were goin to check out the Everyday Visuals at a Boston Showcase across from The Beauty Bar so I rolled over there and grabbed the keys to put my CD’s and guitar in the car. I was a tad nervous when I was walking to where we parked cause 6th street started to look an awful lot like North Philly. I found the car and quickly returned back to the safety of SXSW.
Sean and I decided to check out Hot Legs, Justin Hawking (singer from The Darkness)’s new band. They were pretty cool. We got a call from Bryn saying they were headed toward the car. Sean had the keys so we waited for a while inside before they got there. The band was hilarious and full of life when they entered the van and we drove back to the crib. Rodrigo was missing from the fold. No one knows where he ended up I hope he’s ok.
It was about 2 am but it wasn’t the end of the night. “Andre play something soulful.” I played some tunes. Sadler woke up and then he started playing some Doobie Brothers. The we (Bryn, Sadler, Matae, Sean, Doz and I) kinda jammed till 5 in the morning. Passing the guitars off and playing tunes. Bryn doin the Bryn shuffle (moves pretty good for a white guy) twas a truly unforgettable experience especially Sean‘s sweet Led Zeppelin renditions. We all turned in after a rousing version of the Beatles Come Together.
Tomorrow morning will be our last in Austin as we head to Atlanta. I had an amazing time here and can’t wait to return in April.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 10
Day 9 - March 20th 2009
Finally, show day. We hadn’t played since New York and I Was anxious to get the kinks worked out as far as I was concerned. The last show was my first show, felt great but didn’t 100% nail it like I wanted to which is always the case when you’re performing new songs for the first time. I want to get to a point of proficiency sooner rather than later.
Load in time was pretty early and since we were back lining (providing guitar and bass amps as well as drums) the whole show. We left here in time enough to make it to Lovejoys which was where we were playing. Of course when we get there the first band has all their equipment up and we have to find a way to store all of our crap so that it’s out the way. The show got underway at 12 and the crowd was pretty sparse but the free beer would bring them in slowly but surely. I basically did a thing where I would sit and listen to a band for about 10-15 minutes and if I wasn’t feeling it I’d go wander around the festival. I did quite a bit of that until it was Leslie’s turn to play.
Leslie is a three piece Southern Rock band from South Carolina that Bang Camaro has been touring with since about September. We picked them up in Nashville a few days ago and they’ve been rollin with us ever since. I’d heard their EP and it was awesome and had been looking forward to seeing them live. They were amazing the epitome of an old school rock and roll band.
They’ve got a look, a sound, and that it factor many people chase. It was the first tiem all day I felt like I was looking at something legitimate. They blazed it but like all other good things it had to come to an end. It was Bang Camaro’s turn up to bat.
I was told by the new sound guy that we could forget hearing ourselves today which concerned me. I’m a tad louder than the rest of the guys so if I’m really screwing the pooch people can hear me. I forgot an earplug and had to borrow one from Rodrigo. That helped a great deal in terms of hearing everything. The band is still loud as all hell though so there were definitely points where I was more focused on getting the notes that rocking out.
I had been plagued recently by exactly how I’m supposed to behave physically on-stage. My musical background is a lot different from the rest of the singers so even when I sang in rockfish type bands my mannerisms on stage would be slightly different. I basically decided to do what came naturally and let the guys tell me if I need to do anything different. I did what I would normally do which is ride the beat, when it comes to rhythm Pete gives you plenty. I know you like my band went better than last week, I was told last night that it should be more of a quiet blend as opposed to the belting I was doing in NYC. She’s Gone Critical also sounded better. The crowd was pretty live and they really ate it up it was an amazing experience. Morgan was next to me during the show it felt a little more like we were in it together than it did being next to someone else last week.
We waited a while for the truck ( I was subjected to the non-awesomeness of the Texas Rockfest) and all went our separate ways. Bryn, Theresa (Merch Girl), Myself, Glen, Sadler, and Doz came back to the house while others stayed at the festival. I decided to come outside to the gazebo area and play some guitar I stumble and fall straight through this wooden board into this hole in the ground. I was able to pull myself out and didn’t think a whole lot of it.
I was playin some tunes and low and behold the hole I fell in started filling up with water and overflowing. Sadler peeps that there’s something funny going on with the pipe it was separated from the rest. Glen (who was making pizza at the time) comes out and says “We’re getting no water pressure” FUCK (sorry Mom) I have succeeded in breaking the house. Bryn was in the midst of calling a plumber when Glen got the owner of the house on the phone, she said that she was gonna come over and take a look. They arrive to shut the valve off, after their done their car gets stuck and has to be pushed out…I am the ruiner of everything. Me, Boy Wonder, master of Pimp Rock, leader, Philadelphia Big Shot, goes on his first tour and falls down a well. I half expected them all to hold hads and write my stupid ass a song.
All of a sudden they make it up to the leak, figure out what’s going on just start breaking out piping and various tools and what not. Turns out when I fell through my foot went completely through the pipe. But they look at it and know what to do, they are going to MacGeyver this pipe. I alternated between standing out there over the pipe and coming in the house trying to stay off my leg. After some cutting and what not they were able to get the pipe fixed sufficiently enough for us to be able to use the water, There was talk of sledge hammering some stuff after we leave the property. Turns out their son was a Bang Camaro fan from playing rock band so Bryn and Sadler talked to him and Bryn gave him some stickers.
I spent most of the evening apologizing profusely. They assured me that this could have happened to anyone. I told them that yes falling through the board and into the well could have happened to anyone. The epicness that followed (overflowing water, cars getting stuck, me completely mangling myself etc.) would only happen to me. I felt like crap. They could have completely thrown me under the bus but they didn’t. These guys are pretty cool.
We spent the rest of the evening talking about music, Sadler shared his George W. Bush story and we ended up eating Glen’s pizza which was pretty good. I would go to bed shortly afterward but not after waking up around five to get water and having to recount the tale to Alex.
My leg and hip are pretty sore (cause I fell down the well) but I should be fine for tomorrow’s show provided I take it easy. It’ll be a true test, my first back to back shows with the band.
Big day tomorrow.
Finally, show day. We hadn’t played since New York and I Was anxious to get the kinks worked out as far as I was concerned. The last show was my first show, felt great but didn’t 100% nail it like I wanted to which is always the case when you’re performing new songs for the first time. I want to get to a point of proficiency sooner rather than later.
Load in time was pretty early and since we were back lining (providing guitar and bass amps as well as drums) the whole show. We left here in time enough to make it to Lovejoys which was where we were playing. Of course when we get there the first band has all their equipment up and we have to find a way to store all of our crap so that it’s out the way. The show got underway at 12 and the crowd was pretty sparse but the free beer would bring them in slowly but surely. I basically did a thing where I would sit and listen to a band for about 10-15 minutes and if I wasn’t feeling it I’d go wander around the festival. I did quite a bit of that until it was Leslie’s turn to play.
Leslie is a three piece Southern Rock band from South Carolina that Bang Camaro has been touring with since about September. We picked them up in Nashville a few days ago and they’ve been rollin with us ever since. I’d heard their EP and it was awesome and had been looking forward to seeing them live. They were amazing the epitome of an old school rock and roll band.
They’ve got a look, a sound, and that it factor many people chase. It was the first tiem all day I felt like I was looking at something legitimate. They blazed it but like all other good things it had to come to an end. It was Bang Camaro’s turn up to bat.
I was told by the new sound guy that we could forget hearing ourselves today which concerned me. I’m a tad louder than the rest of the guys so if I’m really screwing the pooch people can hear me. I forgot an earplug and had to borrow one from Rodrigo. That helped a great deal in terms of hearing everything. The band is still loud as all hell though so there were definitely points where I was more focused on getting the notes that rocking out.
I had been plagued recently by exactly how I’m supposed to behave physically on-stage. My musical background is a lot different from the rest of the singers so even when I sang in rockfish type bands my mannerisms on stage would be slightly different. I basically decided to do what came naturally and let the guys tell me if I need to do anything different. I did what I would normally do which is ride the beat, when it comes to rhythm Pete gives you plenty. I know you like my band went better than last week, I was told last night that it should be more of a quiet blend as opposed to the belting I was doing in NYC. She’s Gone Critical also sounded better. The crowd was pretty live and they really ate it up it was an amazing experience. Morgan was next to me during the show it felt a little more like we were in it together than it did being next to someone else last week.
We waited a while for the truck ( I was subjected to the non-awesomeness of the Texas Rockfest) and all went our separate ways. Bryn, Theresa (Merch Girl), Myself, Glen, Sadler, and Doz came back to the house while others stayed at the festival. I decided to come outside to the gazebo area and play some guitar I stumble and fall straight through this wooden board into this hole in the ground. I was able to pull myself out and didn’t think a whole lot of it.
I was playin some tunes and low and behold the hole I fell in started filling up with water and overflowing. Sadler peeps that there’s something funny going on with the pipe it was separated from the rest. Glen (who was making pizza at the time) comes out and says “We’re getting no water pressure” FUCK (sorry Mom) I have succeeded in breaking the house. Bryn was in the midst of calling a plumber when Glen got the owner of the house on the phone, she said that she was gonna come over and take a look. They arrive to shut the valve off, after their done their car gets stuck and has to be pushed out…I am the ruiner of everything. Me, Boy Wonder, master of Pimp Rock, leader, Philadelphia Big Shot, goes on his first tour and falls down a well. I half expected them all to hold hads and write my stupid ass a song.
All of a sudden they make it up to the leak, figure out what’s going on just start breaking out piping and various tools and what not. Turns out when I fell through my foot went completely through the pipe. But they look at it and know what to do, they are going to MacGeyver this pipe. I alternated between standing out there over the pipe and coming in the house trying to stay off my leg. After some cutting and what not they were able to get the pipe fixed sufficiently enough for us to be able to use the water, There was talk of sledge hammering some stuff after we leave the property. Turns out their son was a Bang Camaro fan from playing rock band so Bryn and Sadler talked to him and Bryn gave him some stickers.
