Tour Diary #34

March 19th
The show tonight at the Mill in Iowa City was my final show of the tour, I had decided to head home since I had to work early on Sunday. It turned out to be the perfect end to an amazing tour. The show was filled with many familiar faces of family and friends such as my parents, my aunt Debbie, Neal and Jessie, John Nagel, and too many others to name. It felt wonderful to be back in Iowa, and I could really feel a great energy from the stage that felt like we were home and among like-minded people that were welcoming us home in a huge way. When Leslie and the Lys took the stage, they captivated the sold-out crowd in a way that only they can, and as I watched them I felt very lucky to have shared the stage with such an amazing, one-of-a-kind group for nearly 30 shows. Before catching a ride home with my parents after the show, I was faced with the very difficult task of saying goodbye to the four people that I had shared nearly every minute of my life with for the last five weeks, in the process becoming four of my closest friends, with whom I hope to remain close with for the rest of my life. On the drive home, I experience the last bump in the road that separated me from home when the roads became too snowy and icy for us to make it home, and we had to stop and stay in a hotel for the night. However, it was all worth it when I arrived home the next morning and began the process of settling back into regular life. This trip was definitely one the greatest experiences of my life, and I feel very fortunate to have been able to see countless amazing places, doing something that I love with some of the greatest people that I know. I am very grateful to everyone who was involved in the process for the immeasurable impact they have had on my life. Thank you.

Tour Diary #33

March 18th
Getting out of my bed this morning was one of the most difficult tasks of my life, I could have probably slept in there for about 30 hours if I had the opportunity. However, once I finally got up, I loaded up the car and went to pick up our friend Madison (who is also my brothers girlfriend) who was in Des Moines for spring break and needed a ride back up to Minneapolis. Then we snatched up Kristy from her work and headed north to Minneapolis. When we arrived, the girls dropped me off at the venue for a chaotic sound check with the new and improved Christopher the Conquered supergroup (the drummer Brandon and sax player Donny joined up with us for the last few shows, so I was now playing a stand-up auxiliary percussion kit) with Blowtorch the soundwoman behind the deck. After sound check, Kristy and Madison came back and we indulged in some delicious and extremely filling food courtesy of the Triple Rock (I had the vegan meatloaf dinner, which was mind-blowing) and hung out with Patrick Fleming, who had come up from Ames for the show. Playing our set was especially fun tonight because I had a new mobility that I had not experienced behind the drumset, and was able to run around off stage and have that much more fun. After the show, we went to Pizza Luce to get my favorite pizza in the entire world (its called the Rustler, and I highly recommend eating some if you are ever in Minneapolis) and went back to Nick and Madison's apartment to sleep. I must have been having too much fun at the show to take any pictures, but I did get a few shots of us hanging out with Consuela (Nick and Madison's kitten)... Enjoy!

Tour Diary #32

March 17th
I woke up super excited today because I was only a few hours away from hanging with my girlfriend, Kristy, who drove out to Omaha right after she got off work. She finally showed up bearing the gift of incredibly delicious strawberry cupcakes, some of which we devoured on the spot, and others of which were devoured later by Leslie and the Lys. Kristy and I then proceeded to get lost in Omaha looking for a restaurant where we could get a delicious veggie reuben (we eventually found it) and then got lost again trying to find the venue (which we eventually found also). At the show, I met up with my parents who had come out to see me, and also got to see one of my best friends from high school, Derek, who I hadn't seen in quite a while, so that was really cool. The Waiting Room is an incredible venue that was a ton of fun to play, and I even got my own drum riser on stage for the first time (which was kinda strange, but not as uncomfortable as I'd imagined). Right after the show, Kristy and I drove straight back to Des Moines, where I got to see my cat and sleep in my own bed for the first time in five weeks, which felt truly amazing and a little bit surreal.

Kriiiiiiistyyyy! In front of a magnificent portrait of a man


Chris warming up while Nate hula-hoops, no big deal

Me drummin'

Tour Diary #31

March 16th
Another boring travel day filled with the putrid stench of cow shit through nearly the entire boring state of Nebraska. I'll leave you now with a single inspiring photograph from America's heartland.

