Detroit, MI (The Magic Stick)

The last stop of the tour was at The Magic Stick in Detroit. This was
the third time we hit this venue this year.

We normally dread playing in Detroit. The Magic Stick is a decent venue
and all, but it's not in the best area of town. We are always being
swarmed by bums asking for change and whatnot. There's also the issue
of the van getting broken into. We typically have someone sit in the van
the entire time we're at the venue, just to make sure no one tries to
break in. Last time we were here, another band we were on tour with got
broken into.

We got a primo parking spot right in front of the venue this time. There
were security guards by the door that were able to watch it for us. This
was a relief for us.

The show was pretty good. The guys decided to dress up kind of goofy
for their set. Matt, Max, and Corey wore bandanas. Jared wore a visor
made for a four year old, and Tim wore a stocking cap and some
sunglasses. It was nice to see them living it up the last day of the
tour. The played really well and the crowd was way into it.

The Magic Stick is in the upstairs of the building. There is a bowling
alley on the bottom floor of the building. The guys bowled a game after
their set. They did teams; The Springfield guys vs. The Quincy guys.
The Quincy guys came out victorious.

After the show, we said our goodbyes and started for our way home. It's
now almost 6am, and we're still about two hours away from home.

Overall, this was a good tour. We made some new friends, played for some
new people, and had a lot of fun. Thanks so much to Spitalfield for
taking us out on their final tour. It's going to be sad to see them
go.

We've got a few holiday shows later this month. Besides that, it looks
like we will be getting a little time off. I will spend it subbing and
relaxing. The guys will spend it writing.

We plan on hitting the road again sometime early next year!

Buffalo, NY (Xtreme Wheelz)

I don't have a whole lot to say about Buffalo, NY. We've played here
three times this year. I believe this is the first time we were here
when the weather wasn't horrible.

We used to play at a venue called 'Icon,' but that got shut down a few
months ago. Tonight's show was at a skate park called 'Xtreme Wheelz.'
This is the first time I've been to a legit skate park, so I was pretty
entertained.

This place had a ski ball machine, which I was very stoked about! I
spent all my quarters playing it. Playing ski ball took me right back to
the childhood days of endless birthday parties at Chuck E. Cheese. The
thing is, I'm not sure if I've gotten any better at the game over the
years. I need to put one of these machines in my basement! With a lot of
practice, maybe I'll get good. Do they have a professional ski ball
association?

The show was pretty good. The sound was bad, but what do you expect from
a show at a skate park?!

Tomorrow is the last day of the tour. That seems crazy to me! The show's
in Detroit.

We're driving part way tonight and getting a hotel around Cleveland.

South Hackensack, NJ (School of Rock)

Ahhh what can I say about dirty Jersey? Well, South Hackensack is a
mediocre town, but they do have a solid venue.

Last time we played School of Rock, the sound was way messed up. There
was an AM radio station coming through the PA speakers the entire show.
Every time there was a pause between songs in the guys' set, you would
hear talk radio. Well, we wrote off the venue from that moment on.

It turns out we should have given the place some credit. Tonight's show
was legit! The guys' tried out a new setlist, and it was awesome. The
sound at this place was actually great this time! I'm now looking
forward to the next time we play this venue.

Julia and Jacqueline made the journey out to see the show. It was great
seeing them again. I didn't get to hang out with them much, but it's ok.
I hope we see them again sometime soon. Our friend, Fiona, came out to
the show too. She's a good supporter...she came out to two shows on
this tour!

We're now driving to Binghamton, NY to stay for the night. We're going
to crash with The Forecast at their old tour manager's place. This will
put us half way to Buffalo, NY (where tomorrow's show is).

I can't believe this tour is almost over! I have to admit that it's gone
by fast...

New York, NY (The Knitting Factory)

The Big Apple. The City That Never Sleeps. Whatever you want to call it,
New York City is a sight to see. I love the fact that I had never been
to NYC until this year, and in one year, I managed to visit it six
times! Ahhh the joys of touring the country non-stop.

We woke up in Brooklyn and headed into the city to meet up with the
label. They took us out to PJ's; an italian restaurant just a few blocks
from the office. This place has apple struedel that's out of this
world. After lunch, I hung out at the label. I always have a good time
there. I checked out some entertaining YouTube videos while the guys
were in a meeting. Seach 'Star Wars trumpet' and 'Juggling Beatles' for
some cheap entertainment...