I spent most of the evening apologizing profusely. They assured me that this could have happened to anyone. I told them that yes falling through the board and into the well could have happened to anyone. The epicness that followed (overflowing water, cars getting stuck, me completely mangling myself etc.) would only happen to me. I felt like crap. They could have completely thrown me under the bus but they didn’t. These guys are pretty cool.
We spent the rest of the evening talking about music, Sadler shared his George W. Bush story and we ended up eating Glen’s pizza which was pretty good. I would go to bed shortly afterward but not after waking up around five to get water and having to recount the tale to Alex.
My leg and hip are pretty sore (cause I fell down the well) but I should be fine for tomorrow’s show provided I take it easy. It’ll be a true test, my first back to back shows with the band.
Big day tomorrow.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 9
Day 8 - March 19th 2009
Let’s just say that last evenings festivities were…interesting.
We had a couple of beers in Texas and started kicking up some fun as we headed to this house we were staying. I have a tendency to disappear into my own zone after too long, anti-social behavior is a family trait. Then Alex demanded that I chill with them and wouldn‘t take no for an answer. I’m glad he did. I found out Sadler from Leslie was in Tropic Thunder, he called up the scene and everything
After a couple of miscues we got there.
The house was in the middle of the woods, it was beautiful (and huge) but I couldn’t help but think about some horror movie as we pulled in. Back home in Philly the houses are row homes, attached to each other which would make it hard for Leatherface or Jason to kill everyone. All I couldn’t think was yeah my black ass is the first to go if stuff pops off. I felt kinda sorry for the owner of the place (who apparently married some guy with an even bigger house and moved in with him) We all got our bags and stake dour claim on rooms. I blew up my bad and was ready to go to bed. Then for some reason we decided to jam on some Tom Petty till 3 AM. I did go to bed though.
It was an awesome sunrise my first in Texas. I woke up pretty early and grabbed a shower, I like the quiet in the morning when most people are sleeping and the shower is awesome, they had a retractable shower head allowing you to really get in those crevasses. There was a cool little Gazebo spot in front of the house that I spotted. I grabbed my guitar and started playing. The idea I had in Boston was still fresh in my mind, and I got a chance to further develop it. I don’t know what it’ll be yet and that’s the exciting part. Artistically I’m in a place where I’m not really in a rush to make another album and don’t have to be. Superego is still fresh and there are territories that we haven’t even explored yet live.
We were Ready to go to SXSW, I had been anticipating this for quite some time. We had to pick up Bryn from the airport. Everyone was happy to see him. He didn’t make the drive with us down but he fit right back into the fold, these guys have been friends for quite some time it seems, which has to make being on tour together more bearable. We picked up Ramsey, their manager I think and we headed to the festival. Really good guy it seems. We parked pretty far away from the action so it was interesting to listen to Bryn and Alex talk about plans for the future, sponsorships and commercials, new albums and big name producers. This band is on the verge of really making some noise.
We arrived at SXSW and immediately ended up at a showcase that had free beer. I didn’t drink but I wish I had cause I pretty much hated the band that was playing. I’m not big into the modern indy rock stuff, I’m sure it’s cutting edge but it’s not something that I’m terribly into. We would move on shortly but not before I peeped that Andrew Lipke would be playing this same club later on that night. We ended up missing Leslie’s show but meeting up with them outside of the club they played at. Not knowing what to do I decided to meander around 6th street (the stretch of clubs where all the music seems to happen) with Bryn. We marveled at all the people handing out flyers and music trying to get noticed. I became a magnet for the hip hop artists trying to hustle their music “For $10 you can support some real Hip-Hop” I love that no matter where you go the game don’t change. I wanted to say “I don’t want it either” but I respect the hustle.
We went to this party at a place called The Beauty Bar, I’m not sure if they turned an old beauty parlor into a club or if they built the club with a beauty parlor theme. The girls were really hot, lots of short skirts and Cowboy Boots, people from all over tryin to have a good time. I could have done without the music though. These bands aren’t doing anything for me. We ended up at Club 710, more bands I didn’t particularly care for. I ended up sitting outside and meeting Deborah from San Francisco we talked for a while and she seemed cool. I told her about tomorrow’s show and she seemed interested. I met up with Glen and crew again and told them I was gonna grab pizza. I grabbed it and noticed they had routed some place so I stuck around inside the pizza place. A beautiful brunette asks “Can I sit here” “Of course I said” in the typical way a high school freshman would re-act if the head cheerleader asked to sit next to him. She’s a photographer from Los Angeles here to take pics for the festival. She was the kind of super cool chick that ends up leading me around by a leash.
I told her about Bang Camaro and she seemed interested but then sort of asked “So what do you really do?” I told her about my project, the first time I’ve really gotten to talk about it since I’ve joined the tour. We chatted some more and she left to find some friends. I handled myself a lot better than usual…lol
I meandered around by myself for a while and then sat and people watched until I got a text from a friend “Where are you?” “I’m walkin around” “I’m at Spills, if you wanna come hang out” the texts came from Loretta Allen, a Philly Area Singer/Songwriter down at the fest with her band Stellium. Loretta has a strange Allure a charisma that’s hard to ignore. We’ve talked about me doin some production work with her band, I hope it pans out. It was about 8 so we went to check out Andrew’s show. It would be the first time I would see him with a band. I ran into another friend from home that I met at the Tritone open mic and for about 40 minutes it was kinda like being in Philly.
Andrew and his band were amazing. I’ve booked him a couple of times solo but will probably work with him more frequently when I get back home.
I met up with Bryn and Morgan and we were people watching/discussing tomorrow’s show. I sort of been chomping at the bit to get back to work. I came here to sing and I’m eagerly anticipating the gig.
We ended up meeting up at the Rachel Ray party. I have a crush on her (don’t judge me) I was bummed out cause there was no food…lol not to mention that I wasn’t feeling the music 9are you sensing a running theme) but I realized I was pretty beat. An entire day in the famous Texas heat’ll do that to you. I was in a bar sitting Alex demanded I get up off my ass and have a good time, which was good cause I think I’m turning into my father. They bought me a red bull and I got my second wind. Doz and I started talking at the bar after a couple of Doz freestyles (we’re gonna battle in two weeks) he said something that struck a chord with me. He said “I know who you are and what you do, but do you know?” I’m developing a real sense of self lately in the face of all that’s happening around me. But I’m so used to being unsure that it shook me just a tad. He then said “When it’s over and you go back to your band it’s going to be so different for you” I never really thought about it. I will return home having been on a legit tour and having played on national television. I want to get back home, but how different will it be? Will people treat me differently?
We made the long walk back to the car and I thought about something that I had seen. I saw some showcases that were “Best of NYC” “Best of San Fran” “Best of NYC” “Best of The UK” I texted Bill Butler and said we need to do a Best of Philly Show.
I ate some Gumbo, listened to some tunes and hit the sack
Big Day tomorrow
Let’s just say that last evenings festivities were…interesting.
We had a couple of beers in Texas and started kicking up some fun as we headed to this house we were staying. I have a tendency to disappear into my own zone after too long, anti-social behavior is a family trait. Then Alex demanded that I chill with them and wouldn‘t take no for an answer. I’m glad he did. I found out Sadler from Leslie was in Tropic Thunder, he called up the scene and everything
After a couple of miscues we got there.
The house was in the middle of the woods, it was beautiful (and huge) but I couldn’t help but think about some horror movie as we pulled in. Back home in Philly the houses are row homes, attached to each other which would make it hard for Leatherface or Jason to kill everyone. All I couldn’t think was yeah my black ass is the first to go if stuff pops off. I felt kinda sorry for the owner of the place (who apparently married some guy with an even bigger house and moved in with him) We all got our bags and stake dour claim on rooms. I blew up my bad and was ready to go to bed. Then for some reason we decided to jam on some Tom Petty till 3 AM. I did go to bed though.
It was an awesome sunrise my first in Texas. I woke up pretty early and grabbed a shower, I like the quiet in the morning when most people are sleeping and the shower is awesome, they had a retractable shower head allowing you to really get in those crevasses. There was a cool little Gazebo spot in front of the house that I spotted. I grabbed my guitar and started playing. The idea I had in Boston was still fresh in my mind, and I got a chance to further develop it. I don’t know what it’ll be yet and that’s the exciting part. Artistically I’m in a place where I’m not really in a rush to make another album and don’t have to be. Superego is still fresh and there are territories that we haven’t even explored yet live.
We were Ready to go to SXSW, I had been anticipating this for quite some time. We had to pick up Bryn from the airport. Everyone was happy to see him. He didn’t make the drive with us down but he fit right back into the fold, these guys have been friends for quite some time it seems, which has to make being on tour together more bearable. We picked up Ramsey, their manager I think and we headed to the festival. Really good guy it seems. We parked pretty far away from the action so it was interesting to listen to Bryn and Alex talk about plans for the future, sponsorships and commercials, new albums and big name producers. This band is on the verge of really making some noise.
We arrived at SXSW and immediately ended up at a showcase that had free beer. I didn’t drink but I wish I had cause I pretty much hated the band that was playing. I’m not big into the modern indy rock stuff, I’m sure it’s cutting edge but it’s not something that I’m terribly into. We would move on shortly but not before I peeped that Andrew Lipke would be playing this same club later on that night. We ended up missing Leslie’s show but meeting up with them outside of the club they played at. Not knowing what to do I decided to meander around 6th street (the stretch of clubs where all the music seems to happen) with Bryn. We marveled at all the people handing out flyers and music trying to get noticed. I became a magnet for the hip hop artists trying to hustle their music “For $10 you can support some real Hip-Hop” I love that no matter where you go the game don’t change. I wanted to say “I don’t want it either” but I respect the hustle.