Tour Diary #30

March 15th
We all slept in pretty late today and relaxed before making the short drive to the venue (the long drive yesterday was worth it). After loading in, we had a few more hours of downtown which I enjoyed by hanging outside in the sun. The show was especially fun because I got to see a lot of family and friends that I don't get to see often. My cousins Wendy and Carrie came to see me (and seemed to have a great time) as well as my old pal Matt (who moved to Denver last year) and my friend Josh (who still lives in Iowa, but just happened to be in Denver). So this meant that I had a ton of catching up to do, and also a ton of free drinks to consume (thanks guys!). All of this resulted in one of the funnest nights I've had so far, not at all hindered by the fact that there was a great, energetic crowd. Despite the thinner air making it slightly more difficult to breathe, Denver was a fantastic time all around.





Larimer Lounge

Stage

Me with my cousins Wendy and Carrie

The gals rippin' it

Tour Diary #29

March 14th
Not much to tell about today, as it was a very long travel day with no show. We drove from Salt Lake City to Denver, where we stayed with fellow Iowans Tessa and Josh, who made us some delicious soup and cookies!

Tour Diary #28

March 13th
We slept in pretty late today and then drove to Salt Lake City. Despite the fact that it started raining/snowing (resulting in really heavy, wet snow) when we got there, it was still a sweet city. Since we got there too early to get into the venue, we went to a restaurant down the street where I ate a delicious vegan Philly cheesesteak (I'm really going to miss being able to eat things like this... get with the program Iowa!) and then chilled out at a coffee shop for a little while. By the time we got to the venue, I was in a great mood and ready to have fun, which soon followed when I got to dance to the opening band, Birthquake, who was by far my favorite opening band of the tour and I highly recommend checking out. The crowd was really on fire tonight, there was just an insane amount of energy for all the bands, which always makes it really fun to play. We met some super cool dudes named Ammon and Nick who let us crash on their floor, and Ammon turned out to be a great musician who even played us a song he wrote on piano. I must say, I was very impressed by Salt Lake City!

Mountains

More mountains

The ghost of the Urban Lounge

Leslie hanging with some of her contemporaries

The 9-piece instrumental dance explosion known as Birthquake

Tour Diary #27

March 12th
Today was originally planned as a day off for travel between Seattle and Salt Lake City, so Chris took the initiative (based off a recommendation from Patrick Fleming of the Poison Control Center) to book us our own show in Nampa, ID at the Flying M coffee garage. We had no idea what to expect of this show, but it turned out to be a really great night. We showed up after a long drive and were greeted with many friendly faces from the staff as well as the opening band, The Chutes. We were then treated to whatever free food and drinks we wanted, and the show began. The Chutes brought out a ton of friends and family who were having a great time during their set, and then amazingly almost all of them stuck around to watch us. This was quite possibly the most attentive audience we have played to yet, it was very strange/cool to hear absolute silence during quiet parts of the set. Then we met an extremely generous woman named Laura who invited us to sleep in her very nice and spacious house. Unfortunately I am an idiot, and forgot to charge my camera AGAIN, so I have no pictures of this very fun night. Rest assured, the next update will have pictures!

Tour Diary #26

March 11th
After a drive up the rainy ol' highway, we arrived in a rainy little town called Seattle. After loading into the venue called Chop Suey, we walked a few blocks down to a vegan Thai restaurant called Teapot where I ate some of the best curry of my life. Then, we went back to the venue and met some former Iowans, one of which (Doug) knew a ton of my friends and also brought some delicious chili, which was seriously amazing. So anyway, I drank a few gin & tonics and had a fun time at the show. Since my camera battery died, I unfortunately have only one picture to share of this day. Sorry!!


Seaaaattle

Tour Diary #25

March 10th
Portland, Oregon. Rolled into the city and headed straight for Voodoo Doughnuts, where I had the greatest doughnut of my life called the "Old Dirty Bastard", and CJ was able to eat the very first doughnut of his life, since he is allergic to eggs. A truly touching moment. Anyway, within the first half hour of being in the city of Portland, I saw a three-legged dog, a sign advertising "full friction" lap dances, and two different homeless men screaming at nothing... my kinda place! So, after chilling out at a coffee shop for a few hours, we headed to the venue, called Dante's, which was super fancy and even had raised platforms that appeared to be for dancing on (which Nate and CJ took full advantage of later on their trumpet/flugelhorn duet). The show was very packed and full of energy, which is always a great thing and will never cease to amaze me. After the show, we went back to Voodoo for round 2 (round 3 occurred the next morning when we had to go back to the venue to get Nate's debit card that he forgot) and headed to the residence of CJ's cousin Jill, who offered her place for us to sleep for the night.

Booooya!