The show was great. I always enjoy it when the guys play the Knitting
Factory. I feel like they always perform really well when they play
there. The NYC crowd consistently gets into their set too.

I had a few friends come out to the show. It was great catching up with
them.

After the show, we hit up the deli down the street. I got the crab
sandwich as usual (SO GOOD). Man, I talk about food way too much in this
journal. Haha.

We rolled out of the city and hit up our hotel (by the airport) in
Newark, NJ. That city is terrible, but our hotel was great! We stayed up
late watching tv and hanging out.

Allentown, PA (Crocodile Rock)

Allentown, PA is one city in Pennsylvania that I actually look forward to visiting. This is due to the fact that the venue there is sweet. The Crocodile Rock, or "Croc Rock" as most bands call it, is a venue like no other. It's a huge club that has a a southern atmosphere. I feel like the club lets me forget that I'm in Pennsylvania for a minute, and it transports me to straight to southern Florida.

The green room (in the basement) is huge. Another entertaining thing about this venue is that they have big rappers play there. In fact, Ja Rule is coming there in a couple weeks. I can only imagine the madness that goes on in that huge green room when rappers play the venue.

The show ended up being a bumout. The turnout was real low. We drove to Brooklyn after it and stayed with our buddy, John Lullo. The van didn't get broken into, so I'd call it a success!

Baltimore, MD (The Ottobar)

So I've come to terms with a harsh realization; MY BLOG IS BORING. I've
fallen victim to filling in a few blanks in a pre-scripted entry.

Well, I'm going to attempt to re-format my entries. This should make
things more enjoyable to read. I hope to have something funny or
entertaining to share on a daily basis.

Here's my first attempt at livening this thing up!
---------------------------------------------------------
Baltimore is one of my favorite cities to visit when on tour. This is
the guys' second home, and I feel like it's become the same way for me.
The friends, the food, the atmosphere.....they're all great.

We rolled into town a little early and picked up our friends, Julia and
Jacqueline. We hit up Wal-Mart for some essentials. This Wal-Mart had
two stories....it was madness. We rolled up to the venue and I see this
van (and trailer) with Missouri plates. Turns out some buddies of mine
from St. Louis hopped on the show last minute. Jackpot!

Julia and Jacqueline decorated our van with Christmas stuff while we
were inside the venue. The blew up a bunch of red balloons and put them
inside the van. They also put holiday stickers and some crisco (to
imitate snow) on our van windows.
It was legit!

The show turned out to be a good time. We got a good amount of free
drinks, which was nice. After the show, everyone went to the bar in the
upstairs of the venue. It was the first night the whole tour hung
out......good time! It's nice to hang out with people outside of the
'work environment.'

After the bar, we did the 4th meal thing at Taco Bell. Man, those Taco
Bell bucks really come in handy. We got to Julia and Jacqueline's place,
and they had Christmas presents waiting for us! I swear, these girls are
too good to us.

I got a book called 'Do Penquins Have Knees?' It's filled with answers
to all these odd questions....it will definitely be an interesting
read. The girls also got me (and all the band members) a stuffed
elephant doll and a homemade creature to to put on our keychains.
Sweet.

We crashed out and woke up feeling a little less than perfect. Ha. We
met up with our producer and friend, Brian McTernan. We went to his
house and saw his newborn baby, Cassidy. She's only a month old...she's
so little.

Brian took us all out to lunch an awesome restaurant. I had this pumpkin
cream cheese stuffed french toast.....it was amazing! After lunch, we
peaced out and started heading toward tonight's show (in Allentown,
PA). We're currently still in route to the show....

Hartford, CT (Webster Theatre)

Last night's show was at the Webster Theatre in Hartford, CT. We played
the Webster Underground (smaller venue connected to the Underground)
twice this year.

For some reason, I always get a shady vibe from this city. This could
partially be due to the fact that the venue is not in a great area. I
don't know, it just doesn't seem like a 'friendly city' to me.

The two shows we played here earlier this year were rather small.
Tonight's show ended up being the same way. There were 50 kids....and
the venue had a capacity of 800. Oh well, it happens.