We went to this party at a place called The Beauty Bar, I’m not sure if they turned an old beauty parlor into a club or if they built the club with a beauty parlor theme. The girls were really hot, lots of short skirts and Cowboy Boots, people from all over tryin to have a good time. I could have done without the music though. These bands aren’t doing anything for me. We ended up at Club 710, more bands I didn’t particularly care for. I ended up sitting outside and meeting Deborah from San Francisco we talked for a while and she seemed cool. I told her about tomorrow’s show and she seemed interested. I met up with Glen and crew again and told them I was gonna grab pizza. I grabbed it and noticed they had routed some place so I stuck around inside the pizza place. A beautiful brunette asks “Can I sit here” “Of course I said” in the typical way a high school freshman would re-act if the head cheerleader asked to sit next to him. She’s a photographer from Los Angeles here to take pics for the festival. She was the kind of super cool chick that ends up leading me around by a leash.
I told her about Bang Camaro and she seemed interested but then sort of asked “So what do you really do?” I told her about my project, the first time I’ve really gotten to talk about it since I’ve joined the tour. We chatted some more and she left to find some friends. I handled myself a lot better than usual…lol
I meandered around by myself for a while and then sat and people watched until I got a text from a friend “Where are you?” “I’m walkin around” “I’m at Spills, if you wanna come hang out” the texts came from Loretta Allen, a Philly Area Singer/Songwriter down at the fest with her band Stellium. Loretta has a strange Allure a charisma that’s hard to ignore. We’ve talked about me doin some production work with her band, I hope it pans out. It was about 8 so we went to check out Andrew’s show. It would be the first time I would see him with a band. I ran into another friend from home that I met at the Tritone open mic and for about 40 minutes it was kinda like being in Philly.
Andrew and his band were amazing. I’ve booked him a couple of times solo but will probably work with him more frequently when I get back home.
I met up with Bryn and Morgan and we were people watching/discussing tomorrow’s show. I sort of been chomping at the bit to get back to work. I came here to sing and I’m eagerly anticipating the gig.
We ended up meeting up at the Rachel Ray party. I have a crush on her (don’t judge me) I was bummed out cause there was no food…lol not to mention that I wasn’t feeling the music 9are you sensing a running theme) but I realized I was pretty beat. An entire day in the famous Texas heat’ll do that to you. I was in a bar sitting Alex demanded I get up off my ass and have a good time, which was good cause I think I’m turning into my father. They bought me a red bull and I got my second wind. Doz and I started talking at the bar after a couple of Doz freestyles (we’re gonna battle in two weeks) he said something that struck a chord with me. He said “I know who you are and what you do, but do you know?” I’m developing a real sense of self lately in the face of all that’s happening around me. But I’m so used to being unsure that it shook me just a tad. He then said “When it’s over and you go back to your band it’s going to be so different for you” I never really thought about it. I will return home having been on a legit tour and having played on national television. I want to get back home, but how different will it be? Will people treat me differently?
We made the long walk back to the car and I thought about something that I had seen. I saw some showcases that were “Best of NYC” “Best of San Fran” “Best of NYC” “Best of The UK” I texted Bill Butler and said we need to do a Best of Philly Show.
I ate some Gumbo, listened to some tunes and hit the sack
Big Day tomorrow
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 8
Day 7 - March 18th 2009 - Memphis Tennessee/Arkansas
The Sun rises in Memphis and I realize how sweet my life is at this very moment. The weather is perfect here my cold is clearing up. Tennessee is awesome and I wish we were spending more time here.
Yesterday we drove to Nashville and pulled up in this cute little neighborhood to pick up Leslie the band that will be opening for us on this tour. They were outside waiting for us, the epitome of a southern rock band, I felt like I was in that movie Almost Famous, and I mean that in the best possible way. I’m finally seeing that idealistic looking vision of America people are always twattering on about, and now I can see why, this place is beautiful. This also marked my first Time Zone Change. Philly is now an hour ahead of me.
We repacked the van and they made sure Roxanne was by the door . We pulled into Memphis and kicked it a little bit before hitting the sack. I realized when I was shutting my eyes that this may have been the most sober St. Patrick’s Day I’ve ever had.
Nichole Lynn’s ears must have been burning, because she emailed me some new music in the early evening. Nichole’s my sister and she’s a songwriter for Pep Soul/EMI she’s been writing songs for a girl from Texas named Brooklin and she was emailing me some of the stuff they worked on, real rap she sounds amazing the songs are phenomenal and if this girl doesn’t get signed there may be something retarded about the music business.
I woke up early in search of free, the free wasn’t as good as the free in Mechanicsburg, but since I’m not the type to slap God in the face I will stop right there. I ended up eating breakfast with Pete again, I’m enjoying my time with all the members of the band and now getting to know Leslie, they all seem like really good guys I couldn’t have asked for a better situation. A friend in Philly that I was talking to on-line asked me how Bang Camaro can function with all those people (especially with all those singers) and my answer to him was this. “When you’re the real deal you don’t have to be a douche bag.” Sadler from Leslie is riding in the van with us another cool cat, he was telling me about this barn in South Carolina where this guy does shows on Wed Nights, something I would absolutely love to do very, very, soon if I can.
I was treated to a hilarious story about Bang Camaro meeting a drunken Jimmy Fallon at the Bowery ballroom in NYC. There was pushup contest at the Firestone just before he left. I overheard Alex’s ambitions to make a really great Bang Camaro sometime in the near future. I’d like to help but don’t know how to broach the topic just yet being the New Guy. With so may great musicians in one room I know it’s possible.
We had to get the trailer on the tire fixed so we pulled into Firestone and made a Wal-Mart run. I got various soups and a couple of bottles of vitamin water to save some cash in the Long Run. I gotta stop eating this fast food and perhaps start working out. I’ll probably buy a pair of shorts before it’s all set and done. I also got a pair of sunglasses, I didn’t wanna be that douche walking around with shades on but the sun is strong down south and I’m gonna need them for functional purposes. I am concerned that I may get sick with the changes in weather now that I don’t have health insurance that fear is legitimate.
I make it a point to talk to my Mother everyday because I know she worries. She told me to stop swearing so much in my blogs, I dunno how that’s gonna pan out but I promised her I would try. She and my dad are going to Greece among other places for the next ten days to follow the footsteps of Paul. She assured me that she has an international cell phone and will be calling me regularly.
There’s a show at one of the clubs I book O.N.E. at Rittenhouse tonight, I will admit I miss being there. Last weeks was the first show that went on since I’ve been gone and it seems to have gone well. Steve and Chris are running the show and doing a good job. Hopefully April is gonna be figured out soon and we can keep moving forward while I’m away.
We just crossed the bridge into Arkansas and I saw the Mississippi river for the very first time and we’re rolling pretty good. Arkansas is really flat so far Next stop is Austin and I’m so excited. Can’t wait for SXSW.
The Sun rises in Memphis and I realize how sweet my life is at this very moment. The weather is perfect here my cold is clearing up. Tennessee is awesome and I wish we were spending more time here.
Yesterday we drove to Nashville and pulled up in this cute little neighborhood to pick up Leslie the band that will be opening for us on this tour. They were outside waiting for us, the epitome of a southern rock band, I felt like I was in that movie Almost Famous, and I mean that in the best possible way. I’m finally seeing that idealistic looking vision of America people are always twattering on about, and now I can see why, this place is beautiful. This also marked my first Time Zone Change. Philly is now an hour ahead of me.
We repacked the van and they made sure Roxanne was by the door . We pulled into Memphis and kicked it a little bit before hitting the sack. I realized when I was shutting my eyes that this may have been the most sober St. Patrick’s Day I’ve ever had.
Nichole Lynn’s ears must have been burning, because she emailed me some new music in the early evening. Nichole’s my sister and she’s a songwriter for Pep Soul/EMI she’s been writing songs for a girl from Texas named Brooklin and she was emailing me some of the stuff they worked on, real rap she sounds amazing the songs are phenomenal and if this girl doesn’t get signed there may be something retarded about the music business.
I woke up early in search of free, the free wasn’t as good as the free in Mechanicsburg, but since I’m not the type to slap God in the face I will stop right there. I ended up eating breakfast with Pete again, I’m enjoying my time with all the members of the band and now getting to know Leslie, they all seem like really good guys I couldn’t have asked for a better situation. A friend in Philly that I was talking to on-line asked me how Bang Camaro can function with all those people (especially with all those singers) and my answer to him was this. “When you’re the real deal you don’t have to be a douche bag.” Sadler from Leslie is riding in the van with us another cool cat, he was telling me about this barn in South Carolina where this guy does shows on Wed Nights, something I would absolutely love to do very, very, soon if I can.
I was treated to a hilarious story about Bang Camaro meeting a drunken Jimmy Fallon at the Bowery ballroom in NYC. There was pushup contest at the Firestone just before he left. I overheard Alex’s ambitions to make a really great Bang Camaro sometime in the near future. I’d like to help but don’t know how to broach the topic just yet being the New Guy. With so may great musicians in one room I know it’s possible.
We had to get the trailer on the tire fixed so we pulled into Firestone and made a Wal-Mart run. I got various soups and a couple of bottles of vitamin water to save some cash in the Long Run. I gotta stop eating this fast food and perhaps start working out. I’ll probably buy a pair of shorts before it’s all set and done. I also got a pair of sunglasses, I didn’t wanna be that douche walking around with shades on but the sun is strong down south and I’m gonna need them for functional purposes. I am concerned that I may get sick with the changes in weather now that I don’t have health insurance that fear is legitimate.
I make it a point to talk to my Mother everyday because I know she worries. She told me to stop swearing so much in my blogs, I dunno how that’s gonna pan out but I promised her I would try. She and my dad are going to Greece among other places for the next ten days to follow the footsteps of Paul. She assured me that she has an international cell phone and will be calling me regularly.
