9.27.2006
Pardon our tardiness patrons!
We were pretty much unable to find wi-fi on the road after the last update, so please, please forgive the cliffhanger that I created with
(oh dear me) Colorado! Utah! and Nevada! Alright, let's see if these digits of mine still know how to tap-dance (type-dance!) . . .
Colorado: We stayed the first night with my hilarious (and noted eye-contact avoider) cousin Nick in wonderful Boulder, CO. His backyard has no need for a fence as the yard kind of drapes down into a valley and the next thing to emerge is an enormous, beautiful mountain that assumes most of the horizon. The first night that we arrived, we momentarily mistook this massive silhouette for clouds - this is probably how pirates became shipwrecked and lost their treasure. We modern children only lost a breath. Although breaths, it turns out, are much harder to recover in Boulder because it exists at such a high altitude. Nick attributed our trouble sleeping to the shallow breathing this caused.
The next day, Nick made us breakfast and we strolled around meeting kids and passing out some flyers and posters for the show that night. Three great things happened: 1.) I came across a very nice album review in Vapors magazine at a head shop, 2.) I went to a really cool dinosaur exhibit, which makes that TWO pterodactyl sightings on tour for me, and 3.) Nick gave me half of his really good sandwich. No need to choose a favorite.
Our show in Denver that night at the 15th Street Tavern left much to be expected, but lighting was not one of them. Oh Phil, I hope you're reading this! For those of you who don't already know, and I assume most of you do, 15th Street has an unstoppable lighting wizard humbly named, Phil. He will be the first to inform you that he has been the volunteer lightman here for over 20 years (note the Certificate of Achievment and photos decorating the walls) and that the other venues don't even have lights. But Phil, let's be gentle, the other venues aren't the only ones with a few blown fuses. He did put on a great show that night and, Phil, wherever you are (15th Street?), Look! We're spreading the word, buddy!
Salt Lake City, UT: We left for Salt Lake City the next morning and saw some really beautiful Utah red rock formations on the way. Finding the Broken Record Bar was no problem, despite its being cleverly disguised as Todd's Bar and Grill. We hit up this Chinese place (ehh) before the show and then headed back and watched way too many skateboard videos. The show went well and we had fun - anything else to say about that? Oh wait! I lost my favorite, glorious ring at that venue and the bastard that found out it didn't turn it in! I bet I left it at the bathroom sink and I bet the girl that went in after me took it and, well, if that's true then I just can't believe I smiled and held the door open for you, you dirty, double-crosser! Maybe I'll post a picture of the ring so that this person may be hunted . . .
Reno, NV: You are my friends and I won't lie to you, inherently, I do not have a great fondness for this city. Maybe its the casino-side pawn shops. Perhaps its the combined scent of approaching death, overused hairspray, and slashed hopes. Or it could just be that I find it too vicey in general. This time, though, I'm pretty sure it was the terribly massive motorcycle convention that was literally filling the streets of downtown Reno. I can't even tell you how many streets were blocked off to make room for their beastly guests. I know we all get pretty excited about leather, skullcaps (perhaps a combo of those two), "homewrecker" hotdogs, and shirts that make you look like you have tattoo sleeves, but is that any reason to forget we are ladies and gentlemen? (No, good sir, your beckoning does not stir any inclination to come a bit closer.) And why do we need so many booths to satifsfy your hunger for these four things? Personally, I thought the "White Trash Boutique" booth ( I am not fabricating this booth or its name) did an admirable job of catering to all of these diverse needs.
Inside the casinos, Brian and Chris were definitely "feeling lucky!" Aren't we all? Chris' notion was quickly dismissed and he accepted the inevitable. For Brian, though, "the inevitable" in a casino only refers to a second trip to the ATM. In the end, however, he had the last laugh as he bested the Silver Legacy out of over twenty dollars! Hah! That's for the lady who was sobbing when we came in!
Well, not in any monetary sense. This is Reno baby! Clickety-clack!
