SXSW - Austin, TX (Day 4)

Yesterday ended up being pretty cool. We went to lunch with our A&R guy
and our booking agent. That was a good time. After that, the guys
practiced their acoustic set. Then, we went to the festival to watch
MuteMath play. They played a good set, but it was plagued with
technical difficulties. There was a sound guy on stage at least 75% of
their set. Not cool. Anyways, we went back to our buddy's apartment
after that to relax for the evening.

Today, the guys played an acoustic set at the
Indieclick/Absolutepunk.net party (at SXSW). The guys were all a little
nervous about the acoustic set. Fortunately, it ended up going really
well! They sounded great and people really dug it! After the party, we
said our goodbyes and jumped in the van.

Overall, South By Southwest was a real good time! We saw some good
shows, made some good contacts, and had a lot of fun. I can't wait for
the festival next year. Hopefully the guys will be playing a lot of
shows at next year's festival!

We're now about three and a half hours into our fifteen hour drive back
home. We're driving through the night, so we should be home early
tomorrow afternoon. I'm pretty stoked to have a few weeks off. The
tour went really well overall. Two weeks at home will be good, but I'm
sure I'll be ready to go back out in early April!

*Lakin and Chad - Thank you both for putting us up for days at a time.
We owe you both big time!

SXSW - Austin, TX (Day 3)

Yesterday was awesome! We went to a burger joint for lunch. After that,
we made our way to the festival. We met up with some people and watched
a few bands on the Purevolume outdoor stage. We got to see a band
called 'As Tall As Lions'...they're one of the guys' favorite bands.

The guys jumped on a show on the Purevolume indoor stage. I'm really
glad they did! There was about 50 people there for the show. A lot of
important people were there, so that was awesome!

After the show, we went over to the Sire records party. We watched
Jack's Mannequin play. They were awesome (as always). We hung out
after their set and then made our way back home.

Overall, great night! Today, we are having lunch with some friends and
the guys are practicing their acoustic set (for the party they're
playing tomorrow). Tonight, we are hoping to see another one of the
guys' favorite bands - MuteMath. On top of all that, it's Jared's
(20th) birthday! It should be a good day!

SXSW - Austin, TX (Days 1 and 2)

So we're in Austin, TX for this huge music festival called 'South By
Southwest' (or 'SXSW' OR 'South By' if you're really hip). There's like
1,000+ bands at this thing. It's pretty crazy! There's pretty much like
an 8 block radius that is all zoned off for the festival. Every single
bar and venue in that area is having a show - all day long. Shows even
go until like 2am.

Anyways, we left San Marcos, TX yesterday and headed to Austin. We got
to the festival around 5pm. We got hooked up with passes to the
Purevolume indoor tent. The tent is open all day/night and there's free
drinks the whole time. Not too shabby. Unfortunately, the Purevolume
pass is the only pass we all have. This makes it pretty hard to get
into shows, considering that you need a wristband or a badge to get into
most of them. (All access badges cost about $475 per band member..) So
far, we've figured out ways to weasel our way into a few shows (we knew
bands playing the shows..).

We don't really have a lot going on while we're down here. The guys are
actually jumping on a show at the Purevolume tent tonight, so that
should be cool. (Ahh....the power of networking.) We have an acoustic
show and a few interviews on Saturday.

A few people from our label and our booking agent are down here. It's
nice to see them! We're staying with our buddy, Chad, from back home. He
moved down here to work for the SXSW festival. We're basically taking
over his apartment from now until Sunday. Thanks a lot Chad! All in
all, things are going well.

Clara, OK / San Antonio, TX

We played in Clara, OK yesterday (at The Tree). The place was pretty
awesome. They had the best catering we've ever had! (Even better than
the catering on the Jack's Mannequin tour.) Anyways, the sound was
pretty good. Unfortunately, the attendance was pretty low. Overall,
the guys played pretty well.

We had a 9 hour drive from Clara, OK to San Antonio, TX. We decided to
drive like 4 hours and get a hotel. We slept for about five hours and
then got up to finish the drive. (When we woke up, we discovered that
our trailer had a flat tire, so we had to change that real
quick....bummer.) We got to the show right on time.