There’s a show at one of the clubs I book O.N.E. at Rittenhouse tonight, I will admit I miss being there. Last weeks was the first show that went on since I’ve been gone and it seems to have gone well. Steve and Chris are running the show and doing a good job. Hopefully April is gonna be figured out soon and we can keep moving forward while I’m away.
We just crossed the bridge into Arkansas and I saw the Mississippi river for the very first time and we’re rolling pretty good. Arkansas is really flat so far Next stop is Austin and I’m so excited. Can’t wait for SXSW.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Boy Wonder: Professional Msuician 7
Day 6 - March 17th 2009 - Mechanicsburg VA - The Open Road
Pulled into the Mechanicsburg Ramada around 7PM last night. Once we settled the guys talked about going to Wal-Mart and I opted out. I decided to test out my fancy new air mattress and play on-line instead. The batteries I brought with me weren’t working so I ventured to a gas station to pick up four D batteries. I got back and put them inside, I marveled as the air mattress blew up on it’s own (you’ll find that I am very easily impressed) I looked forward to sleeping on it later that evening. They got back about 30 minutes later and I realized I needed to eat something so I made a journey to the 7 Eleven fearing that I’d have to eat one of those really awful hot dogs they leave on the spinner thingy. But then I turned and saw the freezer… Huzzah! Stouffers French Bread Pizza...Money! 32 Ounce Vitamin Water….Hell Yeah!
Excited I took it back to the room and microwaved the hell out of that Pizza, twas soggy but I didn’t really give a damn at that point. I listened to the other guys watching family guy in the next room, followed by Risky Business. Then I realized that I probably should have gone to Wal-mart and bought some sort of apparatus to cover my body cause it was the fuck cold in the hotel room. I spent most of the night watching South Park episodes and surfing the internet. I was awaken by sunlight peering through the window and reflecting off of a 40 Bottle…I am officially on the road.
Pete was the next one up and we went in search of some Free…see in my world and in several sects of the black community Free is a noun, Chris Ludd reintroduced the concept to me shortly before I left Philadelphia case in point
Chris; Yo Andre it’s gonna be some Free at this party I’m Djing Friday
Andre: Free What?
Chris: It don’t matter cause it’s free.
See me even asking what was free is like slapping God in the face. If there is free in the area you are not a good Christian if you don’t at least check it out.
I found some free in the lobby of the hotel, in the form of a continental breakfast, it consisted of French Toast, all manners of fruits, juices, cereals, and to top it off, they had one of those waffle irons with the batter and it makes you a fresh waffle in a matter of minutes….Yeah Son! I ripped that waffle apart with my bare hands put some syrup on it and got my eat on while reading USA
Today, I can’t get my Inquirer or my Daily News this far south I miss the east coast edge. I may have to settle for the Times at some point…yuck.
A quick shower and some True Life on MTV we were headed to pack up the van. The guys made room for Roxanne (due to it’s ridiculous size) which I appreciated. Lugging it around will be slightly easier as the tour goes on. Hopefully I’ll be handling her exclusively for the duration of the tour so that no one else throws their back out.
Alex took the time to show me some more spread sheets and business stuff having to do with this particular tour. For those of you who think something like this is easy, it’s not especially if you do it legit. Bang Camaro is a pretty well run operation so far. I hope to follow this example one day when it’s time to take my show on the road.
I put my ipod on shuffle (not a fan of everything they play in the car) and for the first time in a while I think I heard 30 songs in a row that I dug. It’s also thrown up some Boy Wonder stuff (Leavin is currently playing as I type this) which has given me the idea of revisiting my entire catalogue and seeing if and how it speaks to me. I’ve been doin the Boy Wonder thing almost non-stop for almost 7 years, I’ve made quite a bit of progress, but have never had the time to really sit back and take stock of everything.
I also may revisit the catalogues of the artists that have influenced me the most. I kind of want to take all of this music apart to see what exactly is so great about it.
Lately I’ve been pumpin Bojibian’s All Night All Day. I can’t get enough it’s really dope. I’m interested to see what Leah Smith does with her studio time. Lately it seems that all the music
I’m feenin for is from my contemporaries. I need new Absolute Zeros, Lightning Bug, Soulfatronic, Caitlin Potter and Nichole Lynn. If you see these people tell them to get to work.
We’re on our way to Nashville now, despite it being winter and the trees being leafless the open road is truly a beautiful thing to see. The stretches without hotels, strip malls, and gas stations get longer and longer which concerns me at the moment cause I really have to pee. We found a rest stop so I’m gonna wrap things up here
Happy St. Patrick’s Day
Pulled into the Mechanicsburg Ramada around 7PM last night. Once we settled the guys talked about going to Wal-Mart and I opted out. I decided to test out my fancy new air mattress and play on-line instead. The batteries I brought with me weren’t working so I ventured to a gas station to pick up four D batteries. I got back and put them inside, I marveled as the air mattress blew up on it’s own (you’ll find that I am very easily impressed) I looked forward to sleeping on it later that evening. They got back about 30 minutes later and I realized I needed to eat something so I made a journey to the 7 Eleven fearing that I’d have to eat one of those really awful hot dogs they leave on the spinner thingy. But then I turned and saw the freezer… Huzzah! Stouffers French Bread Pizza...Money! 32 Ounce Vitamin Water….Hell Yeah!
Excited I took it back to the room and microwaved the hell out of that Pizza, twas soggy but I didn’t really give a damn at that point. I listened to the other guys watching family guy in the next room, followed by Risky Business. Then I realized that I probably should have gone to Wal-mart and bought some sort of apparatus to cover my body cause it was the fuck cold in the hotel room. I spent most of the night watching South Park episodes and surfing the internet. I was awaken by sunlight peering through the window and reflecting off of a 40 Bottle…I am officially on the road.
Pete was the next one up and we went in search of some Free…see in my world and in several sects of the black community Free is a noun, Chris Ludd reintroduced the concept to me shortly before I left Philadelphia case in point
Chris; Yo Andre it’s gonna be some Free at this party I’m Djing Friday
Andre: Free What?
Chris: It don’t matter cause it’s free.
See me even asking what was free is like slapping God in the face. If there is free in the area you are not a good Christian if you don’t at least check it out.
I found some free in the lobby of the hotel, in the form of a continental breakfast, it consisted of French Toast, all manners of fruits, juices, cereals, and to top it off, they had one of those waffle irons with the batter and it makes you a fresh waffle in a matter of minutes….Yeah Son! I ripped that waffle apart with my bare hands put some syrup on it and got my eat on while reading USA
Today, I can’t get my Inquirer or my Daily News this far south I miss the east coast edge. I may have to settle for the Times at some point…yuck.
A quick shower and some True Life on MTV we were headed to pack up the van. The guys made room for Roxanne (due to it’s ridiculous size) which I appreciated. Lugging it around will be slightly easier as the tour goes on. Hopefully I’ll be handling her exclusively for the duration of the tour so that no one else throws their back out.
Alex took the time to show me some more spread sheets and business stuff having to do with this particular tour. For those of you who think something like this is easy, it’s not especially if you do it legit. Bang Camaro is a pretty well run operation so far. I hope to follow this example one day when it’s time to take my show on the road.
I put my ipod on shuffle (not a fan of everything they play in the car) and for the first time in a while I think I heard 30 songs in a row that I dug. It’s also thrown up some Boy Wonder stuff (Leavin is currently playing as I type this) which has given me the idea of revisiting my entire catalogue and seeing if and how it speaks to me. I’ve been doin the Boy Wonder thing almost non-stop for almost 7 years, I’ve made quite a bit of progress, but have never had the time to really sit back and take stock of everything.
I also may revisit the catalogues of the artists that have influenced me the most. I kind of want to take all of this music apart to see what exactly is so great about it.
Lately I’ve been pumpin Bojibian’s All Night All Day. I can’t get enough it’s really dope. I’m interested to see what Leah Smith does with her studio time. Lately it seems that all the music
I’m feenin for is from my contemporaries. I need new Absolute Zeros, Lightning Bug, Soulfatronic, Caitlin Potter and Nichole Lynn. If you see these people tell them to get to work.
We’re on our way to Nashville now, despite it being winter and the trees being leafless the open road is truly a beautiful thing to see. The stretches without hotels, strip malls, and gas stations get longer and longer which concerns me at the moment cause I really have to pee. We found a rest stop so I’m gonna wrap things up here
Happy St. Patrick’s Day
Monday, March 16, 2009
Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 6
Day 5 - March 16th 2009 - Headed to SXSW
I snuck home this weekend. With a show in New York and Philly being on the way to Austin I decided that a weekend at home might be a good idea. I surprised Zach at his birthday Party at North Bowl, I had a Yuengling then I had several more, it would be a while before I had another. A couple of days with family and friends was good for the soul. I was able to gather myself, and get some perspective on the overwhelming prospect of this tour.
Don’t get me wrong I’m excited to be on tour, to be riding in the van with the guys on my way to SXSW is a thrilling prospect. To be able to perform is a dream come true. But coming home for a couple of days reminded me how much I missed everything. I talked to my friend Caitlin Potter and she put it best. “Of course you want the career, but you miss your city, your bed, your friends, your stuff, I would feel the same way.” she told me it’s natural. I felt a lot better After my near freak out with her I got down to business. Mom made some beef stew and it was time to eat it.
I fell asleep watching Will Ferrell’s Your Welcome America on HBO, a luxury I won’t be enjoying on the road…lol and woke up to pack my bag. After some bickering with my mom about the contents of my bag, because the band have referred to it as the dead hooker bag I’ve named it Roxanne, I figured she put on the red light and someone killed her and put her in my bag.
Now we’re driving I think we’re in Maryland somewhere as I write this on our way to Virginia Shawn/Sean sits next to me in the backseat Morgan (vocalist)’s asleep, he was watching Hulk vs. Wolverine on his Imac, I may ask to borrow it. Alex is talkin to Glenn as Pete drives and Doz is in the front seat next to him. Morgan just woke up and now they’re all engaged in conversation that I can’t hear cause I’m listening on my ipod. I’m gonna take it off as soon as I’m done with this.