Nate and Kate by a fire

CJ on the platform

Nate on the other platform

Tour Diary #24

March 9th
The city of Eugene, Oregon has something about it that I really like a lot. It just seems to have a very relaxed feel to it and a lot of great attitudes, as well as delicious food. We got to town a few hours early, so we walked about a great area filled with a bunch of cool bookstores, coffee shops, etc. Then Chris and I ate some fantastic pizza and soup at Cosmic Pizza (if you are ever in Eugene, check this place out, they have great vegan pizza) before the show. Playing the show felt exceptionally good tonight, due in no small part to the fact that we had one of the most skilled and attentive sound engineers of the tour (something that I REALLY appreciate but is often overlooked). We met a very nice woman named Leslie who invited us to stay at her house with her 4-year-old son Eden and roommate Rachel, who all treated us great (Rachel even gave Chris and I her bed, while she slept downstairs in another bed). In the morning, we found out that Leslie very lovingly raises chickens in her backyard, so we got to eat the freshest and most cruelty-free eggs that I've ever had in my life. These were absolutely delicious, and made me really wish that I had a backyard so that I could raise my own chickens. I also got to participate in an intense lightsaber battle with Eden before we hit the road.


They even have fluffy teddy bear style dogs living in bookstores here!

I realized that I haven't been taking nearly enough pictures of these gals tearing up peoples faces and hearts from the stage.

Got to hang with this cutie a little bit when it wasn't running away from me.


Leslie introducing us to one of her lovely chickens.

Happiest chickens I've ever met. Thanks for the eggs guys!

Kate vs. Eden (Kate lost)

Tour Diary #23

March 8th
Today our life in sunny paradise came to an abrupt end as we climbed the mountains and saw the temperature drop by more than 20 degrees in a matter of less than an hour, followed by a heavy downpour of snow. Due to the fact that we winding up and down the mountains, we decided that we had better stop driving for the day, so we found a hotel in Yreka, CA to stay for the night. After checking in, we found a Mexican restaurant down the street where we enjoyed a nice meal and some margaritas with Leslie and the Lys. After finishing our margaritas, we found out that we each got a complimentary shot of tequila, which was presented in a ritual consisting of the waiter slamming the shot glass against a serving tray to make it fizz up, and then doing a strange high pitched yell/song afterward. This proved to be not the only great thing this waiter was capable of, as when we were paying for our meal, he gave Nate a pen to sign his check with that was actually not a real pen, but rather a novelty device that shocks your finger when you push down on the top. What a trickster! Anyway, after dinner, we watched The Fantastic Mr. Fox, played some charades, and went to sleep. Very fun night off.



(The following is photographic evidence of how quickly Mother Nature turned her back on us)
Hey! A rainbow!

Hey! Some animals grazing in the sunlight!

Whoa whoa, wait a minute....

NOOOOOOO!!!!!!

Tequila shots fixed it all. Oh, hey Ramona and Chris.

Tour Diary #22

March 6th & 7th
(I'm going to compile two days into one here since one was almost all traveling.) Today's long drive up the coast of California brought us many different types of scenery. Starting out in pure big city driving, we then got to huge climbs and curves through the mountains, followed by extremely flat land covered with vineyards. When we finally arrived at Nate's aunt and uncle's house in Aptos (a town right outside of Santa Cruz) we were greeted with some incredibly delicious pizza, salad, and beer which helped cure all of our car ride blues. We then hung out for a little while and went to sleep. After sleeping in pretty late in the morning, we got a wonderful breakfast and headed out to the forest for a hike through some gigantic redwood trees (many many pictures below). After this we relaxed with some lunch and headed north to gorgeous city of San Francisco for our show. The venue (Rickshaw Stop) had one of the friendliest staffs we have encountered, and immediately presented us with a mind-blowing snack spread before the show. The show itself was crowded and insanely high-energy, with opening band Planet Booty getting people dancing early on. Our set consisted of much dancing and sweating, as well as two ladies up front with generous amounts of cleavage and a high blood/alcohol level continuously informing Chris of their desires to engage in sexual activity with him (just to be clear, they did NOT get a chance to carry out these wishes on this particular night). After the show, an employee of the venue/awesome dude named Mack let us come drink some beers and crash at his place, at which time he shared some stories with us about playing in Des Moines with his band Early Graves. Then in the morning we got some killer San Francisco burritos!

























San Francisco skyline

The half-devoured complimentary snack spread that we received at the Rickshaw Stop

Highly energetic opening act Planet Booty.