The show was in San Antonio, TX (at The Sanctuary). We had just played
at this place like a month ago (on the Waking Ashland tour). The show
was ok. Real small turnout and a lot of sound issues.

We're now driving to San Marcos, TX (in between San Antonio and Austin)
to stay the night with a new friend of ours. It should be fun! For the
next few days, we're basically on vacation (in Austin). I'm pretty sure
things are going to get crazy! Let the games begin!

Pekin, IL

We cancelled our show in Grand Rapids, MI yesterday so Jared could get
better. We all had a night at home, and it was great. I got some good
rest and (my mom) did some laundry. I felt totally recharged!

We went to Pekin, IL today to play a show. The drive was real short and
we jammed out to some old tunes the whole way there. The show was
really good! There were over 200 kids there, and the Grad got an awesome
response! Kids were singing along, jumping around, etc. The guys
played pretty well. The sound (pa system) wasn't great, but it did the
job. Corey's voice was pretty raspy in parts, so we need to make sure
he stays healthy. The guys killed it in merch.

I had some friends (from high school and college) come out. It was
great seeing them! We caught up and watched the show together. Overall,
it was a really good show and I'm glad the guys were healthy enough to
play it!

We are currently in the beginning of our drive to Clara, OK (outside of
Tulsa). It's an 8 hour drive, and we're probably going to get a hotel
part way into the drive. It's also daylight savings time, so we lose an
hour tonight. Not cool. Anyways, I'll be back to check in sometime
tomorrow!

Toledo, OH

The show yesterday was at Headliner's in Toledo, OH. It was a pretty
cool place. The show was alright - turnout was small, but we still had
fun. The guys played alright. Jared (bassist) was not feeling well at
all, but he made it through the set. The crowd response was decent.

After the show, we stayed with some kids that we had met a few days ago
(at our hotel in Columbus, OH). Small world.

Today, we woke up and decided to take Jared to the hospital (he was
feeling worse). It turns out that he has strep throat. Corey thinks he
might be catching something too. Anyways, we decided to cancel our show
in Grand Rapids, MI tonight due to illness.

We're driving home from Toledo, OH right now. The plan is to rest up
tonight and hopefully be able to play the show in Pekin, IL tomorrow
night. It's a bummer that we have to miss the show tonight, but I'm
going to take advantage of the short time at home (do laundry, rest,
etc.). I'll be back with an update tomorrow.

Champaign, IL

Yesterday's show was at the Canopy Club in Champaign, IL. This was a
venue that I went to in college a few times. It's a cool place!

This show was the first show of our little stint with our buddies in The
Forecast (from Peoria, IL). We got to the venue early and just hung out
for a while. Eventually, we started doing the normal show routine.
Everything with this show was real low key. This was a nice change of
pace from the last few shows. Don't get me wrong, the past few shows
(which were huge) were awesome, but they were a little more stressful.

I had some friends come out to the show. It was great catching up with
them. They guys played pretty well (except for Corey being on the verge
of getting sick the whole set). Jared also felt pretty bad. These
things came through to me during their set, but the normal person
watching might not have noticed it as much.

There was a decent turnout, and the crowd really enjoyed The Grad's set.
We did well in merch and even got a healthy anonymous donation (thank
you so much)!

We are now driving to Toledo, OH to play a show. I will check in later.

Chicago, IL - Day Off

We had yesterday off. We went to Chicago to watch/hang out at the
Jack's Mannequin show in (at House of Blues). The venue was sweet! I
liked it better than the Cleveland House of Blues. It was the last
night of the tour. Jack's killed it on stage! We hung out on Jack's
Mannequin's bus after it. We then attempted to go to two different
bars, but it didn't work out too well (we had some youngins in the
crew). We ended up going back to our friend's apartment to pass out.

Today, we are starting our little stint with The Forecast/We Are the
Fury/Scenes From A Movie. We are just pulling into Champaign, IL. I've
got some friends coming out to the show tonight. It should be a good
time!

Cleveland, OH

Yesterday, the guys played at House of Blues in Cleveland, OH. This was
their first House of Blues show! The venue was definitely cool. It was
really nice and clean. The dressing rooms even had a big bathroom and a
shower. (You even had to type in a code to get into the dressing
rooms.) Pretty sweet! We all got All Access' passes from HOB. That was
pretty awesome as well!