I am so excited to go to South By Southwest, for those who don’t know what it is it’s like the Sundance Film festival for musicians, so many bands, so many shows, so many people from Philly coming down, I can’t wait to experience it. Maybe I’ll even find a place to play.
It’s going to be amazing
I snuck home this weekend. With a show in New York and Philly being on the way to Austin I decided that a weekend at home might be a good idea. I surprised Zach at his birthday Party at North Bowl, I had a Yuengling then I had several more, it would be a while before I had another. A couple of days with family and friends was good for the soul. I was able to gather myself, and get some perspective on the overwhelming prospect of this tour.
Don’t get me wrong I’m excited to be on tour, to be riding in the van with the guys on my way to SXSW is a thrilling prospect. To be able to perform is a dream come true. But coming home for a couple of days reminded me how much I missed everything. I talked to my friend Caitlin Potter and she put it best. “Of course you want the career, but you miss your city, your bed, your friends, your stuff, I would feel the same way.” she told me it’s natural. I felt a lot better After my near freak out with her I got down to business. Mom made some beef stew and it was time to eat it.
I fell asleep watching Will Ferrell’s Your Welcome America on HBO, a luxury I won’t be enjoying on the road…lol and woke up to pack my bag. After some bickering with my mom about the contents of my bag, because the band have referred to it as the dead hooker bag I’ve named it Roxanne, I figured she put on the red light and someone killed her and put her in my bag.
Now we’re driving I think we’re in Maryland somewhere as I write this on our way to Virginia Shawn/Sean sits next to me in the backseat Morgan (vocalist)’s asleep, he was watching Hulk vs. Wolverine on his Imac, I may ask to borrow it. Alex is talkin to Glenn as Pete drives and Doz is in the front seat next to him. Morgan just woke up and now they’re all engaged in conversation that I can’t hear cause I’m listening on my ipod. I’m gonna take it off as soon as I’m done with this.
I am so excited to go to South By Southwest, for those who don’t know what it is it’s like the Sundance Film festival for musicians, so many bands, so many shows, so many people from Philly coming down, I can’t wait to experience it. Maybe I’ll even find a place to play.
It’s going to be amazing
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 5
Day 4 - March 13th 2009 New York City
Tonight’s the night as they say. Bang Camaro would be kicking off their tour in the big apple, New York City, New York. I have to admit I was excited. We had been rehearsing for a week together and I had spent the better part of the last month learning the tunes.
We woke up early, Pete went to see if he could get the side mirror fixed on the van as I showered and got ready. Upon his return we hopped in the van and headed towards the rehearsal spot to load in the gear. I watched as they attached the trailer to the back of the van, I’m sure the novelty of me being on the road will wear off at some point but for now I am quietly enjoying the little things like Bryn and Glen attaching a trailer to a van. I shot over to dunkin doughnuts for a quick breakfast and we pulled off. My first time in a van on a tour, I celebrated by napping. I woke up at a rest stop in Connecticut and bled the dragon.
First thing right of the bat, these guys are a riot and a blast to hang out with, Doz (Bass Player) and Pete (Drummer) in the front seat trying to find a radio station we could all agree on, I disagree with the band on the merits of Lynard Skynard (they dig them, me not so much), the general conversation between the members of the band is lighthearted and it’s clear that Bang Camaro is a tightly knit unit. I was treated to various stories of previous tours and I wonder how my experience will differ or if it will differ.
Things seemed to be going smoothly and then I hear it.
Pete: Are we being flagged down?
Alex: I think so?
We’re being pulled over…great.
Officer: Do you know why I pulled you over?
Pete: Were we speeding?
Officer: You probably were but that’s not why I pulled you over.
Pete: Then I don’t know.
Officer: The break lights are on your trailer aren’t working and it’s illegal in this part of the state to have a car with a trailer driving on the left lane.
The officer disappears for a while and all I can think about is that this cop will haul us all off to jail if he spots my black ass inside. He returns back with a written warning for Pete, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a cop write a written warning for anyone I’d ever been in the car with. Thankful we get on our way. Then we hit some traffic which was nowhere near awesome.
We arrive for sound check, and we do Rock Rebellion. Pizza comes and after a little bit the show starts. I hang back in the dressing room as Kittens Ablaze start their set. I was told that Joe Perry was sitting behind the merch table so I went to check it out. There he was, one of the most famous guitar players in the world sitting 3 feet away from where I was standing. His son’s band Tab was up next. We were scheduled to go on at 9, it was 8:45 and Tab hadn’t hit the stage, the show was running late. We were worried about the set being cut short. Tab came and went and it was time.
We had a group warm up and the Conan theme blared throughout the house as the fans went crazy. They played Thunderclap and then it was finally time to come out. The throngs of screaming fans were quite a sight to see. We start with Out on the Streets and from the first note the band is kicking and loud, audience was into it singing every word to every song. We get to Revolution and I struggle with the vocal a little, trying to settle down, the nervous energy is getting to me just a bit. We get to Rock Rebellion and I’m a tad more comfortable a black guy in the audience saw me on-stage, he seemed a bit surprised to see me as I put my fist in the air, he puts his fist in the air towards me, a sign of solidarity. I am having an amazing time.
Midway through the set, I see my mother my sister and her best friend. It’s a comforting feeling. My family has always been there no matter what crazy turns my career has taken. I start to really settle in when we get to I Know You like My Band, which might be my favorite Bang Camaro Song. It was the first time I could clearly hear myself in the monitors
We’re nearing the end of the set and we walk off as the band continues to rock faces off, I am spent, trying to pull up enough energy to finish (pacing myself is going to be very important during this tour) I get myself together and we return for Blood Red Rock (where I almost fall head first into the stage monitor) and Push Push Lady Lightning. Then the crowd clamoring for more asks for Night Lies, one of the songs I struggled with during rehearsals, we pull it off.
The show is over I am tried, hoarse, and drenched in my own sweat. I got a chance to meet some cool people, sign some autographs, and load the equipment in the van. The show was a success, it felt great, but I have many, many, lessons to learn in order to fully contribute to this band. I was tighter than I would have wanted to be, but I always am on opening night, once I’m rock solid in terms of confidence that will change.
I’m looking forward to SXSW next week. It’s going to be awesome.
Tonight’s the night as they say. Bang Camaro would be kicking off their tour in the big apple, New York City, New York. I have to admit I was excited. We had been rehearsing for a week together and I had spent the better part of the last month learning the tunes.
We woke up early, Pete went to see if he could get the side mirror fixed on the van as I showered and got ready. Upon his return we hopped in the van and headed towards the rehearsal spot to load in the gear. I watched as they attached the trailer to the back of the van, I’m sure the novelty of me being on the road will wear off at some point but for now I am quietly enjoying the little things like Bryn and Glen attaching a trailer to a van. I shot over to dunkin doughnuts for a quick breakfast and we pulled off. My first time in a van on a tour, I celebrated by napping. I woke up at a rest stop in Connecticut and bled the dragon.
First thing right of the bat, these guys are a riot and a blast to hang out with, Doz (Bass Player) and Pete (Drummer) in the front seat trying to find a radio station we could all agree on, I disagree with the band on the merits of Lynard Skynard (they dig them, me not so much), the general conversation between the members of the band is lighthearted and it’s clear that Bang Camaro is a tightly knit unit. I was treated to various stories of previous tours and I wonder how my experience will differ or if it will differ.
Things seemed to be going smoothly and then I hear it.
Pete: Are we being flagged down?
Alex: I think so?
We’re being pulled over…great.
Officer: Do you know why I pulled you over?
Pete: Were we speeding?
Officer: You probably were but that’s not why I pulled you over.
Pete: Then I don’t know.
Officer: The break lights are on your trailer aren’t working and it’s illegal in this part of the state to have a car with a trailer driving on the left lane.
The officer disappears for a while and all I can think about is that this cop will haul us all off to jail if he spots my black ass inside. He returns back with a written warning for Pete, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a cop write a written warning for anyone I’d ever been in the car with. Thankful we get on our way. Then we hit some traffic which was nowhere near awesome.
We arrive for sound check, and we do Rock Rebellion. Pizza comes and after a little bit the show starts. I hang back in the dressing room as Kittens Ablaze start their set. I was told that Joe Perry was sitting behind the merch table so I went to check it out. There he was, one of the most famous guitar players in the world sitting 3 feet away from where I was standing. His son’s band Tab was up next. We were scheduled to go on at 9, it was 8:45 and Tab hadn’t hit the stage, the show was running late. We were worried about the set being cut short. Tab came and went and it was time.
We had a group warm up and the Conan theme blared throughout the house as the fans went crazy. They played Thunderclap and then it was finally time to come out. The throngs of screaming fans were quite a sight to see. We start with Out on the Streets and from the first note the band is kicking and loud, audience was into it singing every word to every song. We get to Revolution and I struggle with the vocal a little, trying to settle down, the nervous energy is getting to me just a bit. We get to Rock Rebellion and I’m a tad more comfortable a black guy in the audience saw me on-stage, he seemed a bit surprised to see me as I put my fist in the air, he puts his fist in the air towards me, a sign of solidarity. I am having an amazing time.
Midway through the set, I see my mother my sister and her best friend. It’s a comforting feeling. My family has always been there no matter what crazy turns my career has taken. I start to really settle in when we get to I Know You like My Band, which might be my favorite Bang Camaro Song. It was the first time I could clearly hear myself in the monitors
We’re nearing the end of the set and we walk off as the band continues to rock faces off, I am spent, trying to pull up enough energy to finish (pacing myself is going to be very important during this tour) I get myself together and we return for Blood Red Rock (where I almost fall head first into the stage monitor) and Push Push Lady Lightning. Then the crowd clamoring for more asks for Night Lies, one of the songs I struggled with during rehearsals, we pull it off.
