Colorado has been amazing so far. Our show at Hodi's Half note was off the hook, tons of people came out and threw down. The night was definately a success. Wednesday we dropped Brett off in Boulder, then went on an expedition to the Denver International Airport (in the bus...) to pick up Mike's lady, Heather. It was fun, though we though we may have entered an area that was too low for the bus (it wasn't... by about 6 inches). We successfully collected Heather, and drove back up to Boulder to have some dinner, hang out, and catch a show. Joseph Isreal was playing at the Fox Theater, so Brett made a phone call and got our crew on the guestlist. The show was fun, not too crouded. We were there early, got a good spot, and had a great time checking out a different band. Today we woke up at the very Un-rock and roll time of 6:30 AM (really). We had some breakfast, and got to Denver around 9:45 (not bad!), and played at a college located downtown, that seemed to be part of every college system in the state. Colorado University, Metro State, etc, but either way there were tons of people, and it was by far the best early afternoon college show we've ever played. Lots of people stopped and watched. Then we went to Denver, and some people took naps while Heather, Keg, and I went downtown and hung out at the Hard Rock Cafe for a while. It was sweet. We rode no less than 2 wrong trains. Here's some pics:
Rockies
Look how nice the seats on the commuter trains are in Denver. Plush, like a coach bus.
Heather en route to the Hard Rock.
Finally, Mike was affected by the thin air. He found a Hula Hoop and was occupied for hours. Here is a short snippet. PLEASE copy and paste it EVERYwhere!!!
Lots since the last post. We had an AWESOME show in Kalamazoo, with an awesome crowd. We stayed up late and hung out with some of our friends, but then headed out Sunday afternoon for Ft. Collins, CO. It was a LOOONNNGGG drive. I think it took us between 20 and 22 hours, and we went through 2 time zone changes. Chris drove for like 13 hours straight (the entire states of Iowa and Nebraska). It's weird how once you're outside the city limits of a city, it goes immediately back to desolate farmland out here. But damn, it is gorgeous in some places. We could see the Rocky Mountains on the horizon for like an hour. We had a little breakfast in Wyoming (just to say we have done it, naturally), and arrived in Fort Collins around 11 AM Monday. At least the clocks said it was 11.. we all had no idea what time it really felt like. Later, that's for sure. In Fort Collins, we went to our friend Jason Bean's house (Brett's friend from High School). We hung uut briefly, but he had a normal person's day to attend to, so we were left to hang out. Downtown was about a 10 minute walk away (we passed Hodi's Half Note on the way in, the place we are playing, and saw our name on the Marquee... that's always sweet). There are 3 breweries within 10 minutes of Jason's house. While some members were taking their first shower of the trip (seriously), Chris and decided to go have a driving victory beer. Or like... 3. We hung out for the afternoon, made some dinner at the house, and then headed out to check out the club we're playing at for a bit. It was cool. We all checked in pretty early, got a ton of sleep, and hit the town again today, flyering the local college and storming the radio station. When we were leaving the college, someone in the band who will remain unnamed, knocked the top part of a parking meter off it's pole with the Bus. We made a swift exit after that. Here's a ton of pictures: Brett on stage at Bell's. Mike raging after the show at Bell's. . Kame and Went. Somewhere in Iowa. Gas stations of Iowa love America. Brett just noticed the flag. Cat in the truck next to us just noticed Brett. Chris calls his Mom. Mike raging in the bus. Somewhere in Nebraska. Making sure this thing works. I have no explanation for this... This is Nebraska. Or Wyoming. Or Iowa. Or Colorado. Chris rockin. On his way to being delerious. Possible Keg sighting in Iowa. Rumor has it he shaved his beard. Our friend Jason. That would be the Rocky Mountains in the background. Mike calls his Mom. At the Odell Brewery, Tuesday afternoon. That's right, Tuesday afternoon. This is actually so the bands are able to find the place they are supposed to be playing. It's very helpful.
And finally, after driving for 13 hours on the way here, Chris was feeling a little funny. Here he is, singing to himself (not knowing the camera was still on... until he sees it), a tune which eventually reveals itself to be "Lovely Day". He's alright now.
We made it to Kalamazoo relatively on time. The show last night was good, the Ragbirds were a lot of fun. We drank some beer, but didn't stay up too late, and got to K-zoo around 3:30. I just finished enjoying a Bell's Amber Ale, their flagship beer. They have so many good beers here, it's overwhelming. Observe: I didn't know where to start, so I started with the basics. This is a list of all the beers currently on tap. This is Heaven. I know you can't really read this, but you get the idea. Here's the bus outside the brewery. Mmmm... beer. Enjoying a beer. Where's Keg?? Sweet fishtank. The stage where we are about to set out stuff up. View from the balcony. Once again, these are mirror images. I haven't messed around with inverting the image, but I bet it's not too hard, huh? Anyways, hold your computer up to a mirror, and you'll see that this sign has our band name on it. Kick Ass. This way. Sweet artwork on the outside of the building.
Anyways... I'll probably try to post another one tonight.
Day 2. We're in Saugatuck MI, at a place called the Boathouse. We were opening for a band called The Ragbirds, they are pretty good. Sort of a folky, worldly, jam band. And I know people who like jam bands! Getting here was interesting. After a bit of a late start (2PM), we got breakfast, and finally left Muncie around 4PM. Someone (Keg) bought a bottle of Patron, and it kept certain people (everyone else) up very late. The drive was okay. Mike had to shit in the woods (seriously) somewhere in the middle of nothing, and I was hit on in a serious way by another dude who was older and taller than me. All in a day's work, really. Last night's show was awsome, totally off the hook and totally unexpected for our first time in Indiana. There were over a hundred people in there dancing like it was possibly going out of style! Mike at the bar after our set. Brett at the merch table. Keg.
That's all. Tomorrow we'll try to get some pictures during the day. That way you can see stuff.
This takes place in a hotel in VT at about 5 AM, after we had set up some of our newly accquired light rig IN our hotel room. Don't ask why, just know that it was AWESOME.
You'll also note that after the video plays, it links to music videos by Toto. Enjoy, and you're welcome.
Day 1, Round 2. Muncie, Indiana. Doc's Music Hall. Soundcheck. Can you find Keg in THIS picture? Shredfest!!! Backstage Beam. The comedian Ron White from the Blue Collar Comedy Tour was here getting blasted like a week ago. Also, these pictures are mirror images... Keg has been here before, I guess.
So I'm gonna try and get the hang of this over the next two weeks or so. If anyone has any suggestions, feel free to leave comments. And feel free to link this wherever you want. Can I get music to play on this thing too? Anyone? Anyone?
So Roots of Creation is joining this little area of the blog world. Influenced by several sources, here it is. We just drove like... 16 hours or something to Muncie, IN, which is where this is being written from. We're at Doc's Music Hall. We are the 3rd of 3 bands tonight, which is pretty sweet. Here's some pics: This handsome devil is responsible for the words and images you see here. These guys really like long rides. Beam Driving. O-HI-o!!! Can you find Keg in this picture? The bus outside Doc's. Mike is actually falling down in this picture. Outside Doc's.
Rockies
Look how nice the seats on the commuter trains are in Denver. Plush, like a coach bus.
Heather en route to the Hard Rock.