After our sins, we went and confessed to the most delicious pizza of the tour (Redeeming Quality #1)! It was conveniently located right next door to the Satellite, where we were playing with our friends An Angle, so that we might immediatley have after dinner drinks (after is so much more efficient than before). I will say that the people at the show were all very nice and they were definitely Reno's Redeeming Quality #2. Good times. With Sacramento a mere two hours away, however, we just couldn't resist leaving that night for our respective homes.
And now we are!!!!!
Thank you, thank you to those who helped us along the way and made this trip such a good experience for us.
To everyone reading this and everyone we met, we hope you're doing well.
xo,
Teresa
P.S. We're hoping to have some photos from the tour uploaded by this Friday. Chris is a very busy whiz-kid chip designer (he has many leather bound books), so we'll just have to be patient. :)
9.19.2006
Oh what the Midwest has done to us!
Columbia, MO: We played at this really neat little place called the Blue Fugue. We opened, headlined, and were the only band on the bill. As it happened, the show dazzled the owner right into buying us a round of chartreuse! This was a first for a couple of us, so for those of you who don't know I'll reel off this liqueur's two fames: 1.) It is made by only a handful of monasteries in France and it said that these monks alone possess the recipe of over 100 ingredients. 2.) It is the only liqueur to be so beautiful as to have a color named after itself. Lovely and aromatic - a true delight!
Chris' parents came out to the show and we drove back to Rolla, MO where they live on 11 acres. It was nice to have a bit of home and a bit of jacuzzi. In this band, we bring bathing suits everywhere we go in hopes of perhaps running into a jacuzzi - we love them. Woke up that morning to one of the wildest lightning-thunder storms I've heard in a while. There's nothing like the sound of torrential rain while you're swimming in a sea of warm blankets. There's also nothing like going outside and seeing softball sized bubbles protruding from two of your van tires. Scary. Needless to say, we replaced all four.
(Chris here: My good friends from missouri high school days, Alosin Hunter and Colib Webb came out to see us. Thanks so much guys, it was great seeing you!)
Kansas City, MO: There was a little confusion, but we did play the Record Bar there. Right off the bat I've got to say that the food here was by far the best bar food I have ever had. Brian and I went to town. The show went really well and we were pleased to find a black & white photo booth afterward. I don't remember if I mentioned that we did TWO rounds of photo booth back in St. Paul. We're hoping that eventually all of our band photos will be of this persuasion.
(Chris here again: Shout outs to old band compatriots of mine Shawn Ng from The Francos and Wes Gartner from Norman 360 who were at the show. Lets give some reconigiton to my Lawrence friends Adam, Brandon, Steve & Marshall from The Esoteric, Brandon and my younger brother Danny. ALSO - The owner of the venue was a member of Season to Risk and THE DRUMMER FROM SHINER was there and liked our band. Fabulous evening, indeed.)
Stayed in Lawrence, KS with Chris' younger (but larger) brother Danny who introduced the boys to Guitar Hero. Its basically Dance Dance Revolution, but with a miniature guitar instead of dance pad. That game ate them alive. We got to see a little of Lawrence before heading out the next day and it was definitely enough to make us really want to come back.
Omaha, NE: Oleavers on Saddle Creek Rd.! You know its going to be a good time when the venue's sign outside reads, "Word to the Totally." Yes. Aside from outrageously suffocating smoke inside, this show was so much fun! We got to play a packed venue with a local band called Go Motion (really fun to watch and great guys) and this Jade Tree band Snowden (also a lot of fun and great people. Hopefully we'll play with them again in Atlanta). This was another case of promoter charmed into getting us a round of shots (mid-set no less), except this time it was "Nebraska Mouthwash" AKA Rumplemints, another first for most of us. Well that set the tone for kind of a doozie. Oddly enough we ended up staying in a vacant apartment owned by James of Go Motion that night where things went from bad to worse (as far as the next morning goes).
Onward to Colorado. We play Denver tomorrow.
Love to all our readers and listeners,
Teresa, etc.