The guys played well - the sound was amazing! Unfortunately, the crowd
seemed pretty dead. The guys had very little room to move around on
stage, but they made the best of it. I videotaped their whole set.

After the guys played, we hung out backstage and also watched some of
the other bands play. The guys got a great crowd response AFTER their
set. They met a ton of new fans and sold a good amount of merchandise!

We stayed at a hotel right down the street from the House of Blues. The
room was awesome!!

This was our last show with the Jack's Mannequin tour. We're all really
glad that the guys got to play 3 shows on this tour. It definitely got
them some great exposure!

The tour ends tonight in Chicago. The Grad isn't on the bill, but
everyone is going to go watch/hang out. We are currently in route to
Chicago......
It should be a fun night!

Columbus, OH

Yesterday's show was at Newport Music Hall in Columbus, OH. The place
was awesome! We got there around 3 and did the normal routine. The show
was so good. Sold out - 1,800 people.

At least 1,500 people were there when The Grad went on. It was amazing.
The guys played well and got an excellent crowd response. They
definitely made a lot of new fans.

Jack's Mannequin hooked us up with a hotel room, so that was great!
We're now driving to Cleveland to play at the House of Blues. This is
the last show of the Jack's Mannequin tour (for us)....

These past few Jack's shows have been so awesome. Tonight should be
great!

York, PA

The guys played a show in York, PA yesterday. It was at a brand new
venue called Club 19. This was actually a show that we got last minute.
(The show wasn't with Jack's Mannequin.)

The night before, we stayed in a hotel about a mile away from the venue.
We ended up going to the venue real early. Matt and I took the van to
the carwash for a much needed clean and vacuum. After that, we
basically hung out at the venue until the show.

So one of the bands on the show was called 'The Track Record.' We
randomly met these guys at a gas station in Pennsylvania about three
weeks back. It's pretty crazy that we ended up playing a show with
them!

Anyways, the venue was awesome. They had a sweet light system (that I
ran during the Grad's set). They also had security. Pretty legit!
Unfortunately, the turnout was real low. The guys played decent. After
the show, we drove half way to Columbus, OH.

We are now finishing the drive to Columbus to play our second show with
Jack's Mannequin. Tonight should be awesome!

Asbury Park, NJ - Day Off

So we had yesterday (Friday) off. We were supposed to be on the Jack's
Mannequin bill, but there was a curfew issue and we weren't able to
play.

We decided to go to the show to watch and hang out. We got there about
two hours early and walked around the Jersey shore. It was nice to see
the ocean!! We also walked around the boardwalk for a bit (which was
pretty cool as well).

We got to the show and it was packed (sold out)! I watched a few of the
bands play and then I hung out with TheAudition in their dressing room.
It was a good time.

After the show, we drove almost all the way to York, PA (where the guys
playing tonight). We are going to hang out today and then hit up the
show later this afternoon. (The show tonight is a random show we hopped
on last minute.) Hopefully all goes well. I'll be back later to let
you know.

Poughkeepsie, NY

Tonight was absolutely amazing! This was the biggest, most exciting show
the guys have ever played. The show was sold out (900 kids), and at
least 700 of them were there by the time the Grad played. The guys
played really well and they got a GREAT crowd response!!

The label (Matthew and Amena) came to the show. As always, it was great
to see them. We (all 7 of the gang) got a copy of the full-length. It
looks awesome! We were all really excited to finally have a copy in our
hands.

Tonight was the first night we ever got things that were in our rider.
(A rider is a big list of things you want provided for you.....ex: green
m&m's.) I didn't think we'd get those things for a while down the
road. Pretty sweet.

Tonight was also the first show that we ever got all-access laminates!
I've been waiting to get one of those for a long time! Everyone was
pretty stoked about it.

We have tomorrow off. (We were supposed to be on the show tomorrow, but
there was a curfew issue and we couldn't play.) We are going to go to
the show (in Asbury Park, NJ) to watch and hang out.

*Tonight was a huge step for the guys. It felt like they finally made
it to the big leagues. Great night. So exciting*