Despite the small crowd, the guys did a good job. The people there
seemed really into the set. I had a great time running lights.....it
was a good board!

Merch sales were solid (for the amount of people there). After the
show, we drove about an hour to Norwalk, CT. We stayed with our buddy,
Tony (from our label). We watched 'Alpha Dog' and had a couple drinks
called 'Dark and Stormies' that Tony made for us. It was a good time!

We're now on our way to Baltimore for tonight's show at The Ottobar. It
should be a good one! After the show, we're going to officially
celebrate Max's 21st birthday at one of our favorite bars, 'Friends.'
It's going to be a fun night!

Erie, PA (Forward Hall)

Tonight's show was at Forward Hall in Erie, PA. We played Edinboro, PA
(about twenty minutes from Erie) twice, but we had never played in
Erie.

The show ended up being really good! The turnout was pretty decent (125
people). The guys played decent and the crowd was really into it. This
was probably the best crowd response they've gotten in the Erie area! We
did really well on merch.

Today was Max's 21st birthday, so the stage show was livened up a bit.
It was a bit more of a playful vibe, ha. Overall, it was a good night!

We're now driving toward Hartford, CT (where tomorrow's show is at).
The weather is supposed to start getting kind of bad, so we're not sure
how far we'll drive tonight....we'll just make the safest decision
possible.

Cleveland Heights, OH (Grog Shop)

Tonight's show was at The Grog Shop in Cleveland Heights, OH. This was
the third time we played here this year. We actually just played it
about six or seven weeks ago on The New Amsterdams tour.

Anyways, the show ended up being pretty solid. There were about 100
people there. The Forecast wasn't on this show, so we were direct
support (we played third). As a result, we got to play a longer set.
The guys played really well and the crowd seemed into it. We did decent
on merch.

Our show tomorrow is in Erie, PA. We're actually driving there right
now. We met some people (from Erie) at the show tonight, so we're going
to stay with them. We'll get to sleep in late and shower, so we're all
happy about that.

Max turns 21 in fifteen minutes! It seems like it's taken a long time
for this day to come. I remember meeting him when he was 16. Man,
where does time go?!

We're going to hold off the big celebration until we're in Baltimore (in
a few days). Jared is going to be our only under 21 member (until
March)...

Headliners (Toledo, OH)

Last night's show was at Headliners in Toledo, OH. The show turned out
to be pretty good! The guys played well and the crowd was into it. We
did decent on merch. After the show, we ate dinner at Big Boy's. It
was pretty good. After that, we went and stayed with some friends. We
had a blast!

We're now on our way to our show in Cleveland Heights, OH. We just
figured out that this is our sixth time in Cleveland this year. Crazy.
The Forecast went home to play a special show tonight, so we're direct
support for this show.

Urbana, IL (The Canopy Club)

The second leg of the tour started up this Thursday at The Canopy Club
in Urbana, IL. We were really looking forward to the show since it was
so close to home for us.

The show ended up being really good! There were about 180 people there.
The guys played really well and the crowd was way into it. We finally
got new merchandise (new hoodie, t-shirt, etc.), which was a big
relief. We did pretty well on merch.

After the show, we went out in Champaign for a little bit. It was a
good time. After that, we stayed with a friend nearby. Overall, it was
a good night!

Chicago, IL (JBTV Performance)

This past Monday, we went up to Chicago to play a concert for a contest
winner and some of her friends. The concert was held at JBTV studios in
downtown Chicago. We had done an interview and an acoustic performance
with JBTV earlier in the year. Since then, they moved locations. Along
with the location change came upgraded facilities. Their new place was
awesome! They built a stage and had lights, fog, etc. to create the
concert environment for bands who performed on their show. We were the
first band to play on their new stage.

We got there mid-afternoon and set everything up, soundchecked, etc.
After that, we did an interview with JBTV. After the interview, we
performed the concert for Sarah, the contest winner, and a few of her
friends. At the end of the set, we gave Sarah an autographed guitar.

The performance was shot with 9 different HD cameras. It will be edited
and later aired on JBTV. The final product should be great!

After the performance, we packed up and headed to dinner at Portillo's,
a famous Chicago hot dog joint. After dinner, we made our way back
home. Overall, it was a good day!