9.16.2006
Yes. The Body Worlds exhibit was outstanding. The human body is even more stunningly beautiful than I had yet known. Also, there was a pterodactyl skeleton hanging from the ceiling of the museum's lobby and I had no idea those creatures were so enormous. Chris and I agree that 1.) The excursion to the Science Museum of Minnesota was an A+ and 2.) Science museums, in general, are excellent.
Played in Chicago a couple nights ago at the South Union Arts Center. The SUAC occupies the only standing building on a street where every antiquity has been torn down to make way for the onslaught of new apartments. The building also happens to be an old, decrepit ex-church, all brick. Inside, the ten foot neon-light crucifix still hangs behind the alter beaming: "Jesus is the Light of the World" and at His feet, "Rev. Al Sharp's Invention." A bizarre sight to be sure. Definitely one of my favorite venues ever. I took a million pictures. [Note: Pictures have yet to be uploaded as I am really the only one who has been taking them regularly and I am also the one who forgot to bring her camera-to-comp. cord with her. We'll backtrack when we get home. Sorry about that.]
An old friend from Sacramento put us up that night with some of the best accommodations yet. I received a dirty call later in the evening via the relay telephone service intended for the hearing impaired to place calls. A middle-aged operator (probably your mom) was therefore forced to say inappropriate things to me for a good ten minutes. Thank you Cliff and Brian.
The next morning we got to see more of downtown Chicago, including the amazing Millennium Park, before heading to DeKalb, IL for our next show at the House Cafe. That show was a lot of fun - many shredding bands. We also found out the owner's name is Freed Hawk. Of course it is.
DeKalb likes to party. They were firing bottlerockets at the neighboring party (which we later attended) when we arrived, so we got inspired and shot off some of the rockets we bought (superior) in Wisconsin. Some hooligans (the ones we were lighting fireworks with) put a breast of chicken with a stamp on it into the mailbox of a neighbor who had dared to scold them for climbing in his front yard dryer machine the night before. Come now, are we not men?
Back on the road now. Columbia, MO we're coming for you.
xo,
Teresa
9.13.2006
Let's see, since I last wrote I believe we've been in three states. The Missoula, MT show went well and a boy named Mike was nice enough to put us up for the night. Once on the road again, we had a twelve hour drive to Bismark, ND which led us past many wild things on the way. One of those was WILD, UNCAGED GRIZZLY BEARS! There were a bunch of signs to pull off the road and drive in our van amidst them (you know, the way Native Americans used to), but supposedly there was not enough time to stop. This is also what prevented us from attending the “Testicle Festival : Have a Ball!” They get pretty creative with reasons to celebrate in Montana.I must say, though, Montana did have some pretty stunningly beautiful sights to offer as well. The rock formations never ceased to amaze. It looks a lot like the red rock formations of Utah, minus the color. Unlike, the sunset which packed in more color than I’ve ever seen in any chemical-induced LA sunset. What a gem. Less comforting was the simple grave marker I saw near the road. It was a wooden white cross with only the word “YOU” painted in black across it. How mysterious. Maybe that’s what has me so attracted to spotting a ghost on one of these dark, secluded, back-country roads . . .
Woke up in Bismark to bees swarming the grill of our van again. They’ve been doing that. Hit the road and stopped only for the Space Alien’s Bar and Grill. That was, dare I say, out of this world? We’ll post pictures. Once in Minnesota, I realized they really do deserve the name Land of a Thousand Lakes. They’re everywhere. Another beautiful country.
Spent the night in Minneapolis and Chris and I went to see Ratatat, with a dash of Built to Spill performing in the next room. This has been an amazing trip for seeing great music. Minneapolis is a really nice city, met a bunch of cool kids.
We’ll be playing St. Paul tonight at the Turf Club and I think Chris and I are going early to visit the Body World exhibit at the Science Museum of Minnesota. I’ve been wanting to see this exhibit for a couple years now. It’s going to be amazing. You can check it out at www.bodyworlds.com
Hope you’re having the best day of your life,
Teresa
9.13.2006 - Denver Show Added!