The show is over I am tried, hoarse, and drenched in my own sweat. I got a chance to meet some cool people, sign some autographs, and load the equipment in the van. The show was a success, it felt great, but I have many, many, lessons to learn in order to fully contribute to this band. I was tighter than I would have wanted to be, but I always am on opening night, once I’m rock solid in terms of confidence that will change.
I’m looking forward to SXSW next week. It’s going to be awesome.
Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 4
Day 3 - March 12, 2009
Today was a slow day as far as Bang Camaro happenings. I ventured further into Cambridge to try and find some breakfast. I ended up at the Cambridge Coffee Shop where I met my first black person in Boston today, a nice woman from DC who explained to me that Cambridge & Somerville (The Section I’m staying in) was generally light on color. I had three pancakes and some bacon and walked back to the apartment.
When I got back to the apartment I decided to pick up my guitar for the first time. Picking up the martin gives a sense of the familiar as I make chords and strum. I had some new ideas for tunes that I played enough to commit to memory, no lyrics yet just ideas. It got to the point where I was jonesing to perform somewhere. It had been 3 days since I’d performed Boy Wonder songs for anyone. So I hit up the wonderful world wide web in search of a Boston Open Mic on a Thursday Night.
I found something called sqwak coffee house that started at 9PM, the key was finding out when Bang Camaro rehearsal was. It would be our last before the tour starts and it was scheduled to start at 11PM, I figured I could go, play, and be back in time to rehearse with the band. Shawn/Sean made arrangements to visit some friends in Quincy so he wouldn’t be making the rehearsal, he and I rehearsed some tunes in the living room of the apartment.
The band agreed to drop me off at Sqwak but as I looked the address I realized that it was an old church, before I could voice my second thoughts about this enterprise the van drove off. A quick phone call and I discovered that the open mic actually was in the church. I had to wait 30 minutes to get in so I took the time to walk around Harvard’s campus. People watching is one of my favorite pass times, these people seemed to have more on their mind than I did when I was in college.
I walked back and after some waiting I went in, something comforting and familiar about signing up for an open mic.
The crowd was older, the environment was warm, they told me that these people had been coming to this open mic since 1990, which was pretty impressive. The room was in the back of the church sanctuary they had a divider up so that you couldn’t see the pulpit and such. They opened up with the host reading some poetry by Pablo Neruda with a pan flute playing behind them. They asked me to come up first. So I slam into (Oh) I Wish I Loved You feeling more and more like myself with every note. I was a bit nervous until the small crowd applauded me. It’s been a while since I performed in front of a crowd that small and I delighted in sharing some witty banter with them about music and my songs. I banged through How Can This Be Love and I noticed how my short time with Bang Camaro has really improved my singing. Having to sing from chest and diaphragm with them is forcing me to do it naturally. I ended with Wasted, something I thought would be appropriate in the environment I was in. I sat and watched a high school kids play Eric Clapton’s hello friend before Bryn called me and told me he was outside.
As I was walking out I heard the host talk about how it was the first time they’d ever had Graham Crackers at the open mic. Then I learned that Graham Crackers were originally invented to suppress a woman’s libido. I’ll have to research that later.
I really got a chance to talk to Bryn a lot about the industry and learn about the way Bang Camaro does business. I shared my limited experience with the big bad music industry and it allowed me to get some prospective on what I may be able to do where my own career is concerned. I’ve learned a great deal in just the few short days that I’ve spent in Boston with these guys.
His girlfriend came by the apartment and the three of us watched a documentary on Genesis, shot the shit about music, life, the differences between Boston and Philadelphia etc. I feel like I talk about Philly a lot when I talk to the members of the band sometimes, I guess I’m one of a select few that gets excited whenever the city is mentioned.
Bryn was home to sleep in his bed so I have the couch tonight. After an awful Avengers re-run on Disney XD I hit the sack.
Big day tomorrow.
Today was a slow day as far as Bang Camaro happenings. I ventured further into Cambridge to try and find some breakfast. I ended up at the Cambridge Coffee Shop where I met my first black person in Boston today, a nice woman from DC who explained to me that Cambridge & Somerville (The Section I’m staying in) was generally light on color. I had three pancakes and some bacon and walked back to the apartment.
When I got back to the apartment I decided to pick up my guitar for the first time. Picking up the martin gives a sense of the familiar as I make chords and strum. I had some new ideas for tunes that I played enough to commit to memory, no lyrics yet just ideas. It got to the point where I was jonesing to perform somewhere. It had been 3 days since I’d performed Boy Wonder songs for anyone. So I hit up the wonderful world wide web in search of a Boston Open Mic on a Thursday Night.
I found something called sqwak coffee house that started at 9PM, the key was finding out when Bang Camaro rehearsal was. It would be our last before the tour starts and it was scheduled to start at 11PM, I figured I could go, play, and be back in time to rehearse with the band. Shawn/Sean made arrangements to visit some friends in Quincy so he wouldn’t be making the rehearsal, he and I rehearsed some tunes in the living room of the apartment.
The band agreed to drop me off at Sqwak but as I looked the address I realized that it was an old church, before I could voice my second thoughts about this enterprise the van drove off. A quick phone call and I discovered that the open mic actually was in the church. I had to wait 30 minutes to get in so I took the time to walk around Harvard’s campus. People watching is one of my favorite pass times, these people seemed to have more on their mind than I did when I was in college.
I walked back and after some waiting I went in, something comforting and familiar about signing up for an open mic.
The crowd was older, the environment was warm, they told me that these people had been coming to this open mic since 1990, which was pretty impressive. The room was in the back of the church sanctuary they had a divider up so that you couldn’t see the pulpit and such. They opened up with the host reading some poetry by Pablo Neruda with a pan flute playing behind them. They asked me to come up first. So I slam into (Oh) I Wish I Loved You feeling more and more like myself with every note. I was a bit nervous until the small crowd applauded me. It’s been a while since I performed in front of a crowd that small and I delighted in sharing some witty banter with them about music and my songs. I banged through How Can This Be Love and I noticed how my short time with Bang Camaro has really improved my singing. Having to sing from chest and diaphragm with them is forcing me to do it naturally. I ended with Wasted, something I thought would be appropriate in the environment I was in. I sat and watched a high school kids play Eric Clapton’s hello friend before Bryn called me and told me he was outside.
As I was walking out I heard the host talk about how it was the first time they’d ever had Graham Crackers at the open mic. Then I learned that Graham Crackers were originally invented to suppress a woman’s libido. I’ll have to research that later.
I really got a chance to talk to Bryn a lot about the industry and learn about the way Bang Camaro does business. I shared my limited experience with the big bad music industry and it allowed me to get some prospective on what I may be able to do where my own career is concerned. I’ve learned a great deal in just the few short days that I’ve spent in Boston with these guys.
His girlfriend came by the apartment and the three of us watched a documentary on Genesis, shot the shit about music, life, the differences between Boston and Philadelphia etc. I feel like I talk about Philly a lot when I talk to the members of the band sometimes, I guess I’m one of a select few that gets excited whenever the city is mentioned.
Bryn was home to sleep in his bed so I have the couch tonight. After an awful Avengers re-run on Disney XD I hit the sack.
Big day tomorrow.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 3
Day 2 - March 11th 2009
I woke up at 6 by mistake today. An involuntary response of having to be at work early for the past four years (at 7 for two year and then at 8:30 for two more) it was a disorienting moment for me and I got a little nervous. There was an optimus prime head on the floor and I realized I wasn’t in my room, then I realized I wasn’t in my house, then not in Philly, I remembered that I’d quit my job to go on tour with Bang Camaro, I was in Boston, I breathed deep and went back to bed.
I was the first one up and out (these guys sleep till 3..lol) With nothing to do but rehearse I decided to venture out into the neighborhood and see if I could find food and wi-fi. I am a stranger in a strange land. Not a great deal of smiling people here in Boston so far. I threw on my ipod and listened to Bojiban’s new EP All Night All Day. I am reminded that I miss home.
I stumbled upon the All American sandwich bar where I found both. A decent turkey sandwich and my first communications with my Philly peeps. Most ask the same questions, “How’s the tour going?” “Are they treating you well?” “Great and Yes” are my answers every time. Philly Rising was canceled for Monday so I needed to get the word out. I heard at the next table that U2 would be performing at the Somerville Theater not too far from where I’m staying, apparently they’re on a promo tour for their album and they played four songs and answered some questions.
I got back from the sandwich shop and Alex asked me to accompany him to meet up with Sean/Shawn a fellow Philly resident that would be joining us for the tour singing in the A section. Sean/Shawn, seemed really nice, and older guy, lives in Chestnut Hill, has a wife and son at home, and has only been in Philly for about year and didn’t really know it that well. He blogs about Rock music from his own site. There’s hope for me yet. Relationships are often a casualty of this kind of life so it’s good to see people like Shawn/Sean keep theirs afloat.
On the way back to the apartment I was treated to my first taste of downtown Boston. The architecture reminded me of some weird sci-fi movie where really new modern looking buildings were right next to really old looking ones. Everything I saw was really low to the ground. One of the thing I loved about Philly was the tall buildings, they made you feel like you could hide and be anonymous as opposed to here where it feels like everyone can see you. It certainly feels smaller.
Sean/Shawn got settled at the apartment and we got back to work at the rehearsal space. I learned that most of the singers weren’t going to be there because they got free tickets to see Philly natives Hall & Oates, so basically there was one person representing each section to start (Shawn/Sean for A Myself for B, and Nick for C) until Jake joined us. We basically went over most of the set, vocal fatigue began to set in when we went over the new single revolution, it’s something hat concerns me, because I have trouble with the tune, strains the testicles, lol. I’m fairly comfortable with everything else.