Chris here. Teresa is still working on her update. Just wanted to write a quick note to say that we've added another show:
September 20, 2006
Denver,CO
@ 15th St Tavern w/ TBA - 8pm
Thats all. Last night Teresa and I went to see Ratatat @ First-Avenue(7th St. room) in Minneapolis. Those guys are funny. And good.
9.12.2006
Tour is fun so far. Our show at Berbatis for Portland NW MusicFest went really well. Played missoula last night. Spent ALL DAY driving through montana and now we're in Bismark,ND. Beautiful country. Got pulled over in Montana... for doing "88" and got a $40 ticket that we had to pay on the spot. Yeah. Our van can barely go 75... no way we we're doing 88.. The speedometer only goes to 85 and if it goes any faster we go back in time to the 1950's and have to find a suitable replacement for 1.21 GigaWatts. Doc! Also had deer run in front of the van. That was fun. Its 3:30am here. Gnite. T-dogg will probably update more tomorrow. <3Chris
09.10.2006
Hello dear readers,
We took off from beloved Portland this morning to tread across Idaho and into Montana, Missoula to be exact.
We saw many robotic features while on the road that I would like to share with you: 200 ft long/15 ft high motorized mobile sprinkling beasts. They roamed the farming pastures, void of all emotion, seeking only to wet all terrain and moving about like steel centipedes on their enormous wheels. Lesser in size, but equally fascinating, was an iron cage-globe car meant for duo operation. The future has arrived and it is just as Waterworld said it would be.
We also met Mark. If you don't know Mark he is the grungy old man driving around in a junk-filled hatchback with a binder paper sign taped to his rear window that reads: For a good time call Mark, 775-848-7577. Chris gave him a call and we identified ourselves as the van to his left. It turns out males need not apply, just so you know.
Montana is crawling with casinos, did you know that?
Oh yes, Chris mentioned that I saw Stephen Malkmus, but I would like to add that I saw the Silver Jews as well! What a wonderful night . . .
If you're in Missoula, or close to it, come check us out at the Raven Cafe - its really cute. If we don't lose Brian to his casino addiction tonight we'll be back on the road tomorrow.
Until then you beautiful babies,
Teresa
P.S. The boys asked that I remind everyone to do their Kegel's. They are good for boys and girls. If you passed us on the road today, Chris may have sent one your way. For more information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kegel_exercises
09.09.2006
After getting into Portland last night, Ezra & Megan made us all vegan burgers for dinner then we went out on the town to check out some of the Friday night music acts for the Portland Northwest MusicFest. I saw M1 (from dead prez), The Blow, The Kingdom and Copy. Lucky-duck Teresa go to see Steve Malkmus. Brian saw... Phantom Planet. Anyway, so we're all relaxin' at Ezra's place, soaking in some rays and playing ultimate frisbee. The website should officially launch today, though it still needs some work. We're playing Berbati's tonight and we're all very excited.
-Chris
News - 09.08.2006 - "motorboatin'"
The album is done. The website is (sorta) done. We just left for our very first midwest tour. We had an early morning scare with the van where the hood wouldnt open. It took us a long time. Ira figured it out. But he was still drunk so I think that gave him extra automotive powers. We need a nice picture of the van.
Taco Bell. EW.
Holy shit. Ezra and Slowdance Records are so cool. Holy shit. Ezra and Slowdance Records are so cool. Holy shit. Ezra and Slowdance Records are so cool. Holy shit. Ezra and Slowdance Records are so cool. Holy shit. Ezra and Slowdance Records are so cool. Holy shit. Ezra and Slowdance Records are so cool. Holy shit. Ezra and Slowdance Records are so cool.Holy shit. Ezra and Slowdance Records are so cool.Holy shit. Ezra and Slowdance Records are so cool.Holy shit. Ezra and Slowdance Records are so cool.
09.08.2006
Chris here. Just working on the website trying to get all this HTML and CSS stuff going. We're all in the van. Everyone is chilling while i'm slaving away at the computer. Everyone takes me for granted. :(