Between songs I would strap on Alex’s guitar (a beautifuly built cream color custom strat style guitar) and play (I miss my guitars) the owner came in and said they have a jazz jam Tuesdays and Thursdays…interesting.
We hung around the rehearsal space for a few after rehearsal was over and listened to Nick and Jake roast each other (well mainly it was everyone roasting Jake). Nick and Jake Given are brothers, skyscrapers, and really funny guys. They were talking about fat chicks on the road and I asked “How fat is fat?” turns out we had a different definition of fat chicks, being a man of color I like ‘em a little rounder sometimes (not 500 pounds obviously). I like all kinds of women . I was able to successfully divert attention back to the roasting of Jake. I found that Nick and Jake have another brother named Zach which made me chuckle, cause what’s a Boy Wonder experience without two brothers named Jake and Zach.
Last night I was on Alex (The term they use to describe who’s gonna be taking you home or out after rehearsal) tonight Shawn/Sean and I were on Pete (Bang Camaro’s Drummer) Pete is an absolute beast on drums and like Bryn and Alex is just one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met. He answered all of our questions and I retired to bed shortly after.
Tomorrow will be the last rehearsal before the first show of the tour in NYC. Should be pretty cut and dry. It’s gonna be late though I think since we share the space with two other bands.
I bid Optimus good night and shut my eyes.
I woke up at 6 by mistake today. An involuntary response of having to be at work early for the past four years (at 7 for two year and then at 8:30 for two more) it was a disorienting moment for me and I got a little nervous. There was an optimus prime head on the floor and I realized I wasn’t in my room, then I realized I wasn’t in my house, then not in Philly, I remembered that I’d quit my job to go on tour with Bang Camaro, I was in Boston, I breathed deep and went back to bed.
I was the first one up and out (these guys sleep till 3..lol) With nothing to do but rehearse I decided to venture out into the neighborhood and see if I could find food and wi-fi. I am a stranger in a strange land. Not a great deal of smiling people here in Boston so far. I threw on my ipod and listened to Bojiban’s new EP All Night All Day. I am reminded that I miss home.
I stumbled upon the All American sandwich bar where I found both. A decent turkey sandwich and my first communications with my Philly peeps. Most ask the same questions, “How’s the tour going?” “Are they treating you well?” “Great and Yes” are my answers every time. Philly Rising was canceled for Monday so I needed to get the word out. I heard at the next table that U2 would be performing at the Somerville Theater not too far from where I’m staying, apparently they’re on a promo tour for their album and they played four songs and answered some questions.
I got back from the sandwich shop and Alex asked me to accompany him to meet up with Sean/Shawn a fellow Philly resident that would be joining us for the tour singing in the A section. Sean/Shawn, seemed really nice, and older guy, lives in Chestnut Hill, has a wife and son at home, and has only been in Philly for about year and didn’t really know it that well. He blogs about Rock music from his own site. There’s hope for me yet. Relationships are often a casualty of this kind of life so it’s good to see people like Shawn/Sean keep theirs afloat.
On the way back to the apartment I was treated to my first taste of downtown Boston. The architecture reminded me of some weird sci-fi movie where really new modern looking buildings were right next to really old looking ones. Everything I saw was really low to the ground. One of the thing I loved about Philly was the tall buildings, they made you feel like you could hide and be anonymous as opposed to here where it feels like everyone can see you. It certainly feels smaller.
Sean/Shawn got settled at the apartment and we got back to work at the rehearsal space. I learned that most of the singers weren’t going to be there because they got free tickets to see Philly natives Hall & Oates, so basically there was one person representing each section to start (Shawn/Sean for A Myself for B, and Nick for C) until Jake joined us. We basically went over most of the set, vocal fatigue began to set in when we went over the new single revolution, it’s something hat concerns me, because I have trouble with the tune, strains the testicles, lol. I’m fairly comfortable with everything else.
Between songs I would strap on Alex’s guitar (a beautifuly built cream color custom strat style guitar) and play (I miss my guitars) the owner came in and said they have a jazz jam Tuesdays and Thursdays…interesting.
We hung around the rehearsal space for a few after rehearsal was over and listened to Nick and Jake roast each other (well mainly it was everyone roasting Jake). Nick and Jake Given are brothers, skyscrapers, and really funny guys. They were talking about fat chicks on the road and I asked “How fat is fat?” turns out we had a different definition of fat chicks, being a man of color I like ‘em a little rounder sometimes (not 500 pounds obviously). I like all kinds of women . I was able to successfully divert attention back to the roasting of Jake. I found that Nick and Jake have another brother named Zach which made me chuckle, cause what’s a Boy Wonder experience without two brothers named Jake and Zach.
Last night I was on Alex (The term they use to describe who’s gonna be taking you home or out after rehearsal) tonight Shawn/Sean and I were on Pete (Bang Camaro’s Drummer) Pete is an absolute beast on drums and like Bryn and Alex is just one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met. He answered all of our questions and I retired to bed shortly after.
Tomorrow will be the last rehearsal before the first show of the tour in NYC. Should be pretty cut and dry. It’s gonna be late though I think since we share the space with two other bands.
I bid Optimus good night and shut my eyes.
Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 2
Day 1 - March 10 2009
After a month long goodbye to Philadelphia and a short flight, I landed in Boston today around 4:30. As I got my bag my mind wandered back to 1996. I was in eighth grade at TCA at the time and the high school music teacher asked if I wanted to sing with the high school choir on their tour of Boston. They never ask middle school kids so I really wanted to go but my parents, who didn’t want to send their 12 year old son that far away with no one to look after him, told me no. I was pretty bummed out. Thirteen years later here I sit in a Boston Airport awaiting Alex (Bang Camaro guitarist)’s arrival to pick me up and take me to prepare for a national tour. A major event in my life and Boston is a part of it.
Alex arrived and threw my bag in the van, the sheer weight of it will probably give him a hernia. The drive over to the apartment we spent most of the time talking. In general these guys are pretty warm and open people which is good because I have to get to know these guys quicker that I would in a more normal situation. I was treated to funny stories about other members of the band and some general info about the do’s and don’ts of the tour.
1) Don’t be late for the van
2) Don’t be late for sound check
3) Don’t be late for the show
He explained that we’re all brothers on the road, a comforting notion, seeing as I’ve never really been away from my family. I felt a bit better knowing people were going to be looking out for me.
Alex and I arrived at the apartment shared by him Bryn (Bang Camaro guitarist) and Pete (Bang Camaro Drummer) it was a really cool place. Cleaner than most places shared by three bachelors. Alex gently told me that I would be handling my own bag from here on out. They christened it the dead hooker bag and let me know that the band would be busting my balls about it for the duration of the tour.
We walked over to the thirsty scholar, one of many Irish Bars here in the Boston area, place had free wi-fi and Alex was checking his email and going over projections for the upcoming tour. He let me have a look and I got my first lesson. I learned an awful lot about what it takes to tour for an indy rock band that takes 11 people on the road right then and there. It’s not an easy or cheap undertaking. I’m glad a I paid attention in school because there was a lot math involved.
Bryn arrived and we hopped in the van and scooped up Pete for rehearsal which would be my first. The choir is split into three sections A (High parts) B (Mid to low parts) C (Really Low parts and chanting) I was told I’d be in B Group. When I arrived I met Doz Bang Camaro’s bassist, a New Zealand native (first time I ever met one) and a very talented musician. They ran through some stuff on their own. Jake (who I met when I came in for my audition) was the first of the singers to arrive. We shot the shit outside as the other singers arrived. As they all began to come down the hallway a few things became apparent.
1) I am the shortest person in the band
2) I am the only black person in the room
I figured that number two would be true, I’ve been the only black guy in the room for most of my musical life but it’s still a bit jarring. It shouldn’t matter but we are going to some places in this country where it still might to some people. Obama’s election although majorly significant doesn’t signify a post racial society. I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t something I worried about even with the band as backup. There is also something to be said about a shared cultural experience something that I will miss being on tour. The bond that they have is strong and they have opened up their arms to me so I’m no longer worried about making friends.
Then the moment finally came. I would sing these songs for the first time with the band and all of the singers. I was nervous. If you’ve ever listened to my music (http://myspace.com/boywonderrocks) I’m not a belter by any stretch of the imagination. I for the most part sing smooth sensitive stuff. These guys go hard, they go fast and they go loud. I just breathed deep and did the best I could. When the song was over I was expecting them to realize they made a mistake and send me packing back to Philly. Quite the contrary, the band seemed to be pretty impressed, apparently there’s been this big voice inside of me just waiting to get out. I’m louder that everyone else which they don’t hesitate to point out.
There was an awkward moment Richie, a fellow B Grouper suggested that I throw a little more soul into one of the songs we were doing, it was a needle on the record moment (those scenes in the movies where someone says something awkward at a dance and the record stops playing) and everyone seemed to look at him with their eyes wide. I knew what he meant and immediately laughed it off to dispel the little tension that was in the room. He told me he had never heard the songs sang with so much soul they even changed a line in one of the songs based on a mistake I’d made during one of the run throughs, they called it a stevie wonder note. We got through pretty much every tune they’re interested in doing. And after a few hours rehearsal was over.
We hung out with Horray for Earth in their rehearsal space afterwards, they’re an amazing band. We hit a bar called Deep Elem and was surprised to see the bar closing at 1:15 (As we all know in Philly we close at 2) we went someplace else and I think I fell asleep for a while at one of the tables. We bounced and went back to the apartment and I got some rest.
As I shut my eyes I thought three things
1) I’m no longer worried about whether or not I can sing in this band
2) I’m no longer worried about whether or not I’ll be able to get along with these guys for two months
3) This Optimus Prime head on the floor is pretty cool
All in all good first day
After a month long goodbye to Philadelphia and a short flight, I landed in Boston today around 4:30. As I got my bag my mind wandered back to 1996. I was in eighth grade at TCA at the time and the high school music teacher asked if I wanted to sing with the high school choir on their tour of Boston. They never ask middle school kids so I really wanted to go but my parents, who didn’t want to send their 12 year old son that far away with no one to look after him, told me no. I was pretty bummed out. Thirteen years later here I sit in a Boston Airport awaiting Alex (Bang Camaro guitarist)’s arrival to pick me up and take me to prepare for a national tour. A major event in my life and Boston is a part of it.
Alex arrived and threw my bag in the van, the sheer weight of it will probably give him a hernia. The drive over to the apartment we spent most of the time talking. In general these guys are pretty warm and open people which is good because I have to get to know these guys quicker that I would in a more normal situation. I was treated to funny stories about other members of the band and some general info about the do’s and don’ts of the tour.
1) Don’t be late for the van
2) Don’t be late for sound check
3) Don’t be late for the show
He explained that we’re all brothers on the road, a comforting notion, seeing as I’ve never really been away from my family. I felt a bit better knowing people were going to be looking out for me.
Alex and I arrived at the apartment shared by him Bryn (Bang Camaro guitarist) and Pete (Bang Camaro Drummer) it was a really cool place. Cleaner than most places shared by three bachelors. Alex gently told me that I would be handling my own bag from here on out. They christened it the dead hooker bag and let me know that the band would be busting my balls about it for the duration of the tour.
We walked over to the thirsty scholar, one of many Irish Bars here in the Boston area, place had free wi-fi and Alex was checking his email and going over projections for the upcoming tour. He let me have a look and I got my first lesson. I learned an awful lot about what it takes to tour for an indy rock band that takes 11 people on the road right then and there. It’s not an easy or cheap undertaking. I’m glad a I paid attention in school because there was a lot math involved.
Bryn arrived and we hopped in the van and scooped up Pete for rehearsal which would be my first. The choir is split into three sections A (High parts) B (Mid to low parts) C (Really Low parts and chanting) I was told I’d be in B Group. When I arrived I met Doz Bang Camaro’s bassist, a New Zealand native (first time I ever met one) and a very talented musician. They ran through some stuff on their own. Jake (who I met when I came in for my audition) was the first of the singers to arrive. We shot the shit outside as the other singers arrived. As they all began to come down the hallway a few things became apparent.
1) I am the shortest person in the band
2) I am the only black person in the room
I figured that number two would be true, I’ve been the only black guy in the room for most of my musical life but it’s still a bit jarring. It shouldn’t matter but we are going to some places in this country where it still might to some people. Obama’s election although majorly significant doesn’t signify a post racial society. I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t something I worried about even with the band as backup. There is also something to be said about a shared cultural experience something that I will miss being on tour. The bond that they have is strong and they have opened up their arms to me so I’m no longer worried about making friends.
Then the moment finally came. I would sing these songs for the first time with the band and all of the singers. I was nervous. If you’ve ever listened to my music (http://myspace.com/boywonderrocks) I’m not a belter by any stretch of the imagination. I for the most part sing smooth sensitive stuff. These guys go hard, they go fast and they go loud. I just breathed deep and did the best I could. When the song was over I was expecting them to realize they made a mistake and send me packing back to Philly. Quite the contrary, the band seemed to be pretty impressed, apparently there’s been this big voice inside of me just waiting to get out. I’m louder that everyone else which they don’t hesitate to point out.
There was an awkward moment Richie, a fellow B Grouper suggested that I throw a little more soul into one of the songs we were doing, it was a needle on the record moment (those scenes in the movies where someone says something awkward at a dance and the record stops playing) and everyone seemed to look at him with their eyes wide. I knew what he meant and immediately laughed it off to dispel the little tension that was in the room. He told me he had never heard the songs sang with so much soul they even changed a line in one of the songs based on a mistake I’d made during one of the run throughs, they called it a stevie wonder note. We got through pretty much every tune they’re interested in doing. And after a few hours rehearsal was over.
We hung out with Horray for Earth in their rehearsal space afterwards, they’re an amazing band. We hit a bar called Deep Elem and was surprised to see the bar closing at 1:15 (As we all know in Philly we close at 2) we went someplace else and I think I fell asleep for a while at one of the tables. We bounced and went back to the apartment and I got some rest.
As I shut my eyes I thought three things
1) I’m no longer worried about whether or not I can sing in this band
2) I’m no longer worried about whether or not I’ll be able to get along with these guys for two months
3) This Optimus Prime head on the floor is pretty cool
All in all good first day
Boy Wonder: Professional Musician
Friday March 6th at 5PM was the last time I left my job at Drexel University as an employee. I handed in my resignation two weeks prior to embrace the moment I had been waiting for most of my adult life.
It started in early February (sometimes it’s hard to believe that only that much time has passed) I had answered a Craigslist ad (something I rarely do these days) for a band that was looking for singers for a tour. I’d opened it up and saw that it was a band called Bang Camaro that I’d seen on Conan coming home from a gig. The Band had like 10 people singing. I thought it was an interesting concept, the heavy metal choir. I sent them my myspace almost as a goof, I was bored at work and said why not. I never thought I would hear from anyone. Two days later I got an email from Bryn (one of the guitarists) asking if I could come up for an audition. I flew up to Boston with no expectations, honestly I didn’t think I had the sort of voice that would be well suited for the band. I flew back home the same day to host the monthly competition for Philly Rising (I’ll get to that later).
The next day I got an email from Bryn saying that they would like for me to be in the band. WHAT?! Are you kidding?! I thought about it for about 2 hours weighing the pros and cons and decided to go for it. Although it wasn’t an easy decision to make.
On one hand, it’s a tremendous opportunity. This is a band that’s opened Lollapalooza, done conan, playing SXSW, doing the Jimmy Kimmel Show, and playing some pretty legit venues on this tour. The things I could do, learn, and see on a tour like this are second to none. This was a dream that I had finally coming true.
On the other hand, I understood almost right away that I was going to be sacrificing quite a bit to do this. One I would have to stop playing my own music with my own band for an extended period of time, not easy for a songwriter. I have become a fairly successful booking agent in Philadelphia and would have to give that up. I am the host of Philly Rising, the best Open Mic in Philadelphia and would have to give that up. There was the issue of my job at Drexel, a full-time job with benefits (a choice thing in this crappy economy) that I would definitely have to give up. Not to mention the fact that I have never been away from home for an extended amount of time, ever. I’m a guy who loves what he does, I love my family, my friends, and my city. So it wasn’t going to be easy to pull myself out by the roots and go do something else. I feared that people wouldn’t understand.
I knew it was real when I signed that letter of resignation and put it on my bosses desk. I was in effect ending one phase of my life and moving onto another.
It was a weird feeling handing in my ID card and my keys, beginning to say my goodbyes to my friends and family as the day that I would catch a plane to Boston came closer and closer, knowing that I would be leaving everything I knew and loved behind for a while to be on the grind. It did feel good later on that night when someone asked me what I did for a living and I said “I’m a musician” Not a musician and an AV Tech, Not a musician and a theatre teacher, just a musician.
The stakes are high and I don’t know what’s gonna happen, this could be a breakthrough moment for me, I could also be sent home with my tail between my legs and concrete in my teeth. I don’t know how long it’s going to last but for now I’m Boy Wonder: Professional Musician.
It started in early February (sometimes it’s hard to believe that only that much time has passed) I had answered a Craigslist ad (something I rarely do these days) for a band that was looking for singers for a tour. I’d opened it up and saw that it was a band called Bang Camaro that I’d seen on Conan coming home from a gig. The Band had like 10 people singing. I thought it was an interesting concept, the heavy metal choir. I sent them my myspace almost as a goof, I was bored at work and said why not. I never thought I would hear from anyone. Two days later I got an email from Bryn (one of the guitarists) asking if I could come up for an audition. I flew up to Boston with no expectations, honestly I didn’t think I had the sort of voice that would be well suited for the band. I flew back home the same day to host the monthly competition for Philly Rising (I’ll get to that later).
The next day I got an email from Bryn saying that they would like for me to be in the band. WHAT?! Are you kidding?! I thought about it for about 2 hours weighing the pros and cons and decided to go for it. Although it wasn’t an easy decision to make.
On one hand, it’s a tremendous opportunity. This is a band that’s opened Lollapalooza, done conan, playing SXSW, doing the Jimmy Kimmel Show, and playing some pretty legit venues on this tour. The things I could do, learn, and see on a tour like this are second to none. This was a dream that I had finally coming true.
On the other hand, I understood almost right away that I was going to be sacrificing quite a bit to do this. One I would have to stop playing my own music with my own band for an extended period of time, not easy for a songwriter. I have become a fairly successful booking agent in Philadelphia and would have to give that up. I am the host of Philly Rising, the best Open Mic in Philadelphia and would have to give that up. There was the issue of my job at Drexel, a full-time job with benefits (a choice thing in this crappy economy) that I would definitely have to give up. Not to mention the fact that I have never been away from home for an extended amount of time, ever. I’m a guy who loves what he does, I love my family, my friends, and my city. So it wasn’t going to be easy to pull myself out by the roots and go do something else. I feared that people wouldn’t understand.
I knew it was real when I signed that letter of resignation and put it on my bosses desk. I was in effect ending one phase of my life and moving onto another.
It was a weird feeling handing in my ID card and my keys, beginning to say my goodbyes to my friends and family as the day that I would catch a plane to Boston came closer and closer, knowing that I would be leaving everything I knew and loved behind for a while to be on the grind. It did feel good later on that night when someone asked me what I did for a living and I said “I’m a musician” Not a musician and an AV Tech, Not a musician and a theatre teacher, just a musician.
The stakes are high and I don’t know what’s gonna happen, this could be a breakthrough moment for me, I could also be sent home with my tail between my legs and concrete in my teeth. I don’t know how long it’s going to last but for now I’m Boy Wonder: Professional Musician.
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